Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint

Even as we approached, Yuel continued to clasp her hands in prayer.

With the corpse resting on her lap, she continued to pray devoutly, resembling a statue carved from stone.

It seemed like nothing in the world could break her concentration, but there was nothing absolute in this world.

The moment Captain Abbey mentioned the corpse, the “human statue” Yuel stopped praying.

“This is the first time we’ve met directly. Nice to meet you, Abbey. I really, really wanted to see you at least once.”

Yuel cheerfully greeted, but soon her expression changed as she looked up at Captain Abbey.

“And I curse you.”

Her words were spoken with a smile, but they were terrifying.

Although Captain Abbey seemed to take it calmly, Yuel's eyes remained cold.

“You, the Signaller who resembled me the most, I never expected you to betray the Military State. This is the worst-case scenario I anticipated. Why would you bring the most dangerous person to me? I took every precaution to keep my identity hidden, and yet it is now revealed. What exactly led you to this betrayal?”

“Negative. I have not betrayed the Military State.”

“Are you trying to cover the sky with your palm, Abbey? You brought the enemy of the Military State here. Do you feel no guilt in that?”

“That is the point. I do not understand why Command is taking such a significant loss to label him and his group as enemies and antagonize them. It is not rational.”

In reality, Captain Abbey had never directly attacked the Military State.

At most, she had persuaded other Signallers to rebel.

Abbey's claim was entirely true and sincere.

Yuel’s head turned with a creak.

“…You don’t understand? Really?”

“Affirmative. Even putting aside my personal feelings, I still find my actions to be rational. Antagonizing him and his group without any room for negotiation is meaningless and does not promise better outcomes.”

“‘Him’?”

Captain Abbey faltered for a moment, unable to answer.

The Saintess Yuel sneered at her reaction.

“Ha, 'Him'! 'Him'! Haha!”

Yuel's sneer gradually turned into mad laughter, but Captain Abbey could swear it sounded almost like sobbing.

Yuel quieted down, calming her heaving chest, and murmured.

“…I take it back. You really are like me, Abbey! Enchanted by a worthless man!”

To Captain Abbey’s surprise, she said nothing in return.

Yuel’s expression softened wistfully as she stroked the face of the corpse.

“You didn’t have to resemble me in that way.”

Captain Abbey’s face was filled with questions.

Before her, Signaller Yuel hugged a corpse in the center of the shrine beneath Command.

Moreover, she was the true identity of Eimeder.

The secrets revealed amidst the gaps in information left her confused.

But Captain Abbey, being a Signaller skilled in handling information, calmly sorted through her thoughts and addressed the most urgent matter.

“Signaller Yuel, I do not understand what you are trying to convey. However, since you are a Signaller and the Star General Eimeder, I request that you comply with my demands.”

“Demands? What demands?”

“To cease all meaningless hostilities and make rational judgments.”

“Hah!”

Yuel clicked her tongue as if she found it absurd.

“Abbey. Do you not understand anything despite having observed Tantalus? I’m surprised. Did I overestimate you?”

“This conversation lacks a direct object. I demand more precise communication.”

“About the Arcane. I left you there to witness the Arcane with your own eyes, but it seems you felt nothing.”

“What was I expected to feel?”

“Standing right above the abyss, which not even I can gaze into, did you feel no fear of the Arcanes?”

Captain Abbey tilted her head.

In her memories, Tyr, Azzy, or the Regressor were powerful, but none had shown a demeanor that invoked fear.

“Partially affirmative. Their power is undoubtedly formidable. However, I believe there is room for dialogue with the Military State.”

Yuel mocked her.

“Don’t you think that’s the problem? Why should a country take the trouble of having a ‘serious negotiation’ with a mere handful of subversive individuals?”

“Because they have the capability...”

“The capability to topple a country on a whim? Truly, such impressive power, wouldn’t you say? Despite being escaped convicts, they wandered around the Military State, leisurely touring it before attacking Command, and yet we couldn’t stop them!”

Captain Abbey flinched and paused.

Yuel let out a short, bitter laugh and muttered to herself. Her fingertips touched the cheek of the corpse again.

“This country is the fruit of his and my efforts. We trusted, relied on, and worked together to create this country. A country of a hundred million people, with billions more to be born and die. A haven built on his corpse. This precious dream… I must protect this country from the whims of others.”

“I understand your intention.”

“No, you don’t understand at all. An Arcane doesn’t necessarily mean a powerful individual.”

Yuel explained.

“Patraxion, he is powerful but still an individual. The harm he can inflict on the world is limited. They say he single-handedly brought down a kingdom, but if the rebellion had not happened, he too would have withered away like many others. On the other hand, what about the Progenitor? Creating vampires, leading an army alone, and being the queen of the Duchy of Mist, she could change the world on a whim.”

Although they might not realize it themselves, the Regressor was undoubtedly a hero who held the fate of the world in her hands.

Though I casually converse with them, they were individuals who could change the world with their actions.

Despite being mere individuals.

“I understand, Yuel. Even if you approach those individuals with a grand vision and rationality, you are ultimately powerless before their whims.”

Surprisingly, Captain Abbey grasped the core of the matter instantly.

Yuel was momentarily taken aback, then smiled weakly.

“You are exceptional, Abbey. If it weren’t for the mental contamination, you would have undoubtedly become the center of the Signallers. The country he built would have continued without me, but now neither of us are left.”

It was as if both Captain Abbey and Yuel were already dead.

I sensed a dangerous tone in her thoughts but felt it was not yet my time to intervene.

“One question. You’ve repeatedly used the pronoun ‘he.’ Who exactly are you referring to?”

Once again, the corpse was brought up.

Yuel’s hand froze.

She seemed uncomfortable with Captain Abbey's interest, as though it was highly unwelcome.

Hugging the corpse, stroking its face whenever she had the chance, yet demanding not to draw attention to it was a highly contradictory request.

But humans are inherently contradictory beings.

They desperately ignore shameful memories, only to miss the void they leave behind.

Yuel recalled her painful memories and murmured.

“You don’t even remember him now. He is the father of the Military State, yet you know nothing.”

“Negative. The Military State is not a living being, so it does not have a father figure.”

“It’s a metaphor.”

“However, even metaphorically, there is no one in the Military State who can be called a father...”

Captain Abbey stopped speaking and looked at the corpse again.

The founder of this country, Warlord Valiorant, was a face even Signallers had seen through photos or paintings.

Captain Abbey was no exception.

As a Signaller who handled all sorts of information, she had seen Valiorant’s appearance.

However, the Military State showed no interest in idolization, so the dead were not excessively revered or mourned, making it easy to forget.

Yuel’s words triggered Captain Abbey's old memories.

“…Warlord Valiorant? But he was killed by the Remnants of the Kingdom three years after the Military State was founded. Why is he here?”

“Ha! Remnants?! Remnants! Ha, ha! Ha, ha...”

Yuel’s laughter turned eerie.

It seemed she was suffering from manic depression.

After nearly twenty years of solitude in this dark, dreary underground with a corpse, it was no surprise.

Yuel muttered like a madwoman.

“If it were the Remnants… if only it were them! I would have ‘seen’ it! But it wasn’t the Remnants. How could I, with my Arcane, have seen it?! This elegant self of mine!”

It was no longer a conversation.

It was the ramblings of a statue.

I understood it somewhat with my Mind Reading, but Captain Abbey was completely lost and tilted her head.

“Yuel?”

“It’s a place by his side that I couldn’t bear to let go. I was consumed with jealousy, yet drenched in a sense of superiority, knowing she could never replace me. But I could replace her. So…”

The contents of Yuel’s thoughts were quite interesting.

Warlord Valiorant had a family.

During the kingdom era, he was paired with a noble’s daughter by the royal family.

Of course, no influential family would ever give up their daughter to a commoner, so she came from a declining family. Valiorant received his wife like a tarnished crown.

Yet, Valiorant was a devoted husband.

He cared for his wife with utmost sincerity, and with his naturally charming demeanor, his wife gradually fell in love with him.

They were known for their excellent marital harmony.

Valiorant was meticulous in ensuring her family was not harmed even after he overthrew the Kingdom.

However, it was still a noble family.

Noble families were closely knit, and most of their relatives died during the rebellion.

Even if she loved her husband dearly, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Especially when he returned from the Sanctum with a mysterious woman on his horse.

If the Saintess showed a peculiar fondness towards her husband… she might have done something drastic.

I can’t be sure since I can’t read the wife's thoughts, but it’s a plausible theory.

“I should have seen it. Even if it was sordid and base, I should have watched her. I should have thrown away my pretenses, pushed aside my sense of superiority, and scrutinized every bit of his private life! Then, he would have...”

“Yuel. I do not understand your words. Wasn’t Valiorant killed by the Remnants?”

“Indeed! He was killed by the Remnants! Or would you prefer it to be referred to as a crime of passion?!”

Yuel wrapped her arms tightly around Valiorant, hiding him from our view.

Her disheveled hair covered his pale face.

The man who had ended his life by drinking poison looked like he was simply asleep.

“She took him from me, but unfortunately for her, I won. She couldn’t bear his child, yet I bore his fruit: this blessed country. A country that will give birth to and raise billions in the future.”

“Yuel...”

“And this nation. This Military State, the fruit of my pain, will continue even if I die.”

Yuel clenched her bony hand tightly.

At that moment, something strange happened.

The underground shrine shook violently.

Broken rocks fell.

We were dozens of meters underground, in the place holding the most critical secrets of the Military State.

She wanted to bury her secrets in the simplest way possible.

“This is bad. It seems like this place is about to collapse. Is this some kind of cliché trap?”

“…Impossible!”

｢This is a disaster! We gave her time to act while talking! We should have subdued her first!｣

Captain Abbey grabbed Yuel’s shoulders.

But Yuel remained unmoved.

It wasn’t that she resisted with strength; she was physically immobile.

It was a type of Holy Power.

“Stop this, Yuel!”

“You may resemble me... but we have a fundamental difference.”

Naturally, Yuel did not stop.

From the beginning, it was impossible to stop her.

Clairvoyance was merely the power to ‘observe,’ but a high-ranking priest like a saintess can invoke Holy Power.

Just like summoning the angel Eimeder.

The pillar supporting this room, 30 meters underground, gradually lost its strength due to some force.

It was clear that the entire ground would soon collapse.

Even if she possessed Holy Power, she would die if buried like this.

Yet, Yuel seemed entirely unbothered.

“My taste in men is much better. Goodbye, Abbey. It was a brief yet enjoyable encounter. See you in Heaven.”

Hey, why drag me into this? What’s wrong with me?

As I was about to protest, Captain Abbey deployed her Unique Magic and shouted.

“Negative! I cannot accept this!”