Chapter 30 

 

Commander of the State Defense Forces Air Surveillance Base.
Major General Mikhail bellowed at his subordinate’s report.

“What the hell do you mean? Why did it suddenly go out of control!?”

“W-We’re still investigating, sir. However…”

“However, what!?”

“There’s absolutely no evidence, sir…”

“What kind of bullshit is that!?”

Mikhail’s rage was justified. He had just received a report that all the military satellites under the base’s control had malfunctioned. Satellites that were supposed to just orbit the planet had gone berserk and melted down.

It would have been bad enough if that were the only issue, but the real problem was that they couldn’t figure out why the satellites, which had been working perfectly, suddenly went haywire.

“How do dozens of military satellites get completely destroyed overnight, and you can’t find a single clue!?”

“It’s as if… it was the work of a ghost, sir. Not a trace was left…”

“Does that even make sense!?”

Dozens of military satellites operated by the Defense Forces were destroyed in a single day. And yet, there was no trace of who did it. Could something like this even be possible?

Mikhail’s first thought was that it was an attack by villain organizations. However, the Hero Association or military bases would have detected such an attack, whether physical or cyber.

Reasonable deduction ruled out villains as the culprits. Then what could it be? Could the satellites, having gained consciousness, have realized their predicament and committed mass suicide?

“Our investigation shows that the satellites were destroyed around 11 AM. At that time, they were passing over the orbit of Z City.”

“That slum? Why the hell did it happen there!?”

“We’re not sure… The surveillance footage from satellites passing near that orbit has also been deleted an hour before and after the incident… It’s as if someone deliberately wanted to hide what happened there.”

“So, what you’re saying is, someone made the satellites go berserk without leaving a trace, and even hacked into the footage to erase it? Do you really think that’s possible?”

“It’s impossible, sir.”

Modern technology couldn’t achieve such a feat. As his subordinate said this, Mikhail let out a sigh. But wasn’t the very thing that was supposed to be impossible happening right now? He was already getting a headache just thinking about how to track down the culprit.

Then, something crossed Mikhail’s mind. Superhumans who could perform the impossible without batting an eye… Entities that could meddle with military systems and leave no trace.

“This incident… We’ll cover it up.”

“What? Sir, we’ve lost dozens of satellites. We can’t just—”

“Lieutenant, think carefully. Didn’t you just say it’s impossible to explain this by normal means?”

Mikhail pointed upward as he continued.

“That means it’s the will of those above us. It’s better to cover this up than to stir the pot and provoke them.”

“‘Those above us’… Just how high up are we talking?”

“Don’t ask. Just pretend you saw nothing, heard nothing. No one died from the satellite crashes, and there were no significant damages, right?”

The lieutenant swallowed nervously and nodded. Even a high-ranking officer like Mikhail was far out of his reach, and yet, there were people even Mikhail couldn’t handle? The mere thought sent a chill down the lieutenant’s spine.

“…Then we’ll just wrap this up as a collision between satellites.”

“Yeah, do that.”

And so, the incident of the military satellites being hijacked was quietly swept under the rug.
No one would ever know. It was as if the event never happened.

The media was constantly buzzing about Omega Industry. Specifically, about the negative stories related to Omega Industry and Z City.

“Evidence of illegal experiments conducted by Omega Industry has been found in large quantities… Several cities have decided to condemn Z City for turning a blind eye to this—”

“This is the main street of Z City. As you can see, the streets are littered with beastmen high on drugs. ‘What the fuck are these human bastards doing here?’ Uh, um… we’re live on air…”

“Evil Corporation has started a fund to support the citizens of Z City who have been affected by Omega Industry…”

“The military authorities have announced that the incident was caused by a collision between satellites…”

Watching the media repeatedly bash Omega Industry made it clear just how furious our boss was.

At this point, the fire should have died down, but new issues kept coming up to keep the flames burning. Where did they even get such materials? It was almost impressive.

In the midst of all this, the satellite I had hacked was only briefly mentioned. Considering I hadn’t told the boss about it, it ended much better than expected. Even Bira, standing beside me, looked at me in amazement and asked.

“The satellite? Wasn’t that the one you hacked, Eight?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“If you can hack a military satellite, couldn’t you hack into a bank too? You could make a ton of money…”

“Bira, do you think I’m a criminal? Why would I do something like that?”

“You are a villain…”

As Bira looked at me incredulously, I ignored her and turned my attention to Levi-tan, who was currently undergoing an experiment.

She was breathing inside a special solution. Although she hadn’t opened her eyes yet, the hideous form she had taken was almost completely gone. She was back to her original appearance, minus her limbs.

I could have woken her up at this stage, but there was no need to rush.

‘Now that she’s regained her human form… it’s time to get to work.’

I looked over the data that Galm and Aile had retrieved after razing Omega Industry. Among the data was information about the L-series project Levi-tan had been subjected to. Specifically, the Leviathan experiment.

As I read through the experiment data, my face twisted in disgust.

“Trash… If they did experiments like this on Earth, they’d be thrown in jail.”

The experiment went like this:
“Beastmen lack superpowers but have superior physical abilities. However, they’ve been outpaced by technological advancements and the evolution of superpowers. To restore the status of the beastmen, we need to reclaim their glory through their unique strength.

Therefore, we aim to create the ultimate beastman by combining the strengths of various beastmen…”

In simpler terms, it was a chimera experiment.

They tried to create the ultimate beastman by combining different species, focusing on their strengths. Of course, the experiment failed, and even the so-called ‘successful’ specimen, Levi-tan, wasn’t exactly glorious.

She was more like a monster.

‘Genetic synthesis isn’t something that’s easily achieved… especially with beastmen, whose genetic differences are likely even greater than those between human races.’

To make matters worse, they seemed to have implanted some kind of genetic code to control this ultimate beastman. If certain words were spoken, the person who uttered them would be absolutely obeyed…

As if the experiment wasn’t difficult enough, they added such impurities, so it was bound to fail.

My task was to remove that obedience code and then restore her mixed-up genes back to their original state.

The problem was, I wasn’t sure where to start or how far to go.

“Bira, do you know what species Levi-tan originally was?”

“A rabbit, right? She has rabbit ears.”

“No, those are more like decorations, similar to a human tailbone.”

“…Then why does she have them?”

“They relied on genetic randomness to achieve success, so it’s not surprising.”

“What the hell does that even mean?”

As the humanities-inclined Bira tilted her head in confusion, I decided to tear it all apart. Everything, down to the last bit—whether original or not—was going to be stripped away. If she wanted, I could always put it back later.

With that decision, I carefully began manipulating the computer. As the computer’s processing circuit decoded Levi-tan’s DNA map, it also started to slowly disassemble her genes.

By the time Levi-tan opened her eyes, she would be a completely different person.

Grumble.
Levi-tan was startled by the unknown liquid entering her throat. But soon, she realized that even though she was underwater, she could still breathe without much difficulty.

‘…What is this?’

The psychological pressure of being submerged made breathing difficult, but strangely enough, the act of breathing itself wasn’t impossible. Even though she was a mix of various beastmen, she hadn’t developed gills, so this was odd.

As she forced her eyes open in the strange liquid and looked around, Levi-tan realized she was naked, trapped in a capsule-like container, and that someone was watching her.

Two people were observing her—Eight and Bira. One of them was the opposite sex. While it was embarrassing to be seen naked by another woman, being seen by Eight was utterly mortifying, no matter if she was fundamentally a beast.

“Gluuurrk—!”

Panicking, Levi-tan gulped down the strange liquid, causing her to bubble at the mouth. Seeing this, Eight finally realized she was awake. Moments later, the capsule opened, and cool air replaced the liquid in her lungs.

“Puhah—!”

Levi-tan gasped for air, hastily covering her chest and groin with her arms, glaring at Eight for an explanation. But surprisingly, Eight didn’t seem the least bit flustered.

She wondered if he wasn’t fazed by her nakedness, but that wasn’t the main issue. Eight smiled lightly and spoke.

“Levi-tan, you’re awake. It’s now the year 20XX. That means ten years have passed since you fell asleep.”

“…What?”

“After you went berserk in Z City, you didn’t wake up for ten years. You’ve only just opened your eyes.”

An unbelievably shocking statement.

The idea that she had been asleep for over ten years left Levi-tan trembling as she stared at Eight.

The two of them didn’t look much different from when she had last seen them. Did they perhaps take some kind of immortality drug befitting evil scientists?

As Levi-tan shook her eyes in disbelief, Bira, standing behind her, started to giggle.

“Ha… Haha, pfft…”

“…Bira?”

“Sorry. I didn’t think you’d actually believe it—”

“Believe it? Seriously?”

“It was a joke, Levi-tan.”

Relieved, Levi-tan let out a deep sigh. To hear such a joke right after waking up? Her heart nearly dropped.

After finally receiving some clothes from Bira and covering herself, Levi-tan slowly stood up. As she did, she realized her body felt incredibly weak, like she’d been bedridden for months. She trembled like a newborn fawn.

“…Eight, could you explain?”

“Yes. It’s been a week since you went berserk and collapsed. During that time, I’ve been treating and modifying your body.”

“Modifying…?”

“I apologize for doing it without your permission, but I couldn’t let the same thing happen again.”

Hearing Eight’s words, Levi-tan’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

To prevent the same thing from happening again… That sounded as if…

“From today onwards, Levi-tan, you’re human. No longer a beastman, but human.”

Twiiiiitch—!
Levi-tan stared at her reflection in the mirror, focusing on her rabbit ears, and let out a bitter laugh.

‘…A human?’

The unique physical traits she once had as a beastman—the ability to shrug off gunshots as minor stings, resist burning, and run fast enough to keep up with vehicles—were all gone.

Apart from the rabbit ears on her head, there was no trace left of her beastman identity. Even the rabbit ears could be removed at any time, according to Eight.

‘So now I’m just a stupid human cosplaying as a rabbit…’

The thought made her chuckle bitterly.
A foolish human.
Yes.

Levi-tan found herself thinking of humans as she looked into the mirror.

Not dirty, ugly beasts, but humans. The very thing she had always wanted to be.

“A human…”

She absentmindedly touched her body, forgetting the strange speech pattern she usually forced herself to use to fit in with others.

The beastman’s characteristic powerful muscles, sharp senses, and fur had all long since disappeared.

What remained was a body of weak muscles and fat that anyone would only call human.

‘Eight… Eight turned me into a human…’

Thinking back, he had always treated her like that.

He never once looked down on her or despised her as a beast.

From the start, he treated her as if it was only natural for a person with ears and a tail to be human.

And now, he had completely turned her into a human.

“Haha… Haha… Eight, you liar.”

As she realized this, Levi-tan felt a warm sensation spreading in her lower abdomen. It was the same strong pull she had felt periodically as a beastman, a primal, animalistic urge.

How could she claim she was no longer a beast when she still felt this?

“Seems like I’m still a beast after all.”

When something goes wrong, you get a refund.
When a surgery fails, you hold the doctor accountable.
Levi-tan realized she had to confront Eight directly about this mistake.

Directly.
She would personally confront him