"Is that so..."
A leaking, rasping huh-huh sound came from his mouth. With mutated, inhuman slit pupils, Yorinobu Arasaka stared blankly at the gleaming silver armor before him. His lips moved soundlessly—mo... bile... phone...
At last, the light faded completely from the vertical pupils with their black sclera and dark red irises.
He was dead.
At least, the consciousness once known as Yorinobu Arasaka was dead.
She had killed him.
Yet Vela felt little in the way of triumph from slaying her rival in the fight for succession. Her heart was calm—too calm. In fact, a fleeting sense of melancholy passed through her... and was gone.
"A mobile phone, huh?"
She gently closed Yorinobu's eyes. His final words—she understood them.
Did he wish to hand her something? Was there something in his phone? Even after his failure, was this some oblique attempt to warn her, to dissuade her? Vela pondered silently.
Clang! With a flick of her wrist, she spun her weapon, the gun-spear blooming like a flower. Lowering her gaze, she glanced at the crimson-stained edge of [Black Abyss V]. The hybrid Quinque's semi-living nature was evident—it was absorbing the Rc cells within the blood.
In terms of efficiency, it could not yet compare to a ghoul's direct consumption.
Then, Vela turned her gaze toward Yorinobu's severed head and body.
The mutation intensity of a T-G-118-09 fusion-virus carrier was within her expectations.
Beheading was sufficient to kill most infected subjects.
After all, the fusion virus's primary components were little more than the Progenitor Virus, T-Virus, G-Virus, Veronica Virus, and Ghoul Virus.
Setting aside the Progenitor Virus—the "primer" and "advanced fusion catalyst."
The T-Virus served merely as a bonding agent. Nothing worth discussing. Without enhancements, it was little more than a common strain.
The Veronica Virus, though powerful, required an exceedingly long fusion process—fifteen years of cryogenic dormancy, or periodic organ transplants for the same span. Even with artificial intervention, forced optimization, and genetic patching, the process was far from instantaneous.
The Ghoul Virus, however, had enormous potential. So long as enough prey were consumed, the Kagune and Kakuhou would proliferate indefinitely. Even decapitation couldn't kill some; in their Kakuja "dragon" form, they could destroy entire cities. Of course, that required immense Rc cell intake. Otherwise, everything stalled out—at best reaching S+ class ghouls or SS-class Kakuja by feeding on Quinques.
Finally, the G-Virus—its narrow transmission pathway causing low infectivity, but with a key trait that Vela valued most: it accelerated evolution, triggered violent and rapid cellular division, and induced near-infinite regeneration.
It was the core foundation for developing the T-G-118-09 fusion strain.
As a catalyst, it drastically accelerated the progressive mutation stages of the other viral elements.
And judging by the result, the outcome was remarkably successful.
Though... the external defects typical of G-Virus mutations seemed less pronounced.
At that thought, Vela's gaze locked onto Yorinobu's headless body—still disturbingly active, covered in jagged tears.
Within the ruptures, flesh buds, crystalline tissues, and vitreous masses writhed. Murky eyeballs rolled about chaotically, as if competing to crawl out.
Without hesitation, Vela raised her hand. The [Warframe System]'s arm-mounted [VARIS] module charged.
Vmmm—BOOM, boom-boom-boom—!
The hadro cannon's folded-feather emitters flared, spewing streams of cerulean light.
The white smoke veil was torn apart as consecutive energy bolts struck distant structures in the northern industrial sector—tens, hundreds, even thousands of meters away. The thunderous explosions rolled out, flames rising and rubble flying.
"Reporters, huh?"
Vela's eyes narrowed, her brow furrowing.
After physically erasing those bloodthirsty scavengers from the media, she tossed out multiple white phosphorus smoke grenades and CRC gas shells, sealing off the surrounding area from view. Only then did she step toward Yorinobu's corpse.
Raising her hand, a large livestock-grade injector materialized.
Shunk! The thick needle plunged directly into the gaping wound Black Abyss had torn through the corpse's right arm. Depressing the plunger, Vela injected a full dose of G-Virus antitoxin serum.
Then she lifted another injector.
This time, it was aimed at the heart.
The cycle repeated three times—antitoxin serum, cellular inhibitor, Rc suppressor.
Though Vela did not yet understand exactly how Yorinobu had managed to suppress the G-organism, the answer would come through dissection and research. For now, one thing was certain: decapitation had indeed killed Yorinobu.
No matter how potent the fusion virus, adaptation took time.
Given a few more days... perhaps he might have evolved to survive decapitation itself.
Unfortunately, Yorinobu had injected himself with the virus less than five hours ago before Vela specifically targeted and killed him. He never had the chance to develop the kind of monstrous physiology that could grow five brains and seven hearts.
According to the experience from the Resident Evil side of research, a G-virus host's consciousness is usually overtaken by the G-organism. Now that Yorinobu's mind had gone offline, what would emerge from that mutating shell was self-evident.
Should she simply incinerate and destroy it?
No—that would be unwise.
The research value alone was immense. More importantly, this was Saburo's own son, whose body had been reshaped by a fusion virus tailored from Saburo's DNA. It would be best left for the old man himself to contemplate in grief.
So—sealing it was the proper course.
Having destroyed the empty injector to eliminate evidence, Vela stood, summoning the comm interface to order the Airborne Assault Reserve Squad to this location immediately. Then, she turned her head slightly, glancing at the wing-shaped anti-gravity and propulsion module behind her.
Focusing, she saw upon the ashen silver-white shell of the module the faint silhouette of a tall woman with pale-gold hair quietly standing.
The figure extended a hand, offering something.
As if to say: Here—your liquefied Sakuradite pack and energy cells. Is this enough?
"It'll do," Vela murmured softly to herself.
To prevent any accidents during sterilization and decontamination, she had prepared various specialized countermeasure tools like CRC gas and other anti-bioweapon devices.
A pity that her favorite anti–B.O.W. linear particle cannon—so beloved by the Veronica strain—hadn't seen use this time...
Hummm...
While Vela, like a turret, was driving away the bloodthirsty residents of Watson and the suicidal reporters who refused to retreat, the rumble of vector engines grew louder—
Vmmmm—VMMMM—VMMMM—!
Several airborne armored gunships descended, hovering. As their belly hatches opened, a dozen iron beasts thundered down onto the ground.
"Commander... you..." Upon arrival, her troops stared in shock at the headless corpse at Vela's feet.
"It's exactly what you think," Vela replied flatly. "Secure the body. Freeze it using liquid-nitrogen containment. Have the biochemical unit seal and sanitize the surrounding area."
With that, Vela picked up Yorinobu's head and turned toward the towering seawall of Arasaka's coastal compound.
Along the way, she cast one last glance at his face.
It was not ferocious—more... relieved.
"Any leader with a conscience shouldn't stand idly by, huh? Perhaps."
Lifting her chin, Vela bent her knees slightly. The winged propulsion unit behind her roared to life, launching her upward into the air.
"Your path ends with me."
"After this... perhaps I'll walk a part of the road you once dreamed of. But I still have a long way ahead."
"Like an arrow loosed from the bow—never to return."
BOOM—!
Another heavy gunship crashed nearby. Flames and smoke erupted skyward, painting Vela's ascending figure in a brilliant, blood-red glow that stained her once-silver armor.
Half-lit, half-shadowed—silver washed in crimson.
Bathed in the light of fire, Vela raised the severed head high and broadcast across all channels.
"Yorinobu Arasaka is dead!"
"All forces—restore order!"
"For the glory and prosperity of Arasaka!"