The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 144: Violet, To the Dark and Deep Dungeon (2)

Three trucks roll down the main road of the dungeon in the morning. Every time they hit the rough stone ground, they rattle loudly.

"Kyyaah!"

The body of Violet No. 212 in the cargo bed wobbled unsteadily. The nearby Violets quickly grabbed me to steady myself.

Until just yesterday, there had only been one or two Violets standing guard, but now the truck bed was packed with them. To make matters worse, I had created more clones. The cargo bed was already filled with dormant bodies rolling around.

The reason for the sudden increase in manpower was simple. It was because of those cultists from yesterday.

"Attacked by fanatics?"

When I explained the situation to the team, everyone seemed surprised, except for two. Daphne turned to the Violet at the back seat.

"Nothing serious happened, right?"

"Yeah, don’t worry. No injuries on our side. We killed them all, so don’t worry!"

"Oh, that’s a relief."

Daphne looked a little bewildered, but didn’t say anything further.

"Hah, fanatics. Those weirdos are causing trouble. Do you think they might be chasing us?"

Luis, who had been listening, spoke in a somewhat suspicious tone. Was he worried about those weirdos trailing us? I spoke in a voice loud enough for the other team members to hear.

"Ah, we shouldn’t have to worry about being tracked. See this thing around my neck? It’s a disruption device."

"You’re really like a secret agent..."

He clicked his tongue. It seemed he still thought I was some kind of human weapon trained in a secret base.

"To kill people... hmm... Well, they deserved it..."

"Uh, hmm..."

Our siege weapon duo seemed to feel uneasy at the mention of me killing people.

Come to think of it, these guys probably hadn’t killed anyone before.

"It doesn’t matter. We didn’t expect them to engage in combat from the beginning. If they experience killing people without preparation, it could hurt their hearts." S

"We’ll have to make them accept it naturally when the time comes."

Killing beasts and killing people were clearly different things. Monsters were creatures that instinctively saw humans as enemies. They were grotesque in appearance, so it was hard to feel any empathy for them.

But people were different. They cried out when struck, and screamed when stabbed. My instincts rejected it.

Killing a monster was a hundred times easier than killing a human.

After a brief explanation, Irene calmly evaluated my actions. It was all praise.

"Though the cleanup was rough, you handled it well. There are many dangerous criminals hiding in places like this big dungeon. You have to protect yourself here."

Kalia responded more intensely.

"Ha, well done. Those crazy people deserve to die. Even in our neighborhood, strange religious people often came to preach and caused disturbances. And they even offered people as sacrifices? We need to show these trash the right way."

She said this while patting my shoulder confidently.

"By the way, you said it was the ’Harmonic Association’?"

Irene looked into the air as if thinking about something.

"Have you heard of it?"

What I found was only fragmentary information. I thought Irene might know more, so I asked her.

"I don’t know the details, but I think I’ve heard of it. There’s a sort of blacklist shared among clans."

"A blacklist? Wait, are they keeping a list of targets for suppression?"

I was shocked—was Irene’s clan the type to engage in some form of oppression?

Seeing my uneasy expression, she quickly explained further.

"It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s just a list of suspicious individuals or awakened groups who have bad rumors following them."

Well, that’s a relief. It was just a normal list of people to be cautious about, like black consumers or weirdos.

"That’s strange, though. They’re making a kill list, but..."

Luis muttered something, but I ignored him.

"Among the list are religious groups. There are lots of weird religions that use awakened powers for missionary work. The Harmonic Association was one of the top entries. They made money in suspicious ways, and once people entered, they never came out. There were even rumors that they used remote islands or dungeon corners for military training."

This was quite dangerous. They weren’t just the type of fanatics shouting about hell in their church buildings.

"A cult trying to offer human sacrifices and explore suspicious artifacts. It’s clearly shady. This needs to be reported to the forward base. Violet, how about sending a messenger to the dungeon entrance?"

Irene’s suggestion made sense. We had no idea how big these crazy people were or what they were doing. And now, Adelaide was here too. It would be wise to let them know to be careful.

"Okay, I’ll do that right away!"

Once the hunters or the clan members here found out, they’d clean up those trash. It’s really an eye-for-an-eye!

While the convoy stopped for a moment, one Violet got off the truck bed. Violet No. 12, with the help of Violets No. 802 and No. 216, pulled out machines from the inventory and started assembling them.

"I’ll go!"

The electric scooter was completed. After confirming that the messenger Violet had left for the safe zone, we moved deeper into the dungeon.

"By the way, murder..."

As I pondered over the concepts of offerings, religion, and human sacrifice, my thoughts naturally spiraled into reflections on killing and the act of murder. Suddenly, a small question slithered up like a snake.

"Am I a psychopath?"

From the moment my Violet clones possessed their new bodies, they had killed countless people. The lab guards, the ponytailed woman, the gang members of the underworld—everyone I judged as an enemy was killed, either by cutting their throats or shooting them.

Each time, there was nothing particularly special about it. The recoil of a gun, the feel of tough flesh and bone, the ache in my wrists and arms.

"Killing bad people or shooting them was kind of thrilling."

"Ugh, are we the weird ones?"

Honestly, it was fun to win. But I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to feel.

Considering it from the perspective of common sense and moral ethics, my Violets might seem abnormal from an objective viewpoint.

A cute girl who doesn’t fear killing? People would be upset. A cute girl is supposed to be kind and make the world a better place. It’s better if she doesn’t get her hands dirty with blood.

"No, maybe that’s exactly why we need to do it?"

Violet No. 223 sat beside Daphne…

The assigned Violet squads supported equipment operation and were prepared to sacrifice their lives to prevent equipment loss in emergencies.

While we Violets handled the frontal combat, the team members were assigned to critical positions to strategize and explore the dungeon.

Treating people like equipment seemed a bit inhumane, but it was an efficient military strategy.

We could defeat any enemy with this approach!

“As explained, we’ll begin our search from here. First, we’ll search the stalls in the surrounding streets and parks one by one. Then, we’ll enter the hotel to find any useful relics!”

The Violet Company led the way, followed closely by the team members.

「Third Platoon, First Squad, move with Levi and secure the high ground near the hotel. The remaining squads will wait in the rear and guard the surrounding streets! Move to the rooftops and stand by until a request for fire support comes in!」

The area around the hotel was quite expansive. If there was a spot that offered a view of the entire region, immediate fire support could be provided.

「First Platoon, Second Squad, move to the front line with Irene and switch your equipment to shields and spears.」

「Second Platoon, First Squad, move to the center and stand by. Ensure the escort target is not harmed. Healers are critical!」

「What about us?」

「Stick them behind the First Platoon, Second Squad. If they try to go berserk swinging their axe, stop them!」

After assigning the team members to their respective positions, the exploration began.

Gone were the days when warriors and mages scrambled together to fight monsters. This was the modern tactical approach to dungeon parties.

Heh, with this method, we could crush any enemy!

Violet No. 331, who had been diligently rummaging through the stalls, felt a strange vibration on the ground.

「Command, can you feel that? There’s a weird vibration. There might be a monster underground.」

The Violet at Command immediately switched consciousness and inspected the site. Turning on a flashlight, they noticed a manhole cover trembling.

「Monster detected! Everyone, gather up!」

The Violet unit stopped their exploration and formed a triple-layered perimeter. A platoon of Violets advanced to the front.

The courageous Violets, shielded by sturdy green protective barriers, surrounded the manhole cover in a circular formation.

“According to the intel, it’s probably a Lockvein.”

As the platoon leader Violet shrugged and explained, Irene cautiously replied.

“Normally, that would be the case...?”

She stood behind the second perimeter, ready to cast buffs and charge forward.

The Lockvein was a serpent-like monster that roamed the underground sewers of Vittorio Arcade.

Though it was classified as mid-tier and dangerous, it was said to occasionally drop loot if its belly was sliced open.

With numbers, nothing was scary.

“Come out, you dumb beast!”

“A mere mid-tier!”

I created noise to provoke it. Once that serpent poked its head out of the ground, it was done for.

We’ll show this monster what Violet military tactics are all about!

With a heavy metallic thud, the manhole cover shot into the air.

“There it is!”

No. 328 advanced toward the black manhole with a magic-infused spear. They were ready to strike as soon as the creature emerged.

At that moment, a pitch-black, massive tentacle shot out of the manhole.

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“Ugh, ughyahhh!”

The slimy black tentacle struck the surrounding squad, knocking them over.

Almost immediately, a shapeless, shadowy black creature emerged from the sewer hole.

Its size expanded to that of a double-decker bus as soon as it surfaced.

“It’s got us!”

Several tentacles extended from the round body of the monster, capturing an entire Violet squad.

I was pulled into its body.

What happened next was horrific.

“Ugh! My flesh is melting like water!”

“Ahhh! I’m dissolving!”

The creature’s tentacles corroded and broke through Daphne’s protective barrier.

One by one, our squad members began to melt away. Although Daphne quickly deployed a new barrier to retrieve the squad, it was too late.

“A-ah... Violet!”

“It’s too late, Daphne. Fall back!”

Irene spoke firmly, and Daphne bit her lip before immediately retreating.

“D-damn it. It’s a Noxterror. Crap... mid-tier monster, my foot!”

Lucian’s face, in the rear, twisted as if he had just chewed on mint chocolate.

He was right. That wasn’t a mid-tier monster.

The true identity of the monster was a Noxterror, a top-tier monster sitting at the apex of this dungeon’s ecosystem.

「Chaaarge!」

The Violet military tactics faced a massive hurdle from the start.

This was a crisis!