The Bound Wolf
A blinding white flash swallowed the emergency exit and spat it back out. Before the white afterimage burned into my retinas could even fade, the narrow stairwell had turned into utter pandemonium.
"Kieeeek!"
"Grr...!"
The demi-humans, blinded and deafened, thrashed in agony and screamed, but my team wasn't amateur enough to miss that opening. Tang! Tatatatak! Pak! The distinctive whooshing reports of suppressed gunfire rang out in rhythm, and the front line of beasts collapsed as precise shots found their vital points exactly as we'd trained.
But this damned frenzy symptom seemed to numb not only their reason but their sense of pain as well.
"Kyaaak!"
Even with bullets punching through shoulders and thighs, the creatures staggered like broken toys and dragged themselves upright again. Bleeding profusely, they charged straight at me—and the teammates behind me—with eyes glowing white.
Haah... Can't you just lie down nicely?
I clicked my tongue in genuine exasperation at the pitiful thrashing visible beyond my shield. They were going to end up on the floor anyway; wouldn't it be better for everyone if they just lay down comfortably?
Of course, I'd be putting them to sleep permanently.
One beastman leapt over a fallen comrade, foam at the corners of its mouth, a crude spear made from a steel pipe with a kitchen knife lashed to the end raised high. Its bloodthirsty gaze locked onto the space between my eyes.
"How dare you."
Trying to scar a lady's face? Zero manners. I extended the pistol in my right hand straight at its forehead.
Tang.
A short, dry report. Before the gunsmoke could even rise, the creature's head snapped backward. Its momentum lost, the body pitched toward me, but I calmly lifted my shield a fraction.
Ting...
The spearpoint scraped uselessly across the shield's surface and slid away. Kudangtang. The body rolled to a stop at my feet, twitched a few times while clawing at the floor, then went limp.
With that last one down, the ragged breathing and screams that had filled the emergency exit began to fade. All that remained was the acrid smell of gunpowder, the metallic tang of blood, and the harsh panting of my teammates.
Phew... Finally quiet.
I scanned the fallen bodies beyond my shield, then glanced sideways to check for any scratches on my precious equipment. Still pristine. Worth every won I spent on that special coating.
"Front clear. Everyone all right?"
I lowered the pistol and turned around with a stern voice. Spica, who had been gripping her gun tightly in tension, let out a long sigh of relief at the sight of me.
[Y-yes! I'm fine...!]
"Good. If you're not hurt, that's all that matters. Shake off the dust."
I made a show of brushing imaginary dust from her shoulder while feeling relieved inside.
[Felice, no issues~]
[Belphe, all good.]
[Sirius is fine too.]
One after another, the reports came through the headset. As expected of my kids—their durability was solid. I exhaled a short breath of relief and immediately switched to the command channel.
"Team 1 here. Current floor secured. Multiple beastmen neutralized. Proceeding downward."
[Understood. Healer and recovery teams are en route. Continue descent.]
"Copy. Out."
Ending the terse transmission, I pressed the button on the shield's grip. Clack, clack. With a light mechanical sound, the massive shield folded back down to a portable size. Hearing footsteps descending from the upper stairs, I gestured to my team without hesitation.
"Let's move."
We carefully stepped over the now-cooling corpses littering the floor and pushed open the heavy iron door leading to the floor below.
Kkiiik~
With a spine-chilling screech of metal, the scene on the lower floor was even worse than above. It looked like a goshiwon—tiny rooms crammed together with a narrow corridor between them so tight that two adult men could barely walk shoulder-to-shoulder. Yet I found myself smiling.
This is basically a stage built for me.
The cramped corridor matched my shield's width and height perfectly. It was as if the building had been designed with my shield's dimensions in mind. The sense of security that came from the complete lack of gaps was deeply satisfying.
At this rate, no matter how much those frenzied beasts thrash, it won't matter.
To them, it would feel like a moving wall—or rather, something invisible and terrifying approaching. I hadn't painted my shield black just for looks. It was a top-tier custom piece coated with the darkest pigment available, mixed with monster byproducts. In this dim corridor, that black-hole-like shield would absorb every trace of light. Beasts that relied more on instinct than sight wouldn't even be able to tell what was in front of them—or behind them.
In other words, our very existence as Team 1 would be erased in this darkness.
"Quiet footsteps. Slow and steady."
Following my hand signal, the team crept after me. Belphe and Sirius pressed their ears to the old doors lining both sides, checking for any signs of life inside.
[Kkiiing...]
[Sniff...]
Their heightened hearing picked up soft nasal sounds that came through the headset. They sounded like puppies waiting for treats, or loyal pets lying by the door to greet their owner. In such a tense situation, those noises...
...Cute.
They really were adorable. In the middle of this high-stakes operation, I nearly smiled inside my helmet at the sight of those fluffy ears twitching against the doors. If it were up to me, I'd turn around and pet their heads right now, but we were still on mission. I had to hold back.
Heh... The cuteness that blooms under tension is the real deal.
Biting my lip to suppress a laugh, I deliberately kept a stern expression and advanced deeper into the corridor with my shield raised.
We had nearly reached the end of the narrow goshiwon hallway when a sharp beastly scream erupted from the very last room at the dead end.
"Kyaaak!!"
The sound was loud enough to ring in the headset, but I pressed forward without hesitation, shield leading the way.
"Last room. If anything jumps out, suppress it immediately."
Just as we pressed flat against the wall beside the door, Felice's urgent, cold voice came through the headset.
[Madam. The sounds inside are strange. I hear something struggling, like it's tied up.]
"Hmm... Tied up?"
I mulled it over briefly. Did it tie itself up? Realizing it was losing its mind and not wanting to hurt anyone, it had bound itself and waited for rescue. Good judgment. And the rescue team just arrived.
I tried the doorknob. Clack. It didn't budge. The occupant had locked it multiple times from the inside to trap itself. A normal person would have been stomping around looking for breaching tools, but unfortunately, I had no patience for that.
"Admirable, but useless in front of me."
I gripped the knob tightly and twisted it off with raw strength.
Crack!
The old wooden door let out a scream as it was torn free. The final line of defense the creature had set up collapsed pathetically before my grip. Kicking the dangling door aside, the horrific scene inside came into view.
"Kraaak! Kyaaak!"
I switched off the night-vision goggles and lifted my visor to see with my own eyes. A female wolf demi-human was tied to a bedpost. One arm had come loose and was flailing wildly in the air, but the rest of her limbs remained bound. The moment she saw us, she opened her mouth wide to bite, her eyes already bloodshot and devoid of reason.
Her condition is serious.
I glanced back and called to Spica, who had been hiding behind me.
"Spica, check her."
"Y-yes?"
When she asked in confusion, I pointed my pistol at the wolf inside the room.
"You're the medic. Whether we save her or kill her is your call."
"U-understood."
Spica swallowed hard and stepped forward, squeezing past me. A sharp scent hit me as she brushed my shoulder—not perfume, but the intense smell of tension mixed with responsibility.
She's just a rookie, yet she doesn't run.
With trembling hands, Spica flicked on the light attached to her gun. The white beam cut through the darkness and illuminated the frenzied wolf's savage face. She shifted the gun to one hand, used the other to pry open the creature's eyelids and check her pupils, then pressed two fingers to the side of her neck to feel for a pulse. Her lips moved silently as she counted the beats, looking quite serious.
After a moment, she let out a long sigh of relief and stepped back.
"Fortunately, it hasn't reached the infectious stage. We should be able to treat her."
"Oh... really? That's a relief."
I nodded sincerely. The tricky thing about frenzy was that when the infected gathered together, it spread like a virus and worsened the symptoms. In severe cases, my healing or ordinary sedatives wouldn't cut it—we'd need an expensive mental-type awakener or a much higher-ranked healer.
Her decision to tie herself up saved her life.
This wolf girl was lucky. Instead of a one-way express ticket to the underworld, she got the chance to board Charon's ferry—the one that saves lives. Of course, the fare was excruciating pain.
"Beginning treatment. You can break a limb or two if needed, just hold her down properly. Felice, watch the entrance."
"Yes, Madam!"
The moment the words left my mouth, Belphe and Sirius sprang into action. They pinned the struggling beast's shoulders and thighs with their rifle butts. I handed my precious shield to Felice and approached the wolf.
"Now... Mother's hands are gentle hands, so bite down on this."
I rummaged through my thigh pouch, pulled out a leather gag, and held it to her mouth. She immediately chomped down on it with a sharp ang!
"Good girl, good girl. Angry ones have excellent bite strength."
Frenzy was actually helpful in moments like this. Anything put in front of them got bitten first. Thanks to that, I didn't have to worry about her biting her own tongue.
"Treatment commencing."
I placed my palm on her sweat-soaked forehead. A faint light rippled from my fingertips and began seeping into her mind. Spica, watching from behind, asked curiously.
"Um... It's a mental symptom. Can healing really treat it? What's the principle?"
"Huh? I don't know the principle either. It just works when I do this."
The wolf's eyes rolled back and began moving violently, as if reacting.
"Mmmph!!! Mmph!!!"
She bit down on the gag hard enough to break it, foam forming at the corners of her mouth, and her entire body started trembling as though she were being electrocuted. Most people would have been horrified, but my Team 1 kids showed no mercy. They held her down perfectly to prevent secondary injuries, allowing the treatment to proceed smoothly.