"Shi-i-iro."

"..."

"Hey, Shi-i-iro."

"..."

"Please forgive me!" Kaede finally gave in, pleadingly looking into the eyes of the busy Ordyntsev.

Stas looked up from his notes and gave the yokai fidgeting in front of him a testing glance. His serpentine eyes flashed menacingly.

"For what should I forgive you?" he raised an eyebrow, refusing to make it easy for her.

"Well, you know..." she began whining but quickly gave up, seeing no results. "For listening to Melissa and throwing myself at you. So, please forgive me, I won't do it again."

"No," Stas irritably tossed the scroll onto the table, causing Kaede to flinch, and he looked her straight in the eyes sternly. "No, and again, no. I'm not angry with you for risking our lives and your own by breaking the meeting ceremony. Yes, that's also unacceptable, but that's not what I'm talking about now. The problem is that the whole situation was a real intrigue, one you knew perfectly well about. Yet, you still dragged me into it."

"But wait, it all turned out for the best! If it wasn't for Melissa's plan..."

"Yes," Stas cut her off. "If it weren't for her, the dragons' arrogance could have led to a full-blown massacre. The dragons wouldn't have been able to talk from the position of petitioners, and they wouldn't have been accepted as equals. I understand that perfectly. And maybe you couldn't have told me then. I'll accept that."

Stas leaned forward, resting his fists on his folded knees.

"But what I don't understand is why you didn't tell me about the whole intrigue afterward? Why should I have to figure everything out on my own? Or do you think I shouldn't know when I'm being used as a mere trading chip?"

"No, Shiro, of course, I don't think that!" Kaede quickly interjected.

"Then why?" Stas reclined back, pinning the yokai with a piercing gaze.

Silence hung in the air.

"I just didn't think of it," Kaede began to explain, embarrassed. "And then I got caught up talking with Hirui and... Well..." The girl wished she could disappear as she realized how foolish her explanations sounded.

"So that's how it is," Ordyntsev nodded, assessing the girl with a glance. "Alright, I forgive you this time. But don't think that if you do it again..."

"I won't do it again!" Kaede almost jumped for joy, barely restraining herself from hugging the Serpent again.

Realizing the "execution" was over, Levi slid from her bedding and affectionately wrapped around the yokai.

With a soft cooing, Kaede immediately began gently scratching the huge snake's head, where the scales were thinnest.

In the grand scheme of things, the girl's behavior didn't match Leviathan's level of intellectual development.

At that moment, the snake could be considered a full-fledged individual, and the old way of treating her as a mere pet no longer suited her.

But for Kaede, Levi made an exception, allowing what she would have long since devoured any other person for.

'Well, any person, except for one,' she corrected herself.

"Stop pampering her," Stas grumbled. "She's become completely lazy. At least before, she used to grow in length, but now she's just getting wider..."

Boom!

A stone cube that shot up from the floor shattered into pieces upon meeting the Serpent's forehead. The latter didn't even look up from his reading, just brushed the stone dust off the scroll.

With his level of prana and control, he could easily withstand such blows, and there was nothing strange about that. After all, if prana only increased strength, warmasters would quickly die out, exploding after every particularly powerful strike or movement.

"How did your meeting with your sensei go?" Stas suddenly asked.

Kaede's beaming smile faded noticeably.

"She still blames herself for what happened," the girl sighed heavily. "She thinks she's not worthy of forgiveness and fellowship because of that mistake. If it weren't for the war with chaos, I don't know what she would have done."

Stas simply nodded, indicating he had heard.

The news from the dragons, as well as from the yokai who arrived a few days later, had an incredible effect. Like an explosive shockwave, rumors that the entire north had been destroyed by invaders from other worlds spread to every remaining country, reaching even the most remote villages.

Fear is a great motivator that can make people cast aside mutual hatred for the sake of good old survival. And the threat of chaos played that frightening role perfectly.

No wonder all eyes involuntarily turned to the two political centers, upon which their future plans now depended.

And Rashta and Higatsudo did not disappoint. The former, controlled by the daimyo, and the latter, entirely loyal to warmasters, announced the assembly of a sacred campaign against the forces of darkness.

Any country could join, which in turn carried a whole range of trade and political benefits, intended to make the campaign more advantageous for small countries and clans of warmasters.

And Stas stood right at the foundation of this historic event.

"Warmasters! Clansmen!" A high stone pedestal rose in front of the assembled Sumada and vassal clans. All of them, holding their breath, listened to Jishin's fiery speech. "We stand on the threshold of a great and terrifying event: the War with chaos. An enemy so terrible that there is nothing scarier in our universe."

Prana-enhanced vocal cords carried Jishin's overwhelming voice hundreds of meters around.

"Our world has faced this enemy more than once, and time and again, our ancestors have beaten and expelled it!"

"Ye-e-ah!" The noise of approval swept through the crowd.

"But do not think it was and will be easy," Jishin immediately quelled the enthusiasm. "We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. Perhaps many long months of struggle and suffering lie ahead. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: it is to wage war with all our might and with all the strength given to us by the Kami and taken by us ourselves!"

People, mesmerized by the strength of the clan leader's words, listened with eyes wide open and fists clenched, as if ready to rush into battle at any moment.

"We will wage war against monsters never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. This is our path. You ask, what is our aim? And I will answer you in one word: it is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be. For without victory, there is no survival. Victory or death!"

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Victory or death!" It seemed the very earth shook when hundreds of warmasters shouted these words, instinctively imbuing them with prana.

"Victory or death!" Stas shouted, too, standing in the front rows. He didn't feel the rush of emotions like the others, but he liked the speech.

"Victory or death," Minoru's lips whispered as she blankly watched the people around her chanting the words.

'Victory or death!' Leviathan hissed excitedly, having come to the "rally."

But few knew that the basis for this speech at a closed meeting was suggested by a modest earthling who, however, refused to take credit for its creation, referring to some ancient manuscript[1].

Jishin liked the source so much that it was accepted almost without changes.

And now, words that had once thundered on Earth woke up from sleep again, albeit in an entirely new world.

Stas found a certain charm in such a turn of events.

But let's return to one of the rooms in the Sumada Citadel.

The man's eyes continued to scan the lines of hieroglyphs, but his thoughts were far away.

Dragons and yokai were temporarily allowed to settle on Sumada lands. Exactly the clan lands, because the Rashta daimyo was adamantly against having such powerful creatures "at his home."

There were issues with the onmyoji as well.

After the declaration of war on chaos, a mass mobilization began. The northernmost border of Higatsudo was designated as the gathering location. This meant that the troops from Rashta and other countries had to pass through several neighboring nations to reach the rendezvous point.

This created a range of difficulties and tense situations, which, however, were resolved in due course, as the smaller countries could do nothing about it.

Thus, the call also affected the onmyoji clans. Chaos didn't shy away from brainwashing yokai, so those who knew how to fight them best were needed.

Unsurprisingly, the yokai and their hunters failed to find common ground. For now, they just glared at each other menacingly, but the day was near when a serious conflict would erupt.

And although Stas, Satoshi, and Kizashi were still in the Citadel, they already knew they would soon be heading to the general army's camp.

Takehiro's seals would be a great help in organizing fortifications, and Kizashi's potions would be useful in the hospital.

The mobilization affected not only the earthling and his companions. Everyone who could handle a weapon was drafted into the army with no right to refuse.

And even if someone could have refused, it would have been easier for them to voluntarily commit suicide afterward, as their reputation would be irretrievably destroyed.

In this respect, things sometimes reached the point of absurdity.

For example, many elderly warmasters enlisted, considering this war a worthy final achievement.

Nature played a funny trick on the people of this world. The bodies of warmasters, and even ordinary people, gradually increased their stored prana from birth until death.

But while the growth of a relatively negligible reserve was not particularly noticeable in ordinary people, it could take on alarming proportions in warmasters.

Considering the increasing degradation of prana channels and the organisms themselves with age, the warmasters who lived to old age possessed huge reserves but were unable to fully utilize them.

They became, in a sense, "one-shot weapons." Yes, the damage they inflicted would be enormous, but it would cost them a lot.

So why did this topic become so important to Stas just before being sent to the front?

*****

"Are you sure?" Stas savored a cup of green tea. "You might die."

It was already the seventh year of his life in this world, and although he initially had a strong aversion to green tea, he gradually changed his mind.

If there had been coffee here, Ordyntsev might have even changed his mind about this world.

"Heh-heh, maybe that's what I'm hoping for," chuckled Hideo, Kizashi's grandfather. "Be assured, I can still be of significant benefit to the clan. Even if, heh-heh, not as a warrior. Perhaps the enemy will trip over my feeble body!"

These years had taken a significant toll on him.

Now, he was merely a shadow of the sprightly old man he once was. Health problems tend to accumulate, so a year ago, Hideo had handed over the position of hospital head.

But not to Kizashi, as one might think. The new head of the hospital became his first apprentice, Michiro Sumada. This appointment surprised no one. Michiro was a skilled manager with impressive authority and excellent healing skills.

Yes, his dislike for anyone who could challenge his mastery was well known, but at least he tried not to let this character trait affect the hospital too much.

For Stas, it was painful to watch the slow but inevitable fading of this powerful old man.

It was like sailors crying as they watched majestic battleships and aircraft carriers sink. The force of such catastrophes is such that it can pull in many more souls ready to follow the ship.

The most terrible thing was that, unlike even the most powerful people, Stas could actually help.

'Millions can't be taken to the afterlife.' That's how most people console themselves, enviously looking at the wealthy who can spend in a day what they themselves don't spend in their entire lives.

'For death, we are all equal.' How many sayings and proverbs like this one have been spawned by humanity over the years of its existence?

But Ordyntsev managed to break out of this pernicious system. He was free from such restrictions. Death from old age, as well as the Grim Reaper himself, no longer had power over him. Yes, he had not yet completed his research and had not adjusted the technique for himself, but it was only a matter of time.

He already knew what to do.

Therefore, Stanislav could heal the old man sitting next to him. Roll back his age by a couple of decades, delaying death.

Only there was not a single chance that Hideo would fail to notice.

And should he come to know of it, he would immediately want Stas to take care of Kizashi as well. And Kizashi might have a girlfriend and children who would also need this same technique.

And Hideo himself would most likely want to save some of his still-living comrades.

One rescue, and the fall of Shiro the Serpent would become inevitable. His death would be obvious and preordained.

Ideally, Stas or Satoshi would have to kill the other to eliminate even the slightest chance of rumors about the existence of such a technique spreading.

However, the nature of both scientists provided enough guarantees that they would not attempt such radical steps. Satoshi and Shiro were complete loners, physically incapable of trusting relationships with anyone.

In this respect, Stas was a bit lucky. His bond with Leviathan allowed him to have at least one dear person, while Takehiro had been completely alone all his life.

That's why, right now, Stas was trying in every way to improve the last days of the man to whom he was so indebted.

Watching your friend die, having the power to save him, and not being able to do it. A terrible prospect.

That day, Stas Ordyntsev became seriously concerned for the first time that the phrase "Immortality is a curse" is not as crazy as it might seem at first glance.

"Tell me," Hideo looked demandingly at the Serpent. "Was it worth it? To discard everything I prepared for him and become an alchemist unknown and unneeded by anyone! Years of labor went down the drain. What a stubborn lad, by the gods, just like my wayward son!" The angry old man almost spat venom.

And the former head of the healers could be understood. On the day Hideo was set to pass on his position to Kizashi, the young man resolutely refused.

The alchemist, who had already made a name for himself, was drawn to new heights of mastery, while the position of head of the hospital would have buried him under tons of duties and paperwork.

So, despite all the yelling and cursing from his grandfather, he firmly refused.

It was ironic that, wanting his grandson to grow a backbone, Hideo himself ultimately stumbled over it.

"Don't say that, Hideo-sama," Stas carefully topped up the hot tea in the old man's empty cup. "Kizashi is far from 'unknown.' His work is now selling like hotcakes. People are willing to wait weeks and even months for the standard potions, as long as they are made by him personally."

Ordyntsev thoughtfully shook his head.

"Kizashi has done well. In the end, he managed to see what he wanted in this life, and now he's going for it. It may sound presumptuous, but I believe that knowing your true calling is an incredible fortune."

"Of course, of course, the sensei will defend his student to the end, huh?" Hideo snorted, but there was no malice in his words. Just incredible fatigue and... Disgust?

Stas quickly looked at the elderly warmaster, and even he was taken aback by what he saw.

The proud and unyielding old man looked frankly defeated. Noticing Stas's gaze, he grimaced but did nothing more.

"What are you staring at? Yes, I know I look pitiful. Don't look at me. Don't remember me like this," he grumbled sadly. "I don't have long left. How will he manage without me, huh? Yes, you've taught him well, reason says he won't perish, but my heart still aches. So I have a request. The last one."

The old man rushed nervously, as if afraid he would be cut off.

"Yes, now I'm no longer the head of the hospital, and there's not much I can give you, but..."

"No need," Stas's pale hand lay over Hideo's dry palm. "I'll take care of everything. Don't worry so much. Everything will be fine for your grandson. I promise."

"Thank you," the old man exhaled and smiled with relief.

"By the way," Stas whispered, a sly grin on his face. "I've heard that Fierce Ishiro once decided to abolish all the main families, which scared everyone terribly. But for some reason, no one wanted to tell me this story. Won't you?"

"Oh, I remember that day. My friend, Ishiro, did many stupid things, but that was rightly one of the dumbest!" Hideo's watery eyes looked into the void, but a sincere smile bloomed on his face.

There, in the memories, he was young and strong. There were his friends and brothers-in-arms.

Living to an old age does not always mean happiness.

[1] Translator's note: it's about Churchill's speech at the beginning of WW2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood,_toil,_tears_and_sweat).