And I'm back with Chapter 20.

Just like the Chapter with Fuzen diving into Ais's mind, this might be confusing as the information I reveal has little 'foundation' for you to make heads and tails of, but just bear with me.

All will be explained in due time.

Btw I long pondered on what Fuzen's song could be, and recently I discovered it:

From Ashes to New - Breaking Now

That song fits him waaaay too well.

Give it a try while reading this Chapter if you want.

To be honest I was actually thinking about re-writing the whole Altena Arc as it seems a bit to unrealistic and far-fetched to sound even remotely possible.

Then I remembered I don't give any F's and that stuff like this happened in our own history, as well.

Not Magic and Gods, of course, but rather the complexity of intrigue and deceit which I also tried to write.

Plus I can confidently say that I personally believe this whole Arc looks pretty solid, from the plans to the repercussions of Fuzen's actions and so on.

And even if they are not, hey, at least I tried, right? (╯▽╰ )

Hope you enjoy the read.

Kay bye.

XXX

"...I am Fuzen Katsumi, Disciple of the Lighting Sword Style and it's appointed Successor as well as the former Adventurer known as Kenshi of the Loki Familia...and I hereby declare war on the Kingdom of Altena. Tomorrow at exactly this time, I will bring my entire wrath upon Al-Dale: no mercy will be shown. However I have no interest in insubstantial civilians with no will to fight. If you desire to maintain your continued existence take shelter within your homes and do not come out: you are not the target of my aggression, your leaders are."

Secretary Castius got a hold of his bearings, realizing how much damage had already been done to his kingdom. "End the transmission! End it now!" He hissed to the Goddess besides him, shaking her shoulder roughly.

The action allowed Hecate to snap out of her confusion, and nodding, tried to break off the godly power at work which allowed the broadcast to be seen.

"...I can't."

"What?!"

"I can't." Hecate repeated, shock visible on her face. "Someone...someone must have over-powered my authority over the broadcast. Another Deity."

Castius growled and clenched his fists, the stoic expression for once broken.

This little shit…!

"My declaration is non-negotiable. Even if the Kingdom of Altena chooses to remain pacifistic and not take up arms against me I will still strike at their capital. My reasons for this declaration will remain unsaid: only when I win shall I have them made public. In the case of my defeat, said reasons shall forever remain between me and the leaders of the Kingdom of Altena, and I will willingly take any punishment and criminal title upon me. This I promise."

"...He's taking the lead." Castius whispered to the Goddess mid-way through Fuzen's message.

"Then get in there, too."

"It's a snotty child, Hecate. If I jump in how will that reflect upon the royal family to the thousands who are watching? The royals who get jumpy and scared at a brat's ridiculous message, that's how."

"…Is simply waiting better?"

"...It's the better of the two evils."

"The battle shall end upon the admitting of defeat from either myself or Queen Maelia Lucia Sestia ad Regis. My victory shall be rewarded with the head of the Treasurer of Altena, Lord Cicero and the exact amount of Valis I was promised on the day of my arrival in her Majesty's court. Altena's victory shall be rewarded with myself. My life is theirs for the taking if I am defeated. Likewise the priceless sword forged more than six hundred years ago by the greatest blacksmith of the Far East Masamune and the Relic of my Sword Style, the O-katana Raiju no Yoki, shall be theirs. This will in turn dissolve my Martial School, the Lighting Sword Style, and it's long history shall end at the hands of Altena. Lastly, I offer life-long servitude to Her Majesty the Queen of myself, my sword and the greatest Magic ever to bless a human, the living and sentient dragon Ikazuchi Bussei Jigen, which at the moment is located in Orario at my request."

"...Damn it, he already laid out the playing field."

"Is it bad?" Hecate asked the Secretary, confused about the whole political game her children played. Despite having been the Patrol Deity of Altena for generations she had few interests besides the continued development of Magic.

"...We can't change the rules of this so called challenge now that he made them public. We have the might of an entire country at our disposal, while he is only a brat. If we try to negotiate the terms we will become a laughing stock."

"...Have we truly been this out-played?"

"...No. He'll pay for this." Castius whispered, his eyes full of hatred at the boy in front of him. "Oh, he will pay indeed…"

"Lastly, I wish to make known that I will not fight Altena as the swordsman Fuzen Katsumi but rather as the Adventurer Kenshi. That has been all. Whatever you wish to continue this broadcast is entirely up to you. In twenty-four hours, tomorrow at exactly the same time, the war will begin. Nothing else but that needs to be said." Fuzen gave a nod to the mirror and ended his speech.

Whatever the person in Orario would keep it running or simply start broadcasting again tomorrow, he did not know.

He also did not care.

The deed was done and all that mattered had been said.

Queen Maelia, who stood two steps behind him during the whole speech in confusion and shock finally snapped out of it, her hands curling into fists. "...What's...the meaning of this?"

"A declaration of war is just that: a declaration that I will butcher you all." Came the casual reply

"Are you out of your mind, you brat?!"

Her fit of rage was met with silence, Fuzen simply staring ahead for a couple of long moments. Then finally, slowly just like some villain in a poorly-written novel, he turned his head towards her and Maelia's rage turned into fear. "Figured that out all on your own, your Majesty? Clap, Clap, Clap..."

Maelia froze in fear as the boy turned to fully face her finding herself unable to contain the trembling of her body. He was just a runt, he was even shorter than herself, in fact. He could not appear intimidating even if he tried to.

And yet despite all of that, the crazed bloodshot eyes lusting for carnage pierced into the very depths of her soul.

And thus, with but a single glare Maelia realized that their roles had changed within a fraction of a second.

The room no longer belonged to her.

"…! Maelia, back away-!" Her brother called out but it was too late.

Before the young monarch could take a full step back Fuzen was upon her. Without realizing it her body was pulled forward by the sash which acted as her belt, her body slamming into the boy's, their faces just inches away from each other.

"Why are you running away from me?" Fuzen asked, actually appearing offended by her actions in trying to put some distance between them.

Why wouldn't I, you psychopath?!

The thought echoed in her mind as the Queen tried her best to maintain her composure. "...U-Unhand me this instant."

"Why the sudden cold shoulder? You were the one stating you'd love to spend more time together, were you not, your Majesty? Why, just last night you said so..."

"I said unhand me!" Maelia tried to free herself, backing away while pushing the boy away, but it was all to no avail, comparable to trying to push a boulder.

Then Fuzen pulled her even harder than before and her body slammed into his again.

"One more try at escaping me and I will break your neck." Fuzen told the Queen then glared over to Castius as he drew his sword and was ready to jump at him as soon as the first opportunity revealed itself. "That goes for you too, asswipe."

"…!"

"You understand. Good girl. Maybe you are not quite as dumb as I thought, after all. Now, listen here, and listen well. Originally I only planned on coming here because of your Treasurer and the crap he smeared all over my honour."

"…"

"Well, I had some personal reasons as well, but that was the original drive. I wanted to see the mush-brained Queen who would allow a pathetic excuse of a man like that weasel to work for her. I also wanted to see the idiotic leader who allowed her emissary to act as he wished while sending him away to do her bidding, to act in her best interests. Yet that is all I wanted. But after yesterday, after seeing how far your idiocy goes…"

Fuzen paused, his eyes slowly looking upwards at the ceiling as his teeth clenched and unclenched multiple times. In his whole life, short yet eventful as it had been, he only felt like this a couple of times, all of which ended in unspeakable tragedy for all others involved.

Yet still the experience gained from the past allowed him to maintain control, if only barely.

But he could do it.

He could wait one more day.

Just one more day…

"You sure are…" He looked at Maelia again, his eye twitching with amazing rhythm in response to his inner feelings. "...one arrogant ballsy witch, aren't you?"

"…!"

"Come tomorrow I will destroy you without touching a single hair on your head. This, I promise." Maelia felt his grip on her sash letting up, no longer forced to stick to the boy. "Now scram from my sight. Enjoy what little time you have left."

The Queen did not need to be told twice, already backtracking to her brother's side never letting the boy out of her sight.

Sensing their opening the eight royal guards, all of which rushed to the room once Fuzen's speech began surrounded the boy with raised halberds.

"Don't move!" The caped guard, probably the Captain, shouted.

Fuzen only stared at all eight men for a single moment each then sighed with disappointment. "Lower your weapons before you regret it."

"I said don't move, you deviant, or we will strike you down for your transgressions!" A moment later his halberd was pulled forward, Fuzen holding it by the pointy end right at his throat.

Fuzen sneered. "Then do it. Here, draw the blade across this scar. Cut my throat and make me bleed to death."

"W-What…?"

"You wanted to strike me down upon me moving, did you not? I'm a Level 2 Adventurer. Impaling me with the pointy ends will not kill me. Instead, if you want to kill me better you cut my throat open like you would a pig's."

"W-Wha…?"

Fuzen drew the sharp end even closer to his neck, allowing the tip to bite into his skin and flesh, drawing it across the scar he received in the past as blood poured down his throat, soaking the collar of his shirt red.

By now the Captain no longer tried to push his weapon, instead trying his best to pull it back to him. "Why are you stepping back? If you want to kill me, then do it. I don't have all day to wait for you to man the hell up."

"S-Stop!"

Yet Fuzen did not stop, pushing the weapon even further into his throat, one millimetre at a time, not allowing the spear-like end to slip on his bloody hand even as the Captain tried to pull it out.

And so, with perfect calm in his eyes, Fuzen once again managed to switch the roles between him and another. "Why are you pulling your weapon away? Do you not know how to kill a man?"

"S-St…"

"I'll tell you, then. When you kill a man you look him in the eyes. You never break this unspoken rule. Even as he cries and begs in pain and fear, you look him in the eyes. Even when the light disappears from his eyes, you still look him in the eyes. That is the least you can do as a warrior for someone whom you butchered out of your own free will. That is how you kill a man. That is how you will kill me, here and now."

"Ah...Ahh…"

"Look at me. Don't avert nor close your eyes. Look at me.Look me in the eyes when you kill me!"

The man fell backwards on his ass while the boy stood unmoving.

That was the difference between one who had seen much and one who had not.

That was the difference between those with a strong will and those with a weak one.

"...Look for another occupation. You can't kill a man and neither can the rest of you." Fuzen voiced as he pulled out the fourth of the spear-like end he himself stuck inside his neck and then threw the halberd away. It did hurt, yes, but the wound was not deep enough to interfere with his efficiency as a fighter.

"You will pay for this dearly, Sir Katsumi." Castius, now placed between Fuzen and his sister stated with his blade drawn and pointed at the boy.

"No, I will not."

"...You may be able to scare off a couple of guards but do you really think you can do anything else at this stage?"

"Yes."

"You are all alone deep into enemy territory, with no back-up nor your Magic with you. Do you understand? You have locked yourself up in our own country with us!"

"No." Fuzen shook his head. "I've locked you all up in here with me. There is no escape for you anymore."

"Wha-...You crazy, delusional bastard…Do you live in your own little world?! What do you even think you've accomplished with this whole charade?!"

"A couple more steps on my stair."

"...What in Heaven's name are you even on about?!"

"Are you done asking meaningless questions?...Good. Now, bring me my swords which you confiscated so I can be on my way. There is no meaning in talking with you anymore."

"Dissing us? I would advise against angering us any more than this, Sir Katsumi, unless you want your life as a slave to the royal family to be a hellish experience..."

"...Dissing, you say?" Fuzen tilted his head, allowing confusing to take form on his face. Whatever it was true confusion however, or simply just another mask only he knew. "...Why would I ridicule dead men?"

XXX

Had she made some error in her judgment?

The girl was not sure, but she believed so.

Not that she had not noticed the signs.

No, the signs had been there all right.

But, she choose to not see them.

Not see them...No, that was false, too.

She saw them but her decision had been to wait instead of act.

Amid sighed, having just witnessed the whole declaration of war projected right into her Familia's pharmacy. As far as she understood, the broadcast had been only visible in Orario's centre at first but only moments after it began the live feed had been projected in every Familia stronghold, in every shop, in every bar spread throughout Orario.

As soon as the broadcast ended, just as Fuzen turned to face the Queen of Altena, Amid understood how much she had failed as a doctor. She had over one year's time worth of chances to help yet she delayed.

Naturally, Amid could not have known the extend of the boy's problems from the get-go.

He was too composed, too logical, too rational to give away his issues so quickly.

Time had been required to learn of them from the little interactions she had with him, daily as they were.

For all intents and purposes he was too functional and rational to raise all too much suspicions.

If anything at all gave it away, it was his age.

The body of a child yet the mentality of a grown-up adult.

That, indeed, was not normal at all.

His Goddess along with Nine Hells then came to her with their own suspicions, suspicions which only cemented her thoughts on the matter. And her advice was one which she now regretted.

Time is needed, you cannot rush these things. It needs a soft approach over an indefinite amount of time.

That was her advice to Goddess Loki and the executive Riveria a couple of months ago. At the time she believed it to be the best course of action.

In truth, it also had been.

At the time, that is.

But they had waited too much on applying their approach and now the consequences of their inactivity were taking roots. Consequences which might have been avoided had she acted sooner.

It truly was irritating, how naive she had been.

Still, she couldn't change the past.

But action, that she could still take.

Amid walked out of the living room her Familia used for breaks and made for the study where the myriad of books related to medicine could be found. Unfortunately, the illness which plagued the boy was not within her area of expertise, but a person could learn.

And learn she would, to be prepared for when he returned to Orario.

Without even realizing it Amid had not doubted for a second that Fuzen would win nor that he would come back to Orario...

XXX

"So, what now?" The Amazon asked, having just finished watching the broadcast that Loki kept on going in their Mansion. They were the only ones to see everything, from the beginning to the end until Fuzen received his swords and made his way towards the hill outside the city.

Truth be told Loki would be in a bit of troubles with the Guild and the other Gods as well, as their use of live broadcasting had to be regulated, but seeing how she only took over an existing message and simply extended it to a wider area across the city the damage would be mitigated somehow.

She would have some explaining to do, but she wasn't too worried about it.

Finn turned to face the young Amazon, looking at her with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean, Tiona?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Nothing." The Captain answered.

"Nothing?"

"What else do you expect, idiot?" Bete said with a sigh, almost amazed at the girl's lack of understanding. "He's not part of our Familia anymore. We ain't gonna lift a finger, obviously."

"Yeah, that's about it." Loki nodded, agreeing to what the Werewolf said.

"So...we just watching, then?"

"Think about it, Tiona. Altena is located almost three hundred kilometres away from Orario. Even if Fuzen would still be part of our Familia he already set the time for the attack, which is tomorrow. There's no possible way to reach Al-Dale within this time frame."

"Ohh...Well damn…"

"Runt's made his bed and now he'll lay into it. Nothing else to be said."

"I still don't get it, tho. Why would he do that, anyway? Declare war on a whole country, I mean."

It was a good question, but unfortunately, neither the Executives nor the other members gathered in the spacious room could answer it.

The only one who had a hunch about the real reasons behind what the boy did was Loki and even she only had a hunch and nothing else. Granted, thanks to a bit of digging and her talk with Chloe from the Hostess of Fertility Loki had a slightly bigger understanding of all that had happened, but not the whole picture, either.

"...Who knows. If there's really anyone who could understand that boy, I think I can confidently say that said person is not in this room."

No one spoke up against Finn's words for they knew them to be true. Despite him being a member of their Familia for longer than a year, no one could understand Fuzen nor his motives.

"...I don't think…" Surprisingly enough, it had been Ais who broke off the silence which befell the group. "I don't think his reasons for doing this are evil, at the very least."

Though her admiration for the golden-haired did not waver Lefiya could not fully agree with what her idol said. In her mind, that boy who almost killed Ais for petty reasons had always been evil, at least to a certain degree."But Ais, he just said he will butcher them all. Is that not...evil?"

"Is it, Lefiya?" Finn asked in return.

"W-What do you mean, Captain?"

"People will always fight people, for all sorts of reasons. One man's hero is another man's villain. Even us Loki Familia fought against other Familia when we were still starting out. Two of them we wiped out in War Games long before you were born. Well, they were the ones who attacked us first, but nonetheless, we could have simply defeated them and walked away. Then, why do you think I decided to wipe those two Familia out?"

"…W-Why?"

"Because it yielded the most benefits for our small Familia at the time." Finn answered the quiet elf, his ever-present soft smile nowhere to be found. "Fuzen might have picked a fight with a whole kingdom and said he will butcher them all, but...Do you truly think that honour-bound boy will kill anyone who is undeserving of death, at least as far as his code is concerned? He did warn the civilians to stay within their homes and he also stated he only wishes for that Treasurer's head as his reward."

"...But killing other people is…wrong, is it not?"

"Hm? We Adventurers mostly fight against Monsters, so I understand where you are coming from, Lefiya...but do you truly think that Monsters are the only danger within the Dungeon?"

Despite his harsh tone Finn was not truly disappointed in Lefiya, in all honesty.

She was still very young and she was a very bring and positive person. It was not his intention to snuff those positive attributes out of her, but...her narrow-mindedness had to be address soon. He would need to speak to Riveria later about-

Two knocks at the door had the room's occupants turn their heads towards that direction, one of the lower Level members stepping inside.

"Pardon the intrusion. Captain Finn, there is someone at the front gate asking to come inside."

"Who is it?"

"Uhh...It's a boy, Captain. Said he was from the Far East, and here to speak to a friend of his."

"A friend…? Don't tell me…"

"Yes, Captain. He wishes to see Fuzen."

"Do bring him to us, if you will." Loki answered with a wide, toothy grin.

Finally, a chance to find out more revealed itself to her...

XXX

There were multiple troubles which arose after the leadership of Altena got together and discussed the declaration of war and none of them were even remotely pleasant.

Firstly, by making his declaration publicly known the boy had protected himself from any and all assassination attempts Altena might have decided to use.

Naturally, they could still use assassination just fine, however as the whole country as well as Orario now knew when the so-called battle would take place it would be way too obvious to assassinate him. While the damage to their reputation would be minimal it could cause ripples which might bring greater problems in the future.

For example, foreign powers might use Altena's blatant use of eliminating their enemies against them to increase the prices of the products Altena imported.

How?

Because stains on one's reputation could always be used in politics to one's advantage.

Secondly, the boy avoided having to fight against the whole military might of Altena by choosing the time for his so-called war.

After all, Altena was located in the mainland and had boarders with five other countries. Boarders which needed to be patrolled by the military.

Naturally not all of Altena's soldiers were positioned at the boarders, however the ones in garrisons were nonetheless rather far away from the capital. The reason for this was Al-Dale's position: the capital was located roughly in the middle of the country.

Thus, it was only logical that any outside invaders would need, more or less, the same amount of time to reach Altena's capital no matter which direction they invaded for.

With that in mind Altena's military leaders from long ago decided that it was better for Altena to have most of it's military located close to the boarders, with garrisons located mostly just half a day's march away.

As Al-Dale, the heart of the country, lay in the centre it would benefit most from having little military presence in the capital itself but just close enough in the forts and garrisons which needed roughly the same time to arrive and defend the city.

However, even with that said, except maybe the cavalry, no troops could arrive within a single day at Al-Dale. The time needed for a message to arrive as well as the time to prepare and deploy the soldiers were both factors which prevented this.

Thus, except for the skeleton crew manning the city's walls and the two hundred royal guards protecting the palace Al-Dale had little military presence within it's walls.

Naturally, there were also the mages but most of them had devoted themselves entirely to the study of Magic rather than it's battle-related practice. They could use spells, but…

"No." Castius replied upon the usage of mages being brought up. "I refuse to use Altena's most valuable resources, our mages, against a suicidal brat."

"But...it's just using Spells…"

"I said no. Even if it's just one Spell how will this reflect upon us? It will be seen as if we were scared enough of a brat to use the powerful Magic we are known for."

And just like that, the easiest way to deal with the boy had been rejected by the Secretary.

Thirdly, the boy had done irreparable damage to the kingdom even before the fight began.

How?

By using their status as a country against them.

To summarize, this was their position after Fuzen's declaration:

If they executed him for fooling them they showed to the whole world that they were lacking integrity as a country.

If they dismissed his declaration, they would become a standing joke.

You bring him into your country, let him fool you on live broadcasting and then dismiss his challenge?

People would lose their respect for them many times over, not to mention how the foreign powers might use this to launch attacks against them on the basis that the people of Altena are just spineless cowards.

If they did accept his challenge they showed that the great Kingdom of Altena needed to mobilize their troops against a single boy.

Again, they would lose respect in front of all other countries in the world as well as their own citizens and soldiers.

Worst of all, people in Orario knew that Raiju, the very Magic which made the boy so valuable, was located three hundred kilometres away from the boy so his main power was not at his side.

This fact would soon become well-known through the many people going in and out of Orario on a daily basis so it's not like they could dismiss the claim.

Again, if they didn't accept the challenge they show that they were afraid of a boy without his strongest asset at his side.

If they did accept it, however, they showed that they needed to get serious against a boy lacking his strongest asset.

No matter what they did, Fuzen Katsumi had made sure with a single well-thought speech that the damage to their kingdom was maximized, whatever the end result of the war might be.

Those were their circumstances handed to them by the boy.

This was the extend of the damage he had done.

Integrity, respect and trust were important to any country.

After all, allies were won with those values, enemies were made by a lack of the same values, and the direction trading contracts could go towards also highly depended on the same values.

No one wanted to ally themselves with a country run by fools, no merchant would want to invest his money in a country which could be so easily deceived by a single boy and no potential enemy would be too scared to attack a country which mobilized their strongest weapons against a single individual. A child, no less.

The boy had played his hand well.

Too well, in fact.

In a single moment he used Altena's greatest strength and likewise greatest weakness against them: in other words, their status as a kingdom, bound by laws, morals and other such values, which Fuzen put to the test.

In all honesty no sane person would ever believe a boy able to win against a country

No, the fight was not what Orario and all surrounding countries were looking towards.

How will the great Kingdom of Altena deal with this matter?

That is what everyone would be observing.

After all, Altena's leaders were all part of the Hecate Familia.

This was a declaration of war against their kingdom's sole Familia and it was now that their modus operandi would be put to the test.

"Then, what do we do?" Hecate had asked at the gathering in no way any less furious than everyone else present at what Fuzen had done.

"...The harm is already done. The fact that we invited him into our castle and allowed him to give his public declaration out of our own decision will continue to haunt us for many years to come." Castius stated with a long sigh. "However, we can prevent any more harm by showing that we don't take such threats lightly even if the one making the threats is a brat. We will fight and kill him."

"But...what about his extraordinary Magic? No doubt it will vanish along with him even if the dragon is sentient and can live outside his caster's body." Naturally, the Patron Deity of Magic was not keen on having such rare Magic go to waste, but…

"The dragon drew the short straw when he manifested in an arrogant brat like that." Castius waved his hand dismissively. "Shame as it is we cannot allow the brat to survive. Despite his claims that he will serve us for as long as he lives upon his defeat, if we accepted that term and allowed him to live it could cause other, more powerful yet likewise arrogant Adventurers to copy the brat. They could attack us with the mentality that even if they lose, they will survive for we allowed the brat to serve as a slave."

Castius wasn't wrong.

They lived in a world where any individual with a Falna could reach superhuman heights and many of them became drunk on power.

What is a lifetime of servitude compared to the exhilaration of challenging a kingdom, making your name one worthy of a timeless legend?

"...We cannot win...We can't…" At the table a single voice spoke of an opposing thought: the Treasurer Cicero himself. He was pale and thin, the incredible amount of fear and stress manifesting themselves physically. "We will lose. Tomorrow I'll be dead..."

"Get a grip of yourself, Cicero."

"You haven't seen it, Lady Hecate! The coldness, the stare! That boy is no boy: he's a devil!"

"...Geez, you're pathetic…" The Queen murmured with a sigh at the sorry sight of her once composed Treasurer.

"He's just a brat, Cicero. Just the other day I defeated him in a duel. He's nothing special without his Magic. Worst case scenario I'll kill him myself."

"...You didn't win, you fool." Cicero stated with a low chuckle. "He let you win. I saw him with my own eyes cutting down a Level 4 mercenary in but a flash! What can a mere Level 3 do against someone who defies logic?!"

"...God, the boy must have put poison or something in his drink, he's delusional…"

"...No." Castius shook with head a moment later. "I know to value Cicero's analytical skills. So, you say this boy can cut down a Level 4?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm...Very well then. We shall respond while seeing him as that kind of threat. We shall deploy half of our royal guards to meet him on the battlefield."

"Half?! One hundred men for a brat? Are you sure, Castius?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. All royal guards have been granted the Falna by Lady Hecate. Even someone who can cut down a Level 4 cannot hope to defeat one hundred Level 1's. Not to mention their magic equipment which improves their efficiency in battle crafted by our best smiths will prove a challenge to the brat in itself."

"But...isn't this too much?"

"As I have said, the damage to our reputation has already been done. We shall meet him with excessive force to show the world that any threat to our kingdom will be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. We have long interacted with the foreign powers as the Kingdom of Altena. Now it's time to show them what we are capable of as the Hecate Familia."

"Then...would it not be a good idea for me to use my Magic, as well?"

"...I understand, Your Majesty. I shall have the ritual be prepared just in case. Cicero, I am taking those serious measures because that brat threatened your life. Hopefully, you know to value this."

"...Of course, Secretary Castius."

Cicero sighed, leaning back into his seat. The Queen's Magic in combination with the ritual? Naturally, as one of the Executives in his Familia Cicero knew well how potent this combination was.

Yet at the same time, he still had to hope it would be enough.

XXX

"Buhahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

The laughter persisted even long after the explanation came to an end. It was a loud laugh, contagious too, as both Loki and Tiona were forced to laugh as well if for no other reason than the boy rolling around on the ground.

"...Is it really...that funny?" Ais had asked no one in particular, her eyes following the boy still rolling on the ground.

"I...don't think so?" Tione replied.

The laughing boy was called Seiji Okita, the very same friend Fuzen had once told Riveria about.

Born in the Far East and thirteen of age, two years Fuzen's senior, he too was a swordsman however belonging to no particular Sword Style or Martial School.

He wore more or less the same clothes Fuzen usually wore, only difference being the red colour instead of black, and had medium-length spiky brown hair as well as chestnut brown eyes.

Originally on his back yet now leaning against the wall near the door was his sword, better known as a curved greatsword. The blade itself was similar to a normal katana, single-edged and curved inwards yet being a greatsword it was many times wider and longer than a katana.

Upon being received into the Manor Loki introduced herself and the others before telling Seiji of how Fuzen had just left their Familia and what he had declared just hours before his arrival.

It was this information which had prompted Seiji into a hearty laughter.

However, it had went on long enough and Finn cleared his throat to signalize his desire to continue. Seiji picked up on this and slowly rose to his feet while holding his stomach. Being older than Fuzen, he was also taller: he stood roughly one one meter sixty in height, almost two heads taller than Fuzen.

"My bad, my bad. Sorry, sorry. Hmhmhm...I think it's all out of my system now. Phew..." Seiji wiped a tear from his eye then sat back on the couch opposite from Finn, Loki and the others.

He had no difficulties understanding nor speaking Koine, as apparently Hachiman made great efforts to have all those blessed with his Falna get good education. "It's just nostalgia, you know? So, he picked yet another fight with an unreachable enemy, did he? I swear, that guy will never learn…"

"Hm? You saying he took on the Far East as well or something?" Loki inquired.

"Buhahaha! Nothing of the sort, Loki-sama. Even he knew he could not take on a whole country back then. But organized groups of murderers, mountain bandits, evil organizations? Those he took on, yes. He was the reason our little village was kept safe. After enough time rumours started to spread and the whole area around our village was free of such vagrants."

"Well damn, lil' Fuzen doing his best from early on, I see."

"Hahahaha! Yes, Loki-sama."

"Geez, you really like laughing, don't you?"

"Hahahahahahaha! Of course! Why wouldn't I laugh? Laughing is great! It shows you're alive and well! Laughing's the best!"

Tiona laughed as well, pointing a finger at him while looking at her twin. "See, he gets it!"

"Takes an idiot to know one, I guess…"

"Anyway, as we were saying, Fuzen is unfortunately no longer a member of our Familia. He has left us a couple of days ago and is now in Altena, located some three hundred kilometres away from here. I understand you wished to meet him, but...I don't think that will be possible any time soon…"

"Hahaha, it's fine. Thank you for informing me of this, Deimne-sama. I will simply wait here in Orario in the meantime. You said the war will begin tomorrow, right? Then Fuzen should show up in a couple of days." Seiji stated with a laugh, not doubting his friend's chances for a single moment.

"...Okita-kun, you do realize Fuzen picked a fight with a whole country, right?" Finn inquired, chin resting on the back of his palms.

"Hahaha, yes!"

"And you do realize we are talking tens of thousands of soldiers, as well as powerful Mages? Not to mention that Altena is a developed kingdom which invested a lot into Magic research thus it possesses incredible amounts of magic Items."

"Hahahaha, yes!"

"And even so you do not doubt that Fuzen, armed with only a sword, will win?"

"Hahahaha, yessss!"

"...How come?"

"Because he cannot be defeated! Even if he dies, he will still win!"

"You really think so?"

"Haha, yes! Fuzen is smart, smarter than everyone if he wants to. Even if, and that's a big if, he were to die he probably did something or put something in motion which will not allow this kingdom of Altena anything except a pyrrhic victory. That's what fighting against Fuzen is like! To be honest, it's really scary, hahahaha."

Upon hearing this Finn allowed himself a laugh as well.

Just like the realization of the council back in Altena, Braver understood all too well the harm Fuzen had inflicted upon the kingdom.

Indeed, even if they killed him they would suffer consequences, even more so because they were a neutral kingdom which heavily relied on their neutrality for safety.

"Seems like you really know Fuzen well." Loki stated as she leaned forward. "Say, mind if I ask a few questions about him?"

Surprisingly enough, Seiji's goofy expression was immediately replaced by a calm, serious one. He pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin then nodded. "...Well, you can ask, but I won't answer everything. His life and past are not mine to share, after all. But I can see you are all good people who took care of my friend, so I'll do what I can in return."

"Thanks a bunch! So, firstly...has Fuzen always had...issues?"

"Hmm…." Seiji crossed his arms, thinking deeply about his words. Finally he nodded his head with a sigh. "...Yeah."

"I see, I see...Then, what about-Guah!"

Tiona launched her upper body upon Loki, pushing the Goddess down and asked the next question. "What was he like as a child?"

Seiji clenched his fist. "He was a man!"

"Haha, what does that even mean?"

"Hmm...well, he did his best at everything. I was terminally ill until a couple of months ago when he sent me the Elixir made here in Orario, so I wasn't outside much to witness him, but he always did his best, helping both Hachiman-sama and his Mistress with chores and tasks besides training hard in the way of the sword all the while wearing a smile on his face. He also used to swim in the ocean a lot and catch fish for all the war orphans gathered in the nearby villages. He also took care of me as much as he could after my parents died, so yeah…" he nodded with a soft smile, his lips wavering just the tiniest bit at the memory. "Yeah, he's a man alright..."

That was a side of Fuzen the Loki Familia had not expected to hear about. One which wasn't obsessed with training, a side of him that actually smiled?

That was hard for all of them to imagine.

This greatly piqued Riveria's interest and she was next to ask her question. "Seiji, you mean to say that Fuzen has not always been cold and distant?"

"Yeah...Though, he was never an expressive nor talkative kid, either."

"But still, what happened to make him like...well, him?"

"That, I cannot answer…" He shook his head with a sigh. "Not in it's entirety, anyway."

"Throw us a bone over here, Seiji!"

"Well, all I can say is that he once left for more than a year. Where, I cannot tell you. However, upon his return he was not the same anymore…"

XXX

He had ran away once.

From what?

From his life.

From the hardships.

From the pain.

From everything.

From himself, above all else.

It has not been anything dramatic, either.

No fights or arguments, no teary last letter, no nothing.

He simply woke up in the middle of the night, decided he had enough and putting on his shoes and grabbing a dagger from the dojo, he left.

He had no specific destination in mind.

He simply sought wisdom and understanding in the horizon.

And so, he had walked.

Day and night, on and on, ever further away.

On this journey, he had done his best to observe.

What exactly?

Everything.

People, most of all.

And he felt his inner turmoil ever increasing.

No matter how much he walked, no matter how many different villages and cities and regions he visited, it was always the same.

The same wars, the same suffering, the same madness everywhere.

The same...taint.

And then, he met a man, in the middle of nowhere.

Had it been a forest?

Or by a river?

He...couldn't remember.

The man had been different.

A westerner, going by his appearance.

He even had blue eyes, something easterners like himself never had.

The man had an aura of bottomless calm and serenity around him.

As if he had seen things other people would never see.

As if he had some sort of answer for him.

So he had revealed his turmoil to the man and asked for wisdom.

The man had listened with great interest and calm, and then with a firm nod procured a book from his bag.

It was an old book, worn out from the passage of countless years.

The man simply handed the book to him and stated that answers could be found inside.

Then the man departed, and he was alone again.

Still, he decided to put his trust in the serene man and read the book.

While he walked, he read.

While he rested, he read.

And confusing as it had been at first, he began to...like the book.

It's messages, while confusing and hard to understand, were...interesting.

It was a story, and at the same time a guide, helping him understand some things which were unclear before and allowing him to question things he didn't knew existed.

For many months, he followed what the book said and finally felt his turmoil subside.

It wasn't always good, however.

When he spoke the truth like the book said, people would get mad at him.

When he told of his origins, they would laugh and sneer at him.

But he continued to believe, for all it's worth.

The book spoke of the hardships one's life would bring, after all, so surely he was not the only one suffering nor the only one following such guidance to improve himself and others.

How naive he had been...

Friendships soon turned into the ugliest form of human betrayal.

Trust soon turned into a self-harming blade.

And then, upon arriving into the capital of the Far East, Edo, bruised and battered, betrayed and tired, wishing for nothing else than a simple, normal life, he had had the misfortune of running into the devil's arms.

A devil most cruel with the face of an angel and the warmth of the sun, yet a devil nonetheless.

In truth the ugliest existence while also the closest to what a true human was.

And then, he finally understood.

God was dead.

No…

Not dead.

Murdered.

Murdered by a thousand different faces, all now freely walking under the face of the sun on the same earth as him.

Murdered by that which should have been divine and pure yet were no better than a degenerate, hedonistic lot.

He had left Edo a couple of months following his arriving there, after seeing through the layers of lies.

He had not left the city untouched, however.

Though it was not where his stair originally began it was where it grew the most.

He had cleansed it to the best of his abilities, but understood that he could never truly purify it.

He could never truly purify anything completely, so deep was the taint of Man.

So instead he simply returned to where he left from.

He had left seeking wisdom and understanding and he found none.

All he found was the truth.

A truth he had rather never found out, but one from which he could no longer escape.

He had left in turmoil and despair, and he had returned with a clarity of mind unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

A clarity which continued on to this day.

A clarity which had only been slightly shaken upon his arrival to Orario, but made clear again upon the golden-haired girl's and the Pallum's betrayal.

And now?

Now he stood in front of the city, a city bustling with life and energy, a city he was about to change forever, and his clarity remained.

He had decided that they would die and suffer so that he might further his plans and nothing would change that.

No divine punishment would fall upon him from Heaven, for Heaven was empty.

No hero would ride on a white horse to meet and fight him for the evils he was about to commit, for there was no hero to be found in this world.

And no trial would be held for him and his sins upon his death, for there was no true death in this world.

They were all alone in a world where only strength mattered.

One might bring forth talks of kindness and understanding, of forgiveness and any other such stupid values, but how long would a person like that truly survive to push on such values?

...Not long, that much was sure.

Fuzen looked up at the sky and nodded. "...It is time."

He had meditated well throughout the night and was ready.

He looked down to the vale, where the city lay.

His threats had not been headed: civilians were still going on about their day in the distance, casually walking down the streets. The walls were hardly manned by the soldiers and no defense line had been truly created.

They had not taken him seriously, those poor fools.

He pondered for a moment on what he should think of this.

Should he pray for them, pray that someone would have some mercy on their poor souls?

After all, he would show no such thing as mercy.

...

No, praying would hardly matter anyway.

But in his moment of thought, he remembered the book he had once been given and the words inside of it.

A certain paragraph, which suited this situation more than any other.

"...The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, "It is done!". And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe...Revelation 16, The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath…"

Just then the gates of the city opened in the distance and what seemed like a hundred men marched forward towards Fuzen.

He had seen that armour before: the Royal Guards of the castle.

So they decided to meet me head-on, after all. Good.

With a firm nod, Fuzen drew his sword, Eisatsu, and held it in front of him.

So far his plan had gone, more or less, according to plan.

However, as for what he planned to do next...it was all up to luck.

Whatever it would work or not, he could not say.

But he would try.

And should it fail, well...not like he would give up then, either.

So Fuzen drew his sword and parted his lips.

"[I sing to the distant sky…]"

XXX

"It started." Loki announced as she once again used her divine power to link a visual broadcast from Orario to Altena.

Immediately Fuzen's never-changing monotone expression popped up in mid-air inside the room where she and most of her Children had gathered to witness the fight.

"Hahahaha, he hasn't changed a bit!" Seiji voiced with a laugh from the opposite couch.

He had spent the night at the Twilight Manor after Loki extended her offer to him, and after much thinking he had accepted said offer, spending the night in Fuzen's old room.

Naturally Loki wished to spare the boy the trouble of running around town at that late hour trying to find an available room at an inn, but...that was not all.

She might have some questions about her swordsman during the fight and Seiji was a good source of information on this matter.

Tiona spoke next. "Looks like Altena mobilized their troops."

Finn nodded and looked over the soon-to-be battlefield. Then he noticed what Fuzen was doing and smiled. "You guys see this?"

A moment later the others also saw it and a round of laughter echoed inside the room as outside a great roar which shook the ground could be heard, originating from no other place than the top of the Babel Tower itself.

He had once again, fooled everyone...

XXX

He hated his ability to use Magic.

That was the truth, simple as that.

Yes, it was an incredible power, but it was not what he needed for his goal.

Quite on the contrary, said Magic would just as well make it nigh impossible for him to reach his goal.

Yet nonetheless, Riveria's words at the time had left their mark on his mind and he decided to learn as much about it as possible.

Naturally, that meant looking into the element of his Magic, but it also meant that he performed countless tests during his months of solo training in the Dungeon and had learned a lot through the process of trial and error.

One of the things he had learned during said training was that his Magic had incredible flexibility, thanks to no other reason than his ability to use Ki.

Yes, Magic was a rigid power. For all other people the chant needed to be the same every time and the effect would be the same as well.

For all it's great potential Magic was a one-directional power, and quite inflexible.

For most people, that is.

But Fuzen was not most people, and even while engaging in life or death battles inside the Dungeon, he experimented.

It was then that he understood exactly how much freedom he had in the usage of his Magic, and taking Riveria as an example, set forth to try out a new method of utilizing his Magic.

A method which succeeded, albeit at the cost of producing an earthquake inside the Dungeon which could be felt all over Orario.

He kept this a secret for when he needed it most...and also to avoid Riveria scolding him for being reckless.

But now, the time had come for trial and error again.

Would it work?

He had no idea.

As he told himself previously his plan so far had went according to his expectations, but everything else from here on out would be left to pure luck.

He cleared his mind and imagined the greatest mage in Orario in his mind and her Technique he used as a reference for his own Magic's development.

It was a variation of Magic which used the greatest Mage he had the honour of knowing personally as reference, but at the same time expanded on the technique so much so that it was a wholly different process than what the High Elf used.

"[I sing to the distant sky...]"

O'er the midnight moorlands crying,

Thro' the cypress forests sighing,

In the night-wind madly flying,

Hellish forms with streaming hair;

In the barren branches creaking,

By the stagnant swamp-pools speaking,

Past the shore-cliffs ever shrieking;

Damn'd daemons of despair.

Immediately he felt the anger rise within himself at the memory of his past self and his naive interests at the time.

How irritating.

The damned poem.

How truly pointless it had been...

"[Beyond the floating clouds afar. Over the sea, over the horizon…]"

Once, I think I half remember,

Ere the grey skies of November

Quench'd my youth's aspiring ember,

Liv'd there such a thing as bliss;

Skies that now are dark were beaming,

Gold and azure, splendid seeming

Till I learn'd it all was dreaming.

Slowly the sky turned an ashen grey colour as the clouds began to dance above the city of Al-Dale in an ever spinning circle, forbidding the very sun from blessing the city's inhabitants with it's warmth.

"[...Overflowing emotions bursting out. Place of dreams I shall wake up someday…]"

But the stream of Time, swift flowing,

Brings the torment of half-knowing—

Dimly rushing, blindly going

Past the never-trodden lea;

And the voyager, repining,

Sees the wicked death-fires shining,

Hears the wicked petrel's whining

As he helpless drifts to sea.

The whirl of clouds expanded evermore and then the first thunder was heard and from the thunder, the first drops of rains fell down upon the earth.

"[Thunderous manifestation of my ambition. Awaken, and with your deafening roar…]"

Evil wings in ether beating;

Vultures at the spirit eating;

Things unseen forever fleeting

Black against the leering sky.

Ghastly shades of bygone gladness,

Clawing fiends of future sadness,

Mingle in a cloud of madness

Ever on the soul to lie.

The drops of rains fell with ever increasing speed and frequency and the rain turned into a rainstorm, and from the rainstorm, the first flash could be seen stretching across the skies.

"[...shatter the Earth and conquer the Skies. Ikazuchi Jigen Bussei:...]"

Thus the living, lone and sobbing,

In the throes of anguish throbbing,

With the loathsome Furies robbing

Night and noon of peace and rest.

But beyond the groans and grating

Of abhorrent Life, is waiting

Sweet Oblivion, culminating

All the years of fruitless quest…

Then a lighting came crackling through the air from the south, a lighting which rushed forward at incredible speed.

It headed straight for the centre of the whirlwind above the city of Al-Dale, and stopped with a thunder so loud the windows from the city shatter. Then a monstrous pair of claws emerged from beyond the whirl of clouds, a pair of claws most enormous, shrouded in a veil of bright and crackling lighting.

"[...Dai Saigai.]"

A roar of tremendous power echoed across Al-Dale, and across it's plains and nearby cities, and across Orario halfway over the horizon.

And with the roar the clouds split open, and from within the clouds Raiju descended upon the earth.

His form was changed: he was as long as half the Babel's height, his body pure, raw energy.

So bright was Raiju that he illuminated the ground below him in place of the sun his summoning had hidden away behind clouds and his own colossal frame.

However, he was not bright enough to conceal the large scar which stretched across his draconic neck, a scar which was not there before.

This was the by-product of three months worth of hard training and countless tests run in parallel to Fuzen's own sword training.

Ikazuchi Jigen Bussei: Dai Saigai.

Celestial Manifestation of Lighting Embodiment: Grand Calamity.

"...It is done."

ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!

"Shut the frick up, lizard. You're giving me a headache."

But, Master, look at me! Ain't I absolutely grandiose right now?!

"Yes, yes, you would make a perfect lightbulb for a city which ran out of electricity. Now shut up and get to work. We have little time."

Yes, Master! I, Raiju, greatest dragon to have ever blessed the face of the earth, shall now go forward and do my Master's bidding, for I am-!

"Shut the frick up and get to work already! You're sucking out a lot of Ki and Mind out of me every single second, you useless piece of arrogant lizard!"

Sigh...Master is no fun...Very well, I shall go forward. However, I want you to once again remember that I was against this plan from the beginning.

"Yes, I am aware. Now, let's go and finish this. I'm short one girl's butt spanked and a weasel's head…"

XXX

Yeh.

Some stuff I decided to leave here from the original version:

Btw, the poem used is called "Despair" by H.P. Lovecraft and I made use of it because I think it suited the situation quite well.

Now why did Fuzen use it?

It was a sort of chant connection, like what Riveria does.

Or at the very least, inspired by it.

By saying the chant while simultaneously thinking the poem he could better regulate his Ki and Mind distribution as well as increase his power by amplifying his emotions, which in turn allowed Raiju to change his form.

While it is said in Danmachi that Mind needs focus to be used correctly, Ki can also become more powerful in response to strong emotions, even unstable ones like hate or anger, so he made use of this by thinking of a poem he absolutely hates.

Though, in reality (at least in the story) he wrote the poem himself a long time ago.

Anyway, that's about it.

A couple more Chapters and then we are going to approach that Chapter 30, which was the last one I posted before deleting the fic.

And oh boy, do I have some cruel plans in mind regarding what's going to happen…

-\(˙˙)/-