Chapter 20: The Guardian of Humanity (11)
Clouds drifted across the sky.
It didn't seem like rain would fall — not that it mattered. Kaiser felt his thoughts slowing, growing dull. He looked down at his hands, then his legs. Nothing had changed outwardly, and yet it felt as if he were dying inside.
What now? he wondered. Who do I need to kill next?
That was all his mind could manage anymore. The price of losing his humanity was steep.
Kaiser had become a perfect guardian — one who kills to protect, one who will do anything in the name of preservation.
If it meant saving humanity, he could commit genocide without hesitation. Mercy, compassion — those words had long since vanished from him.
Somewhere along the way, the ideal of "protector" had twisted into something else entirely. Perhaps a spotless ideal was more repulsive to mankind than the filth of sin itself.
He didn't even feel "tired" anymore. His body, though immortal, could still hunger, still ache… yet now it all felt distant, muffled, unreal.
His emotions were gone.
His senses dulled.
And deep down, he knew — he was no longer human.
Soon, the transformation would be complete.
A few more years, and the man called Kaiser would vanish entirely, replaced by something that was neither man nor god — a perfect shield and sword for humanity, with no heart to break, no warmth to feel.
He kept walking until he noticed her — a girl staggering down the road, barely keeping herself upright. Despair clung to her like a shadow. Her eyes were hollow, trembling with obsession and fear. Then she fell.
Kaiser sighed faintly and approached.
A protector did not need to befriend those he protected.
Happy endings were rare for him. In all his long years, any bond he'd formed had ended in tragedy — time itself saw to that.
Still, he extended a hand toward the frail, fallen girl.
"Are you all right? You look exhausted."
The dying man and the despairing girl met for the first time there.
...
"Is that… really him?"
Hekkeran's jaw went slack.
The Legend of Kaiser.
There wasn't a soul alive who didn't know the name.
In some ways, his legend had eclipsed even that of the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, or the Thirteen Heroes.
To children, he was the hero — the unbreakable warrior who rose again and again, who saved mankind in every age of despair.
Many young men had chosen the path of a warrior because of him. Some even named their children "Kaiser" in hopes they'd grow strong.
Of course Hekkeran knew the legend — every boy had once dreamed of being him.
"Yeah," Arche said proudly, "he's real."
Kaiser gave an awkward laugh. Hekkeran and the others of Foresight could only stare, speechless.
"Isn't this supposed to be a secret?" Hekkeran finally managed.
"Not exactly," Kaiser replied. "I just don't bother correcting people when they assume otherwise."
There was something surreal about the man before him.
He looked harmless, even gentle — yet Hekkeran remembered what he'd seen in the Red Scorpion hideout: that impossible strength. A creature strong enough to destroy a nation had fallen to a single punch.
And the legends always said Kaiser's weapon was a sword.
Meaning… that hadn't even been his full strength.
It was hard to believe — but deep down, Hekkeran knew. The man before him was real.
Arche, too, seemed different. Even after surviving despair, she looked genuinely alive again in his presence — almost like the girl she should have been.
Hekkeran gave up trying to make sense of it all.
"Arche, one last time… are you really serious about becoming his disciple?"
"You've asked that already. I said yes."
"Then you'll have to leave the Empire."
"My sisters… they worry me."
Kaiser had considered that. He wasn't sure if teaching her was wise — he wasn't a magic caster, after all. But strength wasn't just about spells. He knew the process of becoming strong from the ground up better than anyone.
If Arche learned from him, she could one day surpass even heroes — perhaps reach into the realm of anomalies.
But power came with a price.
Too much power bred fear, and fear turned to hate.
During his adventuring days, life had been simpler. He was strong enough to be respected, but not so strong that others despised him. It had been… pleasant.
"You could ask Foresight," Kaiser said at last.
"Foresight?"
"Eh— that's us, right?" Hekkeran asked awkwardly.
"No need for honorifics," Kaiser replied with a chuckle.
Hekkeran scratched his cheek. He'd noticed earlier that Kaiser spoke formally even to children, yet not to Arche. Maybe they were that close. But as a team leader, he decided not to pry.
"You're close enough to risk your lives for her," Kaiser said calmly. "There's no one more trustworthy to watch over her sisters."
"So you want us to guard them?"
"Arche's home is large enough. You could all stay there."
"Wait, you mean— live there!?" Imina sputtered.
Kaiser smiled. Arche nodded faintly.
It wasn't a bad idea — she didn't have many connections, and if her teammates protected her sisters, she could travel with peace of mind.
"Of course, I'm not asking you to do it for free," Kaiser added. "Guarding others is no small task… trust me, I'd know."
When the Guardian of Humanity said that, it carried weight.
"Now then…"
Kaiser raised his hand — and a sword materialized out of thin air.
He tossed it lightly toward Hekkeran, who caught it on reflex.
"Good reflexes," Kaiser said with a bright, genuine smile.
Hekkeran looked down. The blade shone beautifully as he slid it partway from its sheath — it was light, impossibly so, like holding a feather.
"It's yours," Kaiser said simply.
"Is that so…? Huh!? You're giving this to me!?"
"The sword's called the Crystal Saber. It's light, good for fast strikes, raises the wielder's speed, and the heavier the opponent, the more damage it deals."
What on earth was happening?
Hekkeran stared with his mouth hanging open, sword in hand. It made sense that Kaiser had given him the Crystal Saber knowing Hekkeran favored speed-based swordplay — but his rational mind warned that this was no casual gift.
No matter how you looked at it, this was an incredible blade. Even as a swordsman, Hekkeran could tell this sword was at least a national treasure–level item.
"Oh? Why the face? Don't you like it? No wait… I can't give just one since there are two of you, so I should give you two. Here's another."
Kaiser produced another sword out of thin air. This time the design was different. Before Hekkeran could protest, Kaiser tossed that sword to him as well.
Hekkeran caught it even more easily than the first — likely because he already held the Crystal Saber in his other hand. Kaiser kept smiling.
"That's the Slow Saber, the mate to the Crystal Saber. It slows the opponent's movement. Its biggest trait is that wounds inflicted by the Slow Saber cause lingering pain, so use it carefully. Don't let it be taken from you — that would be dangerous."
"Ah, y-yes…"
"And give this to Imina."
"Huh? Wait—!"
Kaiser produced something else from the air. It took the unmistakable shape of a bow. At first glance it looked ordinary, but when Imina grabbed it she immediately felt a change — a lightness, clearer sights. Her senses sharpened.
"That's Hetena's Bow, made long ago by a famous dwarf. Just having it makes your senses keener, especially eyesight. For a ranger, heightened senses are never bad. It'll be great when you fire arrows. Oh — it increases arrow penetration too, so if that doesn't suit you, request a different bow…"
"Enough!! No, this is fine! This will do!"
Imina refused so forcefully she practically panicked. Her brain felt like it might explode from all of this. If anything more appeared she'd probably faint.
She gripped the bow tightly, feeling the rare-item alarm in her nerves blare. Was it acceptable to hand out things like this so casually? Why give a sword to a swordsman and a bow to a ranger with such ease?
"And for the priest, it's not a weapon, but take this."
"It's called the Half Ring. Wearing it increases the potency of faith-based magic and reduces its mana cost. Twice per day it can also create a reflective shield that bounces back an attacker's strike. If an attack is too powerful the shield could break, but you probably won't need to worry — it should hold against anything short of an enhanced 5th-tier magic. Oh, and physical attacks aren't a problem either."
Where on earth did Kaiser get these items?
He wanted to ask, but he was afraid of the answer, so he kept quiet. Kaiser kept smiling and said:
"If you accept the quest, I'll give you all these weapons."
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