Murder War (2)
11:00 a.m.
At Delta headquarters, Shirone was still the only person who knew Rebecca had died.
A cold light flashed in his eyes.
"Habitz."
That Habitz hadn't registered her death meant the Vanishing still hadn't been lifted.
"Should I tell them?" He probably should, but even if Shirone spoke up, who would believe him?
"I'm not even certain myself. I don't really know who Habitz is. My senses feel… warped."
It was like identifying things by touch alone, or covering your ears yet somehow still hearing someone's words.
Whatever it was, Habitz was real.
"Should I track him?"
Shirone sharpened his eleventh sense to pull any information about Habitz.
"Impossible."
It was the operation of the Law that had been in effect since the separation of Good and Evil at Ultima.
"The event in which I meet Habitz won't take place. So the thing that just happened… was intended by Habitz."
"Why? There's nothing to gain from approaching me. Why the sudden change?"
The Wizard.
If something major had happened around Habitz, it would have been because he'd come into contact with her.
"If Habitz is alive… the Wizard probably isn't."
Don't overthink it.
There were too many variables to conclude anything from a single hypothesis.
"Trust the Wizard."
When they entered the Tormia sector, the guards who had been waiting reported to Shirone.
"They're all waiting."
Dante was preparing the briefing while the Tormia guard commanders gathered.
"Shirone."
"Do you know something? Why exactly are we gathered here?" Lupist asked.
"Habitz—" At that moment the Vanishing lifted.
"Huh?"
Dante snapped back to attention, and everyone glanced around.
Albino muttered with a grim expression, "It's already triggered?"
"Yes. Rebecca is dead. He mercilessly ended her life right before my eyes."
That was probably it.
"When did it happen?"
"About thirty minutes ago. I don't know why he didn't lift the Vanishing immediately, but—"
"He's adjusting the time of death," Dante said. "He kills one person every hour. If we know Rebecca's time of death, we can predict when the next victim will fall. That's not what Habitz wants."
"Can he really fool everyone like that? Time the Vanishing release down to the exact moment?" Liria asked.
"He can. The second Shirone came in, we realized it wasn't coincidence. It was deliberate."
"Ah… God's frequency." Albino nodded. "Kill someone with the Vanishing, read our minds, and release it when he wants. He wants a game—he wants to enjoy watching the board move."
"First, let's get a lay of the land," Lupist said.
Dante went to the charts while Shirone sat among the guard commanders. The guard captain was Rai, the mobilization captain Tess, and the patrol commander was Amy's older brother, Dian.
Shirone took Tess's outstretched hand and bowed to Rai and Dian.
"I'll begin the briefing. Now that Habitz has declared a murder game, the most important thing is identifying friend from foe."
Dante tapped the Kashan flag. "As a strong candidate for leadership, their alliance map is complicated. Currently they're in a strong alliance with the Moon Kingdom."
Tess raised her hand. "I thought Kashan had given the Moon Kingdom a hard time. Still a strong alliance?"
"Politics isn't run on feelings alone. The Moon's only remaining card is mutual destruction with Kashan. Kashan knows that, so the alliance will likely hold for now." Dante continued, "Next: Tormia, Jincheon, Corona, and the Tribal Union form a weak alliance."
Rai asked, "What's the difference between a strong and a weak alliance?"
"If one falls and allied states suffer consequentially, that's a strong alliance. A weak alliance has looser bonds—harm to an ally doesn't immediately cause damage to your own country."
Dante pointed to Jaive's banner. "Jaive, Airon, and Arakne are a strong alliance. You know why. Jaive's king, Gis, is currently embroiled in a sex scandal. Depending on the fallout, Airon and Arakne will take damage too."
Albino asked, "Isn't this scandal Arakne's doing? Kashan and the Moon aren't that type."
"Possible, but our intelligence suggests the collusion involves an internal Jaive faction—Raymond, Gis's political rival."
So it was a Jaive internal faction.
Shirone understood the dissonance he'd felt during his interview with Rangi. "So that's why it couldn't be revealed. Not an outright lie, but enough to keep Mikado from being exposed."
Dante went on. "I believe Paras, Kesia, and Gustav are not following the alliance strategy. That implies they don't aim to become the leading nation. We'll need a careful approach to win their votes."
"What happened to Paras? He was stabbed, right?" Lupist asked.
"Intelligence is hard to gather. They don't engage in foreign exchange. We've only received a preface saying the king's official passing will be announced soon."
Albino snorted. "Should be an entertaining show."
"I'd bet on that, but we can't be certain until it's confirmed." Dante turned from the chart. "All this matters because of the vote. Rom, Garto, Temika—where those votes go will flip the balance, and only each nation's representative holds that power."
"Even if one is stabbed and unconscious, their voting right remains," Liria said.
"Exactly. That's why Habitz's declaration matters. Prince Pony is critical now, but that doesn't reduce the risk of assassination. If someone draws a blade, it will most likely be over the national interests we just outlined."
Albino said, "Isn't that actually in our favor? If it's an assassination, Tormia has competent hitmen."
He meant Parka Kuan.
"Yes. I ran simulations, classifying the twelve nations' assassination capability into offense and defense. Tormia's offensive score was 94—among the top."
It was a silver lining, but Lupist caught Dante's real implication.
"Their offense is top-tier. Their defense, however, could be a weak point."
Rai was a superb swordsman, but war was always relative.
"If Rian were here…" Rai let himself indulge for a moment, then checked himself. Unreal assumptions were poison.
"I know," Rai admitted, feeling the room's mood. "Our defense lags behind other countries. I'll burn our weaknesses into our bones and shore them up."
He spoke calmly, but everyone could guess the sting of humiliation he felt.
"Damn it." Rai clenched his fist. "Why am I not as strong as Rian? I never let myself slack because of talent. Why haven't I reached it? What did Rian do more than me? He must've trained—"
He stopped himself. "Don't think like that. Don't look for it in others. I'll get there. I'll grow strong with what I have."
When the room settled, Albino asked, "Who's the strongest?"
"Kashan scored highest overall in assassination capability. Offense will be handled by Pungjang; defense by Kashan's guard units Geun, Jung, and Won. The toughest obstacle, though, is their guard captain, Kido."
"Kido." Despite the adversarial setting, Shirone felt a faint stir at Dante's words. "Right. Kido's strong."
He didn't know Kido well, but Kido had been the friend who risked his life exploring Andre's world. His conviction was immense.
Albino asked bluntly, "Numerically, can Tormia's offense break Kashan's defense? Can Kuan cut down Kido and take Uorin's head?"
"Kido's profile hasn't been updated since Radum transferred to Kashan. But through his feeding ability, 'Taste of Memory,' we expect he's accumulated significant insight. Even in head-to-head simulations with Kuan, we couldn't reach a conclusive result."
Lupist agreed. "He seems able to respond to Habitz to some degree. There's a reason Uorin keeps him close."
Dante's expression hardened. "Kido is a powerful wall. As an intelligence mage, though, I'll say this: no wall can truly stop Kuan. His mastery of the sword reaches a level that becomes uncounterable."
Dante's real talent was in evaluating others' abilities rather than boasting his own.
Albino sipped his tea. "So they could pierce Kashan too?"
"If offense-and-defense balance is sensible, it's possible. We can't know exactly how another nation will divide offense and defense. If Kashan put Pungjang on defense and Kido on offense, their total effectiveness could drop—that'd be inefficient. War still often involves inefficient gambles, so that's my take."
Lupist nodded. "From Tormia's perspective, making Kuan the defender and converting Rai into the attacker would be absurdly inefficient. Guard captain, don't take it personally."
"It's fine. I accept it," Rai said without protest this time.
"We can predict the opponent's opening, but we must be ready for unconventional strategies. That level is enough. Proceed with the existing plan."
"So you mean—strike the white-haired one?" Albino asked. Uorin.
"Looking at the alliance map, he's the only force outside Tormia's control. It's a risky play, but the thirsty man has to dig his own well."
"Agreed. Expecting others to do the work is trying to get something for nothing. The problem is, nobody in this world gets something for nothing."
"Strategically, Kuan's offense is strong enough to break through any nation. But an internal variable from our rehearsal needs confirmation—Olifer Shiina." Albino twirled his beard. "That sword ghost loves a woman so much he'd give his life for her. She's the reason he lost an arm."
"In intelligence strategy, reducing risk is more important than raw capability. Olifer Shiina is a capable instructor, but she could also be Kuan's shackle. This should be judged by Yongrae apart from pure intelligence." Albino looked Shirone over and asked, "Do you want me to weigh the efficiency of protecting Olifer Shiina versus simply killing her?"
Dante nodded. "Yes."