This MadSat Acknowledges You!
Retracing his steps, he swung Protocol Cane this way and that.
"Hoit, hoit!"
The notice plaque that the knock had crumpled in? Smoothed flat. The ceiling the plasma had scorched? Wiped spotless. He dismantled the rocket fists and restored the howitzers and assorted firearms to their original condition. Couldn't go punching a hole in the national defense budget on his account.
"As expected of model citizen GodSat! Perfection itself — not a single thing to criticize! Kishishit!"
Every last visible trace of the intrusion had been wiped away. At this rate, even the Hero Association wouldn't come foaming at the mouth after him. Nobody had even died — what were they going to do about it? Heh heh heh.
Just around that corner was the laboratory entrance. This body was a clone anyway. Losing to the heroes on purpose wouldn't be so bad. They needed their morale boosted so they'd have the spirit to fight the Mains. Ahem... as naturally as possible. Scientists were weak in hand-to-hand combat! That would be the concept. The logic was airtight.
"Hiyohohohohohot! Mad―Sat! Comeback! I have retur... ned... huh?"
What on earth was this?
Forty-one heroes lay sprawled across the floor, sleeping like the dead.
"Kerrngh! Purrrrr..."
How comfortable did you have to be to snore like that? Baekho, too, was letting out soft, even breaths, chest rising and falling. That pale face showed no sign of injury. Thank goodness.
Meanwhile, Anghwa was meticulously checking even the heroes' slightest scrapes. The Maid Corps patrolled in pairs. Wait. Hold on. Why was the Maid Corps wandering around perfectly fine?! Communications had been cut! Weren't they supposed to have been wiped out? Where was the Association backup? And where the hell were the S-Class heroes?
Hongryeon sensed his presence and turned her head. Her eyes, which had been gazing at him steadily, went wide. Her cherry-like lips parted ever so slightly. It was an artificial body, and yet a flush of pink vitality bloomed across her cheeks. Was it because a soul had taken root in the flesh when she possessed it? Whew... souls, huh. There were far too many mysteries in this world that science still needed to unravel. So busy. So very busy.
"...You have arrived, I see?"
Hongryeon gathered her skirt lightly and bowed her head.
"This one has disarmed the forty-one heroes stationed at the laboratory."
Disarmed?
Ha... hahahat!
No — YOU were supposed to be the ones neutralized! He was going to lose his mind. Seriously!
"As expected of Hongryeon! I believed in you! Once again, you have not betrayed my expectations, kishishit! Ah, but this is... so thoroughly a matter of course that praise itself feels almost redundant!"
Hongryeon suddenly lowered her head, as if ducking his gaze.
"...It is not so. It was only by Master MadSat's grace in dispatching the Autumn Lantern Corps that we were barely able to annihilate them. This one is overwhelmed with gratitude."
Her eyes flicked toward him for a heartbeat, then darted away just as quickly. The hand clutching her skirt fidgeted, just barely. Did she have something to say?
Hongryeon stole another glance at him and opened her mouth.
"If... the reason you sent reinforcements was... that is... this maiden..."
...The reason he sent backup?
Ack!
Had she figured out he'd delayed the reinforcements to engineer a wipeout?! If he'd known, he would have sent them even later! Damn it!!
But before Hongryeon could finish hedging, Seolhwa of the Eastern Radiance Corps cut in. She spun a dagger between her fingers and shrugged.
"What are you talking about...? It was already over before the Autumn Lantern Corps even got here..."
Shhhhing!
A blade split the air.
Thunk!
ZZZRT!!
A hyper-vibration plasma cutter kissed past Seolhwa's white hair and buried itself in the wall. Seolhwa's pupils trembled. She glared at the glittering edge and clamped her mouth shut.
Holy—
Hongryeon had thrown her hwando in a fraction of a second. If Alpha hadn't replayed it in slow motion, he wouldn't even have known what she'd thrown. For all that audacity, she folded her hands demurely before her.
"Seolhwa... words shine brightest when they are spared, and merit loses its weight the more it is displayed."
Hongryeon regarded her with an expressionless face.
"...Do you understand?"
Seolhwa swallowed hard and nodded.
"I will... keep that in mind."
Whoa. That was actually terrifying.
Curious what had happened, he searched the backup files — but there wasn't a single recording from the Maid Corps' perspective after he'd left. For some reason the files were corrupted and wouldn't open. Bad reception because they were underground? That couldn't be it. If the signal had been that poor, the clone's link would have dropped first. And he was too scared to just ask.
Yeah. No. Some things you were better off not knowing.
"The camaraderie of the Maid Corps is truly a beautiful thing to behold! Hiyohohohohot!"
That said, the Hero Association's reinforcements were still nowhere in sight. Traffic jam on the way home from work? Now what. He'd already accomplished his objective. How was he supposed to stall for more time?
Hmm...
Best to change the subject, casually.
"Everyone! In that case, shall we take the Next step?!"
Hongryeon tilted her head, puzzled.
"Have additional enemies been detected? However, the radar shows..."
Right. The satellites weren't picking up any unusual movement either.
"But of course! If we raised this much of a ruckus, the Hero Association could hardly fail to notice! If it were me, I would infiltrate stealt—"
Mid-speech, Geumseo of the Autumn Lantern Corps cautiously raised a hand.
"About that."
She nudged her gas mask up, blew a bubble, and popped it with a chew.
Pop!
"They're probably not coming."
What was that supposed to mean? An S-Class hero, not coming?
"Hoh?! A fascinating claim! But probably? Pro...ba...bly...? Uoooogh! Non! No! Nooo!! Science is proof! 3.1415926535! Precise figures! You prove a thing by presenting evidence! Again! Report it again! Again!"
Geumseo slid the cat-ear headset off her head and hung it around her neck.
"Well... I hacked the laboratory comms network and blocked the SOS signal."
What...?
"On top of that, when we bombarded the anti-air guns, I seized the broadcast system at the nearby administrative welfare center and ran an announcement that the military would be conducting live-fire exercises. I also sent forged official documents to every relevant government office, so they won't get suspicious for at least six hours."
For a moment, he had nothing to say.
Immaculate cleanup. As expected of the Autumn Lantern Corps in their role as the general staff...
KRAAAAAAH!
The Maid Corps was so much more competent than he'd anticipated that it was actually a problem!!
Geumseo's brow furrowed, just slightly.
"I naturally assumed... that Master MadSat already knew..."
A notification had probably popped up on the HUD at some point. But new alerts had come flooding in one after another — when was he supposed to read every single one of them?!
The Maid Corps was watching him, questions in their eyes. Damn it. He couldn't give them any reason to get suspicious...
And then—
Hongryeon chopped Geumseo lightly on the crown of the head with the edge of her hand.
Tok!
"Ow!"
"Which is precisely why you still have much to learn."
She stroked Geumseo's hair.
"The Hero Association's intervention. The heroes stationed at the laboratory. There is no possibility that Master MadSat was unaware of every last one of these threats."
Hongryeon surveyed the Maid Corps and let out a sigh.
"All of this was a trial to evaluate the Maid Corps' capabilities. And you have, at last, been recognized as maids of the Super-science Dungeon."
She tilted her head at him.
"Is that not so?"
Ohh... so that was it. This had been a trial? Ahem. That did make sense.
His mind had gone blank for a second, but—
"Hiyohohohohot! Well, well. Caught by Hongryeon yet again!"
He spun in a swirl of white lab coat and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Exactly! All of this was a suuuuper genius's ultra—high-level test! You answered magnificently, all the way through the final gate, Geumseo!"
He tipped his head back and pointed a lordly finger at the Maid Corps.
The Maid Corps burst into applause and cheers all at once.
Sob... don't look so happy. Didn't they want to go home? He'd been trying to let them go!
But the festive mood lasted only a moment. Seopung, whose body had been cut in two, approached him. Anghwa must have treated her. She dropped to her knees, perfectly whole.
To her knees...
Huh?
"Master MadSat."
Seopung removed her gas mask, revealing dark, glistening eyes.
"...I beg you, please do not behead my master. I implore you... most earnestly."
She bowed her head to the floor. It was like dumping a bucket of cold water on a campfire. Hongryeon in particular looked down at her with a gaze gone ice-cold.
"Seopung. That matter was already settled. Master MadSat commanded that Chwiwollyang's head be brought to him as a trophy."
What was this? Had he misheard?
"Are you... defying your lord's order?"
For an instant, Hongryeon's pupils seemed to turn black. Nah. That couldn't be. Hongryeon's eyes were mechanical — closer to camera lenses. Changing the color of the sclera was impossible.
Seopung rose, then folded her knees a second time.
"You may take my head instead. Please... I ask only that you show my master mercy..."
Hey, hey! Were you about to bow a second time?!
He hurriedly caught Seopung by the shoulders.
"Sadness does not become the Super-science Dungeon! Besides, today is the day the dungeon's New parts were born! Ooooh! Is your cerebrum not overflowing with endorphins?!"
He hooked his index and middle fingers into the corners of Seopung's mouth and forced them up.
"So smile! Come now, smile! Hiyohohohohohohohot!"
Seopung's eyes went round.
"Then that means..."
"There is no need to secure that particular specimen! I have already achieved my desired objective, kishishit!"
"Ah... hhkk... thank... thank you, Master MadSat."
He patted the shoulder of Seopung as she wiped her tears on her sleeve.
"Hoyoyoyo, don't cry! The ions in sodium chloride oxidize metal atoms, you know! So stop! Cry any more and you'll rust right through!"
"WAAAAAAAH!"
He told her not to cry and she just cried harder.
But...
Why was she looking at him like that?
Hongryeon was watching him steadily. Huh? Huuh? Had she just smiled? Had the corner of her mouth lifted, just a little? Was he seeing things?
But Hongryeon turned away almost at once.
"This one shall make ready for our return."
She snapped her fingers.
Tak!
The Maid Corps formed ranks to the left and right of the exit. Each maid bowed her head respectfully as he passed. Ugh, the pressure. His face was burning, come on.
"With this, the foundation for the Next plan is fully in place!"
Well, he had Seo Aegyo as a chess piece now, too. He'd have to go back and think through a number of routes.
"Looks like things are about to get busy! Hiyohohohohohot!"