episode_0327

The noisy voices of animals, awakening a peaceful morning, stirred my consciousness.

“Burnt smell! Smoke! A strange smell!” “It seems like there’s a fire!”

Startled by the urgent messages transmitted through the network, I sprang up.

The view outside the window confirmed my premonition. Black smoke was rising not far away.

The fire seemed to have already been extinguished, but the building was charred black.

“Wow, it’s real.”

It was a house a little way from my block.

It looked ordinary from the outside, but it seemed someone had set it on fire in the middle of the night.

“Too bad! I should have gone to watch the fire.” “Yeah, I know.”

For us Violets, who love healthy destruction and violence, watching fires is one of the spectacles that invigorates our dull everyday lives.

Hmm, should I try to eavesdrop on the conversations of the firefighters and police around there, also testing my bio-drones?

It probably wasn’t anything special, but I was curious how I could infiltrate a place that was inaccessible due to surveillance.

“Almond. Go and listen to what they’re saying! Lemon, you move too! Don’t get caught!”

Almond discreetly flew in and eavesdropped on the people’s conversations.

Meanwhile, I took Lemon out of my pocket and sent it into the house.

Now, all that was left was to scout the interior.

“Hmm, your eyes are bad, so you won’t do. Just sniff around and eavesdrop!”

Lemon quickly entered the burnt house, evading people’s eyes.

The sensation of its nose twitching frantically and its whiskers quivering were vividly transmitted through the network.

The first thing felt was the acrid smell of burnt material filling the building.

It seemed the investigation had just begun. Police officers were seen bustling in and out.

“Judging by the state of the body, it doesn’t seem to be a fire death. There are signs of dismemberment and gunshot wounds; they probably set the fire after the fact. We’ll know for sure once the forensic results come in.”

“Could it be a dispute between clans, Captain?”

“Well, judging by the scale, it doesn’t seem to be that level. Don’t clans usually fight in dungeons or corrupted zones? I think it’s more like a power struggle between gangs… Osprey’s vigilante group supposedly cleared this area, but it seems there are still some guys left.”

The sound of someone who appeared to be a detective clicking their tongue was heard.

“If it’s a clan, there’s not much more we can dig into here anyway. The Audit Bureau is coming, so finish up quickly!”

Through the crow’s eyes, bodies being carried out on stretchers were seen.

Were there still gang members remaining nearby? I thought about strengthening neighborhood patrols for a while.

I retrieved Almond and Lemon, returned home, and turned on the TV. A new morning greeted us.

[Senator Remar Dismisses Doping Allegations After Blood Test – Declares Continued Duel to Uphold Legislative Justice]

“We will defend the proper parliamentary system! Everyone!”

The face of a senator I was familiar with, having seen him often, flashed across the screen.

I thought it was another peaceful day in Rustroom, but the news continued.

[Explosion Occurs at Raphlaxia’s Second Research Facility – Identified as the Work of Anti-Corporate Group]

[Series of Arson Incidents Across Central and Southern Regions, Experts Emphasize Need for Safety Measures]

There didn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy. There was one news story about the Raphlaxia guys getting a scare, but that was all.

The Violets thought about finding other gang members to beat up more.

“Let’s straighten out those delinquents!”

**

The screen was filled with the gruesome sight of buildings bearing the full traces of the fire. Streets turned to ash, blackened walls, broken windows.

“Well done, everyone.”

The military-uniformed officers watching the video briefly showed discomfort before adopting proud expressions.

In their eyes, satisfaction with the successful mission intertwined with envy towards the opposing faction.

As the man in the suit on the opposite screen smiled leisurely, the soldier continued his explanation.

“We have successfully temporarily paralyzed the Army’s information network. The process of persuading major clans and gangs is also proceeding smoothly. As you can see, Chairman.”

The expression on the screen became brighter.

“You’ve succeeded in neutralizing and persuading 80% of the main targets… Truly befitting a special forces unit. My expectations for you were not in vain.”

At the chairman’s praise, the Air Force and Navy generals in the conference room wore expressions full of pride.

Their demeanor subtly conveyed the boast, “We are better than businessmen at these kinds of things.”

Watching this, Raihan decided to humble the generals a little.

He continued in a soft voice.

“Well, it’s a bit regrettable about that 20%, though.”

Along with his words, records of the ludicrous blunders and defeats of the Hunter Special Forces appeared on the screen.

Upon seeing this, the generals’ faces stiffened, and they poured out complaints as if they had been waiting.

“Damn it, who knew that damned alleyway would be swarming with monstrous guys like that? What was the intelligence agency doing? Those fixers have special forces-level combat power!”

“Our power analysis was completely off. The gangs’ armament level seems to be twice what we expected. This is a battlefield on a different dimension from the continents we control. They called it a lawless zone, and that wasn’t an exaggeration!”

The generals each offered their excuses.

It was understandable. The Army Intelligence Department’s bases and surveillance posts were located in slums or outskirts with terrible public security.

Such places were beehives swarming with fixers, gangs, and various secret societies.

A den of deranged killers who would pull out a knife at the slightest misstep.

The special forces members who unintentionally — and to eliminate witnesses — disturbed that beehive during combat had to painfully realize that the shadows of the academy city were a den of beasts beyond imagination.

The reality they faced was a living hell, something that couldn’t be prepared for even with training.

“Pizza Rider Union? The intelligence agency failed to track such a threat at all. Their armament and tactics were beyond imagination. We only suffered casualties on our side, yet failed to secure a single enemy corpse!”

An unknown delivery organization that suddenly appeared.

The fact that an entire Navy Special Warfare Unit was annihilated in an instant severely wounded the Navy’s pride.

“Damn it, some pink-haired girl crushed all our members! She used strange magic. Magic that creates swords, what on earth was that?”

“That girl must be a Vespers student! She was walking around without even covering her name tag!”

The power of some academy students was immense. Their overwhelming combat power could ruthlessly shatter heavily armed superhuman special forces belonging to the Air Force Ground Troops like a stray cat hit by a truck.

“What’s this ‘Casador’ guy? Our agents who entered Circleif almost got into big trouble…”

On top of that, there was a big shot from the underworld who pressured even the military’s elite agents.

The faces of the generals, who had experienced the harshness of the academy city, grew even sterner.

The generals, expressing dismay at the devastating losses in an unfamiliar environment, soon began to look for someone to direct their anger at.

‘That damned homosexual.’

Their gaze first turned to Raihan but soon dismissed the thought.

Raihan was, strictly speaking, their benefactor and a key figure who supported the activities of the task force and agents within the academy city.

Without him, the activities of military personnel who had violated the Teatime Agreement and entered without authorization would become much more difficult.

Ultimately, the remaining targets of their anger were only their eternal rivals before them.

“This is all because you kite-like bastards didn’t provide proper aerial support! From now on, our Marines will handle all ground operations!”

“Our Air Force opposes the Navy’s reckless proposal!”

The sight of grown adults fighting like children was quite ridiculous.

Raihan solidified his belief that the military was a bunch of idiots and decided to leisurely wait until they calmed down.

A long while later, as everyone was cooling their heads, one general muttered.

“A disruption operation… Does it have to go this far? Disrupting intelligence networks, disguise operations… Can’t we just find the location of the joint interdimensional creature research lab and concentrate our forces? Isn’t the goal to secure the sample?”

“You said you had connections with Luminex? What do you think about finding out the lab’s location through them and launching a full-scale infiltration?”

Raihan’s smiling expression instantly crumpled.

“Are you confident in engaging in an all-out war with the Restraid Armored Knights?”

At the mention of the Armored Knights, the military personnel fell silent.

The catastrophe of the Federal-Clan Authority Readjustment Incident, which led to the Teatime Agreement, vividly came to their minds.

Raihan once again made these ignorant men, who only dabbled with weapons, face reality.

“I’ll say it again, we cannot charge in head-on. If we do, Restraid will move. The Parliament connected to the old noble families would also stir, wouldn’t it?”

And Luminex would absorb the company he had built back into its original place.

“Furthermore, the location of the joint interdimensional creature research lab is classified. Most of the personnel are presumed to be staying there, eating and sleeping within. Only a very small number of people from the Army and Restraid know its location. Naturally, the Foundation doesn’t know either.”

The chairman smiled gently, as if he had never been annoyed.

“Therefore, we must meticulously move in disguise as other entities. To the very end. Do you understand?”

Thus, this uncomfortable alliance between corporations and the military should not be revealed if possible.

As Raihan emphasized this fact, an Air Force general asked.

“So you told us to attack your company? The casualties weren’t small.”

Immediately after speaking, the general felt a chill.

The momentary flash of madness in Chairman Raihan’s eyes was a chilling experience, even for him, a seasoned soldier.

“It’s nothing. It was a necessary sacrifice for progress.”

The generals wore subtle expressions at Raihan’s nonchalant reply.

“In the future, similar but larger-scale operations will be needed. Please be fully prepared.”

There was much to be done.

“It seems strategically advantageous to use Circleif as a base. It’s a lawless zone with the loosest surveillance, and being near the western region, we can utilize the networks we’ve previously established.”

“The leader of that area…”

“I’ll contact Casador.”

Raihan firmly cut him off. The underworld magnate’s connections were his alone.

The subsequent discussion moved into specific details.

“First, disrupting the Army’s information network will be key. Restraid is relatively vulnerable to information gathering.”

“Confusing the Foundation’s surveillance is also important. We’ll need to prepare bait to disperse their forces.”

All of this is for a single purpose: to secure the Apostle sample.

“Our intelligence agency is tracking the estimated regions you provided, meticulously analyzing logistics flows, energy consumption, and the movements of related research personnel. You’re… providing shapeshifters?”

“Additionally, I’ll provide Stregonix.”

In the coming shadow war, Raphlaxia will be an invisible hand. There will be no direct involvement.

The blood that will stain the streets is for others.

Raihan pointed out an important detail for those unfamiliar with the academy city.

“Ah, Generals. Pay special attention to these two individuals. They are not our direct enemies, but…”

Two photos appeared on the screen. The left showed blurry silhouettes of soldiers, the right was a neat-looking, black-haired man.

“I understand Ariel… But wait, Seijis? A scholarship officer? Why should we be careful of a mere civil servant?”

Major Jukobik asked, puzzled.

“I only knew that much, but after the recent East Arturia Academy incident, I found he possesses power beyond imagination. For now, he’s part of the Audit Bureau, but be especially careful when intervening in academy-related matters.”

Raihan turned off the screen after the meeting. His waiting secretary approached him.

“C-01 freezer opening is complete. Helman update has also been completed as instructed. But… are you truly going to proceed with this?”

The secretary’s opaque black mask quivered uneasily.

Raihan’s next plan was a concept that defied common sense.

At worst, the very existence of Raphlaxia could be endangered.

Raihan responded with a smile.

“Isn’t it said that if one can comprehend the truth in the morning, one can die without regret in the evening? I am resolved.”

All of this is for the truth.

**

I went out for a walk and some neighborhood cleansing. I went a bit too far and ended up outside the neighborhood.

“Aren’t we too far?”

Then I encountered an unexpected situation. As the saying goes, ‘every day is market day when you go,’ and real delinquents appeared before my eyes.

“Oh my! Help me!”

“Grandma, just give us some pocket money! Is that so hard?”

“I don’t have any! I told you I don’t!”

Rushing towards the screams, I saw students dressed in a delinquent manner between the alleyways.

Thugs were threatening a grandmother holding a shopping basket.

“Grandma! Run away quickly!”

I began to confront them alone.

“You guys, you’re students, right? Why are you here? Isn’t it class time?”

When I asked, the guys snickered.

“Looks like you still haven’t figured out the situation. Do you have anything valuable?”

“Hey, what should we do with her?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’?”

Let’s see, there were four of them in total. Judging by their sloppily modified school uniforms and delinquent attitudes, they had clearly dropped out or been suspended.

The so-called Teenage Jaeger Gangsters.

Delinquent students who can’t become clan hunters or fixers end up as underworld thugs.

They degenerate into human butchers who cut down people instead of beasts.

I dealt with similar guys when I went to scout Chief Leslie.

“What business is it of yours?”

“This is our territory! Get lost!”

Unfortunately, aside from their personalities, they were also awakened ones.

As soon as they saw me, they drew their swords and channeled menacing magic into them.

“Can I kill them?”

“Then there’ll be blood. Let’s just drive them off for now, and if they resist further, we’ll deal with them outside!”

I drew my sword. After a quick scan, I could see their combat power.

“Now I understand. Your combat power is…!”

“Lower than 1 Violet!”

1 Violet is our own relative and abstract unit of combat power. It’s based on one heavily armed Violet.

Of course, it’s a rubber-band unit that changes with our mood, so it has no real reliability.

The important thing is that those guys are weaker than us!

-Thump! Thump thump!

I subdued the delinquents in less than 30 seconds.

“Augh… damn it… how is this possible… Ah, stop! Surrender! Surrender!”

I only mobilized about two clones, and it ended without a single scratch. To think they were this weak.

“This is our territory!”

“Get out now!”

For the sake of creating a healthy neighborhood environment, and as part of a human beautification effort, I dragged the guys out.

Because the scholarship officer was on my mind.

I thought about killing them, but since they’re students for now, I should ask the scholarship officer and decide whether to hand them over to the Audit Bureau or put them in a drum.

The moment I was about to drag them out, something unexpected happened.

“Argh! Seriously! I was going to let you off, but I can’t now!”

“Let me off what?”

One of the guys suddenly pulled out a strange syringe from his pocket.

“If you get hit by this, a bastard like you will just-”

“Not a chance!”

It was obvious. It must be an awakening drug, like Black Ice.

I quickly struck it with my sword, sending it to the floor. The syringe shattered into pieces.

My mistake was thinking that was the only one.

“Uwaaa!”

Another guy had one. The moment I noticed, the syringe was already injected into his arm.

The Teenage Jaeger Gangster suddenly swelled up like a balloon, seemingly defying the laws of physics.

“Gasp! The person’s getting bigger! What is that!”

The boy, transformed into a muscular giant, swung his fist at us.

“Ack! The power!”

Its rough movements were like those of a monstrous beast.

But monster hunting was our specialty, so I immediately unleashed Polaris swordsmanship.

Against the giant fist, large and flexible slashes surged like waves.

-Slash!

Its right arm fell below the shin. But the next moment, we were horrified.

“W-what!”

Foam erupted from the end of its arm, and in an instant, the arm regenerated.

“My goodness! What is that syringe?”

The delinquent scoffed.

“This? Nanomachines! You idiot!”

The term was too sophisticated to come from a delinquent’s mouth, leaving us confused.

First, I needed to subdue him and find out what the syringe was.

“Let’s slice him!”

Strangely, the guy kept regenerating no matter how many times he was cut.

“Screw you all! I’m invincible!”

“It’s true, it reminds me of Polaris’s Treasurer’s regeneration.”

“Alright, tactical immersion activated-”

The moment I thought about creating more Violets to slice him up relentlessly, bright flames engulfed him.

-Bang! Bang!

“Aargh! Hot!”

“Violet! Are you okay? Crazy! What is that monster bastard?”

Terrified, Kalia hacked at him with her sword.

Flames engulfed each cut, and the bubbling foam disappeared.

“Aaaaaaaaaargh! Why! You said I was invincible!”

The regeneration stopped.

The guy’s body, which had been thrashing and burning, slowly shriveled.

Kalia quickly retracted her unique ability, and the thug collapsed, half-burnt.

“What kind of guys are these now?”

“I don’t know!”

It seems another strange guy has gotten involved.