377 – S7. Omelas’ Fixers – 7

Being connected to the Goddess in the Heavens was no different than having real-time communication with a supercomputer satellite orbiting the universe.

Even without equipment, anytime, anywhere, if divine power was usable, so was hacking. Vecchio spotted a trash can near the building, emptied its contents, and slipped right inside.

No one would ever suspect someone attempting a hack in a place like this without advanced equipment. Tracing the signal would be impossible too. After all, they know nothing about divine power, do they?

Tap. Tap tap.

His fingers danced across the virtual keyboard floating in the air.

Learning is understanding. If he understood the Goddess’s operating principles, the rest was smooth sailing. Vecchio used the Goddess’s functions to create an incantation.

“『Dictum: On the zeroth day, the Goddess shall breach the Wall of Flame.』”

[Output: Command verified, ‘Firewall breach using zero-day vulnerability’. Executing Dictum.]

He sent a signal to the heavens, an incantation imbued with divine power. And the Goddess, responding to this logical and efficient prayer, would return the favor by sending divinely forged power to the earth in the manner the user desired.

Crunch. A cracking sound echoed in the virtual space. Sharply honed divine power shattered their firewall, seizing control of the system in an instant.

No matter how many antivirus programs stood in the way, how could machines cope with the power of faith, which they had never recognized?

This was, in short, the aggressive application of divine power. A new era of divine magic.

Static. Static static.

All internal CCTV cameras were compromised. Now they were the Goddess’s eyes, divine-CCTV. The 『Ghost』 managing the security system inside the building jumped up from his seat in shock.

-Wh-what! A cyberattack! The main system’s been breached!

The security officer immediately pounded the emergency button, but the function was already locked. He turned on the microphone to alert the entire building of the emergency, but that function was also locked.

That meant he had to use his legs. The security officer left the control room, intending to inform everyone. To say that the building was practically under the control of some hacker, and that security was compromised.

That their most important hidden secrets might be exposed.

The shredding protocol had to be executed first. The important information was stored in analog form, so those documents had to be burned completely to ensure no one could find them.

But.

*Dddrrr── WHAM!*

The internal bulkhead slammed shut, descending automatically. A security system designed for fires or internal intruders was now, ironically, becoming a wall imprisoning them.

“Son of a Glitch!”

The security officer hastily gathered his equipment. Even if sitting in front of a computer was the bulk of his job, he’d been augmented with a minimum of offensive capability, just in case.

He fitted the detachable power fist to his augmented arm and started the charging sequence. Six or so good hits with this should shatter the bulkhead.

Vecchio considered this for a moment.

The small, formerly timid Pope had gained some confidence through several assignments with Finn. And that confidence had led to a rather delightful idea.

The day Finn roamed the outside and Vecchio explored the city, he’d flipped through the TV channels, his filter temporarily disabled, and witnessed a scene in a movie. He intended to recreate it.

“If Divine Power can be converted into code, Goddess, then code can be converted into Divine Power, right?”

*[OUTPUT : PARTIALLY AGREE]*

“Then I’ll try it. I saw something similar in a movie! So the incantation is, 『Declaration: Sadako’s holy fist shall smite the enemy!』”

*[OUTPUT : COMMAND CONFIRMED, ‘DIVINE MAGIC MANIFESTATION VIA MONITOR’. DECLARATION EXECUTING]*

*Whirrrrr.*

The previously blank screen that the security officer had been staring at now shimmered with a brilliant light, the whole device vibrating.

“Huh?”

Monitors could emit light from their screens, sure, but the *edges* of the monitor weren’t supposed to glow, were they…?

*Fwoosh—! Thwack!*

And then. From within the sacred light, a pristine, pale hand reached out. The Divine Fist ejected from the monitor struck the security officer squarely in the face!

The destructive power was pathetic. The fist only gave the security officer a nosebleed. But the mental shock was tremendous.

“—Uhhh!”

*Thud.*

The security officer, confronted with a real-life horror special, promptly rolled his eyes back and fainted. He thought the communists had caught all the ghosts, but that hand! That ghostly hand emerging from the monitor!

And outside the session, the crazed mage jumped up and down, thrilled by this discovery of the century. If this worked, they could ditch things like the Imperial internet registration system.

If someone spouted off toxic nonsense, you could just smack them with a Holy Fist!

While someone marveled at this great achievement from outside, Vecchio, with the degree of satisfaction one might feel after folding a paper crane beautifully, shrugged his shoulders and contacted Finn.

“Good news, Finn! I’ve seized the system and I’ll methodically lower the internal bulkheads to isolate the personnel. Please proceed with the operation in the order I guide you.”

—Understood, Pope. Entering now.

“And um, could you perhaps do ‘that’ with me, Finn…?”

—Sure thing. Counting down from three. One, two—

A deep breath.

-Three. Operation Start!

“⋯⋯Operation Start!”

*Taat.* Phantom Finn entered the building.

—

This building was already practically in Vecchio’s grasp. Therefore, Finn could gain the upper hand in a multitude of ways, unraveling the battle with effortless ambushes.

If a coffee pot, activated by an app, suddenly vibrated to stall for time…

“Ah, damn hot, sh—”

“One down.”

A chop to the back of the head with the scabbard took him out.

If a lewd variety show suddenly flickered on the TV…

“…What’s with the sudden power-on?”

“Two down.”

Another blow to the back of the head with the scabbard silenced him.

These were guys who would’ve been difficult to handle in a straight fight. The performance of their body modifications was easily double Finn’s natural physique, and the modules implanted in their brains were similarly high-spec.

Add to that the various armaments, including firearms, and Finn couldn’t guarantee his victory in a fair one-on-one.

-Finn, you should detour this way.

“Roger.”

But the goddess’s proxy, as if looking down from the heavens, aided him. Just as he was silently eliminating the ‘Phantoms’ one by one with cunning ambushes…

They weren’t fools either. No matter how carefully they moved, some noise was unavoidable, and one of the more capable agents realized Finn’s presence.

-Finn, left! Left!

“There’s only a wall on the left…”

*Kwaaang-!*

“Gotcha, you rat!”

“What…?!”

The ‘Phantom’ launched the attack by smashing straight through the wall.

The assailant was built like a brick house with muscles, menacing crimson cybernetic eyes, and gauntlets equipped with internal explosives on both hands. And knives and pistols were strapped all over his body.

“『Cognitive Acceleration』…!”

*Wooong.* As Finn activated the module with the goddess’s power, the world slowed down. The speed of the gauntlet, swung with enough force to crush Finn’s skull, became sluggish.

At the same time, the colors drained from his vision, replaced with monochrome. To maintain maximum focus, the informational input of his vision had been reduced from color to grayscale.

Within this slowly flowing time, Finn activated another module. 『Action Acceleration』. The flow of blood in his body sped up, increasing the speed of all his movements. If he could just slit the b*stard’s throat…!

“Looks like you’ve been given a few upgrades of your own, eh?”

“……..?”

“Acceleration is a pretty basic mod. Don’t think you’re the only one who can use it.”

In the slowed-down time, *Ghost’s* body accelerates with a sudden burst. Finn barely manages to raise his longsword, using it as a shield, but an immense impact follows.

*Bang*──!! *Crash!*

Finn is flung five meters, smashing through every piece of furniture in his path, until he slams into the wall.

The shock of the collision forces all the oxygen from his lungs with a *cough*. *Ghost*, they call him, but he isn’t the slender type his alias suggested. You could tell me that build was a gorilla with a bunch of augments and I wouldn’t doubt it.

Finn quietly regulates his breathing, preparing to counterattack. If this guy approaches to deliver a follow-up blow, he’ll take that gauntlet out first with his longsword…

*Zzzzz*.

A red dot settled on Finn’s forehead.

Instead of closing the distance, *Ghost* aimed a gun. The pistol’s laser sight targeted Finn’s head.

“This is Omelas. Not ancient Rome or the Three Kingdoms period. A longsword, and not even a laser blade? There are always some retro-loving hipsters, but aren’t you taking it a bit too far?”

“…Longswords are still viable, you moron!”

“Medieval knights went extinct when muskets came along. You’ll end up the same way.”

“Goddess, *Acceleration* once more! *Trajectory Prediction*, too!”

*Wooong-*

*Bang!*

The sound of the shot. His eyesight isn’t good enough to actually *see* the bullet coming. So, he reads the trajectory and swings the longsword in advance. *Clang*! The bullet ricochets away.

“How’s that!”

“This is a machine pistol.”

Meaning it could fire in bursts.

“…If you’re gonna use something like that, why not just use an SMG?!”

The reply came in the form of bullets. *Tatatatatata!*

Finn dove, horrified by the red deluge of predicted trajectories filling his vision. He’d need Bennett to deflect all of those. He rolled across the floor, pushed off the ground, and slid between the tables.

He hacked at the table legs with his longsword, knocking them over. Using the overturned table as a makeshift shield, he took a moment to catch his breath.

The longsword. Definitely an anachronistic weapon. In Omelas, filled with all kinds of advanced weaponry, almost no one uses such an outdated weapon. Maybe for knife-fighting, at most.

Finn, having fallen into Omelas, only knew how to use a longsword. If he’d known how to shoot a gun, he would’ve done that instead. But during his time living with that outdated weapon, he realized one thing.

The anachronism goes both ways, doesn’t it?

-Finn, I’m activating the sprinklers!

*Shwaaa!*

The sprinkler system above unleashed a torrent, drenching everything below. Distracted by this sudden deluge, the enemy left an opening. Finn seized the chance, lunging forward, longsword in hand.

“You guys might be experts in close-quarters CQB, but I bet you’ve never faced a longsword!”

He was the one out of his element, not them.

Everything he’d learned as a mercenary, everything gleaned by accident as a would-be hero, everything absorbed in Omelas, coalesced into the sweeping arc of his blade. The swordsmanship wasn’t polished, exactly, but there was a definite, if unorthodox, structure to it.

“Hmph!”

The trajectory was difficult to decipher. *Phantom* managed to deflect the longsword with his gauntlet, his cybernetic eye whirring, but the fighting style was alien, not cataloged in his internal database. And, as Finn had pointed out, unfamiliar.

He backpedaled. Finn’s aggressive assault forced him to retreat, inch by painstaking inch.

But *Phantom* held the advantage in sheer power. His body, augmented by countless modifications, wouldn’t be crippled by mere cuts or stabs. So, he would simply have to endure.

That single decision would determine the outcome.

He weathered the blows, unleashing a swift, straight punch. In that instant, Finn channeled divine power into the longsword. He wasn’t as skilled as Vecchio, not by a long shot, but just like he did outside the *Utopia* corporation’s walls, he knew enough to hack.

The sword’s edge bit into *Phantom*’s flesh. And then the holy energy surged into his modified body, disrupting the software that regulated his combat functions.

It didn’t destroy the software entirely. The system would be down for only three seconds, maybe. But that was all Finn needed.

He planted his foot squarely on *Phantom*’s abdomen and shoved, sending him reeling.

“Ghk!”

*Phantom*, unbalanced, stumbled backward, crashing to the floor. Finn shouted immediately:

“Vecchio, the security doors!”

“………!!”

*Phantom*, slowly but steadily forced back by Finn’s relentless offense, was positioned precariously beneath the descending security doors. He scrambled to his feet, but it was too late.

-Security Doors: ACTIVATED!

*BRRRRRRRRR–!* *CRASH!* *CRASH!* *CRASH!*

The doors slammed down on *Phantom*. They were malfunctioning, a broken automatic system that relentlessly hammered him again and again. A mechanized, makeshift guillotine.

“Next time, try studying some longsword techniques!”

*CLANG!*

Finn’s longsword connected with his skull. *Phantom*’s head snapped to the side, and he lost consciousness.

—

Finn had cleared the entire building, herding all the remaining personnel into a single room, rendered utterly helpless. Only once safety was assured did Vecchio finally emerge. He crawled out of a trash receptacle and rejoined Finn.

“Well done, Your Holiness. But why were you constantly backing away…”

“Please, Finn, don’t come too close. I probably reek.”

“………”

For Finn, there was a minor kerfuffle that sounded like, “Don’t come near me, you smell,” but it was fine. Everything was working out.

They had retrieved Mary’s necklace, and based on the code etched onto its chain, they’d even tracked down the location of the slush fund.

“This, it’s the location and password to an anonymous vault!”

“An anonymous vault, you say…?”

“Yes, already laundered funds. Just go there, present the number and password, and you can take the contents!”

If withdrawing the money was so simple, why the *Ghosts* hadn’t already done so was a mystery… but there must have been a reason. Perhaps they couldn’t crack the code.

Besides, there was more good news.

[Credits Required for Return: 1,000,000 – Achieved]

Even though they hadn’t yet withdrawn the funds from the vault, achievement had been marked complete, and the *Return* button appeared before Finn and Vecchio. They could now go home whenever they pleased.

So, all that was left was to deliver this slush fund to Mary and everything would be done. No one was hurt, and the story concluded smoothly.

“Still, can’t hurt to be careful. Shall we scour the place before we leave?”

“Yeah. I’m curious… what kind of corporation was running this outfit, anyway?”

If it was a mid-sized company, Vecchio could fry their systems to a crisp with his hacking. Once they were stripped of their power, any potential danger to Mary would vanish, too.

After a brief search, Finn and Vecchio found a room crammed with stacks of paper.

“Here, the *Ghosts* who sensed something amiss kept trying to get in here, so it was a bit of a struggle to keep them out. That’s why I was curious what was inside!”

“All analog… the volume’s so overwhelming, I don’t know where to start. How about we just grab a few at random?”

With a lukewarm expression, Finn picked up a document and began to read. He already had a feeling what it would contain. Information about the target, information about the target’s ‘dark money,’ something like that.

But the contents were different than he expected.

“…”

It was a mission order, but the instructions within were not normal.

It wasn’t *pressure so-and-so to obtain such-and-such amount of money*.

The order clearly and concisely explained that this mission was solely to torment one particular person.

He picked up and examined other orders. The content and purpose were all the same. To drive a single person’s life into the depths of misfortune, while ensuring that the misfortune couldn’t be traced back to someone’s interference.

The records showed that immense sums of money had been spent to achieve this. For example, one record stated that 10 million credits had been spent to cover up an arson the *Ghosts* had committed.

The wastefulness was almost laughable. Finn and Vecchio’s faces darkened.

“…The money, it wasn’t the objective?”

“It, it seems so. This is…”

The money was merely a disguise.

Under the guise of a group recovering ‘dark money’ in the shadows, they were actually tormenting people. Finn even found the order targeting Mary.

The theft of her necklace was part of a playful scheme to inflict psychological pain, by making Mary realize she had lost her chance at an ‘escape from life’.

Why then? What for?

Did they harbor a grudge? No. There was no common thread to the victims. All that remained was pure malice.

After poring over documents for what felt like an eternity, piecing together the flow of information, and sifting through countless digital scraps, Finn and Vecchio managed to unearth the corporation lurking behind these ‘Ghosts.’

‘Utopia Industries.’

The single largest entity that effectively ruled over Omelas. A corporation for whom ten million credits was pocket change. Which made the act of spending that kind of money to make others miserable… all the more chilling.

Now that they had finished all the work, only one pure question remained.

[Additional Request: Confront Marco Mazzaki.]

To peer in, or to turn away?