Spy

Rhodes Island was still moving forward, but their true destination was not Rim Billiton.

However, one thing was beyond doubt: there were indeed quite a few Infected aboard this landship. At the same time, Babel Tower's researchers and medical operators were studying Oripathy. Though they still could not cure the disease, they had at least reached the point where they could ease the pain the Infected suffered during flare-ups. The medicine did taste rather strange, though.

Roy did not remain in the control core. As a combatant, he had no need to stay there all the time.

Although Rhodes Island was currently heading south, any Babel Tower personnel with even slight access to the higher-ups knew that the landship's true destination was the north. Kazdel's overall situation remained deadlocked, but for some reason, Roy felt that this war was about to be decided. Moreover, the man who called himself Doctor and the princess seemed to be plotting something.

Still, Roy had no intention of wasting too much energy on such matters. He was merely an ordinary combatant. Things like devising strategies were for Kal'tsit and that fellow tribesman of hers who called himself Doctor.

Suddenly, a Sarkaz caught Roy's attention. At the end of the corridor, a Sarkaz was pressed against a window, peering at the scene beyond it. Roy remembered that place. According to the Rhodes Island area map Doctor had given him, that section belonged to the medical laboratory. The area the man was watching was directly responsible for Oripathy research.

Roy had never seen this man's face in Babel Tower's roster. While he could not rule out the possibility that the other party was one of those special personnel who did not appear on the roster, someone of that level would hardly be sneaking around to spy here. Besides, he was holding a miniature camera!

"A spy?"

Roy murmured softly, never slowing his pace. Still, that did not mean he took no action.

Now that he was a member of Babel Tower, he naturally could not turn a blind eye to something like this. That said, he did not need to handle it himself.

Perhaps having heard Roy's voice, the Sarkaz stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him. When he saw the identification card marked B197 tucked into the corner of Roy's clothing, panic flashed across his face. Then he immediately ran in the direction away from Roy.

Judging from his actions and expression, his identity as a spy was already confirmed.

"Lemuenia, drive him out."

"Yes! Yes! I'll cut him to pieces! I'll splatter his remains all over these walls!"

The moment Roy finished speaking, Lemuenia had already transformed into a streak of red light and shot forward. Caught completely off guard, the Sarkaz had his body pierced by her blade. Then an immense force of blood energy was poured into him. His body began to swell visibly, like a balloon being madly pumped full of air.

Roy could already foresee what would happen next, but he could not allow that to happen. It was far too grotesque.

"Don't use that move, Lemuenia!"

Fortunately, the sword was fairly obedient. Almost the instant Roy spoke, the Sarkaz's body gradually shriveled. Lemuenia withdrew the blood energy she had injected into him, though she took away something else as well.

Perhaps this Sarkaz still retained a trace of consciousness, but his fate had long since been decided.

Roy had no desire to conduct an interrogation. Since the man was a Sarkaz, there was no need to say which faction he belonged to. He had undoubtedly come from Theresis's side.

Ignoring the Sarkaz collapsed on the floor, now little more than skin and bones, Roy continued down the corridor...

Meanwhile, inside the control core.

"So, this man is one of your people, and his blood also has the ability to suppress Oripathy?"

"That's right."

Hearing Kal'tsit's words from across the room, Doctor admitted it without hesitation.

Ever since he had awakened from the sarcophagus, Kal'tsit had remained by his side. As such, she was one of the people who knew the most about Doctor's secrets. The other was Theresa.

However, Doctor had revealed this matter not because he trusted Kal'tsit, but because this information would not affect his plans.

"Then why don't you resort to more extreme measures?"

Doctor paused for a moment at Kal'tsit's words.

He understood what Kal'tsit meant, and he also knew that this was not something Kal'tsit wanted to do.

Kal'tsit was like a machine that never stopped operating. Yet this machine was full of human feeling. Though she appeared cold, she could still be considered a good person.

For a researcher, such a personality kept her from losing her humanity, but it also limited the height she could reach.

Of course, to Doctor, this was not a bad thing. At times, pieces with emotions were far more useful than those cold pieces that could only carry out fixed commands.

"Because I can't beat him. Besides, he is an indispensable part of building the era I desire."

Though he had slept for countless years, though countless years had passed since the age Doctor had lived in, he still clearly remembered what had happened at the end of that era's destruction. Those who wielded things called Origin Shards were like divine punishment delivered by the will of this planet. Some possessed combat skills and powerful armaments far beyond any warrior of that era; others could summon fantastical creations that should have existed only in stories, or even in certain games. They were the ones who brought that civilization to its end. Although, at the very last moment, their scientists had deciphered the Origin Shards and turned those powers into forces humans could use, it had already been too late.

They possessed the most powerful weapons, yet had no one capable of wielding them. That was what happened at the end of that era.

"You only need to remember one thing, Dr. Kal'tsit."

At this point, Doctor turned to look out the window. Beneath his helmet, a trace of nostalgia appeared on his face.

"He is one of the incarnations of this land's will, a land filled with suffering. But he stands on our side."