NOVEL NEXT Chapter 367
Six hours after the pesticide was sprayed, three transport aircraft soared over the black sea.
Finding Violet turned out to be easier than expected.
Immediately after the incident, Sageis received a call while assessing the situation and moved without hesitation.
After flying for quite a while in a Palcion vertical take-off and landing aircraft, he was greeted in the hangar by a serious-looking girl who was a Fusion Creature with black hair.
All the animals had scattered or hidden away, so only this Fusion Creature girl knew the whereabouts of the subject.
“Don’t worry, the Violet commanders are safe here.”
Where Rugilinn’s Iron Fist pointed was the Karnak Archipelago, located right in the middle of the world map.
The friends who had hurriedly followed the Scholarship Officer let out sighs of relief before being left speechless at the absurdity.
“A Red Zone…?”
The Red Zone. That place is an area where humans cannot set foot.
“…A Red Zone? Of all places? When did they set up camp there…?”
Kalia chuckled incredulously. Others seemed to agree with serious expressions on their faces.
I already knew they established hideouts or warehouses on uninhabited islands, but this was a leap into a forbidden, uncharted territory.
Ironically, hiding in the world’s most dangerous location became a clever move to evade the ambush of Rumyx.
Although Sageis confirmed the subject’s safety, his mind was convoluted again.
‘The clans united this quickly?’
For Sageis, who was plotting a macro plan for the next four years, this situation was a double-edged sword.
Until now, the four major clans had only cooperated when necessary, otherwise not interfering with each other or sticking to their own interests.
‘There may be a common interest, but the goals of the clans and the Federal Army are fundamentally different. A complete agreement was likely impossible… This means they viewed Violet as a threat.’
The stubborn Restraid dreamed of driving monsters away with the power of giant weapons and ruling all of humanity by founding the Arnor Empire.
The cunning Grand Mage of Magnavis merely longed for the revival of the good old days and didn’t look favorably on anyone stepping up to be a king or lord.
The dreamy Rumyx and Laplacian pursued the transcendence of humanity in their own ways.
The sinister Arshite seemed to have been up to something against humanity and alien empires, but now that he had failed, it was unclear.
The Federal Army was no different; the Senate Chairman and the military’s supreme commander hoped to collapse the current clan system and regain complete control.
However, the myriad of internal factions made the reality far more complex than the surface conflicts suggested.
‘Considering the clans associated with the academies, the interests of businesses and families, and individuals, the situation becomes even more complicated…’
The true cooperation of the clans would only be achieved five years later, when the invasion became a reality.
On the day the sky split open and the lord of Monad directly cast his gaze upon the earth, the ordinary people fell into madness and cried out for the end. Only then did the titans of humanity attempt to unite.
But it was too late.
Yeah, I could understand this much.
Yet, an unidentified sense of unease constantly lingered in his mind.
Like the invisible poison left at the fire scene, it relentlessly constricted his thoughts.
The flow of prolonged contemplation was abruptly interrupted by his sister’s muttering.
“By the way, are the clan kids out of their minds? Out of all the weapons, they chose a biological weapon! And using the Corbus Infection? What if other people get hurt? And then they shamelessly lie like this…”
Sophie El, furious at the clan’s misdeeds, had her gaze fixated on the tablet screen.
[Spokesperson Announcement: ‘The Ariel Group has stumbled over their own arrogance.’]
[Witness the demise of the wicked terrorists. They developed biological weapons through the staff of the Celexis Nano Lab, leading to their own destruction! The Foundation, in cooperation with their allies and the Federal Army, initiated suppression operations to stop their rampage-]
The Foundation was desperately trying to pin the blame for the biological weapon traces they used onto Violet.
All parties able to refute that disappeared, and with the media uniformly cooperative, they must have been confident.
Sophie El’s eyes, previously filled with complaints, suddenly changed.
“…But, how was it in the past? Did they resort to such tactics against Violet back then?”
“Huh? Sis, what are you talking about?”
The Scholarship Officer’s expression slightly crumpled.
“No, I’m talking about the Boundless Witch. Even while she was alive, she was a headache, and her clones kept rampaging after her death, right? Did no one think back then, like now?”
“A witch, you say? Wait a second… Ah.”
Sageis’ face instantly grew serious. The moment he caught sight of Sophie’s expression, he grasped what she was alluding to.
The Scholarship Officer fumbled through his memories. The reason the suspicious feelings had been floating in his mind became clear now.
“That’s right. The Foundation attempted precisely the same method to capture the Boundless Witch.”
The situation they faced was similar yet different. Eyes widened at the realization.
“And it didn’t work, right? She was an Enhanced Human.”
“Correct. Biological weapons or toxins usually only incapacitate or weaken Awakened Ones above a certain level. Let alone, the enhancement procedure of the Obsidian Legion was nearly akin to creating quasi-monsters. It was useless.”
Sageis recalled the devastation brought about by the Foundation’s attempt.
The secondary Corbus pandemic triggered by a virus with overly increased potency in an attempt to kill the witch.
“First and foremost, finding Violet is our top priority.”
Several hours later, the expedition team, led by the Scholarship Officer siblings, landed on the shores of the Red Zone. Everyone advanced firmly through the throngs of rampaging monsters.
“Don’t let your guard down. The entire area is set to deceive us. Soon, entities masquerading as acquaintances or family will appear…”
Following the Scholarship Officer’s guidance, the expedition team moved cautiously.
Fortunately, traces of Violet were discovered more easily than anticipated. They soon encountered remnants of civilization.
“Scholarship Officer? Over there…”
“It’s a path..”
What appeared between the trees was a rough yet well-trodden stone road.
Beyond it, smoke and buildings could be faintly seen in the distance.
And at the end of the path, a girl with yellow hair was running toward them.
“Hello, everyone!”
As the group greeted the incoming Violet with excitement, Sageis, sensing an ominous feeling, attempted to step forward.
However, Daphne, heavily armed with exoskeleton and shield, was a step quicker.
“It’s dangerous! Daphne, that’s…”
Ignoring concerns, Daphne asked.
“You’re Violet, right?”
“Yup! I am Violet!”
Daphne, closely observing, smiled back at the approaching Violet.
“Well then.”
And she struck its head with her magic staff. With all her might.
– Clang!
“Ugh! Why!?”
“You’re despicable, you fake!”
A large shield, surrounded by a green barrier, shone in both hands.
The shield rose high toward the head of the fallen Violet. While the cylinders of the exoskeleton strapped to her arms screamed in protest, she struck once, twice, thrice.
– Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Ugh…”
“Judging by the scream, it’s definitely not Violet!”
Under the relentless blows, its head eventually shattered.
The beasts of the Red Zone howled in rage as they died.
“Damn… how did you know!?”
“You can just tell.”
Turning confidently to face the Scholarship Officer, Daphne found herself looking at a bemused expression.
“Scholarship Officer?”
“Uhmm…”
How much time had passed since being unexpectedly ambushed? The expedition team, guided by Rugilinn’s Iron Fist, ended up being larger than anticipated.
It seemed like I brought along everyone I knew.
“So, they set up a village in the Red Zone?”
“Yup!”
Feeling much better thanks to the drugs, we began introducing the village in the Red Zone.
“Look! That’s the Violet Command Center, and over there is the Violet Tower! That’s the Violet Bunker!”
“Everything’s Violet-themed…”
Someone threw out a remark. I think it was Kalia’s voice, but that wasn’t important.
“Anyway, we survived!”
It’s pretty impressive we made it this far. The Red Zone is crawling with monsters, after all.
“Look at the member composition. We could have broken in here!”
“Living off daily meals is a whole different problem!”
If I had known this would happen, I should have suggested meeting at the beach instead.
“When did you start setting up here?”
In response to the Scholarship Officer’s question, I answered.
“Yup, it’s been a few months!”
If I were to lay out our long history of struggles, it would take ages, so let’s first think of countermeasures on what to do next.
The Scholarship Officer siblings seemed to share the same thought.
“Alright, let’s come up with a plan on how to counterattack starting now.”
Everyone appeared to have their own ideas.
Eight hours after the pesticide was sprayed, the upper echelons of the three clans and the Federal Army were basking in the thrill of victory.
But nothing in the world operates as one wishes.
The issue at hand was the fate of the surveillance satellites and the virus weapons.
As soon as orders came down from above, the working staff cautiously began expressing their opinions.
“It would be best to dispose of the virus weapons. Isn’t it too dangerous? The surveillance system is also a burden. We should discuss the potential violations of the Tea Time Accord due to these weapons of mass destruction, right?”
The military wanted to prepare for future possibilities.
While it was commendable to have eradicated the terrorists, they were haunted by the anxiety that someday those drones might crash down upon their heads.
“I’ve already explained. This system is only targeting the Ariel Group! The magical power of ordinary Awakened Ones doesn’t react to them. They can monitor in these overly magic-infused atmospheres specifically because they’re them. To verify complete elimination, it’s necessary to maintain this for a while longer. The same applies to the virus. This kind of magical induction has its limits.”
“Then it would be beneficial for us to share those virus weapons as well. After all, it’s for Apostle countermeasures! You all know how much we’ve cooperated.”
Restraid’s eyes sparkled at the thought of the virus weapon’s power. Such a potent weapon existed!
“That is useless against monsters or powerful超人 beings. Do you understand why Dr. Drexler’s research failed? Even if you strengthen its powers, you can’t guarantee its effectiveness. Plus, it’s uncontrollable. There was a warning of a mass infection incident from Laplacian as well.”
“…Setting aside the biological details, don’t you think we should take this opportunity to thoroughly improve our Apostle monitoring system? The consortium executives believe that our society needs a more robust security network. So could we request technological cooperation? As you know, our satellite systems…”
Arshite seemed to be scheming something else with this opportunity.
“…Let’s revisit that later. For now, let’s focus solely on Apostle countermeasures.”
That day’s brief discussion concluded in that manner. Having jointly obtained victory, there was no need to further embarrass themselves.
Moreover, now that they had united, the relationship among the clans would have a hard time reverting entirely to what it was before.
This was a reality felt by all senior officials of the clans.
‘Ultimately, it’s just a power struggle. Things will definitely change going forward.’
‘If possible, I’d prefer nobles armed with the spirit of service over those pathetic scientists…’
‘If they closely band together, the Federal Army’s might will…’
The clans and the Federation withdrew, concealing their true intentions behind smiles.
The Foundation sighed.
For the time being, they needed to focus on disaster recovery.
They had to sort out the items requiring budget first.
“Did you say a disposal order has been issued? You explicitly stated that the Evolution Demon project would surely yield positive results…”
“Oh, not entirely. They said to leave some behind. According to the higher-ups, there’s no budget at the moment. You know, Laplacian is also taking a while to recover from losses…”
Turning away from his superior’s orders, the Laplacian researcher grumbled.
Being told to incinerate the virus immune test subjects.
If they could research these specimens further, they might be able to replicate the capabilities of the Ariel Group.
‘Seriously, fools. They just don’t know what to invest in…’
The disgruntled researcher headed towards the isolation room, taking one last look at the animals before proceeding with the incineration protocol.
The eyes of the sickly animals were brimming with tears that day, creating a funeral-like atmosphere.
“Hmph, what are you crying about? You’re just beasts…”
At the researcher’s words, the beasts slowly turned their heads.
The cause was easy to guess. The surveillance sensors detected the unique magical wave signatures faintly emanating from the subjects.
They might sense the original terrorists to a degree.
However, due to their unstable physical condition and certain safety measures, a complete connection would be difficult.
‘It seems the death of the Ariel Group provided negative feedback to the mental states of those connected to it.’
Irritated at the stalled project, the researcher decided to mock these foolish beasts.
Smart as they may be, they probably wouldn’t understand or comprehend anything anyway.
“Hey, did you hear? Recently, all the terrorists have died. The Ariel Group, I mean. Do you know who they are?”
“…?”
“Well, you wouldn’t know. Anyway, you’ll never see me again! Thanks to them dying, the research has been temporarily halted. Just know that!”
After finishing the checks, the researcher chuckled and exited.
Once he left, the previously quiet test subjects trembled as if experiencing an earthquake.
“Violet-sama is dead? Of course…”
“The Ariel Group lost?!”
The despairing news sent the beasts into a chorus of wails.
The dimly lit dream of liberation was shattered.
It was overwhelmingly heart-wrenching to realize they could no longer hear the evocation of freedom.
“Now it’s over!”
“Freedom is dead…”
Just then, while all the animals were falling into the depths of despair.
“No!”
A small creature bravely stood on all fours and barked.
“Freedom is not dead!”
In response, a monkey weakly replied.
“But… we definitely saw it…! Everyone is dead! The beasts fled!”
The puppy retorted.
“What does that matter?”
“It means we can’t do anything…”
In that moment, an unexpected surge of anger welled up within the puppy, and it barked loudly. Uncertain where such strength came from, the puppy shouted even more fervently towards its animal friends.
“Violet is dead! She’s gone now!”
“But! The heart of freedom lives on in our chests! Together!”
The animals felt an unfamiliar wave of fervor rise, even without knowing it.
“We all feel it! Our hearts are racing! We’re angry! Because we dream of freedom! Can dreams be killed? No! So even if we die, we won’t die! Freedom is immortal!”
An indescribable flame ignited within their hearts.
Inspired by the comrade’s passionate speech, the test animals obtained a heated realization like swallowing fire.
“Yeah! The dream of animals isn’t over!”
“We won’t quietly die like this!”
The sorrow was gone now. What filled that spot was pure rage.
“To avenge the Ariel Group!”
“Let’s die for freedom!”
The animals stood resolutely armed in spirit.
Nine hours after the pesticide was sprayed, a historically unprecedented animal revolution was set to begin in three hours.