Chapter 116
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 116
Crash!
The assassin and I plummeted from the building. My vision flashed white for an instant, and for a split second, my consciousness slipped away.
The Empire isn't the only vast thing out there. The world—no, the universe—is a massive place.
I understood that truth now, painfully so. Akies Victima was not an invincible combat style. I had always known it in my head, but here, I felt it in my bones.
Zzzt, crackle.
My legs were on the verge of shattering. When I pressed my palms against my knees, violent sparks of electricity erupted.
I had fallen from a skyscraper, yet I'd managed to survive by absorbing the impact with both legs. Naturally, neither my body nor my legs came out of it in one piece.
Blood seeped from the seams where flesh met machine. My whole body throbbed with such intense pain that I couldn't even tell which bones were broken.
At least I'm still alive.
I blinked, slumped against the ground. A metallic, bloody breath surged up my throat like a wave of nausea.
"Cough, cough...!"
I spat out the fluid pooling in my mouth and forced myself upright. I felt like I was dying, but I wasn't dead yet. And my enemy was still alive over there.
Whir, click.
My state-of-the-art prosthetic legs still moved, half-destroyed as they were. The durability was astonishing. Long live the Empire, indeed.
Left arm severed. Legs barely functional. Index finger on my right hand, broken.
I took stock of my body and lifted my head.
My gaze drifted to the assassin, about twenty paces away. She, too, had only just shaken off the shock of the fall.
And her condition was far better than mine. It was almost absurd.
Is she a monster?
Just before hitting the ground, she'd dragged her blade against the building's outer wall to slow her descent, then twisted and rolled to bleed off most of the impact.
But that maneuver had cost her—one of her swords was broken, and she'd lost an eye to the Grakken Boot I'd swung with my foot.
Clack.
I picked up the Grakken Boot lying on the ground and took a stance. The eyeball snagged on the tip of the boot rolled onto the pavement. Her left eye.
I threw myself into the attack without regard for my own survival right up to the fall, while she abandoned the fight to brace for impact.
This was where the difference between flesh and machine revealed itself. The assassin simply couldn't have taken the fall directly through her legs the way I had.
That was how I'd managed to snatch her eye with the Grakken Boot clenched between my toes.
Clang! Thud!
With a metallic screech, a drone crashed heavily onto the pavement. The only reason I'd been able to catch my breath at all was because a patrolling drone had lunged at the assassin.
She'd thrown a projectile to bring it down—what looked like a finger-length needle. It must have carried a monomolecular coating, because it punched clean through the drone in a single strike.
Zip!
A needle came flying at me too.
Clang!
I knocked it aside with my Grakken Boot. Having dealt with the drone, the assassin turned her stare on me.
"You're remarkably skilled in combat for someone your age, kid," she said, gripping her remaining sword in a reverse hold. Unlike before, she wasn't bouncing lightly on her feet.
She hurt her leg too.
I studied her legs closely. She was pretending to be unbothered, but if you looked hard enough, she was favoring her left leg, just slightly.
"You're not half bad yourself. You've earned the right to be proud of your strength."
I said it to buy time, but I meant it too. I'd fought by constantly shifting the battlefield, manufacturing variables. That was the only reason I'd been able to stand against her as an equal.
But I've got no more variables left to create.
We were on the sidewalk at the foot of the skyscraper. My only weapon was the Grakken Boot. There was no time to reload Ruina. Crucis had to be lying somewhere far off.
If she attacks now, how many seconds can I last?
My injuries were far worse. My left arm was gone, and my legs were too wrecked to even run. Simply prolonging the fight was nearly impossible.
"Kid, I could kill you right now and still make my escape. I've got that much time to spare," the assassin said, choosing conversation over combat. Her voice was calm.
"Don't just talk. Try it," I provoked, narrowing my eyes.
"As you well know... I failed this contract. A professional doesn't commit unnecessary murder. Don't throw your life away over petty pride. Life is opportunity, after all."
The assassin eased out of her stance and lowered her arms, signaling she wouldn't fight. She looked upward with her remaining eye. Fransek was on the 72nd floor.
She's right.
Out of pure irritation, I'd nearly walked myself into a fatal gamble. If I died, everything ended. The Custoria family, Giselle...
...My death would not be mine alone.
I gave a small nod, but I kept my guard up. She was a master of deception and trickery. There was no telling when she might drive a blade into my back.
"Give me back my left eye, and I'll go," she said, exposing her empty socket. The dark red hollow was gruesome. Blood streaked her face like scars. "It's easier to regenerate with the original."
Toss!
I scooped the eyeball off the ground and threw it to her. She snatched it out of the air and tucked it into a pouch on the belt of her combat suit.
...Turning her back on me, the assassin melted away between the buildings. Soon, martial law would descend on Akbaran. The military would sweep the city all the way to the outskirts hunting for the Crown Prince's assassin.
And yet, I had a feeling she'd slip out of Akbaran unharmed. There was no logic to it. Just a hunch.
Actually, when I thought about it, it was pure sentiment.
A powerhouse who had pushed me this far shouldn't die some pathetic, meaningless death.
* * *
Two days had passed since the assassin's attack.
I was being treated at the Imperial Medical Facility—a privilege far beyond my station.
The doctors hovered over me, aiming scanning devices that spat out a strange red light at my wounds. They also pumped unidentified drugs into my body.
At first, I wondered what the hell they were doing to me. But within a single day, my shattered bones had mostly knitted back together, and my wounds were already sealing into pink scars.
My primary doctor bragged about accelerating cell division or some such thing. The downside was that the risk of cancer in the regenerated tissue skyrocketed. Not that it mattered to me—I was going to get a full-body prosthetic eventually anyway.
This hospital room is ridiculously huge.
Lying in bed, I stared at the emptiness around me. A single medical bed sat lonely in a room larger than most training halls. If I spoke, my voice echoed back to me.
Creak.
The door opened. Leading the way in was Fransek. I pushed myself up slightly to greet him.
"Lucaus Custoria! You saved my life. Forgive me for taking so long to visit."
Fransek embraced me with grand, theatrical gestures. Then he waved his entourage and the doctors off, gesturing for them to clear out.
"I only did my duty, Your Highness," I replied formally.
Once everyone had gone and only the two of us remained, Fransek leaned in.
"I swear to you, I did not hire her," he whispered, his face carrying a look of genuine apology.
"Did you capture her?"
"No. We're combing through Akbaran, but it doesn't look like we'll find her. What's more, there isn't a single trace of her anywhere in the Empire's database. She's most likely..."
Fransek hesitated. It was a difficult thing to say.
"...A Bellato or Kora operative. She didn't carry herself like an Imperial subject."
"I'm digging into where it all went wrong. Ren Itanori is... being interrogated as well. I doubt she's tangled up in this kind of political conspiracy, but one can never be too careful."
Fransek was a ruler and a member of the Imperial Family. For his ambitions, he wouldn't flinch at overlooking small immoralities or sacrifices. Ren Itanori might very well be tortured.
It was an assassin hired by Ivan—the brother you trust so dearly.
The words rose to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back down.
"If there's one silver lining, it's that my plan succeeded in the grand scheme of things. I was attacked, and you protected me. You've become a hero of the Lower District! Though I imagine it hasn't quite sunk in yet."
It really hadn't. And it wasn't something I particularly wanted, either. I calmly steered toward another matter.
"For Your Highness's aim of weakening the nobility, the assassin's identity must never be exposed as Bellato or Korain."
"Ha, don't trouble yourself over that. I've already planted people in every tavern in the Lower District. Rumors are spreading that one of the nobles tried to have me killed. Still, I'll have to guard myself more closely for the time being—we don't yet know who the true mastermind behind my attempted assassination is."
My private conversation with Fransek ended quickly.
...The next to visit was Heilas. He exchanged a few words with Fransek, whom he ran into at the door.
"You have a fine son, Captain. A highly promising talent."
"He's capable, yes. But I hope you won't push him too hard or take him too far away, Your Highness. I'd like to keep him under my wing a while longer."
"I have never pushed him. Besides, children must leave their father's embrace eventually. Personally, I intend to reward Luka. He saved my life, after all."
Heilas stood politely by the door to see him off. Fransek nodded and left the room.
Heilas sat in silence beside my bed. He looked over my battered state, one corner of his mouth twitching.
"There aren't many in Akbaran who could reduce you to this... I'm rather curious who it was."
"I'm curious myself. I never expected a mere assassin to have such capabilities."
I gestured with the temporary prosthetic attached to my left side. I was scheduled to receive new limbs soon.
"An Irregular from the Lower District who foiled the assassination of the Crown Prince... That carries immense symbolic weight. Do you understand what it means?"
"It means my value and political utility have risen. The odds of me being discarded have dropped."
Heilas burst out laughing. He laughed for a good while before resting his hands on his knees and leaning forward.
"It reminds me of when you first became a cadet. I gave you a piece of advice back then."
I remembered it vividly.
It's fine to be better than others. But you must not be different from them—not if you want to live a long life.
Recalling it, I spoke the words aloud.
"You told me that if I wanted to live a long life, I shouldn't be different from others."
"And yet, you've become different. You walk a path distinct not only from the other cadets, but from the Imperial Guardsmen as well."
"If what you said is true, Captain, then I won't live very long."
"Well, if you're only moderately outstanding, then no—you shouldn't be different. But... if you're so overwhelmingly superior that you become utterly irreplaceable, then it's fine. You've seen a few people like that yourself, haven't you?"
Two names came to mind at once.
Kinuan and Jin Gau.
They were different from everyone else. But they were overwhelmingly superior. That was why they had survived so long.
Heilas glanced around the room as if catching his breath. It was a private room so empty and spacious you could kick a ball around in it.
"Lucaus Custoria, the only way for someone who has become different to survive is to grow stronger. Use everything you can. And never let go of what you grasp."
"I'm already doing exactly that."
"...The Season of Storms will be upon us soon. We must prepare as well, so return to the main estate the moment your treatment is done. I'll see you at the Silver Moon Pavilion then. Jupe and Giselle send their regards. Ah, and Eva as well."
Heilas rose. He made as if to leave, then paused.
Rustle.
He reached out with his large hand and lightly tousled my hair, patting my head.
"In any case, you did well. You never disappoint me."
With that, Heilas left the room. I kept my eyes fixed on his back until the door clicked shut.
There were many double meanings buried in Heilas's words. Vague, probing remarks were a specialty of his. Which was why it was always so hard to gauge exactly how much he knew.
The Silver Moon Pavilion.
I would likely have to make a decision there. After all, bad feelings usually turned out to be right.
I slowly closed my eyes. My chest felt heavy.