Chapter 234: Episode 234

“Would it be possible for me to access that data?”

“…”

Once again, there was no answer. From the moment I first saw him, he had maintained a cool, indifferent poker face. There was no way to tell what he was thinking or how he felt about me.

“Sir.” I put more emotion into my voice. “The world is in chaos. If we don’t hurry, hundreds of millions of people are going to die. We have to find some kind of solution—”

“Very well.”

Albert, who had been silent, finally nodded.

“I will allow it.”

“…Ah! Thank you.”

He had granted permission far more easily than I had expected.

Following my guide, I left Albert’s office. She led me to a room secured with five layers of locks.

“You have twenty minutes. If anything happens, please call for me.”

With that, the guide closed the door and left.

I swept my gaze around the room. The storage conditions were excellent. The vials of liquid and the documents in the drawers all looked as if they had been moved here exactly as they were, placement and all.

’You ready, Ea?’

-Yes.

The first thing I did was check for any surveillance cameras. I soon spotted one rotating on the ceiling, but something like that was child’s play.

-Camera hacked. It will now broadcast the footage we prepared.

’Nice, Ea.’

After neutralizing the surveillance, I took down the vials displayed on the shelves and examined them. A viscous, murky liquid. This was it.

“Samia.”

Samia, back at the Magic Tower, opened a small warp in midair. I wrapped the vial tightly in the protective casing I had brought and dropped it into the warp, then placed a decoy I had brought with me in its place.

Next, I spread out the documents and began to read.

[Large quantity of saliva from the undead monster Krolos, which has an infectious effect on humans, has been secured. Transported to H Laboratory.]

[Small amount of Krolos saliva injected into test subject. Infection effect is minimal. Over time, the saliva changes into a harmless substance in the human body.]

[CY solution and CI solution mixed into Krolos saliva and administered to test subject.]

[Test subject has died. Need to improve CI solution has been raised.]

…

’This has all been altered.’

I remembered it clearly. The data I had seen in Antarctica was not about saliva from “Krolos,” but from a monster called “Telos.” They were both infection-type monsters, but they were entirely different species. If the global pharmaceutical industry was currently analyzing Krolos saliva to develop an antidote, they were barking up the wrong tree.

’They swapped it out in a very subtle way.’

Most people wouldn’t notice, but having destroyed two of the research facilities myself, I knew this information was a lie. I might very well be the only human who knew that.

-Tower Master. The antidote analysis data has also been deleted.

Who had spread this false information? The more I dug into the materials, the more suspicious it all seemed.

Given the current situation, the most likely suspects were either Sky Castle or the Global Alliance. Sky Castle had been the first to secure this facility. It was possible they had quickly altered the data and then passed it on to the Alliance. However, in that case, their motive was unclear. The Sky Castle Lord was known to harbor an intense hatred for demons and to be more dedicated to demon hunting than anyone else in the World Guilds.

The second suspect was the World Alliance. Personally, I believed it was true that demons were hiding among the Alliance’s upper ranks. The Alliance’s demons could have realized the facility had been taken, swiftly secured the data, and then altered it before submitting their report. By the time the Sky Castle Lord reclaimed the data, it had already been compromised.

Hmm…

I folded my arms and thought it over. Either scenario was plausible.

-What will you do, Tower Master?

No matter how much I mulled it over, I wasn’t going to get an answer. All I could do now was assume that the real antidote was hidden somewhere in this castle and search every inch of the place.

I signaled Ea to initiate Plan B.

—”Hunter Kim Yusin. I will open the warp.”

After Samia’s voice came through my earpiece, a blue portal opened in midair a moment later. I stepped lightly through it and emerged in a different part of the Sky Castle.

I grabbed my necklace and cast Water Veil, transforming into the face I remembered most clearly—the guard who had swung a sword at me the moment I arrived.

Once the transformation was complete, I stepped out of the room and started walking. The corridors were packed with Sky Castle guild members.

“I heard the Tower Master, Kim Yusin, came here himself.”

“Yeah.”

“Apparently, he’s meeting with the Lord right now.”

“Think he’s trying to bribe his way into the World Guilds?”

“For that, he barged in way too recklessly.”

“What a joke. Five World Guilds are more than enough.”

’I can hear every word, you bastards.’

I did my best to keep my expression neutral as I walked, neither smiling nor stiffening up.

’Please don’t talk to me. Please don’t talk to me.’

“Eren! What are you doing here?”

Ah, damn it.

I turned my head. A female Sky Castle guild member was looking at me with worried eyes.

“I heard the Tower Master did a number on you. Are you really okay to be walking around already?”

At her question, I gave a small nod. I had already adjusted the core translator to alter my voice, but I still wanted to avoid speaking if I could.

“I swear, you’re impossible. I told you to size up your opponent before you charge in, didn’t I? Are you sure you’re okay?”

Muttering worriedly, she suddenly reached out to touch my face.

Agh, she can’t touch me!

I twisted away in a panic to dodge her hand, then forced myself to answer.

“Thanks for the concern. I’m not feeling well, so I was just heading off to lie down.”

“Huh? What’s wrong with your voice?”

“I caught a cold,” I rasped, my voice deliberately hoarse, and watched her reaction.

“That sounds rough. Make sure you take some cold medicine.”

I remained silent.

Seeing my suddenly serious expression, she tilted her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll get going.”

I quickly backed away.

’Do these people really not know what’s going on? Or is that woman just completely clueless?’

“Hey! Erin!”

“Weren’t you on duty today?”

“We gotta get a game in tonight.”

People who seemed to know me kept calling out from every direction.

’Seriously, how popular is this guy?’

I brushed them off with a half-baked excuse about not feeling well and hurried down the corridor.

The Sky Castle had five floors, but I had no idea what was on any of them.

I activated Deva’s Eye to its full extent and scanned my surroundings.

’Is this a storage room?’

I opened a door and stepped inside. It was a wine cellar. Entire oak barrels of wine were aging inside.

’Not here.’

I went into the next storage room.

One room stored various hunting devices, while another was piled high with monster materials. However, no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find anything that resembled an antidote.

’Do I need to go to a higher floor?’

This damn castle had far too many rooms.

Searching the entire place properly would take hours, time I didn’t have. If I kept dragging this out, Albert might get suspicious.

I quietly activated the magic circle on my Leaf Boots and vaulted up to the fourth-floor balcony.

Like the Magic Tower, the castle was wide at the base and narrowed toward the top. The fifth floor was practically a separate structure with no visible entrance.

I pressed my back against a pillar and cautiously peeked out.

From the fourth floor up, security was unusually tight. Guards patrolled in front of every room, their uniforms completely different from those of the regular guild members.

Even dressed as a guild member, wandering around a restricted area like this would definitely get me questioned.

’No helping it, then.’

I pushed Deva’s Eye to its limit and inspected the rooms. I saw archives and libraries full of books and documents. One room was stacked high with robots and machines.

…Huh, wait a second.

My gaze locked onto the room full of machines.

I had seen them somewhere before.

I slowly took in their appearance. Their bodies were painted white, their faces disturbingly human and detailed, and they even had wings attached to their backs.

They were the same machines that sometimes appeared in my dreams. My eyes widened.

-Tower Master. What is wrong?

Dormant memories jolted awake, sending an electric shiver through my body. If I wasn’t imagining things, then those were definitely—

’…Androids.’

From this distance, I couldn’t be certain. But they looked far too similar to the ones from my dreams.

Among them, I could even see members of the “Personal Guard” that had protected Eve.

’Why are Machinatio’s androids on Earth?’

’What the hell is this place?’

As if in a trance, I started toward the room.

-Tower Master!

Ea’s voice snapped me out of it.

-You must get a hold of yourself. You cannot forget why you are here!

“…Ugh.”

I dragged a hand down my face as a headache surged, making my skull throb.

The bizarre sight had completely shattered my concentration.

I barely suppressed the urge to confirm what I was seeing and forced myself to look away. My body was still trembling from the shock.

’Focus. Focus.’

As I meticulously swept through the rooms with Deva’s Eye, I finally found something.

I found a large space, formed by combining several rooms, that housed an automated factory. The machines inside churned out glass bottles filled with an unknown liquid.

-I cannot analyze the ingredients, but the appearance matches the antidote data we have on file with over ninety percent similarity.

’Can’t we just steal a few bottles through a warp gate?’

-That is impossible without positional data for that exact location. You must physically enter and secure a line of sight for the Dimensional Warden.

’Yeah, I figured as much.’

I was still trying to decide what to do when—

-Detection magic detected! We have an emergency! A guide has entered the room!

Ea’s panicked voice rang in my head, followed immediately by Samia’s.

—“Hunter Kim Yusin. I will open a warp back to your room immediately.”

There was no choice. I stepped through the warp gate Samia opened and returned to the room where I had started.

“Hunter Kim Yusin!”

The guide’s voice, almost a shout, echoed through the room.

“Where are you, hunter Kim Yusin?!”

Agitated, the guide had actually drawn her sword and was whipping her head around as she searched.

“This is Y-1! We have an emergency! Kim Yusin has disappea—!”

“Excuse me.”

Still lying where I’d been, I simply lifted my head and gave her a small wave.

Her hand froze on her earpiece, and she stared at me, dumbfounded.

“What are you doing over there?”

“I must have dozed off while reading. I haven’t been sleeping well lately because of work.”

I shook the papers in my hand and gave her a sheepish smile.

She glared at me, her expression turning cold, then sighed and put away her weapon.

“Your time is up. Please return now.”

“Thanks for your cooperation. Oh, and one last thing…”

I pushed myself up and met her eyes.

“Before I leave, I’d like to report my findings to the Lord of the Castle.”

* * *

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