episode_0361

The airship that landed on the sea instantly shattered into pieces. The word “disassembly” was not an exaggeration at all. The Violets hanging onto the drifting airship literally dismantled and broke down each piece of equipment.

“Tear it all apart! We can recycle the weapons and sell the scrap metal!” “Can’t we just repair and use it?” “The engine’s gone, and it’s all submerged in seawater! It’s soaked in salt, so we can’t. It’ll be faster to just buy a new one.”

Whispering through the network, the Violets ripped off all the usable equipment. From the console to the control devices, and even what appeared to be a black box. They didn’t know mechanical engineering, so they couldn’t reassemble it after tearing it apart, but what they truly wanted was something else.

“The location of their biggest base!”

While the prisoners floating helplessly on the water watched, the Violets swiftly finished their work. Just as they were preparing to withdraw, everyone’s gaze turned skyward. As they had heard, something massive was approaching from beyond.

“They’re here! The Inspector!”

A colossal, heavily armed airship, incomparably larger than the one they had just shot down, was descending towards the sea surface, spewing black smoke. Soon after, a massive shadow, reminiscent of a whale, covered the water’s surface. A giant airship then landed on the sea.

-Splash!

A huge wave surged in all directions. As the Violets, drenched in seawater, watched, a figure burst through the ceiling of the large, smoke-emitting airship’s bridge. It was Seijis, a sturdy and nimble man in a jet-black uniform, just like the Ariel Group.

“Inspec… no, our boss is here!” “It’s the boss! Woohoo!”

The Violets cheered, raising their hands high.

**

The male Inspector’s current role was the Ariel Group’s wicked leader. He had occasionally been active before, appearing at Raihan’s execution, but with the emergence of super-powerful hunters wielding incredible martial arts skills, it was also to warn the other side. He would also serve to slightly disrupt them.

“Did you find it?” “We’ve extracted the storage device for now. Rescue teams will be here soon. Finish them off before that.” “Understood!”

The Violets once again charged at the large airship floating on the water. Resistance was now meaningless.

“Aargh! Ariel everywhere!”

Soon after, red flames soared above the water’s surface.

**

While the localized battle with them continued for one to two weeks, good news arrived.

“Look at this, I passed!” “Wow! Good job!”

It was the news that Enrica had finally passed. She proudly held up her acceptance certificate and smiled brightly.

“When I enroll in September! I won’t be able to see the Violets often after that, but I’ll keep in touch!” “Yeah! Do that! No, wait, how about I just deploy another one of myself?” “…That could work.”

Since it was a magic academy, it wouldn’t be bad to secretly follow Enrica and hide in her dormitory, just to check it out. If necessary, it would be good to plant another one of myself there. Enrica wouldn’t be bored either.

“Thanks to the data we brought from the lab last time, my friends seem to be waking up soon. If things go well, I might even be able to help my friends prepare for academy enrollment.” “That’s great too!”

Enrica’s expression suddenly darkened as she continued speaking.

“But the Foundation is still there. The academy hasn’t said anything special, but I briefly heard from the admissions office that a clan under the Foundation came looking.”

Ah, that must have been her worry. All of this had started when those bad guys’ Containment Enforcement Unit had taken Enrica.

“Those Foundation bastards! To think they have time to worry about Enrica even while fighting us!”

But there was nothing more to fear. They had taken a big hit from the midnight raid.

“Don’t worry! The Foundation guys will become fools soon enough. Then they won’t know about you, and they won’t chase you anymore, right?” “Is that so? Thank you for that, Violet! But…”

As if resolved, Enrica picked up her staff and stood up.

“I’ve been in the background because I was told to be, but I don’t think I can just keep receiving help. Everyone’s fighting the Foundation, aren’t they? Your friends, Violet, and the other adults too.”

“Huh, you mean…”

“I’ve only been in the background until now, but I want to fight those Foundation guys with my own power too!”

At the unexpected remark, the network fell into a dilemma. Helping was good, but Enrica’s firepower was excessive. Furthermore, she had just finished her enrollment. Getting involved in such matters might not be good.

“What about your academy enrollment?”

Enrica retorted firmly.

“It’s fine, I can just wear a mask! Like Violet! And attach a recognition-inhibiting device!”

“But…”

The answer came the next moment.

“And the Foundation guys must have a lot of money. I’ll punish them and use their money for my tuition.”

“Oho!”

Our Violets couldn’t help but admire her capitalist, creative idea.

“Alright! But you must strictly follow our instructions, just like last time!” “Understood!”

**

The first memories a young puppy felt were darkness and warmth, and the harsh light.

“Woof!”

She missed her mom. Still, she wasn’t lonely. Because she had friends!

There were many friends here. Most of them were puppies with yellow fur like herself, but there were also friends with black fur and white fur.

“Growl!” “Yelp!”

The puppies played and ran around with each other. After playing excitedly for a while, the puppy, who occasionally looked around, noticed that people in white lab coats often observed them. One day, the puppy was moved to a special room.

“The intelligence scores of subject group 3 show significant results. Their mana affinity is also oddly high. Genetic analysis shows that the C-G-123F segment, which determines total mana, shows a distinct difference from normal subjects.”

“This seems like a suitable candidate for the Evolution’s Devil Project. We’ll select it as a subject for cognitive enhancement surgery, also to certify biochip replacement.”

Everything changed after the puppy woke up from surgery. Her mind cleared as if a fog had lifted, and the surrounding sounds and smells became more vivid. She could also understand human speech more easily. Eating snacks more easily was a bonus.

“Remarkable. Frontal lobe activity has increased dramatically.” “Mana circuit formation is also stable. Ether absorption rate is increasing by 0.8% per hour.”

New experiments continued every day. Recognizing herself in the mirror, running the difficult course in the training ground once a day. Other puppy friends also underwent similar changes. They became much faster and stronger.

It was on such a training day.

“Good! Well done!” “Pant pant pant!”

“Alright. This is enough. We’ll move on to the next stage…”

While she wagged her tail, waiting for a reward, an alarm blared. The lab shook. Explosions were heard in the distance.

“It’s an Ariel Group attack! Immediately transfer the subjects! What about the data?” “All encrypted and being sent to the backup server!”

The puppies were hurriedly put into transport cages. Once the confusion subsided, the animals had to wait a long time in a dark room illuminated only by dim emergency lights.

“Whine! Whimper!”

She wasn’t scared. Because she had friends.

“Whimper…”

How much time had passed? The puppies were moved to a new lab.

“Why were these subjects chosen? Aren’t normal subjects enough?” “These are specially designed subjects for the project. They’ve undergone gene modification and mana adaptation training, putting them in a state very similar to human mana characteristics. They’ll be able to perfectly mimic the Ariel Group’s mana patterns.”

“The human experimentation phase is…” “After going through this stage and confirming the results are within expectations, we will proceed immediately. We need to confirm their defense mechanism against the new strain of the Corvus Virus.”

After that, it was confusing. First, a red light hovered around the puppy’s cage. Then, after a small injection, her head pulsed. It was then that black smoke suddenly began to spread.

“Yelp! Yelp!”

First, a yellow puppy writhed and scratched at the floor. From the puppy’s paws, she slowly turned black, then crumbled like ash and flew away. It was her closest sister.

A white puppy nearby let out a cry of pain, then suddenly fell silent. She was a friend who loved jerky.

“Whine… whine…”

The puppy watched the scene, then belatedly discovered her own tail crumbling.

“Yelp!”

As the puppy thrashed in surprise, her friends one by one collapsed around her. One by one, their entire bodies instantly turned black and shattered into pieces.

Pain arrived. The puppy was scared. Even with her young mind, she knew. Death was approaching.

How long did she cry and tremble in pain? Her body was a mess, but the pain gradually subsided.

“…Interesting result. Subject 3 survived. Could it be… an immune response? What’s the reason?” “My goodness, could mana be the cause?” “Further observation is needed. We almost missed the potential for a mutation.”

A moment later, the puppy received emergency treatment and returned to her cage. Tears welled up in the eyes of the solitary puppy.

“Whine…”

The floor was as cold as the broken, cooled pieces of her friends. Her friends’ screams kept echoing in her ears.

‘No friends…’ The fact of being alone made the puppy feel even more helpless.

‘Where is everyone…’ In pain, fear, and injustice, the puppy cried alone.

And so, she was left alone.

She had expected it.

It was then, as the puppy whimpered in despair, that strange sounds began to be heard in her head.

A powerful prelude, shaking her head like thunder.

-For the firm unity of free animals!

-The great Violet has achieved it forever!

“…”

As the puppy looked around, a curious sight unfolded before her eyes. Many animals proudly singing in a red light. The song echoing in her head became increasingly clear.

-Praise! The free friendship of animals!

-The friendship of animals is an unshakeable fortress!

“!”

The vision soon vanished, but the song, having pushed away the screams, continued to reverberate in her head.

The puppy whimpered once more. There was no longer any sorrow in the falling tears.

“Growl…”

The puppy’s eyes, looking into the void, had somehow begun to glow red.