Chapter 127: Shadows, Mud, and Civilians.
Chapter 127: Shadows, Mud, and Civilians.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist. 6:30 AM.
Then, I turned my head to look out the small window.
The sky was black, the sun not yet risen. Our target was not yet in sight.
How did it come to this?
"Sigh."
I tried to hold it in, but a sigh escaped my lips anyway.
The eyes of every Squad Member in the helicopter shifted toward me, but perhaps because they felt the same way, no one said a word, maintaining the heavy silence.
In truth, I wasn't the only one reacting this way. The comrade sitting across from me was shaking his legs uncontrollably, desperately trying to suppress his nerves, while the one next to me was repeatedly ejecting and reinserting his magazine.
Even the Squad Leader, who should have reprimanded such distracting behavior, merely glanced at us before turning away without a word.
It was likely because he knew all too well the anxiety everyone was feeling.
The dread of heading into a mission where coming back alive might be impossible.
I had been trained as part of the Management Bureau’s Special Suppression Unit and deployed on numerous missions, but I had never been this tense.
Two O-Rank monsters. One A-Rank monster.
This mission was practically a death sentence.
Calling one an A-Rank was just a play on words; it was none other than the Black Marauder. He was effectively an O-Rank, but because he had never spread Otherworld Erosion or been issued a Public Enemy Designation, he was classified as A-Rank.
Three O-Rank monsters.
Even looking back at combat records from before the Management Bureau was established, such a thing was unprecedented.
That was why everyone was drowning in unease, expressing their anxiety in their own ways.
How long had we waited in that silence, filled only by the loud thrumming of the helicopter's rotors?
"I'll give the final briefing."
The Squad Leader stood up and looked around at us.
"Our mission is to draw attention to ourselves to buy time for the evacuation of the Management Bureau’s collaborators, general staff, and operatives on Nanjido."
"Is that even possible?"
Someone raised a hand and asked.
It was a question that spoke for the entire squad. Was it actually possible? An O-Rank Monster could kill us all with a single swing of its hand.
"...I'll be honest with you."
At that question, the Squad Leader’s demeanor shifted as he spoke.
"Our job isn't combat; it's sabotage. We're there to smash things up and scatter their attention. Don't expect to engage the O-Ranks. That's why we're deploying multiple squads to act as diversions."
At the Squad Leader's calm words, the stiff atmosphere began to thaw slightly.
"Then the task of pinning down the monsters falls to the Heroes, not us?"
"Correct."
The Squad Leader said so, but everyone’s eyes drifted to their own weapons.
Magazines packed to the brim with hundreds of rounds of Special Ammunition—the kind they usually claimed was too expensive to issue properly—along with spare mags.
This was equipment clearly intended for combat.
"...You said it's a diversion, but to put it another way, that means there's a chance they'll come for us instead of the Heroes."
"...That's about right."
At those words, everyone let out a bitter chuckle, as if they had already known.
That was the nature of this mission.
A mission where we prayed we wouldn't be the ones to draw the short straw among the many squads.
The hundreds of rounds of special ammo, the magic-inscribed grenades hanging off us—they were all just items provided for peace of mind.
"Any questions?"
"You said the primary objective is sabotage, but what do we do if we encounter civilians inside?"
Everyone had grim expressions, but a professional is a professional; they began to ask questions regarding operational conduct.
"There are no civilians inside."
"Pardon? From what I know, Nanjido has..."
"Legally, there are no living civilians in Nanjido."
Was he insane?
The atmosphere inside the helicopter, which had briefly loosened at the Squad Leader's assertion, began to freeze over into something far worse.
"...It seems you don't understand what I'm saying. But remember this."
The Squad Leader continued, his expression unchanging.
"On Nanjido, assume even a child could slide a knife between the plates of your body armor and steal your gear."
"...Even so."
"The squad members who have been to Nanjido will understand. Those who haven't will understand soon enough."
At those words, several squad members, including myself, turned to look at our comrades.
Some nodded.
Others gave a bitter smile of agreement.
Though they were few, they all offered a grimace as if in accord with the Squad Leader.
Just what kind of place was Nanjido?
"We're here. Everyone, get ready."
At his command, I looked out the window, and a horrific monstrosity entered my field of vision.
A building that looked as if a child had grabbed random objects and piled them together haphazardly.
The mounds of trash, shimmering blackly as if absorbing the dawning sunlight, didn't look like a normal building at all.
It swayed from side to side as if it might collapse at any moment, something distorted like a cut-and-pasted photograph that was completely alienated from its surroundings.
There was no way a building like that could exist. I must be seeing things.
Thinking that, I pressed my face closer to the glass to get a better look at the building...
"Stop it."
Someone's hand covered the window.
"Gah!"
Startled, I jerked my head back.
What was that just now?
It felt as if the building was calling to me...
"Ah? Captain? We've already got someone being hexed. Let's have everyone put on their gas masks."
Hexed?
Startled by that, I pulled down the Gas Mask I had been wearing on top of my head because it was stuffy.
Though we called them gas masks, they were all-weather protective gear against basic Mental Magic and illusion magic.
Following the Squad Leader's orders, I adjusted the straps of the mask and re-equipped my gear. Then, I looked down at Nanjido, which had grown closer in the brief interval.
What I saw through the glass of the mask was an abandoned building made of patched-together plywood, metal scraps, and cracked concrete.
The illusion of the black building I had seen moments ago was gone, leaving only a structure that looked ready to crumble.
And yet, my heart was pounding like crazy.
Was that really an illusion?
"Forty seconds to insertion!"
There was no use worrying. There was no turning back now.
"Twenty seconds!"
The helicopter door opened, and a cold wind rushed inside, cooling my heated body.
"Ten seconds!"
I could see the door ahead.
Not a rappel, but an insertion through a door in The Wall of a high-rise building...
Everything was truly a mess.
"Five!"
I steadied my mind.
Even if we were decoys, it didn't mean there would be no engagement.
There was a high probability that enemies would be waiting the moment we opened that door.
"Three!"
Click.
I moved my right hand and flicked off the safety on my rifle.
If there were no enemies, I'd put it back on immediately, but I did it just in case.
"One!"
Ready.
"Go!"
Breaking through the door, the ten of us stormed into Nanjido.
* * *
Kicking off The Wall, a gray monster leaped toward us.
All I could track with my eyes were the start and end of its leap. I couldn't grasp the intermediate stages at all.
But that was enough.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
The sound of ten people firing in unison poured down like rain.
The noise of the gunfire was deafening, but we formed a wall of fire without concern.
The aiming point I was responsible for was the middle of the hallway.
Since we couldn't aim precisely, the ten of us became one, filling the corridor with bullets.
"Skree!"
Could the monster see them? The creature, which had been leaping toward us, kicked the air and jumped backward.
Was it psychokinesis?
The Squad Leader's prediction was correct.
If we had tried to aim and fire normally, someone would have been taken down by that bizarre charge.
And every prediction hit the mark.
A single grenade fired by the grenadier.
A single shot that couldn't be distinguished amidst the downpour of bullets.
It rolled down the hallway and landed right at the monster's feet.
Boom!
The magic-inscribed grenade didn't emit a flash or smoke when it exploded, allowing us to see the wounds the monster sustained.
Loss of front legs.
Lower body evaporated.
Effectively neutralized.
Confirming this, we quietly aimed our muzzles at the monster and began to walk forward inch by inch.
Step by step. Slowly. So we could react to any special circumstances at any time.
"Whine... Whi..."
We reached the pitifully whimpering monster. The comrade at the very front aimed his muzzle at the monster's head.
Bang.
A dry gunshot echoed in the hallway.
Thump.
Following the gunshot was the small sound of the special bullet exploding.
With that, the flesh and brains of the B-Rank Monster were splattered across the corridor.
It seemed certainly dead, but we remained on standby, keeping our muzzles trained on the corpse.
Even if we had finished it off by blowing its head off according to protocol, there was no telling what kind of bizarre thing might happen with an Otherworldly Being.
About a minute passed like that.
"...Is everyone okay?"
At the Squad Leader's words, everyone lowered their weapons and took a breath.
"All clear."
"Good."
"It was a bit tough, but it was just a low B-Rank Monster, wasn't it? Since we had the terrain advantage, we managed somehow..."
Thud.
Something black crossed my vision, and my comrade's voice was cut short.
"Uh...?"
Thud.
Again, something black crossed my vision, and another comrade vanished.
Two in an instant.
Without perceiving a thing, people had disappeared.
The two comrades I had been talking to just moments ago were slammed against The Wall, collapsed.
Before I could even be shocked by that.
"Fire!"
Following the Squad Leader's command, I reflexively took a stance and pulled the trigger toward the black object.
It barely reached my waist.
Something small, black, and dark.
As if merged with the shadows, only its outline remained, its red eyes glowing. It was a black something that moved fluidly, unaffected by light.
Even though special bullets were embedding themselves all over the hallway and exploding, illuminating the surroundings.
That black, black thing merely shook its head and looked this way, as if it were darkness itself.
Ting. Ting. Ting.
Mixed in with the deafening roar of gunfire, a bizarre sound could be heard rhythmically.
An unrecognizable sound, like metal clashing against metal.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The sound of bolts locking back echoed simultaneously from the remaining squad members' rifles. It meant everyone had emptied their magazines in a panic, unable to even check their round counts.
Only after pulling the triggers a few more times did we realize the magazines were empty. We reached out to change them in a hurry, but...
A Black Shadow flew toward us.
I'm going to die.
Just as I thought that.
Ting!
A Silver Sphere flew in.
"Throw! Retreat!"
Following the command of the Squad Leader, who seemed to be the only one maintaining his sanity, we executed the action perfectly.
Six spheres flew through the air.
As if blocked by the silver light, the Black Shadow didn't approach any further.
We took that opportunity to sprint down the hallway.
The hallway we had walked through with such difficulty was traversed back in an instant.
Vreeeeee. Boom!
The sound of an explosion came from behind.
Then, I felt a heat as if my back were being scorched, but no one except the Squad Leader looked back.
"...Get into the room!"
Crash!
The grenadier running in front slammed his body into the wooden door right next to him.
The five of us immediately threw ourselves into the room.
"Fire!"
We immediately sprayed bullets toward the door.
Praying that the Black Shadow would disappear.
The air was thick with concrete dust.
"...!#!@@!!"
I couldn't hear anything.
All that remained in my ears was the tinnitus, a mix of explosions and gunfire.
Click.
I couldn't hear it, but I felt the magazine was empty through my fingers.
With a movement etched into my body without a hint of waste, I slammed in a new magazine.
Sensing no movement, I looked around at the surroundings shrouded in thick dust.
Five.
No, four shadows.
One shadow was unusually small.
I fired.
I felt the recoil shaking my body.
The small shadow disappeared.
One large shadow remained.
Thud.
Piercing through the tinnitus, the sound of a collision was heard.
And then, only Gray Dust remained.
Perhaps because of the collision just now, the resulting shockwave cleared the Gray Dust.
I could see that black thing.
It had the form of a child, but a distorted one.
"Hey, mis..."
Its eyes turned toward me.
Its pupils narrowed.
It opened its mouth.
Its dark red mouth tore open wide.
I fired.
Not at where it was, but at the place I predicted it would move to.
I don't know why I made that choice.
Was it the countless battlefields I had experienced that dictated it, or was it a momentary miracle?
The vast majority of the bullets were deflected. However, a single bullet pierced its head.
The bullet, which should have missed, emitted propellant, accelerated, and embedded itself in The Enemy’s eye.
It was probably all a coincidence.
Even if it was a coincidence, the bullet hit its mark.
"Ah?"
Along with a Young Girl's voice.
Boom!
The bullet exploded.
Splat. Splat. Splat.
Something dark red scattered in all directions.
As if symbolizing that The Child was not human, something like mud sprayed out.
With barely the lower jaw remaining, the place where the head had been was now bubbling with blood foam created by gases escaping from the lungs.
It was a quite gruesome sight, but a strange thought drifted through my mind.
It's worth the high price.
To think that a single lucky hit could blow off the head of a monster we couldn't have caught even if we had rammed it with a truck.
Then... shall I go?
With a dry laugh, rejoicing that I alone had survived, I moved my feet.
Through the door, out of this hellish Nanjido.
I placed my hand on The Wall to step over the broken threshold.
"That's mean. Really."
Clinging above the door, the upper half of the girl's head looked down at me.
A white spark flared in my mind.
Without understanding a thing, I lost consciousness.