Chapter 284: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 7
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 284: The Blessed Country and the Cursed Human - 7
It was a critical situation; the ceiling looked like it could collapse at any moment. To make matters worse, we were dozens of meters underground. If the ground gave way, not even my Earth Art could hold it up.
Captain Abbey tried to control Yuel's actions with her Unique Magic. It was an effective method between Signallers who possessed the Unique Magic of Synchronization, and Captain Abbey herself had fallen victim to it once. Morning glory vines shot across the floor and wrapped around Yuel.
The vines coiled around her neatly folded hands. Tiny rootlets struggled to dig into the saintess's skin.
“A powerful will to live, blossomed from love... How romantic.”
But Yuel didn't budge. Neither physical force nor Unique Magic had any effect.
The Saintess of Origin, the very source of the Sanctum. Those who believe in her can replicate a portion of the miracles she performed. What Yuel was doing now was the Fifteen Day Prayer, a ritual permitted only to the saintess.
-While the saintess prays, no one may interfere.
A miracle born when the Saintess of Origin ascended the Mortuary and offered prayers for fifteen days. Neither hunger, nor disease, nor curses, not even the stones thrown by nonbelievers could stop her prayers. The miracle born from that act has been passed down, manifesting whenever a saintess prays.
A miracle that allows a single person to hold a fortress. If a true form of ‘invincibility’ existed in this world, that would probably be it.
Against that, I could pry and stab with my skewer all day and not even leave a scratch. Even Unique Magic, which overwrites the rules of the world, was useless. An attack that reaches the level of an Axiom might have a chance, but even that would be difficult.
As if to prove it, Yuel spoke with an attitude that suggested she wouldn't bleed a single drop even if stabbed.
“That's mental contamination, Abbey. A Signaller must value secrets and orders above their own life. If you consider yourself more precious than anything else in the world, synchronization becomes meaningless.”
“Yuel…!”
“If you are truly a Signaller, then you should be happy to be buried here.”
'Attack, ineffective! Revising strategy!'
Confirming that the forced control via synchronization was useless, Captain Abbey devised another method and put it into action.
“Stop! Eliminating him at this point will not change the situation! Major General Historia is waiting outside, and the Progenitor and the Beast King are still at large! If he dies here, even the slightest negotiation with them will be impossible! Take him hostage instead! That would be far more strategic!”
She was telling them to take me hostage to guarantee my safety. It was the best judgment a mere Signaller could make. After all, Captain Abbey was lacking information.
The problem was, there was too much Captain Abbey didn't know.
For a moment, a flicker of pity crossed Yuel's eyes. Her lips parted, and she answered in a weary voice.
“…I regret that I cannot explain it to you. Even if you are fated to die soon.”
'Something she can't explain? Is it something I don't know about? If so, is this an attack unrelated to me...?'
Yuel didn't reveal the secret, but Captain Abbey was a Signaller, through and through.
Having only ever interacted with humans through golems, she wasn't adept at reading people's emotions. However, she had the ability to weave together the information she was given and deduce the core of the matter.
“The target of the attack... it wasn't him, was it...?”
That's right.
In the first place, if Captain Abbey had come alone, she would have been subdued instead. Her opponent was Eimeder, the first Signaller, and also Saintess Yuel. She wouldn't choose mutual destruction just because her identity was discovered by a single Signaller. Killing her to silence her, maybe, but not this.
Naturally, the target was...
Hmm. I was hoping she'd explain the details herself, but if I waited around, the ground was going to collapse. I'll pass on being buried alive. I need to stop this first.
“Doesn't the Sky God faith forbid suicide? If the ceiling collapses, your body might be fine, but you'll eventually starve to death. Is that okay? Or are you planning to dig through the rock with your angels?”
Yuel didn't even glance my way. Being so blatantly ignored even in this situation stung a little.
“Stop trying to beguile me and disappear, barbarian.”
Look at that icy tone. Yuel really was fond of Captain Abbey. Compared to how she treats me, she's practically gentle.
“A barbarian? That's a harsh thing to say to a civilized man like me.”
“A civilized person is one who abides by norms. One who accepts the necessary constraints of living with others. But you, you deny all norms. Where in you does civilization exist?”
“Right here, of course.”
I tapped my deck of cards. It was worn from use, but still more than half the deck remained. Potions, weapons, magic, and knowledge. Every one of them a tool of civilization.
Yuel, recognizing the nature of my deck, retorted cynically.
“You exist only through power. That is why you should not exist.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the vibrations intensified. It felt like it would all come down at any second. Killing the saintess who was shaking the shrine's pillars might stop the tremors, but I had no way of harming her while she was praying.
In short, it was a desperate situation.
“Humans are not beasts, barbarian! Be buried here with me!”
“Sorry. It's not that I can't, but there's already a man by your side. And I have a policy of not messing with people who are already taken.”
Seeing me cracking jokes in a situation like this, Yuel grew deeply suspicious.
'Strange. For a beast, the survival instinct is the supreme imperative. It should be struggling, using every means possible to survive... Why is it so still?'
Of course I can joke. Because, you see, I'm not in any danger.
A beast like Azzy or Nabi might have sensed the danger and started thrashing about. Dogs and cats react sensitively to immediate threats. No matter how strong and elastic the rope you tie them with, a dog or cat will struggle frantically if you try to drop them from a high place.
But I am a human, equipped with intelligence and logic. Even from a height of dozens of meters, if I've confirmed that the rope holding me is strong enough, I can jump without hesitation. Well, if something goes wrong with the lifeline, it's an instant accidental death, no questions asked.
Fortunately for me, my lifeline has just arrived.
'I don't know what he's plotting, but it doesn't matter. O Saintess of Origin, who blessed me. O Saintess of the Sky, who excommunicated me. I am a sinner, but in my final moments, I will not bring shame upon you. Forgive me.'
Just as the saintess was about to finish her prayer, the sound of people came from outside. Someone else who had jumped into the underground passage had finally arrived. Muttering voices drifted in from the corridor.
“Sh-Shiati...! It's shaking. Was it right for us to come this way?”
“It must connect to somewhere else! Faster!”
The princess, with her warm and noble air. And Shiati, sharp as a well-honed blade in contrast.
The two of them, having fled the chaos above, burst through the door. Searching for a place to escape, they froze at the unexpected sight of the shrine that unfolded before them.
“Hiee...! Is this a shrine? Why is there a shrine in the Military State?”
“Keep moving! Huey went this way, so it must lead somewhere...! Huey?”
And then, the princess entered the saintess's range of perception.
Grandiomor, one of the Five Sovereigns who supported the Saintess of Origin. The weakest king, who followed the Saintess of Origin to drive out the King of Humans and devour 'hearts'. His last descendant.
A human who could not be antagonized by anyone—invincible in a different sense.
The moment she spotted her, Yuel groaned for the first time.
“Ah…!”
“You know her well, don't you? The sole remaining princess of the Grandiomor Royal Family. The last king.”
Even a princess isn't truly invincible. Just as King Grandiomor was trampled to death by a crowd, the princess could also die in an unintentional accident. If this place had been in the middle of collapsing, the princess would have been swept away with it.
But the saintess still had the power to stop this situation.
And an attack on the princess, even one resulting from inaction, was impossible.
“Now, Saintess Yuel. If you bring this place down, that princess will die. Wow, the pure, innocent princess, crushed into a bloody pulp by heavy rocks!”
Just in case she tried to ignore it, I explained it to her kindly. So there could be no room for misunderstanding.
“Y-You….”
“Uh-oh? You're not stopping? She's gonna die? For real? Not me, the princess is going to die, you hear? Are you still going to bring it down?”
'He brought... the princess...!'
She's the ultimate shield, after all. I have to make good use of her, don't I?
The trembling subsided. The thick pillars that had looked ready to topple at any moment stood firm, resuming their role. The ceiling, having been shaken once, still looked unstable, but it didn't seem like it would collapse anytime soon.
The princess let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew! The shaking has stopped!”
“We don't know when it might start again. Let's focus on escaping for now. More importantly, Huey, what are you doing not running away? What is this place?”
The two strode toward me. Then they saw Yuel, despairing while clutching a corpse, and flinched in surprise. From their perspective, she must have looked like a ghost.
I greeted them cheerfully.
“Welcome. I've been waiting for you.”
With this, everyone was gathered. The ones who would pose a question to the Military State.
Some say that humans are not beasts. That as the lords of all creation, humans are superior to all other beings, special.
But the fact that the vast majority of humans are ruled creates a flaw in their argument.
What is it that rules these supposedly special humans?
A more special human? Unfortunately, most of the humans who claimed to be such beings are dead. Even the Five Sovereigns, who seized truly special power from the King of Humans, have vanished. Well, one of them is left over there. But she's basically a remnant.
Something greater, yet unseen? But in extreme situations, what truly drives humans is desire. The countless evils that exist in the world prove not only that such a thing is unseen, but that it doesn't exist at all.
Some of those who dislike complexity claim that, in the end, it all comes down to the logic of power. That powerful individuals, or groups united by a common will, rule others through force.
It's not wrong. However, if that is true, then humans are beasts.
And if that is the case...