Chapter 180 - An Imaginary Master

Nights in the Military State were dark. Day laborers slept like the dead in their quarters, preparing for tomorrow’s toil, while night laborers bustled about somewhere.

Wrapped in a pitch-black robe, I headed for an abandoned worksite in District 13. Inside a building reduced to its steel frame, I passed the broken, abandoned spinning wheels used to spin alchemical thread. Just as I took another step toward the storeroom farther inside, sharp hostility turned toward me.

“Halt. Mole.”

A password—the most basic and effective means of distinguishing friend from foe. They seemed to have the essentials in place.

But with the master key of mind reading at my disposal, it was practically an offer of free trust.

‘The challenge is mole, and the response is carriage.’

Thanks for letting me know.

I read his thoughts and repeated the answer.

“Carriage.”

“Good. What brings you here?”

“I’m a messenger. I’ve come with information you need to know.”

‘Information we need to know? Could it be that the Shadow is finally ready to move?’

Thanks for explaining. I nodded as though confirming his thoughts.

“Preparations are complete. Everything we’ve done over the past few days has borne fruit.”

“Borne fruit? What exactly do you mean?”

‘Why is he being so vague? You people were supposed to assassinate Krin, the Market’s manager! Just tell us you’ve killed him, or that you’re going to!’

Because it would be a problem if I gave a specific answer and made you suspicious. Better to keep things vague and read whatever thoughts came to mind along the way.

Just like now.

You want Krin assassinated. Got it. I’ll play along.

“Warehouse keeper, manager, representative of the marketplace, and clandestine smuggler. An avid smoker. We are ready to take Krin’s life. His flesh shall sink into darkness.”

“You could’ve just said that from the start.”

At any rate, the long-awaited news delighted the thugs occupying the worksite.

“Krin, that potbellied bastard. He’s finally getting what he deserves!”

These men so desperate for Krin’s death were members of a transport union formed by deliverymen.

There was only one warehouse, but plenty of deliverymen. Without ever studying economics, Krin had intuitively grasped its principles and slashed their wages. While he enjoyed wealth and power, they were always strapped for cash.

A few who had finally lost patience and stood up to him had been beaten within an inch of their lives. They had sworn revenge.

‘The Shadow are expert assassins. That fat lump of a manager doesn’t stand a chance! Once that bastard who throws his weight around just because he’s learned some energy arts is dead, our transport union will use the chaos to storm the Market! Most of what’s in the warehouse is stolen or smuggled anyway. We grab it and run, and no one can catch us!’

The organization calling itself the Military State’s Shadow was made up of people much like these.

Groups and associations dissatisfied with the existing system. People who hoped to smash the old framework and bring about a world that favored them.

From what I had learned by reading the captain’s thoughts, the mastermind named Wolfen intended to gather all this gunpowder in one place and set it off at once.

All to bring in the firefighter known as the Military State and have it clean everything up.

Yes. Like a slash-and-burn farmer setting fire to a forest to cultivate the land.

Unaware that they were no different from the brittle fallen leaves on the floor of the forest about to be burned, the union members excitedly asked me a question.

“What’s the signal?”

“Once the warehouse keeper dies, flames will rise from the warehouse. That’s your moment.”

“So the warehouse will catch fire?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, that bastard Krin. What’ll his face look like when his precious warehouse goes up in flames? Oh, he’ll be dead, so he won’t be making any faces! What a shame. I wanted to see that ugly mug...”

Just then, a bang rang out from the far side of District 13, and scarlet flames shot into the air. Scattering gunpowder painted the Military State’s sky red.

The union members hiding here and there leaped out as though their own clothes had caught fire. They stared toward the warehouse in bewilderment before breaking into delighted cheers.

“Serves you right, you sons of bitches!”

“Wait. If the warehouse burns, what about our share?”

“It’s fine! The Market’s warehouse is huge. Even with a fire like that, half of it should be left!”

“Hurry up and grab the goods!”

“What perfect timing!”

Watching the red glow spreading in the distance, I muttered,

“Wow. That timing.”

Absolutely fucking terrible. They could’ve waited until I left. Now I’d have even more to do.

The union leader in front of me sprang into action too.

“I never thought they’d pull off the assassination so soon! Get ready, everyone! We’re hitting the Market!”

As the members scrambled about, their leader clenched his fist with an ecstatic grin.

“Once you people take over the backstreets, we’ll support you with everything we’ve got!”

“... I’ll remember that. Now, I have other places to visit. Farewell.”

“Leave it to us!”

The transport union leader’s attention quickly shifted to the Market. I walked away, my pitch-black cloak streaming out behind me.

In truth, those flames were part of a fireworks display the Market had planned as a way to dispose of its explosives. Krin had acquired them to use as weapons in an emergency, but unable to withstand my threats, he had turned them into fireworks.

The romance of using alchemy to turn military explosives into fireworks. That romance would resound throughout the Military State as a false signal.

Then those clueless moths would think their moment to burn had come and throw themselves into the flames.

I didn’t know when their operation was scheduled, but I would burn everything ahead of time, before that day arrived.

What had already burned couldn’t burn again.

“Now, the places I still need to visit...”

The night was shorter than one might think. I would have to keep moving, and faster still. I climbed into the luxury motor carriage I had brought from Sephi’s house and started it up. Expensive things really were better—even the feel of it was different.

I was just about to pull away when someone wearing a robe much like mine came running up ahead, out of breath.

Suspicious clothes, suspicious behavior. Instinctively, I read his thoughts.

‘Damn it! I have to warn them...! Some lunatic is going around impersonating the Shadow! At least I have to stop those transport union idiots from doing anything rash...!’

He was a real Shadow messenger. Having noticed something amiss, he apparently had come to keep his organization’s people in line.

Keeping people in line... Crackdowns... Oh, hold on. Bad memories.

Trauma swept over me, and I stepped on the accelerator. The messenger’s body drew closer in an instant.

This was all due to my diminished mental capacity.

CRASH!

Struck by the suddenly accelerating motor carriage, the messenger tumbled across the ground. Immediately after the collision, I jumped out and yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Ah, fuck! Watch how you’re driving!”

He must have been well trained. Even after being hit by a carriage, the messenger instinctively broke his fall and got to his feet. A trickle of blood ran from his mouth, but aside from some broken ribs, he didn’t seem badly hurt.

Damn. Should’ve hit him harder.

“Guh...! You’re the one who was driving...!”

Caught in an unexpected accident, the messenger blurted out his answer without even collecting his thoughts.

“Look at this! The whole front’s dented! What are you going to do about it?”

“I got run over...!”

“So you did. Your face is even more dented than my carriage. I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“You crazy bastard...!”

Perhaps my taunts had hit home. The messenger drew a short knife from inside his robe. Seeing its pitch-black blade, I shrieked in horror.

“Eek! A knife! This man is carrying a dangerous weapon!”

“You ran someone over, and you’re saying that...!”

‘I don’t know who you are, but I’m going to kill you...!’

His pain turned into an urge to attack. Without another word, the messenger thrust his blade at me.

In response, I calmly read his thoughts and took out a card.

The four of diamonds, with four diamond shapes arranged at the cardinal points. Using alchemy, I revealed the card’s hidden form. It greedily sucked in mana and swelled.

What emerged from the alchemical transmutation was a short spear, slightly shorter and lighter than standard. A straight, ordinary spear with a diamond-shaped head and a long shaft.

The messenger, who carried a short knife so he could conceal it inside his robe, cried out indignantly at the sight of my spear.

“The crazy bastard’s got a spear...!”

“You drew your knife first, so this is self-defense!”

Both justification and the right to strike first were mine. Picturing the Peerless Spear and his disciple, I struck the most impressive stance I could.

The messenger gritted his teeth.

‘That stance is no joke! This man is definitely a master!’

Not quite. All I had done was imitate the form.

Everyone had a different personality and physique, so the form best suited to them wouldn’t fit me. In short, my stance was nothing more than puffing myself up with empty bravado.

But...

‘I have to put everything into dodging! One wrong move and he’ll kill me in a single blow!’

If my opponent didn’t know it was a bluff, the fake stance became real.

If he held back out of fear of the spearhead that would tear him apart in his imagination, I gained that much more freedom to move.

‘I just have to get close once! My secret art, Shadow Concealment—I can dodge as though sinking into the ground! It’ll throw me off balance, but if I can get past that...!’

Good. I had my plan.

I wiped every trace of expression from my face. Stripping away the playfulness, I briefly showed him a cold, blank look, tensed my shoulders and legs, and moved forward.

‘... That expression...! He’s a professional! He recognized me from the start and hit me with the carriage!’

The spear tip wavered. Seeing it, the messenger unleashed his energy arts with all his strength despite his injuries.

‘Secret art, Shadow Concealment!’

In truth, it was a paltry technique to call a secret art. It was a trick that used Earth energy arts to pull on the ground, keeping the user’s body low as they slipped behind an opponent.

At mastery, it was said to look as though the user were hiding inside a shadow, but a mere messenger who hadn’t even earned the title of “Shadow” was nowhere near that level.

Still, it would have been enough to catch someone off guard.

‘I dodged it...!’

I hadn’t even thrust in the first place. Spinning the spear, I held it vertically and drove its blunt end straight down.

Right at the abdomen of the messenger sliding along the ground.

His eyes widened.

‘Gah! He saw... through it...!’

The technique specialized entirely in catching an opponent off guard... but sorry, I’d never lost a battle of minds.

The messenger doubled over. Already halfway to death after being hit by the carriage, he lost consciousness with my final blow.

“Thank you for agreeing to an amicable settlement.”

Whew, that was dangerous. He wasn’t even one of the Penumbra officers, just an errand boy serving as a messenger, and he was this tough? Sure, a motor carriage was inferior to a horse, but he could still put up a fight after being hit by a hunk of iron that big?

If a mere messenger was this strong, how strong were the Penumbra officers, or their boss, Wolfen?

Whew. I hadn’t intended to dirty my own hands anyway, but...

“No choice. I’ll just have to avoid combat even more aggressively.”

One victory was enough. From here on, I decided to pursue only moral victories.

I had only caught a Shadow foot soldier, but I had still gained something. Mulling over the memories I had extracted from the messenger, I carelessly dumped his unconscious body in a secluded alley and walked out.

That was when it happened. Something pitch-black wavered in the darkness. Feeling a chill on the back of my neck, I turned around.

The alley was filled with darkness. Apart from the unconscious messenger’s groans, I sensed no thoughts at all.

I tilted my head.

“... Huh? That’s strange. Wasn’t there something there?”

A ghost? Or a phantom?

No, it looked rather like the dirt foot soldiers I’d seen in the bottomless pit...

“Must’ve been seeing things. Why would that be here?”

There was nothing worth seeing in a back alley like this.

Normally, I would have investigated a little, but I was busy. I left for the next rendezvous point.