‘When will this man learn?!

'When will this man learn?!' Kuroka look at Reino annoyingly

"So I declare in the name of God, that now the world can offer devotion, offer praise to Eternity!"

In the middle of the spell, an aura of despair started to surround Kuroka. In addition, the original temperature of the beach also dropped to about twenty degrees. Sounds inaudible to ordinary ears – cries of despair, screams of futility, and wails of despair – all these voices coalesced into one body, suspended in the freezing air. All of these were effects brought about by Kuroka's spell.

"Goddess Athena, as Reino Barack's lover, I Kuroka humbly begged. If it pleases, leave immediately. If you don't heed my request, I will guard my King with my sword!"

The air resounded with her firm statement. Her back guarded by a dark purple octagon magic circle, covered with black flames, she faced the Goddess proudly. After hearing her statement, the Goddess turned around and acknowledged the girl for the first time.

"Oh, Nekotama? No, you are Nekoshou, are you willing to die for your master?"

"If necessary. Falling honorably for my King will give me a sense of satisfaction. Die in the hand of the most ancient Goddess, Athena, an understanding like this is only natural."

'Why does Reino... always make my life difficult?'

Kuroka whispered softly. Athena could completely understand Campione's weakness; and more specifically, Reino. Just from their brief conversation, She managed to not only realize that unless he had to, but he also wouldn't fight, and he was a person who didn't like fighting, and most importantly, Reino was even kissed by her! Seeing Reino like a corpse, lying on the floor, Kuroka's gaze grew fiercer. When will this man learn?!

Although this wasn't something that happened often, there were too many holes in his defenses, despite being too open towards women, so even kisses were easy to steal from him. As a general rule, Campione's have excellent natural defenses against spells and other sorcery. Even though his opponent was a God, the fact remained that he wouldn't be burdened easily. But if the spell could somehow be performed directly to the body, then nothing could be done; If such a method was used, even the lousiest mage like Hyoudou Issei would succeed easily.

"You are such a troublesome person, making me work so hard..."

While continuing to complain, Kuroka formed her spell into an arrow, which shot towards Athena. If the opponent was a human, the attack alone was enough to end it. Even if it was a very experienced mage, it would make him unable to stand. His desperate verses were death spells, which froze the enemy's hearts, but Athena just shook her head. With the Goddess as her enemy, such a weak attack obviously had no effect at all.

Kuroka lightly touched Kasha's wheel on her back. Kasha's wheel charged towards Athena. it's not enough to injure her but enough to buy time and take some distance from Athena. Kuroka activated her Yojutsu, writing the kanji in the air.

[DEMON ART POISON MIST]

Kuroka wrote down each character quickly, every single line of words she wrote blended into a purple magic pattern behind her. The more characters she wrote, the wider the fog became. Gathering the fused spells, she aimed them to her fists. The poisonous mist enveloped them, Kuroka raised her fist which was now filled with strength and dashed forward. In an instant, she closed the distance between her and Athena, then threw a punch. As if feeling happy, the goddess just moved a little to dodge Kuroka's attack.

Kuroka, of course, had not ended her attack there. Face, skull, left shoulder, thigh, stomach, chest, throat, and finally, right wrist. Kuroka set those body parts as her target and continued to attack her. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, like a flash of lightning or a gust of wind, she continued to suppress Athena. Every time Kuroka attack approached the goddess, she would dodge the attack.

However, facing Kuroka's unpredictable and all-around fighting style, Athena finally gave up on dodging and used the back of her hand to stop Kuroka's left hook. Under normal circumstances, something like that would dissipate her palm, but the goddess's hand was as strong as steel and parried the blow easily. Having succeeded, Athena glanced at her hand; then his expression suddenly changed. She looked... excited.

"—— I see, as I expected from the one who dared to challenge me— of course, you have the ability."

On the hand that had just blocked Kuroka's fist, a small bluish bruise appeared, no more fitting to say that it was dark blue in color. The same color as that poisonous mist. That is Paralysis. It was a simple fact that human weapons or even low-level Yokai attacks were completely incapable of injuring gods, much less disturbing them. Forget swords, firearms, and explosives, not even chemical or biological weapons can damage them.

On what was supposed to be immortal, a trace of Decay had somehow appeared on her palm. Smiling and gazing at the tiny Dot of Rot dripping from her hand, Athena spoke.

"How rare. One has long forgotten how it feels to have a wound."

"My current fist is filled with lethal grade spells sufficient to injure a first-generation Sun Wukong. the power capable of obliterating any God, devil or evil god. Even you, Athena-sama will not survive unharmed from this attack."

Kuroka clenched her fists and picked up her fight stance once more. Kuroka answered Athena carelessly. If her opponent showed any signs of movement, she planned to attack immediately; However, Athena seemed completely unconcerned. Because of the previous attack, Athena's attention was now completely focused on her body, and her previous indifference had disappeared.

"Truly, what you say is true. That attack is deadly to one's body, and may possibly steal our breath. Truly, one has pity on your current position. If you do not carelessly swear oaths and allegiance to that Campione, one will grant you blessings, and accept you as Our followers."

Even though Kuroka faced her with her fists, Athena just looked at her with an affectionate and caring expression, her eyes were protective as if looking at a beloved pet, or a gardener working in the garden.

'-- What should I do now?'

Kuroka asked herself; If Reino was with her, maybe the two of them could do something, but since she was alone, the situation was bad. And the opponent is the goddess in fighting mode. Even with poison capable of injuring Sun Wokong, and her skill in hand-to-hand combat, how much of a difference it would make – she was very unsure of the outcome.

In the past, Reino, before he became a Campione, although not a mage, managed to defeat Garuda as a mortal. But the win had to be considered as a combination of many coincidences, and a ridiculous amount of luck. Furthermore, since the one fighting was Reino, he managed to do it.

It seemed like running away was the only option. 'Right now, the most important thing is to avoid the death that Athena is about to send.'

She wrote her spell once again. This time it was an illusion spell. She attacked Athena once more, creating an afterimage of herself. Attacking Athena from all directions. Seeing that Her attack was dodged and blocked. Athena grabbed the collar of Kuroka's kimono twisting trying to strangle her. Kuroka twisted her body and managed to avoid Athena's coke. Kuroka chose to destroy the area around them, putting some distance between them. Kuroka used this opportunity to teleport Reino's body.

Even if she planned to run away, there was no way she would let his opponent go like that. She had to do it great and honorable —— that was Kuroka's knight code. Kuroka was three times faster this time, strengthening her body with various defensive senjutsu and Nekoshou spells. Athena knew this attack would hurt her so she chose to Dodge, but Kuroka didn't attack her. She did small teleports repeatedly, running away from Athena.

—— She chose to run away, no this is a retreat strategy.

The goddess jumped back,. looking at Her and did not chase after them. "...Oh? Really, you amaze one ——"

Seeing Athena's response, Kuroka showed a brilliant smile; To those who knew her, that smile showed that she believed her tactics would work. Rushing against a retreating enemy is the most effective way to use her combat style, which focuses on speed.

"Ahahaha, you really know how to waste my time!"

Kuroka prayed earnestly that her enemy wouldn't catch up, while teleporting herself and Reino, rushing to find a place to recuperate. In front of Her, Reino was lying back in a deep sleep. Of course, there was no way he would die like this. No matter how ridiculous the unfair circumstances were, he was a person who always found a way and a path to victory; There was no way he would die so easily.

She placed his hand on Reino's chest, confirming his warmth and pulse. After receiving the encouragement she was looking for, Kuroka showed a happy and bright smile. This near-death experience was truly very unpleasant. Reino, who had not fully woken up, thought in his foggy mind.

He 'Garuda' has many names and each of them describes his abilities and traits. Sitaanana offers the power to neutralize harmful foreign bodies from his body. Regardless of how critical his body's condition was, divine power would always bring a full recovery. But if he was killed instantly, then this ability would be useless… Considering this, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat every time he woke up from unconsciousness, as he had to consciously use this ability before dying for it to work.

To be even more dangerous, for now, this ability could only be used when he was on the verge of death. And it will take several minutes before he can expel the dangerous foreign object from inside his body. Reino himself had experienced before the inability to use this power to heal the usual serious injuries.

Of course, even with such harsh limitations, it was still an extraordinary ability. God Slayers could take advantage of the abilities of the gods they killed. The divine power obtained in this way is called [Authority].

This meant that the more gods they killed, the stronger a god slayer became. Reino had only defeated one god so far — Garuda, but it was said that many god slayers were monsters that possessed many [Authorities]— Born into this world to fight against the gods, warriors who represent humanity.

Kuroka once described the gods like this: they were warriors, kings, monsters, but at the same time people; They were existences that surpassed common sense. The god slayer is born of innate ability, as well as effort, and is definitely not blood or fate. Only victory can give birth to a god slayer.

Even if one had innate talent, even if one worked harder than anyone else in this world, without victory, one would never become a god slayer. That's too tight, Reino thought. His own victory over the garuda depended entirely on a series of extraordinarily lucky events.

Forget normal people, even special people like talented people or legendary masters could never defeat a god. The difference in their strength was too great, good enough to make the comparison between the two completely meaningless. Only after a series of extraordinary events humans could defeat gods.

Yet a series of unbelievable coincidences could give birth to a god slayer, which gave them more power than a person could possibly possess. ...Even Reino himself didn't think this was a good idea.

Only those who were born as gods or people who were reborn as god-slayers could oppose each other, it was simply beyond common sense. For such a thing to be achieved only through luck, it was definitely not a good thing. This kind of power should never be given to a single person, so Reino hoped to restrain himself as much as possible, not to abuse this power, but...

He realized that he was starting to master the power of Garuda. The first time he used [Sitaanana], it took him six hours to recover from unconsciousness and it took him vomiting dozens of times before he completely recovered. The second time was only four hours. Every time he used it, the time to regain consciousness decreased. How short can this period shrink?

When switching to incarnation, he could use numbers like this to describe his proficiency in his powers. Of course, Reino didn't like to fall to the brink of death, but in order to slowly master such a power, there was still another reason why he didn't like using it.

His consciousness began to clear. When he woke up, Reino found himself lying on a stiff bed. It looked like a bed with pillows, but he wasn't sure why it was so soft and warm on the back of his head.

"How does it feel? Can you wake up?"

Kuroka whispered beside His ear. Just like every time until now, she remained beside his near-death self right now.

"...Where are we? And how long have I been unconscious for?"

"This is a bench in a park where we escaped, and you've only been unconscious for two and a half hours at the moment. Congratulations, it's a new record."

"This kind of new record doesn't make me happy at all."

" I know you're going to say that, but this time the time reduction is down again, and probably won't decrease anymore? — Does that make you a little relieved?"

Kuroka replied with a gentle smile. Even though she always dragged Reino around, it was surprising that when she was at her weakest, Kuroka's demeanor would also become very gentle.

"Hn, a little relieved."

It seemed he still hadn't fully awakened; Reino's vision was still a bit blurry, and he couldn't see his surroundings very well. The only thing that convinced him was Kuroka's presence beside him.

"...If possible, I really wish someone else could defeat this god. Although, it's a bit ungrateful to say this after barely being able to hold on to my life."

"Impossible. Our opponent isn't someone you can defeat through sheer luck — Of course, having luck is a necessity, but the final victory will be decided by your strength and character. You're someone qualified to defeat a god, so you should have more confidence in yourself." ."

Kuroka said this as she gracefully twisted his wrist. Using her hand as a comb, Kuroka took care of Reino's hair; His gentle and rhythmic movements made Reino feel very comfortable... "Wait, she's combing my hair?"

"You may only have part of his power now, but one day you will definitely control all of Garuda's authority because you are someone who will break through obstacles to achieve victory. Until Reino becomes a true king, I will always protect you—no matter who the enemy is, I would never let them kill you, or give it to anyone else."

Kuroka's whisper changed from her usual gentle tone to one filled with determination. It really made him happy. To be honest, Reino felt he didn't deserve to be treated this way, and he was kind of apologizing. But...

"T-thank you. I always cause trouble for you, but Kuroka still treats me like this. I'm very grateful, but also feel a little wrong..."

"You don't need to apologize to me, because I want to do this from the bottom of my heart. I just want Reino to love me honestly. Simple enough?"

"Eh, I should apologize for saying things like this all this time, but this position really isn't good!"

Reino finally woke up fully and realized the situation. There was nothing abnormal about his body; His hands and feet were just as good as before except for one thing, he was very nauseous. There were a lot of things he needed to get out of as soon as possible. Reino immediately stood up from Kuroka's thigh pillow looking for a certain corner. His face turned pale and slowly turned green, his mouth felt full. Reino wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer so he immediately spat out a jet of black blood from his mouth. all the poison and death magic that Athena injected him with.

Reino was lying on a long, dirty bench in a small park once again. Kuroka sat beside him, with her head in her lap, while her hands brushed her hair— After removing all the negative things in his body, Reino was forced by Kuroka again to rest.

"Eh, but this position is really not good!

"No way. You just came back from death's door—be obedient and rest."

As she said that, Kuroka used her unusual strength to pressure Reino, who was trying to get up, back to where he was. Kuroka's legs were as thin and graceful as a deer's, while her thighs were very soft and made her feel very comfortable. This is a really dangerous situation. It wouldn't be good if he continued to lie here without saying anything.

Reino wanted to avoid his current state, to the point of thinking about sliding off the bench. "Reino, don't you think it's rude to refuse another kind gesture so stubbornly? Especially to someone who had been saving your life?" Even though she said that, Kuroka's tone sounded very happy.

Reino was embarrassed to the point that he didn't even dare to look at Kuroka's face. All he wanted was to avoid the current situation.

"With regards to that, I am very grateful to you, and I am sorry. But, no matter how you look at this situation now, it is not good!"

"But why? Isn't this just the basics of developing our relationship? It's about time we stopped the introductions and started our intimate stage. We should spend more time growing our feelings well for each other." But... How could a man called Reino Barack have the courage to take such a step! "But we can leave this for later since we need to plan when you will get better. Reino, how do you plan to deal with Athena? After coming here, don't tell me that you still want to sit down and negotiate?"

Kuroka seemed to realize that it was too cruel to keep pushing, so she changed the subject. Finally, they could talk normally. Reino let out a breath as he replied back to Kuroka.

"You're right, but I plan to look for her first, then I'll decide on a final course of action based on the circumstances..."

"That's how it is, you plan to attack immediately, and then force the situation into a stalemate, don't you? Also, you want to get another kiss, don't you? Reino if you want, you can ask me Nyaa~ I'll be happy to kiss you wherever and as much as you want" Kuroka gave an interpretation that was completely separated from Reino's words.

"How did you come to that conclusion? When did I say that?"

"…"

Kuroka didn't respond this time. Unusually she looked at Reino in annoyance. Although this wasn't something that happened often, there were too many holes in his defenses, Reino was very hard to guard against women, so even kisses were easy to steal from him.

As a general rule, Campione's have excellent natural defenses against spells and other sorcery. Even though his opponent was a God, the fact remained that he wouldn't be burdened easily. But if the spell could somehow be performed directly on the body, then nothing could be done; If such a method was used, even mages and senjutsu users like Kuroka would manage to injure him easily. "You… What a troublesome person, made me work so hard… Nyaa~"

"Reino nyaa~" Kuroka hugged Reino tightly as if she didn't want to be separated from him. "What will I do if you go to nyaa~? Shirone doesn't want to meet me nyaa~" Kuroka didn't seem to hear Reino's request, she kept bombarding Reino with her nagging while crying.

"Sorry to worry you, I'll be careful next time okay!!" Reino stroked the back of Koroka who was hugging him before then wiping away the tears that were on his cheeks. "Let's stop, my Koroka isn't that whiny"

"Also, Who told you to kiss Her nyaa~" Kuroka twisted Reino's waist. "I haven't even been kissedNyaa~ you have to replace it twice later~"

"Okay…"

"Promise…?" Koroka looked at Reino expectantly, then stuck out her pinky finger at Reino "Little promise~~ whoever breaks it will suffer for a hundred years~" "As your wish, your majesty's" Reino stuck out his little finger while answering weakly.

"Let's go after the snake. We shouldn't be looking for Vali and the others, there will be chaos if we leave those fighting maniacs behind."

"You're just scared off guard again Nyaa~" Kuroka rolled her eyes after hearing Reino's shameless excuse. But she agreed, they would be very noisy if Kuroka and Reino left them.

…