Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 296: The Last Emperor & The Last KGB Officer (11)

Dragon Raja 3

“Didn’t anyone try to stop your reckless behavior?”

“No one did. I thought they’d try to advise me like ministers advising a foolish king, but I never heard a single word of dissent. When they saw I didn’t like living in the shrine, they built me a European-style ‘palace,’ complete with a Roman bath big enough for me to bathe with all seven of my wives at once. In return for their groveling, I began to take on my responsibilities as Kage Emperor. Most of my duties involved receiving audiences from prominent historical figures—Tōjō, Matsuoka, Yamamoto, Konoe, Tōyama…”

“War criminals from World War II were all lining up to pledge their loyalty to you?”

“At the time, I didn’t think of them as war maniacs. They spoke to me about how Japan had been mistreated throughout history and about the suffering and resilience of the Japanese people. I pretended to be deeply moved and encouraged them to expand outward for Japan’s survival. I gave them my blessings.”

“For someone who grew up in France, you really didn’t absorb much from Rousseau,” Anjou mocked.

“I was an idiot then. Most emperors in history were idiots. When you live in a palace and your only contact with the outside world is through audiences with sycophants, it messes with your head. You hear grand speeches, then go back to your harem to indulge in women. Can someone living like that really think clearly?”

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had that kind of life, so I can only envy it,” Anjou replied.

“But soon enough, World War II broke out. Yamata no Orochi supported the war, hoping to gain benefits and crush the European Hybrids while they were at it.”

“You bastards turned the Hybrid competition into a world war.” Anjou knocked on the table, clearly irritated. “It pisses me off to even think about it. How many Hybrids from your family joined the war? How many of those sharpshooters, ace pilots, and tank commanders had dragon blood in their veins?”

“But you people weren’t any softer. You were just more subtle about it. Your side had left-wing politicians, lobbyists working behind the scenes, some were busy arming China, others were smuggling weapons from the U.S. to Britain, and still, others were working on the Manhattan Project to make atomic bombs. If not for you, nuclear weapons would have appeared decades later in human history. Those people are still hiding in the College’s underground bunkers. If it weren’t for your involvement, Hitler and Tōjō wouldn’t have lost so quickly. And you yourself were an officer in the U.S. Navy.”

“Of course! After Pearl Harbor, how could I not fight? I was negotiating with Henkel when Japanese bombs almost killed us both!” Anjou fumed.

“In the first few years of the war, everything was going well for me. There were constant victories on the East Asian front, and the German allies were advancing smoothly in Europe. The Russians and Americans hadn’t yet entered the war. I lived as I always had—every day, I encouraged the young men of the family, received returning heroes, and played with my wives. Looking back on that time, it was as if I were living in a hedonistic dream. Then, suddenly, Hitler attacked France. The Maginot Line collapsed completely, and after just eight days, France surrendered. My dream shattered. I remembered that my mother was still in France, and we hadn’t exchanged letters for a year due to the war. I nearly went mad. I wanted to immediately board a ship and head to Europe, but my subordinates advised me against it. They said that soon Japan would be at war with the Americans in the Pacific, and by then, all transportation routes would be cut off, making it impossible for me to return to Japan. They assured me that they would contact the German military to ensure my mother’s safety. The German staff indeed sent someone to the church where my mother had worked, but the priest there said that she had left France years ago, and no one knew where she had gone… I was greatly relieved. She had left before the war began, so she must have been safe. I imagined my mother in a place untouched by war, sitting under a lamp in her black nun’s habit, telling Bible stories to a group of children.” Uesugi Koeru finished his drink, looking up.

Anjou didn’t interrupt. He could hear the pain in Koeru’s words, pain that pierced like needles into one’s spine, leaving no peace. He had never imagined that his old enemy, or friend, had been living with such torment for sixty long years, unable to find peace.

“On the Pacific front, we suffered defeat after defeat. The government began promoting the slogan of ‘One Hundred Million Die Like Jewels,’ which meant that every Japanese citizen, even civilians, should be prepared to sacrifice themselves for the nation. The meetings of the pro-war faction felt like lunatic asylums, where everyone was ready to die. I was influenced by their loyalty. You know, I’ve never had much of a personal stance or strong opinions. I felt that this nation was enduring a terrible disaster and that its people were looking up to me, so I should do something. But before I could do anything, the Emperor announced unconditional surrender. When even the Emperor had surrendered, what could a Kage Emperor like me do? Then, I heard that you had arrived—a man named Hilbert Ron Anjou, the leader of the European Secret Party, who had come to take over Japan’s Hybrids.”

“So, you decided to assassinate me,” Anjou said.

“Yes. Honestly, I didn’t understand much about war or politics. My only advantage was my bloodline. I was an emperor, a one-of-a-kind super Hybrid. I thought I was suited to fight a holy war alone, and my enemy was the leader of the European Secret Party. You defeated us on the public battlefield, so I thought I’d kill you on the secret battlefield. I was confident no Hybrid in the world could beat me. But ‘Time Zero’ was a technique that truly could reverse the outcome of any battle. I had blood, but no battle experience. You beat me senseless with two wooden swords. I, an emperor, was completely powerless to fight back.”

“Two-sword style. I had just learned it then. I always used it to beat people,” Anjou smiled.

“Do you remember that scene? You just kept beating me, and I kept roaring. I yelled that everyone in the war was guilty, that you were no saints, and that we had no regrets—everyone was doing what they thought was best for their nation. Then you asked me, ‘Do you even know what your people have done overseas?’ I froze. It was true, I didn’t know. I had never seen the overseas battlefield myself; I only stayed in the palace making proclamations. The next day, an American captain drove over and brought me a carload of documents—your side’s evidence used in the Tokyo Trials.”

“I sent them to you,” Anjou said. “I thought you were a spoiled brat, a true scoundrel. You needed some education.”

“I read those documents day and night. At first, I scoffed at the Americans’ shamelessness, blaming Japan for all the war crimes. War always causes deaths, even civilian casualties. So what? In the grand progress of history, some people are bound to be sacrificed, right? It’s just the way things are.” Uesugi Koeru’s voice grew quieter. “But then I came across a testimony about the Nanking Massacre… and I felt like I turned to stone, cracking and disintegrating bit by bit. In December 1937, Nanking was captured. Over the next six weeks, 300,000 civilians were slaughtered in the city. The testimonies of Western missionaries in Nanking were key evidence at the war crimes trials. A French nun in a Catholic church said that Japanese soldiers stormed into the church’s orphanage, where Chinese women were hiding, and raped them. The head nun dressed the women in nuns’ habits and tried to sneak them out of the city. They were stopped at the riverbank by Japanese soldiers. Major Fujiwara Katsu discovered they were fake nuns, and all the women were raped. Those who resisted had their bellies slit open with bayonets. The only woman left untouched was the elderly nun who led them. But after witnessing the horrific carnage, she couldn’t bear it any longer and shot herself. Before she died, she cursed, saying that God would punish the sinners with lightning and fire…”

“Her name was Charlotte Chen.” Uesugi Koeru slowly turned, lifting his gaze to meet Anjou’s eyes. “That was my mother!”