Chapter 63: The Dark Secret of the Mimic.
After teasing Skull for a bit, Suna, having dragged him on a long detour to shake off any trackers from the Rust District, finally brought him back to Victory Statue Square.
“Alright, this is where we part ways. See you tomorrow, Skull kid.”
“Thanks for today, Saintess Suna. If there’s another chance to take down monsters like tonight, can you bring me along?” Skull asked politely, bowing.
Suna hesitated briefly before agreeing. “…Sure. But you need to solidify your foundation before real combat.”
Skull’s open-ended mention of “future” didn’t feel inappropriate, so Suna didn’t refuse outright. Her hesitation stemmed from his use of “monster.”
She knew Skull had no idea the “monster” she eliminated was one of her kind.
Suna’s swift decision to kill Maso, a “junior” of sorts, came from it crossing her line.
When Maso transformed into that grotesque, amalgamated form, Suna sensed soul fragments in its extra arms and clustered ears—proof of its devouring mimicry of sentient humanoids.
Its soul aura, mixed with different soul signatures, showed Maso hadn’t even fully fused the victims’ soul fragments after extensive devouring.
Though Suna couldn’t tolerate Maso’s actions, being called a “monster” by Skull left her with mixed feelings.
She quickly brushed it aside, waving goodbye to Skull. She was more concerned with the intel gleaned from Maso’s memories.
Maso’s predecessor was unknown to her.
Suna hurried back to her rented inn. After locking the door, she left the window slightly ajar.
“Didn’t expect you to personally take on a tailing mission, Pepas. Want some water?”
As she spoke, Suna turned, pouring a glass of water from a kettle and placing it on the table.
A swarm of origami butterflies slipped through the window’s gap, shedding their camouflage magic to reveal their pure white forms.
They coalesced into a humanoid shape, recoloring into a white-haired, blue-eyed girl in a black gothic dress—Pepas, Suna’s superior in the Special Investigations Division.
“No tea?” Pepas asked, eyeing the water with a frown.
Ignoring the jab, Suna replied confidently, “Sorry, Miss Pepas. I’ve only got two drinks here: beer or water.”
Pepas glanced at the small crate of beer in the corner, sighed, and sat at the table. “…Fine, water it is.”
Surprised but half-expecting Pepas’s visit, Suna ventured a guess. “So, you came in person to assign a new mission?”
“Mm, yes, there’s a new task. But mostly, I’m here to check if you’ve been causing chaos under the guise of a mission…”
[I knew it—she’s here to babysit my work.]
Panicking inwardly but keeping a composed face, Suna’s fears were confirmed when Pepas called her out.
“As expected, you stirred up trouble again. A big scene in the city’s slums this time?”
“It could’ve been another Golden Branch priest using a blessing!” Suna protested, sweating.
Pepas pointed out her slip. “I didn’t say you used a blessing.”
To dodge a lecture, Suna pivoted. “Tch. I wasn’t causing trouble—I had a reason.”
Sitting across from Pepas with a serious expression, Suna explained.
Pepas, skeptical, asked, “What reason?”
“I found a new mimic beast, and I don’t recognize its predecessor.”
Pepas, aware of mimic beast secrets, frowned. “That’s not good… Are you sure it’s not from another [Research Fortress] project?”
“I’m sure. But the tech to create it is the same as ours. Weren’t all the research files destroyed?”
Suna’s reasonable question made Pepas purse her lips. Instead of answering or speculating, she made a decision.
“I’ll have the Demon Lord’s intelligence division recheck the [Research Fortress] raid records. You investigate based on the situation. Find out who kept the tech and is making new mimic beasts.”
Surprised, Suna looked at Pepas. “…Huh? I thought you’d tell me to steer clear of this. You’re really set on digging to the bottom of it.”
After a sip of water, Pepas countered, “Would you stay out of it if I told you to? Besides, mimic beast incidents could easily spark a war between humans and demons.”
Though brief, Pepas’s explanation triggered Suna’s understanding.
[The creation of mimic beasts is complex. The tech came from demons, but they were made in the empire’s [Research Fortress]. To cover up their collaboration with some demons, the empire pinned it all on us. If new mimic beasts appear in the empire, it’ll light the fuse for war.]