Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
Chapter 274: The Country of Steel and the Faceless Men (15)

Captain Abbey looked even worse than the last time I saw her.

Her stiff, lifeless face had less vitality than a golem.

Captain Abbey answered in a dry tone.

『This entity is Captain Ivy of the Military State Signallers.』

｢Yes, me too. It’s really... nice to see you again.｣

Her words were stiff, but what I heard from her thoughts was different.

It must be because of her Unique Magic.

Of course, for someone like me who could read thoughts, it wasn't a serious issue, so I continued the conversation, letting her spoken words pass by.

"Ivy? What happened to make you like this?"

『This entity was summoned to the Inner Circle Command to check for mental contamination. During the process, you, the Pied Piper of Hamelin, carried out your terrorist acts, interfering with the Signallers' judgment, resulting in the loss of this entity's designated name and a temporary assignment to the Inner Circle Communications Headquarters.』

｢I want to ask you. I was prepared for this, but what brought you here? As the instigator of the Hamelin incident, why did you not flee but come back to the Inner Circle? Did you get hurt while escaping?｣

"You’ve had quite a busy time while I was away. It seems you’re more important than I thought, Captain Abbey... or should I say Captain Ivy? You were the one who spoke to me back then, right?"

『Affirmative.』

"Somehow, both of your names seemed similar. Why did you change your name?"

｢I didn't want to change it. I didn't want to lose the position of A.B. because you remember me as Abbey.｣

Her thoughts came first, followed by the echo of her voice.

『As you might guess, the Signallers' titles are identifiers. This entity’s name has no meaning beyond differentiation.』

｢You remember me as Abbey. If I communicate with you through a golem, I have to be Abbey. Otherwise, you wouldn’t recognize me.｣

"But it doesn't matter if I call you Captain Bbey, right? It's up to me what I call you."

｢...!｣

The Military State tried to control all humans.

As long as they followed the orders of the Military State, they could live without guilt or responsibility, even if they were not happy.

But there were still criminals in the Military State.

Although relatively few compared to other countries, there were many considering the harshness of the Military State.

And most of them were petty criminals.

They enjoyed mischief and committed unnecessary crimes despite knowing the fear of the Military State.

In short, the Military State was not perfect.

Of course not.

The people who created this Military State were humans after all.

The Signaller before me, Captain Abbey, who became attached to her name, proves that.

"Captain Bbey."

『This entity...』

Captain Abbey stuttered as if malfunctioning.

I reached out my hand.

To others, the morning glory vines would be invisible, but I pretended not to see them and gently touched her shoulder.

"Your shoulders are stiff. Haven't you been exercising?"

As my hand touched the morning glory vines wrapped around her shoulders, they began to crumble like dried leaves.

Captain Abbey stammered.

『A-Affirmative.』

"How long will you live like this? If you're going to work holed up inside, at least take care of your body."

『This entity conducts duties through golems. There is no reason for such maintenance.』

"You're a Biological Synchronization Type. Maintaining your body is maintaining the golem. The more flexible your body, the more you can do with the golem."

『... This entity has no reason to take such advice from you or any obligation to follow it!』

To achieve synchronization, everyone must be the same.

In other words, if there was a difference, the synchronization would break.

During the few days I spent with Captain Abbey, I prepared various stimuli to make her feel alive.

If the Military State is a body, the Signallers are the nerves.

And the most efficient way to cause the most damage with the least amount of substance was nerve poison.

"It is a futile attempt. She is a Signaller and a soldier loyal to the Military State. Moreover, she is under the control of this Module. Your communication with her is limited.”

I.A. interrupted.

Despite saying that, she felt an inexplicable anxiety.

Could she instinctively know that I was poisoning her?

I laughed and said.

"Stay out of this. I will ruin the Signaller my way."

"Is this revenge against the Military State? But as you mentioned, attacking the Signallers is meaningless. She was appointed after the Hamelin incident and the Signallers were only involved in information containment for that incident!"

Ignoring I.A., I brushed Captain Abbey's hair.

My fingers got caught in the vines decorating her blonde hair.

Of course, my fingers passed through the vines like mist.

The physical couldn’t interfere with the spiritual.

｢To break synchronization? But Unique Magic is the realization of the Spiritual World. Influencing another's Spiritual World is impossible without the same wavelength, and even then, you can only pass on memories or information....｣

Right. Physical matter cannot interfere with the Spiritual World.

But my hand can touch Captain Abbey's heart.

The vines break.

The leaves dry up.

The flowers wither.

With each conversation or touch, the morning glory withered.

The once delicate violet petals wilted and drooped, and the fragile stem, which could only face up by leaning on something, snapped.

｢The Unique Magic?!｣

I.A. was startled.

｢According to the memories passed on, Ivy only interacted with the Pied Piper for a week! How could the Unique Magic be broken in such a short time?!｣

Realizing that my actions were freeing Captain Abbey from her bonds, I.A. shouted urgently.

"Is this your revenge? It is meaningless!"

"What does it matter? There is nothing meaningful in this world anyway."

Any action only has meaning because humans attach meaning to those actions.

So, anything can be done.

What meaning exists behind those actions is up to us, the human.

Now, are all the spectators here?

Most of the Signallers trapped in the room had come out.

They looked different, but their hollow eyes, awkward gait as if they had been lying down for a long time, and pale skin as if they had never seen sunlight were the same.

They gained freedom but did not feel grateful.

Instead, their rebellious eyes seemed to reproach me for bringing them out.

For them, being confined was natural.

They should not show their faces to anyone.

That was their duty.

While everyone shared the same thoughts and synchronized, I.A., feeling emboldened, shouted more sharply.

"Give up trying to mentally contaminate the Signallers. I warn you. If a Signaller is mentally contaminated or unable to work for any reason, they are discarded! Your actions only put her in more danger..."

"I can't listen to this anymore!"

I strode over to I.A. and slapped her.

Slap!

A crisp sound echoed, and I.A.'s face whipped around.

It hurt a lot but didn't damage her face, as I spread my hand wide and maximized the contact area.

It was also a surprise attack, doubling the effect.

The easiest way to inflict psychological shock is to deliver a physical one.

"How…! How can you talk about discarding a human like trash?!"

I slapped her one more time.

I had hit the left side earlier, so I hit the left side again.

I knocked I.A. down and stood before her, panting.

"She's your comrade, isn’t she?! Even if you've only been together a few days, you’re comrades of similar age, similar rank, and similar situation! How can you talk about discarding her on your own?"

"...?! What are you?"

Don't let her think.

I.A. represents 25 people and is backed by nearly 500 Signallers.

But I am alone.

If I want to mentally contaminate all of them...

"Do you want Captain Abbey to die?! Is that what you want?"

I.A. stood up shakily and answered.

"No. Her talent is rare among Signallers. Discarding her would be a significant loss for the Military State."

"Is that all? She's your comrade! In the end, do you think it’s okay to discard a comrade? Do you have no feelings of sadness, loss, or pity?"

"Such emotions are not permitted for Signallers."

"Permitted or not...!"

As I shouted like I was in a rage, Historia, who had broken into the last room, called me with a grim face.

"Huey. Here...."

"What?"

"The Signaller...."

Unable to speak, Historia gestured. I pretended to be serious and approached.

"What happened?"

"...The Signaller has collapsed."

"What? Get them out immediately!"

Historia nodded and pulled the makeshift bed out, making a loud noise as the metal frame scraped the wall.

Oh, this isn’t what I imagined.

I thought Historia would heroically carry out the Signaller.

But at least she got them out.

I approached the Signaller, Z, who was breathing heavily on the bed.

Historia examined Z's condition and said.

"She has a fever and is breathing heavily. Is it a cold?"

"No. Judging by the symptoms, it's possession. She became a sacrifice to summon the angel of the Military State."

"Possession? Sacrifice...?"

"Yes. a sacrifice to summon Eimeder, the guardian angel of the Military State. You can't summon a being as powerful as a Star General without a cost. Of course, a sacrifice is necessary."

I glanced at X and Y.

Unlike the other Signallers, they looked especially pale.

Anyone could see they were sick.

"Wait. A sacrifice means... she took her own life...?"

"Usually, but it seems the Military State has developed an efficient method where she doesn't have to."

Hmm. Is it time to use this?

Even I need to think twice before using it on myself, but I have no choice.

I flicked my wrist, spreading my cards.

The one to use this time is the Heart.

Unlike the Clover imbued with magic and the Diamond that turned into weapons, the Heart was a single-use card.

It was too precious to use unless it was an emergency.

But hoarding it would be wasteful.

Now was the time to use it. I slipped the necessary Heart card between my fingers.

"It seems they distributed the risk through Synchro Magic. They are many as one. Even the cost of summoning an angel is shared... but that’s."

The Heart cards acted directly on the human body.

Temporary potions that changed the body.

Ace of Heart was blood... but Z didn’t have anemia, so it was unnecessary.

Hmm.

Right now, perhaps.

I took out 9, grabbed one end, and shook it side to side.

Initially, it shook normally, but with patience, it began to respond.

A red Heart imitating a heart.

The red paint, which should have been a drawing, started to ripple, looking like a liquid in a small bottle.

Well, that’s it.

I folded Nine of Hearts so that the center was slightly creased.

Following the vertical line, red liquid leaked from the split hearts.

I folded the tip to pool the liquid and showed it to everyone.

"This potion can save this person. How about it? Interested?"

Naturally, no one would accept a potion from a suspicious person, especially one who had just declared he would destroy the Military State.

Y, closest to Z, asked sharply.

"Signaller I.Z. is currently incapacitated. If you have business with her, address it to me instead."

"I'm trying to treat this person. How can you substitute for her?"

"Treat, you say? Can you guarantee that this potion will cure I.Z.?"

"No guarantees, but I can vouch for this. I use all these potions myself. Otherwise, why would I go through the trouble of making and carrying them this way?"

Flutter.

Y’s eyes followed the card back and forth.

Unlike the other Signallers observing me, Y couldn't take her eyes off the potion.

"Now, choose. It looks like she won't make it through the day without the potion. Will you let her die or take the risk and give her the potion?"

The Signallers looked at each other and nodded.

They recognized Z's perilous condition.

She would die without the potion.

Rationally, there was no reason not to use it.

That was the common judgment of the Signallers.

...But only two, X and Y, purely wanted to save Z.

Because as the lowest-ranked here, they too were 'used' as sacrifices to summon Eimeder.

They felt a kinship through shared suffering, though less severely than Z.

"What perfect timing. I need someone. Would you hold this potion in your mouth and feed it to the patient?"

"...Do you mean myself?"

"Yes. She seems completely unconscious, and it might go down the wrong way. The liquid is stickier than you think, so it could block her airway."

The decision was quick.

If that's the method, there's no reason not to follow it.

Signaller Y nodded and took the card from my hand.

Watching her, I added.

"Oh, right. We’ve met the angel three times. Who were the other two sacrifices?"

After a brief hesitation, Y answered.

"...Myself and Signaller I.X.."

"What a curious coincidence. The last three, lined up as sacrifices."

I said it casually, but I was subtly probing for cracks.

There was a hierarchy among Signallers.

The higher the synchronization compatibility, the closer they were to A.

Those less capable were given lower identifiers.

The most valuable Signallers were used last.

There were rational reasons for this.

The higher-ranking Signallers had stronger synchronization capabilities, thus they could bear the cost for the lower-ranking ones.

But knowing and accepting were different especially if it involved pain.

"There are rational reasons–"

As I.A. tried to interject, I abruptly turned and interrupted her with a fierce voice.

"There's a patient here! Be quiet!"

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