Censorship Lifted
“Failer. Are you mad?”
“Don't call me by that old name you never use. One joke could lead to a big mistake.”
Pandora returned to her lair and came face-to-face with the middle-aged man who kept a clock in his pupil.
There wasn't much change in the man's expression, but Pandora knew. He was seriously pissed right now.
The emotions he'd been holding back started spilling from his mouth.
“Exposing your face and abilities to the outside world in this situation wasn't part of the plan. And wasting a valuable artifact on top of that... You're holding your head high because you got results that cover for it, right?”
“Who do you think I am? Of course I got great results. You'll change your tune once you hear them.”
“Explain.”
“I verified one key part of His descent. Listen up.”
Pandora started with how detection was unavoidable due to an unpredictable natural anomaly, then explained the rift.
She emphasized the success of forcibly opening the rift. The man's demeanor softened a bit.
“Hmph...”
“What do you think? Impressive work from your Pandora, right?”
“I'll acknowledge it.”
He admitted her achievement was big enough for her to hold her head high.
He accepted that the situation had been unavoidable, so he decided not to press her further on what she'd done.
What was done was done—there was no point dwelling on it. Pandora was an irreplaceable asset and follower overnight; he had to carry her.
“If there are any other peculiarities, speak up.”
“Ah, let me call Hex. That's okay, right?”
“Did something go wrong dealing with the Grand General?”
“I need new test subjects to feed into the shadows. And after all this stress, I could use some skin care.”
It was only natural that Juyeon and the others didn't know the true nature of the summons Pandora had used.
They were creations Hex had made by mixing various monsters and humans, then cloaked in shadows and trimmed with scissors.
“I'll approve supplying test subjects since it's necessary. But using young women under the pretext of skin care is unnecessary waste. You do remember that the Black Hand's resources aren't personal—they're for Him, right?”
“I know all that without your nagging. I'm doing it because I need it. Look at all I've brought in—why nitpick?”
“I'm still not convinced.”
“Just think of beauty as my personal motivator. No matter how much I spend, keeping my mental state sharp and focused on research will yield bigger gains in the end, right?”
The man thought for a moment after hearing her out, then nodded.
As he headed for the door, he finished his thoughts in that short time.
Grabbing the doorknob, he informed Pandora.
“One thing confirmed: All scheduled plans are scrapped. Focus solely on research to compile this achievement for a while.”
“Why?”
As Pandora voiced her doubt, the man rubbed the corner of his eye.
The clock hand in his pupil ticked forward one notch.
“Samhwa Nation's Grand General knows me. So facing her like this wasn't in the plan.”
“Hmm, didn't know that.”
“Her nerves will be on edge. She'll be under ironclad security for a while, so best to leave her be. Now that we're exposed, we drop the impatience. I want certainty in the parts we planned to resolve by force.”
“Do whatever. We've waited this long—delaying a bit more won't change much.”
Their conversation ended there.
As soon as the man left, Pandora called Hex immediately.
Rohan called Juyeon the moment the situation wrapped up.
The security officer had said not just the shopping mall but the outside was a mess too. The academy city must be chaos, because Juyeon didn't pick up.
Rohan settled for leaving a message explaining the situation and assuring her the cadets were safe.
About two hours later, a reply came: Good work.
Juyeon always kept tabs on her contacts, so Rohan felt this was unusually curt.
He immediately asked if something was wrong, but Juyeon only replied to focus on making the most of the break—nothing more.
Should I go see Instructor...
There wasn't anything obviously off about her response.
But it nagged at him anyway.
He'd be in the academy city until heading to the sea, so maybe he could cling to her under the pretext of cadets' privileges and treat her to a meal.
After that, everyday life returned to the academy city as always.
The commercial district buzzed even harder, as if everyone was trying to forget the sudden disaster that had struck out of nowhere.
Gilbert's group stuck to their plans and headed to the Sepia Archipelago.
And the girls' swimsuit shopping ended up as each one's own responsibility.
Sion and Clara seemed like they'd revisit the academy city's mall. Ichinose and Noah planned to shop in Samhwa Nation.
“Rohan. We'll be off now. Next time we meet, it'll be in Samhwa Nation.”
As evening fell, the car sent by Ichinose's parents arrived in the academy city.
Ichinose dragged her reluctant feet into the vehicle.
Noah stuck her head out the window, grabbing Sion and Clara for a noisy goodbye.
Rohan called out to the girl with her eyes closed on the opposite side.
“Ichinose.”
“...Yes?”
“Call if anything comes up. Stay healthy.”
Ichinose's lips twitched at Rohan's words.
She felt secure knowing he'd rush over and fix any problem immediately. Happiness welled up in the girl.
“I can call even if nothing's wrong, right?”
“Obviously. No news is good news.”
“Hehe.”
Ichinose was satisfied with Rohan's reaction, as if she'd asked something obvious.
As they smiled at each other, Rohan didn't forget the important part.
“Make sure to give my regards to your dad and mom.”
“Yeah, got it. Take care of yourself too, Rohan.”
The two girls rode off in the luxury car, leaving Academy City Elysium behind for Samhwa Nation.
Rohan watched them go. Sion and Clara gave a small wave to Noah, who was still poking her head out.
“...”
Thinking he wouldn't see Ichinose and Noah for a while made Rohan feel a bit lonely too.
..
..
Rohan figured today was a high-risk day for letting his guard down, so he decided to crash at Sion's mansion for the night.
He finished prepping to drop off anytime and lay on the bed.
The bed Sion had set up was wider and comfier than the dorm one.
Let's do it right away.
He pulled out one of the things waiting for its turn.
[Restricted Viewing Video #1 Partial Censorship Deleted - Viewing Possible]
This video was from the time he'd first fallen into a Monolith with Sion and Clara.
Floating under the scorching heat, he'd spotted it suddenly.
He remembered the inexplicable fatigue after watching it clearly—that's why he was crashing at Sion's mansion now.
The video sharing the gaze of that guy called the family head.
He didn't know what censorship had been lifted.
The word “partial” still bugged him, but he watched anyway.
[Restricted Viewing Video #1]
The alert popped up, and his consciousness sank.
“...”
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The man was walking through an antique building just like before.
Inside a structure that had existed in Solarea, the south that no longer was.
“Hmm.”
The family head stopped and admired a painting in the hallway.
An oil painting of a brightening horizon. The title—
'Radiance.'
Rohan remembered. It was written at the bottom.
He could still feel the man's emotions.
The family head loved the painting called Radiance.
As he finished admiring and resolved to start his day, footsteps approached.
The video content hadn't changed yet.
“Family Head!”
The man turned as the presence he'd sensed turned into a voice.
The woman approaching with a greeting was Failer's adopted daughter.
Rohan remembered her.
Someone the family head kept close despite his wariness.
“■■■. You're out early.”
The spot for her name was still filled with static and noise.
Her face was mosaiced too, unrecognizable.
As Rohan clicked his tongue in regret, the change happened.
Restoring hidden data...
Time rewound a few seconds.
Back to the family head admiring the painting.
“Family Head!”
“Pandora. You're out early.”
The hidden name was restored.
The obscured face repaired, revealing a familiar one.
Pandora looked plainer than at the shopping mall, but her distinctive eyes were unmistakable.
“...!”
Rohan was shocked, but relief outweighed it.
He'd half-expected it.
The quest that popped up meeting Pandora was [Encounter with the Ringleader of the South's Fall] from the start.
As expected. It stamped confirmation on his suspicions.
His prior intel connected in pieces.
Then...
He kept watching.
Later, he understood the “partial censorship” bit.
After the family head parted with Pandora and reached his office.
The woman with what seemed to be young Rohan—her face was still hidden.
[Restricted Viewing Video #1]
Rohan opened his eyes.
Then clenched and unclenched his fist to check his condition.
A bit tired, yeah.
There was fatigue, but not enough to lose balance and collapse like before.
With time to spare now.
What he had to do was clear.
The Third Transcendence Shines