Chapter 129

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 135 Fate Reversed

As mentioned before, the Exploration Vehicle is a behemoth that is hundreds of meters long and tens of meters high. Even for such an Exploration Vehicle, trying to cram more than a thousand people into it would be an extremely serious overload.

During the day, since the temperature was still above freezing, it wasn't too stuffy for some people to stay on the flight deck and side gangways... But as the sun set and night fell, and the Reunion Movement's leaders began announcing their decision to head to Columbia, Medic couldn't help but start worrying about how to ensure the survival of these patients.

While the action team had only created a new folder with no specific content regarding the subsequent Black Snake and Inner Guards operations, the Welfare Department had already sent information that might be even more deadly than the battle itself.

"... Food... and supplies, right...?"

"Yes, sir. The Exploration Vehicle was originally designed for only about three hundred people, but we are currently overloaded by three times... The good news is that they don't have any overly heavy luggage among their personal belongings. The heaviest items are just a few pieces of prefabricated house panels, so they haven't reached their load-bearing limit."

"The lack of sleeping space can be partially solved by taking over public spaces and setting up large communal beds; even if water circulation reaches its limit, it can be obtained from the outside... only food..."

Seeing even the seemingly omniscient Ah Fu looking troubled, Medic, who had just returned, sighed. Seeing the blond 'Sankta' twins peeking out from behind the door, he put down the Rosemary he was carrying and let it play with the children... Medic took out his notebook and asked:

How long can our food supply last?

"Two months... If restrictions are implemented, such as reducing meals from four to three or two, then it can be extended for another month."

"Reducing rations during Snowfield activities is not a good decision..."

While saying "Medic," the cat wrote "food rations" on the latest page of its notebook, then circled the word three times in frustration. Without batting an eye, as if it weren't a problem, the cat looked up and asked:

"Do not change the food and beverage standards for the time being, and notify the relevant personnel to maintain confidentiality and not to undermine morale. Also, pay attention to the anti-theft measures for the portable military rations in the warehouse and cold storage... Although our own rations seem to be running out due to the number of people, the Reunion Movement also has its own rations. Perhaps the situation will be better after the statistics are combined."

"... It's good that you know what's going on."

The butler, who had a pretty good idea of his benefactor's personality, sighed. Then, the elderly but still vigorous man placed one hand behind his back and gently changed the subject:

"Furthermore, I've heard that you, sir, are preparing to clash with the Ursus Inner Guards... the legendary Emperor's Blades?"

"... It's probably not time for these matters to be made public yet..."

"Ah, sorry, I asked the guys in the Disciplinary Department myself. The guys who have been out on the streets for a long time obviously wouldn't be wary of an old Sarkaz."

"Please rest assured, I have no intention of leaking any secrets. I was just wondering, does this mean you've made up your mind to fight that being that can transform into Demons at any moment?"

The old man looked at the black-haired Feline with a mixture of helplessness and consideration. Although he knew that his so-called 'minister' might actually be a Bloodfiend, this attitude of wanting to mess with Demons... even the Sanguinarch would have to say that you seem a bit too extreme.

Medic could somewhat understand that the old man didn't really want him to take the White King's subjects, as well as the Sarkaz who had defected from W to his side, to a more dangerous place... But the problem now wasn't whether Medic should provoke that Inner Guards, but whether that Inner Guards would let them go.

Or rather, whether or not they will encounter danger depends on whether the Black Snake is willing to let go of the Reunion Movement and Talulah.

Just as Medic was about to explain the whole story to the people of Rhodes Island, as well as their preparations for the next move, Medic simply invited the old man, in his capacity as the head of the Welfare Department, to sit down in the fourth-floor lounge.

As lunchtime approached, everyone handed over their work to the PRTS agent. The group, who had been busy with their own things during the day and rarely saw each other, gathered together for the first time thanks to Medic's notification.

"... Um... we're staying here for the Rhodes Island meeting too, right...?"

"Even so, Mary has been helping the Welfare Department with the Reunion Movement's affairs lately... and Frostleaf too, everyone basically assumes she's a member of the Punishment Department as well."

As she spoke, she accepted the teacup from Eileen... Medic's gratitude eased the usually stern expression of the Sarkaz maid, who then busied herself greeting the other meeting members.

After calming Sister Mary down, Medic turned his attention to Frostleaf, who had begun wielding a greatsword full-time.

"And as I promised before, I have some connections at Columbia, so I'll help with Frostleaf's matter... It's fine for the two of you to temporarily consider yourselves interns at Rhodes Island's Human Resources Department... After all, that's how I entered your permissions into PRTS."

Seeing that the Little Fox Frostleaf looked away from him uncomfortably, Medic understood that the matter between the two was not the focus at the moment. Afterwards, the black-haired Feline spent a full hour and a half recounting the experiences of the advance team during the three days of the Reunion Movement.

It also focused on the 'Inner Guards' that everyone is very likely to encounter later... as well as the relationship between the Inner Guards and the Demons, the possible Collapse of the Demons and 'Black Snake', the reasons why the mastermind behind Black Snake is paying attention to the Reunion Movement, and the significance of the Reunion Movement to Rhodes Island, especially to Emperor Ursus.

Although the meeting reached the part about the 'Black Snake' and the Demons, it seemed that only Su Sulo and Folinic's medical team, Alfred and Eileen's eunuch team, and the Ranger and Black Horn's external brain combination maintained a rational and thoughtful expression... The others, especially the lazy cat combination represented by Huang, the big cat, and Rosemary, the Little Cat, seemed to be only one action away from taking a nap: closing their eyes.

Medic knew that people weren't too keen on theory, especially conceptual things related to Demons, Sarkaz Sorcery, and evil gods, but this was, after all, the theoretical basis for their actions, and it couldn't be left unexplained.

"... Sorry, going into too much theory might make everyone sleepy... but we still have the theory now, and we also have the permission... so whether we encounter a Pollution checkpoint like before or the Inner Guards personnel themselves again, we can avoid the embarrassing situation we had last time and take targeted measures."

At this point, Medic looked at Franka, who had rested for three whole days and unexpectedly attended the meeting:

"Franka, are you able to participate in the operation now?"

"Is everything alright...?"

Franka seemed like a completely different person simply by removing her armor belt and wearing only a Blacksteel shirt and skirt, shrugged and tilted her head.

"I can't really explain it. The physical discomfort was almost gone by the first day... but as for the mental state, I can't say for sure."

Hearing the fat fox's insincere tone, Medic and Rosemary exchanged a glance. Then, the Little Cat straightened its posture, its Thought Chain Ring, and Medic quickly 'touched' Franka's heart again.

That kind of Empathy is obviously very obvious when a person is awake. As Franka's tail stood up for the first time, the fat fox even felt that he saw several phantoms next to Medic and the Little Cat at that moment... Because he noticed the fear that Franka showed for a moment, the Little Cat decisively cut off the connection.

"... Medic, that was just now..."

"Hmm, emotions... and it seems like they're not far from materializing... It looks like Franka, you haven't been sleeping very well these past three days..."

Watching the two Feline thoroughly expose him in just a few words, the fat fox leaned back in his chair helplessly and shrugged: sobs

"Mainly, I can't decide for myself... I'm the one who most wants to get a good night's sleep." Er

Seeing that Medic didn't say anything more, but instead touched his lips as if thinking, Alfred, who had been listening with a smile, coughed twice and said:

"My lord, excuse me, but judging from your silence, I think you're probably considering... whether or not to proceed with that ritual?" (Lin)

Seeing the others frown, Ah Fu smiled and added, "Four..."

"The Cyclopes' Foresight... You want to use complete 'observation' to force Miss Franka's Pollution to materialize... This is the method you learned from me for dealing with the Pollution, and it's also the method you're preparing to use against the Inner Guards and the Black Snake... Is that right?"

Seeing Medic nod in agreement, the old man sighed and shook his head: [The sentence is incomplete and lacks context. It appears to be a fragment from a larger text.]

"You didn't tell me you were going to use this for that level of combat... I can only say thankfully it was in time..."

"What's the matter?"

"There's still time to try... After all, the first Foresight is extremely important; you will gaze into that bottomless abyss... and at the same time, the Warp will leave its mark on you."

"Although I don't understand the customs of the Cyclopes themselves, if the purpose is to Collapse the Demons, then the first 'gaze' must be as superficial as possible... After all, the deeper you go, the greater the pressure."

"If you were to cast this spell on the Inner Guards who connect to the unknown the Dominion without informing me, the worst-case scenario would be that the entropy on the other side of the Warp Collapse directly into reality with you as the target... That would be truly terrifying..."

While everyone else frowned in thought as the old man explained with his numerous technical terms, Huang, who had recently been studying advanced thermodynamics and whose mental state was perhaps at its peak, instantly understood the old man's concerns.

"... In other words, observation itself is bidirectional, and Medic also has adaptability to the Warp... but if she 'observes' something too deeply without any adaptability... she herself will be swallowed up by the Warp..."

"That is... Demons... Erjulinwusanbaqishan..."

Liskarm's concise explanation made everyone immediately understand the dangerous thing Medic was doing... But contrary to what the old man had imagined, everyone sighed at Medic's choice, but including the smallest Little Cat and the two seemingly most rational doctors, everyone was just uneasy, and no one was prepared to stop her.

The person involved even seemed somewhat pleased.

"In other words, the slight Pollution in Franka has actually done me a big favor..."

Seeing Medic's self-deprecating expression, Ah Fu's upturned lips were full of helplessness:

"While that's true, the Warp adaptability refers to your ability to control the Warp... and when you feel that heretical 'The Dominion' is as nimble as your limbs, that's also proof that you're no different from a heretic... Personally, I strongly oppose you getting too close to that world."

"It doesn't matter, it's just treatment."

As the black-haired Feline stood up, and as Medic removed his armor before the ritual to prevent the unexpected situation of him actually turning into Demons, Ah Fu sighed and added:

"Then, you can choose a 'casting unit'... Well, like the Sarkaz's medium, Cyclopes typically use personal items or weapons to act as intervening mediums in the Warp in reality..."

Is this okay?

Looking at the white chitin butterfly knife with enamel blue in Medic's hand, Ah Fu was very curious about its base material, but thinking about what the child would see later, the old man's eyes were like those of someone sending someone to the execution ground... It was a deathly gentleness.

"Yes, you... you can begin..."

Seeing that Medic had handed over all the dangerous items he was carrying to Huang, and taking the notebook and the folded knife with Franka towards a corner of the room, Liskarm, pulling on Jessica who was also teary-eyed, said:

"Rituals and such... I've heard that Sarkaz rituals all come with various costs... Is Medic okay with that?"

"... Liskarm is right, but... the Cyclopes's 'Foresight' is extremely special even among Sarkaz magic... it's a special kind of magic where 'bloodline' trumps 'skill'... its sacrifice doesn't explicitly require life and blood like other rituals... it... sacrifices the caster's own future."

Looking at the old man's rambling appearance, apart from those who had partnered with Medic in Ticarondo and knew their captain's personality well... newcomers like Frostleaf and Mary were completely bewildered.

"What's the meaning?"

Just as some realized that stopping them was futile and others were filled with doubt, Medic had already completed his preparations for casting the spell.

Originally, according to Cyclopes tradition, the mark should have been branded on the forehead, but Medic did not want to leave obvious marks on her face due to her profession... So she wrapped silver threads around the back of her left hand, creating an intricate diamond pattern that symbolized 'eyes'.

When the candle representing 'this land' is lit, light begins to flow instead of time, and Medic's 'prophecy' for Franka begins.

If the girl didn't understand what a tragic fate meant before, then... the moment the candle was lit, the black-haired girl, Feline, was indeed shocked by the scene before her.

Whether it was Franka suddenly lunging at him and snapping her neck with a swift twist, or being dragged into that completely black hole-like head because of a moment's hesitation, Medic found it all unsettling...

Because these are all just things to 'see', things to 'observe'. Even if the meaning of the image itself is so great that a cat's brow could trap a mosquito, it is not real after all. The assassin, who has 100% control over his body, understands that what he sees is just a simple 'image'.

These images then go black, clearly signifying that Franka's fate has come to an end... But will Franka's fate truly end here?

Medic thought it wouldn't happen, so she took the other person's hand...

Amidst the gasps of others, black rain appeared out of nowhere, soaking their clothes and dripping down their cheeks and arms... The Pollution began to infinitely 'Collapse' as Franka's future was observed.

Black-haired Feline saw it: on the Snowfield, warriors wielding blazing rapiers charged at a group of Inner Guards.

Black-haired Feline saw it: on the grassland, a battle-scarred warrior jumped off the vehicle, smiling and waving goodbye, facing off alone against the Patriot and the new Shieldguards.

Black-haired Feline saw it: on the wasteland, Franka, who had pushed away the Liskarm, was swept into the hurricane of the explosion, and behind her, the residual charge from the artillery fire that ripped through the sky tore through the atmosphere, and the huge Armored Huntsmen dropped their blazing red automatic cannons, drew their Originium Lightsaber, and charged toward the Ursus fleet.

This is something she can understand, at least for now.

And further on... there are scenes such as the two of them confronting a red-clad girl riding a giant monster on the shore, weapons in hand; scenes of them talking to strangers; scenes of them wielding weapons while piloting super-large Armored Huntsmen the same size as the Beasts; and even... Medic sees Kal'tsit, wearing a Black Crown, shedding tears of blood, killing Kal'tsit first, and then killing himself...

If Medic was somewhat preparing for the future while reading the earlier parts, he lost interest towards the end... After all, besides knowing that Franka was by his side, he had no idea who the others were, who the enemies were, or what he was doing there.

You can't just go there to start a massacre...

Seemingly to refute Medic's conjecture, the scene progresses to show various versions of their own deaths.

In most cases, Franka watched them die; in some cases, Franka killed them; and in others, they allowed themselves to be killed by Franka.

This is probably not a good thing, after all, the image of Franka crying and apologizing while holding her own hand is really unrelated to the fat fox who seems to be in control at all times.

Medic's attention was even drawn to the two rings that were in his line of sight.

Infinite possibilities ultimately converge into infinite death...

Perhaps because the possibility of his own death was relatively small, the scene first showed Franka dying, and then slowly transitioned to his own death... Yes, once he died, the broadcast of this scene finally came to an end.

However, Medic didn't see anything that could be called 'tragic'.

Everyone dies eventually, and assassins are, by nature, the ones who carry death. The Kitty Killer is well aware of this.

If the so-called tragic fate is simply knowing that you will die sooner or later, then Medic doesn't really care.

Those separations that would cause ordinary people endless anxiety and heart-wrenching pain seem to have little effect on someone who has never owned anything.

Medic never let go of Franka's hand from beginning to end.

Even if separation was destined, what does it have to do with us now?

Nana doesn't want to go through that experience again, wanting to touch something but only being able to grasp at thin air...

"... Medic? Captain? Boss? Um... can you stop being so quiet? Tell me what you predicted!"

Urged by Franka to open his eyes, Medic first glanced at the seemingly unchanged knife in his hand, then looked at the hand he was holding... In countless images, one of the hands he was holding should have a ring on its ring finger... Hmm, not now?

After being shaken and urged on several times by Franka, Medic shook his head and thought for a while, then put all those sad and painful images aside.

Medic recalled the very first few scenes:

"Hmm... Franka, you can eat two more bowls of rice for dinner... that way you won't have to get up in the middle of the night to sneak out the Rosemary snacks."

"Eh... Eh!? What happened to the tragic fate we were promised?!"

Medic pinned down the Little Cat, whose tail and ears had suddenly stood up, as if trying to reason with a fat fox who had changed the subject, and then revealed its 'tragic fate':

"You'll gain thirteen pounds when we get back to Rhodes Island."

Ignoring the fat fox who looked as if it had weathered into dust, Medic rubbed its Little Cat and looked at the fat fox with pitiful eyes. Then, he skillfully twirled the chitinous butterfly knife and unfolded it... Only then did Medic realize that the originally white and indigo blade had now turned into a brilliant black, like the night sky.

It's like a black hole; in Medic's eyes, black raindrops drip upwards and merge into it.

After showing the elderly Sarkaz, Ah Fu bowed respectfully.

"Without a doubt, this is a 'black' sign of death... I don't know if it's appropriate to say 'congratulations' in this situation, but your 'Foresight' is truly genuine."

P. S.: I was thinking of using the extra words from the missing chapters to make up for it temporarily, but then I thought, since it's already the beginning of the month, why bother with a missing chapter? I can just make up for it by maintaining daily updates with the two-day leave note...

It really comes down to the pacing of each chapter; breaking the chapter here just doesn't feel like a good reading experience.