The Last Christmas (5) 外
Under the dim lights, the thing emerged.
Yan stared at the grotesque creature before him and swallowed a groan.
“…Damn it, it’s Treval.”
The face, the build, the name tag pinned to his uniform—every detail screamed that this was Treval himself.
“Hey, just looking at it, the visuals are completely off, right?”
He gave a curt nod at Irien’s words. The arm was grotesquely swollen, the entire right side wrapped in a writhing black parasite that pulsed with unnatural life. Thick, unidentified blood dripped steadily from it.
*This is dangerous.*
He had crossed countless battlefields, but nothing like this had ever appeared. His instincts screamed a warning about the unknown threat.
**I… stomach *crunch* hungry *crunch* hungry.**
**Throat *crunch* dry, painful.**
Yan threw out a question, clinging to the smallest thread of hope.
“Hey, Treval. Can you hear me?”
**Stomach *crunch* hungry *crunch* hungry.**
**Throat *crunch* dry, painful.**
No response came.
“You know what happens to the idiots who get bitten in zombie movies, right?”
“Elia, what are you going to do?”
“…That’s not Treval. Prepare to fire at will.”
The thing had been muttering to itself, body convulsing, when Elia’s words cut through. Its elongated tongue flicked once, then it clutched its head with the uninfected left arm and began to speak.
**El… ri*crunch*a… sorry, Captain… ni?**
“…What—”
**Ah, El… Daria? Ri*crunch*a Captain?**
“Sergeant Treval.”
**Sorry… sorry*crunch*ni da… mi a an ni da.**
It answered Elia’s voice.
Blood tears streamed from bloodshot eyes.
Pain twisted its body; it tore at its own hair.
Skin blackened, veins bulging.
“…Fucking bastard. What a shitty taste.”
Irien’s throat closed at the sight of Treval writhing in agony. They couldn’t save him, and killing him would be too easy.
**Sorry… sorry*crunch*ni da… mi a an ni da.**
**Please… ah, that*crunch* is your atonement.**
**Ah… why am I *crunch* in this *kweuek* form?**
Waves rippled across Elia’s eyes.
The pistol in her hands began to shake violently.
Yan could watch no longer.
*Sorry, Treval. I’ll apologize in hell.*
He fired first.
A single bang cracked the air.
The bullet punched straight through Treval’s forehead. He dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
“…Good shot, you parasite bastard.”
Yan had killed Treval.
Three hours earlier they had been casually talking as friends.
His chest burned black, as if he had swallowed fire.
“……”
But he couldn’t have let it stand.
If he had, Elia would have broken.
“…We’re getting out of here.”
Elia’s voice trembled as she approached the fallen man, reaching for the dog tags around his neck. Then Yan noticed the right arm twitch weakly.
“Shit—!”
“Yan!”
He shoved Elia aside with all his strength. At the same moment he felt his own body fly and slam against the wall.
“Damn it! Eve, shoot!”
Irien and Eve opened fire. Bullets vanished into the infected arm. Yet the creature rose, swung its massive arm at Yan with terrifying speed, then froze mid-motion.
“Shit, what the hell is this?! Yan, are you okay?!”
“Elia, Sergeant Yan!”
It simply stood there.
Motionless.
*Breath, Yan. You’re okay.*
“Sergeant Yan!”
Adrenaline drowned the pain. Yan forced a deep breath into his nose to steady his racing heart. Seconds later the agony hit like a tidal wave. Elia was charging toward him. He gathered every ounce of strength and roared.
“Stop right there, Elia!”
He kept his face hard and stared straight into her eyes. When she hesitated, he drew his pistol and aimed.
“It might be infected. Stay away. I’ll shoot.”
Blood seeped from his side. He didn’t know exactly how infection worked, but his instinct screamed 100 % truth.
**Riellio? Ttreval ray ge junm ra what.**
The creature moved its huge arm aside and continued muttering. Yan grimaced through the pain and listened. Words spilled out as if two minds were fighting for control.
**Iriiiiiien hates hate hate?**
**Then I will deliver it to Elia.**
**Elia? Gltrese. Val giving.**
The sentences were cleaner than before.
Irien’s face twisted with unbearable tension. She wanted to scream.
**Thank you, Tre re. At that time I was honest and refreshing.**
**Eliria Captain secretly thanks too.**
**But I also like it, so please understand.**
Yan froze.
This was definitely… what I said to Treval…?
**Where is the good part of that ice-cold bastard?**
**What? You said you’d get it yourself?**
**I’ll go first and wait. Please!**
This time Irien flinched.
**Is the preparation ready? The promised entry permit?**
**Endel Research Institute’s secret zone, Sector 1333.**
**The bomb is prepared on our side. Vehicle?**
Yan tried to follow the words, but his thoughts spun wildly. Was the Treval who had become like a zombie just babbling nonsense? No—the words pouring from its mouth matched conversations from his memory too closely.
*Stay calm. It’s just nonsense.*
But was it?
His head throbbed. A foreign sensation slowly burrowed into his mind. Normal thoughts began to twist and mutate.
*Need to make Elia the queen’s vessel. Because I love her.*
*Need to infect Elia. For her sake.*
*Irien, Eve too, if I infect them together.*
Snap out of it. Snap out of it, Yan.
What kind of insane thoughts were these?
Ah, damn it. Had I been infected?
No. It wasn’t infection. It was natural.
Need to make Elia his.
**According to plan, blow up that place at noon.**
**Speaking of which, is that military uniform regular army?**
**The world doesn’t change easily.**
**I was thinking of becoming a coalition official—**
**Accepting the absurdity and going with the flow.**
Even as Yan fought his own twisted thoughts, Treval’s monologue continued. The broken sentences had become complete. The truth he spat out brought silence. The full story of Sector 09. Treval had been at the center.
**Why help us?**
**There are all kinds of weirdos.**
A cracking sound of bones twisting echoed.
Black spikes burst from Treval’s body.
**I’ll help with this matter only.**
**Everything for Captain Elia.**
**The peace Captain Elia protected.**
**We’ll crush it. Thoroughly crush it.**
Treval kept speaking. Six eyes tore through his face and emerged. They stared in different directions before locking onto one point.
**In ten minutes this place will be hell.**
**Wait, it’s different from what I explained!**
**We don’t know! We never heard of this!**
Toward Elia.
**Everything for Captain Elia.**
**Everything for Captain Elia.**
**Everything for Captain Elia.**
**Everything for Captain Elia.**
Elia collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.
**Elia Captain as the queen’s vessel**
Yan bit his lip.
That damn friend had caused trouble after all.
I would beat him like a dog in hell.
*By the way, am I done too. This feels like infection.*
He felt something wrong with his body.
Pain like intestines being scraped with claws.
Painful. Dizzy. Nausea surged.
“Hey, wait a minute. One favor.”
“What, parasite bastard.”
“I’m not normal right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“It seems like it’s going crazy like that.”
While enduring the agony, Yan barely continued.
Irien’s expression darkened.
“Something in your head is pulling all of you into my harem.”
“That’s quite a zombie virus that resembles you.”
“Kukuk, yeah. A shame to die without achieving dreams—”
“Hey, joking?”
A single tear fell from Irien’s eye.
“Sorry. But your crying face is pretty.”
“Shut up, no. Absolutely no. Absolutely not, you bastard—”
“——Irien.”
Yan pulled a grenade from his waist.
“If we’re all going to die, take Elia and go up.”
“…Fucking bastard.”
Irien glared at him through tears.
“And Eve.”
“Yes, Sergeant Yan.”
He tore the dog tags from his neck and tossed them to her.
“I’ll entrust Elia to you.”
“…I’ll definitely protect her.”
Tears streamed from Eve’s eyes too.
“Ha… this setup is nice too. A man who makes two beauties cry.”
“Shut your mouth, you parasite bastard.”
“You’ll be a comfort food in heaven. Right?”
“Go to hell.”
When Irien shot back, he chuckled.
It wasn’t bad. After all, the life protected by the witch was fine.
It was okay to use it for the witch.
But the sad part was—
‘——Treval. Neither you nor I could share love with the witch.’
Memories with everyone flashed through his mind. Most of his life had been spent on the battlefield, yet a couple of memories made by the witch remained.
“Ria, is all this prepared by you?”
“What? That’s the reward given from headquarters.”
“Where’s the reward for unregistered people like us.”
“Think whatever you want. Idiot.”
Vacation after the thirtieth battle.
They spent a week at a high-end hot spring in Sector 10.
During that week, everyone could become normal.
Treval was surprisingly good at singing. Violet was quite serious about pillow fights. Eve made barbecue amazingly well. Irien… was just a drunkard. She entered the hot spring, drank until she passed out.
“Thank you, Elia.”
“……”
Yeah, that was it.
When the campfire flames dimly lit her face. Elia looking up at the densely packed stars in the night sky. While gazing at the stars in her emerald eyes, he fell in love.
*Rotten, what a carousel. Whatever.*
Everything was like a summer night dream.
Had he been bewitched by the witch?
He didn’t know.
“Shoot if you run. Got it?”
He tightened his grip on the pistol.
Irien nodded silently.
“You bastard, you look incredibly strong.”
Ugly spikes protruded all over the body. Three pairs of red, sharp eyes. The Treval form could no longer be found there. The evolved creature walked slowly toward them all.
**Elia Captain as the queen’s vessel**
Overwhelming predator aura.
The low-frequency pressure emitted before a beast catches prey crushed them. At the same time, an unknown fear tightened their throats. Breathing was nearly impossible.
One shot rang out.
And the explosion shook the ground.