Chapter 2 — The One Who Claims the Heavens

Part 15 — Dissatisfaction

Several days after Sansui set off for Blois’s family home, Saiga and his companions return to the royal capital from their journey to Tempera Village, stopping at the Batterabbe manor to give a summary of their journey to Lord Batterabbe. They report on Tempera Village rejecting Ran’s return, that Tempera Village provided them with the secret texts of the five styles, and that Ran’s companions were placed under the care of the Testudo Style’s current master.

That they were able to pin down the location of the secret village of Rare Arts users that the great Suiboku had even struggled against was quite an accomplishment in itself. Still, the participants in the journey hardly looked pleased at the outcome. Everyone other than Eckesachs was extremely sad. Ran, in particular, was mired in regret over something that could never be taken back.

“I’m glad you’ve all returned,” Lord Batterabbe said after hearing their report, starting by offering them words of thanks. “I know it can be exhausting to meet with those who hold you in little regard. That’s particularly true if the fault lies on your own side. It was a difficult task, but you did well.”

From Lord Batterabbe’s point of view, the results were pretty much as he had expected. It was an encounter that held no promise of joy for either the Temperans or for the Arcanians. But to not do something because it’s unpleasant is the logic of a child, and a petulant child at that. That they went as quickly as possible to pay their respects could have results worthy in and of itself, somewhere down the line.

“But... I wasn’t able to do anything.”

“No, that’s not true. You shouldn’t expect everything to go perfectly from the start. By going to pay your respects, you were able to express our desire to interact with them. If they ever feel the need to reciprocate, they might come to you to find a receptive ear.”

There is an enormous difference between meeting complete strangers and renewing an acquaintance with people you’ve met before. After all, it’s impossible to recognize or even know to visit someone that’s a complete stranger versus even a passing acquaintance.

“Ran, I’m sure you know what it is you need to do now. You must continue your training, for your own sake. Set aside for a moment the machinations and interests of the adults around you.”

“...Yes.”

Ran’s hair was its natural brown rather than her trademark silver, and right now she was just a girl with the sensitive emotions of someone her age. She had also been a berserker who, because of her world-class abilities, had never known failure, disappointment, or defeat. Lord Batterabbe deliberately chose to place the burden of training upon Ran, as the girl struggled with a weighty past that she couldn’t simply overcome using her physical strength.

“It doesn’t matter that you’re still demoralized or that you don’t know how to atone for your sins. The only thing you can do for now is to think about how you can control yourself. If you make a mistake, we’ll have no reason to hesitate.”

To do nothing when you don’t know what to do is the worst possible option. In fact, the moment where you’re uncertain what to do is the best time to do something, anything. Even if it might be delaying a reckoning or just getting through that moment, even if it’s pursuing a wrong path or solving the wrong problem, action is the key. Sometimes it takes wrong turn after wrong turn to finally find your way.

“Saiga. You have your promise to the Sword Apostle to uphold. Support her as best you can. If it seems she’s about to make a mistake, then you must stop her. Think of that as your duty.”

“...Yes, my lord.”

The reason the Arcana Kingdom was willing to let Ran remain in their midst was because she had yet to claim any victims among their people. If Ran was to inflict unjustified violence upon the people of the Arcana Kingdom, then they would either banish her like Tempera Village had, or otherwise take up Sansui’s recommendation and simply execute her. The important thing isn’t what to do once a problem occurs. The important thing is to make sure a problem didn’t happen in the first place.

“The Sword Apostle is absent at the moment, so that places a greater burden on you.”

“W-Wait, really?”

“Yes. He’s gone with Lain and Miss Blois to meet with House Wynne and report their engagement.”

Sansui and Blois had started moving toward making their marriage a reality. There was nothing particularly surprising about that, but Saiga can’t imagine what sort of married life those two would have. He doesn’t know Blois very well, but he’s well-acquainted with Sansui. For Sansui to act as a man rather than as a swordsman... The idea itself was hard for Saiga to imagine. Saiga wasn’t alone, either; Happine, Zuger, and Sunae all felt the same way.

“The bodyguard duties that the two had been fulfilling have been taken over by Prince Tahlan.”

“My brother is her bodyguard?!”

Douve was hated by everyone around her, and that included Sunae. For Tahlan to be Douve’s bodyguard...that was hard for Sunae to accept.

“I, I see...”

At the same time, Sunae also knew that it might well be unavoidable. For her older brother, who has no claim to the throne, ending up traveling to a far-off foreign land, distinguishing himself as a swordsman, and marrying into a powerful local family is an honorable option. It wouldn’t harm the Magyan royal family, and no doubt it would make Tahlan himself happy.

“You know, Sunae, your brother has terrible taste in women.”

“I agree.”

Sure, it was a wonderful man who could love a woman despite her faults, but the fact that Tahlan was deeply infatuated with Douve, a woman with a truly awful personality, made me question Tahlan’s taste in women. While Happine and Sunae wanted to wish him happiness, they couldn’t help but think maybe Tahlan ought to explore other possibilities first.

“W-Well, anyway... Currently Prince Tahlan has also taken over Sansui’s sword instruction. It’s been very lively, so I suggest you go watch.”

Lord Batterabbe couldn’t really deny the observation made by Sunae and Happine, but it was also true that the actual couple in question seemed rather happy and were finding fulfillment in their day to day lives.

There was a plot of land near the Academy that the Regent had lent out to Sansui to use as a training ground. The training grounds originally had students and faculty members participating in the daily lessons, but now it was populated solely by those who were serious about the craft of swordsmanship.

“Wow, that’s really impressive...”

Although all they were doing was taking practice swings, there was a group of men who were shouting at the top of their lungs, as though they were actually in combat. Another section had men who, though wearing protective equipment, were busily trying to beat their sparring opponents down with all their might. Almost all of those present had blood running down the grips of their wooden swords. They were bleeding from their palms as they firmly gripped their wooden swords. This was no longer a space where people who were there for mere “lessons” in swordplay could come visit.

“P-Pretty sure it wasn’t quite this intense when I was last here... Why’s everyone more motivated without Sansui around?”

Happine’s observation was correct: the training grounds were rather more peaceful when Sansui was present. While they had all been receiving Sansui’s instruction, no one at the time had seemed so invested in the sparring that they looked ready to bludgeon their sparring partners to death.

“They’ve started to take on the air of elite soldiers. All worthy of men who’ve been training with my brother.”

Sunae had studied the fighting arts herself. She had seen similar sights in her homeland and wasn’t particularly intimidated by the scene before her. That was also why she knew the difference in the atmosphere around a group of common soldiers and the one around a group of elite soldiers. Even if they were doing the same exercises, the air was completely different. The swordsmen who had received Sansui’s instruction had definitely achieved that kind of eliteness.

“A-Ah, so where is Prince Tahlan, anyway...?”

Zuger, who was the most intimidated by the ruthless atmosphere, started searching for Tahlan, all the while doing her best to avoid looking too closely at the practicing swordsmen.

“He’s over there.”

Like Sunae, Ran was completely unfazed by the display and quickly found Tahlan among the throng. Tahlan, who was roughly the equivalent of an assistant instructor, was busy sparring with other students. He was perhaps a step or two further along in his training than the others and it showed. Despite the fact that the entire area was taken up by bloodthirsty fighters, Tahlan still seemed a man among boys.

“...There she is.”

Happine had also located Tahlan, and at the same time she had found Douve, who sat elegantly watching the practice as the men quite literally sweated blood.

“...Wow.”

Douve seemed completely unflappable, wearing the same faintly mocking smile as usual; that arrogant little smirk that seemed to hold everyone she looked upon in contempt. The situation hadn’t dulled her attitude in the least, and if anything, the contrast made her unflinching confidence stand out all the more.

Zuger let out an astonished murmur of respect at what was, honestly, a remarkable display of nonchalance. Of course, the sentence, had Zuger completed it, would have been along the lines of, “Wow, she’s really a piece of work.”

“...Seems everyone’s busy right now, so why don’t we go talk with Miss Douve.”

None of them wanted to approach her, but they were also hesitant about talking to anyone else. In that sense, the only one who wasn’t occupied at present here was Douve. And she was probably the only one who would happily engage them in conversation. Now, whether or not the group could stand listening to Douve’s side of the conversation was another matter entirely.

“Oh, you’ve returned?”

“Yes, we just got back.”

Douve, who appeared to be in a remarkable good mood, greeted Happine without taunting her. But Douve’s gaze remained fixed on Tahlan, who was busy practicing his swordcraft.

“They’re certainly enthusiastic.”

“Yes, the boys are being boys, aren’t they?”

All of them were fully immersed in their training, buckling down despite the strain on their bodies. The intensity of their training showed how seriously they approached their craft and how they were all fully committed to the effort. It was hard to understand where that motivation came from, given that they weren’t at war.

“You didn’t spur them on by saying something ridiculous, did you?”

“Don’t be silly. They wouldn’t be this motivated even if I set them to it.”

“True.”

The Batterabbe party nodded in agreement at her comment. No matter how much Douve taunted them, she wouldn’t have been able to raise their morale like that. With her terrible personality and her penchant for constantly mocking people, she isn’t capable of positive motivation. That she’s well aware of this is perhaps a good encapsulation of Douve’s character.

“You may have heard, but Sansui is going to transition from his role as my bodyguard to being a battle instructor. With that done, Tahlan will become my new bodyguard, and he’ll be hiring his subordinates from among the people here. Of course, it won’t be all of them. Just the select few that meet his criteria.”

Douve wasn’t saying anything strange, but the others couldn’t quite follow her explanation. She had just clearly declared that she wasn’t behind their motivation, so they weren’t training for the purpose of becoming her bodyguards

Thinking about it, it’s pretty impressive that she goes out of her way to get people to resent her when she’s so self-aware about it.

Saiga felt another prickle of discomfort at Douve’s words, but they didn’t do anything to answer his question.

“So, why are they working so hard?” Ran asked rather bluntly, likely because she didn’t have any particular connection with Douve.

Douve looked at Ran and said, smiling, “Oh, for you of all people to ask.”

Ran realized she was being mocked, but she kept her in anger in check as she understood what Douve was implying. If Ran were to go on a rampage here, she’d be spitting not just in Saiga’s face, but in those of her Temperan friends.

“Recall that my bodyguard Sansui made you cry in public?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t do a thing to stop him.”

Ran had an overwhelming advantage in physical ability and their skills were about equal. Yet, in spite of those disadvantages, Sansui had combined his Immortal Arts and tactics, along with his restraint, to easily defeat her.

“Sansui is strong, but he’s so strong that there’s no one that can match him in a duel. He doesn’t have many opportunities to fight in front of people, so it was his duel with you that spread his name far and wide.”

“And?”

“It means that Sansui’s students are all looked upon with high expectations from those around them. After all, Sansui is strong. People would naturally expect the same from his students.”

Douve had explained enough that the others could now reach the natural conclusion. The students all felt the pressure of being Sansui’s students and were, in fact, desperate to show results.

“Sansui is evidently also good at teaching, so those swordsmen have actually gotten stronger. They even recently distinguished themselves in actual combat. Unfortunately, they’re not as strong as people expect them to be.”

In a way, those unrealistic expectations were unavoidable, and no matter how hard the swordsmen here practiced, they wouldn’t ever catch up to Sansui. If desperate amounts of effort were enough, Sansui wouldn’t have needed to spend five hundred years training.

“You see, how these swordsmen perform in their jobs around the Sepaeda territories will determine Sansui’s reputation. If a student of Sansui is defeated by some random challenger, that’s a stain on Sansui’s honor.”

No matter how strong Sansui was, he couldn’t fight in front of everyone in the kingdom. The people out in the rural regions would only witness his skills through those of his students. If they ended up just being a little stronger than average, then that would damage Sansui’s reputation. Sansui himself probably wouldn’t care, but the students themselves were another matter.

“The swordsmen here all deeply respect Sansui. He’s as strong as the stories say he is, he’s kind to other swordsmen, and in the end, he even found work for them. For them to bring harm to Sansui’s reputation with their own failures is something they want to avoid at all costs. That’s why they’re so motivated.”

The party then took the time to look over the swordsmen and their intense approach to training. They were putting in the effort not just for themselves, but for Sansui’s sake. It was a sign of respect and admiration for their master.

“It’s not meaningless, but their goal is unattainable,” Douve said, then turned her gaze back to Tahlan. She watched the swordsman who was known to be peerless back in his homeland as he continued to defeat swordsmen that tried desperately to keep up with him.

“It’s not like they can ever hope to gain the unfair level of skill that Sansui possesses. Worse, they aren’t able to beat anyone with truly exceptional abilities. At most, their personal ceilings are as first-class swordsmen.”

The Royal Guardsmen who were there in disguise were, like Tahlan, easily overwhelming the other swordsmen. They were able to do so with just their skill with the blade, without the use of any magic whatsoever.

“All of the first-rate swordsmen in the world put in about that much effort. It’s a bit presumptuous to think they can get better than that just because they’re being taught by Sansui.”

“You’re mocking them when you say that.”

“Oh? All I’ve done is lay out the facts. You’re awfully cynical, aren’t you?”

None of the party could be completely certain, but Douve’s observations were probably true. The swordsmen who were putting in all that intense effort in front of them were frustrated that their best efforts weren’t enough, yet they were able to maintain their dedication without letting that frustration fester.

“Then again, there are people in this world who think a month of intense effort is enough to beat the kingdom’s greatest swordsman.”

“Urk!”

The truth stabbed deeply at Saiga, Happine, Zuger, and Sunae. Saiga and his harem hadn’t realized this at the time, as they were too caught up in their own misery, but they had been incredibly presumptuous in assuming that the one month of effort was enough to overcome Sansui’s strength.

“I’m actually rather fond of these swordsmen. To dismiss those who are doing their best, despite being rather ordinary in talent...isn’t an attitude worthy of a martial House.”

Douve’s teasing was focused entirely on Saiga and Ran.

“Although I’m sure that’s not something you two, with your overwhelming amounts of talent, can understand. After all, not everyone can learn any Rare Art that they want, nor can they be born with an absurd amount of Tainted Blood. That said, I suppose being humiliated by relying solely on that talent is something only the two of you can understand.”

There were times that people couldn’t admit defeat because they were viewed objectively as having a great deal of talent. In that sense, Saiga and Ran were connected by a common thread. But having Douve put that fact into words made it unbearably painful.

“Oh, alright, alright! Your bodyguard is amazing! You were lucky to be able to find a perfect swordsman for yourself!”

Having had enough, Happine went on to thoroughly praise Sansui while offering no praise for his master, Douve.

Hearing those words, Douve’s expression went from cheerful to troubled.

“Perfect, mm?”

She was thinking about the absent swordsman, who had protected her since childhood.

“Say, did you bring Eckesachs with you?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

Eckesachs, who had been carried on Saiga’s back, turned from her sword form to her human form and continued speaking out loud.

“What is it?”

“...It might contradict what I was saying earlier, but...”

What came to Douve’s mind was Sansui’s habit of continually putting himself down whenever the subject was about his own skill.

“I...no, we can’t imagine a swordsman who surpasses Sansui.”

No matter how much those around him were to praise him, Sansui was quick to point out that he was nothing compared to his master, Suiboku. No matter where he was, no matter who he defeated, no matter how many he defeated, Sansui had constantly said he was nothing compared to his master. The overwhelmingly powerful swordsman had far too low of an opinion of himself. She wanted the swordsman that served House Sepaeda to have a bit more confidence in his skill.

“Is Master Suiboku, Sansui’s master... Is he that much stronger than Sansui?”

Given how strong Sansui was, no doubt Suiboku was quite powerful as well. Everyone believed that. Applying the logic from earlier, Sansui had always protected Suiboku’s reputation and honor. But Sansui was far too strong by mortal standards. Not only was there no one who could defeat him one-on-one, but even the Royal Guardsmen, the elite of the elite, couldn’t beat him when fighting him all at once.

“I sometimes end up thinking, could it actually be that Sansui is...the strongest in the world?”

It was perhaps less a question and more of a hope. It was the presumptuous wish of the privileged princess wanting the loyal swordsman who served her to be the greatest in the world.

“Douve...”

But, Happine felt a certain amount of pity for Douve at that moment. She appeared less like a master who had complaints about a servant and more like a younger sister who wished her older brother would behave a little better. That seemed to be how Douve regarded Sansui.

“Suiboku and Sansui, which is the stronger one?”

The swordsmen present had all paused in their training. The question that Douve had asked was one that all of Sansui’s students had wondered about in their hearts, and so they awaited Eckesachs’s words, the words of the legendary sword that had once been wielded by Suiboku himself.

“Sansui, at present, might be a superior swordsman to the Suiboku I knew.”

Everyone present heard the ultimate legendary sword’s voice.

“But there is no way for me to measure just how strong Suiboku is at present. It pains me to admit it, but I couldn’t even get the full measure of Sansui’s strength.”

Despite her immense body of experience, Eckesachs had misjudged Sansui’s skill with the sword. That misjudgment had led to her current master, Saiga, suffering a humiliating defeat at Sansui’s hands. Even she could no longer properly grasp the full extent of Sansui’s ability.

“However, there is one thing that I know for certain. That the one who knows the current Suiboku best is Sansui himself.”

Even when he was raw and unpolished, Suiboku had been the Immortal so powerful that even God had feared him. While Sansui knew nothing about Suiboku from that era, he was the one who knew the current Suiboku best.

“If that Sansui says that he can’t defeat him, no matter what he tries, there’s no reason to doubt him.”

In terms of judging combat ability, Sansui was almost unnecessarily honest. Such was his honesty that when he had defeated the kingdom’s greatest swordsman, the Lightning Knight, he had inadvertently said that he could also beat the entire Royal Guard at once.

“Suiboku’s strength is likely far beyond anything we could imagine.”

There was a certain credibility to Eckesachs’s words. Given Sansui’s typical straightforward honesty, it was almost certainly not flattery when he spoke about Suiboku. Of course, that didn’t mean that everyone could accept those words at face value.

“Honestly, I can’t believe it,” Ran said, expressing her dissatisfaction.

“Back where I come from, Suiboku’s treated like a god, and the Testudo Style users who can view the past were completely frightened by him. But, having actually fought Sansui...I think he’s still the strongest.”

While none of them would say it out loud, they all couldn’t help but agree. They didn’t want to believe Eckesachs. They understood it was rude to not believe her after asking her directly, but they simply couldn’t accept it.

Individuals were called the strongest because the ones calling them that couldn’t imagine anyone that could surpass them. Even if Sansui, the very embodiment of that level of strength, claimed otherwise, no one wanted to doubt his strength.

“Sorry for asking such an odd question.”

Douve’s expression looked faintly sad for a moment, and then she turned away from Eckesachs.

Part 16 — Warning

Saiga lay down in his bed in the House Batterabbe estate in the royal capital, reading through a translated copy of the Book of Secret Techniques given to him at Tempera Village. While he couldn’t read the original books himself, he was fortunate that Eckesachs could and had translated them on the way back to the capital.

“Hrrm.”

The five secret books that contained the methods of learning Rare Arts were items that the Regent would drool over. However, though Saiga kept flipping through them, he couldn’t seem to get the contents to stick in his memory.

“Mm...”

Saiga was on the verge of a breakthrough. With his ability to learn all of the Rare Arts, the more Rare Arts he learned, the stronger he became. Combined with the power of the Marked he had learned from Ran, that meant he was about to learn five new Rare Arts, as well as refine what had been his limited understanding of divination. This was going to vastly expand his range of possible tactics.

“...You know, this really is just cheating.”

Unlike Sansui’s students, Saiga was already far beyond the norm in terms of strength, and it was guaranteed that he’d continue his remarkable growth in the years to come. That was because he had been given a cheat ability by God, which is originally how he’d wanted it.

The reason that Saiga’s spirits were low in spite of that overwhelming advantage was because Saiga had realized just how shallow he had been. He couldn’t help but feel ashamed when he compared himself to the people who were continuing their training despite knowing there was a wall they could never overcome.

“But I still need to get stronger.”

It’s true that he now had a feeling of inferiority and shame, but he didn’t have the choice of just quitting. Saiga was the heir to House Batterabbe, and he wasn’t allowed to take a break from his training just because he was depressed. Even if it was unpleasant, even if it was embarrassing, he needed to do his best. He wasn’t allowed to take solace in who he was at the moment; instead, he needed to keep aiming ever higher.

“I’m the ace of House Batterabbe. I need to at least get to where people can compare me to Sansui.”

If one was supposed to continue their efforts even when it was painful, one should also continue their efforts even when they didn’t want to. He needed to become strong enough to defeat whoever came at him, no matter their numbers. He needed to be strong enough to take on an entire army on his own. He didn’t think there would be opponents at the level of Sansui or Suiboku appearing any time in the near future, but there was a fair chance that he’d end up fighting several hundred or several thousand opponents at once. It wasn’t the best phrasing, but there was no point in him comparing himself to Sansui’s students.

“Let’s see... Celestial Blood, Testudo Style...”

It’s not that he was motivated to learn, exactly, but he pushed himself to study from a sense of duty. He decided that he’d start with learning more about precognition, given that he had a basic grounding in it already.

“This is a martial art that can only be wielded by those with the Celestial Blood... Wait, there’s nothing about the art itself here.”

In the Tempera Village, they had combined magical and physical techniques into a single martial arts style. Which is why the Book of Secrets containing Tempera Village’s martial arts placed much of the emphasis on physical techniques. There was page after page of extremely advanced physical maneuvers that were made possible by the fact that the wielder was equipped with precognition. There were also training methods for acquiring them, but he had seen these things before. They were all techniques that Sansui had learned and used as part of his own fighting style.

“Looking at this, I guess the Testudo Style is similar to how Sansui and Ran fight.”

It appeared to be a style that had little in the way of direct offensive or defensive powers, but rather was focused on maintaining a certain level of breathing room to deal with an opponent’s actions.

“...You know, I hate to say this, but Eckesachs probably wasted her time translating this.”

Saiga could learn arts other than divination, which could directly reinforce his attack and defense. Since time was a limited commodity, he needed to consider efficiency, as well.

“How to improve the accuracy of one’s precognition and decrease the burn rate of the Celestial Blood... Yeah, this is what I wanted.”

Reading further along, the second half had a fair amount of information on the magical parts of the Rare Art. Given that Saiga, unlike Shouzo, had a limited pool of power to call upon, this was what Saiga was hoping to find.

“‘Either change something yourself or make your opponent do it. Don’t ever try to do both at once, as it’ll rapidly deplete your Celestial Blood.’”

The difference wasn’t in changing how the precognition itself worked, but on how to employ it. It wasn’t a lesson on advanced techniques, but that was exactly what made it immediately useful for him.

“‘What can be said for both methods is that it’s best to draw in the opponent and simplify the number of potential moves they can make. By purposefully leaving your head exposed, the enemy will naturally target your head. Then, determining the distance between the opponent and oneself will allow one to adjust whether or not they will punch, kick, charge in, or approach slowly. It’s a key to battle that can even be employed once one’s Celestial Blood is fully depleted.’”

The contents were similar to what Sansui had taught him. It seemed that reading an opponent’s moves was based on the same principles even with the power of precognition.

“‘One must not think about finding the way to defeat the enemy. One should first decide how exactly they will defeat the enemy, then use their precognition to achieve that end.’”

It was extraordinarily useful information for Saiga, given his ability to wield other types of Arts.

“‘For example, when fighting an opponent in full armor, one might seek to grapple them and slip a blade between their armor. One must first look at the enemy and analyze their equipment and movement, and then decide upon the form to employ. Only then should one employ precognition to find the necessary timing. One must not, during this time, look for multiple methods to accomplish that goal. With the exception of situations where one’s precognition informs them of an extremely dangerous potential outcome that they had not anticipated, it is best if one focuses on finding the timing to make a single method work.’”

To summarize, it was better to look for the opportunity to have one method succeed rather than look for which method would work best.

“‘The most information one gathers with precognition is in one’s field of vision. One can avoid putting oneself in danger by working to keep the opponent’s entire body in one’s field of view. It is dangerous to be in a situation similar to being in checkmate, where one’s actions make no difference in the inevitable outcome.’”

This brought back a particularly bitter memory for Saiga. When he had fought Sansui after acquiring Eckesachs, Sansui had moved out of his field of vision, then flipped him over. Once Saiga was on his back with a blade placed against his throat, there was nothing he could do to improve the situation. It epitomized what the book defined as danger. Sansui had acted on conjecture rather than certain knowledge about precognition, but he had understood its limitations perfectly and executed the best way to defeat it.

It was the same when Sansui fought Ran. Sansui’s observation skills and his ability to craft tactics to best suit the situation were so good that a casual observer might think Sansui was capable of precognition himself.

“I wonder if Sansui’s capable of reading an opponent at a level several steps beyond the Testudo Style...”

The more he read the Book of Secrets, the more Saiga was convinced that the Testudo Style was basically doing a slightly inferior version of what Sansui did ordinarily and used a Rare Art to improve its accuracy. Of course, that’s not all it was, but this realization was enough to remind Saiga of just how skilled Sansui was.

“Well, I can’t exactly put five hundred years into training, so I guess I should just do what I can.”

He thought back to how Sansui would cleanly and completely take down his opponent without letting them have even the slightest chance of matching him. For Saiga, who had to learn how to defeat a large number of enemies, Sansui’s style would be ideal. But if it took five hundred years to reach that level, then Saiga couldn’t bring himself to even attempt it, and it was probably wrong to try.

“Mm? It’s changed subjects again.”

As he continued reading, the book switched tacks yet again.

“‘The Testudo Style practitioner’s responsibility includes determining the village’s guiding policies. One should not let the ability to see the future cloud their judgment. That ability doesn’t confer omniscience. It is just as important for one to peer into the past and learn lessons from what has gone before. If one were to imagine what could happen based upon those lessons, one can avoid most forms of destruction without resorting to the use of precognition. As for completely unavoidable disasters, one only has the option to flee.’”

The disaster that befell the village in the distant past was, without a doubt, Suiboku.

“‘Always bear this in mind: if there is even the slightest chance of victory, the Testudo Style can find it. However, the only thing to do in a battle with no chance of victory is to flee.’”

This was probably an artifact from the time the villagers made their living serving as mercenaries. The idea that one should run if they couldn’t win is a fundamental truth of sorts.

“‘Don’t engage in battles that can’t be won. For battles that cannot be avoided, reduce your losses as much as possible. There is no reason to dismiss the importance of knowing when to flee, for it is a strength of the Testudo Style. Simply worrying about how impressive one’s fighting style appears is the act of a fool.’”

It was a philosophy that was far from being described as the philosophy of the strongest, but it was a blunt warning that had been included because this was a Book of Secrets.

“‘Do not ever associate with Immortals.’”

The book then offered simple warnings.

“‘The Immortals do not wield martial arts, they wield the power of the gods. They wield a power that is far beyond the understanding of mere humans, capable of splitting the earth and heavens and making it obey their will. Angering an Immortal will not simply result in death. There will be nothing left in the wake of an Immortal’s rage.’”

Saiga found his throat was suddenly dry.

“‘Do not dismiss the dreams you see at night. They are omens of destruction that cannot be avoided. The dreams that a Testudo Style wielder sees at night are the most certain of all messages concerning the future.’”

The Testudo Style, and precognition generally, expends more energy the further into the future its wielder tries to see. In addition, the further into the future the precognition goes, the less accurate the read will be. However, prophetic dreams that occur without the wielder’s conscious intent could, at times, peer far into the future, sometimes several years ahead. And in most cases, such dreams showed disastrous events.

“‘...Do not turn away from despair. But do not try to resist, do not get involved. Flee, hide, and endure. Even if one can see the future, one cannot stop a true disaster. It is impossible for humans to do so.’”

It was after reaching this point in the Book of Secrets that Saiga finally understood why precognition, an art that had first started in the territory now occupied by the Arcana Kingdom, had disappeared into an artifact in the history books by the time he had arrived.

“W-Well, it’ll be fine! Master Suiboku won’t go on rampages anymore, and we’ve got the Eight Sacred Treasures! There’s no despair awaiting the Arcana Kingdom!”

He tried to convince himself that everything was fine and that he should go to bed, but he couldn’t shake the bad feeling that hovered over him. He felt that, if he fell asleep now, he’d have a bad dream. It wasn’t the sense that he’d have a nightmare, exactly but that he’d witness a prophecy of disaster. For Saiga, even closing his eyes wound up being an act of courage.

“And then you proceeded to have a nightmare?”

“Yes, it was a terrible dream.”

When Saiga woke up the next morning, he was haunted by what he had seen in his sleep. The prophetic dream that he’d seen because he’d learned the art of precognition was clearly not just a dream. The contents of the dream were something he couldn’t ignore, and so Saiga had decided to explain it to Lord Batterabbe.

“A prophetic dream...”

The greatest trait of the Rare Art known as precognition was that it had absolutely no effect on anyone other than the wielder themselves. As such, it appeared to other people as though the wielder was simply troubled by a strange dream. At the very least, it was impossible for most people to take action based solely on someone else’s prophetic dream. But Saiga’s expression was deathly serious.

“I know it might be hard to believe.”

Saiga himself knew he sounded crazy. He could understand why Lord Batterabbe couldn’t bring himself to believe him. Despite that knowledge, it was still hard for him to face such a skeptical look.

“No, I believe you. While I can’t act in my capacity as a noble lord on that basis, I can believe you as your father-in-law. Tell me what you saw, in as much detail as possible.”

“Thank you. I didn’t see very much in the dream, it was more of a brief scene...”

Saiga carefully explained the information that was seared into his mind.

“In the Caputo Territories, where Shouzo had ‘plowed’ the land, there was a man I’d never seen before, under such thick cloud cover that I couldn’t tell if it was day or night. In his hand this man held Vajra, the Divine Spear.”

It was a simple description of what he had seen, but it was enough to make Lord Batterabbe pale.

“Someone had taken Vajra and come to Arcana?”

“Yes, I believe that is the case.”

The land that Shouzo had plowed was impossible to mistake for any other place in the world. Further, Saiga had seen Vajra with his own eyes. From that, it was easy enough to guess that the thick cloud cover, which had made it impossible to tell if it was day or night, must have been caused by Vajra’s power.

“The current owner of Vajra is Ukyou, leader of our ally, the Domino Republic. The fact that someone was able to take the Divine Spear from him is an enormous problem in and of itself. It could very well mean that he and those around him — such as Her Highness — could have fallen victim to that attacker.”

While it was hard to think that Ukyou, the possessor of Elixir, would actually die, there was the possibility that those around him wouldn’t be so lucky. Princess Setenve had Royal Guardsmen as an escort, of course, but there was the possibility that they’d been defeated as well.

“Further... If the man possessing Vajra holds a grudge against the Arcana Kingdom, the damage he could do is incalculable.”

The Divine Spear of Rebellion, Vajra, had the ability to control the weather, and it was possible to use it to create natural disasters such as massive storms.

“Ukyou invaded our kingdom because he needed to steal to feed his people. Had he indiscriminately attacked our kingdom by controlling the weather and destroyed our defenses with storms, there would have been little for him to steal, and it would have made advancing and retreating more difficult. Moreover, he held no anger in his heart against our kingdom. That’s why that wasn’t a threat we faced at the time, but...”

“If it’s someone related to the Domino Empire’s imperial house or their nobility...”

“Precisely. If it’s someone who resents Domino’s new government or our kingdom, they may very well resort to indiscriminate destruction.”

Lord Batterabbe and Saiga are both aware that they were hated by the members of Domino’s old regime. Not only were they hated, but the hatred was of an enormous, country-sized scale.

Ukyou had brought down the Domino Empire, then captured and executed the entire imperial house. Further, the Arcana Kingdom had handed over all of the nobles who had defected from the Domino Empire. The kingdom had thus acquired Domino as a satellite state. It would be absurd to expect no one to resent them for it.

“I know I’m the one who had the dream, but is there really anyone among the old regime who has that sort of ability?”

“I can’t rule it out completely. It’s a terrible possibility, but it’s also the worst scenario that we can imagine. At the very least, there’s a need to confirm or refute it.”

It would be ideal if there was some method to communicate quickly over long distances, but such methods don’t exist in this world, which was why there was no other way to check on the situation without sending someone to check in person at top speed.

“I want you to go to Domino through the Caputo territories. Of course, the best result would be if nothing has happened, but you can at least confirm where Vajra currently is.”

“Understood... Um, should I go alone?”

Lord Batterabbe, sitting opposite his heir, looked at the younger man. Saiga appeared extremely anxious, as though he really didn’t want to go by himself.

...I can’t let him go by himself.

It’s perhaps a bit late to mention this, but Saiga had never traveled alone in this world. Travel in this world required a certain amount of knowledge, experience, equipment, and technique. It wasn’t like Japan, where a child could reach their destination so long as they continued to take the right public transportation. It wasn’t as though there were any accurate maps of the world, and there wasn’t any convenient signage, either.

There also wasn’t any way to ask for directions if the traveler got lost. This was because the Arcana Kingdom’s population wasn’t evenly distributed throughout the kingdom, and consequently there were large tracts of uninhabited land. The possibility existed not simply of being extremely late, but of going missing entirely.

If all he needs to do is get where he’s going, all I have to do is place a few escorts with him, but...

Lord Batterabbe had a decent understanding of Saiga’s personality. While the young man before him was quite powerful, he was also still emotionally immature. Those around him would worry if he could handle the mission by himself, and he himself would be even more worried than them.

More than anything, Saiga was the heir to House Batterabbe. He was much higher-ranked than a retainer like Sansui, and as such, any offense he might cause would have substantially greater consequences.

I want to send Happine with him, but...there could very well be combat on the way. Considering that the opponent might be someone with more skill than the Royal Guard, Saiga alone might be caught unprepared.

There was also the possibility of failure. As Lord Batterabbe considered the potential worst-case scenarios, he couldn’t help but bring a certain man to mind.

If the Sword Apostle was here, it would be an easy choice.

The Sword Apostle was by far the most reliable out of the four powerful aces. If Lord Batterabbe could send Sansui and his polished, perfected skill with Saiga, there would be no possibility of failure. But Sansui was currently on vacation. He wasn’t available.

No, that would be disrespectful to Saiga, as well. Especially as I had just told him I would believe in him. He’s trying his best.

Lord Batterabbe put aside the slight temptation to take the easy route out and provided instructions to his heir and successor.

“I can’t send you alone. There’s the matter of Ran, for one thing.”

“Y-You’re correct... Keeping Ran in line is my role, after all.”

“Then it would be best for you and Ran to move together.”

As a berserker, there were plenty of concerns about Ran on a day-to-day basis, but in a fight with only a handful of people involved, she could probably handle herself.

“However, with just you and Ran, while there’s probably no issue in terms of combat, there’s still the potential of a political incident. At the very least, take Happine with you. And...take Tahlan and the Sword Apostle’s students with you, also. I’ll speak to House Sepaeda and settle the matter with them.”

“U-Understood.”

“If you run into the opponent who’s stolen Vajra and you decide he’s beyond your capabilities, you have my full permission to run. I’ll prepare for the worst and recommend deploying the final ace.”

Fortunately for them, perhaps, the Arcana Kingdom had more aces up its collective sleeve than just the Young Sword Apostle.

Lord Batterabbe’s expression was tense, but there was no hint of despair in that tension.

“...The final ace.”

“Yes... Though I’d rather not have to use him.”

Rather than despair, Lord Batterabbe’s expression suggested hesitation. It was a dark emotion resembling fear, the hesitation at having to rely upon something he would much rather not use, if at all possible.

Part 17 — Cloudy Skies

So it was that the House Batterabbe and House Sepaeda parties departed for the Caputo territories. The groups traveled in a caravan consisting of two lavishly decorated carriages with several dozen mounted warriors as an escort. The caravan appeared to be in something of a hurry, and the escorting warriors weren’t particularly well equipped. At first glance their weapons and armor hardly seemed worthy of guarding members of the Great Houses.

However, all of those wearing the equipment were stoutly built and, with their serious expressions, left little doubt that they were skilled elites. Given that they were commanded by Royal Guardsmen who were undercover as simple mercenaries, the caravan’s defenses were meticulously organized, with no apparent weaknesses. While they were hardly an field army in sheer numbers, the mood among the members of the caravan was that of a battalion headed to war.

“Well, we certainly didn’t have much time to relax,” Happine said with a tired sigh, slumping in her carriage seat.

Her reaction was perfectly understandable. The Batterabbe party had only just returned from their journey to and from Tempera Village, only to be bundled into another carriage the very next day. They had been forced to set off on their current journey just as they were all prepared to relax and recuperate from their previous trip.

“You could have stayed behind if you didn’t want to come. I mean, Saiga and I are more than enough to handle this,” Ran said rather bluntly to the worn Happine.

Surprisingly, Ran wasn’t trying to be insulting; it was just that she simply didn’t understand the need for such a large caravan in the first place. Ran had yet to truly grasp the physical size of the world, and didn’t understand how difficult it was to arrive at a distant location without getting lost, or the political headaches that could accompany such a journey. More than anything else, she didn’t understand the point of the men accompanying them. Why were men who were weaker than her acting as her escort?

“H-How dare you!”

“Ran, be silent,” Sunae said, cutting Happine’s angry retort off while admonishing Ran. “Those soldiers aren’t here to protect you, but rather to protect Douve and Happine. Or what? Do you intend to protect them as well?”

“I see.” At that explanation Ran didn’t bat an eye and simply nodded in acceptance.

“Happine, you shouldn’t be complaining, either. House Batterabbe is a martial house, is it not?”

“Y-You don’t have to tell me that!”

Ran’s acceptance was limited to the presence of the escorting soldiers — it didn’t extend to Happine, which was why she snickered at Sunae’s sarcastic quip.

“Vajra might have been stolen, right? That’s a serious issue for the Arcana Kingdom! Of course I should be going with you!”

“Um, about that... If Vajra’s really been taken, are we sure Domino will be alright?”

Zuger’s concern was only natural. Given that Vajra was owned by Domino’s ruler, Ukyou, that would mean that someone had attacked Ukyou and taken Vajra from him by force. That was already an enormous problem in and of itself, but it was well within the realm of possibility that the individual who had taken Vajra might also aim to destroy the Domino Republic. It seemed plausible for the émigré nobles, men and women like Nuri, to go to such extreme lengths to salve their wounded pride.

“What do you think, Eckesachs?”

“I don’t think there’s that much to worry about.” Eckesachs replied to Saiga’s query, sounding relatively optimistic. “Vajra can control the weather, but she can’t create it out of nothing. To create enough clouds to cover an entire kingdom, her wielder would have to go all the way to the sea, then bring the clouds back to the kingdom to make it rain there. That would take a substantial amount of time.”

“If it takes that long, maybe it’s a bit further into the future.”

Even though this world had no rapid communication methods like telephones, Domino could still send word of an attack against Ukyou using mounted messengers and the like. Given that they hadn’t sent such a message yet, and that no other word of dark clouds had been forthcoming, it meant that either Vajra had yet to be taken or had just been taken.

“But the Testudo Style’s prophetic dreams are about events that can’t be avoided. Since we’re on the way to Caputo or whatever, we’ll probably arrive right as that’s happening,” Ran said; she didn’t know much about Vajra, but seemed to think that the events were already in motion.

To that, Eckesachs replied with a touch of irritation, “Were you not listening? I was explaining to you that it’s impossible as...”

“Beg your pardon, Lady Happine!” A Royal Guardsman anxiously opened the door to the carriage.

He wasn’t the only one showing anxiety. All of those escorting the carriage — indeed, everyone who wasn’t inside the carriage — seemed in a panic.

“Dark clouds are gathering on the horizon and heading this way!”

“What?!”

Eckesachs leapt out of the carriage first, and the others followed her out the door.

Once outside of the carriage, the group looked eastward in the direction they were headed. The eastern sky was covered with a layer of black clouds. It was though there was a giant black wall in the sky, and it was steadily coming closer.

“That can’t be...”

The carriage and the mounted escort all stopped moving. Everyone there could only stare up at the sky in shock. It was precisely because they knew about the Divine Spear Vajra’s powers that the sight before them was so frightening. As Vajra herself had boasted, her powers belonged to the realm of the gods, and were far beyond anything that mere humans could fight against. Even Ran was speechless, staring in shock as the clouds approached.

“Just what is going on here...?” Eckesachs’s murmur sent a shiver up Saiga’s spine as he remembered the images from his dream.

“The man holding Vajra... He seemed extremely powerful...”

It was impossible to do this much with just Vajra’s powers. The one who had taken Vajra from Ukyou was a monster of untold strength.

“So powerful that I don’t stand a chance against him by myself.”

The reason Saiga had been frightened in front of Lord Batterabbe wasn’t because of the various minor complications or any potential mishaps. Simply put, it was because Saiga had felt he couldn’t defeat this opponent by himself.

“...Everyone,” Saiga said, looking at everyone who had stopped in place.

Not just Ran and Tahlan, but to Sunae, the Royal Guardsmen, and Sansui’s students. He looked upon the faces of each warrior, who despite their anxiety, their fear, all had the same expression upon their features. Saiga then looked to Eckesachs, the Ultimate Legendary Sword.

“...Let’s hurry. To Caputo.”

He turned Eckesachs into a sword and pointed her in the direction of the clouds.

“We have to protect the Arcana Kingdom.”

The young swordsman wanted nothing more to turn from the clouds at his back and run. He didn’t bother to hide the fear on his face, but in spite of that fear, he still proposed moving onward.

At Saiga’s direction, the warriors steeled themselves. They nodded to one another, remounting their horses to set out once more. They now all understood what had driven Saiga’s anxiety, what he had been seeking, and what he had overcome to move forward. The warriors hadn’t exactly been lacking in urgency before, but now they were re-energized with a fresh sense of urgency. Their morale was as high as it could be as they set out again toward the clouds.

“Looks like Saiga’s finally grown up a bit.”

Douve, returning to her carriage, showed no sign of running and, if anything, chuckled in amusement as she turned to gaze upon Tahlan, who rejoined her in the carriage. Tahlan, who had always looked dignified and strong, was now unable to contain a child-like excitement as he looked out toward the horizon. Douve looked affectionately at him, smiling happily.

“Yes, indeed.”

Tahlan hadn’t been overwhelmed by despair, nor was he looking upon the situation lightly. But as a man, he felt a deep joy at being able to face an enemy that threatened the Arcana Kingdom.

“Everyone here is underestimating Saiga. They all have their doubts about him and wish Master Sansui were here. Even Saiga himself feels that way.”

No matter how one looked at the situation, they were facing a danger to the entire kingdom. Saiga’s prophetic dream was correct, with no possibility for error remaining. That being so, they should have sent the kingdom’s greatest asset against the enemy: the ultimate swordsman, the one man that it was impossible to imagine ever losing. They could all believe that he would be able to do something about the situation.

But that would simply be fleeing in the face of the enemy. It would be one thing to retreat to bring back information about the enemy, but Lord Batterabbe was already aware of the contents of Saiga’s prophetic dream, and the dark clouds that were spreading through the sky would send the message far more quickly than even the fastest horse.

There was no tactical reason for Saiga to retreat, but still, his heart wanted to run. Panicked flight, rather than strategic retreat, was what crossed his mind. That was, without a doubt, a sign of his weakness. But because it was a weakness, Saiga was able to overcome it. Because Saiga was the strongest warrior present, he needed to lead the others by example.

“If we were to simply run away here, all we’d have left to ourselves are our lives. If we run because we’re frightened of the enemy before us, we’ll lose what it means to live.”

To run away without doing anything, while leaving everything to the ultimate swordsman, the man who was guaranteed to succeed... Even if they survived, those who had fled wouldn’t have much to live for afterward. Almost everyone present here had lost to Sansui at some point, but that wasn’t all they were. They had lost to Sansui, yes, but they had also made the effort to dust themselves off and stand up again after their loss.

“Better to die a warrior than live as a coward, mm?”

“Exactly.”

Douve herself was as much at risk of dying as any of the others. Despite that risk, she maintained her usual attitude, because she knew just how pathetic it was to discard all pride for the sake of simply clinging to one’s own life. She was different from the likes of Nuri and the émigré nobles, all of whom had done exactly that. Only the weak thought they could earn respect without risking their lives in some way.

“There’s a part of me that’s glad Master Sansui isn’t here. If Master Sansui was here, after all, we might not have a role to play in any of this.”

The warriors present wanted to be proud of their lives. They wanted to put in the effort to get stronger, fight through the danger, and gain the glory that came from all of that. Even if they couldn’t become the strongest swordsmen in the world, they still wanted to be proper swordsmen in their own right. The opportunity to prove themselves had arrived.

“It’s as Saiga has shown us. We must fulfill our duty in the face of danger, even if we’re not as strong as Master Sansui. Not just one or two of us, but all of us, together.”

The kingdom would definitely suffer if they fled here. Many of the kingdom’s people would lose their livelihoods to natural disasters, and no doubt death would come in the form of disease and starvation. It was the duty of those assembled here to prevent that from happening.

“I was a peerless swordsman in Magyan, but my worth was merely as a curiosity. In this kingdom, I’m a swordsman who’s far from the strongest, but that I can be of use to someone... I’m blessed to have found this land.”

“Oh? And am I just part of the window dressing?”

“Of course not. It’s because you are here that I can endure. It’s because I don’t want to disappoint you that I can put my life on the line and fight.”

The carriages charged into the land enveloped by the spreading black clouds. The image of the cloud cover turning day into night was one that could only be described as terrifying. It was the same inside the carriage, as the clouds plunged the interior into pitch-black darkness. But in that darkness, hope shone from the young man and young woman as they held hands.

Part 18 — Anxiety

Vajra, the Divine Spear of Rebellion, one of the Eight Sacred Treasures. A famous mythical item known by practically everyone on the continent, the legendary weapon was capable of controlling the weather.

The Arcana Kingdom’s skies were being carpeted by a dark layer of storm clouds that made it clear to everyone that the legendary weapon had been stolen by someone who had hostile intentions toward the kingdom and was making use of its powers. The people cowered in fear of the threat and began shouting that the end of the world had arrived. There was no one who could reassure them.

It wasn’t just the common people. Soldiers and bureaucrats, nobles and commoners alike could do little but barricade themselves at home and hope they could weather the coming storm. The Arcana Kingdom’s functions had entirely seized up before a drop of rain had fallen from the enormous clouds hovering above it.

Even then, those in the Royal Palace had not abandoned hope. The fact that the king and the Four Great Houses had already taken steps was enough to give people hope.

“Seems the dream was right. I had hoped it was just a nightmare,” Lord Batterabbe, who had heard about the prophetic dream first, remarked in the conference room with the king and the lords of the other Great Houses.

“We’ve already taken our steps. All that remains is to wait for news. If we show any uncertainty, it will simply sow fear among those below us.”

Lord Sepaeda had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, intentionally making a point to appear unconcerned. He was taking great pains to appear calm.

“My sister and your daughter are on their way to the location in question, with their forces in tow. Surely you don’t mean to suggest that your heir or my sister’s fiancé aren’t to be depended upon?”

He was well aware that his most beloved sister, Douve, was headed toward the Caputo Territories. With that knowledge in hand, Lord Sepaeda had squelched his personal concerns and focused upon his role as a public figure in remaining calm.

“...You’re correct. My apologies.”

Lord Sepaeda, the youngest of the lords of the Great Houses, was acting in a manner befitting his role. Lord Batterabbe, seeing Lord Sepaeda’s attitude, felt a momentary pang of shame.

“...I know Ran and Saiga’s abilities; with the two of them together, I have little doubt they’ll prevail. Further, Prince Tahlan and...the Royal Guardsmen...are with them. There’s little reason to expect an undesirable outcome.”

The king, with a solemn expression on his face, swallowed the words that had come close to escaping his mouth. He wanted to order Sepaeda to recall the vacationing Sansui, and quickly. But Lord Sepaeda himself, who wanted to do that more than anyone in the room, was keeping a tight rein on that impulse. As such, the King was hesitant to force the issue.

“But...there’s always the worst case scenario. Disaea, there’s no reason to hold your ace in reserve, is there?”

If there were no other means to guarantee the outcome, the king might very well have ordered Sepaeda to recall Sansui. In that case, the other three Houses would have likely agreed with him.

“Certainly. I do hope you would trust me to do the right thing here. This is hardly a situation for political games.”

Every one of the figures present trusted Saiga and his companions to succeed. Saiga alone might not inspire that full confidence, but the group he had with him, while small, was made up entirely of people whose skill could be relied upon. However, this was a matter of the kingdom’s survival. They needed to plan for the possibility of failure and take every step necessary.

“I’m certain my ace would be able to defeat the one who stole Vajra.”

“I see.”

Disaea’s ace, Shun Ukiyo, Pandora’s ideal wielder. In his own way, he was as certain to kill his target as Sansui. Even if the one who stole Vajra was powerful enough to kill Saiga and all of his companions, Shun would be able to kill the offender with no risk of failure. It was because the kingdom had already issued instructions to Shun that Sansui hadn’t been recalled.

“Your Majesty... What do you think has happened in Domino?” Lord Disaea asked the King, clearly concerned.

The king’s daughter, Setenve, was in the Domino Republic, the place most likely to have taken the brunt of the initial attack. Given that Setenve was assigned there to keep an eye on Ukyou, she was almost certain to have encountered the one who took Vajra. It was impossible to say with any certainty that she would have survived the encounter.

“Ultimately, the Domino Republic is our vassal state. Losing it is of no consequence to us. To concern yourself with such things when your kingdom’s survival is at stake... You’ve aged, Disaea.”

“Beg pardon, Your Majesty.”

The king returned Disaea’s inquiry with a rather harsher, more impersonal remark than might otherwise be expected. It was his way of showing that there was no need for Disaea’s concern. The sovereign ruler of a kingdom wasn’t allowed the luxury of worrying about his daughter in a situation like this. The king, like his vassal Lord Sepaeda, needed to behave with a cold, professional stoicism.

“Besides, I doubt Ukyou would be taken down so easily. I suspect he’s already taking his own steps to reclaim his Sacred Treasure.”

The king’s stoic demeanor wasn’t just for show; he also trusted Ukyou Fuushi implicitly. While Ukyou himself had almost no combat ability, the king didn’t think he would simply stand idly by after Vajra was taken from him. The most likely scenario was that Ukyou had been taken by surprise, but was even now already moving to resolve the situation on his own. It was simply not possible that Ukyou would wait for the Arcana Kingdom to come save him.

“...Regarding that matter,” Lord Caputo said solemnly. “Just who is this man, the man who took Vajra from Ukyou? Lord Batterabbe, you said you suspected it was a member of Domino’s old regime, but I find that hypothesis difficult to believe.”

It was pointless for those gathered to engage in speculation at this juncture, but Lord Caputo couldn’t help but consider the possibilities.

“Currently, Ukyou is being protected by the Royal Guards assigned to Her Highness. I cannot think that there was anyone among the old regime with the ability to simply take Vajra from him. If that individual had been part of the imperial government, surely they would have moved earlier.”

It was the same question that had nagged at Saiga, and entirely natural to ponder for anyone who knew the state of Domino’s old regime. It was hard to believe that the Domino Empire, rotten as it was, had anyone of that ability; if such an individual had existed, the revolution would have likely failed.

“I know it’s a meaningless question to worry about. Given that whoever this is has taken a Sacred Treasure from Domino and threatens our kingdom, they need to be defeated. But...I can’t help but feel that we’re missing something. Something very important. Something outright terrifying.”

Could it be that they had fundamentally misread the situation? Lord Caputo, in a manner unbecoming of a Great Lord, couldn’t help but voice his concern in that regard. No matter how much he knew that it was a pointless exercise, the weight of that uncertainty kept him from doing anything else.

Part 19 — Understanding

The Caputo Territories, at the eastern edge of the Arcana Kingdom.

Paulette Caputo, daughter of Lord Caputo, quietly waited within the walled city located in the territory’s eastern extreme. Governing the Caputo Territories in her father’s stead, the moment her lands had been enveloped in the dark storm clouds, Paulette had sent a swift messenger by horse toward Domino. Further, in order to receive the reply from Domino as quickly as possible, Paulette had traveled to this city, the location closest to the border with the Domino Republic.

She didn’t know whether her actions had much of a point. For a rider to arrive at Domino’s capital and deliver a message to Ukyou, return to her, and then to relay that message to the rest of the Arcana Kingdom, would all take the better part of a month even if everything moved as quickly as possible.

Then there were the rain clouds overhead. The moment the rain came down, it would spell the end of the Arcana Kingdom. It looked like that could happen at any moment. In that sense, the Arcana Kingdom was already doomed.

“...Um, hey, Lady Paulette. They made us some tea. Do you want any?”

Paulette was struggling to cope with that pressure. Despite all her rank and privilege, what she could do was the same as any other person in the kingdom — pray to the heavens and wait. And the only thing Shouzo, who accompanied her, could do...was offer her a cup of tea. He even had to get Paulette’s lady-in-waiting to make the tea, so the truth was that there was literally nothing he could do.

“Thank you.”

But even then, it was a balm for Paulette’s worn spirit. Despite the fact that she was the heir-apparent to House Caputo, Great House of Healers, she hadn’t realized that her throat was dry.

“Shouzo...”

But once she took the cup from him, she couldn’t bring herself to take a sip. Instead, she stared at the ripples spreading along the surface of the tea from the trembling of her hands.

“I did everything that I could do. However...it was all rather unexceptional. If I was blessed with some great talent, perhaps there was more I could have done.”

She then turned to ask a question of the mage next to her, a mage who was gifted with far from ordinary talent. He was the most powerful mage on the planet; someone, she felt, could perhaps even do something about the current situation.

“Were it someone other than I, could they have done more? Perhaps they could have made better use of Noah, who is still in my possession.”

The Sacred Treasure, Noah the Ark. It was a legendary item that the Arcana Kingdom had acquired purely by accident and entrusted into House Caputo’s hands. Using it under the circumstances could very well start a riot, as masses of people jockeyed to get aboard. If she tried to use the ship of refuge for its intended purpose, evacuating people to safety, it would only serve to fan the flames of conflict.

“If only I had more strength...”

Her decision could cause her people to begin killing one another, people whose only crime was that they didn’t want to die. Because of that fear, Paulette had been unable to make effective use of the Sacred Treasure.

“I dunno, really.” His reply was an extraordinary simple one. Given that Shouzo really didn’t know the answer, he had no choice but to just honestly admit to his ignorance. “But I’m sure everyone feels that way.”

“...I guess.”

Given that the situation was enough to make most people fall into despair and worry that the world itself was ending, there were surely plenty of average folks who had abandoned their duties and holed up in their houses. As for the common people as a whole? It was doubtful any of them would follow any instructions she issued. Even if she had come up with some sort of miraculous solution, it would have been impossible to actually implement it.

“But it’ll be okay! I’m sure Lord Caputo and His Majesty will figure out! I’m sure Ukyou, Sansui, and even Saiga are all doing their best!”

“...Yes, the best we can do is trust in them.”

In the end, Shouzo was right. There simply wasn’t much they could do to resolve the events that had already occurred. She had done all she could do, so all that she could do now was to pray that others were also doing their best.

“Those who stand atop the Arcana Kingdom will never give in to despair.”

Just as she had done everything in her power, surely the king and the other Great Houses were doing what they could do. Which is why Paulette clasped her hands together in prayer.

“B-Beg your pardon, My Lady, but I bring news! President Ukyou of the Domino Republic has arrived in the city!”

The paladin who hurriedly burst into Paulette’s room brought good news.

“T-Truly? Show him in at once!”

She thanked the heavens for answering her prayers.

“I-In addition, Lady Happine Batterabbe and Lady Douve Sepaeda have also arrived!”

“Ohh?!”

“Lord Mizu Saiga, Prince Magyan Tahlan, and the Royal Guardsmen have arrived with them!”

“W-What’s going on?! Surely their arrival is much too early!”

The people who could solve the questions that had plagued her, who had stolen Vajra from Ukyou, how to stop the man who stole Vajra, had all arrived at once.

“A-All I was doing was praying...”

“Wow, Lady Paulette, I didn’t know you could do that with mysticism~.”

“I-I can’t do anything like that. If I could, I would have been praying much more fervently.”

Mysticism was only useful for defense and healing. It didn’t have the power to improve the situation simply through prayer, which was why Paulette was struggling to deal with the sudden good turn in her fortune.

“A-At any rate, show them all into the same meeting room! Bring the largest map we have in the manor!”

“So, really sorry about that. He took Vajra from me,” Ukyou, who had been Vajra’s owner, appeared with Elixir and Dainsleif in tow and said with a tired sigh.

The new arrivals had been shown to the conference room within the city’s palace. Despite the fact that he had caused a situation that could very well spell the end of an entire kingdom, Ukyou’s attitude was far from one to be expected of a public figure. It probably meant that he simply had no emotional breathing room to put on appearances and was too tired to even try.

“It’s only been about two weeks since he took her. That said, I haven’t been able to get a good sense of night or day thanks to all this darkness, so I don’t have a precise number. This has just happened way too quickly...I figured we would’ve had a bit more time.”

“On that front, we’re in agreement. Vajra shouldn’t have the ability to manipulate the weather with this much speed in her current form...”

“Hahaha! Well, no use crying over it, since it’s already happened! We need to hurry up and go rescue Vajra!”

Like Eckesachs, Dainsleif, Elixir and Ukyou agreed that the clouds were spreading far faster than they should be. It seemed that the answer had in fact been that the weather was changing at an impossibly fast rate, rather than the possibility that Vajra had been stolen much earlier than they thought.

“We’re glad to see that you’re safe, Master Ukyou. We would appreciate it if you could give us a succinct summary of the situation,” Paulette asked Ukyou, as the Arcanian representative in the room. In the conference were the ladies of the Great Houses, the aces, Ran, Tahlan, and the Sacred Treasures.

“Well... Basically, a giant dude who wouldn’t even tell us his name came into my palace and took Vajra from me,” Ukyou briefly summarized with a tone of intense irritation. Just as in Saiga’s prophetic dream, someone had stolen Vajra from him. “There wasn’t any other real damage. Setenve, Danua, and Ungaikyo are all safe. Thing is, if we all came at once, no one would get any work done in the capital, so it’s just me, Dainsleif and Elixir this time.”

“Were you able to find out anything about who he’s associated with or what his objectives were?”

“Not a clue.”

Even Tahlan was a bit taken aback at Ukyou’s absurd boldness. There wasn’t a hint of the meekness even the greatest of heroes would feel if they’d lost a Sacred Treasure, then exposed their liege state to this level of danger. Ukyou could probably have stood to sound a tad more apologetic.

“And so what did you come all this way for, exactly, Mr. President?”

Although Douve’s barb was extraordinarily rude, no one present could really fault her tone.

“Oh, don’t be like that. We do have a few things we do know. Dainsleif?”

“Mm. I’ve kept the blood from when he fought the Royal Guardsmen. While I can’t absorb it, I know his rough direction and distance.” Dainsleif, who had accompanied Ukyou, thus had a complete grasp of where the stolen item had been taken.

“Really?!”

The man who stole Vajra was impossible to track through normal means, given the sheer scale of the cloud cover. But if they knew where he was, the problem was already halfway to its resolution. There were three aces present, along with the berserker Ran. In addition, they had Tahlan, the Royal Guardsmen, and the paladins. It seemed like they had more than enough forces at their disposal to deal with him.

“So, where is he now?”

“He’s...heading directly this way.” Dainsleif pointed at the exact center of the map laid out in the middle of the conference room’s large table. The map was centered on the Caputo territories, and so the fortified city where they all sat was right in the middle.

“...He’s coming here?” Paulette was shocked, but the group from the royal capital appeared unfazed. Instead they seemed a bit disappointed that Saiga’s prophetic dream turned out to be correct yet again.

“Hahaha! Just so that you all understand! These clouds that are covering the sky, they’re only being held together by magic! If you destroy Vajra, it’ll come down as rain and wash everything away!” Elixir, who, for some reason was in a good mood, added further details to the already grim outlook. “Therefore, we must retake Vajra and move these clouds over to the ocean!”

“Thank you... For your explanation...” Paulette said with a faintly troubled expression, then looked to her own ace. In the worst case, she had planned to unleash Shouzo’s magic at the enemy’s location. Unfortunately, Shouzo’s magic could very well destroy even a Sacred Treasure. Since Vajra needed to be recovered intact, that option was now off the table.

“...Given the darkness, getting too far away from the city would be dangerous. I think it’s best to intercept him at Shouzo’s bombing site.” Happine confirmed to those present. They had no choice but to bring about the circumstances just as they had occurred in the prophetic dream. Trying to go against that outcome was just likely to bring unnecessary complications. “We traveled all this way by carriage in this darkness. I’m sure we’re all tired. We should all get rest and get ready for him to appear.”

Happine’s proposal was quite appropriate. Given that it had been essentially a forced march to get here, the Batterabbe party was already exhausted from their journey. If they didn’t rest, so as to face their enemy fresh, they could very well lose a battle they’d otherwise have won.

“You seem to be taking your sweet time, Happine. This rain could come down at any moment, you know.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Douve. If they wanted it to rain, they would have done it already.”

Happine was, again, correct. It hadn’t rained in Saiga’s prophetic dream, but even putting that aside, it was hard to believe that it would suddenly start raining now.

“There are more than enough storm clouds to destroy this kingdom. Given that it’s not raining, it probably means he has no intention of actually doing it.”

During the journey here, the members of the two parties had all been frightened that it could begin raining at any moment. But after several days of that fear, they had grown tired of being afraid. And Happine’s point was perfectly valid: it wasn’t even clear if this was an actual danger to the Arcana Kingdom itself. Of course, they needed to retake Vajra, but given that they knew the enemy’s location, it would be ridiculous to go in unprepared.

“...Then why did he take Vajra?”

No one could answer Paulette’s question. In fact, all of the people present were stuck on the same question.

“Ahm, maybe he’s a remnant of Domino’s old regime?” Saiga offered the name of the most likely culprit, even as he was certain that he was wrong. He did so because no one else came to mind.

“It can’t be. He didn’t make a single drop of rain fall on Domino. Besides, he showed no real hatred toward me.”

For members of Domino’s old regime, the Arcana Kingdom was their enemy because it had established diplomatic relations with the Domino Republic. But their most hated enemy was the new regime; among that new regime, Ukyou, the revolutionary leader, had to be the one they wanted to kill more than anyone else. The one who stole Vajra ignored both the new Domino government and Ukyou himself to make his way toward the Arcana Kingdom. The likelihood that he was related to the old regime was close to zero.

“Then why did he take Vajra?”

“You’re asking me? Hell, I want to know,” Ukyou answered with annoyance at Shouzo’s question.

“Pardon me, but Master Ukyou, would you mind giving us a more detailed account of what transpired?” Tahlan asked with a tense expression.

“If possible, we would like to know what sort of Arts the attacker wielded.”

“...Let me start with this: the attacker didn’t use anything flashy. All he was doing was fighting with a spear. But...it looked like his wounds healed as quickly as they were inflicted.”

Those who had come from the royal capital glanced over at Ran. Being able to heal one’s wounds while fighting was an extraordinary advantage. Ran had been born with the ability to do so.

“Well... Still not sure about anything, really, but I can at least tell you what happened.”

Ukyou began to describe how it came to be that he lost Vajra.

You wanted to be important. You wanted to be in charge of governing the country. You wanted jobs that were suited for your talents. Right? Then let’s get to work.

The members of the Domino Republic’s new government were in Hell. While none of them had ever been to a place literally called Hell, the work the President demanded of them forced them to endure a distinctly hellish kind of suffering.

We killed all the people who used to do all this work, so we’ve gotta fill the gap. That goes without saying, right? Surely you lot aren’t going to suddenly say that you didn’t actually want the job, right? Just that you wanted people to lavish praise upon you and let you reap all the rewards, without doing any of the work?

There was no way that their predecessors were nearly as busy as they were. But of course, if there were, say, one hundred government bureaucrats that had been killed in the revolution and you were to replace them with just twenty revolutionaries, those twenty revolutionaries would naturally have to do five times the work per person.

With only twenty-four hours in a day, there was only so much they could cover by working longer. They also had to work much, much harder. The working conditions were abysmal. They weren’t allowed to sleep, even as they worked deep into the night.

“Urk... Ugh...”

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Those who worked under the President wept as they toiled away. There were piles of paperwork stacked up in the large conference room, and despite the fact that they had been processing those forms for what felt like ages, the end seemed nowhere in sight.

It’s not that they were being forced to do endlessly increasing amounts of busywork. No, the piles of paperwork were just the things that they had determined were necessary for running the country. They were simply far too short on manpower, but they also weren’t in any position to complain. Everyone present had pitched themselves as highly capable administrators and had been given an appropriate amount of power and pay by the revolutionary government.

All of them had believed that they were destined for great things or that they genuinely wanted to work at the highest levels of government. All of them had wanted prestige and money. All of them were now crammed into this room and were working next to Ukyou. Given that Ukyou would summarily execute anyone who purposely sabotaged the workings of the government, none of them dared to shirk their duties, and few took any rest without some serious justification.

They might have prestige, but so did everyone around them. They had rank, but they had no time to flaunt it. They were paid well, but they had no time to spend the money. As such, they were stuck in a working Hell.

Ukyou himself led by example, going out of his way to work harder than anyone. With the President himself working until his eyes were red from exhaustion, there was no way his subordinates could do any less.

You know what’ll happen if you disappoint me, right?

Ukyou was a man who held a grudge. In fact, he was so capable of holding a grudge that he had brought down the Empire, captured the entire Imperial House, and executed every last one of them. No one had any desire to betray a man like that. All of the individuals in the conference room had simply hoped to reap the rewards of being among the new emperor’s retinue and instead found themselves shackled to him as his virtual slaves.

“...It’s getting late. You need to get some rest.”

However, things had improved of late. The worn-out members of Ukyou’s inner circle looked up as the supposedly austere Setenve spoke up in favor of rest.

“But we’re not finished yet...”

“I’m saying that working any longer will just destroy your productivity. Even once you’re done today, you’ll have more work to do tomorrow. You have a long life of work ahead of you, and we can’t have you burning out too quickly.”

Given that Ukyou was a man who had brought down an entire government through sheer force of will, he had a tendency to power his way through fatigue with sheer willpower. As such, he was a man who was willing to work all through the night without rest. But now, he finally had someone who could put a stop to his all-nighters.

“...Sigh, such are the travails of a vassal state. Okay, fine... You lot, stop working for now. We’re going to the cafeteria.”

Further, everyone who was working there now had something to look forward to. It was now possible to eat food from Ukyou’s homeland.

As they moved to the cafeteria, the assembled aides and staffers were so excited that they forgot their fatigue. They were all of a certain age, but they were practically skipping through the halls as though they were children getting their dessert. They had something they’d truly desired. They had somehow maintained a monopoly on the delicacies that were out of the reach of the common people.

“Oh my lawwwd!”

Danua, the Silo of Plenty. She was the fifth of the President’s Sacred Treasures, an unexpected bonus that he had acquired on his diplomatic mission to the Arcana Kingdom. Her function was extraordinarily simple. When used by a compassionate individual, she created unlimited amounts of food. While there was the limitation that the food would disappear in a day’s time, the effect was dramatic.

In the Republic’s capital, the delicious bread, soup, salad, fish, and fried meats that she created were widely distributed to rich and poor alike. The price the capital’s residents paid was that their stockpiled food supplies were then sent to Domino’s outlying territories, but there was no one who objected to exchanging their old, bland food for new, delicious food.

But Ukyou’s inner circle was permitted to eat even foods that would make the residents of the capital drool with envy.

“Workin’ ’til this late hour! All that paper’s gonna be the death of you! Tuck in to this here food, brush your teeth, take a bath, and head on over to bed!”

While Danua herself did work related to agricultural policy, she was a tool and didn’t suffer from fatigue. She was extremely lively and constantly spoke in a voice just short of a shout. The dishes that she served to Ukyou and his aides were various filling meals such as hamburgers, ramen, and curry. The food issued to the ordinary citizen was generally breads of various sorts, soups, and the like. While those were delicious in their own right, they paled in comparison to the dishes on the table in front of Ukyou.

“Y’all tuck in and eat your fill so you can work hard again tomorrow!”

This was the one time of day that Ukyou himself broke out in a grin. In front of him there was piping hot food from his homeland. That fact was enough to make even him smile. Yes, even Ukyou, the man who would vow revenge not only on the man who wronged him, but on his entire family, and hunt all of them down to the last man, woman, and child, could do nothing but smile when presented with the meal in front of him.

“Well, then... I’ll dig in.”

This was the one time of day where everyone was fully absorbed in their food. They forgot about who it was who sat next to them and instead focused their attention entirely on their dinner. In this space, which mixed the passionate enthusiasm for food with the silence brought about from eating it, everyone was busy moving their spoons or forks.

Everyone present found such fulfillment in their meals that they felt every sip, every bite, was bringing life back into their exhausted bodies. The delicious food that they had all dreamed of had been made a reality by their fearsome dictator.

“Ahh... Delicious.”

The word that escaped the President’s lips reflected the sentiments of everyone in the room. None of them were motivated to work hard tomorrow. They had all forgotten all about tomorrow, and they were just focused on the moment that they could sate their hunger with delicious food. They were all alive just for this moment. Everyone in the room felt the same way.

“...I wonder about this at every meal, but were you really a commoner in your homeland?”

“And like I tell you every meal, yes. Saiga, Shouzo, and Sansui were the same way, it seems like.”

Setenve struggled to understand what the homeland of the aces was like. Of course, she knew that a wealthy country meant that its people ate well. But the foods Ukyou brought out went far beyond that. Even Setenve Arcana, the eldest daughter of the Arcana Royal Family and no stranger to luxury foods herself, found the raw, uncooked foods that Ukyou had eaten in his homeland to be quite delicious. She’d heard that both commoner and noble alike were in ecstasy at the jams made with those foreign fruits, and she could understand why.

“...Compared to your country, no doubt our countries seem poor, backward, and primitive.”

“Hahaha! No need to get so sulky, Setenve! It’s not like we were the ones who started that country!”

It seems that their homeland was rich even when Sansui was still a normal human, over five hundred years ago. But she had never heard of a country of that sort nearby. How did they even get to this region in the first place?

“Hamburger, fries, and soda... Ah, the holy trifecta of junk food.”

Ukyou was currently eating a patty of meat with vegetables sandwiched between two slices of bread, potatoes that had been mashed and then made into shapes and fried, and a drink that was made by flavoring sparkling water. It tasted good, but it also had a rough, unrefined quality about it.

But, to call these dishes “junk” — presumably something little better than trash. Just how abundant was the food in their homeland? Given that, judging by what Ukyou had said, his homeland even had policies aimed at reducing the amount of land under cultivation and implementing wide-scale destruction of foodstuffs, they must have been wealthy beyond measure.

“I couldn’t help but crave it when I thought I’d never eat it again... But when I eat it like this, it really hits the spot! It’s most certainly a meal that makes me happy!”

“Oh my lawd! Eatin’ greasy stuff like that this late will make you fat! I made sure to cook up some vegetables for your health, so make sure you eat them, too!”

They still couldn’t figure out what dialect Danua was speaking, but she began to pass out platters of leaf and root vegetables to everyone present. Ordinarily, they were things to avoid, but they were a perfect palate cleanser from all the grease that they’d just consumed.

Everyone took forkfuls of the vegetables. Given that they were fresh, there was something oddly fulfilling about them, as well.

“Bless your heart, Master, but your table manners need work! You’re setting a bad example, given you’re the highest ranking fellow here! Sit up straight!”

“I’m really happy you’re here, Danua.”

Danua could produce anything that her wielder had eaten before, which had an unfortunate downside: Ukyou hadn’t consumed alcohol when he was back home. Considering how delicious the food was, surely his homeland had its share of delicious alcoholic drinks, as well. It was something that everyone there thought was a bit of a pity. Still, if it was that delicious, they could very well have drunk themselves to death. Thinking about it that way, it was probably for the best that she couldn’t produce any alcohol from his memories.

“I wish I could let the city’s folk have some of these here eats, too.”

“I get what you’re saying, but given how we distribute it, we can’t give folks things that won’t be any good when they’re cold.”

“True...”

If they passed out something like ramen in a prepared state, it would probably taste quite terrible by the time the people got their hands on it. They could still probably figure out a way to do it, but Ukyou didn’t think it was a good idea to distribute dishes that they knew wouldn’t be any good when it reached the eaters.

“It’s thanks to you, Danua, that we’ve got enough food for the countryside, people in the capital can eat delicious food, and I can eat dishes from home. You’ve done nothing but good for us.”

“Bless your heart, Master, but you’re the most demanding master I’ve ever had. Would have never expected a man like you to be compassionate on a country-wide level.”

“Just like you, I’ve seen a lot of poverty. I’m glad it wasn’t all for nothing.”

“Mm, darned right...”

Given the depleted state of the Domino Republic, just how many of its households were actually able to enjoy this level of comfort? When he thought about it that way, Ukyou had no qualms about working his subordinates to death, but he had to hesitate when told it was bad for productivity.

“Danua... Make me some tamago kake gohan and soy sauce as well as...”

“Miso soup, right? Well, fine... But that’s it for tonight.”

“Right, I hear ya!”

“I’m making all of y’all get some exercise tomorrow morning. Running and stretches will get you all healthy!”

“No one here’s gonna complain about that.”

Danua reached into her fob and produced a tray with miso soup and tamago kake gohan. The tray also had a cup of hot green tea, as well. Danua was a silo that went the extra mile-o.

“Alright... Once we’re done eating, it’s time to brush our teeth and sleep. Remember, you lot, we’ve got more work to do tomorrow!”

It was a reality that they didn’t want to face, but given that it was the founder of the republic himself saying those words, no one could argue with him. Ukyou himself looked quite content as he said this. There was just something about drizzling soy sauce onto the raw egg and pouring it onto the steaming dish of white rice. He ate his tamago kake gohan, drank his miso soup, and had a cup of tea to close out his meal.

“Man, I’m so afraid of this tea!”

“What’s scary about tea?”

“Oh, uh, it’s from a rakugo joke... Mm, what’s going on?”

Just as the day seemed to be coming to an end, the palace was suddenly abuzz with activity. The clamor outside was so loud that they could hear it in the cafeteria.

“...Finish up your meals. Setenve and Danua, come with me. We’re going to gather the other Treasures from their jobs and figure out what’s going on.”

Ukyou had a knack for bringing down castles, and so he had a sense for when a castle or palace was about to fall. Ukyou couldn’t shake the bad feeling in his gut as he smiled a predatory smile.

“An intruder, perhaps... But do you think it’s so important that you, the sovereign, need to deal with it yourself?”

“Yeah, I do. I just have a hunch that this guy’s my enemy.”

Ukyou engaged in a brief conversation with Setenve as he collected the Treasures from around the palace and equipped them. Even as he gathered his tools, the sounds of battle continued within the palace. Further, the sounds seemed to be coming from just a single direction. The intruder or intruders were trying to force their way through from a single direction.

“Your Excellency, I bring news. There’s currently a single intruder within the palace!”

One of the Royal Guardsmen on loan from the Arcana Kingdom appeared in front of the pair to report on the situation. His expression was extremely tense. It was hard to believe that this seasoned warrior and his colleagues were simply dealing with a single intruder.

“Currently, the elite Arcanian troops are attempting to remove the intruder, but we haven’t been able to capture him yet. To avoid the worst case scenario, we would like you two to take shelter...”

Unlike the Domino Republic’s soldiers, who were all pretty much amateur conscripts, the Royal Guardsmen who had accompanied Setenve as her bodyguard were elite professionals. If they couldn’t restrain the intruder, it meant that the intruder was an extraordinarily powerful opponent.

Setenve’s mind immediately brought up the image of Sansui single-handedly demolishing the Royal Guard. It seemed this was the case with the Royal Guardsman who had come to them as a messenger and the Guardsman declared confidently, “The intruder isn’t as powerful as the Lightning Slasher. We’re more than capable of defeating him!” in an effort to offer some reassurance.

Ukyou simply pushed him aside.

“This is my castle. I’ll go see what’s happening with my own eyes.”

Setenve followed behind him. She wanted to witness what it was that Ukyou intended to do and who it was who had broken into the castle. The Guardsman who had tried to stop them sighed and followed in their wake. As they proceeded through the palace, they came upon fighting in the courtyard.

“Stop him! Don’t let him get any further into the palace!”

“Work together! He’s not an unbeatable opponent!”

“Don’t let him rest!”

Five Royal Guardsmen had surrounded a large man armed with a short spear and were fighting him. Swords wreathed in flame lit the dark courtyard and the intruder.

“A collection of skilled opponents... To be able to fight me...”

It didn’t appear to be an assassin from another country, nor did it seem a soldier from the Domino Empire. If anything, he was dressed in ragged clothes, almost like a vagrant. The intruder had no armor or protective equipment on, and the only weapon he had was the short spear in his hand. Despite this lack of equipment, he was able to face off with Arcana’s elite and maintain a clear advantage over them.

The contrast was a clear display of the intruder’s strength, but the Royal Guardsman didn’t seem to doubt for a moment that they would win. They could win, and so they must win. With that thought in their minds, they attacked...

“That’s enough! All of you, stand down!”

A shout from a man with the unmistakable authority of a king forced everyone to stop in their tracks. Although he had basically zero no combat ability, the country’s sovereign nevertheless unleashed an intimidating aura as he approached the group in the courtyard. Everyone present, whether Domino soldiers, Arcanian soldiers, or the Guardsmen surrounding the intruder, were forced to stop in place at the sheer authority emanating from Ukyou.

“You are this castle’s master?”

“Yes. This is my country, and this is my castle.”

The Guardsmen surrounding the intruder cautiously maintained their guard through their labored breathing, slightly loosening the cordon as Ukyou approached. They were hesitant to let a dangerous intruder near their master, even if their master was the wielder of Elixir, but they could do nothing but trust in his judgment.

“Barging in unannounced at this late hour... You’re not going to claim you were just here to say hi, are ya?”

Ukyou was obviously angry and noticeably irate. His glare carried so much anger that had it been a subordinate on the other end, the poor target would have fallen dead of a heart attack. But, the opponent was no ordinary man, either. He showed no sign of cowering before Ukyou’s gaze.

“...Why the hell are you here?”

“Hand over your sacred treasure. Hand over the Divine Spear.”

The Divine Spear, Vajra, gave the power to control the weather to those that sought to challenge powerful authorities or entire kingdoms. Because everyone present knew just how powerful the spear was, the demand made everyone all the more tense.

“That’s all I demand. If you won’t hand it over, I’ll take your castle apart piece by piece until you do.”

It was true that, outside of Ukyou and Setenve’s lives, the only things worth assaulting the palace to obtain were the five Sacred Treasures. Of them, Vajra was the one that was most important to keep out of the hands of an intruder.

“Fine. That’s all you want?”

“W-Wait, M-Master?!”

Ukyou offered up Vajra’s haft without a moment’s hesitation. Vajra was in a panic at Ukyou’s complete lack of hesitation, but there was no way for her to go against his intentions.

“Wise.”

“As opposed to an idiot like you, yeah.”

The handover happened so smoothly that those watching were caught completely off-guard. Though they probably should have tried to stop it, all anyone there could do was watch in silence.

“W-Wait, Master! My Master! Wait, wait, wait wait wait!”

The lone exception was Vajra, who was kicking up quite a fuss.

“Good luck, Vajra. I’m sure our Master will retake you soon.”

“Have fun, Vajra. I’m sure you can bear a short separation.”

“Yes, it’s only a short separation, Vajra!”

“Come home soon, Vajra!”

All of the other Sacred Treasures saw her off with their best wishes. Given that the owner was handing over ownership, the tools could do nothing but obey his wishes.

“D-Damn you! I’ll remember this!”

“So, that’s what happened.”

All of those listening to the story all felt a certain amount of pity for Vajra. Just why was this man able to hand over a being that spoke like a person and could turn into a person so easily, to some random stranger?

“The Royal Guardsmen seemed to think they could win... But from what I saw, they had no chance. If I let Arcana’s elite soldiers die in a fight they couldn’t win, I’d have nothing to offer in apology to Setenve or His Majesty.”

Even if Ukyou had no combat skills of his own, he was an expert tactician who had brought down an entire country. Evidently he had felt with just a glance that there was something that the Guardsmen couldn’t overcome. It was just a hunch on his part, but he trusted his instincts and acted entirely around them. He had determined that the man who took Vajra could only be defeated by an ace.

“Even if I had run, he would have caught up to me. Under those circumstances, that was the best option I had.”

It would have been pointless to run, and even if he had bought time, there were no reinforcements coming. That was why Ukyou had decided to simply let the intruder have what he wanted and see what he was going to do. The intruder himself had set out for the kingdom where those aces lived. While it was very convenient, there was something eerie about that behavior.

“Frankly, I was willing to hand over anything but Danua, but he was only interested in Vajra. I didn’t understand that, either. There was no way that he belonged to any kind of organization.”

“He’s not a member of an organization... So he’s moving toward his own individual ends?”

“Based on his expression and his actions, he looked like someone who didn’t trust anyone but himself. Besides, look at how slowly he’s moving. It doesn’t seem like he’s got anyone waiting for him or anything of the sort.”

Ukyou was able to articulate what he felt instinctively in response to Saiga’s questions. His observational skills and ability to judge people had been acquired through the harsh experience of directing a revolution.

“I had thought he was there for me. His eyes were that of one seeking vengeance, of one who was driven by a personal vendetta.”

“Yes, indeed. From my perspective it seemed he had given up on everything but his vendetta. He had the eyes of a man who was willing to die.”

Dainsleif and Elixir gave their observations, based on their centuries of experience and comparisons to their own masters.

“Well, as you might guess from all of this, he’s a dangerous bastard. I would have liked to have Sansui here, too, but... Saiga, can I leave him to you?”

If the intruder had belonged to some organization, or even a country, they might have had a chance at negotiating with him. But if he was motivated solely by a personal vendetta, there was nothing to do but defeat him in combat. They had to defeat a dangerous opponent, one whose Rare Art was a complete mystery.

“Yes, leave it to me,” Saiga shook off his anxiety and announced. “I might not be able to beat him or protect everyone by myself. That said, I’ve brought companions who’re committed to fighting and who won’t back down, whatever the challenge.”

That Saiga would fight went without saying, but he wasn’t alone. He had accepted his own immaturity, his own failings, and had come here to fight in spite of all that. He had committed himself to not relying on Sansui, the man who everyone wanted to rely upon. That was true not just of Saiga, but of Tahlan, Ran, and the others present.

“Alright, we’re counting on you. So, Eckesachs, what do you think?”

Ukyou, while noting his confidence in Saiga, still wanted to make sure they had enough forces at their disposal. While that was likely to put a dent in morale, it was unavoidable given that the survival of entire countries was at stake.

“Rest easy. My Master has grown much stronger, stronger even than when you last saw him fight here in Caputo.” However, Eckesachs quickly restored that morale. “He has worked diligently, endured humiliation, and steadily grown in strength. While he still has his weaknesses, Tahlan and Ran are more than enough to make up for them!”

The Ultimate Legendary Sword, which had seen countless battles, gave her seal of approval.

“So long as it’s not Suiboku or Sansui, we won’t lose to anyone, no matter how many there are of them!”

The man walked steadily in the direction from which he felt a clear presence. He walked and he walked and he walked. At times, he stopped to sit and meditate, but eventually he always got up and continued to walk in that one direction.

Using the power of the Divine Spear, he manipulated the weather around him and gathered the clouds, without letting them rain down a single drop of rain. The clouds were so thick that, if unleashed, the rains would wash away everything beneath them. But even then, the man continued to gather them up.

“...Hey, you.”

The Divine Spear Vajra, for the first time in the ten thousand years of her existence, envied Eckesachs. Vajra cursed that she couldn’t reject a master she didn’t like. She felt nothing but displeasure with the man who continued walking forward without a word, but she had also realized something and that realization had sent a shudder of fear through her.

There was something that simply didn’t make sense. Something that was impossible, no matter how she thought about it, but it didn’t make sense if the impossible wasn’t true.

“Hey, are you listening! I, the Divine Spear, Vajra, am speaking to you!”

He was gathering the storm clouds far too quickly. No matter how she thought about it, the speed at which the clouds were gathering should have been impossible. On a general level, Vajra’s functions had to obey the laws of nature. She couldn’t create a breeze in a sealed room, and she couldn’t make it rain where there was no cloud cover. Without a large lake or ocean, she wasn’t able to quickly generate rain clouds.

“I, a great Sacred Treasure, am talking to you, you usurper!”

She had wondered just how great his desire to challenge the heavens was, but even then, there were limits. Given that she was designed to be used against other human beings, there was no way that she could break the laws of nature. There had to be something else.

“Silence.”

The man didn’t appear to care; he only wanted quiet. He was focused. Walking beneath the storm clouds, he remembered his past, dwelled upon it, and used it for motivation. He was walking to throw his accumulated emotions, thoughts, and memories at the objective at the end of his journey.

“No, I won’t be silent! I finally know what you are!”

“I told you to be silent.”

Vajra was angry. She was thoroughly, completely angry. Her master, who had challenged the heavens and defeated an emperor... Now that her master had become the master of the heavens in his own way, he was to wield her in a fashion that was almost divine, in a way that would bring prosperity to his people. But this intruder, this usurper, was putting all of that at risk.

“Just how much trouble does he mean to cause all of us? That bastard!”

She had finally noticed the obvious. That this man, even though it had been several days since he’d taken her from Ukyou, hadn’t had a single drop of water to drink or a bite to eat. While the Eight Sacred Treasures had no need to eat or drink, this man was human — at least, he was supposed to be. There was only one Rare Art in the world that would let him go without food or drink.

“You’re an Immortal, just like Suiboku, aren’t you?!”

She realized that her words were the truth when the man, who had been walking without interruption, stopped when he heard them.

“I thought so! Which means your goal is Suiboku, isn’t it?!”

“...You know of him? You know of Suiboku?”

“How could I not! The man who, despite being a mere human, controlled the weather just like I. Do you know just how much chaos that man has brought to the mortal realm?!”

Immortals don’t wield Vajra. The Immortal Arts were the only Rare Art capable of manipulating the weather, and while far inferior to Vajra, they could do the exact same things she could do. In this case, their inferiority referred not to scale, but to speed. Something that Vajra could accomplish in three days would take an Immortal thirty days.

But given that Immortals had nearly infinite lifespans, that detail was of little concern to them. Further, Immortals that had broken their ties with the mortal world would have no reason to rebel against the nations around them. Even Sansui, a youngster by Immortal standards, was older than the Arcana Kingdom itself. Essentially, to an Immortal, the countries of the mortal world held little meaning or value.

“...So, he did in fact commit a great evil.”

“Yes, indeed he did! Just how many islands do you think he sank under the sea? How many mountains slashed down for sport? How many forests burned down to sate his own ego?!”

But the Sacred Treasures knew that there was an Immortal, who, unlike the rest of his kind, had influenced the mortal world. They knew of the man who, because of his extreme power, had wrought all sorts of havoc and destruction upon the world.

“I am Fukei. Suiboku and I trained under the same master.”

The long flow of time had already hidden his crimes from the world. It had already been over fifteen hundred years since Suiboku last went on a rampage. There were no surviving countries that remembered his atrocities. All that remained were stories passed down as myths in places like Tempera Village.

“I’ve come to kill Suiboku, the man who destroyed our homeland, Karei!”

But this man hadn’t forgotten the crime that Suiboku had committed: the crime of destroying their homeland.

This makes me the greatest! I’m now the greatest!

Suiboku, wait!

That’s right! No one can stop me now!

What?! All that you’ve destroyed, and now you’re going to run?!

Run? What nonsense! I’m simply leaving. I’m leaving for the mortal world, where I’ll show them my skill!

Ordinarily Vajra wouldn’t activate for a personal vendetta, but that changed if the target of that vendetta is one who has the power to destroy entire countries. If that target is regarded as a power far beyond human reach, a natural disaster rather than a mere individual, then everything was different.

“I will kill him. That’s what I’ve spent the last three thousand years preparing to do.”

In the hands of an Immortal, Vajra, who could control the weather, became a tool that allows control of the heavens themselves.

“...You think you can win? Against that monster?!”

“I will. I must! That’s what those three thousand years were for!”

The Immortal who had spent the last three thousand years preparing himself felt the pull. The pull of the monster waiting for him at the end of his walking. The presence of the great criminal, the great destroyer, who still sought even greater power for himself.

“I cannot possibly lose!”

Fukei continued onward, venting his hatred through his aura. His slow, deliberate steps seemed to confirm his utter hatred of Suiboku with each step he took. Fukei, who was certain he had the power to bend the heavens and the earth to his will, walked over a border with no regard for its existence. He walked, certain that the monster that he sought sensed his approach.

Part 20 — Encounter

“Sniff... I really don’t wanna do this...”

Noah was the largest and toughest of the Eight Sacred Treasures. As a ship meant for emergency evacuations, she was designed less for pure speed and more for durability. Having been accidentally shot down over Caputo by Shouzo, she was now in House Caputo’s care.

“Now, now, it’s not like we’re going to make you fight.”

“I don’t wanna be used at all...”

Noah, alone of the Eight Sacred Treasures, considered it best that she never fulfill her purpose. After all, she was created with the explicit purpose of serving as an emergency evacuation vessel. Given that, it was understandable that she wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of being used.

“It’ll be fine, really. We’re not the ones who are gonna fight, anyway.”

“But... It’s dumb to go where it’s dangerous. When there’s danger, what you’re supposed to do is run away or hide.”

“Well, sure, but if everyone did that we’d never solve any problems.”

Still, it was Shouzo’s job to convince her; unusually for him, he was making progress by simply reasoning with Noah logically.

“Lady Paulette. Just to double check, if it’s really dangerous, I’m supposed to freeze the whole area so that we can run away, right?”

“Yes. If the worst comes to pass, we’ll have to ask that of you,” Paulette nodded in acknowledgment at Shouzo’s query. In the worst case scenario, they’d run away and leave it in the hands of House Disaea’s ace. But it was hard to believe that such a contingency would be necessary at all.

Currently there were three warriors of first-class skill lined up outside the ark. Ran the Berserker, Tahlan the Shadow Summoner, and Saiga, House Batterabbe’s heir. Ordinarily this would be an excessive amount of force to direct at a single human target.

With that said, however, Ukyou, the Arcana Royal Family’s ace, wasn’t able to hide his unease.

“Ahm...Lord Ukyou. Do you not believe that we can win?”

“Yep. Don’t think we have a chance in the slightest,” Ukyou answered without hesitation to Happine Batterabbe’s question. There wasn’t any doubt in his reply, either. The sentiment may as well have been written on his face as he glared out across the wastelands. From the Arcana Kingdom’s point of view, House Disaea’s ace was their actual trump card, meaning that losing here wouldn’t be as catastrophic as it might seem.

However, Ukyou had a different reason for his pessimism.

“There was just something about the guy that defied understanding. Not that I was trying all that hard.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’re just too many things in the world that are beyond my personal knowledge. If there’s one thing I can say, it’s that he didn’t seem to lack experience, nor was he unaware of the situation that he was in.”

Ukyou was a hero who had subdued an entire nation, not with his own personal power, but by making use of his tools and through skillful politics. To him, the experience that drove an individual seemed a vital part of the equation.

“The reason you’re not too worried about him, the reason you think you can’t lose, is because he bled when fighting against five Royal Guardsmen, right?”

“...Yes, that’s right. Sansui once defeated the entire Royal Guard without taking any injuries himself. He even managed it without killing any of the guardsmen in the process. Furthermore, Sansui noted that Ran, the berserker down there, could single-handedly defeat the Royal Guard.”

“I don’t doubt that. He’s probably right.”

“...Then why are you so certain we can’t win?”

Rephrasing it in rather more blunt terms, someone who had sustained injuries fighting five Royal Guardsmen had no chance against Ran or Saiga. Ran and Saiga could easily defeat a handful of Royal Guardsmen.

“Saiga, Shouzo, and I know all sorts of stories and tales. My conclusion, based on all of them, is that there’s no contradiction in someone being wounded by Royal Guardsmen and yet also being impossible for the three of them down there to defeat.”

In a certain sense, Ukyou, as an outsider to the Arcana Kingdom, was better able to gauge relative strength. Those from the Arcana Kingdom, including Setenve’s bodyguards, were far too used to thinking of strength using Sansui as the benchmark. Sansui had been able to demolish the Royal Guard without taking any injuries. Conversely, the Guardsmen had been able to injure the intruder, therefore they believed they could defeat him, unlike Sansui. That was also the reason the others present here thought that they could defeat him.

“It’s true that, even if he was holding back, the Guardsmen were able to wound him. He might still have taken damage even when fighting all-out. In that sense, he’s probably not nearly as skilled in physical combat as Sansui. But the powerful are still powerful, even if they’re not the best at close combat.”

The biggest example of which was House Caputo’s ace, aboard this very ark. Shouzo’s existence was a reminder that optimism about the outcome might not be entirely warranted.

“That’s...”

“Don’t worry, Happine. That doesn’t guarantee your fiancé’s going to lose.”

While Ukyou has his concerns, he also didn’t want to demoralize his allies. It was precisely because that Ukyou had nothing he could do in response to this situation that he had handed over Vajra without a fight and asked for reinforcements from Arcana. Ukyou was well aware that this also meant he had no right to lecture his allies from on high. Further, Arcana had already taken steps to send Pandora’s wielder as additional reinforcements.

“Besides, in the worst case, Pandora and her wielder will be heading over here, right? That probably means we have nothing to worry about.”

Ukyou was aware of Pandora’s capabilities, as the other Sacred Treasures had already explained its abilities to him. The Arcana Kingdom had already undertaken the most optimal possible response to the crisis. Which meant that, as the sovereign of an allied country, his job was to trust in his allies. If the forces on site were motivated to fight, then the only thing those in charge should do would be to secure a way for them to retreat if they failed.

“...Look sharp, he’s here!”

Saiga had looked into the future. The scene he had seen in his prophetic dream and the scene unfolding before him were exactly the same. In the cloud-darkened wastelands created by Shouzo’s magic, a single figure appeared in the distance.

“He...has quite the presence.”

“Yep, seems really strong!”

The man who approached with Vajra in hand had an aura of intense determination about him. His presence strengthened Tahlan’s resolve while Ran, seeing no need to hold back, had let loose her Tainted Blood, her hair turning silver. Similarly, those aboard Noah tensed as they watched the man walk closer.

To put it in bald and perhaps cliched terms, the man exuded strength from his very appearance. In that sense, he was clearly different from any of the aces of the Great Houses. They all felt an immense power from him; that was the only way to describe the man. The master of the storm clouds that enveloped the entire kingdom simply oozed power from his entire being, overwhelming everything around him.

“...That power.”

Saiga found himself daunted. Saiga had seen the man in his dream, but he was even more intimidating in person.

“Ohh, my master! You’ve come to retake me!” Vajra cried out. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to deny her powers to the man holding her and, while she could speak out, she was unable to return to her master’s side. Still, she seemed moved at seeing her master aboard Noah.

“Vajra! Were you able to find out anything about him?” Ukyou boldly asked his Divine Spear for information from atop Noah’s deck.

Everyone around him was a bit taken aback at just how pitilessly he demanded information from Vajra. It was true that she would be the only one who might know something about the mysterious man, but still, surely he could have at least offered some reassuring words first.

“Yes, I have some information! Such a task is child’s play for a weapon of my greatness!”

The master of the storm clouds seemed unbothered by the prospect of information leaking to his enemy. He simply allowed Vajra to continue to speak.

“Indeed, with my brains it would be easy enough to come to the conclusion of...”

“I don’t even know where your brains are, and I honestly don’t care! Get on with it!”

“Sob... Alright, my master! And you, Eckesachs! Go get that idiot Immortal Suiboku over here right now! This man is from the same school as Suiboku!”

Saiga, who had been standing on guard with Eckesachs in hand, and Tahlan, who was guarding his flank, both looked over at the mysterious man in shock. Similarly, those aboard Noah who knew Sansui’s identity were also taken completely aback.

Even those who weren’t aware that Sansui was an Immortal had heard the name Suiboku before. Suiboku was Sansui’s master, the man that this kingdom’s greatest swordsman regarded as his superior and as the world’s greatest warrior.

“The same school as Suiboku? I’ve never even heard of such a man. Suiboku’s apprenticeship was at least twenty-five hundred years ago!”

“...Ah, so you are Eckesachs, the sword wielded by Suiboku. Indeed, I am Fukei. I, alongside Suiboku, learned the Immortal Arts under Master Kacho. I am four-thousand five-hundred years old. I’m about five hundred years older than him.”

The utter, ridiculous scale of the conversation meant that those present who didn’t know about Sansui and Suiboku’s immortality simply couldn’t wrap their heads around the sheer number of years being thrown about. At the same time, the fact that he was of the same school of Immortal as Sansui’s master had completely changed the mood of those gathered below.

“I have but one objective: Suiboku’s head. I have traveled this far to take that prize back to our homeland, and I will simply cut down any who stand in my way.”

Fukei’s identity and goals had been laid completely out into the open. The man and his vendetta had nothing to do with either the Arcana Kingdom or the Domino Republic.

“Screw that, you senile old geezer!” Ukyou, the one who had quietly acquiesced to the man’s demands, was the first to yell out in defiance. Even if it was an opponent who he seemed unlikely to defeat, he was moved to act. Even if his words had nothing else to back them up but his anger, he had to speak out.

“You invade my castle, you steal my Sacred Treasure, and THAT’S your goddamned reason?! These aren’t the untamed wilds! You don’t get to screw up human society over this crap!”

“...Lord Ukyou is correct. Fukei, I understand you have your reasons, but they are yours alone. We have no intention of simply abiding by your demands.”

Saiga had known through his prophetic dream that the man who took Vajra would appear here today. He was here to intercept that man, both to protect the Arcana Kingdom and to retake Vajra. Saiga’s plans hadn’t changed in the slightest after learning this new information. Even if the man was an Immortal, even if he was of the same school as Suiboku, that was no reason for him to pull back.

“We have no intention of letting you, a man who attacked an ally of the Arcana Kingdom and stole their Sacred Treasure, set foot into our kingdom.”

Suiboku lived in a forest near the royal capital. There was no way they could allow a dangerous man like Fukei to proceed unimpeded through the kingdom, and there was definitely no way they could let him unleash his powers in battle near the royal capital. Saiga also had his personal reasons not to let him through.

“While Suiboku didn’t directly pass Eckesachs to my hands, I’m still the apprentice of Suiboku’s apprentice, Sansui!” Saiga proudly declared, conveying that his swordsmanship was descended from Suiboku’s teachings. “Whatever your reasons, I can’t simply let you pass if your intention is to kill Master Suiboku!”

“The apprentice of Suiboku’s apprentice...? You, who aren’t even an Immortal?”

Even if they let Fukei pass unimpeded, Suiboku could probably do something about him. However, Saiga couldn’t let that happen, both from his own position as House Batterabbe’s heir and for the sake of his own feelings as Sansui’s apprentice. He needed to fight, and he needed to win. He couldn’t leave this to House Disaea’s ace.

“Agreed, Saiga, my brother... This is an unexpectedly powerful opponent...but we can’t simply let him pass.” Tahlan concurred with Saiga. Like Saiga, having met Suiboku, this was not an issue that Tahlan could concede. Tahlan wanted to protect the man who had rejoiced at his existence. The man who, despite being the world’s most powerful swordsman, had rejoiced at the fact that he, Tahlan, a mere swordsman, was Sansui’s apprentice.

“I don’t know about this Suiboku or whatever... But if it’s a strong opponent, I totally want a piece of that!”

To Ran, who was a berserker and a Marked, the details didn’t matter. There was an enemy in front of her, and that meant she wanted to fight. She had regained the simplicity of what had originally driven her.

“Mm... So, those who have grown from the teachings of Suiboku... A perfect foil to test my training.”

Ukyou observed Fukei closely, noting the Immortal’s bottomless confidence.

He needed to determine when to retreat, and quickly. He had recognized that he was the only one present who could objectively determine that timing.

“Just so you’re all aware, he’s probably consumed the Divine Ginseng! Just like the Marked, he’ll regenerate and revive whether you dismember him or burn him!” Eckesachs, who had been Suiboku’s weapon, yelled out tensely.

If their opponent was a combat focused Immortal, even at the very least he was going to be as powerful as the old Suiboku. Because she knew that Suiboku so intimately, Eckesachs had quickly discarded any overconfidence she may have felt earlier.

“Be on your guard! Don’t think he’ll go down easily!”

“Then allow me to go first. I’d appreciate a hand if I end up in too much trouble.”

With that, Tahlan, the one with the lowest combat ability of the three, stepped out in front.

“A-Are you sure, Tahlan?”

“As a wielder of Shadow Summoning, it’s only right that I take the lead. If anything, it’d be a problem were it any other way.”

At Saiga’s concern, Tahlan offered his gentle reassurance. Shadow Summoning was extremely useful in drawing attention and using duplicates as decoys, and it was reasonable that Tahlan, a master of Shadow Summoning, take the lead.

“...Alright. I leave it in your hands.”

While Saiga had some concerns about Tahlan’s physical abilities, he trusted Tahlan’s judgment. This was because Tahlan was his usual, calm, collected self, rather than appearing to be driven by anything like desperation.

Ran, who had wanted to be the first one to fight, seemed a bit put off by the fact that Tahlan was going first, but because it was Saiga’s decision, she accepted it with minimal complaint.

“...Sure. Just don’t count on me being patient.”

“Yes... Well, I don’t suppose I’ll last very long on my own, anyway.”

Fukei was an Immortal who had lived for over four thousand five hundred years and who, unlike Sansui, was fully trained in the Immortal Arts. Even Tahlan had to admit, with an amused, self-deprecating smile, that he was biting off a bit more than he could probably chew.

Whatever the mechanics of a skill, however the training method, fifteen hundred years of training would be enough to become strong, wouldn’t it?

Putting aside the question of whether he could win, Tahlan couldn’t simply choose not to fight. That just wasn’t something he was prepared to do. At the very least, he understood and believed in what Suiboku had meant. If time spent training was what determined who would win, then there was no reason to fight. If that was all that determined the outcome, then strength was purely a matter of endurance.

Tahlan wasn’t interested in dedicating his life to simply enduring his training. He wasn’t interested in measuring who had the most tenacity. That was why Tahlan stepped forward. He, who was a mere master of Shadow Summoning, a mere master of the sword, and merely the representative of Sansui’s students, stepped forward.

“I bear you no ill will, but such are the necessities of the mortal world. Your fate is to end upon my blade.”

“...It would seem you’re the most skilled of the three. Are you sure you should be going first?”

“Heh heh...”

He was most amused by Fukei’s evaluation of their abilities. It appeared that Fukei thought highly of him. That also told Tahlan something else; Fukei was substantially different from Sansui and Suiboku.

“Unfortunately, I’m the weakest of those present here. To not see that, it seems your eyes are clouded.”

Tahlan dropped into a middle stance with the sword that had accompanied him from his homeland. As he dropped into his stance, he replayed all that he had learned throughout his life.

In order to defeat him, Sansui had analyzed and dissected his Shadow Summoning. Having received instruction from that very same man, Tahlan could now use that instruction to study his opponent.

“...Oh?”

“I’m not that impressive a man, I assure you.”

Fukei’s fighting ability was at a level where he could be wounded by Guardsmen using magic, and he healed instantly, like a berserker.

“Heh.”

Alas, that alone was enough to limit what Tahlan could actually accomplish. The major weakness of the Shadow Summoner was their lack of sheer firepower. That would serve to limit his options here, as well.

But even then... Even in spite of that...

“Then let us begin! I am Tahlan! Tahlan the lone swordsman!”

Tahlan had fled here from his homeland because he couldn’t defeat Spirit Summoners. He had no intention of fleeing any further.

“Dance of the Funerary Procession!”

He sent a row of expendable duplicates in a single-file procession, keeping an eye on his distance from Fukei. Tahlan intended to start by putting Fukei on the defensive, in order to see how he would react.

“Shadows with mass, mm?”

Fukei swung Vajra as though nothing about the sight surprised him. The speed of his slashing attacks was clearly faster than a human being could ever manage. Fukei’s swings easily split the duplicates, each as solid as a human being, cleanly in half. That meant that, like a berserker, Fukei was also enhancing his physical abilities.

Tahlan couldn’t help but smile, even as he realized he was facing an opponent who he had no chance of defeating.

“Dance of Interlocking Circles!”

Although he knew he couldn’t win, Tahlan had no intention of just letting Fukei kill him. Even with his enhanced physical abilities, Fukei had been wounded fighting the Sword Company, which meant there would be room for Tahlan to land an attack.

The ten duplicates Tahlan unleashed moved to encircle Fukei, then simply executed a suicide charge with the intention of stabbing their enemy.

Fukei dodged the simple, but lethal attack by leaping straight into the air.

“Is that all?”

He easily cleared the duplicates, each of which were as tall as Tahlan himself. As he came down from his jump, Fukei swung downward with his spear. Tahlan felt a prickle of cold sweat down his back as he imagined the sheer power behind that swing, but he, of course, had no intention of letting it kill him.

“No, no, not at all.”

The maneuver was artless, but Tahlan rolled forward, avoiding the blow by ducking low and keeping close to the ground.

“...Ah.”

Fukei seemed impressed as he landed where Tahlan had stood just a split-second before.

“Based upon your swing earlier, you seem quite skilled. Further, you’re swift and strong. But your tactics are sloppy. It appears you view me as your inferior.”

As he dropped back into his stance, Tahlan continued his analysis of his opponent. Fukei was certainly fast, but he wasn’t as fast as a Spirit Summoner or Ran. He was also skilled, but that skill wasn’t in a realm that was beyond comprehension.

More than anything, Fukei wasn’t reading Tahlan’s movements well. In escaping an encirclement, leaping upward was probably the best solution. Attacking the Shadow Summoner outside of that encirclement was also correct in terms of tactics.

But that’s where his read of the situation had ended. While it could be charitably described as comfortably taking his time, Fukei had only watched as Tahlan dodged his attack, making no effort to follow it up.

“You’re strong...but not so strong that I can do nothing against you.”

“You have an overactive tongue.”

Tahlan’s opponent remained unfazed, seeming completely unconcerned with his attacks being dodged and the criticism of his lack of tactics.

After a moment’s pause, Fukei dropped into a slight stance. He seemed focused, like he was preparing something.

“Then how about this?”

Immediately after Fukei disappeared from Tahlan’s line of sight, everyone present knew what had happened.

“Dance of Separation!”

Everyone other than Tahlan saw the moment that Fukei appeared behind Tahlan using Flash Step. Fukei raised Vajra above his head and charged into Tahlan. Tahlan leapt forward without so much as a glance back, summoning a duplicate behind himself to tackle the approaching Fukei.

Despite being tackled by something the size of a grown man, Fukei didn’t so much as bat an eye, maintaining his stance as he continued his attack. However, the diagonal slash he had loosed with his spear missed and cut through empty space as Tahlan dodged the attack.

“...I see, you knew of the Flash Step. I should have known.”

“No, that’s the first time I’ve seen that Flash Step.”

Fukei’s Flash Step had a clear setup motion. There was a moment of preparation that wasn’t required with the Flash Step that Sansui had learned from Suiboku, the Flash Step that Suiboku had elevated into a further art.

“I see, so this is the original Flash Step.”

Tahlan felt a surge of admiration for Suiboku. Tahlan had experienced first-hand just how important the things Suiboku had eliminated from his Immortal Arts techniques were in combat.

He had not understood what Eckesachs had meant by her explanation that Suiboku must have eliminated all but the bare necessities, but now he knew. The fact that Fukei needed to prepare to use Flash Step had given him time to defend himself. If Fukei could use Flash Step without any preparation at all, like Sansui could, Tahlan couldn’t say for certain that he would have come away from that unscathed.

“I’m afraid I made quite a show of jumping and leaping, but I was able to land a blow, at least. It seems you’re quite durable. Further, you’re quite heavy.”

The duplicate that had shoulder-tackled Fukei had also stabbed him in the stomach. It was a simple, powerful attack that would ordinarily have been a lethal blow. Yet, despite taking that blow, Fukei hadn’t moved. It wasn’t that he wasn’t affected by the attack, it was that the attack literally hadn’t moved his person.

“I suppose it’s like a Leaden Body. You made yourself heavier to increase the impact of your attacks.”

“Mm... It seems your style is indeed descended from Suiboku’s teachings.”

Fukei remained as unfazed as ever, despite the fact that he, a man who had spent practically an eternity training, had allowed an opponent that hadn’t lived for even a hundred years to draw first blood. He was completely unfazed.

Fukei’s bearing even seemed to suggest that was perfectly normal. That attitude made him seem all the more eerie to those watching the battle from aboard Noah. The same attitude, however, made the three facing him determined to defeat him all the more.

“Durability would be Harden Self. Speed would be Blink Step. Strength would be Strengthen Self. Even Suiboku struggled to wield all of those at once...”

Eckesachs, Suiboku’s former partner, had been able to discern all of that by watching Fukei’s skirmish with Tahlan. Yes, Fukei’s Flash Step was the one that she herself remembered from her days with Suiboku. That meant that he must be from the same school as Suiboku. He was a powerful opponent, one who may very well be more powerful than Suiboku had been when he abandoned her.

“How absurd...”

Tahlan could only briefly shake his head at Eckesachs’s helpful analysis. It had dawned on him just how much of a monster that the man in front of him was, and just how much of a monster the Suiboku of old had been. Skill with the spear; a physically hardened, fast and strong body; a technique that let him close the distance instantly; and regenerative abilities to boot. In Suiboku’s case, he also had Eckesachs boosting all of those abilities. No wonder he was considered powerful.

“But I can still put up a fight... That I can still fight him...I suppose that means I’ve gotten a little bit better.”

Tahlan’s training in his homeland, the training he’d received from Sansui: all of it had meant something. He was at least able to put up a fight against a monster who had trained since time immemorial. He wasn’t a burden on his comrades, but rather a vital member of this group. Tahlan savored that realization as he put some distance between himself and Fukei.

Watching Tahlan, the warriors aboard Noah felt a similar shiver of realization. A man who was of the same school as Sansui’s master and the man who was, in essence, their representative as students of Sansui, were fighting each other below them. And while Tahlan hadn’t landed a fatal blow, he had still managed to land a blow. Sansui’s students realized that their lives, their effort, all had meaning, and that their training under Sansui’s instruction had purpose. Seeing Tahlan prove that moved them with a deep, heartfelt joy.

“All of you, stay on your guard! Given that this man is of the same school as Suiboku, if you treat him as an inferior version of Sansui, he’ll most certainly kill you! He has yet to make use of Vajra’s powers or any real Immortal Arts!” Eckesachs shouted out to return her allies to the present, having felt their tension lessen.

“Given the storm clouds in the skies, this is still his stage! Even if his target is Suiboku, don’t think he’ll hold back! Consider the wind, the rain, and lightning all as tools at his disposal!”

Eckesachs knew the Suiboku of twenty-five hundred years ago. This man, Fukei, must have come out of his isolation because he felt he had a chance against a Suiboku who had grown even stronger in that time.

“This man is here because he feels he’s ready to kill Suiboku!”

Hearing her words, the three of them understood. Eckesachs probably wanted them to run. Perhaps it was because she was a tool and had to fulfill her purpose, or perhaps it was her pride as the Ultimate Legendary Sword, but she couldn’t directly tell them to run.

“Alright, Eckesachs.”

The fact that Tahlan, the weakest among them, was able to put up a fight...it meant that his opponent was taking it easy on them. Saiga offered his thanks to that warning given to him by Eckesachs as he stepped forward.

“From here on out, I’ll lead.”

Just as Eckesachs couldn’t tell them to run, Saiga and company couldn’t bring themselves to do such a thing.

“...Very well.”

Eckesachs knew that as well. To turn and run against an opponent against whom they had little chance of winning was far from the pursuit of being the strongest.

“I’m Mizu Saiga, the wielder of Eckesachs and heir to House Batterabbe. I will slay you and reclaim Vajra.”

“Hrmph.”

As Saiga approached with a determined look, Fukei didn’t hide his contempt. It’s true that there was an enormous gap in experience, but even accounting for that, Saiga was still immature. Just holding a sword, it was understandable that he’d look weaker than Tahlan.

Saiga himself understood that well. He knew that, as a swordsman, he was weaker than any of the warriors who were aboard Noah at this very moment. That was why he wasn’t angry at being underestimated, nor did he have any intention of proving himself to Fukei.

No, all Saiga was going to do was do what he needed to win. He would do his duty and save the Arcana Kingdom. That was all that was on his mind as he stepped forward.

“Saiga...”

Watching him, Happine, Zuger, and Sunae fought conflicting feelings within them. Pride that he was bravely facing a powerful enemy. Worry at the fact the man they loved was walking into danger. But the three aboard Noah could only pray and watch as the fight unfolded.

“You sure about this?”

The warriors aboard the ship also seemed uncertain. There were those who couldn’t help but voice their concern for his safety. Of course, they all felt respect for Saiga as he stepped toward battle. They all felt that the foreigner who had become the heir to a Great House was behaving in a manner befitting such a position.

But that was also why they were worried about him. Could he actually win in a fight against an Immortal older than Suiboku? They were worried that he would simply be struck down without offering any real resistance.

“Is that Saiga...actually strong?”

“Even if he has Eckesachs... With the Mystic Arts alone...”

As the ace of House Batterabbe, Saiga didn’t have a nickname or an alias. That was because everyone believed that he was simply a mystic who wielded a Legendary Blade. He fought with Mystic Armor, reinforced by the power of the Legendary Sword, so it was natural that he was strong. However, that seemed so very plain compared to the other aces of the Great Houses.

Shirokuro Sansui, the Young Sword Apostle, the strongest swordsman, a warrior who everyone in the upper echelons of the Arcana Kingdom regarded as the greatest in the land.

Shouzo Okabe, the Scarred Fool, the ultimate mage, who could move the heavens and the earth itself and reshape them in his image.

Ukyou Fuushi, the Foreign Dictator, the man with five of the Eight Sacred Treasures, who had brought down the Domino Empire.

Shun Ukiyo, the Thinking Man, the perfect wielder of Pandora, the Armor of Disaster.

Those aboard Noah couldn’t help but wonder if Saiga was worthy of being compared to those other four.

“Are you sure he’ll be alright, Happine?” Paulette could only ask as Happine offered up her prayers. It was understandable that Paulette would be worried that Saiga wouldn’t be able to handle fighting an opponent as ridiculous as an Immortal who had come to kill Suiboku.

“Yes, he’ll be fine, Paulette. Saiga is...strong.”

Happine believed in Saiga, even as she hoped for his success.

“Yes, he’s strong.”

Sunae nodded in agreement. Saiga was, without a doubt, the strongest of the three below.

Saiga prepared to go into battle, bearing the heavy burden of expectations upon his shoulders. Tahlan’s initial skirmish had revealed Fukei’s fighting style, which allowed Saiga to form the outline of a way to fight against Fukei. It wasn’t like the time that he had fought Sansui, confident in his own power and without a clear plan in mind. It was precisely because he wasn’t allowed to lose here, that he intended to fight to win.

“Ran, Tahlan. I’ll lead.”

With Eckesachs in hand, Saiga began his precognition. By using the Celestial Blood, also known as Time Power, he sought out the most optimal action that he could take. And then...

“Haaaaaaaaaaah!”

Saiga used his Holy Power to create armor to protect himself, and Royal Presence to give himself animal traits. His Mana ignited a flame around his sword and his Tainted Blood strengthened his physical abilities. All of these powers were amplified by Eckesachs’s ability.

“...What is this power?”

There were far too many effects happening all in parallel. In addition to Fukei, those who didn’t know about Saiga’s actual powers were completely caught by surprise.

“Raaaaaaah!”

The influence of his Tainted Blood suddenly drove Saiga into a state of heightened emotion. The swordsman encased in golden glowing armor, with flaming silver fur, lunged at Fukei with a shout.

“Mrrph!”

The flaming blade of the Legendary Sword came at Fukei in a blinding flash. Faced with that attack, Fukei tried to block it using Vajra.

“Graaaaaah!”

Vajra and Eckesachs clashed. The legendary weapons crafted by God himself both survived the impact between these two figurative titans without damage.

But Vajra’s haft was unable to stop the flames enveloping Eckesachs, and Fukei took a direct blast. Further, the sheer physical power behind Saiga’s blow was enough to throw even the weight-enhanced Fukei backward.

“How is that...?!”

Immortals were unaffected by natural fire, but magical fire could still wound them. There was no way that Fukei could avoid injury after being exposed to magical flames amplified by Eckesachs. He suffered burns on his entire body that would have killed an ordinary man.

“Ki Wave.”

Fukei, who had been consumed by flames as he was blasted backward, let loose his ki in mid-air. The flames that had engulfed him were swept away and all that remained were the painful-looking burns.

“How is what?”

Even the last trace of those burns had healed without a trace moments later. By the time he landed on his feet, Fukei had healed and appeared exactly as he had been before Saiga’s attack.

“Do you truly think one who isn’t an Immortal can actually affect me?” Fukei said with a calm confidence, as though nothing had happened to him.

“Yes, I think so,” Saiga said without hesitation, unfazed by his opponent’s seeming invincibility.

He deactivated his Tainted Blood and Royal Presence for the moment, cooling off his thoughts. As he calmed his excited nerves, he carefully observed his enemy.

He’s...weaker than I expected. In close combat, Ran’s stronger than he is.

Regeneration, self-enhancement, and spear techniques. While that combination made Fukei strong, at the moment, he was little better than an inferior version of Ran. However, that was only because Fukei was underestimating him. If he began to truly wield the weather as his weapon, no doubt Saiga and his friends would be immediately overwhelmed.

As the Testudo Style Book of Secrets said, there was no way to deal with an opponent who could cause natural disasters.

So long as he underestimates us, we can keep attacking him.

Fukei underestimated them and was overconfident. As such, the only thing to do was to kill him before he decided to get serious. As his opponent watched him, Saiga put together his plans to achieve victory.

After learning we’re apprentices of Master Suiboku’s apprentice, he’s watching how we move. That’s why he’s not attacking.

While Sansui could craft a perfect set of tactics in the middle of a fight, Saiga didn’t feel himself up to that challenge, which was why he considered the current lull his last chance to give the matter serious thought, and thus sought out the best way to follow up on his attacks.

Can’t use the tactic Sunae used against Ran. That only worked because Ran didn’t know her own limits, so there’s no way that’ll work against an Immortal who’s spent centuries training. Besides, giving him a chance to respond... He could very well escape using Flash Step.

Saiga came upon the worst case scenario as he considered the situation and shuddered. If Fukei didn’t consider himself a warrior, there was no reason for him to stand and fight Saiga. He could simply move himself far away using Flash Step and leave Saiga and company with no options.

Then we can’t afford to let him use Flash Step. If we keep up a constant attack against him, he shouldn’t be able to use Flash Step.

Fortunately for Saiga, Fukei’s Flash Step had a setup motion that Sansui’s lacked. So long as they continued attacking him, Fukei couldn’t escape.

“We’ll push ahead and attack, Eckesachs!”

“...Yes. If we can’t push forward here, we’ll lose!”

Saiga used his Divination, or perhaps his Testudo Style, his ability to see the future, to come up with a set of tactics that would create a specific outcome. It was a kind of formlessness that was best suited for the current situation. Of course, it was far from perfect, but it was more than enough for Saiga as he currently stood.

“Raaaaaahhh!”

Saiga once again brought forth his physical enhancements and began running at full speed. He was literally faster than the eye could follow, able to instantly close the distance between himself and Fukei, who he had blasted a fair distance away with his last blow.

“Enough... Living Earth, Cave In!”

Suddenly, Saiga’s body became heavier, and the ground itself was in danger of collapsing under his weight. If that happened, fighting would be the least of his concerns, no matter how enhanced his physical abilities were.

Fortunately, he had already foreseen Fukei’s use of the technique. While Sansui could only make educated guesses about the future, Saiga was able to see it clearly.

“You shouldn’t...underestimate me!”

The precision of Saiga’s fire magic was strengthened because of the increased focus provided by his Tainted Blood. By emitting it from his back, he switched from running to low-altitude flight.

“What?!”

Saiga began flying at the exact same moment that Fukei executed his technique. Fukei paused, caught off guard at how quickly and confidently Saiga had switched tacks. That brief moment of hesitation was lethal in high-speed close combat. With his weight increased by Fukei’s technique, Saiga put all that mass behind an overhead slash directed down at the Immortal.

“Grrr!”

“Gaaaaaah!”

Fukei blocked the attack with Vajra, but the increased weight of the blow caused the spear to scream.

“Living Earth, Levitation!”

Fukei responded by canceling the technique that increased Saiga’s weight, replacing it with one that made him lighter instead. Saiga’s attack immediately lost its impact and Fukei promptly attempted to bat him into the distance.

“Not a chance!”

Saiga used his fire magic to control his positioning even as he floated up into the air.

“Mist Shadow Style, Flame Wall!”

As he swung Eckesachs in a wide arc, Saiga generated a blast of flame so large that it threatened to swallow him along with his target. Even if Fukei could regenerate, the flames would still harm him. The moment he was about to be swallowed by those flames, Fukei briefly closed his eyes.

“...What’s this?!”

Despite the fact that he was engulfed in flame, Fukei felt no heat. In fact, far from feeling any heat, he didn’t even see any light from the flames through his closed eyelids. As he opened his eyes and glanced around he saw that there was only something that looked like flame around him. The flames didn’t even lighten the cloud-covered darkness.

“A mere illusion...?”

“Got you!”

As Fukei was momentarily taken by surprise, Saiga seized his chance. He grabbed the arm that was holding Vajra and tried to pry her from Fukei’s grasp.

“Damn you!”

The threat to his possession of Vajra was enough to break Fukei’s calm. It was the one thing that he feared in this battle. It was because of this fear that he responded with anger and tried to throw Saiga off his arm. Fukei deactivated the technique that had lowered the gravity around him and slammed Saiga downward.

“...What?! He vanished? The same duplicate as earlier?!”

The Saiga grabbing his arm vanished the moment it hit the ground. The sheer volume of techniques used by Saiga had left Fukei scrambling to keep up.

“Exactly!”

With his return to his normal weight, Saiga was able to move normally. He resumed his melee attacks with his flaming sword. Caught off balance, Fukei was assailed by flaming slashes.

“You dare?!”

Still, Fukei’s body continued to regenerate, and he attempted to counterattack against Saiga’s overwhelming flurry.

“Damn! Even with all this, he’s still kicking!”

“But even he has his limits. Continue your attacks!”

“Got it!”

“You won’t have a chance! The Shifting Heavens...”

Fukei’s façade of calm was broken and in a rage he attempted to target Saiga with a large-scale attack.

“Hiyaaaah!”

Ran landed a kick against the back of his head.

“Guh!”

“Even if you heal, you can’t use your techniques when your head’s being bashed in, can you?”

Incorporating her own experience with taking blows to the head, Ran, who had wanted to fight more than anyone, continued with a flurry of strikes.

“Hah! Hah! Hah!”

Ran had always had more stamina than anyone, even surpassing Saiga. She continued to rain blow after blow on the defenseless Fukei.

“G-Grrrah!”

“Don’t bother! I’ve already figured out your moves!”

Fukei tried desperately to counterattack using Vajra, but he could put up little resistance against Ran.

“If you can’t escape with Flash Step... I can win, even against an Immortal!”

Unlike Saiga, Ran’s attacks continued without a moment’s pause. She was able to precisely target Fukei’s body and inflict damage so quickly that his regeneration wasn’t keeping up.

“Haha! What’s wrong, hmm? I don’t know how many thousand years you’ve lived, but you’re way weaker than Sansui!”

A blow to the head would interrupt Fukei’s attempts to use an Immortal technique, but if Ran focused all her attacks on his head, he’d eventually be able to block her attacks. That was why she spread her blows across his body and limbs, keeping him from focusing his defenses on any single point.

“That is...ENOUGH!”

Despite the blows landing on his head, Fukei released an enormous Ki Wave from his entire body. Ordinarily, the Ki Wave could only affect a target that the wielder was touching, but this was strong enough that it rattled Ran’s entire body from just being in proximity to Fukei.

“Grr...!”

Ran had just caught herself getting overconfident when Fukei’s burst of rage at her attitude manifested, and she mentally chastised herself. She had gotten caught up beating up on an opponent that used the same techniques as Sansui as a way to vent her frustration at having lost previously.

“I’ll learn from that, but I don’t regret it.”

“You damned Marked!”

With Ran briefly flat-footed, Fukei tried to land a follow-up blow. He tried to break open her skull with an overhand swing of Vajra, but the attack was blocked mid-strike.

“I’m afraid I’m going to cut in.”

“My apologies, but I’m afraid we’re not fighting alone.”

One of Tahlan’s duplicates picked up the flat-footed Ran and moved away from the melee. Of course, that wasn’t the only thing Tahlan’s duplicates were doing.

“Dance of the Iron Spike!”

Two of Tahlan’s duplicates attacked Fukei from behind. Their targets were the most vulnerable spot on the Immortal: the tops of his feet. The duplicates stabbed at Fukei’s feet with all of their strength, pinning them to the ground.

“I may be weak, but it seems even I can pierce the flesh of your feet.”

“Nraaaaaaagh!”

Just like when faced with Ran’s flurry, Fukei erased the duplicates by unleashing a Ki Wave in every direction. Unfortunately for Fukei, Tahlan himself had long since gotten out of range.

“The strength of the Shadow Summoner is that his shadows are expendable. I imagine my easily defeated shadows are grating on your nerves?”

“Aaaand I’m back!”

The area-effect version of Ki Wave had a small effective range. It was also not a particularly strong attack, and for a berserker like Ran, the wounds it inflicted healed in a matter of seconds.

“Must be hard to have only one body and no friends!”

“Agreed!”

Ran was able to rain down an unceasing flurry of blows while Tahlan could use multiple duplicates to attack from many different angles at once. Escape was nearly impossible once the two of them cornered a target. With only one body practicing them, Fukei’s Immortal Arts weren’t able to respond to the sheer number of attacks directed at him.

“Grrr...Naaaagh!”

Fukei further tightened his grip upon Vajra. He burned with rage that he had spent an eternity training and yet was being stopped from facing his nemesis.

“Graaaaah!”

Countless bolts of lightning streaked through the storm clouds above. They weren’t triggered by Fukei’s Immortal Arts, but rather by Vajra’s abilities having been magnified, fed by the sudden burst of emotion from her wielder.

“Tch!”

Tahlan and Ran immediately came to the same conclusion: they couldn’t let this man use his weather-controlling power. If they gave Fukei an opening to use such a technique, he would use it to sweep them away using a natural disaster.

They needed to hurry up and end the battle. They needed to make certain that they killed him.

“Step back, you two.”

Saiga, who had evidently regained his breath, once again loosed a slashing attack against Fukei. Tahlan and Ran answered Saiga by quickly retreating from the area.

“Duplicate? Real? It doesn’t matter! There’s no meaning to anything you do!”

Fukei felt nothing but pure, unadulterated rage at the fact that he was struggling against opponents that he considered his inferiors. He didn’t have a trace of fear about dying or losing.

“You’re wrong!”

Saiga disputed his opponent’s belief by stating his own. It was a clash between deeply held principles, a conflict about the justness of their causes, their dignity, and their worth as individuals. That clash served to fuel and accelerate the violence.

“We’ve worked hard to get stronger! We’ve desperately struggled to figure out what we can do! None of it is meaningless!”

Tahlan, Ran, and Saiga... If any of them had simply relied on their talent and been satisfied with being stronger than average, none of them would have reached the heights that they had now attained.

“Considering how well you can talk, you must be the real one.”

Saiga alone couldn’t match the sheer number of attacks that Ran and Tahlan had unleashed.

Fukei once again triggered the technique that increased the gravity around him and Saiga almost sank into the ground a second time. The effect was substantially stronger than earlier.

“No, this is a duplicate!”

Even as he fell to his knees, Saiga grinned. Seeing that, Fukei raised Vajra over his head and looked around. A short distance away he saw Saiga with his eyes closed, focused on controlling his duplicate.

“That reminds me...you can control the skies and the earth, but you haven’t noticed yet?”

And Saiga had already finished his preparations.

“What is this...?”

Fukei came to a late realization. The ground around him had clearly changed in color. It wasn’t just the stains from the blood he had shed, but rather from some sort of Art.

“Bursting Venom Style. A Rare Art, a martial art that makes things I touch explode. I prepared the ground around here while you were busy with the two of them.”

With enough preparation and Eckesachs’s enhancements, Bursting Venom Style could surpass even fire magic in sheer effectiveness.

“Pointless... Why bother to explain?”

Flash Step would be enough to escape the blast, but as Fukei attempted to retreat, he fell to one knee.

“W-What is this? My body...”

“Drunken Fist Style. It’s a technique that disrupts the sense of balance of those around the wielder. I’m using it with this duplicate. Works pretty well at this range, doesn’t it?”

“Grr, then...”

All Fukei needed to do was kill the duplicate before he completely lost his sense of balance. He forced his disoriented body to move, trying to strike the copy down, but he never got the opportunity.

“Burst.”

Fukei’s arm, a piece of his actual body, exploded.

“W-What?!”

“The first time I grabbed on to your arm, I used Bursting Venom Style. Coming from your own limb...it’s closer than point-blank range.”

Fukei had lost not just his arm, but half of his body. Having confirmed that, Saiga’s duplicate smiled in satisfaction and vanished.

“Burst again.”

The ground that Fukei was standing on exploded in an enormous torrent of fire. It was more than enough force to completely demolish Fukei’s already damaged body.

Part 21 — Heaven and Earth

“Suiboku, what’s gotten into you?! You’re going to leave Master Kacho and go train under another Immortal?”

“Yes, I’m going to study alchemy. It’s not as though I have a choice, since our Master isn’t particularly skilled in that field.”

“That’s not the point! You don’t understand what it means to be an Immortal! You seem to be under the illusion that an Immortal is simply one who uses the Immortal Arts! But the True Immortal Arts, the true way of the Immortal, is to seek out harmony with nature! You’re drunk off your talent and getting lost in your techniques!”

“Hahaha! That simply sounds like the yapping of a cur that has neither the talent nor the technique to drown in. I’m embarrassed for you, Fukei! Besides, the reason I’m learning the Immortal Arts is so that I become the strongest man in history! I have no time for your rambling!”

“How dare you?! I can’t simply let you leave and use the holy Immortal Arts for something as undignified as conflict! I’ll stop you, in the name of our Master Kacho!”

“Hahaha! Fukei, do you seriously think you can defeat me?”

Having witnessed the overwhelming combat ability of Mizu Saiga, House Batterabbe’s ace, those aboard Noah fell into a shocked silence. In a sense, Saiga was an existence as or even more ridiculous than Shouzo.

“That’s Saiga. He has the talent for all of the Arts; not just mysticism, but all of the Rare Arts. The more Arts he learns, the stronger he becomes. If you add Eckesachs to that, then...”

There was perhaps nothing more terrifying to the denizens of this world. Even the most talented individual only had the ability to wield a single Art, but Saiga was able to use every single one in existence.

“Saiga has enough power to be regarded as an ace,” Happine said, shivering at the power of the man she’d chosen, looking out over the land that had exploded.

Saiga’s approach had shown a basic understanding of tactics, using the necessary Art at the necessary time, rather than simply using his various Arts at random. He hadn’t won through dumb chance, and it hadn’t been an easy victory. Saiga, Ran, and Tahlan had faced a superior opponent, cut off his ability to fight, and made certain to finish him off.

“Saiga...is as good as any of the other aces.”

“Yes. He really has grown...”

Zuger couldn’t help tearing up at hearing Happine’s words. She was moved by the fact that Saiga’s setbacks and efforts hadn’t been for nothing. Saiga would never have been able to obtain this level of strength had he remained as reliant on his talent as he had in the beginning. It was because he had faced setbacks and disappointment, and picked himself up afterwards, that he was able to overcome his weaknesses. That was what had made it possible for him to grow.

“My brother and Ran also did well... Most impressive,” Sunae said, praising not just Saiga, but Tahlan and Ran, as well.

It was true that this would have been a far chancier battle if Saiga had been alone. Tahlan and Ran had each carried their own weight throughout. The three of them had managed not only to avoid getting in one another’s way, but had seamlessly covered and supported one another. Again, that was not a matter of talent, but rather the fruits of their efforts.

“Yes, that’s true... Well done, Master Tahlan.”

The warriors who had trained with Tahlan were also deeply moved. Tahlan, who was the one who might be described as the most ordinary among the three, had held his own and contributed to the battle. Tahlan hadn’t stepped on the battlefield to die, to be protected by his allies, or to embarrass himself. His participation had worth and it had meaning.

“You know, I was worried when I heard he was from the same school as Suiboku, but it seems he wasn’t as tough as we thought. But, well, at least it’s all over now. Shall we go pick those three up?” Douve, who attempted to maintain a façade of nonchalance, still had an expression of relief and happiness on her features.

“Wait! It’s not over yet!” Dainsleif said with a look of shock. “He’s still alive!”

Dainsleif, who could detect his enemies, reported Fukei’s survival, even though she herself didn’t seem to quite believe it. There was no way that Fukei was still alive. He had taken so much punishment that it was hard to think there were even pieces of him scattered around the wastelands. Many of those listening to Dainsleif couldn’t believe her words.

“Hey, Shouzo. This feels like one of those, doesn’t it?”

“Yup, definitely feels like that.”

Ukyou and Shouzo, who had been watching the proceedings with a certain amount of detachment, now felt a prickle of fear run up their spines.

“I’ve seen this sort of scene develop in both manga and light novels, where the really powerful character is holding back and was underestimating his opponents.”

“Yeah. The whole ‘this isn’t even my final form’ thing, right?”

For better or for worse, neither Shouzo nor Ukyou saw things through the lens of what passed for accepted wisdom in this world. As such, because they weren’t restrained by accepted wisdom, they hadn’t automatically assumed that the battle was over like the natives had.

“...Whoa?! He’s really using his Immortal Arts! The atmospheric pressure’s falling all around, and the temperature’s in free fall, too!”

Noah, who was carrying them, also felt the danger around them. The Immortal who had the power to freely manipulate the heavens and earth was about to unleash his Art upon the world.

The three on the ground didn’t hear the commotion aboard Noah. There was a fair amount of distance separating the three from the ship in the distance; further, they were situated in an open wasteland, and the massive explosion had temporarily deafened them.

“Somehow managed to push through...”

Saiga was breathing heavily. Because he had been fighting with all his strength, he was also thoroughly exhausted. Had they not been able to finish the battle quickly, they might very well have lost. The issue of fatigue was the same for Tahlan. Ran was the only one who seemed unfazed.

“Given how he was able to withstand my kicks, he was pretty tough. But that’s all he was. He wasn’t so much that I couldn’t handle him.”

“I felt it several times through the fight, but he seemed a step slow. Compared to Master Sansui, he was far too lax in allowing us to attack. He seemed to get fixated too easily on a target and wasn’t making the best of his presence-sensing abilities.”

That was perhaps how Sansui looked at all of them. The three of them had realized that it wasn’t just that all Immortals were powerful, but that Sansui and Suiboku were especially so.

“Putting that much effort into it should wear out the power of the Divine Ginseng. Now we just need to recover Vajra and the battle is over...”

“...No, he’s coming!”

As if triggered by Eckesachs’s words of relief, Saiga saw the worst possible future pop up in his mind’s eye. He immediately created a glowing shield large enough to surround everyone using his Mystic Arts.

A moment later, an enormous flood of water that seemed to have been poured out of an unthinkably large bucket fell onto the wastelands. The water rained down both on Noah and the three on the ground.

“Guh...!”

Saiga desperately held his Mystic Wall against the enormous weight pouring down on them from above. If he couldn’t hold the water back, all three of them would quickly be crushed beneath the pressure and then swept away in the current. It was because his precognition had shown him that image that he was doing everything he could to hold on.

“Are you alright, Saiga?!”

“Y-Yeah... It’ll hold...for now!”

Before Saiga’s endurance reached its limit, the enormous downpour of water stopped. Even more exhausted than a moment before, Saiga made a point of deactivating the wall of light.

“Uh oh... I’ve used too much Holy Power...”

The three on the ground saw that the arid wastelands they had been standing in a moment ago had been transformed into a mud-ridden swamp. The rush of water had literally, rather than figuratively, altered the terrain itself.

“...Is this truly the work of a human?”

“So this is the true power of an Immortal who can control the heavens...”

Ran and Tahlan stared in shock at the sheer amount of destructive power that had been unleashed against them. The Bursting Venom Style technique that Saiga had used earlier was almost impossibly powerful, but the flash flood had washed away all traces of that destruction. The sheer volume of water had even almost erased the scars that Shouzo had left on the land.

“...This was the power the Testudo Style had feared.”

Weather phenomena that were far beyond the limit of human beings to deal with... The three of them had not only made an enemy of the man who could wield the power of natural disasters as he pleased, but they had thoroughly enraged him. That realization made the three of them shudder.

“You’re all rather well trained. I had intended only to see what you were capable of doing, but I didn’t expect to take quite this much damage. I hadn’t believed that I had been neglecting my mortal techniques.”

Standing there was Fukei, looking as though he had never been harmed. With Vajra in hand and surrounded by tornadoes, he appeared to be the master of the heavens and the earth. He had regained the confident nonchalance he had momentarily lost as he showed off the sheer gap in strength that had existed from the very start of the fight.

“I didn’t think you would do so well, even accounting for the fact that there were three of you against me alone, or with your various abilities. I see why Suiboku’s apprentice considered you worthy students.”

There was no way that Fukei wasn’t angry, but he seemed to have his anger under control. Unlike earlier, he was carefully studying Saiga, Tahlan, and Ran. While still angry, he had regained his calm, and from his observations, he speculated on Suiboku’s current situation.

“Still... I see Suiboku has fallen far. Further than I thought possible.”

From Fukei’s point of view, he was simply stating his opinion. But to Tahlan and Saiga, his words were an unforgivable insult.

“I don’t know how much he’s improved his skills, but it seems he’s done what no Immortal should do and made a name for himself in the mortal world, gaining worldly status and fame. Then, despite his own lack of mastery, he took on an apprentice, then forced his apprentice to take apprentices himself to curry favor with the mortal kingdoms.”

It was true that from what Tahlan and Saiga understood of Immortals, siding with authority wasn’t something that was smiled upon. But both Suiboku and Sansui were humble and admirable men. They couldn’t stand the fact that a man who would attack a mortal man’s castle and steal his treasure was now insulting Suiboku’s name.

“...Then I have no choice but to kill him.”

“No choice at all but to kill him by my own hand.”

But Tahlan and Saiga’s anger was wholly meaningless, even as rage filled their thoughts. They had no way of communicating or expressing that anger to an opponent who was vastly more powerful than they were.

The small tornadoes that had formed around Fukei began to gather, masking him within the funnel cloud as they combined into a much larger twister.

“Blast! All of you, get away from him now!” Eckesachs, who had once been wielded by Suiboku, said. She knew immediately what Fukei was trying to do, likely using a combination of Vajra and his Immortal Arts.

The three turned their backs to the Immortal and began running. As Tahlan had less physical ability than the other two, Saiga pulled him by the arm to try to help him keep pace.

“Ugh... My ears hurt! What’s going on?!”

Ran held her hands over her ears. With her heightened senses, she more than anyone felt the changes in the environment around her. Still, it wasn’t as though knowing what was happening would let her do anything about it. Faced with the reality that a giant tornado had sprung up around Fukei and that the storm clouds above had started spinning quickly in a swirl, she, as a mere human, was powerless before it.

“Listen, ignore what’s happening behind you! That tornado isn’t there to attack you! The air around us is being sucked up into it! His intention is to send down the hail he’s preparing in the clouds to ride the flow of wind in toward the tornado!”

“No wonder it’s cold...!”

The storm clouds that had covered the entire kingdom for the last several days were so thick that they blocked out the sun. That had caused the temperature in the Arcana Kingdom and the Domino Republic to fall. But it was now rapidly getting even colder.

“The drop in temperature will work to his advantage! Even if he can’t freeze you, it’s easy for him to use the cold to make you more sluggish! Just focus on getting away from that tornado for now!”

“...Eckesachs! My precognition says that the ground will lift up and get sucked into the twister!”

“What?! That’s impossible! The Floating Isles should be a grand-scale technique that can only be used when in a familiar land! Even if he had consumed a Coiled Peach, there should still be limits!”

Completely ignoring Eckesachs’s disbelief, parts of the ground begin floating as it had in Saiga’s vision. It wasn’t that the entire ground was rising up all at once, but rather that chunks large enough for a person or two to stand upon were being lifted out of the ground, making the already muddy terrain even more difficult to run across.

“Get out of there! He’s about to...”

“It’s here!”

Just as Eckesachs had warned, hailstones the size of human heads started falling from above. The scale of the hailstorm could only be described as a natural disaster. The ice balls, large enough to tear straight through a building’s roof or damage a castle wall, were powerful enough that a single direct hit would mean immediate death to a normal human being.

“Grr... Dammit! Jump into the holes left by the floating boulders! This technique won’t pull up earth from below ground level! Once it takes the surface from a location, that area should be a safe zone!”

In the constantly evolving threat environment, Eckesachs presented an option that Saiga hadn’t been able to see through his precognition.

“...But surely the enemy is aware of the holes that his technique leaves behind.”

“That’s right. You sure he’s not just going to follow up when we get in them?”

“Either way, we’re done if we stay out in the open! Just get in already!”

Saiga convinced Tahlan and Ran to overcome their reluctance and they all jumped into a hole. He then created a thin wall of light in lieu of a ceiling. The giant hailstones fell upon the wall of light, but they weren’t weighty enough to break through.

“That was close... If we had stayed out there, Tahlan, he would have taken you out first.”

While Saiga drew a sigh of relief that he had avoided the worst possible outcome, the situation still showed no signs of improving.

“Still, while there’s plenty that doesn’t make sense, it seems he’s fully committed himself to defeating you... Since he’s using two techniques of this scale at once, I doubt he can tell just who he’s defeated with what while he’s managing them both.”

“...It certainly doesn’t feel like we’re facing a mere mortal.”

At Eckesachs’s observation, Tahlan, who was shivering from the cold, came a hair’s breadth from complaining. The three of them together had managed to corner Fukei to some degree when they were simply engaging in melee combat, but once Fukei had pulled out all the stops, they could do nothing but flee like mice.

The difference in scale between themselves and the enemy was so great that they almost felt embarrassed at believing they had been putting up a good fight. They now understood why Eckesachs had seemed so panicked from the start when they’d found out the identity of the attacker.

“If we had let him pass us, he would have done this near the royal capital, wouldn’t he...?”

The technique manipulated weather on such an enormous scale that it would have had a calamitous impact on the royal capital. The stronger it turned out the enemy was, the less they could afford to run.

“No wonder Tempera Village was destroyed...” Ran lamented to herself, despite still being in her berserker state.

The sheer enormity of what they faced had drawn that remark from her. This wasn’t the sort of enemy that could be fought off with mere martial arts. Even if the storms might theoretically end if the Immortal controlling them was killed, it was patently absurd to try to fight against a natural disaster on this scale.

“When we fought Tempera Village, the weather was too good to use this sort of attack. That is why, other than using my help, Suiboku fought them with his own strength. Still... There’s something odd here. Even if the weather manipulation is due of Vajra’s powers, manipulating the earth to this extent when he’s never been here before shouldn’t be possible unless it’s an active volcanic area.”

The Immortal Arts were, at their core, techniques that used the power of nature. If there were rain clouds in the sky, it could be used to control the rain to some extent; if there was a volcano nearby, it could be used to intentionally shake the ground. But to control the ground in this area so easily should have been impossible. The land here had been rendered into nothing but an empty wasteland.

“His regeneration earlier as well... Even if he had consumed a Divine Ginseng, there should be limits to how often he can revive himself. Given that his target was Suiboku, he should have been fighting to conserve that power until he faced Suiboku himself... Why did he wait until he suffered a fatal wound to begin controlling the weather?”

Having settled down for the moment, the three of them listened to Eckesachs in silence. While Fukei might not need to use his ki to manipulate the weather because he had Vajra, it should have worn him out to make large chunks of land levitate at a distance. Eckesachs couldn’t understand where Fukei was getting the power to regenerate and move the earth at the same time. Given that those things were possible with the Immortal Arts, but impossible at the scale Fukei was doing them, it didn’t make any sense to her.

“...I don’t really want to raise this possibility, but...maybe he has some ability that lets him regenerate and move the earth at the same time? Maybe using an infinite store of ki?”

Saiga brought up the possibility of a cheat ability that could explain the situation, as though the idea had just struck him. Such a thing was common enough in the stories he’d consumed. The situation would make sense if, like in one of the light novels he used to read, an enemy had abilities that were totally cheating by the normal standards of the world.

“That is fundamentally impossible. Or, at least, Suiboku said it wasn’t possible. But if that’s the case, that might be what he believes will let him beat Suiboku.”

“So he’s spent the last three thousand years training that way? Not improving his physical skills, but in mastering the possibilities offered by the Immortal Arts?”

“No wonder why he seemed so cocky even after we beat the crap out of him! Dammit!”

Tahlan and Ran both seemed to grasp why their enemy had been so certain of victory. They’d had no chance against him to begin with. There was no way for them to kill him. They should have focused on taking back Vajra, instead.

“Ah, so you’re still alive.”

The tornado vanished and the hail had stopped. Restraining their urge to run, the three climbed out of the hole.

Despite having used techniques of enormous power, Fukei had the easy confidence of a man who still had plenty of energy left in reserve. He showed no sign of being affected by seeing that the three of them were fine and completely unharmed.

“Mm, well endured... You, Eckesachs, was it? So it seems you told them how to escape. I see why Suiboku was your wielder.”

“And you, it seems you weren’t simply blowing hot air when you claimed you were here to kill Suiboku.”

Fukei stepped out from the fading tornado. The three fighters looked pale as they faced off against him. Unlike earlier, they were now in a situation where it was difficult for them to even get close enough to the Immortal to attack, and they knew that they would achieve nothing even if they managed to do so.

“Both technique and terrain are on my side. With the Divine Spear in my hands, there is no way that I can fail.”

The bite in the air took on an even harsher edge. Beneath the storm clouds that blocked out the sun, another cold front was sapping the warmth from the land.

“I will kill him. That’s what I’ve spent three thousand years preparing for.”

It had begun snowing. The snow that fell and piled upon the muddy ground made the footing even worse. Visibility, already low due to the lack of sunlight, was reduced even further by the falling flakes. The terrain was now full of holes large enough for three people to take shelter in. To have to fight in such conditions...

The three of them were well aware of just how hopeless the situation was.

“Allow me to thank you. Have a taste of my Immortal Arts.”

They shouldn’t have underestimated him. They shouldn’t have underestimated the three thousand years he had spent preparing. They shouldn’t have underestimated the endless life that had been spent gearing up to kill a single man.

“And know now that the Immortal Arts are the sole way for humans to move heaven and earth.”

Those who weren’t Immortals weren’t even worthy of being considered an enemy. This was Fukei’s most deeply held belief and it was what accounted for his unwavering confidence, for his certainty that he would defeat the ace of House Batterabbe. No matter what abilities his enemy might have, there was no way that he, an Immortal who controlled heaven and earth, could lose.

“While I may not be able to do the whole country, I can at least clear up this region.”

But, there was another ace present, one who was here to protect Caputo. The ace who was standing upon the deck of the most defensive of the Eight Sacred Treasures, Noah.

Shouzo Okabe, the Scarred Fool, the Ultimate Mage.

Aboard Noah, Shouzo used his power to create an enormous tower of flame. The intense heat from the flames melted the snow, dried the mud, vastly increased the temperature, and had even cleared up the visibility.

“...Impossible!”

The fact that he felt uncomfortably warm from the flames told Fukei that the pillar of fire above him was magical. However, Fukei couldn’t believe that a human could cast magic on this scale. The enormous flame that had been created under the cloud-filled sky made the falling snow evaporate, and had taken over the heavens that Fukei had believed were his.

“So, there are still those who have learned from Suiboku’s teachings...”

It seemed Fukei believed that all of the inequities of the world stemmed from Suiboku.

Irate as even more dared to challenge him, Fukei began to manipulate the earth. The clumps of soil and rock that he had levitated out of the ground earlier began to circle around Fukei like satellites.

“...”

In melee, the time it took Fukei to prepare his next attack would have been an eternity. However, there was no way to interrupt him from where they were now, and more importantly, they had no means of killing an unkillable opponent. Faced with that fact, Saiga was forced to make a decision.

“Everyone, run!” he shouted with a magically enhanced voice toward the people aboard Noah.

Fortunately, it would have been difficult, even with Fukei’s powers, to destroy Noah. But it was doubtful that Fukei would simply let the three of them climb aboard the ship and, even if they did get aboard, that would just motivate Fukei to try to destroy their escape vessel.

“We’ll buy time for you! Hurry up and get out of here!”

The people aboard Noah couldn’t evacuate quickly, even having heard his command. Saiga understood all of this, sweating profusely as he dropped into a stance holding Eckesachs.

“As for the two of you... I’m sorry.”

At Saiga’s apology, Tahlan and Ran snapped back into awareness. They remembered that they were here to fight.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I was worried for a moment what I would do if you told me to run!”

“Yep, what he said! Let’s go kick his ass again!”

No matter how powerful the enemy, they could still fight. As such, they would fight on till the bitter end. Even though they knew that their excitement was only there to mask their fear of death, their three hearts beat as one.

“Playtime is over,” the Immortal said, dismissing their commitment with a derisive snort.

Fukei seemed almost bored, evidently not interested in engaging in a fight on mortal terms as he launched a barrage of floating islands at the three.

“World Manipulation: Ruination and the Abyss.”

Each chunk of earth, each floating island, was larger than a human being. The three desperately fought their way forward as the giant masses flew at them in a swarm. Even though it was now well lit, the ground was still covered with giant holes. It made it difficult for them to run, and it restricted the routes available for movement.

Still, the three continued to advance upon Fukei while dodging the boulders launched at them.

“Pointless.” Fukei remained motionless even as he watched their desperate charge. “You have nothing to gain.”

Fukei dropped into a crouch and focused. His breathing was calm and he was able to activate his ability without interruption.

A heartbeat, then Flash Step. Fukei suddenly appeared in front of the running Tahlan.

“No!”

Saiga and Ran noticed the sudden movement, but they weren’t going to make it. The three had gotten separated as they advanced while avoiding the rocks assailing them.

“...”

Tahlan had already started to react, but no matter how he moved, it was too late for him to respond effectively. Tahlan was an ordinary man. He had no superhuman speed or durability. Physically, he was the weakest one present. There was nothing he could do under these circumstances.

“If you must curse anyone, curse your master. Curse Suiboku.”

“...”

Tahlan cursed no one and didn’t embarrass himself in the face of death. He accepted the blow that was directed at him with open eyes. He watched the blow that would kill him, a blow that had the anger of three thousand years behind it.

“Alas...”