Chapter 150 : Rescue Fantasy (21)?

Chapter 150: Rescue Fantasy (21)

"Carry, are you okay?"

「(☍д⁰)」

Carry, making a teary face, pointed furiously at the unconscious guys with its support arms, as if tattling. Its gesture was like, 'They hit me!'

I consoled it with a gentle pat.

"That's why I took care of them. Calm down."

"Hyun-woo, I should have stepped in sooner. I stayed back since it seemed you had a plan, but..."

Celestia carefully stroked Carry's dented cargo box. Thankfully, the damage wasn't too deep. It looked fixable after a few rounds with a repair kit.

"I told you not to interfere. It seemed related to Captain Edward, that's why I was cautious—but I didn't expect Carry to get hurt."

I shook my head. When I apologized to Carry, it shook its head as if to say it was fine. When I told Carry it could vent its anger all it wanted, it instantly brightened.

「(૭ ᐕ)૭」

With Carry carrying us on its back, its spirits soared. It strutted over to the cornered people who'd had their equipment taken away, and started waving its fists at them, as if mocking, 'Hey, hey. Are you mad? Annoyed? Hey, hey, does this piss you off?'

Right then, as Celestia was recovering their confiscated military gear and showing me the Keter military base mark, the beaten-down soldiers quickly regained consciousness. I'd hoped to check what they had on them while they were out, which was now a missed opportunity.

They went back and forth between looking at Carry—who was waving its fists in their faces—and at me, who watched Carry approvingly. They looked like they were seeing madmen. Their expressions made it clear they had a lot to say, so I cut them off.

"What are you looking at, bastards? I just wanted to get a good look since it's been a while since I've seen normal people."

Without realizing, I raised then lowered my hand. Maybe it was because they had seen firsthand how things got this way; even though I wasn't threatening, they flinched.

At last, it looked like we could have a reasonable conversation. But first, I had to vet their beliefs. Even if they didn't smell of drugs, exposure to the blue crystal ore's wave might have driven them mad.

Switching to my 'intellectual' mode, I clapped my hands together. I didn't forget my manners.

"Well then, we must have plenty of questions for each other, right? I have things to ask, and surely you're curious too."

"......."

"Answer."

Maybe their fighting spirit was broken after a few hits; as I glared at them, they quickly nodded. I was a bit disappointed.

Since they were soldiers, I expected most of them to be like Eric. But maybe because of their bedraggled state, they didn't inspire confidence.

'This could be a problem.'

For now, I pushed those thoughts aside.

"Repeat after me. 'Pureblood supremacist bastards, damn grace, damn tree.'"

"......?"

"What are you waiting for? Not repeating after me?"

As I signaled them to get on with it, a ripple of unease passed among them. They didn't look at me—but at the mist behind me. I saw a flash of fear. They must have gone through something for sure.

It also seemed like they were at their limit. No wonder they couldn't put up a fight against us, who were still relatively fresh.

The woman who'd been stunned by Celestia's smart pistol stepped up as their representative. I no longer smelled that sour stench. There was only a faint sound from her suit.

"I don't know who you are, but any commotion could easily provoke the monster lurking in the mist."

We'd already confirmed signs of the mutant. We hadn't seen what type yet, but judging by her words, it must be one that hides in the mist and attacks. Unless the mist itself has some special gimmick, I figured detection equipment could catch it.

The seed storage chamber had no exit except the door. There were no collapsed ceiling parts either, so if anything had gotten in, it was through the door we'd opened.

"If we take care of that, will you repeat after me?"

"Pardon? Well... It shouldn't be hard..."

"Just do it. If it comes, we'll kill it."

"......."

The woman looked at me, dumbfounded. I could see she briefly regretted getting involved with us. Maybe she figured, with all their equipment gone, she had no choice but to comply. She muttered after me.

"Pu, pureblood supremacist bastards."

"More."

"Damn grace...! Damn tree...!"

"More!"

"Damn sons of bitches—!"

"Good."

Maybe it was because they were soldiers or because they'd been through a lot, but her language was rough. Still, I liked her spirit.

Soon, we finished vetting all the soldiers. I probably came off as crazy, but it couldn't be helped. Not like I cared much.

"It's because those guys are so crazy, so I hope you understand. Let's have a proper conversation now. First, do you know someone called Captain Edward?"

At my question, a soldier sprang up. He looked ready to jump me.

"How do you know about—!"

"Hendrik, sit down."

"But—"

"Sit. Didn't you hear him say he wants to talk?"

It wasn't me who calmed him, but the female soldier. After settling things with her crew, she answered in a subdued voice.

"He's our captain. We came here looking for him."

"I figured as much. I already checked you're from the Keter military base."

I pulled a paper notebook from my belt pouch and handed it over. I'd already digitized what I needed, so there was no reason to keep the original. Besides, we'd met his team before I could retrieve the comms device.

I stepped back to let them have a look. The woman's hands trembled as she opened the notebook, scanning the pages quickly. Soon, a sigh escaped her.

"Captain... So in the end..."

She shared the notebook's contents—that it belonged to Captain Edward and that he was presumed killed during his mission—with the rest of her team. Their eyes grew red. Captain Edward must have been well-respected.

That made sense; according to the records, he'd put the mission before himself to the very end, even in poor health.

After I handed over the notebook, the tension between us disappeared. Or rather, they had no capacity left to care about us.

"... So our mission is a total failure. Just what have we been doing all this time...?"

Hendrik muttered as he lowered his head. The others couldn't bring themselves to speak. Memories of what they'd gone through seemed to flash before their eyes.

"We have to carry on the Captain's—no, the Commander's—will. For the sake of our fallen comrades. If we stop now, it'll all be for nothing."

"In this situation? Look at us—don't look elsewhere, look at now. Even with help from the suits, our bodies can barely move. I don't remember the last time I slept. Even the stimulants are only half as effective. And you want to keep going?"

"Still, I'm going to. You can stay or do whatever you like. You all—we all—did our best. I know, and so do you."

"......."

"That's why. I have to see it through. This isn't our end."

"......."

"The Commander's last message still stands. Nothing's changed. Well, there are things that should change."

Kanna answered calmly. Her attitude left no room for doubt—her mind wouldn't be changed. The other four fell silent. I decided to wait for their emotions to settle.

"Let's have a brief Q&A. We can agree we're not enemies anymore, right? Oh, and I'm Lee Hyun-woo."

"... Call me Kanna."

"Kanna... I'll remember that."

I took in Kanna, the one who stepped forward as their leader. She still wore her helmet, gripping Captain Edward's notebook like treasure. I wasn't sure if the soldiers could answer my questions well.

Still, as long as they were thinking straight, they had no reason to lie. With things this bad, there was nothing left to hide—if we wanted to escape Titan, we had to cooperate.

I decided to ask them how they came here and what they'd experienced. I was curious how—no, why—members of Keter military base had come to the Heaven mining base.

If they'd come after the calamity, it made sense as a suppression team. But if they'd arrived before the disaster, it was odd—as though they'd known something would happen.

"What do the security protocol and reactor chamber have to do with each other? Or—did you know the pureblood supremacists were going to carry out a terrorist attack?"

"That's..."

When Kanna hesitated, Celestia stepped in with some information.

"For reference, we activated the security protocol. After killing the pureblood supremacists at the robot production facility. So we're not entirely unrelated."

"... And who are you?"

"Celestia Myosotis."

"...!"

Even though her family had fallen, the name Myosotis still meant something—her name caused a stir. Comments flew about having seen her face on the news, her insignia being real, or that a Myosotis could never be the enemy. Hostilities seemed unlikely from here.

Celestia put on the same cold expression as when I'd first met her.

"Tell Hyun-woo everything you know. I'll vouch for him with my authority. Oh, and our cute friend here, too."

Celestia pulled Carry, who'd been lurking in the back, forward. Carry let itself be dragged along, feigning reluctance. Even after hearing the name Myosotis, Kanna hesitated, but then finally made up her mind and spoke.

"I recognize Myosotis's authority. But I must say, that authority doesn't allow access to the operations order."

"What? Where were your orders from, then—wait. The Earth government?"

Celestia's brow furrowed at the unexpected answer. The atmosphere grew even colder.

"Can't you even tell us that?"

"It's not that. I was just thinking. Yes—it's true. The orders came down from Earth government."

Kanna seemed to choose her words carefully, then sighed and continued.

"And—sigh... Honestly, what's the point in secrecy now? There's nothing especially sensitive in the operations file. All it says is: Head to the reactor chamber and check its status. That's it."

She said they just followed that order, so she didn't know the details. They'd just been following orders when everything went wrong.

"You obeyed the order without knowing the details?"

"Regrettably, yes."

Kanna nodded gravely, making every effort to answer me truthfully. The operations order simply instructed them to proceed carefully, strengthen security, and have one squad stealthily check the reactor chamber.

There had originally been close to thirty members. It seemed odd, but since the Earth government issued the orders, they followed them without question.

Then, the pureblood supremacist attack struck out of nowhere, simultaneously. Being a heavily armed base, they should've easily handled it—that's what they assumed, so while they were surprised, they weren't panicked.

However, contrary to expectations, external military outposts began falling one by one. There were traitors among their ranks, and that was the problem.

People who had been laughing and chatting together the day before suddenly turned on their comrades and slaughtered them. Some transformed into monsters and continued the massacre. Even those at the Heaven mining base were no exception.

While they fought off the enemy onslaught with security robots, masses of monsters attacked. Captain Edward and the squad scattered at that moment, failing the mission to check the reactor chamber.

It was Kanna herself who regrouped the scattered personnel. Following Captain Edward's traces, she and her teammates entered the hydroponics bay. At some point, a thick mist filled the area, from which invisible monsters that evaded motion sensors began to harass them.

They had been tested to their limits, unable to sleep or recharge. The result was what I saw now.

"As for the connection between the security protocol and the reactor chamber—we don't know much. But the Captain sometimes said that to progress through the phases he'd need to transmit energy remotely."

"Hmm..."

"And now, including me, there are only five left. The rest..."

Kanna trailed off, biting her lip. The others looked equally grieved.

"How did you get through the mist? I mean, why are you even here in the first place?"

One of them asked me, full of curiosity.

'How did we get through?'

We just went through. We didn't really do anything special. We just marched straight ahead. So I told them honestly.

"We just went through. We didn't intend to come here, actually."

"Pardon? What's that supposed to..."

Whether the team was confused or not, Celestia and I exchanged glances. If they were telling the truth, it seemed we did need to go to the reactor chamber. According to Licorice, there were multiple phases to the security protocol.

Since phase one activation had let us fight the pureblood supremacists for a time, it seemed beneficial for us to trigger phase two. That's what the notebook's notes also implied.

As for the Earth government's involvement, I decided to keep that to myself for now. Even the soldiers didn't know all the details.

"Celestia, could you explain things to them? I'd be awkward explaining myself. I'll go check out the mutants hiding in the mist."

"Alright."

Celestia nodded quickly—she was a far better negotiator anyway, and if I spoke, I was worried I'd present speculation as fact. She moved to brief the soldiers with what we'd discovered so far, taking Kanna aside.

While she was talking with Kanna, I called over the four remaining team members.

"Did the mutant that attacked you look like this?"

When I suddenly pulled the Whiteout's head from Carry's cargo box, their eyes filled with shock.

Seeing their horror tinged with anger, I clicked my tongue—so there really was another one.

"H-how did you kill it...?"

A trembling soldier asked. My answer was the same as always. I couldn't be bothered to explain the process.

"We just killed it. Well, I'm not even sure it really died. It suddenly dropped somewhere weird at the end, so we couldn't check the body. Anyway, is this definitely the one?"

"The form is the same, but the color is different. The one that toyed with us had black skin."

So, black. If the white one was called Whiteout, then I figured the black one would be called Blackout or something. It was a simple deduction; their names tended to be direct.

'A pair of mutants with the same appearance.'

Were they twins? Or were there more, like clones?

As I was gathering information on the mutant from the remaining soldiers, Celestia finished her talk with Kanna and returned faster than I expected.

Judging by the look on her face, she was well aware of the situation. Her expression was very complicated.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Will they face the Blackout?

I doubt since the twin buds went with Lobelia.

【(⌐■_■)-︻╦╤─】