Chapter 386: Interlude – Noble Purity
Chapter 386: Interlude – Noble Purity
“Still no word from the lab?”
“Not yet, sir.”
It was a conversation that had repeated itself endlessly since we settled here.
Yet, none of us felt any sense of urgency. If anything, we were basking in a sense of triumph.
In any other operation, we would have been anxious over the lack of progress, preparing to evacuate before the Management Bureau’s Defense Force stormed our position. But this time, the situation was fundamentally different.
We had an inexhaustible supply of funds and the very weapons needed to drive out the traitorous Management Bureau right in our hands.
The battle that took place not long ago was still vivid in my mind.
Those lackeys of the Otherworld, using their filthy techniques, had brought our comrades to their knees time and time again. Those cursed soldiers, displaying movements no human should be capable of and unleashing power no human should possess.
They had overwhelmed our pure-hearted comrades through powers granted only to those who had sold their souls. But before the might we now wielded, they were rendered utterly helpless.
Shells and bullets that utilized no Otherworldly techniques. And plasma weaponry, the pinnacle of human technology.
When that storm swept across the battlefield, we saw it with our own eyes: the Defense Force members, who had seemed invincible, were forced into a retreat.
In that moment, we were liberated.
We, who had always held our breath and prepared to flee from injustice at the mere mention of the Defense Force, had driven them back with uncorrupted, pure power.
It was the first victory granted to us after a long history of defeat.
Yes, humanity is not weak.
The only reason we had been repelled until now was that we had simply failed to grasp true human power.
To us, who had been steeped in an endless sense of defeat, this first victory brought a newfound hope.
Thus, there was no longer any need for haste.
Since it had been proven that the likes of the Bureau’s Defense Force could no longer stand in our way, it was only a matter of time before the laboratory researching those cursed technologies fell.
There was information that the lab was moving to avoid the bombardment, but the higher-ups were certain they couldn't keep that up forever.
Moving an object of that size requires a massive amount of energy.
Since there was no sign of the lab receiving energy supplies from anywhere, if we continued our assault, they would eventually wave the white flag and contact us.
When that happened, we would simply march through the front gates and destroy everything.
Everything inside.
Every single thing contaminated by the Otherworld.
Not just objects, but also those who possessed cursed knowledge within their minds.
Their brains were already steeped in the Otherworld; it was only right to cleanse them and return them to the natural order.
Thinking of this brought back memories of the brothers who were once with us.
They are humans too, so there is no need to kill them.
Our enemy is the Management Bureau, not the people within it.
Those brothers had opposed our pure cleansing with such words.
It was obvious that they, too, had harbored such wicked thoughts because they were influenced by the Otherworld, so we ensured that only their pure hearts remained.
By now, they were likely enjoying happiness in a paradise free from the Otherworld.
Lost in these idle thoughts, I gazed out at the empty desert.
Even today, nothing could be seen across the vast plains.
Everyone took turns on sentry duty, but I often wondered what the point was in monitoring a place where nothing obstructed the view.
Occasionally, a wild animal would pass by, and someone bored would pass the time by taking potshots at it while snickering, but other than that, it was tedious work where nothing ever happened.
I almost wished the Defense Force would attack periodically, but after tasting our firepower once, they hadn't shown their faces.
Every now and then, people in vehicles would come to observe us from a distance. I wanted to use them as target practice, but they seemed to have figured out the maximum range of our defensive installations, as they would watch us from just outside the perimeter before turning back.
Cowards.
We used to risk our lives charging at you when you were the strong ones, but now that we have the upper hand, you don't even dream of coming close?
That is exactly why you are wrong.
You lack courage, so you succumb to the Otherworld and use cursed technology.
We cannot acknowledge you.
Even so, since you were originally human, we will cleanse you and allow you to die as humans.
As I was reaffirming my commitment to justice amidst the boredom of sentry duty—
“It’s time for the medicine.”
A brother’s voice rang out loudly from behind.
This had become a new routine since we established our base in this canyon.
“Is it that time already?”
I replied, picking up the pill the brother had brought.
It was an oval pill in an impressively spotless red package.
To be honest, a pill without a single letter engraved on it was a suspicious object, but I pushed it to the back of my throat without a hint of doubt.
“So, two hours left until the shift change?”
“Two and a half hours. The Doctors said they were starting their research today, so the distribution was a bit early.”
“I see.”
I answered, feeling the pressure of the pill sliding down my throat.
Then, I returned to my sentry duties.
The pills and the Doctors.
To be honest, there had been much debate before we accepted them into our group.
How could we accept two doctors whose identities were unknown?
Furthermore, how could we trust them when they claimed they would provide medicine that strengthened the body without using any Otherworldly Technology?
Such debates had continued.
But in the end, we were overwhelmed by the staggering amount of funds and weaponry they presented.
We were awestruck by the new residence they showed us.
They gave us exactly what we had always longed for but could never have.
As for the suspicious medicine, everyone accepted it without much question.
Originally, many of the brothers had been using various kinds of drugs anyway.
Though we knew it was wrong, everyone tacitly understood that such medicine was necessary to overcome the overwhelming terror of the Management Bureau.
Some overcame it through pure human strength without such drugs, but even they didn't criticize the other brothers for enduring the fear with medicine.
They knew that the mere act of joining us and taking action was noble in itself.
However, the drugs themselves had always been a major problem for us.
Medicine with great effects always had equally strong side effects.
Drugs that rapidly destroyed the body and mind, were addictive, and had no stable supply route were always a headache for us.
But the medicine the Doctors provided, though perhaps weaker in effect than the drugs of the past, did not harm the body and was not addictive.
And so, everyone naturally accepted the medicine.
And we became stronger.
For the first time, we could achieve our great cause.
We were filled with pride.
That was why we maintained our tension and stood guard today.
Likely, nothing special would happen today either.
Thinking so, I waited for the two and a half hours until the shift change, when—
In the far-off wilderness, I spotted something blue.
Possessing a primary color that did not exist in nature, it stood out clearly.
As it fluttered in the wind, I realized I hadn't misseen it.
Immediately, I pressed the binoculars hanging from my neck to my eyes and looked at the spot.
I saw her.
Wearing clothes of a primary blue and with white hair fluttering.
An existence that didn't belong in this place at all.
She was walking toward us with a steady, plodding gait, as if she were out for a stroll.
While I was momentarily bewildered by the incomprehensible situation, she stopped walking and slowly turned her head toward me.
I hadn't misseen it.
Our eyes definitely met.
From this distance.
She was smiling.
A twisted smile that made it impossible to think of her as human.
Terror gripped me.
A fear I hadn't experienced in any situation since I started taking the medicine distributed by the Doctors.
My frozen body dropped the binoculars.
I stood there dazed, unable to do anything.
Thump.
The binoculars, which hadn't fallen to the ground thanks to the strap, bumped against my body.
Snapped back to my senses by that heavy impact, I immediately slammed down on the red button.
The alarm signaling an enemy attack.
Less than a second after I pressed the button, a loud siren wailed through the base, and I could feel people springing into action.
The entire base vibrated.
Because of a single being.
Later, I might be scolded for making such a fuss over something like that, but my intuition was screaming that I had to call it in.
That what existed out there was a monster.
Having finished my duty as a sentry, I picked up the binoculars again with trembling hands and looked at the place where she had been, but—
…She was gone?
She had vanished.
“…Where on earth…”
I muttered to myself, shaking my head, but I soon realized there was no need.
She was right there.
At the very front, where numerous explosions were occurring.
Trailing dust and flames like a tail, she was running, dragging a hammer larger than herself along the ground.
Having located her, I kept one eye on the binoculars to track her and used the other to survey the entire battlefield, trying to grasp the overall situation.
The more I looked at her, the more a chill bloomed within me.
She was still smiling. A thick, visceral smile that didn't fit her age.
Scratches caused by the pouring metal fragments. Blood gushing from them.
She licked it with her tongue, let it smear in the wind, and wiped away the blood entering her eyes with her hand, staining her own face.
A face fouled with dirt, blood, and soot.
And to that, a distorted smile was added.
Looking at that expression, my anxiety only grew.
The dread that this being would not die no matter what was done to her.
The confidence that had blossomed while defeating the Defense Force was rapidly withering as that unknown monster charged toward us.
Still. Still.
It was okay. It was still okay.
I steadied my heart.
The Defense Force had broken through this much as well.
What was pouring down now were long-range missiles and mortars.
The true attack that had repelled the Defense Force was our true power. Plasma.
Hoping for that to come, I continued to track her.
And then, what I had been waiting for was triggered.
A flash that threatened to damage the eyes.
My naked eye, not covered by the binoculars, blinked shut in surprise, but the military binoculars, which blocked light above a certain intensity, allowed me to witness the scene.
A purification of pure, holy fire that ground the earth and turned the surroundings into a sea of flames.
No Defense Force member had ever endured that.
Even the Awakened trash who called themselves Heroes would simply evaporate if caught in that storm.
So, she would too.
She… would….
“…What is that?”
It was impossible.
It was a plasma storm that occurred almost instantaneously.
It swept across a massive area in less than a second. And she had escaped it?
Furthermore, the smile on her face grew even wider.
Now, her face was no longer visible.
What existed there was something with a geometric, blood-red pattern set upon a face painted black.
At the center of that black face was a gaping hole, torn wide from side to side, as if it would swallow everything.
That monster was coming for us.
I wasn't the only one thinking this.
The attacks intensified.
The barrage simply continued without pause.
She drew closer.
Past the safety line, to a point where using plasma or shells would risk killing our own brothers.
The attacks stopped. They were likely hesitating.
Wondering if it was truly necessary to attack even if it meant involving their brothers.
Yes, that thought was correct.
But. I had to scream.
“Fire! You crazy bastards!”
That thing had to be killed.
It must never be allowed to get close.
That was ‘something’ we had never encountered before. Something that distorted the human world, the very thing we had avoided so much.
However, the place where I stood was merely a sentry post.
I had no way to convey those words to my brothers.
And so, as my screams failed to reach them, I could only watch her.
“Fuck. Fuck… Fuck.”
Just as I was spitting out curses—
Boom.
With a loud sound, The Enemy vanished.
What? What happened?
The binoculars were still pointed at the spot where the monster had been, but there was only thick dust and a large crater in the ground.
The monster was nowhere to be seen.
Where did she go?
“Fuck… what is this… what the hell is this?”
As I shook my head in every direction to find the monster while spewing unstoppable profanities—
Thump.
I heard a sound.
But this wasn't a sound heard with the ears.
It was a sound heard inside my head.
Something was crawling over my skin.
Skitter. Skitter. Skitter. Skitter.
Insects. Black insects. They were crawling over my skin.
“Aaaaaagh!”
As that disgusting sensation crawled up my skin, I shook my body violently, trying to brush the insects off.
“…There’s nothing… nothing…”
There was nothing on my body.
Nothing had changed.
But.
Skitter. Skitter. Skitter.
The insects didn't stop; they continued to climb up my body.
This sensation of countless things crawling and irritating my skin could not be called an illusion.
Countless invisible insects, which I knew were there, were crawling over my skin.
I had to brush them off.
I had to—
I shook my body, but they only multiplied endlessly.
Just as the sensation reached my neck and I was about to go mad—
‘Begone.’
That single word echoed in my brain.
And just like that, I lost consciousness.
The insects are eating me.
Save me.
Please. Anyone. Someone.
Save me.