EP.276 The Nation of Steel and the Faceless Humans - Conclusion
Signal Soldiers, synchronized through Synchronization Magic. They feel the same things through their Innate Sorcery, and share the same information. Because their reporting methods are standardized, even their way of speaking naturally becomes similar.
It makes one think the Military Nation has finally reached the level of mass-producing even humans.
But that can't be true.
If that were the case, would they have locked the Signal Soldiers in windowless rooms?
"Signal Soldiers can contact each other! Then why didn't you help your comrade when they were hovering between life and death?"
It was a moral condemnation. IA, who had been locked in a room her whole life and was facing this for the first time, hesitated for a moment before answering.
"That is the rule of the Signal Soldiers..."
"Shut up! The one in critical condition comes first!"
Cutting off her words, I was about to urge Y with my eyes... but there was no need. Y was already administering the medicine. Tilting the card I gave her, she held the Heart 9 in her mouth, then opened Z's mouth and let it trickle inside.
Everyone stopped talking for a moment and watched the two. Y, who had been desperately pouring the medicine in, at some point... convulsed violently and collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
A few people wavered, but they were mostly on our side. Even in the moment a comrade collapsed, the Signal Soldiers remained calm.
"The claim that it is medicine is a lie."
"Poison? Or a drug?"
"This module has no means to resist the invasion. Why would you lie?"
"He is known as a swindler in Amitengrad. Surely, it must be to deceive this module."
The Signal Soldiers, including IA, were calm. Because they had hypothesized this might happen, the fact that Y had collapsed was nothing more than an act that reaffirmed my intent to attack.
But exactly one person.
"Liar!"
Only X approached me with long strides, filled with intense fury. Historia quickly stepped forward to block her, but I stopped her with my hand.
I have to make them think and judge for themselves.
"Did you... intend to dispose of us all from the very beginning...? Even knowing the identity of the Signal Soldiers, are you still going to press on with the attack!"
X alone poured pure fury at me. I could mess with her more here, but there's no need to complicate things. I confessed honestly.
"The potion I used is Heart 9, the potion of false death. It puts the drinker in a comatose state for a certain period of time."
"A comatose state? Why such a medicine..."
"Becoming a sacrifice is the same as having one's self-image pulled out by the roots. They somehow managed to stay alive, but they will die soon. At times like that, to restore the self-image..."
I made a gesture of slashing my own throat.
"It's called the phenomenon of life flashing before your eyes, right? When you receive the shock of death, or something close to it, the life you've lived so far suddenly flashes through your mind in an instant."
With any device, if something gets stuck, stopping it once and then restarting it solves most of the problems. It's the same for humans.
When a massive stimulus, like death or something close to it, sweeps through the entire body, the previously reset nerves return to normal, retracing the traces of memories built up until now.
"So, bam. If you die once and wake up again, a significant portion of the self-image accumulated throughout your life is restored. I needed to induce that phenomenon, even if it meant using medicine. How about you check it out?"
Doubtful, X used her Innate Sorcery again. Unlike Y and Z, the Aimeder she had summoned had only opened a door and didn't suffer any significant damage. The relatively intact Innate Sorcery connected her with Y and Z.
"...! The synchronization...!"
It was incomplete, but they were connected to each other. A part of the Innate Sorcery, which had been heavily damaged just a moment ago, was restored.
X realized my words were true. At the same time, all the Signal Soldiers realized it was the truth. It was thanks to the synchronization. X changed her attitude.
"...I appreciate your help."
"It's fine. I just happened to have the right method for the situation, that's all."
A method to tear into you guys, that is.
Hiding my inner thoughts, I sent a friendly smile toward X.
"Please take care of those two. You're the most trustworthy person here."
Feeling grateful to me, X laid the two down flat.
Whoever created the Military Nation built a quite solid system. A method of ruling the Military Nation by using Signal Soldiers isolated from the world. It was quite impressive even from my perspective.
Of course, it's only impressive. A world ruled by iron men. That is a very common concept. They wished for everyone to become iron men and stood above them all.
The Military Nation, which filled that role with Signal Soldiers, was quite remarkable, but it still couldn't escape its fundamental limitations.
No matter how well they made them, Signal Soldiers are still human.
"More importantly. I'm suddenly getting angry. You! You called me a deceiver!"
I strode toward U and thrust my face into hers. U, suddenly subjected to my attention, flinched and stepped back, but I closed in faster and yelled at her.
"Do you know who I am to judge me? Do you think a scammer who only commits fraud in back alleys and deceives others could have reached this place?!"
"T-That is not true. However, based on the information I have acquired..."
"Acquired information? I don't know what information that is, but did you see and think about it yourself? Can my existence be explained by the information you've encountered?!"
U shut her mouth without being able to offer any rebuttal. Rarely for a Signal Soldier, she took pride in her job, and felt humiliated by even a small mistake.
Yes. This is it. A slight difference felt even in the same situation. Trivial emotions. A slight gap that humans inevitably have because they are human, because they are emotional and impulsive.
Having finished my yelling, I spoke as I walked slowly.
"I have no intention of killing or harming you. In the first place, the reason I came here is to set right the value of humanity."
Everyone hears what I am saying. Because the Signal Soldiers of one module are synchronized in real-time.
But do they all hear it the same way?
"The Military Nation does not care for humans. It only seeks to oppress, punish, and rule. There is no compassion in their reign. They imprison a mother who stole to feed a starving child just like a vicious criminal, and if you naturally speak your own thoughts out loud, they trample it under military boots if it goes against the ideology of the Military Nation. Without considering the heart contained within at all, "
Saying so, I walked slowly, and the moment I arrived in front of P, I snapped my head around and shouted loudly.
"It's the same for the Signal Soldiers who are slowly dying while locked in a cramped room!!"
"Kyaaah!"
P, who was especially sensitive to stimuli, was so startled by my shout that she fell on her backside. The reason Signal Soldiers can maintain their composure is entirely because they communicate through golems; when in their bare bodies, they are no different from ordinary people.
Throwing a mocking smile her way, I brought my face close to R, who was standing next to her.
"I cannot accept such a country. There is no joy that visits like a coincidence, no luxury and pleasure like a one-night dream. Being moved by seeing someone, or capriciously changing one's mind. Measuring that heart before judging sins. People over rules. I want a country like that!"
"Why are you telling me that..."
"Have you ever thought about such things? When punishing sinners according to military law. A bastard who sold his conscience for pocket change, and someone who embezzled money for a moment to treat a family member who looked like they might die at any moment. Is it right to punish them equally for the same crime?"
R, who among the Signal Soldiers of the Military Nation, collects verdicts and precedents. She would take it a bit more seriously. Like this, little by little, I hand over different words to everyone. Like using a sharp awl to pry open a gap, I wedge and shake it from side to side.
"You guys are wrong! I don't know who taught you to be like this, but you are completely wrong! Do you think you'll become objective just by surrounding yourselves with steel walls, only talking through golems, and having damp conversations among yourselves? No! That is negligence and giving up! If you are the headquarters that moves the Military Nation, you must not give up on thinking!"
Perhaps because she was slowly sensing something was off. IA, who could be considered the administrator of this module, stubbornly tried to cut off my words.
"It is a meaningless claim. In that you cannot present a better alternative than this, your opinion is..."
"Shut up! I don't care about the opinion of a bystander like you!"
I slapped her across the face without hesitation. IA, who collapsed again, wore an aggrieved expression for a very brief moment.
Her Innate Sorcery is the type that binds multiple Signal Soldiers in close proximity... in other words, if this were a class, she would be the class president. Her power is extremely powerful limited to close range, enough to bind all 25 people here.
That's why I won't allow her to speak. I pressure her so she can't even utter a word from the start.
How is it, feels like your insides are going to burst, right? That's enough.
"You talk too much. Ria, just cover that person's mouth while I speak."
"...Do you really have to go that far?"
"It's absolutely necessary. If you won't do it, I'll just gag her."
Thinking it was better to cover her mouth herself than to use a gag, Historia went behind IA and clamped her mouth shut. The restraint of the Six Star Generals was stronger than any straitjacket, and even possessed an intelligence that a straitjacket couldn't normally have.
IA was now unable to move a single finger, reduced to merely watching what I was saying.
"You are all doing well. Seeing that the Military Nation is still intact, that is certain. However, you are also human. You are not always right."
I raised my hand. The card of Heart 10 that I had broken earlier. It must have originally been red, but because the liquid inside had all leaked out, I picked up the card with a pale gray heart with two fingers.
"For example, like this. If I were to restore the broken card to its original state..."
However, when I shook the card a few times with my fingers, rolled it up round, and blew on it, the card was dyed red again.
Having restored the heart to its original state, I shook it proudly.
"Whether you, who have lived your whole lives in that cramped room, could know what method I used?"
A phenomenon that couldn't be explained by logic alone. Some Signal Soldiers felt something similar to curiosity... rather, an urge to observe.
The Signal Soldiers who have been locked in a room their whole lives are acquired voyeurs. Because they are just trapped in steel boxes without going through golems, they connect to golems and see the world without anyone telling them to.
And the easiest ones to deceive with magic are those encountering the existence of magic for the first time.
"There is no reason to pay attention. He clearly used a trick. There is nothing mysterious about it."
Just one person. S stepped forward to fundamentally block the curiosity of the Signal Soldiers.
But the method was wrong. Claiming it to be a trick is half-admitting the existence of magic. If they hadn't been interested in the first place, it might be different, but such a claim only serves as bait.