Chapter 17: To Kill or To Let Live (2) Autonomous regions exist even within the Empire. Among them, 'Genen' is renowned as a resort destination—a place where any Imperial noble worth their salt is expected to own at least one villa. Yet, it is also the place that suffers most directly from the Empire's many maladies.
"······."
I arrived at Genen's Saint Bridge. It was the only span connecting the autonomous region to the Empire, arching over a deep, rushing river.
"What a mess."
I watched the scene from inside my car, parked a short distance away.
—Rescind the evil laws oppressing the autonomous region!
—Rescind the evil laws!
The air was thick with tumultuous shouts. Protesters packed both sides of the bridge.
Protests were frequent in Genen around this time of year. This was because, before its annexation by the Empire, Genen had originally been a democracy—a nation without a class system.
—Drive out the independence-seekers who destabilize society!
It was a clash between the Independence Faction, which advocated for Genen's active autonomy, and the Imperial Faction, which desired full integration into the Empire.
When this conflict reaches its peak, it flows into the historical current known as the 'Spring of Genen.'
It would be a desperate struggle by those who could never truly defeat the Empire. Too many people would die, and too many values would be destroyed.
"Imperialist bootlickers! Sucking up to the Empire's ass!"
"Idiots with flowers in their heads. They won't snap out of it until their skulls get cracked during a protest."
I watched them quietly. I had no reason to intervene.
In a massive event like this, even I was nothing more than a baby whale among orcas. For now, I was simply scouting—searching for the Izenheim bastards hiding among them, inciting the crowd.
They were definitely here, lurking.
"Find them and kill them. Got it?"
I directed my hostility toward the virus inside my body.
You're no longer one of them; you're one with me now.
At that moment—
───BOOM!
The sound startled me.
An explosion erupted suddenly. As people's screams tore through the air, a gale-force wind swept across the bridge. Debris and embers scattered all over the structure.
Only then did I step out of the car. I walked onto the bridge, which had turned into a scene of absolute carnage.
"Aaaaah!" "Ugh, help!"
I moved against the tide of people fleeing in terror, their screams echoing in my ears.
I shifted my hand to the sword at my waist, preparing for any eventuality.
"Kh... Kugh······."
Suddenly, I spotted a fellow at the right edge of the bridge with a twisted ankle. He was a young man, barely more than a boy. He sat slumped against the railing, with the river rushing directly beneath him.
Creeeeeak...
The heavily damaged bridge groaned, on the verge of collapse.
However, the man was looking elsewhere, seemingly unconcerned with his own safety.
"No······."
His gaze was fixed on three children. They looked to be about four or five years old, crying and clinging precariously to the edge of the half-destroyed bridge. They looked like they could fall at any second.
"No—!"
The man reached out toward the children. I thought it was a futile gesture, but then a strange mana began to shimmer around him.
Bright yellow and pure white. Particles that looked like clusters of sparks.
My eyes widened.
I recalled something the old man, Edmond, had said before my regression.
'······With the help of the Yaken race, we held our own for a while at the start. They had the power to stand against the Dimension Eaters······.'
The Yaken race. Some of them are born with special powers—supernatural abilities known as 'Eunung.'
───KABOOM!
A second explosion occurred in an instant. A massive steel pillar of the bridge buckled and began to collapse toward the man.
I unwrapped my sword. Sshhh. The bandages fluttered away like flower petals as the long sword sprang forth.
Swish—.
Link (聯).
Dozens of curved lines embroidered the air. It was a melody so graceful and fluid it surprised even me. The pillar, caught in that flow, was cleanly sliced into small fragments.
* * *
──30 minutes earlier.
"Rescind the evil laws that disrupt our autonomy!"
Yan Novak, a participant in today's scheduled protest, was from Genen's lower class.
His family had been farmers, shoeshiners, and dish-makers for generations, dating back to when Genen was an independent nation.
"Rescind them—!"
The eldest son of a family with two sons and three daughters, Yan grew up in a slum on the outskirts of Genen. However, he never felt unhappy about his poverty. It was thanks to his harmonious family.
"Rescind the evil laws that disrupt our autonomy!"
When he was young, everyone was struggling, so they were able to endure with smiles. Because they were together, they could spend their days laughing.
However, as he grew older, he gradually became aware of reality.
'Hey, you beggar. Stop acting up.'
'What do you think you're doing? Hey, do you even have a hundred dollars?'
'Ugh, this stinking brat······.'
From the day he entered an Imperial school, Yan was subjected to inexplicable hatred. He didn't know why extreme poverty or one's background had to be objects of contempt. He just had to endure it without knowing why.
'Shouldn't we stop accepting kids like that?'
'I don't know. My mom says she's keeping up the complaints, but······'
Despite all the bullying and humiliation, Yan did not give up. He never lost his drive. He focused on his studies while working three jobs a day.
But then.
'I'm telling you, that beggar stole it! That stinking brat.'
He was unfairly expelled because of a certain incident.
That was the catalyst for Yan to jump into social activism. He could endure all this injustice himself, but if things never changed, his younger siblings and countless other children would eventually suffer the same fate.
Genen's problems weren't just about today. They weren't just about him. It was a problem that had been festering for far too long.
Those with means, the bourgeoisie, conspired with the Empire to manipulate the legal system and subtly used the autonomous region's institutions to exploit the people's livelihoods. They erected barriers of status and wealth. All the while, they desired to be called nobles.
"Abolish the evil laws that exploit workers—!"
Yan, who was only sixteen, had become an activist. Society had made him this way.
Nevertheless, Yan still held onto his hopes and intentions with both arms. He cherished and read books that had been discarded like scrap paper, and he studied by scraping together magic journals he found rolling on the ground.
His dream was to be a mage.
"Where does this little brat think he's—"
"—Guarantee our autonomy!"
There are many things that cannot be achieved through activism alone.
Shouting without self-improvement is merely empty noise. Because he had to become a better person himself, he still dreamed of becoming a mage even now.
"Go study at home, you brat!"
The more the adults responded angrily, the louder Yan shouted. At that moment—
───BOOM!
A sudden explosion erupted. The shouts and screams of many people rang out.
"Gah!"
Caught in the shockwave, Yan was thrown back in an instant. When he opened his eyes through the pain, his body was slammed against the bridge's railing.
"······Cough!"
When he tried to move, the pain in his chest was severe. It felt like his ribs were broken; even breathing was a struggle.
" Hack. "
He coughed up blood and tried to force himself up.
"Waaaaah—!"
He heard crying from somewhere. Yan hurriedly looked toward the sound. Three children he didn't know were clinging to a railing that looked like it was about to snap.
Yan's eyes widened.
Creeeeeak—.
The railing gave way. The three children fell toward the water below, destined to drown in the river.
"No······."
In the faces of the children caught in the ashen wind, he saw his own siblings.
Yan reached out his hand.
This shouldn't happen. It must not happen. Children—at least children—should not be sacrificed to a world like this.
"No—!"
Yan channeled his mana. He had never once succeeded in the magic he had learned by watching over others' shoulders, but he had to make it happen now.
As he reached out toward the children—
BOOM!
A second explosion occurred at that moment. A much larger roar shook the entire area. One of the bridge's pillars snapped and came crashing down toward Yan.
"Ah······."
The steel pillar surged toward him. Time seemed to slow down, and his life flashed before his eyes. Yan swallowed hard in despair. His eyes closed naturally.
······However.
No matter how long he waited, his body didn't shatter. His breath didn't stop.
Yan blankly opened his eyes.
"Who······?"
A knight holding a long sword stood there. Blond hair and golden eyes. A Sentinel uniform. The Empire's finest knighthood, and at the same time, the one the Independence Faction feared most—
"Is this the time to be standing still?"
The knight asked, looking down at him. His voice was cold enough to freeze one's eardrums.
"Ah!"
Belatedly, Yan looked toward the children.
Whoooooosh— A thick wind brushed past the railing.
Crack! The railing the children were clinging to broke off completely.
There were no screams. They had already fainted.
"No!"
He reached out toward the falling children. Veins popped on his arms. His mana surged vividly.
Zap—!
A strange spark erupted in the air near the children.
Bright yellow. Or white. Or perhaps, completely colorless.
Particles of mysterious mana enveloped the children, and in the very next moment—
Yan found the three children cradled in his own arms.
"······Huh?"
Yan blinked blankly. The sensation of the three children in his arms was vivid.
Belatedly, a pain that felt like his skull was splitting surged through him.
"Guaaaagh—!"
"Spatial talent, I see."
The knight suddenly murmured. It was a perfectly aristocratic accent.
"You're a Yaken."
Yaken. Yan's heart thudded. His lineage, passed down from his ancestors, was indeed Yaken, but that fact alone was a reason for discrimination.
"However, you must hide it. Until you become strong enough."
"······?"
But the knight's words were strange. It was difficult for Yan to understand, so he just stared at him blankly.
"Your name?"
He couldn't answer. His lips wouldn't move. His entire body was held captive by the knight's massive presence.
"Don't make me ask twice."
Yan managed to squeeze out a single syllable. His short name was a help at a time like this.
"······Yan."
The knight gave a small nod and turned away. He began to walk somewhere. Yan stared blankly at his retreating back.
Wiiiiiiiiing—!
The blaring sirens snapped him back to his senses. Pshhhhh! Police officers rushed in along with smoke grenades.
"Yan! Are you okay?!"
A comrade suddenly ran up to Yan. Yan immediately thrust the unconscious children toward him.
"Please, take care of these kids!"
"What? Where did they come from? Who are they?"
"I don't know. Just take them!"
"Damn it, what about you?!"
"I'll find a way! Just go, hurry!"
The bridge was ruined anyway; he couldn't escape.
"Ugh. You better come back!"
"Just go!"
His comrade moved away with the children, and Yan let out a sigh of relief as he watched them. A faint smile even touched his lips.
It was only for a moment.
The police lunged at Yan.
* * *
Somewhere in Genen.
I was in a place where the smoke was so thick it was impossible to distinguish anything. I walked quietly, brushing the dust off my knight's uniform.
Thump.
At some point, my heart began to race.
It meant an Izenheim was nearby.
Thump.
I left the bridge and moved into the chaotic streets of Genen.
Thump.
Police officers were beating everyone indiscriminately, and civilians were screaming.
Thump.
Passing through that shambles, I looked into a gap in an alley where nothing could be seen.
Thump!
I stepped inside. Standing at the entrance, I looked within.
"Phew. I'm glad everyone is safe."
"If we wait, reinforcements will······."
There were five people at the dead end. Their voices stopped. All of them looked at me at once. Their expressions hardened as they recognized the Sentinel uniform.
I should wear civilian clothes next time. This uniform provokes unnecessary wariness.
"Don't come any closer!"
They raised their swords. One of them even pulled out a revolver.
However, there was no need to kill them all. The blond, blue-eyed man standing at the very back—he looked like an Imperial, but my radar was reacting to him.
"We'll hold him off! Sage! Go!"
Sage. I vaguely remembered the name. He was a high-ranking official of the Genen Independence Faction, a member of the Revolutionary Group.
So you were one of them too.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a group on hoverboards appeared from atop the walls. Members of the Revolutionary Group wearing masks. Sage tried to escape the scene by hopping onto one of their hoverboards.
No matter how fast I am, I can't catch them if they fly away.
So, before he could take flight—
I gripped my sword.
Tick.
A resonance of the soul.
Time slowed down for a moment. I surged through the frozen people and unleashed my blade. My curved long sword sliced through the hoverboards first.
The boards fell away like fragments, along with the Izenheim, 'Sage.'
I stopped right in front of the falling man.
"······."
Without a word, I looked into his eyes. Into his trembling pupils, I whispered softly.
"It's you."
He gritted his teeth and channeled his mana. There was a suicide belt around his waist.
However, my sword struck before he could trigger it.
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