Chapter 69 : Unexpected (4)

I nodded at the lab director, who looked up at me as if she hadn’t finished speaking, silently urging her to continue.

Once permission was granted, she began spilling other information as if she had been waiting for the chance.

“That’s not all. The Witch left another prophecy.”

“<Fantasia> will exert an even stronger influence on our world, she said.”

An even stronger influence.

Does that mean monsters will continue to appear, or perhaps other events besides the ‘Day of Judgment’ might take place with reality as their

backdrop…?

“Impossible. Why didn’t I know this information until now?”

“…Naturally, most users wouldn’t know.”

“Only national governments, those with the remaining capacity to deploy information networks to some extent, would have obtained this

information and be devising countermeasures for the ‘Day of Judgment’.”

“The increasing number of countries trying to bind users to state institutions is for the same reason.”

“That Witch bich is German, so the German government surely obtained this information before anyone else…”

“You too, why didn’t you share such crucial information with other nations?”

“…How short-sighted.”

“If this information were shared carelessly, nations would struggle just to protect themselves, let alone face the possibility of having to

guarantee the safety of their allies.”

“The situation becomes particularly complex if they are part of an alliance like NATO.”

“Since it involves monster attacks, it could be interpreted as foreign invasion…”

“Then, major powers like the UK and Germany would have to divide their forces among other European nations, even when their own

strength is lacking.”

“That’s why, aside from a very select few allies, they haven’t shared the information with anyone.”

“Prioritizing one’s own survival is the natural logic in international politics.”

“You wench are arrogant, but not wise.”

“…My goodness.”

The snide remark added at the end, as if a last shred of pride, was irritating, but that wasn’t important right now.

I had just heard incredibly shocking information.

‘That Witch bich, no matter how bad our relationship was, shouldn’t we have developed some grudging affection after fighting so much? To

think she knew such crucial information and didn’t breathe a word of it to me…!’

Is her heart as small as her chest, that woman?

This is a matter of life and death; what is she doing by not publicizing this information?

“…Next question.”

“If you answer the next few questions I ask faithfully, I will let you all live.”

“Be grateful for the mercy.”

The moment the words ‘let you live’ were spoken, vitality returned to the eyes of the researchers, some of whom had tears welling up, others

staring blankly as if having given up everything.

What is so great about surrendering and surviving by crawling like dogs?

Finding it utterly incomprehensible, I continued with my questions.

“Second question.”

“Having glanced at the documents written in English, I have a rough idea of how far your experiments have progressed…”

“…but just to be sure, I’ll ask again.”

“What are the results of the mana circuit research?”

“We’ve succeeded in extracting mana circuits from users, replicating them, and subsequently transplanting them into ordinary people.”

“Does that mean…”

“However, ordinary people cannot accept a user’s mana circuit.”

“From the moment of transplantation, extreme distortion occurs, and their outward appearance transforms into that of the user whose mana

circuit was extracted.”

The body begins to change the moment the mana circuit is transplanted, taking on the appearance of a user.

Perhaps the reason we lost our original bodies and gained these forms was also because of mana circuits.

Regardless, to think that the test subjects seen so far, presumed to be simple ‘clones’ or users who were citizens of this country, were all

actually derived from ordinary people.

“…Where did you procure the test subjects?”

“The users from whom mana circuits had to be extracted, and the ordinary humans into whom those mana circuits would be transplanted…”

“Looking at the documents, the numbers were no joke.”

“…Most were test subjects acquired within our territory.”

“However, some test subjects were procured from other countries and brought here.”

“Most users in China were too weak to be used for the experiments.”

“Mostly orphans, those without family ties, or people kidnapped through human trafficking organizations, I suppose.”

“That’s correct. You already know quite well.”

Human trafficking.

An unpleasant memory surfaced.

Both then and now, the act of buying and selling sentient individuals capable of thought was something I found distasteful, perhaps because

of past experiences, even now that I was closer to being a dragon.

Perhaps sensing my gaze turning progressively colder, a researcher who had been watching silently from behind raised a hand and spoke.

“B-but their sacrifices were all valuable.”

“If the ‘Day of Judgment’ arrives as things stand, tens of millions… no, hundreds of millions of people will die or be injured.”

“Especially people living in places like China, Africa, and the Middle East, where there were few <Fantasia Online> users due to censorship or

inadequate internet systems, will suffer even greater damage.”

“So, you plan to develop new technology through their sacrifices to protect humanity?”

“…That’s correct.”

“How amusing.”

“Are you presenting utilitarianism to me?”

“Claiming it was the sacrifice of the few for the happiness of the many?”

“…Yes.”

“Alright, let’s assume you sacrifice your own country’s citizens to protect your nation.”

“Then why did you orchestrate experiments by kidnapping people who were living well under protection in other countries, leading to their

deaths?”

“Among the test subjects, there were even children not yet ten years old.”

“Furthermore, besides the experiments you mentioned to make ordinary people like users… there was plenty about other experiments too?”

“Interspecies breeding, organ harvesting, mind control experiments…”

“If the experiments were solely for the grand cause you speak of, then what exactly are these records?”

If this were me back when I was powerless.

If I hadn’t experienced the Awakening in the s*ave market.

If I hadn’t gained this power that can make anyone kneel…

“Answer me.”

“Do you, who committed such atrocious acts, deserve to live any longer?”

“…You never intended to let us live, did you?”

Correct. Alchemist… no, researcher.

“While uncovering the research facilities connected to you and the secrets hidden within…”

“…I’ve constantly contemplated how to kill the researchers responsible for these deeds when I met them.”

“Should I cut off all fingers and toes and listen to the agonized screams?”

“Or perhaps pry off the fingernails first?”

“Then again, drowning wouldn’t be a bad option either.”

“However, for the superior me to expend such effort killing lowly beings like you would be beneath my dignity…”

At my gesture, a ball of fire that never extinguishes until its target is reduced to ash attaches itself to the researchers’ car.

The aluminum covering the car’s outer surface melts and warps.

The tires melt and flow down, and even the car’s frame begins to twist; for the humans inside, it must feel like being trapped in hellfire.

“Do you know what Hellfire is called in the East?”

The humans, busy screaming, were in no state to answer.

Of course, I wasn’t expecting a reply anyway.

“It’s called Karma Fire (業火).”

“Sweetly accept your karma.”

There were researchers frantically grasping and shaking the handles, trying to open the car doors, but it was futile.

I had already sent an electric current through the vehicle’s locking system.

Most electrically operated vehicles automatically lock their doors when malfunctioning like this.

The sight of humans burning alive in the inescapable hellfire, with doors and windows refusing to open, was quite a spectacle.

“…Do you think you can antagonize <Red Cliff> and survive on mainland China?”

“The branch manager here, Yun Pei, has escaped.”

“Before even two hours pass, all forces will converge to rescue me, Angelica!”

“No matter if you’re Rank 3, wench, you are ultimately a mortal with a physical body and limits.”

“Do you think you can win alone against such vast numbers?”

Seeing the lab director, who alone wasn’t tormented by the heat, perhaps due to an artifact she possessed, I sneered briefly.

“Who said I was alone?”

Far in the distance, amidst the forest of buildings where the man who looked like the Shanghai branch leader had fled and disappeared,

familiar silhouettes appeared.

The figures, likely hundreds of meters away, closed the vast distance in just a few leaps.

Their movements were swift enough to warrant immediate caution had they been enemies—but I could identify them solely from the

presence and aura they emanated, so there was no need.

“This Yun Pei guy, is this him?”

Along with a cheerful voice, a large lump rolled pathetically across the asphalt ground.

Looking closely, the lump was a person.

Though his blackened skin and hideously twisted tissues made it difficult to call him human, it was undoubtedly a person.

And one Angelica knew very well.

‘…Yun Pei?’

Clear signs of being struck by martial arts.

Yun Pei, the Shanghai branch manager, a martial artist who had long surpassed the first-rate level and entered the realm of superhumans,

couldn’t possibly be defeated like this by martial arts; this had to be a trick… Angelica thought.

Until she took in the identities of those figures with her own eyes.

The features perfectly matched the descriptions of the appearances the <Red Cliff> Guild Master, that man, had warned her about…

“…All of Korea’s highest-ranking players gathered together.”

“This is cheating…”

She had intended to endure using the artifact enchanted with protective magic and escape when external support arrived, but now, even

support was out of the question.

Meanwhile, the man who had been her adjutant was nowhere in sight.

He must have used his brilliant mind to surely slip away alone in a different direction.

Thinking that nothing was going according to plan, Angelica gave up everything and closed her eyes.