Chapter 37: Deicide (２)

****

Task Force Mistilteinn.

“Target neutralized.”

Another monster fell.

Mistilteinn is a unit founded to kill gods. Naturally, they face the most dangerous missions, the most dangerous enemies… but.

“Is the target dead?”

“Unknown.”

Even they had never seen anything like this. They couldn’t say for certain, but multiple divine entities and their playthings were roaming the town center. What in the world was happening in this city?

****

White fog rippled in every direction, and overhead, a sun of grotesque colors cast an iridescent glow across the dim sky.

That’s an anomalous space for you. Still, at least that disgusting tentacle balloon up in the sky was gone. I reloaded the gun I was holding.

Click, click.

I don’t know why I feel so good. Even though corpses or whatever they were lay scattered all around.

Every time a zombie’s head burst, every time the Wooden Doll got crushed, every time some nameless grotesque humanoid monster fell, I felt happy.

“Hehehe…”

My clothes were soaked in blood from head to toe. With the gas mask on, it probably wasn’t dangerous, but I felt like there was something I was supposed to be doing.

I leaned against the ruins of one of the few remaining buildings.

My head was spinning from the drugs and cognitohazard exposure. What was I doing just now, who am I, where is this?

I wiped the blood off my gas mask goggles.

Let’s calm down first.

I feel like I say that ten times a day. This is probably a temporary thing too.

If I thought a little harder, it might come back to me, but there’s no way I can take off the gas mask and take psychotropic medication here. This place is… well.

A very strange place.

Let me try to remember what I was doing.

I’m an employee of the Foundation. This is some small farming town whose name I can’t recall.

I came here to study the anomalies in this town and rescue people. Judging by the state of the town, it seems I failed.

So then. Where am I, who am I?

I looked down at the things I was holding.

A pistol was holstered at my waist. What looked like an assault rifle was slung on the side of my bag, and a shotgun lay on the ground beside me.

What is this. Am I John Wick?

“Director Geum! Snap out of it!”

A cat appeared in front of me.

And what’s this now, a talking cat of all things. I feel like Alice.

“Hehehe…”

“Director Geum. What’s 25 squared.”

“625.”

“26 squared.”

“676.”

“Keep going.”

“729, 784, 841, 900, 961, 1024.”

Deep breath.

“Feeling calmer now?”

It looked ridiculous, but it actually did calm me down. I closed my eyes for a moment. The cat stared at my face with blue eyes.

After a moment, I nodded.

“Ah… Please speak, Overseer.”

“No, look around you. You killed the Crocodile, and took out dozens of zombies and Wooden Dolls. Remember what you were doing here?”

“I killed all of this?”

“Start by explaining how you took down the lizard monster. What exactly did you do?”

“Ah, yes. The liquid in that test tube was amnestic. Since it couldn’t be dealt with by physical means, I used another method.”

“Why did you bring amnestic with you?”

“We brought quite a few anomalies here this time. I thought it might come in handy.”

The cat narrowed its eyes.

“That’s undiluted amnestic. Never mind that it’s worth billions of won — that’s enough to kill a thousand people. How did you even carry that around?”

Right. I don’t remember clearly, but I feel like I should remember where I found that test tube of amnestic. It’s not like I just picked it up on the way.

“The Head of Research gave it to me— ah!”

That bastard. We’ll see about this when we get back.

****

We gathered our equipment and resumed moving.

The town had been reduced to pulp, but there might still be one or two survivors in the city center.

Or the people who caused this mess, or the place where the fanatics summoned their forgotten god. It’d be worth taking a look.

“Director Geum. Director Geum! Could you explain to me what exactly you’re doing right now?”

Annoying.

“Why are you following me? You should run away, Overseer Petraeus.”

“I’m sorry about earlier. Explain it to me.”

Staying sulky isn’t going to help anything.

“We’re heading to the police station. There should be a bomb shelter or weapons there. If there are survivors, that’s the most likely place they’d be.”

“Um, friendly rescue forces should be coming toward the wrecked armored vehicle. Wouldn’t it be better to hold our position than to run into the city center?”

“Overseer.”

“Yeah.”

I looked at the cat.

“No.”

****

I squinted. All sorts of monsters were running rampant through the city center. Just finding the police station was going to be a struggle. What do I do now?

*Clack.*

The assault rifle spat fire, and the monsters filling the street were mowed down. Though the bizarre vegetation clogging the road didn’t change.

Monster corpses were scattered all over the ground. This time, for some reason, they were humanoid things made of flowers and grass.

Moving to the next point.

“Dr. Geum. Those aren’t ordinary bullets, are they?”

The cat Overseer seemed to have lost his composure, probably because he’d lost control of the situation.

“Special ammunition.”

I inspected the corpse at my feet.

“Anyway, Overseer. We’ve got Wooden Dolls, Librarians, and now Gardeners showing up here. Looks like the troublesome groups are having a meetup.”

“It certainly seems that way.”

“Let’s observe a little longer. Something big seems to be coming…”

The ground shook with the heavy footsteps of something.

Probably a creature from the Garden. A bear—or maybe a monkey—wearing a massive deer skull on its head.

Behind the beast were those flower people. A few seconds later, the deer-head and the flowers attacked a tentacle monster that had been striding down the street.

A baffling sight.

“Dr. Lee. Anything to say?”

[That’s a wendigo. Weakness is fire and silver.]

I don’t know what that is, but if its weaknesses are fire and silver, we can handle it. I brought incendiary grenades and silver bullets in my bag.

An indescribable roar followed. I wonder which side will win.

The tentacle monster wrapped its black tendrils around the deer-head’s arm, but… hmm. It’s hard to describe how they’re fighting.

The tentacle monster was accompanied by some kind of spatial distortion. Judging by the opponent’s reaction, it didn’t seem to be having much effect.

In the end, the deer-head grabbed the bundle of tentacles and tore it apart. Bizarre metallic-glinting dust scattered in every direction.

The deer-head won, but the price was steep. The divine being was bleeding. I threw an incendiary grenade from behind cover.

*BOOM!*

The explosion followed.

I heard something collapse, so it seemed to have worked. Peeking over the wall, flames were engulfing the area around the target.

Reload first. I poked my head over the half-collapsed wall and aimed at the target about 50 meters away.

Still alive.

I emptied the magazine into the deer-head. These are special rounds. Silver-plated bullets with cinnamon or something in them, apparently.

*Thunk.*

Under the hail of bullets, the deer-head’s antlers fell off. The monster wasn’t moving anymore. Should be safe to move now.

I stepped back onto the street.

“Director. Look at that.”

“What is it?”

“That library building is strangely intact.”

The cat was right.

I thought for a moment. If something had a reason to keep a building intact, it was more likely to be a person than a monster. I fixed a bayonet onto my rifle and ran toward the building.

****

The door wasn’t locked.

I advanced slowly into the building, rifle first. There didn’t seem to be any dangerous monsters inside. With any luck, a survivor—

The sound of someone.

I pressed myself against the wall and hid.

“Overseer. Go see what’s ahead.”

“What—”

Christopher did as he was told.

“There are three humans ahead.”

“Ah.”

I checked that the gas mask was properly covering my face, then pulled another grenade from my belt. Not many left now.

“Are you Foundation personnel? Answer me.”

“A Foundation person, are you? We can help y—”

“Are you Foundation personnel?”

“We can help—”

So that person is neither an ordinary survivor of the city nor Foundation staff.

“…”

Dangerous. Not human, most likely a hostile humanoid anomaly.

“Would you gather in front of me? Show me your faces. I want to combine our strength to survive.”

Please fall for it.

There was no answer, but I could hear footsteps. Did they fall for my offer? Are they really gathering out front? What weapons are they holding?

Judging by the footsteps, the three of them would be gathered together. What I had to do was clear. I pulled the pin on the grenade and rolled it into the building.

*Pop, psssssssh.*

Colorless, odorless sarin gas would be spreading through the building. It would take effect in a few seconds.

*Thump.*

The sound of someone collapsing. Success. I raised my rifle and moved forward.