“I was his friend, his confidant, and his advisor. I knew him far better than you ever did. You are a foolish boy who thinks he is serving the will of his father, while I am the one who will realize his dream. I serve the Imperium. I do not serve the Pathfinder. The Pathfinder serves me.”
“Then you are an imbecile.”
WHACK. The Iron Guard hit him even harder. This one had to have been a Massive to have knuckles that dense.
The imposter looked to the Iron Guard. It was as if they communicated without speaking, and the soldier stepped away, leaving Toru hanging there, blood running out of his nose and down his lips.
“Okubo hated the Enemy. He was correct to do so. It came here as a mighty predator. His mistake, however, was in thinking it could not be tamed. Like any beast, like magic even, it can be broken and made to serve. For many years I kept a fragment of the defeated Pathfinder secret. I studied it, learned its ways, as was Okubo’s command to me, and I took its strength for myself. It is simply another form of being, not so different from the Power.”
They had thought it was merely bad luck which had brought the Pathfinder to Asia twice in a row, but in truth, it had never actually left. “You are being deceived.”
“You are incorrect. Like all living things, the Enemy merely wishes to continue its existence. Once I spoke with it, I came to understand its needs. It came to consume all of the Power, as it had done before on other worlds, but only because the intelligences there which the Power had been bonded to were not rational. The Enemy merely asks for enough sustenance to support itself, and in exchange, it is prepared to give us so much in return… Access to abilities far beyond anything the Power has ever granted.”
“What did my father say when you suggested this to him?”
Saito chuckled. “I am not a fool. I never spoke to Okubo about this. He truly believed that the Pathfinder had been completely destroyed. I did not wish to upset his view, so I waited.”
“It had you wait. It made you hold your tongue.”
“Not at all. Did Okubo himself not once teach that it was the inevitable duty of the strong to control the weak? I am merely following his philosophy. The Predator is strong. The Power is the weaker of the two, and thus must be controlled. The Power is nothing more than a very useful farm animal. It is livestock, to be managed. There is no reason that both cannot exist simultaneously in this world.”
“Magic is not chickens, and we are not peasants collecting eggs to present to our lords! It has clouded your thoughts, Saito. It is using you.”
“You have not seen what I have seen. You will never understand. When the evil Grimnoir took Okubo from us, I saw my opportunity. Over the years I had been secretly collecting other forms of magic. I oversaw Unit 731, and when the discreet opportunity would present itself, I would have the Power wrung out of another Active and I would take it as my own. Oh, the look on your face… Surprised? You think Okubo was the only one who could do such a thing? No, Toru. The Pathfinder offers that to all of its allies. It enabled me to conceal this development from Okubo, and once the unthinkable happened, I stepped in to take his place.”
“How do you—”
“Mimic him so perfectly? The Pathfinder is an artist whose medium is flesh. It did not simply give me a new face. Using nothing but a lock of Okubo’s hair, it grew me a new body. It has been observing his every word and action for decades, and it recorded them all with perfect clarity for my use. I am not an actor pretending to be Okubo, I am Okubo.”
Toru did not know if the dream he’d been having earlier had been real or not, but he chose to believe. Father, grant me the strength to break these chains so that I may snap this bastard’s neck. Nothing happened. “Damn you, Saito.”
“I am Okubo Tokugawa, and you are standing in the way of my great vision of unification. Now you may be wondering why I did not simply have you killed when they pulled your nearly lifeless body from the rubble. It is the same reason you still wear this magnificent armor. Your death must be most impressive. I mentioned your seeds of doubt taking root, and I simply cannot allow that to happen. For the good of the Imperium, there can be no doubt in my divinity.”
Divinity? The Chairman had never claimed to be a god! “What manner of blasphemous madness do you speak of?”
Saito waved his hand dismissively. “I tire of the Emperor. The time has come to remove all pretenses, but first, you have insulted my rule, and for that I must publicly destroy you. I must defeat you in a manner which leaves no doubt that I am Okubo Tokugawa.”
It was as Dr. Wells had predicted. The imposter was insecure. Toru’s eyes narrowed. “A trial of combat?”
“We will conduct our ceremony, traditions will be kept, and then afterwards, I will face the infamous traitor, Toru, an exceedingly powerful Brute, in personal combat, and not only will I duel such a fearsome opponent, I will even allow him to wear one of the most powerful magical weapons in our entire arsenal. I will make it sporting. Surely, only Okubo Tokugawa would be capable of such a feat.”
It did not matter how many forms of magic Saito had absorbed, or how much extra magic the Pathfinder was granting him, Toru would find a way to kill him. “I accept your challenge.”
Saito laughed. “Of course you do. You were always a fine example of the Iron Guard’s fighting spirit. I am certain that you would do your best to defeat me. In fact, you might even be able to somehow achieve this goal, or at least put up a good enough showing that you could perhaps injure me, and it would simply not do to let the people see their god bleed.”
The other Iron Guard returned, holding something in his hand. Toru’s eyes widened when he saw what it was. The tiny metal cup was filled with a thick, black liquid. He recognized it from Hattori’s memories of Dark Ocean. It was the corrupted blood which spilled from the skinless abominations created by the Pathfinder’s dark magic. It was moving, hissing, and smoking. It was alive. It was this foul substance which the Pathfinder had used to spread its malicious corruption through the villagers to build its army.
“Wretched coward!” Toru bellowed.
“This is for the best. When next we meet, you will do what is expected of you, no more, no less. I look forward to our duel. I am sure you will put on an excellent show.”
The Iron Guard smashed the metal cup against Toru’s mouth. He clamped his lips shut, but the corruption crawled up and out, pressing against his lips. It followed the trail of dripping blood and forced its way into his nose. It pulsed and rolled up his face and into his ear. He closed his eyes as hard as he could, but it began crawling through his lids.
It would enter his brain and corrupt his soul and Toru would be no more.
And for one of the few times in his entire life, Toru knew fear.
UBF Traveler
The airship’s crew had been pared down to an absolute minimum. The corridors of the once-crowded dirigible seemed empty. The engine room was busy, the command deck was busy, and the cargo bay was bustling with activity, but that was it. Fuller, Schirmer, and a couple of brave UBF volunteers were still working on the big, confusing, slap-dash invention which was taking up the majority of the hold. It looked like a mess, but they swore up and down that it would work. More than likely.
Sullivan had come down from Akane’s room and gone right to work. Southunder had arrived a little later to check on his preparations. “Zhao and a few of my Marauders are on the way back to the city. It seems a few of my boarding-party regulars did not wish to sit this one out. Heinrich will be awaiting our signal.”