” Cough -! “
Spewing out filthy water that could rival the Ganges River, Hasspoon regained his senses.
Seeing the axe-wielding man regain consciousness, Amon clicked his tongue.
“This… how can this even be considered human?”
To ensure certainty, they had left Hasspoon submerged in the river for hours, yet he remained alive.
It was truly a testament to his extraordinary vitality.
The moment Hasspoon regained consciousness, he inspected his state.
He found himself in an unfamiliar room, his limbs disassembled, leaving only his head and torso restrained.
“So that’s the face beneath the mask. I thought you’d have a tragic story written on it, but you’re surprisingly decent-looking.”
Despite his predicament, the axe-wielder smirked nonchalantly and spoke to Amon.
“But are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“With what?”
“By now, headquarters would have dispatched someone the moment I entered a comatose state. Are you sure this is fine, oh ‘Hero of Justice’?”
Hasspoon smirked confidently.
He still had no idea what Amon had done to him.
According to his memories, he had fallen into the water, and then Amon cast some incantation that blinded him and rendered him unconscious.
He couldn’t deduce what kind of ability it was.
In a world filled with implants, enhancements, and magic, it was impossible to know everything.
However, Hasspoon had his contingencies.
He possessed a device that, in the event of a life-threatening situation, regardless of the cause—be it bleeding, drowning, or freezing—would put his brain into a suspended state.
Theoretically, his brain could survive for 72 hours in such a state.
Within that time, his headquarters would dispatch a team to rescue and repair him.
This method had allowed Hasspoon to endure numerous deaths and return to the battlefield time and again.
He had no doubt it would work this time too.
With unwavering confidence, he stared at Amon.
But Amon’s expression remained indifferent as ever.
Folding his arms, he gazed at Hasspoon, now reduced to a mere torso.
Just as Hasspoon was about to dismiss this as bluffing, a woman, whom he hadn’t paid attention to until now, spoke.
“If they want to send someone, let them. Although, I doubt that company has the loyalty for something like that.”
When he turned his gaze, he saw a black-haired woman with red eyes, dressed like an office lady.
Only then did Hasspoon acknowledge her presence.
“And you are?”
“You don’t need to call me anything special.”
The woman, Cassie, was icy cold toward any man other than Amon.
Not that it mattered—Hasspoon was the type of man she would have disliked even without knowing Amon.
Everything about Hasspoon—from the drill-like horns on his head to the mask left covering his groin—was repulsive.
And his disassembled state made him look even more grotesque.
Cassie, despite her disgust, asked him calmly, “Which company are you with?”
“Now, now, miss, wasn’t it my turn to ask the questions first?”
“Don’t call me miss. Call me Director. And since that answers your question, it’s your turn to answer mine.”
“Hah… Women with strong personalities aren’t popular with men, you know…”
Cassie’s shoulder twitched slightly at Hasspoon’s comment.
She glanced at Amon nervously.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“To check if you share this muscle pig’s thoughts.”
“Being compared to that pervert is a bit harsh. I’m all about equality.”
“Good. That’s all I needed to know.”
Cassie turned her attention back to Hasspoon.
“So, about my question?”
“And why should I tell you?”
Despite his appearance, Hasspoon seemed to have some loyalty to his company and refused to answer.
But that didn’t matter to Cassie.
“Then just listen. Hasspoon McTile. Head of security for Miller Pharmaceuticals.”
What she was doing now wasn’t interrogation—it was merely confirming the information she already had.
“You were sent by your company to secure test subjects for a new drug project when the supply lines were cut, correct?”
Hasspoon stayed silent.
But his tightly shut lips couldn’t hide the truth from Cassie’s sharp gaze.
She continued pulling out information from him.
Meanwhile, Amon observed from the side, recalling Cassie’s words before Hasspoon had awakened.
“The future isn’t invincible.”
Whenever they discussed the future, Cassie always emphasized one fact.
No matter how many futures or parallel worlds one could see, unless she took action, those timelines wouldn’t manifest.
This applied to her opponents as well.
If they could perfectly conceal the truth, lie consistently, or remain silent in all scenarios, then her ability could be countered.
Fortunately, Hasspoon wasn’t capable of such feats.
Thus, her approach worked perfectly.
“You bypassed the intelligence department and forced your way into this task because you wanted to fight, didn’t you?”
Cassie’s deductions continued.
From Hasspoon, she extracted information about Miller Pharmaceuticals and its secrets.
By the time she reached the company’s most confidential matters, Hasspoon’s tightly shut mouth finally opened.
“The drug being tested is a vaccine, right? A new influenza vaccine? Ah, I see. Once the vaccine is completed, you plan to release the virus in Europe and conduct a selective operation. That would boost stock prices and let you buy land cheaply.”
“And who exactly are you?”
“I already told you. I’m a Director.”
Hasspoon, with only his neck mobile, couldn’t deduce much beyond the fact that he was in a lab-like space.
From the conversations, he guessed this place belonged to a megacorporation.
That could explain why his headquarters hadn’t come to rescue him yet.
In one last attempt, Hasspoon resorted to bluffing.
“Are you sure about this, Director? This could escalate into a corporate war.”
“Go ahead. Your name’s already been wiped from the company’s records.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Believe what you want, but it’s the truth. Do you think your headquarters values you enough to risk a corporate war?”
But even this desperate bluff fell flat in Cassie’s hands.
Miller Pharmaceuticals had long abandoned Hasspoon.
The moment he was moved to this facility, the company had cleanly severed ties with him.
“Tch.”
Even Hasspoon couldn’t deny the reality.
He understood.
If this truly was a megacorporation, his company had no reason to come for him.
While the information he held as the head of security was significant, it wasn’t worth starting a corporate war over.
Unless he were the spouse of the company president or the president was unusually honorable, no one would risk such a conflict for him.
And Hasspoon was neither of those things.
In other words, he had already been discarded.
Abandoning any hope of leveraging his company, Hasspoon made a new proposition.
“How about hiring me, then? Sure, I lost to that guy, but I can assure you my skills aren’t anything to scoff at.”
At his suggestion, Cassie’s gaze turned icy.
Hasspoon couldn’t understand her sudden change in attitude.
He thought it was a reasonable proposal.
‘Why was she reacting like this?’
As he pondered the question, Cassie spoke.
“There’s something called the banality of evil.”
“Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t understand something like that. To put it simply, whether you cooperated with your company or not, you’re still a villain.”
“Hah! What are you even talking about, miss? I know perfectly well that what I do isn’t righteous. But what can I do? We all live like this anyway.”
Amon’s shoulders twitched slightly.
His hand instinctively moved toward the sword at his waist.
But before he could act, Cassie stopped him, placing a hand on his arm.
Without taking her eyes off Hasspoon, she continued.
“American soul.”
“What?”
“What does ‘American soul’ mean to you?”
‘Why was she suddenly bringing that up?’ Hasspoon couldn’t understand why such words would come from her mouth.
But he decided not to overthink it.
After all, this woman had listed out details he had never revealed.
‘What was the point of questioning her now?’
With a confident grin, he answered her question.
“American soul! It’s freedom! The freedom to preach my beliefs without worrying about what others think! The freedom to seize what I desire by any means necessary!”
Hasspoon spoke with such eloquence that it was hard to believe this was the same man who had been silent earlier.
Amon, listening quietly, thought to himself, ‘That’s not freedom. That’s indulgence.’
But he didn’t say it out loud.
He had no intention of wasting energy arguing with a fool.
Instead, Cassie asked another question.
“Isn’t it contradictory to trample on the freedom of others while preaching about freedom?”
“No, no, no!”
Hasspoon puckered his lips and shook his head from side to side in a comically infuriating manner.
“Freedom must be fought for and protected. If the freedoms of the strong and the weak clash, of course, the stronger one’s freedom takes precedence. That’s just natural, isn’t it?”
“I see.”
Cassie nodded.
“So, you supported your company when innocent people were sacrificed for Miller Pharmaceuticals’ gains, correct?”
“Of course! That’s the American way—”
Before he could finish, Cassie’s finger twitched.
A nearby spear rose on its own and shot straight through Hasspoon’s open mouth.
Thwack!
Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
The top half of Hasspoon’s head was cleanly obliterated.
“Good grief,” Amon muttered under his breath, almost swearing at the grotesque sight.
Cassie glanced at Amon as she addressed him.
“No need to dirty your hands. He wasn’t worth the trouble.”
Her gaze softened slightly as she looked at him.
“I’ll head up to the office first. Come by this afternoon.”
Amon, still in shock, stared at her in silence.
Stepping into the elevator that would take her above ground, Cassie glanced back at him.
“Oh, and don’t try to hide the wound on the inside of your arm. Even with your healing, it could get worse. Sonia won’t let it slide if you don’t treat it. Get it looked at before coming to the office.”
With that, the doors closed, and Cassie ascended to her office.
***
Once in her office, Cassie immediately began processing the information she had gathered from Hasspoon.
Miller Pharmaceuticals had abandoned him—a wise decision from the company’s perspective, but a foolish one in dealing with someone like her.
If they truly intended to confront her, they should have at least implanted a bomb in Hasspoon’s brain.
Without hesitation, she contacted Miller Pharmaceuticals.
“I’ve come across some very interesting information.”
She began relaying the pharmaceutical company’s plans that she had extracted from Hasspoon.
As if expecting such a move, the company promptly proposed terms for negotiation.
“You want me to stay silent?”
They tried to bribe her with money or other conditions.
But Cassie wasn’t interested in such things.
‘I have to do what those two cannot.’
She knew Amon had exceptional combat skills, and Sonia was far stronger than her in both ability and potential.
While it stung to admit it, Cassie recognized that she couldn’t stand alongside them on the battlefield.
So, she chose a different path.
Cassie had decided to become their “nest.”
That resolve hadn’t changed.
‘I have to support their dreams in my own way.’
This negotiation was part of that.
“The experiments you’re planning in France—stop them.”
Preventing tragedies was her way of helping.
Though those two claimed not to be heroes, Cassie knew they couldn’t sit idly by when faced with catastrophe.
People might call them naive, but Cassie liked that about them.
Perhaps it was because their kindness had already rubbed off on her.
“Is this blackmail? No. As I said, it’s a deal. Stop the experiments, and I’ll help your company acquire factory land at a low price.”
[ …I’ll need to speak with the chairman. ]
The voice on the other end sounded uncertain, but that was enough for Cassie.
Logically, there was no reason for the company to refuse.
Not for humanitarian reasons, of course, but because unleashing a dangerous virus was unnecessary when they could achieve their goals otherwise.
Satisfied, Cassie ended the call.
Checking the clock, she noted that Amon would arrive in an hour.
She quickly freshened up and changed into the outfit she always wore when meeting with him.
While changing, she found herself thinking about Amon’s injured arm.
‘He always comes back with some injury whenever I send him out…’
The word “protection” briefly crossed her mind.
‘Like a bluebird returning to its nest battered and bruised, wasn’t it her responsibility to provide a safe haven for the bird she cherished?’
‘No, what am I even thinking?’
Shaking off the stray thought, she finished her makeup.
Throwing off her office coat, she deliberately chose a dress that revealed her chest and emphasized her legs.
‘Right,’ she thought, slightly adjusting the strap of her underwear so it peeked out from the slit in her dress.
It wasn’t overtly visible but just enough to draw Amon’s gaze.
‘Some might call it inappropriate, but who cared?’ He was the only one she wanted to notice.
After ensuring she looked perfect, she prepared to greet Amon.
Five minutes before the appointed time, a text arrived on her phone.
[ Sonia finished early today. She’s coming with me. Is that okay? ]
Startled, Cassie nearly dropped her phone but quickly caught it.
[ Sure. ]
[ I’ll head up now. ]
After sending her reply, she hastily changed into a more modest office outfit.
Five minutes later, she greeted the two of them in her usual professional look.
“Ah… you’re here.”
Hiding her nervous sweat, she welcomed them warmly.
Amon greeted her cheerfully, while Sonia gave her a meaningful glance, her eyes lingering on Cassie’s makeup.