"Thus I do declare the name of God, that the world may now offer service,
offer praise to the Eternal!"
Halfway through her incantation, an aura of despair began to surround
Erica.
In addition, the actual temperature of the beach also fell to around twenty
degrees.
Sounds unable to be heard by the common ear – cries of despair, screams
of futility, and the wailing of the hopelessness – all these sounds coalesced
into a single body, hanging in the freezing air.
All this were the effects brought forth by Erica's incantation.
"Goddess Athena, as a subordinate of Kusanagi Godou, the knight Erica
Blandelli humbly beseeches. If it pleases you, depart immediately. If thou
suffers not to heed my pleadings, I shall defend mine Lord with mine
blade!"
The air rang with her firm declaration.
Her back guarded by a magically summoned crimson banner, she faced
the goddess with Cuore di Leone in her hand.
Having heard her declaration, the goddess turned and acknowledged the
girl for the first time.
"Oh? As a stepdaughter of Prometheus —— as a follower of Hermes, thou
art willing to die for your master?"
"If necessary. To perish in a glorious manner for one's Lord, the knight
feels only pleasurable satisfaction. In choosing as enemy the most ancient
of goddesses, Athena, an understanding such as this is only natural."
'Why is Godou… always making life hard for me?!'
Erica mouthed quietly.
That Athena could completely grasp the weaknesses of the Campione;
and more specifically, Godou.
Just from their short exchange, she managed to not only realize that
unless Godou was forced into a corner, he wouldn't fight, and that he was
a goody-two-shoes, and most of all, he even got kissed!
Looking at the corpse-like Godou, sprawled on the floor, Erica's stare grew
fiercer.
When was this man ever going to learn?!
Although this wasn't something that happened very often, there were
simply too many holes in his defenses, plus he was too open to women,
and so a kiss was easily stolen from him.
As a general rule, Campiones had ridiculously high natural defenses
against spells and other incantations.
Even though his opponent was a god, the fact remained that he would not
have been easily overwhelmed. But if the spell was somehow able to be
performed directly on the body, then there was nothing to be done; if such
a method was employed, even a mage such as Erica would have easily
succeeded.
"You're really such a troublesome fellow, making me work so hard…"
While continuously muttering complaints, Erica formed her spell into an
arrow, which shot towards Athena.
If her opponent were a human, that strike alone would have been enough
to finish him.
Even if it was an extremely accomplished mage, it would have left him
unable to stand.
Her verses of despair were incantations of death, which chilled the hearts
of her enemies, yet Athena merely shook her head.
With a goddess as her foe, a weak attack like that would obviously have no
effect at all.
Erica lightly touched Cuore di Leone, then chanted:
"O lion of steel, thou art the mind and body of sorrow and fury. Thou art the
harbringer of grief to gods and spirits, one who will bathe in the blood of
your foes— Appear before me, the spear of Longinus ——!"
Gathering together the already coalescing incantations, she directed them
to the blade of her favorite weapon.
Erica raised Cuore di Leone, now charged with power, and dashed
forward.
In a flash, she crossed the gap between herself and Athena, then thrust
with her sword.
As though merely amused, the goddess simply leaned to the side, and so
evaded the sword thrust. Erica, of course, was not impressed by this, but…
She didn't end her move there.
Face, skull, left shoulder, thighs, abdomen, chest, throat, and finally, her
right wrist.
Erica set those parts of the body as her target and kept up her attacks.
Without a trace of hesitation, like a bolt of lightning or the gust of wind, she
continued to press Athena.
Each time Erica's blade neared the goddess, she would evade the strike.
However, facing Erica's unpredictable and multi-directional style of combat,
Athena finally gave up on dodging, and used the back of her hand to stop
the final swing at her wrist.
Under normal circumstances, something like that would have left her with
half a hand, but the goddess's hand was as strong as steel, and warded off
the blow.
Having succeeded, Athena glanced at her hand; then her expression
suddenly changed. She seemed… excited.
"—— I see, as expected of one who dared challenge me— certainly, thou
doth possess some ability."
On the hand which just blocked Cuore di Leone, a thin red line had
appeared.
From that fresh cut, blood was trickling out.
It was a sword wound.
It was a simple fact that human weapons were completely incapable of
harming a deity, let alone bother them. Forget swords, neither gunpowder
weaponry and explosives, nor even chemical or biological weapons were
able to do any damage.
On what was a supposedly immortal body, somehow a fresh wound had
appeared.
While smiling and gazing at the blood dripping from her hand, Athena
spoke.
"How rare. One had long forgotten her previous instance of injury from a
mortal."
"My sword is currently infused with a spell on the same lethality level as
the holy spear Longinus, with a power capable of extinguishing the Son of
God or any wicked demon or deity. Even you, Athena, wouldn't escape
unharmed if you were struck by this sword."
Whilst lightly rattling her Cuore di Leone, Erica flippantly spoke thus.
If her opponent showed any sign of movement, she planned on instantly
attacking; however, Athena seemed completely unconcerned.
What she did feel, was that due to the previous attack, Athena's attention
was now truly focused on her body, and the previous uncaring attitude had
disappeared.
"Truly, mortal, your words ring true. That blade is extremely lethal to one's
body, and may even be able to steal the very breath from me. Truly, one
pities your current position. If thou had not stupidly vowed loyalty and
devotion to that Campione, one wouldst have bestowed upon you a
blessing, and accepted you as one's devotee."
Even though Erica was facing her with a blade, Athena only gazed at her
with a loving and caring expression, her eyes those of a protector, as
though looking at a lovable pet, or a laboring gardener in a park.
—— What to do now?
Erica asked herself; if Godou was with her, perhaps the two of them could
do something, but since she was alone, the situation was not exactly a
rosy one.
And her opponent was a goddess in combat.
Even with a blade on par with the god-subduing spear Longinus, and her
skills in swordplay and sorcery, just how much of that would make a
difference – she was very uncertain about the outcome.
In the past, Godou, before he was a Campione, much less a mage,
managed to defeat Verethragna as a mere mortal.
But that victory should be considered a combination of many coincidences,
and a ridiculous amount of good luck. Furthermore, it was because the
very person who fought was Kusanagi Godou, that he managed to pull it
off. In addition, he had his 'secret weapon', the [Secret Tome of
Prometheus], which no longer existed in the mortal world.
It looked like escape was the only option.
'Right now, the most important thing is to evade the deathblow she will
send my way.'
"Saint George! By thine holy title, bestow upon me the dragon slaying
strength!"
Erica loudly proclaimed thus.
Even if she was planning to escape, there was no way she would just let
her opponent off like that.
Even when retreating, she must do so with awesome presence and grace
—— that was Erica's knightly code.
Cuore di Leone's form began to change.
From a thin rapier, it transformed into a two meter long spear.
Erica superbly wielded the heavy spear, and struck with speed three times.
How would Athena respond? Would she retreat, evade it, or counter and
advance?
—— She retreated.
The goddess leaped back with agility, far exceeding the striking range of
the spear.
Seeing Athena's response, Erica let a brilliant smile show; for those who
knew her, it was a smile that showed that she believed her ploy would
succeed.
Advancing to combat a retreating enemy was the most effective means of
employing her style of combat, which focused on devastating speed.
"O Copper Red Cross, rend apart the armor of the dragon, rip out its
organs! O my departed forebears, knights who lie now in eternal rest, I
beseech you— bestow upon me thy outstanding military service!"
Finishing her incantations, Erica flung out the spear she held.
Originally an attack meant to be used against those that were even further
away; these petty details were not something she would worry about now.
The spear, flying from her hand, hurled like a silver-hued comet towards
Athena's heart.
—— This method of ranged javelin combat was particularly favored by the
[1]Etruscans .
Eventually, the Romans learned this method of warfare from them, and
during the Middle Ages, the Knights of the Round table raised it up to yet
[2]another notch . However, facing this attack, Athena merely smashed it
aside with her fist.
The strange thing was, the spear that should have lain on the sand,
somehow savagely continued to fly towards the goddess.
"...Oh?"
The silver spear had become a silver lion.
Cuore di Leone had, in the blink of an eye, changed its form and jumped
up while riding the force of the blow. Athena gazed at the teeth of the
nearby lion while showing an admiring smile.
"Really, you do quite amaze one ——"
Athena evaded the lion's leap, and quickly struck with the side of her palm.
Less than half the size of Cuore di Leone, she nevertheless attacked it
anyway, hacking at the natural lines of the head, body and shoulder,
turning it into a pile of animal parts.
What really shocked Athena came immediately after this.
"Cuore di Leone! Having received the blessings of both Holy Spirit and
saint, complete thy work with an indestructible body!"
Erica chanted the final line of the incantation, instructing her faithful blade
with a new objective.
...The now fragmented Cuore di Leone changed form again, each part
shifting to the shape of a lion. Athena now found herself surrounded by
seven lions.
"Ahahaha, you really know how to waste my time!"
Having heard Athena's strident laughter, Erica whistled, and one of the
surrounding lions bounded over to her side.
—— with this, she didn't need to use any more tactics.
Erica quickly picked up Godou, then jumped onto the lion's back.
While her opponent was surrounded by six lions, as long as she did her
best to escape without looking back – Even if the opponent was Athena,
facing a dueling ground charged with a despairing incantation, and a
Cuore di Leone blessed by God, there was no way she could easily deal
with them and then still catch up with them… at least, she hoped.
Erica sincerely prayed that her enemy would not come running, while
encouraging the lion to hurry.
In front of her, Godou was lying on the lion's back in deep sleep. Of
course, there was no way he would just die like this. No matter how
ridiculously unfair the circumstances, he was a man who would always find
the means and path to victory; there was no way he would die so easily.
She placed her hand on Godou's chest, confirming his warmth and his
pulse.
Having received the encouragement she was looking for, Erica let out a
pleased, knowing smile.
Part 2
This so called near-death experience really was extremely discomforting.
Godou, who had yet to fully awake, thought in his foggy mind.
The eighth incarnation, the [Ram], offered miraculous powers of recovery.
Regardless of how critical his body's condition was, its divine power would
always bring a full recovery.
While Verethragna was a god of victory, he was also a defender of
kingship.
Among the ten forms, the [Ram] had the deepest relationship with
kingship. In ancient times when herding could be equated with wealth, the
sheep, able to grow quickly and reproduce with abundance, was a symbol
of vitality and prosperity.
Fertile, productive, rich.
The power to demonstrate vitality was a perfect representation of the
sheep that exhibited these traits.
But if he was killed instantly, then this ability would become useless...
considering this, he couldn't help but break out in cold sweat every time he
woke up from unconsciousness, since he must consciously use this ability
before dying for it to work.
To make it even more dangerous, this ability was only useable when he
was on the brink of death.
Godou personally experienced before the inability to use this power to heal
conventional serious injuries.
Of course, even with such harsh restrictions, it was still an astounding
ability.
Godslayers could seize the abilities of the god they killed.
A divine power acquired this way was called an [Authority].
This meant that the more gods one killed, the more powerful a godslayer
becomes.
Godou had only defeated one god so far — Verethragna, but it had been
said that many godslayers were monsters holding multiple [Authorities].
— Born to this world to fight the gods, warriors who represented mankind.
Erica once described godslayers as this: they are warriors, kings,
monsters, but at the same time also people; they were existences that
went beyond common sense.
Godslayers were born from neither innate ability, nor effort, and definitely
not blood or destiny.
Only victory could give birth to a godslayer.
Even if one had innate talent, even if one worked harder than anyone in
the world, without victory, one could never become a godslayer.
That was way too strict, Godou thought.
His own victory over Verethragna had entirely depended on a series of
unbelievably lucky events.
Forget normal people, even special people like prodigies or legendary
masters would never be able to defeat a god. The difference in power was
simply too great, great enough to make any comparison between the two
completely meaningless.
Only after a series of miraculous occurrences was it possible for man to
defeat god.
Yet a chain of unbelievable coincidences could give birth to a godslayer,
granting them more power than any man could ever have.
...Even Godou himself thought this wasn't such a good idea.
Only those born as gods or those reborn as godslayers could oppose one
another, that was simply beyond all common sense.
For such a thing to be achievable only through luck, that definitely wasn't a
good thing. This kind of power should never be given to a single man, so
Godou hoped to restrain himself as much as possible, not to abuse this
power, but...
He realized he was starting to gain control over Verethragna's powers.
The first time he used the [Ram], it took him six hours to recover from
unconsciousness. The second time it was only four hours. Every time he
used it, the time to regain consciousness decreased.
How short can this period shrink?
When he switched to an incarnation, he could use numbers like these to
describe his proficiency with the power. Of course, Godou didn't like falling
to the brink of death, but to slowly gain control of such powers was yet
another reason why he didn't like using them.
His consciousness began to clear.
As he woke up, Godou found himself lying on a stiff bed.
Seemed like the bed came with pillows, but he wasn't sure why it was so
soft and warm behind his head.
"How does it feel? Can you get up?"
Erica whispered beside his ear.
Just like every time up until now, she had stayed beside his near-dead self
this time as well.
"...Where are we? And, how long was I gone?"
"This is a bench in some park we escaped to, and you were only
unconscious for two and a half hours this time. Congratulations, it's a new
record."
"This kind of new record doesn't make me happy at all. I rather have the
time increase."
"Knew you would say that, but this time the time reduction dropped again,
and probably wouldn't decrease anymore? — Does that make you a little
more relieved?"
Erica answered with a gentle smile.
Even though she always dragged Godou about everywhere, it was
surprising that when he was at his weakest, Erica's attitude would also
become very gentle.
"Hn, a little relieved."
It seemed like he still hasn't awakened fully; Godou's eyesight was still
somewhat blurry, and he couldn't see the surroundings very well.
The only thing that reassured him was Erica's presence beside him.
"...If possible, I really wish someone else could defeat this god. Even
though, it's rather ungrateful for me to say this after just barely managing to
keep my life."
"That's impossible. Our opponent isn't someone you can defeat through
sheer luck— Of course, having good luck is a necessity, but final victory
will be decided by your strengths and character. You're someone qualified
to defeat the gods, so you should have some more confidence in yourself."
Erica said this as she gracefully twirled her wrist.
Using her hands as a comb, Erica was grooming Godou's hair; her gentle,
rhythmic movements made Godou feel extremely comfortable... 'Wait,
she's combing my hair?'
"You may only have a portion of the power now, but one day you will
definitely control all of Verethragna's authorities, because you're someone
who will break through any obstacle to achieve victory. Until Godou
becomes a true king, I will always protect you— no matter who the enemy
is, I will never allow them to kill you, or hand you to anyone else."
Erica's whispers changed from her usual gentle tone to one filled with
determination.
It truly made him happy.
To be honest, Godou felt like he didn't deserve this treatment, and he sort
of wanted to apologize. But...
"T-Thank you. I always cause troubles for Erica, but Erica still treats me
like this. I'm really thankful, but also feel a little bad..."
"You don't need to apologize to me, since it's me who wanted to do this
from the bottom of my heart. I only want Godou to love me honestly.
Simple enough?"
"Eh, I have to apologize for saying something like this during such a time,
but this position really isn't good!"
At this moment, Godou finally awoke fully and realized his situation.
There was nothing abnormal about his body; his hands and feet were as
good as ever.
He was lying on a long, dirty bench in a small park. Erica sat beside him,
with his head on her lap, while her hand combed through his hair—
"No way. You've just returned from death's door— be obedient and rest."
As she said that, Erica used her unusual strength to press Godou, who
was attempting to get up, back down to where he was.
Erica's legs were as thin and elegant as a deer's, while her thighs were
particularly soft and made him feel very comfortable.
This really was a dangerous situation.
It wouldn't be good if he kept laying here like this without saying anything.
Godou wanted to escape his current circumstances, to the point of thinking
about rolling off the bench.
"Godou, don't you think it's impolite to refuse the good gestures of another
so stubbornly? Especially after saving your life?"
Even though she said that, Erica's tone sounded extremely happy.
Godou was embarrassed to the point that he didn't even dare look at
Erica's face. All he wanted was to escape the current situation.
"Regarding that, I'm really grateful towards you, and I apologize. But, no
matter how you look at this situation right now, it isn't good!"
"But why? Isn't this just the basics of developing our relationship? It's about
time we stopped the introductions and started our skinship stage. We
should spend more time to properly foster our feelings for one another."
Stop saying such selfish words.
How could the man named Kusanagi Godou have the courage to take
such a step!
"But we can leave this for later, since we need to plan for when you get
better. Godou, how do you plan to deal with Athena? After reaching this
point, don't tell me you still want to sit down and negotiate?"
Erica seemed to realize that it was too cruel to keep pushing, so she
changed the topic.
Finally they could talk normally. Godou let out his breath as he replied to
Erica.
"You're right, but I plan to go find her first, then I'll decide on the final
course of action based on the circumstances..."
"That's to say, you plan to attack immediately, and then force the situation
into a standoff, right?"
Erica gave an interpretation that was completely off from Godou's words.
"How did you arrive at that conclusion? When did I say it like that?"
"Because it ends up like that every time, so in the current situation, I'd
suggest we start preparing [Sword]— you know what the consequences of
being ill-prepared against an opponent like Athena will be like, right?"
"...Right, we need to prepare for the worst after all."
Godou began to think.
Since he had let Athena off, she could have retrieved the Gorgonieon at
any time. He needed foolproof preparations to face an even more powerful
Athena.
Without sufficient power at hand, even negotiations wouldn't go anywhere.
This was the core of the problem that Erica pointed out directly.
"Since that's the case, how are you going to ask for my aid? Come on, say
it already."
Erica looked smug.
Even though she was fully aware of what it took, she was intentionally
making Godou beg her. What a cruel woman.
"...Fine, I take back what I just said. Please teach me everything you
know about Athena. I must prepare myself to fight that goddess."
Without the help of this person before him, Godou had no chance in a fight
against Athena.
As he thought of this, he lowered his head to beg Erica.
"Very good, now my answer is decided."
Erica left the long bench and knelt down before Godou's feet.
With a joyous grin, she respectfully said:
"My liege, I shall do as you wish. You are the master of my sword, and the
king of us mages. So long as you wish it, I shall grant you the key to
victory."
Every once in a while, Erica would take this kind of respectful attitude.
Godou felt uncomfortable, so he pulled her back up.
"I told you, don't say it like that...I want Erica to be her usual self."
"Really? Then let's do it like usual. Godou, sit over here, we'll start now."
Godou was suddenly pushed back down by Erica to sit on the bench.
Realizing the signs of danger, Godou started panicking.
Were they really going to do this?
"When I said please teach me, I meant telling me using your mouth, please
don't use any strange spells or ritualistic items."
"How long do you think it would take me to tell you? Athena is descended
from the most ancient goddesses, so there are countless pieces of history
and mythology surrounding her. No way am I going to talk about all of
them, way too troublesome."
Erica moved closer to Godou as she said this.
Since she quickly sealed Godou's mouth with her lips, he could no longer
continue his resistance.
...After a long kiss, Erica briefly parted her lips and said:
"Hehe, I'm really happy right now, since Godou had been so cold to me
recently. You had kept me at such an obvious distance, yet you had
secretly met up with that strange woman or being forced into a kiss with
Athena, so I had been really unhappy."
Although she said she was unhappy, her tone was sweet.
Their faces were extremely close, almost to the point of their foreheads
touching one another.
"I-I wasn't being secretive, and the case with Athena was a completely
unexpected accident. But seriously, I still don't think this is a good idea. We
should use a more complete, more permanent method than this!"
"What could be better than meeting the lips of your lover. Besides, the one
who took my first kiss was Godou, and you've done so again several times
since then. After all that, why do you still mind it?"
"But that was all done to fight the gods! It wasn't like that kind of love—"
Godou's mouth was blocked again before he could finish.
This time even the tongue stuck in.
—Was it really necessary to go this far!?
He couldn't open his mouth even if he wanted to ask; it was such an
annoying situation. For a high school boy to be treated this way and still
arouse no desire, it could only be that kind of extremely abnormal guy.
Godou struggled to escape the honey trap before him.
But he just couldn't get away.
Their wrist strengths were simply far too different; how could this woman
be so strong?
"Let's start with Athena's birth, such as who was Athena's mother? Then
there's the relationship between Athena and Medusa."
Erica spoke gently in between her soft kisses with Godou.
[3]"In Greek Mythology, Athena's mother was Metis . She was Zeus' first
wife, as well as the goddess of wisdom, but their history wasn't a good
one. According to one legend, Zeus raped Metis by transforming into a fly,
which caused her to conceive Athena."
Serpent.
A tail appeared within his mental imagery, and formed into the shadow of a
complete snake. It was followed by a cow, and then wings — which meant
the shadows of birds coming by.
"To Zeus, Metis was merely an object of his desire. The only reason he
took her as wife was to maintain his image by rewriting the myth. After
[4]finding out about Metis' pregnancy, Gaia and Uranus predicted that if
she gave birth to a boy, then he would be even more powerful than Zeus
himself."
Godslayers had powerful resistances against magic.
That wasn't only effective against enemies, but also affected harmless and
beneficial spells.
Even spells from his companions would still bounce off a godslayer, unless
the magic was directly inserted into his body like what Athena did.
What Erica used right now was her magic of endowing her knowledge
upon another.
Every history that was related to Athena.
The goal was to quickly teach Godou all of the mythology and divine traits
related to Athena.
"Fearing the unborn child, he swallowed both Metis and her child, hoping
to destroy both mother and child while absorbing Metis' wisdom for his own
use. But the child Metis was pregnant with, Athena, ended up being born
[5]
from Zeus' head."The words that came from Erica's lips transferred phenomenal amounts of
knowledge into Godou's mind.
The tenth incarnation of Verethragna, the [Warrior], was said to own a
golden sword.
And this process was indispensable for forging that sword.
Only after receiving sufficient knowledge about the opposing god could
Kusanagi Godou change his form to [Warrior].
In other words, Athena is a goddess born from the death of her mother.
This is an extremely important detail— in Greece, 'Metis' also means
'Wisdom', but it's also the origin of 'Medusa'.
Metis and Medusa.
These two words both contained the same meaning, and they were also
the names of goddesses with deep connections to Athena.
The trinity goddess, a single body formed from Metis, Medusa, and
Athena.
Godou suddenly realized the meaning within.
It was all thanks to the knowledge that Erica had transferred using her lips
and tongue, her sweet breath and saliva, that the true face of Athena had
finally been unlocked.
Erica's tongue squiggled flirtatiously to find the location of Godou's tongue.
The enormous knowledge that filled him and his pleasant sensations raced
through Godou's mind.
He should let things fall naturally into place like this.
Godou's consciousness was losing itself within the captivating and
powerful emotions.
While Erica seemed to have read Godou's thoughts as she revealed a light
smile.
"How is it? You still want to stop using this method and return to a more
normal method of teaching?— I rather like it this way. Which one does
Godou want to use? Should we continue like this, or return to some boring
teaching method?"
Before realizing it, their lips had parted from one another, and even their
link had weakened.
Erica relaxed her arm.
Normally, Godou would have requested for her to stop long ago. But after
going this far to just stop now would be very hard. However this situation
still wasn't very good...
Erica's expression was full of joy as she stared at Godou's distress.
This devil's smile was far too alluring and hard to resist. Just as his
resistance thinned and his body lost all strength...
Godou realized.
In the corner of his sight, a blushing, flustered lady stood nearby.
"Anna-san? Don't tell me Anna-san, you were there... watching the entire
time?"
"I had forgotten. Anna, when did you return?"
Godou and Erica turned to look in the same direction.
Anna had been hiding behind the streetlight post, watching the pair's every
move. Just from looking at Anna, it was obvious that she had been very
interested in what they were doing and had been mesmerized.
"L-Let me just say this first, I wasn't peeking. I was only worried that two
young people might temporarily be unable to control themselves and do
something irreversible, so I had been keeping watch. Originally I was
relieved to see Erica-san let Godou-san rest on her lap, but I never thought
you two would be so daring! It was so embarrassing to watch..."
Anna hurriedly explained with a flustered face.
Godou could only see darkness through his eyes.
Could it be that she had seen his image just then without any holding
back?
"When did we meet back up with Anna?"
"When you were still asleep. After we escaped from Athena, I had
contacted her and scheduled to meet back up here. When you first woke
up, Anna had just left to buy things, so you hadn't seen her."
That seemed to be the case. After a careful look, Anna was carrying
coffee, red tea, and other drinks in her arms.
That was far too careless.
'If I had just thought about it, it would have been easy to realize that there
was a third person here, but I had been...' — the embarrassed Godou
wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it.
"Well, if you two don't mind, please continue. You don't need to mind me;
just pretend I'm not here."
"Of course. Since Anna already says that, then let's hurry back—"
"There's nothing to hurry back to, and we don't need to continue! ...I plan
to return to Tokyo, so I need to bother Anna-san to drive the car. Erica you
can use 'the normal way' to teach me the rest."
Godou depressingly gave his orders.
Could he really defeat Athena like this? He felt really uncertain.