Chapter 38: Church without Missionaries (3)

Due to a series of processes, the church effectively came to manage the security of the surrounding areas.

Therefore, they began to receive and resolve various incidents and accidents reported by residents.

Among such cases, violent rampages by cybernetic addicts were occasionally mixed in.

Cybernetic Rage.

A phenomenon where excessive implants erode the nervous system, making it impossible to suppress aggressive impulses.

It’s a berserk symptom that primarily occurs in powerful combat mercenaries.

From the perspective of ordinary back-alley residents, it was an unbearable commotion, so it was one of the incidents most quickly reported to the church.

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Sparks flew from his knee as he walked, and for a moment, the man staggered.

Thud!

The sound of his body falling to the ground was less like that of a human body and more like the dull thud of a mechanical lump.

At a glance, it was a body that had endured excessive modifications.

“Ugh…. Keuk…..”

Aiden, the owner of such a cybernetic body, groaned, kneeling on one knee.

‘Not again…!’

Just as he was about to curse inwardly because his body was lurching uncontrollably, as if it weren’t his own.

“Excuse me…. Are you alright?”

Someone cautiously approached him.

It was likely just ordinary kindness.

However, that voice sharply grated on Aiden’s nerves, who was suffering from a terrible headache.

He instinctively swung his hand.

“Get lost!”

Then, the cybernetic blade armed on his wrist sprang out, flashing menacingly as it grazed the other person’s face.

Swish-

“Hiik!”

With a short scream, the passerby fled in terror.

It didn’t end there.

Because a ruffian had suddenly brandished a dangerous blade in a public place, the surroundings instantly descended into chaos.

People’s screams, fleeing footsteps.

From behind him, as they hastily moved away, a shout was heard.

“I-It’s Cybernetic Rage!”

“Kyaaaak!!!”

In the midst of the commotion, Aiden stared down at his trembling hand.

The cheap cybernetic limb, having undergone numerous modifications, creaked metallically and malfunctioned; the once-extended blade stubbornly refused to retract.

Had a part broken again?

But what shocked him most was his own action moments ago.

‘Damn it…. I almost killed him.’

He couldn’t believe it.

It wasn’t even a mistake.

For the trivial reason that someone had merely spoken to him unnecessarily… murderous intent had welled up in his mind.

Belatedly realizing just how far his physical condition had deteriorated, he felt a dizzying vertigo.

Though he instinctively understood his own fate, he couldn’t help but deny it.

‘No way, not yet… This isn’t it.’

Honestly, he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

This morning, he had run out of his usual suppressants… but he thought he’d be fine for half a day, at least until he could get to the cybernetic repair shop he had booked.

But he was wrong.

He had already crossed an irreversible line.

Aiden suddenly looked at his reflection in a nearby shop window.

Hollow eyes, unfocused pupils, and… a bizarrely smiling mouth, completely contrary to his current feelings.

That was exactly the image of a cybernetic addict, just as reported on the news.

Identical to the final faces of countless rampaging criminals who were eventually shot dead after indiscriminately firing guns or going on stabbing sprees.

Suddenly, an unbearable fear sent a chill down his spine.

‘If I get reported…. What if I get reported here?’

Everyone in this city knew.

When a Cybernetic Rage incident was reported, they invariably came.

Omega Detroit Police Department, Special Mobile Unit Team 6.

Violent Entity Neutralization And Target Operations Regiment (VENATOR).

In this city, they were more famous by another nickname.

VENATOR.

Hunter-killers who stopped at nothing.

Their main task was the suppression and elimination of dangerous individuals.

They were true specialists, existing especially to deal with crazed cybernetic addict mercenaries like Aiden.

Moreover, they were an odd bunch who even accepted reports from suburban areas, which the police department usually ignored.

They had to prevent crazed murderers from entering the city proper.

Rumor even had it that they preferred to eliminate targets in suburban areas where some collateral damage wouldn’t be an issue.

Therefore, the existence of these grim reapers, who would appear anytime, anywhere, if Cybernetic Rage was reported, was a terror to all modified mercenaries.

“No… No, no, no, it can’t be….!”

If reported, he would die.

If captured by them, even the strongest mercenary was just prey.

Recalling that fact, an uncontrollable fear welled up in his mind.

He felt like a child being chased by a ghost.

Only desperate groans escaped his chapped lips.

“…..Someone…. Someone help me….”

But in the empty shopping street, where everyone had already fled, there was no one to hear the hollow cry of a man who had become a monster.

Aiden looked around with a bewildered face, then finally hung his head in dejection.

The life he had lived so far flashed before his eyes like a panorama.

Aiden’s body hadn’t always been this monstrous mechanical heap.

Once, he too had a future where he dreamed of ordinary success.

Memories of working in a factory during the day and studying technology at night, preparing to get a job at a respectable downtown corporation.

The efforts he had made to escape this back alley still came back to him vividly.

But the wall of reality he faced was high and cold.

No matter how excellent his grades were, no matter how desperately he struggled, companies wouldn’t hire someone from a suburban back alley.

The stigma of a ‘Class 3 Citizenship’ stamped on his documents prevented him from crossing the threshold of any corporation.

A sewer rat born in the mud remained a sewer rat until death.

So, Aiden belatedly chose a dangerous path.

It seemed like the only opportunity afforded to him.

For a human-like future, he had decided to mortgage his present and venture into the darkness.

But that choice was wrong.

Everything had been wrong from the start.

The more he modified his cybernetics to gain more power and downloaded combat software, the more his body broke down.

The amount of immunosuppressants needed increased exponentially, and the maintenance costs became unbearable.

No matter how much he earned, it would just go towards the ever-increasing cost of suppressants.

Like the Red Queen in a fairy tale, no matter how hard he ran, he stayed in the same place.

And if he stopped, he would be pushed back significantly.

He had to become stronger, earn more, just to barely maintain the status quo, a life on a razor’s edge.

‘Actually…. I just wanted to live a normal life.’

But it was already irreversible.

He couldn’t turn back, even knowing that only ruin lay ahead.

Because if he stopped, it would truly be the end.

So he had run like mad, and now, all he saw before him was a dizzying abyss.

Regret streamed down from his empty eyes.

It was at that moment.

Thump, thump-

Aiden noticed the faint sound of two or three sets of footsteps.

His heart sank as he instinctively knew they were approaching him.

‘No way…..’

Had they been dispatched after a report?

So quickly…. Had they already arrived here?

Venator.

Fear gripped him as he recalled their notoriety.

Rumors that their rules of engagement prioritized the target’s elimination.

He had heard horrific stories that rampaging criminals were torn apart so badly that even their bodies were hard to find.

Tensely looking around, Aiden soon realized he was surrounded.

Footsteps were approaching from every alley.

“Damn it…..!”

Cold sweat trickled down his spine, and his vision, already blurred and damp, grew even hazier.

Like a cornered beast threatening its pursuers, he shook his head and screamed madly.

“Don’t come!! Get lost, all of you!!!”

He even brandished the extended cybernetic blade wildly at the approaching, unidentified shadows.

“I said stop right there!!!”

But the shadows, ignoring his desperate resistance, glided towards him like ghosts and, in an instant, were a step behind Aiden, pointing a gun at him.

An ambush he hadn’t even noticed.

Everything happened in a flash.

The last thing he saw was a fist rushing towards him.

“Gah-“

And then, everything went black.

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In the pitch-black darkness, a faint, beautiful voice tickled his ear.

It was a soft, warm voice, like a pleasant dream.

“Have you awakened?”

Aiden struggled to lift his heavy eyelids.

As his blurry vision slowly came into focus, the first thing he saw were blue eyes.

Eyes as clear as a cloudless sky.

And then, amidst skin as white as snow and softly flowing silver hair, he found himself facing the beautiful face of a woman.

She was looking down at Aiden with a worried expression.

It was a moment when he, confused by the incomprehensible situation, just blinked blankly.

‘Ah….!’

Memories he had momentarily forgotten flashed through his mind like fragments.

‘Venator….!’

Then, the fear he had briefly forgotten returned.

Aiden’s heart began to pound wildly again.

“Heok…..!”

Cold sweat drenched his entire body, and it became increasingly difficult to breathe.

It was then.

Suddenly, a soft, warm aura of light bloomed before his eyes.

Paaat-

Aiden, without realizing it, stared blankly at the light.

Amazingly, the fear and anxiety raging in his chest slowly subsided, as if seeping into that radiance.

His excessively racing heart also gradually regained its composure.

And once again, a gentle voice was heard.

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

As Aiden, his face noticeably calmer, nodded blankly, the mysterious woman smiled faintly.

That smile, like a single flower blooming in the darkness, instantly captivated his gaze.

A noble demeanor, clear and deep eyes, a gentle smile.

Everything was an unrealistic beauty.

Such a woman comforted him with an incredibly tender voice.

“Thank goodness…. It’s natural for you to still be confused. Until you calm down a little more, I’ll stay by your side for a moment.”

Her voice was so kind it could bring tears to his eyes.

Being comforted by such a beautiful woman, one he would only see in dreams, and having been granted that mysterious serenity moments before, Aiden couldn’t tell if this was reality or a final illusion before death.

If this was truly real, then what on earth had happened?

Had this woman saved him?

How?

And…. why?

He had a mountain of questions.

But he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, this dream-like, peaceful time would end.

And the moment he dared to speak, he felt as if she would vanish without a trace, like a mirage, like a bubble bursting under the morning sun….

Aiden remained silent, merely gazing at her with overwhelming emotion.

Thus, a silence flowed between them as they faced each other for a while.

……….

Suddenly, Aiden’s heart began to pound violently again.

But it was a completely different kind of palpitation from the fear he had felt moments ago.

A sensation as if something primal to life, something hot, was slowly welling up from the depths of his chest.

‘This feeling, could it be……’

Just then, someone knocked lightly on the door from outside the room.

Knock, knock.

“….!”

Aiden flinched at the sound, his shoulders trembling.

But she gently patted Aiden’s shoulder with a soft hand, reassuring him.

“Yes, it’s alright.”

Then, she called out towards the door in a clear voice.

“Please come in!”

“Excuse me, Saintess-nim.”

The person who appeared after opening the door was a middle-aged man in a black priest’s attire.

Though his face, around fifty, had white hair, his unwavering eyes exuded a strong aura.

He bowed his head respectfully to the woman.

She then nodded naturally in acceptance.

Afterwards, he glanced at Aiden lying in bed and said.

“Well then…. since you’re here, I’ll ask you to explain the rest.”

“Yes, please leave it to me.”

As the man replied in a low voice, his shoulders and body firm beneath the clerical robes, the woman smiled faintly and quietly left the office.

Aiden unknowingly reached out a hand towards her retreating figure.

“……Ah!”

But as if to block his yearning gaze, the man in the priest’s attire who had just entered suddenly approached and stood before him.

Aiden, startled again, slightly pulled his head back.

“Wh-What are you….?”

The man in the priest’s attire stared at him intently for a moment without answering.

“……”

With a low groan, he soon stepped back and pulled over a chair from the corner of the room.

Then, turning the chair around, he straddled it, resting his arms on the backrest, and stared intently at Aiden again.

After a brief silence, he finally spoke.

“Alright, listen up.”

The priest demonstratively spread his fingers and held them up in front of Aiden’s eyes.

“Right now, you have two… no, three choices.”