episode_0353

As the location signals of each facility appeared, our Violet unit members could not hide their astonishment.

There was a significant discrepancy between the predicted target points and the actual locations detected by the V-mice. The placement of bases and facilities defied all our expectations.

“What is going on? These are completely different from the estimated coordinates.”

The locations were truly diverse.

Dense urban areas, mountain altitudes, underwater facilities. They were even located directly inside educational institutions.

“Arturia Academy?”

“It’s one of the prestigious academies in the Eastern District.”

This academy was recently found to have problems during a major inspection by the Audit Bureau. The core issues were unresolved disappearance cases and controversies surrounding pharmaceutical companies forcing clinical trial contracts on enrolled students.

The biggest culprits among them were the Foundation and Laplaxia. Their involvement was the largest, but other organizations’ illegal activities were also substantial.

Minor individuals could be easily subdued by the Audit Bureau’s checks or the subtle intervention of our allied forces.

However, a brave V-mouse detected the most serious problem since the Magnabis operation.

“Squeak! People are sealed inside!”

What caught the mouse’s sight was a shocking scene. Countless humans were confined unconsciously inside glass containment units.

Subtle breathing movements were observed, but from their appearance, it was clearly a state of forced confinement!

“No way! Human experimentation?!”

“To think there would be other victims like us Violets!”

Under my command, the V-mouse scanned the surroundings.

Containment units filled the entire room. Dozens of humans were clearly sealed within.

According to Unit 7200’s professional opinion, those were isolation facilities where the Foundation imprisoned people.

“Isolation? Is it a place to imprison bad guys?”

Suddenly, the treatment of prisoners during the Magnabis strike operation came to mind.

-“For now, only frozen food and water for the day!”

-“Let me out! I just did what I was told!”

Those who clearly violated human rights and demeaned people under the guise of experimentation were crushed on sight or made to contribute to the formation of Rust Room fishing grounds, but personnel in ambiguous positions were captured alive and confined.

Some of them were handed over to Helios and are now managing Irene’s father after he was modified into a heavily armored combat weapon.

The rest were temporarily housed in abandoned mines or closed facilities and then handed over to the Scholarship Officer.

By now, they would be managed in special facilities under the Audit Bureau, or in places we don’t know about.

“Hmm, perhaps… that’s also a prison?”

Hesitation arose.

What if Lumenexa was performing a legitimate duty of isolating genuinely dangerous individuals?

“Could the enemy of our enemy become our ally?”

“Whether it’s a big evil or a small evil, they are all evil! Violet never compromises with evil!”

Of course, ‘my’ memories as a Foundation agent showed the truth.

“This is a facility that forcibly confines Awakened individuals with unique abilities or constitutions, or entities that go against the Foundation’s interests!”

In other words, the facility I witnessed was a detention center where the Foundation unilaterally imprisoned innocent people.

“We are the Ariel Group! We cannot tolerate forces that suppress freedom!”

What if they had captured Enrica alive?

They would undoubtedly have imprisoned her in a facility like this.

I, too, had directly experienced their evil deeds.

I was originally planning a seal release operation, but I hadn’t expected it to be such a large-scale facility.

The Containment Enforcement Unit’s detention facility happened to overlap with two of the mice’s infiltration points.

“Boss! What are the future operational guidelines?”

The mice awaited instructions. I carefully reviewed the strategic options.

“Hmm…”

The agent mice continued to collect information, but the location we found seemed to lack a central archive access terminal.

Or perhaps they hadn’t found it yet.

Once we find it, we can enter immediately since the Scholarship Officer provided a means.

However, as the Violet unit, we cannot stand by and ignore innocent people. There was also a risk that they would be transferred to more covert facilities if we delayed any longer.

Furthermore, it was an excellent opportunity to disrupt the enemy’s forces.

If the Foundation was so careful to imprison these people, then assuming they aren’t bad people, they would be helpful.

“Commence simultaneous strikes at all points!”

The first full-scale confrontation with the enemy’s core forces would greatly aid our tactical growth.

We would also learn their response patterns and effective ways to cooperate with allied forces.

For us Violets, every battle holds the meaning of practical training.

“Alright, contact our allied and cooperative forces!”

It was time to launch the first strike.

**

Inside a narrow, dark sewer pipe, a masked monkey unit continued their precise work.

As the lead monkey brought a red sword imbued with magic forward, the old iron bars slowly melted away as if being cut.

The monkeys repeated the work with mechanical movements.

“Is this really the right place? Ugh… it’s damp and dark… bugs are crawling around, and I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of this smell…”

As one monkey complained, Cocoa, who was directing the operation, sharply scolded him.

“I don’t like the smell here either! But it will be over soon. Besides, think about it, our mouse friends have to crawl through places like this every day. What we’re doing is relatively easy. Once the work is done, we can go back and wash it off with a bubble bath. Don’t forget our mission to secure infiltration routes for our animal comrades!”

“Right! Understood!”

When the work was complete, mice burst out of Cocoa’s tactical bag.

The multi-tool-equipped mice moved swiftly along the long pipes.

They ran, climbed, and went upstream ceaselessly.

-Clink!

“Squeak!”

After a long journey, the mice finally pushed aside a drain cover and entered the surface.

While the lead mouse pulled out a multi-purpose tactical tool and surveyed the surroundings, the rest of the unit swiftly deployed to their designated positions.

“Command, A-point infiltration successful! Current location is a bathroom! Presumed to be a dormitory area!”

“B-facility entry complete! Kitchen found… Can we eat the leftovers? Probably, right?”

“C-facility reached, it’s a laboratory area. Team B, don’t eat that! Forbidden! You’ll be discovered!”

The mouse units deployed throughout the Eastern region maintained standby posture at their respective locations.

Their mission was simple. Execute basic operations and await further instructions.

If the initial disruption succeeded, the genius strategist, the Boss, would subdue these villains with miraculous and excellent strategies, just as before.

Meanwhile, another monkey agent was moving towards an unidentified research facility.

“Ooh! Ooh!”

“Why are those guys acting like that?”

Laplaxia’s surviving personnel were urgently unloading supplies from vehicles.

Among them were animal transport cages, and the monkeys inside were frantically thrashing about.

Only one sat calmly, observing its surroundings keenly. The staff hastily transported the cages into Lumenexa’s fortress.

“Good, infiltration successful!”

Laplaxia’s researchers barely avoided Violet’s offensive by urgently evacuating test subjects and specimens, but in the chaos, they failed to detect the anomalous entity that had cunningly infiltrated their ranks.

Unfortunately, they had neither the time nor the mental capacity to conduct a thorough examination.

Furthermore, it was an ordinary lab monkey, commonly seen in laboratories. A small but highly intelligent and docile breed.

Caramel checked the special operative tools hidden in his fur, keenly observing his surroundings.

The lab monkeys in the cages were wailing in distress.

The V-monkey looked at them, feeling a complex mix of pity and superiority.

Seeing these foolish kin, who were biologically of the same species, made him feel conflicted.

‘Poor creatures, unblessed by the network.’

Caramel, who had been gazing with complex emotions at the pitiful animals not enlightened by animal democracy, soon shook his head.

Although they might have been of the same species in the past, according to Dr. Yurik’s definition, who contributed to their enlightenment, V-animals were ‘pseudo-monsters’—a fusion of Violet’s characteristics and genetics.

They had become different beings, merely resembling their original species in appearance.

“Don’t waver. Monkeys and we are not the same creatures.”

Caramel silently assented to Cocoa’s cold observation.

Who would receive the blessing of intelligence depended solely on the Boss’s decision. It was not for him, a servant of the great Violet, to judge carelessly.

“Disruption operation preparations complete!”

Caramel finished his report with a resolute smile.

Because the time had come to use the combat techniques transmitted through the Boss’s network in a real fight.

“All-point operation deployment complete! Coordinate tracking ready!”

The crows also waited silently at their respective positions.

“Decoy dispersal?”

“Not yet!”

The cooking preparations were finished; now it was time to draw the knife.

“Appetizers first!”

**

After midnight, android patrol units patrolled the streets of the Eastern District.

Each time the robots, taller than adult humans, walked, a low motor hum characteristic of low frequency vibrated.

If the weapons had emotions, they would have found this time very comfortable. Night was their time, free from human curiosity and unnecessary interference.

While unmanned security equipment and mechanical guard dogs were familiar to the residents of Academy City, humanoid combat robots were an unfamiliar presence even to those accustomed to various mysterious artifacts and magic.

-Beep!

The robot suddenly raised its head.

An anomalous entity crouching in the trees was detected. The moment the robot, with combat protocols activated, aimed its muzzle.

-Thwack!

A red-glowing bolt pierced the robot’s main optical sensor.

The robot, having lost its sight, wavered for a moment but activated its auxiliary sensors and pulled the trigger towards the origin of the shot. Gunshots echoed through the street.

“!”

As a barrage of bullets poured down, the target swiftly descended to the ground and began to sprint. The silhouette of a girl. It was a combatant belonging to the Ariel Group.

The robot units collectively changed direction.

The electrically charged artificial muscles vibrated subtly, and then the robots began their pursuit with unnatural flexibility.

In the sky, a drone squadron joined with the whirring sound of their wings.

“Enemy approaching! Retreat!”

“Evacuate at full speed!”

Violet lured them, and the unmanned patrol units and mixed forces pursued.

Similar engagements began to occur simultaneously across the entire Western District.

[E-C-4121 Sector, B-2 squad activating.]

[C-R-413 Sector, D-12 squad engaged. Requesting drone fire support.]

[F-A-023 Sector, vehicle-borne assault attempt. Suppression operation underway…]

The Western District, colored by engagement signals, was displayed on the command center’s three-dimensional hologram.

Director Kwabna, observing this, took a hit of an electronic stimulant and mumbled.

“Finally, the commencement. Guerrilla warfare is an obvious choice.”

It was a development within the expected range. If they leveraged numerical superiority, harassing the patrol units was a natural progression.

However, the situation was fully controllable. There was a reason for deploying electronic circuit-based unmanned weaponry despite operational range limitations and other difficulties.

‘For terrorists, they surprisingly seem to be wary of civilian casualties.’

Circleaf’s remaining combat records, civilian CCTV footage, and eyewitness testimonies proved this.

Perhaps for some cause of their own, they would refrain from using weapons with excessive lethality in urban combat.

In fact, even if excessive damage occurred, it didn’t matter to the Foundation. Considering their propaganda capabilities demonstrated during the previous broadcast station occupation, they could simply respond with a media campaign.

‘The atrocities of ruthless terrorists’ would be the best title.

“So, they want to decide the fight with numerical superiority. Let’s see whose numbers are greater, yours or ours.”

They must be miscalculating. Mistakenly believing that time is on their side. That’s why they’re deploying their forces so boldly.

They must intend to wage a war of attrition until the Foundation’s resources are depleted.

But the Foundation was fully prepared to punish that arrogance.

Time was on the Foundation’s side.

[Sample acquisition attempt failed – target fled]

A new alarm sounded. The operation that had been ordered seemed to be facing more difficulties than expected.

[Sample acquisition suspended – target self-destructed…]

“Director 02, multiple enemy aircraft have appeared over the Foundation’s strongholds.”

The operator’s calm report broke the stalemate. Director Kwabna focused on the hologram.

Red identified aircraft continuously appeared on the tactical map.

[Warning. Multiple low-speed aircraft approaching…]

“Similar tactics to the Magnabis raid.”

The slow aircraft, due to their un-concealable size, were circling the Foundation’s core facilities—airfields and supply depots—which were partially exposed externally.

Their number exceeded 300. Following them, new red trajectories rose from the ground. It was a rocket attack.

Despite feeling wonder at the numbers, the director carelessly waved his hand.

“Enemy aircraft identified. Multiple powered hang gliders.”

“Shoot them down.”

Even before the command from the control room was issued, anti-air turrets rotated and aimed at the ceiling. Beams of light tore through the atmosphere.

-Crackle!

The hang gliders were instantly disintegrated into ash.

The radar precisely captured the demise of the moth-like objects. The red aircraft in the hologram collapsed and vanished within seconds.

Red particles of burnt debris, detected by the quantum radar, scattered across the display.

Only three minutes, that was the time it took to eliminate the aerial threat.

‘Is that all?’

The director felt doubt. It was too clumsy.

Did they use the hang gliders as decoys to cover a rocket attack?

The alert posture was maintained, but intermittently launched rockets and hang gliders were helplessly shot down by the Foundation’s anti-air network.

It was excessively crude for an anti-air network disruption operation aimed at a rocket attack.

He doubted if this was truly the level of those enemies who had previously displayed excellent tactical capabilities.

As the doubts lingered, the scattered assaults that had continued several times suddenly ceased.

“Combat ended! Enemy forces in full retreat! Situation report – 0 dead, 10 wounded, 0 seriously injured!”

‘What’s their scheme? Are they trying to distract our aerial defenses while infiltrating special forces by ground or underground? No. It can’t be that simple…’

The scene from the radar suddenly flashed in Director Kwabna’s mind. The rocket, caught by the laser interception, burned away to nothingness.

‘Burned away to nothingness?’

Why didn’t it explode?

The staff cheered, relaying minor victories reported from various locations.

“Director, it seems we’ve completely suppressed them. The enemy’s tactics were unexpectedly clumsy. Urban combat is also in a lull–”

A smile appeared on the director’s lips, then quickly faded. His long tactical experience had stimulated his intuition.

‘It can’t end so clumsily. They wouldn’t wage a meaningless war of attrition.’

It wasn’t over yet. There must be another intention.

The thought that it might be a deception operation to reverse-track the anti-air network’s position crossed his mind.

The director quickly issued commands to his staff.

“Maintain alert status. A third offensive is imminent. Reassign anti-air battery positions in each sector to prepare for impact, and check optical camouflage systems and holograms. Immediately dispatch drone squadrons and upgraded flying monster units. And–”

Director Kwabna’s orders were cut short. The operator’s urgent report broke the silence in the control room.

“Enemy aircraft approaching again! High-speed aircraft identified! Three low-speed attack aircraft, diving maneuver in progress!”

The director watched the situation with sharp eyes. The aircraft type was an old propeller plane.

Are they attempting a dive attack?

The quantum radar scanned the atmosphere.

The collected data was processed by the system and rendered as a hologram. Friendly blue signals simultaneously deployed in the Western sky.

Soon, the laser anti-air network or friendly squadrons would put an end to that reckless charge.

Suddenly, Director 02 Kwabna’s pupils violently dilated.

“Damn it.”

From the burning, shattering aircraft, a single small petal fluttered down.

The petal split into two, then four, then eight.

Countless red petals began to descend slowly, yet ceaselessly, like a spring garden in bloom, or autumn leaves falling like rain.

They spread out infinitely, the red leaves.

They multiply exponentially, drawing a geometric progression curve.

“…My God.”

Even the operators on duty, reporting the situation, could not hide their astonishment.

The fluttering flower-like objects in the hologram, starting at 5 centimeters per second, instantly accelerated to over 10 meters per second as they fell.

Along with countless deception signals scattered around them.

The sky on the holographic tactical map turned red.

The Foundation’s technical staff deserved praise at this moment. Even amidst this chaos, the quantum phase radar and analysis algorithms had exerted all their power to pinpoint the targets.

Thanks to this, Director 02 was barely able to identify the true nature of the petals that were disrupting the anti-air network.

They were humanoid targets approaching while dispersing countless magical decoys.

“Damn it… there are too many.”

The Tactical Containment Department Director, upon confirming the analysis results, gritted his teeth.

“Air raid! Issue immediate alerts to all Foundation management facilities!”

It was already too late. The sky was saturated with complex deception signals.

As the dark sky was painted with the smoke and light beams created by the anti-air system and enemy squadrons, the Violets flapped their wings like bats, traversing the black sky.

Crude rocket thrusters were burning on the girls’ backs.

“Flying! Charge! Targets are the anti-air network and facilities!”

“Fallingggg!”

**

Had anyone been awake, they would have observed streaks of light pouring down like a meteor shower from the ground.

It was the perfect sight for making a wish.

Thus, a rain of four thousand five hundred wing-suited guided bombs plunged towards the ground.