Ch.32Ep.32 Broken Justice

Silence.

The woman who appeared, emanating a sharp aura like a well-honed blade, was Veichel Breate.

The one who had killed three allied apostles in the all-out war against the Guardian Spirits.

The woman who had been shattered by Namgung Ihyun’s hand was actually alive.

However, Namgung Ihyun had referred to Veichel as a vice-apostle.

The former leader who once commanded the Guardian Spirits had now devoted herself to the cult of the Outer Gods.

Although everyone here possessed an Order.

For some reason, I couldn’t help but look directly into Veichel’s eyes.

But the most surprised person here was someone else.

‘V-Veichel?! She’s alive?’

It was Serena Tolos, who had been the 1st Corps Commander of the Guardian Spirits.

She knew best what kind of beliefs Veichel had held.

Unlike Namgung Ihyun, who would use any means necessary to achieve her goals.

Veichel had always shown warmth to her colleagues and subordinates, embracing them.

If Radios was someone to be respected, Veichel was like a mother figure to Serena.

But now, seeing her like this.

‘Veichel… so you’ve fallen too…’

The eyes that had always contained a hint of smile now exuded a deep sense of decadence.

She felt like a monster born from hatred of the world.

Serena realized that Veichel had already crossed a river of no return.

And at that moment.

“..!”

Veichel scanned the crowd with cold eyes, and when she met Serena’s face, her pupils trembled.

She recognized her.

That a comrade who had fought for the same goal had ultimately betrayed the others.

When Namgung Ihyun noticed Veichel’s gaze lingering on Serena, she grinned.

“Does someone look familiar?”

“…It’s just a connection from the past.”

“Right. A connection you shouldn’t care about anymore.”

“My goal is the destruction of Olympus. All other emotions are useless.”

Everyone here wanted to question Namgung Ihyun.

But no one actually did it.

Because the aura emanating from Veichel was truly a hatred pushed to extremes.

Milia looked at her with interest.

Fujiwara Ren quietly moistened his lips while observing the situation.

“I know everyone is having difficulty moving right now as they’re stabilizing their Orders.”

At Namgung Ihyun’s words, the attention that had been focused on Veichel turned to her.

“So I’m going to assign the next task to Veichel.”

“The next task…?”

“Assassinating Radios.”

“..!”

Until now, there was a name everyone knew but kept quiet about.

That was the name of the Guardian Spirits’ leader, Radios Magnum.

It was certain that he had returned to Kadinant by whatever means necessary.

However, the apostles deliberately avoided mentioning his name.

It was an implicit agreement, but who would have thought the name would come up here.

What was somewhat unusual was Veichel’s reaction to hearing about assassinating Radios.

She remained completely unmoved, as if hearing the name of a stranger.

Even Serena, who had been a fellow Guardian Spirit, flinched a little.

But Veichel showed not the slightest reaction to the name Radios.

“I think that’s difficult. No matter how strong Veichel is, do you think she can assassinate Radios, who annihilated Cthuga?”

The person who raised the objection was Milia.

She watched Veichel with interest but remained wary.

In the past, she had nearly been killed by Veichel.

If Namgung Ihyun hadn’t intervened and changed the trajectory of the spear.

Milia would have been nothing more than a corpse with her head cut off.

The other apostles couldn’t even speak up because Namgung Ihyun had introduced Veichel.

How could they speak against a woman they wanted to tear apart when she was being supported by the leader of their faction?

Especially when that faction leader was a psychopathic madwoman.

Thankfully Milia took the bullet and spoke up, as the apostles felt like they would burst from curiosity.

“This one’s a complete monster, you know? You know how strong she is, right?”

“That was when I didn’t have an Order.”

“But he has an Order now too, right?”

When Namgung Ihyun turned to look at Veichel, she began to emit her Order.

It was unmistakably an Order imbued with the energy of Yog-Sothoth.

She truly was qualified to be a vice-apostle of the Cult of the Boundary Dweller.

But if no one else, at least Milia and Fujiwara Ren could tell.

That the Order flowing from Veichel was unstable.

‘She’s drawing out an Order at the cost of her life? She’s crazier than I thought.’

‘She won’t live long like that, but has she accumulated that much hatred?’

Milia and Ren exchanged glances, realizing they were thinking the same thing.

Yes, Veichel was clearly.

‘She’s definitely entered self-brainwashing due to feelings of betrayal.’

‘Even if Namgung Ihyun brainwashed her, she must realize that maintaining the Order drains her life force.’

To put it another way, the betrayal Veichel felt had caused tremendous loss.

It was as if a loyal soldier had been born who would never betray the forces of the Outer Gods no matter what.

So here’s a question. How is Veichel alive when she was thought to be dead?

“You look like you want to ask that, shall I answer?”

“No, I think I know.”

Ren had already found the answer in Namgung Ihyun’s enchanting smile.

The grimoire that exists in all dimensions, even containing forbidden magic.

The Necronomicon, which could be called Yog-Sothoth’s strongest weapon.

It contained forbidden magic that could make someone who wasn’t dead appear dead.

Of course, the side effects wouldn’t be trivial.

Judging by her prosthetic arm and completely covered face, those must be the side effects.

Anyway, that’s enough about Veichel.

Namgung Ihyun continued the meeting briefly before declaring it adjourned.

“You’re ending it already? We all made time to be here.”

“Would you prefer a sparring match? Want some bruises under your eyes to wake you up?”

“Hehe, if you keep provoking me like that, I’ll have to respond in kind, Apostle Namgung Ihyun.”

Milia’s eyebrows twitched as Namgung Ihyun continued to pick fights with her.

Ren lowered her hand and left the conference room with her.

As if that were a signal, all the apostles began to leave at once.

-Apostle, may I… have a moment of your time?

-If it’s about Veichel, take all the time you need. Come back whenever you’re ready.

-Understood.

Having received permission from Ren through telepathy, Serena approached Veichel who stood still.

Namgung Ihyun left with a grin.

After all, nothing is more entertaining than watching former workplace colleagues who betrayed each other meet again at a different workplace.

It would be better for the unwelcome guest to leave now to let their conversation flow interestingly.

Anyway, with Namgung Ihyun gone, only Serena and Veichel remained in the spacious conference hall.

Neither one spoke first.

They just observed each other, scanning one another with their eyes, exchanging meaningful glances.

Although they had reunited here, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation.

After all, people who had gathered for one goal had abandoned that goal and betrayed it.

One for her own survival, the other because of the sense of betrayal from the miserable fate that befell her.

“…Veichel. I never expected to see you like this.”

Serena didn’t call Veichel “captain.”

For her, the only captain of the Guardian Spirits was Radios.

Moreover, since both had betrayed, there was no need to call her captain.

Veichel nodded at Serena’s words and said.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here either, Serena. I remember you were always by Radios’s side.”

“Weren’t you dead? Clearly at that time…”

“Kekek, yes, I died. The Veichel Breate you knew is a person of the past.”

When asked if she had died, Veichel laughed ominously and continued with a chilling gaze.

“I, no. We were betrayed. We fought for the gods and the world, but they didn’t even care.”

“The reason for that–“

“I know, they were busy fighting the Outer Gods. But that’s not where I felt betrayed!”

Boom.

The conference hall briefly shook at Veichel’s outburst, but Serena paid no mind.

The hatred and vengeance emanating from her was greater than imagined.

So why was Veichel showing such an appearance?

Before she could ask to resolve her doubts, Veichel began explaining her situation.

“Athena… the goddess of war, the deity I served…”

“What did she do?”

“I just found out. That bitch Athena… what dirty things she did to make me her apostle.”

Crunch.

Veichel began grinding her teeth so hard they might break.

What could have been done to make someone who was supposed to be praised as a hero and become a star in the night sky appear like this?

“What happened…”

“I was an orphan, but in fact, I wasn’t an orphan.”

“What?”

At Serena’s question, Veichel pressed her lips tightly to contain the storm of emotions.

She waited until Veichel opened her mouth again, and then was shocked beyond belief.

“Athena… that bitch killed all my family members, whom I never knew by face or voice, and threw me out on the streets to designate me as her apostle.”

“..!”

“Is that all? Do you know how happy I was to become Athena’s apostle after living that miserable life?”

Although only one eye was visible.

That single eye was enough to strongly convey the emotions Veichel was feeling.

“Everything was just that bitch’s toy! But she didn’t even show herself when it mattered!! No matter what, I will bring down Athena and Olympus that created such a monster— Cough!”

“Veichel!”

“Don’t worry about it. This body is only for Lord Yog-Sothoth… Even if all my life force is worn away… I will bring down Olympus.”

Your current appearance isn’t much different from when you were Athena’s apostle.

Serena was about to say this but decided not to speak.

She must already know.

That Veichel had thrown herself toward destruction, and now there was no way back.

Although they hadn’t been together for a long time, Serena felt empty inside as she looked at her fallen comrade.

‘What if the captain has a similar story..?’

If he too was being toyed with by the gods, couldn’t he be recruited to this side?

‘No. No way, that’s impossible.’

The plan to quietly deal with Radios had already fallen through.

All that remained was to carry out the task of eliminating him.

Serena had grown exponentially stronger over the past three years as she mastered the new power called Order.

But she wasn’t confident she could win against Radios, who had annihilated the Great Old One Cthuga.

And Veichel was going to face such a man?

‘Captain… this might be a bit difficult this time.’

If he died, the Guardian Spirits would soon fall apart.

Though she wasn’t sure what method Veichel would use to assassinate Radios.

From the moment Namgung Ihyun mentioned assassinating Radios.

He was as good as dead already.