Chapter 178

Episode 178. The Fall of the Far East Fleet (1)

****

**Boom!**

This time, there was no way to dodge. Hasti was pierced by a spear with a loud crash and slammed into the wall.

Vixen raised her hand, signaling the masked soldier beside her to approach and confirm the kill. The soldier nodded.

“Huh?”

The leader of Ninetail tried to scream at the sensation of blood soaking her clothes, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth.

“My lungs are pierced.”

Vixen locked eyes with the masked soldier. Through the bulletproof goggles, she saw the face of her opponent for the first time today.

A woman with brown hair and amber eyes.

Her expression was completely blank. Definitely not human, and certainly not Dr. Kim.

*Swoosh.* Dr. Kim swung his sword, and the leader of Ninetail collapsed to the ground. No blood flowed, only soaking the protective gear.

“What is that? It feels familiar.”

Hasti reassessed the situation. She was still pinned to the wall by the spear, but that wasn’t important right now.

The one who had wiped out Ninetail’s special forces and killed their leader was, without a doubt, Dr. Kim.

This time, he was holding a black greatsword instead of a monkey wrench, but it was definitely Dr. Kim.

The real Dr. Kim.

Accompanied by soldiers from the Seoul Branch.

“Dr. Kim?”

The figure resembling Dr. Kim didn’t respond. He pulled the spear from Hasti’s torso and helped her down from the wall.

Hasti coughed up blood.

She should be in pain, but she wasn’t. Hasti was no longer fully human, and she had taken the Popo Serum before the battle.

Though she felt her abilities were sealed.

“You’re not Dr. Kim?”

The figure shook its head. The face behind the goggles was unmistakably Dr. Kim’s, but something felt off upon closer inspection.

“A doppelganger.”

“So it was a doppelganger.”

No expression.

Hasti sighed. In a way, it made sense. Seeing Dr. Kim’s face had been reassuring, but…

If Dr. Kim had been here, the situation wouldn’t have turned out like this. There wouldn’t have been so many casualties.

****

Meanwhile, Research Department Head Lee Se-ah.

She was guarding the main research lab of the Enlightenment Group’s 8th Research Utilization Team near Seoul. The enemy was soldiers using cloaking technology.

“Ugh. Our allies are the most useless civilian company, and of course, the enemy had to be the most annoying ones.”

Fighting the Foundation Headquarters? That’s insane.

Lee Se-ah cursed inside her gas mask. She didn’t even know why she had to protect the facility of some civilian company.

And now she had to pretend to be Dr. Kim. Not that she couldn’t do it.

“I am Dr. Kim! Everyone who meets me loves me! Now, let’s fight for the Foundation and die together!”

This is so annoying.

“I am Dr. Kim. Good luck. I, too, am fighting on the frontlines with you all.”

Fortunately, the Research Department Head had access to powerful experimental weapons from the depths of the Research Department’s labs. For example-

“Release the Raptor.”

Unconventional battles require unconventional weapons. Deploying dinosaurs to the battlefield.

It’s not like she never wanted to use them; she just never had a good excuse. But now, while pretending to be Dr. Kim, no one could oppose her.

Even if she ordered dinosaurs to be deployed to the battlefield!

****

Meanwhile, somewhere in the East Sea.

It was starting to get cold and exhausting. Even Cosmos was whining now.

We can’t waste time like this; this is bad. People might be dying in the Seoul Branch as we speak. Cosmos’s voice crackled over the radio…

[When are we getting out?]

“Soon.”

We should find it before long.

Of course.

This whole plan is only possible because I’m out here in the vast, untraceable ocean.

If I were waiting in Seoul or somewhere on the Korean Peninsula, I would’ve been caught by the Foundation’s surveillance. They might have figured out who the real Dr. Kim is.

It’s only because there’s a fake in Seoul that we’ve been able to deceive the Foundation Headquarters so far. If I were in Seoul, Headquarters would’ve figured it out immediately. That’s why I’m here.

“Ganymede, can you find it?”

[Don’t rush me. I’m tracking it.]

“Come on, I’m not asking you to find an entire aircraft carrier fleet. There’s a whole carrier group roaming the East Sea, and you can’t find it?”

[Do you think the Foundation Headquarters is stupid? Their carrier group is protected by dozens of layers of supernatural phenomena and conventional technology.]

“Is that so?”

While wandering the vast ocean…

Cosmos tapped my shoulder.

I turned around. Cosmos pointed westward with her hand.

“I smell iron.”

“What? You should be wearing your helmet.”

What does it mean to smell iron? I looked around and—

Huh, what’s that?

“Put on your oxygen tank.”

Cosmos hurriedly grabbed the oxygen tank. I told you to wear it.

The bridge of a destroyer appeared on the horizon. Cosmos’s voice now came through the radio with static.

[Found it, finally.]

“We’re diving now.”

[Really?]

It’s dangerous. If we’re detected, anti-tank missiles or machine gun fire will come flying.

“We’ve found the target…”

We arrived in front of the Foundation Headquarters’ carrier group. I took Cosmos and dove into the sea. No matter what, it should be hard to track two people in the ocean, right?

I pulled out the USB containing Ganymede and shot a hole in the jet ski with my pistol.

The wreckage of the jet ski we were riding slowly sank into the deep sea.

I checked the situation underwater. The target was the aircraft carrier of the Far East Fleet sent by Headquarters.

An aircraft carrier must move at top speed to maintain combat effectiveness. The carrier must move forward so that the combined speed of the carrier and the fixed-wing aircraft allows for safe takeoff.

“Miss Cosmos! Can you move?”

[Water Control.]

“Let’s go.”

Cosmos’s water magic would push us forward, but the aircraft carrier’s speed might exceed 70 kilometers per hour.

Catching up won’t be easy.

No matter what means we use.

The plan was to use the Clockwork Wings to board the carrier, but I’m not sure if that’ll work. Can we really fly fast enough to catch up? It seems difficult.

The anti-air defenses near the carrier are also a problem.

[Why don’t we just teleport into the target? Do we really have to chase it underwater?]

“Foundation facilities are usually protected by various magical means. An important facility like that carrier would be even more so.”

Well… not always.

Cosmos has teleported into the Seoul Branch before, and Yustitia has teleported into Admiral Furani’s destroyer.

Anyway, teleportation is impossible. Flying to board also seems questionable.

If we use the water well, it might work. After all, this part of the East Sea is its domain…

[By the way, do you really have a way to take down an enemy aircraft carrier single-handedly, Dr. Kim?]

“I do. It’s a secret the Foundation has tightly sealed.”

The root of everything lies in this sea.

“I see the carrier.”

Magic doesn’t solve everything.

From our perspective, chasing the Headquarters’ carrier, and from the Foundation Headquarters’ perspective trying to hide it, it’s probably the same.

You can’t perfectly hide a hundred-thousand-ton steel monster. Its shadow loomed above us. Tens of thousands of tons of water churned.

The epitome of human arrogance, trying to dominate the sky and sea. It was incredibly fast, but it still had a ways to go before passing over us.

By the way.

I forgot about sonar. The *ping* sound every few seconds is driving me crazy. Without magical or other protections, that alone might have killed us.

“We’ll ride the waves to board. Can you do it?”

I unfolded the Clockwork Wings. With Cosmos’s assistance, I rose toward the surface as if to fly, and the seawater began to rise.

Now I understand.

Cernunnos and Jörmungandr both called me the master of the imprisoned Pantheon.

The Blue Roses told me to release it. Admiral Furani tried to kill me out of nowhere. And further…

The frequency of supernatural phenomena in this area has increased several times. The Colorless Orchestra summoned divine-class entities like pests to fight.

The final thread tying everything together. All the pieces of the puzzle are now in place. We rise.

They said 40 nations’ navies gathered for the Battle of Aden… I think I understand why now.

When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back.

The Foundation defeated the Abyss.

They beat it, bound it, cut it apart, studied it, and reassembled it as needed. That’s why supernatural phenomena have become so powerful.

This battle, it’s the Abyss’s turn.

The whirlpool pushing me to the surface grew larger, and bubbles began rising from the deep. The deep sea rises. The overwhelming force of the flood is palpable. The surrounding seawater feels warmer.

From the depths, the bone-shaking chorus of nameless entities awakening from the Abyss drowned out the carrier’s sonar.