Chapter 265: The Faceless Man
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 265: The Faceless Man
Historia and Zigrund threw their fists at each other.
A control panel, struck by a stray punch, flew up, and a kicked chair spun through the air, aiming for Historia’s head. Historia met it with her Qi-wreathed forehead, then threw a punch from beneath the chair’s shadow.
Zigrund flailed his limbs strangely and smoothly caught her arm, but the revolver in Historia’s hand was already aiming its cold muzzle at him. Too late, Zigrund realized that what she had truly hidden was not her fist, but her pistol. The Qi, on the verge of exploding, vibrated violently.
Bang. A deafening roar erupted as a pale blue light of Qi shot from the muzzle. Almost simultaneously, Zigrund desperately leaned back.
A paper-thin difference. The Qi-infused bullet grazed Zigrund by a hair's breadth. A spray of blood traced the bullet’s trajectory. The ricocheting bullet shattered the wall, leaving a thin, sliced wound on Zigrund’s skin.
But only for a moment. Zigrund’s wound healed in an instant. Historia faltered.
“Regeneration…?”
You could call it regeneration, but it was slightly different from the kind possessed by the Undying or vampires. He was using his mastery of Gam Qi Art to hold his blood in place and forcibly stitch his skin tissue back together.
Of course, that was still horrifying. It meant he could forcibly patch up his own body to continue fighting.
“That’s an incredible ability.”
Wow. The Six Generals are really something else… I could probably buy some time against a general-level officer, but a member of the Six Generals is just on another level. Without Historia, I would’ve been instantly obliterated.
Lost in admiration, I readily acknowledged his strength.
“For something achieved through a fake life, that is!”
“Huey! Shut your mouth!”
Historia screamed as the attacks grew more ferocious, but there’s a certain joy in teasing someone so easy to set off. Besides, my words are more effective than your attacks right now.
Zigrund once again bypassed Historia and aimed for me. A meaningless change of position in a one-on-one fight. But with me behind her, Historia had to stop him, no matter what it took.
Fortunately, this time she had the means.
Highly condensed Qi exploded. The gunshot tore through the world, but this time, Zigrund was not torn with it. Anticipating the shot, he dodged nimbly the moment it was fired.
The shot missed in vain, but the opening allowed Historia to catch up to him again.
‘He’s trying to make me waste my bullets. That’s two already. I only have one left… One shot. If only I had one more…!’
Even while enraged and targeting me, his reason remains calm. That’s what it means to be one of the Military State’s Six Generals, Camarilla Zigrund.
He’s level-headed even when his very self is threatened. All the Six Generals are like that, but he’s terrifyingly dangerous and strong. If Historia were aiming for me… I’d have been shot and met a gruesome end. I’m just glad she’s on my side.
But I can’t just leave it at that. Historia is protecting me, but I still have to fight desperately to survive. This isn’t a place where you can survive by getting a piggyback ride.
The only thing a weak and ordinary person like me can do here is launch a psychological attack.
“Is the life of Zigrund really that appealing? Enough to risk your life to protect it? I doubt it. This life as Zigrund is just an extension of what you’ve always done. Stealing others’ faces, hiding in their lives, exposing their corruption, and executing them. A life predicated on becoming someone else, isn’t it?”
With every word I spoke, Zigrund’s attacks grew fiercer. Historia, struggling to block him, cursed me under her breath. Now, every time they exchanged blows, it sounded like artillery shells exploding.
It seems it’s true that people get angrier when someone tries to hold them back. Since he can’t vent his anger on me directly, it just keeps building up.
“Come now, Zigrund! I can read your desires. In fact, I’m the only person who can grant your wish! Why? Because that wish is the only thing that makes you you!”
“Enough of your nonsense!”
Zigrund struck Historia hard, and at the same time, threw a sharp object from his coat at my exposed form. It was a Clothing Packet, sharpened like a dagger. Though made of alchemic fabric, it was thrown with the force of compressed alchemic material infused with Qi, and its momentum was terrifying.
Hmph, but for someone who can read minds, the trajectory is perfectly clea— Whoa, wait. A little too fast to dodge.
Bang.
At the critical moment, Historia shot the Clothing Packet out of the air. Incredible accuracy, even without using Zero In. Hey, with skills like that, do you even need that Axiom? You can just hit your targets. Is there any need to guarantee a perfect hit with Zero In? What a waste of an Axiom.
‘That was the last bullet…! What do I do? I’m out of options…!’
Ah, now that I think about it, the Regressor’s memories said Historia awakens a different ability in the future, right? A different Axiom from Zero In, called the Consensus of Gun and Sword. It sounds like a super strong technique, so why not awaken it now?
I’m starting to be in real danger here. Awaken it to overcome my crisis. Let me have an easy ride.
Historia was now out of bullets. She had no time to improvise one with combat alchemy… her opponent was too strong. She was clearly cornered.
However, even in this extremely advantageous situation, Zigrund remained defensive. Historia quickly realized why.
‘He knows my ability. Zero In, a technique that guarantees one perfect hit for every three shots fired. He doesn’t know I only had three bullets in total, so he believes I'm holding onto that Axiom-infused bullet…!’
Having made her decision, Historia spun the cylinder. Knowing it was empty, but trusting that her opponent did not.
Instinctively sensing her advantage, Historia charged forward more aggressively than before. She aimed the muzzle at him but didn’t fire. Keeping it brimming with Qi, she held it in a position where she could shoot him at any moment while fighting him with her hands and feet.
Good. This was my chance. I also played along, giving advice from behind as if Historia still had a bullet.
“Ria! He can’t dodge your next bullet, so he’ll be thinking of the safest place to take the hit! He’ll just regenerate if you hit his arms or legs. Aim for a vital spot that’ll finish him in one shot!”
“You don’t have to tell me!”
‘I’m aiming, but I can’t shoot!’
We’re perfectly in sync. As expected. Those who have been deceived are the best deceivers.
When the muzzle aimed for his head, Zigrund would move in closer, his body a blur. Trying to force close-quarters combat to snatch the gun… was a meaningless attempt. To take the revolver, which was already brimming with Qi and held in a vice grip, would require far more Qi than he was willing to expend. Instead of wasting energy on a fruitless effort, he struck at her elbow and upper arm to divert her line of fire.
And Historia, despite having no bullets, fought as if she was constantly trying to get him in her sights. In other words, Zigrund was fighting an imaginary bullet.
“The most terrifying bullet in the world is the one that hasn’t been fired yet. You never know when or how it will come.”
If he moved away to attack me, his entire body would be exposed to her line of fire. Because of a nonexistent bullet, Zigrund found himself shackled to Historia.
Phew. Good thing I only gave her three rounds. Especially since it’s a six-shooter.
The two of them continued their exchange for quite some time. Zigrund had a slight advantage in close-quarters combat, but Historia used the gun as a weapon to fight on equal, no, far more advantageous terms.
A lull in the fighting, huh? Time to continue the operation.
“The bullet named Zigrund is the same. You’ve already been spent. The fact that you use the Bone Shifting Technique to transform is already known, and once something is known, it can no longer be a weapon. Your usefulness is over! You can’t be Zigrund anymore!”
“If only you… if only you were gone…!”
“Haha. I have no intention of disappearing! So, let’s take this opportunity. I’ll decide your next life for you. Just as you wished. A name, a face, an identity that will let you be your true self! How about it? Tempting, isn’t it?”
“I don’t need it! I can decide that for myself!”
“Go on and try! I’ll be your judge!”
Even while fighting Historia, Zigrund’s face began to change erratically. His blank face shifted from one form to another. Watching over Historia’s shoulder, I scoffed at the faces he chose.
“That’s Tyr’s face. I understand you’re excited to have found a good model, but can you handle the consequences? That’s blasphemy against both the vampires and the Sanctum at the same time.”
As soon as I finished speaking, it changed again. So he’s still listening. I continued my cold evaluation.
“Shiati? She looks much better with her right arm intact. Still, could you not use my friend’s face? It’ll make our relationship awkward, you know?”
Next was the Princess’s face. Seeing the innocent-faced Princess fighting on equal footing with Historia made me chuckle.
“If that were the real Princess, Historia wouldn’t even be able to attack her in the first place, you know?”
And the face that followed… was a rather dashing version of the Regressor. I snickered.
“Ahaha. A bit too manly, don’t you think? Sorry, but Shei-ssi isn’t that masculine. She’s the one who acts the most feminine of all!”
Because only a woman can truly dress as a man. Then again, since he’s not a real person, maybe it’s a decent choice?
The next one… was me. Startled for a moment, Historia’s movements faltered, and she took two direct hits. The impact didn’t seem too severe, however, as she immediately regained her posture.
“Seeing someone with my face cornering Ria is actually kind of satisfying. Is this what vicarious pleasure feels like?”
Suddenly, Historia swung and slapped my cheek—no, the cheek of the person wearing my face. The sharp sound of the impact made me flinch and touch my own right cheek. Phew, my heart skipped a beat. I thought I was the one who got hit.
And the next face that followed… was that of a woman, pale and gloomy, her mouth hanging open foolishly.
That’s it. It was you. I found you.
The one who created the Military State.
Good. Confirmed.
“Not bad, but I’d like to recommend something a little different.”
A long time ago, in his early childhood, he was born the son of a courtesan. The child of a courtesan, whose father was difficult to identify, was also destined to follow that path, and the more talents they mastered, the better they were treated. At his mother’s insistence, he too learned all sorts of arts.
The brothel was full of talented people, and he learned a wide variety of skills from them. Gifted, he absorbed every skill like a sponge soaking up water. Just as he was beginning to stand out, a visiting theater troupe wanted to take him with them.
No brothel in the world would sell a talent who was destined to become a major earner, but theater was in vogue in the Empire at the time. The prestige of a vassal state could rise or fall based on the quality of its plays, which naturally gave theater troupes significant influence. A mere brothel, operating under the state’s tacit approval, had no power to resist.
The only problem was his own will—his attachment to the brothel where he had spent his childhood.
But a single sentence from the troupe’s director changed him.
‘In the brothel, you can only be a courtesan, but on the stage, you can be anyone.’
At that moment, he abandoned his original station and became an actor. He took a new name as his stage name and began his second life.
He must have been filled with a new kind of hope back then. But the results weren’t good.
“Now. Try changing into the one I’ve chosen for you. Since you have too many options to decide, it’s better if I choose for you.”