episode_0394

When I blinked my eyes awake, I was standing in a strange landscape I had never seen before.

“Where is this?”

“Right?”

While the other Violets looked around in confusion, a familiar network signal came in.

“Huh? Number 10! You’re dreaming!”

“How amazing. This is the first time I’ve had a dream like this!”

Ah, I see. This was a dream. Is it because our numbers have increased? Lately, dreams I have while sleeping often appeared on the network, just like a real-time stream.

If so, what kind of dream could this possibly be?

“Number 10! Stay still! Let us watch.”

“Alright!”

The Violets, who were waiting with nothing to do, all simultaneously turned their gaze to the Violet Plaza within the network. As a gigantic screen unfolded, a strange and marvelous world unfolded within it.

“Woah!”

An alien sun emitting a blue light floated in the sky. Surrounding it were countless buildings that appeared to be made of white and yellow metal and sleek ceramic. Anyone could tell it was different from Trist. Everywhere were buildings that rose cleanly without seams, like a single stalk of bamboo. The outlines of the city were all massive and grand. Especially in the distance, a colossal structure extended all the way to the edge of the sky. Its form was reminiscent of Jack and the Beanstalk from a fairy tale.

“That’s an orbital elevator!”

“Huh?”

When I turned around, a blue-haired girl in a stiff white ceremonial robe and a girl in a military uniform stood there. Even the Fusion subordinates are in my dream.

“It’s a magnificent sight created by my creators! How is it? Ruzilin? Isn’t it amazing?”

“An orbital elevator… It truly is amazing.”

While Kale babbled in an excited voice, Cheolkwon silently nodded and listened intently. Could my dream and her dream be connected? Or perhaps this isn’t my dream, but hers.

It was then. Suddenly, the surroundings grew noisy. Strange creatures that looked like a mix of lobsters and octopuses appeared. They were aliens. Strangely, their words were clearly audible.

“No! The tyrant has reached our home planet! Have we been discovered?!”

A lobster alien gesticulated with its pincers towards the sky and screamed. At the end of it, colossal gates stretching far into the sky were visible.

-Whoosh!

From within them, grotesque airships and hordes of magic beasts poured out. Flashes of light sparkled across the ground, and beings radiating an ominous aura appeared. They were apostles.

The screams were brief. Another lobster alien shouted in a booming voice.

“Do not prostrate yourselves! We have nothing to be ashamed of! People, we die for freedom!”

The hesitating lobster aliens simultaneously clacked their pincers together and raised their weapons.

“For sovereignty and freedom!”

“Death to the dictator from another realm!”

Amidst the shouts, strangely shaped fighters and flying battleships confronted the terrifying forces pouring down from the sky. The lobster aliens were astonishingly brave. Mysterious weapons spewed flames, shooting down enemy battleships, and artillery fire from the lobster aliens’ battleships shattered flying magic beasts as large as mountains. When the apostles stretched out their hands and twisted reality, the lobster aliens countered with mysterious mechanical weapons. Vast energy clashed with authority, and mystery contended with technology.

But the resistance was short-lived. There were too many magic beasts, and the apostles shattered countless lobster aliens’ machines. At that sight, Kale and Cheolkwon expressed their anger.

“Gasp! My creators are dying!”

“…Evil magic beasts!”

It was then. Beyond the gates in the sky, the faint form of an even greater being vaguely appeared.

The gigantic being’s gaze ‘saw’ the world.

Suddenly, my head reeled dizzily, as if I had caught a severe fever. Why is this happening?

“The dream is suddenly getting scary!”

As the blurry form beyond the gate stared at the world, the lobster aliens, who had been fighting so hard, struggled as if they had fallen into boiling water. Battleships and all weapons aimed at the giant, but the attacks melted away like cotton candy touching water.

The very last remaining lobster alien bled blue blood and struggled to stand up. It raised its trembling pincers and cried out.

“I will not obey! Curse the tyrant!”

And then I woke up from my sleep. We blinked blankly.

“It was an incredible blockbuster movie!”

“It was quite scary, but the battle scenes were amazing too!”

The Violets chatted about the dream for a long time as they greeted the morning. Looking at reality, Cheolkwon and Kale were still asleep.

“…No…we lost….”

“If Trist ends up like that too…that would be bad…”

Amidst that, I discovered an interesting fact.

“Even Fusions talk in their sleep…”

I quietly closed the hangar door.

**

Kale’s brief dream about the world was short-lived. We had to prepare for a war that might come someday. The Red Zone erosion areas of the Karnak Archipelago were preparing something terrible to resist us. The noticeable decrease in magic beast offensives since mid-September was the proof. Surely, something big might be happening beneath the surface.

“We need to build a large airfield!”

“That alone isn’t enough. Let’s develop an air force!”

I should urge Hekatonkheir to develop his own helicopters. If I just give him one of our operational transport helicopters and tell him to dismantle it himself, he should be able to replicate it. Surely, by incorporating alien technology, he’ll be able to improve its performance even further. And then we’ll have to develop our own air force fighters.

“Securing air superiority is the key to victory!”

If we create powerful fighters, we’ll be able to gain an advantage in battles outside the dungeon. Because someday, the day will come when we have to fight air battleships too. Restraidna and Arcith had many such weapons. Not to mention the Federation.

“What about the fighters we’ve been using?”

“Under maintenance! We overworked them too much, didn’t we?”

The fighters were heavily used in the fight against Luminexa. If she were a Fusion, we would have received complaints long ago. Since they’re under maintenance, moving them to the island is impossible for now. For now, one is being disassembled, reassembled, and analyzed, so we can expect some results.

“It’s a lull, then.”

I casually kicked the grassy field of this island. There was no reaction. I’ve already thoroughly explored or circled various parts of the island, but it doesn’t seem like anything significant will come out of it for now. Calling allies or friends didn’t seem helpful in the current situation.

“Alright, at times like this, there are only one or two people worth calling.”

Even without that, I was starting to want to fight against someone stronger as a sparring partner. The urge to use a sword gradually grew stronger in my mind and kept increasing. A powerful sense of challenge surged.

“Is it the after-effect of absorbing the fake Raix?”

That’s right. Perhaps the war hero within me is crying out. I’ve tried various things so far, but the swordsmanship I surely absorbed was frustratingly on the verge of surfacing yet eluding me. If I gave my full power, as if dusting off a dusty bookshelf, I felt I could pull up fragments of unseen memories. Indeed, there was only one person who could draw out my full power. And this person could effortlessly move around even in such a harsh Red Zone, even bare-handed.

The Violet command, while taking a turn to rest, decided to deploy new forces.

“Let’s call the Inspector!”

**

During the peaceful time, we gradually proceeded with external matters that we hadn’t paid attention to before. First, organizing delivery work, and also finding ways to become stronger.

“So this is Vesperia!”

While I was at it, following a friend’s connections, I also visited another prestigious academy in the south. If Aegis was a clean and modern campus, Vesperia was truly an avant-garde place. It was certainly far from traditional. Although there were people who looked like they popped out of the Middle Ages wearing cloaks, modern attire was also mixed in. The buildings also had no old castles or common novel-like towers. Outwardly, it just looked like large crystals were floating around, and occasionally people were flying.

However, why did a strange atmosphere permeate everywhere? Feeling a suspicious aura, I checked if there was any vacant space underground here. I should plant a clone.

“Wait! We decided to stop planting clones inside academies for the time being, didn’t we?”

Oh, right, we did. I’ll stop planting myself.

“Enrica, how’s the academy?”

“It’s super fun! There’s so much new stuff to learn! And best of all, the academy gave me this! It’s a tool that helps suppress and manage my constitution!” She proudly pointed to a large disk-shaped ornament hanging around her neck.

“It says this suppresses my radiation constitution!”

It seems the academy peeked into Enrica’s abilities and decided to correct them in their own way. For now, it didn’t look bad.

“Well, that’s good then! Your friends will also gradually wake up from their coma!”

“Right! I’m super excited! I have to introduce you to them too! Hehe.”

She smiled brightly. Pushing the data from Enrica’s lab and badgering Aunt Phoebe was effective. The aunt who had been spouting incomprehensible theories about biochemistry and nano-molecular technology quickly devised a way to wake Enrica’s friends.

Well, things were going well. That was enough. If things go smoothly once this year finishes, I thought about enrolling in this academy around next year.

“Yes, I feel like I need new learning!”

I should ask Leslie, the manager of the Human Resources Agency, to create a fake identity for me after a long time. I also want to try enrolling in other unique academies. They also said that the place Luminexa managed, I think it was Arturia, was a good place.

“Enrica, no one’s bothering you, right?”

“Nope! No one. The seniors are all kind. The professors are a bit strict, but they teach me everything I ask!”

“That’s good then. If you sense anything strange, let me know right away!”

“Alright!”

If there were, from that day on, in Vesperia, I wouldn’t leave anything larger than a small Violet, not even a single cornerstone.

Enrica turned around, her orange hair swaying, and walked back with light steps. This work is done, and it’s about time I did something for our prospective junior girl. I don’t know how to apply my power in other ways. Though I did mention it to the Violet Research Lab.

Besides, I’ve left too much to Lucian lately. I had to do something before this cunning magic boy stole our recognition and popularity from the boys and girls who follow him.

“How about an amusement park? Or a resort! A beach, I mean.”

“Let’s do it then! Let’s get her out of the hospital room!”

I had secretly taken her out before. The hospital seemed to severely restrict outings, but who cares? But that wasn’t enough. It would be good to go out for a long time too.

While I was lost in these thoughts, the tearing roar of a jet plane thundered from the sky. I, in the Red Zone, raised my head.

“They’re here!”

The Inspector arrived at the Red Zone base.

“Hello! It’s Seijis!”

The Falchion transport plane landed on the temporary airfield. The ramp opened, and Seijis, who had disembarked, opened his eyes wide.

“Hellooooo!”

He barely acknowledged the enthusiastic welcome from the Violet battalion. As Seijis looked around, shock filled his lifeless black eyes. The color of shock turned into confusion, then horror, and his tactical immersion, within fractured frames, also felt other emotions. A hint of anticipation… And what was the other? Hope?

Well, I’ll ask about his impressions as we go.

“This is… where did you say?”

Seijis, rarely showing a surprised expression. I replied with a playful smile.

“Welcome to Violet Central Base!”

It was nearing October.