112 – Internal Strife (4)

The world is full of wonders.

And naturally, among them are things that defy logical comprehension.

Who would believe it?

That an artisan who crafts objects would not only be an ability user…

But also capable of subduing Enforcers trained through systematic and complex programs.

-KWAANG!

A gun.

No, more accurately…

Something that resembled a gun to an uncanny degree.

Scarlett… was it? Something spawned from that mechanical android construct, clutched in Lee Seo-joon’s hand.

It resembled a gun, yet what erupted from it wasn’t quite a bullet. Something about jury-rigged equipment, or so they were saying…

At least, one could tell it was something close to a cannon.

A so-called energy device, firing purplish-crimson orbs of energy like bullets.

“…?”

No. This wasn’t an era where such a thing should exist.

Once. Only once. Since the discovery of the Ability Factor, science had momentarily ceased its growth. At least, weaponry had.

With the advent of more efficient combat weapons called Abilities, it was only natural that attention would turn to them.

And yet. Despite all this.

A weapon so out of sync with the times was tearing through the front lines without a care. Crushing Ability users head-on, ripping them apart before they could even unleash their powers.

One shot, one kill.

Of course, there were times when it wavered dangerously. The user themselves, seemingly inexperienced with Abilities, missed on occasion.

But still. Even so.

That was merely an ‘auxiliary’ tool.

The real deal was the woman. The artificial intelligence named Scarlet.

She resided within the monster who introduced herself as his personal equipment.

-Crack!

Purplish-crimson energy swirled around her entire body. From that form, encased as if in armor, a horrifying brute force erupted.

Even individuals enhanced by the Ability Factor were helpless. Skin and bone that bullets couldn’t pierce were pulverized by a single punch.

-KWA-aaaNG!!

The occasional explosion that ripped through the air. It echoed whenever the purplish-crimson energy coalesced into the form of a blade.

An overwhelmingly powerful strike that stained the narrow passage crimson with blood.

A purplish-crimson monster, tearing through countless defensive Abilities, rampaging like a madman. As if this confined space were its own stage…

She charged forward like a tank.

Smashing everything that stood in her path.

-KWA-aaaNG!!!

What was once human had become something… other.

Tossed aside like a broken object, forever useless, left to roll on the floor.

How could one even describe it? Darko couldn’t dare to guess.

A thought suddenly surfaced.

Could he ever do something like that?

And the answer, inevitably, was…

“This won’t do.”

Darko, the Hundred Eyes’ second-in-command.

Wielder of an ability tied to a ‘deadly poison’ that melts anything, shook his head.

“…What utter nonsense is this?”

Ahead, Scarlet, the bespoke armament, blocked everything.

Behind, Lee Seo-jun flawlessly supported any openings.

Like two parts of a single entity, their teamwork seamlessly filled every void.

The sector. The path overflowing with enforcers.

“Sector Six… reinforcements…”

The seemingly impenetrable mass beyond.

“Sector Three… also breached…”

Vanished in an instant.

“Sector… One…”

All, by the hands of two people.

Tsubame blinked. The tremor in her voice wasn’t from diligently keeping up.

“W-what is…?”

A shock, no doubt.

Now fully aware of just who it was she had so relentlessly harried.

And the Hundred Eyes’ boss was no different. His narrowed eyes seemed tinged with barely concealed resentment.

“…Bespoke armament, my foot. This is just…”

The rest remained unspoken. But Darko knew.

That mechanical android clearing the path ahead was far beyond a simple bespoke armament…

An overwhelming tyrant.

An entity more than capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the autonomous zone bosses.

. . .

The subterranean passage, teeming with enemies.

They forced their way through.

Having overcome countless obstacles, we were greeted by the neon signs of an anonymous back alley.

Far, far removed from Quantum’s estate.

In the distance, the red glow of flashing lights could be seen. Most of it likely from flames and artillery fire. The screams of people in the streets were also visible.

Amidst the profanity and the scrambling, it wasn’t just the enforcement agencies moving.

A throng of operatives, seemingly from disparate affiliations, intermingled.

Were these the underlings of colossal organizations, converging from every corner the moment the war erupted?

They were setting out, with a clear intention, to obliterate Quantum.

Seoul, Jung-gu. The inferno I’d witnessed there was replaying before my very eyes. Except this time, the architects weren’t the enforcement agencies, but these other behemoth organizations.

“We’ve broken through the perimeter, but the Boss…”

Lee Chaeyoung glanced back, but I simply couldn’t muster the courage to return.

Hunger gnawed at me. A maddening hunger. And on top of that, the amount of energy I’d pre-charged Scarlet with was dwindling to nothing.

We weren’t built to fight endlessly. We were both on the verge of collapse from malnutrition.

Returning? That was certainly important. If we could somehow extract Quantum’s Queen this time, it would be akin to gaining a monumental ally.

But before that, the immediate priority…

Was retrieving Baek Soyeon’s personal equipment.

“Hey.”

“Eek?!”

“Move.”

At that Mapo exit we’d passed through, I swiftly snatched the confiscated items.

Baek Soyeon breathed a sigh of relief the moment she gripped her personal gear. Like a bird reclaiming its lost wings, she stretched lightly.

“If I hadn’t had it to begin with, I wouldn’t be so attached… Now I really can’t bring myself to fight without it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Everyone goes back to Jung-gu. I can handle the rest alone. With this kid and me, we can break through everything. Not that I particularly want to help…”

Baek Soyeon grimaced, loosening the suffocating necktie at her throat.

“You helped me so I wouldn’t get caught, so I should repay the debt, right? That’s my way. I give back what I receive. Otherwise, it will keep me up at night.”

“Want to go together?”

“You’re barely standing. You’ve done enough. Go back. Trust me.”

With those words, Baek Soyeon vanished. No one even considered stopping her as she disappeared.

And I was no different. She was clearly smiling as she returned to the battlefield. It was… almost ecstatic, in a way.

The face of someone who had a stage to test out her newly acquired power.

We retreated immediately. Including Lee Chaeyoung, who had fled with us, we sped straight to Seoul, Jung-gu.

Once there, we exhaled and allowed our weary bodies to rest. We crammed our stick-to-the-spine stomachs full, and replenished Scarlet’s energy while conducting maintenance.

This achievement was possible thanks to her. A stage where we could experiment with Scarlet’s combat abilities in real-time.

Even I was impressed with its destructive power and flexibility. But that didn’t mean it was perfect.

“…Master. I’m creaking all over.”

The backlash of my ability.

The shock reverberating through my body.

She experienced it as well, just the same. Of course, she possessed far superior specs and a far superior physique than I did, yet it became clear that continuous use subjected her entire being to a level of shock that threatened to crumble it.

Indeed, my ability is…well.

Not an ability suited for a protracted battle.

“Thanks to you, I’m alive, Scarlet.”

“Ehehe.”

Baek Soyeon arrived the following day.

As if it were only natural, the Queen of Quantum was with her.

Her face, looking somewhat weary, softened and she whispered weakly as soon as she saw me.

“…Seo Jun. Did you make that for her?”

“Pardon?”

“Black Mamba. I’m talking about her personal equipment.”

“Does it…bother you?”

“…I understand now why the government is so obsessed with you. I knew it before, but now I understand it definitively.”

Baek Soyeon gave a self-satisfied smirk, looking as though she had lost a decade’s worth of stress.

“Life. You owe me one, got it? If anyone spouts nonsense related to Lee Seo Jun, they’re dead. By my hand.”

“…Haa.”

I didn’t know exactly what had happened between the two of them, but the Queen of Quantum looked terribly exhausted. Moreover, she led away even all the retainers she had brought with her, and vanished immediately.

Before she left, she stroked my hair.

“I’ll contact you later, Seo Jun.”

“If you do, contact me directly.”

“…So sharp-tongued.”

The Queen of Quantum disappeared straight away. I didn’t know exactly where they went, but the most important thing was that Quantum had survived and was still alive.

But as for me. In reality, I gained nothing. Even after going through that whole ordeal, I didn’t get a single thing I wanted.

Neither the Enforcement Agency nor the large-scale Resolver Offices.

In the end, the story concluded without hearing all the reasons except for the Bad Sector.

“…Tch.”

Well, not that it mattered all that much.

I could always listen to them before I killed them later, anyway.

Quantum might have survived, but the fact remained that Mapo had been shattered, and everyone practically considered Quantum fallen through a coup.

Normally, without government backing, those who feared the fallout wouldn’t dare to start such a thing. As soon as it actually happened, the organization that had been maintaining the balance vanished, and the atmosphere across all of Seoul grew menacing.

Those eager to seize real power at this opportunity. Those who stepped forward, declaring they would be the next Quantum. As they moved, a land grab war erupted in Mapo-gu, the first to crumble.

The legacy that Quantum left behind was vast. From the start, it was the wealthiest district in Seoul. Consequently, Mapo drew the eyes of countless people.

A place where war had already broken out had now become a looting ground so sweet, it was beyond words. Perhaps that’s why. With the world’s attention focused on ownerless Mapo, our own situation became comparatively relaxed.

Even Baek Hand’s attention was temporarily drawn to Mapo, and the enforcement agencies seemed somewhat busy dealing with the aftermath of what had happened there.

It was as good as having breathing room in our tight schedule. And at the same time, several welcome pieces of news arrived.

“Ms. Seol Ye-won has opened her eyes. However, visitation is still a little difficult…”

“Ms. Joo Hwa-rin has opened her eyes. Visitation is possible, but she definitely needs some stabilization…”

News that the two who had been sleeping for so long had awakened.

Simultaneously, Quantum’s Queen came to find me again.

“Seo-joon.”

Unlike before, her face seemed well-rested, and she immediately ruffled my hair as soon as she saw me.

“Have you been doing well?”

“I… suppose so?”

Time passed in an instant.

Was it only two months?

I nodded. At the same time, I recognized a familiar face behind her.

The headquarters of the Black Market. The one person I had tried to contact from the moment it was attacked, but couldn’t reach.

The person who had helped me establish myself in Seoul gave an awkward nod.

“It’s been a while, Lee Seo-joon.”

“Cha-raemon!”

“…Calling me by my name would be preferable… You’ve changed more than I thought. I almost didn’t recognize you. Sincerely.”

“I’ve been working out a bit. How about you? Have you been doing well?”

“I haven’t been doing well. The place I was working at was almost destroyed. But fortunately, a place I used to support as insurance provided a lifeline. Lee Seo-joon. The reason I came with Quantum’s Queen this time is because of a business proposal.”

“…Business?”

“Yes.”

Cha Seo-yoon.

She spoke with the same calmness I remembered, after all this time.

“Have you heard about the project in Incheon? The plan to build a paradise for those with abilities, out in the sea?”

“…Uh… that…”

Yes.

I had heard of it.

A plan to float an artificial island, using entire factories to churn out materials, wasn’t it? But it hadn’t produced any real results. I thought it was just a show of effort, these days, to improve the treatment of ability users.

“Isn’t that… pretty much a dead-end project? I heard it didn’t yield anything.”

“That’s true enough. Building an artificial island in the sea is no easy feat. But listen, Seo-jun. With you, things might be different.”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you.”

The Queen of Quantum whispered.

“Quantum and the Black Market, battered by the government’s attacks, are hiding near Incheon. Not as strong as before, but still holding on. So, Hundred Eyes, how about we make a deal? In exchange for supporting the organization you’re with, work with us? Your skills are needed to realize this paradise plan for ability users. We’re not asking you to defect, just to advise us, to offer your expertise. Promise us that, and we’ll support you in the coming war in Jung-gu, Seoul.”

“……. “

“You’ve heard the saying, ‘Even if a rich man fails, his family prospers for three generations’? Quantum might seem ruined, but in truth, most of its forces are still intact. We recognized the unwinnable situation and quickly pulled back our troops. So, what do you say? What about partnering with us? This, you see, is the Black Market and Quantum both extending a hand to you. To put it simply…”

The Queen of Quantum smiled coyly.

“It’s an alliance proposal.”