Chapter 424: Detroit Extermination War (3)
Chapter 424: Detroit Extermination War (3)
Something is different here.
This was the third-to-last location among the places I had marked.
I hadn't expected much, as I had personally scouted this spot before. When I explored it yesterday, it was just a mundane sewer; I hadn't found any suspicious areas or clues.
I only marked it because it was close to the city center and because a shard of glass, which felt out of place in a sewer, had crunched under my boot during the search.
But what was going on now?
"Why are they swarming like a pack of dogs?"
"It means we hit the jackpot!"
Montague’s excited voice echoed through the sewer in response to my grumbling.
His words likely mirrored what everyone was thinking.
Yes, there was definitely something here.
The sheer volume of enemies pouring out was enough to prove it. Not just flesh monsters, but infected humans armed with firearms were springing out from everywhere.
No, my previous thought was wrong.
Something entered my field of vision that refuted my words.
It was a round, fist-sized object with a matte black finish, likely designed to be hard to spot.
A grenade.
Are you kidding me?
I could overlook the guns, but grenades were crossing the line.
Where were we? A sewer somewhere underground. What did The Enemy throw? An explosive. If that thing went off, was there a chance we’d be buried alive?
...Probably, right?
Of course, if it were just a standard grenade, I wouldn't worry about the sewer collapsing, but could I really trust those mad doctors not to have tinkered with it?
Besides, if they had used explosives from the start, it would be one thing, but this was the first time they were appearing after quite some time had passed.
That thought spurred my body into motion.
"Grenade!"
I shouted to my subordinates immediately.
I lunged into the thick of the enemies and snatched the black ball as it sailed over their heads.
If this were an open area or if I were alone, I would have just thrown it back at them. But right now, my former subordinates were on this battlefield with me.
So, what did I have to do?
I gripped the grenade with both hands, hunched over, and tucked it against my stomach.
One second, two seconds.
Even after catching it and landing back on the ground, I pushed deeper into The Enemy ranks to get as far away from my subordinates as possible.
I counted to three in my head, and just as the number four flickered in my mind—
A massive wave of pain, faster than the sound or the flash, slammed into my body as the grenade exploded in my arms.
Bang.
The sound of the explosion reached my ears a fraction later than the pain.
It felt sensorially disjointed, but for me, it was reality.
"Spit... Ah, damn it."
I spat out a chunk of flesh along with the blood pooling in my mouth and cursed.
As expected, it wasn't an ordinary grenade. It had enough explosive force to collapse the tunnel if I hadn't suppressed the blast with my body.
As if proving its power, my left hand was gone, and a hole had been gouged into my gut. My torso wasn't completely pierced, but the impact was enough to tear away skin and shred internal organs.
The problem was that even though I had smothered it, I couldn't negate the shock entirely.
The parts of my body that had fully braced against the explosion were mostly fine, but there was one direction I couldn't block even with my hands and torso.
The blast had been unleashed forward, in the direction I was facing.
Fortunately, because I had muffled the power, the sewer didn't collapse, but there were victims caught in the released shockwave.
Whether they were reinforcements or not, the infected humans and flesh monsters that had just emerged with guns were vaporized instantly by the blast.
...Well, that worked out.
As blood began to clog my throat like phlegm again, I forced a bitter smile.
"Captain! Are you okay?!"
"Captain!"
Through the ringing in my ears caused by the explosion, I heard my subordinates' voices.
I slowly turned toward the sound coming from behind me.
I saw my subordinates in action. They were doing well.
The sewer was packed with flesh monsters. It was a sight that would make even the Defense Force’s cleanup crews scream and run.
But my former subordinates were diligently doing their jobs.
Shadow spears erupted from all directions, skewering the flesh monsters. The man in the Aloha Shirt leaped onto a monster's head in an instant and ripped it clean off. The man in the Gray Coat reached out and, through some unknown ability, plucked out an enemy's heart without leaving a single scratch. A Black Monster, shrouded in Red Mist that rotted everything nearby, tore through The Enemy lines.
They shouted and ran toward me.
You should have fought like this from the beginning.
Thinking that, I leaned against The Wall with a wry smile.
"Are you alright? How many fingers am I holding up?"
Brantley, who had broken through The Enemy lines following Edward, thrust his hand in front of my face.
"Three."
"How about this?"
"Four and one."
Don't just open both hands at once.
"Consciousness is clear. Please bear with it for a moment."
After a brief check, Brantley pulled something the size of a finger from his pocket. It was a cylindrical object made of bright plastic. There wasn't even a sticker on it to indicate what it was.
Brantley flicked his finger, and the tip of the rod flew off, revealing a sharp metal needle.
"The pain will be intense for a moment, but you'll feel better soon."
My wicked subordinate said this as he lunged at me with the Automatic Injector.
"I don't need it."
I immediately swiped my hand and knocked Brantley’s arm away. Don't try to stick me with some weird needle just because you think it's a good opportunity.
I'll regenerate soon anyway.
That was my thought, but—
"It's natural for you to doubt me, but please trust me this once. The wound is severe. You're in shock right now, so the pain is dull, but once it returns, you won't be able to endure it without painkillers..."
No, I'm already hurting like hell right now.
As you'd know if you ever had your hand and guts blown away, it's not something you can just endure because of adrenaline or whatever. I'm just used to being injured so often.
"Just leave me alone and go kill the enemies. Svetlana and Montague are working hard to hold them back."
As I urged Edward and Brantley on, Edward said something strange.
"Captain Ha-ram. Please trust Brantley just this once."
"Whatever happens, you have to stay alive!"
"If the Captain dies, it will have a major negative impact on the operation. So, please, get treated immediately."
Even Svetlana and Montague, who were busy brawling with the enemies, chimed in with weird comments.
...What's wrong with these guys?
"No, I said I don't need—"
Just as I was about to wave my right hand to tell them to get lost—
"It's okay, Captain. You don't always have to be strong."
Edward grabbed my hand and started rambling.
"We know how strong you are. But this time, trust us..."
Trust you or not, what is this? Are you guys filming a soap opera?
Just as I was about to let out a string of curses—
Flash.
A brief light surged through my body. Simultaneously, small particles of light began to bloom.
As they raced across my form, my flesh slowly began to knit back together.
"..."
"..."
Edward and Brantley, who were staring at me, went silent.
"See? Now go fight, you idiots."
I smacked Brantley on the head with my left hand, which had just grown back and didn't even have fingers yet.
"...I thought... you didn't have a regeneration ability?"
A bewildered voice escaped Brantley.
Only then did I realize the discrepancy that had caused this situation.
Ah, right. It hasn't been that long since I gained this regeneration ability.
But since I got it, I've faced nothing but enemies that were impossible to beat without getting hurt, so I've used it so much that I've grown accustomed to it as if it were an original power.
The problem was that my former subordinates obviously didn't know that.
Back when I was in the Assassination Team, I didn't have this kind of ability.
So, how did my actions look to them?
...Uh, probably like a captain sacrificing himself for his team?
Even to me, the thought was cringeworthy.
"Regeneration or whatever, just go fight."
I swung my leg and kicked Edward in the thigh.
As if finally coming to their senses after being hit, Edward and Brantley charged back into The Enemy ranks.
I rubbed my newly regenerated stomach and leaned against The Wall for a moment.
Idiots, I thought.
* * *
"I'm going to die."
Where does this end?
Even after digging deep into the sewer for a long time, The Enemy’s numerical offensive showed no signs of stopping. It was to the point where I wondered where such a massive army could have come from.
In other words, it meant this place was that important.
But there has to be a limit. Fighting these disgusting enemies in a narrow, filthy, smelly sewer was draining my mental state.
Actually, in terms of time, it hadn't been that long since we entered the sewer. Maybe thirty to forty minutes at most.
However, the density of the combat was so high that it felt like we had been fighting for hours.
On top of that, having powerful explosives that could wreck my body flying at me was truly exhausting. I'd only seen them twice so far, so it wasn't like they were overflowing with them, but the mere existence of bombs grated on my nerves.
It got to the point where I wondered if I should just collapse the whole place myself, buried alive or not, and just get the Assassination Team out of here.
Of course, even if this was The Enemy’s base and I succeeded in crushing it by burying everything, those doctors would just run away again and repeat this nonsense elsewhere, so it wasn't an option.
As I walked grumpily through the sewer during a brief lull in the action, lost in thought—
"Graaaah."
I heard a strange sound and looked down to find a Flesh Monster, with only its head remaining, biting my boot.
"Die."
Pop.
I was already annoyed enough. The moment I kicked The Enemy’s head like a soccer ball, making it explode like a water balloon—
"Captain! Please come quickly!"
I heard Svetlana’s voice from around the corner ahead of me.
What now? Another army?
Scratching my head, I rounded the corner.
In the distance, through an open door, I saw white tiles.
Clean, white tiles that seemed to signal the end of the murky sewer.
Seeing that, I was filled with the joy of finally escaping this place and stepped through the door.
"What is this place?"
I immediately spoke the words that represented my feelings.
A place completely different from what I had imagined unfolded before my eyes.
It was a massive, rectangular, entirely white room. It looked like a sterile research facility, but something completely out of place sat in the center of the room.
A square water basin, similar to those found in fish farms or wastewater treatment plants.
Aside from some dim lighting, the pool was the only thing in the room.
My subordinates, who had entered before me, were staring at the pool as if they had no idea what this place was for either.
"Is this a swimming pool for staff welfare?"
Since I didn't have a clue either, I cracked a joke and looked into the water. Because the water was so clear and transparent, I could see the blue tiles at the bottom of the basin.
...It really does look like a swimming pool.
Why did the enemies fight so hard to keep us from seeing this?
It wasn't a headquarters, a laboratory, or a production base for flesh monsters.
Aside from a few round pipes where water presumably flowed in, there wasn't a single piece of experimental equipment or even anything that looked like surveillance gear in the room.
Just as I was struggling to understand the purpose of this facility—
"Captain. I found something strange here."
Unlike the three idiots staring blankly at the pool, Svetlana, who had been diligently searching the area, called out to me.
I quickly moved to her side.
"What is it?"
"Look at that."
As soon as we exchanged words, I looked at The Wall she was pointing to.
There was definitely something there. It was hard to notice at first glance because it was engraved into the white wall, but after hearing her and looking closely, I could see it.
It looked like some kind of emblem, but it was so large that I couldn't tell what the pattern was from up close.
I moved to the opposite side to get a view of the entire wall's silhouette.
And then, I immediately recognized what was carved there.
"12?"
It was such an ordinary character, contrary to my expectations, that I rubbed my eyes and looked again. I even called Montague over and asked him what he saw.
But no matter how I looked at it, it was the number 12.
An incomprehensible number in an incomprehensible room.
That was all the information we had gained from this place.