[Code Geass] Irregular 30

Chapter 30 – 29. Zero

“Congratulations~ The two you asked for. They weren’t on the death list.”
“Is that so?”

Dark prison. With the iron bar between the inside and outside, Szik took a chair and sat down, looking at the gray-haired man with glasses talking to him.
Count Lloyd. At the time of the Shinjuku Massacre, a 7th generation Nightmare Frame that he made by bringing Suzaku who had fallen down. He was the one who rode the incense weapon, Lancelot, and the man who wanted to save Suzaku more than anyone else at this moment.

“But you’re at a disadvantage. Even in the trial, no one is on your side.”
“However, the courtroom is a place where the truth is revealed.”

At Suzaku’s rebuttal, Lloyd made a subtle expression. That is to say, that was it. After tasting a lot of the circumstances of the adults, he regrets that he wished he hadn’t known.

“Well? I think there are many more unknowns, right? The truth is.”
“If that’s the world, I have no regrets.”

Suzaku said with a confident expression. He didn’t kill Clovis himself. Lloyd sighed seeing Suzaku like that. Lloyd could not hastily predict how much he would have to search the world to find a device like Suzaku, and whether it would be possible even after a lifetime of hard work.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡ
Next day.

Angry Britannians flocked to see Suzaku heading for trial on the pier of the Tokyo Concession. The procession escorting Suzaku was unnecessarily grand and long. A nightmare you don’t even need. Sutherland was escorting the Szark convoy. The foremost Nightmare was running with the cockpit open, and Marquis Jeremiah was on board in the open cockpit. In the back of the convoy, Jeremiah’s adjutant, Biretta, was watching the surroundings inside Sutherland in preparation for an unexpected situation.
It’s a way to show off.

It was Britannia soldiers who caught the suspect. It was a procession that seemed to show with all its body that it was a pure-blooded Britannian soldier, and that the suspect in the murder of Her Highness Clovis was an honorary Britannian who was Eleven. It was passed on to the Britannians who filled the road to see Suzaku.
Angry Britannia crowds lashed out at Suzaku.

“Scum!”
“A guy who doesn’t even know grace!”
“Eleven guy!”
“Kill it!”

Tied to the convoy and unable to cover her face, Suzaku was dragged away like a witch being burned at the stake. She had no intention of running away anyway, and she had no way of getting away. The people who dared to aim at her with automatic rifles beside her were also Britannians.

In a broadcasting vehicle parked in a corner, people from the broadcasting station were busy moving. The conversation between Marquis Jeremiah and the high-ranking people in the media had already ended so that the camera could catch the video it received and show it live. Jeremiah wanted this broadcast to be successful, and because of that, Diethardt, the most talented producer at the station, was brought in.
Diethardt clicked her tongue as she watched Suzaku being dragged away.

“It’s a way to show off… I’m also corrupted.”

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Because it is a state-of-the-art research facility, the laboratory was too small. In a lab barely large enough for one Nightmare to fit in, a white Nightmare and the technicians servicing it were sweating and working. Count Lloyd Asprund’s assistant, Cecil Crumi, sighed. On the TV hanging from the high wall close to the ceiling, a broadcast of Suzaku, Lancelot’s device, being escorted came out. Cecile’s appetite was bitter to hear her final goodbye on TV.

“We know that Suzaku-kun is innocent…”

Clovis died during the Shinjuku Massacre. At that time, Cruroogi Szak rescued them, boarded Lancelot, and fought off the terrorists. She continued to rescue Eleven and Britannians. Until the end of the situation, Suzaku showed a rescue without giving up.

Cecil knew that fact. Seeing Cecil like that, Count Lloyd shrugged his shoulders.

“The court has decided not to accept our testimony. There is no choice.”
“Still…”

Cecil felt her strength draining. This shows how lopsided the courts of this era are. The courts didn’t do their job properly. A court swayed here and there by those in power. Innocent victims resulting from it. Cecile had no idea where she went wrong.

Lloyd laughed at Cecil.

“Is that philanthropy? Humanitarianism?”
“Are you kidding me at this point?”
“Is there something else to do? You know that too? This is a case. Since it’s a summit, I can’t even contact that person, so I have no choice but to give up.”

Cecil was resentful of Count Lloyd’s words. Even from Count Lloyd’s point of view, he knew that it would be difficult to help him any more, but couldn’t he speak a little warmer? Cecil could not understand Lloyd even though she knew that he was the person she felt most sorry for right now.

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I was hiding under a bridge where Britannitans were gathering. The reason was nothing. The reason I came here is because I wanted to do Karen’s request.

Lelouch was sickly eaten. Ougi was a pathetic leader. The resistance that came to help Zero was only Karen and Ogi. I was in a situation where I had to go with Karen to help her, and her Inoue was proud to follow me when I went. Not this time. I persuaded Inoue to stay quietly in the hideout. No one knew when he would die if Inoue was brought to a dangerous battlefield. Even in the original story, Inoue does not come here. It would be a big deal if it came and the result changed.

Still, Sugiyama didn’t even go, but she followed me, and I had the strong thought that if she was definitely on my side, she would be nice to me.

I thought of the first time Lelouch spoke to me.

[Who is the author?]
[He is the one who helps me.]
[Is it Resistance?]
[No.]

This was Karen’s answer to Lelouch’s question. Lelouch asked me.

[Are you willing to join my plan?]
[Fuck you Sipal.]

I could feel Karen’s embarrassment when I immediately hit her. I pointed to Karen and said.

[I’m here because he asked me, I don’t really care what happens to you. I don’t know if it’s a request.]
[Hoo.]
[You sound like a ho. Crazy kid. If you have nothing more to say, just shut up. I don’t care about Ougi, because I’m the only one who needs to help Karen.]
[…Then help me.]
[Then, of course. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.]
Due to my insane change of attitude, Lelouch stopped talking to me after that.

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

Lelouch broke out in a cold sweat. It was clear that there would be no problem with the calculation he had set. But there is only one thing that is so tense. This is because today was the first activity he officially attempted.

The vehicle that started with the Zero on Route 3 moved slowly, and after driving a little, encountered a procession carrying a Suzaku head-on. Perhaps it was because they had already heard about their arrival by radio, so it seemed that they were waiting for them after stopping the entrainment.

The crowd that had gathered to see the Suzaku perform was bewildered. It was because the vehicle Lelouch himself was riding was Clovis’ imperial court vehicle. All of a sudden, the dead prince’s courtesy car appeared and blocked the procession of the suspect, so everyone was surprised.

Karen, who was driving the royal vehicle, was on the verge of uneasiness. It was because the vehicle that looked like an exclusive vehicle for the imperial family was actually a fake ceremonial vehicle made similar to a vehicle on the verge of being scrapped by picking up wooden plywood. In fact, it could have stopped running right now. The condition of the car was so terrible.

‘Really… Do you think it’s possible with this veneer…’

While Karen was worried about this, the ceremonial vehicle they had improvised arrived at the front of the transport procession where Nightmare was waiting. She had nothing to do with Karen from now on. She waits nervously, and when all she has to do is jump under the pier.

[Don’t worry. I’ll accept it by any means.]

Karen remembered her Ugin talking as she held her by the shoulder before she left for this place. When she thought of him, she felt her heart lighten. But when she saw the Nightmare squad right in front of her, she couldn’t help but feel worried.

[Get off! The criminal who soiled Her Highness’s imperial vehicle!]

I turned on the external audio device from the Nightmare in the front and heard a voice. Karen was anxious. If that Nightmare shoots at me right away, I won’t be able to find the body.
There were only two things Karen could do from now on: pray for Zero to do well, and help her Ugin safely when she fell into the pier.

The tapestry of imperial family patterns hanging on the ceremonial vehicle suddenly disappeared as it burned from bottom to top. A masked man appeared there.

“I… Zero.”

After Zero introduced himself like that, he was silent for a while.

Karen felt like going crazy. He was so terrified that his teeth chatted against each other. I wanted to run away right away, but if I ran away now, the man named Zero would become a beehive and collapse. In a situation where she couldn’t do anything, Karen felt helpless. She wouldn’t have done this if Woo-jin had driven the car.

‘Maybe?’

Perhaps Woojin parked the car and asked to wake up when it was over. When she thought so, she laughed. An idiot from the Shinjuk ghetto. A person who lives as he pleases, doesn’t care and lives as he pleases even when no one likes him.

After becoming close with Inoue, he is a strange guy who feels humanity.

The tremors had stopped. Okay! If it goes wrong, what else is there to do but die? Karen took her slack back. Her mind control seemed to work.

A man with an external voice open and speaking through a loudspeaker. Marquis Jeremiah opened the cockpit and came out once more. He had a pistol in his hand.

“It’s done now, right? Zero. Your showtime is over.”

Jeremiah fired the pistol into the air. Taang! I heard a sound and saw fire coming out of the muzzle, it was a gunpowder gun that fired signal tracers.

At Jeremiah’s signal, another Nightmare fell from the transport above. A total of 4 cars. Nightmare fell while encircling the protocol vehicle Karen and Zero were riding in. Karen sighed.
It felt like the chances of running away were getting smaller and smaller. Actually, Zero standing on top of Karen’s protocol car was okay, but she couldn’t see Karen because she was out of sight of Karen.

“Shall we take off the mask first?”

At Jeremiah’s words, Zero raised her hand to slowly remove his mask. Then suddenly, as he tried to remove his mask, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

‘Perfect!’

To the sound of finger snaps, the cheap planks that made up the ceremonial vehicle came crashing down. A spherical capsule appeared on top of the car, where the boards collapsed. It was the capsule that the Ohgi Group stole after mistaking it for a biological weapon.

“What!?”

Jeremiah couldn’t help but be surprised. Biretta, who was behind Jeremiah, shouted.

“Sir Jeremiah! That’s it!”

At the reaction of the two, Lelouch could barely smile behind the mask.

‘Yes Jeremiah. For those of you who haven’t seen the contents, this is a poison gas capsule…’

A green-haired woman jumped out of there, and she gave herself this power and died. The only people who knew this were Lelouch and Suzaku in this situation. It was because Suzaku was the only person present when the capsule was opened.
Suzaku, who was watching, was startled.

“No! That’s it! Keuuugh!”

When Suzaku tried to tell the truth, electricity flowed from the restraints around Suzaku’s neck, stopping Suzaku from screaming. It was a restraint that Jeremiah had filled in to prevent Suzaku from inciting the gathered by talking nonsense during the arrest. In the end, the only person who could tell the capsule’s identity had no way to tell it.

Britannia citizens who were watching it did not know why. A spherical capsule protruded from the sudden collapse of the ceremonial vehicle. Soldiers scurrying around as if something big had happened. These were enough factors to make citizens uneasy.

Jeremiah, who was watching, also broke out in a cold sweat. As far as Jeremiah knew, it was because the poison gas capsule containing the biochemical weapon was hit. The actual owner of the stolen capsule, General Bartre, said so. A man named Zero took the citizens of Britannia on the road as hostages in an instant. And in a way that Britannia’s citizens couldn’t even notice. Ordinary citizens did not even know what that capsule was.

Jeremiah raised her pistol and aimed it at Zero. Because she had to do something. From the moment Zero brought that poison gas capsule, the initiative passed into Zero’s hands.

“Do you want to shoot? You should know what this is like.”

Jeremiah couldn’t use the pistol he was aiming at. There was no way that the person who casually caused such a major accident would have appeared in front of her without any preparation for her.
Eventually Jeremiah had no choice but to lower her pistol. She couldn’t gamble with the lives of Britannia citizens gathered here.

Biretta, who was watching Jeremiah from behind, looked at him with a pitiful look.

“Okay. Request?”
“It’s an exchange. This capsule and Krurugi Suzaku.”
“That’s funny! Lee is the big criminal who murdered His Highness Clovis! I can’t hand it over!”

Right now, as Jeremiah himself requested, a video was being broadcast live from the broadcasting station. It could be seen by all citizens of the Tokyo concession, and even by people all over the world. In a place like this, she kneels herself to the terrorists and accepts their demands? The moment she did, it was clear that she herself would fall into abyss. However, it was also clear that there was no answer as long as the citizens of Britannia were being held hostage. Jeremiah felt she was caught in checkmate.

“No. Wrong Jeremiah. The culprit is not him. It was me who killed Clovis…!”

Zero’s declaration rang out. The citizens of Britannia, who had come out to watch Suzaku’s performance, could hear the muttering. Broadcasting would have ended the transmission as well. Jeremiah felt that she was in trouble. Already, it was obvious that his position would be greatly reduced even if he did not respond to his request. It was because the moment Zero declared that he was a suspect, Jeremiah became a human being who was forcibly made into a suspect by detaining someone who was not even a suspect.

Aside from that, Karen, who was driving by Zero, felt like crying. She asked for help, so she helped, but a human named Zero detonated a bombshell. Karen was here convinced that she was wrong this life. This was a situation from which she could never return alive. Tears formed in her Karen’s eyes.

Whether or not he knew Karen’s thoughts, Zero continued to open her mouth.

“One Eleven can save countless lives of precious Britannians. I think it’s not a bad deal.”

At Zero’s words, Jeremiah could no longer remain calm. She was already at a loss for her own position. What if you trade here? It was certain that she would no longer have a place to stand on her feet. Jeremiah was in a hurry.

“That guy is crazy! Disguise Your Highness’s imperial vehicle and make him pay for the insult!”

At Jeremiah’s order to attack, Nightmare’s coil guns surrounding Zero’s vehicle started aiming in unison. Then, Zero opened his mouth again.

“You mean it’s okay to be known? Orange”

Jeremiah was taken aback by Zero’s sudden words. Orange? What is it? Her head felt frozen as she suddenly heard a story she had never heard before. So did the other people around her who were listening.

“What is it? An orange?”
“Well.”

Buzz buzz.

As the surroundings started to buzz at Zero’s remarks, Zero hit the car twice with his foot. It’s the sound of moving forward a little more. Karen wanted to cry. It seemed to her that if she went any further, she would die without really being able to gather her bones.

“It’s supposed to be public when I die. If you don’t want to…”
“What do you mean? What is an orange? What the hell are you talking about?”

Her vehicle kept getting closer, and Jeremiah, who was dazed when she suddenly heard her incomprehensible noise, looked at Zero. Zero got closer, but when Jeremiah’s face was clearly visible, she continued. At the same time, the left eye of Zero’s mask clicked open, revealing Lelouch’s left eye.

“Do all you can to get us away. The man over there too.”

At that moment, the power of Gears was sucked through Jeremiah’s eyes.