episode_0108

After everything was over, in the morning, we were at a local hospital.

“…Uncle.”

Kalia’s voice broke the quiet atmosphere of the hospital room.

In the hospital room lay a haggard middle-aged man. His red hair had faded, and his once strong muscles were weakened. His body was covered with traces of torture and experimentation from the past few months. Kalia’s uncle was currently in a coma.

The men of the Osprey Brotherhood gathered by his side. Seeing their captain’s miserable state, their eyes were filled with sorrow and anger.

“My God, Captain…!”

“How could this… How could this happen…”

Someone prayed, and Uncle Marco, despite his rough appearance and large build, teared up.

Kalia spoke in a faint voice.

“Uncle, when will he wake up?”

Daphne answered carefully.

“The doctor-nim said he needs to focus on recovery for now. It’s still difficult to make a definite prediction…”

“So, we still don’t know…”

Kalia’s voice was dark. A heavy atmosphere of regret hung in the hospital room.

Everyone seemed to earnestly wish for their respected sworn brother and family member to open his eyes again, to return as the reliable man who protected the townspeople.

The door to the somber hospital room opened, and a doctor and nurse entered for a regular check-up. Daphne, the Brotherhood members, Kalia, and I went out into the hospital corridor, which reeked of disinfectant.

On the way home, Kalia leaned back in the truck seat, staring blankly ahead, and muttered.

“I still can’t believe it. My uncle was strong. He used to be an A-rank Hunter. So why…”

“Don’t worry too much. He’ll definitely come to his senses and get up again.”

Daphne spoke in a warm tone to comfort the downcast Kalia.

The once confident girl was now drained of strength, drooping like wet cotton.

Seeing her like that left a bitter taste in my mouth. Kalia suddenly turned her head as if remembering something.

“You said your name was Daphne, right? The doctor said if I had a wizard friend, I should thank them. He said he wouldn’t have made it through today or tomorrow, but the healing went so well that he didn’t need to do much himself.”

Kalia lowered her head.

“Thank you. How can I ever repay this kindness…”

“No! I just did what I could.”

Daphne waved her hands dismissively, as if embarrassed.

Before I knew it, the truck I was driving arrived in front of the house.

“You said you’re going back to school this evening, right? You still have some time, do you want to have lunch at my place before you go? It’s all I can do for you…”

“Of course, I’m fine with that.”

I got out of the truck and entered Kalia’s house.

“I’ll help you!”

While helping make lunch, I cautiously observed her mood and spoke.

“Um, do you know where your uncle went before he disappeared?”

I asked, carefully watching her. Kalia glanced at me sideways and replied quietly.

“I don’t know either.”

“Huh? Really?”

“The last time I saw him, he dressed up at night and said he had something to investigate, then he left. That was the last time.”

She let out a long sigh while tearing open a package.

“My uncle never told me what he was doing. He said it was dangerous and didn’t say a word to me. But I never thought it would come to this…”

I felt there was some untold story and looked at her. Something smelled suspicious.

“Did you hear anything else last time, by any chance? It would be good if there was a hint.”

Kalia shook her head.

“I’m sorry… I don’t know right now. If I remember anything later, I’ll tell you.”

“Then you must tell me later! I’ll help you again, just like this time. Whoever they are, they’re bad guys! To kidnap people and conduct human experiments…”

Hearing my words, Kalia’s sorrowful gaze slowly shifted into a determined expression.

“Yes, whoever those trashy bastards are, I will definitely get revenge.”

She gnashed her teeth.

Right, I should investigate this. The Western District, and of all places, the Western District is managed by Magnavis.

Furthermore, the sight I saw in the hospital’s research lab kept coming back to me.

“The brains in the glass tubes… they were alive!”

In the dungeon lab I raided last time, they were also opening the heads of poor people and demon beasts and doing strange things to their brains. Seeing their obsession with brains, it made me wonder if there were brain-sucking octopus aliens living there. Am I too engrossed in conspiracy theories?

“I have another task for the manager.”

“If I had known this, I would have captured a few researchers and questioned them!”

Thinking about it now, I was too hasty. It felt so similar to where we were imprisoned that my mind just snapped. By the time I came to my senses, I had already cleared out everything. I should have collected some data and captured a few of them.

“Next time, let’s bring them back alive.”

It feels like the list of things to do keeps growing. I also need to meet the arms dealer soon…

***

While taking care of minor tasks, nothing happened at school. First, the field trip was canceled. Several students had gone missing, and the biggest reason was that the dungeon where the field trip was held annually had been destroyed.

“It wasn’t really because of us, was it?”

“We already checked. A few bombs won’t cause that much damage!”

I looked around nearby. The gate leading to Chloris Forest had grown tremendously large.

The surrounding roads were blocked by armed forces, and prefabricated alloy barriers of unknown installation time surrounded the area.

Looking from a distance, the area was filled with unrecognizable debris from the aftermath of a magical bombardment from the sky. The melted ground had transformed into black, tangled glass, clearly visible. Around the gate, the fishbowl-headed wizards I had seen before were appearing one by one.

“It’s the Magnavis Vanguard!”

Seeing that they downplayed media reports and even deployed elite forces, it seems the research lab inside was indeed an important place. Although we blew it up, that is.

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything else to salvage here. Unit 430, ready? Time to pack up!”

“Yup! Starting right away.”

Thinking there was nothing more to see here, I left. I should pack up the belongings for the new neighbors who will be renting in the Violet barracks.

Levi’s belongings in the girls’ dormitory were quickly packed. Now only two remained.

The Violets carefully infiltrated the boys’ dormitory. After pulling on their hoods and masks, they bypassed the security system with clones and found the room numbers the guys had told them. Now, they hastily swept up clothes, books, and miscellaneous items and sent them to the Central District.

It reminds me of the old days before transmigration. I used to live in a dormitory back then too… But now I’m a fresh, pretty girl! I shouldn’t dwell on the past anymore.

“Mission complete!”

While the Violets finished infiltrating the dormitory, another Violet merely pretended to attend school classes as usual. And when school hours ended, they received additional, simple training from Instructor Frederick and Professor Albert again. As always.

The instructor’s expression was very grim. The shock of several students going missing seemed significant.

“Kid, I’ll have to pause lessons for a while.”

The instructor suddenly said something. At the unexpected announcement of a break from lessons, I widened my eyes.

“Huh? What do you mean, suddenly?”

“It’s just that I have some personal matters to take care of. I need to go somewhere.”

“Huh? Suddenly that…”

“It’s nothing serious. Even if it looks like I’m playing around, this body has a lot to do, you see.”

He said it casually and picked up his weapon.

“Alright, let’s start again. Come in!”

“Hyaa!”

While the Violet at school finished her schedule, the other Violets diligently focused on their work.

“Hello, beautiful world! I’m Unit 512.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Unit 378. See those fertilizers over there? Hurry and carry them.”

“Ugh! Waking up only to do manual labor!”

The new rookie Violet, having gained a body, grumbled as she carried the fertilizers in the workshop. Pressure cookers, pipes of various sizes, detonators, and fuses were piled up in the workshop.

On one side, Violets holding soldering irons and wires were diligently engrossed in creating seeds of destruction with cheap alarm clocks, wireless devices, and smartphones.

“Alright! The pipe! Lift it carefully!”

While waiting, a truck entered the workshop. A crowd of Violets rushed over and unloaded the large pipes it carried.

The long pipes, as tall as a Violet, were soon to be born as new weapons for unleashing violence and fury.

“So, if you mix sugar in here, it becomes a propellant? Meaning it’ll fly *whoosh*?”

“Theoretically, yes.”

“Let’s hurry! We’ll name it Violet-1!”

To succeed in the grand plan we were preparing, simple explosives alone weren’t enough.

Up until now, I had diligently learned magic from Professor Albert, but it was only enough to throw fireballs or shoot magic bullets. It was still too early to pour out rapid-fire attacks like Lucian.

Orbital bombardment like the chairman’s was, of course, out of the question.

Professor Albert himself said so. Magic wasn’t a destructive science, but a creative, artistic discipline that warped physical laws.

And, by mobilizing modern science, the destructive power of a great wizard could be mimicked as much as desired.

“Ugh! Smoke’s coming out!”

Smoke rose from a can in the corner of the workshop. Firefighter Violets rushed over and quickly extinguished the fire.

The Violets’ day passed boisterously.

***

Time passed, and night fell. Under the cover of darkness, a car sped towards the Eastern District.

Manager Leslie and Violet 217 walked among the cranes and containers revealing their massive silhouettes against the night view of Manais, a port city in the Eastern District. Their destination was a shaded warehouse.

In the quiet, the crunching sound of gravel under their boots was distinctly audible.

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, Boss. This is the rendezvous point.”

Although Manager Leslie had explained Armas, this was the first time I was meeting him in person. If things went well, he would be someone I’d meet frequently in the future.

“As I told you before, Armas is a difficult person. However, as long as you’re not underestimated, there shouldn’t be any problems with the deal.”

After hearing the manager’s words, an image formed in my mind.

An arms dealer in the underworld, what would he look like? A fat man adorned with gold bracelets and chains, or a frivolous, rat-faced swindler?

I expected the villainous and frivolous appearance I saw in movies and dramas.

However, the man who greeted us inside was someone who defied all preconceptions.

“You’ve finally arrived. It’s been a while, Manager.”

My prediction was wrong.

Before my eyes was a man in a suit, exuding a sophisticated and sharp aura. The dark-skinned man, shimmering under the warehouse lights, tilted his head when he saw us.

“Manager, you said there was a new deal, so I came… Are you perhaps joking?”

“We are here to conduct business.”

Armas, who was sitting on a folding chair, pointed at me with his finger and asked. Sharp eyes glinting behind his sunglasses swept over me.

“No, that’s a girl. And masked, she looks like a high school student at most. Didn’t you say the principal would come?”

“…This is our boss.”

The neatly dressed, sturdy, and ascetic bodyguards standing behind them looked at me intimidatingly. Are these guys underestimating me?

“Are these guys testing us?”

While I was thinking, the arms dealer continued to speak.

“Listen. Time is important. I clearly said I would talk to the boss. Didn’t you say you were dealing with a capable Awakened organization? A boss? I don’t know what kind of clowning this is… Wait, what? Yes, um…”

As Armas was about to say something more, one of the bodyguards behind him quickly whispered into his ear.

As soon as the words ended, his gaze turned towards the dark harbor outside the warehouse door, behind me.

“Oh, my.”

He must have noticed. I snapped my fingers.

*Snap!*

The sound of boots stepping on the floor echoed.

From the darkness, armed soldiers in black combat suits and masks appeared one by one into the dimly lit warehouse. Armas’s bodyguards flinched at the sight.

Armas casually observed us as if scrutinizing.

We warned him through our actions, silently. As a meaning not to underestimate the Violets.

Seeing the Violet squad, Armas suddenly burst into laughter.

“…Oh, my apologies. But isn’t this a bit much? You’re being extraordinarily cautious.”

“A bit much? Why not think positively? Those are all your potential clients.”

When I retorted brusquely, Armas’s laughter grew louder. A faint glint of respect flickered beyond his sunglasses.

“You’re a bigger fish than I expected. When Manager Leslie suddenly made such a fuss and asked to meet, I wondered who he brought, but you’re an impressive person.”

He clapped briefly. Unlike before, there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

“Armas. And your name?”

“Ariel.”

As Armas extended his hand, I also took it.

The deal began.