Lightning (5)

The story of my childhood. Back when I was an orphan, the government announced they were launching a new project. Perhaps they’d decided that the super soldier Gu Sihyeok, already active on the battlefield, wasn’t enough. They spread the news far and wide so it would reach every orphanage and every child living on the streets, under the slogan that anyone could become a hero. That was the new super soldier development project—the Zeus Project.

More than four hundred orphans from across the country gathered with dreams of becoming super soldiers. We trained and gradually underwent human body modification. Even though children died from failing to endure the training and modifications, none of us ran away. Most of the orphans had lost their families during the war, and their desire for revenge and glory burned just as fiercely. Even without that, the government-provided three meals a day and a bed where you didn’t have to worry about dying in your sleep were incredibly tempting.

I was there too. It was a time when I was simply too busy trying to survive each day. A time when I received training, ate my meals, and watched how many kids died each day without feeling much of anything. During that period when I was emotionally the most dead inside, I met her.

The person in charge of the Zeus Project. Dr. Baek Seolah. The first adult who told me it was okay to keep living, and my first love.

I had never imagined I would one day ride in a wheelchair pushed by my own daughter, but it wasn’t so bad. It was a distant memory, yet strangely familiar.

“So, what kind of person was this Baek Seolah?”

“She was a wonderful adult.”

“...I’m just asking, but in what way was she wonderful?”

Maribella asked with a strangely persistent tone. I answered while basking in the sunlight from the wheelchair my daughter was pushing.

“She was cheerful, kind, and mature. She knew how to take responsibility, and she was charming.”

“You must have really liked her?”

Her voice was somewhat cold. Why was this kid acting like this? Was disliking a stepmother some kind of children’s instinct?

“I did. I don’t know if she liked me back, but she cared about me.”

“What happened to her?”

Her voice had sunk a little lower. Maribella had clearly noticed that we had been forced into an unwanted farewell. Maybe my tone had given it away.

“She was murdered. The government disliked her relatively humane methodology. They tried to dispose of her research data and got caught, so she was killed.”

“Ah…”

“It’s fine. It happened at least 120 years ago.”

And I had already taken my revenge. I tried not to dwell on it. I couldn’t let myself be consumed by rage and throw everything away. Though I supposed it would be okay to dwell on it until I got better.

I looked at the vampires while feeling the broken leg and the arm that had only grown back a little from the stump. Knights were coming and going from the newly rebuilt building, moving busily. Thanks to the labyrinth’s homeostasis, there had been no need to rebuild the structure. I wasn’t sure whether to call that fortunate or not.

I stared at the scene for a while before letting out a sigh.

“It would be nice to learn some kind of magic that evenly distributes wounds across the entire body.”

Then I would heal faster and be able to fight again sooner. I had said it with a touch of regret, but Maribella’s reaction was far from positive.

“What a horrible thing to say. Just looking at you, it seems like you’d overuse it and then collapse and die.”

“Hmm.”

“Who would even use such an inhuman spell? Besides, healing wounds is outside the domain of magic.”

“Oh, is that so?”

That was unexpected. So magic wasn’t all-powerful after all.

“But the divinity of light…”

“Precisely because it is the divinity of light. Healing other people’s wounds is the exclusive patent of the Church of Light. The Saint of the Church of Blood and a very small number of others can do it as well, though.”

Exclusive patent. I had grown used to this completely translated form of language communication. Even so, it felt strange to hear Maribella—with her distinctly Western features—fluently using the term “exclusive patent” in Korean. I was curious what she had actually meant to say, but asking felt awkward. I had heard that after the God of Language died, everyone’s intentions were transmitted accurately in the listener’s own language. That was why Russian had sounded like Korean the moment I woke up in this world. It really was a strange world.

And that wasn’t all. The being who was now the God of Magic had built an empire for the greatness of all humanity, gone around killing gods, and so on.

“Alright, I’ve told you my story, so now it’s your turn.”

Anyway, I lacked common sense. There were far more things I didn’t know than things I did, and before I officially became an adventurer and began exploring the labyrinth, I needed to learn what I had to know. That was why I was exchanging information bit by bit like this while talking with my daughter.

“What would you like to hear about?”

“You mentioned the children of the stars, right?”

“If it’s about the God of Language, I already—”

“That’s not what I meant. You said that one died too, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Maribella pushed my wheelchair and gave polite nods to the knights who approached and greeted her.

“From what I’ve heard, the God of Stars was personally met and spoken to by the God of Magic before being killed.”

The God of Magic—the first emperor of the empire, the deity worshipped by the Church of Magic, and the most powerful mage in history. That god had once been a god-slayer.

“The Church of Magic says that the God of Stars symbolized the end of humanity. Not only inspiration, wit, and genius, but also madness. On top of that, it was said that the god wished to drop massive stars to kill all humans and turn them into light. So the God of Magic had no choice but to kill it. Though few people actually believe that.”

It seemed none of these so-called children of the stars were particularly sane. On the other hand, I—Ha Jinwoo—had succeeded in raising my child through automatic education. At the very least, when it came to child-rearing, I could say I surpassed the light.

“...Father?”

“Hm?”

“Your expression looks upset.”

“You really don’t hold back with your dad, do you?”

“It’s your expression that’s the problem, Father.”

While I was playfully bickering with Maribella, who had lifted her chin in a pout, I spotted two girls in the distance who had just finished retrieving their equipment and were chatting. It was Jenia and Moare. They had said they planned to stop adventuring for a while and rest. The reason was that continuing their adventures while even the drug addicts—not just the debt collectors—were following them was too dangerous. And following me… after this incident had proven that it was incomparably more dangerous than the addicts, it was a shame.

“...Ah, Mister Jinwoo!”

Even so, the girls smiled brightly and waved their hands. They were remarkably cheerful despite their money problems.

“You’re already walking around? Shouldn’t you be lying down longer?”

“I’m pretty sturdy.”

“Yeah, I guess you are. If you end up visiting the Magic Tower later, be careful. You might get dissected.”

Moare tossed out the joke with a sly little smile, while Jenia elbowed her in the side and laughed.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. The Guro District feels a bit uncomfortable… so we’re heading back to the adventurers’ street.”

“There are mercenaries there, so the addicts probably won’t try anything. Just stick to well-lit areas and you should be fine.”

“Isn’t that a bit too optimistic?”

“They’ve been paying more attention to public safety lately, so it should be okay!”

I was a little worried, but even if they were young, those girls were adventurers too. They had to take responsibility for their own lives. I couldn’t look after them forever. After saying goodbye to the two girls, I was left alone with Maribella. Ah, and Vertea—who had quietly approached and was now standing guard beside us—made three.

“Bell.”

“Master. Young lady.”

“Did you sleep well? How’s your body?”

“It is fine. Rather, this unit feels that it has grown even stronger after receiving a blessing from the Darkness.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. This unit’s flames can now burn Master’s enemies for a much longer time.”

That fight hadn’t been all loss. My blessing was the biggest gain, but even setting that aside, we had obtained plenty. We had shaken off the threat that had been looming over me, Vertea had grown stronger, and I had formed a bond with my daughter in my own way. Having a base we could comfortably use long-term was another benefit.

“This unit wishes to ask about Master’s future plans.”

After the two of them bickered a bit and decided to each take one handle of the wheelchair, I sat there thinking.

“I gave the money to Moare and Jenia, and I plan to take all the compensation points myself.”

“This unit believes it would have been better for Master to monopolize them.”

“The kids said they had no money. I couldn’t take that from them.”

“If Master truly needs money, this unit could lend it.”

“Did you hear that? I raised my daughter well.”

“This unit understands that Master is becoming a kept man.”

But in reality, I didn’t need that much money. Everything I needed to buy from the shop was already in my bag, and anything still missing could be taken from the vampires’ armory. My armor had been completely destroyed, but it hadn’t been doing its job properly anyway. Now that I had gained new power, there was no need to cling to armor. It would be nice to have, though.

“For now, I should take on some light requests and get used to being an adventurer.”

Everything I had done until now had been the way of a soldier and a survivor. Even if I had surpassed first-class as a warrior, as an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠adventurer I was still a complete novice. Since it had become clear that I was an avatar, exploring the labyrinth was a necessary task for me. I was actually looking forward to it.

“Hmm, is that so? Then we should occasionally arrange some things for you as well.”

“This unit is impressed by how obvious the young lady’s intentions are.”

“What did you say? Who has obvious intentions—”

Maribella’s words sped up in surprise, while Vertea stared at her with a completely expressionless face. Vertea placed a hand on her own chest and spoke.

“Are you not trying to spread the message that ‘the avatar, our Master, is already being supported by us, and that the avatar and the Blood Clan share a clear alliance’? As far as this unit knows, Master is the one who will conquer and rule over the entire labyrinth. It is not strange to build connections now.”

Oh, so that’s how it is? I looked at Maribella in a daze, and she responded to Vertea’s words.

“Is there any reason it shouldn’t be? Father isn’t the type to pretend not to know after receiving an investment.”

“That is correct.”

She said it so boldly. There wasn’t even a trace of the panic she had shown moments ago. But for me, getting closer to my daughter and forming an alliance with her faction wouldn’t be a bad thing. I had already made a firm enemy of the Church of Light, so the more allies the better. After all, I couldn’t do everything with my own power alone. At least not yet.

“Anyway, the blessing I received is powerful, but it isn’t light enough to draw out every time.”

I hadn’t given it a name. Astrape had a name, but the power that turned my entire body into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lightning did not. I wasn’t particularly good at naming things. The government used to handle that for me whenever the need arose. So I hadn’t decided on a name, but at least one thing was certain. This was not a power I could overuse. The fact that it had no limit was the biggest issue. From the moment I used it, it consumed my body and mind indiscriminately. If not for the medicine Maribella had aggressively administered, I might have died.

“I need to receive more blessings. So I’ll have to go through all kinds of hardships while exploring the labyrinth… get used to the labyrinth, and get used to my own power.”

The world was harsh, and it seemed I really was the avatar of an evil god. Everything precious to me, the peaceful life I wanted to enjoy—all of it lay beyond my strength and effort. It wasn’t a complicated story. When had it ever been easy? Living had always been difficult. That was what made continuing to live meaningful.

With that resolve, I clenched my fist tightly.

“...Master, it is good to make a resolution, but this unit advises you to stop at emotional exaltation. Your wound has opened.”

“Ah.”

I looked at the bandage on my forearm, where blood was starting to seep out and spread red. It seemed more noticeable because the blessing had slightly increased my physical abilities. I really needed to get used to my new physical capabilities.

“Maribella, can you give me a new bandage? I need to wrap it again.”

I couldn’t just stay like this, soaked in blood. I held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out my uninjured hand toward Maribella.

“...Maribella?”

But there was no response. When I slowly turned my head to look up, I saw an unfamiliar expression on my daughter’s face. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils contracted to their limit. The vertical slits reminiscent of a cat’s were those of a predator. Chilling and sharp.

“Maribella?”

“...Ah, yes. I’m sorry. Just a moment…”

She fumbled in the pocket behind the wheelchair, pulled out a bandage, and handed it to me. Her movements were hurried.

“Please give me the used bandage. I’ll put it away.”

“You don’t have to go that far… If I give it to Bell, she’ll burn it right away…”

“We used a lot of medicine. Someone with a wasteful streak like you, Father, might not understand, but as the head of the family, I must conserve resources. The bandages can be washed and disinfected for reuse.”

“Oh, really? Well, if you say so…”

Seeing her blunt, curt tone, it didn’t seem like I should argue. Trying to win against my daughter when she was being stubborn wasn’t what a good father would do. I reluctantly unwrapped the bandage and held it out to her. Maribella took it with trembling hands.

After wrapping the new bandage tightly around the wound and confirming that the bleeding had stopped, I looked at Maribella again.

“Maribella.”

“Ah, yes.”

“When can I meet them?”

Maribella, who had been staring blankly at the blood-stained bandage, lifted her head with a dazed expression.

“The Oracle, I mean.”

We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn’t been together long, but after nearly two weeks, I had come to understand. The knowledge Maribella had about Earth, some of the Earth products the vampires used, and even this wheelchair. They understood these objects, this place, and parts of modern technology, even if only vaguely. In other words, the Blood Clan was in close cooperation with the Oracle. It was time to meet that artificial intelligence that may have existed even before the world became like this.