Activation (3)
Even as the drinking warmed up, Uorin and Unryong kept their cards close to their chests.
"Hohoho. Riding is healthy for the body, and it's a marvelous cure for a troubled heart as well."
"I've heard the Mun Kingdom's horses run fast and strong. In Kashan, horses are rare and prized."
As light conversation flowed, the two captains of the royal guards continued their silent duel of wills.
'I can't lose.' Except for the king, only the captain of the guard is eligible to attend Code One.
A shift in that balance would be like losing a war, so the atmosphere was taut.
'She's not ordinary, that woman.'
Kido glared at the Mun Kingdom's captain, Lingling.
Her face was as pale as a corpse, the only sign of life her lips, red as blood.
'Isn't she one of those jiangshi?'
Lingling met Kido's stare without blinking and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
When her blue trumpet sleeve fell back, ominous crimson script etched into her wrist was revealed.
'I heard the Mun Kingdom has perfected jiangshi techniques — carving Laws into human flesh.'
As long as they didn't know which Law was inscribed on Lingling, they couldn't afford to relax.
"There's a famous steed in the Mun Kingdom called Bifeng. It runs a thousand li in a day and isn't afraid of a rain of arrows. I'll send you a stallion as a gift soon."
"Thank you for your kindness."
Uorin laughed with a hand to her mouth, but the eyes beneath were cold as a snake.
'They're dragging this out. What are they really after?' Kashan had no allies.
Partly because it was strong, and partly because flimsy alliances invite future disaster.
'Does Mun have some kind of card?'
They wouldn't have activated Code One without some certainty of persuasion.
She felt a thrill of expectation, and at the same time a discomfort at being led.
'Damn timewave.'
Because the Paras Kingdom had overturned the Law, her future timeline had become useless.
"You have remarkable patience."
Unryong, who spoke like an ambush, gave a half-smile, but Uorin answered calmly.
"Hoho, I simply lost track of time. Come to think of it, night has deepened."
Unryong looked down at his cup and spoke.
"Let us form an alliance."
"What do you have?"
"Whatever you wish."
"And what might that be?"
"Well… a disaster?" "A shockwave? A colossal terror? Whatever it is, something capable of destroying the current order."
Uorin, who had been leaning forward, quietly sank back into her chair.
Raising a cup to wet the lips was a signal that she would listen.
"I will send Sal to strike the kings of the Holy War."
Listen! Listen!
With Uorin's ears pricked, Unryong explained for a full twenty minutes.
"Sal is ready. All we need do is release it. But at this point I want to make one proposal. Havitz."
Unryong leaned forward.
"I've heard you can amplify Sal using the Alternate World's system. If that's done, we could assassinate the kings of all eleven Holy War nations."
Uorin scratched at the skin beside her nails.
'What a lunatic.'
Her heart hammered hard and, for the first time in a while, she felt blood running through her limbs.
'There's no law that says I have to die.'
Suppressing a smile with effort, she finally lifted her head.
"Through Siok, under Havitz's command, that could be possible, right? Then I'd be safe from Sal?"
"You underestimate me, Your Majesty. Now that you've heard the explanation, threats are pointless. Still, I made the offer because you would not refuse."
He was right.
'There can be only one global power, and a half-baked alliance could leave an enemy at your back. A double-edged sword. But Unryong's proposal is tempting.'
If they could push up to ten nations to the brink of collapse, the value of the alliance was clear.
"...When will you release Sal?"
"Tonight at midnight."
Even Uorin agreed that was the right answer.
'The value of information decays with time. The faster it's used, the greater the destruction. The downside: you have almost no time to account for variables on that scale.'
Kido, who felt the same, glanced at Uorin.
'No way, this is extreme.'
In roughly two hours they'd kill the ten most powerful rulers in the world at once.
'This is too rushed. Let's think it over.' Uorin lifted a corner of her mouth.
'Wrong, Kido. Its urgency is why it will work.'
Teraje's true strength wasn't memory inheritance or history searches.
'Load a single bullet into a revolver. Put the muzzle to your head and— the world changes.
'Unnecessary emotions disappear; thought turns cold. You learn to separate what matters from what doesn't. In the end… you understand the world as if you're pulling it in.'
Of course, you still have to pull the trigger.
'Pull it six times and one will fire. Once the bullet leaves, it's over.'
That's about 16.6 percent.
'You survive with an 83.4 percent chance. It's a surprisingly easy gamble. But because the throat is most precious, people rarely pull the trigger.'
Teraje was different.
'She pulled it endlessly. She realized, spun the cylinder, and again aimed at that 16.6 percent death…
Click.
'Kido, can you do it? You must. Everyone in the Holy War is that kind of person. Those who can't overcome a 16.6 percent terror have no right to swallow the world.'
Uorin said.
"All right. We'll accept the Mun Kingdom's offer. Have Havitz amplify Sal. But I want to tweak the strategy a little. Now that we've formed an alliance, I at least have the right to speak, yes?"
"Of course. I will listen."
"The original plan to assassinate the leaders of ten nations could have massive aftershocks. Regardless of success, the nations not hit will be suspected."
"Indeed— I considered that. But such an opportunity is hard to waste."
"Instead, I think it's better if we can pin it on a specific country. Kill an enemy king and frame another—that's a double strategy."
"Hmm."
It made sense.
"Can such an operation be arranged immediately? Diviners can't perfectly predict the human heart."
"You know me."
Unryong nodded as he stared into the eyes of the Mitochondrial Eve.
"Good. Decide now which nations will take Sal and which will be spared."
They had ten minutes to draw up the plan.
Kido and Lingling swallowed in tension as Uorin spoke.
"The first nation to be struck… I've decided.
"Tormia."
The temporary pavilion vacated by the Mun Kingdom was quiet, candlelight flickering — as if mirroring Uorin's mood.
"You're uneasy, aren't you?"
Kido asked.
"To be honest, yes. Why did you accept that proposal? Kashan's position is still solid. We could've played it safe and still had a chance."
"'Solid' is not enough."
Teraje's instinct warned her.
"Kido, 'solid' means you're actually slipping. Humans aren't creatures who feel content with merely 'solid'. You have to keep striking at the top without rest. If we go on like this, Jaive will become the leading nation. I need the power to shake the board. Real, overwhelming power."
"You mean assassinate kings?"
"Mun will release Sal regardless. If we can't avoid catastrophe, it's far better to be the side that causes it. We can control the information."
"Well, she'll handle it, no doubt."
Kido didn't need to lecture Kashan's empress, but as a warrior he felt it keenly.
'Once someone dies…'
Then a blood-soaked cycle of revenge, blade answering blade, would follow.
A spark of life flashed in Uorin's eyes.
"By the way, where the hell has that Havitz been all day? Why is he nowhere to be seen?" At the height of night politics, the entourage of Gustav IV went into town.
"Havitz came here?"
Balkan looked up at a building whose exterior was dotted with hundreds of little bulbs.
Zettaro tilted his head.
"A casino. Was he bored? It doesn't feel like his type to come just to gamble."
Sumodo said, "He wouldn't have come to kill someone, would he? Kashan made an agreement."
From their talk, Balkan realized something.
"No, he did come to kill."
Natasha questioned him.
"Would he? Havitz doesn't care about contracts, but he doesn't break them simply because they're inconvenient."
That was his nature.
"It's not a contract violation. He isn't responsible for what happens outside the Holy War. Even if he were, Kashan's power could enforce it."
Sumodo rubbed his chin.
"Hmm. Then it's stranger. There haven't been any deaths. Not a vanishing state either."
"...Let's go in."
When the four entered through the main gate, nobles were gambling inside.
"Yes! One million gold!" The girl who won at cards threw up her hands and the crowd applauded.
'Rebecca.'
Balkan nodded, reading the room.
"It wasn't chance Havitz came. There's a VIP — Gise's daughter, Rebecca."
"She's brazen. I heard someone was injured, yet she's still leisurely gambling."
"Her eyes are glazed. Probably drugs. More than that, she doesn't seem to know her place."
Zettaro said, "I still think Havitz came to kill Rebecca. Why did he change his mind?"
"There."
Balkan pointed to the bar.
"Welcome."
The bartender, wiping a cup, immediately changed expression at the sight of Gustav IV's fierce faces.
"What can I do for you?"
"I am Emperor Balkan of Gustav. I heard Havitz came here tonight—have you seen him?"
The bartender went blank.
"Uh… who did you say you were?"
Zettaro slammed his palm on the bar.
"The emperor! Answer the question. Did you see Havitz or not?"
'Are these people insane?'
Important figures had been asking all day, but this was the first time an emperor had come himself.
"Well…"
The bartender recited, word for word, the story he had told everyone else.
It was a matter of life and death.
"A girl… a child?"
Balkan's eyes flickered at that unexpected detail.
"Yes. About seven years old. She gave off a strange vibe. Havitz drank whiskey; the child didn't put anything to her mouth."
Natasha asked, "What did they talk about? Be honest."
"I really don't know! The customers started vomiting en masse, so I went to the storeroom to fetch ice."
Sumodo scrutinized the bartender's face with fastidious care.
'He's not lying.'
The remaining question was who the child Havitz seemed more interested in than Rebecca actually was.
"We'll find her. At all costs."
No one objected, and the four rose, grim and determined.
"Search and interrogate. Even if we can't find Havitz, someone must have seen that child. Round up anyone who might know."
The Holy War wouldn't stay idle, but Gustav IV's retinue had nothing left to lose.
"No need," the bartender said, pointing forward in surprise.
"Ah? There—there! That child is over there!"
Where Gustav IV turned, Wena Wizard stood perfectly still.
'Alone? Where's Havitz?' Balkan swept his eyes left and right, but his gaze fixed on the child.
'No, more than that…'
Everyone had the same thought.
'Is she even human?'