Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint
chapter-222

“We killed the Chief Instructor… a military officer… a Colonel. What do we do now?”

“That fucker deserved to die anyway! Honestly, he died too easily! Rick and Kantana are dead too! If you kill, it’s only natural you die as well!”

“What will we say to Hamelin, no, to the Military State? No, wait, will a rescue ship even come? Are we just abandoned here…?”

“If we explain it well, maybe this can be sorted out?”

“Rather than that, what is an Anathema? What exactly is so great about this Anathema that it even made the Chief Instructor want to kill us?”

“You idiot, did you fight without even knowing that?! Huey explained it earlier. That it’s a vampiric magic circle!”

Seventeen died in the beast attack and fifteen were killed in the battle with Nicholas. The damage was significant but honestly, it was an incredible feat.

Even skilled hunters retreated when facing frenzied giant deer and wandering wolves.

Moreover, a Colonel was just below a general officer in rank. Their strength varied greatly, but they were still seasoned soldiers. Perhaps the top student from a military academy might stand a chance, but an ordinary military school graduate would find it difficult to compete.

However, they had lost too much to feel happy about it.

“...Everyone, shut up.”

After completing the bandaging, Shiati grasped the cloth-wrapped stump and lifted her head. Everyone fell silent. The person who had lost the most in this fight staggered toward me.

“Huey. I… do not trust you. It’s because of you that we ended up like this, after all.”

There was a stir from the others, but I nodded as if to show I understood. Shiati continued with a pale face.

“But still, your instructions and commands weren’t wrong. Thanks to following them, we made it this far. So… tell us. What should we do?”

Shiati asked gloomily. There was not a single speck of hope in her empty eyes.

What she needed right now was an arrow pointing her in the right direction.

However, I was a person who could not move without one’s desire. I asked her, aiming at her empty heart.

“What would you like me to do?”

“Anything.”

“It would be easier to decide if you tell me what you want. Should we run away to save our lives? Or should we risk our lives to expose Nicholas’ wrongdoings? Which do you prefer?”

When I asked, Shiati regained her focus shortly after. Only burning hatred filled her vacant eyes.

“If I tell you what I want, can you make it happen?”

“As much as I can.”

“I want the Military State to just fall into ruin.”

Shiati answered immediately.

“I’ve done everything they told me to do for my entire life! I worked, I learned, I was scolded, I studied, I took exams, I was evaluated. For the sake of becoming someone more useful to the Military State, even if only slightly, I did my best! Even when my parents passed away, I held myself back! Even when I was in pain, I endured! And even when it was tiring, I just cried secretly alone! All to get a better evaluation and do… something! Anything! But!”

Her emotionally charged shout reached the over hundred children around her, as well as I, who read her desire through them. Shiati gripped her missing arm tighter as she cried out.

“This… This isn’t right! Being used as mere ingredients… isn’t right! No matter how unnecessary we are, no matter how common we are as Level 2s…!”

To the Military State, anyone below Level 2 was replaceable at any time. They were existences that wouldn’t be missed all that much.

That was why they were abandoned.

With the cadets of the military academy left untouched, only the desperate ones were brought along. It was for the sake of using them as materials. Ingredients.

Thus, these people were truly abandoned by the country. You are unnecessary… was what the Military State proved.

“...However, no matter how much we cry out and make a fuss… This nation won’t hear us. They’d rather kill us to shut us up than offer compensation. After all, just like Nicholas said, we are utterly useless to the Military State.”

As Shiati finished speaking, the children listening also hung their heads low. Her anguished cry made them painfully aware of the reality they had been denying.

Ultimately… the Military State would bury the incident at Hamelin. So, everyone would die. None would be able to survive.

Such a simple and brutal truth.

“Do you wish to be useful?”

Right at that moment, someone appeared among the children. They were startled by the sudden presence. A boy with red hair approached as if he had been there all along.

Some of the children recognized him.

“Lan…kart?”

Lankart did not answer or turn his head in response to the question. With his eyes fixed solely on me, he walked straight towards me. He didn’t even look down at the forest floor beneath him.

Though that was all he did, just ahead of him, a whirlwind spontaneously arose, scattering the bushes and dust as if the world itself was clearing the path for him.

The first Arcane of the Military State. A boy with Strategic-Grade Unique Magic. A Magus in the making.

Lankart Spendry.

In a forest littered with twigs, Lankart, neatly dressed, began clapping his hands out of nowhere.

“How amazing. This was truly unexpected. I wondered if it could happen, but to think you would actually kill Nicholas and consume him.”

While everyone was speechless from his sudden appearance, Lankart stopped his vigorous clapping and frowned.

“However, you know as well, don’t you, Huey? Nicholas was an existence too different from you. He was old, decrepit, and his Qi attributes and quantity were not like yours. It’s extremely, terribly inefficient. Consuming him through Gluttony wouldn’t have any drastic change in your Qi quantity.”

“Lankart. How much longer are you going to talk about things I already know?”

I snapped at him irritably, and Lankart flinched, stopping mid-sentence. I crossed my arms and pressed him.

“You should be having an efficient conversation that you so adore, Lankart. And there is no way you are starting from the very beginning because you doubt my intellectual level, I’m sure.”

“Ah, uh, uh, um.”

“Just get to the point. I’m tired.”

“I-I understand, sorry.”

Lankart, cowed into apologizing, quickly brought up what he wished to say. Without a single ounce of hesitation.

“Eat all the ones remaining.”

A conclusion reached after several leaps, However I, who possessed Mind Reading, understood Lankart’s words instantly.

They were doomed to die anyway. If I didn’t kill them, the Military State would. So rather than them dying meaninglessly, it was more efficient to kill them on the Anathema Ritual and make their power mine.

Moreover, these ones were biologically perfect materials for me. Unlike Nicholas, 'Gluttony' would be implemented smoother. If it wasn’t now, eating them later would be pointless…

Well, that must be the gist of it.

Naturally, Shiati, who had just narrowly escaped death, reacted vehemently.

“Lankart! I thought you were just an annoying punk. But are you one of Nicholas’ minions too…?!”

“Idiots who don’t know anything should shut up. Do you really think I would be a lackey to that kind of loser?”

Annoyed, Lankart turned his head sharply. A tremendous pressure crushed Shiati. Her expression twisted in pain because Lankart’s Unique Magic had reached where she stood.

It twisted.

Near Lankart, it was fast, further away, it was slow. The world around, including the air, swirled at different speeds to the right. In this flowing stream, Shiati felt as if someone was gripping and tearing her apart.

“EUAH, EUKKEUAAAAAAAH!”

Shiati screamed. But even that sound was strangely distant. In the space twisted by his Unique Magic, even sounds lost their way and wandered.

Lankart, who had subdued Shiati without even lifting a finger, turned his gaze back to me.

“If you do not wish to get your hands dirty, I, this Lankart will do it.”

“It’ll be a hassle, you know?”

“What of it. It’s something that needs to be done for a friend, after all. This much trouble is fine. I’m willing to take it on.”

Of course, the 'friend' Lankart referred to was solely me.

The children screamed trying to save Shiati, but they couldn’t even approach, feeling as though their outstretched arms would tear.

One could not cross a storm formed in a teacup via a straight line. They would have to approach it at an angle. But who could know? Who could see through and overcome the labyrinth of swirling space in one go?

It was impossible. No one could approach or retreat without his permission. Not even me.

World of the Right-Handed.

To him, the world was like water that swirled to the right. A principle of the world. An Axiom. If that one did not follow that flow, they would collide and get caught up in it. They would create desperate bubbles before sinking.

The master of that world, Lankart, was about to grasp Shiati and squeeze her with his power as he spoke.

“Ah. For reference. Just as you said, even if you try to interfere, I can shake it off and kill all of them. I’m different from someone like Nicholas. Huey, you might have some of your own hidden tricks, but… you still won't be able to reach me.”

Lankart bluffed, assuming he would not be able to persuade me just like how Nicholas couldn’t. His eyes shone with interest and curiosity, as if he was wondering how I would respond.

But…

“Lankart. Don’t be so boring.”

I spat out in annoyance. Lankart looked puzzled.

I might listen to others' desires, but that did not mean I indulged every childish tantrum. It was tiresome, you see.

“I gave the answer just now after observing you and Nicholas’ test, didn’t I? Are you trying to make me repeat the same answer? Where has the Lankart Spendry, who always complained about being given the same problem with merely the constants changed, gone?”

“No, No, I-”

“You will deliberately control your power to make the magic painful but not deadly…. That’s a threat, isn’t it? Why waste mana when you already know it won’t work? Stop annoying me and withdraw the magic.”

Lankart complied with my words for the time being. The force that had been tearing the body inside and out was released and Shiati's body collapsed limply. A pained sob leaked out from the face pressed against the ground.

“Then, what are you going to do? The rescue ship, the instructors will come. Even if they only interrogate a few here, they’ll quickly understand the entire situation. Once the report goes up to Command, the Military State’s ‘rational’ judgment will definitely be….”

“Didn’t I already say to not talk about things we both know.”

“Ah… Um, yeah.”

All he was doing was trying to test this and that because he himself did not trust rationality. How dare he? When would he realize that such testing itself was irrational?

Having silenced Lankart, I summarized the story simply.

“In a nutshell, you’re saying this. There can be no other response to overcome this crisis. No, there might be, but you, Lankart, certainly weren’t able to think of anything. So you’re curious about how I plan to overcome it. Right?”

“That’s not exactly… Wait. You think you can overcome this situation, this crisis?”

“A crisis? A situation? Forget that. If you don’t know, then just shut up and watch. Why do you keep interrupting and muddying the waters?”

Having scolded him once more and dampened his spirit, I quickly waved my hand.

“Go and clear whatever is blocking the river. There are things to do downstream, after all.”

“What’s the point? The river’s end is the sea. And as long as the Primeval Terror, the Leviathan, lives in the sea, escape is impossible anyw….”

“There you go again, talking about things I already know.”

As I made an annoyed face, Lankart hurriedly headed to the riverbank.

My request was nothing more than stubborn unreasonableness. Whether he complied depended solely on Lankart's will. There were no issues even if he did not.

However, as long as he had agreed to just watch and not interfere, he had to comply with my request.

Curious about how I would handle the situation, he had fallen into the trap of needing to help me prepare.

Not long after Lankart had gone to the riverbank, a loud crash was heard. The driftwood blocking the river like a dam had been shattered in an instant. What hundreds had struggled with was easily done in the face of Lankart's Unique Magic.

Magic. The Arcane that overlaid the rules of the world. For one who manipulated it at will, mere structures and weights were easily demolished.

“Shiati!”

“...Keuk, yeah. One… is be…tter than a hundred.”

Shiati, supported by her friends, barely stood up. She smiled as if she had given up, her face pale.

“...Still. A path has… opened.”

“Lankart…! Even if you don’t see me as a friend, I thought you at least considered me a comrade!”

Though he was once a follower of Lankart, now he had a much more precious affection for someone else. As such, Kerapald reacted furiously to Shiati's injury. He had forgotten that he once admired and feared Lankart's magic, as he shouted.

“Everyone, help me! I can’t stand it! I need to get a blow in on that son of a bitch!”

“Just, stay, still. Heugh. Compared to losing an arm, this is nothing.”

Gasping for breath, Shiati repeated in a voice that seemed on the verge of breaking.

“What I just went through is what we will all face from now on. It will be best to, keuk, get used to it. After all, the Military State, no, no one… will care about us, let alone help us.”

The children pitifully bowed their heads.

They, who could not even handle one Lankart, had no chance of overcoming the difficulties ahead.

Even the Colonel, who they had just defeated, had been barely repelled with a prepared trap and the brave sacrifice of fifteen... If the Military State applied its full power, the hundred and thirty students would be uprooted like weeds and discarded like trash.

Someone shouted.

“Fuck…! What did I do so wrong, huh?!”

The thrill of battle subsided, leaving only frustration. Forgotten pains and sorrows returned and the brief spark of hope extinguished, plunging them into darkness.

They did not have anywhere to go. Even the concept of wasting time could not offer them refuge. After all, another enemy named the rescue ship was relentlessly approaching.

Lost in their way, without a direction or even the will to hope, they could only swallow their resentment and rage. But even in this time, they still hoped for someone to light their way.

If the power and authority of the Celestial Order had been displayed here, they would have prayed to God. To save them from this ordeal and lead them to heaven.

But there was neither heaven nor hell in this world. Death was the simplest end that could be imagined.

Whether heaven or hell, they were merely man-made concepts, packaged in a way to be swallowed easily. Artificiality implied imitation, the very definition of mere pretense. It was nothing more than something that only excreted the bad while keeping the best inside.

“Let’s just fall to hell….”

Yet, I must still respond to this wish.

Even hope had been all but lost and no one could think of a way out, thus only desperate wishes remained at the heart. And amidst this place…

I put a cold whistle in my mouth.

***

The rescue ship ended up wasting time where debris had accumulated.

There were clear signs of a stay, but the children were nowhere to be seen. However, from the traces, it seemed they had been attacked by beasts and had fought fiercely. Bloodstains were scattered around, and there were marks of something heavy being dragged to the riverbank.

Someone cautiously pointed out the sword marks carved into a tree. They were signs of Chief Instructor Nicholas wielding his blades. The opponent was a group of organized ordinary troops, most likely the students.

The instructors were thrown into confusion, but soon hurried their search in indignation.

There was no reason for Chief Instructor Nicholas to attack the children in such a remote area, but the children had plenty of reason to attack Nicholas.

The trainees participating in the graduation practical exercise were outcasts confirmed as Level 2 failures. These students must have harbored resentment and either threatened or attacked Chief Instructor Nicholas or the top student Huey… was what the instructors determined.

At any rate, the need to hasten the search increased. The rescue team was divided into a camp search team and a downstream search team. One corner of the accumulated driftwood had collapsed, suggesting they might have gone downstream.

And so, right when the rescue ship went down the river… Upon reaching the downstream garrison, they obtained information. It was said that the children, divided among several rafts, had passed by the garrison and gone down to the city downstream.

There were complaints about why they hadn't been caught... But they couldn't voice such thoughts. It wasn’t like they were Chief Instructor Nicholas, after all. An instructor from a secondary school had a lower rank than a garrison commander. Moreover, it was an internal matter of Hamelin, unrelated to the garrison.

The saluting instructors were just about to head further downstream when…

“But, was some strange order issued again? They were singing the alma mater while rowing….”

There was a commotion downstream on the Hamelin River.

Although the Hamelin River was not a large river, it was a good place for people to live, especially since more narrow rivers were safer; there were fewer occurrences of the terrifying Leviathan ascending the stream.

And a series of groups floated down such a river. It was a group of children, divided among several large rafts.

-In the hall of learning on a modest hill. Oh, the embrace of Hamelin.

To the sound of the whistle, children with hoarse voices tore at their vocal cords to sing a song. It was a cry more dreadful than any desperate scream. The citizens grimaced and turned their heads toward the riverbank.

-To vanquish our enemies with all our blood and sweat…

Onlookers gathered at the riverbank with discomfort and curiosity.

They wondered if an instructor with a distasteful hobby had issued some strange order.

Pee—eeep.

When a boy at the front of the raft blew the whistle, something strange happened.

The children rowing the raft stood up one by one. They looked at each other, held each other's hands tightly, and moved to the edge of the raft. All while continuing to sing.

-For our glorious country, we advance, devoting our lives….

Though large, a raft was still a raft. It looked difficult even to walk on it, let alone maintain balance. Yet, the children supported each other on this shaking raft, calmly taking off their hard military boots. Their bare feet settled on the rough logs.

Someone let out a moan. It wasn't the children. After all, they were still singing.

One of the onlookers, who had let his imagination run wild, chuckled with disbelief. Such a fantastical thought was too unrealistic, no matter how it looked.

After all, how could that many people….

The river, shrouded in mist, exuded a mystical atmosphere. Refreshing sounds of water flowed through the blurry field of vision. The wind hitting the face was chilly.

-Forward…. Forward….

As they sang the chorus, the children moved forward, holding hands. They approached the very edge of the raft. Just one more step and they would step off the hard logs onto the soft surface of the water.

Only then did the audience, realizing something ominous, desperately shout something. But it was not heard by the children who were singing.

River water shimmering pale as the dawn sunlight filtered through the mist. Because of the rough current and the lack of light directed at them, the children's faces were not reflected on the surface.

But it did not matter. After all, right next to them, faces resembling each other were ever so visible.

Thus, the children sang the last verse together…

-Towards the future of the Military State….

And sank beneath the cold, deep river.

Only then did the song stop.

***

-Command Center to Hamelin Secondary Military School. Ascertain the full details of the truth and report back as quickly as possible. Search for survivors and interrogate to determine their intentions.

Urgent. Urgent. Grasp the entire circumstance as quickly as possible. The Command Center will also conduct an independent investiga...

….

….

….

-Correction.

From this point forward, initiate Level 5 Information Control.

Contain Hamelin.

I repeat. Contain Hamelin.