Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 312: Milky Way（6）

Theia had constructed a magical space. It was a barrier designed for interrogating Derek. This operation had to be concluded swiftly and decisively within the confines of Ortus.

There was no better time than now; the longer they waited, the lower the chances of success, and the closer they got to the council, the more intense the pressure would become.

Above all, Theia could no longer stand to watch Derek sacrifice innocent lives. It was somewhat of an emotional gamble for her, but the odds were in her favor.

“……”

Theia gazed across at Derek, who sat opposite to her.

Derek’s hands were cuffed, resting on the table. He, in turn, looked back at Theia, contemplating.

Proof was impossible.

There was no evidence in the overwriting process itself. It was a magic and science that extracted only the essence and principles of the soul. Even if evidence was somehow captured, countless corporations and institutions were already complicit. They would not cooperate with Theia Esil, a mere Holy Knight.

“You’re in a hurry, Holy Knight.”

By now, his balancers would be in motion.

A day or two at most. The symposium could proceed without a hitch.

“Do you think the council will allow such abuse of power?”

Theia twisted her lips like a snake, silently. Derek continued with ease.

“’Monstrous’ deeds? Who will Legally judge what is monstrous? If being called monstrous means my company’s excellent technology or my genius, should I take it as a com p li m e nt?”

Abuse of power would soon be blocked by the council, and this mad woman would go to jail.

…NO.

Perhaps cutting off her head wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

“Are you not thinking, or are you just stupid? I’m curious.”

Still expressionless, Theia pulled out a document and handed it to Derek.

“Read this first.”

Derek Looked down at it. Suddenly, his eyes wavered.

It was an internal document from the lab. Data had been Leaked.

Instantly, one person came to mind.

Dr. Vito.

“…What is this supposed to mean? Are you confessing to industrial espion age?”

In response to Derek’s bravado, Theia picked up a pen.

“Let me interpret it for you. You wouldn’t understand the data properly anyway.”

She pointed to a section filled with figures and graphs.

“According to this document, during the process of ‘creating’ a single artificial intelligence, different code configurations were discovered in the Lab.”

Code configurations. The lab described it that way, but the data, when compiled and restructured, was all too familiar—it was ‘DNA’.

“lt means that two different genes were found in a single container,.”

“……”

Derek’s blue eyes settled coldly. He stared intently at Theia.

“Among the products you deemed defective and discarded…”

Theia continued calmly.

“lt means there was a pregnant woman.”

Derek smirked silently, his eyes crinkling as he leaned back in his chair.

“…H0Ly Knight. Did you come here to write a novel?”

“FeeL some remorse for once.”

“Seems like you’re writing a strange movie.”

“You didn’t just kill people. You annihilated souls.”

“When you’re done, give me a copy too. I could even write a foreword if you want.”

Their conversation ran in parallel.

Derek did not admit to anything, and Theia felt like she was talking to a wall.

“Holy Knight Theia. I understand you have a personal grudge against me.”

Then, Derek brought up some past incident. At the same time, Theia’s fSwitches J wavered.

Her mask of composure and calm momentarily fluttered.

“But like that day’s misunderstanding, this too is merely a misunderstanding.”

“…Misunderstanding.”

“Yes. Who could have known a monster would appear in your village? I’m sorry I didn’t pay the full value, but thats business and the market economy.”

The veins in Theia’s hand twitched. Derek added with a sneer.

“lf I had known I’d be retaliated against like this, I should have paid double the price. Considering the social responsibility of a corporati0n.”

Snap. A sound of something breaking echoed.

“…Are you going to apoLogize?”

Theia asked.

“Apologize? To whom. For what.”

Derek retorted.

“…”

Theia was at a Loss for words.

Should she call this shamelessness? Or is it monstrous?

He shrugged his shoulders triumphantly.

“Quite the opposite, actually. The world is thankful to me. Everything I do ultimately benefits civilization as a whole.”

Benefits to civilization as a whole.

A hollow Laugh spread across Theia’s lips. She laughed out loud without realizing it, sparks like magic flickering from her fingers.

If possible, she wanted to kill him.

[I’m in a safe place now. Don’t worry about me, and Dr. Vito should be careful too. The Symposium will proceed as planned.]

Dr. Vito contacted me. This rat had been hiding like a phantom. I had planned to kill him today if possible.

“Doctor, what should we do?”

Libra’s staff approached.

“Continue with the preparations for now.”

“Yes.”

“May I step outside for a moment…?”

I was about to Leave the Symposium when I hesitated. There was a strange atmosphere inside.

Somewhere, magic was condensing, and it felt Like oxygen was being sucked out…

Boom-

There was an explosion. Heat and pressure surged from beneath the Symposium. Debris scattered, and my body was Lifted into the air.

Thud—!

I landed on my back on the pavement. I managed a rough landing, but the surroundings were quite chaotic.

Continuous barrages seemed to pour down. It seemed like Vancheon’s doing, but it might not be. Derek has too many enemies to pinpoint anyone with certainty.

I hurriedly left the Symposium.

The outside streets were also shrouded in acrid smoke and a fog of dust. For now, I ran, my white coat flapping behind me.

Boom

“Damn it.”

The noise rang in my ears.

I pretended to struggle, staggering along the roadside. As Killian, I shouldn’t use Shion Ascal’s abilities right now.

There were quite a few eyes watching me.

Riley was probably one of them.

She wasn’t approaching, but she was being cautious.

“First…”

Lets go back to the hotel.

The bag of evidence that Theia needs is there.

Crackle——!

Sparks flew in front of Derek. Derek smiled, and Theia sighed softly, Lowering her hand.

“I have yet to begin.”

“You’ve already done enough.”

“lt doesn’t matter. You’re going to prison. Johanna and Jade will rejoice.”

Derek stiffened. The mere thought of his siblings’ happiness made him sick to his stomach.

“You will remain a criminal who has violated countless human rights. Not a genius entrepreneur, not the head of Libra, but just a scum.”

Theia had endured Derek’s initial attack; now it was her turn.

“……”

Derek remained silent. Theia quietly met his eyes.

Deep blue eyes like the depths of the ocean, surging with anger.

“You are the problem with this world.”

Finally, Derek spoke.

“People like you always prattle on about human rights and crimes. You don’t even know whats billions of times more important than that crap.”

“What’s more important than human rights? I’m curious.”

“Survival.”

Derek asserted.

“The continuation of our species.”

He recited his belief.

“Civilizations have struggled to survive. That struggle is the flow of human h i story.”

Perhaps, this was the home education he received at Libra.

“But once people have enough to live on, they lose their memories, forgetting that there are external threats to this continent. Thafs why they harp on about human rights… about the importance of the in divid uaL”

Theia listened to him silently.

Sometimes you have to listen to bullshit to understand what the bastard wants.

“Do you even know what’s happening in the polar regions of this era? The concentration of magic is suspiciously dense.”

Theia frowned slightly.

“The frequency of monster appearances is increasing, and they are going berserk.”

Derek glanced at the handcuffs around his wrist and smirked.

“A massive destruction is coming soon.”

“Are you trying to play prophet now?”

“Many humans will be eaten alive. Pregnant women, infants, without discrimination.”

There was always a cycle to the rampage of monsters. Derek had always been educated about it.

Therefore, if useless humans—cancerous growths with no productivity—were captured and recycled into ‘technology’ that could benefit the continent.

“lfs all for the greater good. My artificial intelligence is purely for the sake of civilization, the culmination of my efforts and a product of technology. I can’t let a bitch like you ruin it.”

Theia’s expression turned icy.

“…rm getting more and more tempted to kill you.”

Knock—.

Just then, students outside the interrogation room knocked on the glass. Theia looked their way. Their faces were not Looking good.

“Aren’t you going to check it out? Seems like things aren’t going well.”

Derek suggested. Theia willingly got up.

If she stayed, she might really kill him.

“Professor.”

The students crowded around Theia as she exited the interrogation room.

“What’s the matter?”

“…”

They whispered with serious expressions.

“There are no records at the research facility.”

“No records?”

“Yes. Not a single one. Not just the data… not even a single computer.”

Theia stood dumbfounded.

“Has there been a leak?”

“l’m not sure…”

She looked at the document in her hand.

With this level of evidence, we can’t definitively put Derek away. Its merely a key. A key that can open a room Leading to more evidence.

“What do we do, how do we handle this? We need to take this to court.”

“Don’t panic.”

Theia picked up her phone.

She had a Plan B. She never gambled without a Plan B.

[Owl]

Theia sent her a coded message.

“There’s someone you need to help.”

Additionally, she pointed out a few of her students with her finger, selecting them.

I returned to the Hanja Hotel. The luxury hotel was surrounded by a magical barrier, meaning it was safe from bombings.

However, quite a few people were rushing out of this safe hotel.

“Everyone! Come this way!”

“Over here!”

Layla, Elise, Kain, Asher. These four were protecting civilians from the sudden bombing.

I watched them for a moment before heading up to the presidential suite.

“……”

There was no time to sit and rest on the sofa.

I pretended to be in a dire rush, sweating profusely as I pulled out a designer bag ‘full of evidence*.

Clenching it, I climbed the emergency stairs.

The fitting ending for Killian would probably be on the rooftop.

“Huff. Huff.”

I climbed the stairs heavily. It wasn’t difficult at all, but still.

It didn’t matter.

I arrived at the rooftop and stood at the [H] mark for helicopter landing.

Pretending to wait for a helicopter…

[Vito: Dr. Killian. I see you. Wait there.]

Of course, Vito seemed to be hiding in a position where he could see me.

“Huh.”

This could slightly disrupt the plan.

I quickly replied.

[Dr. Vito, can you hear my voice too?]

[Vito: I can’t hear your voice. Tve called a helicopter, it will descend soon. There’s an armed group infiltrating the hotel, wait there for now.]

That’s when it happened.

“Dr. Killian!”

A familiar voice called me.

It was Riley, her hair purple, soaked in sweat, dust, and rubble.

I saw her. I thought of Vito, watching me from somewhere.

“……Hmm.”

The end got a bit complicated, but the climax I had set was unchangeable.

Dr. Killian, critically involved in Derek’s inhumane artificial intelligence, would die here.