"Monsters!"
The onlookers were instantly terrified and scattered like birds.
"W-what happened to me?"
The few who still retained a shred of sanity looked at their monstrous forms in disbelief.
"So they were Orphnochs too!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"N-no! We're not!" the transformed individuals tried to explain.
It was deeply ironic that the people who had just been allied with them in condemning Orphnochs were now turning hostile, instantly drawing a line between them.
"Mr. Raven… what are they…?" Yuka saw the creatures and immediately realized Raven had to be responsible.
"A punishment for them," Raven said quietly.
"Ugh… Ah, I can't take it!"
"Meat! I need meat!"
One of the transformed Amazons, unable to control his cannibalistic urges, lunged toward the crowd. This startled everyone.
Takumi Inui saw this and, to protect the people, quickly put on his belt and transformed into Faiz. Kiba and Kaido simultaneously transformed into their Orphnoch forms and blocked the Amazons' attack on the crowd.
The fleeing people breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Faiz, Kiba, and the others transform to fight the Amazons, trembling as if they had found salvation.
"How ironic. You're now being saved by the Orphnochs you hate so much?" Raven mocked them.
At that moment, a feral Amazon charged toward Raven. Yuka immediately wanted to intervene, but Raven stopped her. He smiled faintly and stepped forward.
Instantly, a biological pressure from his lineage caused the newly born Amazon to freeze, its legs trembling. This was the soul-level suppression that the strongest Amazon Origin could exert on lower-level Amazons. Raven could even control their minds.
He had finally confirmed his hypothesis: any Amazon created using his cells as a source would be absolutely subservient to him. This was even more true for high-level Amazons like Saeko Kageyama, who had absorbed so much of his blood.
"Too bad. Even as Amazons, you people are worthless."
After completing his study, Raven lost interest. Keeping these new Amazons around would only waste food. He snapped his fingers. Through sheer mental control, the Amazons simultaneously stopped moving and their bodies disintegrated, melting into a pool of oil-like sludge. This was another one of his abilities: the power to instantly erase any Amazon created by him.
Kaido, who was getting brutally thrashed by a Stag Beetle Amazon because of his own lack of skill, was having a terrible time. Before he could call for Kiba's help, he saw his opponent suddenly dissolve. He yelled in surprise.
On the other side, Takumi and Kiba were easily suppressing the Amazons they were fighting. As a "Max-Level" Faiz and a powerful highly advanced Original Orphnoch respectively, they were far superior to the newly converted Amazons.
Just as they were about to land the finishing blow, they were also startled when the monsters suddenly broke down on their own.
"Yuka, there's nothing left for us here. Let's go." Raven had no desire to stay in the camp any longer. The fate of these people was irrelevant to him.
"Okay."
Raven and Yuka then rode off into the night on the Junglaider, leaving the camp behind.
A few days later, Raven and Yuka settled in a hotel run by Orphnochs near the outskirts of Tokyo. They engaged in plenty of "exercise" together.
Then, Raven finally received a mission from the System.
Ding!
[System Mission Issued.]
[Objective: Proceed to the deepest underground laboratory of Smart Brain, kill and devour the sleeping King of Orphnochs.]
[Reward: Upon completion, receive a Grand Gift Pack, unlock System Space, and gain the ability to leave this world at any time.]
"I've been waiting for this," Raven thought with satisfaction, holding Yuka in his arms. He quickly accepted the mission.
Naturally, he couldn't take Yuka with him to Smart Brain. Raven found an excuse to leave her there to wait for him, pulled up his pants, and left.
At Smart Brain, after Raven left the camp, Leo reappeared and launched another attack. However, this time his main objective was to capture Mari and lure Takumi Inui into a prepared trap: a massive stadium filled with Orphnoch spectators, all eager to enjoy the show prepared by Smart Brain.
Meanwhile, Raven had infiltrated the Smart Brain building not far from the stadium. Though he called it infiltration, it was essentially a forced entry. He knocked out the Orphnoch security guards who tried to stop him, leaving a little blood behind for them. This instantly created two moderately powerful Orph-Amazons. These were far more formidable than Amazons converted from ordinary humans. Under Raven's control, the two Orph-Amazons went berserk and began attacking Smart Brain personnel everywhere, creating a deliberate large-scale distraction.
In the President's office, Kyouji Murakami, now just a head, sensed that something was wrong. Connecting his brain to the company's surveillance, he saw Raven descending to the lowest levels via the elevator.
"Someone is heading to the underground lab!" Murakami was deeply shocked. Though he didn't know Raven, he could feel the danger radiating from him. He believed this intrusion was purposeful.
"It seems it's time for him to be deployed." His expression grew extremely solemn. He quickly issued a command: the underground laboratory must be protected. The King could not be harmed, as the fate of all Orphnochs depended on him.
After receiving Murakami's order, Smart Lady picked up a black and gold belt and handed it to a waiting Shark Orphnoch. The Shark Orphnoch took the belt and immediately reverted to his human form: a large, powerfully built man.
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