Chapter 69 - Chapter 2-Faraway Memories-Part 1

The first place Velgrynd set foot in was a rift in faraway space. Exactly where,

she didn't know, but she was unbound by the limitations of time, giving her a

chance to face up to herself. That enabled her to fully make her ultimate skill,

Cthugha, Lord of the Fire God, her own.

Cthugha included the ability to trace the soul of Ludora. To be exact, it could

track down the location of any object its master specified. Using that ability,

Velgrynd was able to discover the pieces of her beloved Ludora's soul, no

matter how far away they were—even beyond time and space.

After that, all she needed was a way to "jump" toward them. This was

provided by Dimensional Leap—the complete, full combination of Control

Dimensions and Trans-Dimensional Leap, made possible only by the powers of

an ultimate skill that far transcended most others of its kind.

However, not even this skill could calculate the exact coordinates of the

destination, making it impossible to leap to the time and place of one's choice.

That took extra targeting—but if one was leaping within the same timeline, that

ceased to be an issue. In fact, Dimensional Leap even let the user travel any

distance in an instant, making de facto teleportation a reality.

So Velgrynd relied on this ability to chase after Ludora.

The first place she came to was a large landmass on one planet or another, a

location where civilization was only beginning to form. Here was the leader of a

tribe of dark-skinned people—a man with blond hair, still young. This man

housed a piece of Ludora's soul within him.

This band of hunter-gatherers had, over time, built a permanent home for

themselves in the basin of a large river. Velgrynd didn't hesitate for one

moment to help them, conjuring rain and taming the river in order to create a bountiful land. The people began to practice agriculture, doing away with

hunting exclusively. Their food situation vastly improved, letting them feed

more mouths than before. Their small settlement grew into a town, one that

struck fear into the other villages around them.

It was inevitable that the blessed would face foreign threats in time. So

Velgrynd prepared her next move. She gave them a furnace, one hardy enough

to melt metal—a very out-of-place piece of technology in this world. The young

man and his tribe jumped straight from stone tools to bronze ware, finding

themselves gifted with tools and weapons of iron.

Swallowing up the nearby villages, the tribe grew until it became a kingdom.

The throne was passed down to the king's son, and then his grandson. Velgrynd

stopped directly aiding the kingdom at this point, preferring instead to sit back

and nestle up to the person she loved so much. No matter how much she was

asked, she never exercised her skills for the kingdom's sake. Because that was

what her beloved wanted.

"If I were you, I'd make 'em owe me far more than they could ever pay back.

But no, I don't need any more than this. If I retire from the throne, it'll be far

too much power for those fools to handle."

"Yes. I understand fully, Ludora."

The king's sons and grandsons had no soul fragments within them, so

Velgrynd had no reason to give them aid. She could have done it on a whim

anyway, but the king wanted his descendants not to be dependent on anyone

else, and Velgrynd intended to respect that.

"Pfft! My name's 'Ludora' again, huh? …Great. As long as you love someone

else, well, no wonder you give me the cold shoulder."

"Hee-hee-hee. Jealous? That's so cute."

"Ah, shut up. I have this first-rate woman in front of me, too. It's like being

stuck in eternal limbo."

Just as he'd said, the man—who'd gone from a tribal chief to the first king of

Arcia, a riverside pioneer in civilization—never enjoyed a romantic relationship

with Velgrynd, despite treating her as a goddess. Velgrynd was fine with that. Her job, she thought, was to oversee things. All she needed to do was wait for

lovers to have children, pass down their bloodlines—and for one of them to

have a piece of Ludora's soul.

That was how she lived her life.

An age of development evolved into an age of prosperity. Happy times passed

all too quickly. The young man grew old, was robbed of his faculties, and soon

the day came when he was simply waiting for death to arrive.

"I've led a happy life, my goddess. You called me your husband, but have I

lived up to the role well enough?"

"Yes, you did. I was happy."

"Ah. I'm relieved to hear that. May you be eternally blessed."

Those were the great king's final words, and then his silent voice handed over

his soul to Velgrynd. She had the soul fragment she wanted—but this was a

tiny, tiny piece. The journey had only begun, and so Velgrynd took her next

leap.

The kingdom continued to swallow up the nations around it, growing into an

empire. Those left behind wrote historical records for later generations—and

thus, mythology was born. And in the lands of the Holy Arcian Empire, ruled by

members of the young man's bloodline, Velgrynd the fire-wielding creator

goddess was worshipped for years and years to come.

Velgrynd went through a cycle of encounters and partings. Through them, she

came to understand that Veldanava had created more than one world. Many of

them, in fact.

A single world was self-enclosed; there was no such thing as parallel worlds,

but there were so-called "other worlds," residing in alternate dimensions. That

much Velgrynd already knew thanks to the otherworlders she had met, but she

hadn't imagined the sheer number of other worlds out there, and their sheer

diversity. They could run on completely different laws, or be unbound by the

rules of karma.

Indeed, a wealth of civilizations could intermix in the physical worlds contained within vast spiritual realms. They could look familiar, all magic and

swordfighting, or they could be bereft of magicules and locked away from all

types of spells. Civilizations could be driven by a thing called science, and some

of the less common realms featured human beings transformed into machines.

Some worlds were small enough that a fully unleashed True Dragon could wipe

them from existence; others were wastelands, fought over constantly by angels

and demons with the powers of awakened demon lords.

Velgrynd traversed all of them—but not by her own free will; rather, she

simply took the path she was guided to. They were all at differing levels of

civilization (if they had any at all), and she couldn't conjecture what dimension

they were in, or what timeline.

No parallel worlds overlapped each other in the universe, so there were never

duplicates of the same existence within the same timeline. In other words, just

because she'd gone somewhere once didn't mean that she could revisit it at any

time. She could produce accurate space-time coordinates for herself within a

single given timeline in the dimension she existed in—but that was simply the

point where she existed at that moment in time, and not even Cthugha's

Dimensional Leap ability let her make precise jumps.

As a result, the knowledge Velgrynd possessed consisted of all memories of

all Ludoras in all worlds. There was a fleet commander serving a galactic

empire. In a more magic-oriented world, there was the vizier of a small

kingdom. In a magic-less realm, there was a globe-trotting swindler. In a

civilized world, there was a scientist living in poverty.

Velgrynd would often be "called" toward people bearing pieces of Ludora's

soul at a moment when they encountered considerable danger. Only when they

were staring death in the face would their soul emit the necessary shine. She

wasn't always on time; sometimes they died as children. These were very sad

scenes, but Velgrynd accepted them, chalking them up to fate. (Such tragedies,

besides, let her gather the victim's soul fragment more quickly, so she saw no

need to weep for them.)

Despite this, she never tried to accelerate the march of time with her abilities.

Watching over all these disparate Ludoras was how Velgrynd found happiness

in life. She discovered early on that the bloodlines of these Ludoras didn't matter

much. There was no pattern to their appearance, either; one would have black

hair, the next red. But in Velgrynd's eyes, all of them were Ludora. So she spent

untold numbers of years living this way. The number of soul fragments grew

and grew, slowly regaining their beautiful whole. Velgrynd could instinctively

sense that only a very few remained—either the next one, or the one after that,

would be the last. So she kept on leaping, going wherever she was called.

Here was an empire, and after her latest space-time voyage, Velgrynd

appeared in an ornate chamber. Silk robes appeared to be the standard clothing

in this era—in deep blue hues, which suited her well.

Now Velgrynd regarded the other man in the room, the empire's wizened

emperor.

"…Who are you?"

The emperor had lost his stamina to old age. He was lying down on a large,

magnificent bed, and having this strange woman appear suddenly in their

bedchamber would have surprised anyone. The fact he hadn't screamed in

terror indicated that much of his courage, at least, remained intact.

But Velgrynd paid him little mind.

"Oh? It's an old man again, is it? Ah, that brings me back. That look reminds

me of that tribal chief."

To her, old age didn't matter. It was just one of the many forms human beings

took, an indication of their physical status. So she affectionately reached out to

the old man's cheek, bringing her lips close to his ear.

"Velgrynd. That is my name. What's yours?"

"Hmph. You do not fear me? And your power… Is it divinity?"

A sword had been thrust against Velgrynd's throat. She blocked it with a

single wispy finger, not bothering to even move her eyes. Not a single drop of

blood was shed; the demon-destroying strike was fruitless.

The attack hadn't come from the emperor, of course, but one of the guardians attending to him. His name was Gensei Araki, and as the imperial

guardian who protected the land from man-eating fiends and evil spirits, he

bore a blade with the power to dispel evil. He was the best swordsman of the

present age, the current master of the sword style known as Oboro Shinmei-

ryu. Still in his early thirties, he had been named guardian of the emperor

despite his youth.

But not even Gensei's blade could hurt Velgrynd. The reason why might have

been obvious, but to Gensei, it was beyond the realm of comprehension.

"…I never thought my blade would be stopped. Minamoto, guard His Majesty

for me."

"Yes, sir!"

Gensei was speaking to Saburo Minamoto, a man in his early twenties. Much

like Gensei, he was guarding the emperor from the shadows. He was a talented

student who was third-ranked among Gensei's pupils.

"Oh? You don't need to be that wary of me. I'm sure you're both masters of

your technique, but to me, it's more cute than anything."

"Nonsense. Perhaps I can't stack up to you, but I will at least earn us some

more time."

"Perhaps so." She shrugged. "I'm sure asking for your trust is a bit much yet.

But all right. Can you just keep him here for me, please?"

She didn't mind being maligned, but if it led to a greater burden on the

emperor, she wouldn't stand for it. By her estimation, His Majesty had only a

short time left, and she couldn't bear the thought of her presence causing that

last ember to be extinguished. At the very least, she wanted to care for him in

his last moments, bringing tranquility to them.

It was Minamoto who suffered the worst in all this. Just one glance from

Velgrynd, and he was frozen to the spot. The sheer dominance in that gaze

made him realize the insurmountable difference in their skill. Actually, things

went even beyond that. They now understood that this was something

completely inscrutable, a foe that made all the demons and mystic beasts

they'd engaged in the past seem like children. If Gensei's sword—a blade he

held the utmost of respect for—had failed, Velgrynd was clearly no one to trifle

with. But even that was failing to fully grasp the situation.

Minamoto was frustrated. He had a duty, and there was no way to fulfill it.

Still, he at least tried to summon what little mettle he had left to glare at

Velgrynd.

"Are you one of the yohma leaders, then? Striding forth yourself to put an

end to all this squabbling?"

A great deal of lip-flapping to hide the cold sweat. He hoped to at least

uncover the identity of this assailant, but Velgrynd understood that well

enough.

"You call them yohma here? They exist in this world, too, then? You really do "That's right. Besides, the yohma you speak of… I can't be sure they're the

same as the creatures I know."

Velgrynd could instantly analyze any language from any world and speak it

fluently back at its people. This wasn't dependent on any skill of hers; it was

more of a latent bodily function, reading the thoughts that bounced between

people in this world. But since similar concepts could sometimes be mixed up,

she needed to carefully avoid making any mistakes.

The term yohma needed to be addressed, she thought. In her mind the term

translated directly to "mystic," and the mystics she knew were the ones led by

Feldway, the mystic lord. They were part of the so-called Aggressors, races that

exist in any and all dimensions, and they were an enemy Velgrynd had clashed

with many times in her long journey. The idea of running into them yet again

made her groan, but she still held out hope that these yohma were something

else.

"Yohma are yohma. That is the only way to describe them. Not even I know

what they truly are."

The emperor, not Minamoto, answered the question.

Realizing that Minamoto was immobilized, Gensei opted for a change in

strategy. While Minamoto occupied Velgrynd's attention, he would move to

evacuate the emperor from the room. The way the two of them instantly

switched roles on their feet with no previous instruction indicated just how

deeply they trusted each other. The attempt to extract the emperor was all but

doomed to fail, but it was still a strategy worth trying.

It was the emperor himself who put an end to it.

"Your Majesty?!"

"It is fine. Somehow, this person fills me with a sense of nostalgia. And I am

already in the safest location in the capital, protected by layers of defense.

Where else could I possibly flee to? This person avoided all our security on her

way here. I doubt I could ever fully escape her."

He was right. The empire—the Conquering Empire of Japan, to give its full

name—was currently at war with a vast, powerful enemy, hence their current state of high alert. If someone had actually penetrated this far past their strict

defenses, that was as good as being defeated. But more to the point, the

emperor couldn't find it in himself to fear Velgrynd. Like he'd said, she

reminded him of old times—times that filled him with a sense of relief.

So he decided to trust in Velgrynd. They would go over what was happening,

and if possible—he thought—he could recruit her as their ally.

They were still in the bedchamber, enjoying some tea and light snacks

brought in by attendants.

"First, let me introduce myself. I've already given my name, but I am

Velgrynd."

"My name is Gensei. Gensei Araki. I am tasked with guarding His Majesty."

"And I am Saburo Minamoto, captain of the Imperial Palace Swordsman

Guard."

"I see. Good to meet you. And you, Ludora?"

Velgrynd demonstrated little interest in the bodyguards. She promptly turned

her attention toward the one she loved.

"I never expected such a beauty to be attending to me at my advanced age. I

don't dislike it, but I can't help but wish I were even a little bit younger."

"My. Even you can give out flattery, Ludora? What a rare experience."

"Heh-heh… I didn't mean it as such. But very well. My name is Oharu. I

thought I was better known than that in this realm, but perhaps old age has

made me grow conceited."

His name was renowned far and wide, as was his reputation as a wise ruler.

But Oharu was his real, non-regal name, and not one normally spoken in

common circles. Not even those relatively close to the emperor used it to refer

to him…but it was still a name known and respected by every one of his citizens.

Still, to Velgrynd, he was Ludora. Even if it wasn't considered taboo to call the

emperor "Oharu" to his face, she had no intention of doing so in the first place.

"Hee-hee-hee! You'd have no way of knowing, of course. I only came to this world at the very first moment I met you here. The 'you' that I know is named

Ludora, and I will keep calling you that."

It was a shockingly rude way to speak to royalty. But one smile from the

emperor indicated that this was fully allowed.

"That is fine."

"Your Majesty?!"

"I don't mind. A small price to pay, if it earns me the favor of this goddess.

However, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to stand by my side in public."

"No? Why not?"

"I have my own position to uphold. If I am waited upon by someone who calls

me a name no one's heard before, it would cause needless worry for my

retainers."

If Velgrynd were to exercise her powers in front of everyone in the empire,

that would likely lead to chaos. The emperor was making this request merely to

keep things simple for himself. Velgrynd, understanding that, resolved not to

push her personal will on him any further. She wanted to meekly accept any

requests Ludora had for her, so for now, she went along with it. That wasn't as

important as learning what was going on here anyway.

"In that case, we'll need to figure out how I should present myself at times

when I need to be in public. Can you explain to me exactly what the current

situation is in this place?"

Velgrynd was never one to beat around the bush. If Ludora was facing a crisis,

she was ready to provide any help needed. Seeing this transcendental being act

like that around the emperor immediately gave his two bodyguards headaches.

This Velgrynd is boundlessly powerful, I am sure. Perhaps divine, just as His

Majesty said. Wiser to seek her assistance than get on her wrong side, then?

Such were Gensei's thoughts. But Minamoto was more conflicted.

She seems remarkably reverent of His Majesty. Why is that? It's almost like

everything is entirely natural about this. We completely failed to guard him, but

His Majesty is allowing this, and I am in no position to intervene. But what about Her Majesty the Empress, and the imperial prince? How will we explain this to

them…?

Minamoto's mind was pondering real, concrete problems. In some worlds, it

would have been a given that someone as lofty as a king or emperor would

keep one or two mistresses without anyone batting an eye—but not here. The

emperor's spouse was always expected to come from the right sort of pedigree,

since any child they produced would become a member of the royal lineage.

The women surrounding the emperor were obliged to stay in highly stratified

positions; an impenetrable wall was in place at all times between the empress

and the concubines. They would have to present Velgrynd to the court as a

concubine; there was no other option.

But will this woman be satisfied with that? If she demands to be installed as

empress, there's nothing we can do to stop her…

The worry-prone Minamoto was already thinking well into the future. His

duty was to guard the imperial palace, but if the emperor, his wife, and

Velgrynd fell into a conflict, the fallout could be disastrous. Perhaps, he

thought, he wasn't worrying too much after all. There was a large burden on his

mind, for he was constantly thinking about the safety of the entire court—as

opposed to Gensei, who only had to protect the emperor.

Still, Minamoto thought, Velgrynd deserved an answer to her question just

now.

"Allow me to explain. Our empire, the Conquering Empire of Japan, currently

finds itself in an extremely tense situation. In terms of the enemies we are

aware of…"

An empire usually refers to a large group of states ruled by the supreme

authority of an emperor, but in the Conquering Empire of Japan, that wasn't

quite the nuance. Here, "empire" was more of a respectful term, passed down

unbroken across generations, to refer to the island nation located in the eastern

part of the world. Its emperor, and the guardians who served him, protected

this nation's citizens from those who sided with evil.

But outside the country's borders, the world was in a deep state of chaos.

The empire lay to the east. To the south there was the United States of Azeria; to the north, the Greater Rossiam Dynasty; to the west, the Holy Arcian

Empire; and in the center, the Republic of Chinese Fiefdoms. These five forces

had arisen to become the great leaders in their respective regions.

Until a few decades ago, they had ruthlessly competed with each other for

global dominance, but over time, a sort of equilibrium had established itself. As

they carefully watched each other, waiting for their rival forces to decay, they'd

wound up building mature international economic relationships. On the

surface, war no longer existed, and an era of peace seemed ready to dawn.

But national discontent over neighbors never fully vanished, and if someone

earned a profit, someone else needed to lose out. This dissatisfaction built up

over time, smoldering out of sight, and four years ago, it exploded.

The trigger came when the Republic of Chinese Fiefdoms suffered a large-

scale drought. The lack of water led to starvation and rampant disease

outbreaks. This unavoidably led to a dissident movement, but the Republic's

government manipulated this discontent, pointing it outside its borders in order

to protect itself. Now the entire world had gotten involved.

For their first move, the Chinese turned their attention southward, to a large

grain-producing region. The National People's Council voted unanimously to

invade the United States of Azeria, and that signaled the beginning of war. In a

flash, the entire world was in conflict.

The Greater Rossiam Dynasty up north was the next to react after witnessing

the Chinese military moves. They staged their own invasion of the Chinese

mainland, and their mission was clear—to obtain land for agriculture and a

warm-water port. The region was suffering from an extreme drought, but that

would no doubt fix itself in a few years…and so Rossiam returned to its old habit

of conquest.

Naturally, the Chinese weren't taking this sitting down. All their remaining

forces gathered to fight back, plunging the entire nation into a state of war. This

was when the Conquering Empire of Japan got dragged in. They relied wholly on

these Chinese fiefdoms for their food supply, and so were forced to deploy their

military to the Republic on a "humanitarian mission." That was done in the

hopes it'd bring the war to a quick end, but Greater Rossiam was incensed, and Japan's relationship with Azeria suffered. Japan had been forced to pick a side

between Azeria and the Chinese, and it chose its main food lifeline.

The Holy Arcian Empire made no moves at first, but the relative peace there

didn't even last a year. It was soon the empire's turn to face severe famine,

forcing it to cut off the support it had been giving other countries. The bad news

continued with an accident at an oil storage facility, and the resulting fire cost

the empire three years' worth of fuel. The evidence left on the scene indicated

that it was the work of saboteurs from Rossiam. The mood among the people

took a sharp anti-Rossiam turn, and the momentum finally drove the empire to

start a military operation.

One person had suspicions about all these events. This was Pulcinella, the

Mad Priest and leader of the Holy Spiritualist Church. Spiritualism was one of

the world's three major religions, alongside Buddhism and the Free Path—and

Pulcinella, its most prominent figure, had spoken of a vision that told him of a

great, evil presence behind the scenes. Affiliated churches across the land

began to investigate this, and they managed to track down a yohma that had

allegedly played a major role…but by then, it was too late.

"So this yohma manipulated people's greed and set off a bunch of old

grudges?"

"I'm afraid so," Minamoto replied. "Looking back with a clear mind, it's simply

too convenient a series of events. But once the anger of the people is ignited,

it's not easy to douse the flames."

"And it wasn't just the Spiritualist Church," added Gensei. "All the world's

leaders picked up on this anomaly within a year's time. But there are a lot of

extremists in the military. They took action in response to the enemy's

sabotage, and by the time we were aware of it, there was no way left to stop

the war."

The other nations were in a similar state. As things stood, matters were

proceeding not at all the way the upper brass wanted them to. The forces that

had been deployed were nearly out of their control entirely. Just the other day,

out in the ocean, a massive fleet from the United States of Azeria waged an epic

sea battle against the Conquering Empire's proud imperial navy. The result was defeat. The preliminary reconnaissance indicated that the two sides were

evenly matched, but once the conflict was underway, they'd found that the

Azerian force was three times the size they'd anticipated.

"It was all the work of the Chinese fleet. They betrayed us…and unfortunately,

their intentions are nowhere close to what we want."

Not even the Chinese commanders were aware of this betrayal, so there was

no way for Japan's intelligence apparatus to have detected it. It was already too

late by the time they realized what was up, and now their military was severely

damaged. But the defeat wasn't a total waste, either.

"There's a certain piece of intelligence my student risked his life to obtain.

There is a man named Kondo who staged a brave, glorious suicide attack on the

enemy fleet, but just before his death, he sent a telepathic message that the

enemy commanders have been taken over by an unusually fierce yohma."

As Gensei put it, Azerian supreme southern fleet commander David Reagan

and Chinese eastern fleet commander Li Jinlong had both tapped into strange,

mystical powers to interfere with Kondo. Realizing all hope was lost, Kondo kept

gathering intelligence until the very end, when contact was finally lost. "But

now," Gensei somberly said, "I fear he lost his life in vain."

Hearing this, Velgrynd immediately understood. The Kondo that Gensei spoke

of had to be none other than Lieutenant Tatsuya Kondo, a man she knew well.

Chances are, she thought, Kondo was so concerned about Ludora because

Ludora felt the same as the other emperor he'd once served. Perhaps he'd

instinctively realized that Ludora and Oharu shared the same soul. It was the

first time Velgrynd had ever felt any affinity for Kondo—and now, she could

firmly believe that Kondo's loyalty was the real thing.

Now Velgrynd had to wonder about not just Ludora's lingering regrets but

Kondo's as well. Thinking back, Kondo had seemed frustrated about not being

able to protect his home country. That was why he'd done what he did for

Ludora, stopping at nothing; it was so he'd have no regrets this time. It made

Velgrynd ask herself if there was anything she could do for Kondo, as late as it

was. There was only one option. She had to atone for his regrets.

So Velgrynd, her mind made up, focused on the conversation, taking it more seriously as Minamoto continued unaware.

This yohma, wielding the power to possess people's bodies, was swiftly

reported to the world's top leaders. These leaders weren't on the front lines,

however, and so they had no way to determine exactly who was being

controlled. You could suspect someone if they began to act abnormally, of

course, but it was hard to recall officers while they were engaged in an

operation. The leaders considered publicizing these findings, but it was sure to

cause general panic. Soldiers would start wondering if their commanding

officers were yohma; the entire chain of command might fall apart. It could also

lead to witch hunts within their borders, which would be a disaster. That much,

at least, needed to be prevented, and so their investigations continued in

secret.

In the end, they found that these yohma, unlike your average mononoke

ghoul, engaged in organized group behavior. They were clearly looking to

conquer, and they were active behind the scenes across the world.

"And also, they're incredibly strong. In our empire, we use what's called a

kaikyu, an apparition scale, to measure the strength of mystical creatures. Even

the weakest of these foes rank on the high end of this scale. It's unbelievable.

These are truly fearsome foes, the type even an advanced swordsman or

spellcaster may have trouble holding his own against."

The apparition scale, from top to bottom, consisted of six ranks: shinbutsu

(gods and buddhas), kiryu (demon dragons), ten'yo (heavenly ghouls), high

yokai, mid yokai, and low yokai. Those in the bottom two ranks were called

chimi-moryo, evil spirits associated with rivers and mountains, and everything

between high yokai and ten'yo were akki-rasetsu, the man-eating fiends. With

these yohma, even the weakest foot soldiers were ten'yo class. Kondo and the

soldiers serving him had discovered this during their suicide strike on the enemy

fleet, and while they'd been defeated by the ringleader, their intelligence had

made it through.

"Kondo estimated that Reagan and Li both ranked as kiryu or higher on the

apparition scale…and I firmly believe that is the right call."

"Why is that?" "Because Kondo was easily one of the most powerful fighters in the Land of

the Rising Sun."

Even at the time of this final attack, Kondo's skill was first class. Mastering the

Oboro Shinmei-ryu's ultimate move—Battlewill—gave him fighting ability on

the level of a kiryu class. If that still wasn't enough to earn him victory, that was

likely because the battle was two against one.

"Yes, that man certainly was of that caliber."

"…?"

"Huh?"

"Did you know Tatsuya, perhaps?"

"I did, Ludora. Kondo personally served you in my world, too."

"Me? And…ah yes, you did say this Ludora possessed the same soul I do."

"Exactly. And even over there, Kondo fought for you…and died a noble death

doing so."

"…"

The emperor fell silent. He looked unsure what to say. The loss of such a

faithful servant filled him with a deep sense of disappointment.

"Oh no, not Kondo…"

Minamoto stood there blankly, like he couldn't believe it. That was how

exceptional a swordfighter Kondo was. Part of him had wondered if Kondo was

alive after all, if he could serve as their final option against the yohma. Being

faced with the truth made him unsure what to do next.

"A pity. I was hoping that Kondo was alive."

Gensei, Minamoto's teacher, retained his calm, detached demeanor, but on

the inside, he was fighting hard to hide the sadness of losing that last little bit of

hope. It was out of the question for a man in his position to act flustered,

unsure what to do with himself. He kept himself disciplined, because he of all

people had the greatest obligation to remain tranquil.

Everybody believed what Velgrynd told them. It was a funny thing to think, but as she told them all about Kondo's final moments, they could just sense she

wasn't lying. But as she spoke, Velgrynd also tried to gauge the strength of this

current foe.

If they could beat Kondo before his trip to our own world, then perhaps this

"ten'yo" rank isn't all that strong at all? I'm fairly sure that they mean mystics

when they say "yohma," but this sounds like it'd be no threat at all to me…but,

ah, I shouldn't let my guard down. I can't make judgments if I have no scale to

work with, so let's wait and see how this works out.

Velgrynd was extremely confident, like any all-powerful True Dragon should

be, but having been defeated by Rimuru had taught her how to be watchful as

well. She thought it almost impossible that these yohma would pose her any

challenge, but she reserved her final judgment for when she had more

information.

To tell the truth, however, her estimations at this point in time were both

right and wrong. The magicule concentration in this world was low, so there

were no particularly powerful monsters residing in it. The shinbutsu-class

menaces were often monsters who happened to traverse here from some other

world, and not even they could win against a force large enough to overwhelm

them. Swordsmen or casters working in tandem had cut their numbers down to

the point that one hardly saw them at all anymore. This meant monsters of that

caliber couldn't survive long enough to build their magicule counts. The

environment just wasn't conducive to the natural creation of strong monsters.

At this point, Velgrynd, unlike Veldora, could maintain a steady cycle of

magicules entirely within her own body. She didn't need to replenish them from

the air, and they were never expelled from her body. That was a skill she'd

learned as she traveled through all the diverse worlds she had seen. As a result,

she wasn't paying attention to this world's magicule concentration, so she

hadn't picked up on that fact yet. It was normally impossible, after all, to go

back the way you'd come when traversing worlds. Even if you had an

Underworld Gate handy, you'd still be limited by the size of the portal.

Someone like Velgrynd, who could use her Dimensional Leap skill with no

limitations, was a blatant exception to the laws of nature.

Therefore, compared to the magicule-rich environment in which Velgrynd was born, the standards for "strength" in this world were quite low. She did not

have to wait long to see this for herself.

After this conference with the emperor and his guard, Velgrynd had a general

grasp of what was going on. The Conquering Empire of Japan had no chance of

staging a miraculous comeback; before much longer, it'd fall into the hands of

its invaders. All the world's leaders were aware of the truth, but they were

helpless to stop the rampage of the people—and the military that represented

them.

"So what is the enemy currently doing?"

The enemy's unified fleet, fresh from decimating the imperial navy Kondo

belonged to, was currently an unknown, their movements a mystery. At least

some of the empire's ships should have survived, but all contact with them had

been fully cut off.

"Normally, our fleet would have surrendered the moment its defeat was

clear. The news of that should have reached the homeland by now…but still,

nothing."

"By my estimation, I think they might have been seized by the yohma. Our

enemy is not bound by the laws of humanity, though, so perhaps they did not

accept our surrender…"

"I am wondering about Kondo's phrasing as well. He described it as a

'takeover' of their bodies, which indicates this yohma can possess people from

the inside. If so, we're unlikely to have any survivors."

Personnel had been assigned to bring back intelligence, but there was

virtually no contact from them. If every single sailor had been possessed by the

yohma, it would certainly explain this situation.

"They're in the Great South Sea, where there's no escape route. We've asked

the other nations to try reaching out to them as well, but nothing. They'd have

no reason to lie to us about that, so it seems fairly clear that our war power's

been taken from us."

It was just one possibility, but if true, it would be disastrous. Even the greatest swordsman in humanity hadn't been able to take on the enemy's leader, and

their elite, well-trained military might have all just been sacrificed to the

yohma. They couldn't expect their military to retaliate going forward, and

sending any further troops would likely just be more grist for the mill.

So Gensei and the others decided to focus fully on defending the imperial

capital.

"All it'd do is buy us some time. You understand that, of course."

"Naturally. There's only one move we can make right now. We've deployed

some dependable personnel to work out the enemy's moves. Once they're

done, we'll gather the most powerful force we can from across the world and

defeat the enemy's leader."

"I think the plan's unlikely to work, but we have no other choice. I mean, if we

had Kondo, he could have defeated this enemy if there was only one of them!

But now we have two ranking as a kiryu or higher, and he couldn't even make

good his escape. If we can bring together myself, my master Araki, and Amari as

well, and join up with the great heroes of all the other nations, then perhaps we

can defeat the yohma leaders!"

Masahiko Amari was another student swordsman, a master who'd competed

with Kondo for the title of number one. He was also an expert in spellcasting

and an intelligence specialist, and he was out on a secret mission right now. And

he was far from the Land of the Rising Sun's only hidden talent. Emperor Oharu

didn't bring it up, but Gensei wasn't his only imperial guardian.

There were great talents from other nations to think of, too, people ranking

kiryu or higher that worked both in public and underground. Pulcinella the Mad

Priest was one famous example, as was Xienhua, the Holy Fist; based on what

information had reached the Conquering Empire about them, they were both

forces to be reckoned with. It would take heroes like those banding together to

overcome this international crisis; fail, and all of them would fall.

Oharu knew all too well that this whole idea was a fantasy. And that wasn't

even the end to their problems.

"The issue is that we don't know if these are just two enemy leaders we're

dealing with. I hate to think otherwise, but…" "But if there are more," said Velgrynd, "that's bad news for us?"

"Precisely," Gensei bitterly stated. In order to defeat a kiryu-level monster,

he'd like to have at least twice as many fighters ranked equally to it or higher,

but if they didn't have an accurate gauge of the enemy's size, it'd be impossible

to assemble heroes from around the world. For Japan, the top priority was to

keep their empire's key figures safe. There was a mound of problems to deal

with.

Ideally, they'd be able to lure out these kiryu-class yohma one at a time. If

that proved impossible, they'd need to fight as many as they could feasibly

beat. If the enemy outnumbered them, defeat was unavoidable.

But then things began to change. Velgrynd, watching Gensei and the others

fret over this, offered them an irresistible helping hand.

"Hmm… Sounds like you have a lot of problems. But all right. I'll help you out.

For starters, I want you to show me the extent of your powers."

"Huh? What do you…? This is so sudden…"

"Well, we can't form a strategy if we don't even know our enemy, now can

we? I want to know just how strong these yohma are."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's simple. Your name was Gensei, right? If you were Kondo's teacher, you

have to be at least as good as he was, I'm assuming? I only arrived on this world

a moment ago, so I don't understand what counts as 'strong' around here yet.

So I'll start with you first, all right?"

"Ah… Now I see. Yes, I would outclass Kondo in terms of ability. I have special

moves I have yet to show anyone in public, along with powerful finishers only

passed down among my style's originator and his pupils. But I will say that

Kondo was unwaveringly strong in his convictions. His spirit was amazing, and

his drive to win was far greater than you'd normally see. If I had fought a

serious bout with him, luck would have been a major factor in the resulting

outcome."

So, long story short, they were pretty equal. Slight differences in power were

too inconsequential to concern Velgrynd. She just wanted a yardstick to work with, so she decided to test him out at once.

They moved over to a practice ground. Gensei had Minamoto leave them, as

he couldn't show his student his most powerful of moves; the only outsider

here was the emperor.

Velgrynd, unarmed, sized up Gensei. He had his beloved blade in his hand, but

he began to feel concerned. His opponent's silk robe, while not restricting her

movement, was clearly unfit for battle and unlikely to offer her any protection.

The moves Gensei had could kill instantly if he put his heart into them. He didn't

expect them to best Velgrynd, but he wondered if they might injure her.

"I want to ask a question," he said, steeling his resolve. "My pardons if this

sounds rude, but are you sure you'd like me to use a real sword? Because the

very best of my style's moves could perhaps be a threat to you…"

Velgrynd understood he only said this out of concern for her. She could have

ignored the question, but thought it better to relieve his mind a little. That way,

she thought, he wouldn't hesitate to show off his full force.

"How very kind of you. But don't worry. Your weapon—you called it an uchi-

gatana, didn't you? It looks like a high-quality antique, but sadly, it won't work

on me. So don't be afraid to come at me with everything you have."

Gensei's blade was actually run-of-the-mill, not even meriting a Unique

appraisal. In a world as starved for magicules as this one, swords couldn't do

things like evolve over time.

So, without further delay, Gensei took the invitation.

"Kiehhh!!"

Focusing all his explosive fighting energy, he broke out the mightiest skill in

the Oboro Shinmei-ryu—Multilayered Blossom Flash. Unfortunately, nothing

blossomed from it. The exquisitely honed move was stopped by a single one of

Velgrynd's fingertips.

His blade whisked and swished through the air, almost looking like it was

splitting apart into multiple weapons. Its speed was beyond what a regular

person could perceive, but it was simply too slow in Velgrynd's eyes.

"If that's your full effort, then I've seen enough."

"I—I give…"

Simply calling it a "difference in power" seemed trite. It was like comparing

heaven and earth, or perhaps even something beyond that, and the yawning

gap between them was now obvious for all to see.

It was a grave disappointment for Gensei, but thanks to that, Velgrynd now

had the information she wanted. Gensei's Hakkasen was a secret art, one

passed down only through the main branch of his sword style; it had never

been taught to Kondo. Doubtlessly it was at the very top of this world when it

came to almighty force. In terms of the muscle behind it, Hakkasen let its

practitioner surpass kiryu and make it to the shinbutsu rank.

"You truly are a god, then…?"

"Well, it was my brother who created my world…but no, I am not."

"Oh… We could certainly call that a god here, you understand."

"Yes, the term 'god' can be interpreted in different ways, depending on the

time and place. You can think of me as whatever you like, but I will remind you

that there are forces out there who could even destroy me."

Velgrynd recalled that happy-go-lucky slime. Losing to him still annoyed her,

but she was no longer convinced that a rematch would go any better.

But I certainly can't think of Rimuru as a "god," either. Perhaps the correct

way to think about it is that such things don't exist…?

That was all the thought Velgrynd gave to the question. It didn't seem like

further consideration would provide an answer anytime soon. What mattered

right now was the yohma, their enemy in this world.

"Thank you for confronting me. It was a painful reminder of just how

immature and insignificant I truly am. I must use this experience to further

improve myself."

Velgrynd paid little attention to this. A theory was quickly beginning to form Gensei and Kondo were pretty much equal in strength—but that strength was

far below what Kondo had when she'd met him. When humans in physical

space crosses between worlds, most will die from the resulting exposure to

concentrated magicules. On rare occasions, however, the magicules can break

down and reconstruct their bodies, making these humans tougher and more

resilient.

Right, right, I forgot about that. The magicule counts on this world are so

weak. It must be hard to cast any sort of spell, and magical body enhancement

likely hasn't advanced much. If that was powered entirely by his natural

strength, he honestly deserves praise for producing that much force.

She recalled the blow she'd felt on her fingertip. It would have been lauded as

an A-ranked feat back in her home world—a very impressive one, considering

his weapon was Rare-level at best.

Now she could picture the strength of their enemy.

The ten'yo class is likely somewhere between B and A-minus, I suppose. You'd

have to jump up to kiryu before reaching over-A territory, perhaps? If so, I think

my theory about the yohma being mystics is right.

"Mystics" was the term given to demi-spiritual Aggressor species. In physical

space, they could only function for brief periods if they weren't incarnated in

physical bodies. In a world with as few magicules as this one, possessing

someone else's body was a must—you'd waste far too much energy otherwise.

But when in possession of such a body, you wouldn't be able to fully unleash

your latent power, not without tearing the human's body apart.

It must weaken them terribly. You can't expect magicule-based protection in

this world, so if you use a ton of power at once, you'll destroy your body. And

maybe they wouldn't care if they were just trying to kill their enemies—maybe

they're holding back because their goal is invasion? That must be why the Kondo

of this space-time period was a good match for them…

If the mystics wanted to exercise their full force, nobody on this planet could

ever beat them. Reaching that conclusion, Velgrynd smiled, reveling in the

knowledge that someone like her was on the scene. Even against Feldway, lord

of the mystics, she was confident that she'd figure out a way to win—and there was little chance Feldway himself was involved with this invasion.

And, in fact, it was exactly as Velgrynd predicted. The invaders of this world

were a vanguard force of mystics under the command of Cornu, one of the

Three Mystic Leaders. The Underworld Gate that had naturally manifested in

this world was small, too small for Cornu himself to emerge through. Work to

enlarge it was underway, but the world still had a little more time before it

could be fully conquered. And while Velgrynd hadn't inferred all these facts yet,

what she had now was sufficient.

As composed as he seemed, Gensei was feeling rather down. And who could

blame him? These sword skills he'd believed were the very best had done

absolutely nothing against Velgrynd. Not even his most hidden of moves had

worked. He intellectually knew she was a being from another dimension, but it

was hard for his emotions to accept that.

Still, he labored to keep his heart tranquil, exercising his finely honed mental

strength to its limits.

"You should be proud," Velgrynd said to him with a smile. "There are hardly

any magicules in this world, and you still attained that much strength. I doubt

many others here have come even close to it. If you could only take in more

magicules to upgrade your body with, you might've made it to Saint level, to say

nothing of Enlightened. That is a pity, certainly."

"Enlightened? Ah, that is a faraway goal for me."

"Oh, not necessarily… I know: As thanks for that demonstration, let me give

you a little reward. Hopefully you're willing to accept it?"

"A reward?"

"Yes. If you are interested, I could perhaps reforge that uchi-gatana with my

powers."

She smiled again. With her Create Material skill, she could conjure up a God-

class weapon whenever she wanted. Here, she intended to charge Gensei's

sword up with magicules, giving it what it needed to evolve.

"You can do…?" You can do even that?

Gensei was bewildered by the idea, but nothing could surprise him at this

point. This woman Velgrynd was far too lofty a being for him to fully

comprehend; if she says she can do it, Gensei thought, she probably can.

This sword is a family treasure passed down from my ancestors…but perhaps I

can trust Velgrynd with it.

Convincing himself this was the right choice, he bowed his head to her and

passed his beloved blade over.

"Please, go ahead."

"Certainly. Just leave this to me."

Velgrynd nodded as she accepted the sword. Normally she'd just have

conjured up an azure dragon sword at times like these, but that wasn't what

this situation called for. She closely inspected the blade's internal composition,

fine-tuning her approach as she began letting her magicules flow into it. It took

time, and she looked far more serious and focused than she had during their

battle. Half an hour passed. The skill and ingenuity of the ancient swordsmith,

coupled with the magicules so expertly controlled by Velgrynd, came together

to create a divine, glowing aura that enveloped the blade.

"All done."

This sort of weapon evolution usually took centuries to millennia to complete.

But in this short time, Velgrynd had recrafted Gensei's sword into a God-class

wonder.

"Wh-what is this…?!"

"It's now the best weapon it can be, is what. Probably more so than any other

blade in this world. I doubt you can make full use of its features yet, but…well,

either way, the sword now has its own consciousness, so if it accepts you, I'm

sure it'll lend you some of its strength."

She chuckled a little, her radiant smile captivating Gensei.

"Of course, I can't say whether that'll happen for you or your descendants,

but…" It was now evening—dinnertime—and Oharu was in his chamber. Velgrynd

had been invited as well, and she was eager to accept the offer.

The palace's female attendants were all carefully selected, well-trained, and

unfazed by unexpected events. Not even the sight of Velgrynd perturbed them

as they prepared a meal for her like nothing was amiss. Minamoto took up

guard duty outside the door, with Gensei positioned behind Oharu; only the

emperor and his unannounced guest were seated.

"So what exactly are your plans here?"

"I'm going to stay here with you. I'll protect you."

"I am certainly happy to hear that, but should I take that to mean you are an

ally to our empire?"

"That is correct, yes."

Velgrynd smiled. Just being able to share this space with Ludora made her

content.

Oharu chuckled nervously, unsure how to take this. "In that case," he said,

"do you think you could eliminate all conflict from the world and put my mind

at ease for good?"

He was merely joking, of course, but Velgrynd simply smiled back.

"Very well, then. If you wish for it, I will offer you this entire world as a

present. I will gladly do away with whatever countries you'd prefer not to have

around, and I can shut down anyone who dares to complain about it. But before

that, we really need to exterminate these pesky little yohma, don't we?"

Seeing that innocent smile on her face as she replied made everyone unsure

how to respond. The attendant setting up dinner almost spilled soup all over

the tablecloth. Everyone in attendance instinctively knew Velgrynd meant every

word of it. But meaning it and actually being capable of it were two different

things. This kind of talk was beyond the realm of sensibility; if anyone else had

said those things, they'd have been laughed off as delirious rantings. But there

was something about Velgrynd that kept them from dismissing the idea. Gensei

knew what she really was; Gensei knew this was no joke, but something that was realistically possible. And so did Oharu.

"Ha-ha-ha! Ah, I haven't laughed like this in ages. Telling a joke that even my

attendants here take seriously… You've truly outdone yourself. I certainly enjoy

how dauntless you sound, though! And I do appreciate the thought, too."

For now, the emperor opted to dance around the topic to avoid causing his

staff any further alarm.

It wasn't news by now that Velgrynd was superhuman, a fact made even

clearer by their dinner conversation. She wasn't just physically strong; her

thought processes were equally fearsome.

Only then did Oharu come to realize that she really would do anything for

him. If he ordered her to annihilate another country, Velgrynd would very likely

carry it out. Concepts of good and evil were mere trifles for her; all that really

mattered was Oharu's will. It made him feel more lost than he had at any

previous point in his life.

He was born as the first heir to the throne, never wanting for anything. He

never had any freedom, either, but that—as he was taught from a very young

age—was his obligation as a future leader. He had access to anything he

needed, but was also forced to give up on the things he really wanted. Things

like romance were a fantasy to him. He was wed to the daughter of one of the

princes who supported him in the palace. It was mostly a contractual

agreement, and he had no right to refuse it.

As naturally intelligent as Oharu was, he realized by his teens that the only

permanent thing in life is change. Everything is fleeting; the world is like a

mirage. It's a good thing to pursue your dreams with all you have, as everything

leaves you anyway—but if you choose not to resist fate, just going with the flow

and tasting the little joys of daily life, that is just as beautiful a way to live.

Oharu chose the latter. Even for an emperor with everything, the right to do

what he wanted was an impossible luxury.

That was the main reason Velgrynd came as such a surprise to him. She had

so much freedom, nothing and nobody keeping her down…and yet she swore to

serve no one but Oharu.

Such a strange woman…or goddess, I suppose. Even if I'm nothing but a substitute for this Ludora person, feeling this honest sort of goodwill makes me

feel so…self-conscious, somehow.

Oharu pondered these feelings as he enjoyed the most relaxing dinner he'd

had in quite a while.

The next morning, a conference was held in the imperial headquarters. The

main topic at hand: how to deal with Velgrynd. As Oharu had declared, she was

prohibited from acting as his lover in front of any third party—but if that were

the case, the first order of business was how to explain her position to the

general public.

Beyond that, there was the issue of her clothing. Being dressed like a

foreigner was out of the question; she needed to wear an outfit befitting her

social position. The attendants all teamed up to bring in a vast variety of

clothing, Gensei and Minamoto offering their input as well as Oharu

contemplated how to classify Velgrynd.

"Perhaps she could become another one of His Majesty's imperial attendants

—"

"Attendants can't participate in conferences, you fool," Gensei said, cutting

off Minamoto before he could finish.

"I suppose calling her a guard would be difficult as well?"

"We did consider that, Your Majesty, but Velgrynd's appearance simply

attracts too much attention. She is clearly not ethnically native, and I fear

people may peg her as a spy."

If her facial features were more Japanese, this wouldn't have been an issue.

But Velgrynd had a Scandinavian sort of beauty, which made her stick out like a

sore thumb around here. When they introduced her to the rest of the guard

and espionage corps, those individuals would no doubt ask why a foreigner had

been granted such a lofty post. But at the same time, they were sure Velgrynd

wouldn't agree to be sequestered away from all the other officials—and they

couldn't let Velgrynd's formidable fighting power go to waste when she was so

amenable to being their ally. But just as they were trying to figure out a solution, Velgrynd herself spoke

up.

"Well, all right. I really don't like doing this much, and I certainly don't want to

right now, but I'll change my outward appearance for you. Will something like

this work?"

The next moment, Velgrynd began to transform. Her hair turned dark, as did

her eyes, and her skin adopted a warmer shade, almost hinting at yellow, with a

touch of red to it.

"Wowww… You can even pull off a trick like that!"

Minamoto never saw it coming. Gensei, on the other hand, had assumed she

could do that much all along. "I see we had nothing to worry about," Oharu

said, relieved.

A slight adjustment to the pigment of her skin did wonders to change the

overall impression she left. It still wasn't exactly pure Japanese, but it was close

enough that they could explain away the remaining difference. Then, without

further ado, she was given the same uniform as Gensei and officially appointed

to the Imperial Patrol by Oharu, providing her the right to attend the necessary

meetings.

It is worth noting here that the emperor had no fewer than three different

organizations charged with guarding him.

The first was the Imperial Palace Swordsman Guard, the sole force permitted

to carry weapons within the palace—however, only Minamoto, their captain,

was allowed to personally enter the emperor's chambers. The second was the

similar-named Imperial Palace Spellcaster Guard, which magically protected the

emperor from hostile spell-driven attacks and the like. Their main work was

keeping a spiritual protective barrier up and running at all times; in terms of

individual fighting strength, they were inferior to the swordsmen. Like their

sister force, only the captain could personally attend to the emperor—but that

captain was occupied with defending the capital and hadn't been seen over the

past few days.

Finally there was the Imperial Patrol, composed of the Court Guardians that

generally operated individually. Gensei was one of them, a highly public figure,

but not all of them were listed in the official annals. Some lurked in darkness as

they worked to dispel evil; many had so-called supernatural powers, while

others operated separately from the imperial chamber, so they could serve as

body doubles for Oharu. The Imperial Patrol gathered together people that

worked in a variety of ways to keep the emperor safe, and it was generally

known that not all of them kept a public profile. Thus Oharu thought that the

Patrol would be the best fit for someone like Velgrynd.

"Right. I hereby name you a member of the Imperial Patrol. And with your

current appearance, we likely won't have to explain much to everyone else."

"I will gladly accept the post. And I promise I'll act strictly as your servant

around others."

Velgrynd, in her brand-new military uniform, sounded remarkably eager in

her answer. A sense of doom pervaded among the emperor's advisers, but no

one had any other bright ideas. Even if some problem came up, they all

reasoned, as they began their preparations, it'd be trivial compared to the ones

the yohma invaders posed.

People began to gather in the imperial HQ's meeting hall. Oharu was in a

dressing room, watching them.

This HQ was the emperor's supreme high command, presiding over the

imperial army and navy—the two branches of the Conquering Empire of Japan's

military. These were led by the minister of the army and minister of the navy

respectively, who were obliged to attend meetings like this. They could send a

representative instead, but it was very rare, as it was seen as insulting the

emperor.

Over the past few days of conferences, the main item on the agenda had

been reporting on the current situation. The decisive battle in the Great South

Sea had ended with the imperial navy suffering a major loss. They weren't even

sure what had happened to the survivors yet, something both branches were That being said, the army was acting a bit like this was someone else's

problem. They didn't have a way to deploy in the water, they claimed, but

Oharu reasoned that they were failing to truly understand the threat involved.

Damned fools, he thought. Now isn't the time to be competing against each

other for glory! But as emperor, he couldn't say it. When you have as much

authority as him, your words take on intense weight. He could say what he

wanted in private, but in a public place, he had to be careful with every word he

spoke.

Even now, an army officer in attendance was wailing out loud, unaware of

Oharu's inner conflict.

"Who are you?! And how dare a woman enter this sacred imperial

conference?!"

Ahhh, I knew it, Oharu thought, feeling a headache coming on. These people

with far more pride than talent, constantly whining about manners and who's

above whom. It was self-evident something like this would happen, but if Oharu

had personally introduced her at the meeting, the backlash would've been even

worse—all his advisers had agreed on that. So he'd left Velgrynd to Gensei

instead.

Just as I thought, these men with more hormones than brains are whining

about it. Even though she'll kill them if they rile her…and probably raze the

capital while she's at it…

Oharu heaved a heavy sigh. Perhaps it was the fate of anyone bearing

Ludora's soul to have their hands full dealing with Velgrynd their whole lives.

"Are you talking about me, perhaps?"

"Do I need to spell it out for you, you dunce?! This is exactly why— Grnh?!"

Suddenly, the officer's grating voice stopped cold. In a move faster than

anyone could catch, Velgrynd had grabbed the man by his collar and thrust the

barrel of a handgun straight into his mouth.

"It'd be one thing," she stated with a thin smile, "if we were fighting with

swords and lances like in the past. But at this point, when a single pull of a

trigger can kill a person, I really don't think whether you're male or female matters so much. The important thing in this era is analyzing the situation and

making calm, rational decisions, not letting your emotions do the talking. If

that's how you carry on, though, do you really deserve to be here?"

The man wouldn't have been able to overpower Velgrynd in the first place,

but the sight of a gun, a symbol of violence anyone could instantly understand,

sparked a furor in the meeting hall.

"H-hey! Let the chief of staff go!"

"Guns aren't allowed in here! Security! Someone call the palace guard!!"

Velgrynd laughed, paying them little mind. "Why are all you idiots carrying on

over a little toy? You call yourselves honorable imperial soldiers, acting like

that?"

Several of those who heard this turned red with anger, openly glaring at

Velgrynd. She paid them no mind as she threw the chief of staff down, pointed

the toy handgun at him, and pulled the trigger. A plume of water landed right

on his crotch.

"Hee-hee-hee! Looks like you wet your pants, didn't you? Better go home and

get changed."

"H-how—how dare you—?"

The chief of staff was now quivering in humiliation. But the moment he

looked into Velgrynd's eyes, he lost his voice. Her eyes terrified him. He felt

them telling him that any more childish carrying-on would result in his death.

The blood drained from his face.

"Ha… Ha-ha-ha… My pardons. I think I let my emotions get the best of me. Y-

yes, those water guns certainly bring me back. I feel like a child again. Much

calmer."

"Oh? Well, that's good to hear. If you want to participate in this meeting,

mind your manners a little more, would you?"

The chief of staff eagerly nodded. He was hot-tempered and a little arrogant

by nature, but he was no idiot. He might have messed up their first encounter,

but he would make sure never to repeat that mistake. If he started grousing at her again, the next sinister glare from her would likely give him a heart attack.

All that mattered to Velgrynd was Ludora, and the thought of these talentless

hacks serving him did nothing to please her.

For now, at least, she would let the chief of staff go. Having a temper and

discriminating against women wasn't enough to warrant eliminating him from

existence.

Heh… I've gotten kinder over time, haven't I? Perhaps because of all the things

I've experienced.

This was, to say the least, giving her too much credit. Being close to Ludora

kept her in a good mood, and that's about all there was to it. If he hadn't been

there, things would've turned out differently.

Her life over the past long while had seen her jumping from world to world in

search of soul fragments, but she wasn't guaranteed to find one at every

destination she was thrown to. If none existed yet, it meant she had to wait

several years or decades for the next incarnation of Ludora to be born. To

Velgrynd, who saw her lover off at the end in every world she came to, this was

akin to torture—and if anyone riled her then, their fate was as good as sealed.

The chief of staff, in other words, had been lucky.

Once the meeting hall settled down, the minister of the navy attempted to

move on.

"Now, Araki, can I ask who this woman is?"

This minister, a naval general in his fifties, looked at Gensei with a careful eye.

"Ah yes," Gensei replied. "I still haven't introduced her. This is a fellow guard

of mine, and she received permission from His Majesty to participate in this

imperial conference. Her name is—"

"You may call me Ryu-oh. It is a pleasure to be here."

The name Velgrynd casually handed out, interrupting Gensei in the process,

was Ryu-oh. "Ryu" meant "dragon," as befitted a True Dragon like her, and "oh"

came from ho-oh, or phoenix, the mystical creature that ruled over fire in this

world. This, however, proved to be a major problem. "Ryu-oh? As in 'dragon phoenix'?"

"Using the character for dragon in your name… What an arrogant thing to do

around His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Or are you perhaps related to him in some way…?"

Another furor in the meeting hall, just after the last one had subsided. It

made Gensei roll his eyes.

Is she doing that on purpose? …No, it's not that. Velgrynd simply doesn't care

at all about how matters work around here. We prepared that disguise for her,

but we honestly should have thought of a name as well…

He saw that as his mistake. And Oharu, in his waiting room, was sighing just as

hard. In all his life, he had never experienced anyone causing him this much

trouble. In a way, the sheer novelty entertained him.

So he stepped into the meeting hall.

"We are facing a severe emergency. What is strange about myself revealing

one of the cards I will play?"

He smiled at the attendees that noticed him. All of them were shortly bowing

their heads. If these were the facts their leader laid out for them, they had no

choice but to accept them. If they had any complaints, they certainly weren't

about to voice them. So, with that stroke, Velgrynd's name in this world was

Ryu-oh.

"Let us begin."

With those few words from Oharu, the imperial conference was underway.

"I will start with my report," said a man as he stood up. This was a naval

intelligence officer, and while his briefings had changed little over the past

several days, today offered more of a surprise.

"The enemy fleet has reportedly stopped at the port of Atlantis."

"You're sure about that?"

"Yes, sir. We received the report from our operatives on-site, so it has been fully confirmed."

"Indeed," the chief military commander said. "That's the largest military port

out of all the resupply sites they have. But can we be sure this isn't some

deception on their part?"

"Quite true," added the naval minister. "The Great South Sea is host to a

number of archipelagoes, after all. We've heard reports that Azeria has set up

secret bases on some of them, but do we have any operatives working those

areas?"

"At the moment," replied the intelligence officer, "we do not have people at

all the many sites they have opened up. However, the size of the fleet that

reached the Atlantis port matches the intelligence we had before their

deployment, so I think it's safe to say there's no possibility of a detached fleet

somewhere. We also have word that our imperial navy warships have been

seized. I'm sure they want to take their time preparing this fleet so they can

crush any further desire to keep fighting."

The HQ was already aware of the imperial navy's massive defeat. Nobody was

too shocked about that now, but the idea of so many allied ships being in

enemy hands made it hard for them to stay quiet.

"We're quite fortunate to know where our enemy is going, indeed. So, um,

did any of our forces succeed in fleeing—er, emerging unscathed by the

enemy?"

"How could they?" the chief of staff brusquely pointed out. "If they did, they

would've contacted us long ago." He was calmer now, as he'd said, and his

observations were wholly accurate.

"The chief of staff is right. It is safe to assume that all of our surviving fleet has

been captured by the enemy."

"Tch!" The army minister sighed. "It's like giving the enemy more war power

to fight with!"

"But what could we have done?" countered the chief commander. "We were

dealing with yohma, a complete unknown of an enemy. Even if I were there, I'm

sure it would have turned out the same way." "Yes… My pardons. I had no intention of insulting the navy when I said that.

But it is honestly frustrating…"

"Your apology is most certainly accepted. We're all just as frustrated about

this."

The tension in the meeting hall was oppressive. It was the greatest crisis the

empire had ever seen in its history. Their force, allegedly the strongest in the

world, had been taken out of the war by the enemy fleet. Even worse, so many

of their ships—including their newest and most technologically advanced—had

fallen right into the enemy's hands. The danger was unprecedented, and filled

everyone present with anxiety and concern. It was pointless to whine about it,

but it was also only human to want to. The chief commander needed to behave

more maturely, lest this meeting be thrown into further disarray.

As the atmosphere simmered down a little, Oharu seized his chance to speak.

"Does that mean," he began, "that our imperial forces were taken prisoner?"

The question alarmed the naval attendees. These were valued soldiers, many

of whom they knew personally; of course they'd be worried about them. They

were also important allies to the ground army, and their fate was a major issue

impacting the military's entire future direction. In a normal war, international

conventions would have guaranteed that prisoners would be kept safe and out

of harm's way, but considering they were dealing with unknown invaders, that

whole assumption could crumble. If things worked out like they always had,

then fine—but if not…

All eyes were on the intelligence officer.

"Well…"

"Well, what? Won't you answer us?!"

"According to eyewitnesses," the hesitant officer said after his superior

snapped at him, "the troops and officers of the imperial navy are manning the

very ships that were captured. Some enemy troops were sighted among them,

but only a very small number, and they weren't threatening our forces with

guns or anything else. It was described as looking like…our troops had changed

sides in the war." Now everyone understood why the officer had been so hesitant. So did

Oharu. It was unthinkable for their proud, courageous soldiers to have

abandoned their duties that easily, much less defect en masse like this.

"How will we ever explain this to Kondo, and everyone else who risked their

lives…?"

Minamoto's low muttering echoed across the silent hall. Everyone there

believed—prayed, really—that their men had had their minds taken over by the

yohma. And Velgrynd was quick to confirm it.

"Hee-hee-hee! Oh, quit being silly. All of you need to take a deep breath.

None of your friends have betrayed you at all."

Her statement, delivered with a nod and affirmative smile, provided hope for

her audience. The circumstantial evidence they had been presented with made

all the naval officers fear that their friends really had betrayed them, but

Velgrynd gave them a ray of light to cling to.

"Ryu-oh? What do you mean by that?"

The naval minister asked the question on everyone's mind.

"It's simple," Velgrynd cheerfully replied. "I believe the yohma have the ability

to possess people. They've only just appeared in this world, and they can't have

much power to wield at all, so instead they'll build it bit by bit via taking over

people's bodies. They don't have much supply of the magicules that drive their

power, though, so I think it'll take a long while for your friends to be completely

assimilated."

Hope now reigned across the room.

"Ah, so they are being controlled against their will!"

"If the process takes time to complete, does that mean we can still rescue

them?"

"How dare they make a mockery of our fighting men?! Damned yohma… We

must be sure we defeat them all!"

"We have to stage a rescue operation at—"

"Wait, wait! It's not that simple!" The hall was raucous once more. Everyone was already taking Velgrynd at her

word. Some of the audience wondered why this woman knew so much about

their foes, but if she was some manner of trump card played by the emperor at

this vital moment, perhaps it was only natural she did.

So the call was made for a rescue, but everyone quickly settled back down

when they recalled how difficult an operation that would be. The Conquering

Empire had just staged a battle that could potentially decide the fate of their

homeland, and they'd been routed. A rescue that'd work under the current

circumstances was hard to picture.

First, there simply weren't enough ships of war left in the empire. They had

lost six carriers, four battleships, four heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and

eighteen destroyers. Even if all the remaining ships in the fleet could be cobbled

together quickly enough, it wouldn't amount to even half of those figures. And

even if they had all of them running at once, it'd add up to a single fleet at best.

Send them on the rescue mission, and it'd cripple homeland defense.

"But all the world's leaders are aware of what's going on. Couldn't we forge a

secret truce and band together to focus on the yohma?"

"Yes, everybody knows that's what should be done. But their militaries are all

off the rails. It's impossible."

"It's terrible to see how weak-minded other nations are, but we're hardly any

better, are we? We don't even have a full grasp of what our ground forces are

up to in Chinese lands."

"And we've just lost a decisive number of them…"

Even if the world's presidents and leaders signed a peace treaty right now, it

wouldn't solve anything. If the militaries supposedly loyal to them continued to

run amok like this, any announcement of a cease-fire would ring hollow. If they

wanted a permanent solution, they needed to do something about the yohma

first.

And even before that, there was another concern beginning to dawn on the

audience's minds, even though nobody had voiced it yet. What was it?

"You don't think anyone here's been possessed, do you?" It was the minister of the army who finally came out with it. And given how

his eyes were transfixed on the meeting's naval participants, his thoughts were

clear as day.

"Wha…?! Now you're suspecting us?"

"No, no, I said nothing like that. It's just, based on what I'm hearing in the

report, one can't help but have that doubt in their mind, can they?"

"Utter nonsense! If you're going to bring that up, would you care to explain

why your own army's running out of control over in the Chinese Fiefdoms?!"

"Ah…that…"

The conference was hurtling into perilous territory. Oharu saw fit to

intervene.

"Ladies and gentlemen… It is good news indeed that our brave soldiers are

safe. I think it's clear to all of us that they need to be rescued, but do you think

we can manage that if we spend all day squabbling in here? As great and wise

as all of you are, I'm sure you understand the correct path to take."

"""Yes, Your Majesty! My apologies!"""

Everyone fell silent. Oharu's dignified air was as honed as it was supreme, but

to the man himself, he felt like he was walking a tightrope. He had to rebuke his

audience; letting them stew like this wouldn't solve anything. But he fully

understood his officers' anxieties—which made Oharu all the more frustrated

that he couldn't do anything to help.

"Ryu-oh, the army minister has a valid point. Are you able to tell whether

someone is a person or yohma?"

It was Gensei who brought up the question. They needed a way to tell friend

from foe, or they'd never get anywhere. The hall fell silent again, everyone

waiting for Velgrynd's response.

"Oh, how could there be any of them in this room? If there were, I would've

told you all long ago."

Everyone immediately relaxed.

"Ah… Yes, that's true." It made sense to Gensei as well. If a ten'yo-class yohma could simply

transform into a human being, all hope was lost for them. Now, he thought,

they still had some hope. But Velgrynd wasn't finished.

"Good lord. You're telling me that you can't even tell whether someone's on

your side or not? The yohma—I call them 'mystics' myself—don't transform

into people. They possess them, because they have to in order to survive in this

world. And once they fully assimilate their carrier, they transform into

something that no sane person would ever call human."

If that assimilation wasn't finished, the barrier covering the imperial capital

would be enough to root them out. They might look human, but they'd be

something quite different on the inside. They were highly unstable in this state,

as Velgrynd explained to the crowd, and until they found more stability, they

wouldn't try walking around and mingling with humans.

"And also, the 'privates' among the mystics—the lowest of their ranks—have

intelligence, but no free will. They're lackeys capable of nothing but following

orders, so even a little interrogation would expose them in a flash."

A mystic could read the memories of whatever it possessed, but only those

that resided on the outer layers of the brain. If asked about something deeper,

they'd be left clueless and fully exposed. The explanation from Velgrynd left

everyone in the meeting hall feeling much more secure.

But she still wasn't done. The grave, somber atmosphere of the meeting came

to an end here. Now Velgrynd was monopolizing the event.

"I suppose none of you have a clue about any of this, so I'll tell you, but the

mystics have a clear hierarchy, or ranking system, to them. The 'privates' I

mentioned are truly the lowest of the low. Even when they assimilate with

someone, the resulting creature is a level weaker than what you'd normally see

from a yohma. None of them are beyond a high yokai at best, to describe it with

your scale."

She made it sound simple, but a high yokai was normally a threat that called

for a specialized task force to solve it. Except Velgrynd didn't seem to care at all.

"B-but Ryu-oh, if one of these so-called 'privates' did complete an

assimilation, could they advance into the ten'yo class?" "Well, aren't you a smart kid?" Velgrynd told the army minister. "You're

exactly right."

"Wha?!"

The minister wasn't shocked by Velgrynd making fun of him. If even the

enemy's lowliest ground troops could transform into a ten'yo-class menace, the

situation was beyond hopeless. It was almost sad, how unaffected Velgrynd

acted compared to him, and nobody in the audience could laugh at either of

them. They all felt the same way.

"What's the big surprise? Even Gensei over there can beat someone at that

level. The 'commanders' leading these privates might give him more of a

challenge, but they wouldn't be insurmountable for him."

These "commanders," the higher-ranked among the lower classes of mystics,

would rate an A rank in other worlds…but until their bodily assimilation was

complete, they could only unleash power equivalent to just over a B. Once the

process was done, though, and they became a kiryu-class creature, fighting

them would be tough. Tough, yes, but Velgrynd thought Gensei could beat

them.

"I am honored by the praise, but Kondo lost against two of them at once. I

wouldn't expect anything better from me."

"You really need to stop acting so timid, you know. Kondo stuck to his

convictions until the very end."

Only then did Gensei realize how fainthearted he was acting. That, and how

narrow-minded. He could palpably sense a certain warmth to the sword by his

waist. It roused him, restoring his confidence.

"Yes… You're right. Being too timid can cost you battles you could have won."

"Doesn't it, though? Not that we'd lose if you fell down that trap. Not while

I'm here."

So Velgrynd wasted no time kicking Gensei's resolve to the curb.