Chapter 1, Episode 10: G.o.d of War
It was a battlefield.
No matter where the eyes would turn, there were corpses everywhere.
There were ten thousand soldiers clas.h.i.+ng, ama.s.sing an infinite number of dead bodies as a result of deeply held resentment.
Blood dyes the great pond red, and tiny raindrops fell from the heavens, as if it were crying.
That youth was at the center of it all, where it had become a melee.
His black clothes flutter in the wind, and his arms moved about, as if in sync.
A silver sword cuts through the air. It was a gentle swing, as if to brush off an insect.
With just that movement, the head of 5 soldiers went flying.
The youth kicked the great pond and went off running.
He was after the general’s head.
That is the most effective and soundest way of ending the war.
But the enemy won’t allow him to pa.s.s through easily. A thousand burly, elite soldiers stand in his way.
Before him, is a tightly packed wall with no openings.
Surely, the general’s head must feel like an infinite distance away.
— But that would be for an ordinary person.
The youth rushes across as he cuts down the heads of the enemy soldiers without colliding into a single one.
All paths have a final destination. The only difference is the distance.
One can only imagine what the enemy Commander in Chief was feeling when he saw the youth.
「R-Ridiculous! How did you get here?!」
「…」
The enemy general gasped as he saw the youth’s face bathed in the blood of his victims.
He had extremely deep, cold eyes that could freeze you to your very soul.
Almost as if a jet black void had taken hold of the enemy general, he was being swallowed whole by a darkness.
「… Those obsidian-like eyes. I’ve heard of them.」
There was a man among the soldiers of a ruined country that was growing stronger at an unstoppable rate.
It was the talk of the countries in the area, that there was a man able to read and understand all things in heaven, earth, and man.
One upon whom regalo* was bestowed by the spirit king.
(TL note: Spanish for gift/present. Seems pretty random to see Spanish here if you ask me…)
The general had scoffed and brushed it off as an outrageous story…
「Is that “Ura.n.u.s”?!」
「No… Black eyes are normal in my world. But it’s interpreted as strange here because it doesn’t exist in yours…」
The enemy general takes a step towards the perplexed youth.
He held in his hand a giant axe.
「I’ll kill you here and keep those eyes as a war trophy.」
The enemy general’s face warps with joy.
It couldn’t be helped that he let his guard down, seeing as how there was only one enemy before him.
He raises his boorish hand. As he does, enemy soldiers surround the youth and point their spears at him.
「Suffer and die an unsightly death—!」
Thump—
The enemy general’s head rolled across on the ground, covered in mud.
The surrounding soldiers are dumbfounded.
Only the Twin Black youth was aware of what happened.
Tap—
The youth lightly kicked the ground and began to dance.
The spear tips of the soldiers who regained their senses pa.s.sed by the youth’s eyes.
Many spears were thrust upon him, but he leapt and dodged them as he cut off the heads of the enemy soldiers.
As he moved his sword in a gentle caressing manner, the heads of the enemy soldiers fell to the ground one and after another, as if ripened fruit falling from a tree.
The enemy soldiers shudder in fear— All this happened in the blink of an eye.
This was clearly not the work of a human being.
「So fast!」
The silver blade, flicking away the rain drops wetting the great pond, split the enemies in two, armor and all.
Splash—
The dead bodies fell into puddles.
In an instant, blood was spurting out all around the area like fountains.
A disgusting smell of a mix of fresh blood and rain was heavy in the air.
「Y, Y—!」
They weren’t even given time to cry out.
Although it was a mountain of dead bodies that was ama.s.sing, it did not take much time.
From this point on, the enemy would be routed.
As if a louse had been crushed, the enemy army was trampled by one man.
The battle cries of that one man ring throughout the plains and chase down the running enemies.
The youth who left the pandemonic battlefield arrived at headquarters.
「Mars!」
It’s unsure who said it first, but steadily, all the soldiers started to utter the name.
Eventually, the cheers were enough to cause the air tremble.
「「「「Mars! Mars! Mars! Mars!」」」」
Thousands of soldiers were shouting. It rang to your very core.
As if a great pond rippling, with each step the youth took, the sea of soldiers split open.
People refer to that as the path of the king.
Two long lines formed on both sides, and the youth walked through the middle without hesitation.
「「「「Mars! Mars! Mars! Mars!」」」」
A young man appeared before the youth.
As the young man raised one hand, silence— It suddenly became quiet around him.
He stepped quietly and approached the youth.
His expression somehow seemed angry.
「Really now, what is the meaning of my tactician heading to the frontline…?」
「I can’t allow this stalemate to drag on any longer. The battlefront has spread too much. We won’t have to move it even further west if this ends here!」
He pokes the youth in the head after his reb.u.t.tal.
The young man’s lips formed into a grin, and he looked as if he had just told an offensive joke.
「Next time, notify me, too. We can go rampaging together on the frontline.」
「That would upset the chain of command. You should just stay at the ready at headquarters.」
「But that would be a bore… Well, at any rate, no use in talking about matters that have pa.s.sed.」
The young man patted the youth on both shoulders.
「Schwarz… You did well to return safely. I lost 100 years of my life when I heard you went out to the battlefield. Though, I gained 100 years when I heard that you defeated the enemy general.」
「You blow things out of proportion, Altius— That’s right, I brought back the general’s head. What do you want to do with it?」
Schwarz pointed behind him with his thumb, and there was an infantryman standing there with a white box.
「A guy who used to vomit just from seeing a dead body brought back a head? It sure can be scary when people get used to things.」
「Haha… I’m not used to it yet. Not with killing people, or people dying… But if I worry about that, I’d be on the other end.」
「Precisely.」
Nodding as if he were satisfied with Schwarz’s answer, Altius spoke to the soldier carrying the white box.
「No need to verify his ident.i.ty. Carefully deliver him to his fatherland. Even if he was an enemy, if we forget to respect the dead, we are no different from mere animals.」
「Yes, sir!」
The soldier got on one knee and lowered his head.
Altius moved his gaze and patted Schwarz on the back.
「Now, let’s toast to our victory. Let’s notify the spirit king of this victory of our brethren.」
「I’m still underage so I can’t drink.」
「Don’t worry! I had some grape juice wrung out and brought for you!」
「… You’re thoroughly prepared.」
I can’t help but laugh at you sarcastically— You who never change.
(Ahh… this is a dream. Because there’s no way you’d be here.)
A dream which stirs a distant, nostalgic memory.
It was also a miraculous moment which allowed for a chance meeting.
A brilliant memory which never dulls.
However, all dreams eventually come to an end—
「Hiro! How long are you going to sleep! Wake up!」
Hiro, who was stripped of his blanket, pried open his heavy eyelids.
The image of a young girl with crimson hair flew into sight.
She has her hands at her hips and looks sullen.
No matter her expression, she always looks beautiful and charms those who see her.
「What are you doing s.p.a.cing out? Get a grip. Are you fine with Cerberus eating your breakfast again?」
Hiro absentmindedly ignores her words, raises his upper body, and looks around his surroundings.
The room had an atmosphere of not having been used in a long time.
But it didn’t look like it was unattended to.
Near the window was a neatly arranged desk that had seen many years.
There were two flags on the wall behind it.
One flag had a crest with white soil and scales.
The other had a crest with black soil and a dragon holding a silver sword.
Looking at a bookshelf nearby, the books were old and turning yellow, but there was not a speck of dust.
Hiro was sleeping on a bed that was along the wall near the entrance.
Beside him, was a young girl, and at his feet, was Cerberus.
A young girl with crimson eyes— Liz pulled Hiro’s arm.
「Come on, get up, get up.」
Imperial Year 1023, May 23rd.
The 18th days since they began their journey.
A location 66 sels away (198km) from the border between Margrave Grinda’s territory and Baum.
Baum has only one town— Natur.
East of there, is the ocean. If you cross that ocean, you reach the eastern continent of Shaytan.
The town of Natur coexists with nature. It is a beautiful town which spreads across a gentle basin.
It experiences all the seasons, and at the center of the lovely townscape, was a white, box-shaped temple called Here, the spirit king is wors.h.i.+pped, and almost every day, not only the citizens of that country, but others as well, come to pay homage. The small country of Baum has no king. The princess maiden of Currently, Hiro and his group are under the care of They arrived two days ago. When they crossed Mt. Himmel, they tried to stop by a nearby village to treat the wounded soldiers and nurse Hiro, but this was a bad idea. Baum had noticed their presence. Nine days after they finish treating the wounded and leave the village, they end up being surrounded by a small unit of knights. The knight captain, who introduced himself as the princess maiden’s representative, stepped forward and spoke. 『Is it not inconvenient here? If you don’t mind, won’t you come to Thinking of the injured, Liz consents. This is why they are here. 「Are you still sleepy? You’re kind of weird lately, Hiro. You sort of seem dazed all the time.」 「Hmm~… am I? I don’t know.」 「Woof!」 Hiro and Liz open the door, and… 「Hyah!」 「Wah!」 There was a woman with both hands on the floor and her head lowered. 「Good morning. Were you able to sleep well?」
