All Hail the King!

The Alvarez Kingdom was one of several petty nations in the continent of Alakitasia that were waging war against each other for several centuries. It bordered the sea from the east coast, while on the land, it bordered Aeon Republic, Regulus Empire, and Southern Nation Alliance.

Contrary to the continent of Ishgar, which was always relatively peaceful, Alakitasia was entirely different. On the continent of Ishgar, the Mage Guilds were forbidden to fight against each other as the Magic Council and their respective kingdoms kept a relatively tight leash on them.

While here, in the Alakitasia, the Mage Guilds were militarized to serve the interests of their nations. The Mages were usually integrated into the leadership of their respective countries and were vital military personnel.

Due to this, there was never established Magic Council on the lands of Alakitasia, and there were battles every day. Alakitasia was a land of war, where everyone strived to become the sole ruler of the continent.

Several purely Magocratic Nations were purely ruled by Mages, like Milishial Magocracy, that ruled the entire sub-continent not far from the Alakitasia; while the sub-continent itself was already considered as part of the Alakitasia.

In the Year X755, the Alvarez Kingdom was founded by an unknown man named Wilbert Archeron, better known as The Destroyer or Anti-Mage.

With the support of two other extremely powerful Mages, Magic King August and Time King Julius Novarchrono, the Alvarez Kingdom was established in the eastern parts of Alakitasia.

Just within the five years it was established, the size of the Alvarez nearly tripled as it assimilated neighboring counties in a ruthless and systematic manner. But at the same time, the King of the Alvarez Kingdom was well-loved by the nation and common people.

Mainly because the King promoted higher living standards among the common people, introduced many inventions that eased their day-to-day life and also heavily supported Mage-Tech industrialization.

And while the Continent of Ishgar was enjoying long years of prosperity for more than 50 Years, the Alakitasia was undergoing a new wave of wars.

In the later years of the Earth Land's history, it would be the time known as the Unification Wars, where the Alakitasia was united into one single coherent nation through the brutal martial force of the Alvarez Empire.

And the Year X755 was the birth of the new Eternal Empire.

The Empire of Magic and Arcane, the Dynasty of Archeron House, the Nation of Mages and Warriors, the Alvarez Empire.

***

Year X760, Alakitasia Continent, Alvarez Kingdom, Vistarion

Vistarion was the capital of the Alvarez Kingdom and as the capital of a major Kingdom in the Alakitasia, it was an enormous city, housing more than a million of its citizens. And yet, today most of the city gathered together as they welcomed back their King.

"Long Live the King!"

The people of the Alvarez Kingdom cheered out loudly with excitement in their voices and hailed their King, who was standing in the middle of the street.

Wilbert Archeron was well-loved in the Alvarez, mainly due to his success in uplifting the living standards and introducing many things into the society.

He was a well-built man with red hair and matching colored eye who had horns that seemed to be twisted near the tip, elf-like ears and tattoos that appeared to be on a portion of his face and goatee.

He was also dressed in noble clothing and his left eye was covered by an eyepatch, but anyone could see an invisible aura coming from the eyepatch because it was a magical seal.

Wilbert ruled the people of the Alvarez Kingdom for five years already and he could see that his popularity was higher and higher. The most valuable thing that he gave the people were security and peace.

Something that was almost night impossible in most regions of the Alakitasia. The neighboring states of Alvarez were problematic in one way or another.

Southern Alliance was constantly in internal strife as various member nations, while the Regulus Empire was a corrupt country where a cutthroat state among the nobility was slowly dismantling the nation from within.

And the Aeon Republic was a very old nation that was, unfortunately for it, in a long decline for the past several decades and there were already talks of rebellion against the current regime led by fallen noble families.

More than twenty years ago, the Aeon Republic was enveloped in a huge civil war in which the Noble Faction lost due to the intervention of the Mercenary State Zem.

But while the Noble Faction lost and Noble Families were stripped of their Nobility Titles, their power still remained within the nation.

Mainly because several powerful Noble Families still had some really powerful mages within them.

Especially the two of the House Armstrong that commanded enormous respect within certain military circles till this day and House Avalaché as the head of the House, Edward Avalaché was rumored to be SS-Rank Mage, probably strong enough to put him on level of Four Gods of Ishgar.

Ironically though, as Wilbert often thought about it, even though the continent of Ishgar was the birthplace of humanity and oldest continent in the Earthland, among the three main continents of Earth Land, it was the weakest one...

Or at least that he heard from his friend.

"Your majesty!"

A girl came running forward with a bright smile on her face, outstretching her hand to the front to give him a flower.

"Please accept this."

A smile made it to his face as he kneeled down in front of the girl and gently took away the flower; putting his hand on her head, he told her.

"Thank you, little one."

he smiled and kissed her forehead, making the people cheer out even more. A strong Kingdom is the Kingdom whose King was loved and adored by his people. A regime ruled through fear would collapse sooner or later, but one where people were on the side of the regime would withstand any tribulation.

Wilbert continued through the crowd of people that was welcoming his return from his journey as he soon arrived at the enormous Royal Palace. There were soldiers of the newly formed Royal Guard standing on guard everywhere.

The Royal Guards wore white military-style uniforms, with helmets covering their entire faces.

In front of the gates of the Royal Palace, there was already an elderly man waiting for him, together with several soldiers of the Royal Guard. He was a relatively tall, fair-skinned, still quite well-tone elderly with blackish eyes and roughly shoulder-length, wavy, grayish hair, with the majority of his bangs, swept leftward.

He has a short mustache, and a lengthy, mildly thin beard that reaches down to his upper torso, shoots up towards the mouth in large spikes, and links to his main hair via sideburns.

He wore a long, white and purple robe consisting of two major pieces: a long garment that reached past his knees, with a tattered bottom edge and intricately designed linings on the ends of its sleeves, including a line of dark lozenges, and a shorter, more billowing garment above it, over only his chest area. The longer garb is kept tied together with a thin light girdle made of a seemingly rope-like material.

"Your Majesty."

A cool, almost emotionless voice sounded from the old man as he greeted Wilbert on his return.

"I am back, August."

August was the strongest person under his command, the only one who reached the SSS-Rank Mage and despite that he was 63 years old, he was still getting stronger with each passing day.

He was a disciple of his sole friend since he arrived in this world and the person who helped him to build and run the Alvarez Kingdom and at the same time, he acted as a deterrent for the Regulus Empire or Yulong Dynasty from invasion.

"The Generals are assembled and they are waiting for you in the throne room."

August was not only a member of the future 12 Divine Generals that he planned to establish, but he was also the 1st Divine General of the entire Army, numbering 100,000 Soldiers and acted as the highest administrative officer.

"Hmm? Did something happen during the time I was away August?"

Wilbert asked because when he left to tour the nation three months ago, there were only two Armies and two Generals. Only August and another SS-Rank Mage named Julius Novachrono.

So he didn't miss when August said that Generals were already waiting for him.

"Actually, yes, Your Majesty. During your absence, we had an interesting visit from a promising young woman who applied to the military position and, for the rank of General, even challenged me to duel."

Wilbert's eyes narrowed at the mention of this as he didn't miss the old man's good mood as he was explaining that.

"Oh?"

Now he was interested...

It wasn't every day that somebody that powerful wanted to join the Kingdom.

When Wilbert started building the Kingdom, he built on principles of Meritocracy mixed with Magocratic. Aside from loyalty to the nation, contributions and personal might were all that mattered.

"Her name is Princia Funnybunny... a member from a fallen noble family of the Regulus Empire. Her Family lost in a feud before she was born and thus, they became wanderers that eventually settled in the western mountains in a small city. Among their entire family, only young Princia had a talent for Magic, and in her drive, she trained to the extreme, becoming SS-Rank Mage only at the tender age of 21..."

Wilbert attentively listened to August because it was rare for the man to compliment someone...

And to praise someone this much only meant that the woman was good.

When determining the Mage Ranks, there were essentially two fundamental things that decided the Rank.

The first thing that mattered more than the second, mainly due to passive and indirect effects, which was the Ethernano Level. The second thing was the mastery over the Magic the Mage used.

"Then I want to meet her... such talent joining the Kingdom's military is always welcomed. Does she have any special requirements?"

As the King, he needed to give some special privileges to the most powerful Mages in the Kingdom because, in the end, they were the backbone of the nation. In the end, without powerful nations providing security and protection to the country, the state won't be able to survive.

That was what was happening to the Aeon Republic because in the civil war that happened some time ago, the majority of their powerful Mages were killed and those who remained either closed themselves off and ignored everything.

Wilbert predicted that if not for the presence of Edward Avalaché in the Aeon Republic, it would have been long ago attacked by the Regulus Empire and the Mercenary State of Zem.

Edward Avalaché was a very powerful SS-Grade Mage and his Ice Magic was extremely powerful, so just his presence acted as a deterrent for any potential invader.

SS-Grade Mages, who crossed Ethernano Level of more than one million, meaning their Magic Reserves are tremendous and if they mastered their Magic to a greater degree, they have no problem of annihilating entire armies in a split of a second.

The Alvarez Kingdom right now had one essentially peak SSS-Grade Mage, who was naturally August, and three SS-Grade Mages.

This wasn't looking as much, but actually, it was an impressive setup, considering the nation was founded only five years ago.

Not to mention that everyone was fired up and training to get stronger, be it in terms of increasing the Magic Reserves, thus the Ethernano Level or achieving greater mastery in their Magic.

Together with August, we crossed into the Royal Palace and the long corridors that were guarded by the Royal Guard; we soon arrived at the Throne Room of the Royal Palace, where I already saw the newcomer.

She was a young woman who wore a cold, stern expression with long pink hair with bands that crossed above her nose and piercing green eyes.

Though what surprised me was her choice of clothing because she was wearing something that reminiscent of the military uniform with an officers cap, long black shoes and a belt, alongside a black coat with a medal of her Household Sigil and white fur linings that were draped on her shoulders like a cape.

Interestingly, she appeared to be also a swordsman, considering the sword with a red sheathe strapped on the left side.

When Wilbert looked at her, he could see that she was strong and was able to determine that her Ethernano Level should be easily above 8 million; she was already close to the SSS-Grade Mage.

Naturally, in battles between Mages, the Ethernano Level wasn't everything...

There were other factors in play, such as battle skills and mastery over the Magic and of course, also the Magic itself.

For example, Wilbert was an SS-Grade Mage with an Ethernano Level of slightly above 3 million and yet he had already killed two SSS-Grade Mages.

SSS-Grade Mage had Ethernano Level above ten million up to essentially 99,999,999 and the one Wilbert killed had Ethernano Level of more than 25 million, but his combat prowess was severely lacking as the man wasn't as much battle Mage as Wilbert was.

If one's combat proficiency with high and someone had mastered Magic to a great degree, then fighting above his Grade was rather common.

"Greetings... Lady Funnybunny."

Wilbert greeted her politely, not only considering her status as Noble or Fallen Noble but also a respect of her strength. Wilbert always respected those with power and skill, as they were worthy of his attention, while he disdained those who were weak and decided to remain weak.

"Your Majesty."

Her voice wasn't overly loud or emotional, but the pride in her couldn't be hidden no matter how much she tried.

That was an understandable fact because she was barely 24 Years old and was already a pretty powerful SS-Grade Mage with Ethernano Level above 4 Milion and high mastery over her Magic.

This was certainly an unseen thing...

Even in a place like Earth Land.

Not like Earth.

Every time Wilbert mentioned the name of this world, he was reminiscent of his birthplace as he arrived at the Earth Land, essentially escaping from his home world.

***

Flashback

Several years ago, World Earth

In an unnamed corner of a once-vibrant blue planet that became a warzone after the invasion of the demon race. One day, out of nowhere, a Magic thing that was rumored to be just a fairy tale appeared on the planet Earth.

And with the Magic, the enemies came, as the planet the Demons invaded Earth from the Abyss. No matter how much humans were technologically advanced and what weapons they used, everything proved to be futile in the face of the demon invasion.

Within a few months, most of humanity was wiped out and what has remained gripped together under the leadership of a few powerful human mages.

Somewhere on the planet Earth, in an unknown place, there was a man fighting against the hordes of demons and other demonic creatures.

He was missing one of his eyes, but he was still tearing through the hundreds if not thousands of demons just with his flaming sword alone, leaving behind him rivers of blood and tonnes of dead flesh.

His other eye, which seemed to be blind, had a dragon-like pattern.

"You have passed the final Trial, Challenger."

Suddenly as he slayed the last demon with a humanoid appearance, he heard a majestic voice behind him.

"So, that means you will open the portal for me? You will open the Anima?"

The man asked as blood flowed from his body as he heard the powerful voice belonging to the unknown being.

"Yes I will open it; it was an agreement in the end. Though I have to say, one of the most powerful people in the world after the Apocalypse behaving like an utter coward... How amusing."

The man could sense mocking in the voice which belonged to the unknown being, but he didn't care.

"Sometimes only cowards will survive... Great Ethernano Wave happened only a few years ago and yet only the most powerful people on Earth barely crossed the Ethernnao Level of 100,000 and for the Demons, this is just starting point."

The man said with a frown before making a pause.

"Not that I cared about the fate of this world in the slightest, so being a coward means nothing to me... as long as I survive, nothing else matters."

Silence penetrated the room before the being behind started laughing madly.

"Indeed! Indeed bearer "

Flashback end

***

"August told me that you are very strong and already passed all trials for the position of the Divine General of the 3rd Army that we are establishing. Anything you want to say?"

Wilbert wasn't much of a talker; he was a person more silent and introverted who enjoyed the solace of the sound of silence.

"I heard from the Lord August that everyone who becomes one of the Divine Generals in exchange for their eternal loyalty, could ask for a few things, right?"

She asked him, as Wilbert nodded.

He was the bearer of the Arch-Demon Lineage, so contracts were his things, especially the unbreakable ones with extremely strict conditions. So, in exchange for the eternal loyalty towards him, his House and Alvarez, Wilbert was giving these people a lot of benefits.

But at the same time, Wilbert genuinely respected the powerful Mages that decided to pledge their loyalty, and he always returned kindness with kindness.

"Then from one of the things, I want nothing more just execution of all Noble Houses of the Regulus Empire."

Suddenly the hall went silent, as even Magic King August Squinted his eyes at this request while Wilbert started laughing...

"Hahahahaha!"

Several guards at the place started getting uneasy at the demonic laughter, but Wilbert was extremely amused hearing about this request.

It wasn't something that he expected to hear, but at the same time, he welcomed it entirely. But at the same time, he knew that she was a geniue person because most would think of other things in their situation.

He had already met his fair share of arrogant Mages who wanted to join the Alvarez but at a price that he deemed too high and their intentions were not pure. Even though the contracts guaranteed a certain level of loyalty, they were not bulletproof.

So... such people never survived past a few more minutes, as he killed them all.

In the end, the nobility of the Regulus Empire was something that was corrupted to the root, so it was better to exterminate it entirely rather than allow it to enter the Alvarez as its integral part.

"In my name, Wilbert Savant Archeron, King of the Alvarez Kingdom, I agree to your request!"

Wilbert said majestically as the parchment of paper appeared between him and Princia Funnybunny. This was the so-called Primordial Contract used by the Demons of the Abyss when they were contracting someone.

"According to the Primordial Contract, I pledge my eternal and undying loyalty to His Majesty, Wilbert Savant Archeron and the Alvarez Kingdom, that I swear in my name and the name of my House."

She then recited the oath as the Primordial Contract shined in a bright light before it dispersed, signifying that the soul contract between the two of them was signed.

"Now, I want to see your Magic for myself, Lady Funnybunny."

Wilbert said with battle lust practically steering from his very own being because she got approval from August and even he had to work seriously to get complimented by the Magic King.

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

Instantly her personality shifted as her stoic face turned into a maniac-like smile and Wilbert's eyes sparkled because he knew that he found a compatriot in a love for battle.

The ever-stoic and cold Princia Funnybunny seemed to be a battle maniac.

Though considering their situation, it wasn't that surprising because the position of commander of the entire Army would attract only those who had unquenchable thirst after a battle or those who wanted power.

"What Magic do you use, Lady Funnybunny? August told me that you put up a hell of a fight against him."

Wilbert couldn't hold his curiosity as they were walking towards the sparring area in the Royal Palace.

"Legion Magic... It is a Magic that allows me to create and manipulate magical soldiers at will. At the same time, the soldiers themselves have various levels o power and even Magic at their disposal depending on their type."

The King of the Alvarez Kingdom was surprised to hear that because her Magic was really powerful. In a different way compared to Julius Novachrono, whose Magic was overpowered through its rarity.

Princia Funnybunny could be called a one-woman army; if she had enough Ethernano, she could conjure literal armies of even S-Rank Magic Soldiers.

Such thought was frightening and exciting at the same time.

"And your close combat capabilities?"

Wilbert inquired because Mages with Magic, similar to hers, typically lacked in this department rather severely.

"I am also a very proficient swordmaster who reached Level 5 Master Rank of Ginaz Sword School and Level 3 Master Rank of Sardau Sword School."

She said proudly, at which even Wilbert stopped in his tracks and looked at her deeply.

"So you are the perfect combination of One-Man Army and Army Destroyer in one person... most fascinating."

While she didn't let it known in her expression, she was feeling satisfied with the praise from the King. Even August who was walking behind them was surprised to hear that the young woman was such an accomplished sword master.

Sardau Sword School originated from the Guiltina Continent, which was the strongest continent overall, especially due to the powerful monsters and harsh conditions of the Guiltina.

Thus the Sardau Sword Style elected that it was a powerful sword style specifically tailored for killing, especially to counter Magic, Alchemy, Spirit Arts and Curses, the four main orthodox Paths of Power of Earth Land.

Meanwhile, the Ginaz Sword School was native to Alakitasia itself.

"Interesting... I cannot wait for our spar already..."

Wilbert himself was the master of the Bladestaff.

On Earth, due to the scarcity of the Ethernano, most Mages combined martial arts and weapon mastery with their Magic to preserve their Magic Power as much as possible.

***

In the Royal Palace of the Vistarion, the underground arena was constructed with the best materials that the Kingdom had in its disposition. Naturally, it also contained tons of Enchantments and Seals to support the combat between even the most powerful Mages of their Kingdom.

Most of it was done directly by August, but it was Zeref who did the final work so that the arena would withstand the clash of any SSS-Grade Mage.

Both Wilbert and Princia stood on opposite ends of the arena as a crystal barrier was erected around them to contain their upcoming clash better.

"Both participants, the shield is on!"

August acted as a referee for them as they instantly shifted into combat.

"Legion Magic: Solider Creation - Company."

As she finished her spell, suddenly one hundred of Golem-like constructs appeared all around her, creating a shield wall between Wilbert and Princia.

"Hmm... interesting."

Wilbert just observed everything because he was analyzing how her Magic worked, which he shortly saw hundreds of beams of pure magic; some was of the neutral attribute, just compressed Ethernano while some was elemental, shooting towards him.

"Gram Demolition: Gram Wave."

Instantly translucent energy wave burst out of Wilbert's body and all attacks that were falling on him dispersed into nothingness, as he could see how his opponent frowned seeing this.

"Then as the lady made the first move, it would be rude to let you wait."

Wilbert said as he used Requip Magic and his Blade-Staff appeared in his right hand.

"Hellblaze - Fireball x100."

In a split of a second, hundreds of purple fireballs appeared behind Wilbert as they shot with tremendous speed toward the golem soldiers conjured through the Legion Magic, as Princia controlled her soldiers to dodge the incoming fireballs.

While she was able to recognize that as Curse, she was still getting very uneasy about Fireballs created through the Curse.

Curse was the power of the Demons, Etherious and other similar creatures. Contrary to Magic, which used Ethernano or the more commonly known Magic Power, Curses used as their fuel Curse Power.

That one was generated through the negative essence that one uses to create Cursed techniques and spells, accumulated from the negative emotions of humans such as resentment, jealousy, hatred, vengeance, etc. being said to have been founded on the essence of life.

Implied to be superior to Ethernano in the form that it lacks any known form of weaknesses associated with Magic, such as the users being subjugated by Magic Sealing Stones. Cursed Energy is also unaffected by Magical Barrier Particles; thus its users bare no risk of Magic Deficiency Disease or of its fatal effects.

Similar to Magic, Cursed Energy is seemingly stored in a container within the user's body that determines the limit of their Cursed Power, and the user can be rendered weak in power and stamina should they exhaust most of their supply of Cursed Energy.

The Legion Queen watched how her soldiers were melted away by the Hellblaze, or rather the more precise term would be they were devoured by the Hellblaze entirely.

Hellblaze Curse was flame stemming from the deepest parts of the Abyss, used exclusively only by those of the Archeron Bloodline. It was a ferocious and brutal flame that was not possible to extinguish through normal means.

And in addition to its immensely devastating power, the flames also nullify any regenerative abilities including that of an immortal.

"Ts..."

She frowned seeing that most of her soldiers were eaten away, but on contrary to her frown, she was delighted inside because she could see a worthy opponent.

"Legion Magic: Gehenna Game."

Instantaneously, she created a circular chessboard and pieces which shined with ominous crimson color. Subsequently, she can summon the pieces off of the board and transform them into larger versions with which to attack enemies. As soldiers are destroyed, new ones can be created and sent out.

Compared to the previous ones, these ones were much stronger, as each one she sent out had the raw power of a peak S-Rank Mage with an Ethernano Level of 999,999.

"Legion Magic: Gehenna Game: x4 Pawns Deployment!"

"Legion Magic: Gehenna Game: x2 Knight!"

Suddenly humongous Pawn Soldiers and Knight Soldiers appeared on the battlefield and rushed toward Wilbert at lightning speed. Even he was surprised by the increase in their power, realizing that she could use her Legion Magic to switch between quantity and quality.

"Then let's dance..."

He grinned as he raised his Blade Staff with his right hand and assumed a combat stance.

"Echant: Hellblaze."

His Blade-Staff burst out with the purple flames of Hellblaze as Wilbert disappeared from the spot where he was standing and appeared in front of one of the Pawns, using the enchanted Blade-Staff to smash the Pawn apart.

'Hmm... even more durable than S-Rank Monster.'

He thought as he rushed towards the next Pawn Soldiers; while dodging their spells; meanwhile Princia Funnybunny was summoning more Soldiers from the Genenna.

While Wilbert could just tank his way with the Gram Demolition, as she didn't have overwhelming Magic Power or anything to resist the Gram Demolition that would be the boring end.

Meanwhile, they were fighting; August was observing the duel between his King/Pseudo-Dsicple and the newest Divine General of the Alvarez Kingdom.

'He is getting better and better at the utilization of the Hellblaze, still, it is rather unfortunate that the only Magic he can cast now is the Gram Demolition and few racial ones... if the plan with the Ark will come to fruition then becoming a Lord wouldn't be impossible within a few decades.'

August analyzed everything from the side as he watched his Wilbert was closing to the Princia, tearing his way through the hordes of the Legion Magic Soldiers with relative ease, destroying them with Hellblaze Curse or sometimes incorporating even the Gram Demolition if needed.

The fight between the two of them contained for another hour before both of them tactically decided to end the spar. Wilbert was very satisfied with the new Divine General who would be put in charge of the 3rd Army.

***

Sevaral Days Later, Vistarion, Valflame Palace

As part of his daily routine was dealing with the paperwork, administration duties and other annoying things that he would often dump on someone else, but not today.

Today, Wilbert was going through the staches of paperwork that waited for him here since he left to tourney the kingdom.

"Your Majesty, the Director of the Burial Agency is here with an urgent report."

As he was finishing the last parts of the paperwork, suddenly one of the butlers informed him of this development; he frowned deeply.

"You can send him in."

Getting urgent reports directly from the Director of the Burial Agency was a sign of something significant happening in the world... once again.

Burial Agency was a special department within the Kingdom, solely responsible for espionage, counter-espionage, targeted assassinations, and other similar things. Their activities were always considered top-secret matters.

Within several minutes, the Director of the Burial Agency arrived.

Jacob Lessio was a tall, muscular middle-aged man with extremely short black hair and what appears to be a receding hairline, which exposes his very prominent forehead, upon which he has a small tattoo of a skull.

He wore a purple spandex turtle neck, over which he sports a black blazer; and also wore black pants. He also wears a pair of black gloves, which feature oval designs on the knuckles, to go along with his black shoes.

He was also a very powerful SS-Grade Mage and grandmaster assassin.

"Your Majesty."

He bowed deeply as Wilbert motioned with his hand as he stepped forward.

"I bring an urgent report from the Aeon Republic."

He then said as he passed Wilbert, several papers together with Lacrima where some images and videos were recorded.

"It seems that it finally started... It seems that our newest Divine General will have her share of war... Have they agreed to the conditions?"

Wilbert asked as the head of the Burial Agency nodded his head.

"Then act according to the plan... I will lead the part of the Royal Guard to the Battlefield."

The King has given the order and the war has begun.