12. Legion
12. Legion
"...?!"
Eun-jeong, who had been radiating an immense aura as if she'd destroy the mansion right then and there, suddenly froze.
Just like yanking the plug on a robot that had been moving perfectly fine.
Her eyes still rolled haughtily, and her cherry-like lips twitched, so not everything had stopped.
It was just her arms and legs, most of her body tissues, and her Nobling that wouldn't budge.
'What the, what...!'
"In fact, during the Mock Raid, I didn't use it out of respect for that person's honor, but here it shouldn't matter. Not many people to see anyway."
Bari strolled up to the shocked Eun-jeong, tok tok.
The sight was straight out of a demon's parade.
"No matter how advanced a lifeform you are, once you snag the electrical signals carrying commands from the brain, game over."
"...??"
"To move your arms, legs, or use Nobling, you need commands, right? Well, I'm gobbling up most of the signals your brain, Eun-jeong-ssi, is sending right now."
She couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Why's the brain coming up, and what the hell are electrical signals?
Why won't her body move, and why's her Nobling hanging limp!
"Then, Master, have a comfy, fun night."
Bari gave Sihwan a quick bow, then scooped up the frozen Eun-jeong into her arms.
"Ah... uh... e...."
She wanted to say something, but with only her lips movable, no proper sound came out.
Body unresponsive, all she could do was get dragged along in Bari's embrace.
"...The more I see, the more ridiculous it gets. What the hell is she? How'd you make her?"
After Bari and Eun-jeong vanished, Yeonseo waved her hand to repair the crumbled wall.
It took a mere 3 seconds to restore the pristine reception room.
"I didn't make her, like I said."
"I heard... something about basic welfare handed out to every citizen... But that doesn't make it any less insane."
If what Bari said was true, she could've paralyzed Ha So-ri like this and ended her in one shot—treating a frontline legend like that was like swatting a great angel without breaking a sweat.
Had such power ever existed in continental history?
There were the legendary myths, the 『Dragonians』, but they'd been snoring away for thousands of years without ever properly fighting.
Anyway, just from the combat prowess witnessed so far, an average Noblesse could be kicked to victory.
And yet Sihwan was claiming he got a Bari like that as 'nationwide basic welfare.' Total nonsense that didn't compute.
'What kind of world did he come from?'
An utterly incomprehensible realm.
"Just think simple. You've got a city, right? It's like giving every citizen a golem."
"That's what I'm saying—why? How?"
"Just accept it. Can't explain."
The Technological Singularity triggered by the emergence of AI.
Star-system and household AIs handed out as basic welfare to humans who'd lost productive value.
Decades of gaps, countless trials and errors, and stages lay between those two sentences—no way to explain it all.
Sihwan didn't have that level of knowledge.
No time for it either.
"Besides, that's not the important part, is it?"
Now alone together.
He pulled her into a sweet embrace, setting the mood.
"The important thing is you're my woman."
Lightly grabbing her chin for a kiss.
Smack, their lips met, stamping a couple times before overlapping, tongues slipping in.
"Mmm."
Delicious, sweet-scented lips.
No bad morning breath even after waking up.
"Ha. You... you just wanna fuck, don't you?"
"Exactly. You came onto me first. Don't you remember?"
"Hmph."
She coyly turned her head, blocking Sihwan's attempt at another kiss.
"This is the reception room. Let's go to my bedroom."
+++
"Let go of me! Let go, you fucking bitch!!"
Eun-jeong had been dragged all the way to the Underground Base. In a pathetic state, hair gripped tight.
"Shut up already."
Outside, Bari had even sealed her mouth, but inside the base, she loosened it up.
At least letting her talk as much as she wanted.
And she immediately threw a fit.
Screaming her lungs out, loud enough to burst eardrums.
Tsss.
Psst.
Countless resource buildings scattered everywhere.
Each emitting visual effects, tirelessly mining and processing resources every moment.
'Fuck... what the hell are these!!'
For Eun-jeong, who'd lived in a medieval-to-modern-level civilization, the scene was utterly alien.
Chills she couldn't explain prickled her skin.
"Scared already? Can't have that."
"W-what the fuck are you saying, you doll!! Let go of me right now!!!"
"Calling a superior being who paralyzed you a 'doll' or whatever—it's obvious you ended up like this eventually. You need basic situational awareness, you know?"
"Fuck off and die. Your master's the biggest retard who can't read the room, has no manners, and is a total dumbass— who the hell are you to talk!!!"
"..."
Bari paused for a moment.
Then turned her head back, quietly looking down at Eun-jeong being dragged across the floor.
"What, you think glaring at me like a fucking punk scares me? You shitty bitch. Fucking wooden puppet."
"Are you aware you're strangling yourself?"
"Shove it up your ass."
"Covering fear with bravado as a defense mechanism—not a good look at all."
"You know what you should be doing right now? Undo this goddamn paralysis and apologize to this great Noblesse for your bullshit. Then tell your master to release m—"
"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!"
Bari burst into booming laughter.
Huge, hearty guffaws.
Shaking the entire base.
Eun-jeong, pretending calm on the outside while freaking out inside with goosebumps, strained her eyes to glare back.
If she weren't paralyzed, her legs would've been shaking like crazy.
"Really, why do all the ones here not know their place?"
Bari released the gripped hair.
Plop.
"Guhk!"
Her head hit the floor immediately.
Didn't really hurt, but the thud made her mood utterly foul.
Fuck.
She muttered curses as Bari crouched down, meeting her gaze.
Sometime ago, those blue eyes had turned bright red.
"..."
Eun-jeong flinched but held the stare somehow.
Bari dug right into that fear.
"Let's see, Experiment Subject No. 3? Third one for a Noblesse."
"...What?"
"Crying, laughing, joy, disgust, happiness, misery, love, jealousy, courage, fear... Emotions swayed by mere hormones, feeling pain from a mere brush, someday dying and scattering—a pathetic creature... Squirming to live, but so fragile a poke breaks you."
"..."
Shiii.
An unpleasant tension hung in the air.
Those hard-to-look-at red eyes and sinister smile made her want to turn away over and over.
"That's you."
A chill ran down her spine.
Just that grin made cold sweat bead damply.
"..."
Her head bowed lower in silence.
Bari's eerie gaze and aura weren't something a mere lifeform could withstand.
No matter how tough, everyone had limits against the whirlwind of fear in their chest.
Besides, Eun-jeong wasn't exactly mentally ironclad.
Grab.
"Aaak!"
Bari, who'd been mind-fucking her with just a look, yanked her hair up again.
"Got a mountain of experiments to run. Let's go."
Drag drag.
Completely dominated, Eun-jeong couldn't utter a word as she was pulled along.
"You're here, Bari-ssi... What about him?"
Inside Bari's secret lab.
Jihye, as always tending to things, came out to greet her.
Hoping maybe the Master came too?
She glanced around, but no Master—just some woman being dragged in.
"Experiment Subject No. 3."
"Ah...."
"A female Noblesse, like you, Jihye-ssi. Oh my. You'll have a lovely new colleague."
"Y-yes, indeed."
A new comrade.
How much agony would this woman endure in the process?
'That woman... she's a Noblesse...'
Meanwhile, Eun-jeong gawked in horror at the nightmarish lab.
Spotting Jihye subtly emitting Nobling, she felt deep dread and despair.
Would a Noblesse willingly serve in a dank hellhole like this?
That damn doll must've pulled some trick.
Which meant she probably would too...
'Fuck... fuck fuck fuuuuck!!!!!'
Recalling those eerie eyes from before, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Maybe sucking up to that human bastard would've been better?
"What'll we start with?"
"Hmm, first..."
Bari raised the hand gripping Eun-jeong's hair.
Like pulling a radish from the ground.
"Eugh!"
"Guess we start with dissection?"