Chapter 148

Filstein Correctional Center, 1st Floor, Multipurpose Room.
The numbers on the electronic wall clock pointed to 2:00 PM. The beep-beep-beep-beep sound echoed around the room without a single second of error. It was coming from inside the researchers’ pockets.
“Ugh, I have to get back to work.”
“Master Chief Blonia. Prisoner number 2011’s progress report on the administration of Pevotox Type-D. ….”
“What? Why are you telling me that….”
The exact opposite of their untarnished robes. The ones who are treated the best in prison and therefore the busiest. Like the researchers in the lab, they had the mindset that sleep is for the dead.
“I’ll talk to you later, I promise!”
One by one, the researchers who had gathered for lunch shook their heads and left. Synapse waved them off with a big smile on his face.
After the crowd has thinned out, you let out an exhausted sigh.
“Ha ha. I’m out, I’m out.”
That’s not an exaggeration: Synapse, who unintentionally stayed on at Ishrad, became a celebrity for Philstein. That’s because she’s in a rap group.
The Celbromics Lab. An organization that studies spells and catastrophes, much like Ishrad. It’s hard enough to see your family when you’re in prison, but an outsider walking in the same field?
The reaction is obvious. You can’t help but roll your eyes.
It was a pain in the ass to hear him ramble on and on, but it was also a pain in the ass to push him away.
“How much does a single operative know about anything….”
“Oh yeah? He’s a good talker.”
Asterike sips carrot juice through a straw and makes an impression. A prison-grade drink with no nutritional labeling. She stares at the pack, then pops the straw back in her mouth.
“It’s been like that for almost half an hour.
As an observer, I was more curious than frustrated: if it’s not good, why not throw it away? But it was too late to intervene, so I left it alone.
“What, I was listening over my shoulder.”
Synapse was one of the more scholarly of the agents, if not the most so, than Leila. They wouldn’t have held her if she couldn’t talk. They would have lost interest and gone to the bathroom.
In reality, Asterike didn’t get much attention. The Pecatum part may have had something to do with it, but it was more about the innocence of her brain.
“I’m jealous, I like smart people, they’re cool to talk to.”
“I’m not that smart…. And isn’t that rather scary?”
“Scary?”
“There are a lot of scammers out there.”
Synapse’s indigo eyes were languid. The gaze was still facing away, but it was superimposed on something other than Asterike.
“You have to be stupid to be fooled, and you don’t realize you’re being fooled until you’re being fooled, and it’s miserable, because you look so pathetic.”
Asterike gulped.
“Is this a snipe?
But it was just a coincidence. There’s no way Synapse could have known that he’d almost been built by the mafia. Hyun is not the kind of person to talk about other people’s embarrassing experiences….
“I get what you’re saying, but I don’t empathize with you.”
“Is that so?”
“Some people are smart and nice at the same time.”
Synapse’s eyes narrowed. Then she smirked.
“Like you?”
“Huh? Hyun is, frankly, not a very nice person….”
The answer I spat out in a rush made him chuckle again.
“I’m surprised. I thought you were going to get your ass kicked by Mr. Hyun.”
“There was a time when I was young.”
I realize now that I can’t affirm every aspect of someone. I don’t see his self-serving nature as a flaw, but I’ve learned to say what I need to say left and right.
Asterike’s shoulders slumped slightly. He looked strangely cheerful, and Synapse found it endearing.
This was another unexpected aspect.
“Mr. Asterike, you’re funnier than I thought. We’re going to have to…….”
Let’s be friendly.
I was about to suggest that.
─Yeeeah!
An eardrum-piercing siren. The red light on the alarm flashed rapidly. From beyond the door came a shouting noise.
I didn’t have to figure it out. He had been informed in advance of the uproar in the prison. Even with the knowledge, the synapses were still surprised.
‘……It’s really there.’
Kim was right on the money this time. And,
“Conversions are fast.
Asterike’s face, once innocent, is now dull and dull. She tosses the carrot juice into the trash and gets up from her seat.
“Can I leave now?”
“Hold on a second.”
The synapse sent a signal to someone through its own network of connections. An instruction to get ready. Hearing the nervous voice echoing in her head, she nodded.
“I’ll take cover.”
“No, I’m fine.”
So the synapse that was about to fire froze in an awkward position. It sounded like an interruption. Asterike replied firmly and strode away.
Ziying.
I pressed the tactile button and the door to the multipurpose room opened.
The lobby came into view, the prison’s landscape looking much different than it had an hour ago. Alarms on the walls cast a bright red glow. The once-white structure was painted red.
“Moo, what’s going on!”
“Move, move, move! Evacuate the researchers first!”
Someone panicked and freaked out. Others pulled out batons and shouted urgently or threateningly. They were unprepared.
Bang, bang, bang!
Gunfire echoed off the walls. From the basement, from the top floor, gunmen appeared out of nowhere and fired indiscriminately. They wore gas masks.
“Where did it come from, kaboom!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Come this way!”
Asterike’s feet never stopped moving, even in the midst of the abyss. She walked in a straight line toward the pillar in the center. There were many things about the current prison that reminded her of a scene from the past.
MetroCity.
My memories of that place are as hazy as water mist. He had fought with his own people, he had heard, and there had been many casualties in the aftermath of the battle. Hyun didn’t tell me, but I couldn’t help but wonder.
I’ve had my fair share of heartache. And now he was in a similar situation. And yet, Asterique realized that she was in a very calm state of mind.
‘It’s still half a penny without strings.’
It’s not a mental issue of self-reliance or anything, it’s a fact. Asterique can’t control her spells without the [Vibranium Composite Blade].
But don’t worry.
This is where the prefectures are arranged.
“……Haha, ughhhhhh…!”
Harsh laughter erupted. I hear footsteps. Not guards and researchers. Prisoners in white prison uniforms were walking out of the wide-open cell.
“What the hell are you doing up? Crawl out of bed, you assholes!”
The gruff man urged the watchful prisoners on. The idiots who remained cowardly and hid when the opportunity presented itself. Pathetic, but not inscrutable.
“Is this scary?”
He grabbed the restraints around my neck. He can inject poison remotely without the spell being seen. It’s a life-or-death situation, but there’s a loophole.
That it is uncontrollable after a certain distance. If you’re a rational person, you’ll make a quick decision before you run away, but it’s not an easy decision to make.
“If you have a brain, think. Those sons of bitches can’t kill us anyway, because we’re pampered lab animals. One or two of them can be disposed of and that’s it, but try killing all of us, what do you think will happen?”
It wasn’t hard to deduce the afterword.
“No matter how it goes, you’re going to get screwed big time. Ha, fuck! I don’t know who you are, but thank you.”
Thump, thump!
In his excitement, the man pounded his fist on the wall, so hard that it drew blood. The hesitant prisoners were incited and began to come out one by one.
“Holy shit….”
The guards’ faces showed a hint of despair.
On the contrary, the prisoner’s mouth curled into a crooked smile. The intruders did not attack the prisoner; they were emboldened by his courage and eager to take out their anger and humiliation on him.
“Peh, Mr. Pekatum!”
Someone shouted from upstairs.
Asterike’s head snapped up. On the third floor, the man from the visiting room leaned against the railing, peering down at her. He held something elongated in his arms.
“Get it straight!”
Boo-boo-boo-boo!
With a heavy whistle of wind, it fell. It spun in circles, accelerated by gravity. The moment it hit the floor, a loud crash shook the entire prison.
There was a moment of silence.
In the silence, Asterike gripped the sword, not liking it much. A sword forged in the hands of a man she barely knew. The familiar sensation of the hilt in her grip.
“……It’s kind of like that.
Noctane’s spells are copies. While Pereira was fooling the CCTV, Kim reminded Noctane of his memories, allowing him to duplicate the Vibranium Composite Sword.
Everything was as Kim had envisioned.
“It’s the strings.
The corners of Asterike’s mouth twitched upward, then back down. Her golden eyes stared at her enemies. The tip of her blade dangled, she spoke.
“I’ll give you 10 seconds.”
Flames erupt, resembling lava. His vision flickered. Noctane swallowed dryly as he watched. Even at a distance, he could feel the heat that radiated from Asterike.
“Go back to your cell. Anyone left after I’m done counting will be taken to…….”
Jiying!
A walker came down the wire from upstairs. A pistol was aimed at Asterike. As it descended, the bullet flew toward Asterike’s crown with surprising accuracy.
Before I could reach it, it was swallowed by Chapter.
Bam─!
The [Vibranium Composite Blade] slammed into the falling walker’s skull, sending it crashing to the ground. The gas mask and the entire skull caved in, then the flames reduced the bones to ash.
“It’s going to be like this.”
There is no human form left.
Noctane weighed in casually. Death as an accidental result of human experimentation. A worm-like death met with overwhelming violence.
Which one preserves human dignity more?
* * *
The riots were easily quelled.
Asterike’s exploits were remarkable. She burned the invading Legion to the ground. There were no survivors, for the Legion is a psychotic organization, and none fled.
The reason Rags attacked Kim’s group instead of the prison was obvious. If the Legion’s plan worked, the prison wouldn’t need much manpower in the first place.
All you had to do was open all the prisons, release the soldiers, and set up a board. The prisoners would have taken matters into their own hands and turned the prison into a wilderness.
“If the rags had gone to the prison, it would have been the same.
Normally, you can’t fight bosses one-on-one. However, there are exceptions, and Ast is one of them. His versatility is ambiguous, but his highs are absurdly high.
At this point, there are only a few types that Asteriske will struggle with.
With the exception of Edwin, who can regrow limbs after burning them off. If you fight Ghost or Kim, you’ll lose.
‘Because they won’t fight.
You just have to mentally push yourself and put a foot in your head.
However, the flip side of this is that you can’t fight him head-on. Your only options are to use Helixibir or spin the dice with the [Cripple’s Index].
In short, Asteriske is strong against ignorant enemies.
Edwin is also unthinking, but like I said, he’s an exception. If you kill him before he has a chance to recover, it might be a different story.
Anyway.
The battle between the two sides ended well.
But there was still one more thing to do.
Bam, bam, bam.
Footsteps echoed in the underground sewers. He seems to be in a hurry. Two shadows approached. Kim crouched under the tarp and waited for them to pass.
A moment later, the backs of the idiots came into view.
“Damn it, I still haven’t heard from them!”
“We can only be cautious for now, once you’ve crossed the border and…….”
Sigh.
The polyurethane-coated fibers shed as they rose from their lowered positions. Their heads snapped back at the unintended noise.
It’s too late. The ambush worked so well, I couldn’t help but love it.
Bam!
The silenced pistol let out a muffled burst of gunfire. A familiar figure collapsed, bleeding from the temple. It was the man who had escorted Kim to the prison.
And the other one.
“Uh, how do you……!”
Camael’s puffy eyes crinkled up and down, and his trembling hands shook. Kim gave the elderly man a benign smile out of respect.
“What a coincidence, this is where we all meet.”
It’s time to do the last thing.