Chapter 72

Can I be forgiven by Silence?

My answer to that question was NO.

For years, he had been willing to ruin his own body with Junk Chips just to track down the culprit for the sake of revenge. A few words from me wouldn’t erase the deeply rooted hatred in his heart.

For example, even if I said, “That incident was something I had no choice but to commit. I couldn’t control my own will. Please, forgive me,” it would only fuel his anger.

‘So I have to do the opposite.’

If I wanted Silence to side with my plan, I shouldn’t try to placate him — I needed to complicate his mind.

I explained everything to them.

Aaron’s past.

And my future.

It wasn’t difficult to hide that I was a Transmigrator and weave a plausible scenario. I already had plenty of material.

The Ashita-kyo’s Junk Chips. Benedict’s betrayal.

The background of my creation. The Stingray Group.

I could attach as many excuses for my rampage as I wanted. But there was only one fact I had to emphasize.

—I would soon go berserk.

The murderous urge given to me would soon threaten everyone.

I had made various preparations for that time, but it wasn’t enough, so I was asking for their help.

Thanks to a scenario that skillfully mixed truth and lies, even Iri, who had sharp intuition, didn’t doubt my words.

I gauged the psychological state of the three of them, carefully selecting the right words each time, speaking only the answers they needed to hear.

Of course, the persuasion process wasn’t smooth sailing, and Silence’s resistance was especially fierce.

“[Asking for help? Bullshit!]”

The voice emitted from the mix produced by his mask was sharp and cutting. Maintaining a calm expression, I asked him back.

“Then what do you want to do?”

“[Are you asking because you don’t know? I’ll kill you right here and now, and then your corpse will…!]”

“Is that really what you want?”

“[…What?]”

Silence’s reaction faltered at my single sentence.

It wasn’t surprising. He was already unsettled by the fact that “the culprit he had been searching for had confessed right before his eyes.”

Honestly, wouldn’t it be confusing if an unexpected person suddenly appeared and confessed to being the culprit?

It wasn’t that hard to slip into that mental gap and shake it. A light bluff was enough.

“If that’s enough to satisfy you, then do as you wish. I don’t know if you’ll be able to, though.”

“[A-are you being serious?]”

“If you want to stab a knife into my neck, go ahead. If you want me to bite my tongue and die, I’ll do it. Blowing out my temple with a gun doesn’t sound bad either. Whatever you want, I’ll comply.”

“[Ah, yeah? Fine, then right now—!]”

“But will that satisfy you?”

Silence tried to speak but closed his mouth at my words.

I couldn’t see his expression behind the mask, but his fingertips trembled. He was flustered.

“Isn’t this the revenge you’ve waited for so long? I, too, am willing to actively cooperate with your revenge. Firing squad? Strangulation? Dismemberment? Unfortunately, you’ll only get one chance, so choose wisely.”

“[…]!”

Silence was at a loss for words.

Just as I expected.

He had dreamed of revenge for a long time.

Perhaps he imagined a “perfect” revenge like this:

The long-sought culprit would deny his crimes until the very end, only to beg tearfully for forgiveness after receiving the hammer of justice.

And then, crushing that hope, Silence would pour all his hatred and resentment into delivering the worst, final punishment — that was the picture.

That grim image had taken root inside him as if it were a treasured possession, without him even realizing it. It was so precious that it couldn’t be tarnished.

However—

‘Reality was different.’

He hadn’t even caught the culprit himself, and that culprit was maintaining the most confident demeanor of all.

Rather than shedding tears and begging for pardon, I was saying that I would gladly give my life if he wanted it.

His cherished revenge scenario was already in shambles.

“You’re starting to feel it, aren’t you? The fact that even if you kill me here and now, your revenge won’t be complete.”

Even if he killed the “me who hadn’t yet become a villain” here, the dissatisfaction would linger with him forever.

More than that — with his current strength, he could never defeat Aaron Stingray.

“[…]”

As if I had struck the mark, Silence was speechless. I made my proposal again.

“Work with me. Then I promise you—”

That revenge you’ve longed for so much—

—will be fulfilled exactly as you’ve dreamed.

* * *

[Notification]

Act 2 of Part 1 has ended.

*Reward has been granted.

[Scenario End]

Change in relationship with ‘Silence.’

Part 1, Act 2 has ended.

Final Contribution Rate: 88%

*Scenario reward has been granted.

*Rewards vary depending on contribution rate.

【Scenario Reward】

Achievement Points: +3500

‘Violet Hunting Ground Admission Ticket’ × 1

[Achievement Unlocked]

Stopped Silence’s crime.

Achievement Points: +2000

Part 1, Act 2 scenario cleared.

Silence had completely fallen into my grasp.

‘That’s it.’

As the villain—

As the final boss of Part 1, Act 4, I would oppose these guys, ultimately be defeated, and become the stepping stone that would lead them to a higher level.

At the same time, as the protagonist—

By defeating the ‘me’ who would be the final boss of Part 1, Act 4, together with these guys, I would be able to accumulate a massive amount of contribution points.

‘It’s almost done.’

It was time to move on to the next stage.

Before the thirst grew worse.

I needed to finish all preparations quickly.

The place I went to after leaving the hospital room was Ciel’s home. Now that Part 1, Act 2 had ended, it was time for her episode—Act 3—to begin.

“Welcome, Aaron-nim!”

Ciel greeted me warmly.

Unlike the last time we met, her expression had brightened considerably. Her demeanor and even her gait seemed to radiate freshness.

“Ciel.”

“Yes, Aaron-nim.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Ciel, of course?”

She tilted her head with a bright smile.

At some point, she had started referring to herself in the third person — exactly as she did in the original work.

“……”

I bit my lip.

I already knew, but it was an entirely unpleasant feeling.

She was undoubtedly the spitting image of one of my favorite characters, Ciel, yet for some reason, I couldn’t feel the slightest joy.

‘Should I have forced the issue?’

I forcibly suppressed the bitterness rising inside me. I knew it was just my selfishness.

This was her choice.

The nameless her.

She had chosen to become Ciel, and I had to respect that. Feeling bitter about it would only be insulting her choice.

“Ciel.”

“Yes, Aaron-nim?”

“Do you remember the conversation we had the last time we met?”

“Of course.”

“And what do you think about that conversation now? Have your thoughts changed?”

“Hmm?”

Ciel tilted her head again, exaggeratedly. Despite having a self, she still retained overly strong habits from her maid-robot days — that was one of Ciel’s character traits.

“Looking back, I don’t know what I was so afraid of. In the end, Ciel’s perfectly fine like this, right? Ciel’s judgment was correct.”

With a proud ‘hmph,’ Ciel puffed out her chest.

When I had met her just a few days ago, she hadn’t been anything like this. For some reason, I found my fists clenching without realizing it.

“What’s wrong, Aaron-nim?”

“…It’s nothing.”

I shook my head and took a deep breath.

Slowly exhaling, I calmed my rising emotions. But truthfully, there wasn’t even a need — I could feel those emotions fading in real time.

‘Not yet…’

Get a grip.

On edge, I asked Ciel,

“Ciel, do you want to become human?”

“O-of course! Now 28% of Ciel’s body parts are made from bio components! If I replace just a little more, I’m sure I can return to being human like the ‘me’ I once was! I’ll finally qualify!”

For an Adaptee to be recognized as human—

The ratio of natural flesh had to be at least 30%.

Ciel believed that if she replaced 30% of her current android parts with bio parts, she would earn the “chance to become human.”

“I see…”

I nodded.

“I’ll make you human soon.”

[Achievement Unlocked]

Began Part 1, Act 3 of the Main Story.

Achievement Points: +1000

After leaving Ciel’s apartment, I headed for Miyu’s dormitory.

I went straight to the back of her workshop and operated the controls to make the hidden devices emerge.

Ssshhk.

With smooth motion, a capsule slid out. Through the green, translucent liquid, I could see the figure of a young man who looked exactly like me.

The last time I saw him, he was little more than a skeleton, but now he was completely human in appearance.

Compared to my current self, he looked a little younger, but that difference wouldn’t matter.

After observing it for a moment, I placed my hand on the back of my neck.

‘Module Release.’

At the same time, the modules I had equipped began disengaging from my SocketHUB one by one.

Including [Cloud Spider] and [Techblade], various body enhancement modules were released from my body.

Naturally, removing a large number of modules all at once placed considerable strain on the body — the mechanical parts created by the modules disappeared, and my natural body had to regrow in their place.

To fill that gap, I left only the [Cell Generator], a module that enhanced cellular regeneration.

“Ugh…”

I staggered for a moment.

It felt like every nerve in my body had gone numb, tingling all over, and I leaned back in the chair for a short rest.

Once I had recovered, I placed the gathered modules into the box prepared in front of the capsule, just as I had discussed with Miyu beforehand.

And then—

“I almost forgot.”

A Personality Storage Chip for Cyberization.

Inside it already contained data replicating my soul. To make this, I had gone to the ‘Violet Hunting Ground’ early on.

‘I needed to extract my mind in its pure state.’

I couldn’t ignore the possibility that the copied soul might also ‘turn into Aaron’ just like I had. That was why I had datafied my soul in a place ‘unaffected by the world’ and brought it back stored in a device.

‘Once I put this in, the replica will wake up.’

I placed the personality storage device into the box along with the combat modules, then exchanged all the points I had gathered so far at the shop for Module Compatibility Tickets.

Finally, after adding the tickets and locking the box securely, I pulled something new from my coat.

Two combat modules.

Replica versions of the Dwarf-made [Cloud Spider] and [Techblade].

‘They should do for self-defense for a short while.’

It was almost time for Benedict to move.

Although I had released all my modules and weakened myself as much as possible in preparation for when I would awaken as ‘Aaron Stingray,’ if I were to be killed outright by Benedict’s attack in the meantime, all of it would be for nothing.

As a precaution, I equipped the two fake ‘Game Changer’ modules like hidden daggers, then let out a light breath and leaned back in the chair.

‘With this, all preparations are complete.’

I had recruited Iri and Silence as allies, and I had prepared the replica that would fight against the villain I was to become.

I had weakened my body as much as possible, while also preparing a way to counter Benedict’s attack.

‘I can rest a little now.’

Because I had swapped out so many modules at once, a flood of fatigue came crashing in. Overwhelmed by irresistible drowsiness, my will to get up was stripped away.

‘Just a short rest… just a little…’

Five minutes. No, ten.

I just needed to recharge briefly, so I’d be ready for the coming episode.

I’d wait in the most suitable position for Act 4 to begin — so that I could be surely, and safely, defeated at the hands of the righteous protagonist’s party.

While I was making that resolve, my consciousness was completely swallowed by sleep. I drifted for a while in a darkness where nothing could be seen, and then, little by little, I began to feel it.

Something was changing.

Something.

But it was only a dream.

Nothing had changed, and when I opened my eyes again, a beautiful scene welcomed me.

Yes, my favorite scene.

A landscape painted in my favorite shade of red on every side — I felt my lips curl upward without realizing it.

“Sp… spare me…”

I heard someone muttering. Turning my head, I saw someone whose waist had been severed crawling in front of me.

Lv.4 Powered Armor.

On their helmet and chest was the ‘Stingray’ logo. They were likely a soldier from our group.

How had it come to this?

Ah, yes.

Benedict had attacked.

While I had stepped out of the Academy for a moment, an army led by my damn younger brother had come for me, and when they attacked first, I retaliated.

“Hm?”

Looking up, I saw soldiers aiming their guns at me. Their hands were trembling slightly with fear.

“…Strange.”

Suddenly, I felt something off.

Something was wrong.

It felt like something had changed.

But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

Truly, I didn’t know.

I really hadn’t changed at all.

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