Chapter 30
Commander of the National Defense Air Observation Base.
General Mikhail erupted in frustration at the report from his aide.
“─What the hell does that mean!? Why did it suddenly go haywire!?”
“We… we’re still looking into it. It’s just…”
“Just what?!”
“For some reason… there’s not a shred of evidence…”
“What kind of nonsense is that!?”
There was a clear reason for the general’s furious outburst. He had just received a report that all military satellites belonging to the base had been destroyed. What was supposed to be a straightforward planetary orbiting operation had spiraled into chaos, and the satellites had melted down on their own.
If that was all, it would be somewhat manageable, but the real problem was there was absolutely no idea why perfectly functioning satellites suddenly went berserk.
“How can dozens of military satellites be wiped out overnight, and you can’t find a single clue!?”
“It’s—It’s almost as if a ghost did it… not a single trace left behind…”
“Does that even make sense!?”
Dozens of military satellites operated by the National Defense had been completely taken out in a single night. Yet, somehow, there was not a single clue left behind about who did it. Could such a thing really happen?
The first culprit that crossed his mind was an attack by villain organizations. But there was no way the Hero Association or the military base could have missed that. Whether it was a physical attack or a cyber attack, there should be no chance of oversight.
Logically speaking, the villains weren’t the culprits. So, what could it be? Were the sentient artificial satellites suddenly aware of their plight and decided to commit mass suicide?
“At this point in our investigation— the satellites were destroyed around 11 AM… At that time, they were passing through Z City’s orbit.”
“In the slums? Why would it blow up right there of all places!?”
“We’re not entirely sure… The surveillance footage from the satellites passing nearby has been deleted an hour before and after the incident… It’s as if someone intentionally wanted to hide what happened there—”
“So you’re saying someone secretly made the satellites go haywire and deleted any evidence, even hacking the footage of the destruction itself to erase it? Does that sound like something that’s logically possible?”
“It’s impossible.”
At least, it was impossible with modern technology. Looking at the aide who declared that it was impossible, General Mikhail sighed. Wasn’t that exactly what was happening right now? His head was already starting to ache at the thought of how to find the culprit.
As Mikhail pondered, a certain idea flickered through his mind. Beings capable of doing the impossible without batting an eye… entities able to tamper with military systems without leaving any traces.
“We’ll bury this matter.”
“Wha—!? We’ve lost dozens of satellites! We can’t just brush this aside so easily…!”
“Aide. Think carefully. Didn’t you just say it yourself? Logically, that’s impossible.”
Mikhail pointed to the ceiling with his finger and continued.
“In other words, this is something that involves those who are above us. It’s better to cover it up than to dig around and potentially upset them.”
“Those above us… just how high up are they…?”
“Don’t ask to know. Just close your eyes and pretend you didn’t hear anything. No one’s died directly from a satellite, nor has there been any significant damage, right?”
Hearing the general’s words, the aide gulped and nodded. Even for him, the general was someone far too lofty to approach. Yet, if even the general was helpless against such high powers…?
Just thinking about how high someone would have to be to intimidate even the general sent shivers down the aide’s spine.
“…So, we’ll wrap this up as simply a collision accident between satellites.”
“Yeah— let’s go with that.”
And so, the incident involving the hijacking of dozens of military satellites was unceremoniously buried.
For no one to ever know.
It was as if the incident had never happened.
*
The media barraged Omega Industries day in and day out.
To be precise, they were pummeling Omega Industries and Z City with negative news.
[Numerous pieces of evidence regarding the illegal experiments conducted at Omega Industries have been found… Cities have decided to denounce Z City for turning a blind eye—]
[This is the busiest district in Z City. As you can see, human-animal hybrids strung out on drugs are sprawled all over the streets. “What the hell are those disgusting human bastards doing here?” Oh, uh-oh—? We’re live now…!]
[Evilus Corporation has started raising funds for citizens of Z City harmed by Omega Industries…]
[Military authorities stated that the incident occurred due to a collision between satellites…]
Watching the media constantly smack Omega Industries made it painfully obvious just how immense our boss’s rage was.
By this point, you’d think the fire would have burned down, yet new issues kept popping up to keep it stoked. It was almost miraculous where they managed to pull all this material from.
In the meantime, the incident with the satellite that I hacked was mentioned only briefly. Considering I hadn’t told the boss, that was suspiciously good for me. Vira, standing next to me, looked at me with curiosity and asked.
“Satellite? Is that the one you hacked, Eight?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“If you can hack military satellites, can’t you hack banks too? That means you could rake in loads of cash…!”
“Vira, do you think I’m some kind of criminal? Why would I do that?”
“You are a villain, aren’t you…?”
While Vira looked at me incredulously, I ignored her and turned my head towards Levitan, who was currently undergoing experimentation.
She was submerged in a special solution. Though she still hadn’t opened her eyes, her hideous monster-like appearance had shown considerable improvement—now, she had lost only her limbs and had nearly returned to her original form.
Honestly, I could wake her up even in this state if I wanted to. I just didn’t see the necessity for it.
‘Now that she’s regained her human form… it’s time to get to work.’
I began going through the data that Galm and Ayle had obtained after reducing Omega Industries to ashes. Among the data was the information on the L-Series project that had befallen Levitan. In other words, the Leviathan experiment.
As I read through the experimental documents, my expression twisted in disgust.
“Filthy bastards… If they conducted experiments like this on Earth, half of them would end up in prison.”
The content of the experiment read as follows.
[Beastkin have not acquired superpowers, but instead have obtained superior physical abilities, which have fallen behind due to technological advancements and the evolution of superpowers. To regain their status, beastkin must reclaim their glory solely through their own powers.]
In simpler terms, it was basically chimera synthesis.
An experiment to create the ultimate beastkin by merging various species of beastkin to bring out only their strengths. Naturally, the experiment failed, and even Levitan, the only success story, didn’t look particularly glorious.
She looked more like a monster.
‘There’s no way such a genetic splicing would be so easy… Especially since there’d be huge genetic differences among beastkin over mere races.’
They even seemed to have implanted some sort of genetic code to control this ultimate beastkin so that it would absolutely obey anyone who uttered certain words…
Adding such impurities to an already difficult experiment practically guaranteed failure.
My job was first to remove that obedience code, then to restore her jumbled genes back to their original state.
The problem was knowing where to start and where to stop.
“Vira, do you know what species Levitan originally was?”
“Isn’t she a rabbit? She has rabbit ears, right?”
“No, it’s more akin to decorative appendages, like a tailbone for humans.”
“…Then why does she have them?”
“Because they found their success by relying on genetic luck. It can’t be helped.”
“What does that even mean?”
The clueless Vira tilted her head, unable to comprehend. I decided to simply tear everything apart. Keeping any originals or whatever wouldn’t matter— I’d strip everything completely and if she wanted it back later, I could always return it.
Once I made that decision, I carefully started manipulating the computer. The computer’s processing circuits began to interpret Levitan’s DNA map, slowly starting to dismantle her genes.
When she finally opened her eyes, she would be a completely different person from who she was before.
*
Glug glug—!
Levitan panicked as an unidentified liquid flooded into her esophagus. But just for a moment; even submerged, she realized she could breathe without any real issues.
‘…What in the world is this?’
It was a little tricky to breathe due to the psychological pressure of being submerged in liquid, but oddly enough, the act of breathing itself wasn’t impossible. Considering she was a mix of various beastkin but didn’t have gills, it was strange.
Desperately managing to open her eyes in the murky liquid, she realized she was now naked and trapped in something resembling a coffin, her body displayed for all to see.
Two people were watching her naked form. Eight and Vira. In other words, a male and a female. It was already embarrassing to show her body to another female, but exposing herself to Eight, a male, was a whole new level of mortification. Not even her being fundamentally beastkin mattered at that moment.
Glurrrgh—!
Startled, Levitan accidentally gulped in a mouthful of the strange liquid, bubbling foam erupting from her mouth. Only then did Eight realize she had woken up, and after a moment, the coffin opened, allowing fresh air to fill her lungs instead of the liquid.
Hah—!
Roughly exhaling, Levitan covered her chest and groin with her arms, glaring at Eight. Her eyes demanded an explanation, but surprisingly, Eight didn’t seem fazed at all.
Was he really indifferent to seeing her naked? That thought crossed her mind—but that wasn’t the main reason. Eight smiled lightly and spoke.
“Levitan, you’re awake. It’s now the year 20XX. This means it’s been ten years since you fell into slumber.”
“…Huh?”
“Levitan, since you went berserk that day in Z City, you have been unconscious for ten years. And you’ve only just now opened your eyes.”
A shocking statement that was hard to believe.
Levitan trembled as she stared at Eight, who claimed she had been asleep for over ten years and was just now waking up.
Surprisingly, the two didn’t seem to have changed much at all compared to before she had fallen asleep. Had those evil scientists concocted some sort of immortal potion?
As Levitan stared wide-eyed at both of them, Vira, standing behind Eight, started to chuckle.
Hehe… Hah, pfft…
“…Vira?”
“Sorry. I didn’t think you’d really believe that—”
“Believe what—?”
“It was a joke, Levitan.”
Hearing Vira’s words, Levitan let out a sigh of relief. Just as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by such a joke? She nearly had a heart attack.
After finally receiving clothing from Vira to cover herself, Levitan slowly got to her feet. As she stood, she realized that her body had grown significantly weaker. It felt as if she had been bedridden for months, her legs trembling like a newborn fawn.
“…Um, Eight. Could you explain?”
“Yes. It’s been a week since you went berserk and collapsed, Levitan. During that time, I’ve treated and modified your body.”
“Modified—?”
“I apologize for proceeding without your consent, but I couldn’t allow the same thing to happen again.”
At Eight’s words, Levitan’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
He said he couldn’t let the same thing happen again.
It felt like, like…
“From today onwards, Levitan, you are human. No longer a beastkin, but human.”
*
Perk—!
Levitan stared at her rabbit ears in the mirror, a nervous laugh escaping her lips.
‘…Human, huh.’
In fact, all the unique physical abilities she once had as a beastkin—like taking a bullet and feeling only a slight sting, or being burned without suffering any real damage, or having the strength to outrun vehicles—had completely vanished.
Aside from the rabbit ears atop her head, there was no trace left of her being a beastkin at all. Eight had even mentioned that he could remove those rabbit ears anytime she wished.
‘At this rate, I’m just a dumb human pretending to be a rabbit…’
That thought elicited a bitter laugh from her.
A stupid human.
That’s right.
Levitan surprisingly found herself viewing humanity in the mirror.
Not as a filthy, ugly beast, but as a human—what she had always longed to be.
“A human, huh…”
Forgetting even the weird speech she forced herself to use to get closer to others, Levitan carefully began to touch her own body.
Her beastkin’s strong physique, their heightened senses, and the distinctive fur were all long gone.
What remained was nothing but a weak mass of muscle and fat that anyone would classify as human.
‘Eight made me a human…’
Thinking back, he had been like that from the very start.
He had never looked down on her or considered her a beast.
From the beginning, he treated her naturally as a person, as if it were perfectly normal for a beastkin with ears and a tail to simply be regarded as a person.
And now, he had completely turned her into a human.
“Ah ha, ahaha—Eight, you liar.”
At the very moment she realized this, Levitan felt a warm sensation spreading through her lower abdomen. It was a potent, primal urge she still experienced regularly as a beastkin.
If she still felt this way, how could she say she wasn’t a beast anymore?
“It seems… there’s still some beast left.”
Just like when something goes wrong with an item, you demand a refund.
If a surgery goes awry, it’s only right to hold the doctor accountable.
Levitan recognized that she needed to directly confront Eight about this mistake.
By using her body.
She would directly ask him.
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