Chapter 42. Leviathan.
Chapter 42. Leviathan.
At the sound of that scream, every soldier tensed, fingers settling on their triggers. The Special Forces Commander muttered under his breath.
"Wh-what in God's name is that sound..."
When the howling of that unidentifiable something finally subsided, the major general approached us and spoke.
"They always came as dusk fell and darkness set in. They'd see the light, seize people, and carry them off somewhere..."
"It will certainly be difficult to run the plant reliably unless every last one of them is wiped out... Still, we are..."
The Special Forces Commander and his men began looking at me with a certain expectation in their eyes. I turned back to the major general and asked,
"When they first discovered you and began taking people, did you stay here, or relocate?"
"We stayed. The outside is overrun with zombies—we had nowhere else to go."
"You said they took people one by one. Why would they leave the rest of you alone?"
"I'd never thought about it before... but now that you mention it..."
"Maybe... they're an entity with intelligence..."
Our party, having already encountered intelligent entities before, was alarmed—and the others were shocked for an entirely different reason.
"Major General, they may be treating this place as a larder. Taking someone only when they're hungry."
"Then let's move to another room, turn on the lights, and call the bastards out. And when they leave, we'll track them with the drone from a distance to find where they're gathering."
Everyone got some sleep, and when morning came we ate, patrolled the perimeter, and waited for the sun to set.
Soon the light began to fade. We gathered in a room some distance from the control room and laid out our plan.
"The drone can fly for about forty minutes, and you can view its live feed on this pad. My men will wait in the next room. The moment we hear a howl, we'll quickly light up the room and return here."
"If the creatures come inside and find no humans, they'll head back. We have to use that window to chase them with the drone."
"We don't know their sensory range—we'll need to keep more distance than you'd think to avoid detection."
About an hour later, that vile howling began echoing toward us again. The Special Forces Commander gave the order immediately.
"Go now. Turn on the lights and get back here."
His man sprinted out, flipped the lights, and returned. All of us held perfectly still, monitoring the situation.
— Crash!!
We heard them smash through the window into the next room. Everyone held their breath. From the creatures came an intermittent sound, like nails scraping across a chalkboard. Then, having confirmed there were no humans, they began flying back outside.
"Now we follow."
We controlled the drone we'd pre-positioned on the rooftop, keeping a wide distance as we trailed them. Everyone crowded around the pad, watching the feed.
"We thought they came from the mountains—surprisingly, they're heading out to sea..."
The creatures entered a sea-cave carved into the cliffside by the waves. The moment we confirmed that, the drone hung motionless.
"Hmm... if we follow them into the cave, they'll detect us for sure."
"The recorded footage will remain. It's worth going in to confirm."
The Special Forces Commander, who had been mulling it over, nodded and ordered his man to proceed inside.
— Bwaaahng!!!
The drone shot forward at high speed, recording the surroundings as it plunged deep into the cave. It never reached the end—the creatures attacked and smashed it to pieces. We gathered again around the pad, slowly replaying the recorded footage.
"As I thought... there are a great many corpses around, what look to be human remains..."
"So you were right. The bastards really were dragging people off and eating them..."
"Sihu, what are you thinking?"
From the moment I'd first seen the creatures, I'd been lost in thought. When Chaeyeon spoke, I muttered aloud without realizing it.
"Gargoyles..."
"Oppa, you know what those things are?"
"Demons' messengers, their servants. Unlike ordinary demon beasts, they're beings the demons create directly."
Everyone except the Special Mission Agents felt their eyes waver at my words.
"Then... are you saying those things...?"
"Yes. I don't know how they crossed over, but at the back of that cave, there is definitely something giving them orders."
The Special Mission Agents, who hadn't understood our conversation from the beginning, were growing increasingly curious. The Special Forces Commander finally addressed me.
"Mr. Sihu, what on earth do you mean, demons? Do you know what that thing is?"
'Should I tell them about Titan...? No, it's still too soon.'
"Just an unusual entity I've seen before. There's probably something at the end commanding them. And their hide is tougher than ordinary flesh—they won't be easy to deal with."
That was when one of the Special Mission Agents offered his own opinion.
"Couldn't we just collapse the entrance with C4 and bury them, instead of going into the cave?"
'Normally, that would be the right call... but any creature capable of commanding gargoyles won't be fazed by the firepower of an explosion. But I can't take these men into a cave flooding with seawater either...'
"We'll do exactly that, then. Any that slip out, we'll handle outside."
"We have illumination flares. We'll set off a barrage of flares some distance from here, and before they return, we'll quickly plant the C4."
Another day passed. When the hour of sunset came again, several of the soldiers took the illumination flares and moved into position to detonate them, while the others fitted blasting caps into the C4 and assembled everything for immediate use. Once all preparations were complete, the Special Forces Commander radioed the order to fire the flares.
— Pop! Popopopom!!!
A blinding flash erupted. The creatures reacted instantly—a staggering number of gargoyles shrieked and flew straight toward the light. In that gap, the remaining soldiers sprinted in, planted the C4, and withdrew. The moment he confirmed the gargoyles had returned into the cave, the Special Forces Commander triggered the detonator.
"Fire in the hole!"
— KUWAAAAAANG!!!
Boulders shattered and the cave collapsed without a trace. In that instant, from the crumbling cave, an absolutely immense roar erupted.
— KRUUUOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!!!
Everyone clamped their hands over their ears. When the sound finally faded, someone spoke up.
"Huh. If dinosaurs ever existed... I wonder if that's what they sounded like."
"Commander, nothing emerged from the cave. We can't confirm, but it appears they were all killed."
To be sure, we made our way down to the beach where the cave was visible. The Special Forces Commander surveyed the scene.
"Nothing remaining, at least for now. There could still be some that were out and will return. We'll hold position here awhile."
'Did the C4 really kill it? Or were only the gargoyles able to cross over?'
At that moment, the sea began to churn. Jet-black clouds swallowed the sky, and thunder started crashing. And simultaneously, I felt mana surging from the collapsed cave. Something was approaching.
— KROYAAAAAAARRR!!!
It was a dragon of utterly unimaginable size, and its eyes were fixed squarely on us. We saw it just as clearly. The Special Forces Commander spoke in utter disbelief.
"Oh... oh my God... what in the world is that...?"
"C-commander... is that a dragon...?"
I once heard that when faced with something a human can never hope to oppose, can never even hope to comprehend—that is when true helplessness sets in. Is that right?
The soldiers couldn't even think to raise their rifles. They just stared at it with eyes brimming with terror. And our party was no different.
"S-Sihu... what the hell is that... how can something be so massive..."
"Y-you... what exactly is that thing?"
"Leviathan... how in the hell are you here..."
Leviathan let out a low, rumbling growl and simply glared down at us.
— Grrrrrr...
At last, the Special Forces Commander—who had managed to collect himself, more or less—screamed at the top of his lungs.
"ALL UNITS, OPEN FIRE!!!"
The Special Mission Agents poured every round they had into it, and Chaeyeon and Jia launched their own attacks too. Leviathan didn't seem to notice in the slightest.
"【 So. You are the humans who have been annoying me... 】"
In an instant, its mana swelled and gathered. It was shaping into a colossal tidal wave, about to crash down on all of us.
— Chaos Swordsmanship: Iai
The gigantic wave was carved apart completely and crumbled, collapsing like a sandcastle. From where he had been watching in concealment, Terion cast Translation Magic upon our party.
"【 Small, frail human... you stir unpleasant memories within me... 】"
"【 Leviathan. How in the world did you cross over to Earth? 】"
"【 How does a human of this dimension speak our tongue? And how do you know me? 】"
The creature regarded me with a flicker of curiosity, slowly beginning to examine me—and then, as if having confirmed something, it reeled back in immense shock.
"【 Your appearance... it hasn't changed at all... The jet-black sword, the black hair and blue eyes... 】"
"【 Leviathan. Answer my question. 】"
"【 Khahahahaha!!! So the vanished 'Calamity' was here all along. 】"
To the Special Mission Agents, it would only sound like the roaring of a dragon. Our party, of course, could now hear the conversation I was exchanging with Leviathan.
"You're... acquainted with a dragon?"
"We know each other, but strictly speaking, we're not on good terms."
"【 Keuheuheu... You foolish, cowardly wretches who have been holding your breath, merely waiting for the 'Calamity' to disappear... The 'Calamity' you so feared was right here!!! 】"