Flashback (A thousand year ago)

The wind was carrying snow over the endless plains of whiteness.

A thousand years ago...

War drowned the world.

Kingdoms had fallen.

Cities burned non-stop.

There were no blue skies under the corrupted mana black clouds.

Every battlefield was a tomb for the dead.

It was an era when there was hope only on each new sunrise.

But inside the endless war...

Two heroes faced each other.

Northern Continent.

The Frozen Expanse of Niflheim.

Ancient lands where the glaciers stretched to the far horizon and the mountains pierced the sky.

Once it had been a beautiful land.

But now...

It became a battlefield.

Craters were scattered over the frozen earth.

Crimson rivers froze.

Damaged weapons were buried under the snow.

Corpses of demons and knights were laid to rest in an eternal silence.

Standing in the middle of this ruined world...

Was a young man in the silver armor.

His silver hair was dancing in the cold wind.

In his right hand he was holding Excalibur, glowing with golden light.

The Sword King.

Leonis Kingheart.

Across from him...

There was a lone warrior standing calm.

He was wearing the black robe with the red ornaments that looked like burning flowers.

Black hair fell down to his waist.

His crimson eyes did not contain the hatred or the joy.

Only eternal calmness.

Unlike the Demon Generals with the monstrous looks described in the horrific legends...

His look was almost human.

Elegant.

Polished.

Like a wandering scholar instead of a commander of demons.

His name was...

Azrael.

The Second Demon General.

He was known all over the Demon Empire as...

The Silent Monarch.

Unlike the First Demon General, who ruled by destroying everything...

Azrael ruled by patience.

By observation.

By wisdom.

He was seldom talking.

But each command he gave was changing the flow of the war.

Even the Demon Lords respected him.

Snow was quietly falling between them.

Neither of the warriors was moving.

Neither of them was drawing his weapon.

For a long time...

They were only staring at each other.

Finally...

Leonis smiled.

"So..."

"You are the legendary Second General."

Azrael nodded slightly.

"And you..."

"...are the Sword King."

"I expected someone older."

Leonis laughed.

"I hear it a lot."

"And I expected someone uglier."

For a brief moment...

Azrael’s lips curved to the gentlest smile.

"You disappoint too easily."

"So do you."

The two heroes exchanged a quiet laugh.

And then...

Without any words...

They started fighting.

The world exploded.

BOOOOM!!

Excalibur hit the black sword of Azrael.

The shock waves tore across the frozen continent.

Mountains broke apart.

Glaciers collapsed.

The clouds were tearing up above.

Snow became a violent blizzard.

Leonis was stepping forward.

His sword was flashing.

Once.

Twice.

Ten times.

Each blow had enough strength to cut off entire fortresses.

Azrael answered each attack with unbelievable precision.

He never wasted his movements.

He never overextended.

His black sword was moving like the calm river.

Neither of them rushed.

Neither of them hesitated.

They fought.

As equals.

One day passed.

Another day.

Three days.

Four.

Five.

The battle was going on and on.

When some army was approaching...

The shock waves forced both demons and humans to retreat.

Nobody was daring to interfere.

They knew it.

It was not the war anymore.

It was a duel of the two heroes.

Seven days.

Seven nights.

The sky saw many blows of the steel.

The ground was shaking under their impacts.

Entire valleys disappeared from their might.

Neither could get any decisive advantage over the other.

Neither could kill the opponent.

On the seventh night...

The battle came to an end.

Leonis was breathing hard.

His silver armor was destroyed.

Blood was running from countless cuts.

Weakly glowing, Excalibur was hanging in his hands.

Opposite him...

Azrael was standing.

But only barely.

His elegant black robes were completely torn.

There were deep wounds everywhere on his body.

One arm was hanging useless at his side.

Several ribs were broken.

Deep slash on his chest was still bleeding because of the demonic regeneration.

For the first time in centuries...

The Silent Monarch was brought to the brink of death.

He was looking at the crimson stain on his robes.

And then at Leonis.

"...Remarkable."

Leonis smiled tiredly.

"You are not easy to defeat too."

Quiet laughter was coming from Azrael.

"I suppose not."

The two warriors were silent.

Each of them understood it.

If they will keep fighting...

One of them would die.

Maybe both of them.

Leonis was slowly lowering Excalibur.

"I think we proved our point."

Azrael looked at him in surprise.

"Would you spare your opponent?"

Leonis shook his head.

"No."

"I just don’t believe that killing you today will end this war."

Azrael kept silent.

These words...

No human said it to him before.

Most people saw only the Demon General in him.

Only the monster.

Leonis saw...

The person.

The wind was carrying fresh snow between them.

Leonis was resting Excalibur on his shoulder.

Warm smile appeared on his face despite his exhaustion.

"If we will see each other again..."

Azrael was quietly listening to him.

"I hope..."

"...it will be in the more peaceful world."

The words were simple.

But they have gone deeper than any sword.

For the first time in centuries...

The Silent Monarch could not answer it.

Leonis was turning away first.

Slowly he was going to the human camp in the distance.

Before vanishing in the falling snow, he was raising one hand without turning back.

"Next time..."

"Let’s skip the trying to kill each other part."

Azrael was watching him going away.

The Sword King was getting smaller and smaller with each step.

Until finally...

The snowstorm swallowed him completely.

The battlefield was becoming silent.

Azrael was standing alone.

His wounds were still bleeding.

His body was aching from the injuries that would heal in months.

But he was not paying attention to it.

Instead...

He was quietly repeating the words he just heard.

"...A more peaceful world."

For some reasons he could not understand...

He never forgot it.

Not after one year.

Not after one hundred years.

Not even after a thousand years.

Because behind all the bloodshed and war...

The Sword King treated his greatest enemy...

Like another fellow traveller on the same lonely road.

Present Time

Memory disappeared like snow melted under the morning sun.

Battlefield of a thousand years ago had disappeared.

Cries of war became silent.

Only the present remained.

High above the endless grassland...

There stood a single man at the very edge of a mountain cliff.

Gray robes floated freely in the mountain winds.

Tattered hat was covering the man’s face.

To everyone walking in the plains below...

He appeared nothing more but just another ordinary traveler admiring the view from the mountain.

But there were no other travelers whose eyes had witnessed a thousand years of history.

There were no other travelers who had fought the Sword King for seven days and seven nights.

There were no other travelers who carried enough power to scare off even S-Class monsters without even making a single move.

This man was Azrael.

Second Demon General.

Silent Monarch.

Quietly observing the road below.

Far away...

Three small silhouettes were walking together under the sun of an afternoon.

Jennie.

Snow.

Roxy.

Even from such distance...

He could hear their laughter carried by the wind.

Roxy was explaining some magical theory with such enthusiasm that she almost tripped over a stone.

Jennie quickly grabbed her arm.

"You should pay attention to where you are walking."

"I paid attention!"

"To the clouds."

"...The clouds were educational."

Snow softly sighed.

"I accepted the fact that she is just like this."

Jennie laughed.

"So do I."

Azrael silently observed them.

A thousand years ago...

Leonis walked alone.

Even when surrounded by thousands of soldiers...

On his back was loneliness of someone who carried hopes of the whole world.

Every victory came with price.

Every battle took away another piece of his heart.

Azrael remembers his eyes.

Resolute.

Determined.

But incredibly lonely.

Now Azrael looks at Jennie.

She smiles effortlessly.

Laughter is unrestrained.

Teasing her companions.

Stopping to help strangers.

Apologizing for mistakes.

Being grateful for kind gestures.

Resemblance with Leonis ends at soul level.

Everything else...

Is different.

A small smile appears on Azrael’s lips.

"You are not Leonis anymore."

His soft voice fades away with the mountain wind.

"But you became someone better."

For a few moments...

He just stands there.

Observing.

Not as an enemy.

Nor as a judge.

Just as someone who finally accepted the answer that he had been searching for the past thousand years.

Azrael slowly closes his eyes.

"So..."

"The promise of a peaceful world..."

"It wasn’t fulfilled by the Sword King."

"It was fulfilled..."

"...by Jennie."

Small, barely noticeable nod.

"As long as you keep following this path..."

"I won’t interfere."

His crimson eyes slowly open.

"Not yet."

All of a sudden...

Mountain wind changes its direction.

Warm breeze becomes unnaturally cold.

Dark clouds gather above the western horizon.

Not ordinary dark clouds.

Mana-corrupted.

Azrael’s face becomes serious.

He slowly turns toward the faraway west.

Beyond mountains...

Beyond kingdoms and forests...

Some ancient force awoke.

He feels it very well.

Familiar presence.

Cruel.

Violent.

Impatient.

Unlike the aura of the man himself...

This presence was overflowing with hatred.

Birds immediately flew away from the forest below.

Even the sunlight becomes darker.

Azrael quietly sighs.

"So..."

"You are finally making your move."

Somewhere deep inside the darkness...

Evil laugh resounds across the lands.

Though separated by several hundred kilometers...

Azrael recognizes it instantly.

Third Demon General.

Warrior believing only in destruction.

Monster never understanding mercy.

Who hated Leonis more than anyone else during Great Demon War.

Azrael again looks toward the three travelers.

They remained completely unaware.

They had stopped by a small river.

Roxy tried to catch some glowing fish using magic.

But instead blasted water in the sky.

Snow calmly catches the fishes before they run away.

Jennie laughs so hard that she almost drops the basket she was holding.

The sight makes Azrael smile again.

Then he looks at the faraway darkness once more.

He whispers.

"The Third..."

"...will not be as patient as I am."

His voice doesn’t carry any fear or anger.

Just the certainty.

"If he finds you now..."

"He will try to kill you."

Wind howls around the mountain.

Mana quietly swirls around the feet of Azrael.

He can leave.

Ignore everything happening.

After all...

Jennie remains his enemy.

She carries soul of the man who defeated countless demons.

But...

His legs won’t move.

He looks toward the three travelers one last time.

Gentle smile returns under the tattered hat.

"I wonder..."

"If Leonis could see you now..."

"He would be proud."

His body starts turning into countless strands of black mana.

Mountain wind disperses them.

In seconds...

There remains nothing.

Just an empty stone.

As if no one was ever here.

Far below...

Jennie looks at the mountain for a second.

"...Hmm?"

Snow notices.

"What is it?"

Jennie tilts her head.

"I don’t know."

"I just felt like..."

"Someone was watching us."

Snow quickly scans the mountain with his sharp eyes.

He sees nothing.

"...Perhaps it was just the wind."

Jennie smiles.

"Maybe."

She adjusts the basket on her shoulders.

"Come on."

"We have still a long way ahead."

Roxy raises her hand with joy.

"Weird... Race you to the next village!"

And immediately trips over a tree root.

"Aah!"

Snow grabs her by the back of her cloak before she falls.

Jennie laughs.

"I guess it counts as participation."

"I almost won!"

"You almost kissed the ground."

"I was greeting it politely."

Their laughter resounds in the open plains as they continue to walk towards endless horizon.

Three companions.

Their common journey.

Completely unaware...

That one of the strongest creatures in existence has become their guardian.

Far beyond western mountains...

In the black crystal fortress...

Pair of blood-red eyes slowly opens.

Terrifying smile spreads over the darkened face.

The Third Demon General has awakened.

Unlike Azrael...

He doesn’t intend to observe from the shadows.

He has come to hunt.