98 – Revealed Identity (2)
“There they are.”
A breached barrier.
Emerging through it, not two individuals, but beings.
Two state-of-the-art droids.
“Target… identified.”
“I will assist.”
Similar to the overheated turrets rendered unusable, these ‘war machines’ seemed lacking in some way.
Their sleek yet robust bodies staggered, gripping their heads as if unable to regain composure, much like a person recovering from a stupor.
One of the droids gently supported the other.
Bulkier and taller – a bipedal mechanical unit, seemingly a thicker version of a CI unit.
[:: Command to deployed entities. Three surviving intruders, response required ::]
“Is that… Project Agape?”
“I suppose recognition is too much to ask for.”
At the boy’s remark, the woman stepped forward.
Casting aside the trench coat that enveloped her.
“…And these are not ordinary machines?”
Arms, legs, all adorned with sleek lines resembling imprinted ‘artificial’ components on their faces.
Slowly, a force infused into those parts, and a subtle blue light began to emanate.
To utter just one word.
“Taehyuk!”
The resonance made the machinery tremble even more.
The elevator was descending, but the machines instructed couldn’t catch up with them.
“Ugh…!”
“The project is highly unstable. We should disconnect now…”
[:: Mission in Progress ::]
A new body, but not a trace of flesh.
Once a mercenary in human form, now stumbling without a mouth to speak of, he retched.
“My… what the hell… why… everything’s blurry…”
“…Understood. Visual and auditory filters releasing.”
The scanner blinked a couple of times.
Only then did the shaky body find balance, and the tormented one managed to get up somehow.
“Are you composed now?”
“…Oh, but… there, below… the voice I just heard…”
“Taehyuk!”
The familiar voice once again shook the machine’s auditory sensors.
Simultaneously, the hand barely holding the revolver trembled.
“…Dayeon? Wait, where – where is this? Why in such a place -“
“Yes, as expected… Direct connection is highly unstable. Extracting only combat data is recommended.”
“Direct connection? Battle data? Iria, what on earth – what on earth -“
The fingers gripping the gun were not human.
They weren’t even prosthetics.
Just something resembling a hand, with a gleam of steel.
“We were at home, we definitely – I, holding you close -“
“I will temporarily suspend Project Agape. I will transfer consciousness to Project Pertenom.”
The distance growing further.
But every word uttered by the machines was deeply ingrained in those standing on the lift.
The body on the weaker side finally collapsed, and those once called Agape concealed themselves behind the barrier.
“Project Pertenom. As expected, Dad on that day…”
“Yeah, I knew you would, without a doubt.”
The woman emitting light from her body shed tears.
She seemed to possess emotions, and above all, the ability to express sadness.
Perhaps it could be called longing, for the one she loved…
“You’re Taehyuk’s son, right?”
“You caught on a bit late. I guess I have a talent for lying.”
The black prosthetic arm, continuously descending through the lift, paused for a moment.
But soon enough, it vigorously shook the screen once again.
“It’s not that surprising.
…If it’s Iria, I thought she would definitely be like that.”
“Well, then, those two machines we just saw, are they with Taehyuk and Illya?”
“Well, to be precise, it’s not those two individuals…
It’s a robot equipped with the consciousness of the two.”
The pad split in half.
From Noble mtl dot com
From mid-air, a blade descended.
“Fu-“
The body was sent flying before the curse could finish.
The droid’s casually outstretched hand was enough to push the sturdy Caucasian man far away.
“…Godayeon, nice to meet you again.”
“Is it? I’m quite delighted, Illya.”
With a body that had grown even larger, the machine called Illya looked down at Dayeon.
The body of the once frail girl had become stronger than before, but… still, to face each other as they did on the day she admitted defeat, Dayeon had to lift her head.
“…The facial parts you’ve equipped -“
“I told you, I can do anything.
…This side was desperate too.
The last time I saw Taehyuk was the day I quickly formulated and left with the operation plan.
And the fact that you’re here means Taehyuk must be very close.”
“Even if that’s the case, it doesn’t change the fact that Taehyuk chose me.
However…”
The scanner, now turning red, looked to the side.
And then, he stopped.
The fists clenched for battle loosened the moment he faced a single person.
“…Juwon?”
“Hello, Mom. You’ve grown a lot since I last saw you.”
The child who called a machine ‘Mom’ was unmistakably human.
Eyes, skin, limbs—all of it.
While others proudly displayed bodies made entirely of machines,
The boy, known as Juwon within the factory, finally removed the bracelet from his wrist.
“It’s hot…! Ah, maybe I overdid it…”
The vivid marks left behind were clear wounds.
Simultaneously, the machine addressed as Mom passed by a woman staring at herself…
Gently, she grabbed the boy’s wrist.
“When Lord Taehyuk – no, when ‘Dad’ regains stability… at that time, I’ll come find you…”
“It’s been over five years, you know?”
Then, she pulled him close, embracing him tightly.
The boy’s cheek pressed against the firm body, and the skin at the edge crumpled.
But the boy was smiling.
Unlike what his weary eyes might suggest.
“I’m sorry… truly. But I wonder if you can accept what I did to save Lord Taehyuk – “
“Disappearing without a word and talking about that?
…If my mom hadn’t recorded it like a diary on an external drive, I wouldn’t have been able to trace it up to here.
Learning computer languages just to teach the internal program structure is going too far.”
“I’m sorry, Juwon. But… I’m glad we can meet again.”
Splitting the pad, the arm that had pushed the person to the ground cautiously approached the boy’s head.
And with the hand that should hold the weapon and the hand that should crush the intruder, he gently swept it away.
“…Ha.”
Its appearance was an unmistakable weapon.
But now, the giant body showed that it understood affection.
[:: Situation release regarding three intruders ::]
“Thank you. I’ll take over from now on.”
The red shining lights went out.
And, with white light, darkness was once again pushed back.
“Go Dayeon, Matthew Vance, and Juwon Lee.
I believe the three of you have gathered under a common purpose.
I’ll guide you to the lowest level, but what you will witness is classified, so…
After witnessing this, it will be assumed that you agree to measures for confidentiality.”
The mom who threw the child embraced her body and became a weapon again.
The hand that was stroking the head now held a medium machine gun with a belt of bullets threaded through like a finger.
“Are you going to kill us?”
“It’s a warning that corresponding measures will be taken if you attempt to leak information.
Please refrain from excessively antagonizing me just because I wasn’t chosen.
On that day, you and Matthew Vance were undoubtedly spared from execution by the confidentiality protocol of PRT-000, had it not been for me.”
The burning building.
The aimed gun barrels.
The trembling, delicate girl.
And the broken robot standing in her way.
“No more… Your assistance is no longer needed.
To achieve that, I discarded my arms, legs, and face.
What determination led me to this state?”
As if forgetting the day when the gun was taken away and dismantled,
As if trying to erase the sight of herself helplessly watching a dying woman,
The woman, slightly bending her body as if ready to rush in at any moment, lost her balance on the shaky lift –
“It’s meaningless.”
She fell to the ground with her prosthetic leg, her back stepped on, bearing an immense load just by the movement of the massive steel body –
“Ugh…!”
The face of the woman who had to endure it distorted.
However, slowly… she was getting back up.
“It’s astonishing. But… even if you were to destroy this body, let me clarify that Project Agape is not designed for more than two operations.
Also, as everyone knows, my main body cannot be replaced or substituted. Therefore -“
“Ugh, huff…!”
The arms and legs pushing me away struck the ground forcefully.
A brief opening.
My fist, aimed for it, struck the center of the scanner without hesitation.
“…From the beginning, I didn’t like it.
Did you think I wanted to be powerless? Did you think I wanted to be weak?!”
My swinging hand crashed solidly into the head area.
Unlike a human hand, the fury of the woman, who had replaced even her arms with machinery, revealed itself in a somewhat violent form.
Wires were torn out, and the fluids that flowed inside splattered in all directions.
However, the boy who was watching calmly only shifted his gaze to the opening door.
He distanced himself from the woman’s screaming madness.
And when the light finally entered the passage, he placed his hand on the shoulder of the woman who was breathing heavily on the pile of scrap metal.
“Nuna, it’s better if you stop at this point.”
“…”
“Look ahead.”
The girl who couldn’t forget the features of the face she believed her beloved fell in love with.
The girl who couldn’t forget the power of the machine that worked alongside him, taking on dangerous tasks and deserving admiration.
The woman, who now believed she had obtained that position, lifted her head.
“Have you calmed down?”
In the open breach, a machine identical to the damaged body stood, emitting a red light.
Thud.
With a heavy impact, the lift trembled faintly.
“If you have composed yourself, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Taehyuk.”
There, a robot of the same form, illuminating the darkness, looked at the three.
As if mocking the pitiful girl.