Dark Moon
"It's a terrorist attack! Some crazy bastards just pulled off a terrorist attack!! This is a scoop! What are you doing, announcer?! Get ready to move right now!"
The camera director shouted, his voice thick with manic exhilaration.
"Yes, sir!"
The camera director and his cameramen fled the combat grounds without so much as a backward glance. Even as they ran, the announcer kept explaining the terrorist situation to the viewers.
No. 31 and I exchanged awkward looks.
I touched my mask and opened a radio channel.
"Instructor Vinous. Do you read me?"
—...A terrorist attack has occurred. Terrorists who had been hiding among the VIP seats and the general audience targeted His Majesty the King.
I furrowed my brow.
It wasn't because the king had been attacked. Whether the king lived or died was none of my concern. What soured my mood was that this terrorist attack had never happened in the original story.
"Is His Majesty safe?"
—It was fortunate that the Guardian Saintess was nearby. Thanks to her power, His Majesty and the VIPs are unharmed. There were some casualties among the civilians, but it's not a major issue.
A subtle anger laced Instructor Vinous's voice. That was only natural. He was a patriot, after all.
"What's the current situation?"
—The moment the attack failed, the terrorists scattered in all directions and fled. There are approximately eighty of them, presumed to be from the Resistance Echoes. Headquarters has issued pursuit orders to every unit. We're no exception.
"So you're saying we have to chase the terrorists."
—That's right. We're already on the move. The pride of the Freesel Royal Army is on the line. We must capture those terrorists no matter what.
The situation was being broadcast live. A terrorist attack had already happened—if they let the perpetrators escape on top of that, it would become an international disgrace. To clean up this mess, they absolutely had to catch the terrorists. The higher-ups especially would be sweating bullets right about now.
—A few of the terrorists are fleeing in your direction. Capture them at all costs. Killing them is fine. Just don't let them get away.
"Moving out immediately."
—No. 211. I'm counting on you. No. 31. You stay put and wait there.
A discontented voice finally broke from the usually quiet No. 31.
"I'll move as well. The success rate will be higher if I go with No. 211 rather than him going alone."
—No. 31. I won't say it twice. You stay right there and wait.
Instructor Vinous, who normally accommodated No. 31's convenience, spoke with absolute firmness. In this state, nothing would get through to him.
"...Understood."
No. 31 answered. She wouldn't disobey an order. Both she and I knew all too well how viciously harsh the price of insubordination could be.
I checked my gear once more and confirmed the terrorists' positions that Instructor Vinous had sent me.
Just before I left, No. 31 spoke to me.
"No. 211. Be careful. These are people who targeted His Majesty. They won't be ordinary."
"I know that much."
With a brief reply, I started running.
I found three terrorists fleeing in a panic. A helicopter in the sky was tracking them.
Ratatatatatat!
Machine guns fired from the helicopter. The three fleeing terrorists stopped and activated barriers. But the machine gun rounds were magic bullets. The barriers were easily pierced, and one of the terrorists died. The remaining two gritted their teeth and used black magic. Black flames formed in their hands and struck the helicopter.
The helicopter crashed to the ground and exploded. Unfortunately, the pilot failed to eject and shared the helicopter's fate.
The two surviving terrorists began fleeing again.
"Instructor Vinous. I've located the enemy. One is dead, two are on the run. Pursuing now. ...Instructor Vinous?"
I tried the radio several times, but there was no response.
He wouldn't be ignoring me on purpose. Either the radio was destroyed, or he didn't even have the leeway to answer. Judging by the current situation, it was probably the latter.
Just as I was about to chase after the fleeing terrorists, a powerful impulse hit me. The thought that if I abandoned catching the terrorists and ran away, I could escape this life of slavery.
The slave seal? I'd been researching the slave seal every chance I got over the past stretch of time. And it wasn't just the slave seal. The tracker implanted in my neck half a year ago also needed to be dealt with.
...With magic, I can neutralize the tracker for a few days. In that time, I just need to find an illegal doctor or some specialist to remove it. Once I escape, money can be handled with magic...
In an instant, I came up with methods and plans for escape—but I couldn't put them into action.
It wasn't because I feared Instructor Vinous's pursuit.
It was because Lexy, No. 212, and the other female classmates I'd slept with came to mind. Was it right for me to abandon them and run away alone? Could I do that?
I gritted my teeth.
I'm not ready yet to take advantage of this opportunity...
The opponent was an entire nation's military. There were far too many risk factors to act on impulse without a prepared plan.
Shaking off the impulse, I focused my mind. The terrorists were boarding a car they'd prepared on the outskirts of the city.
Charna
Remaining stacks: 6
In the slowed world, I calculated the magic formula.
Shock Wave
A shockwave struck the car the terrorists had just boarded. The vehicle lifted into the air from the impact, then tumbled across the ground.
Boom!
An explosion erupted from the car's hood, and black smoke billowed up. Beneath it, I could see blood seeping out little by little.
Barrier
Since the entire car hadn't exploded, I approached carefully while maintaining caution.
Strength
I used a 2-Class support magic to temporarily enhance my physical strength. I grabbed the passenger door and ripped it off by force. I pulled out the man sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. He was still alive—just unconscious.
Where's the other one...
Crash!
A man in black clothes smashed through the rear window and burst out. He roared with murderous intent.
"Dark Flame!!"
Black flames engulfed me. The barrier wrapping my body melted away at high speed. Instead of stacking barriers for defense, I chose to attack. I activated telekinesis. The shattered fragments rose into the air and flew into the black mage, embedding themselves.
"Guh, aaaargh...!"
The black mage screamed. The black flames that had been melting the barrier vanished.
Electric Spark
An electric sphere gently settled above the black mage's head. Dozens of lightning bolts erupted, electrocuting him to death.
I dragged the two corpses a short distance away. There was no telling when the car might explode again.
One of them is still alive for now. The other died by my hand, and the one taken out by the helicopter is somewhere else.
I examined the living man as well. Looking closely, I could tell. This one was also a black mage. The one hit by the helicopter was probably a black mage too.
"Instructor Vinous. This is No. 211. Instructor Vinous?"
The radio was still dead.
I sighed and sat down on the ground. I cast my gaze into the distance. Bang! Boom! Bang! Explosions rang out as black smoke rose from various places.
Probably fewer than ten terrorists had any chance of escaping from here.
"Resting in a place like this? Well, I understand. Rest tasted while others are working is sweet as honey."
A blond man in a black suit appeared. He was over two meters tall yet slender of build. He wore a black mask over his face.
I reflexively aimed my gun at him.
"Who are you?"
"Please, relax. I'm not a terrorist. I'd like to have a conversation with you."
"...Speak."
"Before that, I'd like to eliminate any listening ears."
His gaze turned to the still-living terrorist.
"Suddenly, my interest in you has vanished."
"Battle Mage Project. Mana Essence. 667 Unit. I can help you."
"...Be precise. What do you want?"
"I want the data on the Battle Mage Project and the Mana Essence. In the process, I'll help you expose the Battle Mage Project to the world. The Freesel Royal Army won't be able to permanently scrap the project, but they'll be unable to continue it for at least ten years."
"...Hapeil Republic or Heist Empire. Which one?"
"You've already figured that much out? Impressive."
"Answer me."
"Is my affiliation that important?"
"It is."
"The Heist Empire."
My hand holding the gun moved. The muzzle pointed not at the blond man before me, but at the fallen black mage. I pulled the trigger. The bullet precisely pierced the black mage's forehead.
"A bold decision. My thanks. But if I'd said I was from the Hapeil Republic, would you still have killed him?"
"No. The bullet would have been aimed at your head."
"Why don't you trust the Hapeil Republic?"
"I know that the upper echelons of the Hapeil Republic and the Freesel Kingdom are secretly in cahoots. Right now, both sides want a ceasefire. They don't want any major disturbances."
"I see. But don't you find me suspicious?"
"I've got a rough idea of your identity."
"Oh? I haven't given you any information about my identity, though?"
"......"
I couldn't say I'd deduced his identity based on information from the original story, so I kept my mouth shut. When I fell silent, he quietly shook his head.
"You don't seem to want to say. Understood. I'll respect that."
"What's the concrete proposal?"
"Will you accept my proposal?"
"I'm not in a position to be picky."
"As I said earlier, there are two things I want. The Battle Mage Project data and the Mana Essence."
"The Mana Essence can only be taken by raiding the research lab next to the unit."
"I'm aware. Preparations for that are already underway. The plan is nearly perfect. With your cooperation, it will become even more so."
"...Why me?"
"To be honest, contacting you was quite the gamble as well. Of course, that gamble seems to have succeeded splendidly. The reason I chose you... is nothing special. You're the strongest aside from No. 31. More than anything, if we go by mission success rate alone, you're above No. 31, aren't you? Mission success rate of 92%.... It's enough to send a shiver down one's spine."
"...Do you know No. 31's identity?"
"Yes. She is the illegitimate daughter of Duke Leltius, one of the three dukes of the Freesel Kingdom. A witch hybrid. Duke Leltius will name her as his successor."
"Why?"
"Because the current legitimate heir of the Leltius family is far too stupid."
"...I see."
I'd known No. 31's status wasn't ordinary, but to think she was a duke's daughter. I was quite surprised.
Duke Leltius, huh... In the original, he was only mentioned in passing, so I don't know much.
So there was a reason Instructor Vinous always deferred to No. 31.
"The plan begins in two months."
"Three months."
"Pardon?"
"It starts in three months. If it's not three months from now, I'm out."
"...That's problematic. We've already set D-Day for two months from now and are moving accordingly."
"In three months, I'll be able to kill Instructor Vinous with my own hands. If I can kill Instructor Vinous... your plan will proceed much more smoothly, won't it?"
"Certainly... if Instructor Vinous can be reliably eliminated... the success rate would rise by more than 10%. Very well. I'll postpone D-Day by one month."