EP.33 Resistance - 8
Clothing packets are formed based on the avatar information within the bio-terminal. Therefore, when a clothing packet is inserted into the bio-terminal, it wraps around the body in a shape that perfectly fits the wearer's build, height, and size.
It is convenient. There is no need to bother with putting them on and taking them off, and laundry is effortless. There is no need to buy new ones every time the body grows or gains weight. There are times when they become unusable from wearing out or getting damaged after too long, but that is the same for everything in the world.
The citizens of the Military Empire were addicted to that convenience. The reason there were so few people who opposed the Military Empire's policy to implant bio-terminals in all citizens was that the convenience outweighed even the Empire's power. The majority of citizens thought the country was doing something helpful for once and willingly underwent the procedure.
The implicit agreement of the majority naturally led to the persecution of the minority. At some point, not having a bio-terminal implanted became a major crime in the Military Empire.
Thanks to this, the Military Empire gained the ability to bind most of its citizens with a single packet.
"No!"
Fibers wrapped around Kanisen's body. They could not be peeled off or cut away. Because the fibers formed right above his skin, binding him.
Since armor is also clothing, the Military Empire created military uniforms and weaponized clothing packets. Naturally, it did not end there.
When I fell into the Abyss, I was wearing a restraint suit.
A restraint suit is also clothing.
Then how did I put on the restraint suit?
That's right.
The Military Empire abused clothing packets in other directions as well.
A clothing packet that cannot be taken off voluntarily once inserted, living handcuffs. As a restraint suit.
It is not for nothing that the Regressor grits their teeth at the sight of a bio-terminal. Unless they have a sword floating around like Cheon-aeng, or reach a level where they can reinforce their body with qi, that is.
Even a beast that smashes rocks and chews people to the bone cannot move when caught in a trap. If it is a human, well, it goes without saying.
Well, anyway.
"Thank you for your cooperation. You were my best daily assistant."
It was quite a decent magic show.
They call it a weakness, but seriously, inserting a packet into a bio-terminal during a fight isn't easy. It's much easier to just slit their wrist. How are you supposed to tear open a sleeve and jam a packet in there while the opponent is watching you right in the eye?
It would have been impossible for anyone other than a magician of my caliber, who is also a former legendary pickpocket.
"Ugh! Ugh! Mmph!"
Both arms were pulled back and fixed in place. Both legs were also restrained, unable to move. Sturdy belts tightly bound and squeezed each of the five fingers, and iron handcuffs wrapped around the wrists, connected by metal chains.
He couldn't even open his mouth. The automatically generated custom gag dug mercilessly between his lower jaw and upper gums without a shred of mercy. A blindfold blocking his vision also appeared.
It was a perfect restraint that made him unable to even think of the word resistance. Should I say as expected of the Military Empire, it was made with an ergonomic structure to fundamentally block resistance.
It's a bit embarrassing, but even a magician of my caliber couldn't escape it.
They say you cover the eyes of an excited beast to calm it down. That concept applied to humans as well.
Kanisen, whose eyes were covered by the blindfold and forced to observe himself, struggled for about a minute before realizing. That he could not take off the restraint suit with his abilities.
The act of closing one's eyes and taking an uncomfortable posture has been widely known since ancient times as a way to discipline the mind. Meditation, was it? Kanisen, who is currently doing the most excellent meditation—in that he cannot stop voluntarily—soon calmed his excitement and came to his senses.
'Which, what? Since when? Where were you hiding this packet? No, I. Why.'
Good. Now you're ready to accept the magic. Smiling, I went behind him and took off his blindfold. Kanisen flared up the moment he saw my smiling face, but soon relaxed. He had accepted his defeat.
As always, I feel that there must be giving for there to be receiving. Look. I gift him a restraint suit and he becomes so much kinder.
"Now. Look. I don't reveal my tricks just anytime."
Smiling, I held up a sharp awl. I flipped it over, changed it into a card, and spread my hands while hiding it in my palm. The long awl instantly hid in my hand and became invisible.
Kanisen's eyes widened.
'The thing I thought you dropped...!'
"Correct! Actually, I pretended to drop it, changed it to a card, and hid it! With this, swish, I tore your clothes and slipped it into your sleeve! It's nice that you're quick to understand!"
A sharp awl. A thief's tool that pickpockets usually carry one of.
With the tip sharpened, if you stroke a bag while hiding it in your hand, it would reveal everything hidden inside.
'I didn't notice, damn it...!'
"Don't blame yourself too much. I was once a promising pickpocket. I gutted so many leather bags that, at one point, leather bags stopped selling because of me. I washed my hands of it after that, but luckily it seems my skills haven't rusted yet."
'Damn... it... What the hell are you...!'
"Ah, that is."
When I was about to say something. Gamma's tearful voice was faintly heard from far away.
"Captain? Captain? Are you alright?"
Kanisen glared.
'No. Gamma! Shut your mouth! Plant the bomb and deal some kind of blow!'
However, Kanisen's thoughts were blocked by the gag and didn't come out. Unfortunately, Gamma was not a telepath, so he couldn't read Kanisen's wish.
Therefore, his thoughts were only being heard by me. Only by me, who he least wanted to share his inner thoughts with.
"Ah. Right. That was there."
'No! Gamma, detonate the bomb quickly! This is the last chance! Gamma!'
"I need to take care of that first."
'Please! Gamma!'
I pulled the belt of the restraint suit and dragged Kanisen along. He got snagged every time he hit the debris on the ground. It was annoying because it took effort, but I pulled hard, believing that Kanisen, who was hitting them, would suffer more. Honestly, this is Kanisen's fault. Who told him to flip over all the debris?
We returned to the passage leading underground. The rope tied to the pillar was shaking pitifully. Just like a fishing rod that lost its owner.
In the broken crevice, the rope hanging deep underground. Gamma, who was tied there and investigating below, was now pulling the rope looking for Kanisen.
'Why is there no answer from the Captain? I finally figured out the structure of Tantalus... I need to plant the bomb quickly.'
The structure of Tantalus?
I, who was about to cut the rope, paused and read Gamma's thoughts. Come on, let's see. What is the structure.
Oh.
Umm.
Oh? Really?
After pondering for a moment, I took off Kanisen's gag instead of cutting the rope. As the buckle popped open, the saliva-soaked gag fell to the ground. Kanisen didn't understand the situation for a moment, then immediately raised his voice and shouted.
Meanwhile, I sat down nearby and calmly read Gamma's thoughts.
"It's an order! Gamma, detonate the bomb!"
"Y-yes?"
Gamma shouted, not understanding the reason.
"Captain! Pull me up! There's no place to step down here, so I can't climb up unless you pull the rope!"
"I have been defeated! There is no chance left. Detonate the bomb right now before the rope breaks!"
"B-but. If I detonate it here."
"There's no chance left! Detonate it right now!"
"T-the bomb is in my bosom."
"Yes! The bomb in your bosom! I'm telling you to detonate it right now!"
Gamma was a technician named Wikrol. He dipped his hands into the darkness of the Military Empire, and saw the tools he made with his own hands being used to take people's lives. Feeling a great sense of guilt, he couldn't bear it and defected to the Resistance. Like that, the promising engineer Wikrol became Gamma of the Resistance.
However, even after joining the Resistance, Gamma was a technician. No matter how much he respected his captain's orders, if they were irrational, he wouldn't meekly obey.
"Detonating it here has no meaning! The explosion will just escape downward!"
Gamma recalled the scene he saw from below.
A control room littered with broken junk. If you move the wide desk with broken legs, there is a passage leading underground beneath it. When they were attacked, the stairs also collapsed, so to go down, they had to rely on a rope. Gamma hung from a single rope, pushing through the debris, and went further and further down.
He arrived at an open space, like looking at a plain while standing on his hands.
At that moment, Gamma realized the structure of this Tantalus.
The first thing he felt was an engineer's thrill. The exhilarating sensation of a device with an unknown structure aligning under a single principle, everything falling perfectly into place. Then came the ecstasy of breaking this prison that the Military Empire had painstakingly created.
A bomb the size of a single case. With just this, the astronomical cost the Military Empire spent to build Tantalus would literally disappear under the Abyss. How efficient. An absurd exchange ratio. If Gamma were a merchant, he would have been called a swindler of the century.
But the captain, ignorant of technology, was forcing an absolutely unacceptable order on Gamma. Gamma shouted in outrage.
"This Tantalus has a structure similar to a tray supported at both ends! It's not at the bottom of the Abyss, it's spanning the middle of the Abyss!"
The way to break a balanced dish is simple. Remove the supported parts, and it falls down without needing to touch anything else. The rest, the Earth Mother Goddess will take care of.
"We need to divide the gunpowder into three and detonate one here, and one at each end! Then Tantalus will lose its balance and fall downward! That's the only way to collapse this massive Tantalus!"
There is only one correct answer. The rest is meaningless. Gamma tried desperately to persuade the captain, but.
"How many times do I have to say we can't! Can't you hear me telling you to detonate it right now, Gamma! Explode it right now!"
"If I do that, only I die!"
"I'm ordering you to die!"
"...What?"
Gamma's thoughts momentarily stopped.
"He is nearby! Detonate it even now! To deal even a little damage to the wicked Military Empire, and to the one who killed our comrade, there's no other way!"
"B-but. This."
"De-to-nate-it!"
Gamma looked around. He was currently hanging on the underside of Tantalus. Explosion is emission. If he detonated it in a wide open space, the force would vainly spread downward.
He would have to climb up the rope, put the bomb in the crevice, and detonate it to inflict any decent damage. Even that would be far from enough to collapse Tantalus, but.
More than that.
Gamma faced the fear enveloping him.
What if he drops Tantalus? Gamma would die eventually, but it wouldn't be too painful. Since it's the Abyss, the fall would be eternal, and there would be time to calmly accept death. He might even meet his friends while falling. Gamma would reunite with his friends, celebrate their success, and then die instantly when he hit something. He wouldn't even have time to feel pain. The Earth Mother Goddess would embrace his body very quickly and warmly.
Perhaps, because it's the Abyss, the fall might continue eternally. If so, he would converse with his friends, laugh until he was tired, and eventually fall asleep from exhaustion. And he would never wake up. He would welcome death coming like falling asleep in the dark.
But what if he detonates the bomb? His body would be torn to pieces and scattered in all directions. Blinded by the spewing light, his lungs burning from the heat, Gamma's body would be torn to shreds and scattered across the Abyss by the explosion.
Gamma's hands trembled.
He had prepared for death the moment he came down here, but.
He was still lacking preparation.
I finished reading his thoughts just in time. I tightly gripped my awl and stood up.
"Lacking preparation? Then I will help you."
"No!"
Kanisen's shout and Gamma's whimpering grew louder. I shrugged as if I had no choice and said.
"I will pay for this sin in hell."
I expressed my intention to do whatever the fuck I wanted in the most religious manner and slashed the awl. The rope was cut. A sorrowful scream flowed from the captain's mouth. Even outside Tantalus, the fading voice echoed.
With this, Gamma became a lost child of the Abyss. In the place abandoned by the Earth Mother Goddess, he will wander eternally until he dies.
Until he fully accepts death and takes his own life.
Kanisen sobbed. No one can make him successful now. I cannot be stopped from carving out his ugly side and shoving it right in front of his eyes.
"It's ugly, isn't it? What you kept saying until the end was an order to throw away one's life even faster. While you were bound and pinned beneath me, all you did was urge someone else to die."
"Kill me! Don't insult me and kill me quickly!"
Truly great people are a handful. The rest are those who, driven to the edge of a cliff, jump off as if they chose it with their own will. Lost children of an era who could become neither heroes nor commoners.
Unfortunately, Kanisen Riverwood was not among that handful. In the end, he too was driven and fell into the Abyss.
"Self-rationalization, excuses. Meaningless repentance and confession. Self-contradiction. And hypocrisy. You poured manpower and resources into a useless operation to comfort yourself saying you did your best. A remarkably luxurious suicide. Four young people were buried alive with you, and the rebel's assets became your burial goods."
"I'd rather you kill me!"
Kanisen buried his face in the ground. He writhed like a bug and slammed his head down several times.
That won't kill him.
He put a stone in his mouth and chewed. The broken stone fragments tore his mouth apart. He swallowed the broken stone fragments. So that the sharp shards would tear his body to pieces.
That won't kill him.
He bit off his tongue. His teeth cut through the soft flesh, and blood gushed out.
Even that won't kill him.
Wishing he would rather die, wanting to be forgotten like this, Kanisen continued to self-harm.
However.
Even if it cannot be recorded in history books. Even if it cannot be passed down and engraved in the world.
Having read it all, I cannot forget him.
"I know you. The life you lived, what you saw and felt. I read everything about what you lived for and how you lived. Because of that, exactly because of that, I will not judge you."
I read.
Thoughts.
Life.
Dreams.
The momentary eternity of recalling one's life before death arrives.
I read the thoughts flashing through the revolving lantern without omission and weave them into a single book.
"I am the world's smallest columbarium. A library that mourns those who will be forgotten. A columbarium does not judge the sins of the dead, and a library does not rank its collection. It simply remembers and stores them."
The captain suddenly filled his body with strength. He spat out one of the stone fragments in his mouth towards me. The stone fragment, soaked in blood mixed with flesh, flew in a curve... and fell at my feet.
This is not an attack. It's a protest.
A desperate protest begging me to kill him right now, to end this pain.
If you wish.
I gripped the awl and went behind him. Sitting with my hips against his back, I raised it while gripping the awl tightly. The sharp tip is chillingly sharp. Enough to easily pierce a person.
"Goodbye. Kanisen Riverwood. The last knight who grew up drinking romance by the beautiful river. Even if the whole world forgets you, even if no one knows your end. I will remember you and the four youths who followed you."
When do you think a person dies?
There may be various opinions on that, but at least Kanisen Riverwood's death was decided now.
He lost the will to live.
And I had no intention of letting him live.
Kanisen Riverwood closed his eyes and lifted his head. He stretched his neck out, wishing to be killed quickly.
He had always been prepared to die. He was also prepared to kill others. Whether he killed someone or was killed by someone, he wouldn't have blinked an eye.
He only lacked the resolve to face his own ugliness.
There is no hell in this world. Nor is there a heaven.
There is only one abandoned columbarium.
It's not a comfortable place, but please rest in peace.
I brought the awl to his neck. I pulled it. The blade moves diagonally. A person's neck is caught in that trajectory. The skin splits, and red life flows out from within.
Whether he felt agony as he died, or gained peace.
No one in the world will know.
Except me.
A fleeting pain and a revolving lantern flash by like eternity. Soon, his thoughts were cut off. What was once Kanisen's body became a corpse. A trivial, meaningless one.
A small period was stamped in a single book.