Chapter 358
Chapter 358
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 358
Chapter Title: An Unlikely Hostage
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Shirone was too out of breath to answer. He had been watching from a distance, but when the situation grew dire, he had sprinted over with all his might.
“What do you think you’re doing, trying to kill someone just like that? I don’t know what’s going on, but can’t you talk it out?”
“What? Kill someone? How dare you belittle the great cause of the revolution by calling it murder!”
Aria recognized Shirone’s face. He was the boy she had taken a liking to in the carriage a few days ago. But now was not the time for such thoughts.
Her face a mess of tears and snot, she pleaded with Shirone, her only hope.
“Save me! Please, save me!”
“Shut up! The revolution has already begun!”
As the member hooked a sickle around Aria’s neck, a desperate Shirone had a flash of inspiration. Tucking the metal box under his arm, he held out a hand and shouted.
“Wait! If you need a hostage, take me instead!”
The member’s hand froze just before the sickle could pierce her throat.
He had trained for three years to complete the great cause, but he had never heard of a situation like this. Who would offer their own life for a complete stranger?
“Take you as a hostage?”
Shirone pulled a Magic Association ID card from his inner pocket. He held it out, covering Plu’s photo with his thumb.
“As you can see, I’m an employee of the Magic Association. Taking me hostage will be far more effective than a civilian.”
The member finally saw through the boy’s plan.
Now he saw it was a ploy to buy time. He had never seen a Magic Association ID, and it was impossible to verify it here and now.
“Hmph! You, a Magic Association employee? A kid like you? You think I’d believe that?”
Just then, a terrorist who had been watching Shirone intently from the window spoke.
“Hey, bring that kid over here.”
All the members in the Gold Tower looked at him. Though his hood obscured his expression, the atmosphere made it clear they were all bewildered.
“Leader, you don’t actually believe him, do you?”
“It’s not a matter of belief. He is a Magic Association employee. The Akim Trading Company already confirmed it. If we have an employee as a hostage, it will be much easier to get our demands met.”
One of the members relayed the message through the window. It was the leader’s word, so there was no need to doubt it.
“Hey, the leader says to do it. Bring that kid inside.”
The member with the sickle clicked his tongue and roughly shoved Aria aside. Then, pointing the sickle at Shirone, he flicked his wrist in a scraping motion.
“Fine. Walk over here, slowly. Try any funny business, and I’ll kill all the hostages here.”
“I know. That’s why I’m becoming a hostage.”
To avoid any unnecessary suspicion, Shirone placed the metal box on the ground. The member with the sickle, his voice as tense as the situation, asked sharply.
“Wait. What’s that?”
“It’s an item I bought from an alchemy company.”
As the member looked back for confirmation, the leader fell into thought. He couldn't see it with his own eyes, but he was certain the boy had stopped by a company to buy something.
“That must be it. Tell him to bring that, too.”
The Black Revolutionaries had no need for currency. A whole bundle of it would barely buy an apple on the black market.
But goods were different. Especially an item ordered by the Magic Association; it could surely be exchanged for a considerable amount of weapons.
“Hey, hold that over your head and come here.”
Shirone lifted the metal box with both hands and walked toward the Gold Tower.
As he stepped through the entrance, three members surrounded him at once. One snatched the box, another bound Shirone’s hands behind his back. A third forced him to his knees and placed a greatsword against his neck.
“Stay still. If you resist, you die.”
Shirone didn’t even bother to reply, instead scanning his surroundings.
The hostages were gathered in one place, guarded by three terrorists. Only Aria was separated from the group, forced to kneel beside Shirone.
Finally feeling that she had been saved, Aria looked at Shirone with a mix of emotions. She felt sorry, and she was surprised to learn he was a Magic Association employee.
“You… you were a mage?”
Without looking back, Shirone offered a bitter smile. Even if he was a mage, the magic control device inside the Gold Tower was active, preventing him from entering the Spirit Zone.
‘I didn’t expect the magic control device to be on. Then again, it makes sense for a foreign exchange bank. But how did these people get in?’
Shirone glanced at the large hole in the Gold Tower’s floor. It seemed they had tunneled their way in. That must have taken months, meaning this was no spontaneous crime.
‘This might be dangerous.’
While Shirone was lost in thought, a terrorist holding a flail approached. Even in his robe, he couldn't hide his massive build.
“Kekeke, to think one of those Magic Association bastards I hate most in the world would just walk in. What should I do with this one?”
His voice was unnaturally deep. No matter how clear his pronunciation, it sounded dim-witted.
The terrorist squatted down and grabbed Shirone’s chin with a massive hand. His skin was as rough as tree bark.
After turning Shirone’s face from side to side, he had a good idea and pulled a dagger from his robes.
“Yes, this will be fun. Hey, woman.”
Aria looked at the terrorist with anxious eyes. She didn't know why, but she was certain he wasn’t calling her over to tell her to go home and study hard.
The terrorist deftly spun the dagger in his giant hand. Then, pinching the blade between his fingers, he offered her the handle.
“You must be very grateful to the person who saved you. Aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then, as a reward, give him a good stabbing. The thigh would be a good spot.”
Horror filled the woman’s eyes. Her face went white, and her jaw began to tremble.
“What? H-How could I…”
The thought of stabbing someone was terrifying enough, but being forced to inflict pain on the person who had become a hostage to save her was something she could never do.
A terrorist with twin axes approached, showing interest.
“Kyakaka! That’s a great idea. Hey, hurry up! Or I’ll kill you first!”
His voice was a jarring mix of high and low pitches.
Startled by the threat of death, Aria took the dagger. But she couldn’t bring herself to stab Shirone’s thigh.
“Hoh? An employee of the Magic Association really is different. To not even flinch in a situation like this.”
Shirone stared straight ahead, his expression calm.
Reacting here would only please the terrorists. Of course, getting stabbed would hurt, but that was a future that had not yet arrived.
At the member’s words, Aria lifted her head to look at Shirone. From his lips, still fixed with an indifferent expression, came words that eased her guilt.
“I’m fine. Protect yourself.”
The member with the flail couldn’t hold back and roared.
“Hurry up! Stab him! Before I smash your head in!”
As the flail was raised into the air, Aria burst into tears and reached for Shirone’s thigh.
“I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
The inverted dagger trembled in her hand. She couldn’t even imagine what it would feel like for the sharp metal to pierce flesh.
Sobbing, Aria pressed the tip of the dagger against Shirone’s thigh.
Even then, Shirone’s expression didn’t change. They wouldn’t kill him anyway. He was their most valuable hostage.
“You are surrounded! You are surrounded! Release the hostages and surrender immediately! Failure to comply will result in your complete annihilation!”
The terrorists’ heads all snapped toward the window. The Tormia Counter-Terrorism Squad had already set up barricades and surrounded the Gold Tower.
The swordsmen’s rapid response team, the mages’ special assault team, the alchemists’ bomb disposal unit, and the gunners’ sniper squad had all been deployed.
The terrorist with the flail cursed, his chance to torment the detestable Magic Association employee ruined. His voice was so deep it was unintelligible. Or perhaps it wasn’t even a human language.
For the Black Revolutionaries, nothing was more important than the great cause of the revolution. Composing himself, the member grabbed the back of Shirone’s neck and, with his powerful strength, lifted him off his feet and walked to the window.
“We are the Black Revolutionaries! If you do not immediately release Vice-Commander Kanimar and our comrades, the hostages will die! We will execute one every ten minutes!”
The counter-terrorism squad didn’t even bat an eye. If they gave in to demands here, they would have to concede to even bigger ones in the future.
But they couldn't sacrifice the hostages, either. If a high-ranking noble was among those trapped in the Gold Tower, it could create political problems.
“Damn bastards! If they want to die, they should do it alone!”
The captain of the counter-terrorism squad glared at the terrorist and gritted his teeth. An assault was inevitable, but the key was timing it to minimize casualties.
That could be right now, or it could be five minutes from now. How much more time to give them was a burden that rested solely on his shoulders.
Just then, with a roar that tore through the sky, a woman holding a long, pole-like magic staff landed.
Plu, having flown straight from the Magic Association, analyzed the situation the moment she arrived.
‘The counter-terrorism squad has arrived, and all the civilians are out. But that brat…?’
Since it wasn’t far from the alchemy company, he should have been nearby, watching the situation unfold. But no matter where she looked, she couldn’t see Shirone.
‘What, he didn’t come? Did he really run away? Well, I guess that’s for the best…’
Plu’s gaze stopped at the main entrance of the Gold Tower. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she saw Shirone, held in a terrorist’s grasp with a look of serene resignation.
“What is that idiot doing over there!”
Her involuntary shriek made the counter-terrorism squad turn around.
“Ah…”
The captain asked with a frown.
“Who are you? Judging by the spatial transfer, you’re a mage?”
Coming to her senses, Plu walked forward confidently. She wasn’t part of the cooperating personnel, but this was still within the Magic Association’s jurisdiction, so she technically had the authority.
“I am Plu, Head of Security for the Magic Association. What’s the current situation… Huh?”
Fumbling at her chest, Plu looked down with a flustered expression. The ID card that should have been hanging around her neck was gone.
Realizing it too late, she stuck out her tongue with a pained look.
‘Ah, crap. I gave it to that kid.’
The captain stared intently at Plu, whose expression changed every second. If she hadn’t arrived via spatial transfer, he would have thought she was just some crazy woman off the street.
“Head of Security for the Magic Association? Then why are you here? The assault team is already assembled.”
“Ah, well, I… I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help…”
Intimidated by the fact that she had no credentials, Plu’s voice was smaller than before. Regardless, the captain turned back to the front, looking annoyed.
“Go back. We have enough forces to subdue them. The problem is the hostages.”
This wasn’t Plu’s first time at a terror incident; she knew the score.
The reason it was difficult to take down terrorists was because they used a random assortment of weak people as shields.
But she couldn’t just leave Shirone behind and walk away.
‘The more I think about it, the more annoying it gets. What was he thinking, getting caught by terrorists? Magic doesn’t even work in there.’
Suddenly, a glint appeared in Plu’s eyes.
‘Wait, magic?’
Shirone being captured might actually be an opportunity.
Thinking of a promising strategy, Plu pushed through the counter-terrorism squad’s ranks and ran up to the captain.
“Hey, Captain! Captain!”
The captain sighed and turned around.
“What is it now? We’re busy.”
“There is! There’s a way to save the hostages!”