109 – Internal Strife (1)

“Seo-jun, is there anything you desire to eat? Hmm? Tell me anything. If there’s anything you wish to do, I can grant it all to you.”

“Hey. If you answer her, you’re dead to me. Remember, anything that crone can do for you, I can do better. Got it?”

“My, my…that temper. Hasn’t changed one bit, has it? Shouldn’t you have learned some sense by now?”

“Shut your trap, hag. He’s mine. I’ll never hand him over to you.”

“Hag, you say…hmm… it was certainly a word I disliked… but it no longer holds true? Chatter away, then. We are now the same age in body, are we not?”

“So what if our bodies are the same age? The difference in our actual age is still vast.”

“That much more experience, then. Little one. I know the world far better than you do. For example…”

The Queen of Quantum stroked me.

“Wouldn’t you say I possess a greater understanding of how to handle a man?”

“You whore…!”

“There is a limit to my tolerance for impudence, little one. The only reason I am turning a blind eye to all this is for Seo-jun’s sake, you see? If it weren’t for this child, you would have become a pancake long ago.”

“Just try it…!”

“I’m tempted beyond measure… but wouldn’t Seo-jun disapprove? I cannot very well murder the leader of the organization I belong to. Seo-jun, pay no mind to her words. I am not a whore, understand? My reproductive organs malfunctioned long ago, so I lack actual experience.”

“…Pardon?”

“It was a side effect of the experiments, I suppose… probably so. The Facility. I was confined to the facility where the government researched those with abilities. I endured countless experiments there. I was Subject 12. Bad Sector was 99. We were the only two who survived all those experiments and even the Seoul night. Every other test subject died. I escaped from that place unscathed, but… the aftereffects still torment me. However, as that power washed over my body just now, a small change occurred. Yes. A small change. Various tattered parts remaining in my body regenerated. Scars hidden in unseen places seem to have regenerated as well. So… I can now declare that I am a practical virgin, can’t I?”

Too much information.

Information I didn’t need to hear.

“Uhm… congratulations?”

“You restored me, so do you wish to possess me?”

“Excuse me?”

“This wench?! Won’t you just scram?! Where does some geriatric hag get off pretending to be a virgin!”

“Pretending? It is the truth. Little one. How about you cease your blathering? What do you know about me to spout such nonsense? You dare flaunt that paltry ability of yours, believing in it so much…”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed.

“There are many ways to circumvent it. A great many. Watch your tongue, little one. I will not show leniency beyond this point?”

Baek So-yeon ground her teeth.

Colder than I’d ever seen.

“Try it. b*tch.”

The brink of collision between a person who’d endured enough.

And a woman who wouldn’t hold back.

I checked the time.

“Um.”

“Yeah?”

“What.”

“Isn’t the… opening ceremony… about to start? Can you both really be doing this?”

“…Oh dear. Look at me, losing my head. Heavens.”

The Queen of Quantum vanished almost instantly. Judging by how quickly her leisurely feet moved, it seemed she had quite a bit to prepare.

And the same went for Baek So-yeon.

“The opening ceremony’s already…! Crap…! Let’s go, first! We have to hurry! You, follow me! Quickly! Stay behind me. Got it?! Where’s Darko?! ”

“…I’m here, Boss.”

“You son of a…! Are you not going to act straight?! You couldn’t even handle your role properly!”

“I was subdued in an instant… I apologize. Afterwards, I assessed that there was no need for further combat…”

“Enough! Just move!”

“Why are you in such a rush?”

“Quantum’s opening ceremony isn’t just a ceremony! It’s practically a war of nerves between factions! Even if we’re just late, we’ll be looked down upon even more than we already are!”

Baek So-yeon snatched my hand.

“We’ll continue this later… what. Why are you following us?!”

Lee Chae-young and Lee Seo-yeon.

The two of them were trailing behind me.

Lee Seo-yeon, I understood. She came with me in the first place.

But why was Lee Chae-young, the owner of Eternal Workshop, following me?

“Um, excuse me…”

“Yes?”

She hemmed and hawed, glancing at me several times before opening her mouth.

“…Your number, please.”

“You really want to all end up dead by my hand, huh? Huh?”

A new thread of a vein pulsed on Baek So-yeon’s forehead.

But then, the alarm blared once more.

“Goddamn it! I’m gonna be late! It’s not like there aren’t already a shit ton of b*stards picking fights…! Seriously! Let’s go! Follow me! Hurry up! Stop giving away openings left and right!”

“I haven’t given any…”

“I said follow me, didn’t I?!”

Baek So-yeon dragged me along.

Still, well…the thing I did, just because I couldn’t stand still, seems to have paid off…

Quantum’s support.

Could I perhaps allow myself a little hope?

. . .

The opening ceremony began. The Queen of Quantum, her face hidden behind a mask, recited the customary invocation, signaling the true start of the banquet.

But the representatives of the executive agencies I’d expected to see were nowhere to be found. Neither were the fixers supposedly traveling with them, and the Bad Sector was entirely absent.

It was only a rumor, after all, so I’d somewhat anticipated this outcome…

Still, seeing them missing, I couldn’t help but feel a slight sense of being suspended in time.

“……..”

The banquet continued. Baek So-yeon moved busily through the crowd.

She looked like she was dealing with mountains of things she disliked, but still maintained a ceremonial blank expression as she responded to the people who addressed her.

It was all just formality, but…

Still, she was acting like a proper head of the organization.

I stood at the edge of the banquet hall, silently watching the power brokers of Seoul as they moved about.

Quite the collection of beauties and handsome men. Well, it’s a well-known fact that many ability users are good-looking.

The important thing is…

This isn’t my place.

I left the banquet hall behind, and with Scarlet, slipped out into the wide garden. I sat down on a bench, gazing at the moon that had already risen, and took a drink of the alcohol I had brought.

Not enough to get drunk. Just enough. To rest my body for a little while.

“…Haaah.”

“Master. You shouldn’t drink too much.”

“It’s only my first glass.”

I glanced at my cute artificial intelligence.

“…Still, it seems you’re the only one who worries about me.”

“I was born to serve you, Master.”

“You can dream bigger. The reason you were born might be that, but it’s not everything now.”

“Even so, I like being by your side, Master. I want to take care of you.”

Felt like seeing my daughter all grown up.

I chuckled and ruffled Scarlett’s hair haphazardly.

“Admirable.”

“Ehehe. More head pats…”

Scarlett suddenly spun around.

Her movement, reflexive and almost embracing, was laced with a visible wariness.

A shadow, approaching so quickly I couldn’t react.

It was crouched somewhere in the garden’s trees, watching me. One with the darkness, revealing only its eyes.

“Seems like you’re getting along nicely.”

The voice.

The voice.

A voice I could never forget.

It felt like all the blood in my body froze in an instant. Even the beautifully floating moon seemed to lose its color.

I slowly moved Scarlett back, gently detaching her arm from my own. My gaze fixed on the shadow lurking in the darkness.

I thought if we met again… knowing its true nature would make me tremble more…

I didn’t tremble at all.

If anything, I was calm. My mind went first to Lily Bennetwater, and the mess she had become, rather than what I had suffered.

“…It’s been a while, hasn’t it? First time since then?”

“Yeah. That’s right. First time since then. I wanted to see you all along, but circumstances didn’t allow it. I got caught because it was necessary… but the internal situation wasn’t what I expected. Not all the prisoners were like me. So I killed all those who didn’t follow me. Cleanly.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Simple. Didn’t that snitch blab? Facilities, and what not… Seoul Nights, and what not… it’s all related to that. The one and only thing that snitch and I have in common, from head to toe. The Quantum Queen and me. We’re classmates. Experiment classmates. But the methods for satisfying our desires are completely opposite. Who’s right and who’s wrong? Which method is correct? I want to know, but sadly, I can’t. I’ll never know in my lifetime. Well, that’s fine. The most important thing for us is that we ultimately chose for ourselves.”

The shadow chuckled.

Completely opposite the innocent appearance when he asked me to make him a special equipment, The undisguised figure of the shadow walked out from under the tree.

“Lee Seo-jun. Viper. You should’ve just gotten caught by the government. If you had, I would have dragged you out with me when I escaped.”

“…If I had known you were the worst criminal on earth, I wouldn’t have made you the equipment in the first place.”

“Is that so…? But how things are used is ultimately up to the user’s mind, isn’t it? If you had to consider every single thing when making something… no one in the world would make anything, would they?”

“Not wrong, I suppose. But someone like you is an exception. Though I can’t control how the equipment I make is used…”

I crossed my arms.

A frown etched itself onto my face.

“I don’t want to sell things to someone who goes around committing all sorts of sins.”

“Don’t be so cold. There was a reason, you know?”

“Explain it then.”

“…Hmm…”

Her black hair swayed in the breeze. The beauty placed a finger on her chin, lost in thought for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.

“I’ve forgotten everything.”

“…Tch.”

“Tsking at me? How cute. But I really have forgotten, haven’t I? Few people remember the reasons behind choices made long ago. I have even more trouble remembering. So much has happened. Say, can I ask you just one thing?”

“Ask away.”

“Oh my. Have you dropped the honorifics?”

“I’ve decided you’re not worth polite speech. If you’re going to spout nonsense, hurry it up. I don’t have time.”

“…Audacious. To stand before *me* and say such things. But that’s why I like you even more. What I want to ask is this, Seo Jun. Why did you come here? You know it’s dangerous, don’t you? Coming here yourself…it’s a terrible move, truly. Did you deliberately step outside the fence because you wanted to be caught by me?”

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask me something?”

I opened my mouth for one last entreaty.

As for the others. In regards to those who ruined Seol Ye-won and Joo Hwa-rin, I intended to take revenge myself. Because I believed I was capable.

But still…

The Bad Sector before my eyes was impossibly immense. With a force so great that its limits couldn’t be fathomed, I wanted to minimize the risk.

“Can’t we just…go our separate ways? Huh? Let’s pretend we never met, and not interfere with each other. My life’s already twisted enough because of you, you know? But…even so…I’ll hold back here. If you just hand over the subordinate who hurt Lily Bennetwater, I won’t interfere with you anymore either. Bad Sector. Let’s make a deal. For both our sakes. This is the best way.”

She blinked. Her gaze, fixed on me for a long moment, held a mixture of bewilderment and surprise.

Then, as all those emotions faded away, the Bad Sector giggled in the darkness.

“Ah. Seo Jun. Seo Juuun…My own, adorable craftsman…”

Something completely incompatible with the world, like a mass of viruses, whispered to me.

“Now that I know you, you know that’s impossible. You have to become the most beautiful weapon I possess. A weapon to break the world, a weapon only for me. I confessed that day, didn’t I? In front of the whole world. I’m not a woman who goes back on her word. If I decide to take something, I take it. I love you. Huh? I said I love youuu…Seo Jun…I really love you. Let’s be together forever. Let’s do everything together. Let’s break everything until we break the world…and when we reach our limit…then let’s die together. Only you can create the weapon that can kill me. So…stay with me until the end of my life. For me. For me who loves you.”

So, this is how it was going to be.

Bad Sector.

I stared silently at the black-haired beauty.

And then…

“Is that so?”

To that answer, which I had somewhat expected, I revealed my animosity in earnest.

Yes. You, the one who twisted my life. Even now, you’re the ringleader who hurt even my acquaintance…

Just because it’s a bit too much to handle, I don’t want to just let you go.

“Then it’s war, then.”

“…Huh?”

“I was practically chased out of Busan, but even so, I tried to live quietly. But you people tormented me to the very end. A mere illegal weapons manufacturer, chased all the way to Seoul? Bullshit. That can’t be it. All of you… you just coveted the technology I possessed. You must have been trying to use me for your own gain. So you, including your fanatics… I’ll wipe out everything, from the executive agencies to the major fixer offices.”

I declared it plainly.

Right to her face, a proper declaration of war.

“Together until the end of our lives? Me? With you? No way. But I will fulfill one of the things you said. I’m going to kill you. In the near future. So wash your neck and wait. Bad Sector. As you said, the weapon to kill you… only I can make it.”