༺ Say You Want To Live – 9 ༻

I had to keep facing Wolfen until the very end to deceive him. However, the problem was that it was the kind of light that penetrated even with closed eyes.

Due to it, my eyes, overwhelmed by excessive stimulation, went on strike. The residual glow flickered and tinted my vision gray. Like Wolfen, I, too, was blinded and stumbled aimlessly.

Although I could borrow others’ vision, if I didn’t have any to steal, I was practically blind. With no one nearby looking in this direction, I, too, was clueless about my whereabouts.

Well, whatever. It’s okay. I can just use my wand.

Navigating by probing the ground with the pre-prepared magic wand, I managed to enter the building I had made sure to see previously.

Phew. It was fortunate I had prepared the wand in advance. If I hadn’t had the experience of being visually impaired, I would have been lost as well.

Anyway, having escaped unnoticed into the dwelling, I cautiously ascended the stairs. Despite the uproarious noises from outside during my ascent, it was not my concern at the moment.

Luckily, the stairs were uniform. Once I accurately placed my foot, I could repeat the motion to reach the top. Even without sight, I was more than able t…

“WOAH!”

Ah, I took a misstep at the end, not realizing the stairs had finished! I nearly fell!

Anyway, as I climbed the stairs half-blinded, I suddenly found myself on the rooftop. My vision gradually returned along the way. Grateful for the ability to see again, I moved towards the rooftop door.

The rooftop came into view. The concrete-colored surface, narrow and with an angular horizon, welcomed me. Water tanks and pipes intertwined complexly like vines and cleaning equipment awaited its use under thick covers. I reached the edge, traversing the ordinary rooftop of the residence.

Below, I saw Wolfen lying suppressed by Historia.

I bade my final farewell to the fallen Wolfen, against the backdrop of a moonlit night.

Goodbye, Wolfen. Though there might be regrets in the process, I’m sure you will be able to accept and understand the ending. After all, you will fall into the embrace of death by someone stronger than yourself.

As someone accustomed to living by the sword, Wolfen wasn’t afraid of death. Instead, it was powerlessness that he feared.

Hating himself for being effortlessly crushed by an exceptionally strong person and frustrated by his inability to grow stronger, the already awry Wolfen had plotted to dominate the weak.

Sigh. So, it’s not that the strong survive, but rather that those who survive are strong. Why stir up everything like some gangster? You should’ve aimed for a quiet, slow life like mine.

“Well, anyway. Now, the question is how do I escape?”

Could I possibly escape from here? Should I just run into whichever room and hide inside?

Hmm. I don’t think that would work, though. If it’s the Military State, it wouldn’t be odd for them to search every single room.

What to do?

Captain Abbey might not disclose my identity. But… the issue was that Historia knows who I am.

And she had both the will and the means to pursue me to the ends of the earth.

“It’s checkmate, huh.”

Hooo. Could I really make it out alive from here? I wasn’t sure if I could escape the Military State, eluding the surveillance of the signallers. After all, my mana was already depleted and my body was battered.

Even if Captain Abbey might not, other signallers were strangers to me. As such, they might start tracking me down immediately upon discovering my presence.

The Magician, it seems, is in a dire, desperate crisis.

Should I initiate the greatest escape show of the century without any preparation? Nah, that’s too difficult.

That was when it occurred.

The appearance of a black knight from beneath my shadow, that is.

It was a form I hadn’t seen in a long while. A knight clad in pitch-black armor, as if formed from merging shadows, stood silently watching over me.

Why are you appearing here? I couldn’t help but ask as I was dumbfounded by the unexpected emergence.

“What in the world? What’s this? This dirt pawn, I mean.”

The black pawn seemed to have been hiding in my shadow from the start. It was concealed by the darkness on the streets until now, but upon reaching the rooftop, the distinct darkness of my shadow made it visible.

“Eh? Hello? Excuse me? Are you Tyr, by any chance?”

I waved my hand, but the black knight gave no response. She either wasn’t paying attention to me or the distance had grown too significant to maintain a connection.

If that’s the case, why scatter the black knights… As I was pondering this deeply…

A conversation was in full swing below.

“If you didn’t summon me, then who did?”

“Magician…. Keuk. In the end, was this Umbra played by you even until the very last moment….”

Wolfen’s murmuring wasn’t a direct reply to the Gunmaster’s question, yet for her, it served as an answer.

“Magician?”

The Gunmaster, who was lost in deep thought, suddenly noticed something and walked towards it. At the edge of the road, a card laid face down, covered. She skillfully kicked the card with the tip of her boots and caught it.

Ace of Clubs, the conduit of my magic that was softly glowing.

“Ha.”

The Gunmaster snorted loudly enough for it to be heard up to the rooftop.

“That’s right. It could only be you. You’re the only person who would do something like this.”

Ah, wait, that…

Medium Magic allowed the medium, also known as the conduit, to take on the magic’s toll. Hence, the card that had just produced a massive light still had a glow reminiscent of a firefly.

Should I have picked it up? But it only had a one-time use anyway and carrying a card leaking light and mana in the middle of the night was practically asking to be caught. That was why I deliberately flipped it over and left it in a corner.

But I got caught.

“This was a frequent method you used, Huey. As expected, you didn’t die back then.”

As if she knew it all along, the Gunmaster laughed wryly and immediately aimed her gun towards the sky.

Banggggg.

This gunshot was different from the previous ones. It was a blank, merely scattering Qi from the barrel and firing nothing but air.

Blue Qi shattered from the barrel like breaking glass. The sound was deafening enough to numb the ears, ripping through the dark night and resounding far and wide.

Through my ears that were dulled as if underwater, I heard the Gunmaster’s scream of delight.

“SHOW YOURSELF NOW! HUEY, YOU DAMNED FUCKER—!!!”

My plan was a success.

The tabloid, Black Cat. I leaked information to a gossip magazine that even the Military State kept an eye on.

Huey, who never missed being the top student of his entire school. I baited with a name that those who still remember couldn’t ignore. As a result, the Military State was provoked into action.

But the Military State’s reaction was a bit slower than expected. It nearly cost me my life, you know? Why were they so slow to respond?

I was in danger because of that….

I mean, not to the Umbra. I’m talking about that person. One of the Six Star Generals.

Tch. If I were strong enough to defeat all the Shadows by myself, I wouldn’t even need to resort to pulling out my friend card.

As I muttered to myself, the Gunmaster called out to a golem.

“Signaller! Initiate administrative law!”

『This is Signaller, Captain Abbey. Awaiting your commands.』

Drowsiness or lethargy? All that was gone now. Filled with fervor and rage in her eyes, the Gunmaster rapidly issued her commands.

“Catch the Pied Piper of Hamelin! Seal off the entire area and arrange for supply drops along the route! Send me the personal details of everyone present in the vicinity! And inform the Military Police to join me once their duties are all completed!”

『Pied Piper….』

Pausing momentarily, the Captain soon regained composure and continued.

『Confirmed. Major General, would you like to equip your Commander Arm?』

“Too slow! It’ll be too late then! There’s no need for that now! Instead, gather all the golems! We don’t know what that punk might do!!”

A Star General had given the order. As the Gunmaster spoke through the golem, the Military State sprang into action. Despite the darkness of night limiting visibility, the city seemed to squirm like a massive monster had awakened.

From the perspective of someone who had turned into prey, the hunter’s command was the very definition of terror. I murmured in a daze.

“Haaa. Is it time to face my karma? I guess it’s true I’ve overdone it.”

After the confrontation with Wolfen, my exposure was inevitable. I hadn’t anticipated being discovered so swiftly, but they tracked me down remarkably well. What a good sense of smell, huh?

This was all due to Wolfen and the Military State. If Wolfen hadn’t unexpectedly shown up and if the Military State had responded in time, there would have been no need for me to intervene.

What now? If it was Historia, there’s just one chance. Just one opportunity to elude her, but that doesn’t solve the problem of the other pursuers.

Is this the end?

Right at that moment, something near the rooftop railing turned its head. Frightened out of my wits, I quietly observed what it was.

It was a golem. A pure surveillance type with only its head visible.

They’re here too? Wow. How many of these have you hidden away, Military State?

I have to flee immedi…

『It is me.』

“Captain Abbey?”

『Affirmative. While I am synced with this golem, other signallers will not be able to sync to it. Therefore, please halt your escape for a moment.』

I stopped my immediate attempt to flee. While the golem that had succinctly explained the situation fixed its gaze on me, it spoke.

『Given the urgency, I shall ask you only one question. Are you Huey, whom Major General Historia is seeking?』

“Ah. Yes.”

『Then, are you the Pied Piper of Hamelin?』

“Ahaha, a-affirmative. Though technically, I didn’t play a pipe but a whistle.”

Regardless, I was the one who blew it… As I readily admitted, the golem seemed to deliberate on what to do next, hesitating in its response.

Meanwhile, chaos erupted below. The Captain continued urgently, as if pressed for time.

『…I may be able to say that I had not… witnessed you. However, even considering this, I judge that your chances of successfully evading Major General Historia’s pursuit and escaping are very low.』

“Unless something miraculous happens or something drops from the sky, I think so too.”

『As such, I request this. Will you not surrender yourself? Will you not turn yourself in?』

Surrender? Turn myself in? A Military State Captain, asking the surrender of the worst political offender in history?

The concern from the captain was palpable even beyond the golem. Wow, huh. Would you look at that. She’s actually worrying about a criminal just because I buttered her up a bit. How pure and innocent could she be?

I appreciate the sentiment, but…

“The Military State won’t leave me be. I’m the Pied Piper, after all.”

Unfair, isn’t it? I feel wronged. Just for playing the whistle a bit, I ended up bearing all the blame. Because of that, I had to pretend to be dead and even gave up my status as the 1st Place Secondary Schooler. I had to launder my identity to Hughes and even moved to the capital.

Confessing now wouldn’t get me a ‘Alright, let’s do better next time’. The death of 161 students was a minor loss on a national scale… but an extremely shocking event nonetheless.

『…Then. I wi…』

“Ahaha. So, live well, Captain Abbey. Take care. It seems like it’s time for me to retreat. Those who know when to leave should only show their back.”

I squeezed out my depleted mana to transmute the 2 of Diamonds card.

A multipurpose hook. I spun it while attached to a rope. My target was the building across. I would connect the rope there and throw myself down to descend.

『…Confirmed. If it is you, you will somehow manage to escape.』

“There are no certainties. But either way, I have to struggle however I can to survive.”

『I wish you fortune of war.』

“I enjoyed our time too. Quite a bit, actually. Please take care of the rest. And give my farewells to Sephi for me, Captain Abbey.”

I threw the hook I’d been spinning. Clank. With a cold metallic sound, the hook securely caught onto the railing on the opposite side.

During this, I heard the Captain’s soft and gentle voice.

『…If you must flee, head east. You might find someone who will help you.』

With those words, the light vanished from the golem’s eyes. Immediately after…

“Found you.”

Historia muttered like a hunter who had spotted her prey.