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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Ari.
The daughter of a bankrupt company president, a woman forced to sell her body to feed her family.
And a woman who could have perhaps become Wilhelm’s wife.
As she approached Wilhelm, she subtly moved her hand towards her thigh.
Wilhelm, captivated by Ari’s beauty, didn’t notice the dagger she drew from her thigh.
Thud.
The price was his life.
Wilhelm stared at Ari with wide eyes.
Her shy demeanor was gone, replaced by a cold gaze that met the empty air.
Ari.
There was no such woman.
There never was, and there isn’t now.
Inside that deceptive shell was a well-built man named Amon.
Amon, who once won a cross-dressing contest with just cheap cosmetics and even received casting calls from entertainment agencies.
He had been provided with the Paladins’ full support and high-quality makeup.
The result was a perfect woman, undetectable even to a spoiled young master who had been with countless women.
‘Fucking hell…’
Though the person involved wasn’t particularly pleased.
Amon moved behind Wilhelm, the knife still embedded in his neck.
Blood gushed onto the desk as the right carotid artery burst.
Because the knife had also torn the trachea beyond the artery, not even a scream escaped.
But just in case, Amon deliberately covered Wilhelm’s mouth.
Amon had stabbed so deeply that Wilhelm went limp without any resistance.
Seeing this, Amon drew the blade across Wilhelm’s neck from right to left.
As the dagger moved in a fan shape, he felt the sensation of the contents within being crushed.
The reason he went to such lengths was because this world was cyberpunk.
‘There was a device that could revive someone even after their heart stopped.’
Even just in the third installment, there was an insane implant that could somehow revive someone from a gunshot wound below the eye.
50 years later, it wouldn’t be strange for an implant to exist that could revive a severed carotid artery.
‘Once is enough for carelessness.’
After learning that the salesman who visited the orphanage was actually the chairman’s son, and that he had x-ray vision, Amon felt his blood run cold.
His supposedly perfect countermeasures had been easily bypassed.
‘That carelessness put us in danger.’
Of course, what could a 15-year-old boy do against a mega-corporation, but it was also true that Amon had been careless back then.
If he didn’t learn anything from that experience, it might lead to an even greater tragedy.
Therefore, Amon confirmed Wilhelm’s death with almost obsessive thoroughness.
He checked his vital signs, regularly monitoring his pulse.
After about five minutes of checking, Amon was certain that Wilhelm was completely dead.
It was his first murder.
In the case of the crazed gorilla, he had been prepared to kill but hadn’t.
In the case of the ninja, he threw the sword without hesitation, knowing they wouldn’t die.
But this time was different.
Wilhelm’s death was entirely his intention from beginning to end, and he had truly succeeded.
The sensation of taking a life for the first time.
Amon shuddered slightly.
He closed his eyes for a moment and offered a short prayer of repentance.
‘Lord, I have taken a life today.’
Within that short prayer, he recalled his conversation with the Goddess.
[If I have to kill my brothers down there, what should I do?]
Despite how much he loved this world, Amon knew that killing in a cyberpunk world was unavoidable.
Therefore, he had no choice but to ask her.
Was killing truly against her teachings in every situation?
To that question, she had replied:
[Even if they are wicked children, it pains my heart to condone their murder from a parent’s mouth.]
Even as she said that, the Goddess’s stance was firm.
Permissible.
Because she was a merciful mother, but also the Lord of Lords.
Because she understood human malice better than anyone.
She didn’t unconditionally forbid killing.
However, she made one thing clear.
[The innocent must never be sacrificed.]
With that answer, Amon’s recollection ended.
He opened his eyes and looked down at the life he had taken.
Did the being before him deserve to die?
Amon couldn’t answer that question.
He wasn’t a great enough being to make that judgment.
However, he could clearly say one thing.
This act was for his survival, and his blade would only be wielded when absolutely necessary.
After less than a minute of reflection, Amon began to search Wilhelm’s body.
He found the keycard he was looking for.
As a precaution, he cut off Wilhelm’s index finger and took out his phone.
‘Let’s see… what’s the layout again?’
The map app displayed the building’s layout he had received from the priest.
After examining the 3D cross-section of the building, Amon identified his location and destination.
‘Let’s end this damned bad blood, Chairman.’
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The day Amon first stained his hands with blood.
The top floor of Higzen Distribution headquarters was utterly peaceful.
Unaware of what was happening in his kingdom, the king was conversing with his loyal subject.
“How is the woman’s condition?”
The chairman asked the cyborg before him.
Diligently moving its uncanny valley-inducing silicone face, the cyborg replied.
“Good. The time of awakening is drawing near. Once we secure that girl, the Saintess will awaken.”
“Truly excellent work, Dr. Viktor.”
Embarrassed by the chairman’s praise, the doctor rubbed his chin.
The human brain was truly fascinating; even after being transferred to a mechanical body, habits remained.
As a scientist, the doctor didn’t believe in unscientific superstitions, but if there was a god, they must have meticulously coded the human mind.
The chairman leaned back in his chair with a satisfied expression.
“Yes. Finally, we can offer mystic power as a commodity. But Doctor, is this amount of money enough for you?”
“Yes. I am satisfied with advancing humanity.”
Humans are great. Humans must escape God’s grasp. When divine power, that misguided superstition, is brought into the realm of understanding under the name of mystic power, humanity will be reborn as a better being.
As always, the doctor preached his beliefs to the chairman.
His speech carried a hint of condescension, as if he were lecturing the chairman.
But the chairman didn’t mind at all.
This scientist was one of the few business partners whom the chairman regarded as an equal, not a tool.
Knowing this, the doctor didn’t bother changing his attitude.
Extending his mechanical arm towards the chairman, the doctor said,
“The progress of humanity. I am satisfied with having achieved this with my own hands.”
“I’ve known you for decades, but I still can’t understand that belief.”
“But don’t both you and I believe in the infinite potential of humanity and strive for it? You want to sell anything, and I want to bring anything into the realm of understanding. If our directions benefit each other, isn’t there a need for mutual understanding?”
That answer was enough to bring a smile to the chairman’s wrinkled face.
This very ideology was why the chairman liked the doctor.
The chairman didn’t understand the doctor, and the doctor didn’t understand the chairman.
However, both men knew the other was a madman.
That’s why they could trust each other implicitly.
“As expected, you and I get along well.”
Decades ago, the chairman had stumbled upon the doctor in a garbage heap.
The doctor, having just transferred his consciousness, was dying from rejection.
The chairman, an ordinary mart employee at the time, saved the doctor out of curiosity.
This encounter led them to build and grow the company together.
During that time, the doctor created every product the chairman requested, never showing a hint of betrayal.
He didn’t even demand a high salary.
The doctor simply wanted more reinvestment, more research equipment, and more research personnel.
As a chairman running a business, there was no one as admirable as the doctor.
Therefore, he never hesitated to show the doctor favor.
“I know you don’t desire these things. But you are a valuable asset to our company, so don’t refuse the favors I offer.”
With those words, the chairman sent a house and reliable guards to the doctor.
The doctor wasn’t greedy, but he recognized the need for the guards.
Therefore, he didn’t refuse the offer.
“If possible, I’d prefer those who are tight-lipped.”
“Of course. They’re the type who would tear out their own tongues before speaking.”
Perhaps because they were business partners of half a lifetime, they were perfectly in sync.
They clinked glasses, celebrating being one step away from their long-cherished ambition.
The amicable atmosphere was shattered by sirens echoing through the building.
An urgent message reached the chairman:
[Intruder in the lab!]
The chairman jumped to his feet.
The doctor, who had been conversing amiably with him, also stood up abruptly.
They exchanged glances and rushed to the lab.
This was the plan they had poured their lives into.
It was enough reason for the chairman to react this way.
The chairman and the doctor, accompanied by their personal bodyguards, arrived at the lab door.
The thick steel door wouldn’t open, seemingly locked from the inside.
The chairman gestured to the head of security.
The head of security, whose body had few visible traces of protein, gathered power in his right arm.
“Step back.”
The chairman and the doctor retreated.
The head of security swung his fist, and the door shattered.
The head of security entered first through the broken doorway, followed by the other guards.
The chairman and the doctor tried to follow, but a guard stopped them.
“The head of security is currently fighting the intruder. Please enter after we’ve secured the area.”
Though they wanted to push the guard aside and enter immediately, the chairman and doctor exercised restraint.
No matter how urgent the situation, they couldn’t risk being hit by a stray bullet.
The wait wasn’t long.
One minute.
The time it took for the head of security, with his neural accelerator activated, to subdue the intruder.
Only after sufficient safety was ensured did the chairman enter.
They immediately assessed the state of the lab.
Fortunately, the damage wasn’t extensive.
A few computers were smashed, but the room containing the most important test subject was intact.
The Saintess’s shell was undamaged.
“Phew…”
The chairman finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After confirming the Saintess’s safety, the chairman turned his attention to the intruder.
According to the head of security, there was something unusual about the intruder, so he hadn’t killed him.
With a cheerful face, the head of security presented the intruder as a gift.
The chairman’s eyes widened as he saw the face.
It was the face he had seen in the report.
His hair was drenched in sweat and plastered to his head, and there were traces of lipstick around his mouth, but there was no doubt.
It was Amon, the man he had considered a decoy to divert attention.
The Higzen Distribution, believing there couldn’t be two possessors of mystic power in one area, had concluded that Sonia was the one.
But seeing him here, that assumption proved wrong.
Divine power emanated from Amon, still reeling from the fight.
“Huh…”
So Sonia was the decoy.
He had been thoroughly fooled.
But luck seemed to be on the chairman’s side; the culprit himself had come here.
And thanks to him entering this lab, they had been spared the trouble of searching.
‘Youthful impulsiveness is a scary thing.’
He didn’t understand why Amon had come this far, but it must have been an impulsive act driven by youthful fervor.
With the achievement of his goal so close, he had become uncharacteristically excited.
Then, the chairman suddenly noticed something strange.
‘How did he get in?’
Impulsiveness and ability were separate matters.
His presence here meant there was a security vulnerability.
The chairman needed to identify that vulnerability to avoid repeating past mistakes.
“How did you get in?”
At that question, Amon gave a meaningful smile.
Instead of answering, he held out a finger and a bloodstained keycard.
The chairman’s eyes widened.
His first reaction was rage.
And then, tears.
His face reddening, the chairman roared.
“Bill!!! You bastard, what did you do to Bill!!!!”
Again, Amon didn’t speak.
He simply made a gesture of slitting his throat.
The smeared makeup and lipstick stains on Amon’s otherwise innocent-looking face created a chilling dissonance.
Smiling with lipstick smeared on his lips and mimicking a throat-slitting gesture, he looked like a psychopathic killer.
The guards in the room hesitated.
But a parent blinded by the rage of losing a child knew no fear.
Slap!
Amon’s head snapped to the side.
A handprint appeared on his cheek.
With his trembling hand, the chairman slapped Amon’s other cheek.
But Amon’s smile didn’t falter.
This only fueled the chairman’s rage.
“You… I regret not being able to tear you apart and kill you…!”
Consumed by a rage that threatened to overwhelm him, the chairman lamented.
In his mind, he had countless ways to inflict pain on a human, and the power to execute them.
He could extract Amon’s soul and torture him endlessly.
He could put the children from the orphanage in a gas chamber right before Amon’s eyes.
He could even choose to violate that woman, Sonia.
But he couldn’t.
Amon had to be sacrificed to the Saintess.
He couldn’t subject him to torture, physical or psychological, that could potentially kill him.
Since there was a chance Amon might find a way to commit suicide, he had to be sacrificed now, while they had the opportunity.
If he prioritized his emotions and failed to sacrifice him, he didn’t know how many decades he would have to wait.
In his mind, the chairman weighed his son’s revenge against his long-cherished ambition.
The scales tipped towards his ambition.
In the end, he was a city man at heart; his self-realization was more important than his son’s death.
The chairman lifted his head, swallowed his tears, and addressed Amon.
“I admit defeat this time. You’ve won.”
Though he would awaken the Saintess and achieve self-realization, the chairman would never be able to avenge his son.
That hatred would haunt him until his dying breath.
‘This is probably what he was aiming for.’
Even if he couldn’t bring down the mega-corporation, he would leave an indelible scar.
As chairman, he had seen countless people attempt such things.
Most failed without even reaching the company’s doorstep, but this young man had succeeded.
He had inflicted a permanent wound on the chairman.
Suppressing his lingering regrets, the chairman looked at the doctor.
“Sacrifice him quickly.”
Perhaps extracting the divine power as painfully as possible would offer some solace.
Consoling himself, the chairman gave the order to the doctor.
But the doctor’s reaction was strange.
“Chairman… for some reason… the Saintess is complete.”
“…What?”
“It seems this intruder has completed the Saintess.”
The chairman was bewildered by the doctor’s answer.
The doctor himself, the surviving researchers, the guards…
Everyone was confused.
For what reason? How did he know?
Before that, how was he even alive?
Amidst their questions, the smile on Amon’s bowed head deepened.
Then, he lifted his head, and with a refreshing smile, murmured,
“The Lord said, I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, before you. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
While everyone was puzzled by Amon’s sudden recitation, he muttered,
“Thank you. For dragging out the time like this.”
Straightening his back as if it had all been planned, Amon exuded confidence.
Sensing something was amiss but unable to pinpoint what it was, the people present couldn’t take any action.
They couldn’t flee, kill Amon, or evacuate the chairman.
With no clue what was happening, they could only freeze in place.
Then, the Saintess’s test tube shattered.
With the sound of shattering glass behind him, Amon recited,
“And he said, ‘You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.'”
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards collapsed, bleeding profusely.
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