I’ll return it with everything I’ve got.
‘It could be described as an extremely unique characteristic.
There are lifeforms that possess a system intentionally inducing a state of clinical death, but none that conceal biological responses this completely.
It’s what humans would call a fuzzy concept. The Karaf virus-infected entities existed in a state devoid of any biological basis for life.’
‘Goblet, I’m interested in their ecological mechanics, but what I want to know is how to kill them.’
‘Physical destruction. Fire, in particular, would be especially effective.’
Not something we can prepare immediately. Iō’s arsenal consists of a rifle and a handgun, plus only two fragmentation grenades.
‘No more rounds to scatter. This approach won’t work.’
‘Shall we attempt to unlock it alone, Blue Goblet, without waiting for Vime Amultas?
Likely won’t save time, but—’
Then good.
‘Consider temporary withdrawal as an option.’
‘...We don’t have the luxury to wait for a retry. Especially not the Reaper.’
‘Are you certain she’s alive?’
Io snorted. A peculiar question, asked at a peculiar moment. Disgust.
‘Whether she lives or dies, we leave her behind.’
Io ended the exchange with Goblet. Next was Vime.
‘Lieutenant, I know it’s urgent, but something’s stirring inside the cocoon.’
‘Wait a little longer—ten counts.’
Ten seconds. That’s manageable.
The instant he thought it, a single flesh cocoon burst open. A molten arm, dripping, shot out.
He gasped. Even through the green haze, it was unmistakable.
Glistening, melted skin. A malformed, milky-white epidermis clung like vines or creepers, its frayed ends swaying loosely.
—Wait, problem detected—
That’s bad news.
Something writhing within the cocoon, centered on the protruding arm.
Like a ruptured amniotic sac, filth spurted from the hole, splattering the floor with a wet, greasy sound.
It hooked a finger into the rim and ripped the cocoon open. Emerging like a tumble of flesh and bone, it was unmistakably more human than the specimen Io had seen in the control room moments before—more human, and therefore more disturbing.
—(Muscle hypertrophy. Exposed tissue. Loss of skin, body hair. Features intact.)
Io dropped to a crouch, breath held. In the dark, the thing was stirring. He didn’t expect reason to apply. But if it stayed oblivious, that would be the best possible outcome.
The other cocoons trembled violently. Clearly, large hands and feet were breaking through, emerging one after another.
A comfortable bed, wouldn’t it be? Something to stay still for.
— Sergeant, all-clear triggered during bunker control system reboot. Part of emergency evacuation protocol.
Io couldn’t respond. One word from his mouth and it would be noticed.
Bending low to avoid exposure from Little Lady’s screen, shielding it with his body. No choice but to reply via text data.
——Dangerous state. Unlock.
— Sorry, opening now.
Clunk. A heavy sound. Then the hiss of air release. Io clicked his tongue.
Special locking mechanism for critical sectors. Didn’t expect such a loud noise.
— They’ve noticed.
Of course. The slow, deliberate opening of the door was infuriating.
Entering data room! Lieutenant, contact you from this side again! Io, out!
The creatures, writhing from their cocoons, turn their gaze toward the data room.
And toward Io, standing before them.
They surge forward. In unison.
(Goblet, close it)
Io dives into the data room without waiting for safety confirmation.
The door closes slowly, just as it opened. The creatures latch onto it.
Io fires wildly at the Raven, kicks one off. Flesh and bodily fluids scatter.
A limb extends through the door, trapped. The safety mechanism activates—door begins to reopen.
Damn it! Let go!
[System hack. Forced closure]
The monster had been hammered repeatedly against Raven’s rifle stock. Goblet interfered with the door’s interlock, forcing it shut by brute force.
The door closed, crushing flesh and bone. Iou grimaced at its ferocity, stepping back one step, then another.
‘Closure complete. Threat receded.’
‘Trapped.’
‘Initiating nanomachine and auxiliary brain load reduction for prolonged engagement.
Combat support, shutdown.’
Goblet’s words sent a sudden chill through Iou’s skull.
The sticky residue of the monsters clinging to his body. Iou brushed it off several times, snorted through his nose.
‘Troublesome. Contaminated. No thanks, I’m not joining their ranks.’
Well, even so, a playable character getting infected wouldn’t actually end the game.
Wait—no, that kind of game does exist.
Confirmed cocoon in rear. Activation sequence initiated.
"Aah, so that's how it is."
Io swiftly pivots into firing stance. Notices Raven's distorted form.
Overused, apparently. No choice but to draw the sidearm.
Not a data room—more like a server room.
Large processing units and multiple terminals. Still humming with low operational noise, blinking small indicator lights, just after reboot.
Deep within the server room, beside an overturned chair, a flesh cocoon.
As expected, the monster writhes violently inside.
"Odo, za—
Ogaa, zan."
Io freezes mid-fire. The voice—clearly coherent words, unmistakable.
"Awkward question, but did that thing just speak?"
'Blue Goblet agrees.'
The cocoon ruptured. From within spilled a humanoid form utterly unlike the creatures still battering the data room door.
"Odo, ooo, zan."
Coated in mucus, writhing on the floor, it retained a semblance of its former shape.
Hair. Skin. Swelling in places, yet still distinctly human—male or female.
It was a woman. Long hair reaching her shoulders.
To shoot or wait. Io hesitated. Clearly an anomaly.
"Hi, hi, hi—
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"
A shriek that split the ears. The creature, collapsed and curled like a newborn, screamed.
'Special unit.
Analysis inconclusive. Unidentified data burst detected.'
"What's a 'data burst'? Is that even a term?"
Hiiee—. The scream goes on. A shriek so cold it freezes the gut, threatening to collapse the knees.
Bad feeling. Can I shoot, Goblet?
Change in external conditions
Report specifics—requesting detailed input.
Heat source increasing. Moving. Clearly approaching the data room.
Compartment isolation protocol cleared. Shutter open.
—Enemy forces increasing
The thing is calling it forth. Iō grits his teeth against the sensation of his skin bubbling, readjusts his handgun.
——
Io never fired.
The woman rose abruptly and seized the pistol lying on the terminal desk.
He pressed the gun barrel to Shikigami’s head and ended his own life.
Confirmed dead.
It hadn't fully become a monster. Reason remained.
Io crouched beside the woman’s corpse, taking the recognition card clutched at her neck.
‘Merrill Nordren’
‘Interesting. Can we run a check?’
‘Database search. …Match found.
Recorded as deceased ten months ago during a training accident.’
‘Ghost.’
Special unit transfer after staged death. Thorough work.
Little Lady receives a transmission.
‘Io, hey Io! You did something, didn’t you?’
‘Reaper, surprising how fast I’m hearing your voice.’
‘Infection… no, mutation. That’s better.
They’re all moving somewhere at once. Probably the data room.’
‘I have a hunch. But I don’t know how to explain it.’
Another transmission. Vime. Switching to shared comms.
‘Hey Ghost Ops, the shutters we sealed—entirely open now. What the hell?’
‘Control system failure inside the bunker. Lockdown protocols disabled everywhere.’
All of it? Released? Just wide open?
...Wait, cut the jokes! An outbreak’s happening!
I know that already. Trying to reseal the facility again.
Io touched Merrill’s face. Infection risk was irrelevant now.
Closed her wide-open eyes, turned back to the terminal.
(He’s fired up. Goblet, steal the data.)
Starting.
Reaper seemed to regain a degree of composure, responding to Vime’s cold tone.
...Damn it... I get it.
Then, Io— are you really okay?
I’m just annoyed by the damn knocking noise.
Heading there immediately.
Reaper, I told you not to pull that strange self-sacrifice crap.
Is my method unsatisfactory? I’ve stayed calm. I still am.
If you’re so calm, then come over here. Your effort was slightly wasted, but there’s still something you can do.
The words Reaper had just spoken. Outbreak.
This is a terrifying development. It will drastically affect the game’s ending.
(Goblet, is there a way to expel the virus without releasing it?)
It has already reached an impossible stage.
(You’re cold as ever. This is a situation that concerns the fate of humanity, as you feared.)
...No one could have predicted this would happen.
You’re talking like a human now. Remarkable growth. Makes me want to cry.
Checking the map. If Reaper succeeds in sealing that point, it will aid our escape.
At the same time, we can present an escape plan from the data room. A section of an independent duct route is exposed along the main passage. It is destructible.
Reaper, update the map data. Secure the designated checkpoint.
—…So, you're still seeing through everything, huh?
Io slumped into the chair, eyes fixed on the faintly glowing terminal, and returned a dry remark.
If you saw everything coming, this wouldn't have happened.
—Whatever. Once we rendezvous, I’ll tell you…
I need something from you. So hurry up.
……? Good enough, isn't it
The Goblet glides through the field of view, pressing close to Iō.
Data believed to have originated during the bunker's collapse.
Creator, Merrill Norden
—Show me.
――
Io stared into the sea of data for a while. Merrill’s遗留, hastily created, remained unorganized—still at the raw data stage, before it could become information.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes— the jumbled stream of unreadable data failed to penetrate Io’s mind, but that was exactly what she’d hand off to Goblet.
Only one thing, however—the movie file Merrill had left behind with her life on the line— Io understood.
The Raven resting on the terminal desk, likely hers, showed no visible damage. It could serve as a replacement for the one destroyed moments earlier.
Io adjusted her gear, staring at Merrill’s face for a while.
‘Everyone, everyone, fall into hell. My, my, our bodies and souls, burned to ash.
Above all, beyond all, the ghosts of Johnson Maxima.’
‘Data recovery complete. All data, except for recovered and heavily protected files.’
The roar from outside and the pounding at the door intensified. A situation that, if not in a game, would drive anyone mad.
"Lieutenant, status report."
"Reaper just joined me. I'm at your designated checkpoint."
"Io, sporadic variants are attacking. Can't tell where they're coming from.
Can't stay long. Vime said the ducts aren't safe anymore."
"I've ordered the troops waiting outside to monitor the bunker perimeter.
If any variants emerge, they'll eliminate them."
Right. A quiet murmur.
If we believe Goblet, the breakout can't be stopped, but it's a kind of reassurance.
"Goblet, shut down the files. We'll resume later."
"Agent Io. No need to worry.
Given the circumstances, virus exposure was inevitable.
Whether we opened it or not, Weedran would have."
Stop it. Just another monster hunt added to the lizard hunt. I’m fine.
I’m… fine.
What is this mood, anyway.
Io stood up abruptly, kicking the chair away. Glanced at Merrill’s corpse, then launched into the duct.
No hesitation despite the clatter. Full-speed crawl. Reached the point Goblet had designated, curled into a crouch, planted feet against the wall.
Reaper, Vime, exit the duct. Don’t fire.
What? Where the hell are you now…
Holding his ears, he raised the handgun. The duct was made of thin sheet metal. As long as the angle was correct, ricochet risk was minimal.
Gau— the gunshot echoed. Even muffled, his ears felt like they’d burst.
Fired in bursts. Delivered damage. Filled every muscle with force.
A hole spreading open like it’s being torn apart. Expanding steadily, Io finally rolled out into the open.
……What kind of strength does that take? Could you be infected too?
If you’re making jokes like that, then this thing’s useless, right?
Io waved the black cartridge in front of the Reaper.
It resembled the trauma treatment gel cartridge—identical to the one previously used on Sergeant Carlyle.
Left abandoned beside Merrill’s Raven. A stroke of luck, of all things.
He pulled out the tool, pressed it against his own neck. An act meant to demonstrate poison testing.
Medication. Risk of infection. I’ve secured a dose for you too.
…Is that true?
The Reaper suddenly collapsed. What’s wrong? No time to question it—the Goblet spoke.
Injured. Infection confirmed.
Show me.
She managed a weak, flickering smile. Io tugged at her arm.
Laceration on the upper arm. No—bite wound. Discoloration spreading.
"Why didn’t you say anything?"
"What good would it do? Just feed the anxiety, wouldn’t it?
...I’d already asked the Ghost to do it. Told him to kill me if I went mad.
I was counting on you to show up. I’d rather be taken out by you than by him."
"Idiot."
Io swapped the trauma tool’s tip and cartridge, then jammed it into the Reaper without hesitation.
"One more debt added. You have a way to repay it, don’t you?"
"I’ll pay it back with my life if I have to. Relax.
...What’s wrong? Why are you mad?"
Io shoved the Reaper away. Vime watched, shoulders hunched.
"Operation succeeded. We’re getting out.
But... we’ll need to talk about this in depth."
A growl echoed. Close.
Monsters emerged from the depths of darkness. Already tired of this.
—Last moment, really persistent, aren't you?
Didn't quite manage to wrap it up cleanly….