episode_0149

Violet witnessed the explosion just as she arrived in the safe zone.

“What’s that?” No. 190 pointed towards the gigantic cargo elevator. Several large trucks were furiously speeding towards the elevator.

The unmanned turrets near the elevator spat fire, and several security Hunters rushed to disable two trucks by blowing out their tires.

However, it was too late. There were too many trucks, and they had gotten too close. A person in one of the trucks leaned out the window and shouted, “Salvation is coming!”

Immediately after, a blinding flash was followed by a violent storm.

“Damn it! What just happened?!” “Aah!”

People nearby flinched. Non-Awakened individuals hit the ground from the shock, while Awakened individuals quickly moved.

“They were bomb trucks!” “They used our technology!” It was a little surprising. To think there were others besides us who used the Violets’ secret techniques!

And it felt bad. This was copyright infringement.

“They escaped to the underworld! Can’t sue them there!” “Bad guys!”

I surveyed the situation. The cargo elevators, which had connected the air hundreds of meters to a kilometer above, had toppled from the recent impact.

Understanding the situation, No. 190 screamed internally. “Kyaa! We’re trapped!”

The team members also seemed to grasp the situation, their faces contorted.

While everyone stood speechless, mouths agape, only Irene spoke. “…Trapped again.”

I looked up. Above the towering ceiling, which had been blocked by structures, a white hole was visible.

According to the data I possessed, there was no way to climb up there with bare hands. The cliff on one side was made of indestructible rock, so even piercing it with a magic-enhanced ice pick wouldn’t allow one to climb.

“Should we fly up? We might be able to pull a hang glider in.” “It’s possible, but there doesn’t seem to be a need for the adventure.”

There was no rush. All the valuable cargo had been siphoned out through the inventory anyway!

As I watched the situation unfold, I saw various pieces of equipment slowly being installed on the ceiling. Listening to people talk, it seemed to be an emergency elevator prepared for such situations.

“Ugh, it’ll take time to get a car up there.” They said it would take one to two days for repairs, so I would have to wait.

Wait, what about the students we rescued?

Just as we thought, the students were also trapped here. Fortunately, they weren’t hurt. The problem was the current situation.

“The perpetrators of the bomb attack are a religious group called the Unification Society.” The supreme leader of the Atlas Clan, in charge of managing the dungeon entrance, explained. Introducing himself as the manager, he was currently briefing the people.

This was inside the safe zone’s outpost, a small meeting room where several people sat. Mostly, it was team leaders or commanders from various clans visiting the site. On one side, Adela and a professor from the academy were seated. They were representatives of the Aegis Academy.

Violet No. 12 and Irene were also present at this important meeting. The reason was simple: their scale. Was it because bringing dozens of armed personnel was so impressive?

“Seems we brought too many people.” “Even with the perception-scrambling device, we can’t hide everyone.”

To look at it positively, we were considered important enough to be called to such a meeting; to look at it negatively, we drew too much attention.

A plump-faced man raised his hand and asked, “Didn’t we already witness that during the interrogation? What’s important is the reason. Why did they do it?”

Interrogation refers to a somewhat destructive method of communication involving physical means. The survivors who emerged from the trucks destroyed by the Hunters earlier had suffered a terrible fate.

The Atlas Clan manager sighed. “Thank you for a good question. From what we’ve gathered, they seem to be preparing for some kind of ritual.”

“A ritual?” Someone asked again, and the manager replied once more. “Yes. They were merely low-ranking cultists, so they didn’t know much. But it seems they planned to perform a ritual with a rare artifact secured from this place. Using us as sacrifices!”

“What artifact?” “This. What you see is a picture secured from one of the cultists’ cell phones.”

When a middle-aged woman asked, the manager, instead of answering, turned on the monitor screen in front. A square pillar with a bizarre shape and color appeared.

Some people gasped or let out murmurs upon seeing it. Our Violets also whispered in surprise internally.

“Why is that here?” “Ugh! We’re screwed!”

“As expected, some of you recognized it quickly.” As the manager began, the professor sitting next to Adela shook his head. His face was deeply furrowed.

“Of course, we know. That’s a Vision Prism, a mind-manipulating artifact.” “A Vision Prism? This is crazy…” “Why is that forbidden item here?”

A commotion broke out.

“Alright, please calm down! Let’s summarize the important facts. We are trapped here, and the cultists have secured that artifact. And they are nearby. We must defend this place until the elevator is restored.”

While the manager explained at length, I thought. A Vision Prism, should I be glad that something familiar had appeared?

“We are outnumbered. Will you help us?” A chubby Hunter asked with a hesitant expression, “You want us to stand guard instead? My team already has several injured from the collapse earlier…”

“Not at all! All you need to do is keep watch of the surroundings. If you see anything suspicious that looks like an artifact, you must contact us immediately!”

The academy professor said, “Alright, let’s not forget that mind-manipulating artifacts must be destroyed on sight after recovery. Absolutely do not touch them carelessly!”

Everyone nodded seriously at the professor’s warning.

“The Federal Army is supposedly nearby. How about requesting their help?” When someone offered an opinion, the wrinkles around the eyes of the middle-aged woman listening nearby narrowed. “The Feds, you mean? You trust those guys?”

“What can we do? Given the situation, they will cooperate.” As the Atlas Clan manager explained, everyone was somewhat convinced.

After the explanation, people dispersed, and I went outside with my friend.

“This is serious. A Vision Prism falling into the hands of cultists…” “Right! And just when we’re in the dungeon.” Irene said, sounding worried. I nodded in agreement. A Vision Prism was more dangerous than a nuclear bomb.

In this world where the state and laws are practically nonexistent, powerful clans can do anything without caring what others think. However, there is one thing that even Hunters and clans addicted to drugs and entertainment absolutely do not touch: mind manipulation.

Artifacts or devices with mind-manipulating abilities are relentlessly cracked down on by both clans and the Federation working together.

Perhaps because of this, even items like the perception-scrambling device I wear are subject to immense scrutiny and regulation. Ordinary Violets like us can’t even access them. Why else would we have obtained it through smuggling via Manager Leslie of the Labor Agency?

If man-made magical items are subject to this much, artifacts with large-scale mental contamination abilities like the Vision Prism are even more so. Their level of regulation is comparable to uranium or plutonium in our reality.

“This is a headache. What happened?”

Well, the task was simple. Report anything that looked like a suspicious artifact without fail! And anyone bringing them in must also be cracked down on without fail. They’re clearly allied with the cultists.

“Won’t the Feds take care of them all?” “They might!”

As I pondered various thoughts, faint cannon fire seemed to echo from beyond the dark passage.

As Violet had thought, the armed cultists of the Unification Society, transporting the artifact in the restricted zone, desperately resisted the attack of the Federal Army’s search party.

“Argh!” “Aargh! They are the heretics of the Federation!”

The cultists resisted by firing old automatic rifles and throwing grenades. Awakened cultists charged with swords or unleashed small magical attacks in rapid succession from behind walls.

The cultists’ eyes burned with resolve. “Do not hinder the path to salvation!”

However, their burning faith flickered out before even hotter firepower.

—Whiz! A rifle bullet struck the chest armor plate of a Federal Army soldier. The old bullet crumpled and lost its force. All the soldier felt was a slight dull impact.

The exoskeleton on his arm whirred as it activated, and the Type 15 electromagnetic rifle, having finished aiming, discharged electric sparks. The high-velocity tungsten round blew off the fanatic’s head and shoulder.

“Aaaargh!” Soldiers without bulletproof gear or sufficient Aether protection were shattered into pieces by the electromagnetic rifles’ hail of fire.

“Aargh! My arm!…” The cultist, wailing at his severed arm, instantly turned into a mist of blood. The armored vehicle’s electromagnetic autocannon left no corpse behind.

A smart grenade flew through the air. The Unification Society Deacon, who had been preparing fire magic behind a vehicle, was covered in a precise shower of shrapnel that exploded directly above his head, turning him into rags.

Small rockets, armored vehicle interception lasers, and the pinnacle of advanced technology crushed the enemies one by one.

Awakened cultists injected syringes filled with Black Ice into their thighs and charged, spitting fury. “Die!”

—Crackling! Immediately, soldiers wielding Aether emitters stepped forward. The Awakened, unable to withstand the magic waves unleashed at close range, caught fire and collapsed.

“P-please, save me…” The head of the man who was last gasping and begging for his life exploded. The fanatics were annihilated by a search squad from the 60th Mobile Unit. There were no survivors.

“Target secured. The artifact is safe.” As the commander radioed in, soldiers retrieved the Vision Prism from the burning truck. The artifact was as heavy as it was large, making it difficult for even three or four adults wearing reinforced exoskeletons to carry.

—Alr-…ight! Hold your position. Main force is cur-…rently ap-…proaching your position! Arrival time in … minutes! Major Marius’s words crackled over the laser communicator. The search party soldiers maintained strict perimeter security.

“Hmm?” While waiting for the main force, the soldier on guard felt a strange sensation. Surely there should be no one around here. He felt a sense of déjà vu.

In the dark passage, beyond the building, something flickered. He scanned the surroundings with his multi-pattern vision device, but saw nothing.

“Excuse me, Sergeant. Something’s lo—” A crackling sound was heard. The soldier couldn’t finish his sentence. The last thing he saw was a white, shimmering blade piercing his chest.

“C-cough…” As the soldier collapsed, stabbed by the blade, Vanguard agents, whose concealment spells had dissolved, appeared one by one.

“It’s a surprise attack—” The screaming commander’s head was severed.

“M-monsters!” Seeing their commander die, the soldiers instinctively pulled their triggers. Their aim was swift and precise.

Heavy metallic rounds, accelerated by electromagnetic force, struck a barrier. The bullets, failing to do their job, lost momentum and fell to the ground.

“What the…!” Before the soldiers could feel bewildered, their bodies were torn apart and incinerated by magical energy beams. The armored vehicle hastily turned its turret, but a bolt of lightning, like divine punishment, melted the armored vehicle and split it in two.

“Eat this!” An Awakened soldier, engulfed in despair, activated his exoskeleton to maximum output and charged. He thrust his rare metal sword, imbued with sword energy. Immediately after, a force comparable to a hydraulic press snatched the sword.

Before the soldier could comprehend what had happened, the Vanguard agent, holding the sword, crushed the soldier’s head like a tomato.

“The Feds are still quite easy, aren’t they?” As the Vanguard commander shrugged, Lera and the agents of the Mysterious Research Department, Section 3, emerged from the shadows as their concealment dissolved.

“There’s not much time until we encounter the Federal Army. Move.” As Lera gestured, the agents loaded the artifact onto the vehicle they had brought. While the mercenaries set the corpses on fire, the artifact, lightened by gravity-reducing magic, was loaded onto the truck.

“Ugh, th-that’s the Federal Army, what is this… Ugh!” “Hey, rookie! Move properly! Do you think this is just any artifact?” While securing the artifact, the female agent almost dropped it as she gagged at the sight of the corpses. Lera clicked her tongue internally, watching her. ‘She said it was her first time in the field, but she’s too naive. What if she messes something up?’ To think they’d send someone so averse to killing. Between this and the geared sphere recovery, she thought this person should never be deployed for missions again.

Only burned corpses and vehicles remained where the Magnabis agents had retrieved the artifact and departed. Major Marius, who arrived late, stomped his foot in fury. “Who the hell was it?! Argh!”