READ NOVEL FREE Chapter 385
The surroundings of Violet were filled with a dense fog as she opened her eyes.
Amidst her muddled thoughts, Violet struggled to find her identity.
“Who am I?”
The answer echoed back to her immediately.
“You are Violet!”
Shaken by the clear voice resonating from above, Violet asked again.
Her questions about existence bubbled up like a spring.
“Really?”
“Yes! You are indeed Violet!”
As her vision gradually brightened, memories swirled into her consciousness like a vortex.
A cold laboratory, a chilling surgical table. Flashing lights, waves of old memories crashing in, the acrid smell of gunpowder from the battlefield. Familiar yet strange afterimages flickered by.
“This is odd… Am I really Violet? I’m sure…”
“Yes! You are that person! But also not that person.”
A multitude of memories crashed into the head of the little Violet.
She was certainly a valiant soldier galloping across the trenches and vast fields of Rumyx.
At the same time, she was a girl undergoing cold surgeries in the Laplacian lab and a warrior who had awakened beyond death.
Unit 1 scratched its head, seemingly baffled. With reduced intellect, it couldn’t find the words to properly explain the confusing situation.
Moreover, it never expected to become the real Violet.
“Strange…”
“What’s strange? Ah, I see!”
Right after finishing its words, Hellman Violet suddenly had an epiphany. She was amazed by this bizarre experience of their thoughts connecting.
“I was just planning to scavenge some crumbs! There must have been security measures against erosion.”
Originally, it should have only resulted in death.
Given the erosion prevention measures in place, there weren’t great expectations.
Yet, the absorption rate was beyond expectations. No, it might as well be called a perfect fairy tale.
“What could be the reason?”
“I think it’s because of the injury.”
The two girls pondered with their heads together, but no special answer emerged.
Until suddenly, a silhouette brushed across the ceiling of the network.
“Huh? Look over there, isn’t that me?”
A shadow of a mustached man in an old military woolen coat passed by in mid-air.
The man looked meaningfully at Violet and then twitched his lips before vanishing into the fog.
“That’s not you! You are Violet! Look at your shoulder!”
Hellman Violet glanced down at her shoulder. The number 11341 was distinctly engraved there.
“Ah, I’m Unit 11341! So what’s that over there?”
“Is it a ghost?”
The little Violets screamed in momentary terror.
“Eeeek! It’s a ghost!”
“I’m scared of ghosts!”
**
After defeating the Relic Battleship and Hellman, the resistance from the foundation quickly melted away like spring snow.
The biggest reason was the Board of Directors had fled.
From the circumstances we observed in the Convergence Corridor and the testimonies of some survivors, it seemed all the Secretary General and other survivors had escaped.
“I don’t know! All I know is that the board just suddenly vanished! Probably to the Convergence Corridor…!”
“As soon as the evacuation order was issued, bombardment fell on the control room. So…”
We missed them, but I intend to pursue them to the end.
“It’s fine; instead, we got our hands on the things the foundation was so desperately trying to protect.”
“That’s true…”
At the Scholarship Officer’s words, we all nodded. It was true. Our Violet division had gained two precious trophies.
“It’s amazing how so much information is contained in this tiny disk.”
Seijis tossed this strange storage device for accessing Central Record Storage, which supposedly contained all the information and research records accumulated by the foundation.
It was indeed a treasure trove of knowledge.
Of course, the original was obliterated.
The servers hidden in space and the deep sea must have been smashed after extraction and hacking were simultaneously executed.
And the other trophy was this very being right before us!
“Ugh… To become a slave to savage aliens…”
Before me stood a girl with blue hair dressed in strange ceremonial attire. The alien ship that the Rumyx Foundation referred to as Hekatonkheires.
“Now, follow me! We’re about to take off soon, so get on the airship quickly.”
“You devil! Where are you taking me!”
As it grumbled while being dragged away, around fifteen hundred little Violets began clearing debris toward the wreck of the fallen ship.
The ship’s hull gradually crumbled. Like melting ice, the massive hull and keel shattered, and the unknown turrets and thick plates fell away one by one.
Underneath, the core machinery finally emerged.
It was smaller than expected compared to the massive main body of the ship, but still cumbersome to carry.
“Is this you?”
“Hmph! What if it’s not?”
The girl known as Kail sulked like a child and fell silent, but there’s always a way in situations like these.
I rummaged through the memories of the ship. Bound to the network, it had become a fusion creature similar to Rugilinn’s Iron Fist. This much was verifiable.
“This is the central core!”
“It means it’s his main body!”
For some unknown reason, only the core remained, but it didn’t matter.
The central core was glowing faintly.
That it was operational meant that it could be restored someday.
As the medium-sized airship descended low, transport work commenced.
“Alright! Hook the cable!”
“Binding complete! Complete! Ascend!”
The golden spherical central core was smoothly secured beneath the body of the airship.
In conclusion, the operation was going smoothly. Except for one problem.
“Kyaaa…?”
“Whew…!”
All the work at the scene was being done by little Violets.
Sadly, many Violets had become little ones right after the duel ended.
Perhaps a side effect from overusing reality manipulation abilities.
“This outfit is too big!”
“It’s heavy!”
Having shrunk suddenly, the little Violets had to drag their arms and leg sleeves around until they could change.
Armor and helmets were uncomfortably large too.
“Wow! Violet got younger! What on earth happened?”
Now, I had quite a few things to explain ahead. Enrique, who was boarding a helicopter to retreat, was filled with question marks on his face.
And it was only natural since I had never given a detailed explanation about the new power I had gained.
“I’ve shrunk!”
“Little Violet!”
“Why do we look like this? Is it magic? How fascinating…”
The curious little Violets urged Enrique and pushed him into the helicopter.
I also didn’t know the exact cause. I had a hunch, but explaining it would be tricky.
“We’ll explain later!”
For now, we had to take care of remaining matters and leave. Wondering if there was anything else worth salvaging, we searched through the wreckage, gathering various trophies, and finding survivors.
Our Violet Division hurriedly collected trophies and prisoners.
Even in Rustroom, other clans or federal forces seemed to be stirring already.
Fortunately, since this maritime base was thoroughly hidden from the foundation’s perspective, the other enemies seemed unaware of its identity.
The Violet-Beacons floating in the nearby waters also detected no particularly suspicious movements.
“We should be safe for a while!”
There was no need to rush. Now was the time to harvest the trophies.
Let’s gather all the useful junk we can get.
“W-what will happen to us?”
“Slaves!”
We placed hoods over the heads of the prisoners and loaded them onto the delayed arrival ship and transport aircraft.
Continuing our search, we soon arrived at the former command and control room.
“Is there anything salvageable here?”
**
In a gap enveloped by pitch-black darkness, amidst terrible pain and silence, Quavna II barely opened his eyes.
‘Is it not over yet…’
A crushing sense of weight and tearing pain suffocated him.
At least, there was no pain in his lower body, but that was not something to rejoice over. Because he had no sense whatsoever.
His vision was hazily blurred, and his head and body had long been buried beneath the debris of collapsed walls and ceilings.
The flow of magical power within his body was also a mess, and he couldn’t even think of pushing away the debris pressing down on him.
Only the flames outside burning the foundation’s secret base slipped in through the cracks in the darkness, providing faint light.
Quavna II sensed his fate.
“The foundation has fallen, but… I am still alive.”
And he also knew that his own life would soon end. Either dying slowly here or burning to death in an instant as the flames spread.
Given the damp feeling, the bleeding seemed severe. Just lying there would lead to death. This was an injury beyond what even an Awakened One could withstand.
-Kuuuuung!
At that moment, a beam of light pierced through the darkness. Someone was manually clearing away the massive debris.
As the debris was pushed aside, the murky air mixed with the stench of blood rushed in.
Then a strange voice pierced his ears.
“Fortunately, one Quavna is still alive.”
Quavna II instinctively fumbled at his waist. He was grateful to find that he still had his pistol, pulling it out and aiming it.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Agent 02.”
And it took him but a few seconds to realize how futile his actions were.
The figure before him easily flicked away the pistol. His final resistance slid helplessly to the debris-strewn floor.
“You, you are…”
Illuminated by the glow of the darkness stood a tall figure wearing a mask with a slick demeanor, a man and a woman.
They were the ones. Individuals under surveillance by both the Ariel Group’s intelligence agency and Rumyx Foundation since the fall of Laplacian.
Especially the man in front had been the Awakened One who assassinated Chairman Laihan.
He was presumed to be a high-ranking official of the Ariel Group, perhaps even the leader of these disturbing clone armies.
“Don’t move. Your injuries are serious. Resisting in that condition would be pointless.”
As Quavna II was about to reply, his eyes fell upon the scattered wreckage of the ship.
Could it be that too had crashed?
The dreams of the foundation had vanished into thin air on a midsummer night’s dream.
“Go on, mock me. Terrorist… It seems your military’s efforts to topple the foundation weren’t enough.”
At Quavna II’s jeer, Seijis responded calmly.
“I have no personal feelings. I just came to confirm something. The alien relic that was here, Hekatonkheires, correct? You were studying it to combat Aedos.”
As he hesitated to respond to the inquiry about classified information, Quavna II felt a strange sense of discomfort from Seijis’s tone and gaze.
He exuded an aura as if he knew everything about the foundation’s long-held aspirations.
Moreover, he seemed to see through the abominations of another dimension.
“Let me ask one thing. For what purpose were you researching that?”
A bitter scene flickered through Seijis’s mind.
The foundation had committed abominable acts by stealing students’ assignments under the pretext of alien invasions and raiding healthy academic research facilities.
What he could conclude in the end was that all of it was intended to awaken some relic.
The question of why never found resolution.
As Quavna II breathed heavily, the thick wrinkles continued to carve deeper into his black forehead.
To speak of reasons after ruining the foundation’s plans.
He glared at Seijis as if cursing him, growling like a sick beast.
“You wouldn’t understand the plans of us barbaric scoundrels. Hekatonkheires was… a relic to advance humanity to a new stage!”
“You were going to use that ship as a weapon? What kind of weapon? What power does it hold?”
When Aedos decided to reach out with greedy hands, the Scholarship Officer recalled seeing the silhouette of Hekatonkheires plummeting to the western coastline of the academy.
The ship, wielded as a last-ditch effort by the foundation, had temporarily halted countless monster hordes, enabling the students to evacuate.
That scene left a strong impression on the Scholarship Officer.
However, as the ship fell into the hands of Violet and ended up in a bizarre state, its original functions or capabilities were currently unknown.
It might be possible to figure it out step by step, but at some point, it would be necessary to confirm with someone who knows.
Unaware of the Scholarship Officer’s inner thoughts, Quavna II mocked him incredulously.
“A weapon? A weapon? Ha! How foolish. Was it like giving a child jewels? Did you brainless rascals only know such simplistic things while committing sabotage and assassination? That isn’t a weapon! It’s a weapon factory!”
“A factory?”
“C-Correct… Yes! It’s a factory! Damned subverters of the system. Let me tell you what you’ve done.”
At the unexpected word, the eyes of the Scholarship Officer siblings widened as they focused on Quavna II’s words.
“Hekatonkheires is a mobile forward base and weapons manufacturing facility created by an alien civilization… It was just asleep… If only we had awakened it, we could have ended this wretched standoff!”
Sophie El, who had been watching quietly, asked.
“So, all the movements to send agents to raid companies or research institutes under the pretext of patent infringements, turning innocent people into idiots or capturing them was all because of that? Did it really have to go that far?”
“Did it have to go that far? You know nothing! That’s the scientific essence of an unnamed alien species that shone brilliantly across the sea of stars! The last legacy from those who fought on par with those abominable creatures from beyond… If we kept feeding it information, we could have awakened it… It would have poured forth advanced weapons that could arm Trost’s entire army like grains of sand on a beach!”
Quavna II screamed, filled with rage and despair.
“But… it’s all over! You smashed it all to pieces! The central record storage that was supposed to feed it information was crushed by you! The ship is now in that state! Do you understand my words? You’ve destroyed humanity’s future with your own hands! Was your shallow sense of justice fun? It must have been entertaining to go against the world order of the tea-time agreement! With your revolutionary games, humanity has lost the secret weapon that could topple the throne of Monad!”
Pouring out his anger like a waterfall, Quavna II soon became engulfed in despair as he sagged defeated into himself. He motored out weakly murmur.
“I curse you. Ariel Group…”
“Curse?”
At that ringing voice, everyone present turned their heads in unison.
Little blonde girls were rummaging around like children searching for snacks.
Amidst them stood a girl with blue hair, seemingly being dragged along.
“It is just as I thought, it was a girl. Using the children like this, we’re not in a position to complain, but you all sure are cruel. Are you embarrassed as the leader?”
One of the little Violets interjected to rebut.
“Leader? You mean those two?”
“No! They’re not the leaders!”
“We are our leader!”
The innocent and almost naive reaction of the little ones rendered Quavna II speechless.
“Hey! That old man is from the board!”
“Shall we kill him?”
The girls exchanged glances with the adult man and woman. Quavna II thought.
‘The foundation fell to such inept fools?’
He closed his eyes in despair, accepting the death that was approaching. The next moment, a voice striking his ears prevented him from doing so.
“Hekatonkheires! Come here!”
“Ugh! Why do you keep dragging me around! You devil! And that’s not my name!”
“You keep calling me a devil. I’m not a devil, I’m the leader!”
Struggling to open his eyes, Quavna II found the blue-haired girl brushing past him.
Just then, Sophie El, with an awkward expression, spoke up.
“Um, I think there’s a misunderstanding, so let me correct one thing. Hekatonkheires… that relic is intact. That girl is that relic.”
“Relic?! This body is the dignified representative of Nornir! You ignorant fool!”
“…?”
That was a familiar term. How does that girl know?
The blue-haired girl stomped her feet, got slapped, and was dragged away.
Seijis explained to Quavna II, who was left utterly confused, calmly but with a hint of sympathy.
“That girl is Hekatonkheires. She just awakened a moment ago.”
“Nonsense—”
At that moment, a golden sphere appeared before Quavna II’s eyes.
Below the medium-sized airship, entangled in chains and cables, hung the central core of the ship.
It was shining brilliantly.
That was definitely the light the foundation had long desired.
“How?”
Both Violet and the Scholarship Officer answered simultaneously.
“I don’t know!”
“That girl awakened it. The method… it’s probably the way you’re thinking.”
Faced with the undeniable evidence, Quavna II realized the foundation’s decades of efforts had collapsed in an instant.
A bewildering sense of absurdity filled his mind stronger than despair.
Gathering the last remnants of his life force, he struggled to open his mouth, seeking the final meaning of his life.
Unknowingly, he posed the last question.
“Hey, Ariel.”
“Why did you call?”
“Are you on the side of humanity or Aedos?”
The little Violet questioned him as if he were asking something obvious.
“Yeah, we’re on the friends’ side?”
Quavna II, bemused, laughed hollowly.
It was so absurd that he felt his blood rushing to his head.
All the strength in his body drained away, and he quickly began to grow cold.
In fact, if it were like this, if it were going to be this way.
If he had known it would turn out like this.
Why did they even fight?
‘Was it us who were the fools?’
The man slowly bowed his head with vacant eyes.
Violet approached, checked his face a few times, and gave his head a few thuds. No movement at all.
“What’s this! Scholarship Officer, he’s dead!”
“He was bleeding heavily.”
At Seijis’s words, Violet nodded as she looked at the pooling blood on the ground.
Indeed, it was justifiable. Although she had no thoughts of absorbing him.
“This is boring. I’m hungry!”
“I wanna go home!”
The Scholarship Officer nodded.
“Alright, let’s go home.”
Twenty minutes later, the Ariel Group evacuated from the X-B29 base. Without leaving a single blade of grass behind.
**
Thus, Rugilinn’s Iron Fist welcomed a new companion.
“Iron Fist! Here’s a new friend, Kail!”
Upon entering the hangar, Hekatonkheires let out a yelp at the sight of the massive metal object.
“Ack! Steel demon!”
-Smack!
“You can’t say such things to a friend!”
The tank girl stared blankly at the new neighbor, while the ship girl clutched her head.
Violet fell into deep thought.
‘How should I tame that one?’
It was one of the days not long before the new semester.