Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Ark Shandy Rendezvous (5)
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Temporary Psyker Containment Facility.
This building on the outskirts of Academy City had been constructed to replace the prison that collapsed during the Irregular Incident.
"Kang Chang-su and Ichika... Got it. I'll put in a word with the Director."
I went to see Cheryl Bloomingrose to arrange visits with them. Whether it was from overwork, the dark circles under her eyes were strikingly prominent.
Even as a student shouldering adult responsibilities, Cheryl wielded considerable authority in Academy City. Thanks to that power of hers, I was granted permission to visit the vicious criminals behind the terrorist attack.
I expressed my thanks to Cheryl. First, I made my way to where Ichika was being held.
Ichika's cell was an isolation room. She was dressed in a prison jumpsuit and fitted with restraints to suppress her virus. She slowly raised her head.
There was a small barred window at the top of the isolation room's door, through which I could look down at her.
"You've changed your look, Baek Do-hyun."
"Circumstances. How's solitary treating you?"
"It's hellish being cooped up in here, but when I get to go out for labor duty like the other inmates, it's not so bad."
"I see..."
Ichika's voice was astonishingly flat. She was barely eighteen. At an age when she should be blooming like a flower, prison life must feel no different from hell.
When I asked how she could stay so composed, Ichika replied.
"I was prepared for all of it. Whether I failed or succeeded, attempting terrorism meant hell either way."
"Then why'd a smart girl like you go and do something like that?"
"The only place for me is by Chang-su's side. If not there, then where...?"
"That's some intense puppy love. Really."
I let out a sigh. What Ichika felt for Kang Chang-su wasn't some ordinary affection—it was something far more dangerous, a little twisted.
"From now on, I'm going to make a deal with Kang Chang-su. About your sentencing."
"...?"
"Just so you know."
Ichika looked like she wanted to say something, but I turned and walked away without indulging her. My next stop was Kang Chang-su's isolation cell.
I greeted Kang Chang-su, who was also in a prison jumpsuit and restraints, just like Ichika.
"Long time no see, Kang Chang-su."
"Baek Do-hyun. You've changed your appearance."
"That's the third time today already. Don't sweat it."
"Hahaha, right."
From his perspective, I was the one who'd shattered all his plans, yet he welcomed me just like he had at our first meeting in Arcana.
"That yellow-haired blond kid."
"Goat?"
"Antonio del Piero."
"Ah, Goat's his nickname."
"I see. He's a fun guy. Thanks to him, labor duty's been pretty enjoyable."
Our goat buddy was objectively quite entertaining.
For someone centuries old, he tossed around internet slang I didn't even know, making him the furthest thing from a boomer in this world.
"Our Goat's got a lively personality, huh."
"He was talking about you."
"Me?"
"Yeah. Said you changed overnight, like some other soul had taken over..."
He had these moments where his age showed through, so I never took the goat too lightly.
"Said you used to be vile, base, and low-class like the other freaks. What changed?"
It matched the comments I'd seen on those posts. Just what kind of punk was the old Baek Do-hyun?
A fitting assessment for an extra vampire who'd died early on.
"Who knows. Maybe he went through something big, or maybe another soul really did possess him."
"Not planning to spill, huh."
"Personal privacy. Bear with it."
"Got it."
In a world with psyker powers and magic, the truth still sounded too far-fetched.
You're characters from a game called Red Ark, and I'm the original author. Who'd believe that nonsense? Even if they did, it'd just deny their personhood—no benefit for me or Kang Chang-su.
The people in this world were human. Just like me, breathing and living their lives.
I brushed it off with vague words and moved past the topic.
With the ice broken, it was time for the main point.
"Kang Chang-su, I've got a personal request."
"A request to a vicious criminal in prison? Color me curious."
"Fight the Society alongside me."
Kang Chang-su chuckled and shook his head.
A rejection.
"Forgot already that I'm the monster who teamed up with the Society for that terrorist attack on Academy City? Baek Do-hyun."
"I know."
"Then you know I have no reason to join you. My goal isn't far off from the Society's human reduction scenario."
Kang Chang-su, victim of the dual awakening experiments.
The mad scientist's failure and masterpiece, desperate to birth a hero named Lee Gyeo-ul with his own hands.
Having lost his family and everything to Dr. Lee Sun-jun, he'd lived for revenge—only for his target to die of illness, leaving him adrift.
Humans are self-destructive, selfish creatures.
With no reason left to live, Kang Chang-su instinctively sought purpose over suicide.
A way to fulfill his rage and vengeance against Lee Sun-jun.
He found it.
Lee Sun-jun was a lunatic, but also a researcher who genuinely wanted to protect the world and humanity from Dimensional Beasts.
Determined to rob Lee Sun-jun of his ideals and everything he'd lived for, Kang Chang-su wished for humanity's destruction and allied with the Society.
He felt guilt and sorrow for the lives lost and ruined, yet thrilled at the thought of the dead Lee Sun-jun despairing over the scene.
Revenge against Lee Sun-jun was Kang Chang-su's everything. But becoming a vengeful ghost didn't erase his humanity.
Senseless contradictions drove him to self-destruction, leading here.
His emotions were beyond my grasp, but one thing was crystal clear.
"You plan to let Akeboshi Ichika die like this?"
"......"
The smile vanished from Kang Chang-su's lips.
I pressed on in the suddenly tense air.
"Japan carries out executions. Oh, even if she's lucky and avoids the death penalty, life imprisonment's the floor. Meaning she'll rot in prison from eighteen until she dies."
Kang Chang-su's goal was humanity's downfall, opposing Lee Sun-jun's vision. But Akeboshi Ichika, that girl, wanted only to stay by his side.
"You might not care if you die or rot here, but what about her? The girl you pulled from the abyss, who's lived only for you ever since."
The original story never delved into it, but Kang Chang-su surely saw Ichika as more than a mere accomplice.
That's why he'd opposed her involvement in the terrorism to the end.
At least a friend—maybe more.
"Let me propose a deal. I'll save Akeboshi Ichika somehow."
"......"
"No future where the human reduction scenario succeeds. I'll crush the Society completely. So it's in your interest to join me now."
Our red eyes met.
His flickered perilously like a candle in the wind, while mine burned straight and true.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Dracula-hyung. You've changed your look."
"Enough."
Third time today. How many more before it stops?
The goat in his prison jumpsuit plopped down beside me, grinning. We met in the small park inside the facility.
We sat on a bench under the open sky. He cracked open a cola can, looking blissfully content.
Beyond him, other inmates bustled at work in the factory.
"You look way too comfy, hyung."
"Plenty of guards owe me from this terror mess. Think of it as 'privileges'—makes it easy."
"Hmm."
He looked too cushy for an inmate, which grated a bit, but he'd earned those perks himself. Whatever.
"You meet Kang Chang-su and Ichika okay?"
I nodded.
No yes from Kang Chang-su. Just a request for time to think.
But he'd accept for sure. Seeing him ponder deeply convinced me.
Pure instinct.
"Dracula-hyung."
"What."
"The Society's about to move in earnest."
"I know."
"You think you can handle it?"
The goat's sharp eyes fixed on me. Pure curiosity—no threat, no worry.
I smiled.
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't have started."
"One thing I realized watching this mess."
The goat grinned too.
"At first, thought you were suicidal, dragging us along. But now? Maybe you really can beat Zero One."
"Yeah?"
"Honestly, don't care who wins, Society or you. But I've always liked betting on the underdog."
The goat extended his fist. I stared at it.
The devil found this situation hilarious—a pure gesture of goodwill.
"Win it. Sincere."
"You're contract-bound to side with me anyway."
"It's the heart that counts, right?"
I thrust my fist toward his.
They bumped with a soft thud.