episode_0397

While we were busy crushing Luminxa, a chilling rumor spread like wildfire through the academy city.

“The Clone Killer!”

The notorious criminal, true to their name, was quite a bizarre individual. Their actions, at first glance, seemed no different from a typical serial killer.

Their modus operandi was to indiscriminately target and murder unfortunate pedestrians walking through the darkened streets, then grotesquely mutilate the bodies and leave them behind.

It was said that about 20 people had been sacrificed so far in the past few months.

Wait, 20 people? That’s too few.

I found the number surprisingly low.

“They call this a serial killer? That’s too ordinary.”

As I instinctively blurted out the words, Daphne raised her index finger and pointed out,

“Violet, you’re usually considered a serial killer if you’ve killed three or more people.”

“But I’ve killed more than that? And they call me a terrorist. I don’t know what the difference is.”

“Th-that’s…”

Daphne rolled her eyes with an embarrassed expression, then forced a smile.

“Perhaps Violet is a special case…?”

Daphne couldn’t give a clear answer despite the question.

Indeed, our Violet would probably be considered a serial killer too, if you really thought about it. How many people had she killed?

A thought flashed through my mind: perhaps it was even more than the number of clones we currently had.

“By the way, why did they call them the Clone Killer?”

The reason was surprisingly simple. Literally, the individual was using a clone ability.

Identical-looking figures committing similar crimes were witnessed simultaneously in all directions, and whenever hunters gave chase, they would strangely disappear without a trace into the shadows. This sight had been observed multiple times.

That’s why, for a long time, the public had been rampant with various speculations about the individual’s true identity.

Then, absurd news surfaced.

[The Identity of the Clone Killer – Ariel Group?]

[Behind the Terrorist: Pleasure Killing! What is the Principle of Clone Generation Ability?]

“Wh-what?”

Some wicked reporters dared to link our revolutionary Violet with that serial killer.

This news came just as the interpretation of our unique ability as ‘clones’ was slowly spreading through some clans and research institutions.

A troublesome situation had arisen.

“This is ridiculous! We’re benevolent democratic killers!”

“How dare they compare us to those kinds of people?”

All of their main targets were easy prey: children, the elderly, or newly awakened individuals who, no matter how strong, had just enrolled.

To possess such a good unique ability and commit such acts was utterly outrageous.

They were clearly killing people for fun.

Irene’s opinion was similar.

“It’s a typical awakened pleasure killer. Humans who find enjoyment in hunting people instead of magical beasts. It happens often.”

Irene’s father had made a name for himself in his youth by exterminating many such pleasure killers.

“Then it’s nothing serious, right?”

“I wish that were true, but…”

Irene’s expression darkened.

“Sometimes, experienced hunters whose minds have twisted commit such atrocities against innocent people. Until they’re caught, everyone will have to worry about their safety on their way home.”

Well, they’d be caught soon enough. Our Violet had other matters to attend to right now.

“How dare they try to link us with a killer!”

“Let’s teach them a lesson!”

We thoroughly tracked down the identities of those reporters.

Fortunately, they were operating openly under newspaper names and their real names, so finding them was a piece of cake.

What needed to be done was clear.

“Time to discipline them!”

“This is their car?”

In the dead of night, the Violets gathered in front of the reporter’s house and quietly moved towards the parking lot.

There was a shiny new car.

To be earning money through lies and driving such an expensive car, how disgusting.

“Tools ready!”

The Violets simultaneously took out their tools: monkey wrenches, cutters, screwdrivers!

And then they began to perfectly dismantle the car.

From every bolt to every screw, from the engine to the wheels, they disassembled everything and meticulously arranged them on the ground.

“Hehe! Have fun with that!”

All that was left was to await the outcome.

The next morning, the reporter stepped out of the door with a relaxed expression, heading to work.

And then they discovered their car, completely disassembled and turned into a parts exhibition.

A scream burst from their lips.

“What is this! Aaaah! My car!”

“This is the fate for liars!”

The Violets delivered righteous judgment upon the wicked reporters, upholding justice once again today.

**

Past midnight, a black shadow swept across the bustling district of the southern sector. A faint figure dashed like the wind over the glittering skyline.

Ghostly dark figures moved like dancing waves, climbing over rooftops and walls.

They leaped once onto a rooftop, then smoothly ascended a wall, and then slid up a glass facade.

The black silhouette agilely leaped onto an outdoor unit once more, racing through the city that never slept.

Other figures pursued it like shadows. Unlike the leading shadow, invisible, transparent traces followed.

Above their heads, a colossal bird-shaped object, a blurry silhouette, swiftly darted across and vanished.

The figure was so enshrouded by the city’s noise and neon lights that it was difficult to locate even with intense concentration.

[Current location of the rogue agent?]

[Tracking in progress.]

The agents held their breath, fiercely pursuing the shadow.

The shadows that had been racing across the tops of skyscrapers now slid down the walls, descending.

[Remember, pre-emptive strikes against clones are forbidden. Finding the main body’s location is the top priority.]

[The rogue agent must be secured and eliminated by our side before being exposed to other organizations. Absolutely no external exposure.]

The shadow had now left the skyscraper-lined city center and was moving towards a residential complex.

The agents, with the agility and persistence characteristic of awakened individuals, secretly pursued the shadow while maintaining a constant distance.

Soon, the dazzling streetlights faded into the distance, and the gloomy alleys of a desolate redevelopment area spread out before them.

[Target has stopped. Continue surveillance-]

The blurry shadow shimmered strangely. As if it had decided it could no longer evade the pursuit, the clone slowly revealed its silhouette.

Where its face should have been, a shadow flickered like smoke, and its body revealed the lithe form of a human female wearing a red jacket.

The smoky shadow slowly turned its head.

[…!]

The agent was momentarily unsettled. In a fleeting instant, a chilling sensation, as if their eyes had met, ran down their spine.

Was it a hallucination? No. Had it sensed them? But they were clearly in stealth, so how?

[Wait, requesting engagement permission. Engagement perm-]

-Whirrr!

It was the moment it suddenly raised its head. The pitch-black night sky seemed to shatter and fall.

The stealth of a low-flying reconnaissance drone instantly dissipated, then it cleanly snapped in two and plummeted.

[What the, right now-]

The agent’s voice, in mid-sentence, abruptly cut off. Before they could even wonder, their cloaked vision suddenly shot upwards.

And in that instant, the sight of their comrades’ bodies tearing apart and scattering like paper entered their vision.

They realized too late. All of this had been that woman’s trap.

With that final thought, their vision went dark forever.

-Splat!

Severed limbs hit the ground with a splat. The clone creaked like a broken doll, shaking its arms to brush something off.

Silvery nano-wires, glistening, wriggled like snakes and retracted into its sleeves.

The shadow slowly turned its head again.

From every corner of the darkness, identical clones emerged one by one, like a flock of vultures discovering a corpse.

Suddenly, a scream shattered the stillness.

“Ah, aaaaah!”

A hapless resident, passing by at that moment, was startled by the gruesome sight and fell backward onto their rear.

Surrounded by the horrifying figures, the resident instinctively scrambled to their feet, trembling with terror.

And then they turned and ran desperately. They tried to run.

If only they hadn’t come face-to-face with an identical figure to the shadow person they had just seen.

The man was instantly seized by the shadow person.

“S-save me! I-I didn’t see anything! Pl-please!”

The shadows advanced one step at a time. The clones slowly encircled the resident who had stumbled out, like predators.

And the clone holding the resident slowly lowered its head towards the man’s head.

Like a child before a sweet dessert.

“No, no. No! Aaaaaah!”

-Crunch!

The midnight street once again fell into a deep silence.

**

At the same time, somewhere in Arcsyt. A brief sigh broke the silence of the control room.

“To think tracking the main body would keep getting delayed…”

Chief Administrator Elena let out a heavy sigh.

This situation was unbearable, especially with a clone cluster that had destroyed Luminxa, and no one knew what kind of conspiracy they were plotting. Furthermore, civilians were getting involved.

Her sharp gaze turned to the woman sitting opposite her.

The woman, with striking dark red hair that looked as if it were soaked in blood, was quietly stirring her teacup.

“So, Exoria, is the tracking still proving difficult?”

The woman, who had been slowly stirring her teacup, raised her head and met Elena’s gaze. Her unnaturally unblinking stare created an eerie atmosphere.

The woman gave an awkward smile, unconsciously touching the metal stud embedded in the back of her neck.

“I’m sorry, Elena. The rogue seems to be out of my range. As you know…”

The woman slowly traced the metal stud on the back of her neck.

“My capabilities currently have limits. I’ll try a little harder.”

The woman called Exoria said this and elegantly sipped her tea.

Elena felt a surge of frustration, but decided not to press further.

The being before her was too important a guest for the Arcsyt Consortium.

In a fleeting moment, a strangely colored aura shimmered and vanished behind the woman’s head.

**

Even as the Clone Killer’s horrific atrocities continued, our Violets managed to achieve an unexpectedly hopeful breakthrough.

“If she takes this, her condition will improve?”

The Violet Research Lab had finally found a way to improve the condition of my prospective junior, whose situation they had been unable to address until now.

“Yes, Unnie! It’s nothing major.”

Phoebe explained, her eyes sparkling.

“It’s not a cure. It just alleviates the symptoms a bit. It’s a medicine made of artificial molecular compounds with a mana synchronization effect. We give this to the patient and then use a bit of Violet Unnie’s ability. If we add a few healing abilities to that, her condition will become even more stable!”

Listening to Phoebe’s passionate explanation, it seemed worth a try.

Just in time, I had been planning a simple trip or outing for Ariel.

To go outside, she had to be healthy.

Of course, in the long term, I’d have to completely undo the bizarre spell that damned Apostle had cast, but even with my current abilities, I was slowly getting a grasp on whatever was inside her head. If I refined it a bit more, wouldn’t that also become possible soon?

The results, after trying it with Daphne present, were astounding.

“Wow, Violet Unnie. My head feels clear!”

“Yay! It worked! Let’s go play now!”

To think a problem that hadn’t been solved for months could be resolved so simply.

While I was lost in thought, Daphne peeked outside the hospital room door and quietly spoke.

“Violet. Are you, by any chance, thinking of distributing this medicine to other people?”

“Hmm?”

Daphne was silent for a moment, then closed and opened her eyes, explaining calmly.

“I heard that Helios and Cascadia have acquired shares in the foundation and in businesses and facilities under Laplasia. What if we use that as an indirect route to supply the medicine? It… could also earn a lot of money, and I think it might solve the health problems of other patients here. In other words, it could be profitable. What do you think?”

Oh, profit. I hadn’t thought of that. Daphne was indeed smart.

“Alright! Then I’ll ask them to do that!”

Seeing Ariel, dressed in a white patient gown, cheerfully smiling with her arms wide open, warmed my heart.

“Let’s go! To the amusement park!”

Ariel’s bright voice made me smile along with her.

Yes, maybe I should take the other kids along this time too.