Chapter 86: East Asia Line Battle (4)
Chapter 86: East Asia Line Battle (4)
“That outfit doesn't suit you.”
“I know.”
For some reason, the more my black clothes absorbed Otherworldly Power, the more frills and translucent lace began to sprout. By now, it had transformed into something utterly uncontrollable.
Naturally, I was far from pleased with the design, but since I wasn't the one choosing it, I simply had to endure.
Pop. Crunch.
Looking back, a yellow flash and a Black Shadow were spiraling together, leaving a trail behind the two Heroes as they tore through the front lines, erasing enemies in their wake.
“Is that actually your taste? You have a surprisingly childish side…”
“Don't.”
I shook off the hand of the Thunder God, who was tugging at my sleeve with a mischievous grin, and drove my Pry Bar into the head of a monster in front of me.
I felt no guilt in killing monsters. They were mere beasts, not members of The Society.
“And I’ve told you several times, I’m not the Lee Ha-ram you’re talking about. I am the Black Marauder.”
“Yes, yes. ‘Lord Black Marauder,’ is it?”
I really wanted to beat her up, but I couldn't…
I snatched a nearby Mutant and hurled it toward the Thunder God to express my frustration, but she simply shot a bolt of lightning from her hand and blasted it out of the air.
“Sigh…”
I couldn't stop the sighs that had been escaping my lips for a while now.
How did it come to this?
My original plan was to destroy the Great Barrier and appear as a savior, but now that things were in motion, I was just being dragged around by the Thunder God.
As I stood there, mired in regret and reflecting on my mistakes, the Thunder God tugged at my sleeve again.
“Over there!”
“I know even if you don't tell me.”
Even at a glance, the flashing lights made it obvious that an engagement was happening.
Channeling mana into my eyes, I saw about a dozen people holding grenade launchers, holding their ground.
A suicide squad?
I turned my head slightly to see why they were there, and in the distance, I spotted a group of refugees and the people guiding them.
I see. That’s The Core of the operation.
Create a desperate situation, then provide the sweet justification of a civilian rescue. A sweet excuse that allows those remaining to flee and survive rather than dying as Heroes.
The people here must survive to spread the story that they were saved by a Mutant named the Black Marauder.
I needed to spread the image of a ‘Righteous Mutant,’ using that rarity and symbolism to make people listen more closely to the Black Marauder’s words.
Therefore, those civilians had to be saved. But, regardless of that.
“I’m going ahead.”
I couldn't just let Heroes who were prepared for death actually die.
Following my will, Black Particle footholds formed beneath my feet. I kicked off them and lunged into the space between the suicide squad and the monsters.
BOOM!
My extremely accelerated body became a cannonball itself, piercing through the monsters.
I landed closer to the monsters than the soldiers—not exactly the ideal position for protecting the squad.
Even so.
“This is the best way to leave an impression.”
Standing in the center of the clearing where the impact of my landing had blown away the surrounding enemies, I stretched my arms to maximize my attack range.
“All of you, just drop dead.”
I crossed my legs and threw my body forward.
My left foot stepped out, and my right foot crossed the path where the left was headed. The moment my balance crumbled in that twisted posture, I kicked off with my left foot and spun my entire body.
A rotational speed my body could barely keep up with.
My arm, stretched out by centrifugal force, trailed far behind my shoulder, gathering power as it followed the rotation.
And the moment the Pry Bar, imbued with that massive force, struck a monster.
CRACK!
A sound that should never come from a living creature echoed across the battlefield.
The sound of a leather sack full of meat being struck with immense force.
The sound of that sack bursting and its contents scattering.
The monster that took the hit sprayed its entrails into the air as it collided with another, but my charge didn't stop.
One. Then another.
I simply moved straight forward, pulverizing every enemy in my sight.
The monsters' formation crumbled. Their pained roars filled the air.
As I was grinding through the enemies, the back of a Wild Boar Monster appeared before me.
Just as I raised my Pry Bar to crush its head as a grand finale to this charge—
Zap!
A flash of light descended.
All that was left for me to see was the boar being electrocuted, stopping its charge and convulsing.
“Tsk.”
She stole the best shot.
I had run all the way from the back specifically to stage a spectacular scene.
Clearing the twitching, lightning-charred boar out of the way, the two of us revealed ourselves before the suicide squad.
“…”
Perhaps dazed by our sudden appearance, the soldiers stood there blinking, mouths agape.
“Can you run?!”
I couldn't afford to waste time on each individual, so I raised my voice to snap them back to their senses.
“Ah! Yes! We can!”
“Aren't you being a bit too harsh on people who almost died?”
“There are people like that everywhere here.”
My heart did ache a little, though.
After all, I was the one who created this situation.
So, I had to make sure as few as possible died.
“Hurry up and regroup with the main force.”
Just as I said that and was about to kick off the ground again—
“What is your Hero name…?”
A soldier who looked quite old stood at attention and asked with respect.
“I’m the Thunder God.”
She waved cheerfully as she prepared to move to the next location.
“A-Rank Mutant. Black Marauder.”
Thud.
Leaving that short answer, I kicked the ground hard and threw myself toward the next battlefield.
* * *
Perhaps because the Thunder God and I had been working hard to create some breathing room, the Heroes and soldiers who had been holed up in the tower began to pour out, and the front line started to stabilize. Although the line was still being pushed back, it was a favorable flow for a defensive battle with almost no casualties.
My prediction was wrong. Tactically, it should have collapsed by this point.
I had been running around the battlefield engraving the name of the Black Marauder into people's minds, but at this rate, there would be no dramatic effect.
As I was pondering this while heading to the next position—
“Can you hear me?”
I flinched.
Startled by the sudden voice of Al’shel, I paused for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
It seemed the Thunder God couldn't hear the voice.
Is it Mental Magic?
“If you are thinking of something, you can just open your mouth and answer. This magic is two-way communication, after all.”
What a convenient spell.
“What kind of magic is this? Is there a risk of eavesdropping?”
I opened my mouth, keeping my voice low.
“It is a spell that seizes the flow of the surrounding air itself. Unlike Mental Magic, it places less burden on the receiver, and unlike communication magic, it is two-way and carries no risk of being deflected by a mental fence. Plus, it maintains confidentiality. It is a perfect spell.”
Al’shel’s voice sounded boastful, as if he were bragging about his own magic.
“If you have a spell like this, why don't you tell the Management Bureau?”
My voice was a low whisper so the Thunder God wouldn't hear.
“It is not a spell just anyone can use. Only someone like me has the processing power to—”
If I let him continue, this conversation would drag on pointlessly.
“Cut the trivial explanations and get to the point.”
“Things aren't going quite as planned, are they?”
For some reason, the image of the octopus's face popped into my mind—that sinister face he had right before this operation began.
What answer should I give him? If I said things weren't working out, he, the Chief of Staff of The Society, would provide a solution. A solution I couldn't come up with.
“…Will this plan involve sacrifices?”
“Well, wouldn't it just be about a dozen or so more? The people at this branch are holding out better than expected, you see.”
A dozen or so.
Could I really shoulder that? I bit my lip hard.
Perhaps my mood was conveyed to him.
“Dozens have already died anyway. Adding a dozen more won't even bring the count to three digits. Considering those who have already been sacrificed, shouldn't you see the fruits of your labor?”
He began to entice me with sweet words. Whether to treat the already dead as a sunk cost, or to increase my sins to reap the rewards.
Grit.
I ground my teeth, and the salty taste of blood filled my mouth. On top of that, my power flared up from the exploding emotions, causing a shockwave to ripple out—a pathetic display of lack of control.
Fortunately, the Thunder God, who was ahead of me, didn't see this.
I knew there would be sacrifices. In the first place, wasn't I the one who proposed and executed the operation? He was merely suggesting a more efficient method.
A proposal that could only be made by a Mutant who, despite being friendly toward humans because he wasn't one, didn't actually like humanity itself—a peculiar entity even within The Society.
“…I’ll ask one thing.”
“Ask anything.”
“Is that dozen the minimum or the maximum number of sacrifices?”
Why did I say that? To encourage myself? Or was it a self-defense mechanism to endure this feeling?
“It is the maximum. Perhaps, if this action speeds up the retreat and reduces casualties on the front line, the overall number of sacrifices might even decrease.”
A sweet voice.
A sweet proposal.
A sweet result.
The sweet poison burrowed into my mind and whispered.
Hurry, grab it and taste the fruit.
To that whisper, I—
“Do it.”
I made my decision.
“Yes. Then I shall cut this spell. It is quite exhausting, you see.”
I could feel him wearing a brazen smirk even without seeing it.
“You will see the results shortly.”
The last words Al’shel uttered vanished into the air, and for a moment, only the chaotic sounds of the battlefield rang in my ears.
Whirrrrrrr. BOOM!
An overwhelming flash of light drove away the darkness.
An explosion that erased the noise of the battlefield.
A swirling force of the Otherworld embraced the field.
The flow of power was so immense that soldiers on the front line, Bureau staff, Heroes, and the Mutants and monsters trying to break through all stopped fighting to look in that direction.
“…What just happened?”
Even the Thunder God, a veteran of countless battlefields, stared at the site in stunned silence.
The Hokkaido Branch of the Management Bureau. The place where that Black Tower stood.
After the explosion, only the skeleton remained. The Black Tower began to collapse.
“…A self-destruct?”
According to the Management Bureau’s rules of engagement, self-destruct explosives would have been installed.
If all those explosives went off, a catastrophe like that would occur.
“Al’shel, answer me.”
I didn't know if the magic was still active, but I spoke as if it were.
“Yes. I was just about to give you an answer.”
And, as expected, Al’shel’s voice returned.
“Is that… the dozen sacrifices you mentioned? Blowing up everyone at the Bureau branch?”
If so, I had chosen the wrong target to kill. I should blow this octopus's head off right now.
“Tell me. How many died?”
“Lord Lee Ha-ram? It seems you are misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding? Do you think there’s room for misunderstanding here? The refugees who fled, the Administrative Staff—they were all still in the branch…”
“They had already all left the tower.”
Is this octopus saying the Bureau people voluntarily left the tower and blew it up?
“How does that even make sense—”
“It was a simple method. We, Arejes Security Service, provide the Bureau with communicators that function to some extent even in these Otherworld contamination situations.”
…Don't tell me. This guy.
“So, what do you think happened when I told them that support from the center would be further delayed? Ah, I predicted it all. The situation at the command center here was a mess. If you wish, I can later submit a transcript of what was said at the command center—”
“That’s enough.”
It was my misjudgment.
The handling of the situation was far more moderate than I expected. I thought Al’shel would have used Mental Domination or something to get it done.
Then, it would transition into a rearguard action now.
The fact that the command center abandoned the branch meant they were giving up on the fight.
The Management Bureau’s towers are that important. They are places that neutralize Otherworldly Power, monitor it, and anchor reality.
“What? What’s wrong with them? Ha-ram? Do you know something?”
“…It’s a retreat.”
No sooner had I spoken than the entire force began to retreat toward The Sea, pouring out bullets as they went.
“Does it have something to do with the branch exploding? You seemed to know something earlier when you mentioned self-destruction.”
“The engage—I don't know.”
That Thunder God. She still hasn't read the rules of engagement. I almost accidentally scolded her to go read them.
“I am sorry to interrupt your youthful display of affection, but.”
Why is this octopus so desperate to butt in?
“What now?”
“It is a retreat now, isn't it? So, I thought I would stage it spectacularly.”
A bad feeling surged from the octopus's words.
“An overwhelming wave of enemies is perfect for a rearguard action. If you block that, the name of the Black Marauder will soar even higher.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
As soon as Al’shel finished speaking, a sudden tremor began in the ground.
The Enemies from the Otherworld began to form ranks, slowly stomping their feet.
They formed several wedge-shaped formations and began to stomp, like beasts about to charge.
Thump.
And with the final stomp.
“Good luck.”
The enemies began their charge.