The Conspiracy Spreads #2
A thunderous ROOOAAAR!! The beast’s cry shook all of Mount Fuji.
The roar that erupted from the three-meter-tall saber-toothed tiger was so fierce it could only be described as a lion’s roar. The problem was that it was a death cry.
Frowning, I pressed my hand to the communicator and asked, “Is it dead?”
“Processed it. Black blood mixed with transparent fluid is pouring out. What the hell is this stuff?”
“Looks like brain matter… It’s gross, so can you stop? You’re making me picture it.”
“Sorry…”
“The cubs are spreading down the entire mountainside. Leave them alone and it’ll get dangerous.”
“Understood.”
Whoosh! Leona shot through the air like a bullet and pressed one of the three buttons on her waist pouch. With a series of clicks the pouch opened and three cluster bombs flew out. She snatched them with her left hand, then used her superb dynamic vision and strength to hurl them at the saber-toothed tiger cubs.
Nice form. She could pitch in the major leagues.
Boom! Booom! Boom!
Still… tsk, tsk. Cluster bombs aren’t infinite. Spray them like that and you’ll run out of your long-range suppression weapons. You’re supposed to pick targets and use them one at a time. I’ll forgive it since she’s still inexperienced.
Kyaaang! Kroar! Several cubs screamed in agony as they exploded. This time Leona pressed her left middle finger firmly against her palm. Clank! A triangular object the size of a finger joint popped out near her wrist and streaked after a cub like a homing missile. The moment it touched the cub’s torso it suddenly broke into tiny fragments that wrapped around the beast and began searing it. Leona watched with cold eyes as the cub turned into a charred corpse amid crackling sounds, then landed on the ground and began slaughtering them in earnest.
The Doctor, monitoring the scene onscreen, grew restless.
“Her combat experience is lacking, so the one-versus-many fight is dragging on. If her energy runs out at this rate…”
“Then let’s deploy. You brought the fighter, didn’t you?”
“I want to see how far Leona can handle this by herself…”
Yeah, you’ve gotten used to calling her Leona too. The name really rolls off the tongue now, doesn’t it?
I glanced at the device charge indicator in the corner of the monitor.
“She’s down to twenty-one percent and there are still twenty tigers left. Oh, another one just died.”
“She won’t finish in time, will she?”
“Doesn’t look like it. Deploying.”
“Hey! Wait a sec—”
I cheerfully ignored the Doctor’s protest, piloted the fighter, and fired the laser cannon at the cubs far from Leona. Shoo—! The same condensed green energy that had struck Amducias’s shoulder earlier punched a clean hole through a cub’s forehead and detonated violently against the mountain.
I was about to press the firing button again when… whiiiir… the cannon emitted a powerless whine and drooped.
“You idiot! I told you this thing is still unfinished! Ugh… fixing it is going to take forever.”
“Then why did you bring it in the first place? In a dangerous place like this…”
“I brought it as an emergency weapon because of its raw power! Shut up and fire the main cannon.”
“This is an emergency, so what do you mean ‘emergency weapon’… Wait, main cannon? Wouldn’t repulsor missiles wipe them all out?”
“You brain full of nothing but firepower! If you fire that the whole mountain will disappear! Are you going to compensate the Japanese government? We haven’t even finished negotiating with the World Coalition yet…”
“Ugh, you’re so damn noisy… The main cannon will break the same way anyway…”
Grumbling, I operated the main cannon and began bombarding the whole of Mount Fuji. Ka-boom! Boom! Ka-boom! A tremendous roar that belonged on a battleship rolled across the sky. Two hundred rounds per minute—an astonishing rate of fire. The destructive power was average for its size, but it was more than enough to deal with one-meter saber-toothed tiger cubs. The Self-Defense Forces rushing here right now were probably staring at the display of power and deeply wondering whether their presence was even necessary.
I kept firing the cannon with exhilarating glee. Dr. Cash stared at me with a look of utter pity, then spoke to Leona.
“Remaining energy is three percent. Return immediately.”
“What? But there are still about three left…”
“That crazy bastard is spraying money all over the mountain right now. No arguments—just come back. The situation will be over soon.”
“…Understood.”
I clicked my tongue while watching the news in the lab.
“Tsk… what a tacky name…”
Dr. Cash immediately smacked the back of my head.
Smack!
“Ow! Why did you hit me!”
“Then why don’t you name it, Song Jihyeok—the man who named Sehwa’s hero alias Leona? Go ahead.”
“…..”
“If you have nothing to say, shut up and watch the news.”
“Yes.”
As I turned back to the TV with a sullen face, Sehwa approached with an awkward smile and gently stroked the spot where I had been hit.
Dr. Cash, watching the news, finally exploded.
“These morons! They clearly saw Sehwa—no, Leona riding a fighter jet, so why won’t they believe it and keep throwing a fit! We don’t know when the next Evilion Gate will appear or how fast it will fill, yet they’re taking this way too lightly!”
“Leona is gradually being captured on various analog cameras, but our faces have never been revealed. It’s only natural they’d be suspicious…”
“So they need proof, huh? Fine. We’re flying to America.”
The World Coalition headquarters was located in the United States. She must have been extremely impatient.
“If you fly there without permission, won’t they turn you into a honeycomb in mid-air?”
“Do you think I’m as simple-minded as you? Of course I’ll contact them first.”
“Go in disguise. Don’t show your face for no reason.”
“Right. But I will reveal my name. That much should earn us a little more trust. Also, we need to increase the device’s capacity. You saw it today, right? Without the fighter’s firepower support, the transformation would have collapsed. So you weirdo, stay ready at all times. Looks like we’ll be busy again soon.”
“Understood.”
I answered calmly, but inside I was cheering. Everything had gone exactly as planned. I would be allowed to help modify the device, and negotiations with the World Coalition would advance within a few days. The real game was only just beginning.
The Doctor drove us to the Yeongdeungpo shopping mall where the car was parked. While dropping Sehwa off she gave her a silent order—to refill the device’s energy. Sehwa nodded with an embarrassed face. The fact that she was less ashamed than before showed she was adapting well.
After the Doctor left, we looked at each other and sighed. It was a sigh over our long-awaited date ending this way.
Checking the time, I said, “It’s eleven. The parking lot will close soon. Let’s hurry.”
“Yeah…”
“And your skirt’s ridden up. Your panties are showing.”
Sehwa jumped and quickly pulled her skirt down. At the same time she sneaked a glance at my crotch, obviously checking whether it had grown or not. She really is a little vixen.
I started the engine as soon as we got in the car. While paying the parking fee and heading home, Sehwa spoke up.
“I’ve made you practically live in the lab again because of me… I’m sorry. You won’t get held back in school, will you…”
“Tinkering with machines in the lab is way better than university. It’s what I want to do, and even if I have to drop out it doesn’t matter at all. So stop apologizing.”
“O-okay… But don’t drop out. I want to go to school with you.”
“You want me to handle academics and R&D at the same time? Sounds like you’re planning to grind me into dust.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“I know. I was joking. When we get home, can I take a look at that device?”
“…. Sorry, but that’s not allowed.”
She had been submissive until I mentioned the device, then refused instantly. Proof of how precious it was to her. But Sehwa, the Doctor told me to prepare too. If that doesn’t mean helping modify the device together, what does?
I immediately called the Doctor.
She answered curtly. She must be really pissed at the World Coalition.
“Doctor, when you increase the device capacity, you’re not doing it alone, right? I’m supposed to help, correct?”
“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to be ready to jump out anytime.”
“I wanted to see how it works, but Sehwa refused.”
“Really? You’re only going to scan it?”
“Yes, I just want to look at the internal structure. So I can study it in advance.”
“Is Sehwa there?”
I gestured at the screen with my chin, telling her to answer herself. After hesitating, Sehwa spoke.
“Um… I’m here.”
“Show the weirdo the internal structure, just a little. You know how to operate it, right?”
“I do, but… you told me, Doctor…”
“I said never hand it to anyone. But I’ll allow it. It’s annoying to admit, but that weirdo is a smart kid. The equipment we fitted on you today was developed jointly with me. There’s no harm in showing him.”
“Then… all right.”
“And it would be good if you explained about Aether too.”
Currently disguised as Song Jihyeok, I had no idea how the device actually charged. It was natural that Sehwa looked startled.
“E-everything?”
“I’ll leave the decision to you, but I think it’s better to open everything. The weirdo isn’t an outsider.”
“…..”
“I’m busy, so I’m hanging up. Show him the device even if you don’t explain Aether.”
After the Doctor ended the call, I put on the face of an innocent young man who knew nothing.
“Aether is the transformation energy inside the device, right? Is there more to explain?”
“…. That…”
Sehwa’s face was extremely troubled. After fidgeting for a long time she finally said, “When we get home… I’ll explain when we get home.”
“Really? Okay.”
Sehwa eventually decided to tell me about Aether.
After hearing the full explanation while sitting across from each other at the dining table, I pretended to be confused.
“So… the energy charges through sexual arousal with someone you like…?”
“…..”
“What kind of ridiculous… You’re not messing with me right now, are you?”
“It’s absolutely true… Ask the Doctor later if you want…”
Sehwa hung her head in shame. Maybe because of the clothes she was wearing, she looked even prettier and cuter today.
After staring blankly in silence for a long while, I spoke.
“Um… last time when we had sex, the device was humming… Was that the sound of it charging?”
At my straightforward question Sehwa lowered her head even further. Fidgeting with her fingers, she answered in a tiny voice.
“…. Yes…”
“Huh… Until now I thought it was just a notification sound. So… it would charge even if you did sexual things with Yu Seunghyeon?”
“Probably… But I haven’t done anything like that with Seunghyeon yet…”
“Does Yu Seunghyeon know about Aether?”
Of course he doesn’t.
“H-he doesn’t…”
I’ll have to tell Yu Seunghyeon later too. I’ll make him believe the device filled because of him. For that, it’s a little regrettable, but… I’ll have to allow occasional light skinship. Or create the right situations.
“Let’s talk about this later. Show me the device first.”
The device bound to Sehwa could never be operated by anyone but her. The same went for the Doctor; she only touched it when Sehwa was nearby. That was why she could only create the equipment but couldn’t equip it beforehand.
Sehwa placed her right arm on the table and manipulated the device’s buttons in a precise pattern. Then—whiiiing!—a mysterious mechanical sound rang out, and a translucent, enlarged schematic of the device’s structure appeared in the air.
‘Finally…!’
Barely swallowing my surge of joy, I stared at it in a daze. I could see everything. The device’s entire structure. How it had been built was now etched clearly into my mind.
So her husband laid the foundation? He really was a genius. From security to every last detail, it was perfectly harmonized. But I would pierce through it somehow.
I could see it again—the rainbow-colored, dust-like energy sitting in the center. That was Aether, the mysterious power found only on Earth and the source of every Beast Slayer’s strength.
With sharp eyes I examined the device and memorized every structure. At the same time, without Sehwa noticing, I opened the hand I had hidden beneath the table. It was to send the device’s data to Marcela as well.
‘Done.’
After completing the transmission I clenched my fist.
“Um… Jihyeok…”
At Sehwa’s voice I snapped back to reality and shook my head.
“Huh? What is it?”
“I told you honestly… Um… monsters might appear suddenly, so…”
She wanted to charge. She was lively while the sun was up but grew shy when it set—like a morning glory that blooms by day and closes at night.
“You’re not treating me like a phone charger, are you?”
“No! Why would you say that?”
“Okay, sorry. My ears are ringing.”
I stood up and headed toward the bathroom in the living room, saying, “You wash in the master bathroom.”