episode_0120

We Violets realized that silence could have mass.

“Ah, I made a mistake.”

After a short sigh and cough, everyone’s gaze fixed on me. The temporary presentation hall was filled with silence. If the amount of silence could be measured, it would be enough to crush the Violets.

When I explained exactly what I was going to do, everyone present froze as if turned to stone. Was our declaration that shocking?

Even Daphne, on the laptop screen placed at one side of the presentation hall, was frozen in shock. We scratched our heads. The Violets’ bold plan seemed to have flown into the air and stopped. On the screen behind us, the hit list we had displayed earlier still asserted its presence.

Suddenly, the silence was broken.

“Ah… um… huh? I didn’t mishear, did I? You’re going to kill everyone?”

Irene, who had been staring at the hit list, broke the silence, and then, as if a dam had burst, people began to raise their voices.

“Y-you crazy terrorist bastard…! Just as I thought, you’re a secret organization agent! Where are you from?! Tell me now!”

First, Lucian shot up from his seat and shouted.

“Hey! Are you sane?! Are you planning a massacre?!”

“Gah!”

Kalia, who had been dazed, came to her senses and grabbed one of the Violets next to her, shaking her back and forth.

“Violet, what are you saying! There must be something wrong with you from the lab. Let’s go to the hospital. You need counseling. Right now!”

“No! I’m perfectly fine!”

Beyond the monitor, Daphne, who was in the dorm, alternated glances between the Violet next to her and the camera, shaking them back and forth, and Number 35 swayed like a reed. Levi quietly cowered, just watching us, while Granite remained motionless like a marble statue.

“U-um. Violet-nim? Or rather, what number should I call you?”

Teacher-nim Yurik stood up, trembling.

“I’m Number 1!”

“Number 1, I have one question. What exactly is the criteria for that list?”

I answered.

“All personnel directly involved in the secret human experiments and various inhumane acts orchestrated by the Polaris Academy Board of Directors.”

“In other words, all the researchers in that facility?”

I nodded. Suddenly, Yurik’s face turned pale. He slumped weakly into his seat. When I looked at him, wondering why, he was mumbling something to himself.

“Ah… ah… then, if I hadn’t been brought here…”

Only after hearing his words did I understand Yurik’s emotions. It seemed he had thought of the possibility that he too could have been on that list. It was a hypothetical scenario, but if he had been researching there, his name might indeed have been written on it.

However, the current atmosphere was too chaotic. It was unsuitable for correcting people’s misunderstandings about Violets and revealing the truth.

Above all, we Violets are not emotionless killing terrorist machines! There’s a need to correct people’s misunderstandings. I tapped the microphone in front of me.

“Excuse me, please listen to me…”

When a dull noise echoed a few times from the speaker, everyone stopped talking and focused their attention on me.

“First of all, that list is still incomplete. We’re still investigating. Most of the people will be filtered out. Among those on the list are people like the academy cleaning staff, dorm supervisors, and parking attendants. There’s no reason to kill people like that, right?”

Irene stared at me with sharp eyes. Her golden eyes today resembled the gaze of a raptor.

“So, the actual hit list will be much shorter than that one. Is that right?”

I clapped my hands in delight. To think someone would understand so quickly!

“Exactly! Just remove one zero from the number of people on that list.”

Since the total number on the list is several hundred, it’ll probably be a few dozens in reality.

“I understand that those Polaris Academy guys are crazy. The Clan bastards too. Clan members are usually trash anyway. But why assassination?”

Next, Kalia asked. Irene seemed curious as well, and Daphne, beyond the monitor, nodded with a dazed look as soon as she heard the question.

“Actually, Kalia. We’re not just doing assassinations.”

“Then what else…”

“We’re going to blow up bombs too. Boom!”

Kalia grew angry when she heard my words.

“Oh, come on… really! That’s not the important part! If what you’re saying is true, the opponent isn’t just some measly academy. The Four Great Clans are behind it!”

Kalia, who had been huffing and puffing with anger, suddenly looked as if her strength had drained away.

“Individuals… can’t beat a Clan. I’ve seen it myself. No matter how hard you fight, even with justification and truth, it won’t work. Why are you doing this? Why…”

Irene also joined the support fire with a calm tone.

“You’re Kalia, right? I agree with what you said. Violet, do you know what you’re doing? You’re about to wage war against a colossal Clan!”

“Exactly.”

“What?”

“Yes, we’re going to wage war! We’ll smash everything that gets in our way, and kill everyone.”

Lucian let out a word as if dumbfounded.

“No, what kind of lunatic is this…?”

I took a deep breath and changed the screen. I had been speaking impulsively until now, but it was time to get serious.

On the screen, data appeared showing the scale of the Magnabyss Clan and its corporate governance structure. Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the graphics.

“Can you see it clearly? This is the governance structure of those called the Magnabyss Clan, the Magnabyss Group. I don’t know anything about financial statements or economics, but it looks incredibly huge at a glance! It’s a colossal organization with its hands in various businesses, from hunting activities to finance, military, the Aether industry, and pharmaceuticals. They’re guys who spend billions of credits like water.”

When I changed the screen again, countless companies, research institutes, and subordinate Clans were interconnected beneath the Magnabyss logo, spreading out like a spiderweb.

Some lines led to media companies, some to the Federation’s logo, and others even connected to institutions within Academy City.

“They provide significant political funds to the Federation Congress, and they apparently own shares in Academy City’s media companies. Rumor has it that large Clans routinely manipulate online public opinion. These guys would do even more, right? There’s no way simply reporting the evil deeds committed by these guys would stop them. Irene has already tried it, after all.”

I looked at Irene, and she wore a gloomy expression, perhaps recalling past events.

“What happened at the entrance ceremony? Everyone kept their mouths shut. So, if I reported that there’s a suspicious underground research facility under the academy, would they listen? Never!”

I changed the screen once more. It was a photo of the Chloris Great Forest gate, taken recently. The surroundings were sealed off with barriers and barbed wire, and Magnabyss Vanguard agents wearing airtight, fishbowl-like helmets were stationed there.

“The massacre that happened inside there? The school treated it as a simple accident followed by disappearances.”

Kalia and Yurik, hearing this for the first time today, widened their eyes, and Lucian’s group’s faces darkened.

“So, we Violets thought. Against a powerful organization skilled in manipulation and control, how can we make the truth known to people?”

I cocked my head slightly then shouted loudly.

“The method is simple. Make them unable to pay attention to anything else! Media manipulation and political lobbying are only possible when they have leisure, right?”

I raised my voice.

“First, we’re going to beat down those Polaris Academy guys. The research facility will naturally be destroyed. Suspicious faculty members, including the principal and vice-principal, will all be dealt with. The student council president and their clique too! The chairman is too much, he looks too strong.”

The surrounding Violets raised their fists high into the air.

“Deal with them! Deal with them! Deal with them!”

“We’ll destroy the company and mess up their business. Kalia, remember when you burned down the server room when you left the lab?”

“Huh? Oh, I did…”

“We’ll do it like then. Burn it down, blow it up! If we cut off all their arms and legs, they’ll just be helplessly defeated. We can also attract the attention of other factions at the same time.”

“Burn it! Smash it! Blow it up!”

The Violets shouted again, swinging their fists.

Violet had been deliberating since the initial drafting of the plan.

How could she move the Audit Bureau and get the Federation to intervene?

According to the setting, there are almost no organizations on Planet Trist that can confront the Four Great Clans head-on. Among them, the only one truly hostile to the Clans is the planet’s world government, the Federation.

If a commotion occurs in Academy City, the Audit Bureau will move. A human tactical weapon, regressed from the future, will intervene. If it’s the Seijis I know, he will definitely act the moment he sees this terror and exposure. The scholarship administrator, who cannot tolerate injustice, will actively move. And the Federation will also intervene. They might even bring an aerial carrier fleet.

When attention is drawn, while the Clan, struck by a hammer to the back of their head and left paralyzed, is overthrown, she will come forward with the evidence and expose them.

The risk of my identity being exposed will increase, but I’ll have to take that into account.

This playing with fire is crazy, but it’s worth it!

“Violet, I understand what you’re thinking.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Irene, who had been listening calmly, opened her mouth.

“But, although you’ve spoken grandly, it’s just… terrorism. Regardless of whether it succeeds, you’ll be treated as a terrorist. Like the Obsidian Legion.”

I shook my head vehemently.

“Thank you for your concern. But I’m prepared for that much. And Irene! I’m not a terrorist.”

Lucian interjected.

“Everything from start to finish is nonsense. And, you haven’t even answered my question. So, which secret organization do you belong to?”

Hmm, come to think of it, I haven’t explained that yet.

“Violet belongs to Violet. I don’t belong to anyone! I act only for myself. And a secret organization… I’ll just create one now.”

“What did you say?”

“I’ll just call it the Violet Organization. The Ariel Group! That sounds good.”

Irene sighed. Lucian pressed further again.

“Alright, fine. But isn’t it funny that you say you’re not a terrorist? If what you’re going to do isn’t terrorism, then what is it?”

“That’s too evil a term.”

Violet is an enthusiastic being. So, there’s a cooler word.

“Hmm, will you call it a ‘revolution’?”

I recalled the bald revolutionary from the world’s largest country that has now vanished. The bearded revolutionary in a beret from the Caribbean also flashed through my mind. Their ideologies aren’t to our taste, but as role models, they’re the best!

Before my friends could say anything more, I snapped my fingers.

“…!”

A closed shutter on one side of the Violet barracks rolled up. Heavy boot steps echoed through the external light. The building vibrated.

Clomp-clomp, two heavily armed Violet companies marched in. It was the first time even dormant bodies had been woken up to move. I could feel the people’s agitation.

It didn’t matter. To reassure my friends, I needed to show our true strength.

“It’s reckless and extreme, but all of this is for truth and freedom! Don’t worry, we’re thoroughly preparing for that day, for the plan!”

“That day? A plan?”

Someone asked. Was it Kalia?

“I’ve even thought of a name! Which is…”

After a brief pause, I savored the words. It was the first time words tasted sweet.

“…Operation Witch’s Hammer.”

Standing in front of the presentation hall, I spread my arms wide.

“For the revolution. Do you want to join?”