The Birth of Celine
The message from The Doctor came as I was preparing to leave the lab.
“I’ll be late again today. Don’t wait up—go to bed first.”
I was buttoning my shirt when I asked, “Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard? Why not just head home and rest?”
“If I tough it out for one or two more days, things will get easier… I’d rather finish everything at once and then rest properly.”
“Then do that. I’m heading out?”
“Wait a second…”
The Doctor stood up from the keyboard she’d been clacking away on and approached me. She straightened my slightly crooked tie, then brushed off my shoulders with a few light pats before planting a quick kiss on my lips.
“Have a good day.”
I answered with a crooked grin, then left the lab and headed for Gangnam.
The place I stopped by was a restaurant franchise. I planned to enjoy a secret rendezvous with Adele there. I’d already contacted her the moment I left the lab, so the girl who was dying to see me would arrive soon.
Too bad Arram isn’t here.
When it came to provoking jealousy, there was no better card than Arram. She was reasonably pretty and highly competent. Even Sehwa had felt jealous of her once. At the time, I’d injected quite a lot of Malice, so her irises had turned purple before returning to normal.
Anyway, I could call Arram if I wanted, but she was busy linking business with WW Entertainment, so I’d let it slide.
I was sitting at the president’s desk, diligently crafting a Device, when I heard a loud thump thump and let out a chuckle. Adele seemed to be knocking quite forcefully.
When I opened the door, Adele stood there with a flushed face, waving one hand at shoulder height.
“Hello, Jihyeok! There are so many people here it feels like they’re stepping on my feet! The building is incredibly tall…”
She chattered excitedly in front of me as if she wanted to share every impression of her sightseeing. I listened with a gentle smile.
Before long, Adele scanned me from head to toe, then suddenly lowered her head. She must have liked how I looked in a suit. Or maybe she was remembering yesterday’s tongue incident.
I took her wrist, guided her to the sofa, and sat her down before asking, “Did you come up alone?”
“No… The guide staff rode the elevator with me…”
The high-energy Adele from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a shy, timid girl. I’d have to give her some energy.
I gazed at her with deep, meaningful eyes for a moment, then stood up and brought over the Device.
“This is your Device, Adele. I just finished it. All you have to do is insert Aether into the center here. Would you like to try it now?”
At those words, Adele’s eyes sparkled brightly. She nodded frantically and pulled out her storage container.
“H-how do I do it now?”
Without a word, I pressed a button on the side of the Device. With a soft click, a tiny tube-like protrusion popped out from the side. It was designed to transfer Aether.
“Open the container. Just a little.”
“Yes…!”
With trembling hands, Adele manipulated the container. The top opened in a small, perfectly circular gap without a sound. I placed the tube against it and waited quietly.
Soon, a sound like wind blowing across a sandy beach—shhhhh—emerged, and Aether began to flow into the tube in tiny amounts. Before long, all the Aether had left the container and settled in the center of the Device. It moved around as if inspecting its new home, then spread throughout the entire device.
Vrrrrrm…!
The Device began to glow with colorful light, radiating brilliant rainbow hues in every direction before returning to normal.
Adele had been staring blankly at the spectacle. When I smiled and held the Device out to her, she snapped back to her senses.
“Ah…!”
“You are now officially a Beast Slayer.”
“…..”
Adele’s previously round, sparkling eyes grew serious, filled with determination. She clearly believed she had to set an example as a Beast Slayer.
She accepted the Device carefully with both hands. When I mimed putting on a watch, she copied the motion exactly. Click! The strap automatically wrapped snugly around her slender wrist.
Adele swallowed hard and looked up at me.
“Something… I definitely felt something enter my body, then it disappeared…”
“It seems you’ve synchronized with the Aether. Would you like to transform?”
“R-right now?”
“Yes. Just double-tap the screen with any finger and it will respond automatically. The same goes for releasing the transformation.”
“Just a moment…! Deep breath…! Deep breath!”
She placed a hand on her chest, repeatedly inhaling and exhaling, then stood up from the sofa. After watching me close all the curtains in the president’s office with the remote, Adele squeezed her eyes shut and tapped the Device screen.
Kiiing—!
The light was so intense it felt like it would blind me. Even as I squinted, I tried to take in every detail of Adele’s transformed appearance.
Unlike Sehwa or Yuria, Adele hadn’t undergone an extreme change. Her hair remained its original bright blonde. But her eyes were different—her emerald irises had turned to gold.
When she fought Amon, there had been no visible change. Why had she achieved a complete transformation now? The answer was Polymus.
The Aether storage container made on Silvia’s planet was, as its name suggested, used purely for storage. Transforming in that state was like mounting an unprocessed gem directly onto a ring.
But the Polymus that formed the entire Device was the most perfect material in the universe. It fused with Aether and revealed its true form. Thanks to that, Adele’s body must have been strengthened even further. And with her holy power on top of that… a true monster had been born.
Thank you, Edward Parsons.
The man had been a blessing to me. He’d laid the foundation for the Device, then conveniently died early and handed over the beautiful doctor to me… If I didn’t feel grateful, something would be wrong.
After silently thanking him, I covered my eyes with one hand and asked, “How does it feel?”
Adele, who had been examining her own body, answered without even looking at me.
“Power… is overflowing…”
That was the same line Sehwa had said to me after her fall… It was strangely arousing.
“You can transform again as much as you want later at the lab or in Uijeongbu. For now, release it. We’re inside a company right in the middle of Gangnam. It would be a headache if anyone got suspicious.”
“Ah, understood…”
Adele double-tapped the screen again to release her transformation. The light enveloping her body was sucked back into the Device and vanished completely. Her hair floated up for a moment before settling back down. Her irises had returned to green.
My eyes stung from the light, so I pressed firmly on my eyelids. Then I approached the visibly excited Adele and said,
“I’m thinking of giving you the codename Celine. Beast Slayer Celine. What do you think?”
“Celine…”
After repeating the name once, Adele suddenly shouted.
“I love it!”
“You could at least think about it before answering…”
“No! I want Celine!”
Her attitude suggested she’d go on strike if it wasn’t Celine. I let out a helpless laugh, sat Adele back down on the sofa, and took a seat beside her.
“I’ll make you a suit later too.”
“Yes!”
“I should explain the various functions now, right? This button here is for the Portal. When the headquarters detects Evelion Energy, the location of the monster outbreak and the nearest Portal will be automatically entered. Just press it and a Portal will open, letting you travel there instantly. It means you won’t need to ride a fighter jet like last time.”
“Whoa…!”
“And this is the communicator…”
Before I knew it, she was pressed right up against my side without realizing it, her eyes wide so she wouldn’t miss a single word of my explanation. I spent a long time explaining the Device’s functions in a way she could easily understand.
And then came the final, most important part.
“Lastly, the button at the bottom center shows the charge level. I’ll press it once.”
Significant depletion since the battle with Amon.
Current charge level: Half consumed
The number floating in the air glowed with translucent white light, displaying [49%]. It had been over 90% before the fight with Amon. It had been consumed quite a bit. Even that detestable bastard had his uses after all.
“You’ve used a little under half.”
“Yes…”
Adele’s voice trailed off as she glanced at me, clearly remembering how Aether was recharged. I burst into low laughter at her cute reaction and asked,
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing…”
She fidgeted and started whistling. The way her eyes darted around made it obvious she was trying to play it off. It was hilarious how bad she was at it.
Shall I try charging her here?
I’d laid the groundwork thoroughly. The Device was complete too, so let’s give it a shot.
I casually took Adele’s pinky finger and brought it to my lap, then gently rubbed her nail.
“Your nail is chipped. It was clean last time.”
“Y-yes… It happened a little while fighting the monster…”
“Are you going to fight again?”
“I-I don’t know… But what are you doing right now…?”
Instead of answering, I pressed firmly between her pinky and ring finger. Adele immediately buried her face in the sofa’s backrest. She didn’t try to pull away the hand I was holding. A very good sign.
I went further, beginning to massage her entire hand.
“Haa…”
Soon she began letting out hot sighs. That was simply a reaction from embarrassment. The Device remained silent. If she had interpreted this skinship as a sexual act and become aroused, it would have begun charging.
I stopped the hand massage, shifted my hips, and moved closer to her side. Adele flinched in surprise and scooted into the corner of the sofa. At her frightened reaction, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“If someone saw this, they’d think I was about to eat you alive.”
“I-I’m still…”
Not ready? I already knew that. Today I’d only touch her waist. I just wanted to check whether charging would occur or not.
I spread both arms wide and said, “I just came closer because I wanted to hold you. I wasn’t thinking anything else.”
“…..”
Adele’s eyes were wary. Was she doubting my intentions right now? That was a little disappointing… No matter how strange the situation, it still hurt my feelings.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Perhaps my gentle voice reassured her. Adele hesitated, then slipped into my arms. She naturally wrapped her arms around my waist and said,
“I want to watch a movie… I’m hungry too…”
“Let’s stay like this a little longer before we go out.”
“Okay…”
While hugging Adele tightly enough to nearly crush her, I secretly extended my fingernail and poked her erector spinae. Her body twitched. The Device remained quiet.
A little disappointed, I pretended it was a mistake and slid my hand down, pressing my fingers into her gluteus medius—the upper part of her buttocks.
“Haaa…”
Adele, who had buried her face against my solar plexus, let out a languid breath. At the same time—vrrrrrm…!—a sound rang out. It was faint, but I definitely heard it. The Device was charging. Proof that Adele had become even slightly aroused by my actions.
Feeling an overwhelming rush of ecstasy, I decided to become a little bolder. I moved my hand to her gluteus maximus, which had lifted slightly as she clung to me, and pressed firmly into that area with my fingers just like before.
“Hiiyak!”
Adele let out a startled cry and shoved hard against my chest. She shot up from the sofa, panting as she glared at me, then fled the office as if running for her life.