Chapter 197
★ Underground City Outskirts ★
Living in the Underground City meant giving up much of one's freedom.
Not only was there almost no freedom to leave the city, but freedom to marry was practically nonexistent as well; parents and one's community determined whom one married.
The food one could eat, the alcohol one could drink, and the forms of entertainment available were all limited.
The scope of education was narrow.
On top of that, there were countless unspoken rules one had to follow.
—I want to tear it all down.
That was the feeling and desire the Marshal had carried within him.
Though he belonged to the family of a City Councilor who governed the city and had been entrusted with the highest position in the military—in other words, though he was one of the few people in the city blessed with privilege—he wanted to destroy its rules.
—I'm at my limit.
His ancestors had hidden underground to escape terrifying monsters, and they had comfortably survived the conflicts between races that had continued for hundreds of years.
The subterranean people had no idea how many other races there were, or how many had perished in those conflicts. Wouldn't it have been better to join forces and oppose the monsters? The Marshal had thought so, but when he was born, he had been taught, "There are only three races in the world: us subterranean people, Dark Elves, and dragon people."
There was one more important teaching: "There is a god in this world, and only the Urume head family can hear the voice of God."
How could it be that no one else heard it, yet only the Urume head family understood it? What was more, they never told anyone what it said. Seeing that repulsive Salme act superior while using that mystique as a shield sent a shiver of fear through him. The young men who reverently accepted it, and even sold their bodies to her in an attempt to curry favor, were just as creepy.
There were only three races in the world.
And one of them—our own subterranean people—was led by a madman. No, perhaps all of us around him had gone mad long ago...
Thinking that made him feel that he really was at his limit.
But destroying this city and society would require "power." They had to destroy it, rebuild it, and, if possible, cooperate with other races; that was the only way to survive.
The Marshal had found that "power" in the Talent Jewel.
(What the hell is that boy!? No, more importantly—he pulled out the Talent Jewel!?)
The six-star Talent Jewel given to Sumelia was precisely the "power" the Marshal had sought. But the intruder tonight had defeated Sumelia and, what's more, had actually extracted the Talent Jewel.
The ominous-looking Talent Jewel was shining in the darkness of the Underground City.
"Who are you!? That's ours!"
With the battle over and many people still too stunned to move, the Marshal raised his voice.
The gale had stripped the intruder's hood away. The face revealed was that of a boy who looked to be in his mid-teens.
"You people unilaterally seized the Lef people from the crashed airship. What right do you have to claim ownership of them?"
He stiffened—not because the boy had hit the nail on the head, but because he had casually used the name of a country he'd never even heard of until a few days ago—Lef—instead of calling them "dragon people."
So this was the boy the patrol had attacked—and lost to.
"You... are you an ally of the dragon people?"
"They are Lef people. You have no justification for detaining them."
"But you have illegally entered our city like this."
"...If entering a city is illegal, why not install a gatekeeper?"
What a smooth talker, the Marshal thought, clicking his tongue in irritation.
It was none other than the Marshal who had proposed ten years ago that guards be stationed along the several routes into the Underground City. But once they actually posted guards, no one tried to break in, and people began mocking the duty as "punishment game." The guards assigned to it stopped standing watch and merely filled out reports stating, "No unusual activity today."
As a result, the Marshal was forced to withdraw his own policy.
(A sentry ought to be glad when nothing happens...!)
That was what he had said, but he had found almost no one willing to agree. Even his trusted centurion had shown the same bizarrely excessive faith in the Underground City's secrecy as the other subterranean people, saying, "Well, nobody's going to break in here."
"Whatever the Lef people may be, the airship crash site is in our territory. It is our duty to determine what happened there."
"...That may be true. Still, locking the Lef people in cells makes that the height of hypocrisy."
"You always have an answer for everything! Aren't you the very embodiment of hypocrisy!?"
When the Marshal said that, the boy merely shrugged slightly.
The gesture irritated him too—but his chief of staff whispered beside him.
"...Marshal, buy us a little more time. We'll seal off all the exits in the meantime."
That was an option.
Just as he was about to say, "All right, go—"
"Ah, you really shouldn't move your troops to block the exits now. For one thing... is there anyone here stronger than this Sumelia-san?"
"Ugh..."
That was certainly true. With Sumelia defeated, and the patrol having failed to win when it attacked as well, fighting here would only lead to greater casualties.
"...That may be so."
The chief of staff glanced sideways at him, asking what they should do—seal off the exits or not.
Calculations began racing through the Marshal's mind.
With the city so thoroughly wrecked (even if Sumelia had caused almost all of it), the prisoners freed, and the six-star Talent Jewel stolen—his dismissal as Marshal was certain. No, if that was all he lost, it would still be fortunate. That Salme would probably even try to take his father's seat on the Council.
"Then just stay there. I'll—"
"But—"
What could he do at this very moment?
The Marshal took a gamble.
"I can't just let you escape like this. All of us will risk our lives to keep you from getting outside. I don't care how many die. At worst, we'll destroy every exit and bury you alive."
The chief of staff's eyes bulged at the Marshal's words.
The soldiers in the rear were saying things like, "Crap, is he seriously saying that?" and "No way. I'm running first," but the Marshal paid them no mind.
"...Are you sane? You're going to kill me at the cost of every citizen's life?"
The boy spoke as though exasperated, but if the Marshal backed down now, his gamble would fail.
"That's right. Go, Chief of Staff. You heard what I said?"
"Y-yes... Are you really sure this is all right?"
"I don't care. Go at once—the rest of you, surround him!"
At the Marshal's command, the soldiers began moving sluggishly, surrounding the boy from a distance.
"Haaah... All right. There are innocent citizens here, and I'd feel awful if they were sacrificed for my sake. What do you want? Oh, and don't ask me to return the Lef people."
I've won, he thought.
The Marshal had never actually intended to send them charging in on a genuine suicide attack. In fact, even if he ordered them to move, most of his subordinates probably wouldn't—the subterranean people's army was that rotten.
"The Lef people are of no concern. What I demand is that we take possession of the so-called crashed airship, since it lies in our territory."
"...Hmm, I suppose I don't mind."
"And return the Talent Jewel."
That was the absolute condition.
If the Talent Jewel came back, he could recover some of the ground they had lost.
As for the damage, it was limited to the outer district; there had been no casualties.
"Oh, is that all? I was planning to return it anyway."
"—What did you say?"
"Try not to drop it."
The boy tossed the Talent Jewel casually. It traced a parabola through the air and landed in the Marshal's hands.
So this was a six-star Talent Jewel...
"But there's one thing I want to tell you."
The boy's voice rang out to the dazed Marshal.
"I absolutely do not recommend using 【Insane Blade】. Using the Talent causes memory loss. I believe that as it progresses, it will eventually interfere with your daily life and lead to death."
"W-what...?"
"Seeing her, you must have some idea what I'm talking about."
Sumelia was lying at the boy's feet.
She had been such a cheerful girl, but she had certainly changed after obtaining this Talent.
What if that was the price of using the Talent?
"...No way. Could that really be true?"
A chill ran down his spine.
And yet, he reconsidered. Wasn't that precisely what made it so strong? Wasn't this the kind of power he had wanted?
"Those are the only conditions, right? Then I'll be going."
The boy walked briskly toward the wall. The entrance there should have been sealed, but since he continued forward without concern, perhaps he intended to deal with it somehow using magic.
The soldiers who had surrounded him opened a path nervously.
That was it. The night's great commotion was over—just as the Marshal was beginning to let his guard down.
"What're you standing around like a bunch of idiots for!? If you let that intruder escape, I'll make sure you can't live in this city anymore, so you'd better be ready!"
It was the voice he least wanted to hear.
Salme came stomping over with a large entourage of attendants.
Cold sweat burst out all over his body.
This woman—this woman alone—evoked such instinctive revulsion in him that he could no longer think calmly.
"Marshal! Give the order already! Tell them to stop that bastard!"
"B-but... we've been defeated. Sumelia too."
"What!?"
Seeing Sumelia collapsed some distance away, Salme spat—a servant even held out a golden spittoon to catch it, making the scene dizzyingly surreal.
"Then... he's stronger than six stars?"
"...Yes. I believe he possesses truly extraordinary ability."
"..."
The Marshal kept his head bowed and could not raise his face. From Salme's face, which had come right up to him, came a series of unpleasant cracks and pops, as though something had snapped.
"You know what I hate!? Losing! I hate losing more than anything!! Didn't you know that, Marshal, you brain-dead fool!?"
"I apologize."
He was seized by the urge to crawl on the ground and apologize, but he managed to hold himself back at the last moment because of the tiny scrap of pride he had left.
"I never expected anything from you in the first place! But if there's something you can't do, report it immediately!"
"I apologize—"
"Out of my way!!"
Salme shoved him by the shoulder, and the Marshal staggered to the side. Salme and her attendants moved forward in a procession. Ahead of them stood the boy, staring blankly.
He probably had no idea what was happening here.
"You bastard... This is what you get for doing whatever you please in my city. I'll kill you!!"
Salme raised her right hand.
"Come out, Mediator! Your enemy is here!!"
At that instant, even the faint light that had been filtering through the Underground City vanished, and the world around them became a darkness as black as ink.