episode_0337

For Violet, struggle was like a perfume adorning her life. From the moment she opened her eyes in the laboratory, strange scents wafted around her.

The smell of gunpowder smoke and fresh blood, and even the ozone scent that permeated the air whenever the force field surrounding the surface of swords and spears tore through it. Of course, Violet herself wasn’t particularly aware of it.

There was only one difference distinguishing this place from the previous alternate dimension: the presence of residents.

“Boss! Boss! There are so many people! So many hiding!”

“Of course! This is where people live.”

Unit 2342’s expression subtly contorted as it received reports from the rats scurrying through the building.

Why was everyone so still?

The sensations transmitted by the rats were dismantled and analyzed through the collective intelligence. Most of the human scents detected between the hallways and doorways carried fear.

But some emanated resignation and familiarity. It seemed the residents here had already experienced numerous gunfights.

The network’s collective intelligence added new variables to consider on the battlefield.

On the tactical map, being constructed in real-time, in addition to enemies and allies, ‘civilians’ were densely marked with blue dots.

“So many.”

“They’re not moving, are they? Doesn’t matter!”

The third element, marked in blue, was instantly forgotten. The collective intelligence focused its attention on other variables. Amplified senses and high-speed computations measured the risk level.

While two crows, soaring overhead, observed the engagements unfolding in all directions, the network danced brilliantly within the currents of data.

“Calculate, calculate. Calculate! First target to be eliminated?”

The Luminex Enforcement Unit was identified as the top priority threat.

Their firepower and defense weren’t outstanding, but they possessed many tricky techniques and operated support weapons freely. Furthermore, the entire city was completely isolated from the outside by a barrier, which had been seen before. Though it seemed weaker than the Apostle’s tricks, finding a breakthrough wouldn’t be easy.

The most annoying thing was the Nemesis Protocol.

According to the memories of a former agent, this localized information manipulation system developed by the Foundation truly contained a wide array of functions.

“Why does it have so many abilities?”

That meant it could variously torment Violet.

While it had no offensive power of its own, this malicious mobile support platform was surely lurking somewhere even now. If it couldn’t be destroyed, Violet wouldn’t be able to move, let alone use magic.

The collective intelligence detected another threat: an armed organization targeting the senators.

Compared to the Foundation’s forces, they seemed ordinary at first glance, but the level of equipment mobilized and their movements were by no means amateurish.

Considering they indiscriminately sprayed heavy weapons into buildings where civilians remained, their aggression was beyond imagination.

A conclusion was drawn.

They already recognized them as enemies. Room for negotiation was zero.

“Eliminate them too!”

But an increase in enemies meant an increase in difficulty.

The collective intelligence analyzed and calculated the pouring information, coolly engraving this precarious situation into Violet’s mind.

Overwhelming firepower inferiority. Enemy equipment that was similar or even superior. And how should she deal with this situation, encountered for the first time in her life, where she even lost numerical superiority?

However, there was a way. 7,200 ideas converged into one.

“Deploy the heavy weapons team!”

“Everyone’s armed with combat rifles or better! Or electromagnetic rifles or large-caliber weapons! If not, even crossbows!”

“The enemies aren’t allied!”

Violet’s seemingly disorderly ideas and commands coalesced.

The collective intelligence meticulously sliced the massive goal like a large block of ham with a planer, dividing it into fine details. Tactical considerations were infinitely divided, scattering and reassembling repeatedly.

The objective was swiftly established, and enemies were distinguished and clearly marked on the tactical map.

V-rats and a small reconnaissance team scurried through the building, memorizing the internal terrain and classifying its characteristics one by one.

Available troop numbers, units, and power were listed in order.

“Magic unusable, unique abilities severely degraded, numbers insufficient so self-destruction impossible. Heavy weapons…”

“Good, deploy explosives and heavy weapons at key locations!”

Signals pouring into the strategic map. If machine guns, grenade launchers, improvised explosive devices, and mines were strategically placed along every anticipated path, the enemy could be annihilated.

“Prepare for fortification-”

But Violet had failed to consider one fatal factor.

Unit 421, running to find a way out and avoid bullets, detected footsteps with its amplified senses.

It was the moment Violet turned her head and aimed her gun at the soldiers rounding the corner. Suddenly, a door nearby burst open and residents poured out.

“Let’s get out quickly! It’s dangerous here! We’ll be fine if we go to the next building!”

“Wait, Mom-”

“Hey! You idiots! Get back inside!”

Violet’s terrified scream was in vain, as the soldiers pulled the trigger without hesitation the moment they spotted her.

A rifle-type machine gun roared, spitting out heavy metal bullets.

Violet quickly pulled out a shield and ducked.

-Boom!

“Aaaah!”

The relief of having dodged it was fleeting; her pupils dilated. This was because she witnessed people scattering into a red mist beyond her shield.

“Eek! People turned into strawberry jam!”

“Not ketchup?”

Bullets and bolts pouring from all directions indiscriminately struck the inside of the building.

Unit 2213, hidden behind a wall, jumped in fright at the incoming bullets and dashed out.

At that moment, a bolt streaking through pierced a family who had just ducked, as if they were made of paper. The Luminex bolt fire, rising from beneath the floor, was completely oblivious to the fact that this was someone’s home.

Heavy large-caliber bullets ruthlessly tore through the thin walls and floors of the residences.

-Crash!

The terrorists pursuing Violet threw open a door and tossed in explosives. Unit 512, who had broken through a wall and escaped to the side, witnessed the tragedy belatedly.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Aah! My leg! My leg!”

To the screams echoing from all directions, Violet realized this battlefield was completely different from what she expected.

In the dungeon, only enemies existed, and Magnaxis Group’s main targets were detached from civilian homes.

But now?

The Violets who were taking out and assembling heavy weapons stopped in shock.

On the tactical map, if they shot at the red enemies beyond the walls, the blue dots would be sacrificed.

One wrong move, and innocent people would turn into tomato juice. The battles of Awakened Ones were that brutal.

The building fortification plan was instantly scrapped.

The network fell into chaos.

“Aargh! Command reports! Don’t use explosives! Put away the heavy weapons!”

“Then what do we do?”

The Violets felt both annoyance and dismay at having to consider the variable of civilian protection.

“Focus on close-quarters combat as much as possible! We have to get out of here somehow!”

“Can’t get out? We’re trapped!”

The world was so fragile.

Flimsy like a house built of paper.

**

Someone gently tapped my shoulder as I was lost in thought.

When I turned my head, Kalia and Enrica were staring at me.

“Is something wrong?”

“There are too many ordinary people! We can’t use heavy weapons if we fight inside!”

Hearing the explosions and screams, Kalia’s expression hardened as if she instantly understood what I meant.

“We’ll have to fight mainly in close quarters for now. We can win, but it’ll take time. We need to get outside! You two pull back in the meantime!”

Kalia asked urgently.

“How many enemies are there? Is there a way to win?”

I answered without hesitation.

“There is! But the enemy forces are each company-sized. There is a definite winning strategy, but it’ll take some time to prepare! Enemies are pouring in from all directions. Even if we block them all on our own, it’ll be tough if they shell us from outside.”

Once again, a barrage of heavy weapons pounded the wall. Kalia, glancing towards the window, muttered as if she realized something.

“I understand… So, someone needs to buy time outside and distract them, right?”

As if determined, Kalia smoothly drew two short guns from her waist. Unit 3423’s eyes widened.

“Uh… are you going to be okay?”

“Haa… Am I going to be okay?”

A bittersweet smile touched Kalia’s lips.

“Don’t you know why Irene treats you so well? You did everything for me… I couldn’t do anything…”

Mixed in that smile was a measure of confidence and a touch of bitterness.

“So leave this much to me. Okay?”

Though it couldn’t be expressed in words, I felt as if I could read her mind.

“And, I’ve gotten stronger than before. Really? I can handle the guys outside myself.”

I realized I couldn’t stop her anymore. At the very least, that attitude wasn’t despair.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

The one before me wasn’t Violet’s friend, but one of the future protagonists who fought back-to-back with the scholarship examiner.

Yes, let’s trust her. Instead, it would be good to send something with her.

“Then take me with you! Oh, and him too!”

“Ookii!”

I quickly attached a monkey armed with a small grenade launcher to Kalia’s back. It might be of some help.

While I was at it, I also handed her a perception dampener.

“Alright, I’ll hold them back… You absolutely must bring back that winning strategy or whatever it is!”

Oh, there was one more thing to do.

I quickly took out a patch that had been airlifted in. The purple phoenix, Luminex’s symbol, was clearly emblazoned on it.

“Wear this, one!”

Kalia let out a short “Ah” of understanding, then dashed down the corridor and disappeared.

Only a dejected Enrica remained alone in that spot.

“…If only I could use magic…”

I slowly shook my head.

“It’s okay. For today, just rest comfortably in a corner with the senators!”

After all, they couldn’t turn Circlif into a second Hiroshima.

**

Lieutenant Colonel Biral gritted his teeth and glared at his tactical display on his wrist. Amidst his lament, his eyes quickly reviewed the objectives of this operation.

‘This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.’

The joint special operations unit’s mission objectives, part of a grand plan set by naval command — with those fly-like air force bastards also involved — to make the army and Lestrade suffer, were threefold.

‘First, abduct the senators and inject them with the ampoules provided by Laflaxia…’

“Senators’ location confirmed! They’ve been seized!”

Failure. On the screen, a signal that shouldn’t have been there originally was faintly blinking. It was definitely in this vicinity.

Even amidst overwhelming communication jamming, the quantum location tracker ambiguously revealed its presence.

“Where?”

“Believed to be near the mixed-use residential building two blocks away!”

A subordinate, taking cover behind the building wall to the right, shouted. The Lieutenant Colonel flung his replaced rifle magazine away as if in frustration.

Even the buzzing sound of bolts tearing through the air couldn’t mask this worst news.

‘Second, carry out sabotage procedures on the artifact to be provided to Lestrade…’

“Then how’s the artifact handling coming along? And securing the escape route?”

“Destruction was impossible. We’ve attached a location tracker, but the alternate dimension is currently in its reactivation period! It’ll take about 30 minutes! Exiting the barrier is impossible!”

“Damn it!”

Immediately after the next sound, a subordinate returning fire from behind the wall crumpled and fell. The squad member checking his condition shook his head. The Lieutenant Colonel bit back a curse.

“Why are you staring blankly! Drag the wounded back, and deploy more cannon fodder! There must be dozens more, aren’t there?”

The adjutant, hearing the order, glanced behind him and operated his terminal.

“Confirmed! Units 30 onward, charge, charge!”

The gang members, waiting with blank, mesmerized eyes, grabbed their weapons and floundered forward.

The acquired imbeciles, created by neuro-parasites, charged with glazed eyes and were shattered into pieces.

“Damn it all!”

In the end, there was only one mission they were currently carrying out.

‘Third, strike the approaching enemies using the artifact and senators as bait. Inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy, then withdraw through the alternate dimension—’

Yes, according to the plan, they were supposed to splendidly deploy the riff-raff gathered locally from Circlif and the academy city, brainwashed with corporate technology, and they would just shoot from behind and escape. They thought that was all.

How much effort had they poured into this?

They secured some local clans and gangs and, with Laflaxia’s cooperation, turned them into cannon fodder.

To prevent their federal affiliation from being exposed, they prepared separate uniforms and equipment, and thoroughly practiced their behavior. Even their heavy equipment was similar to what ordinary clans and gangs used.

They had made full preparations to fight using the city and its residents as cover.

But who would have thought that Luminex’s elite unit, of all people, would show up? They had silenced all the riff-raff on the passenger plane, so where exactly did the operation go wrong?

‘Damn patent-beheading unit!’

When the fight began, it was a sea of orange, but their protective suits blurred and changed in the blink of an eye.

The special forces had to fight in a dizzying unreality, wondering if they were shooting at phantoms with each shot.

“These chameleon bastards!”

“Don’t aim! Just fire!”

One gang member, who had been firing his machine gun indiscriminately, slumped and fell.

And what about their armaments? They were bizarre and incredibly powerful.

Monomolecular arrows imbued with magic were accelerated by electromagnetic fields and shot with precision, piercing through shields and force fields alike.

Cover was useless.

Hiding with smoke grenades or flashbangs was only a temporary measure.

All communications were cut off due to the containment barrier, and even observation was blocked. Air support was out of the question.

“Move! You’ll become a hedgehog if you stand still! Still no communications? That Nemesis Protocol, that machine, have you still not found it?”

“Unable to identify!”

Another subordinate threw himself down in horror. Immediately after he dived, bolts poured into the spot where they had been.

“Damn Luminex, damn Laflaxia. That damn queer bastard!”

Even amidst his grumbling, Lieutenant Colonel Biral firmed his resolve, relying on his long career as his anchor.

Would a Navy man who survived all kinds of hell, even the Red Zone, die here?

Slowly, he suppressed his rage and calmly issued commands with hand signals and his voice.

“Split the forces in two! Throw the cannon fodder towards Luminex! Where are the senators located?”

“Believed to be near the largest mixed-use residential building, 3 o’clock direction!”

“Good, C Team, D Team, and I will go there! We’ll take half the cannon fodder too! The rest will engage in a delaying action and then escape via the projected escape route at the designated time! We’re moving, so E Team and B Team provide covering fire!”

Immediately after the order, a deafening explosion echoed.

After a sharp jet engine roar, two heavy forms landed on the road.

When the bipedal weapon took a step, the hood of a passenger car crunched with a loud *squish*.

“This is River 1, River 2. Local enemy collaborative forces annihilated. Commencing fire support.”

“Damn Air Force bastards! Those mech brats got here fast! Shoot! Shoot!”

The airborne mechs arrogantly extended their two arms.

Ruthless shelling poured down before the Luminex forces, who were advancing leisurely. Arm-sized shell casings rained down onto the road.

As if that wasn’t enough, white smoke billowed from their shoulders.

One Stregonix, acting as a shield at the front, was tragically knocked down by a barrage of wired missiles.

An agent was seen falling with it. The soldiers cheered.

“That’s it! It’s about quantity over quality anyway! If you pour enough into them, they’re bound to break through!”

As Luminex hesitated, the Federal Special Forces poured all available firepower.

From infantry electromagnetic rifles to portable rockets, Awakened-use machine gun rifles, sniper rifles, and missiles.

The Enforcement Unit’s meat shields recklessly charged as if to divert attention, and were shattered to pieces.

“Mortar!”

As if not to lose the initiative to the Air Force’s bipedal mechs, the Navy also pulled out its trump card.

Unmanned armored vehicles leisurely appeared.

They were somewhat dumber automatons than Mechahounds, but sufficient for the current situation.

-Boom!

As the mortar mounted on its back stood upright and spewed fire, deadly shrapnel poured down on the other side.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the Lieutenant Colonel quickly slipped away with his squad.

Mechahounds carrying ammunition and auxiliary equipment faithfully followed behind them. The senators were right in front of them.

The Lieutenant Colonel shouted.

“Run! You slowpokes! As if today’s the last day of the world!”

**

Smoke danced and billowed over the center of the city. Agents advanced, heedless of screams and commotion.

The inorganic facial masks, reminiscent of robots, scanned their surroundings with an detached attitude.

The pouring tide of enemies.

[Front, bipedal platform detected—1 Stregonix lost, 15 Proxies lost. One severely wounded—]

[No problem. Win rate still maintained at over 80%. Continue deploying auxiliary troops—]

The agents fought as if factory workers were screwing bolts into parts on a conveyor belt.

Emotionlessly, inertially, they drove bolts into their targeted enemies, like a carpenter hammering nails.

Identify, aim.

Information poured into the agents like a wave. Data, rushing at a speed an ordinary human would never dare to handle, flowed directly into their senses.

The flow of the atmosphere, temperature, noise—all that information combined with the subconscious mind and muscle memory within the brain. The agent aimed at the enemy with optimal angles and movements.

The gun barrel moved to where the target was likely to be, as if with premonition.

Charge.

Magic, flowing precisely through circuits, coalesced in the bolt, and the rail vibrated.

Fire.

As the finger pulled, the electromagnetic field shot the bolt, which was quivering with destructive anticipation, out into the world.

-Thwack!

A clean hole was pierced in the chest of the charging enemy.

[Nemesis Protocol, current power 76%, overheating level 40%. Maintaining within expected range. Adjusting updated data values—]

The unidentified local terrorist organization employed a typical combination of a small elite force and a large number of consumables.

Enemy resistance? Fierce. Losses? Mostly local cooperating clans and auxiliary troops. Yet, it was manageable.

Information, at this moment, was the Foundation’s weapon.

The waves of pouring information flowed regularly yet sublimely, like a symphony.

As with any orchestra, there was a conductor among them.

Senior Field Operations Officer L3-OPS-3 of the Enforcement Unit ceaselessly issued commands, orchestrating the flow like a masterful conductor, ensuring it never broke.

[Target artifact location detected, Code Red, dangerous artifact is fortunately inactive. Senators’ location unknown.]

[Approach without wavering until location is determined. Artifact retrieval is priority. Hostages later.]

Immediately after, L3-OPS-3 frowned around his eyes like a nearsighted patient. New information slowly appeared on the tactical window before him.

Data transmission location: urban alternate dimension.

“In addition to Code Red, Code Black activation has been reported. As of this moment, additional targets are uploaded. The opponent is a psychologically contaminated entity corresponding to Code Ksaie according to Federal identification. It is understood to have a close relationship with the target for recruitment.”

In the agents’ vision, the orange-haired girl and the small-bodied soldiers appeared clearly. It was regrettable that communication was cut off due to the alternate dimension’s reactivation time, preventing more detailed information.

“What about the recruitment target? Capture?”

“No exceptions. Engage on sight, eliminate per Foundation engagement protocols.”

Immediately after, temporarily collected magic deployment patterns and combat methods were directly imprinted into their brains.

It was merely regrettable that direct communication with HQ was impossible due to the barrier.

“According to the last incoming communication, the target is presumed to have escaped from the alternate dimension. Estimated passage location— 10 o’clock direction, old mixed-use residential complex.”

A drone circling at low altitude sharply monitored the window.

“Confirmed, similar target detected. Designated as Black-1. Currently engaging with the terrorist organization. Hostages found…”

Even after finding the senators, the Foundation agents’ expressions were impassive. At this point, politicians weren’t particularly important.

“Disregard, Code Red mission disregarded. Code Black situation is priority. Eliminate Black-1 as much as possible. Capture is a later matter.”

The multi-purpose protective suits changed their camouflage colors like chameleons moment by moment.

The agents moved towards the building, using the Stregonix as a shield.

As the pouring gunfire struck the Stregonix’s shield, white and blue sparks erupted in succession, and bullets and bolts that forced their way through the shield harmlessly bounced off the armor.

“Caution, target is presumed to possess powerful mental manipulation abilities— Activate security measures in preparation for contact, and if failed, implement Level 4 containment procedures. End report!”

Before breaching, the agents didn’t forget to activate the devices attached to their necks.

This was a last resort.

While they prepared, numerous Mechahounds from both sides dashed like arrows towards the building entrance, followed by emaciated human figures resembling mannequins.

[Contact, engagement commencing. Prepare to leap.]

While the assault team slowly advanced directly into the entrance, some agents wore prepared backpacks and concentrated energy.

A lightning-like flash erupted, and they instantly reached the inside of the building.

“Gah! Enemies! Teleportation!”

The enemy soldiers recoiled as if startled. The agent’s augmented brain flared.

Data provided by the Nemesis Protocol and uploaded information intersected, confirming the target’s hostility.

“Ugh!”

[Engagement initiated.]

An agent drew a weapon comparatively shorter than a railgun.

The heat of the sun emanated from the muzzle. The startled enemy soldier quickly twisted his body while approaching.

“Screech! It’s plasma!”

Heedless of trivial screams, the agents thrust their swords.

[Excessively close to target. Commencing hand-to-hand combat.]

The drug injector inside the protective suit activated, and the necessary amount of stimulant was injected.

With nerves and muscles precisely controlled, the magic-infused sword traced a cold pi in the air.

Red magic and blue and white magic collided. Bend horizontally, withdraw and thrust. Twist and stab again.

-Clang!

The enemy soldier was small-bodied but surprisingly agile and strong.

But that was all. The agents felt a faint complacency. The sensor arrays and multiple cameras on the protective suit’s shoulders scanned the enemy in real-time.

Nemesis poured all the information collected within the space into him.

The enemy’s trajectory, noise, muscle and magic movements, energy discharge, even the movement of every single speck of dust.

The world was too slow. The enemy was completely read by them.

[Pattern scan complete. Mimic-Adaptation system applied. Counterattack initiated.]

How could a foolish person defeat an enemy fighting with an answer key? Was it truly just about numbers and mind control abilities in the end?

After deflecting the upward thrusting sword, the agent stabbed vertically.

All calculations indicated the enemy’s imminent death.

Everything was over.

[Enemy eliminated compl—]

-Swish!

The agent’s two wrists were cleanly severed and flew up to the ceiling.

The sword, its magic cut off, scratched the ceiling and fell.

The agent’s pupils behind the mask violently fluctuated.

“…How?”

The agent, watching his severed arms float in the slowed world, felt his comrades falling. Clearly, the pattern analysis just moments ago had been perfect…

Even in crisis, the protocol operated.

Only at the moment he felt the sword strike his neck did the agent realize the final truth.

That was, wasn’t it, the movement he had just made himself…

[It’s moving like us—!]

With a final death rattle, the agent’s head rolled across the floor.

**

As the engagement intensified, three Violets hid deep within the exterior of the residential building.

The interior of this mixed-use residential building, abnormally enlarged by excessive reconstruction and rampant expansion, was as complex as a labyrinth.

Opening the door of a house somewhat removed from the gunshots, they entered to find the interior filled with trash. It was fine; there were no people.

A Violet carefully tapped the floor. Another Violet looked around, murmuring anxiously.

“Can the floor here bear the weight?”

“Probably? That’s why we came down here.”

Once they decided this was acceptable, the Violets carefully began taking out the necessary equipment from their dimensional bags.

Tools laid out one by one on the floor, along with metal plates of various sizes and shapes, and complex components.

When preparations were complete, Unit 1213 stood in the very center.

“Start! We don’t have much time!”

The Violets meticulously assembled each part.

Then, starting from the legs, they began precisely fitting the parts onto Unit 1213’s body, like dressing a mannequin.

“An exoskeleton hardened by will!”

Unit 212 and Unit 3122 each forcefully exclaimed a phrase as they firmly secured the connecting parts with a power drill.

“A reactor brimming with courage!”

“Gauntlets of judgment!”

As the bolts smoothly sucked in, the connecting parts were firmly secured.

Devices clicked together with cheerful sounds. The small, adorable soldier in the combat suit slowly disappeared, and a gradually firm form began to emerge over it.

What it contained was the magnificent form of iron and fire.

“Breastplate of justice!”

From deep within the slums, a small, shrinking metal giant began to rise majestically.