The Kingdom of God

On a hill in Tokyo’s outskirts overlooking the great city were two makeshift graves.

The first was for Tomoe Gozen. Her wounds were simply too much, but she served the Black Maiden until her very last breath.

The second was for Toko Owari. It was technically just for her body, but to Keitaro, it already felt like she was dead.

As Keitaro and Musashi solemnly stood in front of the graves, the only accompaniment was the wind.

After some time, Musashi reached out, touching Keitaro’s shoulder. “We have to get going.”

“Yeah…” Keitaro looked down. He still had Toko’s Core in his hand. “I promise…” he whispered. “I promise I’ll save you…”

***

Since Jack and Ella took over Kosma, there had been some massive changes. First, they renamed the city to “The Kingdom of God.” Second, they used religious propaganda to both enforce and justify their regime. Every street was plastered with posters proclaiming the divinity of the White Knight and Maiden, the biggest of which was on the Shanghai World Financial Center and depicted Ella dressed in white robes surrounded by the archangels. Additionally, mass ‘conversions’ to their new Christianity had been mandated, and their new ‘priests’ had been given carte blanche to meet their quotas.

Resentment was growing among the denizens of Kosma. The French leveled Rome, the Americans shelled London, and the Japanese conquered Seoul, but nothing had ever attacked a people’s core the way Jack and Ella’s Church did.

However, this was something that Keitaro could exploit…

While Yamashita and Tokugawa had been imprisoned, Okita got away and was currently organizing a rebellion in Tokyo. But Keitaro’s plans went much farther than just Tokyo…

***

Deep in Seoul, there was a certain pub that was frequented by soldiers. These were people who fought against Tokyo during the invasion, and they certainly hated the Black Knight more than anything.

Anything other than Jack Butler and Ella Appleton, that is.

Seoul had a sizable Christian population, but nobody liked this new regime. They might’ve called themselves the Kingdom of God, but the Christians of Korea certainly did not follow whatever God Jack and Ella did.

“I will not deny the blood that is on my hands. I conquered your city and subjugated your people.” Keitaro had risen to give a speech, trying to win these soldiers to his side. “But what Jack and Ella will bring is much worse. They don’t just want Kosma, they want the very souls of the people. Your culture, your traditions, that means nothing. All that matters is worshipping them, worshipping their so-called ‘God.’ I can’t undo the past, but I can make a promise for the future. If I win the Genesis Tournament, I guarantee that everyone will be able to decide for themselves their own traditions, their own laws, and their own gods!”

It was a good speech, and even the most zealous looked back on the Japanese occupation with more fondness than the current one. But throwing their weight behind the guy who killed their champions? That was completely unthinkable. Hell, they even had half a mind to lynch him.

But there was one person in the audience who saw it differently.

“I say we follow him!” It was Kyoungjong Yang. The former bodyguard of Yu-jin Ahn, the Gray Knight, and the man who had been spared and recruited by Keitaro. “I hate this punk as much as all of you, but I’d rather fight beside a warrior than live under a tyrant!”

Muttering began in the audience. Yang might’ve been a collaborator, but he was popular among the people. He was the main reason why the Japanese occupation was so smooth. Even with limited resources, he helped the city get rebuilt, and he kept things amicable between the Japanese and Koreans.

“Just remember…” Keitaro held out his hand.” You wouldn’t be doing this for me. You’d be doing this for yourselves. I’d just be helping you.”

The muttering grew louder. The audience talked and argued amongst themselves, and before long, a consensus was reached.

The soldiers here would go on to spread the word, and the Korean resistance became armed and ready.

***

Keitaro continued traveling across Kosma, spreading his message. He used disguises to hide his identity and was given assistance from allies for extra cover.

While many were skeptical of him because of the wars of the past, they were now more willing to come together to protect their ways of life against this new threat.

Each resistance faction soon started acting on their own. They would ambush troop transports, tear down propaganda, and hijack broadcast centers to play their own messages. The Turkish faction made a real show, hijacking a printing plant that was making Jack and Ella’s new Bibles and switching production to Qurans.

The days where Pinkerton could handle the dissidents by himself were long over, he now had to request the help of the military to try and quash it all, but not even that was enough.

***

Once they took Kosma, Jack and Ella moved their capital to the Black Palace, the massive, ominous building in the center of Kosma. They now sat upon the throne even though they still hadn’t eliminated Keitaro and Toko.

“How many failures have you had now?” Jack asked, leaning on his hand.

“Sir,” Pinkerton apologized, “I’m sorry, but–”

“Sorry!?” Jack slammed down his fist. “God forgives all, but a man has his limits.”

“I understand, but there are simply too many–”

“Too many? Even with the army’s help you can’t handle them?”

Pinkerton tried to say an excuse, but he was immediately interrupted.

“Enough of this! I think it’s time we try some new methods. Pick a city, it doesn’t matter which one. I want you to go in there and make an example of them. Kill anyone who has the slightest chance of being affiliated with rebels, starve the entire city. Go scorched Earth, it’s what they deserve for their rebellion against God.”

“S-sir!?” Pinkerton was known for his brutality, but even he had limits. “We can’t just do that!”

“Of course we can! In fact, we must! It’s the only way to enact God’s law!” Jack leaned forward threateningly. “Now go out and do it or else I’ll find someone who can.”

“Yes, sir…”

Jack leaned back as Pinkerton left.

“Don’t get so worked up, Jack.” Ella rubbed his arm. “We’re fighting with the protection of God. There isn’t anything that can stop us.”

“Yes… Of course…”

***

Keitaro stared down at Toko’s Core. He found himself often getting lost in its swirling darkness.

“Keitaro!” Musashi called out to him. “It’s almost time.”

Looking up, Keitaro saw that the sun was just about to set. “So it would seem…” Keitaro stood up. “Well, we’d better get ready.”

They were in the basement of an old apartment building in Tokyo. The plan had been established long in advance, and they had spent weeks traveling across all of Kosma, making preparations, all for this very moment…

As the sun disappeared beyond the horizons and darkness overtook Kosma, the first explosions rang out.

The rebels that New York dealt with before were nothing compared to this…

Across every city of Kosma, armed citizens hit the streets. Quickly, they overpowered the American garrisons and retook their homes.

The Americans scrambled to contain these revolutions, but there was simply no stopping them.

And in the middle of all the chaos, Keitaro would make his final move.