Ch.9191. Goetia

The decision made, action followed swiftly.

Amon’s expedition team launched a frontal assault on Neville Pharmaceuticals headquarters.

“Don’t worry about legal issues! I’ll take care of that—just deal with those demon bastards!”

With Kathy as their reliable backer, they blew up the Megacorp’s main entrance without hesitation.

BOOM!

“Have explosives changed since the old days?”

In response to Amon’s admiration, the demolition expert Ogre gave a thumbs up.

The combat abilities of their companions, upgraded with Kathy’s capital, were incomparable to before.

Each one might not be at the level of a security chief, but they were close.

While Amon was admiring their growth, he heard the voice of the mute sniper in his head after a long time.

[While you were running around outside the company, we weren’t just sitting idle, you know?]

With her familiar cynical remark, she pulled the trigger.

Ziiing- BANG!

The railgun connected to her spine accelerated a tungsten bullet.

The bullet effortlessly penetrated the pilot operating the tactical exoskeleton.

Not just the mute sniper, but all the other companions faithfully performed their assigned roles.

Though they were meeting after a year, the muscle memory etched into their bodies worked in perfect harmony.

‘This is manageable.’

Initially skeptical of Kathy’s decision, Amon became confident after seeing his companions’ condition.

With each individual nearly at security chief level, there was ample reason for Kathy’s confidence.

Soon, the expedition team rode their momentum and smoothly entered the company building.

Once inside, ninjas familiar to Amon and Sonia greeted them.

Having dealt with these ninjas over the past few months, they weren’t difficult opponents.

However, the thought of the endless waves of enemies already brought fatigue.

At that moment, the androgynous mage requested Amon:

“Could you subdue a few without killing them and bring them to me?”

It wasn’t a difficult task.

He had dealt with worse demons, cutting off their limbs and roasting them over furnaces. Bringing a mountain of ninjas was certainly possible.

Soon, ninjas who weren’t even allowed to commit suicide were piled before the androgynous mage.

“Please protect me.”

With those words, the mage began examining various aspects of the ninjas.

After checking their cells, weapons, and several other devices for a while, the mage reported the findings.

“These people are all clones.”

“As expected.”

This was what everyone, including Amon, had anticipated.

But what followed was completely unexpected.

“Ah, to clarify since you might misunderstand—all their cells are different. Their bodies are all different people, but their personalities have been copied.”

“Is that for real?”

Kathy, who was flying a spear with her finger, asked for confirmation.

The androgynous mage nodded.

“Yes. I’m not sure if ‘clone’ is the right term, but they’re continuously copying and pasting a few personalities. They kidnap suitable bodies, enhance them through procedures, and overlay them with personalities loyal to the company.”

“Indeed, this method wouldn’t leave any physical evidence.”

Personalities don’t leave physical evidence.

Whatever crimes they commit with the stolen bodies, the evidence at the scene would only point to a revenge killing or a random murder.

When the essence of being a ninja is stealth, this was the optimal ninja cultivation technique.

“And this.”

The androgynous mage stabbed a scalpel into the back of a ninja’s neck.

The blade effortlessly cut through skin and skull.

The mage inserted gloved fingers into the incision, wiggled them around, and extracted a metal chip from the ninja’s head.

“This chip in their heads is the core technology behind this fearless, infinite ninja army.”

Copying and overlaying personalities leaves no evidence.

But this method has a major drawback: there’s no feedback.

For instance, if a ninja fails a mission, normally another ninja would approach the mission differently.

But a ninja created from a copied personality is likely to repeat the mistakes of their predecessor.

The failed individual is silent, and the successor is a person with the same copied personality.

The chip extracted by the mage was a means to address this issue.

“This chip is for backing up the personality of a failed ninja.”

If a ninja fails a mission, they commit suicide using poison.

Even as the body dies from the poison, the ninja’s memories are recorded on the chip.

By sending a recovery team to retrieve this chip, they ensure the next ninja doesn’t repeat the same mistakes, thereby increasing the success rate of ninja missions.

After hearing the mage’s explanation, Amon nodded.

“So that’s why they were particularly afraid of electrocution.”

Suicide by poison allows for personality backup through the chip.

Therefore, it wasn’t death in the truest sense.

But Plan B, electrocution, was final.

The chip inside would also be fried, making it a true death.

Of course, one might wonder if ninjas should fear death at all…

“Well, in an environment where death isn’t familiar, it’s unavoidable.”

It’s hard to expect someone not to fear death in an organization where there’s a way to avoid it.

Thus, Amon’s expedition team, with the help of the androgynous mage, uncovered the secret of the ninja corps.

Having discovered their secret, there was only one course of action.

“I’ve traced the backup signal. Underground laboratory in the building. Ninjas are continuously being produced there.”

“Then let’s go right away.”

Following the mage’s report, the expedition team immediately began preparing their next move.

“Setting up! Cover me!”

Without much verbal exchange among them, Ogre immediately took out bombs from his bag.

While his companions stood back-to-back, fending off the ninja corps, Ogre placed bombs in various locations.

Once several concentric circles of bombs were completed, the party members gathered at the center.

“Detonate!”

BOOM!

The bombs at the outermost circle exploded.

As per Ogre’s design, the floor sank in a circular pattern.

Amon’s party, positioned at the center of the circle, fell to the first basement level.

Upon reaching the first basement, Ogre shouted once more.

“Detonate!”

BOOM!

Another explosion.

The floor sank in a slightly smaller circular pattern than before.

Second basement.

“Detonate!”

Third basement.

“DETONATE!!!”

Fourth basement.

With each detonation by Ogre, the circle carrying Amon’s party grew smaller.

Finally, after the tenth detonation—

“We’ve arrived!”

They reached the tenth basement where the ninjas were being created.

“Good job, Vox.”

The androgynous mage, Vox’s lover, brushed off the dust accumulated on Vox’s clothes.

The party members, having accomplished this insane breakthrough, casually dusted themselves off and began exploring the tenth basement.

They easily found the facility for copying and backing up ninja personalities.

“No more ninjas.”

With those words, Amon headed towards the facility’s power source.

But before Amon could reach it, someone blocked his path.

Kathy recognized the suited man who stood in Amon’s way.

“Deputy Chairman, what brings you here?”

The suited man, rubbing his elastic mustache with his finger, replied:

“Isn’t it natural to protect the company’s most important facility?”

“So this is Neville Pharmaceuticals’ core technology?”

“Of course, Miss Kathy. This cloning technology is as important as your family’s future sight.”

Amon and his companions tensed at the suited man’s response.

“What did that mustached guy just say?”

But Kathy, unfazed, continued the conversation.

“That’s unexpected. I thought future prediction was your weapon.”

“Haha! Mere prediction? What a joke!”

The Deputy Chairman burst into laughter and took out a monocle from his inner pocket.

He put the monocle on his right eye and sneered.

“Future sight? That’s just a basic ability for us.”

As the man called Deputy Chairman changed his tone, his body began to transform.

Crack!

With the sound of twisting bones, his philtrum elongated, and his trapezius muscles thickened.

By the end of the transformation, the Deputy Chairman’s lower body and head had become that of a horse.

The Deputy Chairman exclaimed:

“Greetings, Amon. I am the 55th seat of Goetia. The prince of hell. I am called Orobas. Pleased to meet you.”

Ignoring Kathy, with whom he had been conversing just moments ago, Orobas offered an elegant greeting to Amon.

Amon responded to the greeting with his middle finger.

Orobas merely chuckled.

“My, my. As it happens, I’m in charge of dignity and elegance. If you need, I could teach you?”

“Instead of that, why don’t you predict what I’m going to say next?”

“I’m sorry, but such tricks won’t work on me. I’ve already seen the future of your ancestral prophet and transformed into a horse.”

“Tsk.”

The strategy of taking the easy way out didn’t work.

Orobas, like a real horse, snorted and adjusted his monocle.

“Prrr. Just in case, let me ask: would you consider joining us in Goetia?”

Twang! Twang!

Amon silently pulled the trigger of his crossbow.

Orobas dodged the arrows with comically exaggerated movements, like a cartoon character.

“Oh my! What a pity! I thought you’d fit in well with us! Especially with your name…”

“Shut up. My name means ‘love’ and ‘trustworthy person.’ Don’t compare me to filthy demons.”

“The 7th seat is vacant…”

“Not interested.”

Even as the banter continued, Amon’s eyes searched for Orobas’s weakness.

‘The thyroid cartilage area and the right eye…’

But Orobas, seemingly aware of his weaknesses, maintained his act without showing any openings.

At that moment, Kathy interjected:

“As I expected. Are you planning to abandon Neville Pharmaceuticals now?”

“Did you think I’d answer that?”

“That response itself is an answer.”

Kathy nodded as if it wasn’t a big deal.

She didn’t ask ‘since when have you controlled the company?’ It would be meaningless, and he probably wouldn’t tell anyway.

Instead, she inferred their intentions from Neville Pharmaceuticals’ actions.

“It’s strange. You guys, who even started a cold war over the fat regulator, are abandoning the company right after losing that cold war. It means you’re not interested in money or power… Perhaps you were trying to do something with the regulator itself?”

No answer came.

But Kathy took the silence as affirmation.

“Seems I hit the mark. You were trying to mix something into the regulator? Drugs? Poison? Or maybe something like the ninjas’ personalities?”

“Did you really think I’d answer that?”

“No, I didn’t expect that. But I did get your attention.”

“!?”

Immediately after, the buffalo tanker suddenly opened his shield.

Behind the tanker’s shield, the sniper, who had been fully charging her railgun, pulled the trigger.

BOOM-!

Distracted by Kathy, Orobas couldn’t react.

The tungsten bullet penetrated Orobas’s forehead.

But Orobas, hit by the bullet, rippled like an illusion and disappeared.

“Tsk.”

“It seems like yesterday that I taught humans deception and trickery, but I didn’t expect it to evolve this far.”

Orobas reappeared in a different location, genuinely impressed.

The mute sniper immediately aimed at the forehead of the newly appeared Orobas.

At that moment, Orobas snapped his fingers.

“Let’s end the conversation here. Though they say dialogue is etiquette for first meetings, I feel like I’m at a disadvantage.”

Responding to Orobas’s signal, a new person entered the basement.

It was a giant with a badge that read “Security Chief” on his chest.

But none of Amon’s companions expected the giant to be human.

As if responding to that thought, the Security Chief transformed, tearing his clothes.

The Security Chief transformed into a dog with three heads.

The heads on either side were exhaling mist and fire, while the middle head had blood in its mouth.

Looking up at the Security Chief, whose head had transformed into a three-headed dog, Amon muttered:

“Cerberus?”

All three heads growled at Amon’s mutter.

“You compare me to such a mongrel! My name is Naberius!”

With a resounding declaration, Naberius charged at the group.