Evolve (30)
*Rumble...!*
The facility shook violently. Celestia and I quickly grabbed the railing to steady ourselves. Once the shaking began, it showed no sign of stopping.
Time was the same. As it continued to pass, the situation continued to change rapidly. The unmanned autonomous weapons blocking our way were proof enough.
They glared at us with red-lit eyes, firing bursts of lasers from their head sections. It seemed they had activated scan mode. What followed after identifying us as intruders shocked us.
「Confirmed: the target possesses psionic energy. Threat level rising.」
"...!"
Psionic energy—the power needed to use supernatural powers. I was stunned to realize those remoras knew about it. It figured, since the pureblood supremacists had been researching supernatural powers through numerous experiments.
Considering that we were now presumably inside the sky whale, the remoras mentioning psionic energy meant that the Earth government also knew about the existence of supernatural powers. It couldn't have been a coincidence. Their sensors were trained directly on me.
'No way...'
Could the Earth government have been researching supernatural powers, just like the pureblood supremacists? Or had they learned about them while trying to keep their rivals in check?
My head was filled with a tangle of complicated thoughts, but I had no time to unravel them. The squad of remoras had assumed attack formation.
In that moment, memories of how I got here flashed before my eyes like a panorama. The scenes overlaid on my vision.
The place we suspected was the reactor room was indeed that. But instead of a reactor, remora robots stood on standby.
Between the remoras, I could see where the reactor once was. There were no signs it had been forcefully moved. Only rails showed that it had been relocated.
As the sound of the whale's cry echoed, I instinctively sensed something. We had misunderstood.
'The reactor was inside the sky whale from the start.'
Naturally, since it was the power source for the giant weapon, it made sense for it to be inside. It wasn't just responsible for powering the Baelum Spaceport launchpad, nor was it merely a special generator for activating security protocols.
The main system controlling the sky whale could move the location of the reactor. While there must have been some restrictions since it served as the power source, I was sure at least that it didn't explode when moved.
No wonder things had seemed to be going smoothly. As we advanced, both paths ahead and behind became blocked. Truly, we were caught in a predicament.
"Ha, this is a checkmate."
I forced myself to brush off the tension and drew my weapon. Celestia, whose fingers had been trembling, gripped her rifle tightly to hide the shaking.
As we scanned our surroundings for an escape route, dozens of remoras equipped with laser lances each revved their boosters and charged at us.
***
Five minutes before the sky whale surfaced.
"By now, they must've reached the end, right?"
Nadia's voice, sitting inside the power loader, penetrated the mist. Although her tone felt slightly dulled, it was more than enough for those nearby to hear.
Eric, who had been checking supplies, responded first.
"Even if the passage connecting to the interior is long, as long as they didn't run into any trouble, they probably have."
"Do you think there's anything dangerous inside? No, right? Besides what we saw on the control tower rooftop, we got here pretty easily—or, well, maybe not easily, but anyway, without much trouble."
"Hey, fox friend, you sound torn up with worry, huh?"
Nadia's small-animal-like, restless behavior made Roxy giggle. While everyone remained tense and alert, only Roxy seemed completely at ease.
We all knew Roxy's motto was to live life lightly, and that despite appearances, Roxy always did what needed to be done. Still, Nadia couldn't help but pout at Roxy's attitude.
"Even if I trust them, that doesn't mean I'm not worried. Ever since coming here, I feel like we've been dumping all the work on Hyun-woo."
"Hey, it's not that. The area just happened to be quiet; staying behind could've been more dangerous."
"I know that much. I'm just saying."
Nadia's pout deepened. She slowly turned her head. They weren't just waiting; they were guarding the entrance that Hyun-woo and Celestia had entered, ensuring they'd be able to return safely.
They were also buying time for those who had gone inside. If they weren't in a situation like this, instead of worrying about their friends' safety, they'd probably be wondering how long they could hold out.
'Still, what am I supposed to do about this uneasy feeling?'
Nadia shook her head, trying to banish the thought. She decided she could endure this sort of discomfort a hundred, a thousand times—it was better than someone getting hurt.
'That's still better than something happening and someone getting injured!'
Had it become a bodily reflex for things to go wrong whenever she went somewhere? There hadn't been a single quiet day—almost never, really—so she was likely feeling that unease from the unusual calm.
Suddenly, Nadia's ears perked up. No one else could see it because she was inside the cockpit, but everyone sensed something when the power loader's head followed Nadia's gaze.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong—"
Kanna began to ask as she suddenly flinched. With her beastman senses, she noticed something. In the fog thick with ECM chaff that rendered scanning useless, their raw senses became sharper than ever, and those senses warned them: something was happening below their feet.
"... Everyone, get close to me!"
No sooner had Nadia shouted this than she locked the power loader to the floor. Eric, Kanna, and Roxy rapidly deployed wires from their suits, anchoring themselves to the loader's frame.
As the hooks latched with a click, the shaking from below began, and the ceiling and nearby fixtures started collapsing.
*Rumble...!*
Cracks spread instantly, and huge debris crashed down toward their position. Too late to dodge, and with the collapse too widespread to escape, Nadia raised her shield to carve out space beneath them.
"Under my shield!"
"Yes!"
As a thunderous roar drowned out their voices, debris pounded relentlessly against the shield. Nadia's gritted teeth forced out a muffled grunt.
'What the hell...?!'
Why did this happen all of a sudden? This was why one should be careful with words and thoughts. Cursing herself for not holding it in, Nadia braced herself against the impact from above. The chunks of debris hitting the shield were massive; the transmitted shock was anything but subtle. She felt as if her insides were turning upside down.
Before long, there was no more debris falling. Smoke and the ever-present mist mixed until they couldn't see an inch ahead.
"Is everyone alright?!"
"Yes! No injuries!"
Eric's shout rang straight into the cockpit. Their communication was directly linked by full contact.
"But—the entrance! The entrance is blocked!"
"...!"
Nadia instinctively looked towards the reactor entrance gate. Though the mist prevented her from seeing it, her heart sank—Eric wouldn't have lied at a time like this.
"It's not completely blocked! The passage is intact; only the gate is obscured by ceiling debris!"
Nadia was about to reply when the shaking resumed. By now, most of the debris had fallen—there was nothing left to collapse. Only the tremors continued. She had no idea what was happening, but it definitely wasn't good.
She made sure the supply locker was secure and strapped it to her back. Roxy, holding out a hand to test the air, suddenly exclaimed.
"... Huh? We're going up right now."
"Are you sure?!"
"It's just a feeling, but I'm sure. The air above is different."
They were rising. Everyone reflexively tilted their heads up. Could it really be the sky whale beneath their feet, lifting them? As Nadia realized they were ascending, a tickling sensation spread through her stomach. Her tail bristled at the unfamiliar feeling.
Just then, a new sound reached her.
「Kii...e...ee...!」
A monstrous screech echoed through the mist. The menacing presence unique to mutants made them all instinctively ready their weapons. Calmly, Eric asked for opinions.
"What shall we do? If we're really ascending like Roxy says, once we go down from here, we won't be able to climb back up."
"One option is to retreat for now. If this really is the sky whale, maybe it's better to regroup with Albatross."
"Our role hasn't changed. We trust Hyun-woo. We'll do our part."
Nadia spoke firmly. Even with the approaching mutant cries, she wasn't intimidated. Every time something concerned Hyun-woo, Nadia transformed from a small animal into something else entirely, and Roxy whistled in amusement.
Eric gave Roxy a look, silently warning him to be more serious, but Roxy only shrugged.
"I'm fine either way. Leave the descent to me. By now, the shuttle core should be charged enough anyway."
"Let's save that for Plan B."
"What's Plan A, then?"
"What else? Kill every one of those things coming at us. We changed our loadout for a reason, so we might as well use it."
"Tough. I like it."
Roxy laughed as he loaded his rifle. The power loader readjusted its shield, and the grenade cannon on its shoulder loaded a round. The auto-loader whirred, producing a deep metallic sound.
'As long as I trust Hyun-woo, we'll be fine...!'
That's why they'd stayed behind. Nadia steadied the controls, bracing herself.
「KIEEEEE—!」
The first mutant, an infected remora, burst through the mist, and Nadia aimed her weapon at it.
***
"This way!"
Celestia and I ran desperately. We had just barely escaped the reactor room. With nowhere to hide, we almost died, but, miraculously, fate wasn't done with us yet.
I confirmed that the ones here hadn't been infected, an important detail—and instantly recalled the nanobot extract in my belt pouch.
It was a waste to use it now, but if not now, then when? The moment I opened the lid, I splashed every last drop onto the attacking remoras.
Roxy had once said that nanobots had a limit to how many machines they could hijack: two power loader class, five beta series. The autonomous remora fell between those, so three or four would be the limit.
It was a small mercy my guess proved somewhat correct. Maybe Carrot had preprogrammed the nanobots—because once splashed, the affected remoras, who had been targeting Celestia and me, seized up and began twitching.
The visual sensors on their heads blinked rapidly; I assumed it was the result of the nanobots clashing with the system.
Eventually, three hijacked remoras turned and attacked their former allies. I wondered if I could push for a fourth, but perhaps due to sheer numbers, a fourth didn't switch over.
So Celestia simply took it out with her linear rifle. Better to cut down the enemy while we could.
Allies gained: three. Only three. Considering the number of enemies we faced, it was a drop in the bucket.
At first, the remoras hesitated, thrown off by the betrayal, but soon they tore the turncoats apart as if nothing had happened. Dozens of them pounced and ripped them to shreds. The sight almost made me forget to breathe.
Shrapnel flew and coolant sprayed in all directions. One remora, stuck as if buffering, hesitated mid-charge ahead of us. Not wishing to end up like the remoras just shredded, we bolted.
「Main system self-diagnostic initiated. System integrity: 65% destroyed. Reboot failed. Self-repair program starting. ... Failed. Retrying. ... Failed.」
Just as one of the remoras, previously spouting gibberish, seemed to regain composure, the locked door ahead opened.
Without a second thought, we dashed through.
That brought us to the present.
Behind us, remoras that had pulverized the hijacked units gave chase, while a still-cooperative remora followed close beside me.
It didn't seem to need any orders. As though it were natural, it matched our pace—no, surpassed it, hovering thanks to thrusters in its booster pack and joints.
The remora doused in the nanobot extract kept muttering to itself. Maybe I was imagining it, but it seemed to match our speed deliberately.
It was unsettling, but with no room to use it as bait right now, I kept running. The time we could buy with this one remora was incredibly limited.
*Crash!*
"Shit...!"
Suddenly feeling an immense sense of danger, I ducked. A superheated energy lance shot by just overhead—almost at the exact same moment.
"Hyun-woo!"
"Keep running!"
A squad of remoras with glowing red eyes was in hot pursuit wielding laser lances, the signature white-noise hum of energy weapons sending chills down my spine.
The passage was mostly straight with a few curves. Because of this, the remora squad couldn't achieve maximum speed and had to hesitate—our only saving grace.
Inside the corridor, there was no cover. Had it been straight, we'd already have been turned into kebabs.
As the remora ahead turned to corner, I stomped hard, smashing its upper armor with a crunch, knocking it out. I wanted to finish it off for good, but with the rest narrowing the distance, that was impossible.
All around us, the cacophony of collisions from behind echoed—the remoras thrusted their lances through the new obstacle, then tossed it aside like garbage, never wavering in their pursuit.
I didn't feel grateful, just terrified. If we'd been even a second slower, those lances would've skewered us instead of the remora.
"Hyun-woo, a fork in the path!"
Celestia's urgent voice asked which way to go. My mind swirled with uncertainty—because I honestly had no idea.
'Should we fight?'
A fork veering left and right at a near-right angle. If we picked one, spun around and fought as they hesitated, we might be able to take out a significant number.
If Celestia's linear rifle hit squarely, their armor would be pierced, and I could probably rip them apart as well.
But committing to a frontal clash, we might have an early advantage, but very soon the numbers would turn against us—no, it was almost certain. That's the law of being outnumbered.
And there was no avoiding injuries. Even though these used no conventional projectiles, energy weapons always had wide attack areas. A lance thrust with boosted speed was something even I would struggle to fend off.
If only I could use my psychokinesis—my supernatural power—more strongly, I might be able to disrupt the remora squad with a wave of my hand. But that was impossible for now.
No matter how fast we ran, we couldn't outpace the remoras. We needed a plan: either shake the pursuers off or, failing that, reduce their numbers as much as possible.
The latter was all but hopeless. There were dozens visible, and there was no guarantee they wouldn't be reinforced.
「Main system self-diagnostic complete. Operating at 2% capacity. Cannot estimate recovery time. Emergency sub-program independent activation.」
On the verge of swerving in whatever direction came to mind, the remora with malfunctioning circuitry suddenly spoke in a clear tone for the first time.
「Right.」
It even indicated the direction.
"What the heck?! Just—right, go right!"
Without slowing, Celestia and I sprinted to the fork, pushed off the wall, and veered sharply. Our suits' strength enhancement and motion support minimized the impact.
As we dove into the right corridor, the pursuing remora squad abruptly tried—and failed—to make the turn, causing a crash.
Since the remoras had chaff immunity and ran autonomously, the damage wasn't too great; they realized the lead had slowed and decelerated accordingly, using reverse thrust.
That much I'd expected. Now I had to decide whether we should attack the still-colliding squad—or just keep running.
「Recommend: ascend to the ceiling. This corridor is temporarily set to be unscannable and impassable to remoras. You can shake off the pursuit.」
The odd remora, its blue optical sensors flashing, spoke as if to emphasize I wasn't imagining things. Celestia and I exchanged startled glances.
Just for a moment, then we nodded. We had no choice. I trusted the nanobot extract Carrot had given me. Having doused it, I figured this remora wouldn't turn against us.
I looked up to find a hatch open in the ceiling—somekind of vent or shaft. The height was such that a single leap couldn't reach.
"Celestia!"
"Yes!"
Without hesitation, Celestia jumped into my arms—not randomly, but as the simplest way to secure herself for what I was about to do.
Reaching out, I imagined my telekinesis pulling us up. Instantly, without any visible mechanism, we were yanked skyward and hauled to the passage above.
Having made it inside, we glanced down. The odd remora observed the crashed squad below but showed no intent to follow.
Red-eyed remoras stared at their blue-eyed counterpart—a standoff that might lead to a fight any moment. But what happened next was different from what we'd expected.
The squad, after locking eyes for a while, either didn't notice us, or—just as the odd remora said—couldn't even recognize our presence. They moved on, passing right below.
For now, it seemed, we had survived the crisis. I let out a sigh of relief.