Kiria's Lost Sister
Kiria of the Cloud Centipede clan. When she was young, the village she lived in was invaded by primal species.
During the raid, her parents told her and her younger sister to stay hidden inside the house and not come out.
That day, every villager perished—everyone except her and her sister.
"Sis, I'm scared."
"It's okay, Kirin. Your big sister's right here. Don't worry."
Left alone in the world, the two sisters turned their backs on the village scarred by brutal atrocities and ventured out into it at a tender age.
But the world was nothing like the beautiful place they'd read about in books.
As members of the rare Cloud Centipede clan with so few in number, they inevitably became targets for slave hunters.
After enduring the world's hardships and twists of fate, they arrived at Shinbong, a massive city along the southern Poyang River region.
They barely shook off their pursuers and sought refuge with the Amar King Centipede clan, rulers of the southern continent—since Cloud Centipedes also belonged to the "King Centipede lineage."
But the moment they set foot on the southern continent, the sisters faced an irreversible parting.
Her younger sister, Kirin, vanished without a trace.
Kiria searched frantically for Kirin, her face drained of color, but the girl who had evaporated so suddenly was nowhere to be found.
And in the midst of it all, she encountered Craig.
"Kuhuhu, how pitiful. I'll help you find your sister. In exchange, you become my hidden blade."
Thus, Kiria fell under Craig's command.
It turned out she had an extraordinary talent for combat; in an astonishingly short time, she reached the Complete Body stage.
And to this day, she had carried out Craig's orders.
All while waiting for him to locate the missing Kirin...
She no longer held out hope that Kirin was definitely alive.
She just wanted to know why she'd vanished that day—and if she'd been kidnapped, who the culprit was.
So she could exact revenge with her own hands and soothe her sister's spirit.
'It's been over a decade since I started tracking my sister's whereabouts. But how does this young little mantis know her name?'
She fixed Aleck with a fierce, trembling gaze.
"Tell me straight. That name! Where did you hear it?"
"......"
Watching her reaction, Aleck realized that the test subject named Kirin was connected to Kiria.
'K-Kill... m-me... p-please...'
The pitiful girl, begging in her wretched state for him to end her life.
Aleck had intended to grant her wish painlessly.
The moment he raised his sword, a final whisper escaped her tear-streaked face.
'S... Sis...'
She'd worn a nameplate reading "3015—Kirin" on her chest, and in her last moments, she'd murmured "sis."
Her youthful appearance had made him think she might have a child, but no.
'She was mumbling about her sister. The pronunciation got slurred at the end.'
Even after all that time, Kirin had been searching for her sister until the very end.
'Does this mean... Craig's been deceiving Kiria?'
Aleck's mind raced.
He'd always wondered why Kiria—a rare breed who'd reached the pinnacle of Complete Body—was serving as Craig's dirty blade.
If she was searching for Kirin and Craig was using that as leverage to control her?
His thoughts reached that conclusion, and Aleck met Kiria's eyes with a calm gaze.
"Kirin... she's your sister, right?"
"You—you! What the hell are you?!"
Kiria's eyes blazed with murderous fury at Aleck's words.
Whoooosh—
Explosive energy erupted from her body, whipping up a vortex of wind around them.
It was an aura intense enough to knock someone unconscious, but Aleck just curled his lips into a smirk.
'Got it. My breakthrough.'
He realized the information he held was the key to turning this situation around.
'A chance to drive a wedge between Kiria and Craig.'
And an opportunity to escape this crisis.
'That poor girl... it's not too late to save her yet.'
In the tribal wars, he'd executed Craig twenty years from now.
He'd destroyed the lab four or five years before that—about fifteen years from the present.
Which meant Kirin might not be as broken yet as she had been then.
"Calm down. I'll give you a chance to save your sister."
"Save? What the hell do you know about saving—?!"
"Craig's test subjects. How much do you know about them?"
"...!"
Her eyes shook violently at the mention of Craig's test subjects from his mouth.
As expected.
Kiria knew about Craig's lab.
"N-No way..."
"Yeah, that's right."
"Impossible..."
"You can see for yourself if it's possible or not, can't you?"
"......Where?"
Aleck grinned, seeing that she was finally willing to talk.
"Before I tell you what I know, I have conditions."
"Cut the crap. Have you forgotten your position?"
"My life or your sister's—which is more precious to you?"
"......Tch. Fine, spit it out."
Kiria had no choice but to raise her hands in surrender.
Aleck smiled as if he'd expected as much and opened his mouth.
"It's not anything grandiose. First, don't ask where I got this information."
"......Fine."
"Good. Second, from now on, keep absolutely silent about the source of this info I've told you—and everything you've seen from me today. In other words, hide everything you've learned about me today."
"Got it. That all?"
"No, one more thing. Leave those primal larva behind."
Aleck pointed at the King Centipede larvae sprawled on the ground.
"Those..."
She hesitated at his final demand.
She knew how astronomically expensive each of those King Centipede larvae was.
If word got back to Craig that she'd lost all three...
She could vividly picture him flying into a rage.
'If Kirin's really a test subject like he says, I've already crossed an irreversible river with Craig.'
Kiria's eyes hardened with resolve.
"Fine. I accept all your demands."
"Wise choice."
Aleck smiled at her decision.
"Remember this well. You know better than anyone—Craig's no pushover. Don't be reckless and charge in blindly."
"Hmph, my ears are gonna fall off. How many times do I have to say I get it?"
"That's how important caution is. While we're on the topic, let me say it one last time. Kirin's held in the basement level 3 of Lab 9, and its location is..."
"......"
Kiria's face grew paler with each word.
Hmm, maybe I'd repeated it too much.
Had hanging around Katt for days rubbed off on me, turning me into a chatterbox?
I might have overdone the nagging a bit.
'No, a hundred times more caution wouldn't be enough.'
Craig was a money-mad monster, but he was thorough too.
No matter how close Kiria was to the top of Complete Body, storming the lab alone to rescue Kirin was impossible.
The Amar King Centipede clan had warriors beyond Ultimate Body besides Craig.
And uncountable Complete Body warriors.
Even with her ability to traverse the skies, charging straight into the lab would be like hurling a spiderweb at a boulder.
'Better to get this glance than get caught and ruin everything.'
For some reason, the way Kiria looked at me reminded me of how Katt used to stare.
Still, my repetition seemed to have drilled the warnings into her.
'And with the pact secured, even if she's caught, she won't betray me or spill about me.'
Grutoria. The Oath Tree.
Using the Grutoria branch I'd gotten from Estelle in advance, I'd secured her absolute vow not to reveal anything about me.
And blocked any betrayal beyond her control.
Plus, I'd proven my words true.
Any lingering doubt in Kiria's eyes had vanished.
Who'd have thought the one I'd kept just in case would prove so useful.
'When Kiria goes berserk to reclaim Kirin, it'll scatter the Amar King Centipede clan's attention wildly.'
In the meantime, I'd grow ferociously.
Mantis Hall would seize the chance to build strength free of interference.
'Anyway, I hope she rescues Kirin safely.'
Kiria had committed countless atrocities under Craig's orders.
Sins that couldn't be washed away by atonement now.
But at her core, she was another of Craig's victims.
Even if she paid for her crimes later, my honest wish was that she could at least save Kirin.
Kirin was innocent, after all.
'So.'
I met Kiria's eyes with a serious gaze.
She returned it steadily.
"I wish you luck. Save Kirin... I mean it."
"......Thanks for the support."
Feeling my sincerity, perhaps? She fell silent for a moment before slowly replying.
Her eyes held a complex mix of emotions as she stared at me.
"Can I ask one thing?"
"Sure."
"You're... really from the little mantis clan, right?"
I chuckled at her question.
Her voice dripped with bafflement and curiosity at how this made any sense.
"Yeah, for now..."
"For now?"
I just flashed her a grin in response to her puzzled echo.
She twisted her face in even greater confusion.
'Can't exactly announce that my body is undergoing a species transformation.'
She wouldn't believe it anyway.
Still, turning this crisis into an opportunity left me quite satisfied.
'And I got an unexpected bonus.'
I glanced at the King Centipede larvae still out cold on the ground.
Processing all three might trigger the Predation authority on at least one.
"See you later, then. Hope you bring good news."
"Yeah, got it. Good luck to you too."
We exchanged warm farewells, or so it seemed—until she suddenly narrowed her eyes and shot me a glare.
"But why are you still talking down to me? How old even are you?"
"......"