Memoirs of the Returnee - Chapter 313



Only Krnovel

The Regressor’s Notepad 313

Milky Way (7)

──30 minutes ago.

Riley waited backstage at the symposium, watching Killian.

As promised, Teia was dispatched and detained Jedrick, and [Bancheon] took advantage of the gap and became active, but something unexpected happened.

A third group was responsible for the sabotage.

“what…….”

An unidentified armed group entered Ortu. There was a moment of confusion, but Riley figured out the situation in time.

It was the work of Bern, CEO of Everett, Jedrick’s most direct competitor.

[Bancheon]’s investigation results show that Bern also uses artificial intelligence similar to Jedrick.

Of course, it’s not as horrific a crime as Jedrick’s. It doesn’t bleach a whole person.

However, the point is that it uses data obtained from the human soul.

So, Bern attacks Jedrick in order to keep him in check and prevent their crimes from being exposed.

The objective is to target key researchers Killian and Vito.

Not detain or kidnap, but kill.

“This is crazy!”

Fortunately, Killian seemed to have quickly realized the situation and evacuated to the roof of the Hanza Hotel, and Riley followed after him.

Boom──! Bang──!

Kwaaaa …

──Kugu-kung!

I climbed up the hotel’s emergency stairs and reached the top floor, where explosions were resonating here and there.

Killian was standing at the edge of the roof.

“… … Doctor Killian!”

Riley called out to him. Killian looked back at himself.

“It’s dangerous! Come here!”

Wheeeeeeeeee───

A strong wind blew in, as if tugging at the hem of his clothes. Killian was leaning against the railing, and Riley slowly approached him.

“Doctor!”

For Plan B, we need to secure Killian’s safety. The evidence that is more important than a mere document is ‘a person’.

“Come quickly!”

The fluttering air was so oppressive that I couldn’t even tell if my screams were being conveyed properly.

Still, Riley took one step at a time towards Killian… … .

Kwaaaa …

A roar echoed through the air, and a gust of wind blew. Riley and Killian looked up at the same time.

───Kududududuk.

It was a helicopter. Beneath the rumbling propeller, agents lowered a rope to rescue Killian.

Riley was taken aback, but only for a moment.

A fireball came rushing in from somewhere and hit the helicopter directly.

Paaaaang───!

The helicopter, having lost power, crashed onto the rooftop and exploded like a firecracker. Pieces of machinery and human flesh flew out and caught fire. Pitch-black smoke enveloped the entire space.

“Dr. Killian!”

Riley took advantage of the gap and ran towards Killian.

“Don’t come.”

Suddenly, Killian stopped her. Riley stood still. Killian was holding a cell phone in his hand.

“Stand there.”

“… … Doctor?”

No way, maybe.

What information was conveyed to him?

“Mr. Riley.”

Killian called out to him. Riley answered as usual.

“Yes, Doctor.”

“… … I told you. You don’t have to watch me anymore.”

A small smile spread across his lips.

“… … .”

It looked very suspicious.

No, it was certain.

Riley bit her lower lip.

He knows his purpose.

“Why did you follow me? It’s dangerous.”

Killian asked. Riley straightened her back. Her expression had turned cold.

Now is the time for persuasion.

“Listen carefully, Dr. Killian.”

Killian raised his eyebrows.

“Jedrick has been taken away. Some very important internal documents have been leaked.”

“… … .”

He doesn’t say anything. He just stands there calmly, looking at her with his usual eyes.

“But Jedrick won’t be fooled. He’ll say he didn’t know, that he didn’t know it was happening.”

Killian’s gown fluttered in the rushing wind.

“He will definitely sell you out, Doctor.”

Jedrick’s history proves it. He has consistently denied all his actions and has kept his tail between his legs.

Riley reached out to him.

“If you come with me-”

“no.”

Killian shook his head. Then he put his butt on the railing. Riley’s eyes opened wide.

“Stop!”

“… … That’s fortunate.”

Riley knew right away what Killian was going to do.

Suicide to destroy the evidence of one’s ‘self’.

“If you fall, you die!”

It was nonsense. Killian smiled faintly as if he found her cute.

“Mr. Riley.”

“Get down there, quick!”

“You should be more concerned about the evidence than me.”

“Come down… … ?”

Killian’s strange words, somehow strange words.

Riley frowned involuntarily. Her head tilted.

“Every word I utter is not evidence.”

“……yes?”

“Libra has the power and authority to crush even one witness. Above all, as you said, if Jedrick says he doesn’t know, that’s the end of it.”

Riley couldn’t understand what he was saying. The words flowing into her ears didn’t make sense.

Is it because the situation is so urgent?

“That won’t do.”

BAM──! KWAAAAAAH──!

A secondary explosion occurred in the wreckage of the helicopter.

In the midst of the rising flames, Killian continued speaking calmly.

“I think it would be better for me to be the culprit rather than a witness.”

“… … .”

The moment Killian chanted like that, Riley felt an inexplicable pain. It was a pain that suddenly felt like her heart was being crushed.

“… … Doctor?”

Her weak voice called out to Killian. Killian nodded vigorously as he faced her.

“I thought that doing this might make me dull.”

Knock knock knock.

The asphalt on the road slowly melts, and dark red ash sways in the air and sticks to the two people’s faces.

“But I thought I shouldn’t become dull.”

Killian closed his eyes for a moment.

As if thinking about something he has lost, as if counting the things that have already passed.

“Mr. Riley.”

Killian called out to her. Riley’s breath caught in her throat.

“You said before that you wanted to retire after making a lot of money?”

Riley said his goal was money. It was a common disguise.

“I tried it, but you’ll never earn enough to retire. The more money you have, the more you’ll have to spend it on.”

Killian smiled. For some reason, Riley felt innocent about his appearance.

“and…….”

Suddenly his expression changed to a serious one.

“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“… … .”

Riley blinked blankly.

“If… …we hadn’t met like this. Would I have been able to spend a little longer with Mr. Riley?”

Killian lowered his gaze. There was a luxury bag within reach. It was small, but it was filled with some kind of content.

“I am…….”

Riley stopped herself from answering him. She couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Mr. Riley.”

He called Riley’s name. The burning toxic substance suffocated Riley.

“You can overcome it.”

He encouraged himself. Riley suddenly remembered a certain day.

“Don’t be dull.”

That day, when he didn’t stay away from someone even when he was doubtful, but instead protected them.

The way she always smiled shyly whenever she was by his side.

“Mr. Riley caught me. He caught Killian, Jedrick’s key researcher.”

Riley tilted her eyes. She looked at her toes. The flames were spreading to her shoes.

“I am a greedy, jealous, and suspicious person, so I was afraid that Jedrick might abandon me, so I gathered evidence. A lot of evidence.”

It was difficult to face him. It was difficult to listen to him.

“Now Mr. Riley takes it. Like in some drama or movie. Cliché.”

“… … .”

“Mr. Riley. Look at me.”

Riley looked up. He smiled to himself.

“are you okay.”

“… Mr. Killian.”

“So many people died. So many people were sacrificed.”

Killian looked up at the sky.

This rooftop, shrouded in pitch-black smoke and blazing fire, was a perfect stage for death.

“People shouldn’t be like that. We’re all the same people, so why would we… … .”

Killian’s body slowly tilted. Riley was so surprised that she took a step toward him.

“Doctor!”

“I trust you, Mr. Riley.”

“Don’t move!”

“……therefore.”

Yet, before it falls like this.

Before facing the death of one’s own life.

As Killian, he had something to say to Riley.

“Don’t give up.”

May she be able to take revenge on Libra from the highest point of [Bancheon].

Beyond that, let’s continue to pursue the right values ​​as we do now.

“You are a good person.”

Killian’s body went over the railing. He slid down like a crescent moon. Riley ran to him and reached out, but he had already closed his eyes as he fell.

Suddenly, he accepted his own death.

The word “no” didn’t even come out.

He didn’t even deserve that.

Kwaaaa …

A sudden explosion obscured all of her vision. Riley fell backwards.

“Ugh.”

Her hand, which was feeling the ground, caught a bag. It was Killian’s bag.

“… … .”

Riley held it in her arms, peering at its contents with trembling eyes.

All the evidence was there. All the internal documents of Libra, Jedrick and Vito were there.

In addition, there was just one letter. Perhaps it was left by Killian himself… …

Crazy and crazy─

There was a noise behind her. Riley quickly retrieved the letter.

“Who’s there!”

They were the Knights of the Holy Guard, subordinates of Teia. In other words, they were knights who participated in the investigation.

Any evidence they collect is legally binding.

“… … .”

Riley sat on the floor in silence. The knights ran up to her and stood beside her. Riley muttered very quietly.

“… … Subdue them.”

“Huh? Subdue?”

The knights asked dumbly. Riley bit her lip as if she was going to curse.

“Sir. Subdue him. Take him away.”

Then he glanced at the bag in his hand.

“Ah, yes! Subdue him!”

When they noticed, they pressed Riley’s face to the ground.

Boom! It hurt so bad. It felt like my cheek was being slapped.

Anyway, the knights secured Killian’s bag as evidence.

“… … Hey, senior! Look at this!”

The information contained in the bag is surprising enough. What’s there to be surprised about? It’s fortunate that you don’t faint.

“Oh, quickly pass it on. First, call the professor… … .”

“yes yes.”

The knights are making a fuss, their faces are hot, and the sound of things exploding echoes here and there.

However, Riley is a little absent-minded.

She turns her head, which is pressed to the floor, and looks at the railing.

The railing that Killian just fell from.

He is not there.

He fell down there and was already dead.

By killing himself… …he chose to ‘destroy the evidence.’

“ah…….”

Riley’s eyes became blurry.

I was just a doctor who thought I was human garbage. I was just pretending to be friendly in order to use him.

Tears clung to the corners of her eyes. It was so uncomfortable that she just closed them.

Instead, his mouth moved on its own. A childish cry burst out.

“What? Is that person crying?”

The knights’ panicked voices were jarring, but the crying did not stop for a while.

* * *

“This is it!”

The Jedric Interrogation Barrier built in Ortu.

Teia received Killian’s bag from her subordinate.

“… … .”

All the evidence was in there.

Everything from information about the method Dr. Vito used, to the method of extracting souls, to the names of some of the people who were bleached, to even the transcripts of Jedrick and Vito.

Teia asked back.

“What’s the route?”

“It was acquired after the death of Dr. Killian, a key researcher.”

“… … Died?”

“Yes. It was an accident, but it seems like these guys don’t trust each other.”

Teia quietly looked over the evidence Killian had left behind.

It was pretty thorough. A little unusually thorough.

As if they had prepared for this situation in advance.

“When you do things that bleach the souls of humans, there’s no way you can trust each other.

That’s what the subordinates say, but is it really true?

Is it really true that Killian doesn’t trust Jedrick or Vito, and that he simply created them for insurance purposes?

Teia is still suspicious, but she’ll have to ask Riley to find out the details.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Anyway─ the evidence is sufficient.

Teia saw Jedrick inside the interrogation room.

He is not anxious, but rather very nervous, because he does not know the situation outside.

Tiring ringing──

Just then, a call came. It was Yusef, the vice-captain of the Knights of Edsilla.

─Teia.

“yes.”

─… … Now is the limit. Release Jedrick.

Youssef’s voice was thick with fatigue and suffering. He seemed to have suffered greatly during that short, mere half-day.

─I heard there was chaos in Ortu too. The operation seems to have failed.

“no.”

Teia smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to let go anymore.”

─No need? The council is in a serious situation right now. They detained Jedrick without any evidence-

“evidence.”

Teia interrupted. She sighed in relief and looked at Jedrick in the interrogation room.

“That’s enough.”

At that time, Jedrick also looked at Teia with his still relaxed eyes. The two’s gazes met.

“That’s quite enough.”

Teia smiled deeply. Jedrick laughed along as if he was amazed, but soon his expression slowly hardened. He had caught a sense of discomfort in Teia’s smile.

That was correct.

“Jedric will now be locked up in prison.”

Teia hung up the phone with a firm statement.