Chapter 70
By then, an hour and a half had already passed, and most of the people in the South Bank area that the terrorists had seized were already moved far away under police control.
In hunter society, being willing to wait two hours is practically the same as being given time to prepare for nearly every contingency, except for one case.
“Why did it have to be a telekinetic.”
“What do we do..?”
“Looks like the government thinks if they gather all the hunters together, something will work out.”
“Ugh, I really can't trust them.”
Even if its output is low, a telekinetic is treated at least one rank higher. Considering how versatile and powerful they are, that was only natural.
Even just twisting part of the London Eye's structure remotely was enough to cause problems for the whole thing, and if they could stop the London Eye's rotation outright with full output, they were already first-rate. In Britain, for a telekinetic to be recognized as A+ rank, they had to be able to manipulate at least 14 tons with ease.
That number looks tiny compared to the London Eye's 2,200 tons. But even a few hundred kilograms of force is enough to easily twist a few screws that are firmly fixed where civilians can't get to.
After that, if you add 14 tons of output to a capsule already falling under gravity, what would happen to the people inside was obvious.
“Sofia Bennett. We've confirmed her, at least.”
“Just hold your position. Just hold it.”
“Yes.”
A high-ranking British hunter, preparing to snipe from Alexandra Palace Hill more than a dozen kilometers away from the London Eye, still couldn't gauge how strong the other side's barrier ability was, so they couldn't attack rashly.
Even if the attack succeeded, a telekinetic wouldn't die easily. If they used telekinetic force to hold their body together after it had been shattered in all directions, the pain would be horrific, but they could probably keep it intact for a while.
If they dropped all the capsules in the meantime, that would be the end of it.
Cedric Moro had banned hunters from approaching within a 1-km radius of the London Eye, and he had also turned away every non-Awakened rescuer who tried to come in and lay down cushions underneath.
Meanwhile, the civilians trapped in the capsules were anxiously waiting for the government's response.
ㅡKreeeek..!!!
The metal structures that made up the London Eye began to tilt violently, screaming like tortured iron. The promised two hours still hadn't even fully passed.
As the screams of the people inside the capsules grew louder and the London Eye's legs twisted, just as it was about to fall into the Thames.
ㅡTHUD!
“W-what is that..?”
Blue light gathered around the leg supporting the London Eye Ferris wheel, and one leg stretched forward to keep its balance, as if an animal had thrust out a limb right before collapsing.
Soon, one by one, blue lights began spreading to envelop the entire London Eye.
ㅡKiiiiiieeek....
With a giant metallic scream, the London Eye slowly began to rotate, spitting the people inside the capsules out onto the streets along the Thames riverbank.
* * * * *
“W-what are you doing?!”
“Eloise! Hold on tight to something! Grandpa and Grandma too!!!”
ㅡBeep!! Beep-beep!!!
“A-ah..! Got it..!”
The entire capsule tilted and the people inside screamed at the top of their lungs. Trying to turn something this huge into a golem all at once feels like it's draining an absurd amount of mental strength.
As the whole London Eye structure started to tip toward the side that had softened slightly from mana flowing in, I quickly made legs to brace against the bottom of the Thames and stopped it from toppling over.
With this much impact, some of the people in the other capsules might have suffered fractures..! Still, it's better to break bones and live than to die!!
“Uwaaaa..!!”
“Princess, there's no need to take on a human shape. Please keep the original structure's form as much as possible and proceed in a way that uses less mana.”
“Ah, okay..!”
Following Ophelia's advice, I flooded the whole thing with mana as strongly as possible, while keeping shape changes that would consume a lot of mana to a minimum.
ㅡKkreeeek..!
“It's done..! Ugh.”
My vision suddenly started spinning, and a nosebleed began to dribble out. Ophelia beside me pulled a tissue from her pocket and shoved it into my nose.
“Princess, we need to find the capsule Cedric Moro is in.”
“W-what are we supposed to do once we find it?!”
“Open the other capsules slowly, and evacuate the civilians first.”
Civilian rescue was the priority, yes, but with so many ordinary people and no mana at all, there was no way to do anything about Cedric Moro.
'But... how..?!'
Just controlling this huge structure according to my will was already overwhelming enough; my nose had already started gushing blood.
“We'll use the London Eye's circular shape. We'll roll the wheel around in a circle, opening the capsules from the bottom and letting people out slowly.”
“A-alright..!”
“But remember this, Princess. Cedric Moro's capsule must not come close to the ground.”
“Y-yes!!”
Psychokinesis only reaches objects within a certain range. The range varies wildly depending on the user, but every object within Cedric Moro's current range—while he's more than 100 meters above the ground—is currently under my mana's influence.
But if we spin the Ferris wheel and bring it closer to the ground, Cedric Moro will have a lot more he can do, like ripping up floor tiles or smashing buildings.
“Ugh, uaaagh..!!”
Cedric Moro was in the highest capsule. I felt bad for the people in the same capsule, but I detached only the one he was in and propped it high up on a pole so it would stay as far from the ground as possible.
ㅡKreeeek..!!
The London Eye, embedded on the golem's back like a halo, started turning, and from the capsules closest to the ground it began spilling people out one after another.
The height from the ground was about 3 meters. There might be fractures again this time, but it's still better than dying..!
“Eloise! Hurry and get down! Grandpa and Grandma too!”
“Eve! You...?! You're not getting down?!”
“I'll get down later! Hurry!”
The people who had been riding in our capsule were all back on the ground too. British hunters had already arrived below after sensing the disturbance and were taking people in, so that was taken care of.
“It's over..!”
“Not yet, Princess.”
“Damn it..!”
Only the capsule containing Cedric Moro and his gang was left now. There were about twenty civilians in there too, and I had no idea what on earth to do about them.
“Princess. I'll go subdue them.”
“A-are you sure that's okay?!”
“I am a body created through the Princess's mana; psychokinesis doesn't work on me. Please open the top of the capsule.”
“A-alright!”
No matter how strong Cedric Moro was, if there was nothing for him to lift or fling with psychokinesis, he was no different from a scarecrow. I opened the top of the capsule to make a hole for Ophelia to get out, and Ophelia pulled out blue threads and shot straight up into the sky in an instant.
ㅡShrrk!
“It's Spider-Man..!”
Jumping toward the final capsule high in the sky, Ophelia landed with a thud on top of the capsule Cedric Moro was in, ripped off the top with the blue thread, and went inside.
“Dangdang, how is it!? Did it work?!”
ㅡBeep-beep!! Beep!!
“As expected!! Ophelia is the best!!!”
Ophelia had instantly choked out the three terrorists and knocked them unconscious.
* * * * *
ㅡClick!
Cedric Moro and his gang, once subdued, were quickly handed over to the British hunter police. We had turned the London Eye, practically a landmark, into a golem, but I saved everybody—so what are you going to do about it.
And besides, through my ability I could restore the London Eye to its original state, so in the end I'd become a total hero.
“That... yes, understood. Then, once your schedule is finished, please.”
“Confirmed.”
The British hunter police came over and exchanged a few words with Ophelia. After some complicated-sounding discussion, a middle-aged man who looked like an incredibly high-ranking official approached me, knelt down on one knee to meet my eye level, and said:
“Hunter Eve. Thank you so much..!”
“Ahem... it's nothing much, really...”
“No, you truly did a tremendous thing. More than that, in a situation where your country's hunters couldn't do anything, you solved it like this.”
“Heh-heh... I did do something pretty big, didn't I.”
Around us, police cars and Hunter Association vehicles blocked every direction, with an enormous number of police-line barriers sealing the area off on all sides. I thought they'd at least give me a celebratory lift if I went down there, but that was a little disappointing.
Still, this is enough for me. I'm satisfied.
“Ah, I had tissue stuffed in my nose..!”
I had struck all sorts of poses, only to end up looking like a complete idiot with tissue jammed into my nostrils. I was so embarrassed I really felt like I was about to cry.
The London Eye, which had been turned into a golem once, was cordoned off as a no-entry zone until a proper inspection could be done. Well, of course—a giant Ferris wheel had suddenly gone all wobbly, walked around on its own, and then slipped right back into place.
We couldn't exactly go, “Heh-heh, London Eye, did you enjoy your walk? You're back now, time to get back to work,” and make it work again.
Thanks to that, we had the best spot, with not a single person around.
“Ah, it started!”
Before Big Ben sounded twelve chimes to announce the New Year, the Westminster chime melody rang out.
Ding—ding—ding—
ㅡBOOM!!!
“Wow..!! Ophelia! Look at that!”
“Yes, I am looking.”
“Amazing..!!”
* * * * *
“Yes, then... I'll take you to Claridge's for now.”
“Understood.”
After we'd enjoyed the New Year's fireworks to the fullest and taken a leisurely walk along the now-empty Thames riverbank, it was already nearly 1 a.m. The British Hunter Association vehicle had come to take us back to Claridge's, where we were staying.
“Ugh, I'm tired.”
ㅡBeep....
You've long since gone past your usual sleep time. You've also used a lot of mana, so it seems best to rest until tomorrow.
“Yep...”
Just as I was about to get into the Hunter Association vehicle.
“E-Eve—!!”
“Hm. That voice is..?”
The haughty voice of the villainess came from far away. Halfway into the car, I got back out to look, and Eloise was waving at me from beyond the police line.
“See you in two days—!!”
“Huh.”
She was even riding on her grandfather's shoulders, and even though his back probably wasn't doing so well, she was waving wildly.
“Yup—!!! Got it—!!!!”
What am I supposed to do? I think I’ve gone and made another person fall for me.