Gangnam Sarang OB/GYN
Gangnam Sarang OB/GYN
We arrived at the point secured by the military before long.
From what I heard, it's an area connected to the Gangnam Sarang OB/GYN Clinic.
"......."
This is my first time facing the Blackout Zone from such close range.
Only darkness. In the deep pitch-black where not even a single ray of light could escape, perspective is a distant sense.
Along the boundary of the barrier blocking our path, sticky and unpleasant pitch-blackness undulates like the entrails of a living, breathing beast.
It's also like the waves of the deep sea, suppressed behind a thin, invisible pane of glass.
A heavy pressure crushed my lungs, as if the moment that precarious boundary burst, tens of thousands of tons of horrific darkness would become a tsunami, covering and swallowing the entire world.
However, one thing is certain about that thing.......
It is a void.
A space where nothing exists, and nothing should exist.
"From here on, we will be entering the point."
Captain Kim briefed us, flicking his finger.
"The zone we are about to enter is the Gangnam Sarang OB/GYN Clinic. This place is a demon's den filled with Mimic Beasts of all sizes."
Mimic Beasts of all sizes, huh.
Everyone knew what that meant.
In the first place, an OB/GYN clinic is a place where countless lives are born.
A place where humans, as humans, begin a new life, each being assigned parents who will love them.
'...It is such a place, but.'
The beings born here as humans eventually metamorphosed into other entities.
"The point identified by the military as the exit is the emergency exit on the outer wall of the 4th Floor. Guarding it is a Mimic Beast Colony currently designated as the Incubator."
A massive monster formed by the gathering of small Mimic Beasts.
That was the one that would be the biggest obstacle in this operation.
And it was also the target.
"The purpose of this operation is to pave the way for the future. Therefore, the goal is to suppress and purify the Incubator."
Captain Kim asked, adjusting his beret.
"Are there any further questions?"
No answer returned to that question.
Because it was content we had already heard until we were sick of it.
"Then, we will enter."
We threw ourselves into the sulfur.
May there be salvation on our path.
Before long, the undulating darkness swallowed us whole.
*
"Ugh!"
This time, it wasn't a sound made by Min Ah-ji. It was a sound I made.
As soon as I stepped into the darkness, an indescribable, shitty sensation turned my insides out.
And it seemed I wasn't the only one who felt that sensation, as sounds of retching could be heard from all directions.
It was only after our stomachs settled that we could regain our composure.
Only then could we look at the landscape of the otherworld we had stepped into.
"...Oh, Lord......."
A massive wall, shaped as if humans had been flattened and pressed together, had formed right behind us.
Because of the darkness, I couldn't see it properly, but if it was like the drawing, it would probably look like a giant box.
The state of the humans who had become part of the box was unspeakably horrific.
It looked as if they had been crushed by a compression press, with their entrails squeezed and bulging out.
But perhaps because they hadn't died even in that state, I could occasionally feel a wriggling pulse.
"...Ugh."
It's worse than what I saw in the drawings.
But perhaps because I had already prepared myself, the shock didn't last long.
For a moment, I wondered if I could save them with my Holy Power too, but.......
At least, not yet. Because I still can't handle my Holy Power.
But someday, I will return. I will return to this place... and make it so they can reclaim themselves.
Enough with the sentimentality.
We have something we need to check in the Blackout Zone right away.
"Fortunately... it seems what the military predicted was true to some extent."
The interior of the Blackout Zone is nothing but darkness.
This darkness cannot be dispelled by anything. No matter how bright a light source you bring, it just gets swallowed into this endless darkness.
Until now, that's what was believed, but.......
'...Halo.'
The Halo scattering a soft light above my head.
It's not enough to say the luminosity is immense, but it is a light with a definite presence.
Fortunately, this light succeeded in neutralizing the darkness as predicted.
"Visibility is... approximately 100M. It seems there is an increase of about 10 times."
Captain Kim's voice was tinged with both deep astonishment and relief.
I didn't need to ask to know why he was so agitated.
Humans feel extreme fear when their vision is blocked.
Let alone in a demon's den where immortal monsters wearing human skin pop out from all sides, how must the soldiers have felt having to wander through pitch-blackness where they could only see 10M ahead?
One fortunate thing is that we don't have to feel that kind of anxiety.
We are, in a way, on higher ground.
"Securing visibility is a huge tactical advantage. This alone will expand the range of tactics we can employ."
His gaze lingered for a moment on the Halo above my head.
This soft golden light pushing back the darkness was, right now, no different from the only lighthouse we could rely on in this hell.
But I couldn't just be at ease.
'...I hope it doesn't draw aggro.'
In gaming terms, I'm currently standing in the middle of a pitch-black map holding a torch.
It's good that visibility is secured, but conversely, it could end up being like advertising "I'm here" to the monsters hiding in the darkness.
"Do not lower your guard. Just because visibility has widened doesn't mean the danger has disappeared."
Fortunately, Captain Kim was also aware of that point.
Following his hand signals, the six of us mutants formed up again.
The Owl Bear Elder and Orc Mister took the lead, I and Captain Kim were in the center, and the rear was handled by Yoo In-ha, Min Ah-ji, and Kim Ji-hoo.
Where the light of my Halo reached.
There, our first destination was maintaining its appearance nonchalantly even inside the human box.
[Gangnam Sarang OB/GYN Clinic]
Amidst that nonchalance, Min Ah-ji wrinkled her nose.
"...A fishy smell......."
This time, she didn't retch. Had she already adapted to the smell since she had smelled it once?
Min Ah-ji wasn't the only one who sensed something abnormal.
"From inside the building... there's a squelching sound. A friction sound like walking barefoot through a mud pit, and... very faintly, even the sound of wheels rolling."
The sound of wheels rolling, huh.
Thinking of a place like a hospital, there are things that easily come to mind. Wheelchairs, mobile hospital beds, or IV stands.
In a normal hospital, it would be white noise that wouldn't matter, but this is the Blackout Zone.
"We will enter. The internal structure is highly likely to be different from the blueprints we studied in advance, so everyone, make sure to secure your line of sight."
With Captain Kim's instruction, the Owl Bear Elder pushed the handle of his Sledgehammer into the gap of the tightly closed automatic doors of the OB/GYN clinic.
Wooduk-!
As he applied force and twisted it, the door was forced open with the sound of glass breaking.
Hook-.
The air that had been stagnant inside the building pushed out.
Even though it had been a long time since the air conditioner was turned off, the air in the lobby was chillingly cold.
The Halo above my head illuminated the scene in the lobby.
'...Crazy.'
Profanity spilled out of me internally.
The lobby was a scene of carnage.
The reception desk was split in half, and the sofas in the waiting room were soaked in blood and unknown bodily fluids, discolored to a dark red.
But the most horrific thing was the posters decorating the walls.
[Healthy childbirth, happy family!]
A poster with a picture of a mother and baby smiling brightly.
However, the eyes of the people in the photo were stained red, having been slashed by something sharp.
"The space... is twisted."
Orc Mister examined the wall while holding up his K3 Machine Gun.
Just as he said, the hallway leading from the lobby was twisted in a spiral, ignoring the laws of physics, soaring upwards or sinking into the floor.
The Agent's briefing that space is randomly rearranged hits home painfully.
Our target is the emergency exit on the outer wall of the 4th Floor.
But in this twisted structure, it was unlikely that the stairs remained intact.
Kkigigigigik.......
It was then.
The sound of wheels rolling that the Owl Bear Elder had mentioned began to be heard from the dark hallway inside the lobby.
Everyone gripped their weapons tighter and focused their muzzles and gazes in the direction of the sound.
I also drew the Glock from my waist and held it firmly with both hands. Cold sweat beaded on my palms.
A silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
"......Patient?"
It's a pregnant woman.
"Please... help me......."
A cracked and dry voice. A human scream full of pain.
Seeing that sight, it was a pitiful appearance that would make anyone want to reflexively run over and support her.
Even Captain Kim, who had to give the order, looked hesitant.
But we had already experienced it.
Also, I could feel the Halo holding onto my sanity.
"Prepare to fire. It's a monster."
This is a place where countless soldiers have already come and gone.
Which means it has been confirmed that there are no survivors existing here.
Even if there were any... there wouldn't be any now.
That is why we have to be faster than the military.
Bang-!
The muzzle spat fire.
The smell of sulfur, which I was smelling for the first time, was thick with the acrid scent of gunpowder.