The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

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Somewhere on the Lumaria continent, in the bunker of the Foundation’s continental branch. The monthly meeting of the Foundation began in a vacant conference room.

Honestly, calling this a meeting was an insult to meetings. The ruthless Ariel Group had forced the entire Board of Directors and key executives to retire beyond the grave.

Now, the Foundation’s actual operations were a mere shadow of their former selves. The excessive restructuring was a blatant testament to the catastrophic impact on the organization’s very existence.

“What happened to the record repository?”

“It’s completely wrecked.”

The brief report from one of the few remaining chief researchers sank heavily like a lead weight in the sighs of Secretary General Fegan and the directors. The Foundation had turned into a blank slate.

“All that data and projects we’ve built up…”

Someone sighed, their frustration palpable. While personnel, technology, and preliminary data evacuated to the continent’s branch and other clans remained, the core of the central record repository contained the very essence of the Foundation.

“What’s the status on recovering the control algorithm? How long do you think it’ll take?”

“At least a few years…”

The control algorithm of the Foundation, which relied heavily on the central record repository, was utterly incapacitated.

This meant that Rumyx’s once precise operational capabilities had plummeted to the Stone Age level.

The remaining staff of the Foundation felt as if they had suddenly been thrust back to using quill pens and parchment.

There was a more serious problem.

“Are we all that’s left?”

“Yes, we are all that’s left.”

The Secretary General’s emotionless declaration was met with one director desperately cradling their head.

It was an obvious blunder one shouldn’t show in front of subordinates, but no one was in a position to point fingers.

There were only three members of the Board of Directors in the meeting room.

It included the Secretary General who barely escaped the XB-29 naval base, a director, and the director from Rustroom who had narrowly evaded the clutches of the Ariel Group.

The fate of the others was painfully obvious. The military director, 02, had perished in the field, and others had surely been lost, left worse off than death itself.

It was an unrelentingly bleak situation.

Amidst the stifling silence, Secretary General Fegan forced a semblance of will.

Yes, it wasn’t over yet.

“We’ve got to have retrieved Hellman, right?”

“Yes, Sir. Some that couldn’t be retrieved were completely disposed of. No one understands the project at Laplacian now. But we still have the archers from Cascadia and unopened Hellman units at Rumyx.”

The board members and executives in the meeting room managed to steel themselves. Their elite force had crumbled to ashes, and Hekatonkheires had been taken, but as long as they had one trump card left, they could still maintain the Foundation’s reputation.

They could vaguely sustain the Foundation’s lifeline and influence from Rustroom and the continent.

“Time heals all. Eventually, everything will be forgotten.”

Fegan’s tired gaze drifted to the real-time news screen in the corner of the conference room.

[Patent Beheading Squad? Patent Plunder Squad! The heinous actions of the Containment Enforcement revealed through leaked confidential materials-]

[“Our Ariel Group will expose all the misdeeds and operations of those Foundation bastards! Believe it or not, it’s up to you!”]

“…We must respond as much as possible. Through the PR department and info section, we’ll counter that black propaganda—”

“All PR personnel are either missing or have fled.”

The air in the conference room thickened. They didn’t even know what expressions to make anymore.

As soon as Rumyx lost their voice, the Ariel Group, resurrected from hell, unleashed their characteristic sensational smear campaigns and indiscriminate information dumps.

And that wasn’t all. In a society of packs and superhumans, weakness equated to death.

Before the Foundation could even bandage its wounds and regain its senses, companies and factions that caught the scent of blood mobilized all means to gnaw at Rumyx’s flesh.

A culmination of long-held grudges.

[-Recently, several medium and large clans have begun forced asset seizures against the Rumyx Foundation, taking on victim’s requests. Notably, the renowned Monster Hunter Orion from the Spear User ranks is participating and gaining public attention-]

They felt utterly impotent.

No one would have guessed that all the investments towards the future of human society and Academy City over several decades would end up betrayed like this.

“I wonder if that old man Valefor felt like this.”

Fegan muttered with a blend of bitterness and grim humor escaping his lips. The board sank back into heavy silence.

It remained that way until an excessively bright voice suddenly rang out.

“But, there’s a way to resurrect the Foundation, Sir!”

As Fegan turned, he saw a delicate-looking man with green hair resembling the Secretary General himself.

One nearby director sprang to their feet in rage.

“Damn shapeshifter! Isn’t it too soon for you to be playing around, you puppet who just copies us?”

Another director muttered.

“I thought we took care of all of them?”

The shapeshifter, seemingly a perfect copy of Chairman Laihan, stuck out his tongue with an innocent expression.

“Haha, Director 05! We are stationed at every core facility of the Foundation. Though we’re jesters, we are the jesters of the Foundation, loyal servants awaiting the savior of Laplacian! It is our mission to be where we must be.”

“Guard! Dispose of him.”

“Oh no! To think the noble desires of the Chairman would end like this!”

With arms exaggeratedly flung wide open in front of the pointed gun and blade, the shapeshifter was met with the moment Secretary General Fegan stood up.

“Shapeshifter, what’s this method?”

“Secretary General! You don’t have to listen to that bioweapon’s words—”

“Laihan was arrogant, but at least he didn’t do things without purpose. So, what is this method? It might be a last will left by my brother for a situation like this; I’ll hear you out.”

The shapeshifter continued, as if waiting for this moment, arms spread wide like a grand performer bowing deeply.

“The Chairman said, ‘If the awakening of Hekatonkheires fails, resume the halted Demon Evolution Project.’ He said that electronic and mechanical engineering were the wrong paths, and that only biological evolution is the sole answer!”

Director 05 sharply retorted.

“Nonsense. Do you really think that’s possible with the current capacity of the Foundation? Wasn’t that an unrealistic dream that was halted in the first place?”

The shapeshifter wore a subtle smile, approaching as if delivering a golden proposal.

“Soon, everyone will realize!”

Our Violet has been doing something fun lately. She’s been wandering around with Small Violet. The experiment is to see what happens when running both a regular Violet and a Small Violet together over an extended period.

“They said the lab would gather data and analyze the causes, right?”

“Yep! We just need to roam around like this!”

It wasn’t difficult nor dangerous. Helping Violet’s lab could lead me closer to finding a shortcut to getting even stronger.

After all, it’d be silly to reject a navigation guide that was being so kind.

“Alright! Unit 434! From now on, you’re my little brother. You’re playing the role of a brother! Got it?”

“Got it! Unit 6442! But, I was created before you, so why should I be the younger brother?! I don’t like that!”

“Just do it!”

“Ugh…”

After a bit of a fuss, billowing silhouettes of disturbingly similar little sister pairs began crawling around Rustroom.

“Levi! Look at this.”

“B, Violet? Uh, who’s that? No way! Violet has a younger sister!”

“Yep! I’m Little Sister Violet! Small!”

“W, wait a second! If, if you had a younger sister, where have you been all this time…”

First, I introduced Small Violet to Levi. Maybe she was innocent enough to almost fall for it.

After the explanation, she looked shocked enough that she almost toppled over.

“I’m smaller and cuter! Aren’t you jealous?”

“Violet can shrink and grow…”

This time, I decided to try and trick others too. People who didn’t know my abilities or were meeting me for the first time were quite easily fooled.

A sudden amusing thought crossed my mind.

“I bet Ariel would fall for it too.”

Of course, I felt Ariel had caught on that I maneuvered clones to an extent, but she probably wouldn’t know this much.

It wasn’t necessary to tell the other sick kids, either.

“Hey, Ariel! Hi there!”

The atmosphere in the hospital room I visited after a long time felt oddly deflated. Everyone looked pale.

“…Sister, have you been okay?”

Ariel reacted with a worried tone upon seeing me.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Well… outside…”

Ariel glanced around and cautiously pulled out her cell phone to show me.

On the screen was ‘me’ dressed in a black combat uniform.

“Oh, right. Thinking about it…”

From the perspective of someone who knows me, but isn’t a friend or an ally, it must have been quite shocking.

“It’s okay. It’s all over now!”

“…Please be careful, Sister. Don’t overstrain yourself anymore…”

Ariel still wore a concerned expression. Right, she was the one who should be worried.

She looked particularly pale now.

I had a passing thought about using my upgraded abilities to give her a nudge.

[This is an issue related to Apostles. Should I try it with my mental manipulation abilities? I might be able to cure her.]

[Yeah, I’ll have to plan and prepare thoroughly.]

But enough of such thoughts; for now, I’d just play around.

“By the way, Ariel! Let me introduce you to a new friend.”

“Hello!”

The pale hue on Ariel’s face instantly brightened.

Apparently, there’s a charm in introducing a younger, cuter girl to a young girl.

“Wow, who are you?”

“I’m Little Sister!”

“So pretty…”

As Small Violet and Ariel chatted happily, the hospital room door swung open. A boy with blue hair carrying a school bag locked eyes with me.

It was Lucian.

“Long time no see. I hear you’ve been quite busy outside.”

“Oh, really? By the way, I have someone to introduce!”

Ariel jumped in excitedly from the side.

“Lucian Oppa! Look at her! She’s Violet’s little sister!”

With a bright smile, Small Violet shouted, “Hello, Oppa!”

Lucian replied with a monotone expression.

“Oh, right. How’s your condition today? Ready for study?”

“I’m fine! I’m all set!”

“Good to hear. We’ll start in 20 minutes.”

As I stood there blankly, suddenly Lucian leaned closer to me.

“When did you learn to create little clones?”

The whisper rang in my ear, and my heart skipped a beat.

“Huh! How did you know?”

“How could I not? You dummy.”

Sadly, Lucian saw right through the ruse. What a bummer.

[Damn it! Why are you so sharp!]

After finishing a few tasks, as I exited the hospital room, my unfortunate streak continued even from afar at Aegis Academy dormitory.

“So, lying down like this is comfortable, right?”

“Yep! Sister Daphne!”

Small Violet had completely taken over my roommate’s lap for herself, lying comfortably.

“Hey! Move!”

“No! She’s mine!”

Of all times, how could this happen to me? Perhaps I should shrink down too.

“I want to lie down too!”

“Uh, Violet? This is… troublesome…”

The little Violet sibling’s petty rivalry went on for quite a while.

[I need to go see Sister Adela…]

It seemed there was only one person who could handle this mountain of little Violets.

**

Deep within the Foundation’s hangar. Black metal coffins stand in a row in the pitch-black darkness.

The figures inside are eerily still as if they’ve fallen into eternal slumber.

Only the monitors adorning the coffin surfaces and the blinking signals provide the sole evidence of their lives.

-Click

A faint resonance spread from the edge of darkness.

What lay beyond the glass of a mechanical coffin wasn’t quite a human form but closer to that of an insect pupa.

A grotesquely twisted, massive chunk writhed within.

Click, click. The somber vibrations cut through the shadows.

Like the breath of time, resonating in a rhythm, leaving increasing depth in its echoes.

 

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