Part 3 — Toad

And so, the war between the Arcana Kingdom and the Domino Republic came to an end. It was also safe to declare that the conflict between the old and new regimes within Domino itself was now over. Given that it had supposedly been a full-on war between two sovereign countries, it had come to an end surprisingly quickly. Of course, no one could say it had ended with little cost.

Still, the Arcana Kingdom had effectively gained all of the Eight Sacred Treasures, and had brought Domino, a country similar in size despite its depleted state, effectively under its control. No one could call it anything other than a great success, and even the birth of a superpower. With the birth of this superpower, news of its greatest assets, the aces of the Great Houses, also rang through the region.

The one that most shocked the neighboring states was, of course, the Divine Punishment, the Scarred Fool, Shouzo Kyoube, who had revealed his power to the world for the first time.

Ukyou, who had somehow acquired the Charitable Silo of Plenty, Danua, even as he lost the war, also caught the eye of his neighbors. No doubt the governments around him would continue to watch and see how he rebuilds the depleted Domino Republic.

Unfortunately for him, Saiga didn’t gain all that much renown from the war. It was an understandable result, given that all he did was take out the assassins sent to the Caputo Estate.

Now, setting aside the Thinker, Shun Ukiyo, who played no part in the conflict, we’re left with the Young Sword Apostle, Sansui Shirokuro. As the first of the aces, his name was already known, but this sequence of events also resulted in him being known specifically for the atrocity he committed in his master’s name. While he had been known as a man with sterling character, worthy of being called an apostle of the blade, he is now also well known for being excessively loyal to the spoiled princess of House Sepaeda, infamous for her arrogance, even when compared to the members of the other Great Houses.

Ordered by the spoiled princess to ‘behead them,’ Sansui went ahead and chopped off all the attackers’ heads and, almost as though to provide proof of his actions, had them gibbeted near the kingdom’s capital. It was a demonstration of what would happen to those who defied House Sepaeda. Not a message to the enemy, but to Arcana’s people. Whether or not they’d actually believe that Sansui killed all of them by beheading them on the battlefield, it was more than enough to show just how far House Sepaeda was willing to go against their enemies.

“Hehehe...looks like fun.”

At the very least, everyone understood now that the most influential members of House Sepaeda fully backed Sansui Shirokuro. His troubles thus come to an abrupt end and Sansui returns to his unchanging daily routine. The practice swings he’d done for five hundred years in the deep woods, copying his master, continue into his life in the mortal world. As the sun rises to light Douve’s estate, he’s standing outside, quietly swinging his sword.

Even the most charitable observer wouldn’t call his expression happy. While he used to receive expressions of respect or hostility, recently those have been augmented by terror, and curiosity from those seeking to catch a glimpse of something terrifying. This is all due to the gibbeting, of course. He certainly regrets having made his careless remark, but the problem probably extends back to even earlier, when he so loyally went to the trouble of beheading everything. Subjecting those corpses to such humiliation was an inhuman thing to do, according to Sansui’s values.

He knew full well that he had engaged in atrocious behavior, even if it was at the command of another, and now that his behavior was well known, he had earned a reputation as an inhuman butcher. If he hadn’t felt even a little self-hatred after all that, there would have been a serious problem with his character as a human being.

“Sigh...”

Even as his mood sinks, his practice swings remain impeccable. While the whole issue does depress him, he understands that it’s not a particularly serious problem. The issues surrounding the origin of his adopted daughter, Lain, have been almost entirely taken care of. If they were still an issue, he wouldn’t be indulging in practice swings.

Sansui is thus completely satisfied with the political solution. The important thing is that Lain is healthy and happy, and that she might have to engage in a marriage of political convenience is a minor issue. At the very least, it’s nothing compared to the fact that they’ve avoided the worst possible case of a sovereign ruler, one who owns Elixir and Dainsleif, coming after her.

That Sansui, the Apostle of the Sword, is rumored to be a ruthless individual, willing to go to inhuman extremes, is an even less important issue. It’s not like he wanted to be a holy man, or even really the Apostle of the Sword. Well, perhaps it’s not entirely unimportant. It’s one thing for Sansui to be viewed that way, after all, but it’s another thing entirely for his daughter Lain to be viewed in the same light.

“...Still not a great feeling.”

When he’s honest about it, he doesn’t like it much. Even if he did in fact behead them, it’s still unpleasant to think of having their heads lined up for display like that. Sansui himself isn’t enjoying being the target of all these rumors, even without any of it involving Lain. He can’t bring himself to blame this on Douve, who ordered the beheadings, or Lord Sepaeda, who carried out the gibbeting.

He’s thought it before several times, but focusing so intently on beheading his opponents in combat had been, in itself, a wasteful distraction, and he’d had no need to actually demonstrate that wastefulness. He should have just disposed of them cleanly. Sure, he probably would have been lectured over it, but it would have all ended there. Even Douve probably wouldn’t have punished him for killing the enemy without beheading them.

“Tsk. I should’ve known better.”

He should have been able to see this coming. After all, this is what it means to make a reputation for yourself as a swordsman in the mortal world. Since all this had come about from acting in accordance with his employer’s wishes, he just needed to accept it and move on. To let this bother him this much simply meant that he hadn’t thought it through sufficiently. Essentially, it means Sansui himself still has much to learn. Making a note of this to himself, Sansui then stops his practice swings.

“There.”

He lowers his wooden sword, but doesn’t put it back in his sash, turning his body toward a particular direction. A heartbeat later, an intense hostility washes over Sansui.

“No intention of hiding your intent, I see. It doesn’t take an Immortal to notice this amount of raw aggression channeled right at me.”

Still, Sansui shows no sign of being affected, appearing entirely calm.

“Frankly, seeing you at a distance was a disappointment. You look too plain for a man who lined up all those heads. Didn’t seem much different from the old men back home. Seems that you’re just an ordinary man.”

It’s not a front; he really isn’t bothered by it. Grasping that, the members of the group that appear in front of Sansui all smile.

“So, you’re the reaper. I thought you’d be taller.”

Standing in front of Sansui are five young women. They’re each wearing different outfits, but each set of garb is clearly intended for use in martial arts, similar to Sansui’s kimono. The common thread uniting all of them is that they’re unarmed.

“The reaper? Me, I suppose?”

“Don’t play dumb. We saw what you did.”

The young women appear to be preparing to challenge Sansui here and now. They aren’t here to schedule a duel for later, but to kick things off immediately. Though none of them have weapons, Sansui himself is hardly well armed, either, but at least he’s got a wooden sword. It’s a little underwhelming as weapons go, but it’s still more than enough to kill an opponent. In spite of that, Sansui doesn’t let down his guard.

They all have different auras, ones I’ve never felt before.

There’s a good reason he can’t let his guard down. While there are five of them, one in particular has a much more impressive aura than the rest. The other four aren’t simply small by comparison; rather, the difference is large enough that one could very well lose sight of them entirely in her shadow.

“We saw what you did with your so-called gibbeting. You did all that yourself, didn’t you? It’s no exaggeration to call you the reaper.”

The only one speaking is the one with the overwhelming aura. She’s also the one directing all that hostility in Sansui’s direction.

“Assuming it isn’t all a giant lie...”

Long silver hair that ripples despite the lack of wind... The hair leaves an overwhelmingly strong impression from this young woman just out of adolescence. Her expression is like that of a beast, one thirsty for blood.

The silver-haired woman drops down low, balling her hands into fists. Sansui answers by taking a middle stance.

“I’m not an entertaining man, but I do try to grasp what others want of me.”

He doesn’t need to read her aura to know what she wants.

“I see, I see... I’m glad to hear that. I was worried you’d launch into some lecture, like an old fossil.”

“Lectures are for after the fight, not before.”

“Hrmph... I suppose this sort of composure is to be expected from this kingdom’s greatest warrior.”

The silver-haired woman appears to be the only one who will actually face Sansui directly. The other four don’t so much as move a step, watching over the duel with expressions confident of victory.

“But will you be able to maintain that composure in the face of death?!”

The distance between Sansui and the girl is more than enough to make conversation a bit difficult.

The silver-haired woman begins running, easily covering that distance.

She’s fast... A Rare Art focused on physical enhancement, it seems.

Sansui locks eyes with the silver-haired girl just as she strikes with her hardened fist. Despite her speed, she’s clearly in control of her movements, while Sansui has already finished reading her intentions.

But that’s not all it is. Her movements are well coordinated. Much different from Saiga.

Sansui steps off to the side just before the woman dashes forward, dodging her attack. Throughout this entire process, Sansui continues his observations.

She’s not just enhancing her physical abilities, but her senses, too.

The woman doesn’t appear remotely surprised that Sansui avoided her attack. Passing by Sansui like an arrow in flight, she once again opens up distance from Sansui and turns around to face him.

“You avoided that perfectly! Hahaha, that’s what I was hoping for!”

He dodged, not from reflex, but after having read her movements completely. The silver-haired woman is laughing precisely because she understands this. Yet, even then, she’s fully confident in her victory.

It’s not just her. The four members of her retinue retain their composure as well.

“But it looks like avoiding my attacks is the best you can do. Which is why, despite knowing exactly what I was doing, you weren’t able to attack me!”

Even as the silver-haired woman confidently asserts her superiority, Sansui turns toward her wordlessly. He maintains his middle stance, showing no sign of fear or of getting lost in the intensity of the battle.

“You’re slow! Even if you can read my moves, your body won’t keep up!”

Her observations are correct. Sansui once used a thrust from his wooden sword against an attack from Saiga while the latter was enhanced by Spirit Summoning. But he understands that trying that against the woman in front of him would just result in failure. The reason is as she said. Dodging is the most he can manage.

“You’re strong! No one had ever been able to read my movements before this! But I’m much stronger than you are!”

Sansui doesn’t deny this. Instead, he stays quiet and maintains his stance.

“Having fought you, this kingdom’s strongest, I’m now sure... That I... I’m the most powerful in the world!”

The silver-haired woman lunges again. This time, instead of trying to kill him with a single blow, she intends to close the distance and make use of a series of attacks. Thus, she will take him down with a furious rush of blows that he can’t dodge, even if he knows they’re coming. That’s the tactic she chooses.

“Flash Step.”

Sansui suddenly vanishes from her line of sight. She can’t understand what’s just happened, and she isn’t the only one. The other four girls watching the fight have also lost sight of Sansui.

“Ki Wave.”

Sansui appears right next to the silver-haired woman, grabbing her head with his left and putting her down with a Ki Wave. Still carrying his unused wooden sword, he defeats her with one hand.

“Ah...”

Losing consciousness, the silver-haired woman collapses to the ground before she realizes what’s happened.

“I can see why you were so confident.”

Looking down at her, Sansui offers his evaluation.

“You’re quite talented, I admit, but you simply lack the training to beat me,” he quietly informs his unhearing opponent.

But of course, the other four can hear what he’s saying. Even if they can’t understand the meaning of his words, they know that Sansui is still standing, while the girl they put their faith in is lying on the ground.

“...Ran!”

Someone calls the silver-haired girl by name. They all grit their teeth and fall into unarmed fighting stances.

“You won’t get away with this!”

“We’ll take you down!”

“I don’t know how you did it, but you must have cheated!”

“We gotta save Ran!”

Against these four, Sansui readies his wooden sword.

“You four are...”

Taking a stance, he quietly informs them of the reality of the situation.

“...Weak.”

The four go down easily to him.

Those were the events that transpired earlier in the morning. It wasn’t a particularly unusual incident for Sansui, and it wasn’t something worth raising a fuss about. At the very least, it wasn’t worth doing so at that moment. It’s not as though they went on a rampage, after all. All the girls had done was challenge him as warriors. Sansui isn’t so arrogant as to punish them just for that.

Sansui doesn’t bother to kill or capture the five girls, simply leaving them outside the estate. He instead makes his way to the open air training grounds near the Academy, so that he could complete his morning instruction and spar with challengers.

“My apologies to you all, but I have errands to run in the capital this afternoon. I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the afternoon session.”

Despite his position as the instructor, Sansui has an almost obsequiously humble attitude, but no one underestimates him because of it. After all, he had just recently faced off against a large number of highly driven swordsmen with just his own sword techniques, dealing with them not only without taking an injury, but without so much as raising his heart rate. The most unusual thing about Sansui is the fact that he can stick to his ordinary self in all circumstances, regardless of who or how many he might face at once.

“I will return sometime around early evening, so if anyone needs something from me, please ask them to wait until then.”

Up to this point, it has all been routine communication. Usually this is where it ends, but Sansui has more to add today.

“This morning, a group of five young women attacked me. They were all unarmed and each users of new, hitherto unknown Rare Arts. I knocked them out, but did not restrain them, so they may soon make their way here.”

Female martial artists are by themselves a bit of an oddity, but substantially odder is the fact that each of the five practices a different, unknown Rare Art. While the term “Rare Art” is in use in the Arcana Kingdom, the reality is that mysticism and hexes were, for the longest time, the only known forms.

More recently, they’ve confirmed the existence of other Rare Arts, such as Magyan Spirit Summoning and Shadow Summoning, along with Sansui’s Immortal Arts, but to find five more at once is a remarkable discovery.

“Four of them were moderately skilled, but there was one in particular who was extremely practiced. Whatever you do, don’t offend them, and tell them to wait for me to return.” he says, thus casually informing those present that, while they’re not a threat to him, they are to everyone else present.

“The girl named Ran is quite strong, so please be careful.”

To give such a serious warning to a group that includes incognito Royal Guardsmen... That means that she is, at the very least, stronger than a Royal Guardsman. That he was able to deal with her so easily makes those present wonder just how much further ahead Sansui is in terms of skill.

Most of those present can’t offer any complaint to his words, and so they simply grit their teeth and clench their fists. Sansui doesn’t seem particularly bothered by this, however, and starts making his way toward the capital.

Those remaining at the training grounds begin their afternoon lessons just as they had their morning rounds. Still, the enthusiasm among the group spans the gamut. There are those who aren’t as motivated, due to Sansui’s absence, while others find motivation in the fact that Sansui showed concern for them, and there are yet others who are motivated by reasons unrelated to Sansui at all.

After all, the daughter and heir of House Batterabbe is present today. Showing any lack of motivation in front of her could very well mean missing out on an opportunity that could come at any moment.

“He’s just so rude! Sansui’s getting a bit too full of himself, don’t you think?”

Happine Batterabbe, who isn’t paying those who are trying to show enthusiasm in her presence any real mind, is in a rage. This is because Sansui seems to be taking the man who is her future husband for granted.

Given that they’re both aces of the Four Great Houses, it wouldn’t hurt him to say he’s going to leave things in Saiga’s hands. Show a little confidence in his own apprentice, or something.

“I mean, come on, I bet at least half those heads were chopped off by knights of House Sepaeda!”

“That doesn’t make sense, Lady Happine. Besides, even then, it would mean he beheaded over two hundred people on his own,” Zuger responds, even as she slinks a bit away from Happine.

“A-Anyway! Saiga is strong, so he should go ahead and fight all those women if they show up!”

“Now, now, Happine... If they want to fight Sansui, then there’s no point in me getting involved.”

Saiga would like to agree with Happine, naturally. However, he thinks that not listening to Sansui would be a greater sign of his shortcomings than anything else. Besides, it would be one thing if he was allowed to kill them, but he’s not confident that he can succeed if he needs to defeat them while also holding back. He can definitely win if he uses Eckesachs, but there’s a significant chance that he’d kill them in the process.

“I’m against any fighting!”

Zuger, already reserved to begin with, steps in to restrain Happine.

“I know there are times when fighting is necessary, but I don’t think that’s the case here!”

“Zuger, you are correct. However, there are times when one simply can’t run. It would be problematic to end up cornered because one is too focused on escape,” Sunae says, working to soothe Zuger’s agitation.

“I suppose that’s true, but...”

Even given her own personality, Zuger is still aware that there are opponents who make it difficult to avoid conflict.

“Then go and kill them to begin with! How thoughtless!” Happine says in a huff.

Kill them when you have the opportunity...well, it’s a perspective, to be sure. It seemed like Sansui was regretting his choice, though. Hearing those words sends a shiver up the spines of those doing practice swings. There was nothing funny about it to them.

“Hahaha! Lady Happine, our master is a man who prefers not to kill if he can help it. That’s why we respect him so.”

Continuing his practice swings, Tahlan attempts to laugh it off. Has she even noticed that her logic would apply with Saiga, who was let go without being killed on three separate occasions? The only reason he’s alive is because of Sansui’s charity, and no one would have blamed Sansui for killing him.

“...Hm?”

Eckesachs, in her human form, senses a presence heading toward the academy. It’s underlined by an enormous intensity, and lets out a voice far from human as it approaches.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!”

A silver-haired girl looses a mad howl, dashing over with all the intensity of a carnivorous predator. Most of those practicing stop in mid-swing to watch.

The girl defeated by their master thus returns.

Those thankful for their master’s warning, and those thinking that perhaps they might be able to handle her with their newly acquired strength, all pause, backing away at the vitality overflowing from the silver-haired girl. It’s easy to see that she’s a powerful force.

“Where is that bastard?!”

Casually knocked out, taken down and left alive, then abandoned. Those events appear to have thoroughly trampled upon her pride, as well as her self-image as one of the strong.

“Come out, Reaper!”

“C-Calm down!”

“Yes, let’s calm down!”

“Please, there are people here.”

“I understand how you feel, but... No.”

Five young women search for Sansui whilst squabbling amongst themselves.

“Oh my, are you the martial artists who Sansui mentioned?”

Hearing the voices echo into the academy itself, the academy’s highest authority, the Regent, hurriedly appears at the training grounds. The five wielders of Rare Arts mentioned by Sansui... The Regent was prepared to do anything to hang on to them.

“Where is that bastaaaaard?!”

“Now, now, calm down... How about a bit of tea? Or perhaps something to eat?”

Here, the difference in sheer experience shows itself. That or the smell of leftover lunch dishes is more than their hungry stomachs can handle. Facing the food brought by the Regent, the girls calm down and end up eating at a table set at the training grounds.

Bread and stew... The girls are drawn in by the delicious scent and begin eating. All of those present cautiously watch them eat. Meanwhile, Eckesachs appears to be carefully studying their clothing.

“More, please!”

“Yes, yes, there’s plenty for everyone.”

Wanting to feed the young is, perhaps, instinctual for the elderly. The silver-haired girl is intently shoveling food into her mouth, but from the Regent’s point of view, it’s still not all that much.

“...Thank you so much.”

“Don’t worry. It’s all leftovers, anyway.”

The Regent takes another good look at the girls. Other than Ran, they have brown hair and well-bronzed skin. She notes that this is probably less an ethnic feature than simply them being from a background that involved lots of outdoor work.

“That’s it, I must have lost because I was hungry. If I had bothered to eat, I wouldn’t have lost to that...!”

The silver hair ripples. The girl still burns with a desire to fight Sansui, hair moving on its own from her sheer intensity. By way of contrast, the other people present regard her with warm amusement. Having lost to Sansui once, she’ll keep losing to him, no matter how many times she offers up a challenge.

“Well, then, where are you all from?”

“...A hidden village separated from the rest of the world,” one of the girls answers. They avoid using any specific names, but it seems they’re residents of a secret valley.

“We’re residents of that hidden village, and for a long time we’ve avoided contact with the outside world.”

“We have spent generations practicing and passing down our own martial arts styles.”

“But we began to wonder... Perhaps our reputation of being undefeated over the last thousand years is simply because we haven’t fought anyone.”

“And then... Ran was born. The ultimate martial artist, with the same silver hair as the legendary founder of our village.”

Perhaps content for now, the silver-haired girl, Ran, stops eating. She began to voice her dreams. Her gaze speaks of an unending ambition.

“I was born in a hidden village touting itself as undefeated for the last thousand years. I was born with ultimate strength, despite not having learned any of the traditional arts. There is no one left in that village who can defeat me. That is why I left the village.”

She has a shining dream that won’t be derailed by a single defeat, and it seems the other four believe in that dream as well.

“I’m going to be the strongest in the world. I’m going to prove that I’m the greatest warrior in this great big world!”

“Are you dense? The five of you already lost to Sansui,” Happine says rather coolly.

The reality is that the fight with Sansui proved that Ran isn’t the strongest. Still, Ran smiles, confident of victory.

“If I fight him again, I can definitely beat him. I’ll make him regret not killing me...”

“That’s right! Ran is a powerful martial artist, one who even the four of us together can’t beat.”

“If she can fight him again, she’ll definitely overtake him.”

“Ran, the ultimate martial artist, is the very reason for our village’s existence.”

“She’s the result of generations of effort to surpass human limitations.”

All five of them are confident of victory in the next encounter.

It’s then that Eckesachs asks her question, something that she needs to confirm with them.

“You five... Are you from Tempera Village?”

Hearing those words, the five freeze and look to Eckesachs. Having said the name aloud, one that no one else had heard of, Eckesachs nods to herself.

“As I thought... So, the survivors of that village rebuilt it.”

“What are you talking about, Eckesachs?”

“My Master, the Tempera Village was a hidden village that had built up a reputation as being the collection of the most powerful martial artists in the region about two thousand years ago. They had many bloodlines with talents for different Rare Arts, and they developed martial arts to take advantage of those talents. The local word was to avoid making trouble with Tempera’s martial artists.”

The sword, several thousand years old herself, begins reminiscing and nodding to herself. Hearing the words ‘two thousand years ago,’ many of those present could easily figure out what was going to come next.

“So, my then-wielder went to the village and fought the heads of the various arts. Of course, he won, but they were angry... Many of the residents refused to let him go and attacked him and, of course, he simply defeated them, as well. We never stopped in that land again. But, to imagine that village would produce a Marked...”

Residents of the village proudly proclaiming a thousand years of being undefeated... The shocking truth they’re told is that their village was once nearly wiped out more than a thousand years ago. Well, it’s not exactly a lie to say that they’ve been undefeated for a thousand years if their last defeat happened over a thousand years ago.

“That girl is Marked?!”

“I see, it’s as the legends say...”

Sunae and Tahlan stare at Eckesachs in surprise. They hadn’t reacted to the name of Tempera, but they seem familiar with the concept of a Marked. They swallow and regard Ran warily.

“Marked? What’s that?”

With very little knowledge of this world, Saiga decides to just ask Eckesachs. But it seems the Arcanians and the five from the Tempera Village haven’t heard of the term ‘Marked,’ either. Many of those present turn their attention to Eckesachs, Ran herself included.

“In this part of the world they’re called berserkers, I believe. Essentially, they’re a Rare Art user, and a natural-born one at that.”

Eckesachs has an enormous amount of combat experience, and as such knows quite a lot about most related subjects. As a highly excited Regent takes notes, she continues to explain to the silver-haired woman herself.

“Like the other Rare Arts, once out of every thousand births or so, there are those born with a power known as the ‘wicked blood.’ Now, not all of them become Marked. Only the most powerful of those with ‘wicked blood’ eventually develop that power without instruction from anyone else.”

House Caputo’s ace, Shouzo Kyoube... When he decided to use magic, he could use it instantly, despite his lack of instruction. While there’s a difference in magnitude, those with extremely powerful gifts are able to naturally manifest their powers from time to time. A Marked refers to the state that the excessively gifted among the wicked-blooded manifest.

“When one’s talent with the ‘wicked blood’ is too strong, they become extremely sensitive to challenges, remain in a constant state of excitement, and continue fighting on the battlefield until they expire. This is why they are known as the Marked, or berserkers.”

Hearing those words, the Regent couldn’t hide her excitement. There’s a berserker right out of the legends in front of her! This was something to celebrate.

“Oh, my, and her hair is silver, just like the legends say.”

“Indeed. In essence, she’s simply a wielder of a Rare Art. It’s not that she’s something superhuman. There are a fair number of them outside of the Tempera Village. They’re just rare.”

Hearing those words, the five are shown just how little they know of the outside world.

“Within a large population, there’s a higher chance of a Marked being born. The reason the Marked aren’t known in the Tempera Village must be because none were born there, probably due to their small population, and because none of the stories came to them from the outside.”