Chapter 59

On the highest point of the tallest building of all of Tojiume, the Emperor's Tower, stands said Emperor. In the floors below his current floor, his sons, daughters, family members and concubines quiver in fear. Each one of them looks outside and watches as their previously thought undefeatable city is getting destroyed and annihilated by the very Yokai the Emperor previously announced to be slain over and over again. Yet, they did not. It was the exact opposite, to be precise.

The Emperor did fear that such a day would come eventually. He foresaw it. Because of that, he had taken measures to counteract. The children he birthed were partially for the very purpose of creating stronger children to support the military. It was cruel and yet it was the truth:
The greatest child that had ever been blessed was none other than Lunari herself: She had been trained her whole life to become a talent close to Phanes. When they fought today, however, Lunari was crushed with ease. This did make the Emperor quite mad since his project did not end up successful: However, it also eased him. After all, it showed once more just how extremely powerful and practically untouchable Phanes, the highest of all of the military, truly is.

However… the city was being destroyed. Its people were being slaughtered. The temples were burned down and everything that the humanity in this town stood for is about to end. Yet, despite that, Phanes was not there. He did not fight the Yokai and if the Emperor was wrong and Phanes actually did fight, then he could not be seen. Was he perhaps defeated? Or did he possibly fight on a much smaller scale than normally? No, he couldn’t be defeated… Such a thing was unthinkable. The Emperor could never truly believe such a thing, even if he were to see the very corpse of Phanes. He could not even think of what Phanes' corpse would look like.

But where was Phanes?
“Phanes… Where are you?” He looks down, melancholically. And then, just after speaking those words, a perfect voice echoes from behind him.

“I am here, your Excellence.”

With a calm smile the imposing figure of none other than the Primordial Creator, the mightiest of all of creation, the head of the military and truly the strongest man that had ever lived stood behind him.

“What is it?” He smiles at him, then he walks up to him. He stands next to me and - just like the Emperor - looks outside of the window, down onto the city.

“Just look at our glorious Tojiume! It is being attacked! Destroyed! We have to help our people and our town!”

Phanes grabs his hair, looking like the space itself, and adjusts it a bit. “We, you say? Is it not me? Is the only one who could save the people down there not me? What are you going to do, Emperor?”

The Emperor is quiet. He slowly backs away and goes backwards. He does not want to face the city anymore since he does know that he himself cannot protect it. “You are correct, Phanes! You are correct… I can’t do anything to save them! Despite my political power and my blessing, I am ultimately weak… And I can’t do anything right now. But you can! So, because you can… Please! Please, Phanes! Please save them! Please save those who can not protect themselves!” The Emperor bows. An action which shows just how desperate he is for his people to be saved. Phanes grins. He does not even turn around but instead looks out of the window, down onto the burning people and dying buildings.

“Sakuramachi. If I were to go and help those people down there, I can not stay here. Thus, you will be endangered. After all, if a SS-Rank Yokai or a bunch of S-Rank Yokai arrive here - which is to be expected, after all you are the Emperor, the most important person in this country - then I will not be here. And I will not be able to protect you and your friends and family. You will most certainly die.”

He turns around. His giant figure looks down onto the bowing Emperor. He grins.

“Tell me, Sakuramachi! What do you choose? Your own life and the lives of your relatives? Or the lives of your people and their buildings? Which is more important and which should be saved?”

The Emperor hesitates. The decision given to him was not an easy one. He could not answer, for every answer would be wrong.

And yet he decided.

“Then save them! Save Tojiume! Please, just… save them. If it means we die, then that is the risk I take if the people of Tojiume survive…”

Phanes stares down at him.

“So you have chosen… Very well.” He extends his hand and holds it out of the window. Then the sound barrier gets broken by a red spear, flying across the air. It lands perfectly in the hand of Phanes and he looks upon it. The long colorful feathers hanging from it swing in the wind.

“Goodbye.” Within a single second the spear flies out of Phanes hand and directly pierces through Phanes head. As the Emperor’s corpse falls onto the ground, its blood and its organs splattering out onto the ground, Phanes slowly turns around, looking down at the town. The spear flies back into his hand where it calmly rests.

At this moment someone enters the room.

Lunari stands behind him, holding her lance tightly.