Unscientific Faith
After finishing my meeting with the boss, I stepped out of the room only to find Niverna waiting right outside, visibly tense. The moment she saw me, she shot to her feet and hurried over.
“─Are you alright?”
“Alright? What do you mean?”
“The, um… your meeting with the president…”
Hearing that, I let out a small sound of understanding. Yeah, that made sense. Even an S-class hero who could look down on the world with sheer force alone couldn’t easily dismiss certain people. A megacorporation’s president and the boss of a villain organization were exactly that kind of untouchable figure.
This world wasn’t all that different from Earth. It ran on money. Niverna, despite being an S-class hero, was still ultimately bound by capital, and in some ways a corporate president wielded even more influence than an S-class hero.
Not to mention Regalia held both titles at once: president of Evils Enterprise and leader of the villain organization. Sure, it used to be nothing more than a gathering of non-powered people, washed-up has-beens, and disabled folks missing limbs, but now it was powerful enough to be called the private army of Evils Enterprise.
“I’m fine. She’s not the type to harm me.”
“…I see. It seems I didn’t know nearly enough about you, sir.”
“You probably know even less than you think.”
I let out a small chuckle and glanced around. Since we were in the waiting room right outside the president’s office, there didn’t seem to be anyone eavesdropping. Still, just to be safe, I activated a noise-canceling device before speaking again.
“My name isn’t Raemon. It’s Eight.”
“…Eight? Why do you have two na─”
“It’s not so much two names as two identities. As you can see, I tend to attract quite a few attacks.”
“Ah…”
Niverna let out a soft sound of realization. After all, we’d only spent one day together and we’d already been ambushed by people with hypnosis and brainwashing abilities. That alone was more than enough reason to hide one’s identity. As she nodded in understanding, I decided to tease her a little.
“Don’t tell me you’re the type who can’t overlook illegal activity just because I’m friends with a hero?”
“What? Of course not… Even if you were committing illegal acts and hiding your identity because of it─I would still believe in you and follow you, sir!”
“That’s not what I meant, so relax.”
What did she think I was? I gave Niverna a brief stare before sighing and looking for the other person who should’ve been with us. My so-called bodyguard had been the first one to fall under hypnosis. That pathetic guy…
“Where’s Vira?”
“I told the secretaries about her condition and had her sent to the infirmary.”
“Good job.”
Of course Vira had been pathetic, but I knew it wasn’t really her fault. Abilities like hypnosis and brainwashing were basically the same as hacking a computer. No matter how much you prepare beforehand, you’ll eventually get breached.
Besides, this world was full of all kinds of bizarre ability users. Even simple telekinetics had completely different mechanisms from one another, so I didn’t expect hypnosis and brainwashing to be any different.
I should make some anti-hypnosis tools. It’s impossible to give them to everyone, so I’ll start by making enough for the executives…
I was thinking about how to make sure we wouldn’t fall for the same trick next time when Niverna suddenly looked at me with a shocked expression.
When I turned to her with a questioning look, she carefully opened her mouth.
“Sir, you can make that kind of face too.”
“Huh? What kind?”
“Right now, your expression is…”
You’re smiling.
Hearing her words, I quickly covered my face with my hand. Just as she said, the corners of my mouth had crept upward.
Vira opened her eyes exactly one hour after she’d fallen under hypnosis. Fortunately, when she woke up, the brainwashing had already been lifted. I wasn’t sure whether passing out was the trigger or if it simply wore off after a certain amount of time, but either way, it was a relief that I didn’t have to put in any special effort to undo her brainwashing.
“Puhahaha─! I heard there was a pathetic excuse for a bodyguard who got brainwashed, so I came to see─and damn, you really are pathetic!”
“You─ Galrm, why don’t you get lost?”
“Get lost? I came here as the scientist’s guard! Unlike some pathetic person who gets brainwashed, this body of mine is confident it won’t fall for that kind of thing!”
“Ugh…!”
Vira’s hands and feet trembled as she watched Galrm mock her mercilessly, but honestly, he wasn’t wrong. If it had been Galrm instead of Vira back then? That muscle-brained tiger who thrived on breaking common sense would’ve probably just punched the guy, whether it was common courtesy to offer a song of apology or not.
So whether he got brainwashed or not, the result would’ve been the same. Galrm would’ve easily shaken off the crowd and protected himself like a proper villain. But that wasn’t because Vira was weak─it was simply because Galrm was the abnormal one.
“…Eight. Sorry. It was my fault.”
“No. It’s my fault for not realizing that even someone like you─a former elite bodyguard─wouldn’t have any defenses against hypnosis and brainwashing.”
“H-hey! What do you mean I don’t have any defenses!? I do have some precautions against hypnosis, you know!?”
“But you still got hit, didn’t you?”
“That’s because this time it was a method I wasn’t prepared for…”
Hypnosis and brainwashing came in truly endless varieties. From simply waving a coin to slowly rewriting perception over a long period, using neurochemical drugs, utilizing ESP, and even changing the world itself instead of the target. With countless new methods appearing every single day, there was no way a defender could prepare for all of them. As the saying went, defense was something you trained after getting hit first.
Just as I’d said earlier, this incident wasn’t because Vira was incompetent─it was because the enemy had been too competent.
“Well, from now on I’ll make you a special defensive tool. I don’t know that much about this field myself, so it’ll only be some outdated methods whose confidentiality period has already expired, but…”
“…Yeah. Thank you.”
“I’ll have to make them for everyone else too. It’s no big deal.”
We were in the middle of that conversation when Galrm suddenly whipped his head around and spoke.
“─Vira. Attack incoming. Deploy at maximum strength.”
“Huh? Galrm, what are you─”
Before I could even ask, Vira immediately deployed the largest barrier she could create. A barrier large enough to envelop the entire Evils headquarters appeared, and moments later, a massive roar and vibration slammed into the building.
The entire structure shook with a tremendous tremor. Galrm grinned, clearly amused.
“An attack in broad daylight? These guys must be out of their minds.”
“…An attack? This?”
“Yeah. An attack.”
Galrm stood up as he spoke. He grabbed the genetic essence and the undiluted energy drink from inside the lab, then slowly stretched his body as he headed out.
“Gonna go grab a quick drink.”
BOOOOM─!
Another vibration strong enough to shake the entire building rang out. Surprisingly, though… I wasn’t particularly worried.
One of the strongest combatants in the entire villain organization had just stepped out. If anything, I was more worried about the attackers.
It’d be troublesome if he kills them.
While silently praying that Galrm would at least bring the corpses back intact, I deployed my drones. The camera-equipped drones began circling Evils headquarters, broadcasting footage of the surrounding area.
A man wearing an anachronistic robe stood in the middle of the road, blocking traffic. Cars blared their horns and drivers shouted in anger at the sight.
“You crazy bastard! Are you trying to die!?”
The deafening horn blasts and the furious voices of the drivers didn’t reach the robed man at all.
He ignored every sound and quietly looked up at the Evils Enterprise building.
This place was perfect.
“O Devil… I offer you this soul.”
As he spoke, the man rolled up the sleeve of his right arm. Beneath it was something so horrifying it could no longer be called a human arm. Even the limbs of beastmen or arms mutated by ESP wouldn’t look this grotesque.
Diestra del diablo. The Right Arm of the Devil. The moment the apostle revealed the right arm granted to him by the Devil, he swung it. The Right Arm of the Devil ignored all sense of distance and sliced away at everything within his field of vision.
In an instant, every building around Evils Enterprise headquarters except the main building itself was destroyed. Screaming citizens began fleeing in panic.
“W-what the hell!”
“There wasn’t even an alert today!?”
“Call Evils Enterprise right now!”
Citizens screamed as they ran. A few brave souls realized the man standing in the road was the culprit and tried to ram him with their cars. It would’ve been a good attempt if not for that one dangling right arm.
The apostle casually tossed aside the vehicle that had tried to hit him and frowned as he glared at Evils headquarters. Even after striking with the right arm bestowed by the Devil, the building hadn’t budged. It was probably because of the barrier surrounding it…
Any normal person would have tried to eliminate the one who created the barrier or looked for a spot where the barrier wasn’t active. But for Devil worshippers, such thinking wasn’t normal. For them, this was what normal thinking looked like.
“I offer my soul to the Devil.”
Believing in the Right Arm of the Devil and striking until it broke. They believed there was no existence more omnipotent than the Devil, no existence greater than the Devil. That faith became power and returned to them.
Slowly, cracks began to form in the barrier that had blocked the apostle’s strike. The apostle realized that after swinging a few more times, the barrier would shatter and he would be able to achieve his goal.
“─How about you stop there?”
“…Hmm.”
But it was already too late. This was the headquarters of Evils Enterprise. Their territory. Even a mutt was said to be half as strong on its own home ground, and Evils Enterprise was far beyond the level of a mere mutt.
“It’s rude to make a racket in front of someone else’s house, don’t you think?”
“Beast King.”
“Hmph─ I’m the Beastman King, actually.”
Galrm frowned slightly at the tongue-lashing typical of a Devil follower and stared at the apostle’s arm. Even Galrm, who had accumulated plenty of experience wandering battlefields, had never seen anything like it. It didn’t look like anything that belonged to this world─a bizarre right arm.
While his attention was caught by that right arm─the apostle swiftly swung it. Galrm had thought the distance would keep him safe, but astonishingly, the apostle’s right arm ignored distance entirely and slammed into Galrm’s body.
The impact felt like an entire building had crashed into him. Galrm let out a groan, then looked at his trembling limbs and burst into hearty laughter.
“Puhaha─! Now that’s something I like!”
An attack that ignored distance, and a monstrous strength so overwhelming it was hard to believe it came from just one arm. It was something a martial artist like him couldn’t help but covet.
“I want it too.”
With those words, Galrm tossed the genetic essence into his mouth. The scientist had explained that this genetic essence would evolve his body in whatever direction he desired.
When he had wanted long-range attacks, beams had shot from his eyes. Now that he wanted the same ability as the man before him, what would happen if he consumed it?
Full of anticipation, Galrm bit down on the genetic essence between his molars. Crunch! The genetic code that called for evolution rampaged through his body.
“…I offer this beast to you.”
The apostle ignored Galrm and raised his right arm once more. The exact same attack was about to engulf Galrm again─but this time, Galrm raised his own right arm and swung it. The incoming attack froze in midair.
The moment the Right Arm of the Devil was neutralized, the apostle stared at Galrm in disbelief. Galrm twirled his right arm and stepped forward.
“─Not bad.”
Diestra del diablo. The Right Arm of the Devil had taken root in a beast without faith. Seeing this, the apostle roared in disbelief.
“Y-you─ youuuuu─ youuuuuuuuu─! How could a mere beast like you─?!”
“I asked for it, so he gave it to me. What, jealous?”
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah─!”
It sounded like a beast howling. In the next instant, the beast possessed by the Devil and the Devil who had become a beast collided.