Chapter 28: The Resistance - 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: The Resistance - 3
After the Resistance members left for their assigned posts, and while Azzy and I stood there blankly, the remaining Delta gripped his gun tightly and stood at a distance from us. His knuckles were white as he spoke to Azzy and me.
“…Please wait here. The captain will return when everything is finished.”
“Ah, yes.”
Alright. They've all scattered. A perfect situation. Kanysen and Gamma have left for the control room, and Alpha and Beta have headed toward the hells prepared for each of them.
Now, if I just get rid of Delta, there will be no one left to interfere.
Time to get to work.
I changed my expression, putting on a clumsy smile. Trying to appear as harmless as possible, I spoke to Delta casually.
“Oh my, my legs are trembling. We only talked, but I’m as exhausted as if I’d just exercised.”
“…The captain has a powerful presence. It’s no surprise you’re drained.”
“You’re all incredible. It can’t be easy to follow someone like that.”
“…We must. The captain is a good leader. This operation would have been impossible if not for his resourcefulness.”
Let’s see.
He was answering my questions dutifully, but his wariness was focused entirely on Azzy. It was only natural. Compared to me, who looked weak and had no equipment, Azzy, who could catch bullets with her teeth, was far more terrifying.
Though that mindset would be his greatest weakness.
“Hey, don’t you think you can put the gun down now? It’s not like Azzy hurts people.”
“…But.”
“But nothing. You just saw her. She’s got the crazy ability to catch bullets with her teeth. Pointing a gun at her is meaningless.”
I gestured toward Azzy. She had seemed excited when so many people were around, but now she sat quietly with a somewhat gloomy expression.
I didn’t know why. For some dog reason, I suppose.
Of course, even so, she showed no fear of the gun. Why would she be afraid when she could just catch the bullet in her mouth? I’d be lucky if she didn’t start thinking of bullets as fast-moving balls and try to play with the gun.
“I’ve been with Azzy for a few days now, and I can tell you, she’s strong but not very dangerous. I was scared of her at first and used to run away, but I got used to her at some point. Here, watch.”
I picked up the leather ball I had set down earlier. As I held it up and waved it from side to side, Azzy’s tail began to wag before anything else. Then her head turned, and after staring at me blankly for a moment, she shot to her feet.
I threw the leather ball and shouted.
“Go on! Fetch!”
“Woof!”
Azzy bolted after the ball. Unable to keep up with the situation, a stunned Delta raised his gun a beat too late.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
“Woof!”
But his worries were for naught. Azzy caught the ball and immediately returned to me. She dropped it at my feet and looked up with a proud expression. I reached down and petted her. Azzy half-closed her eyes, savoring my touch.
It was hardly a sight that would raise one’s guard. Even the meticulous and principled Delta muttered in disbelief.
“…Is this really okay?”
The gun was lowered. His tension had eased a bit.
I continued to pet Azzy vigorously, trying my best to look harmless.
“To be honest, I’m not sure myself. It just sort of… ended up this way.”
“She may be a dog beastkin, but she’s still human… Even if it’s instinct, for her to act like that.”
“It’s not like I’m forcing her, right? If anything, I’m the one serving her. I throw the ball, and when she brings it back, I throw it again. And Azzy’s the one having fun.”
“That’s true, but.”
“Well, I guess it’s not so different from the relationship between you and your captain. In terms of power, it’s like heaven and earth, but regardless of strength, you just get used to each other.”
“Hmm.”
Delta seemed to realize how foolish it was to be wary of Azzy. It was impossible to feel a shred of danger from the creature who was now rumbling happily with every stroke of my hand.
I continued to pet Azzy, creating a pastoral scene.
“When I was first captured by the Military State and thrown in here, I was so scared and terrified, but looking back now, I think I was lucky to end up here. Aside from the risk of being killed by the trainees, it’s quite peaceful.”
“Peaceful. That’s not a word I’d associate with Tantalus.”
“Well, that’s how I feel. Maybe it’s because everyone who wanted to escape has already escaped.”
I paused for a moment, then murmured with slightly melancholic eyes.
“If this place were the hell it’s rumored to be, even the Military State wouldn’t have sent a common petty criminal like me here.”
I emphasized the ‘petty criminal’ part. An appeal to my powerlessness, while subtly projecting the attitude of a very sensible person.
Take the bait. Take the bait.
As expected, Delta showed curiosity.
“What crime were you arrested for?”
Hooked.
Having elicited the question I wanted, I deliberately looked into the distance and muttered.
“I was originally a magician. My job was to entertain people in the back alleys with magic. The pay was meager, but seeing the amazed faces of the people was satisfying in its own way. But then.”
Pretending to think deeply, I paused for a beat before continuing.
“Uh, about a week ago, I think? Suddenly, soldiers swarmed in and started rounding people up indiscriminately. I happened to be playing cards with some friends when I was questioned…”
“So it was then. You were unjustly arrested too.”
As I trailed off, Delta jumped to his own conclusion. He, too, became lost in thought.
‘Using an innocent person as a laborer. As expected, the Military State is not just. It deserves to fall. But are we, who will ultimately drive this innocent person to his death for that cause… are we just?’
A good flow. I scratched my head vaguely and added.
“Ahaha. Well, it’s not completely unjust. I might have used a little magic in the card game. Haha.”
“…Oh dear.”
‘A gambler.’
His expression soured slightly. Being an inherently earnest type, his perception of gambling was rock bottom.
Time for a spoonful of remorse. A touch of emotion added to a solid background story would make me a more three-dimensional person.
“I got too cocky, trusting in my meager talent. Magic is most valuable when it remains magic, you know.”
As I said this, I subtly lifted a card. Delta noticed the pure white card and his eyes lit up with interest.
“Where did you get that?”
“Maybe because I was born a magician, but I get anxious if I don’t have a card hidden in my hand. So I managed to get one somehow.”
Flick. A single card danced beneath my fingers. Left hand, right hand, palm, back of the hand. The card moved about like an insect crawling over my skin, until…
The moment I opened both hands, it vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.
Of course, I could clearly see the card stuck to the back of my hand, but hey, if it vanished from Delta’s sight, it vanished.
Delta was genuinely amazed.
“But… you don’t even have sleeves to hide it in. How did the card…”
“Haha. You have to be able to do this much to call yourself a magician.”
I flip my palm over, subtly sliding the card from the back of my hand to my palm with my thumb. While showing Delta the back of my hand, I hide the card in my palm. When I present my palm again, I return the card, making it seem to Delta as if it had completely disappeared.
“Ooh.”
I had piqued his curiosity enough. I raised my left index finger, then slowly, I produced the card from the back of my right hand and smiled. Delta clapped his hands before he even realized it.
A decent reaction. I scratched my head as if embarrassed by the attention and smiled.
“But it’s not as useful in card games as you might think. No matter how amazing my sleight of hand is, I can’t stop people’s suspicion.”
“It was seamless. I wouldn’t have suspected a thing.”
“Losing a few coins can breed suspicion where there was none. Lose a few dozen, and they’ll grab you by the wrist. Their eyes were stained with anger and doubt. In a moment of clouded judgment, I lost sight of the essence of magic—to bring joy to people.”
I put the card away with a shrug.
“So that’s how I lost my way and got caught. How did you end up in the Resistance, Delta?”
“I…”
My question struck a precise psychological weak point. Without a hint of suspicion, Delta sank into reminiscence.
“My real name is Elsie. I was always good at my studies since I was young. I entered the secondary military school at my parents’ behest, but even there, I kept asking myself: Is what I’m doing right? Are the Military State’s policies just? But the State doesn’t allow that kind of debate. It didn’t seem right that we couldn’t discuss right and wrong for the sake of order…”
“So you joined the Resistance?”
“That’s right. At least in the Resistance, I could express my thoughts on the path our nation should take. I found many comrades who shared my beliefs, too. However…”
‘I still don’t know if a resistance that requires the sacrifice of civilians is just.’
The man with the codename Delta and the name Elsie was a deep thinker. I waited for him to compose himself fully before speaking.
“It’s a line of work where you could lose your life.”
“I’m not afraid of dying. I’m only worried about whether the path I’m on is the right one.”
“It’s probably the right direction. You’ve thought about it enough, haven’t you?”
“Thinking about something doesn’t always make it right.”
“But it has a higher chance of being right than not thinking at all. Since humans can’t be perfect, isn’t it better to chase even the possibility?”
“…Thank you for the kind words.”
“Words are all I have. What else does a street magician have to boast about besides a quick tongue and nimble hands?”
Having soothed Delta, I smiled gently and took out the card again.
“Alright, alright. Enough of the heavy talk. Let me show you something fun. I don’t usually reveal this, but since this feels like fate, I’ll make a special exception.”
Pulled from his reverie, Delta looked at my card with expectant eyes. Having captured his attention, I smiled a magician’s smile and flipped the single card over and over.
“This is a trick related to a magic tool, so I’m absolutely not supposed to reveal it.”
“Because it’s your livelihood?”
“Haha. That’s part of it. But the moment I reveal this, suspicion, not wonder, sprouts in people’s minds. They start to see magic not as something to be enjoyed, but as something to be dissected and dismantled. From that point on, magic ceases to be magic and becomes a cheap swindle. There’s no reverence or joy in that gaze. All that’s left is a fierce battle between the audience and the magician.”
I gathered mana at my fingertips. The mana seeped from my fingers into the card. The back of the card was engraved with a strange pattern. A faint light flickered along its path.
“But those who know a secret are bound to seek a bamboo forest to shout it in. And as it happens, we’re in the Abyss. I’ll take this as a sign of fate and tell only you.”
I slid the card, held between my index and middle fingers, against my left wrist. As I did, I opened my palm to momentarily block his view.
Immediately after, I flipped both my left wrist and right hand simultaneously—revealing what the card had become.
The card that was clearly the Ace of Diamonds. In its place—was a sharp skewer glowing with a crimson light.
“Ta-da!”
“Whoa!”
I brandished the newly formed skewer. It whistled as it cut through the air, proving it was a clearly formed object, not a trick of the light or an illusion.
I mimed tipping a non-existent hat and bowed. Delta applauded, impressed.
“Is that… by any chance, alchemy?”
“You have a sharp eye. I was going to reveal it slowly.”
“No, that was incredibly fast and subtle alchemy. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t been watching so closely.”
“It’s not ordinary alchemy. This card is an item I made with alchemy, modeled after a Clothing Packet. So, like this. If I channel mana through a bio-receptor.”
I touched the skewer to my left wrist, where the bio-receptor was, and rubbed. The skewer vanished as if it had never existed. When I held up my hand again, the Ace of Diamonds was back, returned to its card form.
An eruption of awe. I said proudly.
“It can be a card, or it can be a skewer. I usually attach a seasonal flower to the tip of the skewer and present it, but even for a magician, I couldn’t exactly get my hands on the letters of Mother Earth down here in the Abyss.”
Delta looked down at my card with wonder. Mesmerized by the card trick, not a single trace of vigilance remained in his eyes.
He muttered.
“A shame. It would have been much better to see this outside.”
“Haha. If we were outside, I wouldn’t have told you the secret. Ah! Oh dear. The card has disappeared. Where could it have gone? Oh, wait. What’s that on your head, Delta?”
Of course, this too must be part of the magic.
After witnessing the series of events, it was the only logical conclusion. Therefore, Delta felt no need to be on guard. I reached out my hand casually. Delta stood perfectly still as I approached.
‘What kind of trick will it be this time?’
Seeing his expectant face, I smiled brightly.
Then I turned the card into a skewer.
And plunged it into his temple.
His head snapped to the side. A look of puzzlement appeared on his face, which had been full of interest. Then, his sluggish mind, a beat too late, realized what had just happened.
A sharp skewer was embedded in his temple. His damaged brain screamed a desperate warning.
I spread my arms toward him and shouted.
“Ta-da! The vanishing trick!”