Origin (4)

【Kiaaaaak!】【Kieeeeeek!】

The ghouls were running amok. Their sheer numbers were enough to make anyone's knees buckle, filling the approach with their presence.

It looked like a scene straight out of hell. The passage, once bustling with people, no longer existed.

Normally, I would have endlessly poured out resentment, asking why this world had turned into such a hell, why I was even here, and feeling bitterness towards someone I couldn't even name. But watching the ghouls' advance, none of us were particularly shaken.

That was because what we were looking at was camera footage.

Still, the sense of pressure wasn't entirely absent, as evidenced by Licorice's shudder. I could hear the sound of her shaking her head, as if a chill had run down her spine.

- There's a damn lot of them.

- Yeah, there really are.

- But it's less than I expected.

- You just said there were too damn many.

- That's what I mean. There are fewer than I anticipated.

Even as Licorice chided me, she kept her eyes glued to the video feed on the hologram window. Dozens of camera angles tracked the lead object as it traced its route.

- Will Alpha be able to hold out?

- Of course. Alpha's custom-made by me. This much is no problem at all.

Licorice answered Eric's question with certainty. The creatures were currently following Alpha. More precisely, they were madly chasing the blood trail left behind by Alpha, who was carrying a ghoul's corpse.

【Notice. Isolation of the maintenance area approach has been lifted. There are no longer any restrictions on entry or exit.】

【Warning. The purification filter has been removed as requested. The air may become contaminated. Unauthorized use detected in the ventilation system. Security team is being urgently summoned in accordance with procedures.】

【ERROR. No security team is on standby. Alert will be broadcast continuously until security robots arrive.】

【Alert. Contamination purification procedures may be activated. All personnel in the area must evacuate immediately.】

Broadcasts were blaring everywhere as ghouls flooded from all directions. With all nearby isolated areas now open, nothing remained to block the monsters' movement between zones.

Until now, the areas had been unknowingly yet strictly divided by bulkheads, limiting easy movement. Now, that was no longer the case.

- Nadia, are there any ghouls left on your end?

- Doesn't look like it. At least, not in my line of sight.

- What about the tunnel side? Is it a complete mess? All the cameras there are busted, so I have no idea what's going on.

At my question, Nadia hesitated for a moment before answering in a hushed voice, as if she was afraid of being overheard.

- It's quiet. Really quiet. No ghouls have come out from the tunnels.

The broadcast was ringing out across multiple areas, with the mining area being no exception.

Roxy needed the freight shuttle station to be cleared before he could safely land the shuttle, yet things didn't feel right. Perhaps the pureblood supremacists who had been in the tunnels had already dealt with the ghouls.

- There could still be lingering pureblood supremacists. Be careful, Nadia.

If they were there, they surely would have noticed us. With all this chaos, it'd be strange if they hadn't. We had to be prepared for a possible confrontation.

- Yeah, don't worry. Carry's with me, so if things get dicey I'll run right away.

Nadia ended the transmission by saying she was hiding behind the antenna and unless something fell from the sky, she wouldn't be spotted. The static screeching in my ear cut off instantly.

I refocused on the screen. The operation was halfway done. The security robot Alpha was pushing its frame to the limit, leaving tracks behind, only for the ghouls following to erase all signs as they pursued.

The pounding sensation, even though we were only watching through the screen, seemed to reach us. Imagining myself in that spot, my hands broke out in a cold sweat. I swallowed dryly for no reason—the situation was that bad.

Whether or not Alpha could reach its destination would decide the operation's success. It didn't matter if it arrived battered or broken, as long as it reached the goal.

【Sector 3 sealed.】【Sector 7 bulkhead damaged. Reinforcing with additional bulkhead.】【Air pressure detection at sector 13 duct. Emergency closing entrance.】

For this, Licorice silently worked the console without so much as a word. Every time Alpha's mono eye moved, hologram windows blinked in and out, updates and alerts streaming continuously.

To be frank, there wasn't much we could do for now. All we could do was watch quietly and silently cheer. I didn't feel the childish urge to jump in or guilt from remaining idle.

Each of us has our own strengths. If I stepped up and messed things up, it would be a disaster. Besides, it just wasn't the right time yet. The moment Alpha accomplished its mission, then it would be our turn to make a move.

Aside from the gentle tapping of the console, not a sound was heard in the chief engineer's room. The man who owned this room had been at a loss for words ever since seeing what Licorice was capable of—seemingly only now realizing her talent.

Alpha kept a cool head as it ran. Slathered with ghoul fluids, it dodged attacks with its internal sensors and vaulted obstacles. It even jettisoned parts of its armor for better speed.

Ghouls in the freight, maintenance, communications, and mining areas numbered in the hundreds.

There were a lot. So many. And yet, just as Licorice said, it was also surprisingly few. The Heaven mid-sized mining outpost could accommodate tens of thousands. So for only a few hundred ghouls to remain after clearing four areas—it was strange enough to feel unsettling.

Wasn't it a good thing that the number of monsters was low? I couldn't help but wonder if that simply meant there weren't that many we'd have to fight.

But that seemed unlikely. It was just a gut feeling, not based on logic. Some instinctual voice in my mind screamed that these weren't all of them.

【Kiaaaaak!】

A shriek sent chills down my spine. A group must have been passing by the communications area, as their cries pierced the metal walls.

While Alpha was running, supported by Licorice's guidance to avoid a sudden end, the things converging from all directions were being funneled into the trap we had set.

Bulkheads dropped behind them as the ghouls advanced, cutting off their escape. It was a process of bringing together all the stray branches—or like trapping fish in a basket.

The further they chased Alpha, the less possibility of escape. And by the time any of them realized something was wrong, it was already too late. Once you were swept along by the flow, turning back was nearly impossible.

This simple tactic only worked because ghouls still had feelings.

Unaware that their comrades' corpses were being used as bait—or perhaps knowing, and being angered by it;With the noises constantly setting them on edge and the overwhelming scent of blood from the entity taunting them, their murderous intent flared.

Just like humans, carried away by emotion, the monsters lost the reason to consider what came next. The irony was palpable. That the monsters resembled us enough for this plan to work left me conflicted.

Ghouls of all shapes and sizes filled the camera's sight. Some were in the process of mutating, some had completed a second, even more grotesque metamorphosis, and some were amalgamations of multiple creatures. There was not a single normal one among them.

But it didn't matter.

Because Alpha had now reached the end.

- Alpha. Arrived at maintenance area repair platform, the destination.

What awaited them was Alpha, who for the first time turned to face the monsters, ready to self-destruct at any moment, its core overheating as it awaited the signal, and the fuel tanks we'd bought from the store.

Eric clenched his fist. Even the man looked visibly relieved. But I still couldn't shake my anxiety, because Licorice was still controlling Alpha.

Noticing my gaze, Licorice let out a short laugh. Her voice was tense—not with anxiety, but with rising excitement.

- We worked so hard to move that fuel, don't you want to make the most of it?

She had a point, but the situation looked perilous on-screen. Alpha was pulling itself up a tilted lift, while countless ghouls crawled over each other, forming a living tower in desperation to climb.

The huge repair platform rang with the monsters' echoing cries, and soon, the entire sector was crawling with them. When a strange blue light rippled out, the camera started to flicker and go haywire.

The resonance from the blue crystal raw ore was having a negative effect. Alpha, specially coated for this, could last a bit longer, but not by much.

I knew because Alpha, with nowhere left to climb, was finally grabbed by a ghoul and lost one of its arms. Bits of shattered metal bounced in the shaky video feed.

- Uh, shouldn't you blow it now?

- Not yet.

- It's being destroyed!

- Not yet! Just a little longer... a little more... a little more...!

As Alpha emitted shockwaves to desperately push the ghouls away—And then, finally, swept away by the wave of ghouls—

- Now!

At that moment, a flash of red flickered in the blue storm. It was the glare of Alpha's mono eye as its core went into overdrive.

Kwaaaaaang━━!

Right after, an immense wave of flames swept out. The reverberating explosion took out all nearby cameras instantly. Forcefully terminated, the cameras showed no signs of coming back online soon.

The shockwave even reached us up on the upper level of the communications area. The station absorbed much of the shock, so all we felt was a rumble, but even so, it meant the explosion at the repair platform was massive.

- ... Did... did it work?

Nadia cautiously asked over the comm. I could hear her hiccuping, more shaken than us.

- ... Probably?

- Not 'probably', of course it did. What do you take me for?

- Not that your voice sounds very steady.

- T-t-that's just because I'm happy, okay? The joy of success and all.

Licorice hurried to change the subject.

- You all know that fire alone doesn't kill ghouls. You've seen it yourself.

- Yeah.

She was right. The blast just now was powerful, especially with the added energy surge, but it wasn't enough to wipe out hundreds of ghouls at once. The effect was too dispersed.

The explosion of the core didn't concentrate its force in a single spot. Many were damaged at once, but that wouldn't be enough to kill a ghoul. They, after all, could borrow power from the blue crystal for abnormal regeneration.

The special fuel made the fire long-lasting, so the regeneration would be slowed, but that was it. Once the cameras recovered, the evidence was clear.

Despite the blue flames licking around, the ghouls clinging to the blast's epicenter were showing faint movement even after being charred. A few seemed dead, but that was only a small fraction.

With the flames stuck to them holding them back even for a moment, what we had to do now was clear.

- They're impossibly tough, aren't they? But the path is open. We should depart right away.

- Some remaining ghouls are being captured on camera. We're going to have to fight them.

- That much is up to us to handle.

We had to get to the freight area and loot the containers.

As quickly as possible.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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