Semi-Coercive Imperialist

Splash. Splash.

A half-crushed corpse wandered through the ship's passageway like a ghost.

Splash. Splash.

A monster limped through seawater that reached its waist.

Beyond its blackened eyelids, exposed pupils kept moving, glinting as they searched for the warmth of the living.

Splash. Splash.

The monster emerged from the flooded section where corpses bobbed in the water and crossed the drenched corridor.

"Hey! Sir, are you alright?!"

The sailor approached first and tapped its shoulder. At that moment, its head snapped around at an unnatural angle.

"!"

In an instant, the monster's hand seized the sailor's entire face.

Crunch!

Bones crumbled. The sailor's skull shattered, spraying brain matter as his blood and life force were drawn into the monster.

"......"

Behind the shriveled corpse, two people who appeared to have been led here by the sailor stood frozen in terror.

A young man named Yan, and an aristocrat's daughter who had somehow become his lover.

"Wh, what are you?!"

Splash. Splash.

As the monster approached, the young lady hurriedly raised her pistol and fired.

Bang!

The bullet lodged in its shoulder, but the monster remained unharmed. If anything, its eyes grew bloodshot.

"Run!"

Yan grabbed her hand and pulled her away. The two ran down the corridor as Jace Arshtel briefly activated Restoration.

His ruined heart and other internal organs recovered first. Then the muscles in his legs swelled taut.

"Live......"

Reason could wait. Driven by nothing but the instinct to survive, he moved his own body.

"......I have to."

He raced down the corridor to consume the living.

......

"We have bread! Take some bread!"

On the deck, the cook and assistants threw loaves down into the lifeboats being lowered to the sea.

"Take the bread!"

People trying to board the lifeboats clutched large chunks of bread to their chests as well.

"......Isn't there any cake? Something other than this hard stuff."

Someone complained without reading the room.

"Who said that?!"

Halbert Goring, sharp-eared as ever, pointed in that direction and shouted.

"Cake? Are you insane? Do you want to die that badly?! Cook! Ignore that nonsense and keep handing out bread!"

"Y, yes!"

They loaded most of the lifeboats with bread and drinking water.

"Thank you for your hard work!"

They also handed loaves and water bottles to the sailors keeping order. One sailor brought over a container full of mana stones and distributed them as makeshift heaters.

"Pack them in tight! Get as many people aboard as you can!"

After Halbert's shout, the only words heard on deck were, "It's authentic."

The bodies of those summarily executed already lay scattered across the floor, so anyone with a forged family register did not dare submit it for inspection.

"......"

First Mate Rusen watched the situation closely. The evacuation was moving faster than expected. Eli's skill as an appraiser played a part, but discipline had created order as well.

Still, some people could not approach the lifeboats and instead backed away.

Rusen saw them.

They were likely not Aran, had no family register, or had forged one.

They had to give up the only place on the sinking ship where survival was possible.

"Second Mate Jekin."

Rusen called to his junior.

"Y, yes?"

"I'll leave this place to you. Keep doing exactly as you have been."

"Yes, sir! Understood!"

Agent Nils justified the selection by citing the Imperial Citizens Act, but a sailor's duty was to protect every passenger they could.

That meant there had to be another path for those left behind.

First Mate Rusen turned and headed down into the ship.

"It's authentic."

Eli was still appraising family registers.

A woman appeared at his appraisal station and placed her family register down.

Eli's gaze paused for a moment, and Halbert spoke with a bitter smile.

"Ah, ha ha. Lady Grossmann! Your face is practically an identity card, just like mine, so you can simply board without..."

"Is it authentic or fake? Hurry up and inspect it."

Charlotte's eyes settled on Eli. Ignoring the coldness that had settled over her, Eli looked through the family register.

Tap.

Eli's hand stopped.

He answered.

"It's fake."

"......What?"

A brief commotion broke out. Nils's lips twisted slightly, while Charlotte remained calm.

Halbert shouted in a panic.

"Wh, what are you talking about?! Lady Grossmann! Please get aboard! The appraiser is just too exhausted right now..."

"No."

Charlotte shook her head and tucked the family register into her coat.

"It is fake. I lent the real one to someone."

After glaring at Eli with a false smile, she said,

"Since it's fake, I can't board. Rules should be fair, shouldn't they?"

Without hesitation, she turned away and headed for the lower decks where the others were trapped.

"L, Lady Grossmann!"

Halbert trembled like a chick, but Nils did not. He watched her retreating figure, then put a hand on Eli's shoulder.

"Well done. It was fake."

It was a strange kind of approval.

......

The fourth day of the Titan's voyage.

Inside the ship's telegraph room.

[ Rescue request. Rescue request. Rescue request. ]

[ This is the passenger ship Titan. This is the passenger ship Titan. ]

[ Position: 320 nautical miles northwest of the Lazen Route. South-southwest bearing from Lapero Lighthouse. ]

[ Engine room explosion. Taking on water. Three thousand one hundred people aboard. ]

[ All nearby vessels, respond. Come at full speed. ]

Even as seawater flowed in and soaked his ankles, the telegraphist did not stop sending the distress signal.

"This is the passenger ship Titan. This is the passenger ship Titan. Position: 320 nautical miles northwest of the Lazen Route. South-southwest bearing from Lapero Lighthouse. We are taking on water following an engine room explosion. I repeat, we are taking on water. Three thousand one hundred people aboard. Insufficient lifeboats. All vessels in these waters, please come at full speed......"

Bang!

The door opened behind him. His fellow sailors had arrived.

"Jensen! What are you doing?!"

"You go first."

"This isn't the time for..."

"I have something to do too."

[ Rescue request. Rescue request. Rescue request. ]

[ This is the passenger ship Titan. This is the passenger ship Titan. ]

If he stopped for even a moment, the signal might be cut off.

He had to make sure those waves reached the receiver of any ship passing through these waters.

Craaack!

Not far away, the ship's frame broke with a violent snap. Jensen held back his shaking breath and tapped the key.

"Ah... all ships, all ships, to every ship that might hear this transmission..."

His voice and the signals emitted by the telegraph stretched endlessly over the night sea.

......

Splash, splash, splash!

Charlotte ran through the corridor with two children in her arms. The children's mother, a boy and his younger sister who had lost their father, an elderly couple, and around fifteen other third-class passengers followed behind her.

"This way!"

As they reached the B-zone passage leading up to the deck, someone blocked their path.

A dark shadow urgently asked them,

"Family registers! Do you have family registers?!"

It was First Mate Rusen. Charlotte let out a rough breath at his shout.

"What are you talking about at a time like..."

"It's important! I asked if you have family registers! Do you or don't you?!"

Rusen looked over the passengers. The children's mother weakly shook her head. Everyone behind her did the same.

They did not even seem to be imperial citizens in the first place. After a moment's thought, Rusen changed direction.

"Then come this way!"

He led them in the complete opposite direction from the lifeboats, toward the ship's stern.

Rafts made from doors tied together with rope stood lined up there.

"We're making pulleys to lower the rafts now."

The sailors were busy weaving ropes into a device for lowering the rafts, and third-class passengers filled the area.

Charlotte nodded.

"......You've been working hard. Please take care of them."

"It's our duty. Lady Grossmann, stay strong."

After entrusting the passengers to Rusen, Charlotte turned back into the ship.

Splash. Splash.

As she waded through the rising water in search of survivors,

"Hey! Run!"

A scream-laced shout came from the other side.

"Run! Hurry!"

Blink. Blink.

Under flickering emergency lights, a terrified man and woman ran toward her.

Gunshots rang out behind them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A sailor was wildly firing his pistol in terror.

"D, don't come closer! You monster bastard!"

Whoosh!

A hand shot from the darkness and seized the sailor's face.

Crunch!

The sailor's face twisted as blood and mana were sucked into it.

"......?"

Charlotte froze at the grotesque sight. Then someone grabbed her shoulder.

"Charl!"

It was Victor Heim.

"......What is that thing?"

Charlotte asked in a trembling voice. Victor looked at her without answering.

"Are you still going to hide things after coming this far? What the hell is that?!"

Victor bit his lip. His eyes were filled with deep frustration.

"......Gentra. You know them, right?"

"Ah, you crazy bastard! You joined hands with them too?!"

Instead of making excuses, Victor spoke the truth.

"Jace Arshtel. His alias is the Immortal."

The monster turned his head and looked this way. His pupils glinted grotesquely behind his burned eyelids.

"I didn't know he had survived in that state."

By anyone's eyes, he looked like he was absorbing other people's life force.

Was there forbidden magic of that kind?

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

He came charging toward them, flailing both legs. The sight alone sent chills down Charlotte's spine.

"Charl. We have to go!"

Victor grabbed Charlotte and pulled her away, but a thought crossed Charlotte's mind.

If they went upstairs, they would reach the temporary shelter where the passengers had gathered earlier.

"No. You go up."

She shoved Victor away and ran down the opposite corridor, intending to draw his attention.

"Charl!"

She scraped her nails along an iron pipe, making noise. At the same time, she drew up the mana inside her body.

If she were in his place, mana would look more appetizing.

"......Khh."

Thankfully, he seemed to think so too. He focused his gaze on her and began chasing her, his half-detached jaw trembling.

* * *

The first and second-class passengers had already boarded the lifeboats.

Only the third-class passengers remained.

"Good! Next!"

As soon as family registers were verified, I put people aboard the lifeboats. Halbert Goring shouted repeatedly, veins standing out in his neck.

"Any more pure Aran? Any Aran or imperial citizens with verified family registers? If there are any, get out here right now!"

By the time quite a few third-class passengers had boarded the lifeboats as well,

"Next! Next! Is there no one else?!"

The only response to Goring's shout was the heaving sea and the low sobs of the people.

No one answered anymore.

Halbert clicked his tongue and nodded shortly.

"Fine, children next! They don't have to be Aran! Start with the children among those with proven family registers! Hurry! Get the children aboard first!"

Parents came running late. They willingly pushed their children into the sailors' arms.

Rumble.

The ship tilted sharply once again. Everyone's screams rang out briefly.

One sailor urgently whispered into Halbert's ear.

"......What did you say?"

Halbert's face stiffened.

Only two lifeboats remained.

"......"

He quietly turned and approached behind my desk.

"Listen, Mer. Don't panic."

He swallowed.

"There are only two lifeboats left. You, me, and Nils will board the next one down. If all of us get on the final boat at once, the rest will catch on and it will turn into chaos."

It was his own way of thinking things through, but I set down the monocle and replied,

"......No. I'll remain here until the end."

"What? Are you insane? The ship is sinking."

Halbert whispered in alarm. I calmly shook my head.

"If the three of us board together, people will become suspicious. Lord Goring and Mr. Nils should board first. I'll keep order here. That will guarantee your safety as well."

"......What?"

Halbert Goring's expression grew complicated for a moment. His pupils wavered faintly as he looked at me.

Rumble!

The ship's groaning grew louder. Halbert swallowed a sigh and gripped my shoulder tightly.

"......Fine. I understand. You were the finest Mer I have ever seen. You have to survive and come back. I swear I won't forget what you've done."

Halbert hurried onto the lifeboat.

Agent Nils placed his pistol on my desk.

"Good work. If only all Mer were like you."

He patted my shoulder twice, then boarded the lifeboat after Halbert.

Only one final lifeboat remained. Around two or three hundred people were still on deck, but there were noticeably fewer Izenheim among them.

No, there were almost none.

They had probably gone looking for another way to survive. Those bastards had a habit of clustering together like cockroaches.

"......Sailor, please take care of these people."

I spoke to the sailor beside me.

"Get as many people as possible onto the last lifeboat."

Then I noticed a large container at my feet. It had been brought by one of the sailors, and it was full of low-grade mana stones.

......Wait.

Mana stones?

"Everyone, take one of these mana stones. One each!"

Their quality was terrible, but mana stones reacted the moment they touched seawater.

The mana in nature gave off faint heat and light.

"The sailors too! Even if you fall into the sea, this light will protect you!"

I gestured to the sailors. They scooped up handfuls of mana stones and handed them out one by one to the remaining passengers.

"Board the lifeboat now!"

"......"

But the people remained silent.

No, they pushed one another forward, yielding their places.

Before long, a couple was pushed forward as if shoved out by the crowd. It was a woman holding a newborn child and her husband.

"I...... I'm alright. Just the child, at least the child......"

There was no lie in their eyes. The virus beneath their collarbones was silent.

They were not Izenheim.

"......Is there a reason you are trying to remain behind?"

They could not answer my question. They only held the child tighter.

I could roughly understand their circumstances. They were likely being pursued by the Imperial Guard or someone else.

"It's alright. Get aboard."

I handed them a small note.

"When you arrive, show this to Lord Goring. He will guarantee your safety. Hurry and get aboard."

The woman boarded the lifeboat with trembling hands, clutching the note to her chest.

After that, the people on deck put others aboard the lifeboat.

Not themselves, but a young man. A bellboy they did not know, and a boy who worked in the kitchen.

Then an elderly couple took hold of a man's hand and pushed him forward.

"This young man saved us when we got lost."

"Ah, I just..."

"If it weren't for you, we would have fallen into the water and died already. Very painfully, too. Ho ho ho."

The man held back tears at the old man's kindly smile. Soon, a sailor took his hand and led him onto the lifeboat.

Rumble!

The ship cried out and tilted once more. Even so, the deck remained the same. If anything, everyone grew steadier.

One of them asked,

"Wouldn't it be better if the sailors boarded instead..."

"It's alright. Protecting passengers is our job."

"......"

As I watched them, I sank into deep thought.

It was a strange thing.

When those who called themselves nobles shouted, "Me first," crying out about status and race, these people had not protested or resisted.

They had not ground their teeth at the unfairness of it all. They simply waited quietly for their turn.

If they had been too afraid to resist, then the people left behind after the violence had gone could not be explained.

On this deck, where there were no gun barrels aimed at them and no rules they had to uphold, those left behind were holding back their fear and hoping for one another's survival.

Even with the disaster of sinking right before them, they placed their own lives on the scales and pushed the weight toward someone else.

A calculation that could not be solved by calculation.

......Perhaps this was it.

The true nature of the humanity I had tried to protect, even as I fled, regressed, killed, and sank this ship tonight.

It was not the continent, the Empire, or civilization.

It was the foolish habit of calling someone else's name first on a sinking deck.

The sum of hearts that cared for their own children more than themselves, hearts that could give up what belonged to them.

Because humanity was like this, those bastards would never overcome us.

Those creatures made only of the malice called humanity's extinction would never understand what we were like.

"Th, then I'll get on! I'm sorry!"

Of course, a few could not overcome their fear and jumped onto the lifeboat. Yet those left behind looked at them with understanding in their eyes.

The people who boarded seemed ashamed too, pulling their hats low and holding back tears.

For some reason, I felt I could explain it simply.

Because they were human.

They survived while knowing shame, then spent their lives repaying the debt of survival.

They were beings fundamentally different from Izenheim.

"......The last lifeboat."

A question I had never once asked, even after a weak, useless bastard returned to the past and dirtied his hands this much.

Were we truly a species worth saving?

There was no need to ask again.

The answer had been with us from the beginning.

"It's full!"

I had to save them.

I had to give them back a world where they could remain themselves.

So I would willingly become dirtier. I would cover myself in blood.

I would go as far as I could, to the very end of myself.

"Are you really sure you won't board?"

One of the sailors asked me.

"......Yes. I'll be fine."

I remained on deck. The sailors bowed their heads in respect and lowered the final lifeboat.

Creak.

The ship was tilted so severely now that anyone could see how precarious it was.

"Everyone, get somewhere high! Climb as high as you can!"

"Move to the highest point!"

Those left behind headed upward to survive.

But I chose the opposite direction. I turned my gaze and descended deep into the ship.

There was still something I had to finish.

Their goodwill had to be repaid.

Footnotes:

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