Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 021
Chapter Title: Al Kimia Alliance (1)
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Having completely wiped out the goblins, I brushed the dust off my combat uniform and glanced back.
"This is completely blocked off, isn't it?"
The path back to the sewer entrance I'd come through was entirely sealed by collapsed debris.
At that moment, Jeff's voice echoed from the other side.
"Hey!! Butcher!! You there?!"
"Yeah, yeah! I'm here!"
"You take care of all the goblins?!"
"Yeah, for now at least!"
Murmurs rose from beyond the rubble at my words.
"Goblin bastards are a pain in the ass with their numbers, even if they're dumb."
"And he cleared them out this fast..."
"Guess the rumors were true."
Jeff shouted again amid the chatter.
"Path's blocked, so we're gonna have to detour! Meet back at the hideout later!"
"Got it! Sounds good!"
"Watch yourself!"
Another prisoner spoke up in disbelief.
"But shouldn't he be the one watching out, damn it?"
"Who the hell's worrying about who here?"
"It's just a figure of speech, you idiots."
As their footsteps faded, I turned my gaze to the darkness of the sewer.
"Guess I'll just head in then."
I pulled out my communicator and dashed swiftly along the sewer.
Meanwhile, in the command center set up inside a large trailer.
As numerous officers monitored the real-time status of each squad across dozens of screens, Joseph, puffing on his pipe, asked,
"How's the main force doing?"
"Alpha 1 and 2 Teams have deployed to the rendezvous point. 3 and 4 are en route. ETA ten minutes."
"Once 141 clears the chimeras and opens the path, we'll commit the main force in sequence."
"Yes, sir!"
Then one officer reported.
"Captain! Looks like they've hired goblin scavengers! Beyond the chimeras, we've got a bunch of goblins ambushing in the sewers!"
"Within expected parameters."
They'd rushed to formulate the plan and deploy, but there was no guarantee the enemy hadn't detected their movements beforehand.
'They've been on high alert ever since that spy incident.'
And sure enough, the goblins had been set up in defensive positions, waiting.
'...But their resistance is weaker than anticipated.'
Scavengers were annoying, sure, but not exactly tough opponents.
Plus, there were fewer chimeras than expected.
Joseph let out a soft groan.
'What's their angle?'
These guys alone could only buy time at best.
At that moment, another officer approached and whispered to him.
"Captain. We've got a bit of a situation."
"Situation?"
"Well..."
"So this is the place?"
Turning at the unfamiliar voice, there stood an elderly man in a fine suit, leaning on a cane.
Recognizing his face, Joseph shot to his feet.
"Councilor Rockton...!?"
"Ah, you must be Captain Joseph Howard. The one in charge of 141."
The man approached with a friendly smile and extended his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Martin Rockton."
"How did you...?"
Joseph's gaze shifted behind the councilor.
There stood Inspector Lyn Yenitz, who had apparently come with him.
She shook her head helplessly.
"Lately, Parliament's taken a huge interest in the surging success of the Security Stabilization Project. And today's the first major sweep operation at the project level, isn't it?"
Rockton said, eyeing the dozens of monitors.
"So I wanted to see for myself how things are progressing."
'Internal security is a total mess...'
Joseph ground his teeth involuntarily.
The Phase 2 development plan for the 8th Special District was drawing attention, sure—but a classified sweep op leaking all the way to central admin councilors?
'We purged as much as we could.'
Evidently, their ears were still everywhere.
"Ah, no need to worry about me, though."
He gestured to a plush purple chair that had appeared out of nowhere.
"I'm just here to observe. You all carry on as usual."
"...Understood, sir."
"Good. Carry on then."
As the man turned and settled into the corner chair, Joseph swallowed a sigh.
It felt like sitting on pins and needles.
"Sorry."
Yenitz whispered as she approached.
"No need to apologize."
A councilor showing up out of the blue demanding a tour—what could she do?
And he wasn't just any councilor.
Martin Rockton was a political heavyweight who practically dominated the city council.
A mere inspector like Lyn Yenitz had no authority to refuse.
Just then, a monitoring officer shouted.
"Captain...! We've got a problem!"
"Problem?"
"Yes! Putting it on the main screen!"
The feed that appeared made Joseph and the officers' faces harden.
"That's...!"
[Aaaah!]
[S-save...!]
[Fall back! Don't let them get close!]
Filling the main monitor were grotesque masses of flesh.
They splintered into smaller pieces, latching onto resisting prisoners' faces, burrowing wildly into their eyes, noses, and mouths.
[Gack...! Guhgh!]
Councilor Rockton, seeing it, asked,
"What are those hideous things?"
"...If I'm right."
Yenitz swallowed hard despite herself.
"Those are parasitic chimeras."
"Parasitic chimeras...?"
"Yes. They parasitize living hosts, turning them into vessels. The resulting parasites... soon mutate into placentas gestating new flesh masses. And those new ones... spread further."
"...By infecting new hosts."
"Exactly."
Their reproductive rate was insane—one slip, and they'd swallow a whole neighborhood in the blink of an eye.
Joseph's face twisted involuntarily.
'Those damn alchemists...!'
Who would've thought their hidden card was something as taboo as parasitic chimeras.
Even for him, this was an unforeseen variable.
Releasing those into a city sewer? Pure madness.
'They're completely unhinged...!'
He shouted,
"Order the fire brigade to seal off Sector 7 sewers immediately!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"Captain! The squads...!"
Current forces couldn't punch through those parasites.
They needed heavy flamethrowers for that.
[Kee, keereek!!]
[W-why us too...!]
[N-nooo!]
The mindless flesh masses were infinitely multiplying, using the sewer's goblin hordes as hosts.
'They hired the goblin scavengers just to feed them...!'
That was the plan from the start.
Then red lights began flashing across the command center.
The officers cried out one by one.
"Captain...! 5th Squad's not responding...!"
"7th Squad presumed wiped out...!"
"6th Squad requesting retreat!"
Councilor Rockton, watching the crisis unfold, asked,
"Hmm. So what happens to the op now? Can you push forward?"
"......"
Joseph ground his teeth.
To stop the parasitic chimeras, they needed to find and kill the alchemist responsible.
But the suspected culprit—Al Kimia Alliance executive Victor Menshoff—was holed up in the underground hideout beyond the parasites.
'Without a strong fire mage, this is...!'
A thought flashed through his mind, widening his eyes.
'They know Alpha Team lacks a fire mage of that caliber...?'
Someone on the force sold intel?
Gritting his teeth, he quietly called to Yenitz.
"Inspector."
"...! Yes, Captain."
Joseph whispered to her,
"We'll commit the main force to contain the spread as best we can. Before it spirals, call in the Investigation Bureau's special forces...!"
That was when it happened.
"C-Captain!"
"What?!"
"Prisoner 43471...!"
The officer reported with a stunned face.
"He's breaking through the front line alone!"
"!!"
Through those parasites?
In disbelief, Joseph shouted,
"Pull up his body cam on the main screen!"
"What the hell are these things?"
I unleashed Baal's Minor Curse repeatedly as I sprinted through the sewers.
Innumerable flesh masses pursued me like a tidal wave.
I quickly fired off Bolt Pulse at them.
A massive surge of lightning exploded the flesh masses—but that was it.
"No end to them!"
I slammed Internal Force Fist Punch into the next wave.
BOOOOM-!!
A ferocious shockwave blasted a path through them.
But that was the limit.
Internal Force Fist Punch did zero effective damage to the clay-like flesh.
All it could do was shove them back with the blast.
Even when splattered against walls, the chunks reformed good as new.
'Lightning magic hurts them at least...'
But it wasn't all that effective either.
Still, I was fine for now.
'There's gotta be a guy making these things.'
Probably Al Kimia Alliance exec Victor Menshoff.
Same deal as the last chimera incident.
These wouldn't stop until I smashed the alchemist behind them.
'Just gotta find that bastard.'
And Internal Force Fist Punch plus Bolt Pulse were enough to keep the path open.
BOOOOM-!!
After blasting through with fierce lightning for a while, I arrived in a massive cavern that hardly seemed like a sewer.
"This place..."
Unlike the paths before, pristine white walls gleamed spotlessly.
A lavish crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the chamber brightly.
Then, sharp clapping echoed from above, reverberating through the space.
Clap, clap, clap.
"Hahaha! Impressive. Truly impressive!"
Looking up, midway up the high ceiling on a railing stood several robed figures.
At their center, a young man in a pure white robe was applauding.
Recognizing his face, my eyes widened.
'Victor Menshoff...!'
He matched the photos exactly, gazing down at me.
Menshoff spoke in astonishment.
"I wouldn't have believed it, but you broke through those parasites with lightning magic. Excellent. And what was that bizarre shockwave? An implant?"
'Bizarre shockwave?'
Probably referring to Internal Force Fist Punch.
"Ah, I see. So you're the one. The bastard who killed my men in the 12th District housing complex and ruined our operation."
"You're Victor Menshoff?"
"Tch. You even know my name. Should've recovered that damn woman's neural data chip somehow. What a shame."
Menshoff smirked, licking his lips at me.
"I'd love to capture you alive for my experiments, but..."
"Director."
A robed figure beside him spoke.
"Time to prepare..."
"Right. Indeed."
Menshoff chuckled.
"Too fine a specimen to waste on a police dog. But since you've come this far, I'll give you a special peek."
As he snapped his fingers lightly,
A torrent of flesh masses poured from cracks in the ceiling.
They merged and swelled into a colossal something, forcing me to pinch my nose.
'What the hell's that smell.'
Worst part by far.
'Why do alchemists all have such trash taste?'
Menshoff curled his lip as the amalgam grew to engulf the chamber.
"Struggle all you want. Even a skilled mage can't take that down with lightning alone."
He snickered and turned away.
"Blame yourself for lacking fire magic."
The alchemists joined in mocking laughter.
They knew dual-element mages were rare as hell.
I muttered,
"Fire magic, huh..."
"Hm?"
"Was hoping to save it, but no choice now."
A guttural roar echoed simultaneously.
"GRRROOOOAAAHHH-!!"
As the massive parasite tsunami bore down on me,
The alchemists' eyes bulged.
"What...?!"
A sudden crimson blaze erupted, a scorching gale whipping past them.
"!!"
As stunned Menshoff whipped back around,
A colossal pillar of fire erupted in explosion, devouring the parasites instantly.
BOOOOOM-!!
"!!"
[Kieeeek-!!]
Flames leaped rapidly through the screeching, incinerating flesh masses.
At the epicenter swirled unmistakable fire mana.
"Impossible...!"
Menshoff's pupils trembled as the colossal parasite crumbled in seconds.
"Dual elements...!?"
"That's right."
I curled my lip at the shocked bastard.
"Who said I couldn't use fire magic?"
"!!"