Chapter 68
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68
I looked down at Rick's corpse. Gray matter and cerebral fluid oozed from the puncture wounds in his jaw and the crown of his skull. There was no doubt—he was dead.
Even after witnessing Rick's death, I couldn't afford to let my guard down. I stared at Kinuan, my grip tight on Crucis.
"What happened?"
"As you can see, I killed an enemy of the Empire."
Kinuan replied without a trace of concern. He was already rummaging through Rick's body.
"That's not what I'm asking!"
He ignored me and kept searching inside Rick's coat. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he stroked his chin, lost in thought.
Click.
Finished thinking, Kinuan removed Rick's helmet. Rick's battle-worn face was revealed. Countless scars stood as witnesses to a life defined by struggle.
Pop.
Kinuan pressed his thumb against Rick's eyeball and popped it out. Then he shoved his finger deep into the empty socket. A wet, squelching sound echoed as he dug through the soft flesh.
"...Rick, you really treasured this little prize of yours. Did you plan to take it with you to the grave?"
Kinuan drew a single bead out of Rick's brain. The blood-stained sphere glowed with a faint blue light. On closer inspection, intricate circuits were densely engraved across its surface. Those unique patterns and that blue luminescence were unmistakable marks of the Arcane Civilization.
An Arcane Artifact.
Rick had implanted an Arcane Artifact inside his own head. His teleportation ability seemed to stem from its power.
"If you had accepted Rick's offer, I wouldn't have needed to kill him. I could have simply placed you under surveillance as a newly joined terrorist and filed my report."
Kinuan didn't take his eyes off Rick. So it was true—they really had been friends. Rick had trusted Kinuan's friendship without a shred of doubt. That was exactly why he'd been caught so completely off guard.
What had Rick been thinking in the moment his closest friend's blade pierced his jaw...?
"You were a double agent, Instructor."
But he wasn't on the side of the terrorists. He was on the side of the Empire.
"There's no need to state the obvious. I told you myself earlier, didn't I? I'm a double agent."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
"I don't know how much of what you say is truth and how much is lies."
"You mean that as a criticism, no doubt, but it sounds rather flattering to me. The confusion you're feeling now is proof that I'm still sharp as an active double agent."
I tried to sort out the confusion in my head, but it refused to settle.
Kinuan's past words and actions flashed through my mind. He had, sometimes subtly and sometimes openly, expressed hostility toward the Empire.
"Was all of it an act?"
"Do you think mere acting would have been enough to deceive both you and Rick? It's true the Empire isn't perfect. My criticisms of it were genuine. But the Empire must not fall. Tearing down a breakwater simply because it isn't perfect is utter nonsense."
Kinuan spoke calmly. He had deceived everyone. That was his role.
Tight.
Without realizing it, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword. My prosthetic body was still receiving combat signals—I hadn't disengaged from combat mode yet.
"...Who are you?"
"Before I answer, there is something I must say. Lucaus Custoria, you have walked a precarious path through a reality where right and wrong blur together. Navigating a pitch-black sea of chaotic fog, staring down irreversible death, and even in despairing moments where all hope had vanished... you never lost your compass. Because I understand the anxiety and turmoil you must have endured, I gladly offer you my respect."
Kinuan bowed with the grace of a well-bred noble, laying his palm over his chest and bending at the waist.
"And you have finally stood on the side of the Empire. Even knowing the Empire isn't in the right. Even understanding the world isn't so simple. You decided this through your own experience and your own will."
Kinuan waited for my answer.
"It's not for such a grand reason. I..."
The tension drained from my shoulders and arms, and they slumped. I couldn't think of what to say.
"Haha—praise Dino Cracia, the guardian of humanity, the founding father, and the first emperor of the Empire."
Kinuan murmured, then went on. I couldn't tell whether he was being sarcastic or sincere. He stepped in front of me.
"...I am a retainer of the current Emperor, Yuri Cracia. I am the Emperor's eye and watcher, granted the rank of 'Akies Domini.' My words are His Majesty's command. Kneel, Lucaus Custoria."
Kinuan's voice shifted halfway through. The resonance was so deep it overwhelmed me. It even felt sacred.
I closed my eyes. Countless thoughts flashed through my mind in the instant before my knees touched the ground.
I still don't know right from wrong. I am merely wandering. The Empire, the terrorists, the Upper District and the Lower District, the privileged and the poor—wherever I look, there is nothing but absurd distortion. And it wouldn't be only the Empire. Even with my narrow view, I could tell that much.
That is simply how the world—how this universe—is.
Thud.
My knees hit the ground.
"You who were born as Luka and became Lucaus of Custoria. I command you by solemn decree: carry out the duties of Akies Domini. We are nowhere, and we are everywhere."
"...We are nowhere, and we are everywhere."
I repeated the last phrase. It came out as naturally as if I had rehearsed it beforehand.
"Rise, young watcher."
* * *
Kinuan and I talked at length inside the ruined building. It felt like a scene from some old tale—a master passing down knowledge to his disciple through spoken word.
The Emperor's eye and watcher: Akies Domini.
The position, and its very existence, left no records. It was practically a ghost. Even the title of Emperor's retainer was unofficial.
Even the Emperor himself would deny the existence of the Akies Domini if anyone dared to ask.
I didn't know how many Akies Domini there were. Perhaps Kinuan and I were the only two. Either way, the number couldn't be large. If there were hundreds or thousands, keeping the secret would be impossible. At most, there would be a few dozen.
...The Empire's reach runs deep and vast. No matter where I look, I can't find its end.
Kinuan had been a suspicious Imperial Guardsman. His background was questionable, his records highly dubious. There had been no shortage of circumstantial evidence tying him to the terrorist group, Nemesis. And in truth, he had been dealing with anti-imperialists—as a double agent.
Every last bit of it had been a setup for surveillance.
It wasn't that the Empire couldn't root out its internal enemies. It knew their every move.
"The Empire learned from past experience. A rigid social structure and iron-fisted rule provoke fierce backlash. Suppress that backlash without giving it any outlet, and eventually the whole board gets flipped over."
"So you monitor and manage them from within?"
It was like letting water out little by little before the dam could burst.
"As expected, you're an easy student to teach. You hit the nail on the head. We let entities like Nemesis and Rick run wild to a moderate degree, but we keep their scale in check so they never threaten our rule. In fact, it helps relieve resentment and discontent. Most people are satisfied with nothing more than minor rebellion. Very few truly want to overthrow the Empire."
Kinuan was a teacher generous with his praise. As I listened, a question grew in me.
Did Rick Kaiser truly want to overthrow the Empire?
I didn't voice it. It might have sounded strange, but Kinuan was Rick's friend. He had watched his friend die only minutes ago. This was not the time to ask.
Kinuan pulled out a thermos and poured himself some warm tea. Bringing tea all the way out here—his obsession really was something.
Taking a sip, he continued.
"Just by hearing and seeing news of the assassination of a bureaucrat who can be swapped out like a mass-produced good, or terror and riots that don't leave so much as a scratch on the Empire... some people come to believe the Empire will change bit by bit, and their discontent softens day by day."
Kinuan's gaze drifted to Rick's body. After staring at it for a long while, he slowly turned his eyes back to me.
"Luka, remember this well. When people feel things are changing for the better, their dissatisfaction eases. Say what you will, but the human brain feeds on hope, not despair. The belief that things will improve helps people overcome misfortune and pain. It carries them through even the most terrible of realities."
I had many questions.
Our title was Akies Domini. What did it have to do with Akies Victima? Was Noel Mulrizka, who had led the First Rebellion, truly a traitor? Could he, too, have been working for the Empire out of some political calculation?
But right now, the most important question lay elsewhere.
"The Imperial Guard Captain doesn't know about the watchers either, does he?"
Imperial Guard Captain Heilas surely didn't know about the Emperor's watchers. I wanted to hear a definitive answer from Kinuan.
"Heilas's flaw is that he's excessively loyal. Things would've been easier for me if he were a bit more slack. You should keep pretending to investigate me. And since it's come to this—take Rick's body. It'll do wonders for your reputation and your promotion. You'll become the cadet with the greatest achievements in the entire history of the Imperial Guard."
I looked at Rick's body. The mighty warrior who had seemed capable of turning the world upside down now lay perfectly still. Death was so silent.
If I had accepted Rick's offer...
Just imagining it sent chills across my skin. I would have joined forces with him, utterly blind to Kinuan's true identity, and thrown myself into anti-imperial activities.
And then, one day, I would have been quietly disposed of—just like Rick.
"Instructor, did you let Nikolaos Custoria die, even though you knew it would happen?"
"The death of Nikolaos—a high-ranking official and the eldest son of the Imperial Guard Captain—was a great comfort to the rebel forces. Assassinating someone of that stature gives them the illusion that they've accomplished something. In reality, he was nothing but manpower that could be replaced at any time. And because of his death, they'll stay quiet for a while."
As he spoke, Kinuan watched my expression, my every reaction.
"So you let him be assassinated because Nikolaos was more useful dead... Was Rick the one who ordered the hit?"
My voice came out cold.
"Good boy, Luka. You're still an apprentice watcher. You won't get everything out of me. Know your place. You're still standing on the edge, and it wouldn't be strange if you were disposed of at any moment."
Despite the warning, I didn't hide my turmoil. It was only natural that I'd be in agony right now. Masking my feelings would have looked stranger still.
Nikolaos died, swept up in the chaos.
To be clear, I hadn't been attached to Nikolaos. But I still felt the weight of responsibility.
If things were this twisted, who was there to blame? Kinuan? The terrorist group? Rick? Or... the Emperor of the Empire himself?
Kinuan rose to his feet. He patted my shoulder.
"When the time comes, His Majesty will call for you. Until then, countless questions and grievances will rear their heads—keep them pressed down."
I nodded, my posture stiff.
Kinuan passed by me, a cold blue light flashing in his eyes. And then, his presence vanished.