Kim Je-Hyeon, the leader of the opposition party, stood as the counterweight to President Seong Dong-Hyeon's ruling party.
But in the 22nd century of Korea, labels like 'Ruling' and 'Opposition' were just for show. Handshakes across the aisle were as common—and meaningless—as backstabbing your own allies.
Currently, Kim Je-Hyeon was holding a secret meeting. The man sitting opposite him belonged to neither party. He was Lee Nam-Yong, the leader of the terrorist group 'Thanatics'.
"You actually surprised me. I didn't expect you to destroy every EV Terminal in less than a day."
Kim Je-Hyeon swirled his wine glass gently as he spoke.
"Representative Kim, you look nervous. Scared I might demand payment?"
Lee Nam-Yong looked beyond detached; he looked bored. Kim Je-Hyeon furrowed his brows.
"Do you think I, Kim Je-Hyeon, would break a promise?
Name your price. I'll grant anything!
...Within my power, of course."
"Induce Mana Overdrive in the citizens within your magic's influence.
It's something you were planning to do eventually anyway, isn't it?"
At Lee Nam-Yong's arrogant command, Kim Je-Hyeon openly displayed hostility.
"You... how much do you know?"
"I thought we agreed not to ask about each other's secrets.
Just get it done. If you refuse... next time, I'll bring down this building instead of the terminals."
Lee Nam-Yong stood up and left without a backward glance. Under Kim Je-Hyeon's grip, cracks began to spiderweb across his wine glass.
"That arrogant terrorist... daring to order me around...!"
The glass finally burst under the pressure, soaking his hand in expensive red wine.
***
Meanwhile, at Yu-Han's house.
"..."
"What's with the pout?"
When Yu-Han acted nonchalant, Alice snapped.
"Even if I'm in a robot body now, how could you do that to me?!"
"Is it such a big deal? The kill count just went from one to four. Besides, you didn't look like you were defeated by them."
"You... that attitude is the problem!"
Seeing Alice turn her head away in a huff, Yu-Han felt like he was dealing with a cat. In fact, he hated cats.
"Fine, I admit the prank was a bit much. Sorry. But... you were the one who sliced them up, right? You could have just beaten them up and laughed it off."
"No, my body moved on its own... It felt like something else took over for a moment..."
"Sounds like the classic criminal defense. 'My body moved on its own!' 'I was possessed by an evil spirit!' Drunk drivers and murderers all sing the same tune."
"Ughh... Fine! I admit I was partly at fault! Sorry!"
"Sure... I, being the benevolent soul that I am, shall forgive you!"
Alice was dumbfounded. How did this turn into her apologizing and him forgiving her? Still, once again, he was helping her. And the bounty for the thugs seemed substantial. Her database told her it was a high wage for a day's work.
'If he pulls something weird again, I'm out of here.'
She just hoped the terminals would be fixed soon. Suddenly, she sensed a presence at the window. ...Wait, wasn't this the 10th floor? Before she could speak, the window was flung open.
"Yu-Han C~!! Have you been well?!"
A girl with a youthful face, looking like a high schooler, burst in. Wolf ears poked through holes in her cap—a Beastkin, maybe. They were the second most populous race after pure humans.
"Why come through the window when there's a front door?"
Even Yu-Han couldn't hide his confusion and asked to her.
"Because! I knew mean old Yu-Han C wouldn't open it for me! Hehe. I used to live here too, you know. You're so mean!"
"Haa... If you knew that, you shouldn't have come. Well, I was about to call you anyway."
While they chatted, the girl finally noticed Alice. In that instant, the Five Stages of Grief flashed across the girl's face in rapid succession—Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance—finally settling into a complicated expression.
"Yu-Han C... who is this? Why is she in your house..."
"Just a robot I picked up."
"Ah, a robot?"
Kim Ga-Eun looked blatantly relieved.
Naive Alice didn't understand why being a 'robot' was such a relief.
"She claims to be human, but who knows? We're calling her 'Alice' for now."
"I see... Alice C! I'm Kim Ga-Eun!"
"Right, nice to meet you."
Looking closely, this Kim Ga-Eun was actually quite cute.
"But how do you know a guy like Yu-Han? You look so innocent..."
Yu-Han snorted, but Kim Ga-Eun looked ready to recite an epic saga.
"Good question! Yu-Han C and I are bound by a deep destiny..."
"Cut the crap. It's just another old grudge."
"Tch..."
Kim Ga-Eun pouted but quickly remembered her purpose.
"Wait, this isn't the time! An exit ban has been issued for Old Seoul!
They say the terminal terror was done by people from Old Seoul...!"
"So what? That's just another day in Korea."
"Because of that, a massive mob has gathered in the Old Seoul Plaza. It's chaos out there."
"A mob...? Smells suspicious. Shall we go take a look?"
Alice was horrified.
"You're planning to kill them all, aren't you?!"
"You seem to think I'm a serial killer, but I'm a law-abiding taxpayer.
Unless there's a problem, I'm just watching. Come along, see how the real world works."
Alice wondered why Ga-Eun was so urgent if there wasn't a problem. But she had nothing to do now, so she decided to follow them.
***
Old Seoul, Sector B-4 Plaza.
"Seong Dong-Hyeon, step down!! Resign!! Impeach him!!"
Dozens of protesters screamed, taking over the plaza. An oblivious citizen walked past them.
"Hey, you! Do you love Representative Kim Je-Hyeon?!"
"What kind of crazy question is that... Why should I love that guy?"
"How dare you not support him!! We've got an anti-democrat here!!"
The mob swarmed the citizen, beating him mercilessly. Yu-Han, Alice, and Kim Ga-Eun watched from the sidelines.
"No problems in here."
"You're right. Just business as usual."
Yu-Han and Ga-Eun turned to leave, bored.
"Wait, they're beating an innocent man, and you say there's no problem?!"
"They aren't registered sanction targets. Killing them would be a crime, you know?"
"Then I have to stop them...!"
Before Yu-Han could stop her, Alice rushed in. She shoved through the violent crowd and helped the victim up.
"Everyone, stop this!"
"Who the hell are you, bitch?! Are you an anti-democrat too...?"
The screamers froze upon seeing Alice's beauty. Their attitude shifted instantly.
"Oh my, Miss. That guy is a maggot gnawing at our democracy. Exterminating bugs is a righteous act."
"He's not a bug, he's a human! This is illegal!"
"Tsk. The people are the owners of the nation, right? So our will is the law! If you want, we can get a room and I can educate you..."
"You people are disgusting."
"What...?"
Facing the enraged mob, Alice hoisted the bloodied citizen onto her shoulder.
'Stay calm... recall the sensation.'
The way she decapitated those thugs—it had to be a combat protocol pre-installed in this chassis. Alice tried to trigger it consciously. The calculation took less than 0.1 seconds.
"What are you doing!? Stop or I will...!"
The mob leader's words were cut short as Alice drove her elbow into the man blocking her path.
"Damn it, get this bitch! She's violent!"
"Grab her arms and legs!"
They tried to grab her, but she struck them with precision punches and kicks, vaulted off their heads, and redirected their charges so they collided with each other. She moved like a martial arts grandmaster, despite never learning a single move.
'Is this... Combat AI Mode?'
Alice broke through the encirclement, perfectly calculating trajectories and counters. Last time, the AI acted on its own and killed them. But now, she consciously held back to avoid lethal force.
"You slippery little...!! If there is a God, he shouldn't let such evil get away! It's so unfair!!"
The mob collapsed, watching their comrades get dismantled by a single girl. But did God really listen? Suddenly, an unnatural strength surged through them.
"Wh-what is this...? My body feels light!"
"Wait... why are horns growing on you?"
"Then why do you have three eyes?"
Their bodies expanded, distorted, and mutated grotesquely. The mob was gone. Only a horde of monsters remained, roaring like beasts.
"Wh-what are these things...?!"
The monsters charged at Alice. Seeing their superhuman speed and power, Alice realized she couldn't outrun them.
"I can't help it...!"
She tried to draw her beam sword, but it flickered and died. Only then did she check her battery. The high-speed combat calculations had drained it to single digits.
"Alice C...! Snap out of it!"
Someone jumped between Alice and the monsters. It was Kim Ga-Eun.
"Ga-Eun? You... are you blocking them with your bare hands?"
"I'm technically a sanctioner too, you know."
Then, Kim Ga-Eun's body began to twist and expand. Her form became far more grotesque than the other monsters. A wolf's head, but a lower body mixed with claws, scales, spikes, tentacles, and poison. A chimera beast unlike anything else.
"Ga-Eun...? Weren't you a Wolf Beastkin!?"
"Actually, she isn't."
Yu-Han answered instead as he walked over, lazily swinging his blade. Behind him lay a mountain of monster corpses.
"I heard she's a Chimera created through research."
"What kind of research creates that... Ugh..."
"The wonders of bio-engineering."
The Chimera that was Kim Ga-Eun tore the enemy monsters apart like kimchi. She spewed acid, dissolving them down to nothing but a sizzling puddle, and reduced them to pulp with furious kicks. The massacre was so one-sided that her victims actually looked pitiable.
While Alice stood in a daze, Yu-Han and Kim Ga-Eun cleaned house. Civilians turned monsters couldn't beat experienced combatants.
"Yu-Han C... I don't think there's a single one left."
"Let's count the bodies. We'll file for the mutant disposal allowance."
The monster shrank back into the form of a girl. Of course, her clothes were in tatters. Kim Ga-Eun gathered the rags to cover herself and smiled awkwardly at Alice.
"...This is always the problem when I turn back..."
She quickly used outfit-swapping magic to return to pristine clothes. Alice couldn't find the words.
***
"What is that? Those things..."
Kim Je-Hyeon was watching everything through the eyes of the berserk protesters. He saw Yu-Han and Kim Ga-Eun wiping out his mob.
"Ah... I wondered who it was. It's Yu-Han... He has become quite the nuisance. It is time to remove him."
Kim Je-Hyeon made a direct call to the Director of the Bureau of Life Management (BLM).
"There are some individuals I'd like to register as sanction targets."