Chapter 183

Chapter 183. The Final Deal (2)

[Shut uuuuuuuup!]

Alpha’s furious scream rang through the entire area.

To Nova, her explosive reaction was almost laughable.

“Hahaha. This is hilarious.”

“Everyone said you were practically a god.”

“But in reality, you’re nothing more than a terminally ill guinea pig trapped in a flask!”

Alpha’s face twisted instantly.

Unable to control her emotions, she shrieked like a child throwing a tantrum.

[You... You... You!]

[I’m going to kill you!]

[I’ll have the Archons tear off your arms and legs, gouge out your eyes, burn your skin, and then slowly pull out your brain until you die!]

It was an almost embarrassingly childish reaction.

Nova merely scoffed.

“Do whatever you want.”

“I’m going to die soon one way or another anyway.”

Then, as if deliberately showing Alpha, Nova took another small step backward.

There were now only a few centimeters between her feet and the edge of the rooftop.

One more step back and she would fall.

Alpha spoke with absolute certainty.

[No.]

[You can’t die, Nova Hanson.]

“And why are you so sure?”

[Because your one and only little sister is desperately waiting for her big sister to come home.]

The moment the words little sister left Alpha’s mouth, Nova flinched.

Alpha immediately caught the subtle change in her expression.

[If you die, who do you think will protect her?]

[If I wanted to, I could make sure she spends the rest of her life in such terrible pain that death would be preferable.]

Nova stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you threatening me?”

[It’s not a threat.]

[It’s a notification.]

Alpha calmly threw Nova’s own words back at her.

There was no trace of her earlier hysteria anymore.

Now that she realized the initiative had shifted back to her, she even made an offer as though she were being generous.

[If you surrender to us quietly, I won’t touch your little sister.]

[As No. 1, leader of the Archons, I promise.]

Nova trembled faintly.

Then she let out a quiet sigh and nodded.

“Yeah, Alpha.”

“I guess I was thinking about this wrong.”

As Nova’s momentum seemed to fade, Alpha even smiled in victory.

[Hehehe.]

[Are you finally willing to negotiate?]

Nova suddenly raised her head.

A stubborn resolve that had not been there moments ago burned in her eyes.

“I was acting like a coward in a game of chicken.”

“If I keep doing that, I’ve already lost.”

With those words, Nova pulled the packet of medicine from her pocket.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, she threw it over the edge of the building.

The packet fluttered in the wind and vanished somewhere below.

There was not a trace of regret on Nova’s face.

[What did you just do?]

Alpha was visibly startled by the sudden action.

Nova answered flatly.

“I just threw away all the painkillers I had.”

“Without those, I can’t endure my attacks.”

“They’re made from a special combination of drugs, so they can’t be reproduced on short notice either.”

Nova looked up at the sky again.

It was still blue.

Still beautiful.

Perhaps this would be the last time she ever saw the sky while fully conscious.

Thinking that, Nova slowly closed her eyes.

“I’ll probably have another attack before long.”

“When that happens, I won’t be able to endure it.”

“And if I happen to take one wrong step...”

“I’ll fall straight off the building.”

Unlike Nova, who remained calm, Alpha could no longer hide her agitation.

[Are you insane?!]

[I told you your little sister won’t be safe!]

“If you take my sister hostage, then I’ll just have to take myself hostage too.”

As she spoke, Nova silently repeated words of apology to her little sister in her heart.

Then she looked back at Alpha through the monitor.

“You don’t have much time left to secure my brain intact.”

“There’s a good chance I’ll die before you or the Archons can even touch my sister.”

“If that happens, what value would taking her hostage have?”

If the other side took a hostage, then all she had to do was eliminate the hostage’s value.

In a way, it was an extremely simple solution.

Nova asked Alpha again in a firm voice,

“I’ll already be dead, so there’ll be no one left to accept your deal.”

“Isn’t that right?”

She deliberately maintained her hard stance.

She wanted to show as clearly as possible that she had no intention of backing down.

Alpha remained silent for a moment.

Then she spoke calmly.

[What do you want?]

Her tone was clearly different from before.

Nova immediately repeated her conditions.

“I already told you.”

“Release my friends and withdraw the Archons.”

Alpha sounded genuinely disappointed.

[What a shame, Nova Hanson.]

[I thought there might be a chance for us to become friends.]

“If you really thought that, you would have approached me before Victoria.”

Nova immediately replied.

Alpha shrugged lightly.

[Unfortunately, according to my calculations, the two of us could never become friends.]

“I think the same.”

“And you know why, don’t you?”

The two fell silent for a moment.

Then, as if they had planned it, the exact same words left both their mouths.

[Because we’re too much alike.]

“Because we’re too much alike.”

Alpha chuckled.

[Interesting.]

[Is this what people call hating your own kind?]

“Maybe.”

Of course, Nova had no real energy to joke around.

She pressed the advantage, unwilling to let go of the initiative she had finally seized.

“So?”

“What are you going to do, Alpha?”

Alpha remained silent for some time.

Then she answered in a much softer voice.

[You’re the first person who has ever pushed me this far.]

[You really are impressive, Nova Hanson.]

[But there’s something you overlooked too.]

At that moment, the sound of powerful wings flapping came from nearby.

A huge shadow fell over Nova.

“Alpha, I came when you called.”

It was No. 8, the bat-form Archon.

The gust created by his wings made Nova stagger in surprise.

“Ugh!”

Watching her, Alpha quietly added,

[You forgot that I have a friend who can fly.]

“Everyone’s making quite a scene.”

No. 7 muttered while looking over the chaotic first floor.

The lobby of the building had become a complete disaster.

People were desperately trying to escape while rescue workers rushed in to suppress the fire.

For now, No. 7 had been ordered by No. 2 to wait here in case Nova Hanson appeared.

But Nova Hanson was nowhere to be seen.

And since there was nothing else for No. 7 to do, she was bored out of her mind.

“Ugh...”

Beside her, Yukgap desperately writhed on the floor.

When she had broken his spine earlier, he had been completely unable to move.

The fact that he could move now meant he had recovered somewhat.

No. 7 looked down at him irritably.

“Stop being stubborn.”

“If you keep this up, I’ll have to break your spine again.”

“That’s annoying.”

But Yukgap was desperate.

“I can’t just stay here like this...”

He struggled to force himself upright somehow.

Even after being beaten half to death by her and having his spine broken, he was still trying to move.

His tenacity was undeniably impressive.

Watching him, No. 7 quietly muttered,

“If I think even this side of you is cute, then I really do have a problem.”

While she was leisurely passing the time, her communicator suddenly rang.

Static crackled through it.

Then a familiar voice came through.

[...Seventh friend, answer me.]

It was Alpha.

No. 7 quickly responded.

“Did you call me, Alpha?”

[I’m contacting you through a network I restored in a hurry, so I’ll get straight to the point.]

There was an unusual urgency in Alpha’s voice.

[Approach the rooftop as quietly and secretly as possible.]

[Then use your infiltration abilities to secure Nova Hanson’s brain.]

“Of course.”

No. 7 answered readily.

More than anything, she was simply delighted that she finally had something to do.

“Ugh...”

Yukgap continued struggling nearby.

No. 7 glanced down at him and asked Alpha,

“What should I do with No. 6?”

Alpha answered as if it hardly mattered.

[Whatever you want.]

[He won’t interfere with our plan much anyway.]

“Understood.”

That ended the call with Alpha.

No. 7 looked down at Yukgap and grinned.

“You heard her, right?”

“Alpha said I can do whatever I want with you.”

No. 7 slowly approached the fallen Yukgap.

Unconcealed desire gleamed in her eyes.

A chill ran down Yukgap’s spine, and he began to stammer.

“W-What are you planning to do to me?”

“There’s just something I’ve always wanted to try.”

“Thanks to Alpha, I finally get the chance.”

No. 7 licked her lips with a sinister smile.

Yukgap was seized by instinctive fear.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

“Relax.”

“It’ll be over quickly.”

No. 7 even tried to soothe him in an intentionally gentle voice.

Of course, she did not stop approaching him.

Yukgap trembled.

“Why the hell are you doing this to me?”

“Do you really not know?”

“Or do you know and you’re deliberately tempting me?”

No. 7 raised a finger and lightly stroked Yukgap’s chin.

Right now, Yukgap’s spine was literally broken.

He could barely move.

He was nothing more than helpless prey.

“You’ve got a cute face that brings out a woman’s sadistic side, and you’re stubborn on top of that.”

“It makes me want to torment you so badly I can’t stand it.”

“This isn’t my fault.”

“It’s yours for giving off such a sexy scent.”

“Ugh...”

Yukgap finally groaned and squeezed his eyes shut.

No. 7 gazed down at him affectionately.

Then she said something rather unexpected.

“But I’m busy right now, so we’ll play later.”

With those words, No. 7 lightly kissed Yukgap on the cheek.

Then she spun around and added in a sweet voice,

“Darling, I’m heading out.”

“Be good while I’m gone.”

No. 7 immediately activated her cloaking suit.

Her figure slowly melted into empty space.

Left alone, Yukgap stared blankly at where she had disappeared.

Then he muttered weakly,

“Women really are impossible to understand.”