Chapter 280: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 280: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 3
Baaaaang.
The gunshot was a single, sustained report. The moment I heard it, a hole appeared in the wall above me to my left. A bullet hole, no doubt. Historia’s Qi-infused bullet had torn through solid steel, but that much was still within the realm of possibility.
And then things got weird.
The bullet hole, which should have been a single point, seemed to dream of becoming a line. The ugly gash of shattered concrete and crushed steel streaked down to the floor as if drawn in a single, fluid stroke.
For a moment, I had the illusion of a sword tens of meters long grazing past me.
The report of the gun faded.
Immediately after, the angel’s three right wings exploded in unison.
Feathers scattered, and radiant light filled my vision. Having lost the anchor of their wings, the feathers dispersed like a routed army. The angel, losing its right-sided propulsion, was flung away to my right.
But.
『So, you’ve reached the Arcane…! And of all times, right after forsaking the Military State…!』
The angel was still standing. Historia gripped her throbbing wrist.
The world had bent to her will, but forcing it to do so had taken its toll. Historia steadied her trembling wrist.
‘It was a golden opportunity…! There was no guarantee I could do the same thing twice!’
A sudden breakthrough in the middle of a fight. A powerful strike delivered the moment her opponent was caught off guard. It was the perfect ambush.
‘But I couldn't finish it! If I had put the angel in my line of fire, both Huey and the signaller would have died…!’
But because Captain Abbey and I were in the way, she couldn't attack its main body. Historia was deeply frustrated.
Tch. And here she is, having a breakthrough mid-battle! If this had been some power you’d been hiding, I would have read your mind and coordinated with you!
The world is so unfair. I’m the one who needs a power-up like that, so why is Historia the one getting it? Why does the principle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer apply to combat prowess, too?
Just as I was lamenting this injustice...
『Aaaaaaaargh!』
The angel clutched the stumps of its wings and roared in agony. I guess even angels feel pain when you rip their wings off. Serves it right…
As I was gloating internally, my mind-reading ability caught something.
‘It hurts, it hurts!’
A mental scream echoed from within the angel. It wasn’t Eimeder’s. It was the scream of IA, the angel’s sacrifice. The woman who should have been unconscious was crying out in agony.
It wasn't just her.
“Ah, aack…!”
Captain Abbey, synchronizing beside me, cried out too. So did the other signallers hiding in their rooms. All of them let out mental screams at once. Twenty-six people screaming in my head gave me a throbbing headache.
“What? It's not over yet?”
The more the signallers’ screams overlapped, the brighter the angel’s light grew. It was like a plant feeding on their pain.
Just as the painful chorus reached its crescendo, a brilliant light erupted from the angel’s shoulder.
Historia shouted.
“It's dangerous! Huey, run!”
She didn't have to tell me. I knew that thing was dangerous!
I grabbed Captain Abbey and threw myself onto the Queen of Fabric. I held her tight to keep her from falling, then thrust the edge of the cloth toward Azzy and yelled.
“Azzy! Azzy Sled!”
“Woof woof! Just this once!”
Azzy snatched the edge of the Queen of Fabric in her mouth and took off. The sudden acceleration threw me backward. A sled pulled by the Dog King was truly the king of all dogsleds.
Behind us, light exploded.
In place of the severed wings, tentacles of pure light erupted. Each one was a massive pillar that slammed indiscriminately into the walls and floor. Steel buckled, and the concrete within turned to dust. Historia tried to sever the tentacles, but they were far harder and stronger than the wings had been. Even she was forced to retreat under the relentless assault.
Sensing the urgency, Azzy clamped down on the cloth and sped up.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
Azzy charged forward, whipping her head from side to side. With each swing, I felt like I’d be thrown off if I loosened my grip for even a second.
But I couldn't blame her for the rough ride. Every time we swerved, a pillar of light slammed down right where we’d just been.
“Woof! Woooof!”
Her driving skills were incredible. I could have let her take the wheel for me.
As she nimbly dodged the tentacles of light, Azzy suddenly grit her teeth.
“Woof!”
“Ugh?!”
Azzy dug her front paws into the ground and spun her entire body. It was a sharp turn only a quadruped could manage. At the apex of the spin, she flung us forward.
I had to use all my strength to not lose my grip on Captain Abbey.
As we flew through the air, I saw Azzy, seemingly swallowed by the light, raise a front paw.
“Woof….”
“Azzy!”
Sacrificing herself for us…! Even you can't take on that angel!
“Awoooooooooo!”
With a loud howl, Azzy bared her fangs. She took a massive bite out of a pillar of light, and a huge chunk of the tentacle was severed.
Maybe because the tentacles weren't human, Azzy continued her ferocious assault. She pinned them with her paws and tore at them with her teeth, holding them back.
What the hell. She wasn't in any danger at all. As if to prove she had energy to spare, Azzy spoke even as she rampaged.
“Baggage! Gone! Easier!”
“Baggage? That little...”
How rude to the baggage who can hear you. If you hadn't just saved my life, you would have gotten a taste of human malice.
『Aaaaaargh! Uwaaaaaaaah!』
The angel seemed to have lost its mind. It could have just ignored her and pushed past, but it kept up its pointless attacks on Azzy. For a moment, it looked like Azzy was on the defensive, but then another shadow pounced.
“Nya-nya-nyan!”
In the midst of it all, even Nabi, whose hunting instincts had kicked in again, joined the fray. The two beasts played among the pillars of light as if they had found a fun new game.
So this is what it's like to benefit from them. Saved by a couple of animals. Now, while I have the chance…
“…Sir.”
Captain Abbey called to me in a weak voice.
“Captain Abbey? Are you okay? For now...”
“I've found it.”
Captain Abbey reported in a voice gasping with pain. The moment her clear eyes met mine, I read her completely.
Captain Abbey had attempted to trace IA by synchronizing with every signaller in Module I. She had been persuading them one by one, overcoming their strong objections.
Then, Historia reached the Axiom and tore reality asunder.
Eimeder’s wings were torn away. The attack, which defied all principles, had not only affected IA’s Unique Magic but had somehow reached the angel’s Arcane as well.
The moment the angel was struck, all the signallers felt a strange sense of elation.
And in that moment, Captain Abbey found her.
A cold, dark room. A narrow space of unadorned stone. A confessional so stark it felt sacred.
Inside it, someone kneeling and praying...
“Below us, sir. The Communications Headquarters was built on top of her…. This place is a monument in her honor….”
Captain Abbey pointed to the floor. The very floor beneath us, a smooth expanse of concrete now littered with scattered papers and broken golems.
If you didn't already know, you could never find it. How could anyone possibly know something was down here? This module itself is a secret, windowless space, so there’s no opportunity for discovery. Even a Regressor wouldn't be able to find it.
But once you know something is there, you can see it.
A cold, dark place deep below. The image of someone on their knees, praying in the lowest of places.
“Well done, Captain Abbey.”
Found it. A wicked smile spread across my face.
“Now we can bring this to an end.”
She had every reason to be anxious or doubtful, yet Captain Abbey asked me in a faint voice,
“…Was I of help to you, sir?”
“Of course. You helped me, obviously, but you also helped everyone here. And yourself, Captain Abbey.”
Captain Abbey smiled happily. I wanted to praise her more, but in this situation, even that was a luxury.
I called out to the battered Historia.
“Ria. I found it.”
“Found what?”
“The one who summoned the angel. If we take care of that, we can get rid of this angel.”
Unlike me, who was filled with elation, Historia didn't seem very keen on the idea. She hesitated and asked.
“…Can't we just run away?”
Historia pointed toward the outside. This was a windowless building, but the successive battles had left gaping holes in the walls and floor. With the angel occupied by the Beast King, we could escape if we wanted to.
“This is the command headquarters. Even if we can defeat the angel, if their entire military is mobilized for an all-out war... we'll be hunted to the ends of the earth. It's not good to fight an entire nation. Huey, let's just run.”
“To prevent that, we have to move forward. The angel and the signallers are the nerve center of the Military State. If we handle this properly, the State won't even have time to issue orders.”
“How do you know what's ahead? It's better to run. If we go and join up with the Progenitor or Cutie, we can at least save our lives….”
“We're always running. It's just that this time, the direction is forward.”
Having confirmed my will, Historia fell silent. In the silence, Historia's hollow eyes rebuked me.
‘Yes. You were always like this. Leaving abruptly, not looking back even when I made a place for you to return to. I can never stop you, not for a single moment….’
Unlike me, Historia has no desire to meet the angel. Nor does she want to be enemies with the Military State.
Historia had only followed along to protect Shiati and me, and that fact depressed her.
‘If only I hated the Military State too, I could have been with you all in earnest. Why can't I be like that?’
You can't lie to your own heart. How can you hate something you don't hate?
Historia made her decision. To follow my will, as she always had.
“Where is it?”
“Over there, see that document with the world map on it? It's under that.”
I pointed to a spot on the floor where a pile of papers was stacked. Historia nodded.
“Stand back.”
Historia gauged the direction and took two steps to the side. After reaching a position where she had both the angel and the floor in her line of fire without endangering anyone else, she loaded a single bullet into her gun.
“You're going to use that again? Don't worry about the animals. They'll get out of the way on their own.”
“I know.”
Historia replied curtly and once again gripped the pistol like a sword. Not with one hand, but with two, raising it slightly above her head.
It couldn't be called a stance for shooting a gun, but for that very reason, it was more threatening than anything in the world.
“Woof woof!”
“Nyahk!”
An animal's instinct is sharp. Sensing the danger, the two of them bristled and split to either side. Now, there was nothing blocking the way between Historia and the angel, or anything beyond the angel.
Bringing the raging pillars of light into her trajectory, Historia once again manifested the Consensus of Gun and Sword.
From her perspective, it looked as if she were swinging a blade of pure darkness.
A gunshot that was a line. Space itself tore open. From ceiling to floor, it wasn't a clean cut, but a brutal scar of destruction ripped open by immense power.
A roar like a thunderclap echoed through the space, drowning out all other sound. The shockwave alone made the walls and ceiling tremble.
As the sound subsided.
『Gunmaster!! I will not forgive youuuuuu!!』
This time, the angel had somehow endured the shot. It had layered dozens of its newly grown tentacles to absorb the blow that defied all principles.
Even the Consensus of Gun and Sword was, in the end, a linear attack. That meant it could be blocked, provided you had the durability to withstand it. An almost impossible feat, but still.
Still, the strategic objective was achieved.
The cracked concrete floor. Over there... there's a passage leading down.
“Go, Huey.”
Historia strode forward.
“I'll cover our rear. There's no one else who can stop it.”
“You're certainly the only 'person' who can. Can I leave it to you?”
“Just make sure you come back up in one piece.”
“Haha. That's always the goal.”
I shrugged as if it were nothing and prepared to descend. Though 'preparing' just meant grabbing a few tools and clearing the rubble blocking the passage.
The passage was structured more like a ladder than stairs. One wrong step and you could fall.
8 of Diamonds, All Things Long and Thin. I alchemically transformed it into a long rope. I tied the rope firmly to the top of the ladder and threw the end down. It seemed quite deep, as I couldn't hear it hit anything.
Hmm. This is scary. I don't know what's down there.
“Captain Abbey, you go down first. I'll follow behind, in case anything falls from above.”
“Understood.”
Captain Abbey obediently accepted my order to go first. I was grateful, but could she manage? I asked, just in case.
“Do you know how to use a rope?”
“I have attempted it with a golem.”
“Attempted, not succeeded? Wait a minute. Let's go down together.”
In the end, the only one I can trust is myself. I wrap the Queen of Fabric around my body and then loop the rope around it once. Sliding down like this will let me reach the bottom quickly.
Having finished my preparations, I said to Historia.
“When the time is right, send Shiati and the Princess down too. It'll probably be safer down there.”
“Alright.”
Historia answered dryly. She turned her back as if to tell me to hurry up and go.
Seeing her standing there alone looked somewhat lonely, so I added one more thing for her.
“Thanks, Ria. For always helping me.”
“Liar.”
“It's true. I'll prove it when I come back up safely.”
“How?”
“I'll save that for when the time comes.”
I gave the retreating Historia a small smile, then took the next step—down into the deep darkness where the secrets of the Military State awaited.
“Captain Abbey. Here we go! Hold on tight!”
“Ready. You may proceed…. Kyaa!”
The moment I jumped into the passage, Captain Abbey let out a shrill scream and hugged me.
'Attempted with a golem,' my ass. How could falling in your own body possibly feel the same as doing it in a golem? It would’ve been dangerous to send her down alone.
We picked up speed. The ladder rungs banged against my back, and it hurt. I should have had Captain Abbey facing this way, but since she didn't know how to use the rope, this was the only way.
It was a rather uncomfortable and difficult position, but regardless, Captain Abbey and I headed smoothly through the darkness towards the heart of the Military State.
Good.
Now, show me, Military State.
Show me the secret you've hidden.