Mother didn’t say a single word the entire way.Even so, it wasn’t hard to guess what she was thinking.Her face alone was enough to show her emotions.Cold eyes.A twisted brow.Tightly sealed lips.It was sheer hatred—killing intent.Of course it would be.From her perspective, she had essentially just seen the remains of her own child: the helmet and reinforced suit.Even presenting her with Behemoth’s trophy wouldn’t be enough to calm the turmoil inside her.What Mother wanted most right now was to wipe out every enemy in front of her.I wasn’t feeling the same fury as she was…But I felt the same resolve.Because it wasn’t over yet.Whether this operation succeeded would depend on whether we could wipe out every cluster of entities in the East.So—This is where it begins.“Mergen.”“…Yes. I see it.”A massive inferno filled our view.Thick smoke billowed out of it.Mother and I simultaneously donned our gas masks.“This is no joke.”It was horrifying to look at.Not because burning chunks of meat were gruesome—but because the sheer, immeasurable number of entities, piled together like a mountain of trash, endlessly stretched on.It made bile rise in my throat.Had we not possessed white phosphorus…The things that would’ve happened—I didn’t even want to imagine.“Kyle, your visibility will get worse. Be cautious.”“Got it.”Just as Mother said, once we moved in deeper, the smoke interfered with our sight.Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!Tatatang!The faint gunfire told us the situation.The kill zone hasn’t collapsed yet.The fact that gunfire was concentrated in one direction meant their formation was still intact.I narrowed my eyes, trying to track shadows even through the smoke.Hard to do with the gas mask on, but what little I could make out—“…?”“Kyle! Join them immediately—!”—was deviating from expectations.What was happening?Countless entities clung to the exterior walls of high-rise buildings.A revolting sight, like bees covering a hive.But that was only a moment’s thought.Instinctively, I drew Zero and sliced through the air.Kiiiiiiik—!Slash—!A bat.Fresh human blood was still smeared around its mouth.***“UuUURRRGH—!!!”Khan and Eric.From the sight of the two holding the frontline, you could feel the intensity of their struggle.They were fighting what they’d called a “special-type.”It resembled a feline predator—judging from the stripes, some kind of tiger.Its sheer physical strength allowed it to crush reinforced concrete barriers like clay.Ordinary bullets didn’t even make it flinch.But the real problem was its regeneration.Even with buckshot tearing open its gut and its organs spilling out—even with half of its left foreleg hanging by a thread—even with its tail blown clean off—the damn thing kept regenerating.Watching it induce psychological pressure on the defenders.Khan glanced backward for a split second and muttered under his breath:“Morale has collapsed.”“Sir, we can’t drag this out.”“I agree.”With the white phosphorus detonated, victory was certain if the Liberation Brigade held the high ground to the end.But the appearance of these special-types had already opened holes across the defense line.Flaming rat swarms were pouring through those breaches.These monsters carried the virus. If they broke through even once, it was over.“Can you back me up?”“Of course.”Khan focused again.This thing was unlike anything he’d fought before.Faster. Stronger.No—those words weren’t enough.It simply wasn’t something you could think of as the same species as them.Was this the “evolved-type” the Ark’s leader had talked about?If it kept regenerating unless he destroyed its head, he’d have to change tactics—especially if even white phosphorus hadn’t completely burned it.The spot where new flesh is growing… that’s where the white phosphorus hit. It should still be softer than the rest.With that thought, Khan activated his implant.“GhhrrrRRRR…!!”Blood pooled behind the lenses of his gas mask.It proved the implant he’d opened was [Awaken].[Awaken]—a system that links to the nervous system and lets a person surpass human limits for a short time.At a steep price.But Khan hesitated not at all.“KRHAAAAA!!”Using it twice in a row made staying conscious a challenge.He forced out a few broken words:“Just… like… always…”Pssst—!He charged.With overwhelming speed.“Sir! I’ll cover you!”Eric immediately lifted his SMG and cleared surrounding entities.Tatatatatatatatatata—!!!He fired carefully even through the recoil, despite the risk of hitting Khan.The two were accustomed to fighting together.In an instant—Khan’s figure vanished——and he was already in front of the special-type.His tomahawk embedded itself in the creature’s neck.Crunch—!!!The axe head lodged deep against its vertebrae.KwoooOORRRR—!!!It swung its foreleg—a blow that would tear half a man’s torso off.But Khan didn’t show a shred of fear.He ducked, narrowly avoiding the strike—a reaction speed bordering on impossible.The creature attacked wildly with both forelegs, but—KwoooRRR—!!!“Hrgh—!”Khan twisted, bent, and slipped perfectly through the blind spots of every swing.With [Awaken] active, he’d already surpassed the creature’s vision, speed, and strength.He yanked down on the tomahawk—Crack!Its bone snapped.Then he shoved a military shotgun, holstered at his hip, straight into its maw.BOOOOM—!!!It wasn’t a gunshot—more like meat tearing apart.Khan wiped the blood splattered across his gas mask.As soon as the monster fell, the Liberation Brigade soldiers began reforming the line.“Captain! Great work!”Rin had rushed up to assist.But the situation hadn’t improved.With the residential towers turned into kill zones, dozens of buildings had troops spread thin.Eric, Rin, and their units were positioned on the highest frontline floor, so they could coordinate—but…“What about Units 2 and 3?”The problem was—Rudolf and Pieta’s units, spread out across other buildings.“…Several locations have lost communication.”“Damn it…”Khan steadied himself.The losses are too high.The operation had been perfect.So why?Why had it turned into this?War never goes ideally, but—Too many unpredictable variables are emerging from within these clustered entities. It’s not like before.If this had been a battle against humans, it would have ended cleanly.But these were the “entities”—and in numbers they’d never faced before.Maybe this was exactly what Ark tried to warn them about.Only captains could handle special-types.Without the presence of captains in those buildings, the horrors unfolding were beyond what Khan could even picture.Then—Something caught his eye.“…!?”Through the smoke—someone was there.Khan prayed he wasn’t hallucinating.***It was terrible.“…We’ve lost communication.”“I’ll stay here. You all escape at full speed.”“What? Sir?”“The line will collapse soon.”“No—!!!”The deputy commander shouted.The black-haired young man grabbed him by the collar.“Don’t you see that!?”Where he pointed—stood a humanoid entity.Something that should not exist.It wouldn’t die.No matter how many bullets hit it, it devoured soldier after soldier.Even those who survived its attacks turned infected and became enemies.The collapse of the line was inevitable.“I’ll build the defense line myself!!”“I won’t say it again.”“Ghh—!”“It’ll work out somehow.”The black-haired young man muttered bitterly as he raised his rifle.Yung.He was mocking himself.What kind of ‘Mother’s son’ am I…He hated himself—useless in the one moment where it mattered.If only his sister and brother had lived and he had died.None of this would be happening.He wouldn’t be failing like this.“Damn it…”At least it wouldn’t have ended so meaninglessly.“Damn it—!”Why had they made that choice?Yung still didn’t understand.With a furious shout—“DAMNNNNNN IT—!!!”—he activated his implant.One of his eyes glowed blue.“Hup!”A different world unfolded as he charged.He aimed and pulled the trigger—simple motions—but the bullets hit perfectly.Bang! Bang! Bang!Three shots: throat, heart, solar plexus.But—“…!?”The creature ignored it and dashed at him—faster than anything Yung had imagined.Then—“Gah—!”He couldn’t even comprehend what had happened before the pain hit.His body flew backward.CRUNCH!“Ghh—!!”He couldn’t even scream—just groaned as agony tore through his back.Still, Yung looked around.Had his comrades escaped?Had he bought enough time?No.They hadn’t moved.The sheer suddenness of what °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° happened had frozen them in place.“Shit…”So this was it.He wasn’t afraid of dying—he was afraid his siblings’ sacrifice had become meaningless.Tears streamed down his face.The creature lunged again—And he saw something strange.Not scenery—a shadow.“Good. I’m not too late.”Someone’s shadow.Like a mountain stepping between him and death.Yung looked up through his blurred vision—and his mouth fell open.A man.Dressed in a black coat.Holding a long sword.Even with the gas mask covering his face, there was no mistaking him.“The Ark’s… captain.”“Steady yourself.”The man stepped forward—and swung his blade.No wasted movement.Not too fast, not too slow.Yet the result was enough to make Yung feel like screaming inside.Slice. Thud. Roll—Then the Ark's captain said calmly:“Survive, Yung. Live to meet me again.”

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