On the day of the board meeting in the morning, preparations for a grand event were in full swing at the Skyscraper Monument, owned by the T&C family. Amidst the bustling sound of footsteps of the attendants rushing throughout the entire building, there was one place which was cloaked in silence: a conference room within the Monument.
Gathered in that room were the city’s ruler, Laila Chemblin, her secretary, and close aides.
“What’s the reaction from the Eden faction?” inquired Laila.
“They plan to attribute this entire incident as Vice-commander Vicus’ unilateral decision,” responded the secretary.
“… Unilateral decision, you say?”
Laila didn’t even muster a hollow laugh at the secretary’s words. Thanks to the camera records from the defense force survivors involved in the ghost hunt operation and the report from the Crisis Management team manager, she could grasp the root cause of the situation.
Who unleashed the unidentified biological weapon? What did the Silver Lion Knights do to cover it up? She knew it all.
“How dare they do this in my city!”
Laila seethed. She had long known that Denver, despite his outwardly affable image, was a schemer. Yet, she never imagined he would orchestrate such a scheme within her city, and that too before the commencement of the council meeting.
“Blaming everything on the Vice-commander? Shameless trickery!”In the meeting where the Crisis Management Division manager reported about the incident in the sewer, Denver was also present. He feigned complete ignorance, but having held a position of authority for a long time, Laila could easily see through his lies.
He claimed he knew nothing about it and that the Knight Order’s actual power lay with the Vice-commander, and he occupied the commander’s position merely for external appearances. But such excuses wouldn’t fly with the daughter of the T&C family, who had a long association with the Eden family.
“Who was identified as the sole survivor, apart from the Vice-Commander?” Laila inquired further.
“That would be Catherine from the Silver Lion Knights.”
“What’s her condition?”
Catherine, the only survivor aside from the Vice-Commander, was found in a battered state amidst the ruins. Typically, she would have been immediately detained, but her injuries were so severe that she was being transported to the Central Hospital of the Administrative District.
“Catherine is currently undergoing treatment due to severe PTSD and physical injuries.”
“When will interrogation be possible?”
“Her body may recover, but her mental trauma is so extensive that treatment is proving to be difficult. The doctor’s assessment suggests a high likelihood of lifelong aphasia due to the aftereffects.”
[PR/N-Aphasia is a disorder that affects how you communicate. It can impact your speech, as well as the way you write and understand both spoken and written language.]
“Tsk. try to get the information by any means necessary once she’s treated, even if it means to interrogate her.”
“Understood.”
Incredibly, out of the only two survivors from the incident, one had aphasia, while the other was missing. Vice-Commander Vicus, whom Denver accused of being the mastermind, was the most crucial figure, yet he couldn’t be found, despite searching every nook and cranny.
“Of course, that’s expected. He must have been eliminated already.”
Why the principal perpetrator remained undiscovered was almost certainty due to Denver’s prior actions. Everything was crystal clear, yet he continued spinning lies.
She wanted to summon her subordinates immediately to arrest Denver, but she displayed non-human patience and managed to send him away.
“Destruction of foundational facilities in the Commercial District, a surprise attack on the naval fleet, and the smuggling of unidentified experimental subjects…”
There wasn’t a single misdemeanour among them. This alone was enough to make her blood boil, but what infuriated her more was the decision to let that vile person go unpunished.
Early in the morning, she had given a detailed report of the incident to her father, Samdam Chemblin. The response she received was singular:
“Do nothing but bury this?”
For her father, who was eyeing for the CEO position of MegaCorp, the support of the Eden family was more critical than this Special Trade centre. She understood what the family’s long standing goal was, so it wasn’t something she couldn’t comprehend.
But letting it go like this would only turn her into a silent bystander, and she would have to face immense humiliation.
“Letting the perpetrator who humiliated me, the administrator of T&C Special Trade centre, go unpunished!”
Currently, everyone within MegaCorp knew that Denver had pulled off a cunning maneuver against her. This was because the Daily Mass had reported her disgrace earlier in the morning.
“Wei Zhao, the filthy and disgraceful person…!”
Thinking of Wei Zhao, who had exposed her through the Daily Mass, made her grind her teeth. Despite the significant damage to Denver’s image due to the Daily Mass, he was still the head of the Prime Capital Eden Family, However she was different, she was just an administrator of a trade centre who could be replaced at any time.
‘If I keep going like this, I’ll be the only one who will suffer.’
Her father, who valued practical interests over blood relatives, might choose to kick her out instead of seeking revenge for her.
In other words, she might become a sacrifice to improve relations with the Eden family.
“Administrator, what do you want us to do?”
“… Arrest all those related to the Silver Lion Knights.”
“Please keep the defense fleet under strict surveillance so that those on the flagship do not think of doing anything else.”
“All right.”
“Allow Denver to only move freely during the council meeting, otherwise don’t allow him to come out.”
All she could do now was to limit the actions of the Eden family.
“Then let’s go.”
The subordinates received the orders and left the conference room one by one.
During this time, a meeting was held on purpose, but in the end, nothing was done.
As Laila felt helpless at that fact, a thought passed through her mind.
‘That’s the only card I have left.’
Lila called back to the secretary who was about to leave the conference room.
“What happened to the test subject brought by the defense Guards?”
“Currently, the body is stored in a scientific research institute.”
“The dissection experiment is scheduled to take place later in the afternoon.”
A strange creature smuggled into a special trade centre by the Eden family.
Its body was acquired by the City Defense Guard and has now been transported to the scientific research centre located beneath the monument.
‘A biological weapon newly developed by the Eden family.’
Getting something out of the body was her only takeaway if she wanted to get out of this situation.
“We have to get something out of that devilish monster somehow. Otherwise, it won’t make sense at all.”
“I will pass it on as is.”
Everyone had already felt the power of Eden’s secret weapon.
The crisis management division manager, a brave warrior, had a terrified look on his face several times during the report.
What if T&C, or rather Laila Chemblin was able to obtain the monster’s genes and mass-produce it?
It would be no problem to monopolize the real power of the family to do this.
‘When that day comes, I will definitely become the head of the family.’
Laila’s eyes burned quietly in the conference room, where the secretary left and she was left alone.
***
A few hours before Laila dreamed of rebellion at the Monument.
Vice-Commander Vicus of the Silver Lion Knights was still in the sewers. The soldiers searching for him were constantly patrolling the area.
“He’s not here.”
“Check elsewhere, keep searching.”
“Alright… Ugh, when will this communication network get fixed?”
As the pursuers moved away, Vicus, hidden nearby, cautiously raised his head above the water.
His current state was dire. His advanced armor was almost out of energy; he had discarded everything except the chest armor which was connected to the helmet. Without power, the advanced armor was as heavy as a lump of lead, leaving him no choice but to remove it.
He muttered with a defeated expression,
“…to be brought down like this.”
He thought he had been sufficiently vigilant and prepared, but he had been completely mistaken. The creature’s intelligence surpassed his imagination, causing chaos among both the defense force and the knights.
“I must somehow get out and convey this truth to her.”
Vicus knew his master had abandoned him. Seeing soldiers searching for him, externally, it would appear he had unilaterally attacked the defense force. But that didn’t matter. Denver had once told him that if something went wrong, he’d have to take responsibility, and he had agreed.
He was the sword that safeguarded his master. The sword moved as its owner desired. And it had no free will.
“It seems there are no more soldiers nearby.”
Feeling the complete absence of any indication, Vicus moved again.
There was a nearby path leading outside—a new opening formed by the collapse of the sewer ceiling. Taking refuge amidst the ruins there would surely provide an opportunity.
“Damn it.”
Without the protective armor, he had to brave the freezing water directly. Moreover, despite receiving treatment for his injured shoulder, it still ached persistently. Perhaps the combination of depleted stamina and injury caused it; he coughed incessantly.
Blocking his coughing mouth with his hand, Vicus moved diligently. As he continued, he spotted a glimmer of light ahead.
“I’m almost there!”
Emerging from the murky water, Vicus climbed up the debris.
Having been in the water for so long, his fingers were swollen, and rummaging through the hard metal fragments caused blood to come out from his hand.
“Just a bit more!”
Enduring the pain shooting up his arm, Vicus crawled upward.
He was almost at the surface; just a little further to reach out his hand.
The moment he reached out, the world around him stopped.
“Huh?”
No, it wasn’t the world that had stopped—it was him.
His body slowly floated up before being sucked back into the sewer.
“What’s… happening?”
He was taken aback as an intangible pressure suddenly crushed his entire being. It felt like diving into the depths without any protective gear.
“Gah! St—stop! Hngh! Argh!”
His limbs began twisting uncontrollably. His body seemed detached from his control, bending and breaking like a rigid puppet attached to sturdy strings.
Fingers, wrists, arms, toes, ankles, legs—all bent and fractured at unnatural angles. His waist twisted in the opposite direction, and rib bones protrude through torn flesh.
Though Vicus involuntarily screamed, his voice never made it out.
As he looked back one last time, he saw there were pink balloons and two purple irises.
｢Food｣｢me｣｢Eat?｣
｢Yeah the Little one can eat it all.｣
Having successfully hunted, it handed food to the small child. While the little one dined, it vigilantly surveyed the surroundings.
The elder child seemed oblivious, but it had grown further from their previous skirmish.
It had learned to precisely control the mystical power innate within it, enabling it to detect and influence distant objects.
Thanks to this, it could observe where the child it loved was located.
｢The little one must grow quickly.｣
｢Reason｣｢Not sure.｣
｢The big baby is struggling to protect us alone, so we must help him.｣
｢?｣
It had not only grown physically but also mentally. It could sense the effort the beloved child was putting into their protection, rooted partly in selfish desires but gradually mingled with a growing sense of “affection.”
Like it, the younger child was changing.
｢When the little one grows, the elder one will surely be pleased.｣
｢Me｣ ｢grow-up｣ ｢happiness｣ ｢welcome.｣
It didn’t resent the younger child’s attitude. It held such a significant place within the elder child’s heart.
｢Me｣ ｢growth｣ ｢grown-up｣｢understand…｣
｢Quiet. Finish eating quickly.｣
｢Pain!｣
After scolding the babbling little one, she contemplated her next move.
Though the Big baby wished for quiet hiding, it had slightly different thoughts.
“There are too many dangerous creatures here. It’s hard for the Big baby to fight alone.”
To assist him, it needed to grow as much as possible before meeting him.
｢Finish this and let’s move elsewhere.｣
｢Where?｣
｢Where there’s food.｣
Thankfully, the underground area was abundant with nutrient-rich, easily hunted prey—corpses of four appendage-bearing creatures scattered throughout.
***
“It seems the camouflage worked.”
Regaining consciousness, I first surveyed my location using the auxiliary organ.
The strong smell of chemical solutions, faint scent of blood, electromagnetic waves in the air, and the mechanical noises from scattered devices—all spoke to me.
This was the Skyscraper Monument’s underground research lab. Currently, I lay tied atop a large metal dissection table in the laboratory.
Although I would have recognized if I was a corpse, some wariness had led me to encase my arms and legs in metal shackles.
‘Leave this be.’
No matter how tough it is, it’s futile against my strength. I could break it immediately, but I refrained from doing so because there were surveillance cameras in the lab. Calculations and careful movements are necessary to avoid trouble.
‘Where to look… the genetic sample repository must be nearby.’
The Special Trade centre isn’t strictly dedicated to genetic research; it’s more akin to an all-encompassing entertainment facility. Yet, it’s unlikely that the MegaCorp Science Research Facility wouldn’t have a genetic sample repository.
The underground research lab is a facility conducting various studies to breed compliant employees for T&C through genetic modification, ensuring their lack of resistance to the company.
‘The main objective is to manipulate genetics to create humans as inferior slaves, unlike the Hulk mutants.’
While rare creature genetics might not be available here, there are some types worth targeting.
‘I just need the genes related to the new type unlock.’
Currently, I have a trait that increases the probability of acquiring genes from hunted prey, and that is ‘Symbol of Hunt’ using it here will unlock the types that I need.
‘But someone needs to come to aid.’
For my plan to succeed safely, certain conditions must be met. Until then, I have to wait.
After a while, I sensed activity outside the lab.
“The Administrator wants to know if we can extract genes from the creature for weaponization.”
“Yeah. They say it’s the monster that devoured dozens of soldiers and knights.”
The door opened after confirming the ID, and four lab-coated researchers entered, wearing supplementary gear for dissecting giant organisms. They had exoskeletons, enhancing the appearance of the suits compared to regular reinforced gear, with two additional android-like auxiliary arms on their backs.
“It looks terrifying. Are we dissecting this thing?”
“Yeah. Looks like another overtime today.”
“Let’s get ready quickly.”
The researchers began arranging explosive chemicals and dissection tools on the dissection table using their auxiliary arms.
‘Chemical solutions.’
I needed a smoke screen, and this was perfect. I subtly moved my tail toward where the chemical solutions were.
“Hmm?”
One of the researchers turned around. I remained completely still, mimicking my original state.
“Did I see wrong?”
“Hey, stop dawdling and help.”
“Okay.”
Unaware of any oddity, he focused on assisting his colleagues, moving dissection tools without suspicion.
‘All conditions are met.’
Before utilizing the symbol of the hunt, there are some conditions that are to be fulfilled. However, using the ‘Symbol Of Hunt’ had some side effects, such as, inducing an intense appetite, which could make me lose my sanity when it wore off, if no prey was around.
‘To avoid mishaps, I need to prepare some prey in advance.’
The four researchers in this lab would become sacrifices for activating ‘symbol of the hunt’
‘Of course, they need to help me a bit before that.’
With surveillance cameras around, sneaking out covertly wasn’t easy. That’s why I needed helpful allies—friendly ones who obey my commands.
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