Prologue: Old Man, the Ultimate Weapon

Issued jointly by the Maritime Alliance and the Great Tiger Empire of

Haan, The declaration of the complete liberation of the Demon Lord's

Domain reached people all across the continent of Landia. Through

compromise between the two parties, it went as follows:

1) The combined forces of the Great Tiger Empire and the Kingdom of

Friedonia entered the Demon Lord's Domain and encountered entities

known as demons deep inside the territory. Although brief skirmishes

occurred, after a meeting with the demons' representative, Mao—

previously thought to be Demon Lord Divalroi—an end to hostilities was

reached.

2) Through exchanging information, it was learned that the demons are

another race of mankind known as "Seadians" who came from far across

the sea to the north. We were known to them as "Landians," as the people

who inhabited the continent of Landia. The battle against the demons was a

battle against mankind.

3) It was discovered that Seadians were also attacked by monsters, and

they sought refuge in Landia. Through this, a point of common interest was

found. The combined forces worked with Mao to seal the gate to another

world the monsters first poured forth.

4) With the closing of the gate, the demon waves that used to come once

in a decade will likely cease. Monsters will still exist in every region, but by

working with the Seadians to eliminate them, it won't be long before they

are completely exterminated.

5) Haalga, the city in the far north inhabited by Seadians, will be placed

under a joint mandate of the Great Tiger Empire and Maritime Alliance and

receive their combined protection.

The Great Tiger Empire wanted to hide that "Souma and Mao closed the

gate to another world" from their people while stressing their own

contributions.

Conversely, the Kingdom of Friedonia wanted to avoid Souma being

celebrated as the hero who liberated the Demon Lord's Domain, fearing it

may stir up the Great Tiger Kingdom and Lunarian Orthodox Papal State. If

the truth of the matter became public, there was a risk that word of Souma's

origin and the rights given to those of his bloodline would come to light.

The Empire's desire to stress their contributions and the Kingdom's

desire to minimize theirs were in agreement. The announcement reflected

both countries' intentions, but still sent a wave of euphoria across the

continent.

When the people of Landia heard that the Demon Lord's Domain, which

had tormented them for years, was now gone, and the demons (Seadians)

had agreed to cease hostilities, they thought a time of peace was finally at

hand.

Those driven from the north must have hoped they could return to their

homes. However, those who thought critically of the feat remained uneasy.

With the looming threat of the Demon Lord's Domain removed, the

continent was divided into two camps: the Great Tiger Empire of Haan and

their allies and the Maritime Alliance. With no common enemy, would the

two factions be able to keep up friendly relations? Was a clash for

supremacy brewing in the background? If anything, the people of the Great

Tiger Empire were hoping for that.

Wouldn't the ever-victorious and undefeated (though you couldn't really

call him that) Fuuga be able to pull off the unprecedented feat of uniting the

continent? The Maritime Alliance was a large faction comprising the

Kingdom of Friedonia, the Republic of Turgis, the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Kingdom, and the Euphoria Kingdom. Any single one of these

nations must have looked small and weak next to the Great Tiger Empire.

In the final stages of the Seven Warring States Period in China, when the

Qin annexed the other six, wouldn't the people have hoped that the

powerful Qin would be able to end the chaos and unite the seven as one?

In the chaos at the end of the Muromachi Period, didn't the people wish

for Nobunaga to unite the Land of the Rising Sun? And when he fell, did

they not turn to Hideyoshi, then to Ieyasu after Hideyoshi's death?

Wouldn't the people, enraptured by the myth of the undefeatable Fuuga,

hope that he would subjugate the Maritime Alliance and unite the

continent? The people hoped for the emergence of a great man, and a great

man arose to meet those hopes. The people wished for even more from the

great man, and he rushed forward amassing their hope in himself.

However, if he ceased to fulfill those hopes, the people would abandon

him.

In order to avoid being abandoned by the people, the great man had no

choice but to continue moving forward, even if that meant drastic action.

That was the fate of anyone who became a great man.

What the people of the Great Tiger Empire wanted now was a final

showdown between the great Fuuga Haan and Souma E. Friedonia of the

Maritime Alliance. That desire was transparent to the people of the

Maritime Alliance, so an atmosphere of inevitable conflict brushed away

the initial joy over the liberation of the Demon Lord's Domain.

◇ ◇ ◇

After returning to Parnam from the northern edge of the continent, I

quickly assembled the top brains of our country.

In the room was a reliable team consisting of Liscia; Prime Minister

Hakuya, who had come here from the Euphoria Kingdom to watch the place

while I was away; his successor Ichiha; Julius the White Strategist;

Commander-in-Chief of the National Defense Force Excel and her secondin-command Ludwin; and Ludwin's advisor Kaede.

We explained to these members how Mao and I closed the gate to

another world, which meant a brief summary of the history of this world

and the privileges given to those who bore my blood—the blood of the old

humanity. Everyone who heard the story looked either like they wanted to

clutch their head or they'd just bitten into something unpleasant.

"To think the burden would fall not just on Souma, but on the children

too..." Liscia said with chagrin. I felt the same way.

The failures of the future people of Earth were being placed on children

who didn't even know what Earth was, after all.

"After talking with Mao, I was able to shut down her more dangerous

functions like opening the gate to the northern hemisphere and creating new

dungeons. I don't think my blood will be needed again immediately, but..."

"Still, your blood will be necessary for setting out into the northern

hemisphere," Julius said, crossing his arms. "If the Kingdom of Lastania

were still intact, I surely would have asked to adopt one of your and Roroa's

children. I'd want the bloodline intact if anything should happen."

"Yes, that's true," Hakuya chimed in. "As the royal consort of the Queen

of Euphoria, the Euphoria Kingdom would like to adopt one of your and

Maria's children too."

Even Hakuya's of the same mind, huh? I thought. I understand the

feeling, but give me a break.

"Well, let's set aside the issue of the northern hemisphere for later. The

problems to the south take priority," I said, causing Kaede to open her

mouth with a sense of tension.

"You mean to say...Fuuga Haan will be attacking at long last."

"Well, those of the Maritime Alliance are the only countries left that can

oppose him now," Excel said, hiding her mouth behind her fan. "Fuuga's

country has gathered the people's support through constant growth. Though

he's liberated the Demon Lord's Domain, should he stop progressing, they

would soon begin facing internal discontent. That would quickly result in

the outbreak of civil war, and maintaining the country would become

difficult. Fuuga's empire might last until the end of his natural lifetime, but

it would splinter not long after that."

"The fact of the matter is that his country has no choice but to fight,

correct?" Ludwin asked with a sigh.

Fuuga had gotten his hands on competent administrators like Lumiere.

Should he want to put in the effort and planning, he could probably prolong

the life of his country beyond his death. But with his all-or-nothing

personality, he couldn't make that decision.

"Fuuga wants to trust his fate to his own talents," I asserted. "He's a man

of ambition, asking the world how far he can go. That's why he'll never

stop. He's sure to declare war on the Maritime Alliance, and his first target

will be the Kingdom of Friedonia, which he considers the biggest threat."

A wave of tense expressions washed over everyone in the room. No one

took an optimistic view or stated a contrary position. They all understood

that this was Fuuga's true nature.

"He won't stop his advance. Even if we were to drive him off repeatedly,

he'd relentlessly pick himself back up, then come back for another go at us.

The era—the people—want him. That is what it means to be Fuuga Haan.

The hero born in this era is protected by the times we live in. That's why, if

we're going to stop him, we need to change the era itself."

The only way to defeat Fuuga was to lead the world toward an era where

people wouldn't seek him.

"I think I know how to do just that. I realized this after we reached

Haalga, the city ruled by Mao, leader of the Seadians. Please listen closely

to what I'm about to say..."

I went on to explain the method for defeating Fuuga that I'd found in

Haalga. They all cocked their heads to the side at some points as I spoke,

but with enough explanation, they got it.

"I see. Is that how it is?" Excel gave me a smile that showed she wasn't

entirely unhappy about it. "You told me it wasn't a matter of tactics or

strategy in Haalga, but... Yes, I'd certainly agree this isn't either of those.

Hee hee! If you can pull it off, I'm sure the people of the Great Tiger

Empire won't be able to respond."

"It's definitely an effective move. If it works, I expect Fuuga and

Hashim will have a lot of hard thinking to do," Julius agreed. But he cocked

his head to the side and added, "However...won't it take time to put it into

practice?"

"Yeah... I'm told it'll be another half a year," I said.

"Fuuga can't move until he rallies popular sentiment, but he'll likely

attack as soon as he's prepared to. He's not going to wait for us to be

ready."

"That's why we need to buy all the time we can."

Ichiha, who'd been listening all this time, hesitantly raised a hand. Being

the youngest one surrounded by all these experienced people, he must have

felt pretty nervous.

"Ichiha?" I called his name. He seemed to find his resolve and stepped

forward.

"Um... In that case, I think we can only resort to a strategy of delays.

Even if Fuuga attacks, we must make it difficult to fight a decisive battle. If

we defend the borders, that will quickly result in a decisive battle, so I think

we need to evade at some times, defend at others, and slowly pull back."

That style of fighting entailed considerable pain on our part. However,

there likely wasn't any other way for us to buy time against the Great Tiger

Empire. Being able to give a realistic opinion like this, even if it wasn't

easy to hear, showed that he was growing into his role as Hakuya's

successor.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted to gather everyone here to work out our

strategy and tactics with that policy in mind. The brains of this country are

here in this very room. I'm hoping you all can come up with better

strategies than I can."

Everyone nodded as I said this. Then Hakuya raised his hand.

"If that's what this is about, then there are two individuals I would like

to have join us at command headquarters."

"Hmm? I don't mind. Who are you calling in?"

Hakuya smirked. "Some people you know quite well, sire."

◇ ◇ ◇

Days later, in the new city of Venetinova...

"And that's why I want you to head to Parnam posthaste."

There was a person who Weist Garreau, the lord of this city, had

personally summoned to his office. This person came without knowing why

he'd been called, and had just been handed a royal command from King

Souma to appear at the castle.

The man looked dumbfounded for a moment, but cried out in surprise as

soon as he comprehended what was being demanded of him. "WhWhaaat?! Wh-Why me?!"

Weist gave the man the written order, then patted him reassuringly on

the shoulder.

"His Majesty and the Black-robed Prime Minister want you. Isn't that an

honor? I hope you'll do your best for them as a representative of this city,

Sir Urup."

"..."

Urup's mouth hung open wordlessly as he stared at Weist's affable

smile, which had caused even Sovereign Prince Gaius of Amidonia to lower

his guard.