episode_0246

“You idiot! Do you want to die? Follow me!”

One of the hunters roughly pulled the male student and moved him to cover.

Perhaps thanks to the sacrifice of the two, everyone was able to quickly evacuate, avoiding the pouring sniper fire.

Violet found the problematic sniper.

「Damn it! We could have been friends, but you killed him!」

「This is Vesperia’s revenge!」

While the formation was halted by the sniper fire, other splintered Violets ran between the ruined buildings.

「Shoot! Shoot!」

Bullets flew towards the Violets who charged as if provoking them.

The Violets in the command center located the sniper’s position based on the sensations and records of death.

—Splat!

「Agh! They shot from the right!」

「A little more to the left! Ugh!」

Immediately after Unit 212 died, other Violets pulled out anti-material sniper rifles, crossbows, and assault rifles, unleashing merciless fire on the estimated location.

「There!」

Inside the sniper Violet’s scope, a ghoul appeared, holding a large sniper rifle integrated with its arm.

「Die, sniper!」

—Boom!

As the hunters flinched in surprise at the noise from the rooftop, the ghoul was hit by a sniper shot and died.

「We did it!」

The satisfaction of defeating the enemy was brief; Violet soon became a little gloomy.

「The Vesperia kid died…」

「I gave him delicious gum!」

Violet once again felt the difference between herself and the others.

「Indeed, I need to get to the barrier quickly. The others might die.」

「Let’s find our friends too! Levi and Sophieel Unnie might be in danger!」

The Violets, who had planned to leisurely wait for the rescue team, changed their minds.

It seemed right to step forward and use a little strength.

A short while later, the Violets reached the edge of the barrier before the hunters who had set out for exploration.

「Alright, shall we try an experiment?」

First, the Violets attempted to escape. As expected, the barrier refused external egress.

「What about other things?」

Violet attempted to create a clone outside the barrier. The flowing magical energy struck the barrier and was immediately blocked.

「Oh, it doesn’t work.」

It seemed this barrier blocked the flow of magical energy.

Afterward, they tried stabbing it with a knife, shooting magic, and firing guns, but none of it worked.

「Hmm, what exactly is its principle…?」

While sitting in a nearby building, pondering, a wired exploration drone appeared beyond the translucent barrier.

The drone stopped right in front of the barrier, then turned its camera a few times to observe its surroundings.

—Whirrr!

And then, the drone entered the barrier without hesitation.

Surprisingly, the barrier did not prevent the drone from entering.

「What? It didn’t work when we tried to go out?」

Although the connection was severed by the barrier’s influence, the drone entered perfectly intact.

Afterward, large and small drones continued to approach, and eventually, mech hounds entered one by one.

“Woof! Woof!”

The Violets realized that the barrier had certain principles, seeing the robots with dog brains patrolling the area.

「It seems entering is allowed.」

「Oh? Then the rescue team will be here soon.」

Immediately after this thought, a massive sense of weight was felt approaching beyond the blurry barrier.

That unique oppressive presence was felt even beyond the translucent silhouettes. The Violets’ gazes focused on the countless armored vehicles and airships rushing towards them.

「That’s Restraid! Those tin cans!」

「The Federal Army is here too!」

Violet was startled by the appearance of what wasn’t quite reinforcements, but still support.

It didn’t seem like they intended to enter immediately, but a sense of preparation was palpable.

「Those tin cans, it seems they’ve come to save people, in their own way!」

Violet felt a little relieved seeing that.

They were bad guys, but surely they’d manage to save the other people somehow.

「Let’s just save our lost friend and Unnie!」

As the decision was made, one Violet running through the streets multiplied into dozens of Violets.

—Swish! Swish!

Embracing their rescue mission, the Violets scattered across Asteria.

***

At that moment, within the temporary command post deployed outside beyond the barrier, a burly man with a sleek head entered, accompanied by his guards.

“Hey, Special Operations Commander-nim. Is it true that Code Omega was detected near the convention center?”

Cordo asked gruffly. The man, bearing the rank of Brigadier General, replied with a fawning laugh.

“Haha, that’s right, Commander-nim. The last report on that mutated monster was an hour ago.”

Cordo, who had been sipping tea as if he were in his own living room, paused for a moment before speaking to the Brigadier General.

“As previously agreed, for this operation, the 44th Special Missions Unit will primarily assist us in protecting, rescuing, and searching for civilians who are undoubtedly scattered inside.”

“So, only Your Excellency and the Knights will be going on the offensive? Will that be alright?”

At the Brigadier General’s question, who had been rubbing his hands together and looking for cues, Cordo glared with a look that asked if he hadn’t understood.

“We already finished discussing this.”

“Haha, it’s nothing else. I was just curious, you see. Code Omega is classified as a variant monster, isn’t it? It must be quite dangerous, so… I meant, wouldn’t you need assistance? Oh, of course! The Knights will easily defeat it, but I just thought it might take a little extra effort.”

Cordo scoffed and stood up, saying briefly,

“Don’t worry about that. None other than the Iron Guard will be participating in this operation.”

At the mention that Restraid’s elite forces would participate, the Brigadier General let out a short gasp of admiration.

“The Iron Guard! I see. Then there will be no problems.”

“Ah, I almost forgot. It seems a few more measures will be necessary.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

At Cordo’s continuing words, the General’s face was filled with surprise. It was enough to make his servile demeanor from a moment ago vanish.

“Your Excellency, tactical nuclear artillery support? And stabilizer distribution, what is that…?”

“Hasn’t the 44th Special Missions Unit been deployed with tactical nuclear launchers for this operation? It may be that a time comes when we have to use them. And as for the stabilizers, encourage their consumption without fail if necessary, according to the instructions. There are guidelines for Code Omega, aren’t there?”

The Special Operations Commander-nim muttered with a displeased expression.

“…Yes. There are. There are. But wasn’t this just an operation to strike a variant monster? What exactly are we facing…?”

“That’s right. Just a variant monster. Don’t ask any more questions. I’ll say it again, you won’t need to face it. If you want to know more, inquire with your superiors.”

Under Cordo’s pressure, the General closed his mouth.

After finishing the simple tea service, Cordo stepped outside, muttering.

‘Stupid Federal idiots, I knew it, but it’s still astounding to hear even a starred officer spouting nonsense. No matter how much information they need to hide, what do they mean “variant”?’

The Federal idiots are too cowardly.

The Apostles from another dimension, who have been gradually revealing themselves since the Great War a century ago, are an open secret among those who can access the truth.

‘True, it’s not that I don’t understand. If those guys and the things behind them were leaked, the commoners would riot uncontrollably.’

The world’s highest echelons, including him, mostly knew what kind of being the monster first witnessed by the Archmage at the end of the war was, and what kind of calamity it represented.

Still, Cordo was confident.

‘Even if it calls itself a monster. It’s just a magical beast, after all. It can be hunted easily!’

At first, it was an effort and duty to eliminate a dangerous enemy who had invaded his territory.

How much he had harassed religious organizations and self-proclaimed secret societies over the past few months.

However, on the other hand, a competitive spirit welled up. Just how formidable could this monster his great-grandfather spoke of be?

What kind of creature could make even that Archmage flinch whenever he spoke of it?

The monster’s head would surely be a sufficient hunting trophy to adorn another epic for the royal lineage.

Its corpse would be excellent fertilizer for achieving his great endeavor.

“Guard Captain, are the preparations complete?”

Ostro, the Guard Captain, hearing the Commander’s words, pointed to a trailer laden with massive equipment and grinned triumphantly.

“Checks are complete. All clear, Commander-nim!”

Lying on the trailer was an Iron Giant.

As the tarpaulin was pulled back, a colossal armored suit, incomparably larger than conventional knights, revealed its imposing presence.

“It’s a scaled-down version of the Colossus Project. Even if it is the exalted Apostle from another dimension, if it matches the classification in the records, we can certainly subdue it.”

Although it was experimental equipment, only 1/15th the size of the original, its power was overwhelming.

Not only that. With advice from the Archmage of Extremity and the Magnabyss Vanguard, several countermeasures had been devised.

‘My great-grandfather also hunted it. We will catch it too.’

Violet’s conjecture, based on the sight outside the barrier, was only half correct.

They had come to hunt. Like the knights of old tales who slew dragons, they stood here with their weapons, warhorses, and forces.

“What’s Sebastian doing? He’s not complaining, is he?”

Currently, his former successor was reduced to doing menial tasks for other knights after his armored suit was taken away.

He’s probably still doing odd jobs for the other Guard Knights even now.

“He’s quieter than expected. I was ready to scold him severely as you instructed, but he was too well-behaved.”

“Hmph, it seems that Violet girl really broke his nose.”

To be a man and be defeated by a mere child, and to be so subdued, he’s pathetic.

Cordo was once again convinced that his decision to disinherit him as successor was correct.

And it didn’t matter. He had many children who could be successors.

“How are the others? They’re preparing well, aren’t they?”

“Of course. The competition is already fierce.”

His other three children were currently here to assist their father in the hunt.

“Tell them this: This isn’t just a hunt for honor or a war to defeat an enemy. It is no easy prey, and its body itself is an immense artifact.”

He looked forward to how high its research value would be if it was a monster capable of making even Archmages tremble.

Cordo, who had been talking for a while, felt thirsty.

“Guard Captain, do we have anything to drink? I’m a bit thirsty.”

“I apologize, I don’t have anything specific right now…”

As the Guard Captain pondered how to quench his lord’s thirst, he spotted an officer passing by.

He gestured to the officer.

“Hey, you there, Major! Yes, you. Come over here.”

The Guard Captain gave an order to the Major, who approached with a bewildered expression.

“Hey, Major. Go get something to drink from over there. Quickly!”

“…Yes, understood.”

The officer left without a word of complaint at the Guard Captain’s command and fetched the drinks.

Major Klein skillfully hid his annoyance and completed the task.

“Here you go.”

“Alright, you may go.”

The Guard Captain waved his hand dismissively, as if swatting a fly.

As he left, Major Klein muttered to himself.

‘Damn it, I wonder why the Ariel Group isn’t taking guys like that away.’

It had been months since he had been tormented by the armored knights. The stress he and his subordinates felt had long since gone through the roof.

‘I wish I could awaken like in a comic book…’

Behind the Major, who felt a sense of futility as he departed for the command post, the barrier rippled. The translucent barrier still maintained its serene appearance.