T.A.L.O.S
South Peak was a poor city.
Even among its districts, everything from Sector 5 onward could easily be called a slum.
In fact, not only outsiders but the residents of South Peak themselves referred to their neighborhood as a slum.
Accordingly, the area was packed tight with everything from abandoned buildings and derelict factories to shipping containers, alongside rows of houses that looked like ruins.
Once, in the past, a fire had raged uncontrollably until six hundred and seventy-two people burned to death.
Fire trucks couldn't get in, several helicopters crashed, there was an appalling amount of fuel to burn, and the sheer density of the crowd made escape impossible, culminating in a horrific disaster.
Yet, the slums of South Peak never became any more spacious. If anything, they grew even more congested. The displaced citizens of Eden, having lost everything, had no choice but to drift down to South Peak.
And so, the slums of South Peak remained as cramped and chaotic as ever.
Or at least, they had been until recently.
“Inspector...? What on earth happened here...?”
“...Why are you asking me?”
“Well... because you're the supervisor in charge of the scene, Inspector...”
“I don't know either... Don't ask...”
Now, it was clean.
In a different sense... it had been completely cleared out.
The inspector and his subordinate stared blankly at the landscape before them.
Buildings, abandoned factories, shipping containers—none of it remained. Only a vast, empty wasteland.
There was absolutely nothing. A violent gale had swept through just once, and not only were the buildings gone, but even their debris had completely evaporated.
It was truly like magic.
Perhaps it was a relief that there were no casualties.
Any scene where Talos deployed was subjected to strict containment. While preventing technology leaks was one reason, the ECPD cordoned off the area primarily to prevent civilian casualties.
This time was no different.
The nearby residents had already been fully evacuated, and they had been handed contracts promising that the ECPD would take full responsibility and compensate them for any damage caused by Talos's operations.
But this had crossed the line by a mile.
Just how many buildings had collapsed? How much property had been obliterated? Where would they even begin to calculate and distribute the compensation...?
“Is this... is this the power of the Repulser?”
“I told you, I don't know, you bastard...”
Though he snapped back, the inspector knew this wasn't the work of a Repulser. Having been assigned as the containment supervisor every time Talos deployed, he had witnessed the weapon's destructive power countless times.
So he knew.
This was not a result a Repulser could produce. No matter how incredible and terrifying of a weapon the Repulser was, a phenomenon like this was impossible.
Unless two Repulsers had collided directly, it was something a single Executor could never achieve—and should never be allowed to achieve.
“What do we do now?”
“I don't know, you fucking asshole.”
“...Why are you swearing at me? That hurts my feelings.”
“Because I told you I don't know, yet you keep asking—”
The man, who had been glaring at his subordinate with a scowl, suddenly froze. His mouth hung open as he read the message flashing across his retina over and over again.
A moment later, his face turning pale, the inspector hurriedly straightened his uniform.
“Hey... tighten the perimeter. Double-check if there's anyone left nearby.”
“All of a sudden? Isn't the situation already over?”
“Additional forces are deploying.”
“...Huh?”
“Talos, a total of six teams.”
“Gasp.”
“Secure... secure the area and stay far away from here. You'll get vaporized if you wander too close.”
“W-what about you, Inspector? Will you be okay?”
The inspector rubbed his face and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it.
“Fuck... I took their money, so I have to take the fall. Don't ever become an inspector...”
“Yes, sir. I won't.”
“Hey, you cheeky bastard. You didn't have to agree so fast.”
“...T-then I will.”
“I just told you not to!”
What the hell does he want from me?
With that exact expression, the subordinate stared at his superior.
Normally, such insolence would be unthinkable.
The ECPD's brutal hierarchy was notorious to every citizen of Eden. However, the relationship between these two went far beyond that of a mere boss and subordinate.
The inspector was the very man who had picked up a street urchin, fed him, and raised him like a father. That was why they could maintain such a relaxed dynamic.
“Sigh... Forget it. Get lost.”
“If you make it back in one piece, I'll buy you a drink.”
It was a casual remark, just like always, but his eyes were incredibly heavy. His feet seemed glued to the ground as he stood there, staring at the inspector for a long moment.
“I'll buy the most expensive stuff, Father.”
“You should've bought it sooner, you ungrateful brat.”
“...I suppose so.”
There was no more time to waste. A strange, metallic tolling began to echo from the distant sky.
The subordinate—no, the son.
Lucan Foresco saluted his father.
“You must come back.”
“Go.”
Inspector Luican Foresco returned the salute, doing his best to maintain a composed face.
Gwoooooong—
The tolling resonated. Lucan quickly made his exit. Left alone, Luican looked up at the approaching Talos tactical transports and prayed fervently.
Please let me go home with my memories intact.
Of course, he didn't expect his prayers to reach God. God was dead. In fact, he believed God shouldn't even exist. Any deity that abandoned the world to rot like this had to be a malevolent one.
So, to whom should he pray?
He didn't know, but he prayed desperately anyway.
Did that desperate wish somehow get through?
To the stars, the universe, or perhaps some miracle or magic?
Had something actually answered?
“Huh?”
Right before Luican's eyes, the Talos tactical transport that had just landed split cleanly in half.
Thud!Swoo blocked a fist propelled halfway forward by a shockwave of Repulser energy fired from an elbow. Amidst the clash, Serena's urgent voice crackled in her ear.
“Yep.”
The shockwaves of a Repulser were invisible. To dodge them, one had to read the parting currents of dust in the air. That was how Swoo had fought up until now.
It was no different now. Whoosh! The dust parted right before her eyes. Swoo twisted her body sharply, narrowly evading Alpha's Repulser blast.
“Why?”
Alpha's attacks flowed seamlessly.
Perhaps she was a former gymnast; Alpha utilized her highly flexible body to whip her leg around. Naturally, that leg was shrouded in Repulser energy.
“How many teams?”
“That's a lot.”
Swoo didn't back down. She had figured out how to counter the Repulser long ago. She coated her leg in the very first magic she had mastered—the spell named Bantan (Deflection), which repelled anything that drew near.
“Oh.”
Swoo didn't hesitate to throw her kick. She was absolutely certain her magic would overpower the Repulser. And the reality proved her right.
Craaaack!
With a deafening boom, Alpha's leg was violently deflected in the opposite direction. It didn't break, but only because it had already been broken. Alpha had been forcing her body to move using nano-ampoules for a while now.
“Ooh.”
“Aren't you going to capture me, Serena?”
In the distance, the tolling sound brought by the tactical transports echoed. The clouds parted, and six black halos painted the sky. On the opposite side, a faint light was gradually rising, staining the horizon.
“Just curious.”
Swoo forcefully shoved away the lunging Alpha and leaped off the ground. Out of the six tactical transports, four had already landed some distance away. The remaining two hovered nearby, seemingly preparing to engage immediately.
Were they wary of lightning? Or were they wary of the flames that had successfully shot down the other transport?
If I shoot them once, I'll probably find out what they're more afraid of. Should I try? While Swoo was contemplating this, Serena spat out her words.
“Yep. You're my partner, Serena.”
A soft smile played on Swoo's lips.
She decided to stop measuring and assessing Talos's strength. Since Serena had gone that far, Swoo figured she should listen to her.
A woman accustomed to a life of exploitation was trying to change. As her partner, shouldn't Swoo support and help her through that transformation?
“Alright.”
The magic supporting Swoo's body vanished. Like diving into a sea shimmering with neon lights, she began to free-fall.
The smile on her face didn't fade.
Instead, she stretched out her hand with an even brighter grin.
“I'll head over after I do just one thing.”
“It'd be a shame to just leave like this.”
The black ring on her thumb gleamed.
It was the MG-02 she had temporarily "borrowed" from Zyrec not long ago.
For all intents and purposes, it was Mugeuk Version 2. After all, the name MG was an abbreviation for Mugeuk. Swoo firmly pressed the hidden button on the ring.
Gwoooooong—
The tolling echoed.
“Besides, it'd be boring otherwise.”
A vibration intense enough to shatter a normal person's finger rippled through her hand.
If it felt that intense to Swoo, an ordinary human would never be able to use it.
That was why she had borrowed it—to keep it safe until its rightful owner arrived. And that rightful owner was likely looking for an opportunity to pull off a heist in the North right about now.
“Starting today, Lui Chen and Zyrec—”
Swoo swept her hand through the air.
“—will be fighting the ECPD as well.”
A shockwave similar to a Repulser blast erupted from her fingertips, splitting the already landed tactical transport in half. Swoo wasn't satisfied with just that. She spun her body around and reached out toward the distant Zyrec research facility.
Craaaash!
The gale unleashed from her fingertips utterly demolished the distant research lab. In the ruins of the collapsed structure, deep gouges remained, looking exactly as if a massive beast had clawed through it.
Seeing this, Serena gasped. Those claw marks were identical to the wounds a Lui ChenKimera would leave behind.
And seeing that sheer destructive power, a sudden realization hit her: the reason Sector 7 had been half-destroyed earlier... might not have been a Repulser at all, but Swoo.
“Who knows?”
Landing on the ground a moment later, Swoo snatched Alpha and swung her like a ragdoll. Reflexively, Alpha unleashed Repulser shockwaves in all directions to defend herself. In the aftermath, a Lui Chen power plant was utterly pulverized.
With that, it now looked as though Zyrec had attacked the ECPD, Lui Chen had attacked Zyrec, and the ECPD had attacked Lui Chen.
Of course, that wasn't what had actually happened.
But those arrogant corporate elites never listened to anyone else. They only made judgments based on what they saw and experienced firsthand.
With their ears plugged and eyes closed, they would make foolish decisions, and this conflict would inevitably spiral into a three-way war.
Of course, the true executives at the megacorps' headquarters would eventually realize magic was involved, but in a chaotic mess like this, even that would serve as a perfect distraction.
“What do you think? Sounds fun, right?”
Letting out a playful giggle, Swoo slung Alpha over her shoulder and leaped high into the sky.