Chapter 108

After everything had ended, it was the morning, and we found ourselves in a hospital in the neighborhood.

“…Uncle.”

Kalia’s voice broke the quiet atmosphere of the hospital room.

Inside the room lay a middle-aged man, looking haggard. His once vibrant red hair had faded, and the muscles that were once sturdy had weakened. His body was marked with the scars of torture and experimentation from the past few months. Kalia’s uncle was currently in a coma.

The men from the Ospri Brotherhood had gathered around him. Seeing their leader in such a terrible state filled their eyes with sorrow and anger.

“Oh God, the commander…!”

“This can’t be happening… How could this happen…”

Someone was praying, while Uncle Marco, despite his rough appearance and build, had reddened eyes.

Kalia spoke with a faint voice.

“When will Uncle wake up?”

Daphne carefully replied.

“The doctor said he needs to focus on recovery for now. It’s still hard to make a definite prediction…”

“So, we still don’t know…”

Kalia’s voice was dark. The hospital room was filled with a heavy air of sorrow.

It seemed everyone was desperately hoping that their respected brother in arms and family would open his eyes again, returning as the reliable man who protected the townspeople.

The solemn atmosphere of the hospital room was interrupted as a doctor and a nurse entered for a routine check-up. Daphne and I, along with the Brotherhood members and Kalia, made our way into the hallway, which was thick with the smell of disinfectant.

On the way home, Kalia leaned against the truck seat, staring blankly ahead and murmuring.

“I still can’t believe it. Our uncle was strong. He was a former A-class hunter. So why…”

“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure he’ll regain consciousness.”

Daphne spoke gently in an attempt to comfort the gloomy Kalia.

The once confident girl now felt deflated, like a soaked cotton ball.

Seeing her like this soured my mood as well. It seemed that something suddenly occurred to Kalia as she turned her head.

“You said Daphne, right? The doctor mentioned something. He asked if we had a mage among our friends and said to thank that person. Normally, he wouldn’t have made it through today or tomorrow, but thanks to the healing, it didn’t require much intervention.”

Kalia lowered her head.

“Thank you. I just don’t know how to repay this kindness…”

“No, it’s nothing! I just did what I could.”

Daphne waved her hands in embarrassment.

By now, the truck I was driving arrived in front of Kalia’s house.

“You said you’re going back to school this evening? We have some time left, how about having lunch at home? It’s the least I can do…”

“I’m fine with that.”

We got out of the truck and entered Kalia’s house.

“I’ll help you!”

While helping with lunch, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Um, do you know where your uncle went before he disappeared?”

I asked while gauging her reaction. Kalia glanced at me sideways and replied quietly.

“I don’t know either.”

“Huh? Really?”

“The last time I saw him, he dressed up at night saying he had something to investigate. That was the last time.”

She sighed deeply as she tore apart the wrapping.

“My uncle never told me what he was doing. He said it was dangerous and didn’t say a word. But I never expected it would turn out like this…”

I felt that there was some kind of hidden story as I looked at her. Something smells fishy.

“Did you hear anything else at the end? It would be good to have some hints.”

Kalia shook her head.

“I’m sorry… I really don’t know right now. If I think of anything later, I’ll let you know.”

“Then you must tell me later! I’ll help you like this again. Whoever it is, they’re bad guys! Kidnapping people and doing human experiments.”

Upon hearing my words, Kalia’s sorrowful gaze slowly transformed into a determined expression.

“Yeah, I don’t know what kind of scum they are, but we must get revenge.”

She gritted her teeth.

Yes, it seems I need to do some investigating. The western area, and of all places, it’s managed by Magnavis.

Additionally, the scene I saw in the research laboratory inside the hospital kept haunting me.

“The brains in the glass containers… they were alive!”

In the last dungeon laboratory I raided, there were pitiful people and monsters having strange things done to their brains. Seeing that obsession with brains made me think there might be brain-eating octopus aliens living around. Am I too caught up in conspiracy theories?

“I have to get the manager involved again.”

“If I had known this would happen, I should have caught a few researchers to ask them!”

Looking back now, I was too hasty. It felt too much like the place we were trapped in, which made my head spin. By the time I regained my senses, everything was already cleaned up. I should have collected some data and brought back a few of them.

“Next time, let’s capture them alive.”

I feel like the list of things to do is only getting longer. I also have to meet the weapons merchant soon…

While I was handling various minor tasks, nothing happened at the school. For now, the experiential learning activities were suspended. There were several missing persons, and the fact that the dungeon where the experiential learning was often conducted had been destroyed was the biggest issue.

“Is it really because of us that things turned out like this?”

“We already checked. Just blowing up a few bombs wouldn’t cause this!”

I looked around. The gate to Chloris Forest had gotten tremendously larger.

Armed forces were blocking nearby roads, surrounded by assembly-line alloy barriers whose origins were unknown.

Upon closer inspection, the area was filled with debris rendered unrecognizable by the aftermath of magical bombardments raining down from the sky. The melted ground had turned black and glassy, sticking together prominently. Not far from the gate, I could spot the magician’s fishbowl heads I saw last time, appearing one by one.

“It’s the Magnavis Vanguard!”

Seeing the media brushing things aside and dispatching elite troops, suggests that the research laboratory inside was indeed significant. Though we have already slipped away from there.

“I don’t think there’s anything else to salvage here. Unit 430, are you ready? It’s time to pack our things!”

“Yes! I’ll get started immediately.”

Thinking there wasn’t anything more to see, I left the area. I had to pack for the new neighbors living in the Violet Barracks.

It was easy to gather the things belonging to Levi, who was in the female dormitory. Now only the two of us were left.

The Violets carefully infiltrated the male dormitory. Wearing hoods and masks, they disregarded the security system with clones as they entered the rooms they were told to find. We stuffed clothes, books, and other miscellaneous items and sent them to the Central Area.

It brought back memories from before my reincarnation. Back then, I lived in a dorm too… But now, I’m surrounded by a bunch of cute, vibrant girls! I shouldn’t dwell too much on the past.

“All done!”

While the Violets finished their infiltration, another group of Violets pretended to attend classes at school as usual. And when classes were over, they received additional training from Instructor Frederick and Professor Albert, just like always.

The instructor’s expression was notably dark. The shock from the incident of several missing students was quite heavy.

“Listen up, I think we need to take a break from classes for a while.”

The instructor suddenly said. I widened my eyes at the unexpected announcement of a cancellation.

“Huh? What do you mean all of a sudden?”

“It’s just that I have some personal matters to attend to. I need to go out for a bit.”

“Huh? All of a sudden…”

“Nothing serious. Even though it looks like I’m goofing off, there are just a lot of things I have to do.”

He said casually while picking up his weapon.

“Alright, let’s get back to it. Come on in!”

“Yah!”

While the school Violets finished their schedules, other Violets worked diligently.

“Hello, nice to meet you! I’m Unit 512.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Unit 378. Do you see those fertilizers over there? Hurry up and take them.”

“Geez! What a way to wake up and go to work!”

The newly embodied Violet grumbled as she hauled fertilizers around the workshop. Pressure cookers stacked in the workshop, along with various sizes of pipes, detonators, and fuses were visible.

On one side, Violets wielding soldering irons and wires were dedicated to creating seeds of destruction using cheap alarm clocks, wireless devices, and smartphones.

“Alright! Pipes! Be careful while carrying!”

As we waited, a truck entered the workshop. A group of Violets rushed to unload the large pipes loaded in the truck.

These long pipes, about the length of the Violets, were about to be transformed into new weapons that would spew violence and rage.

“So, it’s true that mixing sugar with this will make it a propellant? It’ll just shoot off, right?”

“That’s what they say theoretically.”

“Let’s hurry! We’ll name it Violet Unit 1!”

To succeed in our grand plan, we needed more than just simple explosives.

Up until now, I had diligently learned magic from Professor Albert, but all I could manage was shooting fireballs and firing arrows. I was nowhere near the rapid-fire prowess of Lucian.

Using orbital bombardments like the chairman, that’s clearly out of the question.

Professor Albert himself stated that magic is not a science of destruction but a creative, artistic discipline that distorts the laws of physics.

Additionally, if we employed modern science, the destructive power of a grand wizard could be mimicked.

“Ah! Smoke’s coming out!”

Smoke began to rise from a can in the workshop’s corner. Firefighting Violets quickly rushed over to extinguish it.

The day for the Violets flowed turbulently.

*

As time passed, night came, and under the cover of darkness, a truck sped towards the eastern district.

In the port city of Manorice, a massive silhouette began to reveal itself amid the cranes and containers shrouded in twilight. The manager and Violet Unit 217 walked towards a shadowy warehouse.

In the stillness, the sound of gravel crunching under boots was distinctly audible.

“Is this the right place?”

“Yes, sir. This is where we agreed to meet.”

Manager Leslie had briefed me about Armas, but this was my first time meeting him in person. If things went well, he would be someone I’d be meeting often.

“As I mentioned before, Armas is a tricky person. Just don’t underestimate him, and there shouldn’t be any issues with the deal.”

After hearing the manager’s words, I envisioned an image in my mind.

As a weapons merchant in the underworld, what would he look like? A plump man adorned with gold bracelets and chains or a flimsy-faced scoundrel?

I anticipated the shady and frivolous appearances often seen in movies and dramas.

However, the person who greeted us inside shattered all my preconceptions.

“You’ve finally arrived. It’s been a while, manager.”

My expectations were shattered.

In front of me stood a man dressed in a sharp suit, exuding a sleek and sharp demeanor. Beneath the lights in the warehouse, the man with dusky skin tilted his head as he looked at us.

“Manager, I was told that there’s a new deal to discuss… are you kidding?”

“It’s true that I’ve come to make a deal.”

Armas, sitting on a folding chair, pointed at me with his finger, seeming to scrutinize with eyes gleaming sharply behind his sunglasses.

“No, that’s a girl. Looks like a high school student with a mask on. I was told the main party would be coming.”

“…This person is our manager.”

The neatly dressed, rugged bodyguards standing behind him glared at me intimidatingly. Are they looking down on me?

“Are they trying to test us?”

While I contemplated, the merchant continued.

“Listen. Time is of the essence. I distinctly remember that I was here to talk to the boss. Did you not say you would be trading with a capable organization of awakened ones? A manager, you say? I don’t know what kind of farce this is, but… wait, what? Yes, hmm…”

Just as Armas was about to say something more, one of the bodyguards behind him hurriedly whispered into his ear.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Armas’s eyes shifted to the dimly lit harbor outside the warehouse.

“Oh dear.”

Looks like he caught on. I snapped my fingers.

Snap!

The sound of boots hitting the ground echoed.

From the darkness, armed soldiers clad in black combat uniforms and masks began to appear one by one within the warehouse. The sight made Armas’s bodyguards flinch.

Armas, however, calmly observed us as if appraising our presence.

We issued a warning through our actions—don’t underestimate the Violets.

Seeing the Violet squad, Armas suddenly burst into laughter.

“…My, how rude. But isn’t this a bit too much? It’s not just a simple caution; it’s rather excessive.”

“What’s too much about it? How about thinking positively? Those are all your potential customers.”

When I bluntly replied, Armas’s laughter grew louder. A faint glimmer of respect shone through as it passed beyond his sunglasses.

“I see you’re more of a big deal than expected. When Leslie manager suddenly fussed about wanting to meet, I wondered who he brought along, but you’re quite the remarkable person.”

He gave a short round of applause. His tone had shifted slightly, now infused with a hint of amusement.

“What’s your name, Armas?”

“Ariel.”

When Armas extended his hand, I shook it as well.

The deal had begun.