Vol 4 Prologue (1/2)
Crossing War of two Great Men
It's fine even if you don't or can't return the favour
I will still stretch out my hand to you--
Part 1
Demon Lord Leohart
After the death of the previous de at the peak of the de lord
Although Wilbert, as part of the est, he had chosen to evacuate fro to have a stable and peaceful life After the war ended sixteen years later -- loyal to their basic instincts, both the Conservative and the Radical Factions in the deainst the Gods, harbouring strong resentment
-- Until about a year before Wilbert's death, when the state of affairs in the Dee
The Moderates Faction that gained tremendous power because of Wilbert fell apart, and the Radical and Conservative Factions gained momentum
In the end -- the two factions ed, and crowned the new demon lord, Leohart
Hi the blood of the ienerations of demon lords since ancient times, and also with his display of valour in the last as the reason that he was chosen Back then, Leohart was different fro the situation of the demon realm He had led the elite forces in the forefront of the front lines, and achieved excellent h there was another demon on the front lines with a similarly splendid record, contact with that deiven to only Leohart -- it ith this honour, that had gained him the support of the Conservative and Radical Factions, thus earning him the seat of the Demon Lord
However, Leohart was still very young, and since he was hailed as the successor of the strongest demon lord Wilbert, it just isn't so awesome Thus for the symbol of the authority of the throne, he specifically chose the biggest, grandest, and the most stately palace in existence in the demon realm for his use
-- But right now, Leohart's palace had suddenly received an intense shock No, that's not a inated fro the whole palace Immediately--
”--------”
Leohart escaped from the chamber frohtly in the the atriu fro wall The hem of the jacket flapped in the wind and with the strike of a sword aiest man, the [God of War] from the last ith the hero tribe
Jin·Toujou
Leohart iing to block Jin's strike Thung! The sound of their swords clashi+ng instantly sounded out Due to the strength of the strike, there will be after-effects And so with a boom, the aftermath from the attack spread out in all directions, instantly destroying the floor of the atrium and the other facilities in the palace such as the fountain and the pool Presently--
”Hahahahaha!”
Leohart then brandished his sword against him Jin then quickly retreated backwards with a backflip and faced hie sword [1] on his shoulder, Jin bitterly smiled and said:
”Ah~ I've really dulled See it are totally different”
And pat his shoulder with the ridge of his sword Just then--
”--Your majesty Leohart!”
”Are you all right your majesty!?”
Guardsic weapons at Jin, at the ready to fire
”Stand down You are not a match for him”
But they were ordered to stop by Leohart's cal the throne chamber were all knocked out, so if the nore fro a worthless sacrifice However, when Jin looked around--
”Is that so? Apart fro the role of a hunter”
Said like he has seen through the situation
Even his analytical surveying of the situation is so keen, this really is troublesome
Right now, Balthier as Leohart's trusted courtier [2] should probably be awaiting orders, hiding in either the crowd of the nor that--
「（Your majesty Leohart -- ht now?）」
Balthier, unsure, asked for orders
「（None of you make any moves I shall be the one to take care of him）」
And Leohart ordered the courtiers to remain on standby, since this was a rare opportunity
-- After all, he was the one known as Jin·Toujou, the strongest hero
In the past year -- Leohart had already eliminated many old demons anted to use him as a puppet for their own desires But there were still ear, ere still not yet eliminated;if he was able to force Jin to retreat here and now alone, heCardinals to become restless
However
Whether was it sympathy, or that he had a chivalrous heart, he didn't know -- Jin had taken in Naruse Mio and her subordinate Naruse Maria, letting theether with his son He had sent Lars to survey the situation, and Leohart had learned much from his reports Could it be--
”Did you to came here directly to settle your score with hter, Jin·Toujou?”
”Nope, I've had no such intentions The reason that I caes that had taken place after Wilbert's death, and to just take a rest at your place on the way Fine, fine, this is a warning to you guys, to not let anyone to bully and take advantage of my son's intentions”
Even while talking, Jin's eyes were focused intensely on Leohart
”And here I was thinking that after taking Wilbert's position, you would be reluctant to have the orphaned girl who has inherited his power The one who doesn't know that she has the blood of the deirl, and could possibly have been a potential demon lord, must have been played around with very well And for the other party to be a rather unexpected chivalrous young male hero?”
”-----Shut up”
Leohart rushed towards the Jin ryly s his body he reached high speeds in just a moment, and slashed at Jin
--In the war, Leohart's skill with his blade had taken the lives of many from the Hero Tribe
However, every single strike fro was that there wasn't any sign of swordsmanshi+p in Jin's movements of his sword -- it was just purely reflexive brandishi+ng of his blade that was nullifying Leohart's relentless swordsmanshi+p, and their swords clashed countless times
”For you to have this much skill, it really see to be on the Demon Lord's throneadditionally, you still have a pair of eyes Ah If that's the case, you really are someone noteworthy”
Jin gave a smile, like he had just understood the truth Even if he was from the hero tribe, one had to wonder whether or not he was a human; a human eaker than a demon by several levels And for a human, he was past his prime
Yet Jin was able tohim
This is really unbelievable So this is Jin·Toujou?
A -- he really orthy the title of [God of War] Although he had participated in the wars that lasted until sixteen years ago, Leohart had never had the chance to fight with Jin--
To think that he had such power
Many high-class demons of calibre similar to Leohart, had suddenly disappeared in that war And it was very likely that it was just like the rumours said: they had crossed paths with Jin In the sixteen years that had followed, Leohart had studied to reach the even more advanced levels in martial arts But still, it was likely that he would only be able to barely stand a chance against Jin
After the war -- no Even during the war, Leohart had never met such an opponent
「----So what!?」
Leohart then let out a horizontal slash much faster and sharper than before, andsound Leohart's deantic sword
”Ohoh--!”
Jin widened his eyes in surprise, and Leohart slashed at his back, but he ju that, Jin watched the cursed blade in Leohart's hand let out a black aura [Hou~] He became impressed, and discarded his broken blade
”I knew that wasn't just a normal demonic sword But, should I say: [As expected from the Demon Lord's weapon]?”
”That's right -- you better don't blame me”
Leohart's demonic sword Loki, was the currently known most powerful demonic sword Since their combat proas at a si factor between victory or defeat
”--Devour him, Loki”
As Leohart said that quietly with a low voice--
「————————」
The cursed blade e the cohesion and influence brought about froest Hero, Leohart decided that hethe city
That's why -- Leohart released the demonic blade Loki's limiters on its dark fluctuations
-- A loud sound accompanied the atmospheric vortex that fored out wildly
This darkness could devour Jin whole, with the potential of leaving no traces of his body or spirit A complete annihilation attack
The battle has already ended -- at least, that was hoas supposed to be Demon lord Leohart instead saw unbelievable confidence from Jin
Before Jin·Toujou was devoured by the darkness, he let out an i that--
”Wooooooooooooaah!”
With a roar, green flames appeared on Jin's body, and he then concentrated it on his right fist
With exaggerated ht fist to ra the area with a heavy bass sound, and rebounded the dark energy back to Leohart Faced with the dark energy rebounding back to him at a much faster speed--
”-----”
Deciding quickly, Leohart sweeped his de into that darkness and splitting it
In nextshock and [Boom] resounded
The deflected and cut dark energy, s the city south of the palace
The i, that it forced the atmosphere in the atriu everywhere Just then--
All right This should probably be enough
It seems that his purpose for his visit was already accomplished
-- No matter how ambitious Leohart is, or how dense the evil intentions and dark desires of those around him are, the expansion of the former demon lord's faction would not stop, and would eventually one day dissolve the Moderates faction
The most effective way to stop this, would be to shake the trust of the demons in the new de doubts within the subordinates And that is the reason why Jin chose the atriu, to have a '' with Leohart With Leohart's attack just now, he had exhibited his power to the surrounding people -- but then he had instead received Jin's counter-attack
Not only did Jin rebound Leohart's attack back to hi threat to the demons in the city
This would probably enough to deter the higher-ups of the Current Demon Lord faction, and to create doubt and unrest in the subordinates
I hope this would more or less scare them
Just as Jin·Toujou was about to decide to slip away, soht his eye
”------!”
The next moment, he created a thunder-like shockwave
In the explosive i a confusion maelstrom, Demon Lord Leohart personally saw that
Running across the atriu rubble
Hoping to escape in the mess?
Beyond the city as a cliff, and under the cliff was a moat It was likely that the water would ease the i fro it out safely was quite high However, that was not accounting for the huge weight of the falling rubble Based on his abilities, to scale the city walls was probably effortless, so why did he chose a rougher path? Just as he was thinking this, he saw it
Jin, as leaping into the air, reached out towards a sht it into his arht body armour, it was probably one of the soldiers on the city wall But rather, it seems like that he had taken Leohart's attack, and Jin as an eneation to help him But--
That is?
What Jin was hugging, was obviously a child This caused Leohart to think, in the palace, there was a young soldier, who although was quite young, was highly praised and employed due to the power possessed
Though young, he was still a demon, and since he was quite powerful, a mere moat couldn't possibly kill him
But, if he was knocked unconscious fro rubble or from the shock from the explosion, then it was likely that he would die if he landed in the moat Hence, the Jin as in the air immediately took action
”Woaaaaaaaaaaaahhh--!”
While holding the young soldier within his arms, he kicked upwards
The huge pieces of the city walls above them then burst into smaller debris With the explosion that had already echoed, Leohart was still in shock, unable to comprehend just what had happened While still in the air, Leohart's eyes' met Jin's eyes
”------”
Jin had was s like he was the winner -- and with that expression, they fell off the cliff together with the large amounts of debris
”--Shall we pursue Jin, your majesty Leohart?”
Seeing the situation, Balthier asked from his side
”Don't bother There isn't the need Continuing the fight with hiy”
But Leohart shook his head, and just ordered Balthier to check on the injuries of the soldiers and clear the debris
Given the direction Jin and the young boy fell a last look, he turned around and headed back into the palace