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nErich awoke in a cloning facility almost immediately after his death at the hands of the Great Oni Emperor. He immediately fell to his knees as the memories of his life came flashing to his mind. Everything from birth to his third death.

nErich instantly recovered his memories and personality as he gazed around the facility, and saw that the Supreme Leader was staring at him with a concerned expression on his face. But perhaps nothing was more shocking than the tone which Emrys spoke to Erich. It was filled with rage, concern, and grief, as if his own son had just been accosted, and he was now gazing at the aftermath. All of which were channeled into a single question.

n“What happened?”

nErich stood up and found that a maid immediately covered his naked body with a towel. He then went on to explain in detail what just had happened to him. To say that Emrys was shocked by this turn of events was an understatement, but more importantly, he was pissed.

nFor the first time in Erich’s life, he witnessed Supreme Leader Alaric au Emrys completely break down into a state of rage as he cursed up a storm in Erich’s defense.

n“That **ing bastard! He dares lay his hands on my protégé! I swear to god I will rip his spine out of his flesh! This insult can not be tolerated. There must be war!”

nErich agreed with Emrys’ sentiment. Coup or not, killing him was an act of war, especially since the Germanic Star-Empire revered him as one of their greatest war heroes. To have him killed by a foreign empire while visiting on a diplomatic visit. It was nothing short of a casus belli. However, there was another thought on his mind, as his brain suddenly adjusted to the reality of his situation.

n“Poor Yumi…. If only there was a way to bring her back. If we could, we might be able to install her on the Oni Throne as a puppet for the Empire….”

nThe moment Emrys heard this suggestion, he stared at Erich as if the man was a genius among geniuses. He quickly grabbed hold of Erich’s shoulder and expressed his thoughts aloud.

n“Erich… You’re a genius! We can do just that!”

nThis revelation stunned Erich, who could not believe his ears. How was it possible to bring back Yumi? She was not a member of their Empire, and thus did not have her DNA or memories stored in their data banks. Thus, he was quick to inquire about this.

n“What do you mean, Yumi is an Oni? There’s no way we can bring her back!”

nHowever, Emrys simply scoffed at Erich’s naivete, as he lectured the man on just how capable the Germanic Star-Empire’s medical science was.

n“Oh, on the contrary. We can! If our allies found out about it, they would surely be outraged. But yes, there are a few aliens who have been deemed important enough that we have stored their DNA, and at least one copy of their memories.

nAs the Matriarch of the Kondo Dynasty, and a frequent visitor to the Empire, we may have taken some DNA samples and a copy of her memories during her last visit. After all, Kondo Yumi came to us roughly a year ago with a very unique medical condition that needed to be treated, one which she did not want her people knowing about.”

nErich was amazed at what he was hearing. They could bring Yumi back? From what it sounded like, there were only a select few aliens in the galaxy, which the Germanic Star-Empire had the ability to resurrect after death. And luckily Yumi was one of them.

nErich immediately felt his bleeding heart seal up its wounds. The broken wall which had confined his negative emotions deep within his psyche was immediately rebuilt. Although he struggled to prevent himself from weeping tears of joy.

nHowever, something didn’t sit right in his mind about the information he had received. Causing Erich to immediately asked the next question that appeared within his thoughts. Albeit a part of him was afraid to know the answer.

n“Wait… You said Yumi was in the Empire roughly a year ago for a unique medical condition that needed to be treated…. What was it?”

nEmrys realized he had **ed up the moment Erich asked this question. Of all the people who could possibly know this information, Erich was the last one he ever wanted to tell. As a result, Emrys was quick to dismiss the question.

n“It was nothing you need to worry about, Erich-“𝒐𝗏𝓵xt.𝚌𝒐𝓂

nHowever, Erich was not having of his nonsense, and immediately grabbed hold of the Supreme Leader, in an almost hostile state as he demanded an answer.

n“What happened to Yumi?”

nEmrys could see that Erich was not in the right state of mind. And though this information would only serve to further wound the man, he knew that nothing but the truth would satisfy him. Thus, he wore a cold expression as he revealed the horrible truth.

n“Pregnancy…. After your last dalliance with the woman, she became pregnant with your child. A rare occurrence between our two species, but not an impossibility. Naturally, she could not reveal this to her family, and thus she came to us to have it terminated…. It was then that we took a sample of her DNA and a scan of her memories. Without her knowledge, of course.”

nErich felt as if he had just suffered an emotional rollercoaster, from the grief of Yumi’s death, to the joy that she could be resurrected. To once more having nothing but grief within his heart after hearing that he and Yumi had created a child, and that she had it terminated prior to birth.

nAfter hearing this, Erich found himself sitting down at a nearby medical bed, while staring off into space in disbelief. He never would have thought that such a thing was possible. In fact, everything he knew about xenobiology said that it shouldn’t have occurred. And he was quick to voice this thought.

n“I…. I thought it wasn’t possible for our species to breed with others….”

nEmrys maintained a stoic expression as he told Erich the truth he had never expected to be reality.

n“Unfortunately, that is a lie. A piece of propaganda we tell our people, so they don’t go around creating half-breeds. It is entirely possible for the Germanic species to breed with certain humanoids. But the chances of actually succeeding in this endeavor are exceptionally low.

nI know you have been through a lot, and any moment now, I suspect the Great Oni Emperor will be contacting me to negotiate after this debacle. You should take this time to rest. After everything you have been through, you could use it.”

nAfter saying this, Emrys departed from the cloning facility and left Erich alone with his thoughts. He had suffered more than he could possibly imagine during this brief vacation. But what haunted him the most was the unknown fate of the Oni Princess. What had happened to Ayumi after he had died? Was she even still alive? And how would his life have been if Yumi had actually kept the child?

nThese were the thoughts that caused Erich to break down and cry once he was all alone in the dark. Which was perhaps the only acceptable time and place for a man to cry.

n—

nSupreme Leader Emrys sat in his office as a holographic projection of the Great Oni Emperor appeared on his screen. There was a callous expression on the man’s face as he listened to the story which his ally spun about Erich’s death.

n“I regret to inform you that one of your nation’s war heroes, Commander Erich Jaeger, participated in a coup against me, and was killed in the process along with my aunt Yumi who was the rebel in question. I won’t hold your empire responsible for the actions of one military officer, but I can’t help but question your loyalties now that this has occurred in my own home.”

nEmrys did not even bother to hide his emotions as he slammed his fist on the table, before pointing his finger towards the holographic projection of the Great Oni Emperor.

n“listen hear you pointy headed **! You and I both know that Kondo Yumi was the Matriarch of your clan. What you’re essentially telling me is that you led a coup against her, and during the event, you accidentally killed one of my men!

nI should execute your son here and now! But, considering the alliance that has existed between our two realms for the past few centuries, I am willing to put this matter aside, under two conditions. First and foremost, in exchange for handing your beloved prince over to your Empire, we request a prisoner of equal value in exchange. It must be another Prince or Princess of your dynasty!

nAnd secondly, I demand compensation for the loss of one of my Empire’s greatest war heroes. You may not know this, but if there is anything akin to royalty in our society, it would be those men who have sacrificed everything for the good of our nation. And Erich was one of the few living men who could claim that status. I suppose a grand sum of fifty trillion Alfheim credits will be considered just barely enough to satisfy the sacred blood which you have so erroneously spilt!”

nThe Great Oni Emperor’s eyes lit up with fury as he responded to Emrys’ demands with a hostile tone in his voice.

n“This is a blatant robbery! Although I might be able to acquiesce to your first demand, fifty trillion Alfheim credits is simply an extortion. You will have to lower the amount, or I’m afraid I can not agree to your demands!”

nEmrys naturally knew that the Great Oni Emperor would want to haggle, and thus, he was quick to voice his counter proposal.

n“Twenty-five trillion Alfheim Credits, and I get to choose the member of your dynasty who shall act as our ward. I want Kondo Ayumi. To put it simply, I am aware of the relationship that she had with Erich, and I believe that because of this she is in incredible danger so long as she remains in your custody.

nShe must remain unharmed, physically and mentally, and you will hand her over to us during the prisoner exchange along with the twenty-five trillion credits. Failure to comply will result in an immediate declaration of war and the mobilization of our entire military might. Do not test me on this Kenji! I will burn your capital to the ground, and salt the ashes before I am willing to accept such a slap to my people’s face!”

nThe Great Oni Emperor was baffled by the fact that the Supreme Leader of the Germanic Star-Empire knew so much about the inner workings of the Kondo Dynasty, and though he wanted to ask how. He knew he would not get a straight answer. Thus, he could only sigh in defeat and accept Emrys’ terms, albeit with one last counter proposal.

n“Fine, twenty-five trillion Alfheim credits, and I will give you the little slut! However, in return, I expect a second fleet of yours to aid us in our war against the Lutharian Ascendancy!”

nEmrys did not even hesitate to accept this condition. After all, he had not actually suffered any real losses. His primary goal in this negotiation was to get Kondo Ayumi out of her father’s custody, because he knew that Erich would never be able to think straight until he knew the girl was safe.

n“Deal, I expect you to keep your word Kenji. My people may have suffered at the hands of the Naraku, but do not mistake our diminished state as weakness. If we must, we will bring the might of the sword down upon your Empire!”

nKenji simply snorted as he heard this before responding with his honest thoughts to Emrys’ statement.

n“I expect no less from a filthy barbarian!”

nAfter saying this, he hung up the call and left Emrys alone with his thoughts.

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