Chapter 178: Episode
Chapter 178: Episode
The Underground City — Tavern Quanda
Elze, a member of the Outcasts, leaned against the counter, lost in thought. Her future as a mercenary was uncertain. The politics of the surface world were a mess. But above all else, it was the sheer hopelessness of their revenge that weighed on her.
“Worried?”
Quanda, the tavern’s owner, asked casually as he wiped a glass behind the bar.
“Worried? About what?” Elze stretched dramatically, trying to brush the notion aside.
Quanda chuckled. “Well, I heard even an Imperial Knight got involved, didn't he?”
“...No. Actually, that Knight pulled out.”
“Pulled out?”
“Yeah.”
It was a detail Filty had caught with her clairvoyance. Mason Industries had pulled strings directly with the Imperial family to halt the Knights’ investigation.
“I guess even a Knight is no match for them. They’ve climbed higher than we thought.” Elze let out a hollow laugh and swirled the whiskey in her glass. “They’re growing much faster than we’re getting stronger…”
A deep sigh escaped her.
Mason Industries. A monster that had come to dominate the Empire’s western economy—and their greatest enemy.
Quanda silently refilled her glass. “Well, we knew what we were getting into.”
Elze swiveled her chair to look toward the tavern's entrance. The underground city was teeming with people—those who had been discarded by the world above or who had abandoned it themselves.
“We just have to see it through to the end.”
The scenery below ground was filthy. The sun barely reached this place. But to her, it was far purer than the rotten hypocrisy of the surface. At least here, her mind was at ease.
“Elze, how’s Filty doing?” Quanda asked suddenly.
“I sent her to the hospital. I think she had a nervous breakdown.”
It was the result of observing Maximilian for too long. She’d spent days shivering with chills, claiming she’d “made eye contact” with him through her visions. Elze had been forced to take away her brushes and paper entirely.
“I see. So she won’t be drawing her comics for a while?”
“I guess not… What’s this? You like Filty, Master? Why all the questions?”
Quanda just chuckled and slipped a crumpled piece of paper over her shoulder. “Here. The information you were looking for.”
“…”
The color drained from Elze’s face.
A researcher from T24. The demons who had once subjected children to unspeakably cruel human experiments. The fact that scum like that were sleeping soundly on the surface was something she could never accept.
“You planning on doing this one alone, too?”
“You know my style. It’s more distracting if I work with others.”
The Cross Killer, Elze.
She was meticulous, investing a great deal of effort into researching her targets’ patterns before striking. It was why she never left a trace. Her colleagues lacked that level of discipline and usually just got in her way.
“Hoo…” Elze unfolded the paper.
The target’s name was Gennadi Gotel.
“Even his name sounds like shit.”
Back at T24, the researchers were only ever addressed by their titles, so their real identities remained a mystery. But this one was special. He was the target of her deepest grudge—a man more beast than human.
“...Thanks, Quan.”
Elze raised an eyebrow, pinching the paper between her fingers. Quanda gave a bitter smile and avoided her gaze.
*
For an Imperial Knight, using a false identity, disguise, or impersonation was completely legal. Even if their identity was exposed during a mission, they faced no repercussions. In fact, if an internal report was filed against them, the whistleblower would be the one punished.
This particular infiltration had been meticulously planned. A new identity had been created—a scholar from Imperial Central University—and I had been formally hired after receiving several high-level letters of recommendation.
“Mr. Gert?”
Inside Mason Industries’ advanced research wing, someone called my alias.
“I’m Milo, the senior researcher.”
“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Gert.”
Milo. Not a name I recognized. That meant he either wasn’t a war criminal or he had died before becoming one. The latter was more likely, considering the hell that was about to break loose at Mason.
“Please follow me.”
I followed him deeper into the facility. Through the glass walls of the inner corridor, bizarre sights flashed past. A monkey with patchy fur having a seizure. A dolphin dying in a tank, its skin melting away. Countless animals trapped in iron cages, writhing in agony as mana was forcibly injected into them.
Milo chuckled softly. “Find it interesting?”
“...I’ve seen worse.”
“That’s a relief.”
However, there were no signs of people. No trace of human experimentation. That was to be expected; research on human subjects would have been handed over to ‘T24’ and conducted in absolute secrecy.
“Here we are.”
Milo stopped in front of [Research Lab B]. The gate slid open with a hiss. Beyond it was a space as sterile and white as an operating room.
“Mr. Gert, your major is… Mana Studies, correct?” Milo asked, glancing at my resume.
“Yes. I have a doctorate in Mana Studies.”
“Any other majors?”
“None. I specialized deeply in the field.”
I had actually studied it. It was a required theoretical course at Empire Point. My level of knowledge was by no means inferior to that of a scholar. Not only was Active Residual Trace analysis a specialized task for a Knight, but constant self-improvement through study was a duty.
And underpinning it all was the Virus’s memory. I could recall any knowledge I had ever seen with perfect precision.
“Perfect timing, then.” Milo led me further into the lab. “There’s something we need done.”
He pointed to a booth sealed with magic-resistant glass. Inside was a red crystal the size of a fingertip.
“Take a look.”
A strange mana wavelength pulsed endlessly from the crystal.
“What does it look like to you?” Milo asked, testing me.
The particles of mana the crystal radiated were chaotic. However, the Virus within me perceived this dissonance as a pure flow. Within that flow, it recognized a specific ‘sensation.’
“It’s fine if you don’t know. It’s a difficult concept—”
Just as Milo was about to dismiss me, I spoke.
“...A living creature.”
The mana’s pulse. The Virus’s pulse. A rush of heat flooded my brain, and the information embedded itself clearly in my mind.
“This wave wasn’t generated by a machine or by nature,” I murmured, staring at the crystal. “It’s the tremor of mana released from a living creature’s emotions—from pain and despair.”
Simply put, it was an attempt to replicate human elements with mana.
“A person’s emotions?” Milo’s eyes widened. “...Incredible. You figured it out at a glance. Yes, that’s right. We’ve extracted a living creature’s emotions into crystalline form.”
Emotions generate mana. The more extreme they are—negativity, destruction, murderous intent—the more fiercely the flames burn. They had scraped together the vibrations of mana that occur the instant emotions are twisted.
Is this a remnant of their chase after the illusion of a Mana Engine?
But a Mana Engine was an impossible task. My previous life had already confirmed its failure. What was captured in this crystal was not the ‘essence of emotion,’ but merely a taxidermy of a fleeting feeling. It was a tape recorder endlessly repeating a single, horrific moment.
“Good. Better than expected. In that case, Mr. Gert, I need you to record and analyze this wavelength. It’s vital that we diagram and pattern the mana’s pulse.”
If that’s what they wanted, I could do the work. For now, I needed to earn their trust.
“Where is my station?”
“Ah, this way.”
I was shown to my desk. There was a state-of-the-art computer, but I had no need for it. I gripped a pen and, guided by the Virus’s intuition, began to furiously sketch the mana I had read.
“What are you doing…?”
Scribble, scribble.
In an instant, the diagram of the crystal’s mana wave was complete. Drawn entirely by hand.
“It’s done.”
Milo picked up the paper, staring at me with a dazed expression. I offered a relaxed smile.
“I specialize in this kind of mana analysis.”
“I’ll… I’ll check this and get back to you. Please continue with the next task.”
Milo, unable to hide his bewilderment, hurried back to his desk. But he returned almost immediately, asking how I did it and handing me the next assignment, which I also diagrammed perfectly.
“What in the world are you?”
“I’m just specialized in this field. It feels like an instinct. People call it ‘intuition.’”
“...Hah. Well, I’ve seen some strange people in my time. The last new hire couldn’t do this even after a full day.”
I continued to perform my duties as a researcher. Another week passed.
*
Mason Research Institute, Core Sector
“The new researcher we brought in is exceptional,” Senior Researcher Milo said, setting down a stack of documents.
The institute’s director, Gennadi Gotel, nodded at the results on the monitor. “So it seems. This one guy did all this in just a week?”
“Yes.”
“He’s a freak of nature. Shouldn’t we call old man Esembach? We’ve got a genius on our hands.”
“He was vetted through a recommendation from the Wilhelm Research Institute.”
Gennadi turned off the monitor. “If the recommendation is from Wilhelm, his background and ideology should be trustworthy.”
“Yes, sir. He also has a good reputation among the other researchers.”
“Hmm, alright. I’ll check him out myself in a bit.” Gennadi stood up, clasping his hands behind his back. “Well then. I’m off. Contact me if anything else comes up.”
Late at night, Gennadi left the institute and walked to the dark parking lot.
“Ah, I’m so tired,” he muttered as he started the engine. The car pulled smoothly out of the lot and onto the empty road. He took a deep breath, about to slam his foot on the accelerator.
“—Hello there.”
Suddenly, a chillingly suppressed voice rippled from the back seat. “Move, and your head comes off.”
Gennadi’s breath caught. A sharp wire rested against the nape of his neck.
“Keep driving.”
There had been no presence. No trace. Gennadi gripped the steering wheel, gasping as the wire dug into his skin. He flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror.
There was a woman in a hat. A face he’d seen before. A former test subject.
“Krrghk…”
Her pupils were stained a dark red. Gennadi stared at her, and soon, a sense of twisted delight welled up within him. So you came here on your own two feet after all.
“Ugh… Heh, heh heh.” A strange laugh escaped his teeth.
“Shut your trap.” Elze pulled the wire tighter.
“Hehehe, hehehe…”
“What are you grinning about? It’s creepy. I’ll just cut your throat.”
“Khehehehehe… Ha, ha!”
“You crazy pervert.” Elze’s brow furrowed.
Just as she tensed to rip through his neck, a faint mana wave brushed past her mind. Her eyes flew open.
KABOOM!
Too late. A tremendous impact slammed down, crushing the entire back seat of the car. Elze whipped around. Beyond the torn chassis, the massive, mechanical monster Falkenrat stood with a vicious smile.
Elze tried to gather her mana to counterattack, but Falkenrat’s mechanical arm was faster.
WHACK!
With a single blow, Elze’s body folded like a piece of paper. She lost consciousness instantly. Falkenrat tucked her under his arm like a sack of luggage.
“Ah, my neck… hurts like hell.” Gennadi staunched the blood flowing from his neck as he got out of the car. “Good thing I wore the artifact beforehand. My head almost got torn off. Mr. Falken, how was my acting?”
Falkenrat’s artificial eye looked down at him.
“Well, it was fine. Not that you care, right?” Gennadi muttered, pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his collar. He tossed it to Falkenrat. “Here.”
— What’s this?
“It’s the secret account of the owner of that tavern they use as a hideout. Quanda, or whatever his name is.”
Quanda, the master of the tavern where the Outcasts stayed, had sold Elze out.
“It’s not just the money. The guy wants us to use the new technology to save his daughter first. Said she has some incurable disease.”
— I’ll send someone.
“Yes, thank you for your trouble.” Gennadi turned his back on his wrecked car and walked off into the darkness.
Falkenrat bent his knees and leaped, flying hundreds of meters into the night.
*
I’ve been working nonstop. I’m starting to think I chose the wrong approach, but whatever.
“Um, Dr. Gert. Over here.”
“Could you check this formation for me?”
At some point, the way the researchers treated me had changed.
“Dr. Gert!”
‘Doctor.’ That honorific had naturally attached itself to me. I didn’t know why, but it sounded even better than ‘Sir Knight.’ Was it because it was a title I’d never held in my life?
“How should I interpret the unstable part of this wavelength?”
The Virus inside me reacted to the question first.
“Hmm.”
The Virus perceives mana as it truly is, understanding wavelengths intuitively. However, there were limits to translating that intuition into the ‘language’ used by scholars.
“Instead of trying to force the wave to connect in this section… how about trying to segment it? Break the flow.”
My advice was simple and straightforward, based entirely on the Virus’s senses.
“...Ah! Segmentation!” The researchers understood my raw explanations perfectly. “I’ll run a simulation! As expected of Dr. Gert!”
I felt like I was helping Mason Industries advance, but it didn’t matter. Mason would be destroyed before the year was out. Their patents, research data, and organizational structures would be dismantled piece by piece, and I would devour only the ‘good parts.’
“Thank you, Doctor!”
“Yes, keep up the good work.”
As soon as one researcher left in awe, another would immediately come to my desk with a report. It was a strange phenomenon for someone who had been undercover for less than two weeks.
“Dr. Gert, did you come straight from university? Your insight is incredible.”
“No, well. I’ve worked at the Wilhelm Institute before… and I had many opportunities to encounter Mana Studies while traveling the continent.”
I was giving a vague, embellished account of my background when someone tapped on my desk partition. It was Senior Researcher Milo.
“Dr. Gert.” His voice was a notch lower and more subdued than usual. “There’s something else I need you to do.”
“...What is it?”
“A test subject has come in… For now, just come this way.”
Milo trailed off, gesturing for me to follow. He meant for us to speak alone.
“Alright.”
In my mind, I sensed that the real episode was finally about to begin.