스리와 나인은 언덕, 아니, 언덕이었던 곳으로 돌아갔다. 여기저기에 전보다 암석이 훨씬 어지럽게 흩어져 있었다. 그리고 그 중앙에 황제가 태연하게 서 있었다.
예상이 적중했다고 해야 할까, 역시 엠퍼러는 완전히 무사하진 않았다. 최소한 늘 두르고 있던 그 낡은 로브는 약간의 천조각을 제외한 대부분이 사라져 있었다. 그렇게 그 아래에 감추고 있던 것이 드러났다.
윗부분에 왕관 부조가 새겨진 황금 가면, 끝이 구형으로 되어 있는 황금 지팡이, 그리고 전신을 덮은 황금 갑옷. 결코 “화려하다”는 단어만으로는 표현할 수 없는, 그야말로 가죽 아래 숨겨진 거만함과 오만의 현현과도 같은 복장이었다.
「너희는 영리하지. 돌아올 것을 믿고 있었다」
그의 말에 대답하지 않고 스리와 나인은 그에게 다가갔다.
「자, 누가 누구를 죽일지 정했나？」
두 사람은 말없이 고개를 끄덕이고 마주보았다. 스리는 눈을 감고 손을 검에서 떼어 저항하지 않겠다는 의사를 표했다. 나인은 독침을 꺼내 스리에게로 투척――한 것은 시늉일 뿐, 독침이 손에서 떨어지기 전 방향을 틀어 엠퍼러에게 던졌다.
그러나 침은 일정 거리를 날아가다가 갑자기 방향을 바꾼 것처럼 포물선을 그리며 지면을 향해 떨어졌다.
「그런가, 대답은 『둘 다 죽는다』」
「아니」
나인이 다시 침을 던졌다. 하지만 이번에는 위로 비스듬히. 동시에 스리가 달리기 시작했다.
「대답은, 『둘이서 당신을 죽인다！！』」
소리치며 스리는 빠르게 이동해 검을 휘둘렀다. 하지만 그 동작은 엠퍼러에게 다가간 순간 느려졌고, 엠퍼러는 어렵지 않게 지팡이로 막아냈다. 하지만 그때 하늘로 던져진 침이 중력장의 영향으로 방향을 틀어 정확히 엠퍼러 쪽으로 떨어져 내렸다. 나인은 처음 단 한 번의 순간에 중력장의 범위와 영향력을 파악하고 포물선을 이용한 궤도로 수정했다. 심지어 강화된 중력가속도를 이용한 만큼 평소보다 관통력이 강했다.
하지만 그것 역시 엠퍼러가 왼팔을 한 번 휘두르자 막히고 만다. 강력해진 침으로도 그 황금 갑옷을 뚫을 수 없었다.
「날 거역한단 말인가, 나를！」
지팡이를 내려친다. 즉시 스리가 검으로 막아냈지만 충격으로 몇 에이쥬나 뒤로 날려갔다.
「커헉……」
간신히 버티긴 했지만, 마치 거대한 망치에 맞아 날아간 듯한 그 충격은 결코 근력과 지팡이의 무게로만 가능한 것이 아니다. 그것도 「중력」을 조작하는 능력의 일부일 것이다.
「“숙청”의 시간이다」
그것은 바로 몇 시간 전, 그리고 3년 전 그때도 들었던 말. 사형 판결처럼 들리는 그 말에 스리는 그때의 공포를 떠올리고 휘청거릴 것 같아졌지만, 뒤에 있는 나인의 모습을 확인하고는 꾹 참았다.
지체 없이 태세를 정비한 스리가 다시 덤볐다. 물론 나인도 침을 던져 원호했다. 그러나 양쪽 모두 결과는 마찬가지. 하지만 즉시 세 번째. 차례를 거듭할수록 스리의 검이 빠르고 날카로워졌다. 그는 그 고중력에 익숙해지고 있었다. 근육을 움직이는 법, 검을 휘두르는 법, 궤도, 각도…… 낭비가 점점 줄어들었고 엠퍼러의 대처도 갈수록 여유가 줄어들었다. 스리의 통찰력 등은 나인에게 미치지 못했으나, 근접전에 대한 자질만큼은 확실했다.
동시에 나인의 원호도 멈추지 않았다. 침을 이용한 공격은 확실히 갑옷을 뚫을 수는 없었지만 나인은 중력장의 영향에도 정확하게 갑옷의 틈새를 노렸다. 때때로 아츠 공격도 섞으니 더욱 강력해졌다. 엠퍼러로서는 대처는 어렵지 않았으나 하지 않을 수는 없는 상황. 하지만 대처하면 스리를 향한 주의가 분산된다. 그쪽은 그쪽대로 갈수록 성가셔지고 있었다.
몇 차례의 접전 뒤, 전황은 스리와 나인이 압도하는 듯했다. 엠퍼러의 가면 아래의 표정은 보이지 않았으나 그에게서 초조해 하는 기색은 느껴지지 않는다. 가끔 스리의 검이 엠퍼러의 갑옷에 명중했지만 별다른 효과는 보이지 않았다.
스리가 도약했다. 그 순간 본인이 의도한 것 이상으로 그의 몸은 마치 날개가 달린 것처럼 하늘 높이 날아올랐다. 위험하다고 느낀 순간 이미 칼끝은 빗나갔고 자세도 무너져 있었다.
나인의 외침을 듣고 스리는 간신히 몸을 옆으로 굴렸다. 거의 동시에 중력이 다시 높아지며 스리가 떨어진 곳에 엠퍼러가 지팡이를 아래로 내리찍었다. 충격파와 함께 지팡이를 중심으로 작은 크레이터가 생겼다.
「스-！！」
충격파만으로 옆으로 날아간 스리는, 만일 바로 그 밑에 있었다면 지금쯤 곤죽이 되었으리라고 생각하면서 나인에게 괜찮다는 사인을 보내고 어떻게든 다시 일어났다.
그 뒤로 전황은 일변했다. 시시각각 중력을 바꾸는 엠퍼러를 상대로 스리는 방어 일변도가 되었다. 모처럼 몸이 지금의 중력 환경에 익숙해졌다 싶으면 금세 또 중력이 바뀌어 의표를 찔린다. 이래선 제대로 공격할 방법이 없었다. 나인도 공격을 명중시키기 위해 중력이 바뀔 때 그 범위와 값을 측정해야 했기에 유효한 공격이 급격히 줄어들었다.
하지만 그럼에도 어떻게든 버티고는 있었다. 스리는 전위 담당으로서 확실히 우수했고 밀리면서도 엠퍼러에게 결정타를 가할 기회를 주지는 않았다. 그리고 그 시간을, 후방의 나인 역시 헛되이 하지 않았다.
「스-」
일단 엠퍼러와 거리를 둔 스리에게 나인이 말을 걸었다.
「조금 알 것 같아」
「그래, 부탁해」
엠퍼러의 공격을 경계하며 스리는 나인의 말을 기다렸다.
「3년 전에 싸웠을 때랑 비교해서 뭔가 달라진 점은 있어？ 특히, 왼손에 뭔가 가지고 있지 않았어？」
지금의 엠퍼러는 왼손에 아무것도 가지고 있지 않았다. 하지만 스리가 이야기했던 과거의 전투를 생각하면……
「분명…… 금으로 된 까마귀 조각이 붙은 구체를 들고 있었던 것 같아. 그리고 지금의 싸움보다 일방적이었어」
「역시」
스리도 희미한 위화감을 느끼고 있었지만, 자신들을 업신여겨 봐주고 있는 것이라고 생각했었다. 하지만 나인의 반응을 보니 아무래도 그게 아닌 듯했다.
「호오？ 눈치챘나」
엠퍼러는 감탄하는 듯한 음성을 흘렸다. 그리고 『답을 확인하게 해 주마』라고 하듯 공격을 멈추었다.
「저 녀석이 몸에 두르고 있는 것, 중력을 조작하는 고대유물은 원래 4개가 한 세트일 거야」
「4개？」
「주로 중력장을 발생시키고 중력을 높이거나 낮추는 왕관 가면.
공격을 받은 순간 그 대상의 중력을 흡수하는 갑옷.
접촉한 곳에 국소적으로 강력한 중력파를 전달하는 왕홀.
그리고, 대상을 지정해 중력장의 효과를 구별하는 까마귀 보주」
즉 엠퍼러는 고대유물을 전신에 장비하고 있었던 것이다. 그렇다면 확실히 로브를 쓰고 싶어질 만도 했다. 그러지 않고 거리에 나갔다간 틀림없이 교회에 포착당할 것이다.
「확실히 이번에는 이쪽이 감속당하고 동시에 저쪽이 가속되는 일이 없어. 3년 전에는 그 때문에 꼼짝도 못했거든」
이번에도 엠퍼러의 중력장에 농락당하고는 있으나, 어디까지나 쌍방이 같은 중력 아래에서 싸우고 있다. 다른 중력 아래에서 싸우던 저번과 비교하면 아직 활로가 있었다.
「아마 보주는 어딘가에서 잃어버렸거나 아까의 낙석으로 부서졌을 거야」
그런 의미로도, 지금이야말로 엠퍼러를 쓰러뜨릴 최대의 찬스.
「훌륭하다」
엠퍼러의 낮은 목소리가 전한다. 유열이 섞여있는 목소리.
「내가 보유한 고대유물, 《조림의 레갈리아》를 단시간에 이만큼이나 분석해내다니. 역시 너는 일재다, 소드의 9」
「당신한테 칭찬받아 봤자 하나도 안 기뻐」
엠퍼러는 고양된 목소리로 말을 이었다. 그리고 갑자기 폭풍 같은 살기를 발했다.
「하지만 아무리 우수한 도구라 해도 내게 쓰이지 않는다면」
엠퍼러는 자신과 주위를 공중에 띄우더니 부유하는 암석들을 지팡이로 차례로 후려쳤다.
「가치는 없다！！」
충격을 버티지 못하고 그 자리에서 부서져 흩어지는 바위가 있는가 하면 덩어리의 크기를 유지한 채 날아가는 바위도 있었다. 그리고 그것들은 일직선으로 나인을 향해 쏘아졌다.
「나인！！」
부서진 것은 산탄, 덩어리진 것은 포탄처럼 나인에게로 날아갔다. 마치 이곳만이 전쟁터가 되어 적군의 집중 포화를 당하고 있는 듯한 형국이었다.
스리는 황급히 탄도 사이로 뛰어들었다. 날아드는 바위를 검으로 쳐내고, 막고, 부수고, 몸을 방패 삼아서라도 나인 쪽으로는 보내지 않았다. 하지만 원체 거리가 있었던 탓에 이미 태반의 바위가 그의 위치를 뛰어넘고 있었다.
――늦은 것이다.
별다른 방어 수단이 없었던 나인은 피하는 수밖에 없었지만 그 수는 너무나도 많았다. 작은 바위를 무시하고 큰 바위만 피하려 노력했지만 그럼에도 마지막에는 유달리 큰 바위가 복부에 명중했고 그녀는 피를 토하며 그 자리에 쓰러졌다.
TO BE CONTINUED
Chapter 8 - Gravity & Artifacts
Three and Nine returned to the hill. Or, more accurately, where the hill used to be. It was now completely unrecognizable. A sizable chunk of it was gone, having been strewn about the area in the form of countless bits of rubble.
The Emperor stood right where they had left him, seemingly unfazed. As Three and Nine had surmised, he had sustained at least some manner of injury. Nothing major, but his ever-present robe, under which he had hidden his face, had been reduced to little more than a shredded cape.
Underneath, he wore a gold helmet bearing a crown design. In his hand, he carried a golden scepter with a spherical tip, and his body was covered in golden armor. The word 'ostentatious' was insufficient to describe his heavily-gilded countenance. Everything about him suggested both needless grandeur and wicked condescension.
'I knew you'd be back. You two aren't complete fools, after all,' the Emperor called out to them.
Three and Nine remained silent as they slowly approached.
'So, have you decided? Which of you two will gain the Organization's forgiveness?'
Three and Nine turned to each other and nodded. Three removed his hand from his sword, leaving it sheathed. Three knelt down and closed his eyes, showing acceptance of what was to come. In response, Nine pulled out some of her poison needles and silently launched them at Three's neck--or at least, that's how she made it appear. At the last second before the needles parted from her fingers, she deftly altered their trajectory, sending them speeding toward the Emperor instead.
The envenomed projectiles whizzed perfectly through the air as ever. However, as they neared their intended target, they suddenly curved downward sharply, plummeting harmlessly to the ground.
'Very well. I hear your answer loud and clear,' the Emperor proclaimed, looking up at the pair, 'You both wish to die today.'
'Not a chance!' Nine called out, throwing another volley of needles directly at the Emperor. Their trajectory suddenly shifted again--this time upward.
From his kneeling position, Three quickly shifted his stance and pushed forward off the ground with all the power he could muster in his legs. He launched himself at the Emperor, breaking into a full-on charge.
'We've had enough! You're the one meeting their death today!'
Three began slashing away at his target with incredible speed. His lightning-quick strikes grew slow and sluggish as soon as they neared the Emperor, however. With his assailant's speed so drastically curbed, the man was able to use his golden scepter to effortlessly bat aside the boy's assault.
In the same instant, Nine's second set of needles changed direction midair and began falling straight toward the Emperor. She had managed to calculate the range of his gravitational field with just a single throw. Once she understood its effect on projectiles, she was able to revise her trajectory. Moreover, she had factored in the increased acceleration from the higher gravity, meaning her needles would hit harder than normal.
Despite all that, however, her attack was neutralized by a flick of the Emperor's gilded arm. It was still not enough to penetrate his armor. It was, however, more than sufficient to rouse his ire.
'You dare defy me? ME?!'
Livid, he swung his scepter downward. Three immediately reacted, just barely managing to block the attack with his sword. Even so, the impact alone threw him back several arge.
Three could feel his brain rattle in his skull from the force of the blow--there was no way the Emperor's physical strength and the weight of the scepter alone could do that. It occurred to Three that there must have been another way he was able to manipulate gravity.
'You will be purged,' the Emperor said in a low growl.
The same words Three had heard him say a few hours ago and three years ago. When the Emperor spoke like this, it was nothing less than the arbitration of a death sentence. At the sound of those words, past memories bubbled up in Three's mind and an old terror began to grip him. His legs grew wobbly, and he started to stagger.
One glance back at Nine was all it took for him to restore his resolve, however. He forced himself back on his feet, reflexively snapping into a fighting stance. Nine continued to provide covering fire with her needles as Three renewed his assault.
Their approach proved no more fruitful than before. Even so, as Three continued to fight under such grueling conditions, he slowly became more capable. His understanding of his foe's gravitational trickery improved, and his strikes grew more swift and precise as a result. The way his muscles intuitively reacted, the angle and speed at which he swung his swords... He was slowly chipping away at the Emperor's overwhelming advantage. Though Three may not have enjoyed the same powers of insight his partner possessed, his skills in close-quarters combat were elite by even the most exacting of standards.
For her part, Nine's cover was solid and unwavering. Realizing her needles had no hope of piercing the Emperor's golden plating, she had instead began aiming for gaps between its pieces. It was an incredibly difficult task, but as she grew more accustomed to the disrupting effects of the gravitational field, she was gradually getting closer. She began weaving in offensive arts along with her volleys of needles in order to keep the Emperor on his toes. Her attacks appeared simple enough for her foe to deal with, but they still managed to pull his attention away from Three, even if only for a moment.
The fight raged on, and after a bit of time, Three and Nine appeared to have finally begun gaining the upper hand. Yet, the Emperor did not seem fazed in the slightest. His expression was unreadable beneath the shadows of his helmet, but it was clear from his body language he still believed himself fully in control of the situation.
Three managed to land the occasional strike, but even his swords seemed to do little against the Emperor's impossibly resilient armor. In an attempt to land a heavier blow, Three launched himself into the air, intending to let the gravity carry his swords downward, just as Nine's needles had. However, he found himself soaring up far higher than he had intended. Impossibly so, as though he had suddenly sprouted wings. His mark completely missed, he lost his sense of balance and began tumbling through the air. He quickly realized it could only have been due to more of his foe's trickery.
'REDUCED gravity?!'
Expertly seizing the opening, the Emperor raised his scepter overhead, then swiftly swung it downward. As if mimicking this motion, Three suddenly dropped out of the air, thrown to the hard ground below like a rag doll.
'Gaaah!'
The air knocked out of his lungs, Three struggled to catch his breath, spitting up mouthfuls of blood in between gasps.
'Get out of the way! He's not done!'
Saved by Nine's frantic warning, Three just barely managed to roll out of the way. A split second later, the scepter slammed down into the ground where he had just been. As the gravity-enhanced scepter connected with the rocky ground below, it let out a powerful blast, leaving a crater in its wake.
'S!'
The resulting shockwave launched Three to the side, knocking him to relative safety. Had he taken a direct hit, he would have been completely pulverized. Though dazed, he was still aware enough to signal to Nine that he was okay. He forced himself to his feet.
The battle had completely changed. The Emperor had begun manipulating gravity levels on a constant cycle, and Three was forced into a defensive position. Whenever he managed to get a handle on his foe's barrage of attacks, he found the gravity level altered yet again, forcing him to start back at zero. It was impossible for him to fight in such ever-changing conditions.
The situation was taxing for Nine as well. She found herself forced to constantly recalculate the field's range and gravity value, severely reducing the number of effective attacks she was able to launch.
Despite their bleak outlook, the two of them continued to hold out. Even when pressured, Three served as an excellent vanguard, consistently denying the Emperor any opportunities for a decisive strike. Nine, meanwhile, continued to back him up flawlessly, acting with a surgical precision that ensured no opening went to waste.
'S!' she called out to him as he leapt back, putting some distance between himself and the Emperor, 'I think I've figured something out.'
'Let's hear it.'
Three waited for her to continue, keeping his guard up and watching closely for any sign of attack from the Emperor.
'Have you noticed anything different from when you and Ace fought him before? Was he carrying anything in his left hand back then?'
Three glanced at his foe's left hand, seeing it empty. He thought back to three years ago...
'Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure he had an orb with him. Purple, with a golden sculpture of a crow on it. The battle back then was completely one-sided.'
'Just as I suspected,' Nine nodded.
Three had also sensed something was different, but had simply chalked it up to the Emperor toying with them, as he didn't consider them to be a true threat to him. Factoring in what Nine had just pointed out, however, cast things in a much different light.
'Oh? So you've realized?'
The Emperor paused his onslaught, as though in recognition of Nine's keen observation.
'You see the implements he has on him now? I suspect at one point, he had four different artifacts that let him control gravity.'
'Four, huh?' Three said, taking note of the Emperor's equipment.
'Right. A helmet with a crown motif that can increase or reduce the overall level of gravity; armor that absorbs the force imparted by attacks the moment they're received; a scepter that sends out a devastating gravitational wave when it makes contact with its target; and an orb with a crow perched on it that allows its wielder to alter gravity on a target-by-target basis.'
Nine paused her explanation for a moment as she looked defiantly at the Emperor. The reason he had worn that tattered cloak was now clear. If someone were to wield so many artifacts at once as he did, it would be necessary to conceal them. Failure to do so would surely attract unwanted attention from the church.
'Now that you mention it, this time around, he hasn't been moving faster, while slowing us down at the same time,' Three said, 'When we fought him before, we couldn't even touch him.'
It was true that in their fight against him, Three and Ace had been struggling under different levels of gravity than the Emperor. There was no doubt he was toying with them in the present, but at the very least, both sides were battling under the same levels of gravity, constantly shifting though they were. As such, the pair's odds of winning were much better this time around.
'I think he either lost the orb at some point, or it was destroyed--or at least damaged--in the rock slide,' Nine explained.
The pair realized that if this were true, now was their best chance to take down the Emperor, once and for all.
'A talented tool, indeed.'
The Emperor's voice was low, tinged with a hint of perverse delight.
'The artifacts I wear are collectively known as the Monarch's Regalia. I'm impressed you were able to analyze their capabilities in such a limited amount of time. You, Nine of Swords, are truly outstanding.'
'I don't want your praise, you bastard.'
Ignoring Nine's retort, the Emperor continued on, his exhilaration giving way to a violent savagery.
'But even the greatest tool is worthless if it will not submit to its rightful place in my hands...'
His body began levitating, broken chunks of earth underfoot rising upward with him. With all the force he could muster, he swung his scepter into a nearby boulder.
'...and worthless tools must be disposed of!'
In that instant, the boulder shattered into shards of all shapes and sizes that were sent rocketing toward Nine.
'Watch out!' Three cried out.
The shards flew like a salvo of bullets from a thousand different guns. All of them, pointed directly at one target. It was a grim sight, not unlike a single soldier standing before the assault of an entire army.
Panicked, Three rushed into the line of fire. He brandished his swords and did everything he could to prevent the shards from reaching Nine. He deflected and broke what he could, using his body as a shield for the rest. But there was a considerable distance between him and Nine--one he could not cover easily. By the time he had leapt in the way, a great many shards were already too far ahead.
Three was too late.
Nine had no realistic chance of avoiding the entirety of the attack, and instead devoted her efforts to simply avoiding the worst of the pieces of stone flying at her. There were far too many, however, and one managed to slip through her defenses.
She suffered a direct hit to the abdomen, and a red mist sprayed from her mouth as she crumpled to the earth.
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