MHGA Chapter 223 – The Famous V
"WHAAAAAT—?!"
At their usual meal gathering in the cafeteria, Kairo Retsu's voice turned shrill upon hearing about the attack on their camp.
"Someone actually dared sneak-attack our camp while we were away?!" Kairo slammed the table.
"Not even Miss Mira ever raided our camp back in the Voidblack City! And now a bunch of cyborg scumbags think they can?! Drag them out and execute their entire bloodline—ten times over!"
"…Well, thank goodness."
David clutched his chest in lingering fear.
Gloria was currently recuperating at home—or so the outside world thought.
Earlier, when discussing safety measures, Tanjiro had suggested letting Gloria stay in his world for a while—maybe relax in the Swordsmith Village's hot springs to help her recovery.
David had agreed. With the dangers ahead, he couldn't risk Gloria staying in Night City.
He couldn't bear a second incident of her getting hurt.
So he'd used the hot spring trip as a pretext and entrusted Tanjiro to escort Gloria to rest in the Swordsmith Village.
As for David's apartment? It had been turned into a temporary camp by the Hunters, with a Felyne left to manage it.
"Those bastards! I'm gonna shove their heads down the toilet—all of them!"
David's relief gave way to rising rage.
When he retraced the timing of the incident, he realized it lined up almost perfectly with that suspicious call from school.
The attack on his home had happened mere minutes after.
"…By the way," Kairo frowned, "what was with that Spirit Writing from Joseph? 'The ravenous elder beast pursues atop the spire'… Spire, huh."
He fell into deep thought.
"What's wrong?" Naofumi Iwatani asked, glancing over. "Something off about a spire?"
"Well… In Monster Hunter, 'the Tower' actually carries a lot of weight, symbolically and historically. I'm just reminiscing…"
Kairo waved it off.
"Literally interpreted, though… it sounds like the Kirin's chasing something to the top of a tower?"
He scratched his head.
"Arasaka Tower, maybe?"
"Maybe it's chasing after a power source?" Shirou Emiya offered, raising his hand.
"That place has to consume a ridiculous amount of electricity, right?"
"Yeah yeah!" Rakuro chimed in.
"I stayed up and finished one of Cyberpunk's endings after I got back! That… what's-it-called, the construct? Wasn't that at Arasaka Tower?"
"Then wouldn't going to a power plant make more sense? What would a Kirin be doing at Arasaka Tower—grabbing lunch? …Wait."
Kairo scratched his head again.
"Come to think of it… Arasaka Tower does have a rooftop garden, doesn't it?"
"Has the Kirin fallen so far it's chewing on tree bark now?"
Meanwhile, deep inside Arasaka Tower—
a number of experiments were underway.
Thanks to the black-market circulation of Night City's mercenary networks, a large volume of Potions had eventually landed in Arasaka Corporation's hands.
They'd since been collected and transferred to the tower's labs for research.
"The components are identical—why don't the reproduced versions have the same effects?!"
One Arasaka scientist slammed his desk in frustration.
Ever since obtaining the Potion, he'd been trying to replicate its formula.
At first glance, the components looked almost absurdly simple.
He'd thought it would be a fun challenge.
But no matter how precisely he duplicated the formula, the best result he could get…
…was basically a supplement drink.
Arasaka had already pooled a sizable amount of the Night City-acquired Potions here for analysis.
If they failed to produce meaningful results…
"…Request another batch of raw materials. Maybe we'll find a breakthrough."
Under the scientists' instructions, a new wave of experimental subjects and materials began flowing into Arasaka Tower.
As for the Kirin—it was still wandering the Badlands in search of food…
Kairo, meanwhile, was carrying out his plans with full force.
The Hunters had become a major force in Night City.
He was continuing to investigate the Kirin—hoping to understand it—and had even carted several times in the Badlands while doing so.
And finally…
"Yo, brother!"
At the Afterlife Bar, Jackie Welles was looking at Kairo with genuine disbelief.
"I mean it—you Hunters have made a huge name for yourselves in Night City!"
"Bit by bit."
Kairo's nose was practically pointed skyward.
"This is the power of Hunter bonds and hard work! Oh, right—Jackie, did that friend I wanted to meet show up?"
Kairo stroked his chin and glanced around.
"Of course. Soon as I heard there was work, I called them right over."
Jackie gave him a thumbs-up.
"Trust me—they're gonna be a legend someday."
As Jackie spoke, someone walked up the stairs to the Afterlife's second floor.
Jackie stood and waved.
"Hey! Over here!"
The person spotted them and walked over—
and sat directly across from Kairo, wearing an expression that was equal parts skeptical and curious.
"So, you're the famous V."
Kairo extended a hand.
"Kairo Retsu—though you can just call me Guildmaster. Miss V, it's an honor to meet you."
"You're the bigshot Jackie mentioned?"
A woman with bright red, cyberpunk-styled long hair—V—eyed Kairo up and down.
"Pleasure."
Seeing V's wariness, Kairo grinned and waved over the server.
After ordering a few drinks, he leaned in.
"Alright, let's not be stiff. Before we get to business, let's warm up a bit with some good ol' banter."
Then, without shame, he blatantly stole one of that damned fat black market dealer's lines from Cyberpunk 2077—
"Would you rather live as a nobody, safe and boring, dying in bed with a tube up your ass?
Or go out young in a blaze of glory, remembered forever?"
"You trying to vet me?"
V narrowed her eyes.
"Just making conversation."
Kairo tapped the table with a finger.
"I'm just curious what you'd say."
"How about this—
I'll tell you my answer first."
Kairo smiled brilliantly.
"I don't choose that shitty dichotomy. I'll be neither a nobody nor a short-lived punk."
"I'll make sure everyone in Night City knows—
the Reaper's arrived."
"Take a seat, V. Let's talk seriously."
Kairo's grin widened.
"This job…
is big.
Freaking huge."
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