Captain Kim suddenly muttered so.
Right, he must have had some rough idea.
Captain Kim spoke in a low voice.
“…It was music my wife often listened to.”
Prenatal education. And music she often listened to.
Inferring from those two things, there was no longer any room to doubt what being was lurking beyond that corner… but.
“Something is strange.”
Kim Jihu raised a question.
“Until now, rather than imitating their appearance from when they were alive, the Mimics imitated the behavior of the skin they wore.”
“That… was the case.”
“But was not your wife's… pardon me. Was not the skin discovered on the second floor?”
“It was discolored to the point of being hard to recognize, but I could tell. That voice is unmistakably my wife's…!”
“I am not denying that. I merely wished to say that there is something different about it compared to the Mimics until now.”
In other words, the question Kim Jihu raised was this:
The designated entity Sanmo is different from other Mimics. Rather than imitating the skin it wore, it imitates the memories from when it was alive.
‘…Hmm.’
At first glance, it did not seem like very important information.
But the moment I heard those words, a sinister notion came to me unbidden.
‘Perhaps Sanmo… might be maintaining its ego, however faintly.’
Sanmo's origin was different from other Mimics.
Sanmo was a special specimen. It was a gatekeeper guarding the door to the next passage.
And the characteristic of those gatekeepers was…….
‘That entity.’
The massive swarm of dust motes that appeared when we tried to purify the Incubator. An existence we could never have withstood without holy power.
The Incubator had been recreated by that entity.
Probably, even if not exactly the same, Sanmo had most likely suffered a similar fate at the hands of a similar being.
Therefore, unlike other Mimics that reproduced mechanically, Sanmo was a result reflecting the intention of some transcendent being.
If that being had left it to maintain its ego from when it was alive…….
‘No, no. This is too much of a leap.’
I shook off the continuing thoughts.
It was a deduction relying on intuition. The logic was flimsy, and flimsy logic was padded with leaps.
Apart from intuition, it was hardly convincing.
And…….
Because it was too horrifying a story. That it would maintain its human ego even after becoming a monster.
“For now.”
I came to my senses and spoke.
“Let's take down Sanmo. Right now, isn't that the most likely candidate?”
At my words, everyone nodded heavily.
But we were not foolish enough to immediately turn the corner and start spraying gunfire. Our combat strength was scraping rock bottom right now. The grenades were depleted, and the K3 machine gun had been dead for a long time.
‘…That damn gun was working fine until now, so why is it acting up on its own?’
The answer to that was simple. Orc Uncle said as if it were no big deal.
“That is just how this friend is. Rather, it is a wonder it has been fine until now.”
So there was nothing more to say.
When I asked if it could not be fixed, he said it was impossible right now.
In fact, apparently it had broken down several times before; I simply had not known.
They said it had significant heat-dissipation design flaws because it was an old model.
Fortunately, Yu Inha's military gear contained spare parts, so they had been replacing them… but now even those had run out.
“…I wanted to avoid close combat.”
In the end, Orc Uncle grabbed his greatsword.
Yu Inha, who had been the assistant gunner, gripped a sidearm.
Well, of course, Yu Inha had received the same week-long crash training as the rest of us, but…….
‘Even so, he couldn't shoot that well.’
…Just in case, I should not stand in front of Yu Inha.
“Alright, then.”
That was it for weapon allocation.
Next, we needed a plan.
“We cannot rush in blindly. It is eating right now, and it has not noticed us yet.”
I cautiously poked my head out beyond the corner and took in the lobby's structure. Fortunately, this place was not simply a wide, flat expanse.
“Let's make maximum use of the surrounding terrain. The examination room door frames lined up on both sides of the corridor, and the fallen steel medical carts will serve as excellent cover.”
I pointed out each team member's position and issued orders.
“Captain Kim and I will brace in the door frames on both sides and establish a crossfire angle. We do not know what abilities it may be hiding, so for now, we eliminate the biggest visible threat first.”
“Then what about us?”
Owl Bear Elder asked so.
“Elder and Orc Uncle, conceal yourselves behind those carts and close the distance. The moment it flinches from gunfire, push in with the carts as shields and engage in close combat to restrict its vision and mobility. If anything unexpected happens, pull out immediately.”
Our firepower had become extremely weak compared to when we fought the Incubator.
This operation had to be a surprise attack relying on thorough tactical superiority.
Everyone nodded with tense faces.
Silencing our footsteps, we dispersed to our positions like melting into the darkness and debris.
Captain Kim and I leaned our backs against the thick concrete walls of the examination room, exchanging glances.
‘…….’
Captain Kim's eyes had sunk deeply.
But not in a bad sense. His eyes were blazing with unmistakable resolve.
I slowly inhaled and raised my Glock with the slide already racked back.
“Now!”
With my short signal, fierce barrages erupted from both sides of the corner.
Bang-! Ratatatbang-!
Sanmo, thoroughly intoxicated from draining the life force of its kin, had no way to dodge the bullets pouring down in a crossfire from both directions.
Here, Sanmo's movement was astonishing.
Rather than hurriedly escaping the barrage, it covered its belly as much as possible.
As if protecting it from the surrounding barrage.
“Aah…….”
Amidst the ear-splitting gunshots, someone's sigh was heard.
There was no need to even wonder whose sigh it was.
Where my gaze moved unconsciously.
Captain Kim seemed to have lost even the strength to pull the trigger, merely staring at that sight.
Unlike me with my Glock, Captain Kim held a considerable share of the barrage.
An inevitable, slight gap.
‘At this rate…!’
True to its kind, bound entirely by hostility toward humans like other Mimics, it would not miss this gap.
It would charge at us…….
“Kieeeek-!”
With an ear-splitting monstrous shriek, Sanmo's massive frame writhed.
But its next action completely defied our expectations.
A normal Mimic should have gone mad at the scent of blood and charged at us.
However, rather than hurriedly escaping the barrage or blindly counterattacking, Sanmo curled its body up frantically.
Using its massive frame, grotesque arms, and its single massive bio-blade, it completely wrapped around its swollen belly.
Silently bearing the pouring bullets with its broad, tough back.
“Push in!”
Orc Uncle raised his greatsword and charged, pushing the steel cart like a tank.
Owl Bear Elder likewise thrust his shield forward and dug into the flank.
Only then did Sanmo flinch and deliver a defensive counterattack.
Kwaaang-!
The bio-blade brutally struck the cart Orc Uncle was pushing.
With tremendous friction, sparks flew, and the cart crumpled like paper.
But that was not a trajectory of slaughter meant to kill us.
It was closer to a desperate act of defense, swinging threateningly to block any approach toward its own belly.
‘Really, to protect something inside its belly…….’
For a moment, the sinister hypothesis tried to cross my mind again, but I violently shook my head to shake off the thought.
‘Push aside stray thoughts.’
We are in battle.
Right now, any thought other than taking down the monster before my eyes is a luxury.
I cried out, cooling my reason to the extreme.
“Get a hold of yourselves! Rescue comes after we subdue it! Remember why we chose to face Sanmo!”
My shout reverberated thunderously through the narrow lobby.
Only then did focus return to Captain Kim's eyes, which had been blankly frozen.
“…S-subdue. That is right. Subduing it comes first. Just as always…….”
He bit his lip hard and put strength into his trembling hands.
His reason, which had been crushed by a terrible tragedy, began to control the hunter's instinct once more.
I quickly read the battle situation and barked additional orders.
With my orders, the halted barrage spewed fire again.
Ratatatbang-! Bang-!
While Orc Uncle and Owl Bear Elder pressured it from the front, trapping its vision with carts and shields, Captain Kim and I pulled the triggers fiercely.
No matter how tough a special specimen's endurance was, it could not withstand pouring firepower indefinitely while resisting as little as a sandbag.
“Kriiririk… kkeureureuk……!”
Eventually, before long, Sanmo fell.
It had held out longer than other Mimics, but that was all.
Without putting up much resistance, it was taken down just like that.
‘Of course, since it has a resurrection ability, it is not completely over yet, but…….’
I could not shake off this unpleasant feeling.
Just what is in that belly…….