Chapter 124: Breaking the Spirit - 11
Chapter 124: Breaking the Spirit - 11
Blue Seal barracks.
Jiha arrived with Asira.
Uben was waiting at the barracks entrance.
Jiha stepped forward and asked.
"What's the situation?"
"Kamain's holed up in the annex, on a rampage."
"Damage report?"
"The Commons weren't nearby, so none of them got hurt. But..."
Uben trailed off, glancing at Asira.
Jiha nodded, and Uben gave a more detailed account.
"Super Rare Mayan, who was keeping watch on Kamain, has been taken hostage."
"She was overpowered?"
"I don't know the specifics. Kamain's threatening to kill her if anyone gets near the building."
"So it's a hostage situation."
Asira's face hardened as she gripped the sword strapped to her back.
"...I'll handle this."
"Don't be ridiculous."
Jiha shut her down flat, but Asira didn't back off.
"I have to take responsibility for this. I let this mess happen because I wasn't here..."
"If you want to trace the root cause, the mistake was letting him live in the first place. And is this really the time to be assigning blame?"
Asira shook her head.
"I'm the only one who can talk Kamain down."
"...His demand is to bring Asira Hellrunner here."
At Uben's report, Jiha smirked.
"Ever seen a negotiator who just hands over exactly what they ask for?"
"But there's a hostage. If something happens to Mayan, I won't be able to face Enril..."
"Do you think 'something happening' is where it stops? Mayan is a woman."
"..."
Asira's expression went rigid.
It was a complicated look, caught between doubt that he'd really go that far and an instinct that he absolutely could.
"You don't know exactly what crimes Kamain committed, do you? That bastard's raped and murdered innocent civilian women more times than anyone can count. Chances are, Mayan's already been subjected to something horrific."
He was rough with his words, but Jiha was sizing up the situation coldly.
'A fellow Super Rare like Mayan getting taken hostage that easily was unexpected on my end too... but odds are she hasn't been violated. Kamain isn't the type to commit crimes on impulse. He scouts targets and uses drugs.'
Mayan was very likely genuinely a hostage.
She might be injured, but her virtue probably wasn't in danger.
But all of this happened because Kamain had been kept alive.
Asira, feeling the weight of that responsibility, looked anguished.
"...Then what should I do? How do we resolve this?"
"..."
Jiha fell into thought, staring up at the sky.
"First, control the rumors. Have every single Common completely lock down all information. Nothing that happens in the barracks from this point on leaks out. No one leaves, no one enters. No need to specifically notify Enril or Yura, who are out right now."
Jiha gave the order and added to Uben.
"If they come back and try to get involved, have Lijin handle them."
Lijin would know how to stall them with words.
"Understood. I'll make the arrangements."
Uben answered.
Jiha turned to check.
"Asira, you still haven't reported Kamain to Cheonho, right?"
"...After reporting that I was ascertaining the circumstances, I was drafting a new report. I was about to submit it soon."
Jiha nodded.
"Kamain is going to use Mayan's life as leverage to try and extract a promise from you. To bury every crime he's committed so far in darkness."
"What kind of absurd..."
Uben looked completely stunned.
Jiha agreed.
"It's absurd. But if Asira promises something, she'll keep it. Right?"
"..."
Asira couldn't answer and bit her lower lip.
"Kamain knows Asira's character and personality and is trying to push this. He knows if Asira makes a promise, she'd never break it."
"...I understand what you're saying."
Asira's voice was pained.
Her trusted right hand was not only a shameless villain, but now he was staging a hostage crisis, trying to exploit her very integrity.
No matter how upright a person you were, this was hard to endure.
Asira looked at Jiha and said.
"Can't I try to talk him down one last time? If it doesn't work... I'll take responsibility and cut Kamain down myself."
"Can you actually do that?"
"If Mayan gets so much as a scratch, I won't be able to face Enril. No, I already can't face her..."
Her subordinate was holding another Unique's subordinate hostage and barricading himself in.
Asira seemed filled with nothing but guilt toward Enril, who wasn't even here.
'She's resolved to cut down Kamain. But...'
He couldn't let her bring about her own closure.
Because this demon Unique was someone he intended to claim.
"Asira and I will go in. Uben, have Sirel on standby near the building. If there are injuries, treat them immediately. And Asira. Once we go in, promise me you'll follow my orders."
"Must I?"
Asira looked puzzled.
She held Jiha in high regard, but Asira was someone who had been through battlefields herself.
She was accustomed to giving orders on the battlefield, but the reverse—taking orders—was not something she'd experienced.
"Ever dealt with a hostage-taker before? This isn't something you solve by just swinging your sword."
"...Fine. If you have experience, I'll follow your orders."
Of course, Jiha hadn't dealt with hostage-takers back when he was on Earth either.
But he could see straight through Kamain's psychology.
'Given the intel that the Uniques were absent, he chose a hostage situation instead of running away. Makes this easier.'
And he knew exactly how to smash it apart.
"Last confirmation. I can go in alone and resolve this myself. But if you're participating, you must follow my orders and actions without question. If you refuse, everyone's in danger. Can you truly do this?"
"...I'm resolved."
When Jiha pressed her again, Asira answered firmly.
"Good. Everyone, move."
At Jiha's order, Uben nodded and issued commands to the other Commons.
Jiha turned back to Asira, who wore a determined expression.
"We're going too."
"...Yes."
Asira and Jiha approached the annex alone.
The room where Kamain was holed up was covered by curtains.
Jiha issued an order to Asira, and she followed it exactly.
"Kamain! I'm here!"
"..."
"I'm coming in! But not alone like you demanded! Two of us are entering!"
The window cracked open slightly, and an angry shout came from inside.
"Come in alone!"
Jiha used Hearing Amplification to gauge the situation.
'He opens the window to answer but doesn't show himself. He's worried about a sniper or something... he's screwed up, but his brain's still working.'
When Asira looked over, Jiha raised his voice instead.
"The other one's me, Kamain! You and I have plenty to talk about!"
"...You son of a bitch!!"
A phlegmy, seething roar came from inside.
Kamain losing everything and being reduced to a prisoner was his own doing.
But he blamed Jiha for all of it.
"Let me be clear: Asira is absolutely not going in alone! If we go in, it's both of us!"
"Then I'll kill the hostage!"
"Go ahead! Then Enril kills you!"
Asira shot him a shocked look, but Jiha ignored it.
'If Mayan really dies, there's no helping it. The second you start caving to a hostage-taker's demands, nothing gets resolved.'
You don't negotiate with terrorists. That's the fundamental premise.
Asira's face was full of things she wanted to say, but she kept silent under Jiha's gaze.
Only after a long pause did Kamain shout toward the outside.
"Fine. But neither of you brings weapons! The second you do, the hostage dies!"
"...Fine."
Asira put down her greatsword as if she had no other choice and gave Jiha a look.
Jiha also placed the treasured sword he'd kept hidden at the small of his back atop Asira's blade.
"Weapons are down! We're coming in now!"
There was no reply, but Jiha took the lead.
Following behind him, Asira spoke quietly.
"Don't worry. If things go wrong, I'll handle it..."
"..."
Did she think Kamain wouldn't know that?
For someone at the Unique level, killing a person with bare hands means nothing.
Even if you pull a predator's claws, the teeth remain.
'Kamain's calmer than I expected.'
He'd taken the bait Jiha had laid out, but Kamain had clearly calculated several things himself.
Keeping that in mind, Jiha headed for the room Kamain had barricaded himself in.
They arrived in front of the door.
Jiha stopped. When Asira reached for the door handle, he stopped her with a glance.
"We're coming in now."
Jiha spoke toward the inside, then kicked the door so hard it shattered.
He'd reinforced his leg with Mana; breaking a door was nothing.
The door panel flew off, revealing the scene inside.
"..."
Mayan, her limbs bound, was tied to a bed leg. Kamain sat beside her on a chair, a blade held to Mayan's throat.
It was the dagger Mayan had drawn.
"Making a real spectacle, aren't you."
At Jiha's remark, Kamain glared with eyes that seemed to smolder.
He'd once been handsome, but half his face and one arm were completely burnt, leaving him hideous to look at.
"Why not get some healing? It's too mangled to get your old face back, though."
"You piece of shit... keep running your mouth and..."
Kamain pressed the blade. Blood began to trickle down Mayan's neck.
"..."
Mayan bit her lip hard, struggling not to cry out.
She looked deeply ashamed of being taken hostage.
Jiha smiled and asked Mayan.
"How the hell did you end up like that?"
"...Don't mock me."
As Kamain's blade cut deeper, blood streamed down Mayan's neck.
A little deeper and the artery would sever.
Asira couldn't hold back any longer and shouted.
"Kamain! Stop it!"
Kamain looked at Asira and smiled.
"Asira, I didn't know your face could make that kind of expression."
"..."
"You, always so confident and composed—and now you look that stiff. I'd almost want to frame a painting of it."
Kamain laughed leisurely, and Asira spoke almost pleadingly.
"...I came, just like you demanded. So let the hostage go."
"No, I can't do that. You'd kill me then, wouldn't you?"
At Kamain's retort, Jiha fired back.
"What's the specific demand? You think pulling a hostage stunt like this is going to end in a love-and-peace happy ending?"
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. A long time..."
Kamain glared at Jiha with venomous eyes.
They were eyes steeped in dark, seething hatred.
"Everything that's happened is because of you. If it weren't for you, none of this would've been a problem."
"Blaming someone else for your own stupidity must make life real easy."
Jiha smiled, and Kamain's rage boiled over.
"Your blabbering mouth ends here! Common. You're dying right here."
"You want another round?"
Kamain shook his head.
"No, not me. Asira. Kill that bastard."
"..."
Asira froze.
Kamain smirked with a swagger.
"If you try to kill me now, this beastman dies. And if you kill me? Two Super Rares die. But if you kill just that one Common, I let the hostage go. I promise."
"..."
"Two versus one. Two are Super Rares, one's a Common. Which is the better choice? You don't even have to think about it, do you?"
Kamain looked at Jiha and jeered.
"Well, Common? Going to beg for your life now?"
Jiha sighed.
"For a second, I thought you might have actually used your brain. And this is it? A miracle of mathematical logic?"
At Jiha's words, Kamain's face hardened and he pressed the blade harder.
"Any funny business and the hostage dies."
Kamain urged Asira.
"Come on, Asira. Kill that Common and let's bury the past. All the problems vanish. We can go back to how things were before."
"..."
"Who exactly is happy if you drag me to trial and expose the truth? I die, you fall from grace, and every half-baked opportunist who's been eyeing your position comes swarming. What actually changes? Warsland just gets more chaotic!"
Kamain pressed harder.
"What the hell gets better by punishing me!"
"Is that something a hostage-taker gets to say?"
Jiha laughed and bent over.
Kamain flinched at the sudden movement, but Jiha waved it off and rolled up the hem of his pants.
A dagger strapped to his calf. One of the Mana weapons he'd taken from the gnolls.
As Jiha pulled out the dagger, Kamain's voice strangled out.
"You crazy son of a bitch! You brought a weapon? You want the hostage to die!"
"No, wait. I didn't bring this to kill you. I'm not throwing it at you."
Jiha spoke calmly, and Kamain's eyes darted around nervously.
Jiha smiled, showing his empty hand to signal reassurance.
Then he slowly moved his right arm, the one holding the dagger, horizontally.
"..."
Jiha pressed the dagger to Asira's throat and leisurely declared to Kamain.
"This is why."
How do you subdue a hostage-taker who has demands?
You take those demands hostage.