episode_0256

The first to detect the anomaly was in a small office in the Violet barracks.

Dr. Yurik Pereira, who had been engrossed in a small research project, discussing with Professor Albert and reviewing various materials as usual, stopped his thought experiment at the sound of a dish breaking outside the door.

“What’s going on? Oh, my heavens…”

When he opened the door, he was met with a girl writhing in pain.

The coffee and snacks he had requested were scattered on the floor, and amidst them, his secretary Violet was struggling, her face contorted with pain.

“Gasp… ugh….”

The girl couldn’t even scream. The amplified pain piercing her entire body rendered her voiceless.

Feeling the severity of the situation, Yurik frantically scooped up Violet and ran.

“Professor Albert! Where are you! Call an ambulance immediately!”

Violets collapsed. Violets who were on standby, Violets who were secretly observing the situation from outside the barrier, writhed and fell.

Inside the barrier, inside the convention center, as Unit 2203, which had been idling, crashed down with a thud, Lucian, who had been idly lying with earphones in, was startled and checked on the Violet.

The Violet was foaming at the mouth, her eyes rolled back.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Are you okay? Hey! Damn it, I’m going crazy… Sophieel Teacher-nim!”

Sophieel, who was nearby, rushed over, examined the Violet, and injected a recovery potion from her pocket, but there was no change.

Her eyes were filled with confusion at the unprecedented situation.

“Why is this happening?… She’s not the type to be in this much pain.”

The pain spread through the network like an epidemic. On the outskirts of the exhibition hall, battalion-sized groups of Violets who had deployed artillery and mortars and were waiting in the rear collapsed in confusion.

Near the site where the barrier was deployed, blood poured from the mouths of the waiting Violets.

It was because they couldn’t endure the pain and bit their tongues.

“Emergency! Medical team dispatch requested! We have an emergency patient here…”

“Violet! Violet! Come to your senses!”

“Ugh… sob…”

Leaving the Violet who was convulsing and crying, Adela and Irene called for the medical team.

Large quantities of painkillers and various recovery spells were deployed, but there was no improvement.

Those who witnessed Violet’s condition were at a loss.

What kind of pain could it be that would make a child as insensitive to pain as Violet tremble like this?

However, among Violet’s acquaintances and friends, no one was as shocked as one girl in the dormitory.

“Why isn’t it working! This can’t be…”

Daphne’s hand, holding her staff, trembled violently. Blood stained the Violet’s mouth, where she had bitten a towel.

It was because she had bitten her own tongue immediately after having a seizure in the room.

“Ugh, aaaaaah….”

Despite several attempts, the situation didn’t change. Violet helplessly curled up, only shedding tears.

As she frantically tried to figure out how to deal with the situation, the phone rang. She pressed the screen, and Kalia’s urgent voice echoed from the other side.

“Daphne! Daphne! Where are you? Come here quickly! Violet’s condition is strange! Right now-”

“Kalia-ssi! I’m doing my best right now too! Don’t tell me, on your end too?”

Daphne turned pale at the news of Violet’s poor condition from the other end of the line.

“Wait, the Violet there too? This is crazy. Seriously… Oh, hey. Just a moment!”

Just as a terrified Kalia was about to do something, gunshots rang out from beyond the phone.

Only then did Daphne belatedly remember that her friend was accustomed to self-harm.

While inwardly tormented by her friend’s suffering, she reviewed Violet’s abilities.

Pain dispersion ability. Hive mind network.

After quickly contacting every possible location where a Violet might be, she was certain of her suspicion.

“Irene-ssi. Where are you right now? Violet is-”

“Good timing you called. Here is…”

Around the time Daphne was urgently contacting others, Violet’s seizure suddenly stopped.

Violet, drenched in sweat, gasped and got up.

“Are you okay? Have you come to your senses?”

Violet paid no mind to what her friend was calling out, and quickly pulled out a white envelope from her pocket.

And before anyone could stop her, she emptied the contents into her mouth.

“Violet! That’s-”

“Aaargh!”

**

I don’t know what those guys in front of me did. One thing is clear.

The Violets on site were engulfed in terrible pain.

Pain that truly surged like a tsunami!

So, it hurts too much.

It’s awful, it hurts, the pain won’t leave! I want to die but I can’t!

A devastating level where Daphne’s healing power was useless.

Fortunately, we Violets are adaptable creatures.

Even amidst agonizing torment, we were able to quickly identify the cause of the problem.

“Pain! It said ‘Pain Amplification!’”

“Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaargh!”

A memory barely recalled amidst all the Violets screaming in the network.

What lingered in our minds was the sneer of the man and woman standing before us.

Even as we groaned, we tracked the source of the pain.

It must surely be transmitted from the Violets who were injured on site.

There is only one way to solve the problem of pain.

Eliminate the source.

The source of pain? Violet.

Eliminate Violet!

“Die! It hurts! It hurts to death!”

“Then let’s die!”

“Die!”

We immediately withdrew consciousness from our injured bodies.

At the same time, one by one, we bit down on grenades and pulled the pins.

-Boom boom boom!

“Gasp!”

The pain that had surged like waves gradually subsided.

However, the lingering sensation of pain was still running wild, bouncing back and forth across the Violet network as if playing table tennis.

Painkillers or recovery potions were too slow.

All that remained was extreme measures!

“Hey, the stuff we, we, we stole from the gang, is it still, still there?”

“E-eat it!”

The Violets pulled out bags of drugs and emptied them into their mouths.

Spoils acquired long ago when they raided the Pinnacle Network to save Kalia’s uncle.

As the potent drug spread, a thrilling sensation surged. We instantly became drug-addicted Violets, but thanks to it, our minds barely cleared.

Information from various places belatedly poured in like a rising tide.

“You’re okay, right? You’re not dying, are you? Don’t commit suicide!”

“Ugh, yes… I’m okay. Ugh…”

Thanks to Daphne’s renewed intervention, the pain subsided a bit faster.

Even as we sniffled from the unbearable pain, a little comfort arose.

“Everyone is worried about us!”

But it wasn’t over yet. The lingering numbness in various parts of our bodies indicated that their spell was still active.

“…Their reaction speed is fast.”

The unidentified man and woman standing before us. As I slowly pieced together my memories, a name came to mind.

Familiar attire, an unforgettable eerie aura.

“…Unification Society?”

“I didn’t expect anyone to still remember us.” The man responded as if confessing.

My prediction was correct. They were clearly involved with a cult.

“You escaped the curse faster than expected. But now it truly begins.”

“What are you talking about?”

A question slipped out inadvertently, fueled by irritation.

They were observing me like a child browsing a toy store display.

And then, the strange symbol from earlier appeared on their palms.

“You can never escape from here. Fighting us without a single wound is impossible.”

I tried to retreat, sneering at them. I had already planned my counter-strategy.

“I’ll just commit suicide!”

But the man snapped his fingers.

“Even if it means abandoning that child?”

A wall shot up without a sound, encircling us.

Where their heads turned, there were Violets running away, carrying Levi on their backs.

“Judging by the situation a moment ago, you seem to be close. You wouldn’t abandon your friend and flee, would you?”

Ah, what a disaster. Hostages!

“And, you foolish insect. Did you think what we amplified only applied to ‘pain’?”

The moment the woman spoke, we staggered under a cascade of sensations.

Oh, this is strange. It feels like everything in the world is pouring down on us.

This bizarre sensation, as if someone had opened our heads and was forcibly stuffing information inside.

“Pain is but one part of the sensations transmitted through nerves. Avoiding wounds is not the end.”

I feel it. The flow of air lingering on my skin. My nose feels acrid and stuffy, as if someone intentionally blocked it.

The scent of gunpowder and dust, a feeling of stifling oppression.

Countless lights flying into our eyes.

“Bow in reverence. Your senses have been expanded to a level that your lowly kind cannot perceive.”

What, what kind of nonsense is this?

Even faint tickles and skin prickles began to transform back into pain.

“Hey, we took the drugs for nothing!”

“Aaaaargh!”

As the drug’s effects intensified, our vision was filled with dazzling, vibrant sensations, like oil spilled on a clear sea, shimmering.

It’s dizzying.

“Too far!”

And then we could see.

Only then did we see.

In a feeling akin to being struck in the head, the Violets were speechless.

Because the amplified senses weren’t just the five senses.

The flow and forms of ether around those figures, visible amidst the wavering-

“Ugh, aaaaaaaargh!”

“They’re not human!”

How can magic move like that??

Just as I barely pulled out a forgotten game setting from within the network, a voice reached my ears.

Irene’s voice, urgently looking for me.

“Violet? What’s going on inside? I’ll deploy right now!”

“Our rescue unit is already ready for deployment! Hurry!”

No, don’t come.

Those aren’t humans. They’re monsters from another dimension!

My friend’s voice reached my ears. I gasped and shouted.

“No! Don’t come in!”

“What? Why are you acting like this?”

“They’re monsters! You’ll all die! Don’t come! Never-”

Another ‘older sister’ at the exhibition hall also sensed something strange and urgently asked.

“What is it, Violet? What did you just see to make you act like that?”

I cried out with difficulty.

“There are monsters here! The leaders of the demonic beasts!”

No sooner had those words fallen than the staggering Violets were crushed by an invisible force, then exploded in succession.

-Boom!

“Ugh, aaaaaah! Charge!”

“Levi! We have to make Levi escape!”

We desperately charged.

Towards an insurmountable opponent.