Chapter 101: The Great Legacy (7)
"Huh?"
It happened before Karl and his subordinates could even comprehend what was going on.
The moment the light from Pluto flashed and touched them, they melted into a handful of ash.
The highest authority, who just moments ago dreamed of world domination, died so meaninglessly.
Even Hyun Suho, who was watching, couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Ma... ria?"
The Maria who turned around was no longer the gentle woman Hyun Suho knew.
With a slightly sad expression, she spoke in a mechanical tone, the very same voice he had heard from the memory cube.
"I'm sorry, Alex. I have caused you trouble."
If it were the original Alex, he might have jumped in shock at such an absurd situation. However, having experienced far more unbelievable things, Hyun Suho spoke rather calmly.
"Trouble... Thanks to you, I am alive."
Surprised by the calmness in Hyun Suho's voice, a peculiar look appeared in Pluto's eyes. Then, looking at Hyun Suho with concern, she asked,
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Hyun Suho, who hadn’t lost his composure, continued speaking calmly.
"Why did you turn into Maria?"
"I was living like her, as she wished."
"Like her? Then what about staying here with the children? Was that also an imitation of her?"
"Yes. It's based on years of experience with her. If it were Maria, she certainly would have taken care of the abandoned children."
"Why? Why did you do that? That’s not what Maria asked for at the end."
"As it says in the memory cube, she wanted to leave something behind and be someone. So, I decided to take on that role in her stead."
"Ha! So you intended to leave the children behind?"
"Yes, I heard that is the goal of humans."
Hyun Suho could understand Pluto's reasoning, though it seemed inflexible, perhaps due to the limitations of artificial intelligence.
"Then you could have dealt with the soldiers earlier and saved the children. Why didn't you act sooner?"
"My energy is limited. With the charging station destroyed, I only have enough power left for minimal movement. It's nowhere near enough to take care of the children until they grow up."
Dr. Jacob had tried to find a way to recharge Pluto.
But apparently, he couldn't find a solution before he died.
"Then... how much do you have left now?"
"Less than 1%. I only have a few hours of operation left. If I use energy for another attack like before, I'll shut down in minutes."
There was a sorrowful look on Pluto's face as she spoke, and Hyun Suho could sense her emotions.
"You... truly love the children, don't you?"
Surprisingly, the machine-like Pluto genuinely loved the children.
After a slight hesitation, Pluto said,
"I cannot define the emotion called love. But it is true that the children are at the highest priority in my system."
Pluto was genuinely concerned about the children's future.
Without Maria, the children wouldn't survive even a day.
She had saved as much energy as possible to be with them until they reached adulthood.
After her true identity was revealed, she finally used force.
"I'm sorry, Alex. But for now, we must save the children."
"Of course. We must save them."
The children were still captured by the soldiers outside.
Although they had taken down Commander Karl, there were still battalions of soldiers and battle machines outside.
If Pluto had more energy or if Hyun Suho could use his mana, they could easily defeat the enemy forces.
But to fight now, they needed a life-or-death determination and a perfect plan.
Fortunately, those outside were completely unaware of what had happened here, but it was only a matter of time before they found out.
When they realized Karl hadn't responded in a while, they would radio in and figure out that something was wrong.
Hyun Suho's mind began to work quickly.
"We'll need that to help us out."
Hyun Suho pointed to a place where the charger, which people had originally mistaken for Pluto, stood.
* * *
Meanwhile, the soldiers outside were waiting for Karl's orders.
They had been told that Pluto had been found and that the research team was inspecting it, so they had been standing quietly, even though it was taking some time.
But as more time passed, they started to feel something was off.
"Why haven't we heard anything yet?"
"I'll try to radio in, Colonel."
"Yes, go ahead."
Just as the soldier next to him was about to pick up the radio—
There was a sudden bang, and the side of the junkyard was blown away.
"What, what the hell! What's going on!"
Through the thick dust appeared Pluto.
The enormous figure of Pluto was moving swiftly. Running alongside her was Hyun Suho, who was struggling to keep up.
"Damn it, damn it! What the hell!"
With his hair sticking up as if it had been hit by a bomb and his face smeared with soot, he looked a mess.
The soldiers instinctively raised their guns, but Hyun Suho ran up to the colonel, pretending not to notice, and panted as he spoke.
"Pl... Pluto moved and killed everyone."
"What! What are you talking about?"
"The stupid scientists touched Pluto, and then it woke up and started rampaging! Look at it!"
Pluto was moving through the junkyard, heading towards the factory and village.
"It shouldn't go there!"
This was supposed to be a secret operation.
Even though the president was in a lame-duck period, he was still the president.
If Pluto went into the village and caused a major incident, the media would find out, and everything would be over.
"Stop it! Stop that thing!"
At the colonel's command, the waiting tanks and armored vehicles moved simultaneously.
Vroom!
"Huff! Huff!"
Covered in dust, Hyun Suho lay on the ground as if he had barely survived, taking deep breaths.
No one paid him any attention, as he looked completely exhausted. Their focus was entirely on Pluto, which had started to move.
Taking advantage of this distraction, Hyun Suho moved like lightning.
Swish!
He drew the handgun he had hidden in his clothes and aimed it at the soldiers guarding the children.
“Huh?”
The sudden movement of Hyun Suho caught the soldiers off guard, and though they reflexively raised their rifles, it was already too late.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hyun Suho quickly fired the handgun, hitting the chest of the soldier who was protecting the children.
“Gah!”
He discarded the handgun and grabbed the rifle floating mid-air, firing it in the direction of the soldiers.
Ratatatat!
Though he wasn’t aiming precisely, the soldiers without cover quickly fell.
The stunned major general finally screamed in fear and started to run away.
“Eeek! Kill that guy! Stop him, you idiots!”
The unarmed general could wait until later.
Hyun Suho ran to the children and said, “This way!”
The sudden situation had left the children frozen in fear.
With no other choice, he gathered the crying children in his arms and moved them to a safer location.
Once they reached a relatively safe place, Hyun Suho crouched down to make eye contact with the children and said, “Wait here. Can you do that?”
The children, crying, could only nod slightly, and Hyun Suho covered them with nearby scrap material so they wouldn’t be seen.
He knew there was no point in running away now because if the troops chasing Pluto returned, they’d all be caught anyway.
‘I have to eliminate them all.’
Even if they retreated, it would still be a problem.
Pluto was too valuable to just give up.
If these soldiers survived and reported everything to the vice president, Alex wouldn’t be able to escape.
Holding his rifle, Hyun Suho moved quickly.
Meanwhile, the ambushed major general was furious.
“Damn it! Crazy bastard! Do you know who I am?!”
He clutched his handgun so hard it looked like it might break.
“Capture that bastard!”
The ambush had inflicted significant damage, but there were still plenty of soldiers here.
The major general thought once the troops chasing Pluto returned, that guy would be like a rat in a trap.
“Radio operator! Where is the radio operator? Tell part of the force chasing Pluto to come here.”
The major general searched for the radio operator, but the one holding the radio was nowhere to be seen.
This was because Hyun Suho had targeted the radio operator first.
“The radio operator is over there, down.”
“What are you waiting for, idiot?! Go get the radio!”
“Yes, sir!”
A soldier, obeying the order, rushed toward the fallen radio operator. Just as he was about to grab it—
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the soldier crumpled to the ground, blood flowing from his head.
“There he is! Get him!”
“Yes, sir!”
Following the major general’s orders, the soldiers ran toward the direction of the gunshot.
The remaining number of soldiers was now four.
Even though the numbers had dwindled, it was still a four-on-one fight.
In a head-on battle, numbers mattered most.
Without magic in this world, having more soldiers was the key advantage.
During this, the major general picked up the radio.
“How do I use this thing?”
It had been decades since the major general had last used a radio. He struggled with the basic device before finally recalling how to operate it.
“This is Major General Maxim. Do you read?”
“Yes, yes! This is Captain Terry. We’ve just taken down Pluto.”
“Taken down?”
“Yes, a direct hit from artillery, and it’s not moving.”
“Good. Recover the craft and hurry to thi—”
Bang!
At that moment, the radio held by Major General Maxim shattered.
Startled, he looked up to see Hyun Suho approaching slowly with a rifle from afar.
“H-how!”
The soldiers the major general had brought were carefully selected from among the toughest and bravest.
Even if the opponent was a highly trained agent, they shouldn’t have been defeated this quickly.
The major general’s thoughts weren’t wrong.
He just didn’t know that the one controlling Alex’s body was Hyun Suho, someone far superior to any special agent.
That thought turned out to be the major general’s last.
Bang!
Hyun Suho’s shot hit the middle of the major general’s forehead.
The general, with a large hole in the back of his head, fell lifelessly to the ground.
Thud!
Only after seeing the major general dead did Hyun Suho grab his trembling knees, bending forward.
“Huff! Huff!”
Hyun Suho wasn’t unharmed either.
His thigh had been pierced by a bullet, and he had managed only basic first aid by wrapping it tightly with cloth.
A four-on-one fight hadn’t been easy.
Each step brought a terrible pain that felt like a nail being driven into his brain.
“Damn it!”
After confirming that the major general and all his men were dead, Hyun Suho limped back towards the children.
Now he had to get them out of here.
Fortunately, the children hadn’t moved an inch from where he’d told them to stay.
“This way!”
He was worried about Pluto, whose energy was almost depleted, but right now, he couldn’t afford to focus on that.
He had to get the children to safety first before thinking about anything else.
“Huff! Huff!”
There was no way an injured Hyun Suho, with one leg practically useless, could move quickly while carrying young children. They walked for a long time through the dark, where they couldn’t see a step ahead.
‘We need to get out of the city.’
Looking around, Hyun Suho spotted a cargo truck parked in the distance. They’d need that truck to escape the city.
Crash!
Breaking the car window, he got inside and cut the wires to start the engine. It was a method used by thieves, but it was also a skill essential for agents.
Vroom!
Once the engine started, Hyun Suho got the children inside the truck.
They had to leave the city before dawn, before anyone noticed the truck was missing.
‘What about Pluto?’
If Pluto had enough energy, it could easily handle the pursuing troops.
But it was uncertain if energy-drained Pluto had followed the plan.
Even if he managed to evacuate the children safely, if Pluto fell into enemy hands, a world war would be inevitable.
Suddenly, bright lights shone, illuminating the truck.
“A helicopter?! They brought in an attack helicopter?”
