Black Organization: Secure Base (Unknown Location)
Is Vodka's loyalty trustworthy?
This is a good question. Usually, only Gin can answer it.
But Gin was currently unconscious in the medical bay, leaving Vodka alone to answer this question with his actions.
In fact, Vodka looked miserable—yet heroically stubborn—standing in the center of the command room.
He had been shot, and half of his face was disfigured by burns and shrapnel from the bridge explosion. The smell of fresh blood and gunpowder radiating from him made the high-ranking members present squint in discomfort.
Yet, with these injuries, he was still standing.
Vermouth (Sharon Vineyard) leaned against a pillar, her eyes sweeping over Vodka's chest intentionally.
This time… I'm really interested.
"Shut up! You can't see 'That Person' whenever you want! What did Gin give you? Hand it over now!"
Rum, the Organization's Number Two, stepped forward with a threatening glare.
"No way! I want to see the Boss! THE BOSS!"
"You are delirious, Vodka."
"BOSS!!"
It was a farce.
Vermouth watched with a cold smirk. She didn't like Rum very much. She despised his crude methods of coercion.
Everyone knew that Vodka had brought back something valuable. As long as he handed it over, it would be a great achievement.
The problem was: Who gets the credit for handing it in?
Rum wanted to intercept it. Vermouth wanted to see it.
Kir (Rena Mizunashi) and Stout, standing in the shadows, were watching silently, gauging the situation.
But more importantly…
What kind of secret is worth Gin's life?
And why is Vodka, a man who usually hides behind his Big Brother, fighting like a rabid dog to protect it?
Suddenly, the massive screen on the far wall flickered to life.
The chaotic atmosphere in the room froze instantly.
Rum stopped moving. Kir straightened her posture.
But Vodka was ecstatic. He staggered forward with his wounded body, tears mixing with the blood on his face.
"BOSS!"
As if he could no longer bear the pain now that his goal was reached, Vodka's knees gave out. He collapsed forward, barely caught by Rum.
"BOSS… BOSS… This notebook… Gin said… only you…"
He fainted.
But even unconscious, his grip on the blood-stained notebook was ironclad. Rum had to forcefully press a pressure point on Vodka's wrist to make him release it.
Vodka was dragged away for medical treatment, leaving a trail of blood on the floor.
Now, all eyes—including the electronic eye of the Boss on the screen—were fixed on the small, unassuming notebook.
Is this it?
Is this what made Gin fight so hard?
"Vermouth."
The distorted, mechanical voice of the Boss echoed from the speakers.
"Yes, Sir."
The enchanting woman smiled and stepped forward. She took the notebook from Rum's reluctant hands.
Vermouth knew what the Boss was thinking.
Interest cannot override Caution.
This big move by the Organization—blowing up a bridge, mobilizing Pisco and Vermouth—must have cost a fortune in resources and political capital.
It was because Gin had used his highest clearance to contact the Boss directly before the mission.
Therefore, the Boss needed to verify: Was this worth it?
Vermouth stood before the camera lens, holding the notebook. She acted as the guide, turning the pages so the camera could see, while reading aloud.
The Reading
At first, it was boring.
Just the complaints of an old priest named Yoshitomi Kamo.
But the two of them—Vermouth and the Boss—didn't find it boring at all. In the world of intelligence, crucial clues are often hidden in trivial matters.
As the pages turned, Vermouth finally reached the part where the handwriting became erratic.
Is this person… crazy?
Vermouth didn't care about the mental state of a dead priest. But the ravings of a madman might make Gin lose his credibility.
However, she turned the page.
> [Entry]
> God told me that people should not look directly at [DATA REDACTED]
> There seems to be some taboo hidden in it that mortals cannot touch.
> Based on the warnings of God, I make the following judgment:
> [CENSORED SYMBOLS]
> [MIND HAZARD]
>
DANGER!
DANGER!!
Vermouth slammed the notebook shut instantly.
GASP!
Her face turned pale, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her temples. A splitting headache, like a needle being driven into her brain, nearly made her drop the book.
At the same time.
From the speakers, a sharp intake of breath was heard.
Kir and Rum looked at the screen in shock.
What… what happened?
It's impossible…
The Boss, who was usually an unshakeable void, had just recoiled. And Vermouth, the woman with a heart of ice, looked terrified.
In Vermouth's eyes, a serious hallucination had flashed for a split second.
A distorted, hideous geometry. A color that shouldn't exist.
That was the price of accidentally touching a Taboo.
That was a field that humans had never touched before.
"What… was that..."
The Boss's voice whispered through the speakers, stripping away the mechanical filter for a second to reveal raw human fear.
He was more horrified than Vermouth.
Because he was watching through a camera.
Why?
Why did he feel an imminent crisis just by looking at a video feed of text?
For men like the Boss and Vermouth, who had honed their perception through decades of life-and-death darkness, the instinct was undeniable.
That was the smell of Death.
If they kept reading that specific paragraph, their brains would have melted.
"...Continue."
The Boss's voice returned to its mechanical calm, but the atmosphere in the base had changed.
It was weird. Heavy. Suffocating.
Rum and Kir exchanged nervous glances. They hadn't seen the text, but the reaction of the leadership told them everything: This object is Cursed.
Vermouth took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she skipped the "Hazard" pages and turned to the end.
> [Entry: Ritual No. 5]
> Find an Old Crow. Remove its eyes while ensuring that the crow survives.
> Eat the crow's eyes within ten seconds.
> This ritual must be completed during the Devil's Hour, and you must silently say three times: "I can see."
> Warning: The difficulty and danger of Ritual 5 are extremely high. Use with caution.
>
Below the text, there was a series of dots and dashes scribbled in blood.
It was Morse Code.
A code that the Organization exclusively used for Gin's private channels.
Vermouth analyzed it quickly. As she translated the dots and dashes, a clear sentence slowly formed in her mind.
She read it aloud, her voice trembling with disbelief:
"Boss. If you can see this, do not doubt it."
"It is all true."
"God… is real."
....
.....
.....
Support my patreon and get early access to chapters
patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter