Rescue Fantasy (17)
"Are you going to chase it?"
"I have to. It looks like it took the remaining biocell material from here."
Celestia reached out a hand as if she wanted to stop , then put it down. I understood her feelings completely.
After all, she realized that the monster who had been laughing until now was beyond that white hand. The last sound before it vanished was exactly the sa as what we'd heard in Utopia.
This thing knew what we wanted. Going along with its wishes was definitely dangerous. But for us—no, for —there was no choice. I desperately needed those biocells.
"Celestia, you can wait here. It won't take long."
I didn't care what kind of new mutant awaited us. Whatever got in my way, I'd just smash it. Whether that was really possible or not didn't matter; that was my mindset.
"That's a bit disappointing, Hyun-woo. I never said I wouldn't follow you."
"It's dangerous."
"When hasn't it been? I am a bit worried that we can't communicate with the Town, but it can't be helped. Just like you're desperate to get biocells, I need the data. I have to find my brother."
Celestia quickly skimd the data in the technology developnt lab but sighed softly, saying she hadn't found what she wanted.
"And we've been invited, haven't we? As the leader, it wouldn't be right for to be scared. I need to accept it willingly."
Celestia, saying morale would drop otherwise, put on a deliberately bold front and took the lead.
'She really is bold, though.'
I vividly rembered the explosion from just minutes ago. Celestia had directly reached her hand into a fuel tank swarming with small mutants.
Even in an ergency, an ordinary person couldn't do that without hesitation. Instinctive fear makes most people freeze.
I fastened the flashlight onto my shoulder and spoke up.
"I'll lead. Celestia, watch my back."
"Alright."
"Carry, let's go. Burn everything in our way. Is the stored fuel enough?"
「ᐠ( ᐕ )ᐟ」
Carry reloaded the flathrower with a click, as if to say yes. Even though the corridor was dark, Carry was ready to light the way with fire anyti, sunglasses at the ready.
We gladly accepted the invitation from this unknown being. No matter what it wanted, we wouldn't just get beaten down.
The space beyond the thick wall was completely covered in creep. Each ti we stepped on it, the creep, sensing the external stimulus, writhed.
The squishy feeling was unpleasant—a shiver ran down my spine.
Fortunately, the corridor wasn't dark. It was quite wide, and although it was covered in creep, the lighting was neatly installed, so here and there, rays of light seeped in.
Maybe thanks to the creep, this place seed largely unaffected by the huge tremors that had shaken the dical sector.
'I don't see any flesh spheres.'
They had filled the ergency exit, so I expected to see them here too, but aside from the writhing creep and us, there were no moving entities.
The bizarre environnt naturally subdued conversation. Not that there was much to say anyway, but it didn't feel good.
Soon, the corridor began to slope downward. We were descending.
Down. Maybe the mid-level of the dical sector where the wards were. Maybe the lower level with the lounge. Or maybe even further down, where supposedly there was nothing.
Celestia glanced around and whispered.
"We've entered the lower level, Hyun-woo."
"How do you know?"
After Titan was sealed off, the tracking system was effectively dead. There were no functioning satellites or ground relays. Usually you'd check your location with an exterior cara or your own eyes, but now, that wasn't possible.
"I calculated it. When we started going down, how steep it was, for how long. Even if it was built according to the plan, you have to account for so error. Factoring that in, I estimated our position. I think I'm about right."
I hesitated, unsure if I should call it simple or amazing, then decided it was amazing. The process might be simple—but I couldn't even do that simple thing. So yes, it was amazing.
"We're continuing to go down from the lower level. There must be a clone incubation room underneath."
"And the mutant that took the biocell material, too."
"... It won't be friendly, will it?"
Celestia asked, her voice assuming it wouldn't be. There was a hint of hope, just in case.
"If it were friendly, it wouldn't have mocked us. It wouldn't have tried to lure us in, either."
Based on the letters carved on the corridor walls, it knew language—not just the shapes, but enough to communicate aning.
If it knows our language, it ans we can talk to it. It would be best if things could be resolved with words, but reality isn't that easy. If everything could be solved by talking, there'd be no such thing as conflict in the world.
"I don't want to keep repeating myself, but if I start acting really weird, just knock out. I may not look it, but my body's pretty sturdy."
"Alright. I'll make it as painless as possible and do it in one shot."
"... Please."
Honestly, I wasn't sure if the mutant's attack actually targeted the mind. Maybe it was just the bizarre environnt affecting , or maybe I really was being ssed with.
Those eyes I glimpsed in Utopia definitely seed detached from reality, though.
Soon, we stepped into the very lowest level beneath the lower floors. The space at the bottom of the dical sector appeared.
There were what looked like hundreds of tanks, just big enough for an adult,
Or maybe they were all broken, spilling their contents everywhere,
Or the complex machinery was so twisted and intertwined it looked like a single mass,
Or the scale was larger than expected,
But none of that caught my eye. Even with the evidence that this was a clone incubation room, I felt nothing.
Because I discovered sothing that dwarfed all the flesh spheres I'd seen until now—a massive lump of flesh.
'Should I even call this a lump?'
'Mountain' would be more fitting than 'lump'.
"So this is the 'big friend'."
"It's really huge... Is that also so kind of mutant? How could sothing get that big...?"
"I bet it ate all the biocells from storage."
Don't make any noise. The big friend might wake up. That warning ca to mind. The monstrous tissue, larger than most buildings, was pulsing rhythmically as if asleep.
This must be why the dical sector had been shaking. The explosion of the fuel tank must have agitated this monster.
"Carry, on guard."
「∠(･`_´･ )」
We carefully scanned our surroundings for the mutant that sent us the invitation. For a mont, I considered speaking loudly to get its attention, but changed my mind.
Agitating the massive tissue now would be a mistake. At least for now, we had no way to fight it. Even a dozen missiles might not take it down.
Right then, familiar words appeared in the air.
「Welco to Heaven.」
I thought I was seeing things, but the hologram device attached to a tank was displaying the ssage. It was originally ant to display a clone's status.
"... Cut the tricks and co out."
Instead of revealing itself, the words on the display changed.
「I want you. Myosotis.」
"... Myosotis?"
Did it an it wanted Celestia? I glanced at her. She was clearly shocked, not at all expecting this.
Her agitation carried over to . I suppressed my confusion. It was imperfect, but since we could communicate, I had to ask questions.
"Why do you need Myosotis?"
「For a happy paradise.」
"What the hell do you an by 'paradise'...?"
「Let's trade.」
A white hand I'd seen in the corridor appeared behind the shards of a shattered glass tank, setting down a storage container full of biocell material with a thud.
Then it pointed at us. It seed to be proposing an exchange: Myosotis for the biocells.
It wasn't just one or two white hands. From behind the few intact glass tanks, they erged as if swaying in the wind, making their presence known.
'This is strange.'
Unless those hands were each attached to biological tissue, the scene before didn't make sense. They seed to be in separate spaces, but looked connected.
Confusion churned inside , but I kept a straight face. Showing agitation would just provoke an unpredictable response.
"I have a few questions. The corpses we saw in Utopia—was that you?"
「Yes.」
"Why? Why didn't they try to communicate with you like we did?"
「To get sothing.」
"Hah, this is driving crazy..."
It felt like I was stuck in a hellish loop. Even though we were talking, there was no progress.
'What is it trying to get? Authority?'
I couldn't think of anything else. The white hands pointed at us again. As Celestia looked at them, she suddenly gasped softly and turned to with trembling eyes. She reached out as if to say sothing, then let her hand fall.
It was only a fleeting action, but her hesitation was deep and obvious. I didn't have ti to care, because another ssage appeared in the hologram, as if urging us.
「I want you. Myosotis.」
The number of white hands increased. In this grotesque scenario, they alternately pointed at the tanks and at us. If I exchanged the biocells for Celestia, she would die. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to keep her alive.
Just hand her over. What matters most right now is the biocells, right? I need to save Nadia. She's more important than Celestia, isn't she?
A dull haze settled over my mind. A sensation like floating underwater clung to my whole body.
Don't overthink it. Just take what we each want and that's enough. As pure beings, there's no need for conflict.
Let's talk about the great Mother together. Her imnse grace is like a vast sea, not enough to enjoy in a lifeti. The concept of 'us' is more important than the individual ''.
Can't you feel it? Our cores are resonating. We already know what to do. I am incomplete. I need your help. Let's advance as 'us'.
Paradise isn't far. Right in front of us is paradise. Heaven, utopia. A pure world made under a vast will. All we need to do is follow that will.
And what is that will?
It is the world itself.
Why do I have to follow it?
Because that is the will of the world.
That's the world's will? Are you sure that world is truly a paradise?
Yes. Paradise is already prepared. All we have to do is maintain our purity, as the will commands. In doing so, we beco immortal.
Who are you?
That doesn't matter. What's important is discarding this false flesh and becoming pure.
But...
Look—you can sense a fragnt of that presence, even without being complete.
Suddenly, my senses expanded. I felt detached from reality. It was like I could hear the crude choir music from the residential area.
And a shadow fell over —a presence so vast it could cover the whole world. As its gaze turned on , it felt like every secret I had was instantly laid bare. Sowhere, a blue light pierced my retina.
I wanted to lift my head and see its true form, but strangely, I couldn't. It felt like my body was being forced into worship.
Kneel and praise at once. The age of purity is at hand. Even with this false shell, there's still ti to repent for my sins.
Sothing invisible pressed down. My mind wavered. Yet, oddly, I didn't feel like kneeling. I struggled to keep my legs from buckling. I couldn't even explain to myself why.
Worship. Defy our will no longer. What you must do is clear.
Suddenly a question ford.
Why am I just listening to this voice? Why am I letting it happen?
Rember why you ca here. There was sothing I needed to get.
That massive presence pressing down on was definitely an object of fear. But that was all. Fear could not suppress all will.
If I was going to give up just because I was scared, I wouldn't have co this far. I forced myself to rember my purpose, over and over.
Just as the haze was beginning to clear—
"Hyun-woo, there's no choice. I'll go."
Celestia's tone was oddly changed as she grabbed my arm and stepped forward. Her touch snapped my dazed mind awake a little.
"... What?"
"I'll go. No, co with ."
"Ah."
I realized imdiately upon looking in Celestia's eyes—she'd fallen for its trick. The pure blue of her eyes had turned muddy.
No wonder sothing felt off. Looking back, at so point I'd started to think there was no choice but to make the exchange. Even though that ant Celestia would die.
On top of that, my hostility toward the mutant had dropped markedly. Normally, the sight of a monster would have filled with violent revulsion.
That could only an that sothing was wrong with this whole space. The sa kind of power as in Utopia was in effect.
The mont I realized this, the sense of euphoria—as if I could do anything—and the urge to praise that lingering presence began to fade.
A mont of weakness wrapped , but then cold reason returned. I realized that this was the mont to keep my promise to Celestia.
"Celestia, I wasn't joking. I'll knock you out in one go."
As Celestia tried to restrain more and more, I raised my hand lightly, and with it, struck her on the back of the neck. She collapsed in my arms like a puppet with its strings cut.
「You refuse the trade?」
"Screw you, you monster. No deals with monsters."
Now it was all or nothing. If this was how things were, it was better to cause chaos than hesitate. At least then, I'd seize the initiative.
I tightly squeezed my eyes shut, opened them, and aid the plasma cutter where I guessed the enemy was. Then I shouted with all my strength.
"Carry! Blow everything! Use every explosive you have!"
「(╯°□°)ຈ҉̛༽̨҉҉ﾉ̨」
On my cue, Carry detonated a cluster of flashbangs all at once. Blinding white light exploded, a roar shook the air—in that mont, the surroundings wavered and the very space started collapsing.
It all vanished. The enormous bio-tissue—more surreal than anything—the white hands wavering before , the insistent hologram—everything was gone.
All of it was false. I didn't know when it started, but...
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, a psychic type mutant is hard to deal with.
「(╯°□°)ຈ҉̛༽̨҉҉ﾉ̨」
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