Morpheus found it hard to believe. At first, Miko could see him in the future, but then he vanished from that chaotic timeline.
What happened? Why did he disappear?
Was he hiding on purpose?
Or had someone trapped him?
It wasn't impossible.
After all, who knew how many bizarre elements were stitched into this crossover world?
A powerful figure could emerge, strike him down, or restrain him. It wasn't unthinkable.
Of course, death was out of the question.
If he faced an unbeatable enemy, Morpheus could simply leave Earth and retreat to the Light Dimension. No matter how strong the foe, they couldn't follow.
And even if they did, they'd be hard-pressed to defeat him there.
In the Light Dimension, Morpheus was an omnipotent deity.
But still, did Umbrella Corporation really have that kind of power?
Morpheus wasn't sure, but he had to be cautious.
No wonder Alaya, with her overwhelming advantage, hesitated to act against Umbrella.
Even when negotiating with him, she was unusually generous, offering ownership of Heroic Spirits from the Throne of Heroes—any except Grand Servants.
She knew Umbrella was no pushover.
This company was deeper than he'd thought.
For the first time, Morpheus began to suspect that someone—or something—formidable stood behind Umbrella, someone even Alaya found troublesome.
The realization made him take Umbrella seriously.
Initially, he hadn't considered them a real threat—just another multinational corporation.
To ordinary people, Umbrella was a colossus.
But to someone like Morpheus, they were insignificant.
If not for their threat to drag humanity down with them, he'd have crushed them long ago and scattered their ashes.
Now, though, he saw he'd underestimated them.
This company was far from simple.
Perhaps he should ask Alaya what she was hiding.
After school, Morpheus returned to Umbrella's Tokyo branch and found Paracelsus, informing him he needed to contact Alaya.
Though Paracelsus was now his subordinate, he was still a Heroic Spirit from the Throne of Heroes.
Contacting Alaya was no challenge.
That night, in his dream, Morpheus met the little girl form of Alaya once more.
"You wanted to see me?"
Morpheus nodded. "Tell me—what's the deal with Umbrella? Who's backing them?"
"What do you mean?" Alaya asked.
"Don't play dumb. I looked into the future today. After Umbrella's downfall, they unleash a male-targeting virus, leaving only five men alive—all Ajin."
"And in the process, I disappear, unable to save humanity."
"There are only two possibilities."
"Either I'm trapped, or I'm restrained, unable to act."
"But in my view, Umbrella doesn't have that kind of power."
"So I suspect someone's behind them."
"And it's because of this figure that you're so cautious, hesitant to move against Umbrella, even willing to give me five Heroic Spirits."
"Tell me—who is this mystery figure?"
Alaya fell silent.
Morpheus didn't press. He'd laid it all out. If Alaya kept withholding information, their partnership might end here.
But Alaya had already paid a partial deposit.
If the deal collapsed, Morpheus wouldn't return Medea or Paracelsus.
That kind of loss wasn't something Alaya would accept.
Nor would Morpheus, if he were in her shoes. He was confident she'd talk.
And he was right.
After a brief silence, Alaya spoke. "There is indeed a force backing Umbrella, but it's not a person."
Morpheus raised an eyebrow. "Not a person? Then who?"
"Devils."
Alaya said calmly, "Umbrella's executives are consumed by greed. Long ago, they sold their souls to devils."
"Because of this, I can't access their souls to locate their hidden viruses."
"Nor can I know how many viruses they have or what contingencies they've prepared."
"Their souls are shielded by devils."
Morpheus's eyes widened in realization.
He'd always found it odd that Alaya, humanity's Counter Force, couldn't handle a group of Umbrella executives.
He'd assumed they used some trick to evade her perception.
Now he knew—they'd allied with devils.
What a reckless bunch.
Did they think devils ran a charity?
Well, on second thought, it wasn't impossible.
It depended on which anime's devils they'd aligned with.
If it was something like High School DxD, where devils were more benevolent than devilish, it might make sense.
But if it was devils from other series, that was another story.
Most devils weren't exactly friendly.
Morpheus rubbed his temples. "Do you know which devils are behind Umbrella?"
Alaya shook her head. Though she knew Umbrella's executives had allied with devils, she didn't know which ones or what faction.
They hid too well, never showing themselves.
So Alaya couldn't identify them.
Morpheus clicked his tongue. "Useless."
In the first loop's timeline, Umbrella had massacred billions, turning Japan into a wasteland.
And Alaya didn't even know who the mastermind was. Calling her useless was generous.
But this also proved something—Umbrella's devilish backers were no small players.
Morpheus narrowed his eyes at Alaya. "Now that we've cleared that up, let's talk."
"Talk about what?" Alaya asked.
"Don't play dumb again."
Morpheus glared. "I treat you as a partner, and you treat me like a fool. Is that fair?"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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