Gravity Fluctuation (8)
"......!"
The bewilderment of my body suddenly floating, against my will, was brief. There was an even greater shock that struck my mind harder than simply the sensation of being weightless as if in space.
A gigantic hole had taken the place of where the tesseract-shaped terraforming device had been. Darkness so deep that I couldn't begin to guess its depth filled my entire vision. Shot up in an instant, the darkness felt even more intense.
"...... Grab onto something! If we fall from this height, we could get hurt!"
"Yes!"
Honestly, it would have been fine even if I hadn't shouted. The soldiers were already moving in a systematic manner.
They must have trained for situations like this, for they calmly unfastened wires from their combat suits and anchored them to the wall. With a clicking sound, our bodies—which had been endlessly rising—came to an abrupt stop.
Only Carry and Nadia, who was riding on top of him, seemed free from the ticklish sensation of buoyancy at the abdomen.
Carry, being new to such an environment, was momentarily at a loss as to how much thrust to apply, but quickly figured it out. His flight, which had been wavering as if intoxicated, soon stabilized.
"Hyun-woo, catch me!"
The two of them flew to me as I clung to a protruding structure on the wall. With Nadia's help, I managed to plant my feet on the ground. I was about to help Celestia next, but a base broadcast came first.
「Warning. Gravity abnormality has been resolved. Prepare for sudden drop.」
"Huh?"
Patiently waiting her turn, Celestia was pulled down by gravity and fell swiftly. Thanks to a safety wire, she didn't hit the ground but instead dangled midair.
Completely unfazed, Celestia called to me and gestured.
"Hyun-woo, could you catch me?"
"Um? It's safer to wait for Nadia to come around. She's already circling."
"But then Nadia will get tired. It's not that high, so it won't be dangerous if you catch me. That is, if you're okay with it."
In truth, we didn't have much time. Every second we saved could be spent dealing with emergencies later.
"Alright. Release the hook when you're ready."
Standing with my arms slightly open, letting her know I was ready to catch her at any time, Celestia immediately released her safety hook. As soon as the wire was snapped up, she fell toward me.
Thud. I caught her steadily, and she smiled faintly in my arms.
"See? I told you it's not dangerous."
"It's just that I caught you well. Otherwise—"
"You mean, I'm heavy?"
Celestia, still smiling, interrupted what I was about to say. She was smiling, but wasn't really smiling. I could tell it wasn't the right answer to just nod or equivocate.
I did my best to speak naturally.
"It could have been dangerous. Gravity could suddenly fluctuate again."
"Ah, I misunderstood. Sorry about that."
Even though the situation had been handled well, Celestia didn't seem eager to let go. She only reluctantly stepped down after Nadia had helped everyone else and come to us.
Alpha series took care of the soldiers. Some managed to descend on their own without Carry or Nadia's assistance; those were Kanna and Eric, who climbed down the wall, each utilizing their agility and strength.
After the commotion subsided and we regrouped, we focused our attention on the spot where the gaping hole had caused such shock.
"There was a reason why the creep here was especially thick. With the repeated gravity anomalies, they probably thickened it to keep from falling."
"But even then, the creep itself is viscous enough that this level of gravity abnormality shouldn't have affected it much, right?"
"That might be because the gravity fluctuations used to be much stronger. If you look here, there are traces that the entire facility was lifted. It means this securely anchored facility almost got torn apart. And these signs are everywhere."
While everyone was sharing their opinions, I stared at the creep, especially the thickened part, or rather, the hole beyond it.
'What on earth could it be?'
The absence of security robots or power loaders could be explained by assuming the pureblood supremacists had commandeered them for their use. When they overran the town and later confronted us at the refinery, they utilized military equipment.
The lack of any corpses could be explained by the creep consuming them as nutrients—it devoured even the bodies of fellow mutants.
But this hole, I simply couldn't deduce. What was it? A shaft dug by excavators? Or a massive burrow carved out by some mutant lamprey?
Either way, it was dangerous, and one thing was certain. The moment I saw it, my instincts warned me: investigating any further would be dangerous.
Just then, Kanna approached, loading her weapon, and asked,
"Are you planning to go in?"
"No. We're not here to investigate."
"I agree."
Kanna nodded with approval. I glanced at the hole once more, then turned around. It's good to gather info about unknown threats, but it only matters if we survive.
There was nothing we could do about the hole right now, so it was best to ignore it. Just in case, Kanna placed a detector in front of the hole to immediately alert us to any anomalies.
"It's safe to assume the terraforming device has been destroyed, right?"
"That's odd. If it were completely destroyed, we wouldn't be experiencing only these brief gravity anomalies."
While preparing the soldiers to move to the next location, Kanna continued.
"There's a chance parts of the device are still functional. The core components' signals are missing, so it's not intact, but we can assume some fragments are still working."
Kanna explained that peculiar waves detected from the base served as indirect evidence that the terraforming device was still partially functional.
And Griffin relayed information that gravity anomalies had been detected from the Sea of Tranquility. Gravity fluctuations were appearing randomly across sectors.
Though it looked as if something was moving, the occurrences were so scattered and far apart that it seemed unlikely.
"At least, that's somewhat reassuring for now."
"We'd better hurry."
I never thought there would be nothing here; it was a military base, after all.
A place packed with armed soldiers and security robots, stocked with new weapons as a top priority—if a place like that fell, there must have been a reason.
With new mutants like the Cramper and Spitter appearing, it all but confirmed the presence of something even more dangerous.
'Most likely, a bud.'
Special mutant strains each with unusually dangerous abilities. I had faced their power firsthand.
There was the Blue Eye, which caused plasma repulsion and had an exoskeleton nigh impervious to most attacks, and could fire a single shot of blue heat ray that melted anything,
The mutant with barrier tech whose head I severed before it even got a name, the Twins, Whiteout and Blackout, with psionic powers that manipulated minds.
Not a single one was easy to handle. You could never let your guard down around them—blink and you'd be dead.
With little else to learn here, we decided to go up through a vertical shaft inside the icicle.
Perhaps for security, there was only one elevator between sectors, but it was big enough for the whole group. It was probably designed to move large equipment as well.
"Power supply within the base is stable. It doesn't seem the whole base has been corrupted by creep."
"That's good news—no, maybe it's bad. If the power is stable, that means the defenses are, too."
"Always think positive, Hyun-woo. Maybe WE can use the defenses."
"You've got a point."
I looked around the elevator. Given how much time had passed and the speed at which creep spreads, both the base and the icicle should have been completely covered by now.
But other than the area with the old terraforming device, there was no creep. No lampreys lived within, of course. There must be a reason for this, though we couldn't know it now.
Everyone boarded the elevator. We could have climbed the ladder in the shaft, but that would take too long, and no one could tell when gravity would spike again. The safest bet was to take the elevator.
This wasn't just a normal lift; it was built to be very durable, and could even anchor itself inside the shaft in an emergency.
Soon, the elevator began to rise smoothly. Everyone went quiet—a combination of tension and the heavy atmosphere of the military base pressing down on us. I held my tongue as well.
But not for long. The smoothly ascending elevator suddenly jolted as if caught on something.
Thunk—thud......
The elevator wanted to go up, but something grabbed it, making it shudder.
Under the flickering, unstable lights, the soldiers gripped their triggers, rifles aimed at the ceiling and walls—ready for anything to burst through.
"... No reactions."
The detector picked up nothing. If mutants were messing with us, there would have been some reaction.
As if the tremor had only been our imagination, the elevator resumed its smooth ascent. The silence returned. Nadia, whose tail had tensed up from nervousness, relaxed a little when I took her hand; the tip of her tail began to sway gently.
How far had we gone? There was still a fair distance left before we'd reach the Albatross hangar, when suddenly the detector emitted a shrill beep.
As the detection wave made a circuit round the screen, uncountable signals appeared. Each dot was a mutant.
Though we were heavily armed, there was no way we could handle several hundred of them. Fighting back my mounting urgency, I spoke as calmly as I could.
"Slow the elevator. If we go up as is, we're dead."
One of the soldiers at the controls began easing the lever, decreasing our speed, careful not to make noise. We didn't want an emergency stop alerting anything above us.
"They're not directly above us."
"You know as well as I that the moment they detect us, it doesn't matter. They'll break through any wall and come after us. Maybe they already noticed and are waiting."
"Hyun-woo, should I go scout ahead?"
Nadia offered to ride Carry and gather intel. But I stopped her. There was something else we brought along for just this kind of situation.
"No need. Let's use an Alpha."
We opened the ceiling hatch and sent an Alpha series robot up. If things went bad, we'd lure as many as possible away.
The security robot Alpha faithfully executed the order, ascending the shaft to gather intelligence on the mutants, and soon relayed video back to us.
What we saw made us doubt our eyes: countless mutants filled the sector.
Ghouls—likely Crampers—power loaders infected like the ones we'd fought at the refinery, and so many massive, unnatural lamprey-like worms.
It was like several hells coexisting in one place. It was clear: our elevator would not get us to the hangar.
We could go a bit higher, but that was it. With different security access, only certain elevators could reach the hangar sector.
To get there, we'd have to pass through a different sector. In other words, through that hell itself.
"Hyun-woo, it doesn't look like blowing up one or two Alphas will cut it..."
Nadia asked if I shouldn't call "that woman"— Licorice. Since she was outside, she might have a solution. Steadying myself with a deep breath, I made an emergency call to Licorice.
"Licorice, do you hear me?"
—I hear you. If you're reaching out, it can't be going well.
"Yeah. There are far too many mutants to break through on our own. Is there any way to thin their numbers?"
I shared that even the Alphas couldn't lure them away, and sent Licorice the video feed. She clicked her tongue—it must have been a lot, even in her view.
—If you don't mind being a little—no, a LOT—violent, there's a way. You know we loaded Roxy's shuttle with explosives, right?
"Yes."
—If we drop those one by one, it should be enough of a distraction. Thoughts?
"Defense facility hacking isn't finished yet, right?"
It was certainly effective—but I asked carefully, unsure if using Roxy so recklessly was a good idea.
If Roxy drew their attention, it wouldn't just be mutants but also the base's defenses—raising the risk of shuttle failure.
—It's just not cracking. Even when I get a little in, it kicks me out. It'll take more time for now.
Licorice, uncharacteristically, didn't sound so confident. I pictured her pressing her lips tightly in frustration.
—But I can still do it. I just need more time. I won't be too late.
If Licorice said she could do it, I believed her.
"Alright."
—You trust me?
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"
—... Okay. Then I'd better live up to it. I'll talk to Roxy. You guys move when the time comes.
Sounding reinvigorated, Licorice ended the call. With the plan more or less set, it wasn't long until Roxy, after finishing his talk with Licorice, contacted me.
—My friend, this is my kind of mission! I live for moments like this. Next time, just ask, no need to hesitate.
Broken, but more reliable than anyone, Gloxinia. He laughed crazily and gave the go-ahead for the operation.
—Let's do this! For our glorious flight!
BOOOOM—!
Right after Roxy's shout, explosions from the surface shook the base, and the interior facilities rattled violently. Normally, the security barriers would have auto-deployed, but the base was compromised by creep, so its systems were crippled.
The explosions Roxy dropped lost none of their power, battering the military base Keter. The mutants reacted more sensitively than us to the tremors.
They snapped toward the blast center, as if their necks were breaking, and poured toward the source of the explosion—every last one of them.
To annihilate the intruders, to defend what was now their nest: the military base Keter.
「KIIIIAAACK!」
「KEEEEK!」
Each time the bloodcurdling shrieks rang out, a great migration ensued. The sounds of varied groups moving merged and reverberated through the base.
「Warning. Attack against the base's outer wall detected. Automated engagement procedures activating against intruders.」
「Warning. All operational defense turrets have commenced firing. All personnel inside the base must arm themselves and follow engagement protocols.」
All the defense systems that Licorice hadn't hacked yet kicked in, launching attacks.
—Ha-haha! This is living!
Under Roxy's exhilarating cries, only the lampreys living in the creep and the Crampers standing as if ordered to guard this place remained. The bothersome infected power loaders had all gone to the surface.
Explosives weren't infinite; that meant Roxy could only draw their attention for so long. Every second counted. There was no time to waste—we had to move now.
"Now!"
We hurled ourselves toward the creep swarming with lampreys, just as Roxy had said—for the sake of a spectacular flight.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
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