Chapter Twenty-Six

"Good morning, Han Shinwoo. It's a pleasure to finally see you again. I take it you've saved your friends… Well, your human friends, anyway, hmhmhm…" Tesamu said with a devious smirk.

"Sadly, in order to force your compliance, I've had to take some rather drastic measures. Come, see…" The First Elder finished. Shinwoo approached, gasping as he saw Seira, Regis, Rael, M-21, Tao, Takeo, and Yuizi all unconscious, looking as though they'd been beaten to within an inch of their lives.

"You bastard! Shinwoo shouted, feelings of rage suddenly consuming him as his aura poured off of him in heavy, oppressive waves. His Dark Aura began to become overwhelming. Rael and Seira stirred slightly, with Seira looking up weakly.

"Sh-Shinwoo… You shouldn't… B-be here. Save your other friends first."

"I've already saved them." Shinwoo said, seeming to regain his composure. "Hecate and Melchior have agreed to begin serving Frankenstein. I've broken your control over them. It wasn't hard. With Melchior, I only needed to talk to him, and Hecate, I killed and absorbed, but I reformed her. She still is a little bit sketchy on her memories, but with her regeneration, I'm certain that she'll bounce back."

"I see… You had no right to take my things. They were my possessions, and some of my finest work. But I can appreciate a job well done. So permit me to offer you congratulations." Tesamu said politely. "Must we really do battle? Your friends are not seriously injured. They'll recover if you let them, and be good as new. I only captured them in order to force your hand."

"And you have. But we have to fight. You've threatened my friends and family. I have no biological family left, but these people are family just as surely as if I'd been born with them. Your threats against them are unacceptable. So come, do battle with me. This will be our final confrontation, and so I hope you'll put all that you have into it. I certainly plan to." Shinwoo said, clenching his fists and pushing out his claws, allowing Tesamu to see that they were coated in Qo'ostrodium.

"I'm impressed, Han Shinwoo. You've incorporated my Biocontractors' Qo'ostrodium into yourself. You really have come a long way since last we battled." Tesamu said, creating a longsword out of biomass, running his fingers along it, cutting himself to prove how sharp it was. Shinwoo launched himself at Tesamu, slashing wildly at him with his left hand, and thrusting with his right hand, being blocked by his longsword.

Shinwoo twisted his hand, though, separating the two of them and punching again, upwards this time, aiming to impale Tesamu's head through his neck. Tesamu moved to block him, but failed, and grimaced as the serrated metal pierced his neck, going up into his brain. Shinwoo immediately pulled it out, twisting his hand as he did to exacerbate the damage. However, almost as soon as he pulled out, Tesamu was fully healed.

Shinwoo leapt in the air, trying again what he had tried over a year ago when he had fought Tesamu the first time, calling to all the rats in the city. Surely, there would be even more, now. They weren't as virile anymore, but in a year's span, there should at least be several thousand. He could hear the chittering in his mind. He lowered himself back to the ground, manifesting his Soul Weapon, holding a razor sharp suburito in one hand and charging a magical attack with the other.

With his left hand, Shinwoo charged an ultra-dense ball of mana, flicking it at Tesamu, who tried to dodge, and managed at first, but then, it hit his leg, burrowing into it and expanding, vaporizing his entire lower body and cauterizing the wound with a blast of ultra-heated plasma.

"I'm impressed, Han Shinwoo." Tesamu said, lifting himself in the air with telekinesis, taking the sword he had and slicing off the part of his body that had been cauterized in one rapid slice.

"You've improved so much. It's a shame really that you don't have an interest in working for us, for me. I've already begun to enforce change in the Union. It's no longer the organization you believe it to be. New Elders are coming into power, and they will be thoroughly scanned for evil thoughts.

"However, my methods do seem problematic to outsiders, so I understand your unwillingness to join. Plus, your lovely fiancée, I doubt would appreciate such action. I did not harm them unduly, by the way, merely rendered them incapable of fighting. Their injuries look worse than they are." Tesamu said. Shinwoo growled angrily, watching as Tesamu completely regenerated his lower body. Shinwoo had sensed something for a long time in Tesamu.

It was something that was difficult to notice because it had been so long repressed, so long buried. But there was still good in Tesamu. It wasn't readily visible. But Shinwoo knew from how Frankenstein had spoken of him that Tesamu had once had only the best intentions. He wanted to learn from Frankenstein so that he could save people, help people. Shinwoo closed his eyes, reaching out with his Goodness Sense, reaching deep inside Tesamu's soul to find that tiny piece of good that must still have existed.

Eventually, he found it, only dodging Tesamu's attacks, and occasionally countering if only to stall for time. Shinwoo could feel a bright, shining light inside Tesamu. He breathed in, and began to work to magnify that sense of goodness, the sense of obligation to do good in the world. He began pulling, knowing that the sudden feeling of remorse that Tesamu would inevitably feel would be terribly painful. But it was necessary. He didn't have to kill Tesamu, he hoped.

He mixed his telepathy, working his empathic powers to their utmost to draw out that kindhearted little boy that Frankenstein had described. Eventually, Shinwoo could do no more, so he let go, and watched as Tesamu's face went from infuriated to shocked to horrified.

"W-what have you done!?"

"I've brought out the good in you, forced it to the surface again. After so many centuries of doing evil, it must be painful to see what you've done in terms of its effect on others."

"No! Take it back!" Tesamu roared, tears flooding his bright golden eyes as he fell to his knees, gripping his head, memories and feelings long suppressed flooding back into his mind. He had hurt so many. He was feeling the pain of all his victims, and it felt like he was about to be torn apart.

Suddenly, there was a huge explosion, and Tesamu disappeared in a giant blast. Shinwoo could still sense his soul somewhere in the world, so he hadn't killed himself, or willed himself out of existence. But he was far away. Shinwoo wasted no more time, running to his friends and unbinding them, hugging Seira, kissing her gently.

"Seira… Are you alright?" Shinwoo asked. Seira nodded.

"Yes. I am fine. What did you do? Why did he react so violently?"

"I brought his conscience to the surface. Someone either has a conscience or they don't. One can suppress it after years of doing evil, years of convincing oneself that their desires are more important than anyone else's. But that conscience never goes away. Its voice becomes smaller, less significant, more easily ignored. But it's never gone.

"I only had to magnify that conscience, force him to face his sins." Shinwoo said gently, looking at the rest of those tied up, using biomass to heal them properly. After a few moments, they all looked fit to move around again.

"Shinwoo… That was an amazing battle. Your power has increased so much…" Tao said, seeming a little bit intimidated.

"Oh, speaking of which, how is your power coming? What do you have to report? I really should have checked in earlier, but…"

"No worries. Let's see… I seem to be developing an ability to communicate telepathically with machines. My physical strength hasn't actually increased that much, but my mental facilities seem to have become drastically greater."

"Mm, I'm not too surprised. I didn't have enough time to study the effects of the upgraded virus, so I'm not entirely familiar with its effects on modified humans.

"It's likely that it will tailor itself to abilities you already possess. What about your senses? How has it affected your vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch?"

"Well, I've needed to start putting earplugs in at night. Even spiders clicking seem to be deafening at the moment."

"I see… Any confusion of senses, a sort of synesthesia?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Some of the children have developed Synesthesia. It was important to ask. Have you been training your new abilities, or just using your technopathy to goof around?" Shinwoo asked critically. Tao laughed.

"How could you even ask that! My control over the Dark Aura has increased as well. Watch this." He said, generating a flickering black whip out of the dark aura that he possessed. He didn't have enough power in it yet to generate an entire spear, but something as thin as a whip was doable.

"Good… And you, Takeo?"

"My eyesight has been enhanced beyond anything I could imagine. I'm gaining a limited level of X-ray vision. I can't see everything, just shadows right now, and it's hard to control when I'm not focusing. My hearing and other senses have also been enhanced, but I can literally zoom in on targets with just my eyes. I don't need a scope anymore except for the longest distance targets. My physical and mental abilities have increased, though not drastically.

"My control over the dark aura has increased as well. I can shoot pure dark energy bullets. It's really quite useful. I still carry regular bullets with me on missions in case I accidentally overuse my dark aura. But in most cases, it's a nonissue."

"Excellent. Yuizi… I've really neglected your case. I must apologize. How is your situation coming?"

"Really well. I'm starting to develop the ability to instinctually target weak points in individual bodies for my sword strikes, whether they be weaknesses in the bones, or vulnerable areas in their defenses to strike, my swordplay is getting better for it. My speed and strength have increased the most, although durability has been enhanced somewhat as well as my senses and mental abilities."

"Hm… The beginnings of psychic instincts. That's impressive. And you've all been training adequately with your new powers?" Shinwoo asked. They all nodded.

"Rael, Regis, are you two alright? Seira should regenerate completely soon. You two, I'm more worried about." Shinwoo said, looking in Regis's eyes, then at Rael, looking over their bodies to see if there were any serious injuries.

"We're fine! He may have beaten us, but we're not dead!" Rael snapped. "We're Nobles! We've survived much worse than this!" Shinwoo laughed.

"Tell us, though… Did you coat your bones with steel? That was some right Wolverine shit you pulled with Tesamu!" Tao said cheerfully. Shinwoo shook his head.

"Not steel. It's a biometal called Qo'ostrodium. I'm assuming that Tesamu created it. It's got carbon in it, making it biological in nature. I think it may have trace levels of nitrogen as well. But it's been rearranged so that it's fifty times stronger than steel, and it won't rust… Which is good. Wouldn't want rusting metal in my body, right?"

"How did you get it?"

"I absorbed some of Tesamu's Biocontractors. Other Elders who agreed to serve Tesamu. A Werewolf and a Noble. You two know the Noble. Ignes. She's dead, now, or at least a part of me. She won't be a threat any longer. The traitor Nobles are all gone." Shinwoo said. Rael, Regis and Seira seemed surprised. Rael spoke first.

"You absorbed Ignes Kravei? Good. She really was a disgrace to the Noble race."

"And a danger. When I caught up with her, she was practically molesting Suyi. The other two were good people. Hecate was a Werwolf, and I defeated her and absorbed her, but I released her on the understanding that she would serve Frankenstein. The same is true of Melchior. Ikhan vouched for him. We're about to get some new friends. Speaking of which, I need to get going.

"Gotta bring those two back here. They're currently in Japan." Shinwoo said, teleporting away, and coming back seconds later with two more people with him.

"Everyone… This is Hecate… And this is Melchior Aloisi."

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Melchior said politely, bowing to the group. Hecate seemed distinctly out of place, though, not saying anything, just looking around nervously.

"There's nothing to worry about, Cate… Tesamu is gone… No, no. I didn't kill him. I forced him to reconnect with his conscience. It was buried pretty deep in him, but I managed to pull it out, somehow. He teleported away, I'm not sure where, exactly. I need to go make sure Suyi and Yuna are alright. Ikhan seemed to be getting along pretty well with Melchior."

"Cate?" Hecate asked, confused slightly. She'd never had a nickname before. Shinwoo nodded, and continued talking.

"But Suyi was accosted by Ignes and Yuna was accosted by Tesamu. So yeah, not a good situation." Shinwoo said, teleporting away once more, but not before telling them to bring the two newcomers to Frankenstein's home. The rest nodded, and led Hecate and Melchior to Frankenstein's place.

"Hey, Suyi! Sorry I took so long. Are you alright?" Shinwoo asked, knocking on the door rather loudly. Moments later, Suyi came out and answered the door, having just stepped out of the shower.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. It was a bit surprising. I've been hit on aggressively by a lot of guys in the past, but not many women. They usually take the hint a bit better. I'm fine."

"Okay… Listen, I'm sorry I programmed all that into you without telling you."

"No, it's fine. If you hadn't, I'm sure that black haired woman would've been halfway through raping me by the time you got here. It actually all turned out for the best. What abilities are still in me, though?" Suyi asked. Shinwoo thought for a moment.

"What effects happened?"

"Let's see… There was a huge blast that sent her flying."

"A telekinetic explosion."

"I suddenly breathed fire."

"Pyrokinetic breath attack."

"She tried to grab me and was flung away."

"Vector control attack. Anything else?"

"Yeah… Her entire body froze when she touched me."

"Cryokinetic attack. Okay, let's see… You might have a few more defenses in you. Let me see." Shinwoo said, gently taking her arm in his hand and closing his eyes.

"Mm… Yes. Osteokinetic attack. Bone spikes will shoot out and impale anyone assaulting you. Don't worry, you'll heal more quickly than you normally would. After the bone spikes recede, temporary regenerative healing takes place. You've also got laser vision, teleportation… It will take you to my side or the side of one of my clones if I'm, for whatever reason, unavailable, animal transformation. You'll turn into a mouse, and when your body senses that you're no longer in danger, you'll turn back.

"Hmm… That should be it. You've got a few last resort moves, like the animal transformation and the teleport. You've got high level attacks like laser vision, and a low level attack like osteokinetic attacks and regeneration. There may be some others, but I can't find them right now."

"That's good. Wouldn't bones suddenly sticking out of my body hurt, though?"

"Not nearly as much as a knife sticking in you." Shinwoo countered.

"Now, I'm glad you're alright. It's good to see you again. I have to go see Yuna. She got accosted by Tesamu, and she was kind of freaking out… Understandably so. Pardonez-moi, mademoiselle." Shinwoo said, finishing in French and teleporting away to Yuna's location. He knocked on her door as well, though Lisa answered.

"Oh, the virus freak. Haven't you done enough tonight?" She asked. "Our room is a mess, Yuna is still freaking out, and I need to get to sleep so I can at least pass the mid-term later today."

"What's your mid-term on?" Shinwoo asked.

"Anatomy." Lisa said. Shinwoo nodded, and flicked her in the forehead, instilling encyclopedic knowledge of anatomy into her.

"There. Now, if all goes well, you should get 100."

"What did you do?"

"What do you mean? I planted a complete knowledge of everyrhing even remotely related to anatomy in your brain. Isn't that obvious?"

"Isn't that cheating?"

"No. You'll be pulling the knowledge from your own mind, not getting the answers from a piece of paper you wrote them on, or a pencil, or whatever. It's perfectly legitimate." Shinwoo said. "Now please move. I need to see Yuna. She is my patient." Shinwoo said, walking past Lisa and kneeling down in front of Yuna.

"Yuna… I'm sorry all this happened. I can wipe your memory of the last eight hours from your mind if that would make you feel better. If it helps, Tesamu has been utterly defeated. He's not dead, but I forced his conscience, atrophied as it was, to the surface and magnified it. He felt so guilty about what he's done that he seems to have disappeared. I know he's still alive, but I don't know where he is." Shinwoo whispered.

"Oh, Shinwoo… Thank you. I'm sorry, too… We're always such a burden to you."

"Nonsense. You're my best friends. You could never be a burden to me. I'd travel to the ends of the earth to help any of you. Now, what would you like me to do? I could wipe your memories and the associated emotions of the last six to eight hours from your mind. But… You'd essentially be left as a blank slate for that time.

"It could be confusing. I could also make you remember dreams that didn't actually happen so you'd think you were asleep the whole time. We wouldn't want you flunking your midterm because of this nasty little incident."

"I-I would appreciate that. Thank you, Shinwoo…" Yuna said, blushing slightly. She had been so upset up to now. Now, though, she was sure it was going to be alright.

Shinwoo nodded, hugging Yuna tightly and gently putting his thumb on her forehead, isolating the memories and feelings of the last few hours, and eliminating them. As he did this, Yuna felt her consciousness slipping away, and the world of sleep surrounding her. Finally Shinwoo finished, and implanted some dreams into her mind in such a way that they wouldn't be too prominent in her mind. She would believe that she was just dreaming.

"Okay. I'm done. I can help you clean up if you like, Lisa…"

"I would appreciate that. But this is mine and Yuna's room. I can clean up on my own. I wouldn't want you touching my panties."

"Oh, no need to worry about that." Shinwoo said, lifting up everything on the floor with telekinesis, using a programmed function to send clothes on the floor to the hamper, papers to the desk and books to the bookshelves.

"This may not be perfect. I suggest you make sure that everything is in the right place. But at least it won't look like a tornado hit tomorrow. Now, go to sleep." Shinwoo said, touching Lisa's forehead and putting her to slee immediately. He then took each of them to their own beds and left.

"Good luck on your exams tomorrow." Shinwoo whispered as he shut the door.

Han Shinwoo… You've brought two new people to my home without clearing it with Master or me first, without even telling me. So what were you thinking? Frankenstein asked irritably. Shinwoo looked at Frankenstein regretfully.

"Sorry… There wasn't much time for planning. I can figure out where to put them if you give me a little while, but they're fugitives from the Union, now…

"The First Elder, Tesamu is gone. I believe I've successfully returned his conscience to him, atrophied as it was when I last battled him. But these two, they've agreed to work for you, if you'll let them."

"Hm… Well, I have all the security guards I could ever need at Ye Ran already. I have some other businesses that could use some security guards. I've been meaning to rearrange Ye Ran security in alternate locations." Frankenstein said, calling everyone into the room.

"Okay… Hello everyone. As you might be able to see, we have some new guests. They've agreed to work for me in exchange for my housing them. I have another company that I'm the CEO of. I use another person to run the company from the grounds, but for all intents and purposes, I own it, and I've been meaning to add more security.

"Artemis, Hecate, Melchior, Muzaka, Garda, Yuizi… Here is the address of your new assignment. I'll alert the company's president to your arrival next week. Until then, you can rest. I need to run some tests on Hecate and Melchior to make sure their conditions are stable.

So, enjoy the rest of your rest. Everyone who was captured by Tesamu, I would like to look at you as well to confirm your situations as well. Thank you." Frankenstein said, heading down to the lab, taking Shinwoo with him to assist. Shinwoo hurried down. The rest of the day was spent taking care of the relatively minor injuries sustained by the Nobles and the modified humans.

Shinwoo was so relieved. Finally, Tesamu was no longer an issue. Hopefully, they could go back to their normal lives. Naturally, the Union wouldn't be defeated so easily. But there were only four elders left, so they were probably considerably weakened. Unfortunately, that could easily mean that there would be investigations into the disappearances of four Union elders in Korea, especially if they weren't documented. But that could be handled when and if it came.

For now, he was already planning his wedding to Seira, which would, with luck, be in six months. There was so much to do, and so many people to invite.

The End