EP.194 Say You Want to Live - Finale
"Found you."
Historia muttered ominously. Right after hearing that sound, I hastily wrapped a rope around my body and immediately leapt down. Free fall, the moment humans feel the greatest fear. Even though I knew I was suspended from a rope, the terrifying speed and the dizzying feeling of emptiness beneath my feet stimulated an instinctive fear....
Still, it had to be less scary than that hysterical voice chasing after me.
Thump, thump. A bizarre vibration reverberated from the building I had just been standing on. The people holding their breaths inside the residence couldn't overcome their terror and screamed.
No wonder. Right now, Historia was...
She was climbing up by smashing through the building walls!
"Stop right there-!"
"Would you stop if it were youuuu!"
Pulled by gravity, I fall to the ground. The rope length is slightly insufficient compared to my calculations. At the lowest point of the rope, I let go and roll on the ground using a breakfall.
"Owowowowowow!"
Honestly, breakfalls must have been invented by people who don't know what they're doing. I did exactly as I learned, but it still hurts! A method to fall well? Humans aren't birds in the first place, so they shouldn't be falling!
Anyway, standing up straight, I clutched my aching left arm and ran with all my might.
Well, it didn't matter.
"Found you!!!"
What is the way to climb a smooth wall with nowhere to step? It's simple: you just make your own footholds as you climb.
If you step down hard, the wall breaks and your body is secured, and using that as a foothold, you can walk right up the wall step by step.
It sounds like nonsense, but it's exactly what Historia just did.
Having walked up the residence wall like that, Historia stood on the rooftop and pinpointed me.
"Huey! Stop right there! If you don't stop, I'll shoot!"
Usually, saying something before shooting means you have no intention to shoot. I shouted without even looking back.
"If you shoot, I die! Haha! Are you going to shoot an innocent citizen who'd die from a mere poke!"
"Think I won't shoot?"
Historia's gaze turned dangerous. Loading the bullet in her hand, Historia aimed at me through the sights.
Ah, damn. Did I provoke her for nothing?
'I'll shoot just enough not to kill you. Cleanly piercing through the leg.'
How is cleanly making a hole in my leg being a friend? As I complained inwardly and was about to jump to the side...
'...But, what is that?'
Right before pulling the trigger, Historia frowned upon seeing a figure running beside me.
Huh? Who is following beside me?
I turned my head, and found someone running in sync with me. That girl was wagging her tail from side to side, running leisurely at a similar speed to me.
...On all fours.
As our eyes met, Azi barked with a bright smile.
"Woof! Nice to see you! Nice to see you!"
Captain. You said she was a human. She's a dog.
She's not even helpful. Azi can't fight against humans!
Still!
"It's a bit much to say this, but I'm glad to see you too. I'm so glad right now I think I might cry."
"Woof! Crybaby!"
"I haven't cried yet, okay?"
'It doesn't matter. I should just shoot the leg first.'
Right before Historia pulled the trigger, Azi's ears perked up first. Sensing it by instinct rather than sound, Azi leapt with her eyes wide open. In the darkness where it was hard to see, the light reflected in Azi's eyes became a single ray.
Taaaang!
Along with the subsequent gunshot, Azi's head, which had leapt behind me at some point, snapped around. At the same time, Azi's body bounced far away and fell on her back.
Azi thrashed about and shouted.
"Woof! Hot! Hard! It hurts!"
She can't fight against humans, but she'll fight against bullets. More than that...
"You also feel pain when hit by a bullet. What a surprising revelation."
For a kid like that to catch a bullet with her teeth. Still, perhaps because it's a Yukjangseong's bullet, she shows signs of pain.
Azi shouted with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Tooth, it's loose! It hurts!"
"Apply some spit."
"Woof...! Even if I do, it hurts! Woof!"
"That's why who catches that with their teeth. Can't you use something like Bantan Gigong?"
"Woof? Side dish? Meat?"
"Never mind. Why am I talking to a dog."
Even Azi wouldn't be able to catch Historia's bullets consecutively. The only fortunate thing is that Historia doesn't have that many bullets.
"Stopppppp!"
Historia leapt down from the rooftop in one go and landed on the ground. Her momentum was so ferocious that vibrations ran through the concrete. Sinking down while shattering the floor, Historia glared fiercely like a beast.
"Stop right there!"
Rattle. Four more bullets dropped into her hand. Shoving them into the magazine at once, Historia charged in and aimed the muzzle once again.
But well, if there's a dog, there must be someone taking care of it.
"Cheongeomgi!"
The Returner landed lightly in front of me. Literally dropping from the sky, the Returner immediately unfolded an invisible sword.
"Cheongyeong!"
It's different from Bantan Gigong. The sword of the sky, Cheongaeng, was spread out in all directions to create a pure warping of space. It's a technique that distorts even light.
The Returner, who put up a shield in Historia's line of fire, said urgently.
"Hey! How did you end up being chased by a Yukjangseong?!"
To the Returner's words, I calmly retorted.
"That's wrong. I was originally a fugitive, and the one chasing me just happened to become a Yukjangseong."
"What does that matter!"
"Order is important, the order. If the opponent was a Yukjangseong from the start, would she have hated me this much?"
"It's not important at all! No, isn't it actually more serious?! How did the one chasing you end up being a Yukjangseong!"
"Tsk. Who knew she'd rank up that fast."
Ta, ta, ta.
Three shots fired in succession were deflected by Cheongyeong. Pyang, pyang, pyang. The three stray bullets dug and carved out the concrete floor like tofu.
The sight of the ground shattering on either side of me was terrifying even knowing they were stray shots.
Moreover, it was still not safe. Both I and the Returner sensed the danger and kept our tension taut.
The Returner because of experience from previous iterations, and I thanks to reading Historia's thoughts.
That the next one won't miss.
Historia aimed at me with cold eyes.
'Zeroing in.'
Zeroing in with three shots guarantees a hit on the next one. A Gigong Gun Art mastered only by Historia, who fought with Gigong overlaid on the bullet, the gun barrel, and her marksmanship.
That, too, is the ultimate pinnacle of Gigong that touches upon the principle even if just a little.
You've gotten a lot stronger. What have I been doing all this time....
I shouldn't go to the next reunion. Not that I can go anyway since I'm a wanted man.
No, in the first place, there aren't enough of us alive to even hold a reunion. Hehe.
'That can't be deflected! We have to block it!'
Perhaps having experienced it in a previous iteration, the Returner gave up on deflecting or bouncing it back with Bantan Gigong. Instead, he swung the Jijan greatly and flipped the ground itself.
"Jigon-ryu, Ground Smash!"
As he struck down hard with the Jijan, the vicinity slumped down, and the shattered concrete shot up like thorns. The momentarily rising concrete split the space between the gunner and us.
A bullet appeared, piercing through that gap. However, the Returner easily deflected the bullet whose momentum had died from breaking the concrete. Cheongaeng bent with a *piing*, splitting the bullet in half.
'I can block it a few times. But I can't block it forever! Unless we're going to fight her up close...!'
Having finished his judgment, the Returner immediately shouted.
"Tirkanjaka! Cover her vision with darkness!"
"I shall accept."
Right after a gentle voice was heard, the streetlamps blinked ominously.
The nights of the Military Nation knew no darkness. Until she appeared, the darkness of the streets illuminated by streetlamps was no different from a fox calling itself a tiger with stripes drawn on its face.
A night in the true sense had arrived. As if a giant existence blew breath on the candles of the Military Nation, the moment a swooshing sound of wind was heard, the streetlamps went out all at once, and pitch-darkness enveloped the world.
An authority incomparable to fake shadows, the calamity called the Queen of Shadows had visited the night of a country that was 'only' 25 years old.
In the pitch-black darkness where I couldn't even see where my hands and feet were, the Ancestor Tirkanjaka approached gently with a parasol resting on her shoulder. Having grasped her presence with mind-reading, I met the red glowing eyes in one spot in the pitch darkness.
Wow. It's reassuring when you appear in a moment of crisis. Just as I was about to greet her...
"Congratulations on your marriage, Huey. So there was a reason you wanted to return to this country."
A cold remark added with subtle hostility pushed me back. Huh. This isn't the atmosphere for a greeting.
Towards me awkwardly lowering my hand, Tir showed a gaze full of resentment and hostility, and said.
"Yes. You've come of age, so it makes sense you'd at least have a fiancée who promised your future."
"I'm sorry, Tir. But this doesn't seem like the time to be discussing that."
"Is that child your bride, perchance?"
Glance. Tir saw Historia charging this way from beyond the darkness. Even in the darkness, Tir's red eyes clearly saw Historia running with a ferocious momentum.
"Judging by the looks of it, your relationship doesn't seem amicable. How about it. If you wish, I can turn you into a vampire. One shouldn't die while having a marital quarrel, should they."
"We're not married. If you say that to her, I'll really be in danger of dying, you know?"
"Hm? You're not married?"
I was too lazy to explain that ocean-like broad and deep circumstance, so I answered as simply and clearly as possible.
"I tried to pull off a marriage scam, but things got strangely twisted, so I ended up running away."
"...Then, the marriage?"
"It was fake information."
The corners of Tir's eyes softened a little.
"To think you can pull off a scam with marriage, what a strange thing. Anyway, I understand. But why did you escape from the Abyss?"
"It's a long story, but if I kept hanging around her, I felt like even ten lives wouldn't be enough for me to survive."
"You don't seem to have enough right now either, though. How about becoming a vampire so you can have ten lives..."
"No, just. Let's not do that."
A roar was heard from beyond the darkness. The Returner blocked Historia who was trying to tear through the darkness. In front of Historia who had engaged in close-quarters combat, the Returner scattered Cheongaeng and received her attacks.
The Returner, who used the Jijan and Cheongaeng, was not easily pushed back. Historia, who fiercely kicked the Jijan and frowned at the recoil, shouted.
"Move!"
Haha. Do you think the Returner would just quietly step aside if told to? You should taste it too, the taste of the stubborn Returner!
"...Should I slowly do that? Is there really a need to take him while fighting a Yukjangseong...?"
Hey! Returner! Is this the time for that?!
Something appeared beside the Returner who was seriously contemplating. Sharp claws aimed for Historia's side. Historia brought her foot down to block the shadow that had secretly attacked, but the shadow swung its front paw fiercely and sent Historia flying.
"Nya.... It's too noisy, nya. Humans change their territories too often, nya...."
Nabi, who had appeared at some point, grumbled and stood beside the Returner. Historia wrinkled her face upon seeing Nabi who suddenly joined the battle.
"King of Cats...! Do you want to die?!"
"Nyaaa! How dare you say 'do you want to die' to me, nya?!"
Nabi baring her teeth was tricky when she was an enemy, but now that she's an ally, she couldn't be more reliable. So this is what a beast king who is hostile to enemies is like.
Anyway, since benefactors have come. I need to seize this opportunity.
"Um, Tir. Nabi. And the other beasts."
I said out loud so everyone could hear.
"I want to live, so if you're not busy, could you please save me?"
An honest request, containing no absurd thoughts or strategies.
Perhaps my words were unexpected, as Azi and Tir looked at each other's faces.
The first to turn their head was Azi. Azi smiled brightly and said.
"Woof! I'll save you! Give neck!"
"Are you going to grab my nape and run? Sorry, but humans call that execution."
I politely refused Azi's offer. Talk sense.
"I'm already in the middle of saving you... Eek!"
"Yes. I'm already in the middle of being grateful."
"Say it with a little more sincerity...! Tch! So picky!"
Over there, the Returner was engaging in a fierce battle. Perhaps she ran out of bullets, he swung Cheongaeng against Historia who was holding the muzzle and swinging the gun upside down like a blunt weapon.
"Hoo. It is impudent, but."
Tir snapped her fingers. At that moment, the darkness surged like an ebb tide and crashed over Historia. Historia immediately spewed Gigong from her gun, but it seemed like it would take quite some time for her to struggle out of it anyway.
"For now, I yield to you. Let's get out of here."
"You're retreating, right?! I'll pull out after doing just enough!"
The Returner's voice coming from the darkness. And from even further beyond, Historia's spasmodic scream was heard.
"Shut up! You guys have nothing to do with this! Leave that bastard Huey and go!"
"Sorry, Ria! I have somewhere to be! I'll buy you a meal later!"
"Yaaaaaah!"
Leaving a vague promise to my classmate, I got on top of the coffin Tir had brought. Riding the darkness, the coffin sped through the streets faster than any I had ever seen.
Goodbye, Amitengrad. City of ordinary people who held me dear.
This ordinary petty criminal will take his leave now.
Towards Amitengrad gradually fading into the distance, I bowed deeply from the waist.