29-133

EP.133 Chief of Bio-Research, Arachne 

The results of the first day infiltrating the academy under disguise exceeded all expectations. 

Even up to the moment I left through the school gates after classes, Hikari’s lewd, heated breaths still echoed in my ears. 

The taste of her humiliating service lingered sharply on my tongue, filled with the flavor of resigned despair. 

The two runes engraved in the cathedral would now, bit by bit, slowly corrode her from the inside out. 

But that didn’t mean I could let my guard down. 

At least in this world, I had the advantage of information. 

I needed to wrap things up quickly and decisively. 

“To the redevelopment district.” 

After leaving the academy, I hailed a taxi straight away and headed to the outskirts of Sky City, towards the deserted redevelopment district. 

‘Old Central Control Center.’ 

Once the beating heart of the city’s communications and power, it was now nothing more than an eyesore of concrete, covered in wild graffiti. 

On the gray building’s outer walls, meaningless profanities and bizarre images had been scrawled haphazardly, making eerie noises whenever the wind blew. 

And there, in the underground parking lot of this control center  

Cutting through the cold air laced with dust and oil, heading deeper, I arrived at a freight elevator camouflaged not to stand out from the wall, its emergency light weakly blinking in the darkness. 

As I approached the elevator  

“Hm?” 

THUD, THUD... 

Out of the darkness, accompanied by a deep, mechanical rumble, a gigantic shadow loomed in front of me. 

More a “walking fortress” than a human, radiating overwhelming intimidation a cyborg. 

It was Cerberus, in charge of Dark Redemption’s base management and security. 

“System check, all clear. Master,” 

His left eye showed no emotion, while his right, a blazing red mechanical eye, scanned me up and down. 

Then, a faint hologram flickered into the air: 

[Vital signs stable. Magic pattern match. Identity confirmed: Onyx Rex.] 

“Good. You're doing well.” 

With a brief reply, I passed by him and got on the elevator. 

These days, the whole organization was in hiding, so even Cerberus had lost his original job and become just a gatekeeper. 

‘Soon enough, the day will come when he proves his worth.’ 

As the doors closed, I ran my eyes over the mounted gatling gun on his shoulder and the armor, riddled with bullet marks. 

With the quiet hum of descent, the elevator doors opened and a world completely different from aboveground spread out before me. 

A vast space made of cold metal and dark marble. 

The command and control core area of ‘Abyss’ Sector 1. 

And at the center, my ever-loyal secretary was already kneeling, waiting for her master. 

“Welcome back, Onyx-nim.” 

Morgana approached and pressed her lips to the tip of my shoe, whispering: 

“How was your first day at the academy? Surely, having to mingle with those pathetic creatures spoiled by peace must’ve been tiresome.” 

“Certainly. Seeing them so spoiled by peace made me sick.” 

In truth, pretending to be an ordinary student was mentally much easier than playing the boss of an evil organization but there was no need to mention that. 

“Still, thanks to the disguise uniform you prepared, I avoided getting found out by those pests.” 

“Too kind, sir♥” 

With just one compliment from me, Morgana’s face turned red with delight, and the rune engraved above her pubic bone softly blinked with light. 

“How’s Lumina? Has she been behaving in my absence?” 

Taking my outerwear with businesslike efficiency, she clung to my side like a shadow as we started down the corridor. 

“She’s staying in the deep levels right now. Strangely enough, after being locked up so long, she actually seems more at ease there. Would you like to check on her?” 

“No. If she prefers it, it’s fine to leave her be. Today I have business elsewhere.” 

“In Sector 2, where Arachne is?” 

“Mm.” 

Ever since corrupting Lumina the previous day, I’d been able to roughly plot the direction I needed to take in this world. 

Gather information on the heroines, continue my undercover infiltration at the academy, and lay groundwork using runes. 

But that alone still felt lacking. 

Through Morgana’s additional investigations yesterday, I discovered that what I’d gained from Lumina wasn’t just information on the heroines there was even more. 

Just as we finished traversing the long hallway of Sector 1, we stood before the internal express elevator I’d used the previous day. 

Morgana manipulated the panel; the doors opened, and once more began a soundless descent. 

The lower we went, the colder and damper the air became. 

Vague, mechanical noises of unknown origin and a distant sense of stifled screams only hinted at the ominous atmosphere of Sector 2. 

“I’ve let the spider woman know you’ll be visiting today, Onyx-nim.” 

“Well done.” 

Ding. 

With its arrival chime, the doors opened a wave of stinging antiseptic and the pungent smell of blood washed over us. 

In utter contrast to Sector 1’s dark, grandiose mood, this was the cold, utilitarian world of a laboratory. 

‘This is Arachne the bioscientist’s sector.’ 

We stopped in front of our destination: Arachne’s laboratory, behind a heavy steel door posted with biohazard warnings. 

When Morgana led the way and pushed the door open, an even more acrid chemical stench invaded our lungs. 

Gigantic vats filled with culture fluid lined the walls, weird shapes floating within. 

On the shelf, glass jars holding dissected biological specimens made a ghastly display. 

Machinery scattered everywhere buzzed and burbled noisily, never ceasing. 

Just as we were about to step into this controlled chaos  

“Uaaaaaaagh!” 

A scream, almost a shriek, erupted from the furthest corner of the lab. 

Crash! 

Accompanied by the loud sound of something breaking, a low-level grunt went flying in an arc and crashed to the floor in front of us. 

He looked up at us with trembling eyes, then promptly foamed at the mouth and passed out. 

“I’m depressed! Depressed! Depressed, I tell you!” 

The source of the scream a woman, crazily waving the four black mechanical spider legs attached to her back. 

Wearing a white lab coat stained with god-knows-what, she seized another subordinate by the collar with her mechanical prosthetic arm and shook him violently. 

“Uwaaaah! P-please, spare me…!” 

“It was so quiet for a while but here she goes again. That nutty spider,” 

As if this was all routine, Morgana dryly tutted and stood protectively in front of me. 

She kicked the minion sprawling at our feet and loudly called out to the berserk woman. 

“Pull yourself together, Arachne! What kind of spectacle do you call this in front of the Boss?” 

At her words, Arachne’s manic movements halted as if switched off, letting the man held by her spider legs drop limply to the floor. 

Slowly turning her head toward me, Arachne’s languid green eyes fixed on me from beneath her disheveled hair. 

“…Ah, welcome, Onyx-nim. I heard you’d woken up, I’m glad to see you’re looking well.” 

Seriously, does this organization have nothing but crazies, even by the standards of an evil group? 

“You don’t look so well yourself, Arachne. Is there a problem?” 

Adjusting her horn-rimmed glasses, Arachne pouted like a child. 

“I’m just depressed! I haven’t had a chance to create a new masterpiece, and my only source of joy, my dear Tent-chan, was snatched away by that damn goddess! Now what am I supposed to live for? My life has no meaning!” 

She pointed at the subordinate sprawled on the floor with her mechanical arm, whining: 

“I can’t ignite my artistic soul using these useless things!” 

So what was growing in the culture tanks her own grunts? 

If they’re her creations, she’s treating them rather harshly… 

“Actually, I came here to commission a new project from you.” 

At my words, her gloomy face instantly brightened with hope. 

“Ooh! That’s music to my ears. Am I finally getting to break out of this rut?” 

But her joy was short-lived. 

Quickly realizing her situation, Arachne shrugged. 

“Not that it matters. Conditions in this bunker are rough. It’s hard enough to keep the power running, much less build new monsters.” 

“That problem will be solved soon. We have Lumina, who possesses enormous divine power.” 

“I already tried that. Her divine power can supplement the bunker’s energy, but it doesn’t work to create monsters. The powers don’t link up.” 

Her lackluster response at my attempted solution spurred Morgana to step in. 

“However, if we use the massive energy created when pure divine power is corrupted in reverse what about that?” 

“......!” 

Arachne’s eyes lit up with wonder, her earlier listlessness gone. 

“Using corrupted divine power for fuel…! So that’s why you kept the goddess alive instead of killing her? As expected of you, Boss, your ideas are always off the charts! That’ll do it!” 

Unable to contain her excitement, she banged her mechanical legs against the floor and asked: 

“So, who’s the glorious sacrifice for my new child?!” 

“Magical Topaz.” 

At that name, something like rot passed across Arachne’s face, immediately replaced by a twisted, ecstasy-laden smile. 

“Ha! That psycho woman? Perfect. She’s the one who ruined my adorable kids’ gene structures with that brute-force ‘purification’… She’ll make for some very interesting ‘material.’” 

Before I knew it, she’d grabbed her fallen subordinates with her mechanical hand and barked: 

“Hey, you losers! What are you doing? Get up and help your Mama, right now!” 

With Arachne barking at them, the underlings managed to stumble to their feet. 

Something about the scene tickled the corner of my heart, as if I glimpsed echoes of my old self. 

Heck, some of them even shot me pleading looks, as if begging for help from their boss. 

“Just watch, Onyx-nim! I’ll create a masterpiece that’ll shake the very foundations of her convictions! Eheheh!” 

Judging by her enthusiasm, I shouldn’t have to worry about the monster’s quality. 

The minions destined to suffer under her, though, seemed rather pitiful. 

After relaying a few more specific requests to Arachne and making my way out of Sector 2, 

the pained screams of the underlings never ceased. 

Once back in the office after leaving the second sector, I threw my tired body onto the sofa. 

If it weren’t for Morgana still watching, I might have just sprawled there outright. 

“What are your plans moving forward, Onyx-nim? Is there anything else you need me to prepare?” 

Morgana followed me into the office and asked. 

“No, my work for today is done.” 

All that’s left is to wrap up preparations according to the timing of Arachne’s monster’s completion. 

While I was organizing my thoughts, Morgana sidled up to me, her voice slipping sweetly into my ear. 

“My incompetence is the only reason you have to bother with all this trouble yourself, Onyx-nim. My apologies.” 

“You all have done enough. You caught the goddess, healed my wounds, and trusted me patiently all this time. Now it’s my turn to show you what a real boss can do.” 

For a moment Morgana seemed to flinch, but soon her face filled with rapturous devotion. 

At the same time, her hand slid suggestively over my chest. 

“Heheh. In that case, could you show me… right here and now, if I may?” 

Without missing a beat, she straddled my lap on the sofa, the warmth of her ample breasts and hips coming through the latex as if nothing separated us. 

“…If that’s what you want.” 

Her sultry smile deepened and she began unbuttoning my shirt when suddenly 

Bzzzt  

A sharp, static noise, like an out-of-tune radio, seared through my head. 

“Ghk…!” 

Gripped by a sudden headache, I instinctively pushed Morgana off my shoulder. 

“O-Onyx-nim…? Are you alright, are you feeling ill?” 

Startled and not knowing what was happening, she stared at me in concern. 

Pressing my throbbing temple, I forced out the words. 

“It’s nothing. Just… a bit dizzy, that’s all.” 

That feeling just now there was no mistaking it… 

“I need to rest a bit. I’ll call for you again soon, so go on.” 

“…Yes, sir.” 

Morgana looked torn between disappointment and worry, but obediently rose and left as ordered. 

Once the office was quiet again, I let out a deep sigh. 

‘Child.’ 

I called out to her in the air. There was no response. 

I tried calling several more times, but only silence came back. 

Just as my feeling of unease was about to spike, finally her voice echoed in my mind. 

[We really are totally in sync, huh?] 

“No one else gives me that creepy feeling but you.” 

[Hehehe.] 

“So why haven’t you said anything until now?” 

[Sorry, sorry. I was too busy paying attention to the other side to check in here.] 

That made me raise my voice without even realizing it. 

“What’s happening out there? Are Lizeta and the other two alright?” 

[Don’t worry. She’s in a ‘safe place’ right now. The other two are safe as well. Just focus on what you’re supposed to do.] 

A safe place? What does that mean… 

Before I could press her further, my connection to Child was cut off again. 

She never tells me what I actually want to know. 

Or is she holding a grudge from when I objected before? 

Still, to hear those three are safe that’s the best news I’ve had in a while. 

Ding  

“Hm?” 

As relief washed over me and I leaned back into the sofa, my phone buzzed in my pocket. 

On the screen, a message from Hikari. 

When I opened the messenger, I saw a message and a photo attached. 

In the photo, transformed Hikari covered her face with a hand, a humiliated expression peeking through her fingers. 

Lifting her transformed uniform skirt to reveal her panties, she looked every bit the picture of a debauched slut. 

‘Right, I’d told her to take a naughty photo in her transformed state after school and send it to me, didn’t I.’ 

Judging by the cracked tile and rusted mirror, it looked like some deserted public bathroom. 

In my mind, I pictured her seeking out an empty place, transforming, and nervously taking that shameful picture in front of the restroom mirror. 

[…Please, absolutely don’t show this to anyone else…!] 

She must have typed with trembling hands, terrified she might get caught. Grinning, I replied. 

[What’s the big deal? People will think it’s just a cosplay photo.] 

[Still, you can’t!] 

Hikari’s desperate protest practically rang in my ears, making me chuckle as I closed my phone. 

Still, now that most of my anxiety was relieved, anticipation for the road ahead welled up inside me once more. 

First, I would break the will of the academy’s saint. 

The other two would come next.