The Beginning After the End (最強の王様、二度目の人生は何をする？)

I was once a mighty king.

It's true.

The most powerful king.

And as such, I committed innumerable sins

and claimed countless lives.

Yet now,

I find myself...

here.

Get down, Arthur. We've got a quest.

Let's go.

Sounds good.

I'm ready when you are.

Granted a second life.

Reborn anew.

#1 THE KING BEGINS ADVENTURING.

Give me the details.

They've all lost contact with a village

near the Beast Glades.

So we've been asked to investigate.

And what is our goal?

Survival.

And if we find an aggressive beast?

This quest does not include slaying,

so there should be no need to do so.

Very good.

What's your plan, Sylvie?

I'll stay nearby and do some training.

Have fun. I'll be back soon.

Yay! Good luck, Arthur!

All right, Note, what stands out?

There are plenty of tracks

heading into the village,

but not very many heading away from it.

What do we do first?

Gather intelligence and analyze it.

That's right.

No trace of people.

Think a beast attacked them?

I don't see any signs of a struggle here, so no.

- - Uh?

-You hear that? - Yeah.

What is it?

Let's go see.

That's weird.

What's with these crystals?

Uh?

- - Jasmine...

Who are you?

Can you tell us what happened here?

I don't know.

I was just gathering medicinal herbs in the forest.

And when I got back...

A beast must've done this.

Right. But...

- Uh? -

Quick. Get back.

No! No! Help!

We have to!

She's gone.

Let me go! Mommy, help!

Run now.

This tri-kingdom alliance between humans, elves,

and dwarves has proven to be anything but ideal for our side.

All events have an ebb and flow to them.

Going with that flow

can make for quite a pleasant experience.

It's to be the Beast Glade, then?

Those who will bear the future of this continent on their backs

will soon gather in order to hone themselves.

Ah, the future.

Something we must prevent no matter the cost.

I thought this task would be rather tiresome,

but it's certainly not without its charms.

What was that?

An Arachne, one of the five beasts

no one ever wants to face in battle.

Have you fought one before?

Five times.

Only managed to defeat one.

It took the entire Twinhorns party, too.

And of course, your parents were there,

fighting alongside the rest of us.

Alice in particular was critical to winning.

You know why?

She's an Emitter?

Yes.

An Arachne's curse can only be broken by an Emitter

or by hunting down and killing the vile beast itself.

They are known to be highly resistant to magic.

Spells barely work.

Their carapace is so tough, swords bounce right off.

Then we don't have the means to take it down.

True, and something's off.

Arachne hate daylight.

They normally remain deep inside dungeons.

More importantly, though, Note,

Arthur, you're really adventuring now.

I've tried to teach you all I know about that.

Not just how to fight with swords and sorcery.

I've taught you what you need to know to survive,

to live through the day.

So in light of that, tell me,

what should we do right now?

It's risky, so we should play it safe.

We'll alert the guild and come back

when we're more prepared.

Hm.

Arthur!

Jasmine!

Get back, Arthur!

Go get help. Tell the guild...

That's far enough.

I was once a king.

But not just any king.

I was the most powerful,

the strongest...

All it took to win my battles...

...was a single swing of my blade.

It'll take more than a sword to win this.

Let's try blade and flame.

It seems to be getting through.

Was that enough?

I see.

Jasmine did mention it was highly resistant to magic.

Nice try.

You ever had anyone try to roast you

from the inside out?

Give Jasmine back to me.

You'll be free soon.

You really don't know

when you've been beaten.

I am grateful to you for one thing.

You've helped me to remember...

how I used to wield a sword.

The strain is still too much.

Apparently, my old way of fighting

and the new power I've gained with this world's magic

is not quite enough.

I'm a long way from what I'm aiming for.

I need to train more.

Arthur!

You okay? Did something happen?

It felt like you were really angry for a second there.

I was. But it's fine now.

I took care of it.

You sure about that?

Yeah, I am.

That's a relief.

Well, good luck to you, then.

- Good luck? With what? - Her.

Uh?

Jasmine, so glad the curse is broken and you're okay!

You know, I could take you down right now.

Hey, come on, it's no time to joke.

You're not laughing.

That's really all you have to say?

And I'm sorry.

What for exactly?

I completely ignored your advice and fought that awful thing.

I let emotion overrule my good sense.

At least you seem to get it.

I can't believe you beat one without help.