episode_0267

Slicing through the dull gray sky, the strike team descended. Their bodies plummeted through the air like bullets.

Camouflage coats, a mix of blue and gray, fluttered. Every time the biting wind lashed past their faces, a buzzing sound echoed.

Behind her goggles, Irene’s golden eyes darted busily. The signal from the two-dimensional beacon drew closer. She replayed the conversation she’d had with the other executives before the descent.

「If the Federation and Restraid are being so hesitant and indirect, it must mean they don’t want to expose that Apostle to the outside. I don’t know why, but it seems like we’re involved in something sensitive.」

「We received an advance payment from Cascadian, and since it’s a dangerous entity, we can’t just ignore it. However, getting involved with the Three Great Clans would be troublesome. We need an excuse.」

「Indeed. We’ll have to go with the scenario we devised earlier.」

They had already coordinated their story. The prepared setup was as follows:

Helios Clan’s mixed strike team was dispatched urgently for rescue, following a request from Aegis Academy. Suddenly, a distress signal from a two-dimensional beacon was detected beyond the veil. Analyzing the signal pattern, it was presumed to be a missing VIP. Ultimately, they entered, risking danger. And then they encountered a mutated beast designated as Identification Code Omega. The story would be that they fought bravely like that.

‘And it must end with them returning triumphantly after a splendid victory. Absolutely!’

Irene’s resolve hardened.

The ground approached. The Hunters maintained formation as they fell. Their eyes were fixed on the rapidly approaching ground.

Closer. Gravity soon thrust a classic urban landscape right before their eyes.

Just before landing, as they plunged at a near-vertical angle, they twisted their bodies powerfully, rotating. Magic flowed into the devices on their waists. The anti-gravity devices activated, emitting a blue light.

Thump!

Sudden deceleration. The soles of the Hunters’ combat boots settled lightly. The gritty ground. The land, once a road, was rough with dust and broken bricks.

Static crackled from the short-range comms. Immediately after being freed from the whirlwind-like wind, Helios’s Hunters were greeted by deafening noise and screams.

“Target sighted.”

Irene’s left hand, not holding a spear, pointed to the source of the noise. Fortunately, there was no longer any need to tediously track the signal.

Boom!

A giant the size of a three-story building, several blocks away, had just burst through the roof of a neat building that looked like a temple. Below it, Special Operations Unit Violets in Helios combat uniforms were swarming and engaging in a close fight.

As their gazes focused on the monster, the Hunters’ faces twisted in an instant.

“…Ugh! What in the…”

“U-ugh… What is that?”

It wasn’t a matter of appearance. Those gathered here were veteran Hunters who had faced countless battlefields and various types of monsters. The problem was an inexpressible, bizarre discomfort.

‘Hmm…’

Irene wanted to look away. The inexpressible sensation emanating from that monster, called an Apostle. This discomfort, felt for the first time in her life, made her stomach churn. Perhaps, though it might not be an apt analogy, this was how a mouse felt upon seeing a cat for the first time.

“Damn it, is that the m-monster the Special Ops kids mentioned?”

Morgan nervously pulled the rifle’s lever. A stubby, internal-bullet cartridge slid into the chamber.

“Squad Leader-nim, this is…”

“Yes, the school inspector and the kids were right. It’s mental contamination. Just looking at it makes us like this, so it’s no ordinary creature! Even most dangerous artifacts weren’t this bad.”

“That’s why those Restraid bastards are targeting it. Enough chatter. Move!”

Victor slapped Morgan’s back, who hadn’t hidden his discomfort.

“We’ll proceed as planned. I’ll take the center front, and Squad Leader Morgan-nim and Squad Leader Victor-nim will support on both flanks.”

The commands continued in quick succession. As soon as the words ended, Irene put on her face guard. A click as it snapped into place. Instantly, a golden wave spread around her. The Guidance of Sunlight enveloped the surrounding Hunters. Golden magic overlaid a new layer of protection onto their skin. Amplified power.

The squad members, weapons in hand, scattered to their positions with precise, coordinated movements.

“Approaching!”

Irene and the Hunters charged along the road. A charge that forcefully kicked off the ground, hundreds of meters were instantly covered in a few leaps. Though not as solid or heavy as armored knights’ charges, they pierced through with lightness and agility.

‘Violet, can you really do it?’

The trembling Apostle came into view. A giant that resembled a human but exuded an unpleasant and inexpressible creepiness. According to Violet, it had been weakened.

‘It’s true.’

Her golden eyes detected something unusual. The Apostle was approaching her, but it stumbled precariously with every step. The reason was clear. Grayish objects clung tightly to its body. The Violets had plunged their knives into the Apostle’s body and were persistently clinging to it.

「Aaaargh! Get off! Get off me!」

「No! Hehehe! You can’t leave!」

The appetizer was a light suppressive fire.

Whizz!

Heavy shots rained down from above. Medium-sized bolts from marksmen who had climbed onto the building roofs embedded themselves in the Apostle’s body.

Bang! Bang!

Heavy gunshots echoed from both sides. Heavy bullets from Morgan and Victor, who had flanked and run across the rooftops, struck the Apostle’s chest and head. Empty casings clattered on the ground with each pull of the lever. A hail of bullets and bolts poured down, indiscriminately hitting both Violets and the Apostle.

「Aargh! Helios is shooting!」

「Screech! We’re dying again!」

“Damn it, it blew up. Is this really okay?!”

“They’re clones. Shut up and shoot!”

The moment the firing temporarily ceased, the central squad members leaped forward, charging towards the Apostle.

“Entering!”

The main course was the highlight of combat, close-quarters battle.

Clang!

A golden spear blade sliced the Apostle’s ankle. Squad members armed with long spears, greatswords, and massive axes struck the Apostle. The Apostle counterattacked with a mental scream. Dodge, retreat. As an unavoidable attack flew in, the purple-haired girl stepped forward confidently. She confronted the most dangerous blow.

“Stand back!”

Thud!

The Apostle’s sword flew directly at Irene. The sword, imbued with magic of an inexpressible hue, clashed with the golden spear. Though she flinched, magic erupted once more like dazzling sunlight, blocking the attack.

The sword strikes continued. Three clashes. The ground directly beneath them cracked and shockwaves swept through the surroundings. Irene endured.

「Insolent!」

Boom!

On the fourth blow, Irene’s body was momentarily hurled into the air. With a loud commotion, she crashed through several high-rise building walls in a row. Was she subdued? No. A golden flash immediately burst forth. Burning with resolve, she burst from the rubble and charged at the Apostle once more.

“I’m fine! Keep pushing!”

There was no time to be surprised by its unexpected durability. As the central unit raised its left hand, the wrist-mounted bolt launcher unleashed a barrage. The flanking units charged relentlessly, giving no quarter.

“…!”

Harpoon spears pierced flesh. Axes severed fingers. Grotesquely shimmering, glowing blood flowed onto the ground.

The Apostle was terrified. Why? Why am I getting hurt? I should regenerate. I should recover. If this continues, I’ll die.

And the Violets continued to interfere.

「No! Don’t use your healing!」

「Let go! Let go, please!」

Horrible, disgusting insects clung to its body, obstructing it.

「Aaaargh!」

The offense and defense continued. The Violets persistently tied down the Apostle. Within its mind, within physical reality. Helios’s strike team waged a merciless wheel attack against the bound Apostle. Shoot, retreat, approach.

“At this rate, there’s no need to call the Captain-nim.”

Helios’s whale hunting tactics mercilessly ravaged the Apostle. The method of hunting powerful monsters was similar to how primitive ancestors caught beasts. Deprive them of mobility, and slowly exhaust their stamina to weaken them. Just as elephants that dominated vast lands or whales that roamed the seas were ravaged before frail humans, even mighty beings could be brought down with enough time.

Moreover, the Apostle had a bigger problem. The Violets persistently interfered with the Apostle’s ability usage.

「Hey! Don’t use that cheap trick!」

「No!」

A level of interference far beyond indirect suppression through the Apostle network poured forth. Not only reality manipulation, but even magic use was blocked.

The Apostle’s right hand wavered as it aimed at its target. The target was Morgan, approaching with an axe. Coordinates set, instructions: spontaneous combustion akin to a star’s temperature. Magic activated. Will injected-

One second before the ability activated, Number 1271 mentally smacked the Apostle’s head.

「You! Don’t use cheats! If you use cheats, I’ll kill you!」

And its will was twisted. With a cheerful pop, a delightful shower of confetti enveloped Morgan, who had been charging.

“…?”

「Hahaha!」

The Apostle’s will continued to be corrupted.

Acid attack. The deadly ambush that should have erupted beneath Irene’s feet instantly turned into chocolate milk. Irene, drenched in sweetness, stabbed the Apostle with a bewildered expression.

“Violet? You don’t mean…”

「W-why! Why?!」

Semi-transparent swords of merciless momentum, decorating the sky. The blades flying towards the Hunters who were raining down fire transformed into a shower of fireworks, cheerfully adorning the dull sky. A rain of candy fell.

Gravity manipulation. The direction of gravity that should have flattened Victor was reversed. The force of gravity pushed the attack even harder, and the Apostle, hit by the blow, flinched in shock.

「Wow! Fun!」

「You had all this fun by yourself?」

For reasons unknown, the Violets were somehow able to twist the Apostle’s powers and change them as they wished. As a result, all malice was miserably ridiculed. The beam barrage, summoned with all its might and comparable to a dying supernova, turned into dazzling club lights, and the Apostle screamed.

「Aaaargh! You monsters!」

It couldn’t win. These insects were already too deeply embedded in its own mind. For a moment, a chilling thought crossed this Eidolon’s mind. If this continued, it would be no different from a mere large monster, wouldn’t it? The end would be annihilation.

「N-no!」

At the crossroads of life and death, with its dignity as an existence threatened, the Apostle swung its thoughts with all its might. The clinging Violets burst and splattered flat like insects hit by a newspaper.

「Ughyaaah!」

「Screech!」

The Apostle whimpered and declared,

「I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill everyone! I won’t forgive you!」

Simultaneously, a brief shockwave swept through reality. The Hunters slowly retreated. It was then that the Apostle’s mind, which had been about to counterattack triumphantly, was flooded with despair.

“It was a ludicrous situation, so I let my guard down a bit. Request backup. We’re ending this now!”

As Victor picked off candy pieces from his body and shook his head, Irene sighed. What on earth had the Violets done?

It was time to end this joke. Irene dejectedly pulled out her trump card.

“…Haa, Father. Please.”

Afflicted by the Violets’ mental attacks and Helios’s elite Hunters’ relentless onslaught, the Apostle’s sixth sense detected danger. The moment it raised its head, a massive bipedal weapon came charging between the buildings.

「Th-this damn it!」

The Streganix advanced with a thunderous roar. With each step, the surrounding floor and walls vibrated from its weight. The square launchers mounted on its shoulders spewed flames. Missiles, each costing as much as a building, streaked through the air at supersonic speeds.

Crush!

Fire and explosions followed. The Apostle was sent tumbling. The machine continued to advance without hindrance. As the barrel of the autocannon mounted on its left wrist spun furiously, the rapid gunfire tore through the street. Countless beams of light shredded the Apostle. As bullets hit, sparks flew and bodily fluids gushed out. Mortar shells were fired from its shoulders with thudding sounds, soaring into the sky. Each fragment that burst in mid-air was an artifact shard imbued with harmful magic. Wherever a fragment embedded itself, smoke rose and melted the area.

「Oh, don’t come! I said don’t come!」

In terror, the Apostle attempted one last reality manipulation. That attempt was blocked the moment the Violets furiously landed continuous jabs on the Apostle’s face.

What remained was a final resistance. The Apostle barely managed to pick up its sword and lunge, but Orion confronted it head-on. A spear was drawn from its back with a fluid motion. Its size was comparable to a telephone pole. Its sharp tip shimmered and glowed with golden magic. Spear strikes rained down. Compared to its bulky appearance, the cyborg’s spear skills were fluid and elegant.

Crunch!

With a single blow, both of the Apostle’s wrists were severed. The massive sword slipped from its grasp and stuck into the ground. Second, the Apostle’s two legs, which had been retreating, were cut off. The Apostle’s massive body miserably crawled on the ground. Right before it was the temple where the ritual was being performed. There was only one way to survive.

「Open, please-」

Its will, squeezed dry, forcibly pushed open the gate. It had to escape. If it couldn’t escape, at least it had to warn them.

「I must report! I must warn them! That here, there is one who will become our natural enemy!」

Its current plight was entirely a disaster caused by its own foolish mistake. However, if these insects were to grow beyond their current state-

Its expectations were betrayed this time too.

The expanding gate shrank as if time were flowing backward.

「Hmm, so this is how you close it?」

「!」

The Violet was impressed. She had merely grabbed the Apostle’s wrist and twisted it backward.

Noticing the trickery, Orion’s movements were swift and sharp.

Boom! Bang!

The great spear incessantly tore into and sliced at vital areas. Every time its body, over six meters tall, thrashed in agony, the surroundings shook.

The Apostle instinctively knew. That it had been able to endure in the monster’s mental space thanks to its physical body. If its physical body was destroyed here, it would be truly over.

Crack!

The functions of its body slowly ceased. It sensed each tissue and cell scattering and slowing down.

For the first and last time in its existence, the being from another realm felt the fear of annihilation. Its ego weakened and sagged.

The Violets approached.

The Apostle trembled and begged. Its comrade’s connection had just been severed, and with the pathway closed, it had no more way to escape.

「Ah, no! Please! Spare me! I’ll give you all my authority and abilities! I surrender!」

「No!」

To its pleas and appeals, the Violets responded with firm violence.

「Please! I can’t die like this!」

「Just die!」

「I’ll give you! Forbidden knowledge and information!」

Number 592 tilted its head.

「Knowledge? We can just kill you and take it!」

「…!」

The Violets wounded and tore at it. Its authority as a dominant species. Its dignity, chipped away.

「No! I’m dying!」

The finishing blow landed on its brutally mangled body. A massive spear blade pierced its head.

The Apostle’s consciousness sank into darkness.

Soon, a shriek echoed through the street. The horrifying scream of an inexpressible being pierced the ears of everyone present.

“■■-!”

No, the being that had become expressible collapsed with a pathetic death rattle.

“-WAAAH!”

The Helios squad members, who had been covering their ears from the sharp noise, were dumbfounded.

“Wh-what was that sound? You all heard it, right?”

“What was that?”

Was that truly the cry of the monster we were fighting? At this rate, it felt more like they had just crushed a puppy. Even the one who had finally ended the Apostle’s breath couldn’t escape the aftermath. Orion’s metallic body, which had been mercilessly dismembering the Apostle just moments before, creaked unnaturally and recoiled.

-Uh… It seems there’s a problem with my audio sensor. I’ll need to recalibrate it when I return.

Irene raised her head. Orion’s optical sensors widened and narrowed repeatedly, filled with doubt. Feeling a sense of déjà vu from the familiar wail, Irene’s thoughts became complicated.

‘No way… Right?’

While everyone was pondering the identity of the scream they had just heard, the Apostle’s corpse rapidly shriveled and withered. Its body turned to dust and scattered into the air.

“It disappeared…”

Irene mumbled, watching the Apostle vanish.

It was around then that, from the void of the Violet Network, a single girl fell.

**

One afternoon, the Apostle, waking from an uncomfortable dream, found itself lying on a plaza.

「Gasp!」

Who was I? I was an Apostle. Once a wicked otherworldly being that commanded monsters, but now…

I examined my small, white hands. They felt awkward and unnatural. But they were pretty and slender. I rolled up my sleeve and looked at the number written on my left arm. It felt like I was supposed to.

The number ‘2501’ was written on my arm. I got up with my awkward body and looked around.

Then I saw it. My reflection in a glass window.

Reflected in the building’s glass window was a girl with shimmering blonde hair and red eyes.

「Wow, this is me?」

Instead of a grotesquely shaped body and massive size, a cute, dainty girl had been born.

「I see, I’m Violet Number 2501!」

I nodded, realizing something important. I didn’t know how it happened, but this was definitely the Violet Network. Let’s summarize the situation.

Just now, Irene’s father destroyed my physical body. Immediately after, my ego was also torn apart by countless Violets in this Violet Plaza.

I thought I had died like that, but when I opened my eyes, I was here. Instead of dying, a path to a new beginning had opened.

「I’m alive!」

But why did I think of myself as a Violet? I was clearly here on a great mission… No, that’s wrong, that was an evil mission. It was collaboration with imperialism.

As I pondered for a while, the gazes of the Violets resting in the plaza turned towards me. The girls, sensing something unusual, approached me.

「Hey! Who are you?」

I hesitated and answered,

「I…I think I’m a Violet.」

Number 678, having read my thoughts, flinched and shouted,

「Don’t be fooled! She’s a fake! She’s an Apostle!」

Number 2501 cowered under the oppressive gazes of the sharply staring Violets.

「No… I think I really am a Violet…! I am an Apostle, but…」

Countless memories and thoughts flowed through the network. This one was indeed an Apostle. However, it was no longer an Apostle.

We Violets immediately understood the situation.

「No way, we absorbed an Apostle?」

We don’t know the exact reason, but it’s certain that we absorbed the Apostle into ourselves. And that wicked Apostle from earlier definitely became Number 2501. It’s just circumstantial evidence, but still.

「Suspicious! We need to investigate.」

We couldn’t immediately accept and understand it. This was the first time something like this had happened. It might even be a fake disguised as a Violet.

「Hey, Number 2501! Come over here!」

So we began an ideological verification. In the Violet Plaza within the network, under the gaze of two yellow and black statues, a temporary Violet hearing was held.

「Alright, Number 2501. You have to answer honestly from now on. Understood? Democracy is?」

「A good thing!」

「Communism and totalitarianism? Kings and nobles?」

「I hate them!」

Even under the barrage of questions from my selves, I answered with a pure and honest heart.

「What is your species? What do you think about monsters?」

「Human! Violet! I hate monsters!」

「Excellent!」

Five minutes after the fervent ideological verification began, 2500 of my selves reached a conclusion.

「Yes, you are a Violet!」

「I’m a Violet?」

「Yes, you are a Violet!」

Unable to contain my joy, I threw both arms up.

「Yay! I’m a Violet!」

Everyone was exhausted from the rough and arduous battle, but I offered a light celebration for the birth of another self. We don’t know the exact reason, but we Violets succeeded in enlightening a wicked alien being. There had never been such a great achievement before.

「I’m a beautiful girl!」

「That’s right, we are beautiful girls!」

「Yay!」

Number 2501 hopped around excitedly. Being a cute and adorable beautiful girl was a more righteous life than living as an ugly monster. Perhaps I had saved my former self, who was an Apostle.

Yes, that’s right. I’ve been purified. Once, I collaborated in evil conquest activities, but through the Violets’ fervent liberal democratic education, I cultivated a pure spirit and gained a new life.

「Monsters are bad! Apostles are bad! They’re undemocratic!」

「That’s right, undemocratic!」

There were still many things I couldn’t remember, but it didn’t matter. They would probably surface in time.

There was only one important truth now.

I, Number 2501, had become a proper democratic beautiful girl Violet.

「Whoa! Whoa!」

「Clone democracy is the true path!」

「Those who stand in our way shall suffer divine retribution!」

The Violets shouted three cheers of ‘Hurrah!’ and briefly celebrated another victory achieved by democracy.