Chapter 150 (1/2)

The Red Gate (1)

Our meeting was held quietly, undisclosed to Earth’s media. It’s because the Union made such a request. As I entered the Union officials’ temporary residence floating over New York, a small drone-like machine welcomed me.

– The Commissioner is waiting inside.

It was a machine that emitted telepathy. I looked at it with an interested gaze. I saw a very small Mana Core mounted inside the Machine, but it was certainly not a creature. It was also some sort of artifact.

– Welcome, Earth’s Awakened.

The presence greeting me in the room with delicate lighting was a huge chunk of flesh. If a turnip were to be attached with fat, would it be like that? The alien, fattened up to the point that its length and width seemed almost familiar, looked more than five meters tall, and wrinkled fat flowed down throughout the body. In the middle, there were several thin tentacles that were like the roots of a radish. It didn’t seem to act as a hand or foot, and perhaps it would be a sensory organ.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Commissioner.” – Call me Bachurka.

To be honest, she looked like she was struggling just by opening her eyes and looking at me. We had never come across each other in the past life, so I didn’t know until recently, but it was said that their species grew massive as they aged and became bloated as their muscles changed into fats. Also, she held a high-ranking position in the Union, but she did not appear to be an outstanding Awakened. By Earth’s standard, perhaps she would only be around C-Rank? Compared to ordinary people, they might experience slower aging, but their flesh wasn’t entirely free from the flow of time. Therefore, that appearance proved that she was an ancient being among their species.

Wing! Weeing!

Around her, dozens of large and small drones were busy flying. It was reminiscent of honeybees coming and going around the hive. I looked at what each drone was doing. One of them poked around the flesh with a syringe-like object, injecting its contents, while another raised the folded flesh and exposed it, while the one next to it applied a coolant spray on the exposed skin. Meanwhile, her anatomy’s lower part was attached to a device that allowed her hefty body to float in the air. Apparently, she was in a state wherein she couldn’t even move on her own. In fact, only the brain was working decently, but artifacts replaced everything else. She asked a question.

– Do thou have any idea on thy summon?

Her attitude was quite polite. As Adam assured, there was no threatening energy sensed. I answered back.

“I was only told that before the Earth’s registration to the Union can be finalized, something needed to be confirmed through an interview first.”

Then a brief silence flowed.

– …Hmm?

She leaked a mental wave in a tone as if she had heard an unexpected answer. Then immediately, I noticed signs that told me she was confirming it with someone. After a while…

It must be that the business team working under me had exercised excess caution. Those gents must have been careful to avoid words leaking before the official announcement. “What? I don’t grasp it quite well.” – To put it bluntly, the Earth’s alliance with the Union has already practically been confirmed. “!”

Adam also guaranteed that if it’s a dimension of Earth’s level would easily be able to join, but it was a relief to receive direct confirmation from such a high-ranking alien. It’s going well as planned. But then…

‘Hmm? Then why was I summoned?’

She talked about that portion as if my curiosity had been revealed on my face.

– I hath asked thee to meet with me to make an offer.

Then she spoke as she caught me off guard. She talked about not what I should concern myself with, but what would become Earth’s problem from then on, and at the same time, that it would become the Union’s business.

– I’d like to talk to thee today about the species called Mercadius. “…”

Thump, thump. My heart pulsated heavily. I waited for the next word without a hasty answer. The Commissioner gave off relaxed telepathy.

– I do not know if thou already knoweth, but not long ago, the Union dispatched four selected warriors to try to subdue the Mercadius individual. Do thee know the consequences? “I heard that an undersea volcano erupted at the site of the attack, causing a tsunami and damaging only the Earthling inhabitants of the area. And that in the process, both the Union warriors and Mercadius went missing.”

mixed into her mental wave. Most of them were connected with suspicion and anxiety.

– That is right. If Mercadius is dead, it’s the best outcome for the Union and Earth, and if he’s fled to a different dimension, it’s good news for the Earth, but it’s a pity for the Union. However, if he’s just on the planet but has hidden more diligently, it will be the worst outcome for everyone. Unfortunately, however, our analysis showed that the last assumption is to be more likely the case. “May I ask why you made such a judgment?” – When our warriors launched an operation to suppress him, the Union Command observed the scene in real-time.

Lately, governments on Earth had also monitored operations in real-time, even if it’s done from the other side of the globe. The Union wouldn’t have been blind and only waited for news to be heard in such a crucial situation.

– As a result, the Mercadius species’ abilities… the individual’s skills that fought with our warriors have been identified. Do you know what’s the most threatening among them? “…”

Why did she keep asking me questions? Did she think that I was aware of something?

– We assume that he hath the ability to overtake and control the spirit of his opponent.

[Mercadius’ Seed]. Based on what had been revealed, it was a unique skill that was judged to be much more powerful and semi-permanent than Angelica’s mental manipulation skill. The grade was of the same SSS-Class, but the skill performance differed too significantly. The reason was presumably that Mercadius’s skill had already been improved several times. I asked her a question.

“Were the warriors manipulated by him?” – The half did. “?” – We haven’t figured out the conditions for manipulation and brainwashing. We’ve only confirmed the aftereffect. Two of the four best warriors suddenly showed an unknown reaction and started attacking the other half.

So even they had been defeated.

– The brawl continued in that manner… Then suddenly, the volcano erupted. The next is as thou knoweth.

The eruption indeed seemed to have been the doing of Mercardius, not of the Union.

– Well, I think we should receiveth to business.

The eyes revealed between the swollen flesh were covered with something foggy. She stared straight at me.

– I’ve read the records of the Union Audit team’s interview with thee. It was interesting.

The Albanos bastards.

“I heard that it did not end well for them.” – Aye, they were all dismissed.

It was just as Adam told me.