Chapter 38: See the Incarnation Again
As Hikigaya left Lucretia Zola's house, he was still thinking about Poseidon.
Things had become far more complicated than previously expected. Unless this issue was resolved, he wouldn't be able to return to Japan in peace.
Putting the war god aside for now, Hikigaya wasn't feeling optimistic about Poseidon—this god was far more troublesome than Melqart for him.
From a natural attribute standpoint, Hikigaya's power was composed of water, wind, sky, and earth. For various reasons, it was bound together with the sun as its medium.
Poseidon, like Melqart, was a multifaceted god. Before entering the Greek pantheon, he was already a god of the earth, sea, and horses. This combination of powers meant Hikigaya had no advantageous traits to suppress Poseidon. On the contrary, as the consort of the land and master of the underworld, Poseidon possessed strong counteracting abilities against earth-based powers.
Therefore, it might actually be Hikigaya who was at a disadvantage. That certainly wasn't good news.
With such thoughts in mind, Hikigaya got on the bus.
The three of them sat in the same section. Hikigaya sat by the window, with Liliana next to him and Erica across from them. These two women unhesitatingly used magic to ensure no one else approached.
It seemed these two girls had completely attached themselves to him.
After finishing a phone call, Erica told him, "It's confirmed. Our next destination is Dolgali."
"Oh? So you've already found a lead on one of them?"
"No, but the possibility of a god appearing again is very high. Our Copper Black Cross's clairvoyants detected strong magical energy gathering near Dolgali," Erica explained. "I went to Olbia because multiple clairvoyants sensed similar magical concentrations there. Then, you and the 'pig' appeared."
What the hell, "me and the pig" appeared?...
Hikigaya felt that with a mouth like hers, this woman would definitely get spanked one day.
Still, clairvoyance really did seem to be a useful ability.
"This power is really convenient. Can it see through everything?" he asked, slightly regretful that he hadn't yet mastered Osiris's ability to see everything through the light.
"Not really. The content revealed through clairvoyance is still very limited. Otherwise, we wouldn't have needed to ask Miss Zola to identify one of the gods. Only the highest-ranked clairvoyants can actually see the appearance of a god, but those kinds of people are extremely rare. It's a talent you're born with, not something you can acquire through training. Our organization doesn't have anyone like that."
Hikigaya nodded, agreeing with her. If that kind of power could just be trained like normal, that would be a bit absurd. It made more sense that shrine maidens and witches—descendants of divine ancestors—could possess such extraordinary abilities.
He looked out the window and noticed that the sky had turned overcast at some point. Gray clouds pressed low, completely blocking out the sky.
"The wind's picking up…" he muttered.
Poseidon was the god of wind—and not just any wind god.
As one of the most powerful storm gods in the Near East, there were very few who could rival him. Set, whom Hikigaya had slain, was one of them. Melqart, who was originally supposed to appear, was another.
"Sardinia never had winds like this before," Liliana said softly beside him. "My lord, this could be a sign of a god's arrival."
Hikigaya said nothing, but he took note of it.
A few minutes later, the bus arrived in Dolgali, a small town nestled at the foot of a mountain.
After getting off at a stop near the main road, which only had a police station and a few small shops, he noticed that the clouds had thickened even more since they got on the bus. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Not long after, it began to rain.
A sudden and violent storm descended without warning. Accompanied by thunder and lightning, the torrential rain blurred everything from sight. Even so, Hikigaya could still make out a golden light flashing through the dark sky.
Same old face, huh?
Hikigaya raised his hand, summoning another wind to swirl around him.
In no time, the storm was driven away. The hot wind swirled, and their rain-soaked clothes were quickly dried again.
Then the two girls also saw that beam of light.
The three of them chased after it, sprinting all the way until they reached higher ground—and then they saw it.
A giant goat leisurely flying through the sky, accompanied by wind, rain, thunder, and lightning.
It seemed that defeating these avatars really was meaningless. Aside from delaying the god's recovery, it had no other effect.
"Is this also an avatar of the Sword God?" Erica was initially surprised by the scene, but then a strong sense of determination shone in her eyes.
"My lord, please allow me, Erica Blandelli, to go investigate. This is also a mission entrusted to me by the Copper Black Cross."
With high fighting spirit, she declared and began chanting:
"My sword, the heart of the lion, blade that guards the Lion King's throne!
Red and black forerunner, I ask of thee—grant me the power to protect my body!"
Her gorgeous red cape appeared once more, her attire transformed back to its former appearance, and the magical sword that Hikigaya had already grown familiar with reappeared in her hand.
Then she rushed forward, shooting out like an arrow, her speed and strength far surpassing human limits.
At that moment, chaos erupted in the town.
The god was invisible—but not the rogue god.
As townspeople curious about the storm looked up and saw the scene in the sky, panic quickly spread.
And the goat recklessly wielded its power, sending wooden beams and cloth flying into the sky with storm winds, summoning lightning to scorch the earth, destroy buildings, and throw people into disorder and terror.
Hikigaya coldly watched it all unfold and stopped Liliana from intervening.
"My lord!"
"Don't do anything unnecessary. The other side's already on the way—it'll be over soon."
Almost as if responding to his words, another gust of wind arrived, blowing in from the distance.
From within the wind came a rather unpleasant "cawing" sound.
Hikigaya glanced toward it—within the wind flew a golden monstrous bird—most likely the "phoenix" of the ten avatars. It was massive, its wingspan stretching fifty or sixty meters.
Each beat of its wings stirred up whirlwinds.
Even a blind man could see that these two were about to fight.
"My lord!" Suddenly his sleeve was tugged. Hikigaya turned to look and saw Liliana's pleading expression.
This girl was clearly more reliable than Erica—at least she cared about the town.
That said, the town was already on the brink of collapse just from the residual shockwaves of the two avatars. If they actually fought here, the place would surely be destroyed.
"…Alright, I'll handle it."
Hikigaya sighed. He had hoped to just spectate quietly, but since the girl had sincerely asked him, he had no choice but to act cool…
Looks like the boy-war-god's resurrection is going to have to wait a little longer.