Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Thunder and Lightning (1)
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Yoon and Ricardo rushed to my side in an instant.
I thought they were here to help with the capture, but Ricardo pulled out an air composition analyzer, and Yoon examined the remnants of the exploded blue orb.
Ricardo was the first to snap in irritation.
“You just gonna sit there all comfy knowing what that was~?”
His furrowed brow looked downright menacing.
Still gripping Byeongaebaek's restraints, I let out a flustered voice.
“Sorry. Judging by your expression, it didn’t seem like poison….”
“Slap that bastard’s cheeks till he spills what it was~.”
“No peculiarities so far.”
Yoon muttered with narrowed eyes.
“Not everything shows up on these damn tests.”
“What’re you waiting for? Make him talk.”
“What was this?”
I asked while staring into Byeongaebaek's eyes.
The clansman, teeth gritted, naturally didn’t respond.
Ricardo pocketed the analyzer and strode toward Byeongaebaek.
“Can’t bring yourself to slap him? Want me to do it for you~?”
I shook my head readily.
“I’ll handle it. Please step back. My judgment was poor.”
“You don’t look like you could properly rough him up~….”
Ricardo shot me a skeptical glance.
I let out a small laugh. After all, I’d strongly insisted earlier that I couldn’t kill civilians, and I’d even asked for time to talk alone—so it was natural he’d doubt me.
But if there really had been something in that orb, it changed everything.
Keeping my smile, I replied.
“I’m pretty good at interrogations.”
Ricardo raised an eyebrow.
Seeing my senior’s expression, I added calmly.
“Just give me a little time.”
Ricardo’s eyes narrowed.
But with no reply coming, he seemed intent on watching. I flashed a grateful smile and turned back to Byeongaebaek.
The clansman’s face had gone pale.
This guy had lived such an upstanding life that he’d probably never faced an interrogation from me or Kyle. Regardless of his hatred for humans, he had good reason to fear what was coming.
He’d surely heard the rumors circulating in the Empire.
Locking eyes with him, I whispered slowly.
“It’s already burst, so just tell us what it was. Nothing changes if you do, right?”
Sealed lips.
“If you don’t answer, I’ll have to start a proper interrogation. And I won’t stop at just this.”
I was curious about how his kind had been living, after all.
To be honest, I was barely suppressing the urge to ask how he’d survived all this time.
“But if you tell the truth now, I won’t ask about anything else.”
Hesitation flickered across Byeongaebaek’s face.
I watched it silently. I’d know if it was a lie or truth just by looking. It was something I’d done from my days as Knight Commander up until the outbreak of the First War. Discerning truth in human speech was far trickier than with clansmen, but still.
Even so, interrogating hardline elders had taught me plenty. Back as Knight Commander, I relied on gut instinct alone, but questioning humans taught me to spot the physical tells of lies in both clansmen and humans.
I waited motionless for his answer.
Fortunately, Byeongaebaek broke soon enough.
“Blue plague.”
Ah.
Relief washed over me deeply.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief, then turned to my seniors.
“This doesn’t spread to humans.”
“What is it?”
Yoon asked, straightening his back.
I glanced at the blue orb’s remnants and smiled faintly.
“It was rampant in the original world. Strangely, it never infected humans.”
“Symptoms?”
“Like the flu. High fever, cough, sore throat, headache.”
“You’re not human, though~?”
Ricardo said, leaning crookedly.
I nodded, recalling the past. It was a common epidemic. It spread like wildfire, sparing neither nobles nor commoners, but it especially favored the poor.
Diseases like this left fatal wounds on the impoverished.
It was a frantic time.
Collecting unburied corpses, dashing about to calm the restless populace.
“But even at the peak, I never caught it.”
Even hale knights fell and recovered.
Kyle and Ray ended up sick too.
But not me. So I handled Kyle’s duties on top of mine. When he returned a bit thinner, he apologized and bought a lavish round of drinks.
“Maybe I have antibodies.”
I swallowed the sadness surging from the fond memory and smiled.
“So no need to worry.”
“You sure he’s telling the truth~?”
“Yes. That much is certain.”
“Idiot. Not catching it back then is the problem.”
I was about to explain how I could sense lies to Ricardo when Yoon cut in.
Frowning, he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“If you caught it and recovered, you’d have antibodies. But if you didn’t catch it then, you probably don’t. And there were no vaccines or shots in that world, right?”
“Nope.”
“Yeah.”
Yoon grumbled curtly.
I gave a troubled smile under the two men’s irritated stares.
It wasn’t something to take this seriously. Not incurable or anything.
If I caught it now, I’d suffer a bit and that’d be it.
Out of countless viruses, a blessing it was one humans were immune to.
I changed the subject.
“The bag has seeds.”
I checked the contents of the burlap sack in Byeongaebaek’s left hand.
“Nothing special to watch for here. We should go find the seeds we were told to retrieve.”
“Vault’s underground.”
A raspy voice came from the door.
I looked up to see Karl Dow, already shed of unnecessary gear and ready for seed collection.
“Can we go down now?”
“Yeah. Let’s head together.”
Gripping Byeongaebaek’s arm, I stepped forward.
“I’ll handle the prisoner.”
Byeongaebaek didn’t resist much.
He knew struggling now was pointless.
Head bowed meekly, he was probably just biding for an escape chance.
Good for me.
We headed to the vault without incident.
The seed vault was dozens of meters underground. Normally, you needed insulated gear and boots to enter, but with power out, no need.
Karl and Yoon entered first.
An empty space called the anteroom came first—where seeds were held for a week before vault storage.
Past that, the vault itself.
Towering shelves and neatly stacked boxes within.
How would we ever check all this?
Dizziness hit as I entered the vault.
No way to take it all, and even if we could, most would be dead.
So select some seeds to take. Best to check viability via seed respiration.
Dip in some odd solution and check the reaction….
“Tetrazolium.”
“Tetra….”
“I brought it. Test in the anteroom.”
As I stumbled over Yoon’s gruff name, Karl approached.
“Grab chunks to the anteroom, and I’ll pick and test the needed ones. No need to waste time rummaging—bring whole boxes.”
This guy was rock-solid reliable.
I nodded, not hiding my admiration.
We moved fast. Leaving guard to Sophia Kallak, we hustled. Pulled boxes from shelves en masse, brought them to Karl prepping reagents. Set them in order by him, then back for more, repeating.
Karl worked at unbelievable speed.
At some point, he looked up and declared.
“Done. Got as much viable as we can carry.”
Wow.
I gazed at him with awe-struck eyes.
How could anyone be this capable….
I marveled at the pace. Maybe gift the HR Director an energy drink set for putting him on the team. Karl Dow was the kind superiors adored. Any commander would covet him.
“Thank you.”
My murmur carried pure gratitude.
“Thanks to you….”
But the words didn’t finish.
An anomaly hit.
The magical beasts on the mountain started fleeing.
Down the slopes, into burrows, under tree roots.
Like an earthquake, they bolted en masse to their hideouts.
Fleeing the approaching presence.
A chill raced down my spine.
Ah.
Thunder stirs.
“Run!”
I whipped my head around and shouted sharply.
“Now!”
No questions.
No surprise. All moved in perfect sync. Seniors bolted for the exit. Karl shouldered gear and sprang up instantly.
Climbing stairs.
Yoon and Ricardo glanced back while ascending.
“Can you manage it—?”
“Yeah.”
Byeongaebaek slung over my left shoulder, I said.
“If it’s too much, I’ll call for help.”
They seemed pleased with the reply.
The men turned their piercing gazes forward.
Their speed ramped up. I matched pace.
Stairs, corridor, door.
Past another door.
Vision opened. We were out of the seed vault.
Autumn breeze brushing cheeks.
Seniors sped down the leaf-strewn dirt path. Dust clouds shrouded their shrinking figures.
Satisfied with their speed, I heightened my senses.
Heavy presence pressing down.
Good thing I didn’t hesitate a second.
Sliding down the slope, I glanced back at the vault site.
Mountain peak.
Beautifully rising under blue sky.
Crackle, crackle.
It’s coming.
Crackle, crack.
Crack.
BOOOOM!
Eardrums burst.
Pillar of electric energy smashed the peak. Erased it.
Shockwave slammed past. I braced my legs against toppling forward. Legs weren’t enough; I grabbed a thick tree trunk.
Branches crashed noisily. Snap, snap—trunks breaking nonstop.
Fierce white gusts blinding vision.
Byeongaebaek’s small scream.
The shockwave from it all gradually faded.
As the wind’s edge grazed my cheek, I lifted my head.
And looked to the sky.
More precisely, where the peak had been.
“Wiped it clean off.”
Yoon grumbled from below me.
“That the basic move?”
“Not quite.”
I replied amid the whoosh of flapping wings.
I sensed the massive wings blotting the sky, descending darkness, and despair arriving with each beat.
Why do bad premonies never miss?
“Climate variant creature incoming.”
The same kind that shredded my cabin.
Butterfly flapped yellow wings toward thunder and us.
Undoubtedly on Kyle’s orders.
“Looks like rain.”