Akashi The World's Least Interesting Master Swordsman: Volume 11

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-7183-6968-9
Verlag: J-Novel Club
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 11, 250 Seiten

Reihe: The World's Least Interesting Master Swordsman

Humans vs. dragons-who will survive? Once driven to near extinction, the dragons have returned and humanity's battle with the strongest creatures restarts! The Arcana Kingdom throws everything they have into the ring-their strongest aces and all Eight Sacred Treasures-but in fierce battle, they drop one by one... Can Sansui Shirokuro return to Arcana in time and save his family and friends? Only the strongest will live on as the story of the World's Least Interesting Master Swordsman reaches its grand finale!

Autoren/Hrsg.

Akashi, Rokurou

Weitere Mitwirkende

Shiso

Willis, Jade

Leseproben

Chapter 1 — The Story’s Not Over Yet

Part 1 — Genesis

It was ten thousand years ago.

Inside Noah, which had taken in all of humanity that still survived in the Old World, a young boy was sitting on the edge of the ship. All of humanity had gathered on the deck, forming a ring around him. The boy looked troubled by the situation.

“You guys... What’s with this formation?”

“If we didn’t do it like this, you wouldn’t even listen to us. Well...personally, I don’t really care. I’d actually prefer you to do whatever you want. I honestly don’t like pushing demands just because we have numbers on our side.”

It was the Immortal man, Sir Shark, who answered. He was the first wielder of Pandora, the Armor of Entropy and Disaster, and, like Shun Ukiyo, a perfect compatibilist. More precisely, Pandora had been manufactured specifically to match this man. Even with humanity standing on the brink of extinction, his attitude remained carefree. In a sense, perhaps he still valued humanity even in this extreme situation.

“Then stop them. Everyone except you has the same look on their face.”

“That would be a pain. Unlike you, I don’t have much patience. Be grateful I’m not actively getting in the way.”

Shark was a middle-aged man. His expression was youthful, but his hair had turned white, and wrinkles were beginning to stand out on his face. Before the war began, he had worked as a casino dealer, and as one might expect, he held neither patriotism nor a sense of duty toward humanity. He was there simply because opposing the others felt like too much trouble.

“Um, excuse me... Could you two please look this way?”

A man with a deeply anxious expression interrupted the pair’s casual back-and-forth. He was a man just shy of middle age, carrying a large rucksack that looked capable of holding an enormous amount of supplies. He seemed to possess a decent, ordinary sensibility, and naturally felt fear in the face of humanity’s crisis.

This was Baikur, the one-in-a-million traveler chosen as the wielder of Ungaikyo, the Mirror of Consumption’s Truth. Before the war, he had wandered from place to place, stealing rare or useful items, then selling them as his own merchandise, or using them for himself—in other words, a con artist. Even he, who once brazenly rattled off sales pitches without shame, could no longer laugh now that humanity’s survival—and his own life—was at stake.

“At least listen to what we have to say!” he pleaded.

“I already told you I don’t want to hear it,” the boy said. “I’ve refused plenty of times.”

“Gah! Come on! That’s not even the point! This isn’t about whether you accept or refuse! If you don’t do something, humanity is going to be wiped out!”

At first, the plan had been to travel across the land, gather the wielders of the Eight Sacred Treasures, and stand against the dragons and their servants. But the dragons’ advance had been far too fast, and there were far too many of them. There was no longer any place for humanity to live in this world. They had no choice but to flee to another world—or be destroyed.

“Is that really fine with you? Even if humanity goes extinct?”

“I don’t care.”

“Hey! Are you serious?!”

“It doesn’t bother me. If it’s just me, I’ll manage somehow. I wasn’t exactly living together with humans to begin with.”

The boy responded coldly to Baikur—perhaps coldly to all of humanity. His detached attitude was infuriating to the others around him, but precisely because he truly was a transcendent being, they were doing their best to persuade him. If this man hadn’t been worth as much as he was, they wouldn’t have even bothered speaking to him.

“And that’s exactly why we want you to help us!”

Baikur suddenly grabbed him, clutching the collar of his ascetic robes and shaking him back and forth.

“We’re going to escape to this ‘next world’ on Noah! But this is all that’s left of us! Even if we multiply tools with Ungaikyo or produce food with Danua, there are limits! Without your knowledge and skills, we can’t survive!”

He was a man who used tools until they broke, but because of that, he understood their limits. They were about to face an unknown world, a world without human civilization, starting development from scratch. It would be a return to the primitive age, and it would be no surprise if humanity simply died out. With only about a thousand survivors left, education alone would be nearly impossible.

But if this boy were there, everything would be resolved.

“The reason the gods entrusted you with Elixir, the Sacred Chalice of Will—the power to never die as long as you possess the will to live—must be for this purpose. You are meant to become humanity’s guide and lay the foundation for its revival. I understand how heavy a responsibility this is...but it is something only you can do.”

A slender woman with brown skin and red hair spoke. It was Sadiva, the deeply compassionate Princess of Blessings, whom the gods had granted Danua, the Bountiful Silo of Compassion.

“Compared to the other seven of us... No, it isn’t even comparable. Our missions may, in a sense, already be over, but you alone will likely have to continue for a thousand, even two thousand years. When I think of that, I wish I could take your place.”

“Then you do it. Pass the job down to your children and grandchildren.”

“I can’t. And my descendants are even less able... Especially in a situation like this, where failure is not permitted.”

It was common for people to scatter and abandon settlements when faced with the hardships of frontier life. This time, that was not allowed. If possible, every person on this ship had to survive and allow their descendants to flourish. One hardly needed to think about how difficult that would be in a new settlement. But if they failed, it wouldn’t matter that humanity escaped to the new world; it would fail to take root and eventually disappear.

“Only someone like you, with eternal life and profound knowledge of all creation, can do this... The gods understand that as well.”

“What a pain,” the boy muttered.

Because he understood all things, he could clearly envision a concrete plan for humanity’s survival—and imagine just how difficult it would be.

“If there is anything I can do, I will do it. My life may seem like a fleeting spark to you, but I am willing to offer it all. Even if only for as long as I live...” Sadiva told him.

“I can’t accept that.”

The boy refused firmly. It was an honest answer, spoken as a man.

“I can’t take your life.”

“I see... I’m sorry for asking that much.”

With tears welling slightly in her eyes, Sadiva stepped back.

“Anyway... It’s not just me and Shark who are staying behind, right?”

Sensing that the mood had grown heavy, the boy changed the subject. This was a departure filled with regret—a flight that meant abandoning their birthplace. Among the people weighed down by despair, there were some who radiated a fighting spirit.

“Roland and Flamberge are still planning to fight, right? Honestly, I think you guys are far more suited to going to the new world than I am.”

Ironically, those who had resolved themselves to die and stepped off the evacuation ship were more full of vitality than those desperately trying to survive. Amused and exasperated by the absurdity of it, the boy pointed it out.

“You’re joking... I never intended to survive from the start.”

Lonely Flamberge, the Withered Tree, answered. They were extremely gaunt, possessing so little flesh to the point that they looked unhealthy and their gender was impossible to tell. Their face was deeply lined with wrinkles as well, which one could easily guess were caused by mental strain. Even so, their eyes alone were shining. They suggested an unshakable will, a resolute determination—or perhaps a state of mind with no room left to choose otherwise.

“Anyone who wants to survive can go wherever they like. I’ll stay behind alone and kill as many dragons as I can...and then die!”

“I figure there are still good things in life if you keep living,” the boy said.

“Yeah. That’s absolutely right. If only my family had lived, I’m sure there would have been good things for them too.”

“I see. Then I guess it can’t be helped.”

They were one who had been granted a demonic blade of vengeance by the gods. Their heart had been dyed entirely in revenge. Even if they were forcibly put on the ship and sent to the new world, that hatred would only be turned on those around them. For their own sake—and for everyone else’s—it was better to let them stay here and die.

“But...that’s just my case. If someone still has family and is going to the new world...I’d rather give them a push from behind.”

This small amount of kindness still remained in Flamberge. The ability not to envy the happiness of others. The restraint to avoid dragging others into their revenge. That was what made them still human.

“And if you’re needed for that... Then I’ll make sure to send you off, even if I have to tie you to...