EP.212 Prisoner on the Precipice
Having burned through the midday hours, the sun began to enter a stage of incomplete combustion as its fuel ran low.
Perhaps it was because the meta-conveyor belt moved from west to east, but evening seemed to arrive particularly early today. Or maybe the long chase that had begun since morning had chased away even our sense of leisure.
Regaining my leisure, I looked at the fading sun and murmured.
"Phew. We barely escaped."
Judging solely by the result, it was a great success. We had shaken off the Military Nation's pursuit before the sun even set.
However, the process wasn't as smooth as I'd thought. It was the result of various incidents and variables coming into play.
Anyway, I praised the Regressor, who was the number one contributor to our escape.
"Miss Shea! You're amazing! Truly, a power that made heaven and earth tremble and the ground split! How did you get that much power?"
"Ah, that? It's nothing much."
The Regressor waved her hand and scratched her chin as she looked at Jizan hanging at her waist.
'Seeing the Demon General grab and swing the earth veins, I wondered if I could mimic it with Jizan, so I tried... And it worked?'
The Generals, having their daughter taken away, reacted far more violently than expected, like real doting fathers. In particular, the enraged Demon General ignored the other Generals' warnings, squatted down, grabbed the meta-conveyor belt, and shook it.
The meta-conveyor belt is flowing earth. You can step on it, but ultimately, that flow is a combination of magic and Earth Arts.
The Demon General couldn't touch the earth itself, but she interfered with a part of the flow, lifted it, and swung it like a whip.
At the sight of what looked like a monster springing from the earth, even I thought, 'Huh?'
However, Jizan, one of the Regressor's swords, was the very essence of Earth Arts. Facing the Demon General, the Regressor unleashed Jizan's Earth Arts and calmed the earth.
'Earth Immortal's power?! No way!'
While the Demon General panicked upon witnessing the power of an old friend, the Regressor, feeling Jizan resonate with Earth Arts, tilted her head and slashed the earth broadly with a light heart.
Then, the meta-conveyor belt was severed.
With Jizan's sword scar as the boundary, the earth following behind stopped as if a levee had been built.
When the Military Nation's aorta was blocked, the Generals, the Demon General, Juechang, and even the main force of the Military Nation that had finally reached close proximity were literally bound by the feet. The soldiers were horrified by the terrible deed the Regressor had committed, but could only watch as we moved further away.
This phenomenon didn't last long. Blocking a flowing river with a levee is, after all, a hastily thrown-together measure. The pressure of the earth far exceeded that of water, and the levee quickly collapsed.
Still, their feet remained tied, and since they realized we could sever the flow, they wouldn't approach rashly....
She did well, the Regressor. With overflowing stamina and Earth Arts, she could even sever flowing earth.
But still.
"It's not 'nothing much'! If you had such an amazing ability, you should have said so earlier!"
"It's Jizan's power, so whatever."
Even as she waved her hand as if it were no big deal, the Regressor was greatly rejoicing inwardly. Enough to make her shoulders shrug involuntarily.
'It's an incredible ability! Jizan's power can govern things influenced by Earth Arts. And above all, I freely used Earth Arts, which can normally only be used by those who believe in and receive teachings from the Earth Mother Goddess! This is a huge achievement!'
Right. She unlocked an incredible ability, so how could she not be happy? Besides, Earth Arts are so useful they can be applied everywhere.
But, Regressor.
Does this sound like I'm praising you?
"Even if it's Jizan's power, it doesn't change the fact that Miss Shea wielded it! Drawing out a weapon's power is up to its master. You're the one controlling that power!"
"Is that so? Ahem, well. I've used power with Tian'e as well, so I'd say the fact that Jizan has a similar power isn't particularly surprising."
'Right. Using Jizan only as a heavy club is a waste. It's just that the only ones who can properly handle Jizan's power are Earth Immortal-level Earth Art practitioners, and I couldn't find any. That's why Chenghuangting entrusted the recovered Jizan to me....'
"If you had that much power, you should have used it earlier!"
"I only realized it during the battle. The Demon General tried to raise the earth to attack, so I just copied her."
'Even if it's dangerous, actual combat is definitely good. There are many cases where I gain inspiration from the sparks born from the clashes experienced in real combat. Hehe. I'm still not very confident in Earth Arts, though. But if I can use the divine authorities of both Tian'e and Jizan...!'
The Regressor was excited as if she had found a new toy. Just for a moment, as she painted a hopeful future.
"Wow. You just slashed the earth without even knowing what would happen? Without any thought?"
"Yeah! ...Huh?"
'Without any thought? Something feels off.'
You only realize it now, Regressor!
"A person who doesn't even know their own power just swings it around? What if someone else got hurt?"
"Eh?"
Wow. We went through about ten rounds of Q&A before she grasped the true intent of my words. When the Regressor sensed something was up, I rode the momentum and pressed on.
"Are you kidding me? It's a miracle I was in front of you, Miss Shea, otherwise I would have been swept away by the wave of earth! That's not water, it's earth! If you get even a foot buried, you're a buried victim wedged between rocks. And you did that kind of thing just to see how it feels?"
"I-I wasn't just doing it to see how it feels! The Demon General did something similar. I tried using force to block it, and then a good idea just popped up!"
"Popped up? A good idea? Are you kidding me, seriously? If you have that kind of power, you should think about utilizing it strategically! If you can use Earth Arts, you should have agonized over it each time beforehand, and practiced in advance!"
Regressor. I don't know why her personality, ideas, and even awakenings are so erratic.
Can't you let me read your thoughts a little? The time between an idea popping into your head and you acting on it is so short that even a mind reader couldn't react! I almost got swept away by a wave of dirt!
"T-The situation was urgent!"
"That's why if you knew beforehand, it wouldn't have been urgent! No, Miss Shea! Is your power a piece of scrap paper crammed in a corner of the room? If you have the power to sever the earth, figure it out in advance! If it were me, I would have gathered that much power tooth and nail and thought about how to use it properly!"
"What?! When it comes to fighting, you don't even show your nose, but your mouth is the only thing alive!"
"Pardon? What kind of talk denies my achievements. Don't you see this result right now?"
I lifted the iron chain in my hand so it clinked. The chain tied to somewhere swayed shortly.
At its end, tightly bound, was the Military Nation's youngest Six-Star General. The Chief of Staff, Historia, the daughter of the Military Nation. With tired, languid eyes, a cigarette held in her mouth.
"Here, who is this? Chief of Staff Historia. Who caught her? Me. Who tied her up tightly and made her a prisoner? Also me. Who used Historia to threaten the Military Nation's Generals so they couldn't chase us recklessly? That's also me!"
Facts, facts, facts, I only add facts. Even if you don't know the process, judging by the results alone, I am the number one contributor.
Even with clear evidence right before her eyes, the Regressor kept insisting, as if she felt unjustly treated.
"I half-defeated her and drained all her energy!"
"Ah, yeah. Half-defeated her~ Clashed evenly with the Demon General half the time~ Slashed the earth half for fun~. Are you going to live your life so haphazardly without anything certain? What, can you live dozens of lives?"
'Ack, how did she know...?'
She must have just said it, I should just brush it off! As if she could know! I can't even make a joke!
'No, she must have just said it. But seriously, why do I have to hear this? I worked so hard!'
"Besides, the last one you faced was Nabi! You just dealt with the exhausted Chief of Staff moderately and tied her up!"
"Talk is cheap. If it was that easy, why didn't you do it, Miss Shea? If you had subdued and tied up Ria in a second, I wouldn't be hearing this."
'If I could have done that, I would have done it earlier...!'
The sight of her trembling, unable to retort, was hilarious. I laughed as if teasing her and rattled the iron chain.
"Just as dried beans are beans and soaked beans are beans, an exhausted Six-Star General is still a Six-Star General! Even if she's a Six-Star General on the verge of death from exhaustion and injury, I attacked with all my might without letting my guard down and with perfect preparation! I defeated her and even captured her!"
I pulled the iron chain again. Historia complied with my hand gesture for now, with an expression similar to when she chewed on something thinking it was a cigarette, only to realize late it was a dandelion and stiffen.
"Look at this. Despite swaggering around as a Six-Star General, this ridiculous sight of her tightly bound in solid iron chains and rendered powerless!"
As I kept pulling and shaking the chain, Historia, whose mood had soured, glared at me with a coldly settled gaze.
"Stop pulling."
"Haa?"
Talkative for someone who's caught. I approached Historia, whose arms were tied behind her back, and tapped her cheek lightly.
"Hey. Do you not realize your situation? You're a prisoner, a prisoner. Hmm?"
Tap, tap. I slapped her cheeks just enough to be annoying.
No matter what intent one acts with, it's hard to expect that intent to be immediately conveyed. Misunderstanding and distortion aren't words that exist for nothing. However, harassment that makes the other person feel bad is an exception. It's a communication method that produces the most honest results in the world.
As I continued tapping, Historia's mood worsened even more.
"I told you to stop."
"What if I don't? What are you gonna do? Huh? Your title may be Six-Star General, but here you're nothing but a prisoner, right? A prisoner holding her head up high, huh?"
Hehe. The sense of superiority of wielding absolute dominance over someone from this overwhelming position of power. It feels good.
Right as I was busy sneering. Historia, who had been counting the beat, violently turned her head to match my next hand gesture. Her cheek struck my hand fiercely.
With a loud smack, my hand bounced back as if struck by a whip.
...It hurts.
My hand that hit her cheek hurts!
"...Miss Shea! Look at this prisoner! Despite being a prisoner, she hit my hand with her face! Punish her quickly!"
Historia, who had actually slammed my hand, was looking around again with a languid face.
The Regressor muttered as if dumbfounded.
"If you want to do it, do it yourself. She's your prisoner."
"Why are you being so cold? Even if I caught her, we're comrades! We should share the responsibility! A bound Six-Star General is still a Six-Star General. What if she regains her strength, breaks free, and attacks us?"
"...Ugh."
'That's true. As long as we're not going to kill her outright, we do need to keep an eye on her. Hmm. For now, keeping her as a prisoner isn't a bad choice.'
The moment Historia was taken prisoner, the Military Nation's movements became noticeably sluggish. Setting aside the fact that she is so familiar with them to be called the daughter of the Six-Star Generals, she herself is also one of the Military Nation's highest combat forces. Her being neutralized was a huge loss of combat power for the Military Nation as well.
The Regressor who wielded the swords of earth and sky, and the progenitor of vampires, Tirkanjaka. Even with the three of us, it wasn't enough, so the two of them, the Demon General and Juechang, would have a hard time facing us.
'Since I can sever the earth, they can't deploy their legion. But if they try to raid us with a small elite force, they lack the numbers of Six-Star Generals. We might even be able to use the prisoner as a shield to negotiate with the Military Nation.... Huh, but the situation is suspiciously good.'
Deep in thought, the Regressor suddenly looked at Historia with suspicion.
'But why did the Chief of Staff let herself be captured so obediently? She can't not know what it means for her to be subdued...?'