Bohemia Church (4)
Tang-! Tang-! Tang-!
The bullets kept raining down relentlessly, but even when they hit Duk-cheol's fists, the fanatics only screamed in pain before staggering right back up and firing again. These cultist bastards were scary as hell.
"Ae-ri, miss. I'll hold them here, so get out."
"What about you, Duk-cheol?"
"Don't worry. I'm tougher than I look."
I trusted him—he was an unenhanced human who could overwhelm cyborgs—but I couldn't help worrying.
"Please stay safe."
But refusing would be rude to him, so I bolted straight for the door.
"Whoa! Can't let you do thatyo."
Just as I neared the door, someone blocked my path.
"Christine!"
"Oh! You know meyo?"
Blocking me was none other than Christine Yang. She turned her gaze toward me with her usual laid-back flair. Her eyes were closed, so I wasn't sure if she was really looking, but she had to be, right?
"Get out of my way."
"I want to step aside, but I can't just yetda!"
At that moment, sparks flew from Christine's prosthetic arm.
Ae-ri. Output reaction detected from Christine Yang.
"That's obvious just looking at it!"
Christine's prosthetic arm, the DA (Dragon Arms), was specialized for close-quarters combat. And even without it, she was a master of martial arts.
"First, the abdomenda!"
"H.E.R.A! Mutation code unlocked, right?!"
Just completed. Re-executing H.E.R.A System:008.
H.E.R.A reactivated the vector field, forming it around me. Christine's thrusting palm strike slammed into my abdomen. Thanks to the vector field, I took no damage, but I still got shoved back a few steps.
"I should've bounced it back, but I got pushed? How much of a monster is she?"
"Oh! Using something funda!"
"This isn't fun for me at all!"
I could manage blocking somehow, but I had no way to attack. Well, I did, but it was too risky to use here.
"Christine. Why is a NUSA CIB agent like you here?"
"Asking an intel agent that is tabooda!"
Christine kicked off the ground again, landing another thrusting palm strike.
Ae-ri. Vector field approaching its tolerance limit.
"Already?!"
It was only the second hit, and it was already nearing the limit. I knew Christine was strong, but this strong?
"Christine! I don't know your goal, but if you tell me, I'll help!"
In my desperation, I threw out an offer.
"Hmmyo. First, just fall downda!"
Sparks flew even more intensely than before, and her fist slammed home again.
Vector field has reached its limit. Deactivating.
"Fuck... gahk!"
The vector field hit its limit and shattered, the impact hitting me full force. It was weakened by the field, but without it, I'd have been turned into a donut.
Clutching my gut, I looked at Christine. Her head had turned toward Iris. Iris, who had been focused on me, was now staring at Duk-cheol as he overwhelmed the fanatics.
"Perfectyo. This is our chanceda!"
"Huh? Gahk!"
As I wondered what her cryptic words meant, her knee drove straight into my abdomen.
Ae-ri's consciousness is about to fade.
I didn't need telling... fuck... And with that, my vision went black.
My head throbbed. The impact to my gut must have rattled my cyberbrain—I felt dizzy.
"Where am I?"
Looking around, it seemed like a warehouse. I remembered getting knocked out by Christine, but why was I here?
Ae-ri. Have you woken up?
"H.E.R.A, what happened?"
Christine Yang brought Ae-ri here.
"Christine did?"
As I wondered why, the warehouse door opened and she walked in.
"You're upyo."
"What's your angle?"
"First, drink some wateryo."
Christine tossed me a water bottle. I caught it but set it aside without drinking, staring at her.
"Ahh! Nothing beats waterda!"
She chugged a whole bottle in one go, letting out a satisfied uncle-like groan.
"Answer me. Why'd you bring me here?"
"Typical Korean—always in such a rushda. You should relax a bitda!"
Christine crushed the empty bottle, sat on the floor, and spoke again.
"Ae-ri, rightyo?"
"Yes, Ju Ae-ri."
"You were curious why I'm in the Bohemia Churchyo?"
"Yes."
"Me infiltrated the Bohemia Church to rescue my brainwashed NUSA CIB colleagues who got turned into fanaticsda."
It wasn't entirely unexpected—her goal was now clear. Come to think of it, the description noted her unusual camaraderie for an agent.
"You said you'd help meyo? Tell me specifically howda."
I'd said it to escape back then, but hearing her story made me want to help if I could.
'H.E.R.A. You can decode the Siren crack embedded in my cyberbrain, right?'
It'll take some time, but yes, it's possible.
Hearing it was possible from H.E.R.A, I told Christine.
"If you rescue the agents hit by Siren, I can crack their codes."
"For realyo?!"
I nodded to confirm. She believed me.
"Got itda. I'll trust you, Ae-ri."
"One thing I want to ask—do you know where the pendant is?"
Christine looked a bit troubled at my question before answering.
"I doda."
"Then why the face?"
"Iris's treasure vault in the Bohemia Church headquarters is full of trapsda."
"That's why. Don't worry—I've got a way."
Traps in this era were all code-based. Even if it was Bohemia Church's—and Iris herself designed it— I had H.E.R.A.
'You can handle it, right?'
Ae-ri. I'm not omnipotent. But yes, it's possible.
'Good enough.'
And so, Christine and I barely escaped the Meta Arena and headed to Guro, the Bohemia Church headquarters.
Meta Seoul, Guro
The Bohemia Church's Republic of Korea headquarters in Guro was practically extraterritorial. Iris was queen there—practically the law itself.
"Follow meda."
"Okay."
I followed behind Christine. The place we arrived at was the main gate of the headquarters. Were we really going in through the front door like this?
"Huh? Sister Christine. Job done already?"
A boyish young guy spotted Christine and trotted over with a greeting.
"Yuseongkun. I need to see the Youth Division Chiefda."
"Chief Gu? Why?"
"There's an issue with the Saintess at the Meta Arena. We need to request backup ASAPda!"
"What?! The Saintess?! O-Okay!"
The boy called Yuseong dashed inside in a panic.
"Youth Division Chief—the leader of the Bohemia Church's hunting dogs, right? Why go to him specifically?"
"Because Chief Gu Ha-yeon is a NUSA CIB agentda. She's the first target to show off your abilitiesyo."
"Ah..."
It was shocking. The head of the Church's hunting dogs, the Youth Division, was a NUSA agent.
It hit home again just how terrifying Iris's Siren (C.R.N) was. Christine was odd, but NUSA agents were usually emotionless patriots. Turning one into her hunting dog? Iris was less saint and more demon.
After a wait, Yuseong came running back out.
"Huff! Huff! Chief Gu says to come in—she's waiting inside!"
"Good workyo, Yuseongkun. No need to run like that."
"It's my job. Hehe."
Christine and I entered the headquarters building. The grand interior unfolded before us.
"Christine, long time no see. Who's the one next to you?"
As soon as we stepped in, a woman approached. That must be... Gu Ha-yeon, the Youth Division Chief.
"Long timeda, Chief Gu. The one next to me is..."
"Stop. Not here. Let's move somewhere else first."
"Sureyo."
We followed behind Gu Ha-yeon.