Chapter 76. A Fleeting Dream.
Chapter 76. A Fleeting Dream.
As word of the sparring match spread, a crowd gathered in the yard to watch.
'Can't kill him... so just how much should I hold back?'
I glanced over and saw the Minister was still trying to talk the Prime Minister and the Awakened down. My sharp ears picked up their exchange.
"Prime Minister! These people came here to help us—why in the world would you...!"
"Do you take everything Commander David says at face value? Even if we do, we still need to verify their combat capability before we can plan the operation any further. I'm sure you'd agree."
"Prime Minister... is this your will? Or the will of the people who put you in office?"
The Minister's eyes were heavy, but the Prime Minister ignored him as though he hadn't heard a thing. He stepped forward and fixed his gaze on me.
"Killing is strictly forbidden. That said, since this is a sparring match, minor injuries are unavoidable. Does the Korean side agree?"
I got the message: crush us just enough to establish a clear pecking order. I muttered to myself in Korean.
"Scheming against each other and putting on a damn show..."
The man who seemed to be the representatives' leader stepped forward, drew his sword, and aimed it at me.
"Hey, you. Draw your sword, too. I saw you've got a decent-looking blade strapped to your hip for a wannabe... If I win, I'll be taking those two Joseon bitches and that sword of yours."
I let out a sigh and handed my sword to Chaeyeon, who was standing right beside me. The man and Chaeyeon both stared at me, their expressions utterly incredulous.
"No need to go so far as to waste a perfectly good sword on this."
I glanced around, snapped a suitable branch off a nearby tree, and leveled it at him.
"Hey, monkey. This will be more than enough for you."
"They say a Joseon bastard only listens once you beat him... I suppose a Joseon bastard would have no concept of the Samurai Spirit, after all."
His body trembled with barely contained fury at the insult. Bigots are everywhere, it seems. Not all of them are like this, but bastards like him ruin the image for everybody else.
"Let's see if you can still run your mouth after losing a limb...!"
He lunged in ferociously and brought his sword down in a vertical slash.
— Clang!
A clear, ringing note echoed through the yard—a sound you'd never believe came from wood meeting steel. Past the point of impact, I saw his expression twist into sheer shock.
He swung again and again, face a mask of disbelief. In that brief flurry he unleashed a relentless barrage of strikes, but I never moved a single step. I parried every blow with dispassionate eyes.
— Fssht...!
The lobe of his ear was nicked—barely—and a thin trickle of blood ran down. The shock seemed to outweigh the pain; he stood there rooted in place, dazed, simply staring.
I turned, took my sword back from Chaeyeon, and started to head inside. But perhaps he couldn't accept the outcome—I sensed a flare of killing intent at my back. He moved to swing his blade at my exposed spine.
— Shngk...
Without even drawing it, I used my thumb to push the sword just slightly free of its sheath. The mere sound of steel shifting in its scabbard rang out like a thunderclap.
"Is that the Samurai Spirit you were talking about? Trying to put a knife in a man's back because you can't stomach losing?"
My mana took shape behind me—something beyond description. A darkness of black Chaos that blotted out the sky, teeming with unknowable eyes and the bared fangs of a predator.
"An O-Oni...!"
An Oni, in their tongue. Black flames flickered with a ghastly light within those countless eyes, and a fierce, choking pressure coiled through the space. The instant they saw that form, they froze—stumbling backward in sheer terror. Some of the more faint-hearted civilians simply fainted where they stood. The faces of those still on their feet were washed in dread, and nobody dared come near me.
What loomed before their eyes was no human. It was a monster. Under that crushing presence, they couldn't even draw a proper breath.
"Next time you act up, the thing sitting on your shoulders is gone. And think hard about what it is I actually want."
My cold voice resonated, and they had no choice but to bow their heads. Leaving them there, I walked back into the building with my companions.
* * * * * * * *
No one said anything out loud, but every one of my companions wore an unmistakable look of relief. Then the Special Forces Commander steeled his expression and asked a question.
"Sir, you seemed to let your emotions show more sharply than usual. Is there a reason for that?"
"We're cooperating for mutual benefit. I don't care for pointless power games and getting dragged around by them. And..."
"And...?"
"I didn't like the way they disrespected my people. Calling them bitches and bastards."
If this were Titan, I'd have taken a limb from each side... The Special Forces Commander's face paled slightly—he must have caught my muttering.
"Regardless, are you all right with how this played out? They might hold a grudge, and the atmosphere may have turned sour for nothing..."
"Frankly, we can leave any time and be just fine. If we get the nuclear fuel, great. If not, we aren't going to die over it. But it's different for them."
Imagine there's an impossibly huge hornet's nest sitting right next to the house you live in. No way you're eating or sleeping in peace. And on top of that, the team you sent in to exterminate it has gone completely dark—you don't even know if they're alive or dead.
"Brother, what I don't understand is—looking at their arsenal, they should have high-yield weapons like missiles. Why aren't they using them?"
"The world's gone to hell. What do they know about what's out there? Fire a missile blind? And they've already sent people inside. They might still be alive. They can't just bombard the place."
I said it, but the probability of those people still being alive was practically zero. If whatever's in there pumps out enough ambient mana to disrupt communications, there's no hiding and surviving.
'Even if they did hide, they'd have found a way out by now. It's only the comms gear that's malfunctioning.'
Around the time the sun began to set, there was a knock at the door.
"Excuse me. The Prime Minister has summoned you. I was sent to escort you."
'Is he incapable of reading the room, or is this just pointless pride and bluster?'
"Right now, you're excusing yourself by standing there. If he has something to say, he can come here himself."
The Attendant Secretary who'd come to deliver the message was visibly flustered by my sudden shift in attitude. He said he would go and ask, and hurried out of the room.
"Sihu, are you sure it's all right for us to do this?"
"My attitude changed on a dime. If his head's on straight, he'll figure out why."
We'd already seized the initiative. On Titan I was a representative in name only, but actually running a group here has turned me into something of a politician, I suppose. If he comes in with his head bowed, good. If he tries something, that hands us justification, which is even better.
"He'll likely attempt some kind of scheme. He doesn't strike me as the type to let something like this slide."
"You think they might try to eliminate us?"
"He already saw my power earlier. He won't do it openly."
"Surely they're not that stupid," I added, chuckling to myself.
Before long, the Attendant Secretary returned and said,
"The Prime Minister and the Awakened have stated they will come to see you early tomorrow morning, and that you should rest well tonight."
'Hm? That Captain bastard especially—with his personality, I figured he'd come storming back in a rage. Did I overdo it?'
I dismissed the Attendant Secretary with a gesture, then we had a simple meal and prepared to end the day.
* * * * * * * *
— Boom!!!
Unable to contain his fury at those maddeningly insolent words, he slammed his fist violently against the desk.
"What? That Joseon-jing bastard said if I have something to say, I should come to him myself?"
"Prime Minister, let us handle it ourselves."
"Hah... Are you capable?"
Remembering the Captain's earlier defeat, the Prime Minister fixed him with a look of pure displeasure.
"He was alone earlier. If we all attack him together, what could that bastard possibly do?"
The Prime Minister mulled it over. The man was certainly a formidable asset, but eliminating him now introduced too many variables. There was still much to squeeze from these Joseon bastards...
The Prime Minister's face split into a sly grin, as though a thought had just struck him.
"Once the hunt is over, the hunting dog becomes unnecessary. Isn't that so?"
"Prime Minister, are you suggesting..."
"The Korean Awakened, who came here to cooperate with us, are tragically attacked and killed while successfully completing their mission and withdrawing... We will never forget their sacrifice... Now, doesn't that paint a beautiful picture?"
The Korean government can't even reach this place, and even if they did come, it would be meaningless. By the time they arrived, all evidence would already be erased.
"A giant bird like that running rampant... wouldn't that be enough to reshape the entire terrain?"
"Exactly. Not even their bodies will be found."
"We can hand over a few things to the Korean bastards afterward as a gesture of goodwill. And if you distinguish yourself greatly during the process, you'll have first claim on the spoils of war."
The Captain, his imagination clearly running wild, swallowed hard and smiled a lecherous smile. Seemingly unable to hide his feelings, a disgusting bulge swelled visibly in his crotch.
"Thank you. I'll see to the spoils personally."
"Guard your tongue, just in case. This is something only you and I must know."
With a gesture, he dismissed the Awakened who were part of the Captain's faction and muttered to himself.
"This ruined world... it's the very last chance to reclaim the glory of the past."
He took a sip of his drink, dreaming of the brilliant future he would build with his own two hands. Would he ever have guessed? That no such brilliant future exists—nor what calamity this choice of his would bring.
I finished washing up and lay down in bed. Perhaps I was dreaming a sweet dream, for I drifted off to sleep with a peaceful expression.