Chapter 41

To be fair, the prince was hardly in his right mind either. Then again, no one in this original story was.

From the very beginning, the genetics of this world rarely omitted the trait for obsessive dominance, and the prince proved no exception to that rare rule. He was, like so many others in this otherworldly domain, just your average homicidal maniac, entirely incapable of grasping that other people might possess their own opinions or desires. In fact, considering how he relentlessly tormented the Dogs to the bitter end, he might have been in the worst shape of them all.

Truthfully, even if their romance somehow managed to pan out, it was doubtful that Dezeb—or any of the Dogs—would change. They would still slaughter whoever needed slaughtering, and probably a few extra just because they could; they had far too many illicit enterprises already running. Redemption was a fairy tale here, and anyone who rushed in chasing that fantasy would not survive even if given twelve lives.

Fate? Give me a break. The prince might have tragically become the object of Dezeb’s fixation, but Erabelle had far more pressing matters to worry about. She tore her gaze away from men whose footwear likely cost more than her entire life savings, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small slip of paper.

112th Street, 4457-88XX

Ferrum Complex Chimera Laboratory

Without wasting another second, she picked up her pace.

Shit...

Aries Cider loathed every single thing about this situation.

The alley behind the rear entrance of the pharmaceutical district was biting and bleak, its freshly paved asphalt shrouded in thick morning mist. It was far too early for this level of misery.

Why the hell am I even doing this?

The sharp chemical stench characteristic of the pharma sector stung his nostrils. This was 112th Street in Sector 2,870—a dense cluster of pharmaceutical companies tucked behind the primary factory complex. Several low-rise residential officetels stood nearby, serving mostly as employee housing. Nothing about the exterior appeared out of the ordinary.

Dammit.

It certainly did not look like the kind of place hosting illegal body modifications, unlicensed cellular experiments, or black-market organ trafficking. Yet the Dogs operated scores of facilities just like this through Repeisa. They were ideal for quietly gathering data and running off-the-books prototype tests.

He had never imagined he would actually have to visit one—least of all at dawn.

Goddamn it!!

Stepping out of the vehicle, Aries reached the foot of one of the residential buildings and delivered a heavy kick to the stairwell wall. Unable to put his full strength into it, the restraint only fueled his frustration.

Why the hell is this my job?!

Letting out a long, ragged sigh, he headed up the stairs.

He had briefly wondered how Erabelle Vermilion even knew about a place like this, but then remembered: she was an unregistered S-rank signum contractor. She had hardly lived a normal, quiet life before crossing paths with them. That was standard for Migrants. Most of them either ended up dragged into a lab or killed outright after picking fights with higher ranks over nothing.

Very few adapted to local life the way Erabelle had. And even those who managed it had all suffered harsh realities in this incomprehensible world, making involvement in shady operations less of an exception and more of a baseline.

441x.

Aries punched the security code into someone else’s front door and walked straight inside.

As expected, immediate panic ensued. Rather than wasting time explaining himself, he bypassed the terrified occupants and connected them directly to the Repeisa headquarters main line.

“I-I’m so sorry! I had no idea you were with Repeisa—”

“Is there a woman here?” Aries cut the man off mid-apology, his tone icy.

“A woman?”

“About this tall. Came in last night. Had an APU implant surgery.”

“Oh! Y-yes, right this way!”

Son of a bitch... she’s actually here. Why the hell did it have to be ME?

Aries wanted to slam his head against the wall. The moment the status on her implant tag flagged a change, Ori had dumped the assignment on him simply because Aries had helped develop the initial tag system—years ago.

He was furious. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with this. There were plenty of other operatives like Virgo Hag who did not give a damn about Erabelle and would have gladly dragged her back by the collar. They probably would have broken a few of her bones just to punish her for being an inconvenience. So long as she remained Dezeb’s toy, they would simply patch her up before presenting her—clean and presentable.

That was the real, unspoken reason Ori had dispatched him instead.

“...This is insane.”

Aries followed the staff member into the back room and froze, rendered entirely speechless.

The floor was heavily bloodstained, and the air reeked of harsh antiseptics. Intravenous bags hung from overhead stands, and a nearby bucket overflowed with bloodied dressings.

Lying on a stark metal-framed bed, Erabelle Vermilion met his gaze, her expression pale with panic—looking far more startled by his presence than she had any right to be.

Aries let out a long, exhausted breath. “Hey...”

“Y-yes?”

He attempted to maintain his composure, but failed miserably. Pressing two fingers hard against the bridge of his nose, he took another deep breath. “Are you seriously... sneaking out overnight now?”

“...Huh?”

Just looking at her completely blank face confirmed everything: this was going horribly.

“Um... Captain, what brings you here...?” Her voice trailed off as her hands fumbled around, searching for her phone. After realizing it was buried somewhere in the tangled mess of used bandages, she gave up and kicked the entire pile under the frame of the bed. The bucket vanished from sight, smothered under a fresh mountain of blood-soaked gauze.

“Unbelievable...” Aries roughly ran a hand through his hair. “Hey.”

“Y-yes...?”

“Can you try living like a normal person for once?” He glared down at Erabelle, who was sporting thick gauze over her nose and forced to breathe through her mouth, before finally losing his temper. “Goddammit, just live normally!! As if running off into active conflict zones wasn’t reckless enough—APUs?! You had APU units implanted?! Thirteen of them?! Thirteen! What the hell is wrong with your head?! Do you even realize you’ll have to inject fusion compounds until the day you die?!”

“Yes, I’m aware...”

Of course she claimed she was aware, despite knowing absolutely nothing about the long-term reality.

“Dezeb is going to be pissed! Seriously, out-of-his-mind pissed!”

“Commander Dezeb... is going to be angry?” She did not finish the sentence, but the unspoken Why? hanging at the end was practically audible.

Aries felt like the skin on his scalp was going to split open. “Just run away already. You and me—let’s just end this in one clean break. It’s better than dragging this agony out. One hit, that’s all it takes.”

“I...”

“What? Don’t you like taking those kinds of gambles? Huh? And who knows—you might actually survive it.”

“The implant tags have integrated self-destruct functions...”

“Goddamn it!!” He snapped, unable to hold it in any longer.

Erabelle flinched, recoiling back against the wall.

She’s terrified out of her mind, so why does she keep pulling this reckless crap?! Aries shot her a furious glare.

Fresh blood had begun to seep through the white gauze beneath her nose. She touched it gently, her eyes flicking nervously in his direction, before silently reaching for another pad of gauze to layer over the stain.

“Oh, for f—” Aries groaned, clutching his head again.

She always put on this timid, obedient facade, yet went right ahead and did whatever the hell she wanted anyway!

Biting back another string of curses, he turned back toward the hallway. “Get moving!! He’s looking for you!”

Though his tone was harsh, he slowed his pace to wait for her without another word.

She pulled the IV needle from her arm, shoved her shoulders into her jacket, and limped after him. Aries adjusted his stride to match her laboured steps as they traversed the quiet building.

The residential staff stood frozen as he passed, holding their breath in terrified silence. Repeisa’s reputation was infinitely more horrifying to people within the industry itself. Dark rumors constantly circulated—of hidden subterranean labs dedicated to human experimentation, a predatory habit of recruiting industry insiders, and stories of employees caught leaking data who were promptly blown up alive inside their clients' headquarters...

Most of those rumors were entirely true. Some even alleged they conducted research into black magic.

“Hurry up!” Aries barked, shoving open the van door as Erabelle shivered against the bitter morning air.

Inside sat three or four men dressed entirely in black tactical gear. Erabelle slipped into the back, curling up tightly in the first open space she could find.

“Drive.”

Settling into the front passenger seat, Aries cranked the heater all the way to maximum. There had been a time when he would have prayed for Virgo to be right about things like this. God, what an absolute disaster.

“...Fucking hell.” He cursed under his breath again. Not ten minutes into the drive, the soft, steady rhythm of snoring drifted from the rear seat.

Erabelle was fast asleep, resting like a baby. The sheer audacity of it infuriated him more than he could express.

Grinding his teeth, Aries reached over and turned the heater up even higher. Maybe she would roast back there. Or maybe she would sweat out the residual anesthesia and finally come to her senses—though that was purely wishful thinking. The tag still awaited her.

Erabelle’s existence was, frankly, an unmitigated disaster. Not quite as miserable as their own endless nightmare, perhaps, but a horrific mess nonetheless.

With a weary, hollow expression, Aries turned his gaze out toward the passing frost on the window.