New Outfit

"I am not the Modeus you all know."

"Huh?"

Everyone stared at Modeus in surprise, because he had just revealed a fact that was both very surprising and very strange.

"So, you're not the Modeus of yesterday? What does that mean?" asked Eliphas.

"The Modeus of yesterday had a very clean and bright soul, not as dark like right now."

"That's right! I like the brother Modeus of yesterday!"

"Please explain to us, Modeus," Abigail pleaded, realizing that Modeus wasn't lying.

"Well, I don't expect you to believe me either."

"In my body there are indeed two souls, or rather different personalities., well at first there was only one but for various reasons it is now divided into two," Modeus continued his sentence.

"Various reasons?" asked Abigail in surprise.

"Yes, various reasons."

There was a moment of awkwardness between the two of them.

Abigail realized that Modeus didn't want to talk about it further, so he stopped his question about it and asked about something else.

"Is your regeneration power also related to that?"

Eliphas who heard the word regeneration come out of Abigail's mouth, suddenly widened his eyes as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Regeneration? You can regenerate Modeus?" asked Eliphas.

Anyone would be surprised to learn that fact, even Mira who had been quietly listening now widened her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard just like Eliphas.

"Wait a minute, you can regenerate? So are you also a descendant of a demon?" asked Mira.

"Demon descendant? No, I'm just an ordinary human."

"No way! You must be a demon descendant, no human can regenerate."

"That's right mom, I've never seen him take out his demon horns or tail, he's not a demon descendant," Abigail replied.

"Really? Only the descendants of demons should be able to regenerate, because regeneration is the specialty of demons."

So you don't trust me while you trust your son who is clearly not the one, Modeus thought with a long sigh.

"So in other words, you can all regenerate too?" asked Modeus.

"Yes, of course, since we are descendants of demons," replied Mira, tilting her head in wonder at Modeus' question.

"My husband Eliphas can't regenerate, by the way," she continued.

"Why, isn't he also a descendant of demons?"

"No, he's just an ordinary human."

A shocking fact that came out of Mira's mouth casually, she revealed that Eliphas was just an ordinary human and Eliphas responded by laughing lightly while looking at his wife once in a while and then they laughed like a couple, while Modeus who just found out widened his eyes surprised by what he had just heard.

It crossed Modeus's mind about the fact that they had no intention of hiding their regeneration ability, whereas the last time people found out about that ability the result was months of being trapped in a hell of torture with no way out and ended up with the current Modeus.

"So, why don't you join us, Modeus? It just so happens that we're short of combat troops for the demon continent."

"..."

The Demon Continent, or commonly called the Fertissio Great Continent located west of the Aurelius kingdom, had no history written about it nor was there any information available on the internet about it.

A continent of mystery.

It was really a very advantageous opportunity for Modeus who had long been curious about the demon continent.

"Of course, we'll pay you well," Eliphas continued.

"Well, I want to see the demon continent too, so I'll take this job."

"Well then, let's end this conversation here, Modeus and Abigail come to my office afterwards."

Finally, the conversation ended and everyone in the room left one by one, leaving only Modeus alone.

Modeus, who couldn't contain his excitement, began to giggle by himself and finally he began to laugh lightly at the thought that he could finally set foot on the demon continent that he had been yearning for.

***

Mira who had just come out of the room for a moment stood hesitantly in front of the door to wait for her husband to come out.

*clack*

Someone came out of the room and it was her husband that she was waiting for, but her expression was full of hesitation and it made Eliphas noticed and asked her.

"What's wrong Mira?"

"Do you think he can survive on the demon continent?"

"Don't worry, he can regenerate even Abigail will stay with him, then..."

"And then?"

Eliphas paused for a moment thinking of the right words to say to his wife, then let out a long sigh before continuing his sentence.

"I think I'll lend that thing to him, I think he'll be accepted."

"Are you serious? That thing we worked so hard to get from the demon continent and you want to give it to someone else just like that?"

"It's a pity if it just sits idly by, isn't it? After all, it doesn't accept any of us."

"That's true but it's a precious thing that belongs to our family."

"We'll see if he'll accept it or not."

"Hmm, well okay."

Although Mira also felt the same doubts that Eliphas felt in himself, but she still couldn't refuse the suggestion of the husband she loved, in the end Mira could only agree in silence and see the results that Modeus would come up with when he saw that thing.

***

The next day.

Modeus who opened his eyes slowly realized that there was no change in him, his soul was not switched and he still remained in the same place as he closed his eyes.

For some reason, Modeus always doubted the environment he was in, because every time he closed his eyes, the trauma would come back, the time when he was in hell with no way out.

All the bitter memories that were still lingering in Modeus' mind haunted him every time he slept, the same dream repeating itself over and over again.

Modeus knew what he had to do, he knew very well the source of his fears and nightmares, but at the moment he was still not strong enough to get rid of the nightmares, he felt that he still could not return to the place where he was tortured and became the subject of human experiments that were treated so cruelly.

So for now he decided to become stronger and make connections to people he thinks he can trust, and when the time comes he will return to his real family.

Even though his other self still didn't remember anything about everything, he lost his memory due to a drug overdose.

When was the last time I was able to sleep peacefully, Modeus thought while looking at the ceiling of his room.

It's very quiet and cozy, my other self must like this atmosphere, but for now let him hide a little longer.

*knock knock*

Someone entered after the knocking sound was heard, and there was Abigail carrying a plate of food.

Modeus who realized that immediately sat on his bed and tidied up his surroundings.

"You must be hungry, right?" said Abigail as he approached.

"Yes."

After the brief exchange of words, Modeus immediately ate the food brought by Abigail with relish, he just remembered that the last food he ate was the food that was served at Mr. Eddie's house a few days ago and caused him to faint there. 

Naturally, Modeus was very hungry, and Abigail who saw that smiled wryly and felt sorry for him at the same time.

After waiting for Modeus to finish with his food and cleaning up, Abigail was finally able to tell him his true purpose for coming to this room.

"Let's go to my father's room now, Modeus."

Modeus who heard that nodded slowly, he already knew what Eliphas would talk about later, which was about his work.

***

Eliphas who was waiting inside his office as usual was writing something on the table or rather using a pen and paper, maybe he was calculating the expenses and income of funds in this family. 

Then someone knocked on the door and Abigail entered with Modeus following behind him, after a brief greeting Eliphas then unceremoniously entered the main topic.

"Alright Modeus, I'll repeat this one more time."

"You will be working as a demon exterminator with Abigail on the demon continent," he continued.

"..."

"..."

There was no response from Abigail who had previously rejected the proposal from Eliphas, now he accepted with pleasure to be able to exterminate demons with Modeus, and a little respect grew in Abigail's heart after Modeus defeated him.

"It's good if no one refuses this."

"I've arranged the team composition and Modeus, after this you'll stay in this room."

"Then Abigail, take this document and hand it to Gion," he continued.

Abigail took the document handed over by her father and peeked at the title as he turned around.

List of people to be killed in the Royal Capital of Aurelius? So father is still continuing this risky plan huh, Abigail thought.

"Alright, then today's meeting is over."

And Eliphas ended today's meeting, Abigail who heard that continued to leave the room after a brief greeting and then left Modeus who was still standing in front of Eliphas.

When Eliphas confirmed that Abigail had completely left the room, he then continued his discussion.

"Modeus, follow me," Eliphas said as he walked towards a door on the right side of the room.

Modeus, who saw that, just kept quietly following, vigilantly preparing for any possibility that Eliphas might set him up.

But all those suspicions were gone when they entered the room right next to Eliphas' office, where Modeus saw a glass capsule containing a suit that seemed to be made of synthesized metal and many blue glowing stripes forming a unique pattern, plus the suit was equipped with a gas mask.

"What is that?" asked Modeus who was astonished by the unique outfit in front of him, this was the first time he had seen something like this.

Eliphas, who heard Modeus asking, as if he had been waiting for someone to ask, proudly explained his treasure.

"What you see in front of you right now is an 'Augmented Suit' made from a material synthesized with quantum dust in the demon continent, its element is currently named 'Planctium,' which is a very rare transition metal that only exists on the demon continent, and even its melting point is unknown," he explained proudly. 

"But since this entire suit is highly radioactive, no human can wear it, even demon descendants can't, so maybe you, being able to regenerate, can wear this suit," he continued. 

Normally, humans exposed to radiation from radioactive elements experience strange effects on their bodies, even leading to aggressive cancer, but for Modeus, who can regenerate, it poses no problem at all. 

"How did you find this?" 

"We discovered it underground two years ago, trapped in a very tough glass capsule." 

Modeus, once again gazing at the suit intently, couldn't help but feel awed; after all, there were stable currents of magic atoms in the fabric as if anyone could wear it, but as Eliphas said, the element 'Planctium' is a radioactive metal, making it impossible for an ordinary human to touch it since, fundamentally, the nature of the element remains unknown, except for its magic atoms whose number of neutrons, electrons, and protons has yet to be identified. 

"Let me try it on."

Eliphas, seeing the conviction in Modeus's eyes, decided to give up the only valuable thing he had; besides, there was no point in keeping something like this. So, rather than it going unused, it was better to hand it over to someone who could use it. 

"Alright, then I'll step out for a bit so I don't get hit by the radiation." 

Modeus, hearing this nodded slowly toward Eliphas and then he stepped out of the quarantine room. 

A moment after Eliphas left, suddenly the thick glass capsule containing the outfit opened up and released a cloud of white smoke. The abnormal flow of magical atoms felt so oppressive that it vibrated small objects around the room. 

Seeing the outfit up close made Modeus's heart race, and all the hair on his body stood up, as if he were staring at a wild beast that had just been unleashed.

The radiation from the gamma rays emitted by the suit made Modeus's skin peel and melt, but it slowly grew back because of his regeneration. Modeus, already used to the pain, tried to touch it more closely, but the closer his hand got, the more his skin melted away, eventually leaving only the bones of his fingers. Modeus gradually grew flesh back through his regeneration.

Modeus didn't care about the pain or anything that happened to him; all that was on his mind was putting on this outfit as quickly as possible. Then, with complete patience and determination despite the agony, Modeus's hand that reached out to the suit began to reform because his regeneration rate had adjusted and was now faster than the gamma ray emission from the radioactive material of the outfit.

Eliphas, who was watching this unfold clearly on the hologram monitor in his office, couldn't help but gasp in awe at Modeus's regenerative power.

"This is even faster than my wife's regeneration," he murmured.

As if he didn't care about himself, Modeus slowly moved closer to the strange suit, and suddenly the outfit vibrated and stuck to Modeus like two opposing sides of a magnet.

"Gaahh!"

Modeus felt that something was off; he tried to pull away from the 'Augmented Suit' that was increasingly enveloping him and adjusting to his body size.

Ultimately, every part of the suit clung to him, from his legs up to the gas mask fitting perfectly, and Modeus felt like his body was about to catch fire; his skin was melting and regenerating, causing him unending pain as this occurred every time his body regenerated.

Then, while Modeus was desperately fighting for his life, enduring the agony from the radiation of the radioactive rays, a flat-sounding female voice emerged from his gas mask.

"Body shape adjustment, complete."

"User analysis... Archemidas Evernoir detected, user accepted."

"Calculating the number of magic atoms, over 100 trillion."

"Analyzing the types of material elements... success."

"Materials 'Planctium', 'Diratium', 'Cassium', and 'Aurium' detected."

"Building artificial intelligence visualization model, establishing properties, voice, height, and color... complete."

"System all green."

"Analysis process complete, the 'Augmented Suit' officially named Neumann Core is ready for use."

"What the hell, who are you?!" Modeus replied, confused hearing the whispering voice in his ear.

Then, just after the woman's voice faded, a little girl around 160cm tall stood right in front of Modeus. The girl wore a tight outfit similar to Modeus's but with a different pattern, and it was white with black designs all over, looking quite revealing. Her long, straight silver hair reached down to her knees, but her eyes seemed devoid of any soul, as if she were just a program designed for this 'Augmented Suit.'

"O-oi, do something about this radioactive stuff, hurry!" Modeus yelled, his body is already numb.

"Understood. Would you like me to deactivate the radioactive beam defense system?" the girl in front of him replied with a blank expression.

"Yes, yes quickly!"

*whoosh*

"Huft ... huft."

Now that Modeus no longer felt the pain from his melting skin, he could relax and look at the girl clearly, yet the girl just stood there watching Modeus while occasionally glancing towards the door.

"So, who are you, little miss?"

"I am the artificial intelligence implanted in this type of quantum artifact called the Neumann Core, known as 'Augmented Suit.'"

"So you're a quantum artifact? Can all quantum artifacts talk like you?"

"No, I am one of four quantum artifacts that can communicate."

"So there are only 4, huh?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you suddenly show up in front of me right now? Where did you come from?"

"I'm a 3D visualization of artificial intelligence that projects in your eyes, so only you can see me."

"Is that so? Then what can you do for me?"

"I'm a support-type quantum artifact designed to calculate every movement around the user and predict the future based on those calculations, then take the most efficient action from those calculations."

Modeus, hearing this, paused for a moment to observe the girl standing in front of him. When Modeus tried to touch her, his hand passed through her body as if there was nothing in front of him.

He just wanted to check if the girl could be touched or not, and it turned out that his attempt was futile, but there was no disappointment in his heart.

Meanwhile, Neuman, seeing Modeus's actions, tilted her head in confusion about what Modeus actually wanted to do with his hand, and after considering all possible scenarios, she finally concluded something.

"Do you want to touch me?"

"Oh no, it's nothing."

Then, after a conversation that ended with an awkward atmosphere between them, Modeus decided to leave the room because he was sure his clothes wouldn't emit radiation anymore.

"Ooh, Modeus! You did it, and there's no more radiation."

"But, are you going to keep wearing that?" Eliphas continued.

Right, how do I take this outfit off? Can it even be removed? Modeus thought.

Neumann, sensing Modeus's desire through his thoughts, then peeled off the "Augmented Suit" that clung to Modeus's body.

The surface of the extremely hard suit slowly shrank down towards Modeus's back, ultimately leaving just a black spine-like shape on his back.

Eliphas, watching it all in awe, couldn't help but be amazed because the quantum artifact seemed to have completely accepted its master, Modeus, even without a single word spoken by him; the quantum artifact understood the user's desires.

Even though Neumann, standing silently next to Eliphas, didn't disappear and that made Modeus a bit uneasy, he tried to ignore it.

"Alright then, let's just head out and try that quantum artifact."

***