I Became a Mad Scientist for the Foundation

Chapter 257. The Origin of Everything (2)

Here is the bridge of the Foundation Aircraft Carrier.

The aircraft carrier has arrived at the last known location of the Blue Rose’s main body. I picked up binoculars and looked at the destroyer. The destroyer extended a crane and hooked the corpse of the Catfish Deity.

“This is Dr. Kim. Proceed.”

[Preparing entity ‘Catfish’.]

“Understood.”

[Then. We will deploy it.]

Isn’t it like fishing for a big fish with a big, flashy bait? To catch a big fish, you need a bait that’s just as big and flashy.

To catch a mackerel, you need krill.

To catch a flounder, you need sandworms.

To catch a shark, you need live fish.

The bait we’re using today is the corpse of the Catfish Deity, which we recovered not long ago. It might be a dragon. The target is the main body of the Blue Rose.

Thinking about it, we’re making good use of it.

We used the Catfish Deity’s orb to revive Jörmungandr, and now we’re using its corpse to find Blue Rose-0.

“Any changes in the surroundings?”

“The water temperature is rising.”

It was a surreal sight. Large air bubbles and fog were rising from the depths of the sea. The water temperature was changing rapidly.

“Anything on the radar?”

“Nothing on the sonar…”

You can even see the water temperature changing with your eyes.

It was a surreal sight. Perhaps the warm seawater meeting the air caused the fog to rise due to the sudden temperature change.

“Evasion maneuver!”

The officers on the bridge moved busily. The aircraft carrier also began moving at full speed.

The aircraft carrier was running away in fear. I thought about saying something but decided to keep my mouth shut. It probably doesn’t matter much.

[Uh, dropping the bait!]

“Go ahead.”

Everyone seems scared. The destroyer I was watching through the binoculars dropped the Catfish Deity’s corpse, which was half-submerged in water, into the sea.

[Launching drones to monitor the drop point.]

I walked to one side of the bridge and looked at the screen of the drone flying to the drop point. The drone was also visible outside the bridge window.

Splash!

The screen connected to the drone went black, and a massive water column rose from the sea. Blue Rose-0 had revealed itself.

Like a shark leaping out of the water after catching a seal, Blue Rose-0 jumped out. If the destroyer hadn’t run away earlier, we would have all been dead.

I’m glad I trusted my instincts.

I went back to the deck.

Something massive was moving beneath the surface. The origin of everything. Every time the sea deity moved, waves and bubbles surged.

Nanami tilted her head.

“Are we supposed to talk to that?”

“We have to try.”

With other deities, I could either take the upper hand or physically subdue them depending on the situation. But with the Blue Rose, it was different.

I looked at Blue Rose-0.

“Come this way.”

The main body of the Blue Rose slowly approached my aircraft carrier. The sirens blared as the carrier began an evasion maneuver.

But against the power of the sea itself, it was helpless.

The massive aircraft carrier was dragged like a leaf by the monster, and the crew began to panic in terror.

It’s different from other deities.

A real monster.

But, putting that aside, the Blue Rose was also part of my pantheon. It might be the most dazzling jewel in the crown, but in the end…

The sea monster had fully recovered, with no traces of past wounds. The Foundation had killed and reassembled this monster.

Has it already healed? Or, like Jörmungandr awakening by swallowing the orb, did it recover somewhat by devouring the Catfish Deity?

A strange, song-like sound stuck in my mind. It wasn’t a real song.

Not something heard with the ears, but something like a chorus resonating in my head. The Blue Rose didn’t speak, but something… something was trying to convey its will to the world.

Blue Rose-0 reached out to me. There was no intelligence to converse with, no means of communication, no language.

It was like making eye contact with an animal, leaving only this vague sense of connection.

I greeted the sea.

The origin of all life, the endless unknown.

Droplets, waves, and white fog began to rise. A few grayish tentacles with a blue hue crawled onto the deck.

One of them came right up to me.

Though I call it a tentacle, it was as thick as an arm’s length. Enormous beyond comparison.

I tapped the tentacle of Blue Rose-0 as if shaking hands. The tentacle greeted me and then slid back into the sea.

The aircraft carrier swayed.

I was startled. I sat down on the floor, but Nanami helped me up.

“That was scary. What does it mean?”

“It just means we’re friendly. Blue Rose-0. It means it listens to me…”

Nanami still looked puzzled.

But the goal was achieved. The Foundation’s civil war ended in my victory, and my pantheon, which had been damaged after the battle, was restored.

I walked briskly to the bridge.

“With this, most of the work is done for now. When I return to the Seoul Branch…”

“Return?”

“I’ll just relax for a few days. Might have to stamp a few documents, though.”

“Dr. Kim. You can do as you please. No one will stop you.”

That’s true.

Even if I do nothing or don’t show up for work, no one can say anything.

Except for the fellow administrators.

But the fellow administrators are such scoundrels compared to me. They won’t say anything to me. They’re just lazing around too.

I returned to the Seoul Branch.

The Seoul Branch was peaceful for the first time in a while. As if all problems were resolved with the restoration of the pantheon. Though the world is still full of problems.

My team was gathered in the lowest level of the Seoul Branch. Nanami, the Hero, and Hasti. Others were too busy to come.

In my command center, four individuals capable of toppling a developed nation’s government single-handedly had gathered.

But today, they weren’t here for war or grand plans. Life isn’t a novel; not every moment needs to be explosive. There should be comfortable days too.

Nanami was wearing something resembling a suit for the first time in a while. Long sleeves, a white shirt, a black bow tie, and suit shorts. She looked relaxed.

Nanami crossed her legs.

Her sharp blue eyes glanced at me, but Nanami always had a somewhat cold expression. She looked relaxed.

“I still don’t get it. Why did you just shake hands with that deep-sea tentacle mass?”

“Just greeting a business partner, that’s all.”

“Blue Rose. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Even though I’ve lived and grown up in the Foundation…”

“Well, it’s resolved now.”

It was a process of confirming loyalty.

My pantheon’s support is still solid. If the situation changes, new plans might be needed, but not now.

Nanami crossed her legs.

“Was that the result you wanted?”

“I thought communication might not be possible at all. So, it’s a relief.”

I nodded. The Hero and Hasti, who had been quiet, looked at me with wide eyes, curious.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing. The last of the seven deities was the strongest, right? We resolved it well.”

Hasti tilted her head.

Hasti seemed to like the hoodie with the Foundation emblem I gave her a few days ago and had been wearing it since. Not sure why they made it, though.

She looked like she had just been dragged out of bed. Maybe she was actually sleeping or had something tiring to do.

“It’s fascinating.”

The Hero sat with a slightly blank expression. With her pale face and black straight hair, she always looked soft.

Since she went to another world in high school, she’s probably around twenty. Not sure how time flowed in that other world.

“Dr. Kim, what will you do now?”

“Nothing for a while. I’ll regain my strength, help those under my rule, and strive to create a better world.”

“Really?”

“Even the Hero here has suffered a lot because of the Foundation and me. We need to improve the situation.”

Ultimately, the main argument of many hostile groups was that the Foundation monopolized all the world’s magic and did nothing.

That’s what we’ll tackle first.

“Most of the old representatives are dead now. We’ll write the next chapter. I hope you all will help too.”

The Hero nodded.

There are many problems to solve, but with the Foundation’s power, we can eventually solve them. With great power comes great responsibility.

For now, I hope to enjoy peace. Though the Foundation is filled with death and destruction, in the end, we were the ones who won.

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