There was no need to argue further once the evidence had been secured.
Stave kept cursing all the way until the Sword Bureau locked him away in its prison.
Then Drex Valen ca to see him personally.
"I don't like being threatened," Drex said evenly. "Even a verbal threat counts. I treat it like the real thing. Still, don't worry. I promised you cancer treatnt, and I'll make sure you get it before the disease kills you. That part is a matter of principle."
Stave stared at him.
"...How long am I going to be here?"
Hope flickered in his eyes. He had assud Drex was planning to bury him alive through legal ans and throw away the key.
Drex glanced at the projected display beside him.
"Let's see. The agents searched your ho, your vacation properties, and every other place tied to you. They found enough criminal evidence to keep every police departnt in the United States warm through winter if it were all printed out on paper. Your case was already judged by the Sword Bureau's internal court. And for the record, we don't use the death penalty."
Stave let out a breath of relief.
No death penalty.
That was wonderful.
Then Drex continued, just as calmly as before.
"Your sentence is eight hundred years."
Stave went rigid.
"I want a lawyer."
"There are no lawyers here to defend you," Drex said.
"This is a violation of Arican law!" Stave snapped.
"The Sword Bureau does not belong to Arica," Drex replied. "Arican law does not apply here. Neither does the law of any other country."
Stave's face changed at once.
"No, you can't do this. Drex Valen, I'm rich. I own a lot of assets. I can give them to you!"
"Sorry," Drex said, almost bored. "All your accounts and all your holdings have already been seized by the Sword Bureau. I forgot to ntion it, but we have superheroes here who can read minds. The mont you were brought in, they pulled out everything you tried to hide. So yes, you're broke."
Stave had no idea whether that was true.
Drex had no interest in letting him find out.
He turned and left.
Drex descended into the underwater base that only he could enter.
Today, he was going to create the fourth artificial human.
The first artificial human, Android 18, was currently just an ordinary World Serpent mber. Drex had not paid much attention to what she was doing.
The second artificial human was Esdeath, who was currently sunbathing and steadily strengthening her Kryptonian foundation.
At this point, she was probably already strong enough to grind Captain Marvel into the pavent.
The third artificial human was Heracles.
And now the fourth...
Drex considered his options, then began assembling a woman with long black hair and a pair of elegant leather gloves.
Tifa Lockhart.
The kind of beautiful older woman he liked.
Once the body was constructed with perfect precision, Tifa opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Drex standing in front of her with his arms folded.
The mont he saw the light in her eyes, Drex practically lit up himself.
His figure was alive.
A hand-made idol had opened its eyes.
And even if this was not the original Tifa, even if she was only shaped like Tifa, that was enough for him.
He was not after her heart.
He was after her body.
"Drex."
Tifa's mory was the original one, because Drex had built her from a ga-accurate template, only replacing Cloud with himself in the emotional frawork.
So she did not seem distant or confused.
"Feeling all right?" Drex asked.
"I feel great," Tifa said after testing the strange new strength inside her body. It was stronger than before, even without materia.
"From today on," Drex said, "you're the girl who can't get tanned by the sun."
He held out a hand.
Tifa blinked, then placed her own hand in his.
Drex pulled her up.
She now had Kryptonian soldier genes as well, and he had just finished exposing her to intense sunlight, so she was already born with considerable combat power.
Tifa looked at him, a little confused.
"What does that even an?"
The old Drex, the one from her mory, had never done anything like this. He had always been blank, stiff, almost wooden.
This Drex had actually reached out and helped her down.
That made it hard for her to let go of his hand.
For once, this block of wood had learned how to move.
She was not about to let the mont slip away.
"I strengthened and modified you," Drex said simply. "The more sunlight you absorb, the stronger you get."
"I see."
Tifa could feel how strong her body was, but she did not yet have a clear sense of what that really ant.
For now, she probably was not the type suited to serving World Serpent directly.
Better to send her out as a superhero instead.
A star.
An icon.
And later, when she had millions of fans, she would still only belong to him.
That thought alone made the arrangent feel even better.
"...A superhero?" Tifa said after reading the files he had shown her. "You want to beco one?"
Drex tilted his head. "What, Tifa? You do not want to?"
"Of course I do," she said at once. "Especially if I have this much power now."
"Good."
He raised both hands, and atomic reconstruction flowed through his fingers.
Atomic alloy fibers wove themselves into a pair of leather gloves.
"These are for you."
Tifa took them carefully, as if they were sothing precious.
"This is the first gift you've ever given ."
Drex knew she was slipping into the mory of her old life, the version that belonged to Cloud.
Still, Cloud had apparently never given her a gift before.
That was honestly kind of pathetic.
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