Crossover: The Problematic Human of Arcadia — Shaper of Anime Worlds Chapter 223: One Kick Ends a Friendship!

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"What's wrong? Why'd you suddenly go quiet?"

Godou Kusanagi stared at the handso boy in front of him.

He'd co all the way to Sardinia alone to return a stone slab that his grandfather's friend had left behind in Japan. While asking for directions, he happened to run into this boy.

Sure, the kid spoke like so pompous old man, which was a little irritating, but with a face that adorable, Godou couldn't bring himself to feel any dislike. In fact, he found him kind of interesting.

From their short conversation, though, he'd learned sothing strange: apparently the boy had amnesia.

That was hard to believe, given the boy's appearance. He wore a dust-covered, tattered white robe that looked Middle Eastern in style, giving him the air of a refugee. Amnesia on top of that? It felt a little too much.

Now Godou was puzzled by the way the boy was staring so intently into the distance.

"Did you spot your family or sothing?"

Godou turned his head and saw four people stepping down from a car.

One was a guy about his own age. And next to him was an insanely cute silver-haired girl.

And then there was a tiny silver-haired loli, practically a divine treasure dropped from the heavens.

As for the woman beside them, who was clearly an older lady pretending to look younger—well, Godou didn't bother paying her any attention.

"Oh, so this kid likes silver-haired girls too?" Godou thought to himself. But just as the idea crossed his mind, the boy finally spoke.

"Family? No, no, no—sothing far more thrilling. A rival!"

His voice brimd with excitent, as if he were holding back the urge to cheer.

"A rival unlike any I've ever faced! Greater than Azi Dahaka, greater than the gods of Persia, greater than the king of the Semitic pantheon—an unbelievably perfect nesis!"

"Oi, are you insane?" Godou was stunned at the boy's shouting.

Before he could react, the boy turned and suddenly grabbed for his shoulder bag.

Rip!

The strap snapped clean off, and the boy yanked the bag away from him.

"???"

Godou froze for a second before exploding.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

At that mont, his grandfather's words before he left ho suddenly ca back to him: "Godou, you're traveling alone, so rember to protect yourself. Bad people don't always look like bad people."

Grandpa, I get it now! This so-called refugee was bad news from the start. He only struck up a conversation to rob !

"You bastard!"

Godou rolled up his sleeves and charged forward, ready to sock the boy in the face.

But the next thing he knew—BAM!

A heavy kick landed squarely in his stomach.

"Uwaah!"

Godou doubled over and threw up the breakfast he'd eaten on the ferry, splattering it all over the ground.

anwhile, the boy pulled a stone slab out of the bag and studied it with a glint of excitent.

"So that's it… Protheus, the thief of fire. A stolen authority. No wonder this boy drew my attention."

Godou, clutching his stomach, forced himself up enough to glare and shout, "Give that back, you damn thief!"

"No, no, no. I'm no thief. This is called honest robbery."

The boy shook his head, tossed the bag aside, and held up the slab. With a regretful sigh, he added, "I thought you might bring so fun, but compared to the diamond standing over there, you're nothing more than cheap glass."

"You son of a—!" Godou pressed himself against the ground. He wanted to get up, but the fear of another kick kept him down.

The boy sighed.

"This slab, I'll be taking. Without it, I don't stand a chance against what's coming. For the sake of victory, I'll ask you to forgive this… unpleasantness."

"Thief!" Godou roared, equal parts furious and humiliated.

But the boy had already turned his back and was walking straight toward the four newcors in the square.

Watching this little drama of betrayal and robbery unfold, Ryo chuckled as the boy approached.

"Well, well. Stealing to stack the deck in your favor? Has the undefeated war god finally gotten scared?"

"As you can see."

The boy—the war god, Verethragna—laughed boldly.

"Yes, I'm afraid."

He looked at Ryo, though his gaze wasn't focused on him directly. Instead, it was locked onto the terrifying abyss-like divinity swirling around Ryo.

"For the first ti in my life, victory rests in the hands of my enemy." Verethragna raised his voice, brimming with passion.

"I challenge you! Victory must belong to !"

Liliana stood dumbfounded.

The undefeated war god? The one who governed victory itself? The sa thief who just mugged an innocent boy in broad daylight was Verethragna?

If Ryo hadn't suppressed her spirit vision to protect her, she would've checked again just to be sure.

A god acting like a common robber—what kind of divine joke was this?

anwhile, Ryo smirked. "A mighty god challenging a weakling like ?"

Verethragna tilted his head, confused. "Seems you've got it backward. But no matter. Naless, do you accept my challenge?"

"A challenge? That sounds dangerous." Ryo was still playing up his "frail weakling" act.

"Dangerous?"

Verethragna shook the slab in his hand, still puzzled.

"Even with Protheus's stolen relic, even if my mories returned, I still can't imagine a way to defeat you. In that case, what harm is there in fighting ?"

"…Just wanted you to admit how weak you are to ." Ryo's smile grew faintly smug. "But if it's a fight you want, wait until you're whole again. Then we'll talk."

"Excellent!"

Verethragna's eyes lit up.

"In that case, I won't waste another mont. Naless, let's et at twilight, when the hour of demons arrives!"

"Whenever you want," Ryo replied casually.

Verethragna burst out laughing, then dissolved into the wind and vanished.

Athena, watching all this, finally spoke with a sharp, icy tone.

"He saw and didn't even bother with a greeting? For a war god to be so rude!"

The goddess of wisdom was seething. The Mother Earth and the Steel Gods were eternal enemies, yet to be ignored so completely—what greater insult could there be?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she beca, until at last she spat out coldly,

"My saint, tear that insolent god apart for . Crush his pride beneath your feet. In return, I grant you the victor's privilege over ~"

…aning new poses?

Ryo's expression turned… complicated. "You know, when you say it like that, it's hard to keep pretending."

Athena stuttered, then huffed irritably. "And the witch is necessary!"

Ah, so Pandora still had to be captured. Ryo shrugged, helpless.

"What a willful goddess you are."

Just then, Godou stumbled over, panting, staring up at the sky in disbelief.

"He… flew? He just flew away?"

The robber who mugged him had literally flown off. How was he supposed to deal with that?

And then, a haughty female voice rang out nearby: "You there—could I trouble you for a mont of your ti?"

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