Chapter 96
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96
Iskan sprinted as if gravity had ceased to exist. He kicked off the edge of another building, launching himself forward without losing an ounce of speed. When narrow gaps loomed ahead, he didn't bother detouring—he plunged straight through them.
He's going to crash...
But my prediction clashed with reality. Iskan slipped through the gap without a sound.
His body was a full-body prosthetic forged of hard metal, yet he squeezed through as though melting smoothly into the space. The hem of his coat trailed behind him, fluttering like liquid.
Yes, I had to admit it.
Just keeping up with him was taking everything I had. Iskan's mastery of Adaptive 3D Maneuvering far exceeded my wildest expectations.
When it comes to 3D maneuvering, Iskan might actually be better than Heilas.
Even Heilas wasn't omnipotent. There were bound to be plenty of Imperial Guardsmen who surpassed him in specific areas.
Besides, combat power isn't the only thing that matters for an Imperial Guard Captain.
Leadership—the ability to command respect and make subordinates follow—mattered far more.
Screeech!
I hurled myself into the gap after him. My frame was smaller, yet my shoulders and knees scraped harshly against the walls.
Dammit.
A curse slipped out. It was embarrassing to show Iskan my clumsiness.
Emerging from the gap, I saw the Boundary Wall rising high like the rampart of a fortress.
The boundary between the Upper and Lower Districts.
Above it, surveillance facilities and drones patrolled back and forth.
The Black Taxi carrying Bao Zakanan drifted over it without a care. It seemed he'd secured free passage clearance in advance.
But Iskan and I were on a classified mission. Naturally, we had no such clearance.
Iskan slowed slightly at the sight of the Boundary Wall and reached into his inner pocket.
Clack!
His hand came back out. Small beads were wedged between his fingers.
Whoosh, whoosh.
He waved his hand up and down in quick strokes. The beads began to glow with a bluish light, as if catching fire.
"Luka, once I throw these, we have five seconds to clear the Boundary Wall. If you need to rest, speak up now. We've got about a minute to catch our breath."
The light inside the beads was growing more unstable by the second.
"Let's go now," I said, gritting my teeth.
Iskan's beads were almost certainly electromagnetic bombs—designed to cause interference and disruption. I'd never seen them miniaturized to that degree before.
"Keep up. Fall behind, and I'm leaving you."
Iskan stepped back and coiled to leap. Surveillance drones were patrolling near the Boundary Wall.
He ran forward as if to demonstrate. I fixed my eyes on his movements, recording them in my mind like a camera. I had no intention of missing a single detail.
Whoosh!
Leaping into the air, Iskan spun. The bead bombs shot out in every direction as if fired from a precision launcher.
Crackle.
Where they burst, light flickered and a brief electrical pulse rippled outward. The surrounding surveillance system went dark for a moment.
In that instant, Iskan hooked his fingers onto the edge of the Boundary Wall. Using nothing but the strength of his fingers and wrists, he vaulted again and vanished over the far side.
...And I was right behind him, mirroring his every move. Since I didn't need to scatter beads like he had, all I had to do was jump.
As I soared through the air, the Boundary Wall drew closer.
Damn it!
I wanted to scream.
Maybe it was because I'd come up half a step short on my jump. Maybe it was the rain. Maybe it was because my prosthetic body had gone too long without calibration, or because the electromagnetic bomb had grazed my own frame...
Either way, I'm screwed.
I knew I'd failed before I even reached the wall. I was short by an arm's length.
What do I do?
Think, Luka. Iskan had already dropped down the other side—he couldn't help me now.
At this rate, I'd slide straight into the wall and slam into the ground. Should I scrape against the wall to cushion the impact? I wouldn't die that way.
But even if I survived, I'd fail the mission. And I hated that more than dying.
Rip!
I tore off my coat in an instant. Then I whipped it forward like a lash. For once, I was glad it was raining—the wet fabric held decent friction.
Whoosh!
The sleeve wrapped around the railing atop the Boundary Wall. But it would only bear my weight for a split second.
Please, please!
I hauled on the coat, dragging my body toward the wall.
Creak!
My fingers barely caught the underside of the railing. The sudden impact wrenched the shock absorbers in my finger joints apart, forcing them wide.
"Haa, haa."
I pulled myself up over the railing. I wanted to catch my breath, but there was no time to rest.
Move.
I hurled signals at my body. Two seconds left. I had to jump down immediately—no time to survey the terrain below.
Whoosh!
I threw myself downward as though collapsing. As I fell, my vision cut through the rain and darkness. Ah. A familiar sight. From here on, it was the Lower District.
Screeech! Thud!
I dragged my heels against the wall on the way down. At last, my feet met the ground. Somehow, I'd made it. Even I was amazed I'd pulled it off.
Click, click.
I twisted my dislocated fingers and pushed them back into place. As the internal components clicked home, the ugly sound and sensation vanished.
Rustle.
I threw the tattered coat back over my shoulders and yanked down the hood. Down the alleyway, Iskan came into view.
"A little later, and I'd have left you behind, rookie."
"Not a chance," I shot back, baring my teeth. But I couldn't tell if the liquid running down my spine was sweat or rain. I'd just come within a hair of dying.
* * *
Even after switching to a full-body prosthetic, human desires stayed exactly the same.
I'd assumed Bao Zakanan would head straight for the red-light district of the Lower District. There were prostitutes in the Upper District too, but some appetites simply couldn't be satisfied up there.
I remembered the holographic advertisements plastered across the brothels of the Lower District. Too vile to even describe.
Whoosh!
Iskan and I bounded across the rooftops of the Lower District. The buildings, expanded haphazardly over the years, were far more irregular than those in the Upper District—much harder to read. Even Iskan, a master of 3D maneuvering, occasionally hesitated and slowed.
"The red-light district is that way. Bao Zakanan's heading in a completely different direction," I said, offering what help I could. I knew the geography of the Lower District like the back of my hand.
"Let's hope he doesn't leave Akbaran. Then again... maybe it's better if he does. No one would know if we snatched him out there," Iskan muttered. He, too, seemed baffled by the Black Taxi's route, which had skirted right past the red-light district.
"He can't go too far, not with a Black Taxi's fare. Even for some secret craving, it's hard to burn that much money on a hobby."
Back during the raid on Ken Noma's arena, I'd ridden in a Black Taxi. Even over a short distance, the fare... just thinking about it turned my stomach. It was a sum that would've made even a high-ranking official wince.
"He's already covered a serious distance. Whatever this is, it's worth spending that many credits to him."
Iskan stared at the Black Taxi, now shrunk to a tiny dot in the distance. Passing aerial vehicles kept cutting across our line of sight. Without the tracker, we'd have lost him long ago.
"The Black Taxi's headed for the outskirts. He might be leaving Akbaran. Should I arrange a vehicle?"
"What a headache. I'd hoped to avoid using one."
No matter how private a vehicle was, any mode of transport made stealthy movement difficult. To tail a Black Taxi unnoticed, going on foot was the best option.
Iskan's dilemma deepened. But just then, the Black Taxi began to slow. The look of worry on his face melted into relief, and he let out a sigh.
The Black Taxi settled into the ruins on the outskirts of Akbaran. I'd been out to those ruins once myself, on a mission. Needless to say, I had no fond memories of it. The place crawled with bastards whose appearances were as twisted as their minds.
The ruins of Akbaran. Where the worst dregs of humanity gather. A lawless zone beyond even the gray zone.
And a high-ranking imperial official had come to a place like that.
"Now this is unusual," Iskan said, narrowing his eyes as he confirmed the location.
"Maybe it's not about satisfying a desire. Maybe it's a meeting with terrorists," I offered.
Iskan shook his head at once.
"No, unlikely. Not even a Black Taxi would shield anti-imperial treason. However powerful they are, at the end of the day they're just a corporation."
Now that he mentioned it, he had a point. Maybe because I was born in the Lower District, I'd carried some strange illusion about Black Taxis.
Shaking off the notion, I stared at the taxi in the distance. It hovered slightly in the air, idling as if processing a payment.
We advanced slowly, keeping to the cover of the debris.
"Luka, I heard you trained in Akies Victima. Practitioners of that style are supposed to have uncannily sharp instincts. Is yours reliable?"
"Reliable enough. I'll gladly stake my life on my intuition and my gut."
I didn't play modest. I gave him the plain truth.
A soldier shouldn't inflate his abilities—but downplaying them to dodge responsibility is just as wrong.
"Then I'll leave spotting anomalies to you. The ruins of Akbaran lie outside the Empire's surveillance and control. There's no telling what could happen here."
The Empire kept a close watch on the Lower District, where Gabriel, the arena gangs, and La Vie en Rose all operated.
But the ruins, with no clear borders at all, were a wholly abandoned zone. Even the Empire struggled to track everything that unfolded here.
A place stripped of even the flimsy morals and ethics the people of the Lower District still clung to.
The ruins were dotted with abandoned buildings. It wasn't some barren wasteland—just urban sprawl where development had stalled or been abandoned for one reason or another. Vagrants and outlaws survived off whatever facilities remained.
Bao Zakanan stepped out of the Black Taxi. Its task complete, the taxi rose and passed overhead.
Whirrrr.
Iskan worked his terminal, sending a signal to the tracker. The fingernail-sized device on the taxi detached and dropped into his palm.
Crackle.
He rolled the tracker between his fingers, grinding it to dust.
"Bao Zakanan's gone into the building," I said quietly.
He'd disappeared into one of the ruined structures and hadn't emerged in over two minutes. From the outside, it looked like nothing more than a desolate, abandoned building.
"No choice but to follow him in. Luka, take the lead."
At first glance it might've sounded like he was shoving his subordinate into the jaws of death. But as a practitioner of the Akies Combat Style, my going first was the rational call.
I didn't mind the risk. If anything, I welcomed it. Up until now, I'd practically been dragged along in Iskan's wake. But this was my chance to show what I could do.
When it came to sensing anomalies and danger, I was confident I was at least Iskan's equal. No—I had to be better.
The time had come to prove my worth.