The man said only what he wanted to say. However, each word struck at the core of Evan's life, so Evan couldn't just let it slide.
"Now that your target to fight is gone, you look for a new one. You're trying to fight your own past! Clinging to useless things you can't even chew on, killing your subordinates and killing yourself in the process! What a truly noble hobby!"
"You bastard...!"
"You are definitely a human, Evan Crimsonwild! Because humans are the only creatures who would bet their lives on the petty desire to be acknowledged as human!"
The man laughed wildly. At the same time, the air changed color.
The darkness surges ominously.
Blood boils uneasily.
Something is happening. No, it has already happened. The beastly instincts remaining in Evan screamed as such.
"You bastard. What have you done!"
"Hahahahahahaha! You'll know soon enough!"
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah! It hurts, it hurts!]
Just as he said, someone's scream came from a dark and deep place. The owner of the voice weeping in pain was... the Progenitor Tirkanjaka.
Evan's body stiffened. She was a Progenitor with an immortal body. She wouldn't care even if a stake was driven through her heart. But the man before his eyes... had somehow caused the Progenitor pain.
"It seems the Progenitor slept so much that her immunity dropped! She's losing her mind over a heart allergy! Everyone, watch out for spasms and hysteria!"
[You bastard, how dare you...! How dare you......!]
"Hahahahahaha! How does it feel to feel alive, Tirkanjaka? It's the best, right? It's thrilling, isn't it? It's my gift! A gift for you who wants to feel alive!"
Boom. A giant arm made of blood energy smashed through the steel door and burst out. It looked like a demon sticking only its arm out of a pit of hell. The crimson arm dripping with blood groped the ground as if searching for someone.
[Forgiveness, I will not forgive youuuu! I will not forgive you!]
"If life is pain, then pain is also life! Spare the thanks. Making wishes come true is my role!"
Sensing the voice, the demon's arm clenched its fist. At that moment, Evan's fur stood on end all at once. Right after Evan instinctively kicked off the ground and dodged, the giant fist slammed down onto the earth.
With the impact of a falling meteor, the concrete shattered radially. Blood rained down in the air. Evan barely dodged, but the Colonel who couldn't escape in time was crushed by the fist and became a handful of blood.
Although his Qi circulation level was low, he was still an officer who had reached the rank of Colonel, yet he was turned into a bloody pulp without even being able to resist. It wouldn't be much different for Evan.
Facing the fear of death, Evan glared at the man.
'The Progenitor's rampage is because of that man! To survive, I must sacrifice him!'
Having set his target, Evan charged fiercely. Running on all fours like a beast, Evan reached out to subdue the man.
But it wasn't easy. The man's movements weren't fast, but they were agile, and above all, he utilized the demon's arm as if it were his own. Evan, who tried to snatch the man but was bounced back by the demon's arm, shouted urgently.
"Are you planning to kill us all!"
"I didn't intend to, but everyone here is a wannabe suicide! Well, what can I do! Humans can do anything. If they use that power to kill themselves, I'll lend a hand!"
"You bastard...! Ugh!"
The demon's arm swept the ground. Evan had no way to dodge this widespread attack either, and was sent flying far away like a ball.
However, even in the midst of this, the man was unharmed. The Progenitor's voice rang out, using the entire space as her vocal cords.
[Even heaven won't be able to take you in. For I shall hang you upside down and bestow pain upon you for all of eternitiiiyyy!]
"Woohoo! Your obsession is scary. But what can I say, I have no intention of getting caught! Alright! I'll give you a mission! Progenitor Tirkanjaka, when you get out of the Abyss, look for me! Isn't it more fun to live with a purpose anyway? Hahahahahahaha!"
[That will never happen. You will not escape from this place!]
"Unfortunately, I am a magician. When everyone thinks it's impossible, I have the trick to soar into the sky and vanish into the ground. Ta-da!"
The man shouted and snapped his fingers.
Immediately after, a loud explosion was heard. It came from the control room located in the very center of Tartarus. Red flames and suffocating smoke surged up, and the shock shook the ground.
And from there, cracks spread.
Actually, Tartarus could be destroyed with explosives. Gamma, the technician, realized this fact within a few days.
The bottom beneath Tartarus was completely empty. It was like a lid placed on top. If cracks were made here and there, and explosives were put in those gaps and detonated, Tartarus, weakened by 25 years of prisoner uprisings, would not be able to withstand its own weight and would shatter, falling down into the Abyss.
However, Gamma, who had suddenly become attached to his life, did not reveal that fact. He agonized over it alone, and later, through Hughes' mediation, confessed in front of everyone. He was forgiven by everyone, and shed tears of emotion.
But he didn't know.
That someone had independently attached an ignition device to the explosives.
When Gamma realized it, it was the moment the explosives detonated right before his eyes.
The beast of blood roars. Human corpses are swallowed by the waves of fresh blood, and undigested flesh is cursed. At the same time, explosive sounds and shocks ring the earth. Shaking ground, collapsing walls. The world tilts. Gravity goes awry.
The concrete earth. An end came to the artificial ground that stood on its own two legs.
Tartarus is falling into the Abyss.
Screams, roars, collapse, falling.
"...Sorry, Aji. I can't keep my promise this time either."
And an apology for the unkept promise.
With everything that happened there etched deeply into its body, Tartarus fell, becoming a massive tombstone for the dead.
Rumble.
The ground split, and the pitch-black Abyss swallowed everything.
Like that.
Everything.
Into the Abyss.
And fell into a past that no one could know.
No matter how much they offered a general-grade salute, one couldn't rest comfortably at the Inner Circle Command where real generals roamed about. If one rested on the same level as a real general just because they were told to rest comfortably, they might get shot. In a serious situation, one had to know their place. Especially if that situation was brought about by us.
So we secretly slipped out of the Inner Circle Command and headed to a hotel near the command. It was a special accommodation for outsiders who had business visiting the command without being military personnel.
The highest-ranking officer of the accommodation, Administrative Supply Manager Sergeant Elpasa, offered an enormous salute to Historia!
"Y-y-y-yes, it's an honor! Director Historia and five others. Confirmed! The order to provide general-grade honors to all of you has been issued! Accordingly, Military Nation Administrative Supply Manager Sergeant Elpasa will serve you!"
'Waaaaaah! It's really a Six-Star General! It's really Director Historia! I thought I'd never get to see her face since this hotel isn't a place where outsiders stay! Dreams really do come true!'
Sergeant Elpasa's appearance was like that of a believer welcoming a god. Tir whispered in my ear.
"It seems that human hasn't received the news that the female general betrayed the Military Nation because of a man."
"Ah, well. The Military Nation doesn't explain the circumstances even to low-ranking personnel like that."
"Didn't you say they received a communication?"
"There are many types of communications in the Military Nation. In Level 2 or lower facilities like this, communication golems are only for emergencies, and most orders are delivered via communicators."
"Communicators?"
"Yes. Can you see it over there?"
Where I pointed with my hand stood a giant golem statue with a complex magic circle drawn on it. Next to it, a non-commissioned officer had brought a desk and a chair and was sitting down, but even though he was overwhelmed with emotion seeing Historia, he couldn't even stand up from his seat.
"That huge statue over there is a communicator. It's a facility that extremely enhances only some functions of a communication golem. It delivers the orders of the communication soldier and amplifies them to deliver to other communicators, acting as a sort of relay. Even if a communication soldier doesn't connect to it, voices are transmitted there."
Right then, the golem's mouth moved. The NCO, who had been stretching his neck to see Historia, hurriedly picked up a pen and began to write down the delivered order exactly as it was.
Tir saw that sight, seemed to recall something, and groaned.
"Hmm."
"Why?"
"No, I'm just feeling a bit uncomfortable, so don't mind me."
"You made me mind it and now you're telling me not to mind it. Stop testing the waters and just tell me. I can answer most things."
I read her mind anyway, so it feels weird not to answer. Tir said with a furrowed brow.
"...It reminds me of the White Wall of the temple."
"Are you talking about the Lakion Great White Wall?"
At the headquarters of the Holy Empire's Palace, there is a large and massive wall comparable to a fortress wall.
The Lakion Great White Wall.
A wall known to convey the will of God, pure white and noble like freshly fallen snow.
Tir frowned as if she felt a sense of repulsion just hearing it.
"If possible, could you mix in some bad words in front of me when referring to it?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. You mean the eye-strainingly white wall that makes you feel like you'll become a psychopath just by looking at it?"
The reason the Lakion Great White Wall is managed flawlessly is no other than this.
Paper must be white. That way, the black letters will be clearly visible.
If someone writes letters on the Great White Wall with ink, those letters are simultaneously written on all the White Walls of every temple in the world.
It doesn't matter the shape or the material. As long as it is a temple and one side of the wall is white, the letters written on the Great White Wall appear exactly as they are. No matter how far away, no matter how remote the place, equally.
It is a divine power based on the legend that the first saint wrote letters in the sky in the distant past, and also the reason why monarchs felt reluctant to destroy temples even while going through numerous chaotic wars. Though it couldn't protect them from vampires.
"Good. Anyway, that thing. The sight of the scribe waiting in front of it looks just like the White Wall."
"Well, I suppose so."
Because the Military Nation was a country where the saint, who had seen everything in the world, gathered all the 'good things' in the world.
Tir understood my words a little differently and nodded.
"Well, if there are objects with similar uses, they will be used similarly."
Meanwhile, Historia finished the registration process. Sergeant Elpasa, who handed over the keys and a few clothing packets, saluted while half-weeping.
"Un...derstood. I will give you the entire annex. I will make sure not to disturb you as much as possible, so please rest comfortably. If you need meals, I will prepare them immediately."
"...Good work."
"Not at all! It is an honor to assist a hero like you, Director!"
Historia, who looked a bit tired, carried her luggage and gestured to us. We left the main building and headed to the annex.
The annex was neatly prepared to the point where one could lie down right away. Truly fitting of the Military Nation.
"Hmm. There don't seem to be any hidden golems. Good. This place is safe."
The regressor, who had scanned the building once with his green eyes in the meantime, nodded.
"Now. Then, about the future schedule..."
"What schedule?"
Life is so busy. What schedule is a schedule? I strode to the innermost room, put half my body in, and waved to everyone.
"We worked hard, so let's take a break. Everyone. Good night."
"Sleep? It's daytime?"
"Day? Night? Don't fuss over such trivial matters. You sleep when you're sleepy. Don't adjust yourself to the world, adjust the world to your body. Become the king of yourself!"
"What is..."
"Mm, mm. Those are truly right words. It is so. How could you let your flesh be dominated by the likes of the sun."