episode_0201

On the morning of the brightening Western District, Caleb Listen, Director of Policy Cooperation, stood in front of Laflaxia Inc.’s research facility, waiting with nervous employees.

Knowing the Chairman’s capricious nature, the employees could not hide their anxiety.

After how long of waiting, the research facility’s door opened, and Chairman Raihan appeared. Beside the Chairman, who wore a gown, was the secretary with the strange mask who always followed him.

Fortunately, the Chairman’s expression was bright. The project he had observed in the research facility seemed to be progressing smoothly.

“Chairman-nim, good morning? I hope you have a wonderful day today.” Caleb greeted him politely.

“Oh, isn’t it Director-nim! I heard the acquisition of Helios is proceeding smoothly. You’ve worked hard.” Chairman Raihan replied with a satisfied smile.

While the employees were filled with tension, Caleb hesitated for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth. “Chairman-nim, actually…”

“Are you going to talk about the sample? I already heard someone took it from the hospital.” Chairman Raihan cut Caleb off. Caleb’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the Chairman. “Chairman-nim, I, actually…”

“I’ve already been informed. The hospital said the patient’s child took it first, didn’t they? And that your employees lost contact.”

Caleb bowed his head, at a loss due to fear. “I apologize, Chairman-nim! There must have been some mistake. I will certainly…”

Chairman Raihan laughed generously and lightly patted Caleb’s shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. It’s just a test subject anyway. It’s not easy to obtain a high-grade hunter sample, but there’s no need to blame yourself like that.”

Caleb inwardly let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he had averted the worst-case scenario.

“Instead, tell them over there. That due to circumstances, we cannot send the rest of what we originally promised to provide.”

“Yes, I understand. We will re-adjust that part through discussion. I will do my best to retrieve the sample, too.”

“Right, I trust Director-nim will handle it well. Keep up the good work.”

After finishing his words, the Chairman left with his secretary. Only when the Chairman was out of sight did Caleb and the employees wipe away their cold sweat.

The Chairman returned home for a rest. The car passed through triple security layers and headed towards a windowless mansion. As soon as Raihan Valence entered, he spoke to his secretary in a displeased tone.

“What was the name of that Helios leader’s brother, again?”

“It’s Rigel.”

Raihan made a displeased expression. “He said he’d hand over all 30% of the shares once he’s done taking over the clan, didn’t he? What an arrogant fool.”

“What about the prototype we sent before? Should we retrieve it?”

“It’s fine. Taking back something already handed over looks bad. Instead, tell them there’s no more of what we originally promised.”

The secretary nodded silently.

“It’s annoying enough having the Federation bastards inspect the lab, but now I have to play babysitter to a rat…” A flash of anger crossed the Chairman’s face. In recent months, attacks by the Obsidian Legion had become frequent in the Western District, leading to the loss of valuable secret facilities. In the midst of that, Magnavis had fallen to an unprovoked surprise attack, spilling its messy secrets.

“Tell everyone to be careful. We’ve cleaned up anything they could find fault with, but the problem is those guys called the Ariel Group. I don’t know what their intentions are, but tell them to prepare thoroughly.”

After speaking, Raihan headed to the living room. When he lightly whistled, a beast walked over from a distance with awkward steps.

“Come on, come here.”

His gaze turned to a dog-like creature in one corner. It was a Skullkit. A common sight in dungeons, the remnants of canine beasts mutated by Aether. Unusually, that Skullkit wore a large covering that concealed its entire head.

The Chairman suddenly asked as if something had occurred to him.

“I almost forgot one thing. Tell the head of security. Another Federation stooge has gotten in. Which department was it…?”

“Yes, Chairman-nim. It was the Research and Development department.” The secretary replied quietly.

“For a spy, she was quite foolish. Acting like that, it’s only natural she’d be caught.”

The Skullkit approached the dog bowl placed in front of it. Inside, there was a chunk of red meat. A strange satisfaction lingered in Raihan’s eyes as he watched it.

“Chairman-nim, no matter how I think about it, that was an inefficient measure. We could have handled it more cleanly.”

When the secretary spoke, the Chairman grumbled like a child scolded by a parent. “There, there, you’re saying something you don’t understand again! How many times do I have to tell you? This is for ideas. Biology is ultimately about flow, about current! To seize the lightning flashes in your brain and mold them into formulas, you need to pursue enjoyment. You need art. Do you understand?”

“I misspoke. I apologize.”

The secretary withdrew. The Skullkit lifted its head from the dog bowl. “Oh dear, it seems it’s not to your liking?”

The Chairman dragged the stumbling Skullkit over and removed its covering. When the covering was removed, a human female’s head was revealed. The woman shed tears, gasping and blinking her mouth open and shut.

“Honestly, anyone would think I’m feeding you human flesh. Do you know what I gave you? It’s Alebor-raised beef tenderloin, no less. To be picky about something others can’t even get if they want to. Should I have cooked it for you?”

The woman wailed silently. Only air-escaping sounds came from her throat.

“Young lady, let’s stop with the meaningless actions. Haven’t you raised a dog? In this day and age, vocal cord surgery is basic. How’s my etiquette for considering the neighbors?”

Raihan patiently observed the woman’s attempts to say something. Her intended meaning was clear.

“‘Please’? What’s with that? Try to have a more positive outlook on life. Do you know what your colleagues were fused with, young lady? Crawltide, no less. This is quite a lot of consideration. Aren’t mammalian-type monsters better than insects?”

A bizarre smile formed on Raihan’s lips as he watched the screaming Skullkit.

“So, Subject 137. Let’s get along well for a while.”

**

Irene rose from her seat after finishing the kill list. There was somewhere she had to go first.

“Where’s Daphne?”

I shook my head. Though I had sent Daphne to the hospital right after breakfast to prepare for any eventuality, only bad news had come back.

Fortunately, Irene’s expression was calm after hearing the results.

“Well, I expected that much. Daphne’s healing ability isn’t bad, but completely healing Father in his current state would have been impossible. Even the clan used every means possible to save Father, but there was no improvement.”

Daphne was an excellent Awakener, capable of regrowing lost limbs and even organs. However, a clan of Helios’s caliber would have tried to acquire such means through any method possible.

A short while later, we arrived at the hospital. The hospital where Kalia’s uncle had been hospitalized now housed the life support system containing Irene’s father.

Upon entering the room, Daphne, with an apologetic expression, avoided Irene’s gaze.

“I’m sorry. I tried my best, but…”

“There’s no need to blame yourself. I knew it wouldn’t work from the beginning.”

Irene’s gaze turned to the life support system. Watching that sight, I inwardly clicked my tongue. “Crazy, how is he even alive?”

The Violets who saw Orion Solstice’s condition whispered amongst themselves. It couldn’t be helped; it was miraculous that he was even alive.

The life support system consisted of two layers. The outer layer was a thick metal casing, and this casing could be opened partially or entirely. When the metal casing was opened, there was a cultivation tank inside. The cultivation tank had a window to observe the patient inside.

“He’s really cut in half.”

Inside the life support system, in the culture fluid, Orion’s body was cut vertically, with only half remaining. From his chest down to his lower body, including part of his head and his heart, had been severed. The remaining body was also not intact. His head was mostly skull, with hardly any flesh. The body, cut in half, did not move. Only the brainwave monitor, linked to the life support system, was the sole means to prove the subject was alive.

“Why can’t he be healed? It feels like something is blocking it…”

“His body is infiltrated by a peculiar magic wave. We prevented it from permeating his brain and nervous system, but the rest of his body is in that state, as you can see.”

Furthermore, no matter what they did, regeneration was impossible. “Oh my god, what do we do? He’s a two-person chocolate ice cream!” The Violets couldn’t hide their dismay at his appearance, which was no different from the two-person chocolate ice cream they used to enjoy before their transmigration.

“I’ll try one more time. If I can just find a way…” Irene firmly rejected Daphne’s suggestion.

“It’s no use. The most renowned people in the clan have been trying to revive Father for years. Modern medicine, healing, magic, even artifacts. Even with the techniques of those Laflaxia bastards, that’s the best they could do.”

Moisture had already gathered in the corners of Irene’s eyes.

“…Let’s go. We have a lot to do.”

Leaving a guard Violet behind, we left the hospital. Bitterly, our idea of recovering Irene’s father had failed.

“Is there any good way?” “I wonder…”

The Violets used their collective intelligence to discuss. What methods could there be to save a person cut in half vertically? His brain and spinal cord are said to be intact.

“Let’s put him in a Dragoon!” “Idiot! This isn’t that kind of game.”

A marathon meeting was held within the Violet network, but no answer emerged. Something seemed to vaguely come to mind, but I couldn’t quite grasp it. Is there really no good way?

**

Putting Irene’s father’s matter aside for now, we scattered in all directions. From now on, there were many people we had to interview.

“First, we’ll go to the people marked here.”

“Okay!”

Irene had categorized the targets on the kill list with various colored pens. The conditions were their potential for recruitment and their importance within the clan.

People marked in red were unconditionally targets for elimination, but everyone else was classified from purple to green depending on the situation and requirements.

The people we were going to meet now were green. People who could be persuaded with our conditions and with whom a temporary alliance was possible. They were the targets to be recruited first.

“First, we’re going to meet people from the Search and Reconnaissance Department, the Artifact Excavation Department, and the Escort and Security Department.”

The Helios Clan had several departments, and the ones just mentioned were primarily field-active roles. Therefore, many of them were hunters who used force.

Having gone outside, we met Mr. Cress, who had worked as Irene’s father’s secretary.

“Young lady Irene, I was surprised to hear the story. So, you’re going to start recruiting now?”

“Yes. I plan to make as many people as possible our allies before the year-end party.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll do my best to help.”

We began to meet people secretly with Mr. Cress.

The very first person we met was the Security Department Team Leader.

“First, we need to recruit this person, even though he has no shares. His rank is low, but he’s in charge of the actual security operations.”

At lunchtime, the team leader who rushed out after receiving the call looked familiar. It was the same person we had encountered at Irene’s clan last time.

“Team Leader Land-nim, nice to meet you.”

“Young lady, it’s been a long time. But what brings you here…”

A hundred hearings are not worth one seeing [a proverb emphasizing the importance of firsthand experience], Irene immediately played the recording from the cruise ship and the interrogation video of the Laflaxia subordinates.

“Does this make sense?”

Team Leader Land’s face instantly turned ashen.

“If you don’t understand, I’ll explain again. Rigel Solstice, the Chief Operating Officer, intends to sell our clan to Luminex. He even tried to sell my father! For biological experiments!”

Irene extended her hand.

“I trust you won’t stand by idly.”

“…Back when I was still active in the field, the Chief saved my life more than once. How could I ignore that debt of gratitude?”

The team leader nodded with a serious expression and accepted Irene’s proposal. First recruitment successful.

“Violet, continue tailing him for now. If he shows any suspicious behavior, shoot him immediately. Understood?”

“Okay!”