Chapter 146: Invaders (6)
“What’s going on, Captain?”
“Come here and take a look at this. Do you know what it is?”
The flagship of the Alliance hovered in the skies above Earth. The captain had urgently summoned the head of the research department, Richard.
Richard, who was disguised and being monitored in real-time while infected by Eve, headed to the conference room with Pyles, who was similarly afflicted.
In the room, the captain and several high-ranking officials were already engaged in a serious discussion.
“What is this?”
“This is part of highly classified information we obtained recently. The source is our undercover agents infiltrated in the Rebel Alliance.”
They showed Richard a document. He studied it thoroughly without any hesitation.
The video material depicted a massive fortress that warped into outer space, unleashing attacks in all directions, and monstrous creatures rampaging on the ground, making a wreck of everything and attacking whoever came in sight.
“Interesting.”
“… Is it typical of a scholar? Your calm reaction surprises me. Even if those dying down there are our enemies, I find it quite shocking.”
“It seems just by looking, it falls into the category of the space monster species we’ve classified.”
Richard contemplated seriously as he examined the material. After all, he did not know that the being controlling his body was of the same kind as the enemies fighting the Rebel Alliance far beyond the universe.
‘…’
Eve calculated everything she saw in an instant. For now, it was best to pretend not to know.
“Well, the space monsters I know are mainly beasts. I’m not sure if we should even call those creatures commanding massive monsters against our spaceships ‘space monsters’.”
“Has a conclusion been reached on how the higher-ups will respond?”
“Of course. This information has likely been shared across the entire Alliance.”
Upon hearing Richard’s words, the captain nodded while observing the faces of the superiors appearing on the screens.
“Our Ares has also decided to prepare a response fitting for this emergency, just like the other Alliance forces. Therefore, Captain, hurry up with the plan. According to reports, our personnel are still behind the Earth’s powerhouses. So during that time, we need to enlist those strong ones from there.”
A sharp-eyed elderly woman in the video spoke in a cold voice. Both the captain and Richard understood what she was implying.
It was about mobilizing the new type of humanity they first encountered when they broke into the ‘unknown’ something on Earth.
“But Madam Chairwoman, the war with the demonic realm is still ongoing on Earth. There must be a price to pay to request support from them.”
“… We’re currently recruiting companies willing to volunteer as mercenaries. They’ll lead a fleet of troops to Earth. Captain, you will act as the temporary commander for them.”
At her words, she nodded as if she had already planned everything. The captain’s eyes widened. He never expected the higher-ups to act so swiftly.
“It’s not a lot of material, but we deemed it essential to utilize the Earth people, so make sure to succeed. That is all.”
The meeting ended there. One by one, the screens turned off, leaving only the captain and Richard in the room.
“Captain? May I take this material to study? I might be able to discover more with my current state.”
“This is highly classified information. But the situation is…”
The captain glanced at Richard and Pyles after hearing Richard’s words, and then nodded.
“Just the two of you keep this to yourselves.”
Eventually, Richard obtained the materials and immediately left the conference room.
Pyles hurriedly followed behind him, looking flustered.
“Director…”
“Be quiet. Eve, you’re listening, right? Isn’t it interesting to explore knowledge? Don’t you want to know?”
Covering Pyles’ mouth, he spoke directly to Eve in a slightly sped-up tone.
Unaware of Eve’s true identity, he was harboring a bold thought, using the abilities gained through the Eve who controlled his body to identify the identity of the alien legion that had attacked the same humanity.
‘…You’re quite arrogant.’
Even Eve was slightly taken aback by his attitude. No one had ever actively approached her like this until now.
In any case, she felt a slight curiosity to see how far he could go and what he could do. Thus, she decided to grant him a bit of her power.
[Violence, emotions, negotiation, and deception… You’re gradually learning how to handle humans.]
This also proved that Eve’s approach towards other beings was gradually expanding beyond simple slaughter.
*
“Indeed, it’s so diverse and vast. And the mind of a being like a human seems to rival the universe.”
“Ugh… What kind of nonsense is that? What are you doing to my body right now!”
“I’ve revived your shattered and broken body by the explosion.”
Eve’s collective consciousness possessed the species traits that units held, a power akin to a game system. It was a transcendent ability capable of reaching across the vast universe in real-time.
In other words, Eve could now see Richard on Earth and Liam, her avatar’s counterpart, simultaneously.
“A monster that speaks human words! A horrible demoness wearing a mask of destruction!”
“Is that so? Some have called me a true miracle. The real brain capable of reaching the extremes of academia. He was someone like you. A member of the Alliance.”
“Wait, you guys have already reached out to the Alliance…”
Liam, who had been shouting curses in frustration, widened his eyes in shock. He never imagined Eve would invade a more powerful Alliance even beyond the Rebel Alliance.
“Well, who knows.”
Eve did not provide a detailed answer. There was indeed a plan to attack the Alliance, but for now, her primary goal was to eliminate the Rebel Alliance that had dared to inflict direct harm on her.
Of course, Liam, misunderstanding Eve’s silence, trembled in fear.
“Why? Why did you save me, especially like this? Are you planning to humiliate me?”
At that moment, realizing the fear coursing through him, Liam felt a moment of clarity as he looked around.
His current state was pitiful. In a dark cavity covered in twitching membranes and flesh walls, his broken body was ensnared by thick, black tentacles, resembling spider webs.
The pulsating heart supplying blood to his half-burned head was the tentacles of the legion, not his own. He was, in essence, a living corpse, forced to sustain life yet not truly alive. Eve had no intention of returning his body. He wasn’t one of her allies yet.
“Are you angry because I killed your loyal general, queen? It was quite a sight to see you falling apart, a hole in your abdomen.”
He had assumed the figure he saw, speaking in human words after removing her mask, was the highest command entity of the monstrous swarm, the queen. In a way, it was half-accurate insight.
“We don’t die so easily.”
“Are you perhaps sisters? Damn it.”
However, as Eve spoke, Kang Do-yeon stepped forward with wings out and appeared before him in perfect condition. His eyes dulled instantly.
They were the eyes of someone who had lost all hope and given up on life.
‘I want to try to persuade him.’
For some reason, Eve found interest in Liam, who had lost all will before her. In the past, she would have surely dismissed him as useless.
‘Why? He has lost all motivation now. Just like how you felt when you made Reina a submind. If one cannot exert the greatest strength of humans, then they are worthless.’
Kang Do-yeon pointed out that fact. But Eve shook her head. She had already identified the strongest advantage she could gain from humans as their mental strength and flexibility of thought.
‘I can create that. The desperation, or happiness, and so on. Having confirmed human potential through experiments with Reina, I must see if this possibility can be controlled in this experiment.’
Eve had made up her mind. With that, Kang Do-yeon, who no longer needed to argue against it, kept her mouth shut.
It was true that she felt a twinge of compassion when seeing Liam in such a tragic state. After all, it was also true that she had a part in bringing him to this condition.
‘Is this enough? My brother has virtually given up control to Eve, and I am merely acting as instructed like this?’
As she watched Eve approach Liam, Kang Do-yeon’s heart grew heavy.
She didn’t particularly expect special treatment, but her current situation was no different from that of Reina. In fact, comparing herself to Reina, who was finding immense satisfaction in her duties as a legion commander, felt somewhat wrong.
Despite repeatedly battling, gaining experience, growing stronger, and continually increasing her output with Eve’s help, everything felt reversed now.
‘Why did I want to become stronger?’
Because she didn’t want to be helplessly tossed around anymore, didn’t want to be on the receiving end. She sought power to protect.
However, it seemed she would need to ponder deeply whether her actions now aligned with those reasons.
