Swimming endlessly through the sea of voices, what I attained was not merely the awakening of 「Spiritual Power」.
Simply put, the body of this current 「Iron Body」 was comparable to a whale.
Of course, in a world where humans shattered rocks and wielded magic, simply taking a whale at face value as a whale might lead one to mistakenly think it quite unremarkable.
But just as the continent’s tigers still reigned supreme in the mountains, likewise, the whale was the ruler of the sea.
Therefore, the sentiment humans of our era felt upon seeing a whale was the same, whenever and wherever.
Whether in the now-distant modern age, or the continent where I lived, one felt an unknowing awe toward that sublime physique, becoming nothing more than an infinitely small part of nature.
“……Hmm.”
That didn’t mean my body was overwhelmingly powerful to that degree. For one, my size was still human.
It was just that the current 「Iron Body」 was as tough as a whale’s skin, if not tougher than most outer shells, and while it did not possess a whale’s volume of mana, all magical abilities including 「Telekinesis」 had advanced.
「Advanced Telekinesis」.
The final stage of Telekinesis I had thought would take five years—I mastered it at sea.
“It is time.”
Tick—!
The minute hand of my wristwatch announced ten minutes. I took a single step. At the same time, the ground collapsed.
Kururururur…….
Fragments, earth and trees and grass collapsing whole. A magic trap sinking blackly like a whirlpool.
I floated above it.
Without setting foot anywhere, I stood in midair.
The simplest application of 「Advanced Telekinesis」. Applying meticulous telekinesis to the tiniest particles of my clothing, flying with my entire body.
So natural a levitation that it did not compromise my dignity at all.
Kwa-aaaaaah──!
Then from beyond, dozens of enormous pillars raced toward me. They were siege hammers, of all things.
I simply disassembled them with a glance.
Seuuuuuu…….
The siege hammers touched by my gaze crumbled into stone fragments within their trajectories.
Ssshhheeeeaaaak──!
The second wave was archers. Hundreds of iron arrows tore through the air in a barrage, but instead they were caught by 「Telekinesis」 and turned back upon our enemies. Distant screams rose hazedly from those struck by the reversal.
Third was magic. Mana condensed in the air plunged toward me like a massive meteor. Water tendrils resembling tentacles gripped my ankles.
Fourth was warriors. As if intending mutual destruction, dozens of militia charged at me before the meteor could even arrive.
“……Truly foolish.”
A blitzkrieg utilizing land, sea, and air, yet a sigh escaped me unwittingly.
These fools did not know what survival meant.
Well, even if I wished to tell them, there were too many Intelligence Bureau bastards in the vicinity.
“Tch.”
I simply disassembled their magic. I bound the warriors in midair with 「duct tape」.
And I raised the ground.
Kugugugugu──!
I constructed the entire area into a massive dome, completely sealing off ‘Padahal.’ I blocked even the slightest possibility of escape.
“……!”
“Ah!”
The warriors who had been charging, only to be bound by tape or to have their weapons and mana particulated by 「Telekinesis」, exactly forty-three of them. Their faces were stiff as they looked back.
They must have been buying time to evacuate the remaining Jeokgwe.
I fiddled with my sleeve cuff where the buttons had come undone and spoke.
“Short-sighted. The Jeokgwe are always like this.”
I lightly flew over and peered into one of their faces.
They did not avert their eyes from mine.
“Hmm.”
Whether man or woman, I did not yet know, but in any case, it was one with quite special resolve and talent visible to the naked eye.
I approached the creature.
“……Not bad eyes.”
I levitated a length of steel from my inner pocket with 「Telekinesis」.
Gwong-gong-gong-gong…… The steel resonated as if threatening.
Even so, the creature glared defiantly, and I smiled faintly as I gestured.
“I like it. I hope you preserve that conviction for a long time.”
The steel pierced the creature’s two eyes.
“Kuaaaaaaack!”
Kwa-jik─! The sound of eyeballs being crushed and the echo of a desperate scream.
I picked up the radio with little interest.
…….
Padahal, the Jeokgwe village. The approximately 3,400 internees detained there were all to be sent to Rohallak.
Kwaang─!
I stamped the Jeokgwe internment document. However, Betan across from me looked somewhat displeased.
Betan muttered with pursed lips.
“……Will you be alright? There are already too many Jeokgwe in Rohallak, aren’t there.”
“If you speak of internment support funds, I shall provide the full amount to you.”
“That is not it.”
Betan shook his head.
“It is just, if too many Jeokgwe gather in one place, might something not happen…….”
“We kill them, and that is that.”
As those words indicated, there were quite many Jeokgwe in Rohallak. It was the only internment camp that had never once operated the gas chamber.
“Of course, you are not wrong…… Yes. The Professor’s judgment must be correct. Rather, what will you do with Primean?”
Betan asked as he filed the document in a binder. I nodded.
“The blood test was passed, was it not?”
“Yes. That is so, but I still find it suspicious. It seems he is favorable toward the Jeokgwe.”
Primean, who had taken refuge using his voice, had recently received ‘direct’ blood verification from Betan. I did not know how he had done it, but he had passed boldly.
Yet the gazes of Betan and the other nobles remained.
“It matters not. In any case, Primean will be sent down from the mainland.”
“Oh, is that so? Where do you intend to send him on assignment?”
“To Rohallak.”
“Heheh!”
Betan smiled.
From Vice Director of Public Security to Deputy Administrator of Rohallak. A tremendous demotion, but for Primean, it was the only path to survival.
“If Primean is Jeokgwe, or a good-hearted imperial who cooperates with the Jeokgwe, he will surely show strange behavior or signs there. Rohallak’s informants will watch over him twenty-four hours a day.”
“As expected…… you are the Professor indeed. By the way, there have been many strange shadows around the Professor lately.”
I nodded.
The Imperial Intelligence Bureau. Or an even more secretive, Emperor-direct ‘Shadow’ within the palace.
Whether both, or which one, there were quite a few bastards tailing me.
“I do not know what bastards dare follow the Professor…….”
“It is none of your concern.”
“Yes, yes. Of course. Rather, what shall we do about the dantian extraction schedule?”
Betan said as he opened Padahal’s roster. I swept my gaze across their names and faces and pointed to a certain section.
Lucy.
I had suspected as much even then, and indeed, she was a Jeokgwe ‘named’ active in the latter half.
“Exclude this one.”
“Yes? But they belong to the militia. If we do not extract the dantian when taking them in…….”
At that, Betan’s expression grew somewhat puzzled.
I said.
“It violates the Jeokgwe Law.”
“……Jeokgwe Law?”
“All Jeokgwe taken into custody must have their dantian or an equivalent organ extracted.”
Dantian ‘or’ an equivalent organ.
Not ‘both,’ but only ‘one’ of the two.
“Since I already gouged out the retina.”
“……Ah~ the Jeokgwe who glared at the Professor with spite. But extracting the dantian in addition—who would complain—”
“It is the law His Majesty wrote himself. It cannot be violated.”
Of course, it would not matter, but Decurain’s pathological adherence to principles was famous throughout the Empire.
Betan knew that as well, and so he smiled again and nodded.
“Yes. The Professor’s loyalty is truly remarkable. I too do not wish to violate the law. I shall simply put this Jeokgwe through some drug processing instead.”
“Do so.”
…….
At the same time.
“Damn it’s hot.”
Primean had arrived at Rohallak alone. No escort or escort whatsoever, and no luggage or travel money either.
Because he had been demoted as if driven out.
“Ah, you’re here.”
At the entrance to Rohallak Internment Camp. Yeriel, wearing sunglasses and giving various orders to slaves(?) here and there, waved her hand as if she had spotted him.
Primean also approached her and bowed.
“Lady Yeriel. It is an honor.”
“Honor my foot. You were dragged here.”
“…….”
Primean silently looked around Rohallak.
It was not his first visit, but it was desolate every time he came. Tens of thousands of Jeokgwe lived in this place that was practically a desert.
No, they were dying.
No, were they living?
“The prisoners are over there.”
Yeriel pointed somewhere. On a truck, bound hand and foot, people were gathered and trembling.
Silently observing them, Primean stopped breathing at one point. Because he had discovered a familiar ‘someone.’
……Lucy.
“Transporting them is your job. Take this ID and entry pass.”
Receiving everything Yeriel handed him, he gulped needlessly. He cleared his throat again to hide his reaction.
“Yes. But…… that prisoner with the eye patch?”
But in the end, he could not endure it and made the mistake of showing interest.
Yeriel also glanced that way.
“Ah~ that one? Got like that for messing with the Lord. But in exchange, their dantian was spared.”
“If the dantian was spared…….”
“So it means they had their eyes extracted instead of the dantian. Ah, but honorifics don’t stick in my mouth. I’ll just speak casually.”
“…….”
Primean looked Yeriel up and down.
She looks younger than me.
This damned youngster.
“Anyway, why. Do you know that person?”
“Yes. They were a fugitive the Security Bureau was pursuing.”
“Oho…… who?”
“One of the pillars of Padahal.”
“Really? Then I’ll have to cut out the dantian later when I get the chance. Our precious Lord was obsessed with the principle of only ‘one’ between the eyes and the dantian.”
“…….”
Primean glared at Yeriel as if nothing were wrong, but soon shifted his gaze to Lucy and his face twisted complexly.
Yeriel, meanwhile, observed the scenery with composure.
In fact, there was no one better than the current Yeriel at hiding her true feelings.
“Hmm? Vice Director Primean…… no, Deputy Administrator? Anyway, what’s with the face?”
“……It is nothing. One I pursued for quite a while.”
Lucy.
She was the direct descendant of the great elder who had been the leader of the Jeokgwe.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Imperial Palace was beautiful all four seasons. Spring petals fluttered outside the window, and a gentle warm breeze blew into the Emperor’s bedchamber.
There, Sofien had today received news of Decurain.
Reports from the Intelligence Bureau and the ‘Shadow.’
“What do you think?”
Ahan asked cautiously. Sofien snickered and nodded.
“He seems to be doing his work well.”
“……That is a relief.”
“It may not be a relief.”
Sofien placed Decurain’s documents in a drawer.
In truth, she had not even read them properly. She had not added even a grain of her own thought or reasoning. She had simply accepted the written sentences as they were.
“If it is not a relief…….”
“I wonder.”
Could it be that this one harbored different thoughts.
A dog-like heart that sought to embrace the Jeokgwe.
“It matters not.”
Because she herself did not know how she would react if that were truly the case, because her rage toward the Jeokgwe was so deep its origin was unknown and burned blacker by the day, she merely touched upon superficial aspects for now.
“As long as I do not examine deeply, that is enough.”
……The Empire’s Emperor, Sofien.
She wished to trust Decurain.
“In any case. Having cleaned Padahal, there remain three, yes?”
“They say Kelmeok is already finished as well.”
“Hmm? When?”
At that, Sofien furrowed her brow. Ahan showed the crystal ball in her arms and spoke.
“Ten minutes ago, a report arrived from Professor Decurain.”
“……He does one thing quickly. As if chased.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Sofien sank silently into her chair. Ahan cautiously observed her mood.
Then, slowly, she asked.
“In any case, the venue has been prepared.”
“The venue.”
“Yes. All preparations for Your Majesty’s event are complete.”
“…….”
Event.
One of the greatest authorities possessed by the Emperor of this Empire. No matter how worthless an Emperor, with this single authority they could gather all the Empire’s nobles to the palace and aim for a single reversal.
“That will be so.”
She nodded with a rather solemn face.
There, Sofien would reveal the crimes of the nobles and families.
Those who had assassinated her in childhood, who had sold the Empire’s pillars to the cult to secure only their own livelihoods, who had secretly protected and hidden the Jeokgwe—all the disgrace and faults of every family.
“I am curious.”
All of it.
She would expose it thoroughly…….
* * *
The Palace event. Though the Palace called this event a ‘commemorative ceremony,’ the entire continent knew it was in fact an ‘authority ceremony of the Emperor.’
When the Emperor announced an event, important nobles of the continent gathered at the Palace and participated in the event hosted by the Emperor.
But what this event was, or in what manner it proceeded, was entirely at the Emperor’s whim.
“……Wow. But is it really okay for me to come to an event like this?”
Therefore, Ifrin being here now was perhaps an error.
This one was not a noble, merely a promising talent still growing.
“Of course! You’re the most famous these days! Professor Decurain’s disciple! Plus, the Emperor invited you personally!”
This answer was Adrinne’s, and Adrinne certainly possessed the talent to be here.
“The fact that His Majesty invited you personally means you stood out that much. Rejoice, Leaf.”
“What did you say?”
Ifrin glared at Ihelm for no reason despite his normal words. She looked Ihelm up and down in his Palace magician’s uniform and shook her head in disappointment.
“But what are we doing here?”
She asked me again.
“I do not know yet.”
I could not know.
Of course, we were indeed at the Palace right now.
However, the space was a bit special.
Upon arriving at the Palace, we were confined in some white room. Except for the furniture, every direction was stained white—a psychotic locked room.
“Hmm…… a magic test? Knock knock— hello, hello?”
Ifrin said, knocking on the wall.
Tuk─
Then, something fell from the ceiling.
At the same time, the surroundings were dyed in darkness.
“It seems the ceremony is starting. Sit down, Leaf. Do not make a ruckus.”
Ihelm waved his hand as if shooing a fly. Ifrin puffed her cheeks and sat on the sofa.
And I—though I did not show it—surveyed my surroundings in faint tension.
……This was no trivial matter.
“Death variables.”
“What? What variables?”
Right now, this entire space was filled with death variables, thickly and densely spreading……