Origin (7)
Kiiiiing—
The crane installed on the deck was moving. The station's crane looked different from ordinary cranes.
That was because the sizes of incoming shuttles were so varied and even the angles of the armor were all different.
If only shuttles from the transport company directly operated by SSTC were allowed to land, there would be no need for differences, but life's not that simple. Therefore, the cranes here had to handle multiple standards.
Everyone openly knew that the budget set aside for equipnt upgrades ended up slipped into all kinds of pockets. Yet, the cranes turned out to be pretty good quality. That was thanks to squeezing more out of engineers instead of money.
As the crane operated, the deck would rise, and hooks would pop out underneath and form a circle. When the multi-layered rings unfurled at regular intervals, the anchor would be fired. If this failed to be perfectly symtrical with the rings on the other side, the shuttle wouldn't be properly fixed and risked getting damaged.
Naturally, this work wasn't easy. Right now, the job Nadia was doing might have looked like nothing more than simply adjusting, pulling, twisting, and pushing a lever, but that illusion only appeared because she was so skilled.
While checking every corner together with Eric for any ghouls that might have been left behind, I eventually returned on my own after concluding that we could finally catch our breath. Only then did I use the dical supplies I had tucked in my belt bag to do so first aid treatnt.
While I hadn't broken any bones, my suit had been torn in several places, so I sprayed foam to seal the gaps. With a gurgling sound, foamy gel spurted out. It soon solidified with elasticity, resealing the suit to make it functional again.
There were more torn spots than I thought, and before I knew it, I'd used the entire can. No matter how much I shook it, all I heard was the rattling of the empty can. Even though there'd been quite a lot.
After roughly finishing my first aid, I ignored the throbbing pain and looked over at Nadia, who was managing the crane with a concentrated expression.
She was so focused that her lips were pursed, jutting out slightly. Even her soda-milk-fuzzy tail was paused halfway between relaxed and bristling. I wondered if Nadia knew her mouth was on the verge of turning into a duckbill.
"Nadia."
"Oh, Hyun-woo."
Nadia's previously still tail began to sway. She called out to Carry, who was assisting beside the crane, and spoke to .
"This is the last shuttle we need to get rid of. Once this one's out, you can call Roxy."
"Thanks to you, it was quick."
"Ugh... This was so hard. To be honest, the workload was way too much. The shuttle exploded, so there was twice the wreckage to clear out."
Lowering her voice so Carry wouldn't hear, Nadia perked her ears, as if waiting for to praise her efforts. I obliged and complinted her for her hard work.
Just as she'd said, the job was pretty grueling. The debris was too big to simply push away with the crane, and too small to move piece by piece, making it even more labor-intensive.
"I'll brush your tail when we get back."
"You already said you would."
"Then I'll add a scalp massage too."
"... N-no, I'll just take the brushing."
I'd thought she would like it, but at my suggestion, Nadia was briefly flustered, her small lips working as she blushed. It seed the sensation from the scalp massager last ti had left a big impression.
Cheering her on, I waited for the work to be finished. Not long after, when she finally completed the deck cleaning, I radioed Roxy, who was on standby.
"Roxy, you can co down now."
— For , you cleaned so thoroughly! I'm so moved, my friend. Should I bring a housewarming gift?
"I didn't do it for you, you know? Stop talking and get down here. We need to save ti."
I let out a quiet sigh at Roxy's voice, which didn't bother hiding his amusent. I knew why he was laughing, so I wasn't thrilled with the conversation.
With the intention to tease as much as possible, Roxy blithely ignored my wish and continued.
— Can I be honest? What really moved was the flashy explosion show you put on. You're just like , my friend. Hot-blooded people really get along well."
"Don't say that. It really ticks off."
Treating like a dopamine addict—unacceptable. And it wasn't like I was the one who caused the explosion anyway.
— Oh, are you gonna blow sothing up again? If you're gonna play with fire, let join.
"Ah, geez."
As I recoiled with disgust, Roxy chuckled. How could soone laugh in such an infuriating way? My fist clenched automatically.
Despite his playful deanor, Roxy's shuttle was already making its landing attempt on the deck.
The reason Roxy had survived until now must have been entirely due to his piloting skills. Otherwise, he'd have t his end before ever drifting all the way to Titan—by his own hand, no less.
Finally, with a safe landing, Roxy stepped out of his shuttle and whistled as he surveyed the station.
Scorched marks left on the walls like murals, shuttle wreckage embedded in odd places, patches of mysterious flesh that tripped you with every step, and an acrid air strong enough to numb your sense of sll.
Thanks to simultaneous isolation, no additional hordes of ghouls had sward in, so it could have been far worse. The isolation of the maintenance sector hadn't been lifted yet; if it had, we'd have had to forget about cargo and just run for our lives.
Roxy gave a brief review.
"This place is a total ss. I love it. This is just my thing."
"I don't care about your tastes. Also, don't call it a ss. Say 'chaos' instead."
"It ans the sa thing, so why?"
"Nadia doesn't like it."
"Oh, if it's for that reason, fine."
Seeing Nadia pout, Roxy shrugged his shoulders and corrected his words to 'chaos'. At that, Nadia's protruding lips imdiately drew back.
Nadia, who couldn't speak as bluntly as I'd given up on formalities, nonetheless was clear in expressing her emotions.
"Where did everyone else go? Why is it just the two—no, three of us?"
"Where else? They went to the control room to extract the cargo manifest data. We need to know what's here so we can quickly load up what we need."
Eric, Alpha, and the naless man had headed to the control room, which managed the station and warehouse. Ti was tight. We never knew when the seal on the ghouls we'd stashed in the maintenance sector's repair platform would suddenly break and unleash them like a plague.
So our top priority was to grab what we needed and get out before that happened. Looking at Roxy, who was taking in the surroundings as if out for a stroll, I asked,
"More importantly, you don't have anything particular to do right now, so why did you get off?"
"To see if there are any intact shuttles. Or, more precisely, spare parts."
"... Here?"
"Yep, here."
"....."
Nadia and I t eyes for a mont. There were still so shuttles left at the station—specifically, those we hadn't bothered to move because they didn't need to be. Those were the ones that had crash-landed, slamming their heads into a station corner and breaking their backs.
"I don't think the ones over there will function..."
"My friend, usefulness all depends on perspective. What looks like trash with no value to others is a treasure trove to ."
With his flamboyant appearance, Roxy explained that he'd had a lot of experience repairing shuttles himself, so he was pretty good at picking out spare parts.
When I asked why, then, he hadn't helped Kyle during the last shuttle repair, Roxy just shrugged and said, "How could I do anything when my dear sibling left a wreck?"
I felt that was a bit of a stretch. His injuries weren't even severe enough to last a day, and shuttle repairs had gone on for several.
I had plenty to say, but didn't want to waste ti bickering, so I just sighed. When I thought of how Kyle had acted, I realized he probably didn't know what Roxy was capable of.
If Roxy could successfully collect the parts this ti as he said, I decided I'd discreetly pass the word along. New workers were always welco.
"... Then wait a bit and go with Nadia. We've cleared the area, but just to be safe, no solo wandering."
"Can I take that cute friend along too? I need a helper."
"Carry? Fine. The three of you can go together. Just don't do anything too risky."
"When it cos to following my friend's orders, I'm as good as gold."
The words, 'Then why don't you listen to your own sibling?' nearly slipped past my lips but I held them back. Besides, Eric was headed this way now, and for all his talk, Roxy didn't really listen to either. Roxy's behavior always depended on whether he found sothing interesting or not.
"You said no solo action, but the captain is coming alone, you know?"
"Eric's the exception because he can fight."
"How convenient, that rule."
When I sent him a silent glare to pipe down, Roxy mid zipping his lips. As I told Nadia and Carry to take Roxy along, Eric ca close enough for conversation.
"Hyun-woo."
"Eric, were you able to find the data in the control room— ... What's wrong?"
I had to stop mid-sentence. Eric's expression was beyond grim; it was positively twisted.
He wasn't the type to lose control of his face, so if he looked like that, the news had to be really bad.
I couldn't help but worry that maybe they'd found nothing in the control room or there'd been a problem with securing the warehouse containers.
Silently, Eric held out what he was carrying in his hand. It was a bracelet, once worn by soone who had been human.
"There's sothing you need to see."
"... It's not good, is it."
"Unfortunately, yes."
I sighed again. Sohow, each day only seed to add new depths to my sighs.
Knowing Eric wasn't the type to make a fuss needlessly, I accepted the bracelet. When I pressed it, a now-familiar hologram window popped up, showing a recorded ssage.
【Most recent voice and video logs: 2 items. Would you like to review them?】
"... Two?"
Usually, there was only one log. The fact that there were two was already unusual. As always, I pressed the "Yes" button, and imdiately the bracelet activated and cast the hologram around us.
「— Playback Records —
"Run!"
A group of people were sprinting through a dark corridor. The stretching beam of light ahead forced back the oppressive darkness.
Their panting—hyperventilation from panic and the limits of their stamina—sounded as if they could collapse at any mont.
The echo of splashing water surrounded them. Seeing pools on the ground, it seed they were in a subterranean wastewater facility.
The people compulsively turned to look behind them, as if sothing were chasing them.
【Kiaaaaaaak!】
A chilling scream rushed past, faster than the runners themselves, passing them by. The one at the very rear sensed sothing; despair filled his eyes.
He gritted his teeth in a desperate bid to run faster, but that didn't last long. An unnaturally long arm darted in from offscreen, grabbing the man. In an instant, he was pulled out of fra, leaving behind only a bloodcurdling scream.
A sickening crunching sound thumped against my eardrums. The faces of the fleeing survivors darkened rapidly.
As the failing lights flickered madly, glimpses of emblems showed they were mbers of Nexus. The emblems flashed in and out with every strobe.
"We should never have co here! Rika, you bastard!"
"You rotten son of a...! Don't dump all the bla on ! We all agreed to this! I told the truth!"
"If I'd known there was sothing like that, I never would've co! Damn it! We're all gonna die! We're gonna end here in this shithole!"
"Shut up! We can't run forever! We have to kill it! We can't let it reach the communications sector!"
Of the original five, four remained, but they were being swallowed by fear. Instead of working together, they spat their resentnt at one another.
The monster chasing them made hissing, whistling sounds, as if it found their plight amusing—a spectator enjoying a play.
Eventually, one man, unable to withstand the pressure any longer, grabbed a baton sparking with electricity and turned to face the monster.
"I'll kill you, you damned monster! Co on! Let's see what you've got!"
Though he braced himself and turned, in the end, he was as paralyzed by terror as the others—when actually facing the creature, he couldn't swing his weapon even once.
When prey ets its natural predator and can run no further, there can be only one end. The monster, with its freakishly long limbs, slowly opened its maw and swallowed the man whole.
Crunch—crunch-crunch—
Each ti that grotesquely split jaw opened and closed, steaming blood dripped down its chin.
【Heeeeee...】
It didn't seem like the monster chewed people up out of hunger. Strangely, that was just the impression I got.
"Ahhhhhh! Ahhhhhh!"
Seemingly irked by the terrified man's screams, the monster absently swung its arm. So fast it left only afterimages, the blow sent the man flying to slam into the wall, and he never got up again.
One of those left, cursing non-stop, collapsed as if emptied out after losing two comrades in vain. His companion grabbed his arm, urging him to get up and run.
But the man couldn't move anymore. He just coughed up bloody sputum—cough-cough.
"... Just go. I'm done for anyway. Earlier, those pureblood supremacist bastards shot . I tried to hang in there, but now I'm out of strength."
"God damn it..."
The man called Rika spat curses as he saw blood gushing from his companion's wounds like a broken faucet.
"Go, you idiot. Unless you want to die with . If the sll of blood thins, maybe you'll be able to escape."
He mumbled that at least the other should survive long enough to send a distress signal. Picking up the weapon dropped nearby, he aid it at the monster. After a charging sound, a fist-sized blue sphere let off sparks and shot out.
His trembling hands wrecked his aim. The sparks scattered, but not one touched the monster.
Reluctantly, Rika muttered a small apology for his comrade's sacrifice and then started running again.
Between the sounds of running, stifled sobs leaked through. And soon, with a sick snap, the sound fell silent.
As the bracelet's owner moved away, the cara view shifted. The log had started with five people. Now, only one remained.
And before long, as if no one was left, the footage gradually faded to black.
— End of log — 」
One log ended, one remained. When I looked at Eric, he replied with a gaze that I should keep viewing.
「— Playback Records —
The screen shifted. Rika was now forcibly kneeling, restrained by several others ard with guns. They were pureblood supremacists.
It was in the entryway to the communications sector. He'd almost reached his goal, leveraging a comrade's sacrifice, only to fail at the final stretch.
Blood was gushing from his abdon and thigh, his face swollen and battered as if he'd taken a huge beating.
"Why are you doing this?! Why?! We only—!"
He wanted to beg for his life, but before he could finish, one supremacist walked up and put a finger to his lips. A gesture for silence.
"Shhhh— Don't raise your voice. The first blossom is preparing to bloom."
"Blossom? ... You crazy bastards, don't tell you're— that monster—"
As Rika glared furiously at them, SLAM! The supremacist behind him struck him with the butt of his rifle.
Silenced in a single blow, Rika could barely breathe, sprawled on the floor. One supremacist tried to hit him further, but another stopped him—he'd already lost the ability to resist.
"Rejoice. We will not kill you. Circumstances have beco complicated and we're short on hands. You are to receive a blessing."
"What...?"
"We're giving you the chance to beco a pure being. Prove your worth."
"S...stop. Stop...! Please, just stop—kurgh..."
As one supremacist pressed sothing to Rika, his desperate pleas turned to choking as he spewed blackened blood. Despite having been dying a mont ago, he suddenly convulsed with wild spasms.
Whatever was happening inside his body, his skin bulged as if sothing within would burst out at any mont.
The supremacists no longer held him down. They watched the event without a hint of alarm—if anything, they acted with the reverence of people witnessing a sacred ritual.
"The second bud that entered the nest will soon recover from its injuries and begin blooming. Watch carefully so there's no unnecessary commotion before then."
"We've confird another group of survivors nearby. Should we organize a team to eliminate those impurities?"
"No. All available personnel will focus on finding the First Root. That's more important. The ones still here will et a fitting end as impurities anyway."
"Understood."
"When we find the First Root and the buds achieve perfect bloom and bear fruit, we'll have no more business here."
As the seeds sprout and new shoots spring forth, the age of purity will dawn.
"When the ti cos, we'll release the satellite's lockdown and joyfully welco the new era with our brothers on the other satellites."
At these words, the rest of the supremacists chanted in low voices.
"All is the will of the Holy Tree."
They left the now-monstrous, unrecognizable mutant that had been Rika, disappearing offscreen.
By the ti the mutated being, no longer Rika, began rampaging and shrieking grotesquely, the supremacists were all gone.
— End of log — 」
When the second recording finished, I had an even grimr expression than Eric. I had a lot of thoughts, but only one clear feeling.
Fucking pureblood supremacist bastards.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】
User Comments
0 comments from readers