EP.281 Blessed Nation, Cursed Humans - 4
Baaang.
The gunshots were continuous. The moment the sound rang out, a hole appeared in the wall to my upper left. It was clearly a bullet mark. Since it was Historia's qi bullet, it shredded even steel, but up to that point, it was something that could happen within common sense.
And then the anomaly followed.
The bullet mark, which should have existed as a point, dreamt of becoming a line and writhed. The grotesque hole formed by crushed concrete and crumpled steel extended down to the floor as if drawn with a single stroke of a brush.
For a moment, I saw the illusion of a sword, seemingly tens of meters long, grazing past me.
The gunshots ended.
Immediately after, three of the angel's right wings exploded simultaneously.
Feathers scattered. Holy light filled my vision. Losing its focal point of the wings, the feathers scattered like a disorganized mob, and the angel, having lost its rightward acceleration, bounced off to my right.
However.
"Did you... reach the mystery! Of all times, right after abandoning the Military Nation...!"
The angel was still intact. Historia grabbed her throbbing wrist.
The world humored her stubbornness, but exercising that stubbornness required Historia's own strength. Historia suppressed her violently trembling wrist.
'It was a perfect opportunity...! There was no guarantee I could do the same thing twice!'
Rapid growth achieved during battle. When the opponent showed their back unexpectedly, she struck with a powerful technique. It was truly a perfect surprise attack.
'But I couldn't finish it! If I had put the angel in my line of fire, Huey and the communicators would have died...!'
However, because I and Captain Abby were there, she couldn't attack the main body. Historia was deeply disappointed.
Tch. She awakens in the middle of battle and blames me! If this was a power you had hidden, I would have read your thoughts in advance and coordinated with you!
The world is truly unfair. I'm the one who needs that kind of awakening, so why does Historia get a new one? Why does the rich-get-richer-and-poor-get-poorer principle apply even to martial prowess?
It was while I was lamenting.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The angel grabbed its wing joint and screamed in pain. Even if it's an angel, it seems it feels pain when its wing flesh is torn off. Serves it right...
Just as I was inwardly rejoicing, my mind-reading caught something.
'It hurts, it hurts!'
A mental scream came from inside the angel. It wasn't Eimeder's scream. It was the scream of IA, who became the angel's sacrifice. She, who should have been unconscious, was screaming in agony.
She wasn't the only one.
"Ah, aaah...!"
Captain Abby, who was synchronizing beside me, too. The communicators who had hidden in their respective rooms also let out mental screams simultaneously. With twenty-six people screaming at once, my head throbbed.
"What? It's not over yet?"
As the communicators' screams overlapped, the angel's light grew stronger. It was like a plant growing using screams as nutrients.
As the painful chorus reached its finale, holy light gushed from the angel's shoulder blade.
Historia shouted.
"Danger! Huey, run!"
I know even without her saying it. That thing is dangerous!
I hugged Captain Abby and threw myself onto the Queen of a Thousand Miles. After tying her tightly so she wouldn't fall off, I stretched the Thousand Silk towards Azi and shouted.
"Azi! Azi-sled!"
"Woof! Just this once!"
Azi bit the end of the Queen of a Thousand Miles and dashed forward swiftly. My body was whipped backward by the sudden acceleration. The sled led by the King of Dogs could well be described as the King of Dog Sleds.
Behind us, light exploded.
Instead of the severed wings, something like tentacles made of light surged up. Beams of light, each as thick as a pillar, lashed wildly at the walls and floor. Steel crumpled, and the concrete that filled the interior turned to dust and scattered. Historia tried to cut off the tentacles, but the light tentacles were much harder and stronger than the wings. Under the continuous attacks, even Historia retreated helplessly.
Pressed for time, Azi, still holding the silk in its mouth, quickened its pace.
"Mung-mung! Mung-mung-mung!"
Azi ran forward, shaking its head this way and that. Its head swung left and right. If I let go, my body would be flung off.
But I couldn't blame Azi's reckless driving. Every time my body tilted to one side, a pillar of light crashed down right beside me with a boom.
"Mung! Muuuung!"
Incredible driving skills. Good enough to let it drive instead of me.
Azi, who had been so agilely dodging the light tentacles, suddenly bared its teeth.
"Woof!"
"Uwah?"
Azi planted its front legs into the ground and whipped its entire body around. A drastic change of direction only a four-legged beast could make. At the peak of the spin, Azi launched us away.
I had to grip with all my strength so I wouldn't lose Captain Abby.
Beyond our retreating figures, Azi, looking as if it had fallen into the light, raised its front paw.
"Woof..."
"Azi!"
Sacrificing yourself for us...! Even if it's you, against that angel!
"Awooooo!"
Barking loudly, Azi bared its teeth. It took a massive bite out of the pillar-like beam of light. With that, the tentacle was severed cleanly.
Maybe because the tentacles weren't human, Azi continued its fierce attack. It pressed them down with its front paws and repeatedly bit them, blocking the tentacles.
What. It wasn't even in danger. Looking completely at ease, Azi spoke while rampaging freely.
"Luggage! Gone! Comfortable!"
"Luggage? That thing."
Hearing that hurts my feelings as the "luggage". If you hadn't saved my life, you would have tasted human malice.
"Aaaaaack! Uwaaaaaah!"
It seems the angel has lost its reason. It should just ignore Azi and push its body forward, but it continues its useless attacks on Azi. For a moment, it looked like Azi was pushed to the defensive, but then another shadow leapt in.
"Nya-nya-nyang!"
Even in the midst of this, Nabi, whose hunting instinct had kicked in, joined the battle. The two beasts frolicked between the pillars of light as if they had found a fun game.
Now I'm reaping the benefits. I survived thanks to the beasts. In this opening...
"...Your Excellency."
Captain Abby called me with a weak voice.
"Captain Abby? Are you okay? First..."
"I found it."
With a voice panting in pain, Captain Abby reported. The moment her transparent eyes met mine, I read her completely.
Captain Abby had synchronized with all the communicators in Module I to reverse-trace IA. She was in the process of persuading them one by one, overcoming the strong opposition of the other communicators.
In the meantime, Historia reached the Principle and tore the world apart.
Eimeder's wings were torn off. The attack that transcended Principle not only reached IA's Unique Demonic Path, but for some reason, even reached the angel's mystery.
The moment the angel was struck, all the communicators felt a strange sense of exhilaration.
It was there that Captain Abby found her.
A cold, dark room, a narrow place made of stone with no decorations whatsoever. A confessional so austere it was almost pious.
Someone, kneeling inside it and praying...
"Below, Your Excellency. The Communication Headquarters was built atop her.... This place is, a stele honoring her..."
The place Captain Abby pointed to was the floor. A space full of scattered documents and broken golems, this floor smoothly covered in concrete.
If one didn't know, they would never find it. How could anyone know there was something beneath this? In the first place, even this module was a secretive space without a single window, so there was no opportunity for anyone to discover it. Even if a regressor came, they wouldn't find it.
However, if you know there is something there, you can see it.
The cold, dark bottom. At the lowest place lower than anyone else, the figure of someone kneeling and praying.
"You did well, Captain Abby."
Found it. A vile smile naturally formed on my lips.
"I can bring this to an end now."
She could have been anxious or suspicious, but Captain Abby asked me in a voice that seemed ready to snap.
"...Was I of help to you, Your Excellency?"
"Of course. It goes without saying for me, and it was helpful for everyone here. And for Captain Abby herself, too."
Captain Abby smiled joyfully. I wanted to praise her more, but in this situation, even that was a luxury.
I called out to Historia, who was a wreck.
"Ria. I found it."
"What?"
"The being that summoned the angel. If we just deal with that, we can get rid of that angel."
Unlike me, who was filled with ecstasy, Historia didn't seem too keen on the idea. Historia hesitated and asked.
"...Can't we just run away?"
The place Historia pointed to was the outside. It was a building without windows, but the walls and floors were horribly damaged from the continuous battles. Since the angel was also busy struggling with the King of Beasts, we could escape now if we just set our minds to it.
"This is the headquarters. Even if we can defeat the angel, if all troops are mobilized and a full-scale war breaks out... we'll be pursued to the very end. Fighting a nation is not a good idea. Huey, let's just run away like this."
"We have to move forward to prevent that too. The angel and the communicators are the core of the Military Nation, and if we deal with them properly, the Military Nation won't even have a chance to give orders."
"Do you know what's ahead? Running away is better. If we go and join up with Shijo or your cute pet, we can at least save our lives..."
"We are always running away. It's just that right now, that direction is forward."
Historia, having confirmed my resolve, closed her mouth. In the silence, Historia's sunken eyes reproached me.
'Right. You were always like that. Leaving without a second thought, and even when a place to return to is prepared, you never look back. I haven't been able to stand in your way for even a single moment...'
Unlike me, Historia has no desire to meet the angel. Nor does she want to make an enemy of the Military Nation.
Historia only followed to protect me and Siati, and she was depressed by that fact.
'If only I hated the Military Nation too, I would have truly stood by your side. Why can't I do that?'
You can't fool your heart. How can I hate when I don't?
Historia made her decision. To follow my will, just as she always has.
"Where is it?"
"There, you see the documents with the world map drawn on them? It's beneath that."
The place I pointed to was the floor where a pile of papers was stacked. Historia nodded.
"Stay back."
Historia gauged the direction and took two steps to the side. After reaching a position where she could put both the angel and the floor in her line of fire without hurting the others, she loaded a single bullet into her gun.
"You're going to use that again? Don't worry about the beasts. They'll dodge on their own."
"I know."
Answering briefly, Historia gripped the pistol like a sword again. Not with one hand, but two, raising it slightly above her head.
It couldn't be called a posture for shooting a gun, but because of that, it was more threatening than anything else in the world.
"Woof!"
"Nyak!"
The beasts' senses are sharp. Sensing the crisis, the two bristled their fur and split to either side. Now there is nothing blocking the path between Historia and the angel, nor anything beyond the angel.
Putting the violently churning pillars of light into her trajectory, Historia manifested the Gun-Sword-Gun Intent once again.
Looking from Historia's perspective, it looked exactly like she was swinging a blade made of darkness.
A gunshot in the form of a line. Space splits open. From the ceiling to the floor, instead of being cleanly sliced, a trace of destruction was carved out, ripped apart by monstrous force.
A roar like a thunderstorm rumbled. The entire space was submerged in the gunshot. The shockwave alone made the walls and ceiling tremble.
As the sound died down.
"Gunman!! I will never forgive you!!"
This time, the angel somehow endured the gunshot. It had layered dozens of bizarrely grown tentacles over and over to withstand the Principle.
Even if it's the Gun-Sword-Gun Intent, it is ultimately a gunshot in the form of a line. It means it can be blocked as long as one has the durability to withstand Historia's gunshot. That should be nearly impossible, though.
Still, the strategic objective was achieved.
The cracked concrete floor. There... is a passage going down.
"Go, Huey."
Historia stepped forward boldly.
"I'll cover the rear. I'm the only one who can block it."
"You're the only 'person' who can definitely block it. Can I leave it to you?"
"Just come back in one piece."
"Haha. That's always my destination."
I shrugged my shoulders as if it were nothing and prepared to go down. Preparing was just gathering a few tools and clearing the stone fragments blocking the passage.
The passage was structured more like a ladder than stairs. One misstep could lead to a fall.
Diamond 8, all things long and thin. Transmuting that, I created a long rope. I tied the rope tightly to the very top of the ladder and threw the end of the rope down. It must be quite deep, as I didn't hear a sound of it hitting the bottom.
Hmm. It's scary. I don't know what's down there.
"Captain Abby, you go down first. Since I don't know what might fall from above, I'll follow behind you."
"Understood."
Captain Abby readily accepted the instruction to go first. I appreciate it, but will she be of any help? Just in case, I asked.
"Do you know how to rappel down a rope?"
"I have attempted it with a golem."
"Attempted, not succeeded? Stop for a moment. Let's go down together."
In the end, the only one I can trust is myself. I wrap the Queen of a Thousand Miles around my body and coil the rope around it once. If I slip down like this, I can reach the bottom quickly.
Having finished my preparations, I said to Historia.
"When the time comes, send Princess Siati down too. It will be safer down there instead."
"Got it."
Historia answered dryly. She showed her back as if telling me to hurry up and go.
Her left-alone figure looked somewhat lonely, so I added a word for her.
"Thanks, Ria. For always helping me."
"Liar."
"It's true. If I come back safely, I'll prove it."
"How?"
"I'll leave that as the joy of that moment."
I smiled at the retreating Historia and took my next step. Toward that distant and dark bottom where the Military Nation's secret awaited.
"Captain Abby. Here we go! Hold on tight!"
"Ready. You may proceed... Kyaa!"
The moment I jumped into the passage, Captain Abby let out a sharp scream and hugged me tightly.
What do you mean "attempted with a golem", does she think falling experience in her own body is the same as doing it with a golem? It would have been dangerous if I had let her go down alone.
The speed increases. The ladder hits my back, hurting it. I should have put Captain Abby on this side, but since she doesn't know how to rappel, there was no helping it.
It was a rather uncomfortable and difficult posture, but somehow, Captain Abby and I broke through the darkness and safely headed for the heart of the Military Nation.
Alright.
Now, show me, Military Nation.
The secret you've hidden, to me.