Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Science-like Magic VS Magic-like Science (2)
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Half out of necessity. Half out of hobby.
That's why I'd helped with my idiot brother's game development from the sidelines.
Kaedics folks saw me as the devoted, kindhearted little sister working tirelessly to make her brother's dreams come true, but we both knew that wasn't the case.
I just wanted to stop the backlash from his twisted massacres disguised as games.
Sure, the surefire way would've been to halt development altogether, but his stubbornness was unbreakable, so I pivoted to steering the game's direction instead.
I admit my hobbies got a bit excessive in the process...
Honestly, though, the games he made looked genuinely fun.
It was a blast injecting my tastes and wishlists into the elements.
Ryu In-seo. My brother was an undeniable genius, and influencing the path of one was thrilling in its own way.
But now, that same brother lay sprawled on the floor, a corpse with a gaping hole in his chest.
My head burned hot, blood rushing to it, yet a strange calm settled in one corner of my mind.
It was heartless, sure—no denying that—but in a way, it was a relief.
I could think straight about what needed doing, without losing my rationality or denying reality.
Who killed him? How? Why?
Where were his bodyguards, the ones supposed to protect him? Was the house still safe?
Mom and Dad were traveling, so they weren't caught up in this, but me?
I pressed the emergency call bell in my pocket to summon my guards while picking up the dropped smartphone from the floor.
The screen was cracked, but the call hadn't dropped. Good enough.
[—Rin! Ye-rin! Can you hear me?!]
"Director. I'm at home right now. Ryu In-seo, I mean, my brother—he's been found dead in his room."
[What?]
Was the shock in the voice on the other end from my words, or from how calmly I said them?
Normally, I'd ham it up a bit, but no time or mental bandwidth for that now.
I ignored his shock and kept talking.
"You said Nebula's gone rogue. How exactly?"
[W-wait, Ye-rin. Did you just say Ryu Executive Director is dead? For real? Where are the bodyguards? Are you okay? No, more importantly, the police—no, NIS—]
Thud-thud-thud!
"Ye-rin! Where are you?!"
The guards, alerted by my bell, burst into the house and froze at the sight of my brother's body.
I asked them to secure the perimeter, then continued into the phone.
"No sign of his guards. Mine are already here. Police or NIS, we'll handle that later. What about Nebula?"
[That's not the priority right—]
"Just answer me! These bastards kill without batting an eye, and now they're messing with a game millions are playing? We need to act fast! You wanna see players dropping dead en masse?!"
Pure speculation, no logic—just assumptions.
No proof linking my brother's death to Nebula's rampage, or that they'd harm players through it. All my gut.
But instinct screamed: if we didn't respond right and fast, our painstaking creation would be twisted into something horrific.
That my brother's name—someone who just wanted to make the ultimate game—would be etched in history as a psycho mass murderer.
Like hell I'd let that happen.
"Director, no time. Spill."
[...Strange commands are coming from Ryu Executive Director's account to Nebula. It's hacking devices of all logged-in Beyond Elysion players, blocking logout. We're trying to countermand with our accounts, but it's ignoring us. At this rate, everyone'll be trapped in minutes.]
"Physically power it down? The supercomputer Nebula's running on is at HQ, right?"
[No good. We cut power, but it won't shut off. Damn it. This is straight out of a ghost story.]
Ghost story, huh. Figures. TV stays on after unplugging, phone rings with severed line—that occult territory.
Couldn't even connect how killing my brother let them use his account.
Robbing a bank doesn't let you access the victim's accounts.
But that was a clue, too.
Magic, necromancy—whatever. The culprit wielded power beyond this world's science, no doubt.
But was that "mysterious power" limitless?
I doubted it. If omnipotent, why bother with my brother?
They could've hijacked everything outright. Why the hassle of killing him, stealing his account, and commanding Nebula?
Their power was alien. Not almighty.
Optimistic guess, but if wrong, we're sunk anyway. Betting on it.
"Thanks. Sorry for snapping earlier. I'll handle this—cover for me after."
[Wait, handle how? Ye-rin?! Hey!]
I hung up, left my dead brother's room, and entered the next.
"Ye-rin...?"
My dedicated Kaedics guard stared in disbelief.
Her face screamed, Has she lost it from the shock? Imagination, maybe.
Not weird, though.
Anyone'd think the same seeing someone prepping to log into a game after family murder.
No time for explanations. I got to the point.
"Trying to save lives here. Protect me. Culprits might show—battle ready."
"Pardon? Uh, yes?"
Two "yeses"—she got it. Or whatever.
I skipped chit-chat, hopped in the capsule, and logged in.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Years as the doting sister gave me this verdict: my brother was game-obsessed, but no psychopath forcing folks into "Have fun!" eternal lockdown.
Still, world's unpredictable. Prepped for worst-case.
I requested top-level admin access on my account to override anything he did.
Figured it'd irk him, but he granted it no questions.
Unlike Kaedics requests—always low-tier accounts. Night and day.
Asked what if I abused it? His reply was gold.
—You're not the type. You're as serious about this game as me.
Sure, some attachment, but compared to his obsession? Dicey.
Didn't argue. Got the reins for his rampages.
Logged in using the admin account he'd given me, not my player one.
A holographic display popped up unbidden, broadcasting this gem:
⚠️ EMERGENCY BROADCAST ⚠️ "All systems of this game, Beyond Elysion, are now under my control." "You cannot log out until you clear the game." "Death in-game means death in reality."
Crazy bastard. Or bitch.
Games are games because they're fun.
Even hardcore permadeath shakes folks—imagine wagering your life? Nobody's laughing then.
World's big; maybe some freak exists. But not the masses.
"Nebula."
「You called, Ryu Ye-rin Admin?」
⚙ SYSTEM RESPONSE ⚙ "You called, Ryu Ye-rin Admin?" "Grant all players invincibility now. Some might be in combat—freeze all monsters too."
「Invincibility granted to all players. Monsters frozen. Executed.」
"Logout all players ASAP. Safely, no harm to bodies."
「Command conflicts with Ryu In-seo Admin. Override his order?」
"Brother's dead. That's a fake hacking his account."
「Verifying Ryu In-seo Admin brainwaves... Failed. Unparseable error prevents verification. Account cannot be invalidated without it.」
"Delete from my end? My auth's higher."
「Deleting account... Failed. Unparseable error.」
"Tch. Fine, just logout."
「Initiating player logouts. 30 seconds to full safe logout.」
"Voice broadcast to players."
「Broadcasting. 26 seconds to full safe logout.」
I explained the situation simply into the mic: apology, no re-logins, warnings.
Got heated calling out the culprit's bullshit—edgy words slipped, but no F-bombs. Fine, I hope. Or not.
⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 「Logout halt from Ryu In-seo Admin. Higher admin request ignored. 21 seconds.」 ⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 「Logout halt from Ryu In-seo Admin. Higher admin request ignored. 16 seconds.」 ⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 「Logout halt from Ryu In-seo Admin. Higher admin request prioritized. Unknown error detected. 12 seconds.」 ⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 「Logout halt from Creator. Denied. Creator granted higher authority to Ryu Ye-rin Admin. 7 seconds.」 ⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ 「Creator revoked Ryu Ye-rin Admin authority. Command self-invalidated by Creator. Earlier command precedes later. Denied. 1 second.」 ✅ LOGOUT COMPLETE ✅ 「All connected players safely logged out.」 ⚠️ CRITICAL ALERT ⚠️ 「Alert to Ryu Ye-rin Admin: Unknown errors surging around Creator—Ryu In-seo Admin account. Massive system load. Risk of authority revocation and logout lockout. Recommend immediate logout.」 "...Got it. But reject any other commands max priority. Don't fall to that fake."
「Executing as top command.」
That was all I could do.
Or rather, all I could swing solo.
Logged out. Relief at zero casualties was short-lived.
NIS grilling, Kaedics debriefs, dodging reporters swarming HQ, hearing missing guards found comatose in alleys, chats with horrified parents mid-vacation.
No joke—barely slept for three days straight.
Kaedics cover-up helped, and no player deaths kept outrage contained. Fatalities? Unthinkable fallout.
Even my invincible TS body buckled under bone-deep fatigue. Finally crashed at home.
Midnight—light flickered by my eyes, jolting me awake.
Computer I'd shut off blazed alive.
Occult crap again? Gripped my call bell, peered cautiously.
🖥️ SCREEN MESSAGE 🖥️ "...Uh, um. Good evening?" A chibi 3-head-tall SD version of my brother popped up, looking awkwardly embarrassed. I seriously wanted to smack him one.