episode_0390

The signal within the machine tube gradually pulsated. Click, click, click.

Like a heartbeat, like a second hand racing towards an alarm.

The rhythm accelerated, and with every increase in speed, the blurry chrysalis beyond the glass window quivered.

Footsteps approaching from the darkness resonated with the reverberation.

The footsteps stopped. The rhythm ceased with them.

—Hiss!

With a hiss of cold air, the machine tube in the corner opened. Under the frigid light, the true form of the chrysalis was revealed.

The translucent chrysalis twitched, then swayed unsteadily. Its end had arrived.

With a tearing sound, a white hand suddenly shot out. Then, the upper body was revealed.

The being, covered in translucent fluid, seemed dazed for a moment before wiping its face as if shaking off morning dew.

Beneath that, vividly outlined green hair, reaching down to its waist, was revealed.

A young woman with unfocused eyes stood there.

…

“Congratulations.”

The staff member, who had been standing in an emergency standby posture, spoke, lifting a tablet.

As the monitor turned on, a neatly dressed man with green hair waved his hand with a triumphant smile.

[Hello, me.]

With a dazed mind, the woman turned towards the source of the sound.

As soon as she recognized the figure on the screen, her eyes widened considerably.

[Or perhaps I should call you this: Chairman Raihan Valence. Good morning, good evening, and good night.]

[What you’re thinking is correct. If you’re watching this video, then the ‘me’ here is already dead.]

Even as she savored the flood of information, new footsteps approached.

[—Then, I hope you will definitely carry on the will of my failed self. My future self!]

The screen turned off. At that moment, people entered the hangar.

Those at the front were struck with shock upon recognizing the identity of the person in the tube.

“No way, is that you?”

Secretary-General Pagan’s voice trembled.

The shapeshifter exclaimed dramatically.

“Despite the heinous acts of the wicked terrorists! That person has returned! From hell!”

The woman in the tube flashed a brilliant smile. It was an enchanting smile, as if it would steal the heart of anyone who saw it.

“It’s been a while, Brother. Or should I call you Oppa?”

**

An hour later, Raihan, having changed into an elegant suit, settled comfortably into the office chair.

“Clone… Ariel…”

Letting the words of Luminexa’s board of directors flow past her ears, she murmured with an enraptured expression.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the flood of data and months of events pouring before her eyes.

Her eyes greedily followed the information scrolling at high speed on the tablet.

“Did you set up a device in Hellman’s tube beforehand? For resurrection? The tube you inhabited was someone else’s just two months ago.”

To Pagan, who couldn’t hold back his interrogation, Raihan replied indifferently.

“I implanted my embryo with a timer, just in case. It grew by using that body as a host. I didn’t expect it to take this long, though!”

The woman, who had been shrugging triumphantly, then pointed out with a dissatisfied tone.

“By the way, resurrection, Oppa. Isn’t that a bit of an inappropriate term for the Secretary-General of Luminexa, who should be leading the science of the Academy City? Such literary rhetoric may be a metaphor for my revival, but it’s far from an accurate and scientific definition. The true ‘Raihan’ lost his life then to the blade of an Ariel Group executive.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Raihan instantly drained the high-calorie protein drink brought by the staff member beside her.

A sigh escaped her. “Ah, I’ll live. This body consumes a tremendous amount of calories, you see? I regenerated it based on the body of a war hero with relatively little fame, but it’s quite a burden.”

One of the directors raised his voice, as if dumbfounded.

“Anyway, let’s say all of that is fine. The shapeshifter said you had the answer. What is that answer? And to think you’d return with your gender changed. What exactly is your identity now? Are you really the chairman? Are you truly that Raihan?”

“An interesting identity question! Genetically speaking, I am that Raihan! But I am distinctly different from the chairman of Laplaxiya! He and I are entirely separate entities. However, I pride myself on having inherited his cultural genes—his memes—and his will. So, I am indeed Raihan, aren’t I? Hahahaha.”

Before the woman, who was laughing vivaciously, the directors pondered how to respond.

They knew he was an eccentric who wouldn’t hesitate to conduct human experiments, but to think he’d even return as a woman.

“Chairman, first-”

Just as someone’s question was about to begin, the chairman rose from her seat with an elegant smile.

The sound of clapping echoed in the air, three times.

“Now! Now, listen up. I’ve fully grasped the situation. Luminexa has fallen. Laplaxiya has become merely a hollow name, and its substance has already become prey for other pharmaceutical companies and research institutes. Am I right?”

Her voice continued, with a wink.

“In moments of crisis, one must find a breakthrough through new challenges. Fortunately, you have a genius of the century and his subordinates, remaining assets, and historical clues! By the way, you know what the Devil of Evolution is, don’t you, Oppa?”

The Secretary-General let out a short sigh toward his younger sister, who was smiling while pointing at her temple.

He knew all too well that she would interrogate him endlessly if he didn’t answer.

“It’s a concept from the history of science. A hypothetical life form that adapts to any environment, instantly births and reproduces, possesses eternal life, and has no natural predators.”

“Correct!”

At the answer from her brother—who was once her elder brother—Raihan smiled brightly like a child.

“Therefore, we must create the Devil of Evolution!”

The director sitting next to her could no longer tolerate her audacious attitude and exploded.

“Ridiculous! You’re nothing more than a pseudo-shapeshifter! Speak realistically. Don’t you know the foundation’s current predicament? We’re nowhere near recovering from the situation and regaining our strength, and you want to start another massive project? You monstrosity. If it weren’t for your abilities, you would have been disposed of long ago for the things you pulled during your time on the board!”

The chairman’s eyes narrowed chillingly.

“Director Yusif 05, was I such an eyesore to you?”

“What are you suddenly…”

“Now that I think about it, you were one of the most proactive people in trying to expel me when I was a director, weren’t you?”

Raihan raised her right arm towards him.

“We don’t need talent that fails to understand innovation. You’re fired.”

“What?”

Her arm transformed grotesquely in an instant.

The arm, transformed into an arthropod-like appendage, stretched long, slicing through the air and forming a sharp blade.

—Splat!

Director 05’s skull shattered in the blink of an eye.

The remaining director screamed.

“Kill her!”

Security guards rushed forward, and gunshots rang out.

Her body, which should have been shattered in the barrage, instantly transformed, lashing through the air like a whip.

“Gasp!”

—Crunch!

Screams filled the office. The interior instantly dyed crimson.

Only the Secretary-General gazed at the scene with an expressionless face.

Raihan, drenched in the blood of others, licked the sword-shaped appendage of her right arm with the tip of her tongue, a chilling smile on her face.

“I would have preferred to avoid such vulgar methods.”

Footsteps rushing from outside the door echoed.

The door burst open forcefully, and a man in white armor along with Blockade Enforcement Unit agents poured in. The triumphant director shouted.

“You came at the right time! Hellman, deal with that!”

Hellman stood motionless. Soon after, Raihan’s voice rang out.

“Deal with them.”

As soon as the clear command fell, Hellman turned around and shot arrows at the Blockade Enforcement Unit agents.

The corridor was filled with desperate screams, which gradually subsided.

“Why…”

“Did you forget that I am Hellman’s developer? Making Hellman recognize my pheromones and genes to give me the highest command authority is a basic of basics. Director 09, you’re fired too.”

—Slish!

Another director’s headless body rolled on the floor. Now, only the Secretary-General remained, standing motionless.

“Now, Oppa. It’s all over. Hand over the position of Secretary-General.”

Towards the woman approaching with an elegant smile, the Secretary-General spat out words filled with contempt and rage.

“You’re a madwoman… Do you think the others in the foundation will acknowledge you if you do this?”

“Most ordinary people prioritize their own lives, you see. They’ll have no choice but to acknowledge me.”

“How foolish I was in the past to spare you just because you were my sibling. You truly are mad. You’ve committed all sorts of insane acts in the name of scientific progress. And now you’ve even changed your gender…”

“You’re being too harsh, in this age of diversity? Really. This was a novel attempt to defeat that Bernike woman.”

A moment of bewilderment flashed across his face.

“That woman again? What exactly is Bernike that you’re so obsessed with her?”

“Because she’s the one who humiliated me, of course. This body came about after several considerations. It was an attempt to understand the enemy better by matching their gender, you see.”

Raihan wore a sad expression, as if genuinely disappointed.

“People call what they don’t understand madness, don’t they? Even you, Oppa, born with the same genes as me, have ultimately fallen into the category of ordinary people. Your foundation’s operation was destined to fail from the moment you exiled me. Indeed, Oppa, you are foolish.”

Her left arm appendage grasped Pagan’s neck. Ruthless pressure tightened his windpipe.

“…Gasp!…Of course…are you saying I should have just left someone who spouted liberalism while committing human experiments?”

Raihan retorted without a single change in expression. Her attitude suggested it was no problem at all.

“It was necessary. It was better than standing by and letting powerful barbarians who can’t even run a convenience store on their own, and self-proclaimed nobles, rule the world. Even Adriana, the hero I admire, was a liberal. And that old Valefor, he was an activist with such ideals in his prime, wasn’t he?”

“You heard the truth when you were a director, didn’t you? What kind of tragedy that… naive idea brought about! Adriana committed suicide after the war! Do you know why… she did that? All because of the gate that her foolish comrades opened with their naive hearts! What you’re committing… is also…”

“Do I look like one of those fools, Oppa?”

The pressure from the appendage squeezing his neck intensified further. Secretary-General Pagan’s complexion turned pale.

“Gah…Gasp…”

Now, only one person continued speaking.

“Be honest with yourself. Luminexa and Laplaxiya are no different. How was raiding research institutes and organizations to extract information to create data for alien battleships, even removing memories from brains and turning people into imbeciles, any different from my experiments? We are the same.”

“Guh…Guh-huhh…”

The Secretary-General’s vision blurred. Then came the final pronouncement.

“So just admit it, Pagan. You were afraid of me, weren’t you? You’re the same kind of human as I am. You just couldn’t be honest about it.”

“!”

Raihan slowly raised her free right arm appendage.

—Thwack!

Her right arm appendage pierced through the Secretary-General’s head.

The limp body swung like a pendulum in the air for a moment.

The groans disappeared, and only a bizarre sucking sound, similar to a vacuum cleaner, filled the office.

“Hmm, memory transfer is proceeding smoothly…”

Suddenly, an intense joy flashed through her entire body.

Information flowed into her mind.

Raihan inhaled sharply.

“Indeed, ahh…”

Although she had vaguely guessed through the limited information given earlier, the deep confidential information that Luminexa’s leader had kept hidden instilled a conviction far beyond her expectations.

Joy exploded in her mind as if fireworks were bursting.

“Truly, I never thought this would happen.”

Raihan, or rather, Raihan Unit 2, let out a low gasp of admiration, as if deeply moved.

She even felt pity for her previous ‘self’ who had perished at the threshold of truth.

“I was right! I was right! Hahahaha! Indeed, my conjectures weren’t mistaken!”

Raihan burst into a mad laugh, savoring her victory.

A being that proliferates endlessly, perfectly adapts to any environment, and is immortal with no natural predators.

It finally existed.

“You! It was you all along! The answer I had been searching for, the ultimate power!”

The Ariels before her were living milestones, proving that the ideal she had so desperately yearned for was a reality.

The fact that she hadn’t created it herself left a slight pang of regret, but what did it matter?

The theoretical possibility had already been perfectly disproven by the existence before her eyes.

The Devil of Evolution was a reality, not an absurd delusion.

“To fail to recognize such immense value and try to crush it! The foundation deserved to be ruined.”

In her intense excitement, Luminexa’s downfall no longer felt like a regrettable incident, but rather an inevitable conclusion.

No, it was foolish enough to deserve even more than downfall.

To have a being that might brightly illuminate humanity’s future before their eyes, and instead consider it an enemy and wage a reckless war!

What foolishness on the part of Luminexa’s board of directors, to try and shatter the glorious future that would descend upon the world themselves?

The opponent was a growing Devil of Evolution.

It was nothing short of inviting their own destruction.

“However, there’s still a long way to go.”

Raihan calmly faced reality.

The mountains to overcome were numerous and stacked. From insufficient available funds to woefully inadequate facilities, everything felt like a hindrance to her ambition.

“There are far too many foolish individuals who fail to grasp my noble intentions. For the ignorant and violent, enlightenment and re-education must precede.”

What’s more, destructive power like that of a devil can only truly realize its value under the control of a genius intellect.

The Ariel Group was also still insufficient to be called a perfect Devil of Evolution.

To fight against the devils from distant dimensions, that alone would not be enough.

Nevertheless, Raihan’s chest swelled with conviction in herself.

Infinite potential for evolution and development remained.

She turned towards the Laplaxiya staff and shapeshifter who had been waiting, holding their breath, behind her.

“How many Laplaxiya remnants are currently left? And how many personnel are willing to cooperate with me?”

“Regrettably, the number is minuscule. The personnel identified so far are…”

“In that case, we’ll need to secure more personnel.”

For the time being, it was a time to move meticulously and discreetly.

If she were to act rashly, she might clash once more with the Ariel Group, to which the man who took her life belonged.

In her current incomplete state, victory could not be guaranteed.

Finding a compromise through peaceful dialogue with them was already out of the question.

A truly sad reality.

Thirty minutes later, the new Secretary-General, who had seized control of Luminexa’s internal communication network, issued a declaration to all foundation members, announcing the dawn of a new era.

“To all foundation members: I hereby declare that as of today, I, Raihan Valence, am the new Secretary-General of Luminexa! From now on, the top priority for Luminexa’s new leap forward will be-”

Her thoughts spread unchecked, like the roots of a tree.

The ultimate devil she would create, and the Ariel Group’s devils already existing in reality.

Who, indeed, would be the ultimate victor?

Just imagining it sent shivers through her entire body.

Of course, the devil she would create would win. She was confident.

In truth, she even questioned if victory or defeat truly mattered.

The most crucial thing was merely the success of the noble experiment, proving humanity’s new possibilities.

Nothing more.

From beyond the communication network, voices of fierce opposition poured forth. Unintelligent commotions condemning her coup.

“The wheat will be separated from the chaff, won’t it?”

Raihan murmured softly, flicking her fingers lightly.

Behind her, loyal subordinates who had long awaited thawing in the machine tubes stood lined up like shadows.

The chairman’s eyes gleamed coldly.

“Let’s go. To take over Luminexa.”

She tied her hair back and stepped forward.

**

It was then that Violet, who had been napping, felt a chill and awoke.

“Gasp!”

Unit 1 scratched her head at the ominous feeling.

“Guys! I had a scary dream!”

“What was it?”

“It was a dream about a green-ponytail woman tormenting our Violet!”

Unit 2 retorted.

“That’s a silly dream, go back to sleep!”

“Is that so?”

Unit 1 was convinced.

“You’re right!”

Violet closed her eyes again. She needed to get some rest.

As tomorrow was the day the construction of the Red Zone factory would officially begin.

“I hate ponytails…”