Chapter 31
A hard choice… eh, not really(1)
Location: Namo Lake, north Hamyong, Chonyin, Kim Sungtae
A drill comes out of the side of the lake and morphs into a submarine.
~ are they still following us? ~
Daxia turns around upon hearing Ken’s question and looks in the direction of the giant robot.
-yes, and they are closer now. There’s less than ten miles between them and us-
_How are they able to keep track of us till now?_
The trio had moved repeatedly above and below ground trying to lose their pursuers but to no avail.
No matter where they went the pursuers were always able to know their exact location and chase them.
~well, if I had to guess, I would say they are also able to see the light that comes out of living weapons and if I am correct, we can use that to our advantage. ~
-haaa, it’s about time you come up with a plan, so how in danger is my life going to be this time?-
Daxia lets out a sigh as she braces herself for Ken’s plan.
~ pffft, you really have no faith in me, do you? ~
- well, in my defense, your last plan involved us flying at Mach speed in a jet you made from the scrap parts of destroyed drones and powered by a demonic plasma reactor that you carry around your waist –
~hey the jet worked, right? ~
-I recall us crashing into the ground though. –
~no, that’s different. The jet worked, but we crashed because of the strike force attack ~
_ can we focus, please? _
Saiko interrupts the two bounty hunters.
_ How are the two of you simultaneously extremely paranoid and extremely laid back at the same time? _
Ken blinks and ponders the question for a moment then chuckles.
~ it’s probably what happens when your life is in danger all the time. I guess you can say it comes with the profession. If you are not vigilant, you die, but it also happens all the time so you become numb to it. It’s the same reason why I don’t blame you for being suicidal. Being raised by a priest whose motto is “turn the other cheek” would probably do that to you ~
Saiko raises an eyebrow at Ken.
_ I am not suicidal? Know what? Doesn’t matter let’s keep that for after we deal with the giant robot _
~pffft, well I will tell you the plan. if I am correct and they can only track you and not all three of us, then we can use you as bait to set an ambush for them ~
_ alright _
-what? Are you crazy? –
Daxia blinks repeatedly at Saiko surprised by her immediate approval.
~pffft, see I told you. you are suicidal. If Daxia was the bait, she wouldn’t stop complaining for at least the next three months ~
_ I am not crazy nor suicidal but I prefer to be the bait anyway. I am faster, stronger, have better senses and I have Argus _
Ken’s expression which was bright until that point turns sour.
He turns silent for a few moments then looks at Saiko with a serious expression.
~I told you not to go around thinking you are invincible just because you have Argus or did you forget the permanent lightening tattoos that cover your body from head to toe ~
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Saiko looks at Ken surprised by his sudden change in demeanor.
Daxia looks at Ken then at Saiko and lets out a short sigh.
-haaa –
‘if only she knows how rare it is for him to care about someone’
She decides to keep her thoughts to herself.
~ well, it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going to rely on you to keep yourself safe anyway. If something happens Daxia will pull you out using the dokkaebi mask. ~
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- it looks like they stopped moving –
Melky says then uses his techno magic connection with the robot to slow it down.
- do you think they spotted us? –
- they spotted us a long time ago. It’s clear they were trying to make us lose their trail. –
The light elf asks Melky but the red tiger responds before Melky can respond.
Melky shrugs his shoulders.
-I don’t know but I am going to trust the tiger’s hunting instincts –
A lyre bird lands on Melky’s shoulder.
The eyes of the trio immediately turn to look at the bird.
-leader? –
The lyre bird opens its beak then the voice of a teenage boy comes out.
- it’s a trap but you don’t have to worry Saiko won’t let you get hurt even if the bounty hunters try to-
Melky’s lips curl up into a grin.
- I guess we can’t complain about Lady Izanau being too soft anymore, since it’s playing in our favor –
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Saiko stands in the middle of a forest alone.
Ken had decided that setting the trap in the middle of the forest would be better as the trees would provide them with the needed cover to hide themselves and the car.
She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath enjoying the atmosphere of the forest.
Moments later her whiskers alert her to the approaching giant.
She opens her eyes to a large twelve feet tall humanoid robot flying toward her.
The robot floated in the air with elegance despite having no wings or any visible thrusters.
It slowly descended from the sky seemingly careful to harm any tree and stopped descending a few inches above the ground.
There was nothing below it to stop it from descending to the ground, which puzzled Saiko since it certainly consumes a large amount of energy to keep such a giant machine floating in the air.
‘is it trying to avoid crushing the grass maybe?’
That was the only guess Saiko was able to come up with based on how carefully it avoided the trees.
A strong gust of wind carries three people from the shoulders of the gentle giant to the ground.
The three individuals, a human, an elf, and a Therian, bowed toward Saiko then the human who looked to be the youngest among them spoke.
- greetings lady Izanau Saiko -
The human had a strange looking bird standing on his shoulder.
Saiko raises an eyebrow at the odd trio.
_ Should I know you?_
Melky smiles at the silver cat.
-no, but we know you and we know about the Living Weapon program. We from the followers of nature-
_ the terrorist group? _
Saiko exclaims interrupting the human boy causing him.
-th,that’s propaganda we are not a terrorist group-
‘wow, why are the followers of nature here? Are they trying to recruit us’
Ken thinks to himself as he watches the interaction from behind a tree.
Thinking deeply about the words the human boy said Ken was able to come to some very unexpected conclusions.
One, the followers of nature seemed to have a very powerful information network, since they were able to find information about the living weapons that even the members of the strike force didn’t know about.
‘Either that or they are directly involved with the living weapons program somehow’
Two, the followers of nature are able to track down living weapons and they seem to be after living weapons too.
‘that complicates things. That means even if we kill these three more will come after us since they can track us. Hmmm, we need to be cautious in our next move at least they don’t seem antagonistic’
_do you kill civilians? _
‘huh?’
Ken’s thoughts are interrupted by Saiko’s question.
-not intentionally. We are fighting the world government; they are the ones building facilities in the middle of cities and using civilians as shields-
_I have heard enough. I will be merciful_
Saiko extends her arm and Argus comes out and forms a giant black claw.
She starts to walk toward the followers of nature slowly with and cold gaze and the full intent to Kill.
Melky flinches and instinctively takes a step back from the cold gaze.
-this is not how this is supposed to work. –
Melky glances at his two teammates.
-what should we do now? We were not given permission to fight, this wasn’t supposed to be a fight at least not with her. –
_That’s even better, Makes my job much easier_
Ken’s eyes grow wide from shock and runs out getting between Saiko and the followers of nature.
~ what’s wrong with you? Why do you want to kill them? ~
Saiko raises an eyebrow at Ken.
_ What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? You have tried to kill almost everyone we ever met but you are defending terrorists now? _
~what’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? Those were our enemies and you defended them despite them trying to kill us. You always complain about me being too paranoid but the one time we meet people who are not trying to kill us, you want to kill them? ~
_They killed innocent people_
-but we have to. It’s-
_ I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR EXCUSE IS_
Melky tries to interject but Saiko cuts him off immediately.
_ Nothing you Say will excuse killing innocent people_
‘What a terrifying sight’
Daxia uses her arm to block her eyes.
She has never seen Saiko’s thoughts so violent before.
Erratic and violent dark lights continuously emerge from Saiko.
Even though she can see thoughts, she has yet to learn what each of those thoughts means.
‘But I guess I just learned what violent murderous intent looks like’
-but our goal is to free the living weapons just like priest Si u –
GROAN
Daxia groans as the erratic lights become even more powerful and more violent to the point it hurts her eyes.
_ Don’t you dare compare yourselves to my old man. He never killed a single innocent life_
At that moment the lyrebird opened its beak.
- I guess I have to intervene –
Before Saiko is even able to get surprised by the talking bird her whiskers twitch alerting her to incoming Danger.
She glances to the side in the direction of the incoming object to see a massive three feet wide tree root rushing at her like a whip.