Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Signal Flare
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Chapter 17
"Not a magical beast alert, but a ferocious beast, they say."
Lander peered out the window as he spoke. Bank stroked his short goatee in response.
"If it were a magical beast alert, it would get reported upward. The council would find out naturally and dispatch people to investigate the 'stray roots.' The Emperor wouldn't be thrilled about that."
"Civilians could get hurt."
"We'll prevent that as much as possible. The system's already in place. And you know that better than anyone, Head Count. About unavoidable sacrifices."
Lander was the leader of the Empire's premier martial force, a man who had made countless decisions.
He was the type far removed from soft words like civilian casualties or valuing human life above all.
"Are the defenses solid?"
True to form, Lander asked about methods rather than principles. It was the attitude of a lifelong soldier. Bank explained the troops stationed in the village.
"There won't be any casualties within the village."
"If the Political Officer says so, there shouldn't be any major risks."
"You know how much our Emperor despises the incompetent and the unprepared. Magical beast suppression and information lockdown are airtight. But there's always that 'what if.' That's why I wanted to ask a favor of you, Lander."
"If it's subjugation, I'll help. I owe some people in this village, so I can lend a hand for that much."
"That's exactly the answer I was hoping for. Now the village defenses are flawless."
A Depth 3 magical beast was undoubtedly a tricky problem. Unless it was elite soldiers, you'd have to accept some casualties.
But with the man in front of him joining in, a Depth 3 was no concern at all. Like swatting away a bug with your hand. That's probably all it would be to Lander.
Mekel returned to the room.
"We searched around the village but found no sign of it. It seems to have left the area."
Magical beasts had varied traits depending on the individual. Some charged like oxen with their tails on fire, while others left no traces like highly trained assassins.
Some even deliberately left remnants to confuse searches.
"We can't be sure it's gone. Even comparing to samples, it's a new specimen with no matches. It could be a special one, so expand the patrol radius but switch personnel from 3 to 4."
"Understood. And..."
Mekel trailed off mid-sentence. Something changed outside the window. A faint yellow light flickered briefly and vanished. Lander, standing by the window, flung it wide open and looked out. Bank approached the window too.
"A signal flare?"
Yellow light bloomed from the western forest adjacent to the village. The guards controlling the streets began pointing at the light and murmuring.
"Is that from your Political Officer side?"
Lander asked. Bank shook his head slightly.
"We wouldn't use something so flashy."
"Just checking. Then that means..."
Guchi suddenly came to mind. He was the only one in the village likely to carry expensive signal flares.
And the color was yellow, too. The standard for hunters. It meant a rescue request.
No way it's the magical beast, he thought, but it was time to make a judgment. Lander climbed onto the windowsill. He gripped it with one hand and leaned out as if dropping from it.
"Looks like Guchi. Hunters mainly use those flares."
"Could I ask you to handle it?"
"I'll go check."
Lander kicked off the sill. The wooden frame cracked loudly. Shattered bits scattered into the room like broken bricks.
He watched Lander land on the opposite building's roof and leap again. Each step propelled him away at terrifying speed. Guards looked up at the thudding sounds.
"Still the same as ever."
He sighed, surveying the wrecked room. Ans would nag endlessly if he saw this.
"Who exactly is he?"
Mekel asked. He stared blankly out the window, unable to believe Lander had vanished from sight.
"I could tell you, but knowing would mean your head rolls quietly. I might be the one to do it. Still want to know?"
"If it's like that, never mind. I aim to live long and thin."
"That's why I like you. Anyway, relay to the search teams outside. Control the area around the flare. No guards or villagers get near."
"Should we send the subjugation team there too?"
"No. Have everyone return to the village. We have separate preparations to make."
"Preparations...?"
"Evacuation prep. If that guy dies to the beast, we grab every document here and head back to the Holy City. Anything we can't take gets destroyed, so prep that too."
"Huh?"
Mekel looked confused. He gazed at the fading yellow flare and said,
"If that guy dies, it's a national emergency-level event. Everything alive in this region gets wiped out, so if you don't want to die, pack up and run."
* * *
A yellow flash blinked from outside the village, and something launched from the guild building. It was so explosive that "launched" was the only word for it.
By the time Ariel realized it was a person—and that person was Lander—her stunned mind snapped awake, and she spurred her horse.
She kicked the horse's flank. Willet called from behind, but she ignored it.
She could deal with the scolding later. Right now, chasing that man came first.
What the hell was he doing?
After yesterday's talk with Lander, she had sat pondering for a long time. His words—more precisely, her father's words through him—had muddled her thoughts.
Her father valued honor above all. He stressed that fleeing was shameful, dying in battle glorious. For such a man to advise clinging to a muddy life.
She had been half-resigned. She struggled to protect Tiyan, but results were lackluster, while threats to Tiyan grew their forces frighteningly. It wouldn't be odd if they got devoured anytime.
She could let go, build moderate power, and defend the territory comfortably, but bearing the Tiyan name made that impossible.
Fighting to the end and falling gloriously—that was Tiyan. Compromise wasn't a word the family used.
She had been moving expecting clear ruin, not half-measures, but yesterday's talk left her directionless. Mocking laughs escaped nonstop.
She prided herself on tenacity, yet indirect words from her father—not even direct—shook her this much.
One more talk with him, glimpsing her father's wisdom through him, might calm this chaos.
With that thought, she tracked Lander down and heard he was at the guild, so she moved without delay.
What she witnessed was Lander slicing through the air faster than a diving bird.
She had seen such feats maybe once or twice even in Schola's combat division. The body techniques of Schola's top instructor, worthy of the "Hero of Reversal" title without shame, were like that.
No, he seemed even more agile and ferocious than the top instructor. And Lander claimed to be a lowly soldier.
A man vanishing at a speed horses couldn't match was a lowly soldier? What kind of monster battlefield was Andun?
One thing was certain: it wasn't pure physical strength. Even born giants had human limits of flesh and blood.
Countless ways existed to surpass them, but breaking limits without gear, in that state, there was only one.
Body techniques aided by mana.
The realm glimpsed only by warriors pursuing extremes beyond extremes.
Maestro.
She had never heard of a lowly soldier achieving that glorious height inscribed at Schola's main gate.
Guards blocking the road appeared ahead. She glared, forcing them aside with her eyes.
Street control orders only bound locals. To a First-Class Noble like her, they were mere noise.
"No way he's just a soldier."
She recalled his words about briefly serving her father. Was that true?
If not, why lie? Man with her father's artifact, lowly soldier, Andun, Maestro. Fragments tangled in her mind.
One certainty: to sort it, she needed to meet and talk to him.
* * *
It snapped clean. So clean he absurdly thought splinting and treating it would fix it easily. Guchi stifled the scream escaping through clenched teeth and gripped his sword again.
Clap, clap. The thing applauded happily again. As if impressed by a toy that kept moving despite not dying. Humiliating, but also a relief.
Thanks to it playing with him, he was still alive.
He turned to Perrin. The friend he thought would fire the flare and flee had turned and thrown himself at the magical beast.
That was the result. One leg twisted in an unnatural direction.
"Still alive?"
He barely squeezed out the words. Perrin coughed dryly a few times before replying.
"Not kicked the bucket yet."
"Feeling in the leg?"
"Feels like it might not even be my leg. That bastard did something."
He looked at Perrin's broken leg. The flesh bubbled. Hundreds of blisters formed sporadically and popped.
Clothes had melted away. Skin tone darkened gradually. Seemed like infection or corrosion.
"At least no pain. Lucky."
"Is it?"
"Like I said, don't look back, just run."
"My wife and kids' faces flashed, so I tried. Damn. Came back 'cause I didn't want you haunting me every night."
"Got energy for jokes, so you're doing fine."
Situation was hopeless no matter how cool-headed. No scheme or effort would dodge death.
With fate sealed, nonsense flowed. Same for Perrin.
The magical beast swung its long arms as it approached. If only he could land one wound before dying. He slashed with trembling arms.
Sword hit beast flesh and rang metallic, bouncing off. The beast stood still, as if urging more. He swung wildly, roaring.
Slash after slash. With a clang, the blade snapped. In that instant, the beast's torso split top to bottom.
Inside was a massive eyeball. He met the writhing black pupil. Emotion transmitted: You're no fun anymore.
Vision whitened briefly. He regained senses after slamming into the ground. Couldn't twitch a finger. Watching was his only action.
The beast walked to Perrin. It blinked its huge eye and stood before him.
"Run... away."
Blood-flecked words changed nothing. The beast clasped hands overhead. The word "pulverize" flashed.
Rage-filled scream about to erupt. Far off, against the darkening sky, a dot appeared. Bird? Blinking, it grew.
As the dot plummeted then soared from the ground, he identified it as human. The beast looked too. In that moment, he saw its pupil slit vertically narrow.
The grotesque eye showed uneasy movement. Fear. The emotion he read in the beast's eye.
The beast slammed hands to ground. It crouched low then rocketed skyward. Fleeing the approaching man.
But the beast's escape fell short. The wind-following man leaped straight into the sky.
"Lander?"
As he muttered seeing Lander's face, Lander's sword cleaved the beast.
No, he didn't see the cleaving. Just the beast halved midair, so he assumed the sword did it.
(To be continued in the next installment)