The Summoner's Rebirth: Awaken, Milady

Chapter 152: Stephanie Croft

"..I think that we should start on Stephanie.. My older sister. You already know the long history with all the Croft family members.. Basically, in the plan to nurture the best humans.. Stephanie is one that is quite an anomaly. She was born from an experimental institute that the founders made... She is a baby that was conceived with modified cells to prime her to be 'perfect'. She was raised by machines, taught by machines, and lived with machines until she was considered 'ready' to be introduced into the Crofts and thrown into the battlefield. Her primed subject was research.. The same as mine." Alena started to recall the stories she went through.

"Stephanie Croft entered the field when she was nine. I wasn't born yet at the time, but her stories are very infamous. On the first day she entered, some of my other sisters tried to form a temporary cooperation to test this new addition out, but that day.. All of them suffered a crushing defeat. They were told that Stephanie entered with the research gift, but what they didn't know was that.. Day and night, right after Stephanie was born, she was forced to learn all sorts of things, from fighting, killing, healing wounds, surgery... Her mind was made to grow up to be something programmable. Like a total machine, one that wouldn't feel emotions, and could only think in a logical state and store every single information like a walking supercomputer."

"She could do anything that you can think of, and she would be the best out of humanity in just a bit once she put her effort in it."

"Stephanie won't attack others out of nowhere because she doesn't know the meaning of jealousy, envy, anger, or things like that. However, she can regard you as an enemy if you stand in her plans, and she will do everything that she could in order to remove these blockages that prevent her from getting what she wants. She is like a dormant last boss.. She won't seek trouble from you on her own, but if you probe her, then you should be prepared for the costs."

"So.. Will us destroying the dragon and bending the plan from what's expected considered an offense towards her plans? Which is, obviously, Blythe's group being the one defeating the creature instead of us." Aria questioned.

"I still don't know yet. It depends on whether or not Stephanie colluded with the Association. I find it hard to believe that this is the case, though. If anything, Stephanie would detest coming in contact with Blythe. It's very hard to believe that she would work with others that aren't her direct subordinates. She refuses to work with her equals.. But I have a theory that relates to her supposed 'power'."

"..Do tell."

"Since she has made up this farce about knowing what is inside the dungeon, which, according to my System's research is currently impossible, we can assume that the artificial experiments using cores are correct for the time being... But, there is a loophole in this matter."

Aria listened attentively, waiting for Alena to voice out her theory.

"We may not be able to accept Stephanie as the true culprit in the dragon's incident. Stephanie may not have a Main at all, and working with a dungeon core, cultivating it to such a degree, if it wasn't done by someone with a supportive Main, I can't wrap my head around how it is possible."

"..What do you mean by that? Does Stephanie have something.. hidden?"

"This.. is a niche matter. Stephanie isn't completely human. To be exact, she was modified both genetically and physically so that she will have stronger genes than what a human couple could produce at the gene peak. She is meant to surpass anybody. Thus, if we assume that the Main that is given to Hunters are 'Humanity's Weapons', then Stephanie shouldn't be able to get this. Half of her body is made up of machines. She can't be called a true human." Alena explained.

"At the same time, if we deduce that the System is the one who gives out powers as well, then it might just do things out of a whim and grant Stephanie powers just like that."

Technology was a scary thing. With how rapid it was progressing, and how much time it had passed after she fell to her own death, Aria forced herself to accept Alena's words and digest it. This was the pinnacle of human technology of this era, she was talking to someone who was influential and had the power to come in contact with the highest information.

She sighed, quite uncomfortable with the thought of having to face a robotic presence.

After thinking for a minute or two, she raised her head to look at Alena, who had an apprehensive expression. She was always like this whenever the topic was about her family. Aria thought to end the discussion.

"I've got the gist of everything. And so? Let's summarize this. Stephanie Croft, do we have to be wary of her?"

"Yes. Extremely, yes. I will make sure to keep my eyes tight on her, and I will note down anything that I find. She is someone we have to worry about all the time if we may face her in the future."

"Good. I will also take note of that. Next.. is she our enemy?"

"I'm not sure yet. Considering the meaning of the Crofts' children in general, we should be able to dictate her as our enemy. If our actions collides with each other, then Stephanie will not hesitate to mow us down."

"Then, she should be considered a hostile presence for us. Lastly.. will we be able to defeat- no, kill her?" Aria narrowed her eyes, a cold glint flashing through the pair of organs. From what she heard, Stephanie Croft could prove to be a very dangerous opponent if left alone.

She hadn't personally met her yet, so she couldn't tell what type of  woman she was, nor will she be able to guess the danger level she possessed like she did with Cha Seol-hyun.

Alena would be her testament. Whether Stephanie will be someone that she wants to openly oppose and try to hunt down at any given moment.

Once she meets Stephanie for good, she will make sure that she has enough assets to take down or overpower the other.

Or, better yet, kill her.

"..Yes, please. My sister.. No, all the Crofts, if I get strong enough, I will kill all of them myself. But if the chance comes before that happens.. then, please do erase them. It is better for the world as a whole. Now that I've learned that they might be able to branch out to obtain Mains from this point on, there is no point in trying to ignore them." Alena pursed her lips, her breath uneven as she spoke.

"But is that not your game and prey? If I kill them, I will be taking away the joys of you obtaining your complete victory."

Alena let out a dejected sigh. "Me obtaining you as a temporary ally is already a very fortunate thing. Forget joys or anything like that, as long victory is in my hands, I don't care what ways do I have to go through.. As long as all of them are dead, and I come out as the victor. Your kill count towards the Crofts are also mine."

"Then, the discussion about Stephanie is ended. We shall eradicate her when it is possible." Aria gave a bright smile, as if she was not talking about killing one of the many siblings that the one she is talking to had.

"The next thing would be Reina. Who is Reina, and why does she know both you and Arin.. no, Aileen Croft?"

"Reina Alaster's parents are one of the contributors for the Croft children's project. She, too, was also one of the monitors that had been sent to participate in the project as a ghost monitor.. like a fake dummy."

"So Aileen and you.. were once monitored by her?"

Monitors. Alena had mentioned this before, but they were essentially people who were slipped into the Croft children's daily life, so that their every action could be documented and evaluated. Every child was monitored daily from day to night. To think that Reina was one of these strange people was quite surprising to say the least.

"All of the Croft children have came in contact with Reina, yes. I do not hate her, but I do find her unpleasant. Since she was led to act in a certain way from the very start in order for her to satisfy the conditions of being a monitor, I suppose that must have been a part of what caused her to act this way. I'm not sure why she is in South Korea, though. It's definitely not to monitor me, because I have never seen her at all. In fact, if you haven't realized it yet, some of my servants are also my monitors." Alena confessed.

"..Everybody has something wrong in their heads in one way or another, huh? This sure is complicated." Aria rubbed her temples. For everybody involved, they all had their own problems and situations.

"Is Reina someone I need to 'take care' of?"

"No, big sister. She isn't someone you need to worry about in the sense like Stephanie or Cha Seol-hyun, since she is just a monitor. However, if you find her dangerous or threatening in the future, then the choice will be up to you."

Aria nodded in agreement.