Chapter 97. Tug-of-War Between Day and Night (1)
“The mutation rate is too fast. The previous strain at least lasted three days...”
Sister Olga stared at the news in despair.
They had only just begun spreading the live vaccine.
How could another mutant strain already have appeared?
“No. 11 did this.”
Nova analyzed the situation calmly.
“He must have realized we were interfering and deliberately created a new strain we couldn’t counter.”
The interval was far too short for the mutation to have occurred naturally.
Someone had clearly interfered.
And the only person capable of something like this was No. 11.
“Everyone, don’t worry!”
Victoria deliberately raised her voice brightly.
“Let’s get a sample of the new strain right away! We’ll make new antibodies and spread another live vaccine!”
It was obvious she was forcing herself to sound cheerful in order to keep everyone else from despairing.
Nova looked at her worriedly.
“But if you do that again, Victoria, your body might not be able to handle it.”
“I don’t care!”
Victoria shouted.
“Even while we’re standing here, people are dying!”
“And Abraxas is probably enjoying every second of it!”
“We don’t have time to drag our feet!”
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
She was pretending to be strong, but the situation had clearly shaken her too.
They had believed they were finally winning.
Then, just like that, the board had been overturned again.
Nova watched Victoria breathe heavily and murmured weakly,
“Victoria...”
“Haaah... what am I supposed to do?”
Yukgap wandered aimlessly through the dark streets after leaving the laboratory.
For now, he simply wanted to walk and clear his tangled thoughts.
Victoria had immediately begun working with the nuns of the Herrington Order to produce a new vaccine.
She seemed deeply shaken that No. 11 had caught up just as her live vaccine had finally begun to work.
There was little Yukgap could do to help inside the laboratory, so he had quietly stepped outside.
More than anything, he could not bear to keep watching the endless stream of horrific news reports.
It was strange.
In the past, he had never cared who died or how.
But ever since he began working at Restaurant Shelley, every single death seemed unbearably heavy.
And even now, there was nothing he could do.
The helplessness and despair weighed heavily on his mind.
“Hm?”
As he continued walking, a strange tremor in the air brushed against his skin.
It was faint.
But something was following him.
Am I being tracked?
Yukgap immediately drew a dagger from his waist and shouted,
“Who’s there?!”
A fluttering sound came from the dark sky, like a carpet snapping in the wind.
Then a pair of red eyes gleamed beyond the darkness.
A familiar voice followed.
“It has been a while, Zeta. Have you been well?”
A gigantic bat with pitch-black wings slowly glided down and landed in front of Yukgap.
Its skeleton contracted with a series of cracking sounds.
Before long, it had transformed into a pale-faced man.
Yukgap stared at him, his tension fading.
“Oh. It’s just you, Theta.”
No. 8.
One of the Twelve Archons and a fellow member of the Tracking Team who had once worked alongside Yukgap.
No. 8 grumbled at Yukgap’s utterly unimpressed reaction.
“Would it hurt you to look surprised?”
“I made quite the dramatic entrance.”
“I can beat you.”
“You sound awfully confident.”
No. 8 smiled faintly.
“It’s almost hurtful.”
It might have been a joke.
But Yukgap was in no mood for joking.
“So why did you show yourself?”
“Did Abraxas suddenly order you to kill me?”
“If that were the case, No. 7 would have come instead.”
No. 8 answered calmly.
“I was simply carrying out a mission alone, noticed you, and decided to stop by and say hello.”
Yukgap tilted his head.
“A mission?”
No. 8’s specialty was reconnaissance and surveillance.
He usually supported the other Archons rather than taking the front line himself.
What kind of solo mission would bring someone like him to Korea?
“Who do you think is actually directing the current situation?”
No. 8 finally gave him a hint.
Yukgap answered casually,
“Obviously No. 11 and...”
He stopped.
Something felt wrong.
No. 11 might be creating the bacterial mutations, but his leg was bad and he was not especially mobile.
Yet the bacteria were spreading across an enormous area.
The answer clicked into place.
“It’s you.”
Yukgap’s expression darkened.
“You’re the one spreading the bacteria.”
No. 8 admitted it without hesitation.
“Bats are notorious vectors for severe zoonotic diseases.”
“On average, a single bat carries around 137 kinds of bacteria.”
“This time is no different.”
He spread his arms slightly.
“More importantly, among the Twelve Archons, I am the one capable of covering the widest territory.”
So No. 11 was creating the bacteria.
But No. 8 was the one cultivating and dispersing them across the region.
Yukgap’s eyes turned dangerous.
“Then if I kill you here, I can stop this situation.”
No. 8 scoffed.
“But you cannot kill me.”
“No.”
