Transhumanism (5)
Transhumanism (5)
Any other day I would've cracked a joke like 'cold and calculating—.' but today I had no time for that.
I kept the cold sweat trickling down my spine from showing on my face.
I controlled my expression as if nothing was wrong and opened my mouth.
"I should be the one asking first. Why were you trying to kidnap Maya? Why come after her now, when she was finally trying to live peacefully?"
Buying time wouldn't hurt me.
And it wasn't a question that would miss its mark either.
I could tell from the other guy's expression.
The representative of Tech Worm, the man, wore an expression of total leisure right now.
He must've set up this kind of stage pretty damn often. Even if it wasn't cases like ours, he'd apparently taken plenty of hostages.
Thinking about it that way, I could kind of understand the 'octopus freak' John behind me, too.
People at ease tend to leave openings, after all.
An opportunity would definitely come.
While I waited for that moment,
I slowly gathered mana, careful not to get caught.
30. Transhumanism (5)
The man in the wheelchair let out a short nasal hum.
"Hmm...."
He looked like he was thinking, but I assessed that he was simply savoring his leisure.
That was entirely possible—cheap ideological criminals got drunk on their own atmosphere for no good reason far too often.
My prediction wasn't wrong.
The man firmly pressed the button attached to the armrest.
Then, accompanied by an old mechanical hum, the wheelchair slowly began moving forward.
"Fine, I can tell you that much. Because it also aligns with our purpose."
The man who said that stopped in front of the giant monitor.
Maybe a signal was connected.
When he pressed the wheelchair button again, bright light flowed from the monitor that had been turned off.
"We are the organization aiming for Transhumanism, 'Tech Worm.' We are the ones who seek the mercy of machines."
Just like your average terrorist, the representative is a fucking mental case, I thought.
A symbol that looked like the emblem of 'Tech Worm' appeared on the monitor. The man's gaze moved toward the monitor.
I wanted to fire a spell into the back of his head, but I barely held back because I didn't know what the octopus freak behind me was doing.
"Why we tried to kidnap that girl, you ask?"
As if he knew my thoughts, the man rotated his wheelchair and looked at me again.
"It's because of the message."
"...Message?"
At my muttered question, the man shouted loudly.
"Yes, a message!"
It was the kind of response that would've made me nod and snap my fingers if I could've moved my body.
The man pressed the button on the armrest again.
Then the content on the screen changed.
"This is data from an experiment obtained from a company that's now bankrupt, they say."
What was on the screen was Maya.
To be precise, 'Maya from the past.'
The blade of the operating table rushed toward Maya.
This time, even I couldn't keep my expression under control. The bitter taste of iron spread under my tongue. I'd have to get a new tooth implant.
Maybe he was rather pleased by my reaction.
The man wore a twisted smile.
The scenes on the giant monitor kept switching. And every single one of those scenes was filled with blood and madness.
"Everyone must modify their bodies. This isn't something strange; you can see it as a natural overcoming in line with the flow of the era. We are simply trying to help them cross that line, that's all."
The screen stopped at the last one.
The final place shown on the monitor was also somewhere that existed in my memory.
It was inside the building of the corporation that had kidnapped Maya.
The place where blood rose ankle-deep, the place I saw even in my dreams on a rainy day.
Maya's day of revenge.
[...Ha, hahahaha!!]
Maya, bursting into insane laughter, appeared beyond the screen. I'd thought so even back then, but that smile was stained with sadness.
"So that's the message. That girl can help our cause. And I'm also curious what would happen if the girl who'd been put back together regained a machine body."
"......."
"Now, has my answer satisfied you?"
I couldn't listen to this any longer.
My mana was all gathered now anyway.
I made up my mind to blow that fucking octopus head away first.
That was when.
- Udeudeuk.
I heard an 'ominous sound.'
The direction was from behind me.
I couldn't exactly know what happened right behind me, but judging by the man's eyes growing round, I could easily deduce that something serious had gone down.
"■■─."
A sound like someone foaming at the mouth could be heard.
Fortunately, it wasn't Maya's voice. I guessed it was the voice of the octopus freak.
I couldn't help but look back.
The man had told me not to make a single move, but now he didn't stop me from turning around.
"...Ah."
Blood dripped from Maya's mouth.
When Maya smiled, her sharp, shark-like teeth jutted out, asserting their presence.
The octopus freak who had been holding Maya lay collapsed on the floor. Looking closely, more than half of his neck was gone.
Transparent electrolytic fluid and red blood vessels scattered in all directions.
And.
Maya was on top of him.
I felt like I knew what the sound just before had been. One of Maya's arms was broken, bent in the completely wrong direction.
In other words,
'Maya' had ignored the arm that was pinned behind her, moved behind the octopus freak, and bitten through the nape of his neck.
I sorted the situation out like that.
"...Wh-what! Right now, she's just an ordinary girl—."
Honestly, I didn't want to hear the man's voice anymore. I was only holding back while there was a hostage; there was no reason to listen now.
I released the gathered mana just like that.
The man, wheelchair and all, flew toward the wall.
The speed was so fast that a red pattern etched itself into the wall.
More force went into it than I intended, but checking on Maya's condition took priority over that.
Maya slowly raised her body.
As if her broken arm didn't even hurt, there was no hesitation at all in her movements.
Maya walked this way while casually crushing the head of the twitching octopus freak.
Following her footsteps, crimson footprints settled on the floor.
"I should've just done this the moment they grabbed me."
"......."
"Why are you staring like that? Ah, my arm?"
"......."
"It hurts 'a little,' but compared to before, it's not that painful. It's fine. I'll just get scolded a bit by Dr. Terra later and ask her to fix it for me."
"......."
I answered Maya with silence.
Even at this very moment, my head was spinning with multiple possibilities.
But Maya's words cut off my thoughts.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind right now."
"......Yeah."
"Hehe, it's fine. There's nothing for you to worry about. It's just that for a moment—."
Maya's gaze shifted toward the monitor.
At the same time, Maya narrowed her eyes.
"...Some bad memories came back and I got annoyed. That's all."
Maya took another step toward me.
I nearly flinched without realizing it, but since that action might hurt Maya,
I 'absolutely' didn't let it show.
"So, don't worry!"
Still, it was a bit scary when she said that with blood around her mouth.
"My head's actually clearer than usual, you know. Maybe I feel a bit more confident..., Ah! Maybe it's because you—, no, because Mr. Si-un is here."
She looked anything but normal no matter how I saw it.
Chrome Psycho itself was a mental illness.
I guessed this was the influence of that.
Seeing Maya like that and her broken arm, a deeper guilt swirled in my heart.
I should've sent her back even if I had to force her.
My weak character had brought this on.
"......Uhm."
But even though I tried not to show it, maybe it was obvious. Maya scratched her head with her good hand.
"You don't seem to believe me when I say I'm really fine. Honestly, I get it, because I feel just slightly different from usual too."
Before I knew it,
Maya had come right up to my face.
"But still, I do feel a little that way."
It was the same moment as those words.
Maya threw herself at me as if to cling to me.
Overwhelmed by her momentum, I naturally caught Maya and fell backward.
[Get ready!]
Eve, who had been watching this whole situation, tried to say something, but soon the words were cut off.
"──."
I felt something sharp and something smooth simultaneously.
The former was Maya's teeth.
The latter was her tongue, entwined like a snake's.
The force was so intense I thought this might be the 'mucous membrane friction' Catherine and Andrea had talked about.
In short, it felt like I had become a herbivore being devoured by a carnivore.
No, wait.
I was slowly running out of breath—.
Fortunately, just before I grabbed Maya's shoulder to tap out, she slowly pulled away from my face.
"Puha-."
She smiled deeply as she did so.
"This much is fine, right? We're healthy adult men and women. Ms. Eve got the lips, Ms. Julia got the cheek. So I'll do the inside of the mouth."
Maybe it was because of the blood.
A thick metallic taste lingered around my mouth.
But for some reason, I didn't feel like spitting it out.
...I was glad the Chrome Psycho apparently hadn't relapsed, but it did seem certain there was some mental influence.
"Ah, it was a little lacking. Can I do it one more time?"
Well, maybe this was better than her swinging a blade around.
I thought as I looked at Maya's bright smile.
* * *
A little later.
Maya had returned to normal.
"......I'm so sorry!"
"No, I'm the one who's sorry."
"No, really.... What I did...."
As if she'd developed a split personality, Maya's face turned as red as a carrot and she couldn't lift her head.
It had felt like getting rammed by an 8-ton truck with no brakes, so I was glad she was back to normal.
I thought that as I let out a sigh of relief.
Just then, Maya thrust her face toward me.
"But still, this feeling isn't fake, you know."
"What does that—."
"Shh."
Maya lifted her index finger to her lips.
"I'm not just a kid, you know."
Her sharp teeth entered my sight.
Maya, who briefly stuck out her tongue as if saying 'nyah,' smiled faintly.
Fortunately, there was no sad or dark atmosphere visible in that smile.