Epilogue: Yuriga’s Battle

A little before this war began, on the day when Yuriga met Fuuga in

front of the gates of the Seadian city of Haalga...

It was the first time the brother and sister had met in ages, but Yuriga

had since become a part of the Kingdom of Friedonia through her marriage

to Souma. They were certain to be opposing sides in the war to come.

After Fuuga and Yuriga had chatted for a little while, he said, "And?

What is it you want me to hear?"

"Something that I think you'd want to hear..." she said as she raised her

hand.

The gates of Haalga opened, and a loud rumble filled the air as the sandy

ground shook beneath their feet. Eventually, something massive was

brought through the gates and carried out behind Yuriga. As Fuuga and

Mutsumi's eyes widened, Yuriga stared back at them, her gaze unwavering.

"I wanted to show you this. You ought to know about it because...it was

in my reports," Yuriga said, gesturing to the object behind her. "And what I

want to tell you is about the world as it was born."

What lay behind Yuriga was a massive skull. It had a draconic shape but

was far bigger than that of the red dragon that Halbert rode or any of the

dragons from the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom that he had fought. Not

even Fuuga had seen a creature so massive that its head alone was already

larger than a rhinosaurus.

Fuuga stared in awe at the majesty of the thing as Yuriga went on

speaking.

"This is the skull of the kaiju Ooyamizuchi, which attacked the NineHeaded Dragon Archipelago. As you can no doubt tell by its size, it was as

large as a mountain or a small island, and the Kingdom of Friedonia and the

former Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union were only able to slay it

by combining their efforts and fighting together. The bones of Ooyamizuchi

now belong to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Kingdom, but I made

a request to Queen Shabon through Sir Souma. She allowed me to borrow

the skull to present here today."

"I'd heard about this...but it was truly a massive creature, wasn't it?"

Mutsumi said, letting out a sigh.

"Yeah," Fuuga answered with a nod. "If its head is already this big,

then...it was way larger than even that mushroom-shaped weapon we'd

fought. I can see how the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago couldn't

handle it with their country alone."

After saying this, Fuuga looked at Yuriga.

"So, why are you showing it to us?"

"I'm told that there are still more creatures of the same size across the

sea, in the world of the north," Yuriga said, gesturing towards the sea on the

other side of Mao City.

She then explained everything that they currently knew about the world

of the north to Fuuga. Beyond this sea was another world called Seadia that

was the same size as the world of the south, Landia. Seadia was a world of

scattered islands, and ever since the Seadians lost it to the monsters that'd

welled up, it had become a world of unknowns, the full picture of which

wasn't clear.

Fuuga quietly listened to Yuriga's explanation.

The details sounded fanciful. But the fact that she was telling him while

in front of the city of the Seadians, after rolling out a skull more massive

than any he'd ever seen before...he was in the headspace to believe her.

With Souma's permission, Yuriga revealed the information he planned to

broadcast to the whole world later to Fuuga in advance.

Once she had divulged everything, she gulped before saying, "...The

Kingdom of Friedonia is already moving on into the new era."

"New era?" Fuuga asked.

"Yes." Yuriga nodded. "Whether you manage to win hegemony over this

southern continent or not, the next era is guaranteed to be focused on people

advancing into the world of the north. But that's obvious, isn't it? If we

know there exists a world of mysteries to the north, then the adventurous

and ambitious will bravely venture there. Conversely, having learned that

the threat of monsters is still present, more conservative people will also

feel a need to solve the issue. Because if they leave it alone, there could be

more demon waves. That means that, no matter what, people will have to

head north."

Yuriga looked Fuuga in the eye as she spoke this with certainty.

"Up until now, your dream of dominating the continent has been

something that no one was capable of realizing before. If the south was all

there was to this world, it would still be the greatest dream people could

imagine. That ultimate dream was what charmed me and Big Sister

Mutsumi. Everyone in the Great Tiger Empire has been working themselves

to the bone in order to grant your big wish. Am I wrong about that?"

Though she asked him if he wanted to contradict her, there wasn't

anything incorrect in what Yuriga was saying. And so, Fuuga and Mutsumi

remained silent.

Taking their silence as assent, Yuriga continued.

"But the south isn't all there is to this world. Now it's clear there's a

northern world as big as this one. Your dream may still be something no one

has ever accomplished, but it's no longer the greatest dream imaginable.

When Souma and Madam Mao met, the words 'world domination' changed

in meaning to include the northern land too. And the Great Tiger Empire

can't make that dream a reality on its own."

Yuriga spoke about the limits of Fuuga's dream.

"When you were almost at the finish line... When people thought that if

you just defeated the Maritime Alliance, the dream would come true...

Countless people were willing to endure their grievances to keep running

forward. But now that there's another frontier, will they have to run the

same distance all over again? They've already been pushed to their limits,

and now they're being told that they're only at the halfway point. There's

no way they could tolerate that. There's guaranteed to be a break in popular

support. And the Great Tiger Kingdom, which has been pushing itself

ragged all this time, doesn't have the stamina left to stop them."

Fuuga and Mutsumi watched Yuriga, focusing on her words.

"The only ones adapted to this coming era are the Maritime Alliance,

who've conserved their stamina by building a loose union of nations and

raised the power of each of them through technological cooperation!

There's no choice but to head out into the world of the north, and the

Maritime Alliance can do that. They'll maintain their loose union while

each country cooperates with Madam Mao and the Seadians to send people

there. With Madam Mao helping them, they can utilize the gate to another

world. Sir Souma and his people have already started experimenting with

sending expeditions to the north to investigate."

"Huh?! Souma's already laying his hands on the world of the north?!"

Fuuga cried out in surprise, earning him a firm nod from Yuriga.

"Of course. But because that risks being seen as attempting to

monopolize it for just his country, he has also reached out to the other

nations of the Maritime Alliance, the Seadians, and the Dragon Knight

Kingdom to send out an advance survey team that will operate under the

joint management of all the countries involved."

Yuriga's eyes narrowed on Fuuga.

"Did you just think he stole a march on you, Brother?"

"...!"

"I said earlier that the adventurous and the ambitious would want to go

north, and doesn't that describe you perfectly, Brother? When you heard my

explanation, you got excited, didn't you? Didn't you want to go north

yourself?"

"Well..."

Fuuga was at a loss for words. Hearing Yuriga's explanation and seeing

the massive skull before him made his heart race... The excitement welling

up inside him told him she was right.

Yuriga carried on as if she saw right through him.

"I'm talking to you like this because I understand just what kind of

person you are, Brother. And I think that those who've gathered under you

and are able to share your dream are the same. Shuukin, Gaten, Moumei,

and Kasen. They'd all be just as excited to hear what I just told you. Don't

you feel the same way, Big Sister Mutsumi?"

"Ah...! I suppose you're right," Mutsumi replied with a resigned nod as

the conversation suddenly turned to her. "I don't know what my brother and

his people will think about it, but I couldn't help but think how interesting it

would be to race across the world of the north at my husband's side."

Fuuga awkwardly scratched his head. "Okay, I agree there's a certain

allure to what Yuriga's saying. But why tell us about it now? There's no

way I can simply call off the war with the Kingdom so we can all go up

north together, you know?"

"If you could...wouldn't that have been nice?" Yuriga said with a sad

look. "For me, a world where you adjusted course to cooperate with the

Maritime Alliance, maintaining the empire while cooperating with Sir

Souma to head into the world of the north...would have been my ideal. But

you've all shed too much and are carrying too heavy a burden on your

shoulders to be able to do that."

"Yeah... There's no stopping me now," Fuuga said with a quiet nod. "All

the countries I've annexed and the guys I've cut down would never let me

get away with that. Abandoning my dream halfway would mean throwing

away all of the sacrifices that have been made for it. No matter what the

ultimate result is, the dream needs to be seen through to its conclusion. For

that, I need to settle things with Souma."

Fuuga's words were a rejection.

"I know that," Yuriga said, raising her head.

Although her expression was firm, there were big tears pooling in the

corners of her eyes.

"As a great man, you don't have the right to stop... Still, I wanted to

gamble on the faint hope there was. Because I don't want to see your dream

come to a sad end."

"Yuriga..."

"But I wanted you to know that if you ever fall from power and are no

longer a great man, then this option is available to you. When you lose the

next war, now that you've heard what I wanted to say, I'm sure you won't

be able to keep on fighting to take revenge on the Maritime Alliance.

Because rather than keep fighting long, drawn out battles against Souma

and the others, the desire to go to the world of the north is sure to keep on

tormenting you..." Yuriga explained through her tears.

Fuuga's eyes went wide. "Was that what you were after?"

He finally figured out what Yuriga's goal was—this was why she'd

called him out here, to the northernmost reaches of the continent, to talk

with him at this point in time.

"You wanted to put a time limit on my dream, huh?"

If there was no way to avoid a battle between Souma and Fuuga, then at

the very least, she wanted it to end with one conflict. Should Fuuga win, his

dream would be complete. But assuming he lost, the Maritime Alliance had

no intention of invading the Great Tiger Empire, so he could come back and

try again several times. However, now that Fuuga has heard Yuriga's story,

he would prefer going north over a prolonged series of wars with the

Maritime Alliance.

The coming of a new era. A new dream.

Now that he was aware, Fuuga could no longer be a great man.

Fuuga let out a sigh as if something that had possessed him was

escaping from his body. "I see... You've served me some real 'poison.' The

fast-acting type known as information..."

"I'm sorry, Brother," Yuriga apologized. Fuuga placed a hand on her

shoulder.

"Don't be. You were trying to bring about the conclusion you wanted to

see, right? Then hold your head high."

"Brother..."

"Yuriga. Who are you right now? The little sister of the Great Tiger

Emperor, Fuuga Haan?"

"No..."

Wiping her tears, Yuriga looked straight at Fuuga.

"I am Yuriga, King Souma E. Friedonia's queen!"

"That's fine. You follow the path that you believe in!"

"Yes!"

With that, Fuuga and Yuriga's conversation in the north came to an end.

◇ ◇ ◇

As the promotional video Souma had prepared played, Fuuga and

Mutsumi thought back to that day.

"It's just a matter of whether we win or lose. If we win, my dream will

be accomplished. If we lose, the people's hearts will be split between

carrying on with the struggle or reconciling in order to advance into the

north. Once we're in that situation, we'll never be able to take on the

Maritime Alliance again."

"Yes, I agree. And I expect, if that happens, your passion for dominating

the continent will begin to cool off."

Fuuga smiled wryly and nodded at what Mutsumi was saying.

"Yeah. Seriously... You're one hell of a little sister, Yuriga!"

Fuuga gave his little sister Yuriga, who was probably in the enemy camp

right now, a compliment that she couldn't possibly hear.