Ishura - Volume 4 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Gimeena City

Twelve days before the start of the third match. Unlike the first two fights that featured appearances by legends like Toroa the Awful, Alus the Star Runner, and Lucnoca the Winter, there weren’t many who recognized the names of the hero candidates fighting in the third match.

A visitor swordsman, Soujirou the Willow-Sword. A chimera of origins unknown, Ozonezma the Capricious.

Mysterious, obscure—but powerful fighters.

In Ozonezma’s case, the citizens of Aureatia hadn’t even had the chance to see what he looked like. As if to keep all information about him a secret, he was staying in nearby Gimeena City.

Gimeena City—a metropolis of a far different nature than Aureatia.

Rice fields stretched out in between the brick buildings, with trees lining the streets in equal distances along the roadways crisscrossed by carriages. The atmosphere, carefully managed nature quietly melding into the surrounding civilization, was almost the exact opposite of Aureatia’s noisy and flamboyant city streets.

Gimeena City was also affiliated with the Aureatia Council, and there was one member of the Twenty-Nine Officials who owned an enormous mansion there. A giant of a man, rotund, yet one who left a cordial and amicable impression. The Fourteenth General, Yuca the Halation Gaol.

A strange beast had been residing in his large estate for the past several days.

“YOU ALWAYS LOOK BUSY, YUCA.”

“Well, suppressing a rebellion isn’t just about cutting someone down in a fair fight or anything. Besides, right now, I gotta keep these Old Kingdoms’ loyalists in check somehow.”

An eight-legged beast with blue-and-silver fur, who appeared almost like a streamlined version of a wolf. Ozonezma the Capricious.

Completely ignorant when it came to political bargaining, Yuca was oblivious to the fact himself. But as a result of being caught up in Hiroto’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering, he had been enticed into sponsoring Ozonezma the Capricious.

“The other military officers can work when war breaks out, and that’s enough for them, but my work always ends up being a lot to deal with.”

“I PERCEIVE YOU ARE HAVING ISSUES.”

“Nah, you’re a big help by not being difficult to handle, Ozonezma. Hidow and Haade seem like they’re having a real hard time.”

Even when stripping away the details surrounding the sponsorship or the chimera’s own temperament, Ozonezma and Yuca got along better than they imagined.

Ozonezma found Yuca’s mild-mannered and generous personality pleasing, while Yuca was also grateful that even with the chimera’s strange form, Ozonezma didn’t make any excessive demands of him and stayed put here in Gimeena City.

Yuca also showed interest in Ozonezma’s vast knowledge, and although he couldn’t comprehend everything the chimera spoke of, he was still an excellent listener who could express his honest admiration and astonishment about the details of the topic at hand.

“When all is said and done, I’m preventing a big uprising from happening. I’d say they can probably start the Sixways Exhibition now.”

Within the Twenty-Nine Officials, Yuca’s responsibility was leading the nation’s public safety branch.

Fortifying against enemies not from abroad but from within, he stood on the front lines to suppress rebellion and uprising, in some cases purging his own compatriots when necessary. While this role was an essential presence in keeping the nation safe, it was definitely not a job that would turn him into a champion, living in the light.

However, Yuca the Halation Gaol handled this assigned job, completely contrary to his own benign temperament, without complaint.

“YOU COULD LUMP SUPPORTING A CHIMERA LIKE ME INTO THIS AS WELL, BUT…ARE YOU NOT BEING PUSHED INTO TAKING ON DISADVANTAGEOUS ROLES?”

While Ozonezma placed his trust in Yuca’s character, he did this with a twinge of anxiety.

Was his kindness that made him unable to refuse any requests going to be his ruin and make discontent grow within him? There was a possibility that, when the time came, it would become an unexpected rift for Ozonezma.

“Nah, it’s not like that, I’m telling you. I volunteered for it myself. Surprisingly, folks like me are suited for this work, you know. ’Cause I’m good at not thinking about anything. Even if someone carefully considers how to do this job, no matter how good things go at the start, I think it’ll quickly get harder and harder for them.”

Sinking his corpulent body into the big chair, Yuca talked to himself.

“The types who have to resort to rebellion and violence are usually real weak and powerless.”

“…THAT IS FAIR. NO MATTER WHAT SORT OF CONSPIRACY MAY BE BEHIND THEIR ACTIONS…THE ONES WHO STAND ON THE FRONT LINES FOR SUCH ACTIVITIES ARE USUALLY THE WEAK WITH THEIR BACKS UP AGAINST THE WALL.”

Even knowing full well this exploitative structure, Yuca could clearly separate himself from this understanding to fulfill his role and brandish his blade. He could use his own strength to ensure that no one else would be burdened with this feeling of guilt.

That was the understanding Ozonezma had of Yuca’s character.

“IN THAT CASE, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ORDER?”

“Not the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists? The Order, huh… Hmmm. Well, I’m pretty sure there are a whole bunch out there who want to reverse the way things are currently going for them. But unlike the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists or the Lithia remnants, I guess they don’t present a very big threat to be wary of.”

“I BELIEVE THEY POSSESS A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POWER, THOUGH.”

“Organizational power, sure. But in their current situation, the Order has almost no warriors who could let them resort to violence. I mean, historically, yeah, they had plenty of their paladin-class soldiers or what have you, and there were some periods when they had military on par with the kingdoms of the day, but none of that’s there now. Tenets of the Wordmaker dictate things to be that way, after all.”

“SO YOU ARE SAYING BY MAKING THEM OBEY DOCTRINE…THEY’VE HAD THEIR FANGS DULLED OVER MANY YEARS.”

“I mean, I seriously doubt that this current state of affairs was something they were planning for. I think the fact that the kingdom had always protected the Order with military force meant that part of it was them telling the Order that they’d bear responsibility for the nation—and to focus on their teachings instead. Though, I guess the country’s true wish was to have a grip on their leash should anything happen, right?”

Yet during the era of the True Demon King, the Order lost the power meant to be spared for their protection. Spears had been pointed at the Order, filled with the anger and sadness toward a calamity beyond any means of salvation, and their existence was slowly fading away.

As of now, with the destruction of the kingdoms meant to have a tight control over them, the Order were livestock dying of starvation while shackled in their pens. They no longer had the power within them to rebel against the nation.

“THANK YOU. I WAS ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS MORE DEEPLY.”

“We weren’t even talking about anything that important, and there you go again with the formalities. You’re a hero candidate, Ozonezma, so you could stand to act high and mighty, you know,” Yuca said jokingly.

“YOU AND I ARE EQUALS IN A COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP.”

“Ah-ha-ha. Suppose you’re right.”

Equals. Ozonezma wasn’t the one asking for instructions, even when dealing with Hiroto the Paradox. Ozonezma didn’t take a single step out of Gimeena City, while he continued to receive radzio communications regarding the Aureatia hero candidates he had a chance of fighting—or if not that, information on the ones sponsoring them.

The current circumstances of the Order was something he needed to know about, too.

THE ORDER’S HERO CANDIDATE IS KUZE THE PASSING DISASTER. AN AUTOMATIC COUNTERATTACKING ABILITY THAT INSTANTLY KILLS ANY LIVING CREATURE THAT TRIES TO ATTACK HIM.

If he did indeed possess such a power, then that would make him one of the strongest hero candidates in the field.

As long as Hiroto the Paradox was manipulating the situation, the yet-finalized bracket wasn’t likely to have Ozonezma and Kuze facing each other—however, if he didn’t ascertain the properties of this ability beforehand, Kuze was strong enough to potentially put up a tough fight, even with the trump card that Ozonezma was concealing for himself.

INDEED, IT IS NOT THE SORT OF STRENGTH THAT CAN REVERSE THE ORDER’S CURRENT PREDICAMENT. HIROTO POSSESSES TRULY OUTSTANDING WIT. TO DETERMINE THAT KUZE’S POWER WOULD BE NECESSARY AND MAKE CONTACT WITH HIM DIRECTLY AS HE HAS.

Or perhaps, it could have been a subconscious and supernatural power to sense omens of future events—and hold sway over such fateful encounters themselves. For someone like Ozonezma, a mere chimera with no one to support him, to break into this tournament, it had been necessary to meet with Hiroto and form their cooperative relationship.

Hiroto and Ozonezma were equals. Ozonezma wouldn’t fight for the sake of his camp’s ambitions. Nor would he fight for Yuca’s sake, either. Ozonezma’s goal behind throwing himself into the Sixways Exhibition ring was singular.

“Still, Ozonezma. Aren’t you bored, spending all your time cooped up in this mansion? I imagine the feeling’s the same for chimeras as it is with anyone else.”

Ozonezma was holing himself up in Gimeena City, without showing his body in Aureatia at all, while also being a hero candidate. He had information that there were other organizations outside of Hiroto’s camp and Aureatia’s own that were investigating the fighting strength of the hero candidates. Supposing there came a time when he engaged with these sorts of attempts on his life, even in the worst-case scenario, he couldn’t expose his trump card.

“…TRUE. I DO NOT MEAN TO PRESENT MYSELF AS SUPERIOR, BUT…THERE IS ONE FAVOR I WOULD LIKE TO ASK WHEN THE TIME COMES TO DEPART GIMEENA CITY FOR AUREATIA.”

Therefore, this was a request that was entirely out of Ozonezma’s own interest, unrelated to his goals or tournament strategy.

“TU THE MAGIC. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO SET UP A MEETING WITH THE HERO CANDIDATE BY THIS NAME.”

…Then there were five days left until the start of the third match. The noontime Gimeena City main road was quiet.

Yet at the same time, there were enough people there to fill the street to capacity. The quiet throng was eerily intimidating, sinking the entire city into silence.

The scene outside was visible from the windows of the estate built up along the mountain.

“Hrmm, well, looks like things have really turned sour.”

They were in a large dining hall on the estate’s first floor. Ozonezma replied to Yuca’s grumbling as he sized up the situation outside the window.

“THEY DO NOT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF STOPPING.”

Ozonezma was able to surmise the identity of the throng.

“THEY’RE OLD KINGDOMS’ LOYALISTS, ARE THEY NOT?”

“Probably.”

The Old Kingdoms’ loyalists crowding into Gimeena City were targeting Yuca the Halation Gaol.

The main road, ordinarily lively with voices from the shops and merchants, had gone silent, and the armed throng continued to gather as time went on. The wave had continued to grow stronger from morning that day.

“See, usually, there’s some signs with this sort of stuff, but welp. Times like this are when you get the relatively serious types. You can’t hear any angry cries or speeches or anything, right…? Actually, you probably don’t get any of this, huh.”

“…NO. I UNDERSTAND. THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY RESOLVED THEMSELVES TO ACT DO NOT NEED TO ENERGIZE THEMSELVES. CONTROLLED ACTION, NOT PROPELLED BY FEAR OR ANGER.”

Having always taken the lead in quelling uprisings, Yuca had profoundly earned the hatred of rebellious forces, such as ones outside the window. He was a valuable fighting asset who was the one in charge of leading an insurrection would want to eliminate before all else.

However, together with the execution of Gilnes the Ruined Castle, the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists had lost their main constituents—and were supposed to have been already cleaned up entirely—

SAFETY IS NOT GUARANTEED OUTSIDE OF AUREATIA. THEIR TRUE TARGET MAY ACTUALLY BE ME.

Naturally, a disorderly group of however many thousands surging toward him couldn’t possibly be enough to defeat Ozonezma the Capricious. However, the same wasn’t true of his sponsor, Yuca.

“THE SITUATION IS BY DESIGN. A MANIPULATED UPRISING.”

“Hmmm. Well, thinking through it all logically like that isn’t really going to do anything, to be honest. Something’s gotta be done about the situation first. After this is all over, there’ll be someone else to think about all that stuff.”

“I CAN FACE THEM.”

“No, no, no. Quelling uprisings falls under my jurisdiction, after all, and I can’t owe you a favor, Ozonezma.”

Yuca was already donning a red suit of light armor. Very sparse armor, preventing arrows from piercing through to his vitals—and nothing more.

“BUT ESCAPE SHOULD BE THE FIRST PRIORITY. YOU AND I ARE EQUALS. I WANT YOU TO BUY TIME.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Well, you got me there. And here I thought I’d just fight through them all on my own.”

“…THERE IS A MOUNTAIN BEHIND THIS MANSION, YES? SURELY YOU HAVE AN ESCAPE ROUTE PREPARED.”

“I’m surprised you knew that.”

“MERELY CONJECTURE.”

Yuca’s manor had a steep mountain behind it. It was for times like now, suddenly under attack, to restrict the defensive area to its facade. It was an approach very appropriate of a military official.

Even if the attackers had sensed the presence of an escape route through the mountain, Ozonezma concluded that the troop strength capable of deploying in the tangled mountain wilds would be more restricted than it would be in front of the mansion.

“LET US MOVE TOGETHER UNTIL WE PASS INTO THE MOUNTAIN PATH. I WILL KEEP OUR REAR SAFE. ONCE YOU ESCAPE, GATHER SOLDIERS AND POUND THIS FORCE BACK AGAIN. WE SHALL DIVIDE OUR ROLES BETWEEN US. THAT SHOULD BE ACCEPTABLE.”

“I didn’t want to trouble you like this, you know? Didn’t you want to keep your skills hidden until the day of your match?”

“I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT THAT. LEAVE IT TO ME.”

“Of course. Well then, let’s go with that.”

With the matter settled, the two moved quickly. They were both warriors who had fought through a great number of battles.

When they passed through the wooden corridor that stretched out from the hidden back exit in the mansion’s basement, they immediately exited out into the middle of the mountain. After cutting apart the entryway, concealed by bushes, they both dashed down the wet crags, without wasting any breath between them.

Ozonezma ran in front of Yuca, ensuring the mountain road was safe. The mansion at their backs would likely be up in flames before long. Though, the best plan would be to bring the situation under control before it met such an end.

“By our hands, the kingdom will rise again!”

“Expel the Twenty-Nine from the assembly!”

“Take the Fourteenth General’s head!”

The people’s shouts could be faintly heard far off in the distance.

This throng of theirs wasn’t the true threat. There were likely those mixed in their ranks who hadn’t been Old Kingdoms’ loyalists in the first place. People agitated into a frenzy, their misfortune, oppression, and discontent used against them.

THE ONES FORCED TO STAND IN THE LINE OF FIRE… ARE THE WEAK, DRIVEN UP AGAINST THE WALL.

If this was a purposefully planned raid, then the force in front were, in part, a feint—

There was a whoosh of something slicing through the air. Simultaneously from three directions. Continuing to run at a high speed, Ozonezma caught the arrows flying from the gaps in the trees.

Tossing the arrows aside, he declared, “RANK AND FILE.”

The fingertips that caught the arrow shafts with abnormally precise movements did not belong to any of Ozonezma’s eight legs. They were part of the crowd of humanoid arms that grew out of the fissure in the center of his back.

Within Ozonezma’s enormous body, not reminiscent of a chimera at first glance, housed an innumerable number of people’s arms, like a nightmarish cnidarian creature.

“IS THIS THE EXTENT OF THE ENEMY’S STRENGTH?”

“I mean, they really can’t do anything but hide and shoot from afar, right? They can’t use fire attacks in the middle of the mountain, either.”

Yuca was facing archer fire himself, and yet his tone stayed carefree and easygoing through it all.

On top of this, as he spoke, he dashed out from behind Ozonezma. In a straight line toward the mountain fighter, perfectly aware of their position after judging the trajectory of their shots moments prior.

They aimed at Yuca as he ran—and fired off the second volley. Too slow. Ozonezma’s movements were faster than the arrows’ flight. The countless arms blocked the arrows’ arrival like a wall. Yuca had gotten in close to the archer.

“Yuca the Hal—!” the archer shouted, the distance between them neutralized.

Of the three of them, the archer likely hadn’t ever imagined they would be the one to die and see their end come so abruptly. The gleam of a curved short sword flashed through the air.

“Hrrrm.”

The flash of Yuca’s sword severed their abdominal artery. The blade cut off the small intestine, dragging it out into the air.

“Sorry about this.”

Yuca told the soldier plainly, yet with a look of regret, before continuing deeper into the mountain. Jumping, accelerating, fatally injuring, then escaping—it was a rapid performance, like flowing water.

The entire chain of movements showcased ability inconceivable of his outwardly obese body.

“…FITTING OF THE TWENTY-NINE OFFICIALS.”

Naturally, at that point, Ozonezma’s attack was over, too. Instantly exterminating the other two archers, he was collecting the exceptional latissimus dorsi muscle from the first—and the well-conditioned pulmonary artery from the second. With their windpipes ruptured, they weren’t even able to let out death rattles.

He stopped there and watched Yuca’s back recede into the distance.

“NOW THEN, I SUPPOSE I WILL BE…KEEPING ALERT FOR PURSUERS FROM BEHIND.”

The instrument stored inside Ozonezma’s body was exposed. A large radzio transmitter.

It was one of the reasons he had let Yuca continue on ahead. While Ozonezma was a chimera, he could control radzio with a level of precision beyond any minia.

“DO YOU HAVE A GRASP OF THE SITUATION, ZIGITA ZOGI? THE MEMBERS OF THE ASSAULT FORCE ARE OLD KINGDOMS’ LOYALISTS.”

<…You’re finally able to get in touch, I see, Master Ozonezma. I estimated that if you kept yourself hidden without entering Aureatia, eventually someone would do something drastic, but… This is quite something, indeed.>

“IN ANY CASE, THIS IS NOT A SIMPLE UPRISING. EVEN I AM ABLE TO REACH THAT CONCLUSION.”

<First, allow me to give you my read of things. The one behind those loyalists is, in all likelihood, Aureatia’s Twenty-Seventh General. Haade the Flashpoint, I’d say. The military officer supporting Soujirou the Willow-Sword, the opponent for your first match, Master Ozonezma.>

The third match was determined to be between Ozonezma and Soujirou.

In which case, the obvious approach was to eliminate the opponent beforehand. However.

“IS AN AUREATIAN BUREAUCRAT CAPABLE OF MANIPULATING THE ANTI-AUREATIA OLD KINGDOMS’ LOYALISTS?”

<After losing Gilnes the Ruined Castle and Romzo the Star Map, the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists around the land are nothing more than raucous hens with their heads cut off. They don’t have any clue where their orders are coming from. Replace the “heads,” egg them on a bit, give them a target, and manipulating them like this is quite possible. Not a particularly uncommon fate for the remnants of a defeated army.>

“…HOWEVER, THE OLD KINGDOMS’ LOYALISTS ORIGINALLY HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, DID THEY NOT? ZIGITA ZOGI, EVEN WITH YOUR POWER, YOU WERE NOT ABLE TO KEEP THE OLD KINGDOMS’ LOYALISTS UNDER YOUR CONTROL?”

<That would be the difference between influencing an organization temporarily and using them long-term. In fact, with this latest development, I grasped that there are spies from Aureatia infiltrating the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists. If one was truly going to take command of an organization, then it would be more efficient to do so after waiting for them to make a move like today’s, where our enemy has revealed the pieces they have in play. Though, it has caused some trouble for you unfortunately, Master Ozonezma.>

“…INTRIGUING. IN THAT CASE, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE SCENARIO AFTER ALL THIS?”

Zigita Zogi the Thousandth. His might was fundamentally different from that of individual strength.

It was the strength of his tactical foresight and intellect, and the more cooperators he had, the more he was able to share this power. Introduced through Hiroto the Paradox and now collaborating with the goblin, Ozonezma could make use of his own personal fighting strength as a champion through strategies and tactics based off the goblin’s optimal situational judgments.

<The enemy’s true target is Master Yuca. Without any preliminary information, they decided to neutralize Master Yuca instead of you, Master Ozonezma, given they knew nothing of your origin or fighting strength—would be what I would surmise. Since you haven’t openly shown yourself in Aureatia, if you were to lose your sponsor, then you would no longer have any means to enter the city… To go one step further, Master Yuca positions himself in the line of fire—and has suppressed the uprisings of reactionary forces. The Old Kingdoms’ loyalists have plenty of reason themselves to attack him directly.>

“YOU MEAN TO SAY THAT IT IS AN EASILY INCITED OBJECTIVE FOR THEM.”

<…And with that, first they seek to eliminate Master Yuca. It’s likely that they will try to capture him alive. Thereafter, using the “head” that was previously concealed within the Old Kingdoms’ Loyalist ranks, guiding them… Master Haade will suppress the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists under the pretext of rescuing Master Yuca. With that, he will be able to largely dispose of the loyalists in a position to know the particulars behind this series of events. Master Yuca would then be in his debt, there’d be no leftover friction, and then once the third match is over, well… I imagine this is the likely the scenario he’s operating under. If so, then our enemy has thought up a rather interesting plan, I would say.>

“IF THIS ‘HEAD’ IS HERE NOW, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CUT IT OFF MYSELF… ARE YOU FINE WITH ME MAKING A MOVE?”

<Thrilled. If our enemy is putting this scheme into motion, at the very least, the one in charge of agitating this uprising must be mixed in with the group out in front. Do not worry about what’s behind you. My commando unit has already taken care of the ones placed along Master Yuca’s path of retreat.>

The radzio communication was cut off.

Zigita Zogi… As expected of a strategist recognized by Hiroto the Paradox. He was always reading two or three steps ahead of his enemy, weaving webs of initiative and taking every precaution. If he was guaranteeing Yuca’s safety, then Ozonezma believed he must have indeed been truly safe.

As if to prove this fact, a single soldier came running up to Ozonezma.

“Heeey, Ozonezma!”

It was one of the Fourteenth General’s bodyguards, who he had seen several times before.

“IS YUCA SAFE?”

“Yeah. Our unit’s already begun moving to put down the uprising. The Old Kingdoms’ louts are moving much slower than expected. You should retreat now while you have the chance.”

“BECAUSE THEIR FORWARD-FACING ACTIONS…WERE ALL A FEINT TO LURE US INTO THESE MOUNTAINS. THUS THE SLOW PACE.”

Then their best troops were hunted down by Zigita Zogi’s soldiers. No matter how meticulously prepared and planned their forces may have been, they couldn’t possibly put up a fight against a goblin colony moving in accord with the truest tactical strategy.

Ozonezma lifted his enormous head and captured the citizen mob in his gaze from atop the mountain.

Their individual heads looked like poppy seeds from afar, but for Ozonezma, that was more than good enough.

“OF COURSE, I WILL OBEY THE ORDER TO RETREAT. HOWEVER, BEFORE THAT, I HAVE SOMETHING TO TEST.”

“What’s that…?”

“Yaogoyurrg yogog. Yogm agenyeryu. Yesgef goyuyarg. Yayoymc yuuya. Yarhatyu.” (From Ozonezma to Gimeena soil. Shadow of queued divergence. Swimming horn. Reflected in a white line. Assemble.)

With this, he scratched the dirt with his colossal forelimbs.

Countless silver lights appeared from beneath the thin layer of soil. The weapons Ozonezma created with his Craft Arts were surgical knives used for medical treatment.

“THERE WAS A MAN… A RENOWNED MERCENARY NAMED ALBERT THE SUMMER RAIN.”

Far…far away. Ozonezma observed the throng, tinier than ants at this distance.

Ozonezma could distinguish all the bodies in the rabble from each other. Along with each of their movements. Even down to their breathing, too.

Though they consciously tried to hide it, he was able to grasp the movements of an Aureatian soldier.

It wasn’t relevant who the Old Kingdoms’ loyalists were outwardly propping up as their leader. Haade the Flashpoint was a trueborn soldier, which meant that the subordinates he sent for the task would be, too. Ozonezma identified three targets. Haade’s undercover agents, sent into the Old Kingdoms’ loyalist ranks. The “head” guiding the organization from within.

The minian arms that sprouted up in droves from his back picked up the blades formed from soil.

Then—

“WHILE THEY MAY NOT BE AS ACCURATE AS ‘SUMMER RAIN’ WAS…”

A shrill sound of slicing through the air, like a flute.

With it, his throw was finished. The three Ozonezma had in his sights were eviscerated by surgical knives launched at bullet speed.

“…IN TERMS OF RAW POWER, I WOULD SAY MY CAPABILITIES ARE QUITE IMPRESSIVE.”

“Y-you killed them? From this distance…? Impossible…”

Leaving the still-stunned guard behind, Ozonezma quickly departed the area. He reported back to his own camp on the other side of the radzio.

“I DISPOSED OF THE ‘HEAD.’”

<…I heard about your exchange. This is Dant. If Haade really is behind this, then this ‘head’ or what have you doesn’t end with the ones standing out in the open. There had to be others who saw your attack.>

The Twenty-Fourth General, Dant the Heath Furrow. Zigita Zogi’s sponsor.

“THAT IS NOT A CONCERN. AS LONG AS THE ONES OUT IN THE OPEN HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH, THEY WILL HAVE LOST THEIR CONTROL. IT SHOULD ALSO HELP WITH PUTTING THE UPRISING DOWN TO SOME EXTENT.”

<…So you’re saying the attacks you showed off weren’t everything, huh? In that case, what’s your trump card, then? I haven’t been told yet about how you fight.>

“DANT.”

Ozonezma glumly smiled without answering Dant’s question.

A bestial smile that couldn’t be expressed through the radzio.

“I AM GRATEFUL. YOU MADE THE CORRECT CHOICE. THE SPONSOR YOU PREPARED FOR ME, YUCA THE HALATION GAOL… THE MAN DOES NOT TROUBLE HIMSELF WITH SCHEMES AND IS NOT LOOKED AT WITH CAUTION BY THE BUREAUCRATS. BUT…HE HAS OTHER STRENGTHS AS WELL.”

Ozonezma had a goal. An objective that had remained unchanged from the moment the True Demon King’s era came to an end.

“IT IS HIS AUTHORITY OVER THE PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION. HE HAS A SPECIAL PRIVILEGE THAT NO OTHER GENERAL POSSESSES. THE RIGHT TO SLAUGHTER HIS COMPATRIOTS. AS LONG AS ANY SUPPRESSION HAS RECEIVED HIS APPROVAL… EVEN IF I KILL AUREATIAN CITIZENS, I WILL NOT BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE TOURNAMENT.”

Haade had used Yuca’s position, which incurred hatred among reactionary forces, and dispatched troops in their ranks.

Right now, Ozonezma had simply used that for himself.

The archers from earlier, and the “head” mixed in with the throng. All of them were nothing but unfortunate victims, created in the process of suppressing revolt. That was how it would be seen.

“YOU WILL UNDERSTAND MY OWN SPECIAL PRIVILEGE BEFORE LONG, AS WELL.”

In the barracks situated in central Aureatia, Haade the Flashpoint learned the results of his surprise attack.

Dry white hair, with a long scar running down his right cheek. This elderly general, having lived through fiercer wartimes than any of the other living Twenty-Nine Officials, commanded Aureatia’s military, as well as a faction in the government to rival Rosclay’s own.

“The Gimeena City plot was put down. We failed to capture General Yuca. Is it at all possible that General Yuca saw through our surprise attack?”

Haade blew cigar smoke at the staff officer’s report.

“No. I know Yuca very well. Putting ambush troops on the mountainside, anticipating our movement there, none of it’s, well…it ain’t his cup of tea. That man prefers his nightly beauty sleep over constantly being on alert for surprise attacks. If he had actually foreseen the siege on his mansion, he would’ve been able to make his escape right then and there, too.”

“Then, does that mean his hero candidate, Ozonezma, prepared for the attack ahead of time and worked out a scheme of his own?”

“…Most likely. He’s either really sharp for a beastfolk, or he was getting help from someone sharp. It doesn’t matter either way.”

Was it shrewd subterfuge or a magnetism capable of allying himself with such wits?

The more collaborators on one’s side, the more it was possible to share that kind of talent with others.

“But, Lord Haade, I have one piece of good news. The ‘nerves’ that were sent into the Old Kingdoms’ loyalist ranks were apparently murdered by short daggers flown from far in the distance. Sniping the ‘nerves’ of the operation with deadly precision, while they hide among that peculiar frame. It would mean our enemy possesses the ability for such an incredible long-range attack.”

“It’s a trap.”

“…Huh?”

Haade placed his cigar on the ashtray. He was thinking about what these results meant.

If Ozonezma had indeed readied for this ambush, then he purposefully went out to fight for himself. That’s where the problem lay.

“He killed them to announce to us what his fighting style is like. He wants us to get it in our heads that he utilizes long-range attacks. With that…he’s trying to coerce us into setting match conditions that would take advantage of Soujirou’s close-quarters sword range. Ozonezma wants to use Soujirou’s sword to work in his favor. Only natural that’s the direction my mind’d go.”

“Is there anything to base these suspicious on, sir?”

“Hmm, various things, sure. But for starters, on the battlefield, you don’t see such convenient things happening often.”

At the very least, Ozonezma wasn’t going to fold just by getting in close. He had some trick to use when in sword range.

Throwing knives were far too conspicuous to be used for assassination. He was trying to make Haade inform Soujirou about this technique and instill an incorrect preconception into Soujirou before the match. Poison mixed in with information.

“…In any event, nothing to worry about. The dead here are nothing more than Old Kingdoms’ loyalists who got nothing to do with me; Yuca even earned himself another notch in his belt. Good for him, eh?”

“We’ll make our next move.”

“Got it. At the bare minimum, for the second round… We gotta make sure we’re going at it against Rosclay.”

“Understood. We will see to it that Soujirou will advance through the first round.”

The staff officer departed.

Haade grinned wide to himself. A smile that anticipated bloodshed.

“I can’t wait. You’d better entertain me, Rosclay.”