n

n

nChapter 75: The Incident (3)

n“…”

nRambling while reading the thesis, I shut my mouth at some point. However, I kept revising it.

nThis has a lot of wrong and inefficient parts. Keep the idea, but…

nDrent had an unfortunate incident during his first thesis defense, but to the original Deculein, he was a talent that he couldn’t even dare think of recruiting. It was an unexpected harvest for me, considering I thought only Epherene would fall under my command.

nThat put me in an unintentional good mood, which probably was what made me talk to myself out loud.

nIt wasn’t like me… No.

nI didn’t even know what it meant to be me at this point.

n“… Hmm.”

nDeculein’s personality was “authoritarian.” The better the opponent was, the more he desired to make them bow down to him. Hence, when a genius became my underling, I felt a certain joy rise within me.

nHowever, that joy was quickly replaced by something entirely different.

nMy Iron Man characteristic made my body develop hypersensitive senses, allowing me to recognize Allen’s secret. Those very same senses now emitted a similar sensation at the corner of my mind.

nWhoever was holding the steering wheel…

nIt wasn’t Jeff.

n“…”

nHowever, I refrained from acting rashly.

nLooking around the car’s interior, I found no danger perceived by The Villain’s Fate, which was as I expected. After all, if it were a risk to get on this car in the first place, this attribute’s radar would’ve already caught it.

nHowever, it did have a blind spot.

nThe Villain’s Fate indicated leading to death, not all danger.

nI opened the window.

nThe passing scenery was nothing out of the ordinary, but when the wind that accompanied it came in, it was swiftly engulfed by a bright red hue, covering the entire road with it.

nBeyond my eyes stretched a lifeless zone. The safest place, at least in this seemingly desolated area, was inside the car.

nThe moment I became aware of the current situation, a message popped up.

nUnexpected Quest: Encounter

n◆ Store Currency 1

nA quest had been issued.

n“An encounter.”

nUnknowingly, I smiled.

nI didn’t know who arranged this nonsensical meeting.

n“… But I’ll think of it as an invitation.”

nThat would be far more convenient for me.

nI looked at the person in the driver’s seat through the rearview mirror. Making eye contact with me, he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

nBeads of sweat were forming on his forehead.

n“Don’t worry. I won’t do anything ungentlemanly. You’re not real anyway, right?”

nHe didn’t answer. There was still time.

nI continued revising the thesis.

n* * *

nVroom—

nGerek glared at Deculein’s car as it approached them in the distance. He was supposed to pursue him from a reasonable distance, but he found that frustrating, considering he was filled with murderous intent for their target.

n“Why can’t I kill him?” Gerek asked.

nArlos, driving the car remotely, answered calmly. “Are you Gerek?”

n“Yeah. I’m Gerek. I’m just like you now, Arlos. A ‘Puppet.'”

nShe stepped on the accelerator without answering.

nThe puppet driving Deculein’s car now was a half-doll implanted with around 7% of her soul.

nHence, it lacked bodily wisdom and was immature and vague. However, what it saw, heard, and felt was fully transmitted to the puppeteer herself, allowing it to act as if it were the main body.

nIt was the only way to make her magic work perfectly.

nA puppet that knew it was, in fact, a puppet wouldn’t move animatedly. More accurately, it wouldn’t have the will to do anything. It wouldn’t perform its duties properly and would occasionally refuse to receive orders.

nHowever, since Soul Departure charged an extremely high penalty for completely transplanting one’s soul into a puppet, she developed an alternative method with great care.

n“Does your puppet die as soon as your soul in it returns to you? Doesn’t it know what it is?”

n“Something like that.”

n“That’s cruel. Do they have no personality?”

n“I’m making the necessary sacrifice.” She laughed bitterly.

nHe glanced at her.

n“What sacrifice?”

n“I don’t know if the current me is a puppet or the main body anymore.”

n“…”

nGerek’s eyes widened.

nEven her, thought to be the main body, might just be a ‘part of the soul’ given to her by the real Arlos, hidden somewhere.

nHer memories might also just be a fake the main body had manipulated and instilled within her.

nShe was the master of the perfect puppet even though she was an imperfect human. Since the perfect puppet was a human, Arlos would live her whole life with the suspicion that she could be a puppet too.

n“I like that on Unnie.” Gerek smiled broadly.

nAt the word ‘Unnie,’ Arlos frowned. “… I told you not to come out.”

n“Unnie~”

nGerek grinned and ran to Arlos. With her shoulder, she shoved the fully grown man whose personality had switched to his younger sister’s.

n“Unnie~ I love you so much~”

n“Don’t cling to me. I’m driving.”

nHe was lucky to have had a pretty face for a man.

nIf he looked like a bearded bandit, she would’ve already killed him.

n“Unniiiiieee~”

n“You’re noisy, Zelin.”

nZelin.

nAmong all of Gerek’s personalities, she was the easiest to handle.

n“But, Unnie, I don’t think I can stand this for much longer. I want to kill Deculein as much as my brother does. You know how I died, right?”

n“I’ve heard about it dozens of times from Gerek.”

nIn response to her answer, Zelin’s eyebrows furrowed.

n“Humpf. My stupid brother steals everything. I was the one who thought of all the topics we could use for conversation, but he’s the one who reveals them all…”

nGrumbling, Zelin suddenly lowered her head and grabbed the hem of her pants. Soon enough, she asked in a lower voice.

n“Unnie.”

n“What?”

n“I’m real, right?”

nArlos turned to look at her.

n“Well…”

nShe was a puppeteer and a soul master.

nIt was no coincidence that she teamed up with Gerek.

n“Don’t bother trying to find the answer to that.”

nGerek’s numerous personalities, which might be the result of a mental illness, could just be a ‘part of the soul’ that his main body had given.

n“You’ll be fine if you don’t think about it too deeply.”

nThat polymorphism was his identity.

nLiving a life without knowing whether he was real or fake was quite blurry, and sometimes, like an anchor in his heart, he dragged all his emotions down to the gloomy abyss.

n“Everything in the world is like that. If you never think too deeply about anything, you’ll always be fine. Believe in the resilience of your ego and… Live shallowly.”

n“… Unnie~”

nZelin rushed in excitement, but Arlos pushed her chin away with her elbow.

n“Piss off, Gerek.”

n“Sheesh. How did you know?”

nZelin’s acting skills were excellent, but Gerek’s wasn’t.

nShe clicked her tongue.

n“I don’t have time to play around.”

nAt that moment, she heard Deculein’s voice through the puppet’s ears.

n—An encounter… But I’ll think of it as an invitation.

nThat damn professor’s intuition was astounding. In fact, she was ready to break the plan when he realized she was a puppet, but if she did, Gerek would be forced to go on his own.

nThat would be even worse.

n“Deculein is taking this encounter as an invitation. He’s confident.”

n“Really? That’s interesting. After all, he fought Rohakan to a tie. I couldn’t kill that old man either. When did he become so strong?”

nNot long after, Arlos’s body trembled when she heard Deculein say something significant.

n—Don’t worry. I won’t do anything ungentlemanly. You’re not real anyway, right?

nOf course, he might be saying that since he was talking to a puppet, but if, by some chance…

nDeculein was talking about the authenticity of her ‘soul’ itself…

n“What is it, Arlos?”

n“… Nothing.”

nIt couldn’t be. Only God could determine a human soul’s authenticity.

n“We’re almost there.”

nTheir destination was already in sight, which was a vacant lot away from the imperial city. Its basement was empty under the pretext of being under development.

n“Woooo~ I’ve been looking forward to this.”

n“Are there beasts in your personality too, Gerek?”

n“Yeah, of course! The one I raised is. There’s some cowboy wielding a shotgun too! Hell, yeah!”

nSmiling, Gerek roared like a tiger.

n* * *

nThe car moved slowly. Buildings and street lights along the road gradually disappeared, and at some point, the entire vehicle sank into the basement of an empty, vacant lot.

nDarkness filled the unknown space that stretched beyond the window.

nThey stopped in the middle of it.

nDeculein looked at the driver’s seat, finding ‘Jeff’ had already turned into a mannequin.

nWas it Arlos?

nHe looked out the window again, having no problems scanning his surroundings due to The Villain’s Fate.

n“…”

nDeculein got out of the car, finding himself in what seemed like an underground parking lot.

nClick— Clack— Click— Clack—

nThe sound footsteps echoed all around him.

n“Good to see you.”

nA voice came from his right.

nWithout much vigilance, he looked towards the direction it came from. He found no remained calm.

n“It’s been a while~”

nSoon, a man dressed in cloak-like darkness appeared. Deculein identified him as soon as he saw his face.

nZukaken.

nHe was a Named character in the underworld.

n“Oh, stop, stop. You mean don’t come any closer, right?”

nTaking one step forward, he reacted noisily and waved his hand. It was an odd gesture.

n“Don’t move more than that. Just stand there.”

nDeculein looked at him through his lens.

n──Ruler──

n◆ Rating: Unique

n◆ Description:

n– Someone who plays politics.

n– Through agreement, he can mimic the imitable attributes of others. (However, it is limited to attributes that are lower than unique, and there must be no violence involved in the process of an agreement.)

n──────

nAs the only one among the Six Snakes to use the underworld as his base, he was a pretty special Named.

nThe dark district was still within the imperial power’s reach, so the risk was high, but he had long since solidified his influence and status with all kinds of bribes, earning him the nickname, ‘Ruler.’

n“Don’t be too serious. You’re going to wrinkle your handsome face.”

nHe was dressed in an aristocratic outfit with no shortage of tailcoats. Sweeping his long purple hair to the right, he continued.

n“I offer you a peaceful deal.”

nDeculein quietly listened to what he had to say. This ‘encounter’ was a side branch of the main quest anyway.

n“The ‘Altar’ wants your runes.”

n“…”

n“Give me your interpretation. After verifying its authenticity, they will divide the prize on your head by two and give half of it to you. You’ll get at least 100 million.”

n“What do you think?”

nZukaken grinned, asking for his opinion. A robed man had appeared beside him.

n“You’re too cocky,” Deculein answered.

n“… Tsk.”

nClicking his tongue, he ruffled his long hair and shook his head, displaying his faint anger, then looked at him again.

n“I know you. That’s why I want to settle this peacefully. I’m not asking you to hand over all of your runic rights. If you want, I’ll cast ‘Rights Magic’ on your runes. That way, only the higher-ups of the Altar would be able to see them. For that purpose, a wizard will accompany—”

n“Zukaken.” He interrupted. “If you truly do know me, correct the tone of your voice.”

nWithin him boiled a wave of distinct anger that twisted his grudge against Deculein.

nHe found the professor’s arrogance so annoying that he couldn’t keep this going anymore.

n“I’m not the kind of person you see eye to eye with.”

n“You’re a piece of garbage that mimics a nobleman. From whom did you learn such a habit?”

nZukaken’s expression hardened at his words.

n“…”

nHe licked his lips a few times then lowered his head briefly. Afterward, he grabbed the back of his neck and laughed.

n“You’re still arrogant even though your situation isn’t ideal right now. Wake up.”

nSighing, he continued.

n“The Altar can simply open your skull, get your brain, and get the runes. You wouldn’t like that, would you? Moreover…”

nSnap—!

nA barrier appeared when he snapped his finger, wrapping around tens of meters in radius from Deculein’s feet.

nZukaken stared at him outside of its perimeter.

n“I’m sure you know better than me how strong and dense that barrier is, considering you’re a magic professor.”

nA glance would be enough to know it would be hard to break.

n“In accordance to your reputation for dealing with Rohakan, I prepared the utmost courtesy for you.”

nEerie energy soared into the air, a clear intent to kill filled the empty basement the top of the due to the appearance of a certain ‘person.’ same

n“I’ll say it again, Deculein. This is not a request or suggestion.”

nDeculein looked at the man next to the Ruler. He tried to determine who he was, but he couldn’t see his face.

n“Is that your boyfriend?”

nStartled, Zukaken yelled, “Stop acting crazy!”

n“You’re one of the Snakes, yet you’re afraid of me?”

n“Humpf. If I was trying to kill you, I would have killed you sooner. However, I respect the prestige you have shown in the underworld. I just want a peaceful solution to this situation.”

n“How can you call yourself a man while being a coward?”

n“… Hey! Show yourself. It seems Professor Deculein refuses to wake up!”

nThe darkness on the other side of the barrier lifted, causing the Head Professor’s expression to turn cold.

nThe figure was exuding a death itself was a death

n“Is that Gerek?”

n“Right. You know him too. He’s quite a famous guy.”

nMulti-personality Gerek was a monster with combat power that ranked among Named madmen. At the time, he was a mass of death variables for Deculein.

nDeculein grinned. “What makes you think you can control him?”

n“I can’t control him. If you break the barrier, he will kill you.”

nFrom Gerek’s feet, the death Deculein followed its red movement with his eyes.

n“And if you don’t accept my proposal, he’ll break the barrier himself and kill you.”

nwas blocked by the barrier.

nIt was a hint The Villain’s Fate was telling him.

n“… This is weird.”

n“Uhuh.”

nDeculein looked into it through Understanding, learning that it was an independent type of magic that utilized an intermediary. Therefore, it didn’t matter who the caster was. It worked solely through that link.

nThat meant its owner could change at any time.

nOf course, it would require enormous calculation skills and time, but he had enough skills, and since its size was small, it wouldn’t take long for him to calculate it.

n“….”

nHe analyzed it using Understanding, traced the flow of mana inherent in it with Vision, reversed the circuit and magic, and modified its intermediary with the Rockelock’s Yukline Cane in his hand.

nIn no time at all, he had completely stolen the barrier.

nSoon after, Deculein took his revolver out. Six bullets were already loaded in it.

n“Ohh. What a wonderful accessory.”

nZukaken just shrugged. Deculein raised the gun, aiming at the ceiling of the barrier, and pulled the trigger.

n──!

nHe fired five bullets in total.

nAlthough there were no scratches on the forcefield, it attracted his target’s attention.

n“Gerek. Can you hear me?”

n“… I can hear you, but I am not Gerek.” He replied.

nRaising an eyebrow, he asked, “Who are you?”

n“Zelin. My brother won’t come out. No matter what you do, I won’t let him make a mistake here.”

n“That’s cute.” Deculein quietly nodded. “Still, he must be watching.”

n“… No. It doesn’t matter what you do. It won’t work.”

nShe narrowed her eyes at him as he calmly checked the revolver’s remaining ammo. He had already used five bullets.

n“One bullet remaining.” He spoke indifferently, closed the gun’s cylinder, and spun it, making it impossible to tell which chambers were empty.

n“Gerek.”

nDeculein then put the gun to his temple, causing Zelin’s eyes to widen.

nIt was as if he was about to commit suicide.

n“Let’s play a game.”

nRealizing what he meant, she covered her mouth. Gerek was beginning to run rampant inside their body. Zukaken simply frowned.

nClick—

nThe sound of the revolver’s firing pin flipping back echoed in the air.

nOnce he pulled that trigger, there would be a certain probability that a projectile would come thundering into and through his skull and brain.

n“Will I kill myself before you can kill me?”

nAn empty chamber.

nOr the only remaining bullet.

nDeculein apathetically continued.

n“Or will you wake up before I can kill myself?”

nHe looked at Zelin with an unbreakable fortitude.

nFrantically, Zukaken muttered, “Hey, hey! Don’t be fooled! That wizard must be doing some sort of trick!”

nBut it was all in vain.

nWhether or not magic was at work in this Russian Roulette, those sensitive to magic knew best.

n“Are you going to let me go like this, so boringly?”

nClick—

nHe put his finger hand on the trigger. With the muzzle resting on his temple, Deculein smiled.

nZelin’s expression distorted.

n“First.”

nClick—!

nZelin trembled in response to that empty percussion sound.

n“I got lucky.”

nHe flipped the revolver’s firing pin again, at which point she shook her head and shouted.

n“This won’t work!”

nDeculein’s smile was still in full display, dawning upon one of Gerek’s personalities.

n“… Zelin, right?”

nZukaken accompanied Gerek, saying it was simply out of courtesy.

nAfter all, Gerek was a monster no one could control.

nNaturally, once his rage had been incurred, he would unconditionally target Deculein.

nBut what if his mental illness reached its peak?

nIt would turn him into a madman who wouldn’t even be able to tell allies and opponents apart.

n“So, was the pain of drowning tolerable?”

nZelin didn’t answer. Her expression darkened.

n“…”

nDeculein looked down at her feet and smiled spreading everywhere except towards his barrier.

nPerhaps they didn’t only apply to him.

n