#36 Island Cleanup (3)
#36 Island Cleanup (3)
Its cry—a blend of rodent shriek and whale song—boomed out as it churned its forelegs, rising from the depths and opening its mouth.
Its head gaped open like a snake unhinging its jaw. Wolf let the current carry him, drifting into a lazy turn as he extended a tentacle.
'Thicker than I thought.'
Piercing through would be rough. The thing, already battered from several one-sided beatings, turned to flee—but the tentacle had already caught its foreleg. Before it could gnaw through with its front teeth, Wolf sheared the limb off with his shadow.
"——!"
Lopsided now, it slowed to a crawl. Wolf coiled it in more tentacles and finished it with Snatch Devour.
[Musbelli consumed. Experience Points and Satiety increase.]
[Experience Points at maximum. Lv.12 → Lv.13]
He'd reached Level 13, in the waters off Yeongheungdo. At last the moon rose, and Wolf nodded to himself, his body still submerged in the dark sea.
'That'll do.'
Code 3. Regroup on Yeongheungdo. By now enough of them should have gathered—the right moment to move under cover of night. The instant he climbed onto the island, a flashlight beam flickered toward him. There were sentries on patrol, but none of them could hope to see through his Stealth.
'... .'
As always, Wolf sensed presences first. Sixty-one people across the whole island. A solid number. Worth the wait.
'They're all here.'
He'd checked the maps. Yeongheungdo was an island, but it sat close to the mainland, connected by a bridge. The simplest read was that this place served as a forward base for their supply lines.
'Step one.'
Teams of three. Wolf stretched his shadow and severed the wrist of the man holding the radio, slipping into the shadows at the same moment the hand dropped.
"What—"
Eyes wide, the man reflexively flicked the flashlight toward the darkness. Wolf burst from the man's own shadow and snapped his neck.
'... One down.'
The comrade beside him didn't even scream as he died. The survivor had good instincts—he immediately reached for the fallen radio. Wolf was almost impressed. The moment the man's fingers closed around it, a tentacle seized him and twisted his neck.
'Last one.'
Mid-incantation, the final mage abruptly shifted—no, was shifted—right in front of Wolf. Reflex took over before thought; a lance of shadow punched through his forehead.
"Kyu!"
Perry was perched on the man's shoulder.
'Didn't know she could do that.'
He should've thought of it the moment she'd teleported him before. Wolf stroked her head with a tentacle.
"Kyu~!"
He told her not to do it again unless absolutely necessary, then opened Stowage and handed her a chunk of flesh. The man had been a low-ranking grunt, which was the only reason it hadn't gone badly. If that had been a Tail, Perry could've gotten hurt.
'... Right.'
Fifty-eight more Prodigal Sons left on this island. Wolf intended to clean them all up before the night was over.
***
'Later than I expected.'
Had they seriously not found this place? Gowon or Dawn—maybe both. The Tail had been bracing for their arrival, but still no word had come.
"......"
No news was good news—so the saying went—but an inexplicable unease had been crawling under his skin. Now his brow furrowed.
'Blood?'
The smell hit his nostrils. He checked around him, but the odor was seeping in from outside. The Tail rushed up the stairs and caught the flicker of shadows.
"......!"
The grunts stationed outside had been slaughtered without ever knowing what hit them. Without his olfactory skill, he wouldn't have noticed either. The Tail knelt beside a corpse and exhaled slowly. A single clean puncture through the throat. Something sharp.
'An attack...!'
Someone really had come. The Tail snatched up his radio.
"Hostiles in Area C. Presumed Dawn or Gowon—?"
Dead air. He checked the radio. It had been cleanly split in two at some point.
'When the hell—'
Stunned, the Tail tried to pull back—and realized something had already locked tight around his ankle. Something slick and sinuous. A tentacle.
"......!"
The Tail's eyes flared wide. He slashed the tentacle free with his dagger—and the dead grunt's shadow rippled, then swallowed him whole.
***
'I heard his voice.'
The Tail's voice. When no cadre was present, the Tails were in command. Every one of them carried power equivalent to a B-rank hunter—but scattered, that meant nothing at all.
'... You went to all the trouble of gathering them on Yeongheungdo.'
Wolf understood their reasoning. You couldn't prepare for an attack you didn't know was coming. But—
[This is Area A. All sectors report.]
[Area B. No abnormalities.]
"Area C. No abnormalities."
—that didn't matter to him. Wolf mimicked the Tail's voice from earlier and answered. The reports rolled back all the way to Sector E. Sector E. At least four more sectors beyond this one.
'Meaning at least four more Tails.'
He searched the underground room where the Tail had been and found stacks of packs and flasks.
'Blood samples.'
Every single one contained blood. Animal blood of all kinds. Materials for making the Imitation Elixir—no other reason for them to exist. Some contained human blood. And against one wall, an empty iron cage. Wolf saw the stains inside it and his fangs ground together.
'... .'
Layer upon layer of marks that hadn't even been scrubbed away. Blood spatter vivid on the ceiling, high enough that no hand could reach it. It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened inside that cage. Wolf's breathing roughened.
'They moved people from here to the island.'
Or if they'd needed materials on demand, they'd have kept them caged and 'used' them whenever convenient.
'Five sectors.'
Every one of them likely served the same function.
'—You made a mistake.'
They should have abandoned Yeongheungdo and run. If they'd scattered into the mainland, they might've had a chance. Instead they'd stayed. They couldn't bear to give up the facility.
'I don't know exactly where each sector is.'
But now—Wolf had no intention of letting a single one of them slip away. He finished the first thing that needed doing, then opened Stowage again and pulled out the radio. A transmission crackled through.
[Code A. Code A.]
The same message looped again and again.
'Yeah.'
They weren't fools. They'd figured out they were under attack. He'd wiped one sector clean, but picking them off one by one ended here. Wolf spread his Detection and felt them swarming toward a single point. Regrouping. That would be what Code A meant. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
'—It's time.'
Time to clean up the island. Time to sweep out the trash.
***
Wolf didn't hesitate. Didn't bother to hide. The moment every presence on the island clustered into one spot, he revealed himself as if he'd been waiting for exactly that. The Prodigal Sons flinched at the sight of the shadow-wreathed Wolf, then steadied their formation.
"The rest of you, maintain perimeter—?"
The order never finished. The speaker's head separated from his body and dropped. A massive forepaw crushed the skull, spraying blood and brain matter. Inside the roiling shadows, Wolf's silhouette bared its fangs.
"......!"
A tide of killing intent flooded the space. Hearts hammered. Breathing turned ragged. Every one of them was seeing death—picturing their own ends in ways they could imagine, and in ways their minds couldn't hold. Their faces drained of color.
One Tail wrenched his mana to the surface and roared.
"Get a grip!"
The mana-laced shout jolted the Prodigal Sons back to their senses. The terror of dying without lifting a finger—someone swallowed hard and began chanting. Someone else raised a spear.
In that interval, Wolf had already Inspected every Prodigal Son in the hall. Forty-six grunts. Four Tails. Shadow lanced out from his tentacles and began reaping lives without mercy. They swung spears and blades to block the tendrils—the shadow simply flowed along the weapons and killed them anyway.
"——!"
Irrational violence. There was no other word for it. A slaughter. Blood and flesh, shredded organs and brain matter scattered in all directions.
"It's using shadows!"
"Fereastra de foc!"
A blazing spear of fire coalesced and shot toward Wolf—and was ripped to ribbons before it reached him.
What had just happened? The caster reeled in confusion, then shook it off. No time for questions. As the next incantation rose, Wolf had already vanished again. A Tail watched, tracking him. He knew the creature was slipping through the shadows. He positioned himself to guard a chanting grunt from behind, spear ready—and Wolf emerged somewhere the Tail had never considered.
"——!"
Another mage, dead without a scream. Fangs tore through throat and spine. The Tail ground his teeth.
'How in the hell...'
How exactly were they supposed to fight something that moved through shadows as if they were doorways? Wolf vanished again, unhurried. Cold sweat crawled down the Tail's neck.
'Where this time?'
Wolf's fangs closed on another grunt's throat. Shadows flickered—and the mages seized their moment, shouting in unison.
"Fereastra de gheață!"
"Stâncă mare—!"
A storm of spells. Spears of fire and ice. Massive boulders and mana bolts surged toward Wolf. With that volume of magic, there was no way to simply block it. Even if he dodged, there would be an opening. The Tail readied himself to exploit that opening—and then couldn't believe his eyes.
"......!"
The shadows surged, vast and churning—and every single spell was torn apart. Not one made it through.
'How?!'
A faint breeze brushed the tip of his nose and carried a small sting with it. He lifted his forefinger to his nostril and wiped away blood. In the same breath, a mask-clad Tail had positioned himself behind Wolf. His Stealth was C-rank—Wolf's Detection couldn't pierce it. The thought that maybe, just maybe, he could kill the beast lasted exactly one second before it shattered.
"—Hkk!"
As if it had never been possible. The masked Tail's heart and lungs were run through in the same instant.
'That easily...!'
The concealment had been excellent. Wolf's Detection skill genuinely couldn't see through it. But Stealth didn't mask scent. There was no fooling Wolf's nose.
"Grrrr—"
A low, bubbling growl chilled the Tail's chest. The moment Wolf flung the masked Tail's corpse aside, the Tail swung his sword.
'If we don't fight, every single one of us is dead!'
Without an instant's hesitation, he cleaved his former comrade's body in two and charged with the remaining grunts. A gale howled to life. The fodder had no defense against it; only the Tail, mana flaring, clawed his way out of the gust's radius.
'This thing's a monster.'
The Tail was the sole survivor. The grunts who had charged with him were annihilated. Certain now that victory was impossible, he drew his blade across the nearest grunt's throat.
"... You're going to help me."
Either way, death was coming soon. He shattered the bewildered grunt's jaw, forced his mouth open, and pulled a vial from his coat, pouring it down the man's throat. The grunt was moments from death—he couldn't resist. The liquid went down.
"Mmph—!?"
The wound across his throat began to close. The Tail gave a short nod and carved the grunt apart.
'That'll do it.'
As the dying man's mana bottomed out, his body began to swell. Right on cue, another robed Tail finished his incantation.
"Robia rădăcinii copacilor—!"
A three-verse spell, leagues above what the grunts could manage. The ground heaved as if an earthquake had struck—then countless gnarled tree roots burst through the floor and seized Wolf in an instant. Enormous roots. The binding would drain his strength bit by bit.
"We did—?!"
The Tail's fist clenched in triumph. Then he saw smoke curling upward.
"......?!"
The smoke spread and swallowed the roots in a heartbeat, and black flames roared to life. As the jet-black fire incinerated everything, the Tail went rigid.
'Did I see that wrong?'
Just for a flicker, the flames had seemed to shape themselves into something demonic. A ghastly demonic energy bled outward. The Tail despaired.
'We can't win.'
When the wind tore the smoke away, Wolf was gone. In his place, the Tail who had cast the spell was screaming.
"......!"
Wolf was at his nape. A twist, and the mage's cervical spine snapped. He crumpled dead.
'... I should've run.'
Far too late for that realization. He should have run from the start. The grunts were already wiped out. Only two Tails remained, himself included. But—the Tail watched the swollen, malformed 'Unfinished Product' and twisted his lips into a grimace.
'This might—'
Not to win. He'd abandoned that notion. But it could buy him time to escape. The calculation was wrong. What he'd glimpsed earlier hadn't been an illusion. Black flames kindled from Wolf's body, swirling into the shape of a demon spirit. Wind swept outward as Wolf vaulted atop the immense mass of flesh.
'Damn it.'
The Tail ran without looking back. Wolf immolated the flesh heap in moments, then cocked his head to the side.
'The grunts are all dealt with.'
Only the Tails remained. Both were fleeing, as if by prior agreement—one sprinting toward the bridge. Wolf watched him go, then turned away.
'... That one's not a problem.'
The gap closed in seconds. Inspection had pegged the other Tail's Agility at 374—respectable, but Wolf overtook him before long. As if he'd expected this, the Tail ripped a scroll.
'Short-range teleportation scroll?'
Or maybe a full Teleport Scroll.
'I need to kill him here.'
Elasticity launched Wolf forward. The Tail slashed with his dagger. Wolf twisted his head, bit down—and Snatch Devour consumed the blade. The Tail stared at the naked hilt in his hand, a split second of shock. A spear of shadow punched through his throat.
Eyes wide with disbelief, the man dissolved into motes of light.
'Teleport Scroll.'
Surviving in that state was impossible anyway. The only way to cheat death would be to drink an Unfinished Product—and even if it worked, he'd survive as something that was no longer himself. Which meant—
'One left.'
Wolf's red eyes still smoldered with intent.
***
Just a little farther. If he could push just a little farther, he'd survive. Hope drove the Tail's legs onward. When the bridge finally came into view, he collapsed to his knees.
"... Ah."
Hope crumbled. Despair flooded in. Kneeling in the bleak reality, he stared at the shattered bridge with hollow incomprehension.
Yeongheung Bridge was severed. There was no escape route. The structure hung there, precarious, as if it might crumple at any moment—and black fire flickered across the ruins.
'How long has it—?'
Gasping, the Tail pulled the radio from his coat. Shadows rippled before his eyes. Wolf materialized, and only then did the Tail understand that every step he'd taken tonight had played out in the palm of this creature's hand.
"What the hell are you..."
Red eyes looking down as if he wasn't worth an answer. The Tail, crushed beneath a gaze thick with killing intent and madness, gripped his sword with the hollow resignation of a man already dead.
He steadied his ragged breathing and poured the last dregs of mana into his feet. The recoil shattered the ground beneath him, and his eyes flared wide—speed he'd never felt in his life. As if by some miracle, in that single moment, the Tail acquired the Sprint skill.
Hope surged back. Maybe. Maybe. Wolf tilted.
"......?"
The Tail understood then. Wolf hadn't moved—his world had. In the distance, a headless body kept running, alone and unaccompanied. The Tail loosed a hollow laugh with the last thought he'd ever have.
***
Wolf crushed the fallen Tail's head under his forepaw and burst it. No more presences registered. The islands along the West Sea had been cleaned.
The radio the man had been clutching crackled with static—the person he'd been trying to reach. Who held dominion over the West Sea coastline? Still waiting for subordinates who would never return. Wolf answered in a voice like winter.
"—Wait for me."
"I'll be coming to collect your life soon."
And with that, Wolf finished clearing every island along the West Sea.