SWNOVELXO Chapter 189
Episode 189. Hunting Deus Ex Machina (4)
The black-robed priest, Hastur, the Lord of the Tower, was strong. He could easily rank among the strongest in the worldview.
Even when Dr. Kim first subdued him.
Dr. Kim emptied the magazine from behind, fractured his spine, crushed his leg bones with Wilson, inhaled anesthetics, inhaled toxic smoke, and finally smashed his skull with a monkey wrench before successfully subduing him.
And even then, he eventually fully recovered. Hastur during the Seoul Vacuum Operation was even stronger.
On top of that, he was injected with the divine fragment, the Popo Serum, and wielded a staff powered by ancient gods. He was enhanced with every scientific and magical means the Foundation could muster.
Yet, during the Seoul Vacuum Operation, there was a weapon that subdued Hastur in one strike. The replica of the Spear of Longinus brought by Ninetail.
Nanami didn’t really know what it was.
She just used it because she had it.
The Spear of Longinus was just a metal rod with a pointed end, like a spear. It didn’t seem to have any special decorations or functions.
Even when fighting the Debug Special Forces earlier. She could have used it to mow people down like a weed whacker, but that would’ve been… a bit much.
Anyway. Nanami pulled out the Spear of Longinus and entered the facility where Dr. Kim and Crocodile were fighting. By breaking through the ceiling.
“Nanami. Arrived.”
The expression on her face must’ve been something.
Nanami looked at Dr. Kim.
Of course, her expression wasn’t visible behind the gas mask goggles. But the look of disbelief was clearly conveyed. Nanami chuckled as she landed on Crocodile.
She just had to try it.
‘Full Moon.’
The Spear of Longinus drew a large circle. The chains surrounding Crocodile snapped, and the blood of the crimson monster splattered everywhere.
This is ridiculous.
‘Misteltein’ was definitely a threat.
Ninetail, who subdued Hastur, the Administrator’s Royal Guard who fought together in Yulje-myeon, and the Special Forces ‘Golden Rooster’ who exchanged sword strikes with the hero in the footage. They were all formidable opponents.
Pixel’s machines? A lizard bound by chains? They might seem strong, but they were just sandbags that couldn’t live up to their specs. At least to Nanami.
Nanami proceeded to carve up the monster’s back. The mechanical devices controlling Crocodile fell apart, and the wounds inflicted by the holy spear showed no signs of healing.
Wait, why is Nanami here?
Crocodile turned into sashimi the moment it met Nanami. Aski, who was standing behind the monster, finally pulled his hands out of his pockets.
“Another lab rat… Acting all proud for catching one little rat.”
Nanami sharply turned her head at Aski’s voice and took cover behind Crocodile’s lifeless body.
Right, never let your guard down. The blue energy she saw earlier was swirling around Aski. Shattered server racks floated around him.
“Good. All the targets I need to kill are gathered in one place. I’ll show you what it really means to fight the Foundation Headquarters and the Administrator.”
What kind of idiot is this? Use your brain, Aski. Nanami wouldn’t come alone.
This… It’s a good thing I don’t need to use Jörmungandr’s power. Something like a black robe fluttered behind Aski.
Dr. Chae struck the back of Aski’s head with his staff. Aski, who was walking in mid-air as if defying gravity, fell to the ground.
It might have looked like a simple hit, but seeing the air itself flash with magical energy, it must have been the result of an intense magical duel.
“Popo. Kill.”
As I said before, strength and weakness, and the scale of power, are just tactical traits. The Popo successfully pinned Aski down.
The arrogant mage fell to the ground.
We caught him, but now what? Is there any use for him? While pondering, I heard a cook sound and turned my head—
“What are you doing?”
“Killed him. Since no one else was doing it.”
Nanami had already stabbed Aski to death with her greatsword. The Popo, losing interest in subduing dead prey, scattered.
I scratched my head.
“Oh dear.”
“What, did you want to keep him alive?”
“It’s fine. He’s already dead.”
Well. It’s better to kill him quickly than to overthink and let him escape.
Dr. Chae flicked his staff, and servers poured over Aski’s corpse. The servers soon began to burn like firewood.
We left the facility, leaving Aski’s body sprawled on the ground.
California has a lot of limestone areas.
Naturally, there are many caves. Add to that the underground structures built by the continent’s intelligentsia over the past tens, hundreds, and thousands of years.
One of the most complex underground labyrinths in the world is completed. The only labyrinth more complex than this is probably the Catacombs of France.
That place is really complicated.
The Romans built limestone mines under Paris 2,000 years ago, and even they recorded that “someone had already dug mines here.”
Anyway. We were gathered in the Los Angeles Underground Caves. Most of our objectives were achieved.
The Tier 4 Hyperscale Data Center was mostly destroyed. Administrator Pixel’s core combat assets were also subdued. Though Pixel himself hasn’t been found yet.
“What now?”
Hastur scratched the ground with the end of his staff, looking bored. Well. At this point, I thought Pixel would come out and do something.
Should we turn up the heat? Is he stubborn, weak, or out of moves? Maybe all three.
“Nanami and Hastur will stay, everyone else returns to Seoul. Someone might try the Seoul Vacuum Operation again.”
“Understood.”
Dr. Chae nodded.
“The objective hasn’t changed. Administrator Pixel’s combat assets are spread across hundreds, thousands of data centers, and his surveillance network is in tatters.”
Nanami looked at me.
“It’s not just Pixel’s surveillance network that’s in tatters. Over half the internet was paralyzed in a day. Beyond just being paralyzed, a lot of data has been lost.”
“That’s likely.”
Considering how Pixel and Acacia threatened to start World War III. This seems trivial in comparison.
“Starting tomorrow, we’ll use our intelligence network to find out where Pixel is hiding. And what key facilities are still intact.”
Nanami, who had been sitting quietly, spoke up.
“I heard Pixel’s headquarters is somewhere in the U.S. mainland. A facility that requires massive amounts of electricity and data through cables, so it can’t be a subspace facility.”
“Right.”
“Given the Administrator’s arrogant nature, he’s probably hiding in the biggest, sturdiest facility and won’t come out. That’s what the Seoul Branch Precognition Department concluded.”
Makes sense.
I should ask Patreus or other Administrators where Pixel is.
Oh right. Since we’re in California, there’s one thing we must do. I almost forgot.
“Hello, Director.”
The Los Angeles Branch Director on the other end of the communication terminal looked very uneasy.
Well, he has every reason to be. He must have seen what happened in Beijing and knows I’m in the U.S. now.
“Hello, Director Brown.”
[Oh dear. Hello, Administrator.]
“You look tired.”
[Yes.]
“Well… Don’t worry. I have no intention of attacking the city or the Foundation Branch here.”
The situation is different from Beijing.
There, it was close to the Seoul Branch, and taking Beijing felt like gaining control over the entire region. Here, it’s different.
Americans would just go to work the next day, thinking, “Oh, the emperor changed.” You can’t replace the emperor of a land without an emperor.
The culture and organizational systems are different from East Asia. Even if you take the capital, they’d say, “What’s that got to do with me? If you want to rule me, come fight me too.” The power structure is decentralized.
Anyway. The Los Angeles Branch Director is a peculiar person. He speaks very politely, but it feels a bit sarcastic.
He resembles a certain California governor who fought predators and chased Sarah Connor. Though he’s a bit thinner.
[Thank you for your generous treatment.]
“You’re welcome.”
[Um. This might be presumptuous, but could you please stop destroying data centers?]
“Ah, that.”
[The military, police, government, and corporations are all in an uproar, begging for something to be done. I received six hours of calls yesterday. The cost of destroyed computers alone is 50 billion dollars.]
“Administrator Pixel threatened to kill me and start World War III. I had no other choice. My sincere apologies.”
[Yes. I understand.]
You understand? He should be a monk, not a director. He’d reach Nirvana in no time.
“Administrator Pixel. Do you know where he is now? Or the location of any key facilities? If I know that, I’ll withdraw without causing more trouble.”
[You’ll withdraw without causing more trouble?]
“Yes.”
The man on the other side of the screen pondered for a while. He seemed to like my promise of not causing more trouble.
[I don’t know. The whereabouts of Administrators are always classified information in the Foundation.]
“Hmm.”
[Well… Just one thing.]