Chapter 1: Campione
After leaving the world of Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World, Kazuma Yumesaki pushed through his spatial gateway and arrived in a completely new world.
What was interesting was that his arrival point this time around was finally not some deserted wilderness.
Instead, he found himself standing on the rooftop of a building.
Gazing out into the distance, exotic architectural buildings towered high into the sky, crowds of people bustled through the streets, and cars flowed past in an endless stream. This was very clearly a modern world.
Seeing this sight, Yumesaki couldn't help but click his tongue. After traveling through so many different dimensions, he had finally run into a modern setting again.
He just didn't know exactly where he was located at the moment.
But seeing foreign faces with blonde hair and blue eyes absolutely everywhere on the streets, it was glaringly obvious that this was somewhere overseas, definitely not the Far East.
As for the specific location, it would require a bit more digging.
With that in mind, Yumesaki cast his Clairvoyance Magic, scanning his surroundings and bringing the entire city into his line of sight.
It was only at this moment that he realized he wasn't on the mainland at all, but rather on an island.
All four sides of the island were surrounded by crystal-clear seawater, and the natural scenery around the area was remarkably beautiful.
However, the human population on this island was surprisingly large.
Yumesaki left the rooftop and headed down to a nearby café to grab a cup of coffee. After settling down, he finally figured out exactly where he had landed.
Sardinia.
Located at the southern tip of Italy, a famous holiday island floating right in the Mediterranean Sea.
Its population sat at around 1.5 million people, with more than half of them concentrated in the island's largest city, Cagliari.
The island's primary industry was tourism. When summer arrived, countless tourists from all over Europe would come here for vacation, particularly to the northeastern region—the stunning Emerald Coast, which was well-known as an exclusive holiday hotspot for high-class aristocrats.
Pretty neat, so it's this place.
Yumesaki came to a realization. But speaking of Sardinia, Yumesaki subconsciously recalled a specific anime.
Campione.
One had to remember that the beginning of Campione's plot took place right here in Sardinia.
If it weren't for that anime, Yumesaki would have had absolutely no idea that a place called Sardinia even existed in the world.
To think that after entering a new world this time, he would land squarely in Sardinia.
Considering the fact that every single time he arrived in a new world, he always seemed to pop up near a main character, Yumesaki strongly suspected whether he had actually dropped right into the universe of Campione.
To verify this theory, Yumesaki cast his Clairvoyance Magic once again to scan the area.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for Yumesaki to spot a teenager hanging out by the shores of Sardinia.
The boy looked to be around fourteen or fifteen years old, with pitch-black hair cascading down to his shoulders and a complexion like ivory. Most noticeably, he possessed an incredibly handsome face.
The very moment he laid eyes on the teenager, Yumesaki knew with absolute certainty that he had indeed arrived in the world of Campione.
Because this teenager was none other than a Heretic God who had successfully broken free from his own mythology.
The God of War originating from the East.
Verethragna.
The exact moment Yumesaki observed Verethragna, the Eastern God of War also detected Yumesaki's gaze. He instantly turned his head, looking directly toward the position where Yumesaki was sitting.
In the next second, Yumesaki could distinctly feel that their gazes had locked onto each other across the distance.
Verethragna even flashed a bright, radiant smile in Yumesaki's direction.
It was as if he was casually greeting him.
Yumesaki gave a slight nod in acknowledgment and immediately pulled his gaze away, continuing to enjoy the street view while sipping his coffee.
This wasn't because Yumesaki felt afraid, but simply because he just didn't care much for fighting.
He was terrified that if he looked at Verethragna for even a second longer, he would end up being relentlessly stalked by the guy.
If Yumesaki remembered correctly, the sole reason this deity had broken away from his mythos and descended upon the human realm as a Heretic God was purely to seek defeat.
To put it bluntly, his skin was just itching for a good beating.
Eventually, he would cross paths with another god.
Melqart.
The two gods would clash against one another like a meteor slamming into the earth, engaging in an absolute battle without a single shred of hesitation, bringing immense disaster upon Sardinia.
As a result, both sides would end up heavily wounded.
Melqart would go into hiding inside a ruined temple to nurse his injuries.
As for Verethragna, his ten incarnations would be completely scattered and broken, forcing him to flee to various places, triggering a massive wave of disasters while losing every single one of his memories in the process.
He would even forget his own name, wandering aimlessly along the beaches.
This much was obvious just from the incredibly filthy clothes clinging to his body right now.
A supreme deity reduced to such a pathetic state was honestly a pretty rare sight to behold.
Yet even in this condition, the guy was still actively searching for defeat, practically begging for a hard punch to the face. When he eventually ran into the male protagonist of this world, Godou Kusanagi, he would even go as far as using a baseball match to settle a score with him.
In other words, this guy's stubborn refusal to lose was thoroughly engraved into his very bones.
Yumesaki had absolutely no desire to be stalked by a deity like that, which would completely ruin his peaceful days.
Having the free time to sightsee, drink coffee, and enjoy local delicacies was already amazing. Why on earth would he want to throw hands with a god?
Yumesaki wasn't that bored.
After finishing up his coffee, Yumesaki asked the waiter where he could find the most authentic pizza in the Sardinia area.
Since he had already come all the way to Italy, he absolutely had to try the local cuisine no matter what.
Hearing that Yumesaki wanted to eat pizza, a bright smile immediately erupted across the waiter's face. He didn't just map out a simple route for Yumesaki, but even handed over the phone number of the specific pizzeria.
"Thank you." Yumesaki then pulled out a solid gold ring and tossed it over to the waiter, "I don't happen to have any cash on me. Consider this as payment for the meal and a tip for your trouble."
"You're very welcome..." The waiter's smile completely stiffened on his face. This was the absolute first time in his life he had ever seen someone settle a café bill using pure gold.
Talk about loaded.
After stepping out of the coffee shop, Yumesaki strolled casually down the street, making his way toward the location of the pizzeria.
But right at that moment.
A tremendous, earth-shaking explosion suddenly echoed through the air.
Immediately after, Yumesaki watched as a colossal wild boar, measuring over twenty meters in length and weighing dozens of tons, abruptly materialized out of thin air. The beast charged recklessly through the city streets like a massive bulldozer, tearing through the solid concrete ground with absolute ease.
The surrounding buildings in front of this wild boar felt like nothing more than fortresses built out of loose sand, crumbling instantly the very moment they were touched.
Seeing this massive boar, Yumesaki found himself completely at a loss for words.
Oh, come on...
This wild boar was glaringly obvious as one of Verethragna's authorities.
As the Persian God of War, Verethragna possessed a total of ten forms, which were the Gale, the Bull, the White Horse, the Camel, the Boar, the Youth, the Raptor, the Ram, the Goat, and the Warrior.
The Boar was known as the Divine Beast incarnation of pure destruction. This sharp-clawed boar, according to legend, could obliterate absolutely anything relying on a single, devastating charge. It was the form Verethragna assumed for the sole purpose of crushing the enemies of the chief god, Mithra.
Its roar would transform into ultrasonic shockwaves capable of leveling the surrounding architecture, and its stampede across the earth could easily trigger a magnitude five earthquake. Before its target was reduced to absolute dust, this beast would never stop its rampage.
In the original plot, wasn't this thing supposed to appear right by Verethragna's side?
Why on earth did it suddenly spawn in the middle of a bustling urban area like this?
Even though Yumesaki found it hard to believe, he understood perfectly well that if he didn't stop this Divine Beast right now, the entire city district would be completely wiped off the map by it.
And that naturally included the pizzeria Yumesaki had been planning to visit.
Because that shop was located right around this block.
"This is honestly such a pain."
Yumesaki watched the Boar, which was oozing pure destructive power as it blindly charged down the street, and suddenly snapped his fingers.
A massive magic circle instantly manifested out of thin air directly beneath the Boar's massive hooves.
In the very next second, the giant wild boar vanished completely from the spot.
Spatial Transfer Magic.
"Could you perhaps tell me exactly where you sent that wild boar?"
Just as Yumesaki finished dealing with the Boar crisis, a perfectly gender-neutral voice suddenly drifted over from his left side.
Yumesaki turned his head to look, and spotted a teenager standing there.
Verethragna.
Well, the mystery was solved.
He had just been wondering why the Boar would suddenly pop up in a place like this. As it turned out, Verethragna had wandered over here himself.
"What are you doing here?" Yumesaki spoke with a look of pure annoyance. He always felt that this guy showed up with nothing but trouble in mind.
Verethragna offered a small smile, "I just felt the gaze of someone of my own kind looking at me, so I got incredibly curious and decided to come over for a look. I didn't expect to witness such an entertaining show."
He asked with genuine curiosity, "You still haven't told me where you moved that boar."
Yumesaki pointed a finger straight up at the sky, "Up there."
Verethragna looked up, and what filled his vision was a boundless expanse of light blue—a sky that resembled a pristine gemstone.
Aside from a few scattered clouds in the far distance, the sky was completely open and empty.
Yet, Verethragna looked as though he could clearly see something up there. He couldn't help but praise, "I see. An absolutely marvelous method. How exactly did you pull that off?"
"Magic. I just used magic."
Yumesaki began to walk away the exact same moment he spoke. He didn't want to form any sort of connection with Verethragna whatsoever.
"Truly magnificent magic." Verethragna marveled, while simultaneously sensing that he seemed to be quite disliked by Yumesaki.
It felt as though he was actively being avoided by the other party.
However, Verethragna didn't seem to mind it at all. Instead, the way his eyes locked onto Yumesaki showed a burning desire to test his skills.
"What do you think you're doing?" Yumesaki felt a sudden chill down his spine from being stared at like that. Surely this guy wasn't actually planning to start a fight with him right here, was he?
But right at that moment, Verethragna seemed to think of something. He let out a soft sigh and said, "Now is still not the right time."
He hadn't reclaimed his memories yet, nor had he fully restored himself to his absolute peak state.
Picking a fight with the man right now would be nothing short of looking for humiliation.
He wanted to experience defeat and feel a crushing blow, but that didn't mean he was stupid enough to smash an egg against a solid rock.
"Let's save it for next time." Verethragna spoke up, "Once I have completely recovered, I will come looking for you again. When that time comes, I look forward to a burning duel between the two of us."
"I refuse." Yumesaki stated with absolute bluntness, causing the expression on Verethragna's face to instantly freeze up.
"The thing I, Yumesaki, love doing most is saying 'no' to people who think they're all that."
Yumesaki spoke clearly and swiftly, "I have zero interest in fighting you. You're much better off going to find Melqart instead. That guy is still waiting for you."
"Melqart?"
Verethragna repeated the word to himself, "A familiar name, yet I can't quite recall it for the moment."
But it didn't matter. Once the time was right, he would naturally remember it all.
Verethragna possessed that exact brand of absolute confidence.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I am terribly sorry to interrupt the two of you, but there is something I would like to ask."
Suddenly, a woman's voice cut through the air.
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