F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 130: They Are Not Dead

...The room Dr. Kaya and the other men occupied was nothing like an office.

It was wide—uncomfortably so—with a ceiling that rose high enough for the lights to hang like pale moons. They hummed softly as they flooded the chamber in sterile white.

Along the far wall stood tall steel cabinets, stacked in neat, numbered rows.

These were Morgue drawers.

Each one large enough to swallow a body whole. Some of them still had faint frost along their edges.

Opposite the cabinets, the room opened into a forest of equipment—monitors, suspended scanners, jointed mechanical arms folded like resting insects, cables snaking across polished floors and vanishing into the walls.

Glass tanks. Metal tables—mostly tools that had no business being named.

The two Red Sword Inquisitors stood near the center, hands resting close to their hilts.

Just silent and watching as the medical experts in the room argued back and forth.

And seated far too casually among them was Dr. Kaya.

"What do you mean they are not dead?" the blonde man in the lab coat snapped, his voice echoing sharply off the steel drawers.

He took a step forward, jabbing a finger toward the cabinets.

"And you call yourself a doctor—a damn specialist!?" he spat. " Or are you calling everybody that has examined these bodies stupid?

They all have the symptoms of dead people. Or are you blind?"

Dr. Kaya didn’t flinch.

She leaned back further into her chair, legs crossed, the stick of a lollipop protruding lazily from the corner of her mouth. From the moment the so-called corpses had been revealed, she hadn’t even bothered to stand.

She simply gazed at the cabinets with mild interest—like someone appraising furniture—and had calmly stated they were alive.

The black-haired man adjusted his glasses, stepping in before the blonde could continue.

"Doctor," he said, forcing restraint into his tone, "these bodies exhibit every known indicator of death. Cardiac arrest. No blood circulation. Cellular stagnation. Visible swelling consistent with early internal decomposition."

He gestured toward the drawers.

"If they had not been refrigerated, the older ones from about three weeks ago would have rotted by now."

Dr. Kaya popped the lollipop from her mouth, tilted her head, and stared at him for a long moment.

Then, without answering, she reached into her hair and fished out a chocolate bar, peeling the wrapper with an idle flick of her fingers.

The silence stretched.

The blonde man’s face flushed red.

"That’s it," he shouted, throwing his hands up. "Unbelievable! Absolutely un—!"

He stormed toward the exit, boots striking the floor in sharp, angry beats. The black-haired man hesitated only a second longer before following after him, shaking his head.

The doors slid shut behind them.

From his position near the observation panel, Soren, Vass and Polystar, watched the two men disappear down the corridor.

Smoke break, Soren thought immediately—remembering how he met them the last time.

Which was good. It meant that he was in the right place and at the right time—before that incident happened.

However, Soren noticed Polystar’s nervous expression—jaw clenched so tight Soren wondered if his teeth would crack. His gaze was locked on a figure in the room, fear evident in his eyes.

Contrary to what Soren assumed, it was not the Red Swords.

No.

It was the Doctor.

Once the two left, one of the Red Swords sighed heavily, stepping forward.

"Ignoring them like that was a bit harsh, don’t you think, Dr Kaya? You could have at least stated your reason for it."

She paused, gaze rising to meet the red sword. Then she pointed at her nose.

"This is the reason."

Both of them froze.

Perplexed by her words.

Was she saying that her conclusion for stating that they were alive was her nose?

The red swords were stating to think maybe, just maybe the other doctors were right about this woman being crazy.

And to think that she was tagged as one of the best scientific minds in the empire.

Was it so easy to be the best? To spit out bullshit conclusions while eating candy?

At such a time, she smiled. "You doubt me," she said, not bothering to phrase it as a question.

"Uh... it’s not like that, Doctor, but we do have superiors to report to, and you are not exactly helping our end.

"Cheese bread, tomato fillings, with a side of baked, and Chocolate tea." She stated.

"Huh?"

"Thats what you had for breakfast, isn’t it?" Her gaze narrowed.

"Well..." His gaze moved towards his partner, a drop of sweat sliding down his forehead even though tge room was not hot.

His partner looked at him surprised. "You ate? We are supposed to be on a fast according to the order by the Church."

Doctor Kaya rolled her eyes. "Stop it. You are no better. You did the same thing. Except you added extra salt to your tea. I’m I wrong?"

Both men froze looking at her in a new light.

She enjoyed the baffled look on their faces. But ’baffled’ was not enough to satisfy her. Since she has started, why stop here.

"You..." she pointed to the first Red sword. "You slept with your wife this morning, and she gave you a kiss on the cheek—a satisfying thanks for going against the rules for her."

"You, only an hour ago you also visited his..."

"Stop!" The red sword screamed. "Please don’t say any more. Please... we understand now. Your Blackfield is incredible."

Both men stared at her—a new kind of respect and fear had been unlocked.

But she chuckled lazily. "Blackfield?" Her smile froze gaze turning sharper. "You mean that trash skill Soulbound warriors are so proud of?"

She spat to the side in disgust. "Don’t put me and such nonsense in the same league.

You’ll make my candy bar... taste sour."

Even though she had said this, curiosity was a fickle thing, and it arrested their minds.

"So... you are one of them?"

"One of ... who?" She asked.

"Them!" He said as he swallowed. "The generation does not need to bond."

Her smirk became wider, and then she switched the position of her crossed legs. "You know what. I’ll think of answering your question, when you are done dealing with that."

She pointed.

Immediately, Soren, Vass and Polystar hid further.

"Shit. We’ve been caught." Vass cursed. "We should make a run for it."

Ideally that suggestion would have made sense. After all, if they were caught, it would be a problem.

But Soren raised a hand. "Wait." He said flatly.

Vass frowned. However, Polystar looked like he was sweating even more. His eyes kept darting around the place like he was a rabbit thinking of a way to escape the claws of a tiger.

The Red sword inquisitors paused. Then turned about.

There was nothing there, except for the half opened Morgue drawers.

One of them turned back to her.

He cracked a laugh. "Good one Doctor. You almost got us there. And I bet all those things you know about us because somehow you had prior information.

We have heard about your reputation, Doctor Kaya. But we are Red Sword Inquisitors. Even the Soulbound warriors know not to mess with us."

Slush...

The sound was soft. Wet. Almost gentle.

A blade of ice erupted from the back of the Red Sword Inquisitor’s skull and burst out through his forehead in a spray of crimson—blood freezing midair before it could even spill.

Frost crawled instantly across his face, locking his expression into shocked disbelief.

He never had time to scream.

His body stiffened, then toppled forward, hitting the floor with a hollow clang.

Instantly, the second Red sword took a huge leap back.

"KEVIN!" He yelled.

His sword was out in a heartbeat, red light flaring violently as he spun toward the threat, stance snapping into combat readiness.

Power surged around him, the familiar hum of a Blackfield blooming outward like heat distortion.

Behind them—

The morgue drawers slid open.

Metal screamed softly as two of the so-called corpses sat up.

Their movements were wrong. Too smooth. Too deliberate.

Silver, glowing neurallink runes danced across their exposed skin like living circuitry, pulsing in slow, synchronized patterns.

One of them had an arm extended, fingers splayed—and frost still clung to the air around its hand, shimmering faintly.

That was the one that had fired the ice.

The Red Sword glanced back just long enough to register them.

"Doctor Kaya!" He shouted, voice tight with urgency. "Get to safety! I’ll hold them off!"

However she didn’t move.

Didn’t even blink.

Dr. Kaya sank deeper into her chair instead, crossing her legs again as if settling in for a live performance.

From somewhere within her green, bushy hair, she produced a crinkling bag of chips and casually popped it open.

"Mm," she said lightly. "You Red Swords are very good at fighting Soulbound warriors."

She glanced at the risen figures, eyes sharpening just a fraction.

"But these," she added. Her green eyes slightly glowing "...aren’t your typical Soulbound warriors."

The Inquisitor frowned.

Red light surged harder, wrapping fully around his body as his ability peaked.

In the next instant, he vanished from his spot in a violent blur—reappearing mid-strike as he swung his blade toward the nearest figure...