The Empire has its autonomous regions. Among them, ‘Genen’ is renowned as a resort area, to the point where it’s considered essential for any imperial noble to own a villa there. However, it’s also the place most directly afflicted by the Empire’s ailments.
“……”
I arrived at St. Bridge in Genen. It’s the only bridge spanning the deep river, connecting the autonomous region and the Empire.
“What a mess.”
I watched it from my car, a distance away.
──Repeal the unjust laws laws oppressing the Autonomous Region!
──Repeal unjust laws laws!
Noisy shouts. The bridge was crowded with protestors on both sides. Protests were frequent in Genen around this time. Before its subjugation by the Empire, Genen was originally a democracy, a nation without a caste system.
──Separatists who destabilize society, leave!
The confrontation between the separatist faction, advocating for Genen’s active autonomy, and the imperial faction, seeking complete incorporation into the Empire. If this conflict escalates to the extreme, it leads to the historical event known as ‘Genen’s Spring’. Their desperate struggle, which the Empire can never overcome. Too many people will die, too many values will be destroyed.
“Imperialists sucking the Empire’s ass!”
“Idiots living in their own little worlds. They won’t come to their senses until their heads explode during a protest.”
I watched them quietly. There was no reason for me to get involved. In events of this magnitude, even I am but a baby whale among orcas. For now, I’m just surveying the area. I’m looking for Ezenheim, who is hiding and instigating here. They will certainly be hiding.
“Find them and kill them. Understand?”
I conveyed my hostility to the virus within my body. You are now one with me, no longer one of them. Just then.
───KWA-AAAAAH!
What a shock. An explosion suddenly erupted. Screams tore through the air as a gale swept through. Debris and embers scattered across the entire bridge. Only then did I get out of the car. I walked onto the chaotic bridge.
Kyaaaaah──! Ughhhh──!
People fled, screaming in various ways, while I moved against the flow.
Aaaahh! Ah, ughh──!
Just in case, I moved the sword at my waist to my hand.
“Kuh, keu-eut……”
Suddenly, I spotted a young man with a twisted ankle at the right end of the bridge. He was leaning against the railing, slumped down, with the river directly below.
Trrrrdududud.
The bridge, heavily damaged, began to collapse. However, the man looked somewhere else, more concerned about it than his own safety.
“No……”
His gaze fell upon three children, about four or five years old, crying. They were precariously dangling from the edge of the half-destroyed bridge, looking as if they would fall at any moment.
“No─!”
The man reached out his hand towards the children. I thought it was a futile gesture, but a strange magical energy shimmered around the man. Bright yellow and pure white. Particles like sparks tangling together. My eyes widened. I remembered something the old man Edmund had said before my regression.
‘……With the help of the Yaken Tribe, we put up a decent fight in the early stages. They had the power to resist the dimensional devourers……’
The Yaken Tribe. Some of them are born with special powers. These are called superpowers, or extraordinary abilities (異能).
──KWA-AAAAAH!
In an instant, a second explosion occurred. A massive steel pillar of the bridge bent and fell towards the man. I released my sword. *Swish*. The bandages unfurled like petals, and a short sword sprang forth.
Swoooosh──.
Yeon (聯). Dozens of curved lines traced through the air. Fluttering gracefully, in a rhythm so fluid it surprised even me. The pillar, caught in its flow, was neatly sliced into small pieces.
* * *
──30 minutes ago.
“Repeal the uniust laws that disrupt autonomy!”
Yan Novak, who participated in the scheduled protest today, was from the lower class of Genen. His family had been farmers, shoemakers, and dish makers for generations since Genen was an independent nation.
“Repeal it──!”
The eldest son of a family with two sons and three daughters, Yan grew up in the slums on the outskirts of Genen. However, he didn’t feel unhappy about his poverty. It was because his family was warm and loving. When he was young, everyone struggled, so they could endure with smiles. They could live and laugh together. But as he grew older, he gradually became aware of reality.
‘Hey, you beggar. Stop causing trouble.’
‘What are you going to do, huh? Do you even have $100?’
‘Ugh, you smelly bastard……’
From the day he entered an imperial school, Yan experienced inexplicable hatred. He didn’t understand why extreme poverty and his background should be objects of contempt. He had to endure without understanding.
‘Shouldn’t we not accept someone like that?’
‘I don’t know. My mom keeps saying she’s protesting, but……’
Despite all the bullying and humiliation, Yan did not give up. He did not lose his effort. He studied diligently while working three jobs a day. But.
‘Ah, that beggar stole it! That smelly bastard.’
He was unfairly expelled due to an incident. This was the reason Yan plunged into social activism. He could endure these injustices himself, but if he couldn’t change things forever, his younger siblings and countless other children would suffer the same fate someday. Genen’s problems were not just for today. They were not just his own problems. It was a problem that had festered for far too long. The privileged, as the bourgeoisie, colluded with the Empire, manipulated the legal system, and exploited the common people by cleverly using the autonomous region’s institutions. They erected barriers of class and wealth. Yet, they wanted to be called nobles themselves.
“Repeal the evil laws that exploit workers──!”
Yan, barely sixteen, became an activist. Society made him this way. Nevertheless, Yan still held onto his hope and aspirations as if clutching them to his chest. He cherished and read discarded books, and gathered magic texts lying on the ground to study. His dream was to be a magician.
“You little brat, where are you going-”
“─Guarantee our autonomy!”
There were many things that couldn’t be achieved through activism alone. Unproductive shouts were just empty air, so he had to become a better person himself. That’s why he still dreamed of becoming a magician.
“Go study at home, you brat!”
As the adults retorted angrily, Yan shouted louder, at that moment.
───KWA-AHA!
A sudden explosion surged. The shouts and screams of many people echoed.
“Kuh!”
Yan was swept up by the shockwave and sent flying. When he opened his eyes, feeling pain, his body was embedded in the bridge railing.
“……Kck!”
When he tried to move, the pain in his chest was severe. His breathing was difficult, as if his ribs were broken. He coughed up blood. As he struggled to push himself up.
“Ugh, uaaaang──”
He heard crying from somewhere. Yan hastily looked in that direction. Three unknown children were clinging to the railing, about to snap. Yan’s eyes widened.
Kigigig──.
The railing was collapsing. The three children fell below. They fell into the river and drowned.
“No……”
In the swirling ash-colored wind, the children’s faces overlapped with his own siblings. Yan reached out his hand. This shouldn’t happen. It couldn’t be like this. The children, at least the children, shouldn’t be sacrificed to this world.
“No─!”
Yan mobilized his magic. He had never succeeded with the magic he’d learned from the sidelines, but he had to make it work now. He reached out his hand to the children─
KWA-AH!
At that moment, a second explosion occurred. A much larger roar shook everything. One of the bridge’s pillars broke and rained down on Yan.
“Ah……”
The iron pillar advanced. Time seemed to slow, and his life flashed before his eyes. Yan gasped in despair. His eyes naturally closed. ……But. No matter how long he waited, his body wasn’t crushed. His breath didn’t cease. Yan blankly opened his eyes.
“Who……?”
A knight stood there, holding a greatsword. Blonde hair and golden eyes. A Sentinel uniform. The Empire’s finest knight order, and the one most feared by the separatist faction—
“Is this a time to be standing still?”
The knight looked down at him and asked. His voice was as cold as if it could freeze his eardrums.
“Ah!”
Yan belatedly looked towards the children. Whooosh── A strong wind brushed past the railing. Kududud! The railing where the children were clinging completely broke away. There were no screams. They had already fainted.
“No!”
He reached out his hand towards the falling children. Veins bulged on his arm. Magic visibly swirled. Fizz! Strange sparks erupted in the air beside the children. Bright yellow. Or white. Or perhaps, complete colorless. Particles of strange magic enveloped the children, and in the very next moment. Yan found himself holding three children in his arms.
“……Huh?”
Yan blinked in a daze. The sensation of the three children in his embrace was vivid. Belatedly, pain like his skull was cracking surged.
“Kkueuk─!”
“Spatial talent, I see.”
The knight suddenly muttered. It was a perfect aristocratic accent.
“Yaken, huh?”
Yaken. Yan’s heart lurched. His lineage, passed down from his ancestors, was indeed Yaken, but that alone was a reason for discrimination.
“However, you must hide it. Until you become strong enough.”
“……?”
But the knight’s words were strange. Yan couldn’t understand them at all, so he just stared blankly at him.
“Your name?”
He couldn’t answer. His lips wouldn’t move. His entire body was restrained by his immense presence.
“Don’t make me ask twice.”
Yan managed to utter a monosyllable. The short name was helpful at this moment.
“……Yan.”
The knight nodded slightly and turned away. He began walking somewhere. Yan stared blankly at his retreating back.
Wheeeeeeeng──! The blaring sirens jolted him back to his senses. *Screeeech!* Along with tear gas, police forces swarmed in.
“Yan! Are you okay?!”
His colleague rushed to Yan. Yan handed over the unconscious children to him.
“Please take care of these kids!”
“What are these? Where did you get them? Who are they?”
“I don’t know. Just take them!”
“Ah, and you?!”
“I’ll get there somehow! Hurry!”
Since the bridge was broken anyway, he couldn’t escape.
“Ah. Make sure you come back!”
“Just go!”
His colleague left with the children, and Yan sighed in relief, watching them go. A faint smile touched his lips. It was only for a moment. The police rushed towards Yan.
* * *
Somewhere in Genen. I was in a place completely obscured by thick smoke, making it impossible to distinguish anything. I walked quietly, brushing dust off my knight’s uniform.
────Thump.
From some point on, my heart began to beat. Ezenheim was nearby.
──Thump.
Leaving the bridge, I proceeded into the chaotic streets of Genen.
──Thump.
Police beating indiscriminately without distinguishing friend from foe, and civilians screaming.
─Thump.
Passing through that pandemonium, I looked into the gap of an alley where nothing was visible.
Thump!
I stepped in. Standing at the entrance, I peered inside.
“Phew. Glad everyone’s safe.”
“Support will arrive if we wait…”
There were five people in a dead end. Their voices stopped. They all looked at me simultaneously. Their expressions stiffened as they recognized the Sentinel uniform. Next time, I should wear civilian clothes. It stirs up unnecessary suspicion.
“Don’t come!”
They drew their swords. One even drew a revolver. But there’s no need to kill them all. The blonde, blue-eyed man at the very back. He looked similar to an imperial, but my radar was reacting to him.
“We’ll hold them off! Sage! You go first!”
Sage. The name I vaguely remembered. A leader of the Genen separatist faction, a member of the Revolutionary Corps. So, you were one of them.
Whooosh─! Suddenly, a group of hoverboards appeared on top of the wall. Revolutionary Corps members wearing masks. Sage got on their hoverboard, trying to escape from here. No matter how you look at it, I couldn’t catch them if they flew away. So, before they fly. I gripped my sword.
────Tick.
The resonance of the soul. Time briefly slowed. I charged through the seemingly frozen humans and drew my sword. The curved greatsword first sliced through the hoverboards. The boards, flowing down like fragments, and ‘Sage’ of Ezenheim. I stopped right in front of the falling man.
“……”
Silently, I gazed into his eyes. In his shaking pupils, I softly murmured.
“It was you.”
He gritted his teeth and summoned his magic. He had a suicide belt on his waist. But before it could activate, my sword struck.
