Chapter 222
Chapter 222
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 222
Chapter Title: Interlude
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A private jet belonging to the Fixer Association, departing from Nighthaven's Midnight Airport and heading for the United Kingdom.
The streamlined aircraft, its upper fuselage a mysterious shade of black, silently glided above the clouds.
The Aeris X9, a plane whose interior only a select few of the Association's key figures were permitted to see.
This aircraft, operated exclusively for VIPs, was so sturdy it could withstand even missiles or powerful magic.
How was this possible for an aircraft, when even a small sparrow sucked into an engine could be dangerous?
It was none other than the power of magitech, discovered through fairy magic.
Originally, magic was a phenomenon that followed its own set of laws, not interacting with the materials of Earth.
That's why it was impossible to imbue a monomolecular cutter with mana, and conversely, why one couldn't create a device that cast magic at the push of a button.
However, fairy magic, with its unique structure, had solved this problem between science and magic.
The result was a kind of singularity that transcended the limits of existing scientific technology.
Of course, it wasn't without its drawbacks. The cost was still far too high for commercialization, one might say.
In particular, the consumable catalyst that linked magic and science was absurdly expensive, meaning it was only used in limited, special situations like this one.
But perhaps a day would come when all of humanity could experience magic as part of their daily lives.
The scientists and mages researching magitech carried on with their work day by day, holding such hopes in their hearts.
In any case, it was an incredibly luxurious aircraft, an experience even the considerably wealthy couldn't afford.
A certain girl sitting inside gazed out the window and suddenly muttered.
“…I miss Yuria.”
“…Already? Anna, it hasn't even been an hour since we parted.”
“Huh, what? D-Did I say that out loud?”
“Yes. You did.”
Ugh, ahhh… I only meant to think it…!
Having unknowingly blurted out something so embarrassing, Anna's face flushed as she flustered.
To be caught muttering someone's name while staring wistfully out the window.
It was destined to become the kind of memory that makes you kick your blankets in embarrassment.
But was Rana truly as kind and tolerant as an angel with wings?
She nodded as if she fully understood and continued speaking with a deadpan expression.
“I understand. Yuria is cute and kind. And she genuinely supported the two of us.”
After saying this, Rana closed her mouth, her expression still so blunt that she might have appeared to be in a bad mood at first glance.
However, the tuft of hair sticking up from the crown of her head wagged vigorously, clearly revealing her positive feelings.
Was it because Yuria was her first friend since Anna, and she'd taken a great liking to everything from her face to her kind heart?
The wariness she'd first shown toward Yuria was now nowhere to be found.
But Anna, who had been listening quietly with a still-flushed face, suddenly felt a pang of doubt.
She couldn't recall seeing anything like that during the entire night they'd spent with Yuria at the hotel.
I'm sure I was right beside them from the moment we entered the hotel to the moment we left….
Lost in thought, she asked Rana with a somewhat bewildered expression.
“Uh, when did you talk about that?”
“Yesterday, in my bed.”
“What! You mean, while I was sleeping?!”
Anna placed her hands on her knees and cried out that it was completely unfair.
How could you two talk alone just because I fell asleep first! It was a very girlish complaint.
But it couldn't be helped.
Rana was an angel whose body was always brimming with mana, giving her extraordinary physical specs.
And Yuria was a sturdy girl who was starting to see the results of her diligent training with Alice.
In contrast, Anna, a mere mortal girl, was completely drained from the past few days' events.
As a result, she had no way of knowing about the conversation Yuria and Rana had while she was asleep!
“Hmph. The late bird gets the worm.”
“Waaah! I lost out because I'm the early bird!”
Rana giggled and teased, while Anna was genuinely disappointed.
The two of them chatted boisterously, looking even closer than they had before the trip.
Seraph watched the children quietly for a moment before turning his gaze out the window with a small smile.
Gazing down at the pure white clouds, he recalled his time at the Association's headquarters.
The Association's chairman, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept properly in days.
And Tempest, strolling around leisurely in a Hawaiian shirt, as if to say he was now a civilian who had completely left the industry.
The two had secretly summoned Seraph inside, saying there was something they had to discuss face-to-face…
…and the conversation they had there was so shocking it was hard to believe.
‘War with the Metahuman Liberation Army is right around the corner….’
A warning that the Metahuman Liberation Army, which had vanished ten years ago, was about to run rampant again.
Even for Seraph, the fact that it was imminent was startling news.
Would metahumans once again raise their swords against each other, leading to a conflict with countless casualties?
His mood naturally grew as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
‘Still, this is also an opportunity. The moment they make their big move, we should be able to put an end to this wretched fight.’
The Metahuman Liberation Army was by no means a group with sound ideals.
Their claim of acting for the sake of all metahumans was just a plausible-sounding excuse tacked on.
They were simply fanatics who blindly followed their leader, the Commander-in-Chief, and wished for the world's destruction.
Therefore, to those who were content with their lives on Earth, the Metahuman Liberation Army was an unforgivable existence.
Thus, Seraph intended to seize this chance to crush them so thoroughly they could never rise again.
‘Everything is for the children who will live in the future.’
His resolve firm, Seraph quietly closed his eyes.
The voices of the children, still chattering away, reached his ears.
Several hours later, after crossing the sea by plane, Seraph arrived in the United Kingdom.
As soon as he disembarked at the airport, he immediately contacted the Prime Minister through a private line.
And the CEO of Arc, the King, certain Double Number Fixers, and so on.
Gathering only the most trustworthy individuals, Seraph spoke in a gravely serious tone.
“This is an urgent matter conveyed by the Fixer Association.”
These movements weren't just happening in Europe.
Similarly, in China, the African Union, Russia, South Korea, and other nations that also had Single Number Fixers…
…similar events were unfolding in every country the Association could reach.
The world was preparing to face the great war that was about to break out.
*
*Crash!*
An old, antique castle that looked as if it had been forsaken by people long ago.
Inside, the sound of shattering glass echoed in all directions.
“Hah, hah… Aaaargh!”
Tracing back from the shards of broken glass, one could find the person who was screaming.
A girl whose beautiful, lustrous black hair was now a disheveled mess—it was none other than Ren.
After her attempt to cause chaos at Tempest Stadium was thwarted by Yuria and ended in failure…
…she had been moved here, where she fainted from the backlash of her power and had only just regained consciousness after several days.
At the time, she'd pretended to be fine, but psychic power was a dangerous force that ate away at the user's mind.
In truth, the power she'd used then had long since surpassed the limits of what Ren could control.
Of course, this was only because she hadn't had enough time.
If she had focused properly on her growth for another year, she would have obtained power comparable to that of a Single Number Fixer.
But Ren, whose talent had not yet fully blossomed, had reached something close to her limit.
“That damned… piece of trash…! She stole my brother… stole my brother away!”
However, the reason for her despair wasn't that her plan had failed.
The cause was Yuria, who had wielded psychic powers stronger than her own right beside Raven.
Therefore, it must have been because Yuria had whispered things in his ear that Raven hadn't accepted her.
There was no basis for this, but in her broken state of mind, it was the only conclusion Ren could reach.
If he had recognized her but refused simply because he didn't trust her…
…the thought was so agonizing she would have ended her own life on the spot.
“Guuuh… Aaaargh!”
But there was no way for her to become stronger right here and now.
The one who granted her power never revealed themselves, only approaching her unilaterally.
No matter how much she cried out for more power, it was meaningless.
Moreover, now that the plan she had conceived over a long period had gone up in smoke right at the end…
Ren's usefulness was over. In fact, she now had to worry about her impending punishment.
“A pathetic sight, Ren….”
“Ugh…! Ack! Apostle… sir…!”
“I gave you so much power and authority, yet you still managed to fail….”
Ren's shoulders flinched at the blurry figure that had suddenly appeared in mid-air.
She reflexively took a step back like a frightened animal.
It was because the one she called Apostle was her superior, the one who managed her.
The price of failure is death.
Ren understood this fact down to her very bones.
That's why she could only huddle down, her teeth chattering.
“I-I'm sorry…!”
“No, there's no need to apologize. This one time… I will forgive you….”
“Yes… B-But why?”
But the Apostle's next words were something Ren had never expected.
To be forgiven for such an absurd failure?
For someone who had witnessed the punishment of failures many times, it was an incomprehensible turn of events.
But did the Apostle have a reason for it?
The blurry figure answered nonchalantly, without any discernible movement or stir.
“The task entrusted to you ended in failure, but in its place, I found something even better…. It's a fair trade for losing one pawn, wouldn't you say…. Heheh, those Fixer bastards… To think they were hiding something like this….”
“Something… better…?”
Ren's thoughts wouldn't connect properly, her breathing ragged.
She instinctively realized that the "something" the Apostle had found was Yuria.
The girl in white who, unlike herself, had looked at her with perfect calm, her emotions completely undisturbed.
A being whose presence next to Raven was so enviable it could drive a person mad.
Ren clenched her fists so tightly that her palms began to bleed.
The fact that this girl she hated so much had prolonged her life made her feel like she was about to lose her mind.
If only she hadn't interfered in the first place. The thought filled her mind.
But did the Apostle know what thoughts were running through Ren's head?
He stretched out a hand and dropped something on the floor with a thud as he gave her an order.
“Ren… I will grant you even greater power…. Bring me the Child of God…. There will be no next time….”
“Ugh…! Y-Yes! I understand!”
For a psychic, greater power meant greater suffering.
Ren knew this all too well, but she simply followed his words.
The more her mind broke, the fainter her senses became, and the more her consciousness drifted away.
But psychic power, which allowed her to feel a sense of omnipotence within that state… was like a drug.
If this, too, was fate, then so be it.
The mouth of the blurry figure floating in mid-air seemed to twist into something of a smirk.