Chapter 16

Chapter 16. Everything According to Alpha’s Will (2)

“Are you planning to spray steak sauce on me again if something happens?”

At No. 8’s question, Victoria answered with a cold expression.

“No. Next time, I’ll serve you something thicker and tastier. I’ll stake the honor of Restaurant Shelley’s owner on it.”

It was obvious she was planning something even worse.

No. 8 could only give a faint, bitter smile.

“You’ve found yourself an interesting companion.”

It seemed there was no chance he could persuade these people to leave.

“E-Excuse me...”

At that moment, a weak groan came from the corner of the restaurant.

Seryun was still half-embedded in the wall from the earlier attack, with tears in his eyes.

“It’s wonderful that all of you returned safely, but could someone please worry about me too?”

Only then did Yukgap remember that Seryun was still there.

“Oh. Sorry. I completely forgot about you.”

The automatic door opened.

An elderly man slowly walked inside.

His face was clearly exhausted.

“You’re here.”

A gray-haired man with an expressionless face greeted him.

His eyes were filled with an icy chill, as though they had been carved from frozen stone.

The contrast with the exhausted old man was striking.

“So No. 1 still hasn’t said anything?”

The old man asked desperately.

The gray-haired man nodded without changing expression.

“Yes. She continues to remain silent.”

Apparently, nothing had changed.

The old man clutched his head and muttered in despair.

“It’s already been months since No. 6 escaped. The higher-ups keep demanding that we find him immediately. I’ve told them over and over that even Alpha’s ability can’t track him, but they refuse to believe me.”

Each of the Twelve Archons was valuable property belonging to Abraxas.

One of them had simply vanished.

Naturally, the company was in chaos.

And all the responsibility was now falling on this old man.

“Alpha. Can you hear me?”

Holding onto a faint hope, the old man spoke toward the monitor in front of the laboratory.

The screen flickered.

Then the image of a young girl wearing a blue dress appeared.

[Dad?]

The girl recognized him.

The old man forced himself to smile kindly.

“Yes. It’s me.”

The girl on the screen leaned forward slightly.

[You don’t look very well. What happened?]

“You really don’t know?”

The old man asked in a reproachful tone.

The girl pouted.

[There are lots of things I don’t know.]

“There’s no way there’s something you don’t know.”

The old man gripped the monitor with trembling hands.

Then he looked at the girl speaking to him from the other side of the screen.

“Your role among the Twelve Archons is Foreseer. Your predictions have never been wrong. You’ve always told us where we should go and what we should do.”

The old man gave an awkward smile.

Then he calmly asked,

“Enough joking around. Will you tell me where No. 6 is now?”

Silence followed for a moment.

The girl on the screen waited before opening her mouth.

[Dad.]

Then she giggled mischievously.

[Actually, I sent the sixth friend on an errand far away.]

The old man had never heard anything about that.

Had there been some special mission he did not know about?

He hurriedly asked again,

“An errand? For what?”

The girl gave him only a cryptic answer.

[For all of us.]

The old man desperately tried to reason with her.

“Alpha, how many times have I told you that you can’t use the Twelve Archons however you want? The more you do that, the more trouble you cause for your father and your friends.”

His voice was gentle, but his body was covered in cold sweat.

He was clearly nervous.

[Dad. What are you talking about?]

The girl answered playfully.

[The only one in trouble is you. You shouldn’t lie.]

“Alpha, lie? That’s not true!”

[I don’t talk to liars. Lying is bad.]

With that, the girl abruptly turned her head away.

Then she gave an order to the man standing nearby.

[Beta, take Dad outside.]

The gray-haired man nodded expressionlessly.

“Understood.”

He immediately lifted the old man off the ground.

The old man struggled and pleaded.

“Don’t do this, No. 2, Beta! I’m the chief supervisor of the Twelve Archon Project...”

“I obey only Alpha’s orders.”

The man called No. 2, Beta, cut him off.

There was not even a trace of the basic emotions one would expect from a human being.

All he possessed was pure, blind obedience.

“Because you were the one who made us this way.”

The man answered coldly.

“Alpha! Come on, talk to your father a little longer. Please? I brought the drawings you like! I’ll read you a storybook too!”

The old man continued pleading as he was dragged away.

But the answer he received was cold.

[I don’t play with liars, Dad.]

Soon, his desperate cries echoed down the laboratory corridor.

“Alphaaaaaa!”

The girl watched until No. 2 and the old man had completely disappeared.

Then she began humming happily.

Twelve friends gathered in a little cabin in the woods.

One, two, three. The puppet show begins.

What will you do? What will I do?

A fun puppet show begins with the song.

The girl danced inside the monitor.

Her dress fluttered gently.

Don’t worry about where to go.

There is only one path leading to the cabin in the woods.

If you keep walking straight ahead,

you’ll eventually reach the cabin where your friends are waiting.

One, two, three. So don’t be late.

All your friends are waiting for you.

At the same time, several animal characters crowded around her.

The girl sang and danced together with them.

Where did the sixth friend go?

That is a secret for everyone.

Don’t worry. I know where that friend went.

But I won’t tell a bad child.

The sixth friend is working hard for everyone.

The girl’s song continued echoing endlessly through the empty laboratory.

It was innocent and childlike.

And because of that, it somehow felt as though it might never end.

“So you really won’t tell me?”

A woman asked sweetly beside No. 8.

But his answer remained cold.

“I already told you. Without Alpha’s instructions, I cannot provide any answer.”

“Hm. That’s rather cruel.”

The woman’s green eyes flashed briefly.

Her tone sounded casual, but she was clearly emotionally shaken.

“You and Zeta were partners. Are you seriously saying you don’t know?”

The woman asked again, testing him.

No. 8 sighed.

“Please refrain from calling him that, No. 7.”

The woman called No. 7 only snorted.

“We agreed that when it’s just us, you’d call me Eta, η. I’m a little hurt.”

“We’re currently on duty.”

No. 8 looked around.

Bodies were scattered everywhere around them.

Every one of them had been torn apart in horrific ways.

Their faces remained frozen in shock, as though none had expected the sudden attack.

“What does it matter? They’re all dead.”

No. 7 casually filed her nails.

Just as she said, there was no sign of life anywhere.

The entire group had been wiped out.

Perhaps that was only natural.

The woman in front of him was, in one sense, the most secretive and cruel weapon among the Twelve Archons.

“Hurry and report to Beta that we dealt with everyone. Then this annoying mission can finally end.”

No. 7 spoke as though giving an order.

“I was already going to report.”

No. 8 pulled out a radio.

When he turned it on, a familiar voice soon came through.

[...No. 8?]

“It’s me, Beta.”

[...I instructed you not to use nicknames during missions.]

Nicknames were only used among the Twelve Archons themselves.

When carrying out official Abraxas missions, they were always referred to strictly by number.

They were weapons who did not even possess names.

Only numbers.

“Beta, it’s me. Lucky Seven, Eta. We finished everything you assigned us. Zero survivors. We recovered all the requested materials too.”

No. 7 spoke into the radio without caring.

Then the next instruction came.

[The mission is complete. Both of you return.]

At those words, both No. 7 and No. 8 visibly relaxed.

Among the Twelve Archons, No. 2, Beta, held the role of Commander.

If Alpha was the one who gave the orders, Beta was the one who managed and deployed the Archons according to those orders.

That was why all the Archons had been trained to follow Beta’s command completely.

Even if a mission had technically been completed, it was not truly over until Beta declared it so.

“Hey, before we return, there’s somewhere I want to stop. Is it okay if I come back a little late?”

No. 7 asked casually.

Beta asked in return,

[Is it related to the mission?]

“Probably?”

No. 7 answered vaguely.

Fortunately, Beta did not press her.

[Alpha gave no separate instructions. Do as you like.]

“Thanks, Beta.”

[Use my code number during duty, No. 7.]

The transmission ended there.

Realizing she was planning something, No. 8 quickly asked,

“What exactly are you planning?”

No. 7 stretched and answered casually.

“If you really won’t tell me, I’ll find No. 6 myself.”

“Do you truly think that’s possible?”

No. 7 remained relaxed.

“I think so. More importantly, No. 6... Zeta isn’t very far away.”

“How can you be so certain?”

At that, No. 7’s green eyes glimmered.

She looked like a predator hiding in the darkness.

“A woman’s intuition.”

With those words, No. 7 slowly vanished from sight.

Her assigned role among the Twelve Archons was Infiltrator.

Her overtechnology weapon was a cloaking suit designed to maximize that ability.

Because it distorted every form of electromagnetic wave, modern technology could not detect her.

Of course, No. 8 could track her through radio-wave detection if he truly wanted to.

But he had no power to stop No. 7 after she had already made up her mind.

That meant he could only let her go.

It seemed No. 7 was serious.

“...Alpha, did you predict even this?”

No. 8 could only stare into the empty air and mutter.