Глава 8

Lord of Fiends... You've done well.

Yet, I remain troubled by that baseless confidence you and that young dragon continue to show.

Are you finally giving up the guise?

Who am I talking to now? Is it the changed Talulah, or a young Kashchey?

Denouncing my actions, insulting my person, continuously dragging forth memories from deep within my mind——

Did you think that you could subdue me like this? Force me to surrender?

Or did you think that I would be suppressed by the dragon-slaying sword of Yan and the filthy Arts of the Sarkaz? Free for your Arts to do with this body as you wish, to regain some semblance of 'purity'?

——That is the extent of your oratory skills.

Why do you stand against me?

Your conceit only feeds your arrogance. It only means you have that much further to fall.

However young you may be, you are still the Lord of Fiends in the end. Attempting to persuade me, convincing my inner heart, telling me there is a foreign being trying to take over this body and that I should struggle free.

Nnh...!

Frankly, aren't you unsure as well?

If memories and emotions can be falsified, does Kashchey truly exist?

What does it mean if Kashchey doesn't actually exist?

This has nothing to do with you, Kashchey.

We want to defeat you not because of what you have experienced, but because of what you have done.

We cannot allow you to continue harming others. No matter what reasons you may have, it's just as Madam Ch'en said...

We don't care.

Regardless if you are Kashchey or Talulah.

...Get the hell out of my sister's body.

...I wanted to say that, but it seems to just be an excuse for you. If you do have an excuse, save it for the judge.

Amiya, get ready. Let's go!

Have you been... mislead... by the power I'm displaying right now?

Let me repeat myself. Everyone in this city who could kill me is now dead. Besides Patriot, no one in the Chernobog core city could have done it.

FrostNova, the frosty nightmare of the tundra died at Lungmen, just as I planned.

Even if you use these two swords... you don't hold a candle to them.

I've given you the wrong impression.

If this body was not willing, I would not be able to accomplish anything.

But now, what exactly is this body of mine restraining? I do not understand.

I shall liberate it, just as I once liberated all destruction.

The Draco reaches for the longsword. Her fingers brush across the blade's edge, leaving a trail of blood painted across it.

She laughs.

Ch'en tries to speak, yet her body refuses. Something is flowing around her neck.

Amiya gestures towards her, an image appearing within her mind. Ch'en realizes that they are indeed caught within Talulah's Arts.

Should Ch'en open her mouth to speak, the heat around her mouth would rapidly increase, burrowing into her esophagus and incinerating her from within.

Amiya turns to glare at Talulah, but it's too late. The Arts have already taken effect. The Draco's voice reverberates within the roiling heat, but Amiya and Ch'en are forced to remain silent.

Ch'en feels as if her lungs are riddled with holes, her breath labored and tortured.

The Draco's Arts seem to deliberately differentiate between volitional expressions and involuntary movements. It seems to Ch'en then even Talulah cannot force her Arts to work on all concepts.

That's why Talulah chose their mouths. The red dragon simply wishes for the two to stay silent.

Ch'en grits her teeth.

The temperature is still rising. As time passes, it will inevitably reach its climax, and the two will die. After all, they cannot cut apart the blistering air that surrounds their bodies.

Countless lives vanish before me, and I grieve for them. Yet, I can only continue moving forward. Because I know. The glorious nation I serve demands fresh blood. It wishes for death. It calls for humility.

It disappeared, then emerged once more; It disintegrated, then was rebuilt; It died a sudden death, then was resurrected.

'I journey across the plains of salt, the bleeding mountain valleys, and not once was I harmed.'

'For his sword, his territory, his subjects, they grant me protection.'

*Cough*, *cough*... To think you could use the sword techniques of Chi Xiao through your fingers alone. Do you not even need to wield the actual sword anymore?

You're getting older, you coot. So old that you've forgotten what is it you should be doing, before you even think of stopping me.

Your Arts may be outstanding, but your multitude of worries causes you to make mistakes.

Why do you stand against me? Are you thinking of giving up your life to delay me? Why?

Don't do anything you'll regret!

Are you lacking in things you regret doing, Wei Yenwu?

Would you like for Ch'en Hui-chieh to commit sororicide? For Kashchey to do as he wants?!

Our time is over, Wei Yenwu!

You're saying that they should not repeat our mistakes? I have never thought otherwise.

You raised her, fortified this city, watched as people lived and died. She's already gone, why do you force more onto her?

You think a group of Infected and a young officer can do it?

I think things will only get worse if you go.

Kojui, have I ever hesitated to kill?

Lots of times.

...You...

How long do you plan to get in my way?

Until I'm cold in the ground——

——Or until the core city stops.

Whether the Shadow Guard stops it, or Ursus, Hui-chieh or the Infected.

But before it stops, you're not taking a single step forward.

Lin Kojui! Do not challenge me!

...Try me, Wei Yenwu! If you want me to let you die like Master Edward did, you'd better send me off first!

You!

They're everywhere!

Hold the line! Forward! Forward! Push them out! Chase them out!

Feline, how much longer can you hold on?

Either we win and the battle ends, or I die.

I won't let them capture Amiya or interfere with her fight.

Even if Talulah dies, these people will not go away. How much more time does your squad need to maneuver?

Are you talking about all the guerrillas and the Infected Patriot brought?

Yes.

At least another hour.

Then we will live for another hour.

I'll go with you. Move!

Great! That's great, Feline!

Guerrillas... No, warriors of Buldrokkas'tee, the oppressed! Onwards! March onwards!

March onwards!

Who do you think are the two sides of this battle?

You think they are the Infected and non-Infected. You think that it is justice and injustice.

Wrong. That's all wrong.

This is the reason you cannot defeat me.

One side is simply doing as they wish for their own goals, acting on emotion alone... Weak-willed fools who do not even understand the meaning of war.

Whereas the other side is those suffering in Ursus... The people who live in pain under the discrimination of others.

You don't care? You don't have the right to care. How could you possibly fathom the love we have towards our land?

I love them, those warriors who fight for this country, those passionate people who willingly spill their own blood upon the battlefield... No matter who they see as an enemy, I love them all!

They entrust their lives to their faith. It's fine even if they go against Ursus in a moment of prejudice and shortsightedness.

Because, this land will forever love them.

Those dignitaries whose brains are full of shit, who mock the sacrifices and victims among the common folk... I love them too.

My love towards them will not falter just because of their actions! Because love is alike, it is equal, it is normal.

Those uninfected who fight for the Infected, those Infected who refuse to give up——I love them all!

The way they pursue life is thousands of times better than the trash who waste their lives away meaninglessly!

But I love all the people of Ursus. Whether strong or weak, benevolent or tyrannical, altruistic or greedy.

To Ursus, all lives are equal. We are all grains of sand in Ursus.

Some people deserve a better life from birth! But they cannot and will not choose so.