Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 268: Antagonist of Earth (13)

"――Advancing any further beyond the Thirty-Fifth is not permitted."

One warped, minacious voice resounded from an unseen face.

All of a sudden, it was as if the air had frozen.

Whether that was due to the masked figure’s intensity, whether it was due to the possible intent veiled behind his words of warning, or whether it had something to do with an entirely alternate factor altogether, the rigid atmosphere’s origin had already proved an irrelevant concern.

"...I beg your pardon?"

Quietly, calmly, the sakura maiden’s voice flowed.

"Beyond the Thirty-Fifth you say. And so, what is it that emboldens you so to order me to stand down?

Her eyes, clear as freshly-wiped glass and bearing that completely unthreatening hue, narrowed towards the unfamiliar stranger, her thin and neat likewise pink eyebrows naturally following along to furrow just above.

The masked man had undeniably worded a threat towards her just now.

’Do not ascend beyond the Thirty-Fifth Floor.’

So he implied, but would such a warning be then enforced, should she refuse to abide?

The other party was a mysterious person of whom she had zero possibility to attain the true thoughts of, not here, not in this sphere of tension.

Many of the Challengers she had encountered until now had borne feelings of positivity and plentiful goodwill towards her, but that did not mean there weren’t exceptions.

Ruffians who saw a lone woman in a dangerous place, perhaps eyeing a one-dimensional vulnerability without considering the reality of her strength.

Even those more ordinary folk who thought they had an ’opportunity’ come their way.

There were many such cases, in fact, where her unaltered beauty and charm were only to serve as such a detriment. Moreso considering her enhancement of truly exceptional magic energy.

At the very least, the man before her did not appear the type that aimed solely for her body.

Although, it’s not like that meant anything when she was dead.

From within the baggy sleeve of her shrine maiden’s dress, Hanami Chisa produced a single folding fan, its relatively plain surface decorated with patterns of innocent cherry blossoms.

"...You will ignore my warning? I should say, I bear no ill intent. Should you comply. This is simply a development I cannot allow." frёewebηovel.cѳm

The masked figure seemed to give a sigh, one that was almost inaudible, his piercing crimson orbs flickering to the ground for but a moment.

Immediately thereafter, he captured those of the other.

"―Will you make this more complicated than it needs to be?"

Tension was already climbing with each second they watched the other without making a move, but now, it was surely reaching its climax.

The figure’s words, aligned with something sharp, were unabashedly threatening.

And yet, he claimed to bear no ill intent.

"..."

"...I find it unacceptable to simply receive such an ’order’ without a reason attached. I did not take you for the sort to take pleasure in imposing power over the actions of lone women. I also do not wish for bloodshed or unnecessary conflict, as I have stated. Kindly elucidate your stance."

The masked figure could not respond to her request.

Despite finding the former part of her words a sincere relief, he could not just ’explain everything’ as she would want him to.

Even explaining the most basic point of his reasoning was faulty.

Not because it was a "bad reason", per se, but due to the fact that it was simply unbelievable.

After all. Who would believe such a suspicious person’s claim that the world would end if they didn’t listen to him?

Still, the only path open before him, or at least, the only one that he could perceive, was one of control.

Unless one demonstrates utmost persuasion, whether in the form of exceptional charisma or solid argumentation and debate tactics, why should anybody listen to what a person has to say, to take it with any grain of respect or sincerity?

There was no charisma to be found in a man who hid his face and voice, whose words were one-sidedly dominating and nonsensical, and whose entire being oozed a sense of being ’untrustworthy’.

The reality was, sometimes, there were people who could not persuade, and people who could not be persuaded.

In those times, the one attempting the persuasion had simply two options.

Firstly, give up. But that was not an option here.

Secondly, persevere, whether with the same method or an alternative method of persuasion from prior.

What naturally followed a scene of failed persuasion was "persuasion".

And, not unlike ordinary persuasion, "persuasion" was an incredibly powerful thing.

"―"Kindly elucidate your stance.""

"..."

"And if I don’t?"

Before the other had a chance to react, the masked figure was already wielding a previously-nonexistent blade.

Its slim, blackened edge pressed against the milky skin of her neck, applying gentle pressure from which a single drop of blood appeared to stream down.

"...If you don’t."

Despite her obviously disadvantageous position, Hanami Chisa smiled.

It was nothing more than a slight curling up of each side of her lips, but that alone was telling enough.

This woman――

"Then I suppose we will have a bit of a conundrum on our hands."

"..."

The two remained still for a while, the masked figure’s sinister blade still resting against her neck. And yet, she was calm.

Hanami Chisa’s meaning to clear the Tower, to fell it, to see it to its end.

She needn’t explain herself to this opposer, it was her right, and even if he attempted such to force her actions otherwise, she would not bend. Whether or whether not it was possible with reasoning, it simply was not something that would occur.

However, though she did not explain it, it is not as if the masked figure had no understanding whatsoever of her goal.

"―To secure the optimal future for my family and for my people."

Such were her words towards the dragon.

In other words, she accepted it as something that was necessary. Something worth offering her life for the mere possibility of achieving.

What he didn’t realise was that time was of the essence not just for himself.

And, when two people of clashing objectives come face-to-face, each with the weight of a ticking time limit strapped to their back, it goes without saying what the result would be.

That reality was being demonstrated right here.