Chapter 127 – Survival

The entire Floating Fortress was in an uproar.

It was due to the untimely intruder.

“What are you doing? They say an intruder has broken in.”

The green-robed Dharma mage rebuked the Dharma mage of the same rank.

“What do you mean? An intruder?”

“Let’s go, before the Dharma Officers throw a fit.”

He spoke, conscious of someone imprisoned inside the Deep Jade Steel.

“If even I leave, what about the fellow inside?”

“It’s a prison with restraints. He’s not even a mage, so what could possibly happen?”

“No way. They told me to guard this place no matter what happens.”

“You’re so inflexible. Suit yourself.”

As the one who had rebuked him opened a portal, the other reluctantly followed.

“Alright, I’ll go with you, okay?”

Someone trapped inside the prison made of Deep Jade Steel pressed close to the bars to check.

The guards had truly disappeared.

‘Could it be?’

It was Kaiser.

He scanned the outside as far as his vision could reach, looking haggard.

The guards who monitored him 24 hours a day were all gone.

“Is it for real? There really is no one. Is anyone out there? Anyone?”

Back then, he thought he was dead for sure.

Even though they had acted as if they would devour him, and locked him in a place like a prison, saying he must be punished.

‘This is driving me crazy. I can’t even contact anyone.’

Because he was locked in a prison made of Deep Jade Steel, magic communication to the outside was itself impossible.

Since it absorbed all mana, communication to the outside via transceiver was impossible.

Moreover, perhaps having received Zodiac’s instructions, the guards did not even listen to his words due to the silent barriers.

In the conversation just now, they had deactivated the silent barrier only because a colleague came and forced them to speak.

Had it not been for the raid, they probably would have kept up the silent barrier and guarded this spot continuously.

‘That’s all well and good, but how do I get out?’

Kaiser shook the bars made of Deep Jade Steel violently, but they did not budge at all.

‘By the way, who is it? Who raided all the way here?’

Kaiser tried to picture the person who was said to have invaded.

The only one who came to mind immediately was him.

‘Could it be?’

But he couldn’t be sure.

Since he had vanished without a sound because of Zodiac, no one would have known that he was locked up here.

“Sigh…”

Just as he was sighing,

a presence was felt nearby, and soon, a girl with short, snow-white hair revealed herself.

“Peek-a-boo~”

The playful girl showed her face to Kaiser and waved her hand.

“Hello, Uncle Kaiser.”

With his expression instantly souring, Kaiser stepped back to distance himself from her.

“Sayaka… why did you come here again?”

“Why else? I came to help you, Uncle. I helped you earlier too, didn’t you know?”

“Help me? How did you help?”

“I chased away the Dharma mages who were guarding this place.”

“What are you talking about? You chased them away? That was because another Dharma mage came and…”

Her smile grew even deeper.

“That… was all my doing.”

Kaiser kept his mouth shut while remaining wary of her.

Although she was smiling gently at him, Kaiser was not entirely pleased to see her.

Sayaka.

Heart of Infection.

She was the villain he had heard about from Rashid until his ears bled.

“Haha… is that so?”

“I said I’d get you out, so why don’t you believe me, Uncle? Am I really that untrustworthy?”

“Zodiac is here. Do you think Zodiac will just let it slide if you let me out?”

Setting aside what Rashid had said,

Kaiser could know one thing for certain.

That this girl who was smiling innocently in front of him right now…

did not fear Zodiac in the slightest.

“Shh!”

She placed her index finger over her lips.

“I’m only telling this to you, Uncle. Actually, I am not scared of Mr. Zodiac at all.”

“Not scared of Zodiac? That guy is a monster who took over the entire Dharma Mage Division. Even the Grand Dharma Officers bow their heads to him.”

Kaiser remembered it clearly.

The day she first appeared.

The fact that she, too, had bowed her head before Zodiac who put forward his Dragon Gaze.

“You also bowed to Zodiac, saying you would be loyal? Have you forgotten that already?”

“Aw, that was all acting. I had to do that so Mr. Zodiac would be fooled by me too.”

Smiling brightly, she gave a brief additional explanation.

“The Dragon Gaze is not a power of control. It’s a power of submission. It’s a power that makes those weaker than oneself submit.”

“Are you… saying you aren’t?”

Sayaka rarely lost her smile.

“Yes, I’m not.”

A somewhat chilling expression cast over her face.

“Because I’m not afraid of Mr. Zodiac at all. Since we are of the same kind.”

What did she mean?

He couldn’t tell, but that was not what was important right now.

“Forget it. I’ll just stay here.”

“This is your last chance. When such a big commotion occurs, Mr. Zodiac’s attention can shift away from here.”

Emphasizing the last chance once more, she extended her pinky finger to him.

“I will get you out. Instead, just make one promise with me. If you promise, I will take responsibility and get you out of there.”

“Haha, forget it. I’ll just stay here. Having been stuck here for a month, I’ve grown somewhat attached to it.”

Kaiser tried hard to act nonchalant.

“It’s not suffocating at all. And it feels completely like I’m on a vacation, you know?”

“Think about it carefully. Because this really is the last chance.”

Although her expression turned icy cold,

what Kaiser was thinking of was only Zodiac, who had locked him up here, and the warning words Rashid had spoken.

At this moment, the words Rashid had spoken came to Kaiser’s mind.

“You probably won’t meet her, but if you happen to meet her in a club, let me know immediately. And absolutely do not make any promises. With that woman, not me.”

“What do you mean by that? Saying not to make promises with the Heart of Infection.”

“Keep it in mind. You don’t make promises with Sayaka. If you’re unlucky…”

Kaiser swallowed hard.

‘To force me to swallow a thousand needles?’

Rashid had definitely said so.

That if he broke the promise, Sayaka would force him to swallow a thousand needles.

And if he refused, he had no choice but to die.

‘It’s unbelievable, but if it’s true, it’s horrifying. How can someone feed someone a thousand needles? Can they even go in?’

Moreover, there was another surprising thing.

The fact that she was a fellow Earthling.

And on top of that, she was Japanese.

That precious Japanese woman was none other than her.

‘Dammit. Why are the villains here so eager to devour me?’

Zodiac was like that,

and Sayaka, too, was showing a persistent interest in him.

If there was a reason, was it perhaps because he wore the mask of Kaiser?

Considering his influence in the Empire, his value would absolutely not be low.

“Are you really not going to leave?”

At that moment,

one of the Grand Dharma Officers approached and stood beside Sayaka.

It was the Left Grand Dharma Officer, Yanar.

The Grand Dharma Officer was one of Zodiac’s henchmen.

A Grand Dharma Officer wouldn’t sit idly by regarding the affairs here.

“Lady Sayaka.”

When Sayaka turned her head, surprisingly,

the Grand Dharma Officer was bowing his head to her.

Kaiser looked at this in surprise.

‘Wasn’t the Grand Dharma Officer Zodiac’s subordinate? What is this?’

Sayaka stood in place, glanced at the Grand Dharma Officer, and then redirected her gaze to Kaiser.

“I said this is the last time. Uncle, you really must not trust me.”

“Wasn’t the Grand Dharma Officer… on Zodiac’s side? Why… is he listening to your words?”

The Grand Dharma Officer kept silent, and only the corners of Sayaka’s mouth curved in a long line.

“What Mr. Zodiac has is the power of submission. The power I have is the power of blind faith. Blind faith is a stronger power than submission.”

Sayaka’s eyes turned sharp.

Smiling gently with her eyes was a thing of the past.

She spoke coldly.

“It seems you belong in there after all, Uncle. Have fun struggling.”

With those final words, she vanished along with the Grand Dharma Officer.

Left behind, Kaiser grimaced.

‘What on earth is going on? The Grand Dharma Officer is supposed to be on Zodiac’s side…’

Did Zodiac even know about this?

Kaiser shook his head.

He was certain.

That Zodiac wouldn’t know either.

‘Even if they are fellow villains, it’s not like they are on the same side.’

What was even more surprising was,

‘She is stealthily taking over the Dharma Mage Division without Zodiac even knowing.’

At the same time, he understood.

Why her moniker was the Heart of Infection.

‘Is she infecting them? But with what is she infecting them?’

‘I don’t know. Since I don’t know much.’

A short while after Sayaka left,

Rumble!

Wheeeeeeng!

an untimely roar struck.

Wondering what was happening,

lo and behold, a bike suddenly appeared right outside the bars.

“What?”

Startled, Kaiser ran and stood before the bars.

“This is… Viper Ssaulabi R? Why is this here?”

It was a bike Kaiser also knew.

One that a Player who had experienced Lazarus could absolutely not be ignorant of.

And the bike everyone dreamed of.

With that, he could be certain.

‘He’s here.’

A smile spontaneously formed.

He could be 100% sure.

The dark knight who would come riding this to rescue him could only be him.

‘I knew I could trust you! After all, if I’m not around, there would be more than one or two troublesome things.’

Soon, a thin scan line extended from the bike’s optical lens.

The beam of light scanned left and right like a barcode reader across the area including Kaiser, scraping and gathering information.

After finishing the scan, a cybernetic voice rang in Kaiser’s head.

That familiar voice.

It was Alpha.

-Identity verification complete.

-We will attempt a physical breakthrough for the rescue.

“Physical rescue? How are you going to do that? This is a restraint prison.”

The accelerating bike soon increased its speed further through Ghost Riding, then began to loop back.

Wheeeeeeng!

It was not a roar, but terror itself.

“Oh crap, no way?”

The ‘no way’ soon became reality as the bike, accelerated by Ghost Riding, returned to reality only at the last moment and crashed through the bars that were trapping Kaiser.

Craaaash!

Right after breaking through the bars, the bike lost its functions under the influence of the Deep Jade Steel,

but Kaiser, knowing the reason, immediately propped the bike up and pushed it out of the prison.

It did not take very long for the bike, which had lost its functionality for a brief moment, to regain its proper functions.

Escaping the influence of the Deep Jade Steel, Alpha checked the remaining fuel level.

-Current remaining fuel amount.

-It is 43%.

Had it stayed inside any longer, the verified remaining amount would have been lower, not 43%.

Mounting the bike, Kaiser regained his past sense.

The grip that fit snugly in his hands and the elasticity of the chassis supporting his body.

And even the sturdiness of not having a single scratch despite pushing through the bars.

It was indeed the one he had cherished and coddled in every playthrough.

“Aw man, this was originally mine. S-Sigh… dammit.”

But how did he buy this when it wasn’t cheap?

‘Is this possible on an inquisitor’s salary? How on earth did he buy it?’

500,000 credits.

Since it was an amount not easily seen.

“What are you doing? We have to move. Let’s go.”

The bike, which did not budge even when he twisted his wrist several times,

began to accelerate on its own as if it had received a command from someone.

Kaiser, for whom controlling it had lost its meaning, surrendered his body, and let out a short sigh as he watched the bike not only smash through the wall but also head toward the lower floor as if gliding.

It’s mine…