“What kind of damn work never ends?”
Stacks of documents were piled on Chester’s desk.
Leaning back in his chair, he was puffing on his pipe and exhaling smoke.
Just as he was sitting there looking utterly listless, someone kicked open the door to the director’s office and barged in.
“Goddammit, did you feed knocking to someone’s dog?”
Chester was about to snap, but then he realized something was wrong.
The person who had entered the office was none other than his adjutant.
He was panting, and in one hand he held a loaded firearm.
“Director, armed bastards have crossed the checkpoint and are approaching this way! I called the boys in and they’re holding them off right now, but we’re outgunned!”
“Roughly how many?”
“We’ve confirmed about thirty or so, but either the people in the watchtower were killed or the entrance has been breached.”
“Those sons of bitches, seriously.”
Chester took a firearm from the weapons cabinet and began loading it.
“Have the boys fall back toward the rear. We know the layout inside better, so we’ve got the advantage here. Block the central area tight with cover and don’t let them through, no matter what.”
“Yes, understood.”
Leaving his adjutant behind as he turned to leave, Chester switched on the radio.
“You busy over there? Looks like the kids are playing a little rough. I’d like some help.”
+++
“Huh?”
Was it hard to hear because I was underground?
I was sure I could hear a siren coming from outside.
Bacchus seemed to have noticed something strange as well, and was looking around.
Then our eyes met, and he seemed to become certain.
“It seems something has happened above.”
“I think so too. I’ll have to go up and check.”
“Let us hope nothing serious has occurred.”
To assess the situation, I quickly climbed the stairs, stuck close to a nearby wall, and swiftly crawled up to the ceiling.
As expected, the sound of a siren was echoing throughout the facility.
“Something’s strange. Is that not the siren that went off because I escaped?”
If it wasn’t a siren that had gone off because of my escape, then the possibilities were obvious.
Either some other dangerous entity had escaped, or there was an attack from outside.
If it were the former, there was no way I wouldn’t have sensed a presence, even if I had been underground. And what I could hear right now was the sound of something being piled up.
If an entity had escaped, the agents would have come out to suppress it, not blocked off the path like that. If I had to say, it had to be the latter.
If it was the latter, then it made sense.
I didn’t know the reason, but if the entrance had been breached and they had failed to stop the enemies from intruding, then rather than engaging them as they were, it would be more advantageous to fight while monitoring the situation from inside.
No, but there are really some bold bastards out there attacking a facility like this with guns?
If Unknowns had stormed in, I could at least understand that, but what were they thinking, attacking this facility? How many groups were there that could pull something like this off on the spot?
First, I should return to the isolation room. I’m not too worried about the Wandering Swordsman, but Hugmon is different.
If, just if, Hugmon got caught up in this.
I fully intend to make those bastards pay.
I have never killed a person in this body, and I don’t know what it feels like to kill.
But if they were the ones who laid a hand on Hugmon, I felt like I could kill them without feeling any guilt. Who would say anything about it?
+++
“Why have we stopped?”
“Those bastards blocked the path with cover and are holding out.”
“Explosives?”
“We’re considering it, but we can’t gauge how much the isolation rooms will withstand.”
“Fuck, so those insect bastards are just going to lie down and hold out, is that it?”
“In a stalemate like this, they have the advantage. We need to come up with a method.”
“Call in the bastards waiting on the shore. It’s a stalemate, so let’s shove through fast and end this.”
“They’re going to bitch that this wasn’t the deal.”
“Fuck, then do you want to strap a bomb to yourself and run in? Stop nagging and hurry.”
“Okay, okay!”
After the radio call was made, it wasn’t long before an armed group could be seen approaching the facility.
At a glance, they were equipped with thick bulletproof vests, firearms, and grenades.
Their destination was the inside of the facility.
Countless muzzles were aimed at the facility as they approached.
+++
“Looks like they still can’t get in, right?”
“Yes, and it seems they’re reluctant to use explosives too.”
“As long as we maintain this situation, we win. Hold out just a little longer and the Disposal Team will arrive.”
“Which team is coming? No one would volunteer to come here unless they were insane.”
“You know, the snack.”
“Don’t tell me you mean Team Leader Cracker. He said he’s coming here?”
“He’s on his way. Once the Disposal Team joins us, there won’t be a problem.”
That was what he thought.
Until he heard the words coming through his adjutant’s radio.
“Adjutant, sir, um, that’s…”
“What is it, you bastard? Report properly!”
“Well, an additional group has been confirmed approaching the facility.”
“What?”
Chester snatched the radio from his adjutant.
“Are you sure about that? You’re not seeing things?”
“Yes. We’ve confirmed that a group far better armed than the ones we’ve identified so far is approaching the facility.”
“Fuck. So they were considering the possibility of being blocked from entering from the start.”
“The bastards we’re holding off now are tough enough. If those guys arrive too, defense will be impossible. It’s too late to retreat farther inside, and we can’t do that anyway.”
“We need overwhelmingly strong firepower. But would something like that be here?”
“Would there be? We need to come up with a plan quickly—”
At that moment, something flashed through Chester’s mind.
Overwhelmingly strong firepower. A means so powerful that the difference in strength would be felt. It had to avoid causing serious damage to the facility, and it had to be easy to control.
It wasn’t exactly an option that appealed to him, but Chester already knew this was not the time to be picky.
“Adjutant, release the isolation on Object Name: Scrap Metal Doll.”
“No, fuck. Are you saying you’re going to let that thing loose outside right now? Even if it takes care of those bastards, how exactly are you planning to clean up afterward?”
“Do I have to sit here and say the same thing until my mouth hurts?”
Chester’s expression was more serious than ever.
His adjutant knew that well too, and since he had no better idea than what Chester always said, he had no choice but to follow his opinion.
“Announcing now. Release the isolation on Object Name: Scrap Metal Doll immediately.”
“A-Adjutant, sir? I heard that wrong, right?”
“What, is English your native language or something? You don’t understand Korean?”
“No, but even so, this is a little…”
“Do as you’re told, you bastard! Right now, there’s no way to resolve this situation except that guy! Run, hurry up and run!”
From beyond the radio, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard.
+++
Scattered red liquid.
Lumps of meat wrapped in cloth that had become unrecognizable here and there.
Blazing balls of fire.
Even black smoke giving off an unpleasant stench.
The entrance to the facility in Area 469 was, in a word, gruesome.
The blaring siren mixed with the noise of firearms, stabbing painfully at the ears, and the figures of an unidentified group advancing with gun barrels thrust forward could be seen.
“How many are left, roughly?”
“We’ve definitely killed around twenty. If we include the injured, a bit under fifty, maybe.”
“We’ll have to push harder. This isn’t an advantageous situation. What about outside?”
“They say they’re not picking up anything. There’s no way they’d be here already.”
“That’s a relief, then. But why are those bastards so late?”
“Have you already forgotten? They’re heavily armed. If they were fast too, then what would that make the ones who went in first?”
“Tch. They layered who knows how many sheets of bulletproof material so they wouldn’t get holes blown through them. It’s inconvenient at times like this.”
Just then, the radio sounded.
“What is it? Why?”
“We need support here! Right now, it’s—!”
“What the hell are you talking about? Are you being pushed back?”
“An Unknown escaped, and the boys are getting swept away! When is the support team coming?! Fuck, we’re no match at all! Firearms aren’t working at all!!”
“Ha.”
Something had gone wrong.
The plan was to take out an Unknown, not to set one loose.
Had the facility released it?
No matter how confident they had gotten, there was no way they would have been insane enough to tamper with the locks of an isolation room containing an Unknown. He had never called in bastards that stupid.
“An Unknown was released? I wondered if they would, but did they really let it loose?”
“Bullshit. I need to see it with my own eyes.”
“You’re going in alone? We need to wait for the support team.”
“How long are we supposed to wait around for those snails? You bring them in. I’ll assess the situation and decide whether to pull out or push forward.”
Normally, it was not a good idea.
But if they had chosen to release an Unknown, then they must have selected an entity they could control on their end. They would not have done something like that without any countermeasures.
If they bought time, the support team would deal with it.
“Everyone still alive, gather near the entrance. We’ll group up and take down that Unknown all at once. We’ve delayed too long. It’s about time we hurried.”
Along with the sound of firearms being loaded, he advanced deeper into the facility.
Not knowing what kind of Unknown was waiting inside.
Not knowing just how foolish a thing he had done.
Slowly, he began walking toward death.
+++
“Attention all agents. It has been decided that the isolation on Object Name: Scrap Metal Doll will be released. Scrap Metal Doll is currently advancing toward the entrance through the central area, so all agents nearby are to retreat immediately.”
The news of Scrap Metal Doll’s isolation release was delivered through the radio.
Most of them wore expressions of disbelief, but they soon realized what kind of situation they were in, and no one panicked.
Because they believed that if it was that thing, it could be the way to end this situation.