Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Gunfire
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Midnight.
The Bio Vanguard Korean headquarters building shone brilliantly, like a lighthouse that never went out.
M.I.X, the leader of Bio Vanguard, stood on the top floor of that building, gazing up at the sky.
It was a city night sky, shrouded in layers of smog, not a single star in sight.
But M.I.X's face was adorned with countless stars, each one radiating light.
And around those stars, a purple mist caressed their light.
It was as if a darkness like polished obsidian dominated the stars in an infinitely unfolding space.
M.I.X gazed up at the sky, lost in thought.
The universe does not reject humanity.
It simply ignores them.
Earthlings classify the universe solely based on its utility.
Habitable zones and uninhabitable zones.
Zones controlled by enemies and zones controlled by allies.
And zones to be conquered and zones to be protected.
They want to categorize every star strictly as a means to be exploited.
Their greed is endless, and they experience countless failures.
But I love the 'failures' of Earthlings.
Because a being that has experienced many failures is more likely to eventually grow and 'succeed'.
And their success will be a great help in reaching my goal.
Earthlings must exist for a long, long time.
Together with Him.
And they must be used to the fullest.
Their greed has drawn countless alien beings to Earth.
Soon, a grand 'Colosseum' will unfold.
A Colosseum that can be a stepping stone for growth...
Through that Colosseum, I must awaken Him and conquer Earth 'again'.
Therefore, Earth must be managed with a more stable system.
Countless stars twinkled on M.I.X's contemplative face.
Among them, a few giant stars were falling like a meteor shower.
“M.I.X.”
A woman appeared behind M.I.X.
“Yes. Has there been any progress?”
The wind blew.
Kim Cha-yoon's hair began to shimmer silver in the light of the neon signs.
“Finally...”
The lights of the cars passing on the road below glittered in Kim Cha-yoon's eyes.
“The Actrazer MK1 is complete.”
Bio Vanguard, LA Branch.
Brilliant stars shone within Viper's snake-like eyes.
Like a repulsive monster squirming in the dark, he stood on a rock floating in the darkness, lost in thought.
For the peace and safety of humankind, there is a line that humans must absolutely not cross.
That is to leave the unexplored depths of the universe alone.
But human greed was endless.
Now, they were extending their arrogant, dark grasp to conquer even space.
Strange and inadequate beings, destined to die and disappear one day.
For now, I let their nest grow for a greater purpose, but they will eventually become useless.
Human dreams are nothing but a fiction in the empty space of the universe.
I will create the opportunity to become one with the absolute being and enjoy eternal life.
It is the law of nature for the weak to be absorbed by the strong.
Through that Colosseum, I must awaken Him, converge Earth back to zero, and purify it.
M.I.X seems to want coexistence between Him and the Earthlings, but this planet has no need for new life.
A meteor shower poured from Viper's eyes.
Shuuuu-
Behind him, a demonic alien resembling a succubus with its eyes closed appeared.
“A great impact has been dealt to Taumiel b1. It is undoubtedly Park Shin-ju.”
Viper sighed.
“So they finally caused trouble.”
But it was a sigh of relief.
Viper smiled quietly.
“Thankfully, they've caused some very beneficial trouble. He will certainly not stand idly by.”
As if having made a decision, he turned and vanished into the darkness.
He blinked blankly for a moment, as if trying to grasp the situation.
“Ughhh...”
His entire body ached.
Shin-ju barely managed to lift his upper body.
“I promised myself I wouldn't use it again...”
Shin-ju muttered, barely suppressing a wave of nausea and dizziness.
The sphere technique that condenses solar energy.
'Sunshine.'
The technique possesses power comparable to a quasi-nuclear bomb.
He came to his senses and looked around.
The dark, vent-like tunnel had completely collapsed, and among the large and small fragments, the young alien beasts lay bleeding.
A situation that could be considered a declaration of war.
But according to the contract, this wasn't a problem.
It might just displease the Planet Destroyer a little.
Shin-ju couldn't care less about their feelings.
As the tunnel collapsed, a massive cement wall was revealed.
Hexagonal passages were carved into the wall at regular intervals, and a faint light emanated from some of the holes.
Shin-ju looked back.
In the distance, he could see a single room that led to another area.
He believed his companions had escaped safely.
The map was already imprinted in Shin-ju's mind.
Pat, pat.
Shin-ju stood up completely and brushed the powder and dust from his clothes.
Then, he pulled out the Old Book buried in the debris and even wiped the dust from its cover.
And just as he turned to walk away.
Shin-ju slowly raised his head.
Gazing at the faint light spreading from a distant passage, he pondered for a moment.
“Are they victims of biological experiments... or products of them...?”
There was no way of knowing what kind of unknown monsters lurked on this planet.
If they were 'victims,' he had a duty as a police officer to save them, but if they were 'products,' they could be enemies to be defeated.
The line between victim and perpetrator is so thin.
After all, the products of the experiments are victims too.
Shin-ju turned his head again.
This was no time to be distracted.
Finding Furen was the top priority.
If he could just find her, the rest might fall into place naturally.
He moved forward, trusting in Furen.
He arrived in front of a slightly ajar iron door.
This planet has so many doors.
He felt the tension in his cheeks easing slightly.
He had been worried about getting lost, but it seemed he had arrived safely where Furen was.
Feeling a sense of relief, he opened the door and stepped inside.
Dudududu-
From a distance, he heard what sounded like someone in a battle.
“Wait, is that gunfire...?”
Shin-ju instinctively picked up the Old Book.
That sounds like a machine gun...
Who in the world could it be...?
Shin-ju quickly entered the room.
Another hallway-like passage appeared.
Gorororok!!
“Damn it! Something else must have happened.”
Upon hearing the alien beast's shriek, Shin-ju ran down the hallway with the Old Book open, without a moment to assess his surroundings.
“Whoa! Ugh...!”
Shin-ju, who had been running for a while, came to a screeching halt in surprise.
He saw stone fragments tumbling into the void.
When he came to his senses, he saw a sheer cliff stretching out beneath his feet.
A cold sweat ran down Shin-ju's back.
That was a close call.
He sighed in relief and raised his head.
Before his eyes, a vast space enclosed by a giant dome appeared.
A massive structure of unknown purpose stood there.
“Huh...”
As if the top of a pyramid had been sliced off cleanly, a flat, square platform spread across the structure's peak.
And in its center, a cylinder filled with a green liquid glowed.
“Ka... Kai??”
Inside the cylinder, an alien resembling Kai was floating in the liquid, wearing a device like an oxygen mask.
Shin-ju narrowed his eyes.
“Ah, no. The gender is different.”
Hearing the sound of a machine gun again, Shin-ju turned his head.
For a moment, he felt an afterimage of Enri.
Looking closely, he saw a woman with short blue hair next to the cylinder, wearing a pitch-black special suit and goggles, and holding a long rifle as tall as a person.
Her face covered by a mask, she was firing the bizarrely shaped long rifle wildly at the alien beasts climbing up from below.
“Hyaah-!!”
“Kuaaargh!!”
Familiar battle cries and roars could be heard.
To her sides, he could see Sharin and Jekovic in the heat of battle.
Sharin was swinging the Actrazer, slicing through the alien beasts.
Jekovic, with beast-like movements, was tearing at their throats with his teeth.
Behind the cylinder, Katrin could be glimpsed fighting like a ninja with a dagger.
Clank. Clank.
A moment later, the sharp sound of an empty magazine was heard.
Clunk.
The blue-haired woman paid it no mind, dropped the gun to the floor, and spread her hands.
Click! Clack!
Twin pistols sprang into her hands.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-!!
Having secured the highest point, she stretched out both hands and began to fire wildly, like the protagonist of a gun-kata movie.
“That person is...”
Shin-ju instantly realized that the woman was 'Furen Tankobichi'.
Her fighting style was reminiscent of a Predator warrior taking on thousands of aliens alone.
Gorororok-!!
Hundreds of alien beasts were pouring in relentlessly, drooling and crazed.
They seemed incredibly agitated.
He could even sense a desperation in their movements.
Seeing the alien beasts acting differently than usual, Shin-ju quickly opened the Old Book and chanted a spell.
A moment later, wings unfolded from the Old Book.
When Shin-ju stomped his foot, his body soared into the air like a feather.
Once he was close enough, the wings folded back, and Shin-ju began to plummet.
Then, gathering a massive amount of energy, he crashed to the ground like a meteorite.
Dozens of nearby alien beasts were sent flying off the cliff.
“You're late!!”
Sharin's roar erupted from behind Shin-ju.
“Shin-ju!! Please, just fix this with the Old Book!!”
Contrary to his rough, beastly appearance, Jekovic's voice could be heard, almost whimpering as he pleaded.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Shin-ju turned his head to look at the woman performing gun-kata behind him.
“Furen!”
Shin-ju called out to her.
Rat-tat-tat!
“What is it!”
She answered without looking at him, her focus fixed on the battle.
Despite just meeting, she exuded the powerful and dependable aura of a long-time comrade-in-arms.
“I'm a police officer with U.C.I.D....”
“I know!”
Furen shouted, cutting Shin-ju off.
“Introductions later!! Let's deal with this situation first!!”
“Ah, right!”
Shin-ju quickly chanted a spell.
He scanned the book, his eyes darting across the pages.
A moment later, a giant 'eye' appeared above Shin-ju and his group.
White clouds began to seep out from around the eye, then started to rotate like a typhoon.
“What is that...!!”
Sharin and Katrin stared up at the suddenly appeared eye, their jaws agape.
“Alright! There will be a brief inspection!”