episode_0178

Unfortunately, Kallix’s expectations were wildly off the mark. His comrade had encountered the worst possible obstacle. Luck was a limited commodity, so one person’s smooth sailing often led to another’s misfortune.

“Ugh, ugh…” Sedar crawled on the floor. Blood continuously gushed from a fist-sized hole in his abdomen, soaking the ground, but he clung to life with the superhuman strength of an Awakened. He wondered how things had come to this, recalling what had just happened.

‘Northern sector, outpost destroyed. Search party annihilated…’ Clearly, their operation had been proceeding smoothly until five minutes ago. This desolate plateau dungeon was the perfect place for an ambush. The targeted elite search party and executives of the Arsith Clan had been swiftly wiped out by their hands, and the remaining survivors of the outpost were soon to be dealt with. Once everything was over, they just had to blow up the place and withdraw. That’s how it should have been.

“Callsign Sedar, real name Ruben Moss. Right? Your final rank in the Federal Army was Sergeant…” That sudden intruder had ruined everything.

“Cough… how did you know that?” Ruben’s eyes, which had not lost their will despite the pain, shook violently. This monster, who had intervened in the clash between the clan outpost members and the Legion agents, single-handedly overwhelmed both forces as if a child playing with toys. He even unilaterally tore apart the magic beasts that had escaped from the base.

“I know you well. Not all of you, but enough.” Ruben barely managed to turn his body and look at his opponent. A large, ink-black cavalry spear was pointed at Ruben’s face. A few drops of blood fell onto its owner’s face. The spear that had just pierced his stomach had truly fierce momentum.

“I see… Then whose side are you on? Why did you attack them?” It wasn’t a protest. It was a pure question he felt before facing death. The man had annihilated both his own force and the clan’s. Unlike them, there was no sign that he was aiming for any specific gain or political objective.

“Well, what they’re doing in that place is ruining the world.” Feeling bewildered, Sedar suddenly remembered something he had forgotten. It was a rumor circulating within the unit.

“Ah, so you’re that guy… the one who goes around dealing with lunatics from beyond the second dimension. Could it be… that you’re the new Inspector-nim who just arrived? Wasn’t that just a nominal position…?” “…” Despite Sedar’s sarcasm, the man remained silent. Suddenly, he asked.

“…Let me ask you a question. Do you know the name Dandelion?” Even in his hazy consciousness, Sedar felt doubt. Who was Dandelion?

“What are you talking about…” “Callsign Dandelion, one of your agents. Name Violet, female. Blonde hair, red eyes. Don’t you have one?” The dying man opened his mouth calmly.

“It seems you… heard wrong somewhere, there are hardly any women among our members… You must be mistaken…” Sedar gasped roughly, cutting off his reply. The end was imminent. The man thrust the spear he was holding. With a thud, the cavalry spear pierced his chest.

Seijis walked through the wilderness where the two mutually annihilated forces lay scattered. Behind him, a grotesque, giant magic beast lay motionless. It was a great gain. He had stopped the clan’s experiment and retrieved the artifact he was looking for. In the process, he also eliminated an executive of the Obsidian Legion. He had achieved results again. Nevertheless, he felt something lacking inside.

‘Still, was I mistaken?’ Seijis thought, replaying the answer he had just heard. Indeed, there was still no witch.

A few months ago, he had miraculously leapt through time. Afterwards, using unconventional methods and knowledge, he became an Inspector-nim several years early. He abused all the authority given to him to the fullest, traversing various dungeons and dangerous areas, gaining several achievements and rapidly building his strength.

It was a crazy thing he would never have done if he were his future self five years from now. But it wasn’t enough. There was still too much he didn’t know, and too many enemies to face. Even variables occurred. More and more often, events differed from the original schedule he knew.

‘The information I know is diverging little by little. Did my existence act as a variable?’ From the timeline of events to the location and process, things changed. The monster attack incident at Aegis Academy, the attempted kidnapping of Irene Solstis. And the organizations’ movements also changed little by little.

‘The identity of the Ariel Group is still unknown.’ Direct contact was impossible for now, but he heard a brief report through his older sister that Irene was safe near the central district. However, despite looking into it, he couldn’t ascertain the situation of the other students and hunters. Many were not yet students or were not currently in the academy city. Some students were not at the academy where they should have been, contrary to his common knowledge.

‘Where on earth is Daphne? And Kalia?’ Despite having resolved to check on the students’ status, he realized that he had ended up just roaming around outside.

‘No. I left that to someone else, didn’t I? I need to take care of urgent matters first.’ He exited the dungeon. Nearby, a red-haired, cat-eared girl was waiting in front of a car parked nearby. Seeing him, the girl ran towards him frantically in surprise.

“Inspector-nim! Inspector-nim! Hurry up!” “Milia, what about the airship?”

At the Inspector-nim’s words, Milia began scolding him with a look of exasperation. “Falchion? Inspector-nim, you crashed it into the erosion zone last time, so it’s under repair! Did you forget? More importantly, there’s something more urgent right now!”

“I need an explanation…” A crisp smack echoed. Though there was no pain, he was startled by the sudden impact and spun around.

A slight tremor appeared on Seijis’s hardened face. Because it was someone he knew, an intellectual beauty with black hair, resembling him, stood with her arms crossed and a grumpy expression.

“Sister…? Why are you here…” As a flustered Seijis asked, his twin sister replied.

“You idiot, I came to catch you because you’re always roaming around outside! What are you doing leaving all the work to me again? No matter how much you have to do…”

“I told you. I am…” Sophieel sighed.

“I know. That you came from the future, and that you’re doing important work. And you come back hurt every day because of it, don’t you?” “…” He remained silent. Her words continued even after he got into the car.

“I know you’re doing important work. But how long are you going to keep doing it alone? You kept talking about taking care of the students in the future, so why are you leaving it to me and going around by yourself?” Seijis replied quietly.

“Because it’s something I have to do.” “Then just gather more people and do it. There’s no reason for you to handle everything alone.”

He closed his mouth. His sister was right. He didn’t need to take on everything alone. However… he didn’t want to. Considering what would happen in the world within the next few years, cooperating with others would put them at risk as well. This time too, he couldn’t lose everything.

Seeing her twin brother, rigid as a stone, Sophieel watched him with a sullen expression for a moment, then suddenly pulled his ear. “Huh? What’s wrong?” “There you go again, making that face! That face that carries all the world’s worries! You’re so stubborn. It’s obvious why you’re going around alone without saying anything. It’s because you don’t want to see others get hurt, isn’t it? Then ask me for help. I might not be as good as you, but my skills aren’t to be underestimated either, you know?”

She grumbled, looking at her brother’s face. “It might be funny for me to nag you just because I was born a few minutes earlier as your older sister, but first of all, I’m your family. And Milia’s here too. So, don’t try to do everything by yourself. Got it?” Perhaps it was because she had pulled his ear and nagged him, or perhaps it was because he accepted the concern within her words. His brother’s expression softened a little.

“Alright, then let’s go back to the Audit Bureau and discuss. How many tasks have I had to take on? There’s so much I couldn’t talk about because you were roaming outside the academy city. Don’t even think about escaping, got it?” The Inspector-nim declared surrender.

“Alright, I’ll have to stay in the Rust Room for a while anyway.” Seeing that, his sister pulled out a tablet with a confident expression.

“Alright, then, whose story should we start with first? Irene Solstis?”

** We called Professor-nim and Instructor-nim. We had a lot to discuss regarding the plan. Most importantly, Instructor-nim said he would return to the academy sometime between today and tomorrow.

“Strike while the iron is hot [a proverb about acting quickly]! Let’s talk quickly.” However, even after calling for a long time, neither of them picked up.

“What’s going on?” I tilted my head and contacted the two Violets outside. I reached out to Unit 678, who was in charge of the academy, and Unit 897, who was on the way to attend a class.

First, a reply came from Unit 678. “Huh? They said he hasn’t returned from vacation yet. Where could he be?” “Is he at home?”

‘Then I guess I’ll have to bring it up tomorrow,’ I thought, when a frantic message came from Unit 897, who had gone for tutoring.

“Guys! Something terrible has happened! Professor-nim’s house!” Witnessing the scene, we couldn’t help but be shocked. Professor Albert’s house was engulfed in flames.

The surroundings were pockmarked with large and small craters, as if a battle had taken place. The roads and the walls of nearby buildings also looked like a battlefield. Around it, various corpses lay scattered and mixed together.

When movement was detected through the smoke inside the house engulfed in flames, Unit 897 ran towards it without hesitation.

“I think someone’s inside!” When the door opened, we found the professor, limping and injured.

“Gasp! Professor-nim!” I supported the professor. He needed treatment.

“…Why did you come here?” “We came for class! What are those corpses outside?”

The professor’s face darkened. He suddenly tried to shake off my support.

“What’s wrong? We need to go quickly!” “No, leave this place quickly. They’re coming!”

“They?” The professor hesitated at my words at first, but soon opened his mouth.

“…The academy board members sent fixers. I dealt with the small fry, but reinforcements will arrive soon. Run away quickly!” “I don’t want to.”

“You stubborn brat! Do you not understand me? You’ll die! Frederick also lost contact since yesterday. They surely…” Hearing that, I was terrified. No wonder I wondered where he was.

“Gasp! Instructor-nim?” While the Violets were surprised and flustered, even more shocking news arrived.

This was because the Violet who had been sold to the research lab submitted an absurd report.

“Wow! Guys, look. I met Instructor-nim!” Through the eyes of Violet Unit 678 at the research lab, we could see Instructor Frederick. It was definitely the person I knew. Although his left prosthetic arm was detached, he was wearing a patient gown, and was tightly bound to the bed.

“What? Oh, it’s really him? You’re safe!” Unit 678 secretly approached him, avoiding the eyes of the researchers. Feeling a presence, the instructor laboriously lifted his head and looked at Violet. I greeted the instructor with delight.

“Instructor-nim! Hello!” In Frederick’s pain-hazed gray eyes, a momentary expression of shock welled up.

“…Violet, my goodness. Why are you here?” I smiled brightly with delight and replied.

“I got captured!” Hearing my words, the instructor-nim’s face crumpled severely with shock and despair.

“Why, you… Surely they didn’t get you too…” I tilted my head. It seemed there was some misunderstanding.