Information Warfare (1)
Wooooong—
The electronic equipment that filled the data center spewed out scorching heat amid a deafening din.
They were special devices modified by incorporating magical engineering, allowing them to be used on Earth like magic tools.
‘Damn it, what the hell is this…!’
But even with those precious, hard-to-obtain devices operating at near their limits, the situation showed no sign of improving.
Hesperon, lying inside a capsule tangled with dozens of wires while his entire body was encased in a Titan suit, frowned.
‘How on earth are they keeping up with this processing speed?’
The one leading this cyberwarfare right now, 「Mechanical Eye: Callicas」, was no ordinary AI.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was on an entirely different level from when it had merely been an artificial intelligence embedded in a prosthetic eye.
An electronic spirit that had become one with him through the 「Chain of Covenant」, growing alongside him and evolving in real time.
Until now, this partner had never once disappointed him.
All the more so when backed by the energy of a Titan spaceship class.
And yet now…
Unlike usual, there was not a single positive message.
If there was one saving grace, it was that their side was not being pushed back too severely, but in the current situation, that offered little comfort.
Because the more time passed, the more advantageous it became for the other side, which had already solidified its defensive posture.
‘I can’t pull out now. I have no choice but to break through somehow.’
Even if he forcibly cut the signal now, the opponent would immediately trace the remaining traces and locate where he was.
He had to avoid exposing his exact location at all costs.
If even a single bombardment like the one he had experienced in Southeast Asia last time fell here, this data center would be reduced to dust in an instant.
He mobilized every network he had been quietly encroaching on until now and fought back aggressively.
But the opponent was doing the same.
No, rather, once it turned into a contest of strength like that, it was their side that became even more disadvantaged.
‘Kuh, the scale they can mobilize is on a completely different level. Just how long have they been preparing for this…?’
There was only one organization he could think of that was capable of plotting something on this scale.
‘Beoncheonhoe.’
Then, as if to drive a wedge into that thought.
-Hello~?
One audio file that arrived amid the fiercely exchanged data played automatically.
A voice that seemed familiar, and an oddly distinctive way of speaking that was strongly felt despite it being only a single word.
There was no need to think deeply about who it was.
‘So he was alive after all. Has he started moving again?’
One of Beoncheonhoe’s top executives whom Heinz II had dealt with in Romania—the Doctor.
He spoke to him from beyond the world of electronics.
-My, my, this is truly surprising! To think you could go this far? I am genuinely impressed!
Beyond his frivolous voice came the sound of clapping hands.
It irritated him all the more because the man truly seemed delighted, just as he said.
‘We’re dying over here, and it looks like you’re still having fun.’
Hesperon furrowed his brow.
If there was one minor side effect to the improved performance of 「Mechanical Eye: Callicas」, it was that since it had become one with him, the more excessively he used its abilities, the greater the burden that came back to him.
He let out a small sigh, doing his best to ignore the pounding headache.
‘If you’re going to take it easy, that’s fine by me.’
He did not bother sending a reply.
A trivial bit of information leaked in the process might end up tightening the noose around his neck.
Likewise, he might be able to obtain important information from the other side’s words, so he silently listened to the opponent’s pointless chatter.
-Hmm? Oho! This is… are you perhaps from Callicas? You visited a fine world, didn’t you! I’m quite fond of their work myself. It’s almost a shame there aren’t many returnees who have been there!
At those words, chills ran down his back in an instant.
They were not facing each other in person right now.
They were merely engaged in a back-and-forth offensive and defensive battle through hacking over the network.
‘And yet he figured out the technological basis on my side from just that?’
His insight itself was on a different level from Hesperon, who was merely borrowing the power of the mechanical eye.
As expected, the title of top executive was not just for show.
-Wow~ There are so many things I’d like to talk about, but we don’t have time! Since there’s no helping it, shall we save the details for when we meet in person? Uhyahyahyat!
Those words were not a bluff.
No sooner had the audio message ended than the pattern of the offensive that had continued until now completely changed.
‘Wait, this is…!’
Warning messages far beyond anything before sprang up frantically.
It was not that the opponent’s processing speed had gotten faster, nor had there been some special attempt.
Only one thing had changed.
‘…Every attempt is coming back as a counter. Don’t tell me he’s already seen through all of our patterns?’
Cyberwarfare was a battle won by finding and striking the opponent’s weakness amid nearly infinite electrical signals.
But since a counter returned every time their side did anything, it was only natural they were no match at all.
“Havis! Report the current situation!”
“…Countermeasures? You’re not saying we’re just going to sit here and take it, are you?”
That, at least, was a relief.
It meant that if they could somehow get through this, they would not fall for the same method again.
But in the end, that was no different from saying there was nothing they could do right now.
It meant they had to abandon this base.
No, if it were only that, he could have accepted it somehow, no matter how painful it was to lose the equipment.
But this fight did not have only that at stake.
‘The Doctor appeared while I was digging into the trickery that happened at Pantheon. That means Beoncheonhoe is paying that much attention to this operation.’
If he withdrew here, the opportunity to uncover the truth would vanish as well.
Not only would all the clues he might have obtained be erased, but the bastards whose tails had been stepped on once would hide even more thoroughly in the darkness.
He could not allow that under any circumstances.
Not only could he not stand to see things go well for them, but Heinrich, who had entered Pantheon, absolutely needed this information in order to operate properly.
While he agonized over it and struggled to find some method, time passed helplessly.
But a method that had not existed before was not going to appear now.
They were not facing each other directly, and the opponent was somewhere beyond the network. What more could he do besides the orthodox methods?
‘Unless a blackout suddenly happens at his base. No, he probably has an emergency generator, so that wouldn’t work either. Then if there was an explosion and everything got blown away…’
All he could do right now was hurl meaningless curses like this.
Of course, it was not as if saying such things would actually make them come true—
‘No, wait. Curses?’
Then suddenly, a spark went off in his head.
A curse.
Praying and wishing for calamity or misfortune to befall another.
‘It just so happens I have one, don’t I? And a horrific curse at that, born from the fall of a Demon King.’
Hesperon took a deep breath and looked at his right arm.
In truth, a curse was not a power that could be used so carelessly.
He himself could remain unharmed thanks to traits such as 「Curse Predator」, but it was difficult to handle, and if something went wrong, it could return to the user—a double-edged sword.
Above all, if a clear target was not specified, the chance of failure was extremely high.
If the target were nearby, that would be one thing, but when he did not know where the opponent was or even who they were like now, a medium such as hair, a personal belonging, or failing that, something like a date of birth was absolutely necessary.
‘A method to set a clear target.’
Hesperon’s mechanical eye clearly perceived the adversary beyond the world of electronics.
Though he had not faced him directly, the target was definitely beyond this.
‘Normally, this would be an absurd idea. But…’
Both the mechanical eye in his right eye and the curse in his right arm were linked into one through his 「Chain of Covenant」.
Then why would there be any reason they could not work in conjunction with each other?
‘The internet, and a curse. There’s one thing that fits perfectly here.’
There was no more time to hesitate.
He immediately extended his right arm to the side.
Giiiiing—
The Titan parts on his right arm immediately disassembled and smoothly vanished into the air.
Beneath them, white bandages densely inscribed with black characters came into view.
And then…
“I never thought I’d use it like this. Still, this is finally its first demonstration.”
The hunks of metal fastened around his wrist, elbow, and shoulder reflected the light, giving off a cold metallic gleam.
A new sealing device created by multiple avatars joining forces to ensure a secure seal.
Clank!
As his gaze fell upon them, the joints opened as though shackles had been undone, and the seals were released all at once.
Then, the moment even the bandages fluttered as if coming loose, something black and enormous began to creep out from his right arm.
Saaaaaa—
The temperature inside the room, where scorching heat had been palpable only moments ago, plummeted sharply.
As if the very concept of “heat” had been stolen away, it now felt chilly instead.
‘I haven’t been able to accumulate it for very long, but… the original power is so strong that it shouldn’t matter.’
Accumulation and release.
That was the ability of the newly made sealing device.
While worn, it blocked the curse inside almost perfectly, and the curse, continuously suppressed in that state, piled up endlessly as its toxicity overlapped.
And the core of this sealing device was that, the more strongly it was suppressed, the more powerfully it would be released once unleashed.
“Now, then.”
Hesperon, gripping a cable with his right hand wreathed in black energy, took a deep breath.
And with malice, he made a wish.
Immediately afterward.
Pajijik—!
Along with a spark that sprang from his grasp, a strand of curse seeped into the electronic world.
***
Ziiing—
“Oho? A reply at last?”
The Doctor, both arms connected to machinery, widened his eyes with interest.
His arms, whose surfaces had split into several pieces to reveal the metal inside, were not human.
When he had modified his body, he had completely overhauled even these.
He displayed the received data information in his eyes and let out a snort.
As expected, it was not a normal file.
“A virus? My, my, what a shallow trick! Even if you’ve been driven into a corner, this is quite disappointing!”
「Deus Ex Machina」
Such childish pranks did not work on him, who was no different from a god of machinery.
He immediately activated a security program, cleanly removed the virus, and opened the message.
A virus was a virus, but he was curious what this interesting friend, who had amused him for the first time in a while, had to say.
“Hm? What is this?”
There was nothing special in the contents.
…No, truly, there was nothing special.
It was merely a meaningless sentence that began with something like, “This letter began in England…” and, at the end, a picture of a Black young man drawing a card from a bundle of cards while smiling wickedly.
The very moment the Doctor blinked in bewilderment.
The variable had already begun.
Pajijik—
A small spark sprang from the arm connected to the machinery.
“Huh? What is this!”
One side had sent it, and the other side had received it.
With that, a connection between the two had been established.
The transmission method taking the form of a virus and a spam email had merely been the bare minimum ritual.
Thus, the curse activated.
Beep—! Beep beep!
Dee-dee-dee-dee!
Wiiiiing—!
All sorts of alarms rang out noisily.
The readings of the machines filling every direction began to fluctuate abnormally.
“Kuh, a curse? A curse? He sent a curse through the network?”
Since he was well versed not only in engineering but also in supernatural studies as a whole, it was not difficult to identify the cause, but by now, it was already far too late to respond.
The level of the curse was far from ordinary for him to take action belatedly.
As the creator of composite techniques, the Doctor’s workshop was no ordinary place either, yet the curse had pierced through all its defenses, which were no different from an impregnable fortress, and reached him directly. That said everything.
“…Puhu.”
Pajijik!
Kwaang—!
Amid the blaring sirens came the sounds of sparks and explosions.
“…Kuh, kyahahahaha—! I see! To think this sort of application was possible! As expected, how amusing. Truly amusing!”
But even in the midst of such chaos, the Doctor merely cackled and burst into laughter.
Faced with new knowledge he had not anticipated, delight outweighed frustration.
Thud!
After cackling for quite some time, he collapsed forward where he stood.
As black smoke rose from various parts of his body along with the smell of burning, he laboriously brought a hand to his temple, pulled something out from there, and grinned as he looked at it.
“…Kik, I’ve been had. As expected, I was right not to finish this immediately. I nearly missed something like this.”
A complex magical engineering circuit, charred pitch-black and spewing smoke.
Before long, it turned completely to ash and scattered, beyond any possibility of restoration.
“Still…”
Whoosh—
And as fires rising all over the workshop fiercely devoured the surroundings—
His consciousness blacked out into darkness.
***
Sending a curse through the electronic world was by no means an easy task.
Hesperon used the 「Chain of Covenant」 and 「Mechanical Eye: Callicas」 and did his utmost to control it.
So that the curse would not fly off somewhere strange for no reason and would properly reach its target.
What awakened his mind while he was absorbed in concentration, forgetting everything else, was a single message that suddenly appeared.
《The entity has fulfilled the conditions and grows. Acquired the special skill 「Deus Ex Machina」.》
“…Huh?”
Forgetting even that he had been concentrating, he stared at the words before his eyes.
At that name, which for some reason looked incredibly cool.