Chapter 26. The Infiltrator, No. 7 (3)
“Who said I’d die that easily?”
Victoria shouted.
She immediately gave Robert an order.
“Robert, protect me!”
[Activating defensive systems.]
Robert’s eyes flashed once.
At the same time, gun barrels emerged from his arms and chest armor.
[Eliminate. Eliminate. Eliminate.]
A chilling mechanical voice came from Robert.
Then every gun barrel on his body opened fire at once.
Countless bullets sprayed toward No. 7.
“What an amusing toy.”
No. 7 only gave a faint sneer.
Then her body vanished instantly.
The bullets struck nothing but the empty space where she had been standing.
“Where is she?”
Victoria quickly tried to follow No. 7’s movements.
Then No. 7’s voice suddenly came from the empty air.
“You should prepare a more interesting toy next time. This one’s entertaining, but far too slow.”
A violent impact struck Robert.
His chest armor, arms, and legs were broken in a single instant.
[Unit damaged. Unit damaged. Unit damaged...]
Unable to withstand the impact, Robert collapsed onto the floor and repeated the same words weakly.
No. 7 slowly appeared beside him.
She stepped on the broken Robert and mocked Victoria.
“Though I’m not sure there’ll be a next time.”
“Get away from Robert!”
Victoria’s eyes burned with anger when she saw Robert being trampled.
She charged forward.
No. 7’s eyes flashed as she swung an arm toward her.
“Ghk!”
A sharp pain struck Victoria’s upper body.
No. 7 was already standing beside her with her claws extended like blades.
She had apparently leapt forward and attacked within that brief instant.
“So even if I can’t actually damage you, you still feel pain. What a fascinating body. You might be fun to play with.”
No. 7 giggled while looking down at Victoria in pain.
Victoria covered her torn shirt with one hand and shot back,
“You’ve got a rotten personality. Do you usually enjoy this kind of thing?”
“A woman shouldn’t make anything too easy, don’t you think?”
Victoria immediately shouted,
“Maybe Yukgap ran away because your personality is so awful!”
That single sentence clearly hit a nerve.
No. 7’s expression twisted instantly.
Losing her temper, she spread her claws and lunged at Victoria.
“You bitch!”
“That won’t work anymore!”
Victoria quickly reached out and caught No. 7’s arm.
No. 7 sounded impressed when her attack was stopped.
“Not bad.”
“Sorry, but Yukgap is way faster than you. This is nothing.”
Victoria mocked her while slowly pushing No. 7 back with brute strength.
It seemed she intended to settle things through raw power.
No. 7 laughed.
“But you’ve made one mistake.”
The black fur covering No. 7’s body shifted.
Bulging muscles rose across her beast-like arm.
Victoria slowly began losing ground.
“H-Huh?”
Alarm appeared on Victoria’s face as she was pushed back.
No. 7 told her,
“When I reveal my chimera form, my physical abilities increase dramatically. Whatever strange body you have, it won’t be enough!”
“Aaaah!”
Victoria was eventually thrown away with a scream.
No. 7 extended her claws and licked her lips.
“You’re the first human my claws haven’t worked on. Now I’m curious just how much you can endure.”
She looked like a predator staring at a fascinating new toy.
Victoria struggled back to her feet.
No. 7’s strength was similar to Yukgap’s, but she was far more ruthless and cruel.
She possessed the pure instinct of a predator that genuinely enjoyed blood and killing.
“Stay away from Victoria!”
At that moment, Yukgap threw himself between them.
No. 7 stared at him in disbelief.
“You’re taking her side again?”
“Of course I am. Whose side do you expect me to take right now?”
Yukgap answered lightly.
But something was wrong with his body.
His back was bent, and his hips were twisted at a strange angle.
Victoria noticed immediately.
“Yukgap, what’s wrong with your body?”
“My spine was shattered. It’s still regenerating, so I can’t accelerate right now.”
He was forcing himself to endure it, but a numbing pain still ran through his lower back.
Even standing was difficult.
“What? Then what are we supposed to do?”
Victoria asked anxiously.
Yukgap grinned.
“Trust me. I have a good idea.”
Apparently, he had something in mind.
Watching the two of them, No. 7 suddenly screamed hysterically.
“What have you two been whispering about this whole time?!”
She swung her claws.
Yukgap quickly stepped backward.
Her claws narrowly swept past his body with a sharp whistle.
No. 7 immediately realized that Yukgap was moving much more slowly than usual.
“Your spine is shattered, so you can barely run. And even now, you still won’t abandon that woman?”
“She’s my employer. Of course I won’t!”
Yukgap answered while struggling to move.
No. 7 snapped and charged at him, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“You’re annoying! Both you and that woman are so damn annoying!”
At this rate, they would be torn apart.
Yukgap quickly thought through his options.
There was only one thing he could do.
“This won’t work!”
Yukgap suddenly scooped Victoria into his arms.
Victoria, caught completely off guard, stared at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Running!”
Without another word, Yukgap carried her out of the restaurant.
No. 7 roared as her prey escaped right in front of her.
“You think I’ll let you run away?”
Her body slowly vanished.
She was clearly going to approach while cloaked.
Yukgap glanced around and only stopped once he reached the yard.
Then he collapsed heavily onto the ground.
“Ugh!”
Cold sweat covered his face from the pain.
Apparently, running while carrying Victoria with a shattered spine had been too much.
“Are you okay?”
Victoria checked on him anxiously.
Yukgap breathed heavily and gave her a faint smile.
“I don’t think I can run much farther like this.”
Then he glanced around the yard.
The ingredients they had used for kimjang earlier were still everywhere.
“But don’t worry. We already reached where I wanted to go.”
“Hah... hah...”
Yukgap leaned against a huge drum in the yard, breathing heavily.
No. 7 appeared in front of him after releasing her cloak.
“This is as far as you managed to run?”
She sounded genuinely confused.
Yukgap gave an awkward smile.
“Someone shattered my spine, so running isn’t exactly easy. This is the best I can do.”
No. 7 glared at him.
“Stop messing around and transform into your chimera form! Show me the powerful body Abraxas gave you!”
Yukgap mocked her.
“You want to fight beast against beast?”
“Yes. Hunting you like this wouldn’t be any fun.”
No. 7 complained.
Only then did Yukgap understand what had been happening.
“I thought you were moving slower than usual. You’ve been holding back this whole time, haven’t you?”
If No. 7 truly wanted to, she could have cloaked herself, approached, and finished him.
She had both the strength and ability to do it.
But since earlier, she had only been cornering him without launching a decisive attack.
She had clearly been waiting for Yukgap to reveal his beast form.
“If you understand, then transform already.”
No. 7 answered irritably.
Yukgap suddenly acted casual.
“That’ll be difficult. When I transform into my chimera form, all my senses become much sharper.”
“So what?”
She clearly did not understand what he was getting at.
Yukgap spread both arms wide.
“If you’re going to kill me, then do it. I can’t run anymore.”
Irritation flashed across No. 7’s face.
He knew she had been holding back, and yet he was still acting like this.
A wave of unbearable anger and disappointment surged through her.
“If that’s what you want, then fine!”
No. 7 opened her jaws wide and leapt at Yukgap.
Yukgap shouted,
“Now, Victoria!”
“Hyaaah!”
Victoria suddenly jumped out from behind him.
She forcefully opened the lid of the large drum they had used to store kimchi earlier.
An explosively strong smell of fermented kimchi burst outward.
“Aaaaaah! What the hell is that horrible smell?!”
No. 7, who had charged straight toward Yukgap without thinking, was immediately engulfed by the powerful odor.
It was a burning, vicious stench unlike anything she had ever smelled.
It felt as though every sharpened sense in her body were being scraped with fire.
“What do you think it is? It’s the kimchi Restaurant Shelley made today. It’s right in the middle of fermenting nicely.”
No. 7 stared at him in horror.
Pure fear spread across her face.
“Kim... chi? People actually eat this disgusting thing?”
“Careful. You’re going to offend every Korean who hears that. This kimchi is the reason I escaped Abraxas in the first place.”
Yukgap struggled to his feet.
There was a fiery determination in his face that had not been there before.
“No. 7, you have the strongest sense of smell among the Twelve Archons. Freshly fermenting kimchi must be incredibly intense for that nose of yours.”
“D-Don’t tell me... this is why you stayed in human form?”
No. 7 finally realized why Yukgap had stubbornly refused to transform.
Yukgap grinned.
“Humans have a weaker sense of smell than beasts. I can handle this much kimchi stink just fine.”
He stared directly at her.
“You can’t.”
