episode_0342

Vivid, as if they had already occurred, yet simultaneously, events that had not yet taken place.

It was agonizing, but necessary. This wasn’t simply recounting past knowledge. This was a time for painful self-reflection.

“Isn’t that too hasty a conclusion?”

Sophieel asked with a worried gaze.

“I know Violet’s and everyone else’s abilities well. But you yourself said before that we should leave problematic organizations and academies alone until the time was ripe. Have you suddenly changed your mind?”

Seijis slowly, but with conviction, nodded his head.

“I haven’t changed my mind, Sis. If everything collapses or falls apart all at once, a massive power vacuum will be created. I don’t want to see flies gathering to exploit that gap. However…”

His eyes sharpened.

“The perfect opportunity to execute that plan has arrived now.”

Memories of the past future flashed through his mind. Each time the four major clans and giant corporations crumbled one by one, countless struggles erupted to fill the void.

Prodigy superhumans from academies outside the protection of the clans or the federation, despite their astonishing talent and power, became pawns for others far too easily.

Before, he would have had to endure all of this painfully, chewing over meaningless principles and ethics.

Now, it was different. Although it had deviated somewhat from the original plan and the schedule had been brought forward, it was actually better. He had reliable allies.

By his side was an awakened army, brigade-level or higher, who had personally proven their abilities against the Archmage’s vanguard and the Foundation’s elite forces.

“I no longer want to see criminals like Casador of Circleff or other radical organizations running rampant. And I certainly don’t want to create an environment where the Apostles can run wild. But… Luminexa Foundation definitely needs to be weakened.”

Seijis paused, lost in thought. He pondered when the full-scale conflict with Luminexa had truly begun.

Was it after he had punished the rampaging witch? Or even before he had stopped the Archmage who was treating the western academies as expendable, and, not content with that, had received Vesperia from Restraidna and plotted conspiracies?

Perhaps it was after that. Even then, everything had started with Enrica.

“She has a history of dangerous incidents. With the dean and the board in an unstable situation, we will temporarily take intensive management of the half-destroyed academy until it returns to normal.”

“No! By what right do you claim this student?! That was in the past. Enrica can now perfectly control her constitution!”

That was when the ill-fated connection began. Among students with unique talents across the academy city, those without strong backing were always relentlessly pursued by Luminexa’s—no, more precisely, Chairman Raihan’s greedy interest.

Not only that, but capable skills and talents always became targets of their vigilance.

Strangely, the Foundation, despite its obsession with collecting and storing technology, seemed to have no intention of using it for profit.

“You fools from the Inspectorate! Do you even know the meaning of what you’ve done? We are still under their observation! Giving a chance for progress to idiots who can’t even hide and manage their power? The moment we advance even a little… they will surely come again!”

Seijis still vividly remembered this hysterical excuse, uttered when the Foundation was on the verge of collapse. It was the final plea against their stubborn secrecy.

“Nonsense not worth listening to.”

Sophieel sneered.

Seijis silently agreed.

Even with only a tiny fraction of the technology salvaged from the Foundation after its collapse from the Apostles’ attack, there was enough power to temporarily halt the forces sent by Monad’s lord.

“Then, if we obtain all the knowledge and technology the Foundation possesses… with four years remaining, we’ll be able to do so much more. Especially now that such an opportunity has arrived…”

As the Scholarship Officer trailed off, cheerful laughter drifted into the office.

Outside the window, Violet could be seen happily interacting with animals. Sophieel let out a short laugh at the innocent scene. Seijis’s dark eyes wavered for a moment with regret.

Why hadn’t there been someone like her back then?

*No, this is merely a past that hasn’t arrived yet. Let go of the lingering attachment.*

With a heavy resolve, he slowly rose from his seat.

“There’s no time to hesitate or waver. We don’t have that luxury…”

The magic-engineering technology leaked by Violet from Magnabyss was ridiculously insufficient on its own.

More knowledge meant greater power. And that power had to be given to those who truly needed it.

“Hahaha… Scholarship Officer, I finally understand where my damned uncle sold off my father. Look at this. Do you know whose blood is on this spear blade…?”

Suddenly, the image of the Aegis Academy disciplinary leader flashed in his mind.

Her empty eyes as she sat down with a hollow laugh.

She belatedly realized that the Foundation had incinerated, as information units, the technology that could have somewhat reversed the situation.

At that point, there was only one thing she could do: to grant final mercy to her father and former clan members, who had lost their sanity and become Laflaxia-made killing machines, by the hands of their closest kin.

“Energy weapons… everyone was praising them. If only such weapons had come out a little earlier, we could have held the front lines a bit longer…”

He recalled the noble lady of the Archducal family who fell clutching a broken bow until the very last moment of the battlefield. She fulfilled her duty without tarnishing the reputation of her ancestors who had distinguished themselves during the Great War.

The Foundation’s technology was certainly astonishing, but by the time that brilliant technology was deployed on the battlefield, it was too late.

The world helplessly crumbled before the tide of enemies pouring out like a black wave.

There would be no more such outcomes.

*What if we extract the technology and entrust it to Rheinkroof University’s Fusion Research Institute or Arturia Academy’s workshop? Or to other families or clans? That would be helpful.*

It was time to give power to those who were full of righteous will but lacked the decisive strength to overturn reality.

“Moreover, the Foundation has an alien space c-”

As Violet’s figure approaching the window came into view, Seijis stopped speaking. His fingers flicked through the air, and the barrier silently vanished.

“Are you done talking?”

“It’s all done. Let’s talk about something else now.”

The time was approaching to cut open the Luminexa brothers’ bellies.

**

Unexpectedly, the conversation progressed smoothly.

As soon as our Scholarship Officer heard about Enrica, his eyes flashed as if he had remembered something, and he immediately adopted an astonishingly firm stance, insisting that the Foundation must be completely crushed.

At first, I was flustered by his sudden reaction, but frankly, I liked it.

*He’s truly a man’s man!*

However, as the conversation deepened, unavoidable limitations began to reveal themselves one by one.

“But don’t think we can completely destroy the Foundation. For now, the Foundation itself needs to remain, even if it’s just a shell. It needs to hold its place until something to replace it is ready. In truth, it can’t be easily removed either.”

“Why? I think we could just sweep away the board first.”

I asked with pure curiosity.

“Hmm, Viol, that’s…”

“Sis, aren’t I right? If there are no people, there are no problems!”

Frankly, I was curious. Since they were troublesome entities anyway, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to simply eliminate all of them except for those who surrendered?

The mice, reading my confusion, also tilted their heads.

Sophieel sighed deeply, but Seijis, conversely, continued his calm explanation without a change in expression.

“It’s impossible. The Foundation is a closed organization where each department, branch, and research institute is guaranteed independent autonomy. Even if we assassinate all the Secretary-Generals and directors, each branch will continue to operate according to its own individual principles. Think of the Violet Network, Unit 312. If you were killed, would the entire Violet Network collapse?”

“Aha! So we have to go to each branch and destroy them or kill everyone there, right?”

“That would take too long. It’s completely different from an organization like Magnabyss, which operates as a corporate entity. Each cell organization operates unofficially, so we can’t even ascertain the locations of all research labs or data, or even their exact names. Moreover, if the operation drags on, Arsite or Restraidna will intervene, under the pretext of punishing terrorists. What was our objective again?”

“I would never forget! It’s to prevent interference with Enrica and to launch a preemptive strike before Luminexa gets more deeply involved in the Circleff incident, right?”

The Scholarship Officer’s face momentarily hardened with seriousness.

“Then, in addition to attacking the board, there is one target that perfectly aligns with our objective.”

He paused. Seijis was silent for a moment, then pulled something out of thin air.

On the table, two bundles of documents unfolded before me and Sophieel. We picked up the documents, bewildered. The cover clearly bore the words ‘[TOP SECRET]’.

“The Foundation… Central Archives?”

“Oh my… I wonder where our little brother got something like this. So, while the Inspectorate was constantly giving me tasks and disappearing, he was digging this up?”

As Sophieel made a resentful expression, Seijis merely shrugged nonchalantly.

“So, what exactly is this?”

Although I asked as if I didn’t know, I had already figured out what Seijis was about to say, thanks to my memories from my interrogator days.

“These are Luminexa’s central data centers. It’s where all the knowledge and data they’ve collected are stored. Naturally, it also includes the Watchlist of the Containment Enforcement Unit. You can think of it as the place where all operations are transmitted and stored.”

“Aha, that means… if we blow this place up, they’ll become idiots!”

Seijis coldly corrected.

“It would be more accurate to say, ‘extracting the internal data and then cleanly erasing it.’”

Good, I understood perfectly.

“There’s one more thing. Since we’ve drawn the sword, we need to consider other possibilities. If Luminexa is neutralized, there will be entities rushing to take its place. Who might that be?”

Instantly, an unpleasant entity I had forgotten came to mind.

“Laflaxia! Right! That chairman fellow was there!”

A terrible scenario suddenly flashed through my mind.

What if Laflaxia swallowed all the assets of Luminexa that we had neutralized?

The moment Unit 312’s gaze met the Scholarship Officer’s, he nodded decisively, as if he had read my thoughts.

“Laflaxia’s chairman must also be dealt with.”

A perfect idea. It’s time to settle scores with Violet’s arch-enemy once and for all. It seems our opinions align perfectly.

*It’s time for revenge!*

At that moment, only Sophieel gave an awkward laugh.

“Hahaha… It feels like we’ve become evil terrorists.”

What’s the problem with that? We are terrorists.

**

While planning the operation, the second semester’s final exam period soon arrived, but we easily sailed through them with our outstanding intelligence.

And finally, the moment came for new prospective V-animals to join the Violet Animal Special Forces.

“Squeak squeak!”

“Caw! Caw!”

The factory-converted laboratory became noisy once again. This was because the animals Bernike had previously ordered for the second time from an external research institute had arrived.

The laboratory was filled with mice, monkeys, and crows, all with clear biochip surgery scars.

The flapping of wings, the struggling movements of monkeys, and the noisy cries of various animals filled the lab.

*Wow! Friends who will soon be enlightened!*

*Paradise! Let’s show these friends paradise too!*

The V-animals spoke in excited voices, looking at the newcomers waiting to connect to our network.

Lately, these guys had been chanting strange things about “paradise,” and it seemed they were referring to our Violet Network that way.

It appeared to be largely due to the Animal Network being a sub-system of the Violet Network, meaning they couldn’t enjoy a network space with perfect five senses like we could.

“It seems like the roles are reversed. They said it was a network connection experiment, but it feels like it’s increasingly deviating from the original intention…”

“It’s fine, Uncle! This is all for the greater good too.”

As I lay on the network connection device and offered words of encouragement, Yurik Uncle silently began moving the cages under the expanded network access device.

While it might be possible to connect them one by one using innate abilities, using a device with filters would be faster and safer than accidentally burning them to death.

Furthermore, we weren’t yet accustomed to using our abilities, and processing them in this factory-like manner allowed us to awaken more animals than touching each one individually.

A sharp whirring sound cut through the air, and the operation was complete.

In an instant, the Animal Network, now enlightened, began to stir.

*Gasp! Where am I? Caw! Who am I! Caw!*

*Congratulations! From today, you are proud members of the Violet Animal Special Forces!*

*Animal Special Forces! That person is our boss!*

The newly joined mouse, crow, and monkey members.

Already, the first-generation senior animals were explaining missions and roles to the second-generation newcomers and guiding them to their living cages.

*Good! It’s working perfectly!*

The future of the Luminexa Liberation Operation seemed to shine brightly.

Two weeks until the scheduled operation. With vacation nearing its end, the Violets began preparing for another operation.

*It’s a holy war!*