The End's Christmas (4) Extra
Hell. It was hell.
There was no other way to describe it but 'hell'.
"...Current Sector 09 has lost its ability to respond. Execute operation name 'Hetacomb'. All citizens of Sector 09, immediately carry out the orders. This is an automatic repeating communication, and it only sends when I am dead. The Unknown parasite infection speed is too fast. If you capture this signal from outside, abandon support for this location. Do not increase meaningless sacrifices any further. Surviving soldiers should prioritize killing citizens over infected entities-"
Screams and gunfire echoed from every corner.
Soldiers who had completely lost control.
Slaughter orders with no source.
"Hey, what the hell is going on?! We're allies-"
"-We are the Holy Envoys of the Senate of Elders, carrying out the orders."
"Damn it, those guys aren't in their right minds! Just kill them!"
Chaotic radio chatter filled the air.
The sound of weapons being fired at one another.
The horrific screams of those who could not resist.
Priestesses praying as they broke through the burning city streets.
"Shit, what's going on here? How did everything turn into this?!"
Irien spat a curse and stared at Elia's back as she ran ahead. The back of her uniform and the spaces between her fingers were soaked in someone's blood, drenched in blood from head to toe. The smell of blood was so thick that the bitter taste of it reached the tip of her tongue.
"Eve, where's Treval?!"
"He's waiting inside the escape vehicle in front of underground bunker D-2!"
"D-2? Why did he go all the way there?!"
Corpses lay scattered all over the streets.
Families who had come out to watch the Christmas parade,
Waiters who had been hustling customers,
Neighborhood kids who had been making snowmen.
Aristocratic young ladies who had sneaked in to secretly enjoy the festival,
And the maids and servants following behind them.
Death came to everyone equally.
"Damn it, damn it! What kind of sick thing is this?!"
Even while seeing such a horrific sight, Irien could not help but despise the fact that she herself remained calm. In the endless repetition of brutal missions, she had somehow grown accustomed to a life where death was familiar.
After running for a long time, they hid themselves inside a half-destroyed shopping mall.
"Rest for ten minutes and then keep moving."
"Hey, Lia. Your face doesn't look good. Are you really okay?"
Even though Yann asked, she gave no answer. Elia stared blankly at the blood covering her own hands. No one asked whose blood was on her hands.
"...I'll go scout the surroundings."
"I'll come with you, Elia."
A cold reply.
And Elia's smile, shattered into pieces.
Irien had seen that smile before.
It was the mask the 'witch' always wore on the battlefield.
"...Tsk, you really can't be honest at all."
Iren muttered while watching Elia's retreating back and Eve following behind her. You should wear a damned mask. Be more honest.
"Kill them all. Not a single one left alive."
"It's the elders' order. Kill them all, and we'll die too."
"Everything is for the glory of Londinium."
Dark voices coming from Eve's radio.
Yann sighed while listening to the radio.
Are these the fanatics of the Londinium Senate?
"Damn it, they're not rebels, they're fanatics. Even more insane than that?"
"More than that, the parasite infection? The one Lin was researching?"
"Yeah. There's definitely something going on in the research facility sector."
The Endel Research Institute in Sector 09.
I had heard it from Lin sometime ago.
That it was a place researching an extraterrestrial life form called the 'Unknown'.
"Irien, what about Violet-"
"-I know, Yann. I know too."
"......"
A heavy silence fell between them.
Violet, who had not returned with Elia.
And the blood covering her back and hands.
In this situation, that meant one thing.
"Damn it."
It hurt as if her heart was being torn apart.
Violet had been like her own sister.
"......"
But she still couldn't cry.
She had to survive.
"-I'm sorry. Really."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Elia, you were right next to her, right?"
"I suppose so."
Irien recalled Elia's precarious mask.
The mask made of ice.
"...Well, just looking at that ice kid's expression is enough to guess."
"Oh? You actually know a bit about Elia's charm?"
"Charm? It's a relief if you don't burst from it. Still..."
She trailed off hesitantly.
"...Still?"
"Well, I just haven't found the right time to apologize."
"What's wrong with you? You look different."
"Shut up, you bastard."
Irien let out a small laugh and checked the remaining bullets in her gun.
It would be best if she didn't have to shoot if possible.
"Walgadak, you must never die."
"Want to die? I'm not dying. Don't raise a flag, you idiot."
"Heh heh, when this war ends, I'm going to confess to Captain Elia-"
"-Enough chit-chat. Keep moving."
ⴕ
Sector 09, underground bunker D-2.
They had barely managed to reach this place located on the outskirts of the city. However, an unnaturally cold silence hung around the bunker entrance.
"Eve, Treval said he'd wait here, right?"
"Yes. He definitely said he'd wait at D-2."
"Is that armored vehicle the one he mentioned in the radio?"
"It seems so. But there's no one inside."
Treval's figure was nowhere to be seen inside the vehicle.
"This... blood trail. It's pretty recent."
Instead, there was a large pool of blood near the bunker entrance.
Was Treval injured?
If so, they had to go in immediately and save him.
"Any response from Treval's radio?"
"No signal since earlier."
But something felt off.
Irien's instinct screamed not to enter here.
"Ice kid, something's weird. Let's hold off on entering for a moment-"
At that moment, a pair of eyes was felt from behind.
Irien aimed her gun toward the direction the gaze was coming from.
Precisely, the spot behind where Yann was standing.
"Hey, wait. Walgadak, why are you pointing that gun at me?"
"...Is it just my mood?"
"What? 'Just my mood'? Are you joking right now?"
"Parasite old man, act like a man and hand it over, don't whine."
"You're the one..."
Something was definitely there....
Irien withdrew the gun aimed at Yann with a suspicious expression.
"I'll open the door. Eve, help me."
"Understood, Elia. The rest of you, stay on guard."
With a metallic clank, the steel door of the bunker opened.
"What kind of horror movie is this? Why are we supposed to go in here?"
Stairs leading down to the underground.
The blood trail was sucked into the darkness along the stairs.
"Is this location definitely where Treval's radio signal was last detected?"
"Yeah, that's right."
The distant darkness was like the maw of a hellhound. The mysterious fear was heightened by the deep abyss that might lead anywhere.
"No choice. We go in."
"Ah, damn, it really doesn't feel right. In horror movies, the first ones to die always go into places like this and die-"
"You can wait here. The rest of you, follow me."
"Hey! Are you leaving me behind?!"
Elia took the lead.
Everyone slowly followed behind her.
As they descended the stairs, a faint light appeared.
In front of the faint light was a wooden door,
And the blood trail seemed to continue behind that door.
They took a tactical infiltration stance in front of the door.
'If hostile forces, kill everyone.'
After sending a signal containing that content, Elia kicked the door open with her foot. The team members rolled their bodies and infiltrated the room. At the same time, an extremely strong and pungent blood smell rushed in.
"...What is this."
"Hic-!"
Eve set down her gun and started retching.
Corpses torn apart and crushed everywhere.
Broken bones and flesh pieces rolled messily across the floor,
And the surroundings were drenched in dark red blood.
After surveying the room, Elia gave an order to Yann.
"Yann, activate that radio equipment."
"Damn it, got it."
Yann carefully wiped the radio equipment covered in blood.
"And Eve, pull yourself together and guard the door."
"U, yeah. Sorry, Elia."
"Hey, ice kid. Our Eve is suffering, that's not-"
At that moment, Irien's sharp senses detected an eerie movement on the ceiling. This time it wasn't just a feeling. She quickly opened fire toward the ceiling where the movement was captured. The heavy automatic rifle's rapid fire shook the enclosed space. Shocked by the unexpected barrage, Yann turned to her and shouted.
"Have you gone crazy?!"
"-Something's there."
"On the ceiling? What nonsense-"
Before his words were even finished, something fell from the tattered wooden ceiling with a thud. Because she had shot the ceiling, most of the lights were broken, making it hard to confirm the target. One flickering light that had been smashed dimly hinted that something was there.
Elia, Captain
'It' rose from its fallen state with a staggering, slow movement. In the darkness, only its eyes glowed brightly red....
"Treval?"
It was Treval.
Why was he on the ceiling....
Had he been hiding?
"What were you doing up there? How much longer were you going to make us wait-"
"-Hey, parasite old man. Stop."
Irien stopped Yann with a firm voice.
"It's not Treval."
With a tense expression, she placed her finger on the trigger.
"What? What does that mean..."
Yann, who had been making an expression as if 'this walgadak has been saying nonsense since earlier', noticed something wrong with Irien's face, where no trace of mischief remained.
It was wrong. A grotesque voice as if boiling the vocal cords in hot water. Moreover, the expression did not match the words being spoken. It was as if the speaker thought what they were saying was so ridiculous that they would die. That expression was the most wrong of all.
"...What the hell are you?"
No. This was not Treval. There was no Treval.
It was something resembling Treval.
"Elia, give the order."
"Everyone, ready to fire."
All of them believed that,
And aimed at the thing still hiding in the darkness.
The thing muttering incomprehensible words-
Staggered forward toward the lights.
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