The morning after everything had ended, we were at a local hospital.
“…Uncle.”
Kalia’s voice broke the silence in the hospital room.
In the hospital room lay a middle-aged man in a haggard state.
His red hair had now faded, and his once-strong muscles had withered.
His body was covered with the marks of torture and experints endured over the past few months.
Kalia’s uncle was currently in a coma.
The n from the Osprey Brotherhood were gathered at his side.
Seeing their leader in such a wretched state, their eyes were filled with sorrow and anger.
“Oh God, the leader…!”
“How could this happen… How could they do this…”
Soone prayed, and Marco, despite his rugged appearance and large fra, had reddened eyes.
Kalia spoke in a faint voice.
“When… When will Uncle wake up?”
Daphne carefully answered.
“The doctor said he needs to focus on recovery for now. It’s still too early to make any predictions…”
“So, they don’t know yet, huh…”
Kalia’s voice grew dark.
A heavy air of sadness lingered in the room.
It seed everyone there was desperately hoping for their respected comrade and family mber to open his eyes again and return to being the reliable man who protected the people of the neighborhood. Ṝå₦o͍ꞖËs
The gloomy atmosphere in the room was interrupted when the door opened, and the doctor and nurse entered for a routine checkup.
Daphne, the Brotherhood mbers, Kalia, and I stepped into the hospital hallway, which slled strongly of disinfectant.
On the way back ho, Kalia leaned against the truck seat, staring blankly ahead as she muttered.
“I still can’t believe it. My uncle was strong. He was a forr A-rank hunter, you know. So, how could this…”
“Don’t worry too much. He’ll surely wake up and recover.”
Daphne spoke in a warm tone, trying to console the despondent Kalia.
The usually confident Kalia now looked like a deflated balloon, utterly drained.
Seeing her like that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Suddenly, as if recalling sothing, Kalia turned her head.
“Daphne, right? The doctor said sothing. They asked if we had any friends who were mages and told us to thank them. They said that, originally, he wouldn’t have even made it through the night, but the healing was so effective that there wasn’t much they needed to do themselves.”
Kalia bowed her head.
“Thank you. I have no idea how I can repay this favor…”
“No, it’s nothing! I just did what I could.”
Daphne waved her hands in embarrassnt.
Before long, the truck I was driving arrived at Kalia’s house.
“You said you’re heading back to school this evening, right? There’s still so ti left. Why don’t you have lunch at our place before you go? It’s the least I can do…”
“I’d love to.”
Getting out of the truck, I followed Kalia inside her house.
“I’ll help you!”
While helping her prepare lunch, I cautiously asked a question.
“By the way, do you know where your uncle went before he disappeared?”
I asked carefully, watching her reaction.
Kalia glanced at and then replied quietly.
“I don’t know.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
“The last ti I saw him, it was night. He dressed up and said he was going to investigate sothing. That was the last ti I saw him.”
She let out a long sigh as she tore open so packaging.
“My uncle never told what he was doing. He said it was dangerous and didn’t say a word. But I never thought this would happen…”
I looked at her, sensing there was so untold story behind it all.
There was definitely sothing suspicious.
“Did he say anything else the last ti you saw him? Anything that could give us a clue?”
Kalia shook her head.
“Sorry… I really don’t know. If I rember sothing later, I’ll let you know.”
“Then make sure to tell later! I’ll help out again, just like this ti. Whoever’s responsible, they’re bad people! Kidnapping soone and performing experints on them?!”
Hearing my words, Kalia’s sorrowful gaze slowly transford into a determined expression.
“Yeah, whoever those bastards are, I’ll make sure to get revenge.”
She gritted her teeth.
Alright, I’d better do so digging myself.
The western district, huh? Of all places, that’s where the Magna Nabis operates.
Also, the scene I witnessed at the hospital’s research facility kept haunting .
“The brains inside those glass tanks… they were alive!”
Even during the raid on that dungeon lab last ti, they were experinting on unfortunate people and opening up the heads of beasts to ss with their brains.
Judging by their obsession with brains, I wouldn’t be surprised if brain-eating alien octopuses were involved.
Am I getting too deep into conspiracy theories?
“I need to have the Boss handle another task.”
“If I’d known, I should’ve captured so of those researchers for questioning!”
Thinking back now, I acted too hastily.
The place where we were held was so similar to that facility that I lost my head and went berserk.
By the ti I ca to my senses, I’d already wiped out everyone there.
I should’ve gathered data and taken so of them alive.
“Next ti, I’ll make sure to capture so.”
The list of things I needed to do kept growing.
I also had to et with the arms dealer soon…
While I handled these small tasks, nothing much happened at school.
For now, the field trip was suspended.
Several students had gone missing, and the dungeon that hosted the annual field trip was completely destroyed.
“It’s not really our fault that it turned out like this, right?”
“We already checked, rember? Just setting off a few bombs wouldn’t have done this!”
I surveyed the area.
The gate leading to the Chloris Forest had grown enormously.
The surrounding roads were blocked by ard forces, and makeshift alloy barriers surrounded the area.
From a distance, I could see the aftermath of magical bombardnt from the sky.
The area was filled with unrecognizable wreckage, and the scorched ground had lted into sothing like pitch-black glass, stuck together in clumps.
Near the gate, I spotted a few of those fishbowl-headed mages I’d seen last ti.
“The Magna Nabis Vanguard!”
Judging by the downplayed dia coverage and the deploynt of elite forces, the research facility inside must have been significant.
Though, of course, we’d already destroyed it.
“Doesn’t look like there’s anything else to gain here. Violet No. 430, are you ready? It’s ti to pack things up!”
“Yep! I’ll get started right away.”
I decided there wasn’t anything more to find here and left the area.
It was ti to gather the belongings of the new neighbors who had taken refuge at the Violet barracks.
Levi’s belongings from the won’s dorm were easy to gather.
Now, there were just two more left.
The Violets carefully infiltrated the n’s dormitory.
Wearing hoods and masks, they bypassed the security system with their clones and entered the rooms they’d been directed to.
They quickly packed up clothes, books, and miscellaneous items and sent them off to the central district.
It reminded of my old days before possession.
Back then, I lived in a dorm too…
But now, I’m a young, beautiful girl!
No need to dwell on the past anymore.
“All done!”
While the Violets finished their dormitory infiltration, another Violet went through the motions of attending school as usual.
After school, we continued our routine of additional training with Instructor Frederick and Professor Albert.
As always.
The instructor’s expression, however, was particularly grim.
It seed the incident of multiple students going missing had left a significant impact on him.
“Rookie, we’ll have to pause classes for a while.”
The instructor suddenly said sothing.
I widened my eyes at the unexpected announcent of a canceled class.
“What? What do you an all of a sudden?”
“It’s just that I have so personal matters to handle. I need to go sowhere.”
“What? Suddenly, that’s…”
“It’s nothing serious. Even though it seems like I’m slacking off, there’s actually a ton of work I need to do.”
He spoke casually as he grabbed his weapon.
“Alright, back to it. Co on in!”
“Hiya!”
While Violet at the school wrapped up her schedule, the other Violets diligently focused on their work.
“Hello, beautiful world! I’m No. 512.”
“Nice to et you. I’m No. 378. See those fertilizers over there? Move them quickly.”
“Ugh! Moving heavy stuff as soon as I wake up?”
The new recruit Violet, who had just acquired a body, grumbled as she carried bags of fertilizer in the workshop.
The workshop contained pressure cookers, pipes of various sizes, detonators, and fuses piled up in the corner.
Elsewhere, Violets holding soldering irons and wires were intently working on turning cheap alarm clocks, wireless devices, and smartphones into seeds of destruction.
“Hey! The pipe! Be careful when you lift it!”
While we were waiting, a truck entered the workshop.
The group of Violets sward over to unload the large pipes loaded in it.
The long pipes, as tall as the Violets themselves, were destined to be transford into new weapons capable of spewing violence and rage.
“So, if we mix sugar into this, it becos a propellant? It shoots up, right?”
“That’s what the theory says.”
“Let’s do it quickly! We’ll call it Violet-1!”
For our grand plan to succeed, simple explosives wouldn’t suffice.
So far, I’d studied magic under Professor Albert, but all I could manage was throwing fireballs or shooting magic bullets.
I wasn’t yet at the level where I could fire off rapid rounds like Lucian.
And doing sothing like orbital bombardnt like the Chairman? Obviously impossible.
Even Professor Albert himself admitted that magic isn’t a destructive art but a creative one, bending the laws of physics in artistic ways.
And with the help of modern science, the destructive power of a grand mage could be imitated.
“Ah! Smoke is coming out!”
Smoke billowed out from a tin can in the corner of the workshop.
The firefighting team of Violets quickly rushed over and extinguished the fire.
A day in the life of Violet was as chaotic as ever.
Ti passed, and night fell.
Taking advantage of the darkness, a car sped through the eastern district.
In the port city of Manais in the eastern district, amidst the silhouette of cranes and containers hidden by the twilight, the Boss and Violet No. 217 walked together.
Their destination was a shadowy warehouse.
In the silence, the crunch of gravel beneath boots rang clearly.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, sir. This is the location for the eting.”
Although Leslie, the Boss, had briefed about Armas, it was my first ti eting him in person.
If things went well, he’d beco soone we’d et frequently in the future.
“As I ntioned before, Armas is a ticulous individual. As long as you don’t underestimate him, there won’t be any issues with the deal.”
After hearing the Boss’s words, an image ford in my mind.
A weapons dealer in the underworld—what would he look like?
A fat man adorned with gold bracelets and chains?
Or a swindler with the sleazy face of a rat?
I was expecting the kind of cheap, vulgar character you’d see in movies or dramas.
However, the man who greeted us inside defied all those preconceptions.
“Finally, you’re here. Long ti no see, Boss.”
My expectations were wrong.
Standing before was a man in a sleek suit, exuding a sharp and polished aura.
Under the warehouse lights, his dusky skin glimred as he tilted his head at us.
“Boss, you said there’s a new deal… Is this a joke?”
“We’re here for business.”
Sitting on a makeshift chair, Armas pointed at with his finger and asked.
Behind his sunglasses, sharp eyes glead as they scrutinized .
“But that’s just a girl. A masked one at that, who doesn’t look older than a high schooler. Didn’t you say the party would be here?”
“…She’s our Boss.”
Standing behind him, his disciplined and imposing bodyguards stared at intimidatingly.
Are they looking down on ?
“Are they testing us?”
While I was thinking, the weapons dealer continued talking.
“Look, ti is precious. I was told I’d be eting the boss. Didn’t you say this was a deal with a capable Awakened organization? Boss? What kind of clown show is this…? Wait, what’s that? Hmm…”
Before Armas could finish his words, one of the bodyguards behind him hurriedly whispered in his ear.
The mont the bodyguard finished speaking, his gaze shifted to the dark harbor outside the warehouse door.
“Oh, my.”
Did he notice?
I snapped my fingers.
-Snap!
The sound of boots striking the floor echoed.
Out of the shadows, into the dimly lit warehouse, ard soldiers in black combat uniforms and masks began appearing one by one.
Seeing this, Armas’s bodyguards flinched.
Armas, however, calmly observed us as if evaluating the situation.
Through our actions, we sent a silent warning.
Don’t underestimate Violet.
After seeing the Violet squad, Armas suddenly burst into laughter.
“…Well, my apologies. But isn’t this over the top? You’re cautious—extrely cautious.”
“Over the top? Why not think of it positively? Those are all your potential custors.”
When I bluntly said that, Armas laughed even louder.
Through his sunglasses, I could faintly see a spark of admiration in his eyes.
“You’re bigger than I expected. When Leslie suddenly started making a fuss, I wondered who he was bringing. Turns out, it’s soone quite remarkable.”
He clapped briefly, and his tone now carried a hint of amusent.
“Armas. What’s your na?”
“Ariel.”
When Armas extended his hand, I took it.
The deal had begun.
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