Chapter 130: The Blue Roses (５)

****

The Blue Roses had set a trap. Reality distortion readings rising. Anomalous physics readings like tachyon levels rising. Minor but detectable increases in radiation readings as well.

“It’s a kind of phase dimension.”

The line Nanami had drawn.

Beyond it, an anomalous space—something layered over reality—overlapped the physical world. What was inside, I couldn’t tell. But it was a trap set by the Foundation’s enemies, so it couldn’t be anything good.

“Popo. Enter the phase space, check what’s inside, find the caster, and kill them.”

Six Popos vanished into the darkness. I mulled over my next move. How many enemies could be inside that phase space?

All the remaining Blue Roses? I’d rather not. Come to think of it, how many Blue Roses were even left? Six detected?

Someone capable of unfolding a phase space had to be a fairly high-ranking mage, didn’t they? Multiple Blue Roses? Would they have guns? Professional equipment?

Too many unknowns.

I reconsidered my weapon choice. I couldn’t even see the enemy anyway, so carrying the Nigurath-5 was pointless.

There were too many ways to mess with someone inside a phase space. The rifle I’d been using so far—I couldn’t guarantee it would work in there either.

This would be better. I took a shotgun from one of the Popos that had clustered around me. What mattered wasn’t the gun itself—it was the ammunition.

Botulinum dust rounds. A slug round loaded with an extremely potent neurotoxin—even a few nanograms could be lethal.

Barely the size of a thumb, and a single round could kill dozens, hundreds of people… a class of weapon never used in human warfare.

*Click.*

I loaded a tubular magazine of botulinum dust rounds into the shotgun. One round chambered.

“From this point on, I will be using chemical-biological weapons. Take one pralidoxime pill now, and check your gas masks. You have ten seconds.”

Nanami sent a hand signal.

[Wait. Here—]

“I’m entering in ten seconds.”

I stared into the phase space.

How many people were inside? There was no way to know. But once the botulism dust rounds broke open, every living thing in the area would die. At least, every organism that hadn’t received the Foundation’s neurotoxin vaccine.

Ten seconds passed.

I leaned out and fired the dust rounds into the phase space. Two shots, left and right. If there had been anyone somewhere in there, they’d be down by now. I raised my hand and gave the signal.

“Moving in.”

The Popos scattered, as if spooked. I ran forward, muzzle raised.

*BANG!*

I ducked behind a pillar inside the phase space. Sure enough, the moment I entered, the entrance behind me vanished.

The task force operatives were gone too.

“Radio. Do you read? HQ? Nanami?”

No answer. Well. Just as expected.

I wrapped myself in the cloak of invisibility and moved along the walls of the structure as much as possible. The walls bent and curved in strange patterns, but… it would do for now.

A presence.

*BANG!*

If there had been one person in this space, one person was dead. If there had been a thousand, a thousand were dead. I still didn’t know which.

*BANG!*

This time, it wasn’t the heavy report of a shotgun—it was the comparatively sharp crack of a pistol. No suppressor, which suggested the equipment wasn’t top-tier. The sound came from the four o’clock direction.

I couldn’t see the opponent, but the reverse was equally true. Or maybe, being a mage, they could see through the cloak of invisibility? Or was this their phase dimension, giving them full awareness?

I aimed the shotgun toward where the gunshot had come from. This would end it.

*BANG!*

No rounds left. I set the shotgun down, drew the pistol from my waist, and slipped back into the shadows of the corner.

****

Silver reloaded her pistol.

The equipment Silver was carrying was as follows. Shoes that muffled footsteps. A gas mask. A few sticky notes for drawing talismans.

Only one person was trapped in the phase space. It seemed to be Blue Rose-13 herself. She wanted to go over and talk, but… Silver held back the impulse.

Talking would only raise the odds of dying.

Blue Rose-13 was using some kind of invisibility ability. If it were simple transparency, she could have chased her down with magic. No—if transparency were all it was, she could have tracked her by footprints alone.

This was a form of perception interference. The problem wasn’t that it blocked a specific sense—it was that information about Blue Rose-13 was degrading.

“…”

Anyway, she could kill her. Judging by how she was running, her weapon didn’t seem to be anything special, and she didn’t seem able to pinpoint Silver’s position as the owner of the phase space.

*BANG!*

Silver turned her head toward the direction of the gunshot. What kind of gun was that? It wasn’t automatic, judging by the lack of sustained fire.

She couldn’t rule out anything. A pistol, an anomalous weapon, a sniper rifle… The possibilities were endless.

This was combat between anomalous humans. You could be certain of nothing about your opponent—not their senses, not common sense, not anything.

All you could do was leave it to fate and do your best.

Silver aimed her pistol at the faint shadow. Where had Blue Rose-13 gone…

*BANG!*

No real effect.

Silver weighed her next option. She had a few minor artifacts and spells, but anything useful in a firefight…

Fireball? By the time she finished the incantation, her magazine would be empty. A curse? Well, if she were planning to fight for a month or two, that might help.

She was already muffling her footsteps and concealing her form.

Silver drew eyes on a sticky note and pressed it to the wall. Seen through the mind’s eye—ah, maybe sticking it to her forehead would be better. Now she could see.

“O gods of pitch-black darkness, rulers and guides of mankind. Please grant me sight of the unseen…”

Seeing through eyes that weren’t eyes, she could finally make out her opponent’s form.

Director Geum.

A cloak draped over a combat pack, face completely hidden by helmet and gas mask. Black moved carefully, slowly, and aimed her pistol at Director Geum.

This time, she could definitely get her.

*BANG!*

Director Geum clutched her chest. The bullet seemed to have hit, but… the reaction was like being hit by a baseball. Silver’s trembling hands tried to re-align the pistol’s sights.

“There you are.”

*BANG!*

Silver’s gas mask shattered.

****

Ow. My shoulder hurts.

Of course, pistol rounds couldn’t penetrate the Foundation’s ballistic gear. And the equipment I used was tuned with anomaly, too.

But. The kinetic force of a pistol round is about the same as a fighter’s punch, regardless. Pain is pain, no matter the protection level.

That’s not what matters.

Right now, firing a pistol at close range had exposed the enemy’s position. I aimed the shotgun at where the enemy had been. About there.

*BANG!*

Botulinum toxin dust scattered in every direction. I hope they’re really dead this time. For now, I ducked behind a pillar.

Reality began to crack all around.

The phase space was collapsing.

The subway station interior, which had looked relatively intact, reverted to a corroded ruin with rebar and concrete brutally exposed. The faint lights that had glowed from somewhere all vanished, returning to the original pitch-black darkness.

Where are you…

I walked forward, gun leading. A gunshot had come from this direction earlier—whatever it was, was it dead? Or still alive?

As I stepped forward, something caught my foot. I checked the floor. Just as I thought. A person lay sprawled out spread-eagle.

Ugh, that startled me. I reflexively fired the shotgun and blew out the target’s knee. Can’t have them running or resisting.

Subjugation complete, for now.

I stepped back and looked at the body.

The clothes were just plain civilian wear, and in the hand was the pistol that had shot me a few seconds ago. A gas mask covered the face, but for some reason the lens was cracked. That was probably what killed them.

Just moments ago, they’d seemed wrapped in layer upon layer of magic. They’d created phase space, made no sound, and hadn’t been visible until they shot me…

More importantly. I was wearing an invisibility cloak—how did they see me?

They must have had some magical means for that too. A clairvoyance talisman, scribbled like graffiti, was stuck to the front of this person’s face—gas mask.

Does that even make it easier to see ahead?

“Ugh—”

Startled me.

“Blue Rose-13. Is that you?”

I debated whether to answer.

Like the fairy that steals the names of those who break the rules, this being might be able to inflict harm through words alone.

“This cursed blood won’t even let one die easily. I am Blue Rose-4, Silver. If you don’t want to answer, then listen, little sister. We intend to liberate Blue Rose-0.”

“…”

“Do you know what Blue Rose-0 is? Our origin. The monster from the sea, Leviathan, the god bound in chains. The source of miracles and the source of the blue roses. The monster of the Red Sea that Moses parted.”

I didn’t answer, but…

It was an intriguing mention, to be sure. The reassembled monster of the Gulf of Aden. A subject I’d studied since my past life, and come to think of it, a being I’d faced in battle on Jeju Island.