NOVEL NEXT Chapter 342
Chapter 2 – Awakening
Seijis slowly closed his eyes with a deep sigh. Memories of the future, yet to unfold, surged in like waves, as if they had been waiting.
Clear as if they were already events of the past, yet at the same time, still to occur.
It was painful but necessary. It wasn’t merely a reflection on past knowledge; it was a time of painful self-reflection.
“Isn’t that a bit hasty of a conclusion?” Older Sister Sophie inquired, her expression laced with concern.
“I know Violet and the others’ abilities well. But you said it yourself, didn’t you? Until the time is ripe, we should leave problematic organizations and academies to their own devices. Has your thought suddenly changed?”
Seijis nodded slowly, yet with assurance.
“My thoughts haven’t changed, sister. But if everything were to collapse or escape all at once, it would create a huge void of power. I wouldn’t want to see swarms of flies gathering to take advantage of that gap. However…”
His eyes sharpened.
“Right now, a perfect opportunity to execute this has arisen.”
Memories of past events flashed through his mind. Each time one of the four great clans or massive corporations crumbled, countless desperate attempts to fill that void followed.
The would-be superhumans from schools outside the protection of the clans or federal army became all too easily pawns for others, given their astonishing talents and power.
In the past, this would have been a time for heart-wrenching patience, chewing over pointless principles and ethics.
Now, things were different. The plan had deviated slightly from its original trajectory, and the timeline was hastened, but that was all for the better. There were steadfast allies at hand.
Beside him were the vanguard of Grand Mages and elite forces of the foundation, verified Awakened Ones with the capabilities to prove themselves against any foe.
“I no longer want to see criminals like the Circliff’s Casador running rampant, or any other rogue organizations. I have no intention of creating an environment in which Apostles can thrive. However… it is absolutely necessary to ensure that the Rumyx Foundation is effectively weakened.”
Seijis paused for thought, recalling when their real confrontation with Rumyx had begun.
Was it after they dealt with the rampaging witch? Or before they thwarted the Grand Mage’s schemes after manipulating the Western academies like consumables and receiving Vesperia from Restraid?
Or perhaps it was after that. At the center of it all was Enrique.
-There’s a history of danger. The Dean and the Board of Directors are in an unstable situation, and until the damaged academy is normalized, we’ll need to concentrate our management on it for the time being.
-You can’t! What right do you have to take this student? That’s in the past! Enrique can now perfectly control her own body!
That was the beginning of their ill-fated entanglement. Among the students with peculiar talents across the academy city, those without strong backing always found themselves dogged persistently by the Rumyx Foundation—no, specifically by Chairman Laihan’s greedy interest.
And not only that but any talented technology or skill became a target for their scrutiny.
Strangely enough, the foundation that obsessively collected and stored technology appeared not to spend it on making money at all.
-You idiots from the Inspection Bureau! Do you even understand the significance of what you’ve done? We are still under observation! You’re giving a chance for progress to fools who can’t even conceal their strengths! The moment we make any progress… they will definitely return!
Seijis still vividly remembered that hysterical excuse that echoed just before the foundation crashed down. It was the last plea of stubborn secrecy.
“That’s nonsense worth no listening to.” Older Sister Sophie scoffed.
Seijis silently agreed.
With the minuscule amount of technology salvaged from the foundation that crumbled under the attack of the Apostles, there was still strength to temporarily thwart the forces sent by the Monarch of Monad.
“Then, if we were to obtain all the knowledge and technology possessed by the foundation… now, with only four years remaining, we could accomplish so much more. Especially with such an opportunity presenting itself now…”
The Scholarship Officer’s voice trailed off as cheerful laughter filled the office.
Outside the window, Violet was seen joyfully interacting with animals. Sophie’s brief laugh contrasted sharply with the moment, causing a momentary tremor of regret in Seijis’s black eyes.
Why wasn’t there someone like her back then?
‘No, that’s still a past yet to come. Let go of the lingering feelings.’
With a heavy resolve, he slowly rose from his seat.
“There’s no time to hesitate or linger. We can’t afford that…”
The magical engineering technology of Magnavis that Violet leaked was absurdly insufficient.
More knowledge directly translates to greater power. And that power must be given to those who need it.
-Hahaha… Scholarship Officer, I’ve just realized where my damn uncle sold my father. Look at this. The blood on this spear tip… do you know whose it is…?
Suddenly, the image of Aegis Academy’s Student Council President flashed across his mind.
Her empty eyes, gazing in despair as she sat on the ground, a hollow smile on her face.
She had belatedly realized that the technology capable of reversing the situation had been incinerated by the foundation in units of information.
In that moment, there was only one thing she could do. To bestow one last mercy on her father, who had become a murder weapon under Laplacian’s madness and on the former clan members, through the hands of their closest ones.
-Energy weapons… everyone is singing their praises. If only these weapons had appeared a little sooner, we could have held the front line a little longer…
The image of the Young Lady from the Duke’s house, who fell to the last moments of the battlefield still clutching her broken bow, came to mind. She had fulfilled her duty without diminishing the legacy of her ancestors who had fought during the Great War.
The foundation’s technology was certainly astounding, but by the time that brilliant technology was deployed on the battlefield, it was far too late.
The world crumbled before the relentless tide of enemies like a black wave.
There would be no more such outcomes.
‘What if we extract the technology and leave it to the Linecrew University Fusion Research Institute or the Arturia Academy Workshop? Or other clans? That would help a lot.’
At the moment when those filled with righteous will lacked the pivotal power to turn reality upside down, it was time to hand that strength over.
“Besides, the foundation has an alien universe underground—”
As Violet approached the window, Seijis halted mid-sentence. As his fingers flicked through the air, the barrier silently vanished.
“Is the story over?”
“It’s all over. Now let’s talk about something else.”
The time to carve the Rumyx brothers’ bellies was drawing near.
**
Unexpectedly, the discussion flowed swiftly.
Our Scholarship Officer’s eyes lit up as he heard the story of Enrique, as if he had just recalled something, and soon took on an astonishingly resolute stance declaring they needed to completely obliterate the foundation.
At first, the abruptness of the reaction threw me off, but honestly, I liked it.
「Now that’s a real man!」
But as the conversation deepened, unavoidable limitations began to surface one by one.
“But don’t think we can completely destroy the foundation. For now, the foundation itself must remain there, even if just as a shell. It needs to hold the fort until something can replace it. It’s not something we can easily remove.”
“Why? Can’t we just sweep the Board of Directors away?”
I asked with genuine curiosity.
“Hmm, Violet, that’s…”
“Sister, I’m right, aren’t I? If there are no people, there are no issues!”
Honestly, it puzzled me. They’re just obstacles; isn’t it more beneficial to wipe out everyone except those who surrender?
Reading my bewilderment, the mice tilted their heads in confusion.
Older Sister Sophie sighed deeply, but Seijis continued to explain calmly without changing his expression.
“It’s impossible. The foundation is a closed organization that ensures independent autonomy for all its departments, branches, and laboratories. Even if we assassinated the Secretary General and all the board members, each segment would continue to operate according to its own principles. Think about the Violet Network, Subject 312. If we kill you, will the entire Violet Network collapse?”
“Aha! So we need to go to each point and smash or kill them all, right?”
“It’ll take too long. It’s entirely different from an organization operating like Magnavis. Each cell operates informally, meaning we’ve no grasp on the positions or even the exact names of all research labs and data. Plus, if the operation drags on, Arshith and Restraid would intervene, under the pretense of punishing terrorists. What was our goal, again?”
“One I can’t forget! To prevent interference with Enrique and make a preemptive strike before Rumyx gets more deeply involved in the Circliff incident, right?”
The Scholarship Officer’s face hardened with seriousness for a fleeting moment.
“Then, alongside attacking the Board of Directors, there’s one target perfectly aligned with our goals.”
His words halted. Seijis fell silent momentarily, then pulled something out of thin air.
On the table, two bundles of documents were spread out before me and Older Sister Sophie. We picked them up, puzzled. The cover bore the bold letters: ‘[Top Secret]’.
“The foundation… central archive?”
“Oh dear… where did our little brother dig this up? He’d disappear on me from time to time to give me work and only now pulled this off?”
As Sophie wore a sorrowful expression, Seijis indifferently shrugged.
“So what exactly is this?”
Though I feigned ignorance, in truth, I had already figured out from the memories of my time as an interrogator what Seijis was about to say.
“These are the central data centers of the Rumyx Foundation. This is where they store all the knowledge and materials they’ve collected. Naturally, it also includes the watchlist of the Enforcers. You could say all operations are communicated and stored through these archives.”
“Aha! So if we blow this up, they’ll be left like fools!”
Seijis coldly corrected me.
“What I meant is, we’ll steal the internal materials and erase everything cleanly.”
Alright, I totally got it.
“One more thing. Now that we’ve drawn our swords, we need to consider other possibilities. If Rumyx becomes incapacitated, there will be those eager to take its place. Who could it be?”
Suddenly, an unpleasant presence I had forgotten slipped into my mind.
“Laplacian! Right! That chairman guy is lurking around!”
A horrific scenario rushed through my thoughts.
What if Laplacian swallowed all the assets of the weakened Rumyx?
The moment Subject 312’s gaze met that of the Scholarship Officer, he nodded firmly, as if he could read my thoughts.
“We have to deal with Laplacian’s chairman too.”
That’s a perfect idea. We could wipe out the nemesis of our Violet all at once. It seemed our thoughts aligned perfectly.
「It’s time for revenge!」
In that moment, only Older Sister Sophie laughed with a hint of discomfort.
“Hahaha… doesn’t it feel like we’ve become those wicked terrorists?”
What’s the problem with that? We are terrorists, after all.
**
While devising our operation plan, the finals week of the second semester approached, but our exceptional intellect allowed us to breeze right through it.
And finally, the moment had come for the Violet Animal Special Forces to welcome new reserve V-animals.
“Cheep!”
“Caw! Caw!”
The once-quiet factory turned research lab buzzed with activity again. Bernike’s shipment of animals from an external lab had arrived.
All around the lab were mice, monkeys, and crows marked with distinct traces of biochip surgery.
The air was filled with the sounds of flapping wings, the moving antics of monkeys, and the chaotic cries of various animals.
「Wow! These are the friends getting enlightened soon!」
「Paradise! Let’s show these friends what paradise is!」
The V-animals chimed in eagerly as they awaited their connection to our network.
Recently, these creatures often chanted about this so-called ‘paradise,’ and upon explanation, it seemed they referred to our Violet Network that way.
The animal network is a sub-system of the Violet Network, and their inability to experience a fully immersive network space likely played a significant role.
“Isn’t this a role reversal? They said they were conducting a network connection experiment yet seem to be straying further from the original intent…”
“It’s okay, Uncle! It’s all for the greater good.”
As I lay on the network connecting device, encouraging him, Uncle Yurik silently began relocating the cages under the extended network connection device.
We could have connected with our Unique Abilities individually, but it was faster and safer to use a device equipped with a filter than to inadvertently incinerate them.
Moreover, we weren’t yet accustomed to using our abilities, and treating them en masse like this allowed us to awaken many more animals.
A sharp buzzing noise sliced through the space, signaling that the task was completed.
In the blink of an eye, the newly awakened animal network began to stir.
「Whoa! Where am I? Caw! Who am I? Caw!」
「Congratulations! You are now part of the proud Violet Animal Special Forces!」
「Animal Special Forces! That’s our leader over there!」
The newly joined mice, crows, and monkeys reacted with excitement.
Already, veteran animals from the first generation were busy explaining tasks and roles to the second generation newbies, leading them to their lodging cages.
「Alright! Everything’s working perfectly!」
The future of the Rumyx Liberation Operation shone brightly ahead.
Only two weeks remained until the scheduled operation. As vacation drew near, the Violets began preparing for yet another mission.
「It’s a holy war!」