Published at 3rd of January 2023 10:05 am

Volume 11, Chapter 1 – Continent’s Crisis, Part 5

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Speaking of superpowers on the central continent, the Great Grantz Empire was the first to be mentioned, but if one were to ask where the next great power was, different people would probably mention different names for different countries.

For example, the Kingdom of Felzen, which was now extinct but was known as the ‘Western Male.’ The Grand Duchy of Drall, which was founded not so many years ago. The Vanir Three Kingdoms that were ruled by the long-eared people, which had a long history. The Republic of Steichen, which was a technological state. Finally, there were the Six Kingdoms, which were founded based on a complicated history.

The Six Kingdoms, as its name suggests, is a large country consisting of six nations with radically different ideologies, cultures, and values. Some are diligent, such as the long-eared people; others are cheerful, such as the beastman; still, others value honor, such as the humans; and so on.

Therefore, there had been times in their history when they had clashed with each other. However, each time, the king of the Greif Kingdom, the unified king of the Six Kingdoms, acted as a buffer to lower the tensions among the other countries.

There were reasons why the different countries followed the words of the unified king. The first and foremost reason was that Greif is the suzerain state. However, the premise was also based on the fact that the emperor’s brother, who rebelled against the policy of exclusion of other races that took place during the reign of the third emperor of the Grantz, fled to this land and founded Greif, sharing the territory with the descendants of the “Five Black Heavenly Generals” who followed him at that time. This was to have a lasting impact on future generations. Because of this premise, each country, despite its different national characteristics, obediently followed the words of the unified king.

The capital of Greif was a port city called Fierte. It had prospered by developing its economy through maritime trade using the vast ocean to the west. The country had actively adopted the cultures of other countries and accepted people of other races, and was rumored to be free and open-minded at best and lacking in individuality at worst. On top of a hill a short distance from the city of Fierte, there was a royal palace where the unified king resided. Surrounding the foot of the hill is a thick wall that blocks the invasion of outside enemies, and it was guarded by garrisoned troops gathered from all over the world. Up the slope of the hill, there was the last fortress wall of the Fierte Palace. It was one of the honors to guard this place, which was also called the royal guard, and was one of the units that many of the soldiers of Greif longed to be a part of. It was also the first place that any ordinary soldier would aim for.

However, a part of the wall, which should be called such a last stronghold, was on fire. The black smoke rising from the wall was seen by the troops of other countries who were watching the situation from below, and it was obvious that they were upset.

In the courtyard of the Fierte Palace, a man and a woman were facing each other. A dark-haired, golden-eyed boy stood calmly with two swords in his hands. He was calm and composed, but his presence was somehow fragile and yet radiated a dangerous atmosphere.

His name was Ooguro Hiro. A thousand years ago, he stood with the first emperor and was revered as the God of War. Today, he was the second king of Baum, a small but powerful nation, and called himself the Black Dragon King.

“Liz, do you think there is a god in this world?”

Hiro asked the beautiful woman with crimson hair facing him.

She was the sixth princess of the Great Grantz Empire and possessed the Flame Emperor, one of the five sacred swords known as the Five Emperors of the Spirit Swords, and was rumored by many to be the second coming of the first emperor, Altius. Although she was once considered the furthest person from the throne, she was now the first in the line of succession to the imperial throne, and her presence was too great to be ignored, both at home and abroad. She had also been courted by many men because of her beauty, which was inherited from her mother, and her fame had become well-known to all.

“Since there are the “Five Great Heavenly Kings,” it’s hard to say that they don’t exist.”

Liz answered with a frown, keeping the tip of her red sword pointed at Hiro as if she was wary of him.

Shrugging his shoulders at her stance, Hiro shifted his gaze in irritation at the sound of the noisy voice. At the gate of the Fierte Palace―a crowd of soldiers recognized Liz’s presence and made a commotion.

“Silence!”

Hiro said quietly, and some of the soldiers kept their mouths shut. Other soldiers sensed the strange atmosphere and looked puzzled. Hiro added a few more words to them.

“No one is to be allowed in this courtyard.”

Surprisingly, the soldiers who had rushed to the gate began to return to their posts without question, following the order of Hiro, the king of another country. Liz, who was watching the scene up close, had a look of astonishment on her face.

“What did you do…?”

“Nothing, I just gave them an order. But now there is no interference.”

Hiro slumped his shoulders, looked up at the blue sky, and exhaled slowly.

“Liz, in this world―there is no ‘God’ that lives in the sky. The “Five Great Heavenly Kings” certainly have equal power, but none of them could become a God, and all of them are failures.”

Hiro dropped his gaze and looked at Liz again.

“The one who came closest to becoming a God was not one of the Five Great Heavenly Kings. It was a human, Altius.”

“The first emperor… closest to becoming a God?”

“Yes, that’s right. He was born out of the ordinary, and even for the Five Great Heavenly Kings, the birth of a human being named Altius was an unexpected event. He was truly the reincarnation of a God.”

Since he could remember, Altius had been communicating with “spirits,” beings he could not perceive, and with the help of the first princess shrine maiden, he created the “Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword,” which he used in a way that no one had ever achieved before. He won the war against the demons, which no one had ever accomplished before, and created a great empire called Grantz that lasted for a thousand years.

“It was truly the work of God, don’t you think?”

“It was also made possible by the power of the Spirit King. Above all, he had excellent comrades-in-arms. It was not the power of Altius alone. You know that.”

Liz denied it, but Hiro smiled while his eyes were distorted with sadness.

“Yes… I really wish that was true.”

With an expression as if he were about to burst into tears, like a child who had lost sight of his home, Hiro bit his lip and spat out the words.

“I was nothing more than a burden to him.”

“Hiro…? What are you talking about?”

Liz knew. The Flame Emperor had told her how much Altius cared for Hiro. In her dreams, she saw him enjoying his time with Hiro. There was no hint of the pessimistic feeling that he was a liability.

“Altius has always been worried about Hiro. That’s definitely not a mistake. Because the Flame Emperor taught me that.”

Hiro’s expression did not brighten as she explained. Like a person tormented by sin, he was overcome by dark emotion.

“I told you, Liz. The emperor does not need to be ‘sweet.’ You should have been more solitary.”

An intense glare pierced Liz’s eyes.

“There was no need to feel anything else. You mustn’t make the same mistake again. Just give me the Flame Emperor, and it will all be over. No one has to suffer anymore.”

“I told you I can’t do it.”

“Why not? Give me the Flame Emperor, and you’ll become the emperor. You can escape the doom of the Grantz. Everything is at my disposal, and I can give you the world you want.”

Hiro said quickly as if he were trying to convince her. A few seconds of silence passed between them.

Liz eventually relaxed her shoulders and looked down at the ground.

“Yes, I understand exactly what you mean.”

“…Then, are you going to take me up on my offer?”

When Liz showed no clear attitude, Hiro looked at her quizzically.

And then――,

“I refuse.”

Rejection, a short but piercing word. She looked up at him, and in her eyes, he could sense a definite will.

Seeing this, Hiro did not show disappointment, and for some reason, he smiled with satisfaction.

“Why?”

“If it is not won by merit, then there is no need for it. It’s not up to you to decide whether to perish or not. I don’t want to be manipulated by someone else.”

“Even if that decision means that many people will be deprived of happiness?”

“We are all fighting for our happiness. Don’t you dare to talk about God, lasting peace, or some other self-righteousness that trumps people’s feelings.”

“…It’s just like you. So let’s change a few words. Why don’t you join hands with me?”

Hiro reaches out his hand, but Liz takes one look at him and snorts.

“If so, I’ll make it clear too.”

Liz brushes her hair to the side and glares at Hiro. As if to express her feelings, flames rose from the blade of the Flame Emperor.

“The Grantz will not perish. I will surely bring about victory.”

“I see; it seems that we will always solve our own problems by our own power or… we will never be compatible with each other.”

Hiro raised his hands in surrender as if to say, “it can’t be helped.”

The weight of Liz’s gaze and her presence grew in response to such a provocative attitude.

“Did you think there was?”

“No… Fufu, you’re right. It’s just like you said.”

Hiro smiled as he picked up the Dark and Heavenly Emperors stuck in the ground.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t really want to fight you.”

“Me neither… I think I let you off the hook a little too much.”

“…What do you mean?”

To Hiro, who tilted his head, Liz sighed with one hand on her hip and mouthed the words.

“You should come back.”

“Under these circumstances?”

Hiro laughed at the ridiculous talk, but Liz nodded her head in a very serious manner.

“Yes, I’ll take care of the rest, and you can get some rest.”

“The gears have started to move regardless of our will. Even I can’t stop it now.”

“I know you can’t.”

Liz readily agreed, and Hiro raised his eyebrows in growing suspicion.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? If you’re not going to come back, I will force you to come back.”

“Can you do that?”

Hiro dropped his waist deeply and turned his body sideways to look at Liz with his Dark Emperor and Heavenly Emperor at the upper and lower positions. The appearance was not that of a pretension. Even more so than when he held a single sword in his hand, it was familiar to him. In fact, it was the first posture that Altius had taught him a thousand years ago, in an era far, far away.

“Yes, Hiro, I will tear off your limbs and take you home.”

With a smile on her face, Liz cloaked her fist in blue flame. Red flames raged behind her as if to express her emotions. The flames burned the air, the oxygen that was taken into her lungs simmering hot as if boiling.

“You’re trying to be a god. That’s not enough to kill you.”

“…Haha, that’s another terrible thing to think about.”

It’s because he sensed that she was serious. Liz also lifted the corners of her eyes wildly to show that she was serious.

“You are prepared. Then―live like you’re not going to die.”

Kicking off the ground, Liz flapped her wings into the sky and flew straight at Hiro.

“That’s another… reckless request, isn’t it?”

The big movement made it easy for Hiro to avoid it, but the place where he was originally located caved in violently―wild dust covered the whole area, and several pillars of fire erupted from the ground at a tremendous rate.

Frowning at the heat so intense that it burned his skin, Hiro flipped off his black robe and moved away to protect himself from the flames.

“If it were an ordinary opponent, they would probably be frightened by your first attack. But for those who stand in a certain realm, it is not difficult to avoid because of the large movement. But it’s not a bad move.”

Looking at the pillar of flame that shoots up to the sky, Hiro explained with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

“It’s one of Altius’ favorite moves. There will be a gap before the next move, but a pillar of fire will be generated around you to protect you, and if you make a bad move, you will be the one who gets burned. The Flame Emperor is more special than the other Five Emperors of the Spirit Sword. But that doesn’t mean I can only watch.”

Hiro thrust his arm out in front of him. Looking at his hand, the wind could be seen swirling around it.

The surrounding flames were caught up in the wind as if sucked in, and the pillar of fire gradually lost its momentum, finally being launched into the sky with a cloud of dust.

“The wind helps the flames, but it can also kill them at the same time. It depends on how you use it.”

Hiro was watching the mass of flames disappear into the sky, but Liz was kicking down the distance and closing in on him as if to catch him by surprise.

“How could you afford to look away?”

Without hesitation, Liz swung the Flame Emperor from the bottom to the top. The sword mark caught him in the left arm, but Hiro instantly leaped backward to avoid it.

“Flame Emperor, burn without restraint!”

At the same time as Liz’s words, Hiro’s arm was instantly engulfed in flames. However, without showing any sign of distraught, Hiro slashes down his left arm without hesitation. Blood splattered in the air, and the arm fell to the ground with a dull thud. Liz looked on in surprise at his action, which showed no hesitation. Hiro gave her a curious look.

“You can’t put out the fire of the Flame Emperor, so the only way is to cut it down.”

Hiro said as if it were a matter of course and watched as his arm fell to the ground and caught on fire.

“The loss of one or two arms is not a problem for me right now.”

Hiro muttered nonchalantly with a bloodless face. His left arm was completely restored after a few moments, with blood vessels produced, bones constructed, and skin pasted on. After holding his hand several times to check the feeling, Hiro picked up the Heavenly Emperor that had fallen beside him and looked at Liz once again.

“Oh, maybe… you didn’t mean to just threaten me and take my arm. You can put out the flames. But, you know, I don’t need that kind of naivete.”

But she had grown up. It was certainly an attack that made him feel that way.

The slash was fired from a blind spot, and Hiro thought he had read it perfectly. However, he could not avoid it. Even so, it was not enough to disable him. It was no match for inflicting a wound. She had let go of the opportunity to completely silence him.

“Liz, if you are not prepared to kill me, give me the Flame Emperor. You can’t win against the enemies that await you in the future with that level of mindset.”

“Shut up. You’re not even ready to fight!”

Liz, with the Flame Emperor at the ready, approached again.

The sword tip was thrust out faster, sharper, and with tremendous force than before.

“If you don’t intend to fight seriously, shut up and give me your limbs.”

Hiro parried the first blow, parried the second, and dodged the third.

But the leaping tip of the blade did not stop. Slashes were delivered in all directions from the eyes, cheeks, forehead, arms, and hands.

When Hiro noticed that the attack was aimed at his leg, he put all his strength into his toe and lifted it vigorously. Without a moment’s pause, the ground was gouged out by the tip of the Flame Emperor. Liz, not giving up, attacks in pursuit. As she created flames, Hiro flipped off his black robe, turned himself around, and took up a stance.

Liz’s momentum left Hiro on the defensive.

“…I see, you’re really――”

She became stronger.

The softest of the soft conquers the hardest of the hard. A slow and steady attack destroyed the enemy with the force of a raging wave.

He did not know where she learned it, but it was Hiro’s most favorite combat swordsmanship.

However, Hiro did not learn the attacks that she used on his own.

It was taught to Hiro as a self-defense technique by two people who patiently taught him as an ordinary man a thousand years ago: Altius, a master swordsman, and a woman named Rey.

He had always watched the backs of these two strong and noble figures. And then he had a dream. He imagined the days when they would continue to fight side by side. He knew it was too much for ordinary people to wish for.

It was out of reach, a realm that no ordinary man should touch, a place that would scorch you if you got too close to the sun.

(That’s… the strength that I never had.)

The figure he once admired was there.

The figure that he once fell in love with was there.

The figure he once couldn’t save was there.

Liz’s image overlapped with hers.

(I want to save you this time.)

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