EP.278 Blessed Nation, Cursed Humans - 1
The angel's appearance was far too flashy.
Appearing with blinding light, it casually tossed aside a person. Not just an ordinary person, either. It was the strongest warrior who could turn the tide of battle single-handedly—Yukjangseong Commander Historia.
But before that unfathomable monstrous strength, even Historia's body was no different from a leather ball. Historia's body stirred up fierce winds even inside the windowless module. The golems standing there collapsed in unison, and amidst fluttering paper masses, Historia tumbled and crashed into the wall.
Aimeder, having displayed overwhelming majesty, descended as softly as a feather before the signal soldiers.
The signal soldiers belatedly struggled to grasp the situation. They all deployed their unique sorcery simultaneously and quickly exchanged opinions.
'Aimeder? Module I shouldn't have summoned Aimeder...?'
'Is it an Aimeder from another module?'
'I object. There is no module that can control and observe Aimeder at the coordinates of the Inner Circle's center. It's outside the effective range.'
'Please be cautious. That appearance does not match Aimeder's specifications. There is a possibility of defect...'
『To dare weigh right and wrong. How impious.』
A statement that seemed to clearly have read their communications. Realizing this, the signal soldiers all shut their mouths and ceased communication.
Meanwhile, Aimeder folded its holy light-emitting wings one by one, looking down upon them.
『As expected, what humans create is incomplete. Even placed in a box and cherished, it inevitably reaches out toward the outside. No matter how similarly you make it, it never becomes the same.』
The Aimeder that had appeared until now carried out monotonous conversations typical of signal soldiers. It conveyed information and only completed its given missions, showing no other intentions whatsoever. It was an existence more akin to an object or system than an angel.
But now, the winged angel before our eyes was different. The 'real Aimeder' lamented with a solemn and oppressive tone, like an envoy descended from the highest heavens.
『How regrettable, how regrettable...』
"Signal soldier? No, that's wrong!"
"The voice of the Military Nation...?"
The signal soldiers who heard that lament glanced at each other like children caught misbehaving and backed away hesitantly. As they all tried to distance themselves from Aimeder at once, it naturally resulted in me facing Aimeder alone within the fence formed by the crowd.
No, there was one more.
Captain Abby, who had just been freed from IA's binding and found freedom, wobbled as if newly born. She looked ready to collapse at any moment, but Captain Abby somehow managed to stand on her own and muttered while breathing heavily.
"Yuel...?"
Life had returned to Captain Abby's eyes. She was now moving and speaking entirely of her own will. But the timing was terrible.
Of all times, the angel of judgment had to descend just as she found freedom. How can fate be so cruel.
『The work that was closest to success... the only result that I, that the Military Nation carefully watched over, has now been mercilessly defiled.』
"Signal soldier Yuel. Is that you? Why are you...?"
『If no problems had arisen with you, I would have existed as a mere signal soldier. As a resident of the solitary room, I would have lived alongside you. However.』
Aimeder repeated its lament.
That alone makes every hair on my body stand on end. The welling fear devours my entire being. My life and death hang solely on that one's will. Like an ant before an elephant, I can only hope for it to remain indifferent toward me.
『For the repudiated barbarians to invade this land is a great regression of human history. This can never be overlooked.』
But it wouldn't be that convenient. I'll have to clash somehow.
『I, the Military Nation, shall personally set everything right.』
My body is heavy. My breathing is labored. Light shouldn't have weight, yet the parts touched by light feel as if submerged in water. This level of presence—I only felt it when I faced Tir alone in the Abyss.
And the bigger problem here is... unlike Tir who was indifferent to me, that angel is... 100% my enemy.
"I thought they might have hidden something... Wow. They hid a real angel inside a steel box."
I only realized my voice was trembling after I spoke. Instinctive fear was gripping and shaking my body.
I must absolutely not fight. The angel before you is a being that can take your life. The fact my mind grasped, my instincts guarantee. A dramatic consensus between instinct and reason was achieved.
The real 'Aimeder' is more powerful and dangerous than any opponent I've ever faced.
Especially in that I cannot read its thoughts.
That angel borrowed IA's body, but it merely uses IA's body as a tool to speak and act—it is not the main body. Strictly speaking, it manifested by using a human body as a golem. In this place, I cannot fathom what it's thinking or what intentions it holds.
"Haa. Mountains beyond mountains. I thought it'd be fine after shaking off most of the Yukjangseong, but why do increasingly troublesome opponents keep appearing..."
This damn nation gave me a bad impression from the very first encounter.
Soldiers are essentially machines that follow orders. Schools slice like blades according to set curricula and evaluation standards. The permissions allowed to individuals are few and narrow, leaving no room for Mind Readers to penetrate. Mind Readers cannot read the mind of a nation, after all.
An inhuman nation where Mind Readers have no room to act—the Military Nation.
And after slipping past all the Yukjangseong in the midst of all that, the final obstacle is an angel? That's truly terrifying. As if it were created specifically to counter me...
Ah. Could that be it?
"No. Perhaps I should think the opposite."
This nation itself was created to counter me...! I wouldn't be so narcissistic as to say that. I merely realized a fundamental question.
Conveniently, there was a being before me who could resolve that question.
"This nation thoroughly rejects humans. Compulsively. By any chance, did you intentionally exclude humans from the very beginning when creating this nation?"
Aimeder looked at me silently for a moment. It's clearly thinking something, but unfortunately I cannot read its thoughts right now.
No, not 'right now.' From the very beginning, I couldn't read this nation's thoughts.
Because the Military Nation is not human.
『The Military Nation is not human.』
Are you a Mind Reader? How can you just say my thoughts like that.
"If the Military Nation is not human, then you are not the Military Nation either."
Aimeder was not swayed by my pace. Like a medicine peddler keeping his audience in suspense, Aimeder spoke slowly and deliberately even amidst the suffocating tension.
『The nation is more important than its people. Laws take precedence over life. Justice is more noble than free will. Ideals precede reality.』
"An archaic theory of monarchy? I guess angels these days give free lectures too."
Despite my sarcasm, Aimeder continued speaking without concern.
『God is greater than humans. Even if that one is a king.』
"It's hard to understand from a theist's perspective. Try explaining it so even an atheist can understand?"
No answer. Instead, the pressure pressing down on my body increases.
Tch. This isn't someone I can reason with. It seems more like a fanatic or worse. I should start preparing.
The one fortunate thing is that I can read IA's thoughts.
Isn't IA being controlled? Yes. She is now no different from a golem. Having deployed her unique sorcery, she has surrendered her body to Aimeder.
But unlike a golem, IA is human. Just as a golem expert can glance and miraculously identify broken parts, if it's a human body, I can read it.
In other words.
Until just before attacking, I cannot sense the signs.
But once the attack is initiated and the body moves. I can read that moment.
『...Begone, barbarian! Like when you were driven out in the first year!』
Like now!
With a shout, Aimeder shot forth like a ray of light. Almost simultaneously, I read the signs and shouted.
"Captain Abby! Move!"
Violently shoving Captain Abby aside with my foot, I pulled a wide cloth from the card bundle like drawing a sword from its sheath.
Diamond Queen, the Queen of a Thousand Cloths. The thick cloth that protected Tir from countless spotlights.
If spread with the back side facing out, it becomes a blackout cloth... but flip it over!
"Rainbow Reflection!"
A thick cloth suddenly spread between me and Aimeder. For Aimeder, a mirror; for me, a blackout cloth. A cloth with different inside and outside. My vision was obscured, and the sword made of light struck the mirror surface. The periphery of my vision covered by the blackout cloth flashed like lightning striking.
Haha. It's a good thing I sneakily prepared some alchemy transmutations in advance, otherwise I would have died long ago.
Well...
Even now, I didn't exactly block it.
『How trifling.』
With a cold voice, the blackout cloth caved inward. From my perspective, it looked as if the Queen of a Thousand Cloths was coming to strike me.
A sturdy cloth like the Queen of a Thousand Cloths has its own stopping power. I can confidently say it could deflect arrows and bullets if taken seriously. In fact, Aji held it in his mouth and deflected them all.
But an angel's physical strength is beyond arrows and bullets. It was a kind I feel ashamed to even compare.
A hand that pierced straight through the blackout cloth struck my abdomen.
The first to feel pain was my head. Because my torso suddenly shoved backward, my head couldn't keep up and I felt a spinning sensation.
Ah, I'm done for.
At this level already... how much does my stomach hurt?
Maybe because I'm spinning around, my head is dizzy. Rather than my body flying, it feels like I'm falling backward. If I crash like this, not even my bones will remain intact.
But the expected impact never came. Instead of a hard wall, something soft wrapped around my back, followed by an impact that felt like it had been filtered through paper several times. Historia had caught me as I flew and hit the wall instead.
"Hui! Are you okay?"
Phew. I survived thanks to her. With human attacks, I can roughly predict where they'll hit and dodge or deflect, but falling or crashing into walls is unpredictable and that's troublesome.
I groaned to indicate I was fine.
"Ugh... damn it, I've never even been hit by my mom..."
"Seems like you're fine."
It got across to Historia well. Historia carelessly shoved me backward. Still unable to recover from the impact, I simply tumbled backward.
But I couldn't complain, because from the front, the winged angel was walking steadily toward us.
If it were going to pursue, the moment Historia caught me would have been the chance, yet Aimeder didn't do that. Instead of spreading its wings to chase, it held Historia in its gaze and lamented once more.