Chapter 300 : Crossing the Line
Chapter 300: Crossing the Line
Chaos.
Everything was chaos.
Some screamed.
Others tried to flee, only to trip over chairs and fall.
Chairman Stingray's personal ninja unit moved swiftly, subduing every last one of them.
Some had their throats pierced by the ninjas' blades and died.
Some quietly surrendered and were restrained.
Others were dragged away somewhere by the ninjas.
Their treatment seemed to differ depending on their affiliation and background.
Absolute pandemonium.
Blood flew through the air.
The screams never ceased.
My sensory modules were receiving an overwhelming flood of information, making my already complicated thoughts even more chaotic.
In that situation, there was only one thing I could say.
“......I've completely lost it.”
The worst possible scenario.
Part of me wanted to turn around and run.
But I couldn't.
I closed my eyes, calmly organized the mess inside my head, then opened them again and met Chairman Stingray's gaze.
An old monster stood before me.
“So, what will you do?”
“......”
There was only one answer.
This insane emperor had already set everything in motion.
Before I had even been able to intervene, well over three hundred thousand people had likely already lost their lives.
As a consequence, a Monster Wave on the same scale as the Original Story was undoubtedly heading toward this city.
No...
If anything, it had to happen.
If Chairman Stingray's greatest gamble to kill the Sky Dragon failed to work, then that would create an entirely different nightmare.
Which meant one thing.
Using the device Chairman Stingray had given me to fight the Sky Dragon was now an unavoidable future.
There was no other choice.
Letting out a bitter laugh, I answered.
“So this is your style of negotiation. Set the board first, then force the other side into a corner.”
The Sky Dragon would undoubtedly be an opponent beyond imagination.
To be honest, even with Chairman Stingray's assistance, I couldn't confidently say my chances of victory reached fifty percent.
Without his help...
They would be even lower.
“I have no choice but to cooperate with you.”
Because I couldn't allow this world that I loved to collapse.
“But...”
I decided to think a little further ahead.
Since I was going to risk my life fighting a Dragon anyway...
Rather than throwing the entire city into chaos alongside Chairman Stingray, destroying everything, escaping the Dragon's rule, and creating a new Stingray Empire...
I envisioned a better future.
And chose to gamble.
“You crossed the line.”
The instant I said those words—
“KAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Chairman Stingray burst into booming laughter, as though he had expected my answer all along.
“I knew you'd say that!”
The moment his hearty laughter rang out, his ninja unit stepped in front of his wheelchair.
Not intending to let him escape, I immediately activated my module.
“Module Online, [Cloud Spider].”
SHHHHRRRR—
Invisible threads shot toward Chairman Stingray like arrows.
But by the narrowest of margins, they pierced only several ninjas instead.
“Tch.”
I unleashed another massive barrage of threads toward the Chairman's former position.
But he had already disappeared.
Standing there instead was the Fox Mask, who calmly drew a single Thermal Katana before stepping forward.
“[Please calm yourself, Lord Aaron. I understand how you feel, but this will only make things difficult for both of us. We must cooperate with one another.]”
“......”
Ignoring him completely, I called out.
“Maria!”
“......”
Maria didn't answer.
For someone who had possessed boundless loyalty toward the Stingray Group, this situation was evidently too much to accept.
Unlike her usual composed self, she stood frozen in place, completely overwhelmed.
I shouted again.
“Maria! Pull yourself together!”
“B-But, Young Master...!”
“Why did you choose to follow Stingray!? Why did you admire the Chairman!?”
“......!”
Maria's expression twisted violently.
I continued shouting.
“It's time you stopped lying to yourself. You knew every dark secret of the Stingray Group, yet you kept convincing yourself they were 'necessary evils!' But look around you now! Look at what that thinking has led to!”
“......”
“Wake up and face reality! Decide who you're going to follow! Me? Or Chairman Stingray? Make your choice here and now!”
“I...”
Only then did the confusion slowly disappear from Maria's face.
She nodded with newfound resolve.
“P-Please give me your orders!”
“I'll open the path. Take Kalia and escape. After I finish dealing with things here, I'll give you further instructions.”
“......Understood!”
Maria's reply came after a brief pause.
It had taken her a moment to process what I had just ordered.
After all...
“Save Kalia.”
It was an unexpected command.
Only moments ago, we'd been fiercely opposing one another over Chairman Stingray's reappointment.
If anything, Kalia dying would eliminate one of my rivals.
But I'd said it countless times.
I had no interest in becoming Chairman.
And after all of this was over...
Someone would have to take responsibility and restore order.
Frankly, I wasn't qualified.
Everyone here had seen me support the reappointment of the very Chairman responsible for this catastrophe.
Even if I publicly severed ties with him now, there was a high chance people would still hold me responsible.
Kalia, on the other hand, had opposed his reappointment.
She possessed legitimate justification.
If everything went well...
She might even emerge as a hero.
'First, save her. Then resolve the Sky Dragon problem. After that... put her on the throne as the next emperor.'
Assuming the Stingray Group still existed by then.
“Module Online.”
Just moments ago, I'd watched the ninjas drag Kalia away.
She couldn't have gotten far.
If I searched nearby...
I'd find her.
I activated every module I had.
Within approximately 0.5 seconds, I located Kalia's vital signs.
She was being transported underground through the headquarters elevator while restrained by several ninjas.
Judging from her position...
She had already descended roughly twenty floors.
“There.”
The instant I locked onto her location, I extended a long thread and sliced through the floor.
Slash!
Immediately afterward, a massive V-shaped fissure split open across the floor.
Zooming in with my ocular camera toward the end of the crack, I spotted Kalia clinging desperately to the handrail inside a half-severed elevator while screaming.
I immediately ordered Maria.
“Go.”
“Yes!”
Maria sprinted across the split floor toward Kalia.
Several ninjas in front of me attempted to pursue her.
But the Fox Mask raised a hand, stopping them.
“[Focus on the enemy in front of you.]”
“A wise decision.”
I snapped my fingers.
At once, countless threads spread throughout the conference hall.
From every wall, floor, and ceiling, innumerable silver threads shot toward the ninjas like giant needles.
SHRRRRRRRK!
The countless threads pierced the floor.
Which meant...
They had dodged.
The next instant, the Fox Mask appeared out of thin air behind me.
Holding reverse-grip kunai in both hands, he struck directly toward my Governing and Conception Meridians.
Naturally...
It didn't work.
CLAAANG!
“Attacking from behind. Exploiting blind spots. You ninja types are always the same.”
Invisible threads already surrounded me like a defensive barrier.
No ordinary blade, no matter how sharp, could overcome the tensile strength of a Level 6 Mystic Module.
The Fox Mask seemed to understand that as well.
He muttered in a troubled voice.
“[I do not wish to fight you, Lord Aaron. We do not have time for this.]”
“Shut up.”
I snapped my fingers again.
His arms and legs were instantly bound by layers of thread.
I swung them like a whip, smashing him toward the wall.
But—
Just before his body collided—
The world changed.
“Tch...”
He should have slammed into the wall.
Instead...
The wall disappeared.
He flew through empty space.
I immediately tried to bind his entire body with even more threads.
Yet before they could tighten...
The Fox Mask effortlessly slipped free and reappeared directly in front of me.
“[Please calm yourself, Lord Aaron. If you continue like this, we will have no choice.]”
“How amusing.”
I let out a mocking laugh while surveying my surroundings.
A vast wasteland.
Mushroom clouds rising in the distance.
Heavy Anti-Rain pouring endlessly from the sky.
We appeared to be several kilometers outside the city.
After confirming my location, I continued.
“If he truly wanted my cooperation, that old monster knew better than anyone that he couldn't use methods like this.”
“[There was no other choice.]”
“Even if that were true, he still needed more time. Approaching me like this is nothing more than a direct provocation.”
There was no way Chairman Stingray hadn't anticipated my reaction.
If he had foreseen it and proceeded anyway...
Then he had knowingly accepted becoming my enemy.
“But what puzzles me is why he moved this way. Didn't he need my strength to defeat the Sky Dragon? What possible benefit does Chairman Stingray gain by making even more enemies?”
“[We merely obey orders.]”
“There are only two possibilities. Either making me his enemy benefits him somehow... or he judged the risks of opposing me to be insignificant.”
“[We merely obey orders.]”
“You really are nothing more than a puppet, aren't you? Must be a comfortable life. 'I had no choice because I was ordered to.'”
Though...
There was no point talking to them.
These people would slit their own throats without hesitation if Chairman Stingray ordered them to commit suicide.
“If you won't answer, that's fine. I'll kill every one of you here and ask the Chairman myself.”
“[Lord Aaron. I ask once more. Please calm yourself. Within a few hours, the Monster Wave will arrive here.]”
“Then I'll simply find the Chairman before then and force the answers out of him.”
“[Please understand Chairman Stingray's grand vision.]”
“Shut up.”
Module Online, [Techblade].
I gripped my sword tightly.
“I know you're still holding back. I have no intention of playing along with your pathetic attempts to stall for time.”
“[Lord Aaron...]”
“Move.”
“Or die here.”
“[...]”
At my words, the Fox Mask reluctantly shook his head before drawing his katana once more.
At the same time...
Behind him, ninjas began emerging one after another like shadows.
I counted roughly fifty of them.
Fifty high-level Adaptees...
Against one.
Even for me...
I couldn't honestly call that easy.
“[Excuse us, Lord Aaron.]”
The ninjas bowed politely.
I merely scoffed and raised my weapon.
“You're going to regret this.”