Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 59: Hector (7)

And so, Hector’s head dropped to the floor.

The legendary figure of Babel, the one Amber once casually mentioned — this was his end.

As I watched Hector’s head slowly roll across the floor of the Graveyard of Weapons, my tension finally eased, and ambient sound returned to my ears.

Crackle. Crackle.

From Hector’s body came the sound of sparking, and the remaining energy in his mechanical heart greedily sucking in oxygen echoed through the chamber.

And then, I heard Victor’s voice, tense and murmuring under his breath.

“D-Did we win? Against Babel’s legend?”

Turning my head, I saw Victor standing there, still in shock, unable to believe what had happened.

His enhanced ocular implants were scanning Hector’s ruined body over and over.

After a moment, Victor finally let out a long breath of relief.

“We’re alive...”

He collapsed into a pile of debris with a heavy thud.

His shoulders sagged, every muscle in his body relaxing.

“Thanks, A. Really. You saved my life again...”

Victor bowed his head to me with an expression of genuine gratitude.

I gave him a slight nod in response.

This whole thing started because I wanted to help Victor — but in the end, I gained plenty myself.

I’d discovered a chamber with no record in Babel’s history, seemingly tied to MK Corp, experienced a bizarre hallucination, and even gained a completely unexpected power-up.

Guess sometimes doing the right thing does pay off.

The thought brought a faint smile to my lips.

Victor basked in the joy of survival and victory for a brief moment.

But soon, he gathered himself and got back up.

His eyes turned toward a wrecked transport vehicle lying in the corner of the chamber.

Tossed by the aftermath of battle, the vehicle was crumpled like a toy car.

Without hesitation, Victor ran over to it.

He pried open the bent door and carefully climbed inside.

A few moments later, he emerged cradling a small girl in his arms.

Iris.

She seemed unconscious from the impact — but thankfully, there were no visible injuries.

With Iris in his arms, Victor and I slowly walked toward the subway tunnel.

“Come to think of it... the spatial cracks and Erosion Zones that filled the tunnel are all gone.”

Victor kept chattering about the situation, maybe from relief, maybe to fill the silence.

I let his voice fade into background noise as I looked back one last time at the Graveyard of Weapons.

Now nothing more than a space of ash-gray dust and debris, it truly felt like a place of death.

Then I turned, walking quietly into the darkness of the tunnel.

****

And so, Hector’s head dropped to the floor.

The legendary figure of Babel, the one Amber once casually mentioned — this was his end.

As I ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) watched Hector’s head slowly roll across the floor of the Graveyard of Weapons, my tension finally eased, and ambient sound returned to my ears.

Crackle. Crackle.

From Hector’s body came the sound of sparking, and the remaining energy in his mechanical heart greedily sucking in oxygen echoed through the chamber.

And then, I heard Victor’s voice, tense and murmuring under his breath.

“D-Did we win? Against Babel’s legend?”

Turning my head, I saw Victor standing there, still in shock, unable to believe what had happened.

His enhanced ocular implants were scanning Hector’s ruined body over and over.

After a moment, Victor finally let out a long breath of relief.

“We’re alive...”

He collapsed into a pile of debris with a heavy thud.

His shoulders sagged, every muscle in his body relaxing.

“Thanks, A. Really. You saved my life again...”

Victor bowed his head to me with an expression of genuine gratitude.

I gave him a slight nod in response.

This whole thing started because I wanted to help Victor — but in the end, I gained plenty myself.

I’d discovered a chamber with no record in Babel’s history, seemingly tied to MK Corp, experienced a bizarre hallucination, and even gained a completely unexpected power-up.

Guess sometimes doing the right thing does pay off.

The thought brought a faint smile to my lips.

Victor basked in the joy of survival and victory for a brief moment.

But soon, he gathered himself and got back up.

His eyes turned toward a wrecked transport vehicle lying in the corner of the chamber.

Tossed by the aftermath of battle, the vehicle was crumpled like a toy car.

Without hesitation, Victor ran over to it.

He pried open the bent door and carefully climbed inside.

A few moments later, he emerged cradling a small girl in his arms.

Iris.

She seemed unconscious from the impact — but thankfully, there were no visible injuries.

With Iris in his arms, Victor and I slowly walked toward the subway tunnel.

“Come to think of it... the spatial cracks and Erosion Zones that filled the tunnel are all gone.”

Victor kept chattering about the situation, maybe from relief, maybe to fill the silence.

I let his voice fade into background noise as I looked back one last time at the Graveyard of Weapons.

Now nothing more than a space of ash-gray dust and debris, it truly felt like a place of death.

Then I turned, walking quietly into the darkness of the tunnel.

****

At the center of Babel — a massive ring-shaped structure housing Hexa Core Armory’s HQ, the Castle.

On the 82nd floor, home to the Special Projects Division, the atmosphere was different from usual.

Employees huddled in small groups throughout the office, whispering with uneasy expressions. Hologram screens floated overhead, filled with speculative reports and fragmented data.

Ryan Sterling sat at his desk, trying to ignore the tense mood.

But the constant murmurs and anxious faces gnawed at his nerves.

There was only one reason for the chaos: the disappearance of Hector’s signal.

The living legend of Babel — Hexa Core Armory’s strongest spear and shield — had gone silent mid-operation.

That alone was enough to send shockwaves through the company.

One ex-mercenary and the whole place is in a panic... Ryan clicked his tongue internally.

Of course, he knew Hector wasn’t just some ex-mercenary.

He was the symbol of Hexa Core Armory’s military might — a magnet who drew elite soldiers through sheer reputation.

Losing someone like Hector meant more than just losing combat strength.

It was a blow to morale and the company’s public image.

Click. Clack.

Sharp high heels echoed down the corridor. Ryan turned his head to see Lina Cortez stepping out of a meeting room, finishing an AR call with someone.

Something’s off about the team lead lately...

Ryan thought back to the recent changes he’d noticed in Lina.

She was always competent — but now she seemed to have surpassed human limitations.

She handled all tasks flawlessly and never showed a flicker of emotion, no matter the situation.

Like a perfectly programmed machine.

She used to focus silently on her duties rather than build alliances.

But lately, she had started gathering people, extending her influence.

The biggest change was in her personality.

She used to be snappish, probably from chronic sleep deprivation — but now she never got angry.

And the red sunglasses she always wore? Gone.

Something about her change unsettled Ryan.

There was a coldness in her demeanor — like she no longer regarded others as fellow humans.

As Lina briskly returned to the meeting room, another disturbance spread from the entrance to the office.

Voices murmured. Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Rhythmic, oppressive steps.

All eyes turned to the entrance to see who was causing the commotion.

‘!’

And finally — the one who appeared at the entrance was Hector, long thought dead.

Surrounded by staff, he was being escorted into the very same meeting room Lina had just entered.

****

Thunk.

As the black-painted air vehicle touched down with a dull thud, Hector stepped off.

["This body really is uncomfortable."]

The mechanical voice echoed through his artificial vocal cords.

Compared to his primary combat prosthetic, the backup body was small and underwhelming—but his movements were still precise, with no openings.

Only the bare minimum armor was layered over the steel frame, giving him the look of an unfinished war machine.

It wasn’t long before Hector sensed a strange “scent.”

["This smell..."]

The same unreal scent he’d been picking up around HQ for some time now.

It was a kind of instinct only those who had walked the battlefield could possess.

The scent of blood, gunpowder, and death from the Great War brushed faintly across his senses, like a hallucination.

Sensing such a presence inside the main building was never a good sign.

As he headed toward the landing pad exit, a strange scene unfolded.

Employees in uniform were lined up on either side as if they had been waiting for him.

Their faces wore awkward smiles, but their eyes were vacant—hollow.

“Hector, sir, the emergency meeting is in session. We’ll escort you.”

One employee stepped forward and gestured politely.

Hector followed without a word.

In the elevator, the staff member pressed the destination floor.

<82F – Special Projects Division>

‘Eighty-two?’

Hector felt a flicker of suspicion.

That was the division overseen by Lina Cortez, but there was almost never a reason for him to visit in person.

Still, he didn’t show it outwardly.

His mind was occupied with something else.

That ghost...

The “ghost” he’d waited so long to meet had finally appeared.

And Hector had no intention of reporting the encounter.

A ghost, reappearing after fifty years.

He intended to face it again—after the Circle System had been stabilized and his body made stronger.

He didn’t want anyone interfering.

Ding.

The elevator arrived on the 82nd floor, and the doors opened with a soft chime.

The staff guided Hector to a large conference room and stepped aside in silence.

Without hesitation, Hector pushed the doors open and entered.

The room was spacious but empty.

Beyond the massive windows stretched the dazzling night view of Babel, and standing with her back to it was a woman.

Lina Cortez.

She turned slowly to face Hector.

A smooth smile, like a mask, spread across her face.

But that smile was unnatural, and her eyes were cold—void of emotion.

“You’ve arrived, Hector.”

Her voice was a tone higher and lighter than usual.

Hector’s red mechanical eyes scanned her.

Maybe it was because she wasn’t wearing her signature sunglasses.

Maybe it was because the conference room was so utterly empty.

But a strong sense of wrongness flooded his gut.

["Why are you the only one here? Where are the others?"]

His voice carried clear suspicion.

Lina kept her mask-like smile as she replied.

“They’re occupied right now. Let’s talk first, just the two of us.”

It was clearly a deflection.

Hector asked no further questions.

Instead, he began checking his system, preparing for combat.

The backup body had weak armor and poor weaponry—but his battle instincts and reflexes were unchanged.

Then, suddenly, Hector felt dizzy.

His vision blurred, and his sense of balance wavered.

It wasn’t fatigue or a system error.

["...!"]

As he staggered briefly, he heard Lina muttering quietly.

“As expected, it doesn’t seem to work on someone who’s been through the Great War. Could just meeting us be causing the interference?”

With those words, Lina made a gesture.

SHRRRK!

Panels all over the conference room walls slid open—and armed soldiers emerged from hiding.

Without hesitation, they aimed their rifles at Hector and pulled the triggers.

Tatatatatatata!

Dozens of rounds rained toward him.

But Hector was faster.

Even under a barrage of bullets, he twisted his body and dodged most of the fire.

Several shots struck the thin plating of his backup body and sparked—but none were fatal.

Without a second’s hesitation, Hector hurled himself toward the massive conference room window.

CRASH!

Reinforced glass shattered, and his heavy body plunged into the night air of Babel.

A freefall from the 82nd floor.

Instant death for a normal human.

But for Hector, it was nothing more than an escape route.