Chapter 25: The Devil of Italy
As a God slayer, Salvatore Doni doesn't have a very good reputation.
The "not very good" here isn't meant in the usual sense, because God slayers never had a good reputation to begin with.
But when it comes to this Italian devil, no one doubts that this guy's brain is completely broken.
This is a painful matter for the Italian magic world, which is the center of the Western magical society.
So many people, yet a fool was the one who slew a god…..
Thoughts like that definitely exist.
But even if he's a fool, there's no doubt that he's a Devil King. Even if it seems utterly ridiculous, this must be acknowledged.
In this world, Devil Kings never lack followers. In fact, the idea that any place belongs specifically to a certain Devil King doesn't exist—wherever they go becomes their domain, and the local powers will serve them.
Even the prestigious magical families like Italy's Seven Sisters, or institutions like Japan's History Compilation Committee.
Even the self-proclaimed super edgy camp that aims to correct the world through pure martial arts—"Yomi"—is no exception. Within this organization, the faction called the "Weapons Group" serves the Italian King of Swords.
To be accurate, the Yomi Weapons Group.
Hikigaya Hachiman was not the first God slayer of this generation to come from a martial background. There was one before him.
That was the King of Swords—Salvatore Doni.
Just by hearing the name, one can tell—this guy is especially specialized in swordsmanship.
For the Weapons Group, this is an irresistible temptation, especially when they learned that Salvatore Doni was a pure swordsman before becoming a God slayer.
If they wanted to correct the world through martial arts, could there be a better ally than a God slayer from the same martial path?
Unfortunately, it was useless. It's not just that the King of Swords wasn't interested in them—it's more like his thought process is so bizarre that no one could understand him. The leader of the Weapons Group, Ōganosuke Yogi, had no idea how to communicate with this guy. So even though they had long offered their loyalty, whether the King of Swords had received it or not—the deliveryman himself wasn't sure…
So expecting help from the King of Swords was a fantasy. Over the years, they had never received a single proactive message from him.
So when a few days ago, they suddenly received an order from the King of Swords—even though the order largely involved provoking another Godslayer—the Eight Shining Executioner Blades were ecstatic.
From the bottom of their hearts, they really hoped that Salvatore Doni and Hikigaya Hachiman would fight. In their eyes, it was the perfect battle to determine whether the Weapon Faction or the Unarmed Faction was superior.
Unlike Voban, who actually flew on a commercial airline, the Eight Shining Executioner Blades didn't want to miss this rare opportunity, so they went out of their way to arrange a private jet and brought Salvatore Doni to their base in Japan.
Salvatore Doni looked like a cheerful, ordinary young man—a handsome guy in a plaid shirt, jeans, and sneakers. From appearance alone, he had none of the majesty people imagined in a Devil King. Instead, he looked like one of those flashy guys who'd walk down the street chatting up girls.
But he was indeed one of the seven Devil Kings—a mighty being feared by all the magicians in the world. His magical sword had already slain more than one god.
It wasn't Doni's first time seeking out and fighting fellow God slayers.
For example, It had taken quite a while for him to find the leader of China's sects back then.
That martial queen, who still maintained her youthful beauty like a sixteen-year-old girl, was undoubtedly the world's number one in martial arts. In that battle, Doni lost as a martial artist.
Yet that made him happy—because the Sect Leader proved what he had always sought: even as a God slayer, martial arts could continue to grow stronger—strong enough to rival divine powers.
Salvatore Doni had studied under a master of European knight swordsmanship, the strongest swordsman in Europe at the time—Saint Raphael, who held the title of "Holy Grail Knight." Before becoming a God slayer, he had honed his sword to even greater sharpness under this master.
Shortly after becoming a God slayer, he challenged his former master as a swordsman, only to be disappointed—he realized that this no longer helped him sharpen his sword skills.
That was when he received the advice: "If you want to refine your swordsmanship further, you need to fight enemies of equal stature."
From then on, he fell in love with fighting his own kind. He had no desire to collect divine powers—he only wanted to hone his swordsmanship without stopping until death. But even for a God slayer, it was not easy to find battles with his peers, since they were all elusive—just like him.
"My dear kin—is he on this land?" Doni asked with interest as he toured the various training facilities at the base.
Eight people accompanied him. These eight were the leaders of the Darkness Weapons Group—the Eight Shining Executioner Blades.
"Yes, Lord Salvatore," answered an elderly man.
The old man had a tall and imposing build, clearly a person of great strength. But before Doni, he was very respectful.
His name was Ōganosuke Yogi, the leader of the Eight Shining Executioner Blades and one of the "Two Heavens Yama Kings," a position equivalent to the "Shadow" of the Unarmed Faction.
After formally interacting with Doni, this man—possibly the world's strongest martial artist of the Weapons Faction—concluded that Salvatore Doni was absolutely not the fool that Italian magicians thought he was.
No fool could always interrupt conversations at just the right moment with jokes that threw others off track, making them unable to continue.
Someone capable of honing swordsmanship to this level couldn't possibly be a fool.
So he decided to take it slow.
Handle this matter first—expecting help without doing anything really was too far-fetched.
"Lord Salvatore, my subordinates have already located Hikigaya Hachiman's residence. Would you like us to invite him on your behalf?"
"No need~ My fellow kin all have bad tempers, you know. They're not like me," Doni said.
He raised his hand and gently touched the sword bag he was holding. This was his weapon—a high-quality replica that had been gifted to him in a small town before his duel with his teacher. It was modeled after a medieval knight's sword and now had a reputation no less than any famous magical sword in history.
"Understood. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to give orders."
Seeing Doni's gesture, Ōganosuke Yogi knew that it was time for them to disappear. As a fellow weapon-wielding martial artist, he completely understood what kind of state this expression and movement signified.
He exchanged a glance with the others and quietly left.