After leaving the world of Re:Zero, Rowan pushed open an air door and arrived in a new world.
Interestingly enough, this time he had finally not been dumped into a forest.
Instead, he appeared on the rooftop of a building.
Looking into the distance, he saw rows of buildings filled with exotic architectural styles rising from the ground. Pedestrians crowded the streets below, while cars flowed endlessly along the roads.
It was clearly a modern world.
Seeing this, Rowan could not help clicking his tongue.
After traveling through so many worlds, he had finally encountered another modern one.
The only question was—
where exactly was he?
Judging by the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners everywhere on the streets, this was obviously somewhere overseas.
As for the exact location, he would have to investigate.
Thus, Rowan activated Clairvoyance Magic and swept his gaze across the surroundings, taking the entire city into view.
Only then did he discover that he was not on a continent at all.
He was on an island.
The island was surrounded on all sides by clear blue seawater, and the surrounding natural scenery was remarkably beautiful.
The population on the island was not small either.
After leaving the rooftop and stopping at a nearby café for a cup of coffee, Rowan soon figured out where he was.
Sardinia.
A vacation island floating in the Mediterranean Sea, located south of Italy.
The island had a population of roughly one and a half million, with more than half concentrated around its largest city, Cagliari.
Tourism was the island's largest industry.
When summer arrived, huge numbers of tourists from across Europe poured onto the island for vacation.
The northeastern coastline in particular, with waters as beautiful as emeralds, was famous as a resort destination for wealthy elites and aristocrats.
Good grief.
So this was Sardinia.
Rowan suddenly understood.
And whenever Sardinia was mentioned, there was one anime Rowan could not help thinking about.
Campione!
After all, the story of Campione! began on Sardinia.
If it had not been for that anime, Rowan might never even have known that a place called Sardinia existed.
He had not expected to arrive on this island immediately after entering a new world.
Considering that every time Rowan descended into another world, he tended to appear near one of its heroines, he strongly suspected that he had entered the world of Campione!
To verify his guess, Rowan activated Clairvoyance Magic once again and surveyed the surroundings.
Before long, he spotted a boy by the sea.
He looked around fourteen or fifteen years old.
His black hair reached his shoulders, his skin was ivory-colored, and most importantly—
he was extraordinarily handsome.
The instant Rowan saw him, he knew for certain that this really was the world of Campione!
Because the boy was none other than a Heretic God who had broken free from mythology.
The War God of the East—
Verethragna.
The moment Rowan "saw" Verethragna, the Eastern War God also sensed Rowan's gaze and turned toward his location.
In the next instant, Rowan clearly felt their gazes collide across the distance.
Verethragna even gave Rowan a brilliant smile.
As though greeting him.
Rowan nodded in return, then withdrew his gaze and continued drinking his coffee while admiring the scenery along the street.
It was not because Rowan feared him.
He simply did not particularly enjoy fighting.
He was afraid that if he stared at Verethragna for even a moment longer, the battle-crazed god would latch onto him.
If Rowan remembered correctly, the entire reason Verethragna had broken free from mythology and descended into the mortal world as a Heretic God was because he wanted to experience defeat.
Simply put—
he was itching for a beating.
Then he encountered another god.
Mekal.
The moment those two gods met, it was like Mars crashing into Earth.
They immediately fought a massive battle that caused considerable destruction across Sardinia.
The result was mutual injury.
Mekal retreated into a ruined temple to recover.
As for Verethragna, all ten of his incarnations were scattered after being shattered, roaming across the island and causing numerous disasters.
Verethragna himself also lost all his memories.
He even forgot his own name and wandered aimlessly along the seaside.
One only had to look at his filthy clothes to see how miserable his situation had become.
A god reduced to such a sorry state was rather rare.
And yet, even after losing everything, the bastard still pursued defeat and wanted someone to beat him senseless.
When he met the protagonist, Godou Kusanagi, he had even challenged him to a baseball match.
In other words—
his competitive spirit had been carved into his very bones.
Rowan absolutely did not want to be pestered by a god like that and have his peaceful days ruined.
Wasn't it better to spend his time traveling, drinking coffee, and enjoying good food?
Why would he want to fight a god?
It was not as though Rowan had nothing better to do.
After finishing his coffee, Rowan asked the waiter where he could find the most authentic pizza on Sardinia.
Since he had already come to Italy, he naturally had to sample the local cuisine.
The moment the waiter heard that Rowan wanted pizza, a bright smile appeared on his face.
Not only did he draw Rowan a crude map showing the route, but he even gave him the phone number of the pizza restaurant.
"Thanks."
Rowan took out a gold ring and tossed it to the waiter.
"I didn't bring any cash. Consider this payment for the coffee and your tip."
"You're very welcome."
The waiter's smile practically froze on his face.
This was the first time he had ever seen someone pay with gold.
What a rich bastard.
After leaving the café, Rowan leisurely wandered through the streets toward the pizza restaurant.
But at that moment—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
A series of violent explosions suddenly erupted.
Then Rowan saw an enormous boar more than twenty meters long and weighing dozens of tons suddenly appear and begin rampaging through the city.
It charged forward like a bulldozer, effortlessly tearing apart the sturdy pavement beneath its feet.
The surrounding buildings seemed like castles built from sand before the enormous beast.
The slightest collision reduced them to rubble.
Seeing the giant boar, Rowan became completely speechless.
Uh…
One look was enough to tell him that this thing was one of Verethragna's incarnations.
As the Persian God of War, Verethragna possessed ten incarnations—
the Gale, the Bull, the White Stallion, the Camel, the Boar, the Youth, the Phoenix, the Ram, the Goat, and the Human Warrior wielding the Golden Sword.
The Boar was a divine beast representing destruction.
According to legend, the sharp-clawed boar could smash anything apart with a single strike.
It was the form Verethragna assumed to annihilate the enemies of the chief god Mithra.
Its roar transformed into ultrasonic waves capable of destroying surrounding buildings.
When it ran across the ground, it could trigger earthquakes measuring magnitude five.
And until its target had been reduced to dust—
it would never stop destroying.
But in the original story, shouldn't this thing have appeared somewhere near Verethragna?
Why had it suddenly shown up in such a crowded urban area?
Although Rowan could not understand the reason, he knew one thing very clearly.
If no one stopped this divine beast, the entire district would be completely destroyed.
That naturally included the pizza restaurant Rowan had planned to visit.
After all—
the restaurant was nearby.
"What a pain."
Rowan looked at the rampaging boar tearing through the street and suddenly snapped his fingers.
A magical formation appeared beneath the beast's feet.
Whoosh!
The next second, the enormous boar vanished into thin air.
Teleportation Magic.
Simple and effective.
"Would you mind telling me where you sent that boar?"
Just as Rowan dealt with the beast, an androgynous voice suddenly sounded from his left.
Rowan turned his head.
And saw a young boy.
Verethragna.
Mystery solved.
He had been wondering why the Boar incarnation had suddenly appeared in this area.
So Verethragna himself had come here.
"What are you doing here?"
Rowan asked irritably.
He had a strong feeling that this god had come with troublesome intentions.
Verethragna smiled faintly.
"Earlier, I sensed someone of my kind looking at me."
"I became curious and came to investigate."
"I didn't expect to witness something so interesting."
He asked curiously,
"You still haven't told me where you sent the Boar."
Rowan pointed toward the sky.
"Up there."
Verethragna raised his head.
What entered his vision was an endless expanse of brilliant blue sky, beautiful as a gemstone.
Aside from a few distant clouds—
there was nothing there.
Yet Verethragna seemed to perceive something.
He could not help praising,
"I see."
"What an impressive technique."
"How did you accomplish it?"
"Magic."
"I used magic."
Rowan began walking away as he answered.
He had absolutely no desire to become involved with Verethragna.
"Remarkable magic indeed."
Verethragna sighed in admiration.
At the same time, he could clearly sense that Rowan did not particularly welcome his presence.
Apparently—
the other man found him annoying.
But Verethragna did not care.
Instead, his gaze toward Rowan became increasingly eager.
"What do you want?"
Rowan felt a chill from the way the god was staring at him.
This bastard could not seriously be thinking of fighting him, could he?
But at that moment, Verethragna seemed to remember something.
He sighed.
"Now is not the right time."
He had not yet recovered his memories.
Nor had he returned to his full strength.
Fighting Rowan in his current condition would simply be asking to humiliate himself.
He wanted to experience defeat.
He wanted someone to beat him thoroughly.
But that did not mean he intended to smash himself against a rock like an egg.
"Next time."
Verethragna smiled.
"Once I have completely recovered, I will come find you again."
"When that time comes, I hope you and I can have a magnificent battle."
"I refuse."
Rowan rejected him immediately.
Verethragna froze.
"I, Rowan, enjoy nothing more than saying no to people who think everything should go their way."
Rowan spoke without hesitation.
"I have no interest in fighting you."
"Go find Mekal instead. That guy is still waiting for you."
"Mekal?"
Verethragna repeated the name.
"It sounds familiar, but I cannot remember it right now."
Still—
that did not matter.
When the time came, he would naturally remember.
Verethragna had complete confidence in that.
"Excuse me, gentlemen. I apologize for interrupting you so suddenly, but there is something I would like to ask."
At that moment—
a woman's voice suddenly sounded.