外伝：俺たちは自由にやる！！ (Part3)
That is why she would not be foolish enough to challenge the creator of such a massive, otherworldly domain all by herself.
*Clatter.*
Suddenly, she threw a paper charm at the glass, and for some reason, the glass shattered upon impact. However, the view beyond the broken pane did not reveal the outside world. There was only darkness.
"As I thought, I can't just smash through the glass to get out. As planned, I have no choice but to go around and crush the nodes maintaining this domain. ...In the process, the idiot who turned this abandoned school into a playground will surely show up. Whether I fight or run depends on the moment, but it’s a nuisance."
She assessed her current situation with cold calculation. That was precisely why she knew the enemy would inevitably attempt to interfere. She was prey caught in a trap, but she possessed the confidence to tear through it. Still, until the fool who built this place appeared, she had to keep her true capabilities hidden. Even if she were to escape, she would need to take measures to ensure the monstrosities within this place didn't spill out into the world. The sheer volume of work for one person made her feel dizzy.
"My senior once said it, too. If you ever get pulled into an otherworldly domain, you have to be prepared to blow the whole thing to smithereens."
She recalled the words of the mentor who had trained her in this line of work. They had warned her that if she ever got entangled with this type of adversary, they would undoubtedly come to erase her. If that was the case, then she had no choice but to blast the enemy away along with the domain itself.
"Fine by me. I’ve been cautious until now, but I suppose I need to overcome these kinds of critical situations, too."
She did not overconfidently overestimate her own strength, but she was not the type to freeze up in a situation where she had no choice but to act. Therefore, she had no intention of being defeated inside this domain, and the option of running away was as good as non-existent from the start. She viewed this as good training to hone her skills. Without a hint of hesitation, she walked deep into the abandoned school that had transformed into an otherworldly realm.
"Hmm. It seems a troublesome guest has slipped in."
The man muttered this and stopped his hands.
*Drip.*
Only the sound of water echoed. This was the science lab, now transformed into an otherworldly space. It was filled with nothing but tools necessary for dissection, such as scalpels. If any ordinary person were to visit this place, they would scream, faint, vomit, or flee. Yes, what he was toying with was a human corpse. It was already impossible to tell if it had been a man or a woman; the skin of the face had been peeled away, the chest cavity laid open, and the arms and legs had already been severed.
And this was not the first. Scattered carelessly around him, so as not to be in his way, were numerous corpses. It was impossible to even count how many people had been dismantled. Yet, the man creating this scene did not change his expression in the slightest, silently continuing to take the bodies apart. That he would mutter and stop his hands—whatever he meant by "troublesome"—showed that for a man who could dismantle people with such composure, this was a significant event.
"I’ll stop making walls out of these materials. I’ll just create a swarm to get in the way instead..."
The man shoved his hands carelessly into what used to be a person, dragged out the internal organs, and chanted something. At once, the remains twitched and began to move. No, it wasn't just the corpse in front of him; every single set of remains scattered around him began to stir. It was a sight one could only call hell. To that hell, he issued an order.
"I am going back to the depths to make preparations. The intruder will definitely pass through where you are. Kill them. If you do, you might just be able to come back to life."
When the man said this, the former humans, who had been glaring at him with resentment, reacted with a twitch.
"I’m asking you nicely, rather than binding you with curses. Well, do your best. Let’s go."
The man spoke to empty air and began to walk. From the spot he had addressed, a man appeared, dressed in attire reminiscent of a war movie.
"You have terrible taste, too."
The soldier-like man spoke, addressing the man walking ahead.
"What was that?"
Without looking back, the man posed the question.
"In every sense of the word. You won't beat a professional by gathering a bunch of militia like that, and even if they somehow managed to do it, you have no intention of bringing them back to life, do you?"
The soldier was telling the man that he knew he had no intention of keeping his earlier promise.
"And what would you have me do?"
"Nothing. I just said you have terrible taste. No other meaning behind it."
"...I heard that soldiers aren't supposed to engage in idle chatter."
Rarely, the man voiced his dissatisfaction with the soldier's words. It seemed he was not adept at this kind of conversation. However, the soldier laughed at the complaint and replied.
"Haha, that’s an ideal. If even one battalion of such soldiers existed, wars would end easily."
"That is nothing but a delusion. Indeed, as you say, it is impossible for every single soldier to kill their emotions and never let personal feelings interfere. But even if a battalion of such perfect soldiers existed, it wouldn't end war."
The man's point was valid. Even if such "perfect" soldiers existed, they were finite, and they were not immortal. Furthermore, wars were not started by soldiers. They were started by nations considering their political circumstances. A single soldier could neither start nor end a war. But the soldier laughed off those words and spoke again.
"If you kill everyone, the war ends."
"...That is an extreme argument. However, with only a battalion, it is impossible to kill everyone involved in a war."
The man could understand what the soldier was saying. One could simply eliminate everyone who wanted to wage war or continue it. Regardless of friend or foe. But as the man said, it was an extreme and unrealistic notion. Even if there were a battalion of perfect soldiers, he couldn't imagine it being possible. However, the soldier continued.
"My battalion was wiped out by a single, perfect soldier."
"..."
"They exist. Remember that. You seem to have quite unique skills yourself, but such monsters exist in this world."
The man stopped and turned to face the soldier.
"...Is that the person you were talking about earlier? The one you seek revenge against?"
Looking straight into the soldier's face, the man asked.
"Yeah. My goal is to kill that monster. Is it different from revenge? If I can kill them, I want to try. But if you, the King, get taken out, my body won't be able to maintain itself, right?"
As he said this, the soldier pointed to the side of his own head. Or rather, there was only a void where he pointed. From the left eye outward, everything was gone. Yes, this soldier was also nothing more than one of the man's toys. However, because he had been an elite soldier in life, the man had allowed him to retain his reason to serve as a strategist. Naturally, his combat ability was also among the top tier of the monstrosities within this abandoned school. Especially when dealing with humans.
"That is correct. I will accept your advice with gratitude. But to think there is an opponent capable of defeating you..."
"You've got it wrong. They killed our entire battalion."
"...Is that not a monstrosity created by someone like me?"
"No, that was, without a doubt, a living human."
"I cannot believe such a thing exists."
"No, the principle is simple. Do you know what you have to do to create a perfect soldier?"
"...I do not. Is it by creating them as I do?"
The man thought for a moment, then gave up and answered casually. However, the answer he thought was wrong was denied by the soldier's words.
"You hit the nail on the head."
"...That’s absurd. It cannot be created so easily."
"That's true. Research like this has been going on for a long time, hasn't it? Suppressing physical fatigue, suppressing mental stress... you know about those things, don't you?"
"...Indeed. So, that research has been completed?"
"Who knows if it's 'completed.' But it means there is a soldier with the ability to wipe out me and my battalion. That’s why I call you tasteless without criticizing you."
The man was surprised by the soldier's words. He was well aware that what he was doing was far removed from the norm for ordinary people, and he took it for granted that he would be criticized.