Chapter 146
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146
Slide.
The Emperor's Shadow moved. He pulled back his hood, letting his heavy overcoat fall to the floor. As it collapsed, his true form was revealed.
Whirrr, click.
A raw, mechanical hum echoed softly in the silence. It was like standing face-to-face with a Full-Armor Prosthetic.
"You…"
I couldn't finish my sentence.
The Shadow’s body fit into neither category. It was too human-shaped to be a Full-Armor Prosthetic, yet far too inhuman to be a Full-Body Prosthetic.
Now I see why his speech is so stunted. Does he even perceive himself as human anymore?
A Full-Body Prosthetic is meant to mimic the human form down to the smallest detail. It's the only way for the user to maintain their sense of self.
But the Shadow looked like a scaled-down Full-Armor Prosthetic. An exoskeleton, devoid of any artificial skin, was eerily exposed. Even that framework resembled an android's chassis more than a human skeleton.
Bzzzt, crackle.
The Shadow had no mouth. What I had taken for a voice was merely a sound emitter mounted on his face.
Just like a Full-Armor Prosthetic, he has no digestive system.
His prosthetic body lacked any human functions—no way to express emotion, eat, or eliminate waste. As his brain adapted to this inhuman form, his humanity must have eroded, piece by piece.
The myriad emotions, pleasures, and even the pains of being human—he would have stopped feeling them one by one, eventually forgetting them entirely.
His brain was left with a single purpose: combat processing. A "combat brain," stripped of everything else.
The reason his speech is so stunted...
...must be because the vast majority of his brain's capacity is allocated to combat. That’s how our brains work. If you abnormally boost one function, others inevitably degrade.
The name "Shadow Imperial Guard" was no misnomer.
"You were originally an Imperial Guardsman, weren't you?"
This was the final fate of an Imperial Guardsman consumed by a Legion. This was the Emperor's Shadow.
Ch-ch-ring!
Without a word, the Shadow drew his weapon: a long, curved greatsword.
"Ha, haha… With a faded sense of self, there's no risk of disobeying orders. And your combat capabilities must be outstanding! Absolutely brilliant! Goddammit!"
A bitter laugh escaped me.
The Legion wasn't the end for an Imperial Guardsman. The truly horrific monster was something else entirely—a being born human, then systematically turned into a machine.
The Shadow didn't react to my outburst. He had likely forgotten how to connect with others long ago. With his emotional capacity surgically removed, nothing I said could possibly move him.
Naturally, they could never operate in public. Interacting with others might reawaken their dormant humanity. They were tools, kept locked in a drawer and brought out only when needed.
If humanity is an obstacle, simply eliminate it.
What a brilliant solution. I was practically in awe. I wanted to find the bastard who came up with this and split his skull open.
Yet, there was no denying its effectiveness.
The Shadows were the Empire's strongest military unit, the perfect soldiers it had always aspired to create. Even the Full-Armor Prosthetic Legion was merely an intermediate step toward this goal.
We adapt sequentially for Full-Body Prosthetic procedures. Starting with the limbs, we imprint the use of the prosthetic onto the brain.
The Full-Armor Prosthetic Legion operated on the same principle. It was a program designed to take the brain of a well-trained Imperial Guardsman, house it inside a combat machine, and slowly degrade its human functions.
And now, the ultimate combat machine born from that process stood right before me.
Thud, thud.
The Shadow walked toward me.
Click, whir.
He lowered his stance. An explosive shockwave erupted beneath his feet as he launched himself forward in an instantaneous leap, powered by a controlled explosion.
Ah.
I couldn't even let out a cry. The Shadow was already on top of me.
What is this… this monster?
Even my intuition, honed by Akies Victima, was thrown into chaos.
He was neither human nor machine. He was a hybrid that extracted only the strengths of both, all for the singular purpose of combat. For a moment, my mind went blank—the first cognitive lapse I’d experienced since mastering Akies Victima.
This was dangerous. He was about to unleash an attack that defied all perception and common sense.
Swish!
The Shadow's first strike was simple: a horizontal swing of his curved greatsword, aiming to cleave my torso in two.
I leaped back to retreat. Despite the weapon's size, its speed was so immense that I could feel the air itself vibrate.
That couldn't be all. An unpredictable follow-up was coming. I focused completely, ready to react to any variable.
Whir, click!
The Shadow's wrists and elbows spun. Then, his arms and shoulders twisted grotesquely in reverse, a motion that should have been physically impossible. It was a movement completely detached from human biomechanics; his joints rotated smoothly in all directions.
Where a human joint would have hit its anatomical limit, his ball-and-socket joints seamlessly redirected the momentum.
This is cheating!
Fights are supposed to have rules. If an attack fails, an opening is created, forcing the attacker to defend.
But his assault had no openings. A continuous flurry of slashes pursued me relentlessly, maintaining full acceleration and power through the rotation of his ball joints.
I couldn't just keep dodging; this would never end.
Clang!
Holding Crucis in a reverse grip, I blocked the greatsword aiming for my legs. The sheer strength behind the blow sent me flying toward a stone pillar.
Click, boom!
The Shadow twisted his body fiercely, pursuing me mid-air with another instantaneous leap. His legs had bent like a feline predator’s, and the speed at which he closed the distance was terrifying.
I tried to form a strategy while hurtling through the air, but there was no time to think.
In terms of pure combat ability, he was superior to me in every way. Even my prized talent for calculating variables was outmatched when restricted to a pure combat scenario.
The power obtained by discarding one's humanity.
I had no choice but to admit it.
It's overwhelming.
An ordinary brain can't properly control a prosthetic body that defies human biomechanics. Even if it could, the efficiency would plummet, which is why most people avoid such modifications. The higher the output of a prosthetic, the more it needs to retain a human shape to ensure responsiveness. That's why high-ranking soldiers have prosthetics that are nearly indistinguishable from human limbs, while lower-class citizens and low-ranking soldiers undergo more unnatural alterations.
But the Shadows can maintain responsiveness even with unnatural, non-humanoid prosthetics.
They could implement highly efficient modifications without any drawbacks. The ball joints and beast-like legs were proof of that.
Crash!
Lost in thought, I slammed into the pillar. Stone debris rained down around me.
Well, fine. I didn't expect to use this here, but…
I caught my breath, my back pressed against the pillar. Not yielding to adversity was one of my few virtues.
A plan is just a plan.
I could count on one hand the number of times things had actually gone according to plan in my life. If I had despaired every time, I would have been dead long ago.
I’ve thought about this a thousand times, but I didn't come all this way just to despair or die.
Honestly, even I questioned why I was fighting so desperately. I had made several irrational decisions. My past self would have been killed long ago for making such naive choices.
But I had grown strong enough to survive them. That was something I could take pride in.
…And because of those decisions, there are people standing by my side.
If I were just a cold combat machine, a selfish bastard who prioritized nothing but my own survival…
…I would never have won over Giselle. I wouldn't have seen Grace's smile, received Gilda's help, or learned about Gabriel's past. My relationship with Ilay would have remained nothing more than a childhood friendship.
I could have submitted, refusing to swim against the current.
I could have let Heilas die in agony.
I could have lived as a citizen of the Empire, harboring my dark secrets.
But I don't want to live like that. Doing something as embarrassing as cross-dressing once was more than enough for a lifetime.
I pulled out an injector gun and pressed it to my temple. To an onlooker, it probably looked like suicide. Come to think of it, it wasn't much different.
Click.
I pulled the trigger.
Thunk!
A thick needle shot out, piercing my skull and boring deep inside.
Hiss.
The pressure forced the drug into my head.
Drip, drip.
A strange fluid began to leak from my ears and nose. It wasn't blood, but a clear liquid—cerebrospinal fluid, technically. No point worrying about why it was already leaking. Knowing wouldn't change anything.
The liquid flooding my brain was a synthetic drug created by Jin Gau. To put it simply, it chemically altered my cerebrospinal fluid, turning it into a coolant. A few additional ingredients also provided a powerful stimulant effect.
The reason human focus and thought have limits is simple: the brain, a biological computer, cannot withstand heat. It starts to fail at 42 degrees Celsius and suffers physical destruction at 43. Compared to a machine, its heat tolerance is pathetic.
By converting the cerebrospinal fluid into a chemical coolant, one could control that overheating and boost brain function far beyond its natural limits.
But this is where the human brain differs from a computer. Biological tissue also suffers from low temperatures. From this moment on, if I stop focusing, my brain will suffer damage from hypothermia. If I fall asleep or lose consciousness while the drug is active, I will die instantly.
…I was now entering a realm no one else had ever experienced. Not even Kinuan would know about this.
Clatter.
The empty injector gun fell to the floor.
Huuuummmm…
With that sound, the world fell into an infinite silence. Everything seemed to grind to a halt.
Thrummmm.
Sounds began to warp and distort.
I watched the lunging Shadow. The curved greatsword he swung hurtled toward my neck in agonizingly slow motion.
I had more than enough time to plan my next move. It felt as though the world had transformed into a turn-based board game where I could ponder my options indefinitely.
Of course, thinking faster didn't mean my body would move any faster. That's why I hadn't used the injector gun against Iskan. Back then, my brain and body wouldn't have been able to handle the strain, and I would have died on the spot.
But even after indulging in that long train of thought, I still had plenty of cognitive leeway.
My mind is terrifyingly clear.
If someone were to crack open my skull, take out my brain, and wash it in ice water, it would probably feel exactly like this. Not that I could ever test that theory.
I wonder what the toll will be.
The world is cruel, and it was especially so to me. Some people are born with so much, but I always had to lose something to gain anything.
Enough sentimental bullshit.
Time to move.
Claaaaang!
I lightly deflected the curved greatsword with Crucis. My near-static level of concentration allowed me to parry it at the perfect angle.
Clang!
Gripping Crucis tightly, I clashed with the Shadow's greatsword. A succession of deafening roars erupted as our blades collided.
My hearing was so heightened that the metallic screeching made me nauseous. Normally, I would have held it in, but this time, I just threw up.
Blood-flecked vomit splattered toward the Shadow. Yet, neither of us paused our relentless attacks.
Screeeeech!
I slid Crucis along his curved greatsword, pushing the strike aside.
Boom!
Then, I whipped my left leg up, aiming a kick at the Shadow's head. He blocked it with his right hand and immediately tried to grab my ankle.
Swish!
I snapped my knee back, evading his grasp.
I wanted to laugh. To think this was actually possible. The decision had been almost instantaneous. I felt like I could do anything I imagined, a sense of near-omnipotence washing over me.
The output and performance of my prosthetic body were vastly inferior to the Shadow's. Under normal circumstances, he wasn't an opponent I could face head-on.
Even I have to admit, this is pretty cheap.
I could delay my decisions until the absolute last millisecond. It was like watching my enemy's every move before deciding how to react.
There's no need to fight with probabilities and predictions. I can just watch until the very end, see his finalized action, and then respond.
The situation was overwhelmingly in my favor. As I thought that, my interest began to wane. Things are only fun when there's some semblance of equality. Of course, even thinking that in a situation like this was completely insane.
Snap.
I heard something pop inside my head. Simultaneously, my vision went pitch black. No information, no signals, was coming from my cybernetic eye.
...It seemed the optic nerve connected to it had just burned out. I was blind.
Now things are finally getting interesting. Goddammit.