Chapter 24
Chapter 24
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Spy (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike the members of the Society I'd encountered so far, these nameless extras charged straight at me.
The goat head swung a massive club down at me, while goat legs hurled rocks and jagged scraps my way.
The scene etched itself vividly into my vision.
It felt like watching a movie at 0.5x speed.
The world flowed in slow motion.
As if I were borrowing the eyes of some transcendent being living in a different flow of time.
The volume of information flooding my senses had sharpened dozens of times over, precise and acute.
Was this the power of a trait evolution?
🩸 Noble Blood Lv.2 🩸 The merciless ruler of the dark night. The coldest creature in a world driven by reason. A monstrosity born of understanding and rationality. Sustained by blood as its staple. Its form is beautiful and seductive. Thought and body move at equal speeds, while strength becomes transcendent. It can manipulate contacted blood and survive even under the sun. Evolution Conditions: Evolution Points 300, Receive ■■ from Han Cheong-ah, Possess the Crimson Stone of Wallachia. My body felt impossibly light.
I twisted aside effortlessly to dodge the club.
My flesh was hard as steel.
I swatted away the incoming rocks without hesitation.
My body accelerated far beyond my racing thoughts as I thrust my fist toward the enemy.
Boom!
A explosion like a falling shell rang out. The source was, of course, my right fist, which mercilessly shattered the goat head's jawbone and slammed him straight into the wall.
"Guh... aah..."
I looked down at the goat head, foam and blood bubbling from his mouth as he collapsed.
No techniques, no powers—just a simple punch, yet the destructive power was immense.
Staring at my steaming right hand, I truly felt the power I now wielded.
With his brother down in a single blow, the younger one seemed thrown into panic.
"B-Bro... C-Come on, quit messing around and get up! W-What the hell is going on...?"
I strode toward goat legs, my footsteps heavy.
"Satyr. Pitiful freaks with nothing but brute strength and size to boast of—and even that proves useless here."
Goat legs froze the instant he heard my voice.
"You... No way... Dracula!"
He knew Baek Do-hyun's voice.
Thinking about it now, for an extra doomed to die early on, Baek Do-hyun sure had wide connections.
I slowly lowered the mask covering my face.
Goat legs raised his voice in outrage.
"What the hell do you think you're doing...! We should be uniting our strength, not turning on our own...!"
"Why would you and I be on the same side?"
"You planning to betray the Society...? You think you can handle that!? Looks like you got lucky and powered up somehow, but if Zero One marks you, you're done for..."
Goat legs was under a serious misconception.
Time to set him straight.
In an instant, I seized his throat—like a snake striking a rabbit with venomous fangs.
"Guhk..."
"I'm neither the Baek Do-hyun you knew nor Dracula."
Least of all the prologue's villainous extra.
I stood here to bend my fate.
"I'm the Diverter. Tell that name to your brother in the afterlife."
I snapped goat legs' neck.
Air hissed from his lungs, and he vomited blood before going still.
I wiped the splattered blood from my mask with the back of my hand.
The others were nowhere in sight. Looked like these two goats were the only ones here.
I headed for the central server room housing the Archive.
Countless computers hummed nonstop, generating intense heat that filled the air.
I crossed my arms, eyeing the computers displayed like exhibits in a museum.
Somewhere among them was the Archive the Secret Society coveted. Problem was, I had no idea which one.
So I went with the simplest solution: smash every last computer in the place.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I turned the server computers into scrap metal heaps.
Leaving the sparking wreckage behind, I exited the central server room.
As I made for the central hallway to leave, I caught the sound of breathing.
Tuning my ears, it came from a cabinet.
I tensed, suspecting another freak, but the fearful tone suggested a regular person.
Still, better check. I strode over and yanked open the door.
"H-Hiii...!"
Huddled inside was a boy who looked about sixteen.
I snatched the smartphone he clutched.
He'd been messaging—filming videos and sending them to friends, from the look of the chat.
"Uh... Th-That..."
His face drained of color as I scrolled through the messages.
One even showed me in my mask killing the goats.
I went into the gallery and deleted every photo and video.
Then I tossed the phone back to him.
"Act wisely."
I walked off, leaving the boy on the verge of tears.
"U-Um..."
As I headed for the emergency exit from the central hallway, the boy called out cautiously.
"Th-Thank you for saving me... If it weren't for you, my benefactor, those goats would've killed me..."
I hadn't meant to save him, but ended up with thanks anyway.
I waved it off and descended Noah Tower. By now, Yubyeol-ha's side should be wrapping up, leaving just Cuvette.
The battle there was probably reaching its climax.
I hurried toward Cuvette to finish this.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Aria Blood von Direwolf commanded operations for this plan.
The scheme: Experimental Awakes-born Dimensional Beasts draw attention while Society freaks steal Archive data.
Aria slipped alone into the shadows, heading for Cuvette.
It was a long, long way.
Once this was over, she could ask Zero One to let her leave this fishy sea-scented island for the plains.
Aria had spent nearly three years lurking in the dark, digging for intel on the 'Queen' hidden in Academy City. She'd gathered everything on the Archives—and now was the time to reap the rewards... but...
Something felt off.
📡 Radio Transmission [Aria, Federal Guidance Bureau is moving faster than expected.] [Goat got nabbed by the Feds...] [Satyr brothers heading to Noah Tower have gone radio silent...] [Executive Committee's unmanned security is putting up fierce resistance—we can't breach easily!] Bad news kept crackling over the radio.
"Hoo..."
Aria sighed, her expression complicated.
When devising the op, they'd accounted for the Executive Committee's variable forces—nothing else should've gone wrong. Excluding the unpredictable foes, failure wasn't on the table.
Cuvette and Noah Tower's Archives had no hardware security to begin with. Built as civilian facades for cover, they were ripe for the taking once located.
But things had spiraled into the worst-case scenario, with even Goat—the Experimental Awake distributor—captured by the Feds.
Unless someone anticipated their plan and countered preemptively, this shouldn't have happened.
Aria gazed up at Cuvette right in front of her.
This school housed an Archive too.
One of the three held the Queen's data—now, she could only pray it was here...
Aria's hands trembled faintly.
If they failed, what punishment awaited from Zero One? The thought terrified her.
Excruciating agony etched into her body once more, reliving hellish moments?
Aria muttered darkly to herself.
"Doesn't matter anymore."
She was a puppet.
Bound by a curse of servitude, compelled to obey Zero One's commands.
No freer will than a puppet fretting over its future—it was laughable.
Aria vaulted the fence into the darkened school grounds.
Unlike the locked main gate, interior doors stood open.
Feeling the unease, Aria traversed the dark hallway.
Having memorized the route, she reached the school server room without issue.
Opening the door, no Archive greeted her.
"Huh?"
It was a girl with a strikingly blank, fierce expression.
The pink-haired girl peering curiously at the server computers welcomed Aria despite the surprise.
"So you're the legendary chairman's daughter everyone's whispering about. That outfit's got some serious cosplay vibes."
Han Cheong-ah was her steadfast self today, as always.