episode_0161

Chapter 6 Episode 17 – Apocalypse 2

A red fox rushed into the collapsed laboratory and into the pile of rubble. The fox stopped at the woman’s horribly torn body and smiled brightly as she looked at the body.

“Even though I couldn’t kill this body directly, seeing the four years dead like this makes me feel relieved, as if a thousand years of pain had subsided.”

Karjen, the red fox, pulled out a small tentacle from her body and began to eat Olivia’s corpse.

“It tastes terrible, befitting its nasty personality. I was expecting it because it seemed close to the owner… .”

Karjen, who had neatly eaten the corpse, glanced at the corpses of the test subjects lying behind her.

“Hmm… . For something made by weak humans, they were quite strong creatures.”

Originally, there would have been no way to talk about something like a chimera, which was created by forcibly combining various living things. However, since she needed a little strength now, Karjen had no choice but to eat Olivia’s test subjects.

Jump, jump, jump–.

As I left the lab and came out, an even more horrendous scene unfolded. Karjen, who watched the entire series of events, set out to find the culprit of this tragedy.

“Are you still blaming yourself? You stupid mutt.”

“……”

In the middle of the ruined administration, Ker, with his ears and tail drooping, buried his face in his arms and didn’t even move a muscle.

A few days ago, the management bureau entered a state of emergency as its employees suddenly began to become mines. The management bureau was able to withstand the overwhelming amount of attacks, including demons coming from within and those coming from outside.

However, as time passed, the security department became exhausted and supplies began to run out. Casualties continued to increase, and the bureau was filled with the smell of blood.

The thick scent of blood eventually reached the deepest part of the management bureau, the isolation wing. Ker, who smelled this smell, escaped the isolation room to save the employees.

Kerr knew that he would go crazy when he saw the moon. However, this runaway was not taken very seriously. This is because after meeting Zeke, thanks to his thorough management, there were almost no cases of runaways, and even if there were, there were no casualties at all.

This complacency became toxic, and in the end, Ker’s runaway was a fatal blow to the collapsing administration.

“I, I… . I was trying to save you… .”

Kerr looked at his bloody hands. Although time had passed and it had already dried, the sticky texture was still vivid.

The friends who always welcomed him with a smile were torn apart by these hands.

The tears had already dried up and no longer came out. However, Kerr was still heartbroken and struggling with uncontrollable sadness and depression.

“Stupid. Why can’t we just get up!”

Hearing Karjen’s voice urging her, Kerr lifted her head weakly.

Ker didn’t like Karjen. Was it because she always had an unpleasant smell of blood? No, regardless of the smell, I felt physiological repulsion from the beginning. But at the same time, I felt an unknown sense of familiarity.

“……Go away.”

Kerr covered his ears with his hands and buried his face in his knees. It was the strongest expression of not wanting to talk, but Karjen didn’t care about that.

“Are you going to sit like that forever?”

Karjen was also similar to Ker. But she knew what she felt.

That is ‘love and hate’. Although I didn’t like the wolf god energy I felt from Ker, at the same time, an indelible affection sprouted.

‘nuisance. After all, he is a descendant of that damn wolf… .’

Of course, even if you feel love and hate, Ker is just a subordinate. So it was quite possible to abandon it and leave. But now she needed Ker.

If you want to find your missing owner again, your limited strength will not be enough.

“You’re trembling because you only killed a few people.”

“Not just that! Friends, they are my friends!”

“So, my master… Are you saying that those friends are more important than Zeke?”

When he heard the name Zeke, Ker’s ears perked up.

“……Zeek! Where are you!”

“He is not here.”

Karjen stopped Ker, who seemed to be about to run away at any moment.

“I know where the owner is. Looking at the situation, I don’t think the owner can be considered safe either. There is no time to waste. We have to go quickly and save him.”

“……Ouch! Zeke, I’m going to save you. I have to save it!”

Ker got up from his seat with eyes full of determination. He was still depressed, but saving Zeke was more important, so he forced himself to stay strong.

Karjen clicks her tongue slightly as she looks at that. It was unpleasant to see a listless Ker, but a rejuvenated Ker was equally unpleasant to look at.

“Wouldn’t even a coward come out of there?”

“Hiik… !”

Karjen turned her gaze and looked at the pile of rubble. There, I made eye contact with Ryuka, who was sticking out her head.

Ryuka tried to run away, but was caught by Karjen’s red tentacles and dragged out.

“Cowardly dragon, I need your wings.”

“Ugh, uh… . but… .”

“Shut up and spread your wings!”

“Woo, wow… .”

*

*

“……Is this the end of Bir’s keepsakes?”

“Okay. This is everything.”

After hearing from Mr. Leger about what happened while he was asleep, I stopped by the room where Bir’s belongings were kept.

A few folded papers and a piece of jewelry lay on the table. These were all Bir’s belongings. Normally, he would have had all kinds of memorized weapons on him, but maybe it was because it wasn’t an assassination mission, or maybe he used them all up. Memorization was everywhere.

The folded papers were a kind of cheat sheet on which Bir recorded the things he needed to infiltrate the Church of the Virgin Mary. Since I didn’t really need it, I put it aside and picked up the one remaining gem.

Even at first glance, the jewel, with its pure white light leaking out, looked unusual.

‘Is this Jeonghwaseok?’

Fran’s friend, Hauteclaire, the unfortunate holy sword that has been consumed by demonic energy. A purification stone believed to be one of the two power stones she possessed. It is one of the holy relics handed down from generation to generation in the Virgin Mary Church, which is said to purify all kinds of unclean energies.

The reason Bir has this is, of course, because I ordered him to steal it.

I had completely forgotten about it, but it came to mind when I entered the Patriarchate. It was a good thing that Bir was kept on standby at the Patriarchate.

‘hmm… . But wasn’t it too easy to steal?’

Even though Bir was the world’s best assassin, it was a little strange that he could so easily steal the most sacred relic of the Holy Mother Church.

Additionally, when I touched the surface of the gem, there were some parts that were not smooth.

‘Isn’t it the power stone of purification?’

The surface of Franc’s Power Stone was almost perfectly smooth. So much so that it really feels like it can’t be made artificially. However, the purification stone in my hand looked like a gem that could easily be made artificially.

Of course, the only power stone I’ve ever touched is Franc’s, so I can’t generalize.

‘If I ask Fran, will he give me an answer?’

Since it doesn’t seem to matter if I tell you the information about the dead holy sword, I will probably answer.

I put the purification stone in my inventory. Because it was small, I kept it in my pocket and didn’t know if I would lose it, and because the Virgin Mary members might sense the power of the Jeonghwa Stone, I decided to put it in a subspace isolated from the world.

‘When I first bought it, the points were a waste, but now that I have them, it’s convenient.’

When I opened the inventory, there was already an item taking up space in it.

‘Oh, there was this.’

I unconsciously took out the item, and Mr. Leger, who was watching, said something.

“It’s a unique-looking gun.”

“Do not touch it carelessly. It’s a very dangerous weapon.”

“Even though it’s only a handgun, it’s dangerous.”

“It only looks like a pistol, but it is not a pistol. The so-called ‘last resort’ developed by the management bureau with a huge amount of money. As the name suggests, it is the ultimate weapon that ends everything.”

The last resort, it looks like a pistol with two vertical muzzles, but in fact, there is only one muzzle and the thing underneath is a separate special device.

It is disposable, has strict usage conditions, and is cumbersome to carry around, so I kept it in the warehouse, but after purchasing inventory, I carry it around unless there is a special need.

Because it can literally be used as a ‘last resort’ in times of emergency.

“So, why did you take out that ultimate weapon? Are you going to fight the demons?”

“No. I was just organizing my pockets.”

Do you put the purification stone in your inventory, or do you put it in your inventory as a last resort? I’m worried.

‘Jeong Hwa-seok needs to do an experiment… . However, since it is small enough to fit into an inside pocket, I don’t think there is any need to put it in the inventory… . However, if you just carry it around, it seems like the Church of the Virgin Mary is watching you… . As a last resort, I don’t know what the situation will be, so I want to take it with me… . ‘It’s so needlessly cumbersome that it’s difficult to put it in your pocket.’

In the end, I decided to put the last resort in the inventory as usual and put the purification stone in the inner pocket.

Jeong Hwa-seok’s experiment may be possible without meeting the Holy Mother Church, but the last resort may be necessary in an emergency.

“Looking at you like that, I guess your body is feeling better now.”

“Well, I guess so.”

Now that I think about it, the pain that felt like my internal organs were melting has disappeared. Did Patricia intentionally weaken my condition to save me?

‘It’s a disease from which Lufia has not recovered, and there’s no way she’s completely cured… . It looks like Patricia has no intention of killing me.’

What on earth do you want from me?

“So, is it okay?”

“It’s okay, what do you mean?”

“That maid… . I’ve been assisting you for quite a long time, and I’m wondering if there’s anything wrong.”

“……Well, you can’t be okay. But being gloomy doesn’t change anything. I was used to this sort of thing in the first place.”

“You’re lying.”

Mr. Leger looking straight into my eyes. I slowly turned my head to see those eyes that seemed to be looking right through me.

“Usually people pretend to be strong to hide their sadness. But you are different. It looks like he’s pretending to be sad to hide that nothing’s wrong.”

“……”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but I can finally see it clearly. What made you like that?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I have a feeling of déjà vu.

“Don’t even think about being flirty. Because my eyes are accurate.”

“……I don’t know what you’re talking about. Even if I knew, there seems to be no reason to tell Mr. Leger.”

As Mr. Leger himself said, her insight is quite outstanding. This is the truth I learned while working under her in the previous episode.

However, now I am not Mr. Leger’s subordinate, but rather closer to his superior. Of course, it has become meaningless now that the empire is ruined, but that doesn’t mean he’s become a subordinate, so there’s no reason to be obedient.

If you refuse this strongly, Mr. Leger will give up on his own. It must have been like that,

“I just want to help you. You don’t know it yourself, but it looks very dangerous.”

“I will help you. You weren’t the type of person to help others.”

“It was like that. But things are different now. Besides, I owe you a lot in many ways. You can think of it as a kind of repayment.”

What is your situation? I am the one who weakened the Fresco family.

dump-.

Mr. Leger sat in a leather chair that looked quite comfortable.

“……To be honest, I regret it. I’ve often lost subordinates, but I’ve never been annihilated like this. Looking at these dying guys, I wish I would have done a little better… A thought occurred to me. But I don’t see that in you.”

“……What, are you saying I treat people like chess pieces?”

“If you were that kind of person, there would be no way you could get along well with your subordinates. So that’s not it.”

Tuk, Tuk, Tuk–.

M. Leger tapped his fingers on the arm rest.

“It’s a rumor, but… . Do you know how to revive people?”