Chapter 15. Everything According to Alpha’s Will (1)
“Ghhh!”
Suddenly, No. 8 grabbed his Noise Gun.
He aimed it toward the ceiling of the underground roadway.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
Then he used every bit of strength he had left and screamed.
His voice was amplified through the Noise Gun and shot upward.
The blast struck the ceiling directly.
Cracks spread everywhere.
Then the ceiling began collapsing.
At this rate, they would both be buried beneath the rubble.
“You crazy bastard! You’ll get buried too!”
Yukgap shouted in horror.
“It doesn’t matter. Even if we die like this, both of our bodies will remain.”
No. 8 dropped the Noise Gun while breathing heavily.
Apparently, that last attack had used all of his remaining strength.
He collapsed and muttered,
“We can simply remain buried here until Abraxas comes to recover us.”
His plan was clear.
Collapse the tunnel.
Trap himself and Yukgap beneath the rubble.
Then wait for Abraxas to retrieve their bodies.
“Why are you going this far?”
Yukgap demanded in frustration.
No. 8 looked at him as though he did not understand the question.
“That’s what I want to ask you. This has always been our life.”
The emotion on No. 8’s face was pure obedience.
Even in his bat-like form, that much was unmistakable.
“A life where we think about nothing except our assigned purpose... that is what is natural.”
“...You poor bastard.”
Yukgap muttered bitterly.
He had once lived the same way.
Before eating kimchi, he had been exactly like No. 8.
Even while facing death beneath collapsing rubble, No. 8 blindly continued following his orders.
All Yukgap could feel toward him was pity.
“Hyaaah!”
At that moment, Victoria appeared from the opposite side riding the motorcycle.
Yukgap stared in shock.
“Victoria?”
“I’m here, Yukgap!”
Victoria smiled brightly from the motorcycle.
Why the hell had she come back?
Yukgap shouted,
“Why are you here?! I told you to run!”
“How am I supposed to run away without the chef? Do you want the restaurant to go bankrupt?”
“You idiot!”
Yukgap finally shouted in frustration.
Victoria ignored him.
“Anyway, get on! The tunnel is about to collapse completely because of that last blast! We don’t have time!”
She was right.
The underground roadway was slowly collapsing around them.
If they stayed any longer, they would definitely be buried.
“Wait.”
Yukgap walked over to No. 8.
Then he lifted the injured chimera onto his shoulder.
“I’m taking this bastard too.”
No. 8 stared at him in confusion.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not a weapon. I’m a person. And people don’t just leave someone to die.”
Yukgap answered casually.
No. 8 raised his voice in disbelief.
“If you keep me alive, I’ll come after you again!”
“Do whatever you want. I was already prepared for that.”
Victoria chuckled.
“You care about your friend too. What a good kitty.”
“I’m a cheetah!”
Yukgap’s triangular ears twitched angrily.
Victoria pointed toward the back seat.
“Just get on. We don’t have time.”
“Fine. Drive carefully.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve never had an accident!”
Victoria answered with excessive confidence.
Yukgap suddenly felt uneasy.
“I’ve been wondering something. How long have you been riding motorcycles since getting your license?”
Victoria shrugged.
“License? I don’t have one.”
She looked completely unaware of any problem.
Yukgap gave up.
“...Why did I expect anything from you?”
Carrying No. 8, Yukgap climbed onto the back of the motorcycle.
The moment he was on, Victoria accelerated.
“Hold on! We’re escaping at full speed!”
They shot through the underground roadway.
Rumble!
The moment they emerged, the entire tunnel collapsed behind them.
They had escaped by seconds.
“Wow. That was close, wasn’t it?”
Victoria looked back at the collapsed tunnel.
Yukgap nodded.
“Yeah.”
Then he looked at No. 8 hanging limply over his shoulder.
“That was really close.”
“...What is this?”
Covered in bandages, No. 8 looked at the bright red food in front of him.
Yukgap presented it confidently.
“That’s the ‘kimchi’ I told you about. Try it.”
No. 8 reluctantly picked up a fork.
He carefully placed a piece of kimchi into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch.
No. 8 chewed with his eyes closed for quite some time.
Yukgap waited nervously.
“How is it?”
No. 8 swallowed.
Then he answered in confusion.
“It’s spicy, sour, and it smells strange. Is this really supposed to be that amazing?”
“Guess you’re not Korean after all.”
Yukgap looked disappointed.
No. 8 had black hair and dark eyes like him, so Yukgap had wondered if he might also be Korean.
But judging from his reaction to kimchi, apparently not.
“Still... the flavor is certainly powerful. It’s difficult to forget.”
No. 8 muttered while thinking about the lingering taste.
Yukgap laughed.
“The moment I ate this, I remembered my family. Kimchi is powerful enough to break Abraxas’s control.”
No. 8 sighed.
“You abandoned Abraxas because of food?”
“Yeah. What would you know?”
Yukgap waved him off.
Even Yukgap admitted that recovering memories simply because he had eaten kimchi sounded ridiculous.
No. 8 watched him with interest.
Then he asked,
“Fine, but could you remove this hose?”
He nodded toward the hose aimed at him.
Victoria stood beside it with a displeased expression.
“I can’t. You might attack Yukgap again. Remember this clearly. Restaurant Shelley’s steak sauce is always bubbling and ready for troublesome customers.”
“What kind of restaurant is this?”
No. 8 could only sigh.
Victoria had brought him back and treated his injuries.
But ever since then, she had kept a hose connected to her steak sauce pointed at him as a threat.
After experiencing his entire body being melted by Restaurant Shelley’s steak sauce, No. 8 was understandably uncomfortable.
“So what are you going to do now?”
Yukgap calmly asked.
No. 8’s mission was supposed to be bringing him back.
Although he had stopped attacking for now, his position remained unclear.
“To be honest, I half expected things to end like this. There were instructions from ‘her.’”
No. 8 spoke quietly.
Yukgap’s expression immediately changed.
“‘Her’...?”
One designation left No. 8’s mouth.
“No. 1.”
He continued calmly.
“The first completed specimen and the origin point of every Archon. Out of respect, we call her Alpha, α. Alpha’s instructions are absolute above all else.”
Yukgap knew that well.
He had also once acted according to Alpha’s orders.
He asked in a trembling voice,
“What did Alpha say?”
“Nothing.”
No. 8 explained.
“After you escaped, our superiors tried everything they could to track you down. But Alpha said absolutely nothing. That had never happened before.”
No. 8 paused.
“So I began wondering... perhaps the absence of an order was itself an order.”
“You think she intends to leave me alone?”
“I cannot understand Alpha’s true intention. But there is room for interpretation. I came here under orders from our superiors, but without a direct instruction from Alpha, I cannot confidently decide what should be done.”
Then No. 8 added,
“So for the time being, I intend to suspend your pursuit.”
He was saying he would not reveal that Yukgap was hiding here.
Even so, Yukgap remained suspicious.
“What are you going to report to the higher-ups?”
No. 8 answered casually.
“I’ll say there were no instructions from Alpha. At least that isn’t a lie.”
He had found Yukgap.
But because Alpha had given no order, he would remain silent.
If questioned later, he could use that explanation.
Technically, it was not false.
“You really do obey only Alpha.”
Yukgap looked exhausted.
No. 8 gave a pale smile.
“That is what a weapon is. A weapon does not think.”
He lowered his head.
Then, in a slightly bitter voice, he added,
“Even so, I truly wanted to persuade my former partner to return without conflict. Please believe that much.”
No. 8 looked strangely embarrassed as he said it.
Apparently, his desire to persuade Yukgap peacefully had been genuine.
“Oh, sure. Coming from the guy who said he’d hand over my corpse to Abraxas.”
After almost killing each other, Yukgap found the statement ridiculous.
No. 8 calmly looked at him.
“This is the greatest mercy I can offer someone who spared my life. Use the time I’ve bought you and run as far away as possible.”
“Why would I?”
Yukgap answered proudly.
Then he pointed toward Restaurant Shelley.
“I like it here. If Abraxas wants to come, let them come. I’m not scared at all.”
Victoria immediately agreed.
“That’s right! We’re not going anywhere! This is the alchemy workshop my mother left me!”
She waved the hose connected to the steak sauce.
There was even a clear fighting spirit in Victoria’s expression.
