Part 1

When the mine exploded, first came the shockwave. Ryu had no chance of escaping. He felt as though he were hit by as massive invisible heavenly hammer. The insides of his body churned as he spat a mouth full of blood out. It would be an exaggeration to say Ryu suffered minor injuries.

Then the earth roared and split open, spewing forth a mountain of rocks and fire. In the face of an avalanche of rocks, Ryu could only cover his face with his arms as he tried to defend against the incoming projectiles. Although, this provided him limited cover it would normally be enough to defend against anything. However, the impact this time was too great. The damage intensity of the projectiles was magnified by the overwhelming heat and fire that accompanied it.

Being the Ancient One – a dragon, Ryu experienced many types of flames and through experience learnt he was immune to all them. Ryu considered forest fires as good as camp fires, magical flames cast by evil warlords and mages the same as a quick tanning session and the breath of a lower dragon the same as being in the sauna too long. If there was a flame in the Nether realm that could mildly harm Ryu, it would be the flames of the heavenly phoenix; his pet bird. This did not mean fire could not harm Ryu, it just meant none existed in the lower realm that could hurt him.

Hence, it surprise Ryu greatly when he felt his skin peel away due to the intense heat that followed the explosion. The air became scorching hot – no it would be accurate to say that the air itself vaporised and it was impossible to breath. Ryu was flung in an ocean of raging liquid flames which was expanding continuously in every direction.

Ryu snarled like an animal that had been cornered and angered. Mustering forth every ounce of will and strength, he summoned forth a magical barrier. The barrier prevented any heating from seeping in and at the same time defended Ryu from incoming physical objects. However, the fruits of his labour were short lived. The tyrannical flames were somehow able to interfer with the very fabric of magic, causing the barrier to collapse.

Ryu’s eyes nearly popped out when he noticed the magical barrier collapse. Ryu knew very well that there existed the flames such as the scared flames of the divine realm and evil fire of the Ancient Gods which could suppress him. However, these flames did not exist in the mortal realm. Furthermore, this fire was nothing like those that could harm him. The scared divine flame was imbued with mana . Hence, the scared divine flame could never simply collapse a magical barrier. It could overwhelm the magical barrier by pure raw strength…but not interfere with the magic itself. The evil fire was more preposterous than the scared divine flame, it was simply a gluttonous flame which ate everything in its path and ceaselessly expanded. It was a flame that consumed mana itself. However, the evil fire was akin to a sloth. In a million years, it consumed a little more than a single square inch. Hence, although it was dangerous that was all it amounted to.

However, this human made fire was very different and much more dangerous. It was born from nothing and it consumed nothing. It simply vanquished everything that existed in its path. It devoured at a frightening pace and seemed to know no bounds. The flames were so intense and bright, that Ryu felt as though the sun had descended from the skies. Ryu had never been up close to the sun, however he understood just from the fact how bright the sun was and that it shined every day that the flames of the sun were no joke.

Ryu raised the barrier once again however this time it collapsed even faster! Ryu cursed out aloud. Although this fire could interfere with magic, it seemed to only have a limited effect. Ryu quickly understood that as long as plentiful mana was supplied into his magical barrier then the interference would not affect the barrier. However, the mana in the mortal relam was spread too thinly for him to summon a barrier strong enough to hold up. A great part of Ryu’s strength lay not in his physical attributes but in his ability to control a large amount of mana. Given that the mana on earth was spread as thin as the ozone layer, there was not much mana for Ryu to control or use. Large scale magical abilities which were sought after in the other realms were useless in the mortal world. Ryu could only curse the Gods, who robbed the mortal realm of its mana, as he failed repeatedly to raise a barrier.

As the flames continued to intensify, Ryu hastily decided not to hold back. Without giving it a second thought, Ryu bit down on his thumb making it bleed – Ryu burned off his life essence. It was one of those moves which could only be considered as a last counter measure. As the name implied, burning of life essence was the same as trading away life for a momentary magical boost. If a normal creature like a demon burned off their life essence then it would greatly affect their life span. Hence, it was the same as a suicidal move for a demon. Fortunately, Ryu’s life span was infinite. So for him it was a matter of being weakened for a millennia or two. In his weakened state, Ryu could definitely be killed – not by ordinary means but at the very least extraordinary means which could not take his life before posed a threat now. Ryu understood this risk nonetheless still decided to proceed.

What use is amazing strength if I don’t live past this? What terrifying flame magic is this!! Is this what humans are capable of now?- Those were Ryu’s last thoughts after he used his life essence and cast the barrier. The sudden rush of mana through his body exhausted him completely and a flying piece of debris which slipped through the barrier knocked him unconscious.

….

Part 2

“You may be able to fool the eyes of an ordinary human but not Maou-sama’s. You two are genuinely demons.”

“%$$%#[email protected]#@[email protected]!!”

The way things are Hime-sama and this boy will continue arguing with words alone forever. Hime-sama is too gentle to use actual strength against this puny human. However, I am different. I am can be Hime-sama’s strength and shadow. I would have liked if we could extract more information from this child but I cannot wait any longer. Hime-sama is continuously exerting her powers to keep the children asleep. If she continues like this she will deplete her strength.

As Inoue cursed out loudly in anger, Akito made his move – like a tiger waiting to pounce on its prey, Akito sprung up on Shin. Akito didn’t intend to injure Shin with the dagger just knock him out with blunt side.

Initially, Akito didn’t want to move against Shin because he feared Shin might have accomplices. However, after hearing Shin talk on for several minutes – claiming to be Maou-sama. Akito concluded that Shin was nothing more than an over imaginative child that confused reality with fantasy. It wouldn’t be a problem if Akito took care of one child…Thus, Akito decided, it would be best for both Hime-sama and himself if Shin were knocked out.

As Akito leapt towards Shin, he could clearly see Shin was witlessly scared. I was being cautious for nothing…Akito glanced at Inoue, she gave off a sad smile, no she was saddened by Akito’s action.

I am sorry Hime-sama, you do not like it when I fight…but this is who I am. Your loyal servant…..your shield and sword.

Part 3

Several screens displaying Ryu’s location turned glaring white. It wasn’t because the satellite relay broke down but that was how the area on the ground actually looked. The control room was deadly silent as static radio noise could be heard through the speaker. A few researchers could be heard gulping down their own saliva as they stared at the screen in shock.

All eyes in the room were silently glued to the white screen. It was nothing but a glaring white – displaying absolutely nothing of interest. However, to these researchers this glaring white and static noise represented something much more significant.

“Sir, we have confirmation the nuclear device exploded without incident.” A person finally spoke up after confirming the readings on his computer screen. “As per the current projected parameters…”

Nuclear device! F*ck! – At least half the researchers in swore in their mind. The researchers could instantly guess that the screen going white was related to an explosion. The intensity of light was too bright and obscured the satellite camera’s vision. Even the infrared sensors located in space were displaying readings off the charts. Add the two bits of information and it wasn’t difficult for these nerds to piece together what just happened. Nonetheless, they couldn’t accept it. They all hoped they were wrong but they weren’t. A nuclear weapon had really been detonated.

It had been eighty years since nuclear weapons had been invented yet they continued to remain the most powerful weapon in the hands of mankind. Other than World War II, the weapon was never used. The lives it took were far too many and the destruction it left behind was too grave to justify its use. Yet, here they were staring at a nuclear detonation. A detonation they were responsible for.

No! We are not responsible for this! We are researchers who delve into the mysteries of the martial world. We build cyborgs and robots, conduct human experiments….but we too draw the line somewhere….we would never let things turn into a holocaust….They are responsible for it! – All the researchers had similar thoughts as they shifted their eyes from the TV screen to a group of men in military attire, sitting in the corner of the room.

“We lose eyes in T minus 10.” The announcer spoke. With a nuclear bomb exploding in Japan, the international community would rush to get their satellites in place. If the satellites were to collide with an object which isn’t supposed to exist – it would raise questions and eventually people would begin to suspect those with capability. This wasn’t something that was required. There was nothing to see anymore and it was best to withdraw before people noticed them. As the announcer continued with the count down, a young woman in the room spoke up. Her eyes were red as she spoke to the new entrants in the room, “You Monsters! For a single man…you have destroyed half of Tokyo! We are trying to protect humanity! Not destroy it!”

The young woman’s remark summed up everyone’s feeling in the room. Although, their ways were despicable, all the researchers gathered here truly wished to defend humanity from the so called martial monsters. No, that is how they justified their human experimentation projects to themselves. These researchers in their twisted pursuit of idealism would often rationalize their own actions and inactions to suit themselves. Each researcher in the room was likely to be responsible for the death of a human during experimentation. However, they comforted their pitiful self by justifying it as a sacrifice for the greater cause….but this… a nuclear weapon? What purpose did it serve?

Their test subject had been obliterated. Hundreds if not thousands would die. Millions more would suffer. What did they gain from this?

The highest ranking officer quietly stood up and faced the young woman who passed the scathing comment. “It was evident that the situation was not under control. We had been authorised to deal with the threat imposed in manner we saw fit.” The officer’s voice was unwavering and stern. However, his tightly clenched fists gave away the fact that he did not agree with the actions he had taken – it was obvious he too was acting on his superiors orders. “These lives lost were not lost in vain. Test subject Emperor posed a threat to all of humanity and as such it was deemed that the threat must be eliminated at all costs.”

“Not in vain?” The young woman refuted the officer’s words. Clearly, this woman was reeling under tremendous stress and emotional guilt; she was questioning a military officer without fearing the grave consequences which could befall her. “We are talking about five or six million lives here….”

The officer shrugged his shoulders as if this had nothing to do with him. He only said a few words which shut up all those who were thinking of protesting. “Better Tokyoites than your families.”

Even the lone young woman who had been dissenting quietened down as she tightly clutched a pendant that hung close to her chest. This was the world they lived in and in this world, the weak obeyed the strong....