This man is dangerous.
The line between a revolutionary and a traitor is thin. If you succeed, you are a revolutionary; if you fail, you are a traitor. Yujin had seen countless such cases in both the past and present. Historically, traitors died bearing the heaviest sins, and the price of failure was not just pain, but total annihilation.
But Yujin couldn't understand him. Why would the son of the Grand Master, the leader of the Adeptus Sprawiedliwi, harbor such dangerous thoughts? And why share these grand plans and ambitions with Yujin, a stranger he had just met?
"The privileged class of knights must fall. I want to create a world where everyone is equal. Knights, squires, merchants... Of course, even if we overturn the nation, a privileged class will naturally form again. But if..."
As Yujin listened to the man continue, he tilted his head skeptically.
Sounds like a commie to me.
Yujin, who knew Earth‘s history, immediately pictured red flags fluttering in the wind. But he also knew that this man's thoughts would ultimately lead to failure. The start might be noble, but the end would not be. Having seen the results dozens of times, Yujin couldn't agree with him.
"…Haha, you think I'm an idealist."
"Well, yes. I can't agree with what you're thinking."
He had to cut ties cleanly here. He didn't want to get involved with a revolutionary.
"I didn't speak expecting understanding or agreement. Realizing my thoughts in this era would likely be impossible."
Self-awareness is higher than I thought. Yujin stood beside the man, looking out at Kazimierz.
The man watched Yujin with a curious expression. The platinum eyes gazing over the city seemed to look down on everything in the world. For a moment, he wondered if this was the same person he had just been speaking with.
" Then let me ask you one thing. In the world you envision, is there a place for the Infected?"
Infected. Hearing the word, the man looked amused. To every nation, the Infected were nuisances, treated worse than livestock.
In Ursus, they were dragged into freezing mines to dig until they died, their deaths unmourned. In Gaul, they harvested crops under the sun wearing heavy gloves like slaves. Other nations were no different. Even Kazimierz drove them into the sewers like trash.
Yujin was a Sarkaz. Knowing this, the man was about to offer some diplomatic platitude, but looking into Yujin‘s eyes, he changed his words.
"No."
"Then there is no reason for us to work together."
Yujin‘s answer was final, eliminating even the slightest possibility.
"…You are hardly in a position to call me an idealist. Aren't you also dreaming of an impossible ideal?"
"Even if it's impossible, even if my body burns to ash, it's human nature to want to reach it. Since our dreams will never align, it‘s just talk."
Heh. See? We are alike.
The man wanted to hold onto Yujin, but knew he couldn't be caught. If they were truly alike, Yujin wouldn't bend his convictions.
The man‘s dream was unreachable. So was Yujin‘s. As Yujin turned his back to leave, the man spoke one last time.
"I think quite highly of you. So, try not to die."
"..."
Yujin stood blankly in the elevator, thinking about the man‘s words. He recalled a conversation he had with Theresa in his foolish youth.
*["…I want to make a world where Sarkaz aren't discriminated against."] *
*["Is that even possible? First, you'd have to eliminate Oripathy."] *
*["Then we eliminate it! A cure will come eventually with time. And it's a dream. It should be difficult."] *
"Pfft. What did we know back then to say such things?"
Laughing hollowly at the memory, Yujin pictured Theresa‘s face. Curing the Infected, eradicating Oripathy, ending discrimination against Sarkaz. Dreams that hadn't been reached in thousands of years.
Ding-dong.
The elevator doors opened, and burly men stepped inside. They wore earpieces and looked like hotel security.
'Ugh, it's cramped enough as it is...'
The elevator was small, and the large men made it feel claustrophobic. Yujin stood at the back, staring blankly at the doors.
Wait a minute.
This is a VIP elevator.
Why are security guards using it?
Thought moved faster than action, but action followed immediately. Channeling his Arts, Yujin kicked a guard in the thigh to neutralize him.
"You son of a...!!"
As Yujin kicked, the guards, who were already reaching into their jackets, drew knives and lunged. Without a moment‘s hesitation. If it had been a random altercation born of sudden anxiety, they might have faltered.
But they didn't hesitate. It was proof Yujin‘s anxiety was correct.
Four men in a confined space. It was easy to get tangled up and make a mistake, but these weren't ordinary guards. Thankfully, Yujin had his back to the wall; if he had been in the center, he would have been skewered.
He had no weapons. He had been forced to leave his sword outside the banquet hall.
"Hmph!"
Catching an incoming blade with his bare hand, Yujin immediately used his other arm to smash his fist into the guard‘s face. As the man stumbled, Yujin snatched the dagger and slashed his throat.
Thuck. The sound of steel cutting flesh. Pain and discomfort registered, but it wasn't a fatal wound.
Surrounded by three enemies, minor injuries were inevitable. He had to endure it.
Pulling the knife from the dead man, Yujin gripped it with both hands. In terms of strength and Arts, he was overwhelmingly superior.
They could not kill him.
"Ugh! GAH—!!"
Driving the knife up through a jaw, Yujin swung his other arm to dispatch another opponent. With a bit more space, he kicked backward to repel an attacker.
"Who sent you?"
He threw a knife to finish one of the remaining two. It struck the neck perfectly, spraying blood. Only one remained.
Yujin looked at the last guard with emotionless eyes. The guard screamed and charged. The result was predetermined.
Yujin parried the blade with his bare hand and punched the man in the face. It should have just hurt, but the force rattled the guard‘s brain, slamming him against the elevator doors.
"Asking for the second time. Who sent you?"
"…If I‘m going to die, I‘m taking you with me—!"
As the guard roared, the elevator doors opened behind him. That was his misfortune.
Yujin kicked the man‘s head, snapping his neck, but an unpleasant electronic beep reached his ears.
BOOM!!!!
Explosion. The guard‘s body erupted in flames and shrapnel. Yujin, having thrown himself out the moment he heard the beep, stared at the carnage with disgust.
"Fuck."
Coming here intending to die?
He was on the first floor. But the lobby was empty. Feeling suffocated, Yujin ripped off his tie and ran outside.
A short distance away, the car was waiting. Seeing his bloodstained shirt as he discarded his jacket, Raquelamalin screamed.
"Y-Yujin! Your body...!!"
"Not now. Get back to the mansion, fast."
The driver looked panicked but obeyed Yujin‘s command, starting the engine and speeding away from the building.
Why? That man had seemed favorable toward Yujin. Yet an attack as he was leaving?
Something didn't add up. It was full of questions, but Yujin immediately circulated the Nearl Arts to heal the wound on his back.
He had wanted to smash the entire elevator and escape, but in the confined space, he had no room. If he had, he wouldn't have even taken a scratch.
"Take off your shirt first!!"
Seeing the blood, Larin stripped off his shirt to check his back. Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep and was already closing thanks to the healing Arts.
"What happened? Why did you run out like that? Did that man attack you...!"
"No, it wasn't him. I'll explain at the mansion. We need to get out of here!"
His instincts screamed a warning. His bad feelings had never been wrong.
Through the window, he saw the pitch-black night sky. A purple meteor was falling, trailing a beautiful tail.
...Heading straight for their car.
Crash.
The sound of shattering glass. The massive arrow pierced through the driver‘s seat toward Larin in the back.
"You crazy bastards...!"
"Kyaaaah!"
If Yujin hadn't caught the arrow with his bare hand, it would have pierced Larin‘s heart. Yujin cursed as he gripped the shaft, which glowed with ominous black light.
Blood from his hand dripped onto Larin‘s lap. Realizing the situation, Larin gritted her teeth and pulled out her bone-whistle to repel the arrow, but with the driver dead and the car swerving wildly, she couldn't focus.
"Larin, hold on!"
"Okay!"
Yujin wrapped an arm around her waist, and she clung to his neck. He kicked the car door open with Arts-enhanced strength, ripping it off its hinges.
Yujin threw himself out of the careening vehicle, tumbling onto the ground with Larin. It was the right call. The same electronic beep he had heard from the guard‘s body now emanated from the arrow.
BOOM!
The car was engulfed in flames with a massive explosion. Yujin glared at the burning wreck, gritting his teeth.
He knew. It had begun.