"Not a single person attacked us. Did Seok-Hyeon C actually keep his word?
...Unlike a certain someone."
"You aren't talking about me, are you? I'm a good person who only speaks the truth!"
Yu-Han made an exaggerated gesture of shock.
"That statement alone is already a lie!"
"Then should I say I only ever lie?
But that would be a paradox!"
'I really want to kill him.'
Even so, they had reached the EV Terminal without incident.
If she could just cross this place and make it to Cheongwa Tower, Alice might never have to see that sickening face again.
But her dream hit a snag right at the entrance.
Groups of armed soldiers in unfamiliar combat gear were stationed throughout the terminal.
"Yu-Han. Who are they?"
"K&R combatants."
K&R.
A corporate alliance that emerged around the Americas in the late twenty-first century.
Back then, corporations had begun forming alliances, pooling their obscene wealth and power to buy governing rights from debt-ridden governments.
The old superpowers faded away, and the age of corporate alliance rule began.
Korea, however, still maintained a relatively primitive state system amid all that.
"Did they hire mercenaries because of the terror attacks?
Well, good, law-abiding civilians like us shouldn't have any problems."
"Stop calling us good citizens. It gives me a headache."
As they passed through what looked like a temporary checkpoint, a K&R guard stepped in front of them.
An inspection robot standing beside the guard asked a question.
[Please present your identification.]
The two handed over their IDs.
Then an ominous beep rang out.
[Grade 4 National Contributors are not permitted to enter New Seoul. Please turn back.]
"What? But we got through just fine last ti—"
Without a word, the K&R guards raised their assault rifles.
The two had no choice but to quietly back away.
Only then did they notice the sign posted nearby.
'No Entry: Pets and Grade 4 National Contributors.'
"Contributors? What is that?"
"Alice. You're an AI robot. Why don't you search it yourself?"
Grumbling, Alice directly accessed the internet with her brain—or rather, with her processor.
It was one of the features she had only recently learned to use.
"Hmm... 'All citizens are assigned a National Contribution Grade at birth.
Upon birth, ordinary citizens are generally assigned Grade 3. Criminals, individuals with suspicious identities, low-credit citizens, and N.O.B.I. are assigned Grade 4...'
What the hell is a 'N.O.B.I.'?"
"You really know nothing.
They're artificial humans manufactured by the state."
"Artificial... humans? I've never heard of such a thing."
"You asked how this country keeps itself running when people are killing each other like this.
The answer is simple. Factories produce N.O.B.I. to replace however many people die."
"That's... inhumane...!"
"Inhumane?
It's the opposite. It's a very human idea."
Yu-Han smirked, as if he found something amusing.
"Thanks to someone, we wasted our time from early morning... Wait. Isn't that guy—?"
Yu-Han called out to a K&R combatant passing by.
Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be Korean as well.
"Yu-Han? Long time no see!"
"Let me introduce you. This is Jeong Gu-Han. A friend from hell."
Alice wondered whether she should be grateful that, for once, the introduction was not "an old grudge."
"Hello. I am Alice."
"Yu-Han, another foreigner? A Westerner this time?"
"Excuse me? What do you mean?"
"This guy lived with a foreign cat beastkin woman last time."
At Jeong Gu-Han's words, Alice gave Yu-Han a cool, suspicious sideways look.
Yu-Han immediately tried to defend himself.
"Why would you say something that invites misunderstandings?!
That was for a mission! Just for a few days!"
"I know, I know. I was just wondering if really nothing happened between a man and a woman living together for several days."
"Nothing happened!"
Flustered by Jeong Gu-Han's teasing, Yu-Han finally remembered why he had called out to him.
"Hey. Cut the crap. The EV is blocked. Is there any way to get up there?
Like, I don't know, a friend pass?"
"Should we ask the Young-gam? He joined K&R too."
Young-gam was a Korean term for an old man—despite having 'young' in the word... Ironic.
"He's still alive?!
Wait, that crazy, unhinged Young-gam is in K&R?!"
At that moment, someone spoke to the three of them.
"Who are you calling crazy and unhinged, you useless brat?"
For someone called Young-gam, however, the voice was thin.
No, it wasn't even a man's voice.
Standing there was a tall woman with long, straight red hair.
"Yu-Han, is this person the Young-gam...?
She looks like a woman no matter how I look at her."
"I have... no idea...
Who are you?"
Yu-Han looked unusually pale.
The woman let out a deep sigh.
"What, did you forget my mana just because I look like this?
Did you even forget the name Yi Gyu-Chan?"
Yu-Han looked as if his eyes were about to pop out.
It happens all the time on the battlefield, so get used to it!
You can always attach new limbs anyway!>
Without that technique, you won't be able to break my attack!
Do I have to beat you until you learn it? Huh?>
Remembering those days, Yu-Han and Jeong Gu-Han spoke in unison.
""He was a truly terrifying fossil...""
"It was terrible for me too, teaching incompetent weaklings like you."
Listening to their little trip down memory lane, Alice became certain of one thing.
Yi Gyu-Chan was one of the people responsible for Yu-Han's twisted personality.
"But Young-gam, what kind of change of heart is this?
Did you become transgender or something?"
"You rotten bastard... Do you think I became like this because I wanted to?"
"Then who did you lose to?"
At Yu-Han's words, Yi Gyu-Chan fell silent.
In the end, Jeong Gu-Han answered in her place.
"Can't you tell from the fact that the Young-gam is working here?
The opponent was Killian, the head of K&R."
"That guy was that strong...?"
When Yu-Han asked, Yi Gyu-Chan answered with a serious look.
"He was stronger than anyone I ever saw during the civil war.
No... perhaps he has already transcended the human level."
Yu-Han, however, was not listening seriously at all.
"Wow~ So even the battle-maniac Young-gam got Feminized at dear Lord Killian's hands?
Imagining the Young-gam turned into a woman, pinned down and panting like a woman..."
At that moment, Yu-Han suddenly sensed something and drew his carbon-coated blade.
But even though he managed to block, the blade was cleanly snapped in two.
"Don't get cocky, Yu-Han. Even in this body, I am stronger than you."
"Damn it..."
Alice felt a chill of fear toward Yi Gyu-Chan, who had overwhelmed Yu-Han so easily.
As if nothing had happened, Yi Gyu-Chan asked casually.
"By the way, why did you come here?"
"Young-gam, they say Grade 4s can't take the EV.
Can't you pull some strings with your influence?"
"If they told you not to take it, then don't take it and get lost!
Besides, I have no intention of giving you anything for free."
"Heh. I didn't expect much anyway. Let's go, Alice."
At that moment, Yi Gyu-Chan looked at Alice and stopped her.
"Wait, robot."
"Yes?"
"You're somewhat interesting.
Satisfy my curiosity, and I might let you pass."
"Your curiosity?"
"Fight me and win."
"I'll just go."
As Alice tried to keep walking, Yi Gyu-Chan looked genuinely flustered.
"Hey, why are you giving up so easily?"
"Young-gam, she can't even use magic. How is she supposed to beat you?"
Yi Gyu-Chan sighed.
Then, with a sudden use of magic, she carved into the floor and created a small circular area.
"I'll give you a handicap.
I won't step outside this circle.
And... I won't use weapons, magic, or my right arm."
"This is insane. Let's just go, Alice."
"No. That might actually be doable."
Unfortunately, Alice's competitive spirit seemed to have been triggered again.
Yu-Han groaned inwardly at Alice's unexpected response.
***
And so, Alice and Yi Gyu-Chan faced each other.
Alice was given a time limit of ten minutes.
The condition was very simple.
She only had to push Yi Gyu-Chan out of the circle within ten minutes.
"Your model name is Alice, right?
I'll finish this quickly."
"Finish quickly? Ha!
The time limit is ten minutes. There's no way you can finish it faster than that!"
Alice activated Combat AI Mode and charged at Yi Gyu-Chan.
An AI combat robot against a human with one arm sealed, unable to step outside a circle.
To anyone watching, the outcome seemed obvious.
However...
"Slow."
"...!"
Yi Gyu-Chan slipped past Alice's charging punch and drove a kick straight into Alice's solar plexus.
Of course, since Alice was a robot, the solar plexus was not a vital point for her.
Even so, she was sent flying and crashed into the waiting seats in the terminal lobby.
"If I smash you to pieces as you charge in, I can finish it faster than ten minutes, can't I?"
"N-no way...!"
The analysis result from Alice's combat AI was shocking.
Simply put, Yi Gyu-Chan was faster and stronger than Alice.
"No matter how well an AI robot calculates, there are still physical limits...
A chess AI can make the perfect move all it wants.
I just make two or three moves before it can respond."
Alice continued attempting close combat.
But Yi Gyu-Chan parried her attacks with one arm, slammed her away with a shoulder check, swept her legs out from under her, and even grabbed her kicking leg with one hand before throwing her aside.
Alice was reminded of the fight between Kim Ga-Eun and Yi Rang that she had seen before.
An overwhelming gap that made attacking look stupid...!
Of course, that did not mean Yi Rang was actually stupid.
'S-scary... That woman is trapped inside a circle, but...'
Even though Alice had no sense of pain, her spirit was being worn down as she was tossed around like a toy.
The fear was like being forced to stick her hand into a cage with a starving tiger inside...!
"Alice."
Yu-Han, who had been watching, spoke up.
"Yu-Han. This is absolutely impossible. I should give up..."
"Of course it's absolutely impossible.
Without magic."
"..."
It was an established theory that only beings with souls could use magic.
Then did that mean her current self was a being without a soul?
Yu-Han smiled at Alice and said,
"So... use magic now."
"I don't know how to use magic...!"
"You wrapped yourself in my mana and killed enemies before.
Then that's practically the same thing as using magic, isn't it?
If you succeeded once, you can do it twice."
Yu-Han was spouting outrageous sophistry.
And yet, that sophistry gave Alice a strange sense of relief.
'Right. That sensation from when I fought while wrapped in mana...!'
At that moment, Yi Gyu-Chan's eyebrow twitched.
What rose from Alice, who had closed her eyes and begun to concentrate, was unmistakably pure mana energy...!
Jeong Gu-Han, who had been watching from the side, also looked flustered.
"Hey, Young-gam. A mere robot is using magic..."
"Ha! Now this is getting interesting—!!"
Wrapped in mana, Alice charged at Yi Gyu-Chan with a completely different momentum from before...!
"..."
Yi Gyu-Chan also wrapped herself in mana.
Then she used both arms to suppress Alice and slammed her into the ground.
In the process, she even stepped outside the circle.
Even while pinned down, Alice smiled in victory.
"My... victory, right?"
"No, it's mine. You stupid tin-can bitch."
"?"
"The time limit was ten minutes.
It passed a long time ago."
"Ah."
Alice realized through her robot-clock that twelve minutes had already passed.
"Well... it was somewhat entertaining.
If you're done, get lost."
Alice left the terminal with Yu-Han, looking deeply sullen.
Jeong Gu-Han was still staring after her in surprise.
"To achieve this much in such a short time...!"
"Khh...! This is going to be very fun!
If magic-wielding robots are mass-produced... how much more interesting will the battlefield become?!"
Yi Gyu-Chan stood there laughing heartily for quite some time.
Of course, cleaning up the ruined terminal was left to the subordinates.
...like Yi Rang.
***
"I lost, Yu-Han."
"I didn't expect much in the first place.
That Young-gam is..."
"The worst."
"I agree."
The two walked in silence for a while.
Then Yu-Han spoke, as if he had only just remembered something.
"Still, a soulless robot awakened magic.
This is an unprecedented event!"
"I guess so?!"
Just as Alice was starting to cheer up, Yu-Han immediately threw cold water on it.
"Of course, the trigger for that awakening was you trembling in fear of a one-armed woman trapped inside a circle, which makes it look a bit pathetic."
"Bastard."
Sulking, Alice deliberately strode ahead of Yu-Han.
Yu-Han watched her back and smiled.
'As I thought... you did have a soul.'