8: Revolutionary Group
Silence hung in the special carriage of the magic train.
On the floor lay two lifeless bodies, cold to the touch: the bodies of the Count of Byness and his loyal knight, Rakan.
Thump─
The man in the iron mask lightly tapped the ground and then stood.
“All the nobles here,”
The iron-masked man took a step forward, his shoes that resembled military boots making a heavy sound.
“Are all guilty of negligence.”
The Iron-masked man raised his mace once more.
“I will kill them all.”
A murderous aura ferociously radiated from him, almost as if he was declaring the execution of all the nobles present.
Then someone stood from the back. A man with silver gray hair, Yuma.
“You’re spouting nonsense.”
Yuma stood in front of the iron-masked man.
An iron-masked man suddenly burst in, spoke of a single count’s crimes, and smashed his head in with a mace.
And the plan was to leave him be if he quietly disappeared afterwards. After all, if that was the crime, then the count did deserve to die.
But then suddenly, he declared his intent to kill everyone with a downright brutish lethal aura.
Yuma could feel Clonae, sitting on his right, trembling faintly.
And so he stood.
‘I’ll deal with one, for starters.’
He had already used today’s ‘Bullet Time’ once in front of the imperial palace. If he had to face multiple opponents, the strategy must be to divide and conquer.
Thump-thump─
But from behind came the amplified sound of military boots.
“Halt, Hecate.”
Yuma turned his head.
It was a woman who call the name of the man in the iron mask, a woman with long, flaming red hair swaying as she strode towards them. Her forehead was severely furrowed.
“Didn’t I tell you that punishment only applies to the guilty?”
“hahahaha!”
The man in the iron mask, Hecate laughed loudly.
Then slowly, the laughter ceased.
“Commander, have you not learned anything from dealing with these corrupt nobles over these many years?”
Hecate, who was laughing just a moment ago, now began to gnash his teeth.
“If you back down like this, the dawn you so desperately seek will never come to fruition!!”
Yuma felt a strange sense of alarm from Hecate’s words. Not from Hecate himself, but from the phrase he had just shouted.
“Those who obstruct the dawn will be killed!”
SWOOOOSH!
Hecate’s right hand moved. His blood-stained mace was thrusted towards Yuma’s head.
The commander foresaw the immediate future of Yuma’s head being blown apart, fragments of his flesh scattering across the floor.
Whoosh!
With a passive expression, Yuma just moved his right arm.
The successful parry signified by a circular light effect exploded out.
CRACK!
A crack appeared in the middle of the iron mask. The iron mask split right open.
“What…is this…”
Hecate blankly stared at his own iron mask that fell onto the floor of the train.
Then, he surveyed his body. His entire body was pierced with unidentifiable holes.
His heart no longer beat.
SPLATTER!!
Blood gushed out from his limbs.
The strong aura surrounding Hecate’s mace had struck him with ten times the power.
Hecate’s body crumbled forward.
SILENCE…
The train plunged back into silence.
The man in the iron mask who once killed senior sword experts in a single blow had been killed in one shot by an unidentified man.
That man, Yuma, turned his body around to face those in red uniforms who were dumbfoundedly staring at him.
“Representative of Princess Brigette.”
He spoke as he took a step forward.
“The sword of the Princess, Yuma.”
An earned title should be used after all.
“Who are you, all of you.”
And then, he threw out his last question in a tone that was unusually imposing.
“…Commander Kasiel of the Revolutionary Dawn.”
Cassiel stared straight at Yuma, the being who had mercilessly killed his own subordinate.
Yuma was also staring at Cassiel.
“It seems you had a disagreement with your subordinate. You haven’t managed your subordinates properly.”
Cassiel swallowed his spit.
He had witnessed with his own eyes Yuma’s dagger deflecting Hekard’s mace.
But he hadn’t seen anything clearly after that.
Including even a single blow out of the numerous attacks that had hit Hekard, who was now a cold corpse.
‘A huge gap…!’
Not being able to notice anything as a master-level swordsman meant that Yuma was a monster who had far surpassed the realm of masters. The man was just looking at the world with an indifferent gaze, without showing any fighting spirit or murderous intent.
Yuma was looking at a redhead woman, Cassiel, and the 15 people in red uniforms standing behind her. He also saw about five more people running towards this special compartment from the back end.
‘I can’t handle them if they all rush at me at the same time.’
He needed to bluff. Just having shown god-like abilities wasn’t enough.
“There are only two choices left to make for you all.”
Yuma arrogantly lifted his head.
“Either die by my hands or kneel down here and wait until the train stops at the next station when you’ll get arrested.”
“Boss, what nonsense is this crazy guy talking? Why are we even listening to his nonsense!”
A blonde wizard who had just rushed over and missed the scene of Hekard’s death waved his staff.
Vrrr-oom!
Dark lightning was rushing towards Yuma.
6th Circle Thaumaturgy Magic, Thunder Strike it was.
Yuma swung Black Dragon Bernak’s Fang, which he was holding in the reverse grip. The end of the blade precisely touched the three lances of lightning.
Kwaaah!
The thunder strike, amplified 10 times, pierced through the wizard’s body.
The wizard didn’t even have time to feel the pain.
His brain was burnt the moment the lightning struck his forehead.
His body didn’t leave any remaining form.
Only a lump of ashes was left on the floor.
“Choose one among the two.”
Yuma continued the words he had stopped due to the wizard.
“…….”
A long silence flowed.
The one who broke the silence was one among the 10 nobles who was watching the stand-off between Yuma and the revolutionaries.
“Uweeek!”
A sound of someone vomiting the food he had just eaten.
The man standing behind Cassiel leaned close to her ear and whispered.
“Boss, what should we do? Should we retreat?”
Oh, that’s fine. Go home.
Yuma answered silently to himself.
But the one who heard the question, the leader of the Revolutionary Dawn, Cassiel, was simply staring at Yuma.
“…Are you Yuma? You are the Imperial Princess’s sword, aren’t you?”
“Alright.”
“Then, are you against the first Prince?”
Yuma looked at Cassiella as she suddenly bombarded him with questions.
“That’s a way to put it.”
“…When did you become the sword of the Princess?”
“This morning.”
That was when the official document arrived.
“Having recruited a monster like you, it seems the Princess is set on becoming the Empress.”
Cassiella once again looked at the deceased wizard and Hecard.
Killing corrupt nobles.
For the glory of the Astes Empire.
They had nasty personalities, but they were the ones who most passionately supported the reason for her existence.
“Can the world change? If Princess Bridget becomes an Empress.”
Yuma couldn’t interpret Cassiella’s underlying question.
It was because”, ‘Don’t overthink it.’ he was someone who only entered this world two days ago, unaware of how dirty this world could be.
So he didn’t answer her question.
“Your revolution is wrong, Leader of the Revolution.”
Cassiella, the revolutionary leader, furrowed her brow.
He had felt ‘a discomfort’ before. Yuma thought of the reason for that discomfort. That’s why he said it.
Revolution, dawn.
Those were the keywords the main character of the VR roguelike game ＜Loop Blood＞ had.
They started out as enemies but eventually turned into friends.
“The name ‘Dawn’ is wasted. If the name of your revolutionary group stems from the revolutionary army Dawn, which Erestina founded, then you’re only tarnishing that name.”
Cassiella’s face turned blank.
“Do you know Erestina?”
Yuma sensed a noticeable disturbance on Cassiella’s face.
Indeed.
Did ＜Loop Blood＞ share some part of its story world?
If those bastards had created this damn world, it wasn’t strange that such a part existed. It was common to incorporate elements of a previous work as homage.
“She’s my friend.”
“…Friend?”
“Just a brief connection, but a friend who had each other’s backs. A presence of sufficient respect, even though a friend.”
She conservatively ran a bar, housing and feeding the truly impoverished. Using her brain to swallow up the country’s markets and took down the corrupt nobles. A genius.
“If you chose the name ‘Dawn’ to continue her will, stop here. Do not tarnish it further.”
Cassiella was still wearing a blank expression, as if dazed.
Then, at the call of one of her subordinates, she collected herself. She looked over her 18 subordinates who were paying attention to her and said quietly,
“…Let’s return.”
Her subordinates simply nodded without any retort. All of them had witnessed Yuma’s overwhelming force firsthand.
*Whoosh!*
All 18 simultaneously tore the return teleport scroll.
“Those, those mad revolutionary scoundrels!! They’ve escaped!”
One of the noblemen, shivering in a corner, shouted, taking a home-run swing into the void.
An earl approached Yuma slowly, touching his slightly disheveled bangs.
“Ex, Excuse me, are you truly Yuma, graced with the sword of the first imperial princess?”
Yuma did not even glance at him.
“Be quiet. I’m tired, do not disturb my rest.”
And then, with an elegant and lofty stride that anyone could see, Yuma moved away.
A lofty walk seemingly far removed from fatigue.
But it was a forced loftiness, brought about by an inherent royal grace.
Because Yuma was so worn out that he could go to sleep at any moment now.
Each fencing stroke demanded tremendous concentration.
The memory of a red-haired woman flickered into Yuma’s mind as he walked toward his seat, where Klone was waiting for him.
Erestina, a friendly NPC from ‘Roof Blood.’
She always greeted him with a smile.
That smile brightened his mood even inside the game.
-Stop brooding, are we having a drink today? Would you like to join?
‘Come to think of it.’
There was no mention of her story after they parted ways. Not until he defeated the undying king and ended the game.
Having been lost in this thought for a moment, Yuma shook his head.
‘Roof Blood is just a game, after all.’
Unlike this hell-bent world.
Roof Blood was just a game. Where not every character’s life story was detailed, just a game.
***
As the sun fully sank, the night grew dark.
“….”
Cassiella opened the door to the revolutionary leader’s office.
There was a black-and-white photo on the office desk.
Cassiella picked up the frame with the photo.
“Mother.”
A tear streamed down her cheek.
“I thought no one would remember, but someone did remember my mother.”
-She was a dear friend even though our encounter was brief. A friend, but a significant figure deserving of respect.
“…I had a friend who remembered my mother.”
