Everything about Isaac felt off.From the fact that he was using the alias “Ion,” to his ties to that cult group, right down to his final words—none of it sat right.But one thing had become certain:The reason the creatures were nowhere to be seen was clearly connected to this group.I’ll have to confirm it myself.But how?They were already hostile.So he decided to take the simplest route.“Stop right there.”He pointed Blade Zero’s tip at Isaac, who was approaching.“Do you really intend to draw blood?”At the same time—Clack! Clack!Rifles clicked, weapons trained toward him.But Kyle didn’t flinch.“Ion, was it?”Isaac—the man behind the alias.He, too, must have known those guns posed no real threat to him.After all, Isaac was connected to the military—a Transhuman. That alone explained the lack of hesitation.I didn’t expect this, but still…At his quiet words, Isaac’s eyes shook violently.“Why would a Special Forces operative from Command infiltrate under a false name?”“……”“Does it have something to do with the telegram you sent to the 7th Defense Base?”“Who the hell are you?”The calm mask fell away.Like a beast, the young man growled, feral and furious.No—he only looked like a young man. Inside, he was a monster.He plunged the final dagger of words in deep.“Do you think you can handle it if I decide to go wild?”“Hah…”Isaac let out a scoff that tried to sound amused, but his eyes said otherwise.They stayed cold, analytical.Then—his figure disappeared.“Hm.”Isaac lunged low, aiming to grab a joint—probably planning to subdue him by locking his limbs.“A good call.”But the problem was—his opponent was him.“Damn it!”Just by shifting the sword’s angle, he disrupted Isaac’s path.The blade’s tip nearly pierced Isaac’s eye—he barely avoided blindness.Still, Isaac tried to move behind him, perhaps to choke him out from the back.But he grabbed the man by the collar instead, and in the next instant—BOOM!Isaac was slammed into the ground.“Guh!”“Commander!”“Are you all right?!”“What are you doing?! Shoot him already!”“No! If we shoot now, the commander’ll be hit too!”Chaos.But he ignored it and finished what he started.Through the cloud of dust, he yanked Isaac up by the hair.Blood dripped from Isaac’s mouth, yet he still laughed faintly.“Heh… heh heh… who are you? This—this makes no sense.”“I won’t ask twice. Answer me.”“Pteh!”Isaac spat bloody phlegm, but it only splattered harmlessly against the active helmet.He tried to wrap his legs around and dislocate a shoulder—a perfect form, strong enough to rip the joint out of a normal human.“Are you done?”“……”A long pause.Isaac’s face went pale.“…You’re one of us?”“As if.”“Then what the hell are you?”“Kyle Han. Commander of the Ark Unit.”So among the Transhumans, the only ones who could face him—were people like their leader.Though implants could enhance human bodies beyond natural limits,that only applied to normal humans.Even a Transhuman in a chrome exosuit couldn’t defeat humanity’s strongest weapon.Maybe that was why—Isaac’s demeanor had changed so drastically.“The Ark Unit…? That actually exists?”“I’m not here to answer pointless questions.”“What do you want, then?”“I want to know why there are no mutants in this region.”“And if I tell you that, you’ll leave?”“I promise.”“…Haa.”Isaac sighed lightly.Bang!Someone had pulled the trigger in that instant of tension.Whiz!His hyper-senses kicked in—he turned his head just in time for the bullet to graze his helmet.“Wh—what the hell?”The one who’d fired stared in shock.The tension snapped taut again.Isaac’s glare could have killed the man who had shot.“Damn it, you crazy bastard…!”Watching all this, Kyle muttered coldly:“I’ll let this one slide. But any more, and it’ll count as a hostile act.”He leveled the sword at their heads—but restrained himself.That moment of restraint alone made Isaac bow deeply.“…Thank you.”“Then perhaps we can finally have a proper conversation.”“Of course.”He’d stopped pretending now.“For now, please—come inside.”Still, it was strange.Inviting someone you’d just fought into your base?It would’ve made more sense to just explain things and send him away.Unless—he couldn’t.It became clear this wasn’t a simple matter.It could even be a trap.And yet, the issue wasn’t Isaac’s invitation itself,but that the armed men objected to it.“Commander?!”“What do you mean by that?!”“He’s an outsider!”“Since when have we ever turned outsiders away?”“But still…”“We can’t stop him anyway. It’ll look better if we’re the ones who invite him.”They didn’t like it, but they obeyed.Isaac dusted off his coat and said,“If you want answers, you’ll have to meet our leader.”The inside was even more dreadful than it looked from the outside.Haggard people everywhere—and those who managed them looked just as hollow.None of them had normal expressions left.Isaac spoke calmly, as if used to the sight.“You don’t have to look at them that way.”“Hard not to, considering what I’m seeing.”“Well, on the surface it looks bad. But they used to be raiders. They should be grateful we let them live at all.”“Raiders, huh…”That reason, at least, made sense.In a world where those who abandoned their humanity couldn’t be treated as human.But still, something about his words didn’t add up.“Is that really true?”At his probing look, Isaac flinched slightly—but said nothing more.No need to dig further right now.That wasn’t the priority.He simply followed Isaac’s lead deeper into the area.Before long, Isaac added quietly,“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t reveal my identity.”“Of course.”“Thank you.”Given the circumstances, he wasn’t about to expose him anyway.If anything, Isaac’s situation was a little pitiful—a man whose infiltration backfired, and who got beaten down for it.Though from his side, it had been fair retaliation—they’d aimed their guns first.He had no reason to treat Isaac harshly now.“You’ll have to wait a little to meet the Apostle.”“The Apostle…”“That’s what people here call him. He prefers it that way.”Perhaps because it was just the two of them walking,Isaac’s voice turned sharp, almost bitter—like he was trying to prove he wasn’t really part of this cult.It was clear he didn’t hold much affection for this “Apostle.”“Interesting.”“…?”“You seem to have quite a rank here, yet you speak like an outsider.”“Well, officially I’m the security commander. But yes—I am ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) an outsider.”“Then why stay here?”“I told you already. I came because I was curious.”“So you still haven’t found your answer, then.”“No, well… you’ll see for yourself soon.”Isaac.He must have remained here for a reason.Given his background, it could only mean one thing.After the fall began, he’d left the special forces and later became a core member of the City Reconstruction Committee.What few knew, however, was that his mission was to infiltrate and turn the Committee into a puppet arm of the Transhumans.Though that was before [Mother] wiped out the special forces and forced him to stay put…So—his presence here, as an “outsider,” was likely part of that mission.Time to toss out some bait.“Is this part of your assignment?”Isaac’s brow twitched slightly.“You’ll wait here.”Clack… creak.He opened the door instead of replying.The interior was sparse.“This is the Apostle’s quarters.”A few people were present.Isaac adjusted his tone, mindful of them.“I’ll hear your answer later.”“If the opportunity allows.”Passing him by, he stepped inside.A few people inside.None of them seemed important.That in itself was suspicious.A crouched child cleaning the floor.A young woman arranging bookshelves.All of them—eerily off.They stopped what they were doing and stared at him.Maybe there were clues to be found here.“Nice to meet you.”“……”No response.Or maybe—none could respond.He rummaged through his pack, pulling out something tempting—no reaction.The child was the easiest to approach, of course,but he didn’t plan to exploit them for information.He only hoped small kindness might lower their guard.“What’s your name?”He offered a piece of chocolate.The child hesitated, then cautiously took it.Even the child’s full of fear.Children were rare in this world.A world where aging had ceased and birthrates had plummeted.Marriage itself was almost extinct.As that thought passed—a wave of nausea hit him.Moral revulsion.At the moment the child unwrapped the chocolate and put it in their mouth,he realized what had been done to them.You’ve got to be kidding me.Then—Creak.Someone entered.An old man in white robes, wearing an ominous symbol, smiling kindly.Should I kill him right now?He barely held back the urge to sever the man’s neck.The old man spoke first, with feigned politeness.“So you’re the one the security commander was forced to bring?”Keeping his expression neutral was easy.[Trait Activated: Actor]“Nice to meet you. I’m Kyle.”“Yes, pleasure to meet you as well. I am Pietro, Apostle of the newly formed Order of Silence. So—what brings you here?”“I came because I had questions.”“Hmm…”Pietro hummed softly, nodding as he gestured for him to sit.“Please, have a seat. You there—go fetch us some tea.”A few people left immediately.Once seated, the old man sighed.“Please don’t think of it as the old man’s bad taste. These poor children— I only keep them here to care for them.”“Poor children?”“Yes. They were taken by raiders and suffered terrible things.”“I see.”That was not the story he expected.Pietro chuckled lightly, continuing in a gentle tone.“So then—what was it you wanted to know?”

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