༺ Goodbye, Tantalus ༻
“…A perfect plan, you say. Despite what you say…”
The Earth Sage, having poured another drink, initiated the conversation once again.
“You seemed disappointed.”
“Excuse me?”
“Why do you look so regretful, after driving them away yourself? Do you still have lingering attachments?”
Was it that obvious?
Tsk, Earth Sage. Don’t read the face of a Mind Reader. Deciphering thoughts is my specialty, you know?
“Well, a little.”
People pretended to despise those who recklessly indulge in luxury, yet deep down, they envied them. They projected themselves onto those who could effortlessly do what they themselves couldn’t, deriving pleasure from it.
This luxury was not limited to money, The more precious it was to me, the more valuable that luxury became.
Especially if it was something as precious as life itself… It went beyond envy, even verging on enthrallment.
“However, it can’t be helped. After all, unlike them, I can die far too easily. I have to be more careful.”
“You say your life is precious yet I fail to understand. Mr. Hughes, if I may inquire.”
After bowing twice towards the Grandmaster, the Earth Sage abruptly raised her head to look at me. In her calm eyes, purpose and emotion surged like a storm.
“Although I was not chosen, Mr. Hughes was able to coerce your choice upon the Grandmaster. Thanks to you, I’ve lost not only an arm, but also my moral duty. All my labor thus far has been in vain.”
The Earth Sage narrowed her eyes, as she spoke.
“As such, why should I let Mr. Hughes live?”
As that question was tossed my way, accompanied by a killing intent that made chills run down my spine, I smiled ambiguously.
If she wished to kill me, she would have done so already.
Not only was there no particular reason to kill me, but also….
Wasn’t her original goal the annihilation of the Abyss?
I was the one who appeased the Grandmaster’s soul, you know?
Though many reasons came to mind, I chose the one that would most appeal to the person before me.
“If you let me live, someday, I shall expose the Sanctum.”
“…Ho.”
As if she had briefly lost her strength, blood seeped slightly from her severed shoulder. It must have been that unexpected of a proposal.
After clutching her shoulder with her one remaining arm, the Earth Sage chuckled with her head bowed.
“…Sincerely?”
“I can’t guarantee that will happen. After all, we, who are not prophets, can not see beyond what is right before us. However, someday, if I discover the weakness of the Sanctum, I shall use this mouth of destruction to cause them trouble.”
“How tempting. If it happens, that is.”
“If you wish, shall I bet my pinky finger? Oh wait. Ah, perhaps that may be troubling for someone who is missing an arm.”
The area above the pit became noisy. The subdued soldiers were regrouping and starting to move once again. The Earth Sage glanced in the direction of the sounds.
“It’s not that I’m looking the other way, rather I must help.”
“I’ll get out on my own. Just don’t rat me out.”
Shortly after, the soldiers regained their senses and rushed towards the edge of the Abyss, I hid my body within the corpses, eluding their gazes.
With only dim lights to aid them due to the absence of searchlights, the soldiers were startled in fright upon discovering the corpses hidden in the Abyss.
“Euahhhh! Corpses!”
“I know what this is. This is the graveyard of the Overlord! There is no doubt that their bodies must be here…! I remember learning about it at school!”
The commander shouted.
“Lower the ladder!”
“I-Into there?”
“That’s right! Without the searchlights, we have to go down ourselves to check. By the way, who just talked back? Since when were you allowed to retort to legitimate orders?”
The soldiers hurriedly lowered the ladder. The commander climbed down while berating the dazed soldier.
“Search thoroughly! Do not be afraid to step on the corpses! If merely stepping on them scares you, then you would be even worse at turning people into corpses…! That must be why you were so powerlessly defeated earlier!”
｢You were powerlessly defeated as well….｣
A soldier nearby glanced at the commander with such thoughts. Fortunately, it remained just a thought, instead of speaking it into existence.
As they continued the search with the light of their lanterns, they eventually reached the top of the mountain of corpses. Recognizing the Earth Sage, the commander immediately ran over.
“Salute! I am Major Keioshin of the Wasteland Search Troops! Greetings to the Brigadier Gener…! Oh my goodness! Brigadier General, your arm…!”
As the soldiers arrived, the Earth Sage, who had been kneeling reverently in front of the Grandmaster, staggered to her feet.
“Do not fret. It is a minor injury.”
“How can that be…! For now, we must apply first aid!”
Nice. Now’s my chance.
While everyone’s attention was on her, I climbed up the ladder they had descended from.
Someone who had stayed at the rear shone a faint light on me and asked.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shouted, deliberately feigning urgency.
“The Brigadier General has been seriously injured! Medic! Quickly, call a medic!”
“A medic? They are currently tending to the wounded.”
“You idiot! The Brigadier General has lost her right arm! If we leave it like this, the Earth Sage, who had built this nation from the ground up will bleed to death! Are you trying to bring such disgrace upon us?! Hurry, call all the medics who are attending to the wounded!”
Overwhelmed by my spirit, the officer grumbled and backed away to call the medics. Then, after nodding his head slowly, he returned to confront me.
“Hey, but who are you to be so informal? I’m a commanding officer….”
However, by then, I was already gone. The adjutant could only tilt his head in confusion.
Empty automaton carriages were abundant in all directions. They were vehicles specially designed for patrolling the wastelands, characterized by their thick wheels. I walked along while humming, popping each wheel one by one.
The outside of the wheels was tough, but the inside was comparatively soft. Every time I passed by, an automaton carriage sagged to one side.
After climbing into one of the automaton carriages I had been eying, I threw my backpack inside and started the engine. The sounds of gears interlocking the wheels and steering wheel were heard. The entire vehicle vibrated roughly. I continued to hum, stepping on the pedal.
Since I had punctured the other wheels on my way here, even if someone noticed something odd, they would not be able to chase after me. A quick glance showed they were too preoccupied anyway.
“Well then. That’s one thing done.”
Although it was a good vehicle that functioned well even without roads, the fact that it was for military use was a bit…Hmmm…. Driving it onto the road would raise all kinds of suspicions. It was a shame that I would have to abandon it after going a suitable distance.
Just then, Tantalus, having risen above the ground, emerged in my field of vision. I circled around it tightly so that I wasn’t visible, fully enjoying the speed of my newfound temporary toy.
“Now…What to do next….”
To be honest, what I had to do had already been decided.
In this heartless world, without money, one wouldn’t even be able to secure an identity. Whether traveling to another country or laundering one’s identity to hide, all such processes devoured money.
Money could practically be called oxygen in today’s world.
First I needed to go back to the back alleys of Amitengrad, the capital of the Military State, to collect my hidden assets; I also needed to liquidate them.
And then, it was time for my revenge against those who imprisoned me. I couldn’t always get the short end of the stick, could I?
Alright then. The decision was made. I had set my destination; now, it was time to enjoy the scenery.
A structure, far more massive compared to the nearby terrain, filled the left side of my vision; the concrete floor about one story high and wretchedly destroyed prison building appeared bleak and utterly dismal.
I looked up at the nearby building, lost in thought.
I experienced all sorts of things in that building. I ate, I slept, I played with Azzy, I fought sometimes, and then I leisurely slept once again.
Hmm, come to think of it, nothing much happened.
But perhaps that collection of ‘nothing much’ was what living was all about. Was there really a need to attribute special meaning to life? Wasn’t it ultimately a true life to find happiness in just that?
The ruined prison seemed to be trying to capture my heart now instead of my body. Though I would not go back in, it was still going to forever imprison a piece of my memories.
Goodbye, Tantalus. The place filled with my special experiences….
Bang.
As I was immersed in such sentiments, I collided with something. The automaton carriage jolted up and down massively before coming to a stop. I, having hit my head on the steering wheel, opened the driver’s side door and quickly shouted.
“Ah, damn it! Drive properly!”
Though I yelled reflexively, no response came back. No wait. In the first place, there didn’t seem to be anything nearby to collide with.
What in the world did I hit? Did I run over something weird?
Walking around to the back of the vehicle, I found an odd object.
“What’s this? A signpost?”
A signpost had emerged from the ground, bent weakly in the middle.
Where have I seen this before? It felt familiar, but I couldn’t quite recall. After struggling for a long while, it jogged my memory and I snapped my fingers.
Ah, right. The officers who escorted me. They stopped after seeing this signpost, right? It was a sign indicating the end of the road.
I definitely heard the voice of a signaller here and the guards followed that order, throwing me down.
“Hm. Now that I think about it, it was Police Inspector Evian of Edelphite, wasn’t it? I had completely forgotten.”
He dared to swing a steel bar at me? Remembering that time sent shivers down my spine. A suppressed grudge gradually began to surface.
Alright. Before returning to Amitengrad, I had a new destination. First, I had to fuck up a Police Inspector in Edelphite.
Right when I was about to get back into the vehicle, I noticed something; near the signpost, the ground was cracked in the shape of a lattice. It strangely seemed far too artificial to say that it fissured when Tantalus flipped over.
Perhaps?
I approached and tore away the latticework of cracked earth. It peeled off easily like a layer of skin.
As expected, it was a fake ground. Was it perhaps revealed by the impact of Tantalus collapsing?
Beneath the peeled layer laid a metal square structure, hideously deformed.
The design was more akin to a box than a building. Hidden underground, the box seemed to have been ejected outwards by the impact of the tilted Tantalus hitting the ground.
“What’s this? Did someone hide treasure here or something?”
The size alone suggested a large room, but there was no way someone lived in such a place. Who would live in a metal box buried underground? Surely something must be hidden inside.
It had been a long time since my instincts to hunt and gather kicked in. I grabbed a skewer and climbed atop the box. With a Tang, a hollow metallic sound echoed.
“Checking a gift box is always such a joy.”
What could be inside? Whistling, I pierced the skewer into the crumpled crevice and began to work.
However, no matter how much I poked and prodded, I couldn’t open the box. The lock showed no reaction despite my fiddling and nothing got caught even when I stabbed into the crumpled crevice. I tossed the skewer aside, clicking my tongue.
“Tch. What’s the use of reading a human’s mind? I can’t even read the mind of a lock.”
Come to think of it, I had never picked a lock with absolutely nothing in hand. I had always stolen the key or found the password.
Tsk. It was somewhat unsatisfying to leave it like this…. What should I do?
Steel, crushed by a massive impact. The twisted seams offered a glimpse inside.
Hm.
If I had just a bit more strength or if I was heavier, I might be able to open it.
“Should I try it out once?”
I placed both of my hands on the steel box.
Originally, Earth Art of the Order of Gaia could only be used when one’s state of mind had touched Mother Earth. As such, only Gaians were able to use it.
However, now that the Grandmaster’s secret was revealed to the world, I would probably be able to use it too, just like Standard Magic or basic Qi Arts.
I concentrated, recalling the Earth Sage and the Grandmaster.
To them, the earth flowed. Starting from the lives that lived within it, it was an existence that moved in an infinite variation, driven by nature’s great flow. Earth Art was a technique that invoked changes in the earth which would normally take decades or even centuries.
And even if it was called steel, it actually originated from the earth. Grasping the faint sensation, I directed Earth Art towards the steel door.
“Heup!”
Crash.
The door collapsed. My body followed the laws of gravity, falling to the ground. Encountering this mishap, I rolled on the hard floor.
“Ow ow ouch.”
As I stood up with a groan, what filled my vision was a space brimming with traces of life.
Wait, but was I supposed to appraise this as possessing traces of life or not?
“It actually was a room.”
Someone had clearly lived in this box. After all, the furniture crammed inside was all stained with traces of one’s touch.
However, who could possibly live confined in such a narrow space? In that regard, the overflowing sensation of life felt more like an absurd theater set.
“Set, Lux.”
Regardless, there might be something worth taking here. I illuminated the dark interior with Standard Magic and moved forward.
“Oh, what. Huh?”
As I continued with my search, something caught my eye.
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