Chapter 95
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 95
Night was deepening over Akbaran.
Iskan and I kept watch over Bao Zakanan's house.
Bao Zakanan's residence was a luxury penthouse. The fifty-second-floor suite was massive enough to occupy the entire level, yet even a place like that was merely a commuter home for him—a testament to his immense status and wealth.
We were perched atop a skyscraper that looked down even on Bao Zakanan's penthouse. I stood on a narrow, abandoned walkway that had been used temporarily during construction.
It was barely wide enough for one or two people to squeeze past. The wire-mesh floor creaked beneath our feet, and the handrail, its screws half-loose, was so flimsy I was afraid to lean against it.
To make matters worse, it was pouring.
Shhhhhhh!
Miserable weather.
Few citizens of Akbaran likely enjoyed the rain. It was terrible for cybernetic prosthetics and machinery. The rain here was especially murky, thick with impurities. If you didn't wipe it off immediately, it left dark, stubborn stains.
Lukewarm rain.
I watched the black water run down my shoulders. Today it was in an even worse state than usual.
Unrefined chemicals and microscopic metal particles saturated the downpour. Ordinary dust didn't even register as an impurity compared to this grime.
"Akbaran has changed a lot," Iskan said. "Luka, do you know why the Upper District and Lower District are divided?"
He gazed wistfully down at the city.
The building we were on was the tallest in the area. On a clear day, we would have been able to see all the way to Akbaran's outer boundary.
"To keep the idiot nobles safe from the scum?"
Iskan was an Irregular from the Lower District. He'd laugh at a comment like that—I'd spent a few days with him and had a rough grasp of his personality by now. And sure enough, he did.
"Haha, that's true too. But the biggest reason is to leave room for chaos. The Empire runs on an overly refined system. Like a machine that allows no margin of error. But the innovations that change eras are born from incalculable chaos. By absorbing the Irregulars who crawl out of that chaos and confusion into high society, the Empire fosters change rather than stagnation."
It was a complex idea, but it resonated with me.
Ever since an Irregular like me had entered the Empire's high society, many changes had occurred and incidents had arisen.
'The Empire is not perfect. But it shouldn't be torn down just because it's imperfect.'
Kinuan's words came back to me.
"If it were perfect, wouldn't there be no need for change?" I said, staring at the windows of Bao Zakanan's residence. There was still movement inside.
"No matter how sophisticated a machine, or how perfect a society and system seem... over time, they grow old and imperfect. In a way, 'change' is the word closest to perfection."
"Hmm. I didn't know you were a philosopher."
"When you live for about eighty years, you learn a lot of things whether you want to or not. The old geezers who've lived for ages might think of me as a kid... but eighty is by no means young for a human. It's more than enough time to master the ways of the world. Oh—and eat something now."
Iskan pulled out a fingernail-sized candy and popped it into his mouth. It was a compact ration packed with the nutrients his brain needed. He could last an entire day on just one of those.
Full-Body Prosthetics had various energy sources. They came equipped with an artificial digestive system that converted food calories into electricity. In daily life, the power accumulated through food intake alone was enough to eliminate the need for separate charging.
But the fastest method was, of course, charging from an external power source.
Iskan must have fully charged his Full-Body Prosthetic before the mission. As long as he kept his brain supplied with nutrients, he could easily last half a month—maybe a full month.
But I didn't have a Full-Body Prosthetic. Only my limbs were cybernetic; the organ systems necessary for my survival were still biological.
Rustle.
I pulled out a ration bar and tore open the packaging. No matter how convenient military rations were, they still required dedicated time to eat. They also had to be digested, which meant a much slower rate of energy absorption.
Iskan watched over Bao Zakanan's residence in my stead while I ate. For once, I felt the inferiority of my biological organs—something I'd never experienced when I was with the other cadets.
"Luka, even those of us who've transitioned to Full-Body Prosthetics still maintain complex, cumbersome digestive systems," Iskan said. "It'd be far more useful to install another power source in their place. But humans need the act of eating. No matter how much you replace your body with machinery, in the end, your brain is human. There's no shame in eating."
He spoke as if reading my mind. I thought I understood why.
"I take it you've felt ashamed the way I do, Senior."
"Most of the emotions and thoughts you're feeling now are things I've already gone through."
"But we must be soldiers before we're humans. And for a soldier, the simpler the refueling process, the better."
"This is exactly why young people are so amusing. The ones who said things like that were always the first to get devoured by the Legion."
His eyes stayed fixed on Bao Zakanan's residence as he spoke.
The longer and more frequently one operated the Legion, the more their mind crumbled. It was an open secret among the Imperial Guardsmen.
'Devoured by the Legion.'
I'd heard those words from Heilas too. Grace's words came back to me as well.
Crunch, crunch.
I devoured the ration bar more hastily than usual. I'd probably get indigestion later.
"You're going to give yourself a stomachache eating like that, kid," Iskan chuckled.
"Excuse me—may I ask you something?"
"Sure. It's not like we've got anything else to do. Go ahead. It's going to be a boring wait anyway."
"Do you know an Imperial Guardsman named Rosen?"
Iskan tilted his head, confused at first. But soon his mouth opened, as if the memory had clicked into place.
"Ah. Rosen, Rosen. I remember him now. He was an Irregular, like you and me. That's why I remember him. But how do you know about him?"
"An acquaintance of mine was curious how he was doing. If it's not classified, I'd like to let them know."
Grace had helped me in many ways, after all.
"Well, he's dead. Too earnest—didn't have the personality to last long. An Imperial Guardsman needs a gritty temperament like yours. Sometimes you even need enough venom in you to look like you'd stab your superior to death."
"I didn't know the Imperial Guard encouraged insubordination."
"Because we don't need anyone incompetent enough to let their subordinates rebel against them. It's one of the Guard's strengths. Unlike other units, no one takes a major role on family influence alone."
I had to agree. It had been the same during the Imperial Guard training process. No matter how prestigious a family's child was, if they fell short of the standards, they couldn't survive.
'Rosen is dead.'
I should let Grace know. Whatever his fate, she'd want to hear it.
"...Chatter's over, Luka. Get ready. Bao Zakanan is moving."
Iskan's eyes gleamed, as if drawing in the surrounding light.
* * *
Bao Zakanan finally made his move.
In the distance, a Black Taxi was approaching the rooftop landing pad. At first it was hard to spot—the vehicle blended into the rainy night sky as though melting into it.
Iskan noticed the Black Taxi before I did. He pulled several metal rods from his coat and began assembling them. From the outline, it was a sniper rifle.
Click, clack.
He adjusted the assembled rifle and loaded a tracking round. He was incredibly fast—less than ten seconds from assembly to loading. It would have taken me thirty, at least.
Whir.
Iskan braced the rifle against his arm as a support, staring at the Black Taxi and tilting the muzzle at a slight angle. At first glance he seemed perfectly still, but that was only because he was making microscopic adjustments to his aim.
Phut!
A faint gunshot cut through the rainy night sky.
Beep.
Iskan's terminal chimed. The tracker had successfully attached to the Black Taxi and was transmitting.
The security on a Black Taxi must be formidable, but...
We were using the Imperial Guard's tracking equipment. No matter how notorious the Black Taxi service was, they were a private firm at best. There was no way they could detect and bypass our gear.
The Black Taxi descended onto the rooftop landing pad, seemingly oblivious to the tracker.
Whirrrr.
Iskan stared at the rooftop, his eyes glowing. His pupils dilated until they nearly swallowed the whites of his eyes.
I could faintly make out Bao Zakanan's figure as well. He boarded the Black Taxi.
"We're moving too."
Iskan leaped down the exterior wall of the building into the pouring rain, slowing his descent by grabbing protruding structures along the way.
"...Damn."
My damn senior had jumped as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I had no choice but to follow.
I gripped the handrail and threw myself down after him. The surrounding scenery blurred past. It felt almost like a free fall.
This is insane.
Honestly, if I'd been alone, I never would have moved so recklessly. And as I said—it was pouring!
One slip, one slight mistake, and I'd die a dog's death. My biological parts were fragile. Getting impaled on a jutting piece of rebar would kill me instantly.
Iskan, who had jumped ahead of me, killed his momentum and landed lightly.
Thud!
I barely managed to land, grabbing my knees as a sharp shock traveled all the way up to the crown of my head.
Standing up, I stared at the floor where our footprints remained. I—far lighter than him—had landed with far more noise. It made plain just how skilled Iskan was at using his cybernetic body.
How much more did I have to hone myself to catch up to veterans like him?
Ever since fighting Rick Silva Nunez on equal terms, I'd grown confident in my abilities. I felt like I could hold my own against almost any Imperial Guardsman.
But thinking about it carefully, I had prepared my equipment and simulated training specifically for a battle with Rick. That was the only reason I'd been able to stand against him.
If I fought a different Imperial Guardsman, I might win—but only if the matchup favored me and luck was on my side.
Otherwise, the odds of losing were much higher. Just from watching him land, I could tell Iskan was on an entirely different level.
"You managed to keep up." Iskan smirked at me, clearly finding it all highly amusing.
"I don't like losing."
"I can tell you're stubborn just by looking at your face. Anyway, we're tracking on foot—no vehicle. You've mastered Adaptive 3D Maneuvering, right?"
"I was second in my class for 3D maneuvering."
The top student at the time had been Ilay.
"Good. Let's get moving."
Iskan set off as if testing me. He scaled a low-rise building by leaping from wall to wall, then broke into high-speed maneuvering, bounding from rooftop to rooftop.
Adaptive 3D Maneuvering was a movement doctrine designed for traversing rough terrain—urban areas packed with irregular obstacles, dense jungle, rocky ground.
Its key feature wasn't merely crossing that terrain, but using the surrounding structures and environment to move even faster than one would on flat ground. To pull it off, you needed an enhanced nervous system like an Imperial Guardsman's.
Whoosh!
I followed Iskan, leaping between buildings as we tore through the Upper District.
"Just stick to the path I clear, Luka. With the rain, it'll be tough for you," Iskan said, pausing briefly atop a building.
In Adaptive 3D Maneuvering, real-time spatial awareness and finding the optimal path were everything. So it was most efficient for the one with the best pathfinding to take the lead while the rest followed.
Simply following wasn't difficult. Even an ordinary person without an enhanced nervous system could manage it, provided they had the physical capability.
'It'll be tough for you.'
Those words echoed in my mind. It would be a lie to say they didn't sting. But we were on a mission; now was no time to let competitiveness get the better of me.
"I'll watch closely and keep up."
I answered obediently—but my stubborn streak was flaring up again.
...I wanted to show my true capabilities to Iskan, who was looking down on me.