episode_0356

Entering the center of Area C, the archive access terminal came into view. Unusually, this place seemed to double as a prison, as an unexpectedly large number of people were being held there. Were they perhaps human experiment subjects? An ominous premonition flashed through her mind.

One by one, the people emerging from the capsules began to regain consciousness.

“Oh, my god…! I’m alive… I thought I’d never see the light again…” “Mom! Dad! Where are you?!” Cries from various ages echoed. Most were young people, appearing to be in their late teens to twenties, with elementary school-aged children, middle-aged adults, and occasionally elderly individuals interspersed among them.

“What year is it now? This can’t be real?” “Finally, I’m alive! Those damned bastards, waking me up every day for experiments and making me work!”

Some cheered, others slumped in despair. Their feelings were completely understandable. Their Violets had felt the exact same way when they escaped from Laplaxia’s wicked laboratory.

“But there’s no time!” “Right, let’s get them to the airship quickly.”

I called out, putting force into my voice. “Everyone, listen up! We are the Ariel Group. You are now free!”

Instantly, all eyes focused on me. I continued quickly. “But there’s no time. You must follow my instructions!”

A young man cautiously raised his hand. His politeness amidst the chaotic situation was striking.

“The Ariel Group? That’s a new name to me…”

“That’s because we’re a new organization, formed only a year ago! If you listen well, we’ll send you home.”

“There was no such organization five years ago…”

Someone asked with a suspicious gaze, but I vaguely glossed over it. After all, every time they introduced themselves, everyone reacted with “What are you talking about?” Judging by their murmurs, it seemed they had been imprisoned even before the Violets arrived in this world.

By the way, the black-haired girl they first woke up kept lingering around me.

“So… you’re fighting the Foundation? Really?”

“That’s right, we’re currently engaged in an all-out war with the Foundation.”

At first, she asked them various things, but now she was clinging to Irene and questioning her. The Violets didn’t miss the subtle flicker in her eyes when the war with the Foundation was mentioned. It was a suspicious reaction, but there was no time to dwell on it now.

“Wow… you’re amazing, Unnie? You’d be perfect if your speech was a little less formal! Do clans run special forces these days? But why are they all women? And why do you use voice modulators? Oh, there’s a man too. How fascinating.”

“That’s not all. We also brought down Magnavis.”

“You’re good at jokes, Unnie. Heh heh.”

Her sudden change in attitude was exasperating. She didn’t know how many years she’d been locked up, but she’d be surprised when she got out. Anyway… how old was this kid that she kept calling her “Unnie”?

“So, how old are you?”

“Oh, Terrorist Unnie. You’re curious about that? I’m a high school girl! A fresh, blooming maiden, you know?”

“I don’t think so.”

At my abrupt remark, the girl’s expression, which had been playfully responsive just moments before, instantly hardened. Her eyes, holding a strange light, flashed.

“Hey, I told you I’m a high school girl.”

Just as I was about to cut off the girl, who had suddenly turned serious, someone shook my shoulder. Irene subtly raised the tip of her spear, which she had set aside, and pointed forward.

“Ah, the people!”

First, they needed to get the people to safety.

“Alright, everyone, follow us! Airships are waiting at the entrance. Once you get out of here, we’ll either send you home or decide your future whereabouts!”

Someone asked with a trembling voice. “How can we trust you?”

“If you don’t want to trust us, then stay here!”

In any case, they had no choice. A procession of people, under the Violets’ escort, continued to exit the isolation ward. The people staggered slightly but, surprisingly, were able to walk on their own. Originally, the plan was to carry them on stretchers or on their backs. Medical staff, professional healers, and Daphne were waiting nearby. Fortunately, no one seemed to be showing severe symptoms. While they didn’t know the extent of the Foundation’s hibernation technology, it seemed they had managed it somewhat.

“This is good, no matter what!”

While the people, one by one, looked around and exited the lair following their guidance, I proceeded with the terminal connection. After a thorough search from Area A to Area C, they had located and secured the terminal access room.

The central archive terminal was a collection of colossal machinery. The information heard during the previous briefing came to mind. The Inspector had said that the massive central pillar served as a communication antenna.

“It’s a shame we can’t take the whole server. How did they put their server in orbit…” Sophieel Unnie, shaking her head, took a thin, flat object from her pocket. It was a thin, rectangular piece that shimmered with a transparent, iridescent light, like a spring day’s soap bubble, when it caught the light.

“So, we just plug this in here, right?” “Yes, as far as I remember, that’s what he said!”

In Sophieel Unnie’s hand was a uniquely shaped access storage device. It resembled a floppy disk, something one might only see in a museum. This was a Foundation hacking device that the Inspector had acquired from somewhere.

“Who on earth made this?” “It’s a long story. It’s the last death throes left by an unknown research lab that harbored a grudge against the Foundation… You could look at it that way.”

They didn’t know exactly who made it, but this object was an Aether-based storage device, said to hold all the data from a single massive server.

“How could such a perfectly fitting object…” “Indeed. All right, I’ll begin! Initiating security authentication!”

I nodded and lifted the head of a person covered in dark blue bruises. The gasping man’s identity was none other than the facility’s director. According to the Inspector, terminal access was only possible with the biometric authentication of a specific high-ranking individual.

“No… you can’t do this! Do you even know what you’re doing? This is…” “Be quiet. We’re not going to kill you!” Thud!

The task was simple: push the man’s head onto the authentication device to unlock it. The monitor flickered, and a green light began to appear.

“It really is proceeding exactly as described before the operation.” “Right? He explained it so specifically, as if he’d done it himself.” “Ahem! Y-yes, indeed?”

It was curious. The Inspector hadn’t just explained the operating method. He had also detailed how to prevent situations like self-destruction. Thanks to this, they could avoid situations where the terminal might explode.

“No matter what, this knowledge is ours now!”

After the intricate and complex procedures were neatly concluded, all that remained was to insert the disk. A black window appeared on the blue monitor screen, and a white progress bar showed within it. With the text “[Data Transferring – 0%]”, the empty bar slowly began to fill.

“Finally!”

1%, 2%, 3%. They held their breath, watching the numbers climb with every blink. If it continued like this, they would acquire all the data. Just then, an emergency alarm blared through the network. The Violet Air Force urgently shouted towards the Violet Command, who frantically raised their heads.

“Emergency! Emergency! Unknown object approaching Arturia Academy!”

“They’re saying a strange object is approaching at high speed?” “What?!”

“Interception failed! They’ve broken through!”

The bruised facility director suddenly burst into mad laughter. “Hahaha! Foolish women. Did you think the Foundation would just hand over its knowledge so easily? Like tomb raiders of ancient graves, bury your bones here!”

“Shut up!”

Just as I was about to exit the terminal access room with Sophieel Unnie, carrying the director, the ceiling above instantly plunged into darkness. Boom! “Ugh! I’m… I’m suffocating!”

Barely escaping amidst the crumbling debris, accompanied by an ear-splitting explosion, they saw the Foundation facility collapsing like a sandcastle before their eyes.

“They fired a missile!”

“Sigh… In the end, we failed…” I offered words of comfort to Sophieel Unnie, who wore a crestfallen expression.

“It’s alright! We’ve already secured the other facilities, haven’t we?!”

To destroy their own facility themselves, it was utterly foolish. “The fact that they destroyed their own building with their own hands is proof they’re cornered.” “Our victory is certain!”

Command issued an order in a resolute voice. “Immediately strengthen the air defense network!”

But even if interception failed, it wouldn’t be a problem. The remaining two points were impregnable defensive facilities and sturdy strongholds carved deep into mountain ranges. The defensive capabilities meant to ward off external attacks now served as a shield protecting their infiltration.

“Can a missile really break through that?” I chuckled inwardly.

**

Two cryo-pods, urgently transferred to the underground hangar, slid in, scraping against the cold metal floor. After inspection, the capsules were moved by engineers toward a colossal structure towering at one end of the hangar. It resembled a spire piercing the sky, but in reality, it was merely the most extreme means of transport in human history.

“Only a few hours ago, didn’t you express reluctance to our proposal, Director Kwabna 02?” A subtle tension hung in the Secretary-General’s voice. His gaze followed the frantic movements of the technicians’ hands.

“But I never imagined you would propose such an unconventional method first. To use that as an emergency deployment means.”

“As the current defense director, I merely made the optimal judgment. As long as the control algorithm has approved it, there is no logical basis to object.”

Director Kwabna 02 deeply inhaled an electronic stimulant, trying to suppress the uncomfortable feelings within. It was ironic that they had to use Laplaxia’s monstrous creation, of all things, to protect their central archive.

“The research results from Arcit and the former Foundation analysis team were accurate. The enemy is constantly evolving in both tactical and physical capabilities. In the current situation, where the enemy is operating fighter jets, effective access is impossible with the Foundation’s aerial forces. Support from the Federal Air Force and Restraidna is scheduled, but there is no time to spare.”

The director continued his explanation, then abruptly fell silent. The realization that the operation he proposed was fundamentally no different from the self-destruct actions carried out by the Ariel Group’s insane clones had washed over him.

“The stalemate corridor is inoperable, and ground vehicles have time constraints. Teleportation equipment was excluded due to instability… In conclusion, only one option remains.”

“That’s an insane idea.”

“I admit it’s unconventional, but hasn’t it already passed verification as a human transport deployment device? The safety of the cargo is guaranteed. Raihan himself supposedly envisioned this system for combat operation.”

Director Kwabna wiped the cold sweat trickling down his ebony forehead with the back of his hand. Unspoken words formed on his lips and then vanished.

‘To fight madness, if we’re going to the extreme anyway, we must also show madness.’

That’s right, they had to break free from conventional thinking. They had to do something crazy. The enemy was already operating beyond the bounds of common sense. Then they too had to break out of their mental framework. Otherwise, they couldn’t stop that infinitely multiplying army, which, while appearing human, challenged the authority of the four great clans.

‘Whatever their intention, if the archive falls, the Foundation will collapse. If the Foundation collapses, our long-held desire to accumulate knowledge and awaken alien hope will come to naught!’

Even with a pang of conscience, the director had no choice but to accept the decision made by the other board members, the Secretary-General, and the control algorithm. A heavyhearted expression was etched on his face.

The ceiling of the massive hangar opened with a heavy rumble.

“Launch.”

Thus, Luminexa launched an ICBM carrying humans towards the sky. Boom!

The missile’s trajectory, cutting through the black night sky, left a long trail of yellow flames and white smoke. It was the same model as the deadly weapon that had instantly devastated the Arturia Academy base just moments ago. Stretching into the distant sky, just before venturing into the sea of stars, the missile’s warhead separated at a perfect angle.

The improved flying object immediately switched to glide mode. Tearing through the atmosphere as it hurtled forward, it instantly broke the sound barrier. A shockwave screamed through the air. The Violet Air Force patrolling the vicinity reacted in shock, immediately taking defensive postures, but the object was already far out of range. The flying object, having instantly surpassed the speed of sound to rush at hypersonic speeds, precisely changed direction and settled above the target location.

All of this took less than three minutes. If it had been a conventional ballistic missile, it would have impacted the ground by this point.

This modified flying object, designed for special cargo, showed a different terminal phase than its original form. It slowly decelerated, spiraling in the air. It descended, spinning like a dancing autumn leaf. Upon reaching its terminal phase, a large parachute deployed, followed by a light thud as it landed on the ground. Thump!

Two special cargoes landed perfectly at the target location.

**

Unit 5411, patrolling the outskirts of Area B, was the first to detect unusual signs. The squad immediately sent an emergency signal to Command and approached the flying object embedded in the ground.

“These idiotic air fleet guys! They couldn’t intercept that?” “Ah, really! It was too fast! And its flight trajectory was insanely abnormal!”

Unit 5411 and its squad members, who had been arguing with a pilot while rushing to the scene, witnessed the capsule door opening with a whooshing sound as air escaped. Humanoid silhouettes emerged from the faint steam.

“Huh? Is that… an arrow?”

“Argh!”

That sight became the last thing the Violet witnessed.

“I’m dead!” “What? When?”

Soon after, the Violets had to confront the presence of an enemy that sent chills down their spines.

A storm of elegant yet deadly arrows pierced through the Violets as if sewing them. “Aaaargh! What on earth is that?!” “Arrows!”

Simultaneously, the Violet unit directing the civilian evacuation operation encountered a situation impossible on their tactical map. A red dot suddenly appeared on the map, like a phantom.

“What is that? Is it the Foundation’s secret weapon?” “Oh…”

The blinking Violet suddenly realized that her own numbers around her had rapidly increased.

“Why am I here?!” “Ugh! I’ve been hit!” “What?! Since when?!”

The commanding Violet, shocked by the deluge of death signals from Violets streaming through the network, rubbed her eyes, denying reality. The allied markers on the tactical map were scattering and vanishing like grains of sand.

The Violet had to witness the yellow dots—Violet signals—on the tactical map disappearing in real time. Squads, platoons, then companies… Was this even possible?

“Emergency! It’s an emergency! They’re coming! They’re coming! Aaaargh!” “Stop them! What on earth is that?!”

Screams echoed in succession. Faced with the absurd situation, the Violet kept blinking her eyes.

“The Foundation had a monster like this?”

In the dusty battlefield, Violets from two areas witnessed them.

The blurred silhouettes soon became clear. An archer with a bow and claymore, and a swordsman with a saber.

“What on earth are you?!” The head of Unit 1542, who had been barking threats, sliced through the air and rolled on the ground. The two beings, from their respective positions, charged towards the base entrance.

“They’re coming! Prepare for battle!”

It was the moment when a glorious elder from the past descended to purge their distant future successors.