Chapter 269: A Far Away Tale. Offstage
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 269: A Far Away Tale. Offstage
Masters of Qi Art use it even as they walk. Their feet grip the earth, pulling their bodies forward. Only by holding the ground with Qi can they move faster and with more force.
In that sense, Hughes was not what one would call a master of Qi Art. His steps were endlessly light, his demeanor frivolous. He exuded no aura of power worth being wary of; one might forget his presence if not careful.
But the peculiar, unique ease he projected framed even this as the eccentricity of a powerful being.
The man called Hughes, an enigma through and through, spotted Tyrkanzyaka and trotted over.
“Tyr!”
Tyrkanzyaka called out to him, puzzled.
[Hughes? Why are you not where you should be? What brings you here?]
“I came to see you, Tyr.”
[Hm?!]
He offered a natural smile to the slightly flustered Tyrkanzyaka, then turned to Shei with his usual flippant attitude.
“I was the one who asked Tyr for a favor. To get the laborers out of here. If the laborers get out and scatter, it’ll be easier for us to shake off any pursuers when we sneak out!”
He explained with the excitement of a child hungry for praise. After hearing him out, Shei nodded, yet she felt a sense of unease.
His face, his actions, his way of speaking, his mannerisms—they were all unmistakably his. And yet, something was different.
Tap, tap. It felt like small steel beads were tapping against her chest. An uncanny intuition, a gift from her dozens of deaths, tugged at her arm. Shei moved, following the sudden instinct.
“Shei-ssi!”
Shei answered with a start, as if waking from a dream.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Why are you drawing your sword…?”
“Huh?”
Shei flinched, noticing Chun-aeng was halfway out of its sheath. She realized what she had been about to do.
If he hadn't pointed it out, she would have swung Chun-aeng and severed his right arm.
A memory from the past surfaced. She’d tried to cut off his right arm once before, and he had teased her about it for days. Recalling that, Shei pretended nothing was wrong and sheathed Chun-aeng.
“Ah, this. Don’t mind it. It’s just a habit.”
“A very peculiar habit. Then again, I suppose some people can’t feel at ease unless they’re holding a sword.”
He accepted her words with a gentle smile.
Yes, something is definitely different. Despite this gut feeling, Shei forced herself to quell her unease. After all, Hughes had been horrendously suspicious from the moment they met, and that suspicion had never faded even after getting to know him.
Hughes was the kind of person who wouldn't seem out of place no matter what strange thing he did. It was unlikely, but if one of the Six Generals suddenly appeared declaring their surrender, Shei’s first suspicion would be to wonder what Hughes had done. Worrying about it is just letting him win…
[…How strange.]
Tyrkanzyaka, too, felt a similar sense of unease, placing a hand on her chest. Beneath her thin skin, she could feel a faint, slender pulse. Normally, her heart would flutter with excitement, pounding in welcome whenever he drew near, but today, it was silent.
Could it be that his feelings have changed already? It was possible. The human heart is as fickle as a reed in the wind.
Hiding her disappointment, Tyrkanzyaka called to him.
[Hughes. You should have summoned me. I would have come to you.]
“How could I dare to order the Progenitor to come and go?”
[You’ve done so freely enough in the past.]
“Today, I felt like coming out to greet you.”
Something was definitely wrong. His voice, gestures, and face were certainly his, but his behavior felt off. And Tyrkanzyaka, who had fought countless battles over long ages, had learned to trust her instincts.
Tyrkanzyaka subtly tested the waters.
[That’s right, Hughes. Isn’t it about time you returned the card I received from you?]
“My card? Which one?”
[You don’t remember the card you gave me?]
“I have more than one or two cards. There are just so many types.”
The Ace of Hearts. The heart, blood, or life. Tyr had not forgotten, and he should not have, either.
His answer began to give shape to Tyrkanzyaka’s suspicion. Her lips curved into a smile as cold as ice as she raised a finger.
[Never mind. Come and take it yourself.]
“Where did you put it?”
Nowhere else but inside her own body.
He asked back with an innocent smile. That pure, gentle smile felt horribly, disgustingly repulsive. Tyrkanzyaka clenched her fists. The darkness, synchronized with its master’s emotions, roiled madly.
Even in the face of her blatant hostility, he remained unfazed. As if expecting this, ‘he’—no, Hilde, who had been disguised as Hughes—let the smile fade from her lips and murmured softly.
“Ahem. This isn’t working out so well, is it? Then again, I can’t say I perfectly imitated him, since I don’t know that much about him.”
The face was still his, but the gestures grew softer, more graceful. Every small movement was infused with a skill that an ordinary person would never even notice.
As the familiar face adopted unfamiliar mannerisms, Tyrkanzyaka felt an instinctive revulsion. As if reflecting her discomfort, the dark knights revealed their menacing forms. Hidden in the shadows, she let out a beast-like growl.
[What have you done with Hughes?]
“Pardon? What have I done? You have the question backward. ‘What has he done to me?’ would be more appropriate.”
Even facing the Progenitor’s fury, Hilde was utterly composed, without a shred of fear. It wasn't an act; she truly felt no fear.
Was she ignorant? No. On the contrary, knowledge reveals all, and she knew her opponent’s capabilities better than anyone.
Did she lack emotion? Not at all. An actor needs a richer emotional palette than anyone. One who cannot understand emotion cannot act.
Her composure was the privilege of one who had lost herself. Only those abandoned by fate, who have lost their sense of self, can become warriors who know no fear.
Tyrkanzyaka felt a strange sense of déjà vu. That attitude, showing no fear even before the Progenitor, was familiar.
[The Crusaders…?]
But the thought was fleeting. Tyrkanzyaka dismissed her own guess.
[No, you’re different. Those wretches are unpleasantly rigid, but you are something else.]
“Thank you. Your praise leaves this maiden at a loss for words.”
[I meant you are unpleasantly unctuous.]
Tyrkanzyaka flung her arm out and strode forward. In an instant, Hilde was surrounded by darkness. If Tyrkanzyaka willed it, she would be swept away and drowned in the shadows, regardless of her abilities.
[You still haven’t answered my question. Lowborn, speak now, or I will grant you death myself. I will drain all your blood but a single drop, and with that speck of blood, I will make you suffer for eternity.]
“Could you really do that?”
Hilde cupped ‘his’ face with her hands, flashing a bright smile as she tilted her head.
“Could you be so cruel to this face?”
Of course. The cold-hearted Tyrkanzyaka was not swayed by sentiment. Once she recognized that this was a different being, despite the identical face, she could deal with it rationally.
She had always done so, and she was confident she would do so again, but Tyrkanzyaka found herself momentarily speechless. Thump. Her hostility snagged on a speed bump in her heart.
“You’re hesitating. How cute. I see you received something from him as well, didn’t you?”
Hilde seized upon that fleeting emotion. Her own eyes narrowed.
“The reason Progenitor Tyrkanzyaka followed us here. It wasn’t a political move. If it were, you would have signaled your intentions so we could both be aware. Personal revenge? Not that either. The target wasn’t clear. That leaves one possibility. That you followed purely, without a clear objective. It was just a hypothesis, but it was the right answer. Which leads to the conclusion that the invasion of the Military State was entirely his idea.”
Enraged that she had given the enemy information and a weakness, Tyrkanzyaka reached out her hand. The dark knights moved to the front, thrusting forward swords and spears made of shadow.
[You have crossed the line, and then some. Do you not value your life?]
But Hilde remained at ease. She lightly tapped the shadow spear aimed at her neck and gave a wicked smile.
“And yet, you don’t actually attack. Is it difficult for you to strike this face? Just what did you receive from him that was so precious?”
[Kgh…]
“Heehee. It’s so obvious. As I thought, everyone here received something from him and followed him all the way to the Military State…”
Sensing something, Hilde stopped mid-sentence and dropped to the ground. It was a violent movement, more like she was grabbing the floor and pulling herself down than simply falling. An instant later, an invisible sword slash tore through the space where she had just been.
“Tch.”
The air shimmered, and Shei’s form, hidden by a mirage, appeared. Her surprise attack having failed, Shei clicked her tongue.
Hilde, who had pressed her body to the ground, sprang back to her feet.
“Oh my? You don’t pull your punches, do you? Even when you see a comrade’s face?”
“Face? Tch, what’s the big deal?”
“…Hmm. Are you serious? Are you just experienced, or were you born without affection? Considering your age, it’s probably the latter… right? I wonder.”
“Would you mind not psychoanalyzing me?” Shei grumbled.
Shei had been through all sorts of things in her many timelines. A friend one day had become an enemy the next. She had been betrayed countless times. She even had memories of someone who was once an irreplaceable comrade turning on her in the very next timeline, their face twisted in a hideous grimace as they tried to kill her.
To Shei, who had killed the same person over and over, a stranger with a familiar face evoked no emotion at all.
Having roughly gauged her opponent’s strength, Shei drew Chun-aeng and Jizan, displaying clear hostility.
“If you have any last words, say them now. Both I and Tyrkanzyaka are a little busy at the moment, you see.”
“I didn’t come here to fight. An acquaintance introduced me. That person told me to meet you, you see.”
“‘That person’? You mean Hughes?”
“Yes. He said that you, Shei, might be able to find what I’ve lost.”
“If you’ve lost something, go find a fence. Or just consider it a donation and forget about it.”
“I already did. And that’s how I ended up in this mess.”
Hilde chuckled softly. Faced with an attitude completely devoid of hostility, Shei’s expression soured. Just then, Hilde cleared her throat and her face began to change. Hughes’s face and voice slowly faded, gradually becoming more feminine.
“My name is Hilde. One who was given that name.”
Having completely shed Hughes’s appearance, Hilde spoke to Shei.
“Shei. I have a favor to ask of you. If you grant my request, I will give you a piece of information you wish to know.”