On an Ice Satellite (9)
Is this what they mean when they say "the blood runs cold"?
Just moments ago, I was delighted by the thought of earning credits, but that seemed trivial now as an overwhelming chill settled in. Beside me, Nadia also wore a bewildered expression, her previous smile frozen on her face. Her tail twitched uncertainly.
"...."
"...."
My body, which had only just found calm, tensed up again. As naturally as possible, I glanced around and noticed that the number of security robots had increased, as if to prepare for the impending terror attack.
They were arranged so naturally that I hadn't noticed them until I received the broker's message. The place that had seemed safe now felt like a trap waiting to ensnare its prey, pulling my spirits to an all-time low. As if I weren't feeling down enough already.
"... Do pureblood supremacists lurk within us, clutching bombs?"
Everyone started looking like an enemy. The man groaning in pain, the woman hanging her head low, the elderly person staring blankly at the ceiling—it felt like anyone could be a threat.
I thought the broker had vetted people, but apparently not.
"Or perhaps."
With the broker's connections, knowing about the pureblood supremacists should have been expected. She'd warned us about any that were still alive, after all.
If she knew and still didn't act, there must have been a reason.
Monsters were pressing towards the central tower of the residential area. The broker's security robots were struggling to fend off the invasion, draining their power. If internal strife erupted, the central tower would crumble immediately.
I speculated that perhaps the broker intended to hold out until the shuttle arrived, knowing this would happen. I had no idea what the pureblood supremacists were waiting for by staying here.
For now, we had to move. To board the shuttle arriving in ten minutes.
Nadia and I stood up slowly, aware of the need to blend in naturally. We avoided awkward conversation or glancing around, fearing it might arouse suspicion.
As we began moving, the security robots subtly shifted their positions. I noticed a now lit emergency staircase behind the store, which usually remained dark.
It seemed to guide us, so we headed towards the emergency exit.
We passed among the people. Pureblood supremacists disguised as residents were among them. Every glance in our direction made me nervously swallow. It felt as if bombs could explode at any moment.
And then it happened.
"Waaah!"
A sudden baby's cry pierced the silence, drawing everyone's attention. A woman, likely the mother, frantically tried to soothe the baby.
Despite her efforts, the baby wouldn't stop crying. It seemed unable to calm, even with its mother nearby.
Although she seemed inept at soothing the baby, a sense of unease crept in. A sudden thought surfaced.
What if that woman wasn't the baby's mother? Usually, I'd dismiss such wild thoughts with a laugh, but Nadia's whisper confirmed my suspicion.
"... Hyun-woo, the scent is different."
As a breeze blew in, Nadia sniffed the air, her face turning pale. It suggested one thing: the scents of the baby and the mother—those who should spend the most time together—differed.
That woman wasn't the baby's mother. Realizing that, I grabbed Nadia's hand and strode purposefully towards the emergency staircase.
"Quiet that baby! What if those monsters come running at that noise!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"Hah, the poor thing is scared. Don't be too harsh. We adults are scared too, but it's impressive the child held out this long."
The baby's cry spurred a change among the previously silent people. Some reacted sharply, while others attempted to help soothe the baby instead of getting angry.
I wanted to shout a warning about the woman. The reason I didn't was uncertainty over whether to fear just her or everyone gathering around.
The scent of blood didn't help differentiate. To survivors from hell, everyone carried that heavy blood scent.
"Don't look back, Nadia. Just keep moving."
"B-but—... Okay."
Nadia hesitated briefly but then nodded, alternating confused glances between me and Carry, lowering her head before stepping beside me.
"The baby will calm down soon. Please be patient; it seems everyone we were waiting for has arrived."
The woman's voice, masquerading as the baby's mother, reached my ears.
"... I don't understand, just calm the baby. Everyone is on edge—... What? What's this marking...?"
"You madwoman, it's a pureblood supremacist! Everybody, run! We have pureblood supremacists among us!"
Whether she revealed a mark, the hall descended into chaos with screams. Detecting the anomaly, security robots raised suppression wave emitters, issuing warnings.
【Warning. Disturbances will not be tolerated. Disarm and surrender immediately.】
"No one will escape. Everyone must die here for the greater cause, with me."
Her laughter heralded her declaration that the baby's cries and the screams abruptly stopped, silenced by the explosion that shook the floor.
Boom!
Almost simultaneously, Nadia and I sprang forward, racing up the stairs.
"Run!"
The emergency door guarded by security robots exploded open. The fiery demon consumed the metal door. The emergency sealing system didn't activate. It merely ripped away the door at its hinges and sent it crashing into the wall.
"Eek...!"
The powerful gust propelled the smoke upwards. We quickly donned the respirators integrated into our suits. This feature didn't exist in Mark 1. It wasn't a fully integrated design, but functioned as a spare. I had no idea we'd use them this way.
I heard the clicks of metal locking in place briefly before the unrelenting noise of the central tower's destruction reverberated throughout.
Beyond the cracked windows, I saw things flying up with fiery tails. It was the same kind of attack that had downed the shuttle Nadia and I had boarded.
Pureblood supremacists who survived from the monsters were initiating an assault to kill every last remaining person in the residential area.
"Why on earth...!"
I couldn't comprehend what could provoke such actions. Just when I thought I could breathe easy, I was now fleeing not from monsters, but fellow humans.
- Hyun-woo! Are you coming?
- I'm on my way!
- Hurry up! We're leaving the moment the shuttle lands!
I grit my teeth at the broker's transmission that the central tower rooftop was also under attack. Had we taken the elevator, it might've been faster, but that wasn't a good idea. If I were a pureblood supremacist, I'd cut the central tower's power first.
【Notification. Power supply is unstable. Some areas will experience outages until power is restored.】
The tower broadcast confirmed my suspicions, and the emergency stairwell sank into darkness. "Some areas" presumably meant everything except the store and quarantine systems.
Not knowing precise internal conditions suggested the elevators also stopped. Had we insisted on the elevator, we might have perished in a stalled state, unable to fight back. Time-reversal abilities weren't among our skills.
"There are people escaping upwards! Capture them!"
The surviving pureblood supremacists, having somehow destroyed those numerous security robots, began pursuing us, military firearms in their hands.
Had they plundered a military base? Or smuggled them in somehow?
Ratatatat!
An intense racket overwhelmed our ears, far exceeding the noise of any tool; we instinctively crouched to minimize our profile.
The pureblood supremacists wielded relics—antiquated firearms with thunderous sounds, echoes of gunpowder ringing sharply, announcing their primitive origins.
Once they commenced firing, bullets poured like rain. Though harried, we sprinted with heightened urgency. This was an entirely different threat from the monsters. Fiery debris scattered everywhere.
"Aaaaah!"
"Kiaaaaaak!"
【=͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞ ﾍ( ´Д`)ﾉ】
In sheer panic, we frantically climbed the stairs, breath morphing into shallow gasps, vision obscured by smoke.
Terrified that a single misstep might meet a bullet, my body threatened to lock up. The screams, ragged breaths, and ear-splitting gunfire induced a splitting headache.
With just two floors left to reach the rooftop, a pureblood supremacist appeared, blood-soaked bomb in hand, bursting through the closed door.
"There! They're over here!"
"Get out of my way!"
Before he hit the detonation button, I lunged, grabbed his collar, and flung him aside. Nadia's eyes sharpened as she struck his wrist with a tool, disarming the detonator.
The pureblood supremacist—whom I had seized—was hurled down the steps we had ascended, relegated by my sheer force.
Despite resistance on his part, this was not a monster but another human—overshadowed by my strength.
Watching the pureblood supremacist roll down the stairs, Carry scowled, pressing the detonator button with a supplementary arm. An explosion erupted from the stairwell center, spewing flames and a fierce gust.
The screeching in my ears wavered my vision. Black smoke momentarily dispersed before resettling. I forcibly swallowed rising bile.
"... Nice! Now they can't chase us further! Let's go!"
"Yeah...!"
It was a strange situation to call 'nice', but the removal of imminent danger was indeed a relief.
Taking advantage of the brief pause in gunfire, we scaled the remaining flights. The intense pounding transitioned to a sensation of liberation as we arrived at the central tower's pinnacle.
Through security robots guarding the emergency exit, I spotted the broker. Wind fiercely lashed her hair as she gazed upwards.
In her line of sight was a single shuttle hovering overhead, emitting blue hues from its four thrusters. The shuttle, piercing through the dome-shaped canopy surrounding the residential area, appeared to adjust its thrusters for an attempted landing.
【Warning. The canopy is damaged. Air pollution detected. Residents, please equip respirator devices immediately.】
As indoor air escaped with black smoke, unfiltered external air rushed in. The surrounding temperature sharply dropped.
When Nadia, Carry, and I approached, drained of energy, the broker spoke nonchalantly.
"Made it just in time. If you'd been any later, we would have had to leave without you."
"If you'd warned us sooner, we might've avoided nearly dying from bombs."
Sensing the tension masked by her casualness, I gulped previously unshed breaths.
"If I had, we'd have both been blown up together. I like you well enough, but not enough to die with you. Did you see their eyes? They were completely deranged."
"..."
I vividly recalled the eyes of the pureblood supremacists, akin to those intoxicated by substances, or brainwashed en masse, their gazes unfocused, while personalities transformed in an instant, never hesitating to harm others.
They were insane from the outset, strapping bombs to themselves. The entire lot were maniacs. Soon, their terrorist act would broadcast network-wide, unsure how they'd handle the fallout.
"It doesn't really matter what they're like. Let's just board the shuttle and get out."
"Agreed. No need to dwell now."
The broker gestured to people shielded by security robots. Among those permitted aboard was Carrot, who had purchased black thorns from us earlier.
Dragged hastily, his appearance was gaunter than when first met. Seemingly more critical than presumed, security robots guarded him.
Finally, the shuttle landed and its rear door opened. That's when the announcement rang out.
【Foolish and vile creatures, you're not to leave this place. No one leaves this satellite. It's time to pay for your arrogance and sins.】
In response to the voice of a pureblood supremacist, urging against ignoring culpability, the shuttle doors flung fully open, revealing an uninvited guest.
In the man's hand was a suspiciously familiar detonator. Smirking at us, the ensuing scene played vividly in my mind, causing me to shove Nadia back, thrusting myself at the dumbfounded broker.
Moments later, the explosion engulfed us.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Fuck.