Chapter 99
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Power in Words (5)
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- BOOM!!
A thunderous roar exploded in the open space in front of the Immigration Control Office.
- SCRAAAPE! CLANG!
The sharp clash of metal against metal pierced through the pouring rain.
The margrave's guards had formed a perfect circle around the clearing, shields raised as they glared intently inside.
There, massive golems and a single human were locked in a desperate struggle, pouring every ounce of strength into the fight.
- CLANG!
The guard captain barely parried a massive swing from a greatsword with his dragon-claw spear, sliding back across the wet ground with a screech.
- THUD. THUD.
Undisturbed even after prolonged combat, the Border Guard advanced with sword in hand.
[Surrender recommended. Negative. Recommend against surrender.]
The golem's mechanical voice droned mechanically in Kaban's ears.
He heaved ragged breaths that reached up to his chin, barely steadying his stance.
"Huff... huff... You damn... cough! Puppet...!"
How much time had passed?
30 minutes? An hour? Two hours? All night?
He had no idea.
All Kaban could remember was swinging his spear relentlessly amid the relentless downpour, locked in an endless battle with these cursed golems.
'Why am I even here? What the hell am I doing?'
He had clearly come to capture that so-called Central Officer and demand to know where the volcano's master was.
'Why am I fighting these things now?'
His body had reached its limit, and his mental fortitude was slowly draining toward rock bottom, just like his flesh.
- WHOOSH!
Another attack hurtled toward him.
But this time, it was different.
Instead of parrying the greatsword, he twisted his body to dodge, then slashed at the golem's arm with his spear.
- SLASH! CRZZZT...
The golem's arm severed, finally exposing the vulnerability of its mana core.
'Now!'
Kaban didn't miss it.
He twisted his grip on the spear and thrust straight for the golem's heart.
Or rather, he tried to.
- WHIIISH!
A chilling whistle split the air as arrows flew from behind him.
"Ha! A pathetic arrow like that!"
With his dragon armor, such attacks were meaningless.
He sneered, fully aware of that fact.
But these weren't random shots.
They were aimed precisely at his head.
"Damn it!"
Kaban ducked in panic.
And that was exactly what the guard captain had baited.
- WHOOOOSH!!!!
A sound even heavier and more ominous than the arrows rumbled right in front of his face.
Kaban whipped his head around.
There, right before him, was the guard captain's fist—massive as a human torso.
"Ah."
Too late.
- THWOOOMMM!!!
The boulder-carved fist slammed squarely into Kaban's torso.
"Gaaargh!"
Kaban tumbled across the ground, bouncing this way and that.
The guard captain glanced down at his own fist and tilted his head.
[Impact confirmed. Damage negligible. Armor performance exceptional.]
Gripping his sword in one hand and clenching his other into a fist, he continued.
[However, detected decline in intruder's defense speed. Maintaining offensive.]
In other words, he was about to swing again.
"You... fuck...!"
Kaban staggered to his feet, utterly exhausted, spitting curses.
Every circumstance was against him.
Like a rat trapped in a jar.
'Still... I disabled one arm...'
Things should get a little better now.
But that thought lasted only a moment. The armless golem picked up its severed limb and snapped it back into place.
- HUMMM.
In less than five seconds, the arm reconnected.
Re-entering combat.
The most unwelcome sound in the world, delivered flatly.
"Ha."
Kaban let out a hollow laugh of despair.
Whenever he tried to attack, arrows came flying out of nowhere like vengeful spirits.
When he deflected the arrows, the golems swung their 3.5-meter greatswords.
If he tried to flee, the guards encircled him, shields up, gritting their teeth and holding firm.
And if he somehow disabled a golem, it repaired itself in under five minutes and rejoined the fray.
Perfect coordination.
Their seamless offense-to-defense shifts were like those of veteran soldiers, wearing down his patience until he bellowed in rage at his surroundings.
"Come at me all together! Stop hiding behind your golems like cowards!"
He needed an opening.
To break through the guards' encirclement, he had to provoke them into attacking.
"You pathetic bastards! If you want to catch me, you'll have to swarm me yourselves, not with these rocks!"
"What a waste of time! What kind of fight is this!?"
But no one answered.
- CLANK, THUD!
The guards gripped their shields tighter, reinforcing their formation.
"Margrave's soldiers! Do not step back or forward a single inch! Do not give him any openings!"
They heeded only one man's words.
"Maintain the encirclement to block escape routes while the Border Guard handles the suppression! Agents, secure the high ground and provide support fire. Target the head only!"
They followed the commands of that one man—the Central Officer—to the letter.
Since the changeling incident, I've learned two things for sure.
One. I should never step to the front lines myself.
As the Olfactory Officer once told me, I don't know how to fight.
Far from helping, I'd just be a liability.
'But I do know how to command people.'
I'm truly useful only when I recognize my limits and act accordingly.
That's why I direct the troops from the rear and never advance.
Two. No matter what, never give them any chance to escape.
Once they slip away, recapturing them becomes several times harder.
I've experienced it firsthand—it's the harshest lesson I've learned.
Build an airtight encirclement so they can't possibly break out, then slowly drain their blood inside it.
It's the optimal way to handle extremely dangerous targets.
'That's why the Border Guard makes such perfect opponents.'
As long as their mana cores aren't damaged, golems keep reassembling.
No matter how smashed they get, they self-repair in five minutes.
And they're outstanding fighters to boot, forcing Kaban into an endless duel until he collapses—the worst scenario for him.
Our attacks weren't limited to physical ones, either.
"Drop your weapon and surrender, you vile illegal immigrant terrorist, violent foul-mouthed impersonator of officials, obstructer of public duties, and fake dragon hunter!"
"You bastard...!!"
I relentlessly hurled mental assaults, scraping away at Kaban's pride and arrogance.
"Stop hiding in the back and come out here, you coward!"
"Can't hear you!"
As if I'd listen to you, crazy as that is.
"Central Officer. Let me join the fight."
Moved by the brutal combat, the Olfactory Officer growled, claws extended, after watching silently.
But I raised a hand to stop him.
"No. Stand by."
"Like with the changeling, I can just go in, knock him out, and be back quick."
The Olfactory Officer couldn't hide his long-unseen excitement.
"Back then, I agreed because it was clearly an opponent you could handle."
I stated firmly.
"This one's different. With that spear and armor, even if you intervened, it wouldn't change a thing."
A normal human would already be a bloody pulp and subdued.
But he'd screamed once from a golem punch and gotten right back up—clearly, the Olfactory Officer's claws and fangs wouldn't help much.
"Besides, there's something just as important as capturing him."
Ensuring no casualties.
Erzena wasn't here right now.
'I sent Erzena and Ilane home early today since they were so tired from being late. Was that a mistake?'
If even one person got injured here, things would get very messy.
So I grabbed the Olfactory Officer and shouted at Kaban.
"There's nowhere to run. Give up, terrorist!"
"I'm not a terr... huff... orist...! A hero—"
"Terrorist! Illegal immigrant! Petty thief!"
"Shut up, you dog!!!"
Kaban roared.
In that instant, he seemed to realize something and muttered.
"Wait... nowhere to run?"
He lowered his spear tip, slowly lifting his gaze to the sky.
The guard captain didn't miss that opening.
- WHOOSH!!!
The captain clenched his fist again and unleashed a full-power strike.
An uppercut aimed at torso and head simultaneously.
[Suppression complete.]
Victory assured.
And at that sight, Kaban slyly curled the corner of his mouth.
- SWISH.
He bent his body slightly.
Adjusting the angle of impact.
And one second later.
- KABOOOM!!!
A massive shockwave rocked the clearing with the roar.
Kaban's body rocketed through the air.
"Guhack...!!!"
"Got him!"
But something was off.
His trajectory was completely different from before.
Not a straight line parallel to the ground, but a curve arcing toward the sky.
"My God...!"
Only then did I realize what he'd planned by taking that hit on purpose.
"Damn it, the terrorist is trying to break the encirclement!"
He was launching himself into the sky.
- RUMBLE!!
A flash lit the pitch-black night sky, followed seconds later by distant thunder.
Stroking her egg on the sofa, Mnatsil murmured with interest.
"Oh ho. It's pouring like the heavens have a hole in them. Never saw weather like this back at the volcano, not once."
Ilane and Erzena had also clocked out early and were spending time near her.
"But... the Central Officer is quite late. He should've been home over an hour ago."
"Yeah. Nathan's never late like this..."
"Ugh."
Erzena glanced suspiciously at the door.
"Could something have happened at the Immigration Control Office?"
"He'll be fine. It's our Central Officer, after all."
Mnatsil waved it off.
"Still... I can't deny this uneasy feeling creeping in."
She pressed a hand to her suddenly throbbing chest.
That was when.
- RUMBLE!!
Thunder crashed again, lighting up the world.
Mnatsil, staring blankly out the window, suddenly flinched.
Then, slowly, she spoke.
"Erzena."
"Yes."
"Can people fly?"
"...Pardon?"
"If I didn't see wrong just now, there was a person in the sky. More precisely, flying by at high speed."
"..."
"Like they got hit by something and went flying..."
Even as she said it, she frowned in confusion, muttering.
"Looked familiar somehow..."
In the dark night amid the torrent, she hadn't seen clearly, but it felt like someone she'd met before.
Who? Where had she seen him?
She scratched the egg gently, rummaging through her memories.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
- SPLAAASH...
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the rain-soaked night sky.
Emergency.
Full-blown crisis.
I hadn't seen this coming at all.
Using an attack as a springboard to launch into the sky and pierce the encirclement? Unbelievable.
I yelled in disbelief.
"Guard Captain!!! Why an uppercut? Just hit him straight!"
[Confusion. Confusion. Confusion. Confusion.]
The captain was flustered too, repeating the same word and alternating glances between his fist and the star-like figure vanishing into the sky.
No time to blame him.
I grabbed the Olfactory Officer I'd been holding and shook him wildly.
"Olfactory Officer! Can you track him!?"
"Damn it, the rain's washing away the scent!"
Of all times, why this downpour?
The Auditory Officer grimaced too.
"The rain's too loud. All other sounds are drowned out."
Scent and sound get nullified in the rain.
I never imagined it'd screw us this badly.
Then.
"I'll handle it."
The Tactile Officer, who had been quietly bracing the guards from behind, raised a tentacle.
"Rain has almost no vibration. And at that speed, when he crashes, the impact will reach the ground. I can feel it."
Vibrations.
Right, that.
I nodded quickly.
"Please, Tactile Officer."
"Got it. Everyone, close your eyes!"
With a short shout, she shed her clothes.
Her true form appeared after so long.
"Eek!"
"H-Hey, look away! Away!"
"You'll go mad if you look!"
The guards and agents panicked and turned their heads.
- GURGLE.
She plastered all her tentacles to the ground.
- TWITCH, TWITCH.
Her grotesque body writhed with eerie sounds.
Moments later, she pointed left.
"400 meters west. Massive vibration in the back alley of Bibachen Street. Like a meteor hit... he got smashed good."
"4... 400?? For real?"
A person flew 400 meters?
'How hard did he hit him?'
I stared at the guard captain in disbelief.
[Visual confirmation impossible due to heavy rain.]
A lame excuse, averting his gaze slyly.
But I couldn't blame him.
Kaban had just outsmarted the encirclement.
The Tactile Officer tilted a tentacle tip.
"Ah, he's moving. But the vibrations are slow. He's injured."
"Direction!?"
"Heading toward Gretchen Street."
"...What?"
My face paled at her words.
Gretchen Street.
That's toward my house.
'Who's home right now?'
I racked my brain.
Mnatsil. Hanna. Fire spirits.
Unfortunately, none could fight.
Mnatsil goes without saying, Hanna's a civilian, and fire spirits die in rain.
But two more were there.
'Ilane and Erzena... Oh God.'
My face drained of color for a different reason.
'If that bastard somehow gets into my house, even a one-in-a-million chance...'
It wouldn't be Mnatsil and the egg's safety at stake—he'd be crushed to death in his dragon armor.
And if that happened, the fact that Ilane and Erzena were at my place would be exposed to the world.
'Then the fallout would be...'
Violation of the king's secrecy order + exposing the saintesses' location to the Holy Church. The absolute worst.
I could see that future.
"No way!!!!"
I freaked out and shouted.
"Form pursuit teams now! Sensory Officers, Border Guard, agents—follow me!"
A new kind of race against time began.