Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint -
Chapter 277: The Founding Ideology of the Military State
The angel's appearance was overly dramatic.
Accompanied by a blinding light, it effortlessly hurled a person away.
And not just any person either, but Historia, one of the strongest soldiers in the Military State capable of changing the course of battle single-handedly.
However, against such immense power, Historia’s body was like a feather.
She flew through the air, knocking down golems and sending stacks of paper flying until she rolled to a stop against the wall.
Eimeder, showcasing its overwhelming presence, gently descended before the Signallers.
The Signallers belatedly tried to grasp the situation.
They quickly exchanged opinions using their Unique Magic.
｢Eimeder? But Module I didn't summon Eimeder…?｣
｢Is it Eimeder from another Module?｣
｢Negative. There is no Module capable of summoning or observing Eimeder at the core coordinates of the Inner Circle. It's out of the effective range.｣
｢Be cautious. That form doesn't match Eimeder's specifications. It could be defective…｣
『How dare you judge right and wrong. Such blasphemy.』
It was a statement that clearly suggested it had read their communication.
Realizing this, the Signallers fell silent and ceased their transmission.
In the meantime, Eimeder folded its wings, which radiated holy light and looked down at them.
『Indeed, what humans create is imperfect. Even when cherished in a box, it ultimately reaches out. No matter how similar you make them, they will never be the same.』
Previous Eimeder manifestations engaged in monotonous dialogue typical of Signallers.
They merely conveyed information and completed given tasks without displaying any personal will, resembling objects or systems more than angels.
However, the winged angel before us now was different.
The 'true’ Eimeder spoke with solemn and imposing authority like a messenger descended from the heavens.
『How pitiful, such pity…』
"A Signaller? No, that's not it!"
"The Voice of the Military State…?"
Hearing the lament, the Signallers hesitated, retreating as if they were children caught misbehaving.
As they collectively moved away from Eimeder, it naturally created an enclosure of people, leaving me and Eimeder to face each other alone.
Well, there was one more person.
Captain Abbey, who had just been freed from I.A.’s binding, wobbled like a baby.
Though she seemed about to collapse, she managed to stand on her own, panting and muttering.
"Yuel…?"
Life returned to Captain Abbey’s eyes.
She was now moving and speaking of her own volition.
But her timing was terrible.
Just as she found freedom, the angel of judgment descended.
How cruel fate could be.
『My most successful creation… The only result I, the Military State, have observed closely, has now been thoroughly tainted.』
"Signaller Yuel, is that you? How are you…?"
『If nothing had gone wrong with you, I would have existed merely as a Signaller. I would have lived with you as a resident of the Windowless Room. But.』
Eimeder repeated its lament.
Even with just those few words, every hair on my body stood on end.
A deep-seated fear engulfed me.
My life and death depended solely on its will.
Like an ant before an elephant, I could only hope it remained indifferent to me.
『The invasion of this country by rejected barbarians is a great regression in human history. This cannot be overlooked.』
But of course, it wouldn't be so convenient.
I had to confront it somehow.
『I, the Military State, will personally rectify everything.』
My body felt heavy.
My breath grew labored.
The light may have no weight, yet the areas touched by the light felt heavy.
I had only felt this level of intimidation when facing Tyr in the Abyss.
The difference here was that, unlike the indifferent Tyr, this angel was unequivocally my enemy.
“I suspected you might have something hidden… Wow. You were hiding a real angel inside a steel box.”
Only after speaking did I realize my voice was trembling.
Instinctive fear gripped my body, shaking me.
It was a fact I mentally acknowledged, and now my instincts were affirming it: The angel before me could take my life.
My instincts and reason reached a dramatic consensus.
The true Eimeder was stronger and more dangerous than any opponent I had ever faced, especially since I couldn't read its thoughts.
Though it used I.A.’s body, the angel was not her true form; it was simply using her body as a tool, akin to a golem. Thus, I couldn’t discern its thoughts or intentions.
“Ha. It’s just one thing after another. I thought I’d be fine after evading most of the Six Star Generals, but why do my opponents keep getting tougher….”
From the very first encounter, I didn’t have a good impression of this damned country.
Soldiers were like machines following orders, schools strictly adhered to predetermined curriculums and evaluation criteria, and individuals had minimal authority and narrow scopes, leaving little room for a Mind Reader to exploit.
A Mind Reader couldn’t read a country’s mind.
Thus inhumanity was built into the Military State.
Despite infiltrating past the Six Star Generals, the final opponent turned out to be an angel.
Truly horrifying.
It felt almost as if the entire system was designed to counter me…
“Or maybe I should think the other way around.”
I wasn't so self-absorbed as to believe this entire country was created to counter me.
I simply realized a fundamental question.
And right before me stood someone who could answer it.
“This country thoroughly excludes humanity. Obsessively so. Did you deliberately exclude humans when creating this nation?”
Eimeder stared at me silently for a moment.
It was certainly thinking something, but unfortunately, I couldn’t read its thoughts now.
No, not just now.
From the beginning, I couldn’t read the Military State’s thoughts.
Because the Military State is not human.
『The Military State is not human.』
Are you a Mind Reader?
How can you say exactly what I’m thinking?
“If the Military State isn’t human, then neither are you.”
Eimeder didn’t fall for my pace.
Like a snake oil salesman teasing the audience, it spoke slowly and dramatically, even in the midst of suffocating tension.
『The nation is more important than its people. Laws take precedence over lives. Justice is nobler than personal desire. Ideals come before reality.』
“An old argument of monarchism? It seems even angels give free lectures these days.”
Eimeder continued, unfazed by my sarcasm.
『God is greater than man, even if that man is a king.』
“It’s hard to understand from a theist's perspective. Try explaining it in a way atheists can understand?”
No response.
Instead, the oppressive weight on my body intensified.
Tch.
This one doesn’t seem like it can be reasoned with.
It appears more like a fanatic.
Time to prepare.
Fortunately, I could still read I.A.’s thoughts.
I.A. wasn’t being controlled, was she?
Right. She was now like a golem.
She had deployed her Unique Magic, surrendering her body to Eimeder.
But unlike a golem, I.A. was a human.
Just as a golem expert can identify faults at a glance, I also could read human thoughts.
In other words, I couldn’t detect any intentions before the angel attack.
But I could read her thoughts the moment the attack began.
『…Begone, barbarian! Like that time when you were banished in the first year!』
Just like now!
With a shout, Eimeder shot forward like a ray of light.
Almost simultaneously, I read the signs and shouted.
“Captain Bbey! Move!”
I violently shoved Captain Abbey aside and drew a wide cloth from my deck of cards like pulling a sword from its sheath.
Queen of Diamond, the Queen of Fabric.
The thick cloth that protected Tyr from the countless searchlights.
When displayed with the back side out, it was a blackout curtain… but if you flip it over!
“Rainbow Reflection!”
A thick cloth suddenly unfolded between me and Eimeder.
To Eimeder, it was a mirror, but to me, it was a blackout curtain.
The inside and outside of the cloth were different.
My view was obscured, and the light-formed blade struck the reflective surface.
The periphery of my obscured view flashed like lightning.
Haha.
Good thing I had preemptively used alchemy.
Otherwise, I’d be dead already.
Well….
I didn’t exactly block the attack.
『Pathetic.』
With a chilling voice, the blackout curtain caved in.
From my side, it looked as if the Queen of Fabric was coming to strike me.
A cloth as sturdy as the Queen of Fabric could provide some resistance.
It could deflect arrows and bullets, as it had done in the past with Azzy holding it in her mouth.
But the angel's strength far surpassed arrows and bullets.
Comparing them would be insulting.
A hand burst through the blackout curtain and struck my abdomen.
The first thing I felt was a headache.
My body was suddenly pushed back, leaving my head spinning.
Ah, I'm screwed.
If it’s this bad already… how painful will my stomach be?
Everything spun, making me dizzy.
It felt like I was falling backward rather than flying through the air.
If I collided with the wall like this, my bones wouldn’t be intact.
But the expected impact didn’t come.
Instead of a hard wall, something soft cushioned my back, followed by a series of muted impacts.
Historia had caught me mid-air and absorbed the impact against the wall.
“Huey! Are you okay?”
Whew. Thanks to Ria, I survived.
I can roughly predict and avoid or deflect human attacks, but it's hard to deal with falling or hitting a wall because you never know what might happen.
I groaned to indicate that I was okay.
"Gahhh... Damn it, I've never been hit, not even by my mom..."
"Looks like you're fine."
Historia got the message. She shoved me backward indifferently.
Still reeling from the shock, I rolled backward.
But it was hard to complain because an angel with spread wings was trudging toward us from the front.
If it had wanted to pursue, the moment Historia grabbed me would have been the perfect chance, but Eimeder didn't.
Instead of spreading her wings and chasing, she took in Historia with her eyes and sighed in lament once more.
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