Thanks for Exalted, Gallerhad and Michael Thunder for becoming as Supporters!
===BREAK===
While waiting for Turncoat Rook to arrive, I laid Isabel down in the infirmary located within the Shadow Order's hideout.
Though not as advanced as the official medical facilities within the Ark, the Shadow Order's hideout—true to its name as a secret society—was decently equipped, even in the medical department.
[Health check complete.]
[Rest recommended.]
[This health check is a simplified version. For more accurate results, please visit a formal medical facility.]
A simple medical scan confirmed what I had expected—Isabel's body wasn't in any critical condition.
That was a small relief, at least.
["Commander..."]
Esther clutched Isabel's hand tightly, her eyes soaked with tears as she sat beside the bed in the recovery room.
Her figure was so heart-wrenching that I was about to say something but closed my mouth instead.
"..."
There was a time when I believed every emotion Esther displayed was nothing more than a deception aimed at humans.
Monster. Spectral Entity.
I never thought beings like her could have genuine emotions.
I still didn't know the answer to that, but at least one thing was certain—the feelings Esther held for Isabel were real.
'Of course, even that could be a lie...'
But now that I had a rough idea of where ghost-types and ether originated from, I decided to set that doubt aside.
Even if everything about Esther was fake, if she could fool others to this degree—maybe, just maybe, it was more courteous to accept the lie.
["Why… did it have to come to this."]
"No idea."
This damned world is full of absurdities.
Walls that could collapse at any moment.
A civilization maintained by casually throwing away human lives.
I'd never really questioned it until now.
Why is this world the way it is?
Now it's time to find out.
"We'll have to go figure that out."
Esther nodded silently.
Project Noah and the Great Will.
White Line and the Kronos Union.
I didn't know what secrets they were hiding—but I could sense that some kind of end was approaching.
* * *
For some reason, the wait felt longer than usual.
Because of this incident, Isabel was now in a precarious position within the Ark.
Barbara Claudia's murder.
Even if there were no witnesses, the disappearance of a White Line House Representative would be a massive issue. But here, there were witnesses. More than a few.
The noble title that once made Isabel seem like someone above the clouds—the Lady of White Line—could no longer protect her.
That's why I'd called Turncoat Rook back.
I had too much to do. I didn't have the luxury of waiting for Isabel to wake.
I needed someone to escort her to a safe place in my stead.
["I've arrived."]
Answering Janus's call, Turncoat Rook entered, unable to hide his shock.
Of course, a wrecked hideout was to be expected, but seeing Isabel unconscious—that was something he hadn't imagined.
"…What the hell happened? Did the Commander get taken down?"
"There was… an incident."
I didn't have the time to explain it all, so I left the task of information relay to Janus.
Turncoat Rook was one of Janus's subordinates, and with direct connection via bone tendrils, the data transfer was a breeze.
[Gigit!]
Several of Janus's bone tendrils pierced Rook's chest.
It looked like he was harvesting the heart, but in truth, it was more akin to sharing what he had.
Gloosh, gloosh...
Each time the tendrils twitched, Rook's eyes trembled.
How long did it last?
"…Unbelievable…"
Rook's eyes widened.
A violently forced information injection.
If anyone had intentionally fed incorrect ideas or beliefs into that stream, they could easily twist Turncoat Rook's entire being.
'Not that I'd need to do that.'
While that idle thought ran through my head, Rook finally absorbed the situation and nodded.
"…I understand the gist. I'll take the Commander with me."
"Do you have a place in mind?"
"Now that Nameless has betrayed us, the usual hideouts within the Ark are compromised. We'll have to head outside. I know a place. Nameless doesn't know about it, so it should be safe—for now."
"I see. Then I'll leave Isabel to you. Need anything?"
"No... I'll handle it."
Rook picked up the entire bed Isabel lay on.
Esther, who had been quietly watching, gawked at the sight.
["...You're just going like that?"]
Now materializing her form, Esther questioned him, and Rook twitched his brow.
"She's a patient. And I've got a secret passage that can handle something this size. Don't worry."
["No, I mean, even so... never mind. Do what you want. Just take care of the Commander."]
"No need to worry."
Rook thumped his chest with a bone tendril as if telling her to trust him.
It was such a bizarre sight that both Esther and I were momentarily lost for words.
"…Off you go then."
["I was just about to say that."]
Before parting ways, I asked one last thing.
"By the way—what about the other members?"
"I'll relay the general situation. For now, they should lay low."
"Aren't you going to clean out the other hideouts in the Ark? White Line will probably use them as evidence."
"Well… at this point, everyone's already considered major criminals. It's a bit late to worry about that. Same goes for the Commander."
"Fair point."
With that, the Shadow Order had transformed from a secret organization operating in the Ark's shadows into a designated terrorist group.
A very dangerous one.
Technically, the Shadow Order had always been such a group, but their full emergence in the Ark was rare, even by my standards.
'The Shadow Order surfacing like this only happens when their route succeeds in the game.'
If there was a ticking hand of fate, it must be violently swinging right now.
The true end of this world.
Whatever form it may take, it was clearly drawing near.
"Alright then. We should go—looks like we're both busy."
"Yeah. I don't know what you've been up to, but if the Commander ended up like this, something serious must've gone down."
Rook nodded and, using his bone tendrils, began to carry Isabel's bed away.
Even though Nameless knew all the secret exits in the hideout, Rook would find his way out just fine.
"Let's go."
Time to head for the Kronos Union.
* * *
A blade-like wind gust scraped across my skin, and the scenery around me rapidly shifted.
The pressure would've torn a normal human's skin apart, but my body had long since surpassed human limitations.
[Kiiieeeee!]
Having departed the Ark, I summoned Horus and sped toward the Kronos Union.
There was no time to waste.
'I need to go to the Kronos Union and find out what the hell is going on.'
After the Fivefold Wave—one of history's few major events—the Ark and the Kronos Union had not only signed what was virtually a non-aggression pact but had progressed into a formal alliance.
Though the Union eventually returned to their lands, a large trade route centered around the Ark had formed after the Silk Road episode, and the alliance remained intact.
Which made the Kronos Union's sudden action bewildering—not just for the Ark, but for me as well.
'And Lania was the one who spearheaded this?'
Why would Lania choose to make contact with the Church of Morte, the worst possible move?
While I didn't know the full reason, it wasn't hard to suspect the Great Will was involved.
White Line is hiding something.
Project Noah and Mount Noah—those are the secrets they conceal.
At first, I thought Project Noah was simply a means for White Line to seize power. But the deeper I delved, the clearer it became—it was more than that.
What secret was so terrible that White Line would go to such lengths to hide it, and Lania would act so erratically?
Of course, I didn't have the answer.
'Lania, huh…'
Thinking about Lania Marcus brought a strange feeling to my chest.
The second-in-command of the Kronos Union.
A descendant of the Great Spirit.
The Marcus bloodline.
But to me, the only title that truly meant something was this—she was the only family I had in this world.
'Family, huh…'
It felt foreign, awkward.
And understandably so.
When I first came to this world, I was thrown into it as an outsider.
Everything was unfamiliar. Frightening.
Everything I did was just to survive—nothing more than flailing in desperation.
I was a stranger.
In this world. Even within the Ark—the last bastion of humanity—I was still a stranger.
Fortunately, I never felt lonely.
I didn't have the luxury to.
I could barely sleep, constantly tormented.
Being alone was a given.
I was a stranger, and I always would be.
Or so I thought...
Meeting Lania Marcus, learning that I had family in this world—it felt strange in every way.
Of course, I knew the truth.
She wasn't really my family.
She was Carl Marcus's family.
But now, I couldn't help but ask:
'Who am I?'
'Am I Carl Marcus? Or is Carl Marcus me?'
'What a ridiculous thought.'
Lost in self-reflection I'd rarely indulged in, I eventually spotted the open plains of the eastern wasteland.
At Horus's speed, we'd soon reach the Kronos Union's encampment.
'If I fail to persuade Lania, the worst-case scenario is war between the Ark and the Kronos Union.'
The Ark was currently more powerful than ever before—but the same was true for the Kronos Union.
And if the Church of Morte joined the mix, regardless of the process, both sides would suffer near-total destruction.
That was something I absolutely had to prevent.
「"Within the unstoppable gears of fate, you will make a choice."」
「"Whatever choice you make in that moment, I will respect it, Carl Marcus. No matter the outcome."」
「"If it's you, this world may yet find its proper end. I believe in you. And so, I believe in the choice you will make."」
And yet...
Why did the Great Will, through Isabel's form, keep echoing in my mind?
'A choice, huh…'
Why did the Great Will emphasize choice to me?
I didn't know the answer, but I hoped—
'Please, let it not be the choice I'm thinking of.'
["We've arrived."]
At Esther's words, the silhouettes of massive stone mountains began to appear beyond the horizon.
The natural fortress of the Kronos Union.
At last, we had arrived.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa