Ch.47City in the Darkness (1)

They were on the stairs going down to the first floor. Fortunately, neither of them appeared to have any significant injuries.

[Zzzzz (Well done)]

“Big baby. Blood.”

[Zzzzz (It’s okay)]

No. 26 was worried about me as I had holes all over my body. Adhigh Orr extended his tentacles to lick my wounds, but I quickly backed away.

[Zzz Zzzzzz (My blood is dangerous)]

“?”

As he tilted his head in confusion, I pointed to the floor where drops of my blood had fallen. After seeing the concrete being eaten away with acrid smoke, he nodded obediently.

“Understand”

[Zzzz (Yes)]

Before the enemies could catch up, I checked my body. My tentacles were severely damaged and would take more than an hour to recover. The pierced areas were already healing as flesh grew to fill the wounds, but complete recovery would take about 10 minutes.

‘The injuries are worse than I thought, but the plan worked out well.’

The remaining enemies consisted of 2 police officers and 1 android. Thanks to the parasite-controlled officer shooting his colleague, we were down one enemy.

Unfortunately, the android reacted quickly, preventing any further success.

‘Three enemies left.’

I’d like to have us three each take on one enemy, but that’s not possible.

I could ambush the enemies on the first floor, but they’re not stupid. By now, they must know we’re not just one but multiple entities, so they’ll be prepared.

‘I have regenerative abilities, but they don’t.’

Unlike me, No. 26 and Adhigh can’t recover from fatal wounds. Gunshots would be lethal to them, potentially fatal.

‘C Demon has superior regenerative abilities, but…’

I don’t know if No. 26 has any special abilities, so I can’t recklessly order her to fight.

‘Should I use the monster’s tentacles?’

The enemies on the first floor have been dealt with, and the remaining ones are gathered on the second floor. Since they can’t move freely by climbing walls like me, they’ll come through the corridor. If I fire a psychic breath down the corridor with the monster’s tentacles, the enemies won’t be able to escape annihilation.

‘The downside is that I can’t respond to unexpected situations.’

After firing the psychic breath, I’ll be temporarily incapacitated. The duration is roughly between 3 to 5 minutes.

‘The enemies must have already requested reinforcements due to their disadvantage. If we waste more time and their numbers increase, it’ll become difficult.’

The reinforcements will certainly be much more numerous. With my current abilities, eliminating all of them won’t be easy.

‘I’ll use the monster’s tentacles.’

The enemies are already approaching, following the traces of acidic blood on the floor.

Before confronting them, I warned No. 26 and Adhigh Orr.

[Zzz Zzzzzz Zzzzz Zzz (After this attack, I’ll be temporarily weakened)]

“?”

[Zzz Zzz Zzzzzz (Protect me during that time)]

“Is big baby going to grow again?”

[Zzz Zzzzzz Zzz (No. This time is different)]

“Okay. I’ll protect big baby.”

“I” “cannot understand”

“Big baby is a baby, so sometimes sleeps.”

“Understand”

It’s not actually sleep, but there’s no need to correct them.

I pushed them back and peeked my head out toward the corridor to check the enemies. They immediately fired penetrating rounds as soon as something popped out.

Thanks to my sturdy head carapace, my head didn’t become a beehive, but that didn’t eliminate the pain.

‘…I need to develop bulletproof measures.’

Several genetic essences available in this city come to mind, but I’m in the middle of combat now. Clearing my mind of distractions, I used the wall and my head carapace as cover while firing spine projectiles at the enemies to keep them at bay.

“Shit!”

“Please use me as cover for your firing.”

“I know!”

The police officers cursed as the spine projectiles flew at them. The android, having lost its firing weapon, tore out an entire concrete wall with its power bunker and was using it as cover.

A good idea, but unfortunately against the wrong opponent. Cover means nothing against a psychic breath.

I activated the monster’s tentacles. The long tentacles that reached down to my shoulders began to move slowly.

‘Huh?’

I nearly collapsed as strength suddenly drained from my entire body. My previously glossy carapace turned dull, and my once powerful tail lay limp on the floor.

‘…The energy consumption is enormous.’

It feels like all the energy flowing through my body is being sucked into the back of my head. Claws, tail, four combat arms, even the energy from the small arms on my chest—all my strength is being drawn in.

The tentacles, having absorbed almost all my power, turned a vivid purple. Psychic power of such magnitude gathered at the tips of the tentacles that even humans with limited sensitivity to supernatural abilities could feel it.

The tentacles, having accumulated tremendous energy that made the air ripple, all pointed their tips forward.

“Ultra-high-risk psychic power detected. Evacuate immediately.”

“What?!”

Purple streams flowing from the tentacle tips concentrated at a single point in the air.

The enemies tried to retreat urgently, but it was already too late.

A purple glow softly illuminated the dark corridor, and the energy gathered in the air was finally released.

A beam of pure psychic energy swept through the corridor. The concrete wall that had been covering half my body disappeared without a trace, and everything the beam touched met the same fate.

There was no sound. Psychic power doesn’t make noise. Only the debris from the destroyed corridor created sound as it collapsed belatedly.

Nothing remained in the wake of the purple storm.

The android turned to dust along with the wall it was holding, and one police officer who activated his shield too late fell with half his body gone.

However, the officer standing near the outer wall in the corridor was thrown out of the apartment thanks to his shield, which saved his life.

“Ugh!”

Though he fell from the second floor, the officer quickly got up thanks to the enhancement drug’s effects. I wanted to chase after him as he fled, but my body wouldn’t respond.

“I” “admire” “Great young one!”

Hearing Adhigh’s admiring thoughts about the psychic breath, I lost consciousness.

–

“D-damn it! Damn it! This is impossible! This can’t be happening!”

William kept repeating the same words as he fled with his half-broken leg. The reality was so impossible that he couldn’t regain his composure even if he wanted to.

‘The army! We need the army!’

How ridiculous to think it was just a new weapon.

It was a demon. A demon that would burn this city to ashes.

Instead of calmly preparing for a board meeting, they should have deployed the entire defense fleet to the residential district.

‘Insane, House Yugin controlling such a monster?’

A complete misjudgment.

Sander hadn’t made a deal with that monster.

Surely he was a slave, probably controlled by parasites like those that had taken over the police.

“I don’t care how many casualties there are! We must kill it!”

William, completely out of his mind, uttered violent words he would never consider under normal circumstances.

He was always rational, but the human mind has its limits. Everything becomes useless in the face of an unbearable existence.

As he limped away, he saw police buses approaching in the distance.

‘S-six buses? That’s not enough to stop that thing!’

Six buses carrying armed police would normally be a powerful force, but having already fought against the creature, William thought it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

“Stop!”

The police buses stopped when a man wearing an enhancement suit jumped into the middle of the road. An android got off the bus and supported him.

“I will verify your identity. Are you Detective Team Leader William?”

“Don’t go! You absolutely must not go!”

“Delirium state confirmed. As combat continuation is deemed difficult, we will transport you to the hospital.”

“Listen to me! We’ll all die if you go!”

The android struck William’s neck with its hand when he kept repeating that they would die. Then it carried the now docile William onto the bus.

When the buses arrived at the apartment complex, the target was nowhere to be seen.

All that remained were the fragments of destroyed androids, human remains, a police officer dead with a hole in his abdomen, and another unconscious on the ground.

–

“Are you conscious?”

“…Where am I?”

William opened his eyes and looked around.

He was inside a medical capsule. Beyond the translucent glass, a medical android bowed respectfully to him. Behind the android, various electronic devices were glowing, and in the corridor outside the room, nurses and androids could be seen running around.

“…A hospital.”

“That’s correct.”

“What happened to the others? The operation? Is everyone safe?”

“When reinforcements entered Apartment 3 in C Complex, the target had already fled. Therefore, no additional casualties occurred.”

William felt dizzy at the android’s words.

“…Letting it escape is an indescribable failure.”

“There’s no need to worry. The secondary memory storage devices of the androids have already been collected. The Planetary Security Team will locate the target soon. Please rest assured.”

“……”

Despite the android’s words, William wasn’t reassured.

This was because M01, which had stored all memories, had evaporated without a trace due to the enemy’s terrifying psychic attack.

The memories of other androids were fragmentary, so it was uncertain whether the superiors would properly recognize the danger of the creature.

That meant William himself was the only one with intact memories.

“I need to report to the superiors right now!”

“You’re in the middle of treatment. Discharge is not possible.”

“Damn it! This is urgent!”

“Not possible. You need to rest until at least tomorrow.”

“Hey! Hey!”

After saying this, the android operated a device next to the capsule. A drug was automatically injected through the IV tube connected to William’s arm.

William tried to pull out the injection, but the rapid fatigue from the drug made him lose consciousness again.

How much time had passed? William suddenly woke up.

“Huh!”

It had become night, and the hospital room was dark.

There was someone else in the dark room besides him.

When that person pressed a button on the device, the capsule lid opened with a hissing sound.

“Who are you?”

“The superiors are calling for you. Can you go report right now?”

“No problem.”

The person who woke William and opened the capsule was a police officer. Apart from bandages around his neck, there was nothing particularly unusual about the man wearing a police uniform.

‘Hmm? He looks familiar.’

As a detective, William had an excellent memory for people. Though he couldn’t quite place the face, the build was familiar.

‘He doesn’t work in the port district, but where have I seen him?’

He was definitely someone William had met recently.

“I’ve got a car waiting outside. Follow me.”

“Let me just grab my things.”

Since he needed to report to his superiors urgently, William quickly gathered a few belongings and followed him.

Medical androids on night duty tried to stop them along the way, but there was no issue. The officer escorting William took out a police electronic badge for authentication.

When they reached the parking lot outside the hospital, the officer pressed the car key. A civilian car flashed its headlights in the distance.

“Let’s go.”

After sitting in the driver’s seat, the officer said nothing more.

‘Going to report to superiors but not in a police car?’

Was this not official business? William was confused.

The other man maintained an expressionless face, staring only at the road ahead. He seemed too indifferent to be trying to deceive William with ill intentions.

William touched the laser pistol in his pocket.

‘The badge he showed earlier indicates he’s from the Planetary Security Team.’

The electronic badge the officer had shown to the android was something William also possessed, though in a different format.

As a symbol of public authority used by police, the electronic badge contained unique IDs and patterns that made duplication or forgery impossible. Additionally, an alarm would sound if someone other than the owner tried to use it for authentication, so it couldn’t be stolen and used.

Though his behavior was strange, he was definitely a police officer since he had a badge.

After a moment’s hesitation, William got into the car. The vehicle left the dark parking lot. Leaving behind the brightly lit hospital, the car drove down the midnight road.

The car ride was quiet. The officer just kept driving, looking straight ahead, while William continued trying to figure out who he was.

‘If he’s someone from the Planetary Security Team that I’ve seen recently…maybe an armed officer?’

“You…”

“We’ve arrived.”

Just as William remembered and was about to ask, the car stopped.

Looking outside, they were not in the administrative district.

A quiet street with no one in sight, a dark alley, and a manhole visible nearby.

‘This is the border between districts?’

William recognized it as the boundary between the residential and port districts. It was a troublesome place with no cameras or streetlights, where robbery incidents occurred periodically.

“Get out.”

“What’s the meaning of this?”

William quickly drew his laser pistol and aimed it at the officer’s temple.

Now he remembered. The man was one of the armed police officers who had gone with him to Apartment 3 in C Complex to capture the monster. He hadn’t gotten a good look at his face then because he was wearing a helmet and mask, which is why he only remembered now.

“You’ll understand everything when you get out.”

“Understand what?”

“……”

The man, or rather Officer 103, offered no resistance. He just kept repeating that William would understand everything once he got out.

‘Could it be?’

William had seen what had happened to Officer 103. How he had been controlled by an unknown parasite and shot his colleague.

“…I’m sorry, Team Leader.”

“What?”

“It’s already too late.”

In the dark car, he turned his head toward William and grinned. Officer 103 was looking at William’s face, or more precisely, behind him.

‘Behind?’

Just as he was about to turn around, he heard the sound of the passenger window breaking. Along with it, something sharp pierced the back of William’s neck.

Before he could feel any pain, his entire body was instantly paralyzed. It was as if someone had locked the part of his brain responsible for body movement. He couldn’t move at all. Even when he tried to exert force on his finger to fire the laser pistol, it didn’t budge.

Then a strong force yanked him out of the car. He was thrown hard onto the ground, but felt no pain.

And finally, William encountered “it.”

Four thick toes that looked like hooves at first glance, and legs with reverse joints unlike human ones, were surrounded by layers of muscles to support the heavy body.

At the hip area, a long, thick tail extended, seemingly twice the size of the body.

Above the legs, armor-like carapace covered everything from the abdomen to the chest, except for part of the belly. Small arms protruded from the chest area covered by the carapace.

These weren’t the only arms. Two pairs of arms were positioned at what would be the shoulders and armpits on a human. They looked similar to the small arms but were much larger. Only the lower left arm was different, with a long rod-like appendage instead of a hand.

The fingers at the ends of the other arms were four in number, and the claws were large and sharp like hooks, making them very threatening.

This alone would make for a nightmarish, grotesque appearance, but what terrified William even more was the creature’s head.

The head shape resembled a reptilian animal, but the two horns on the head, the carapace covering the entire head like a helmet, and the bundle of tentacles at the back of the head made it impossible to consider it an ordinary animal.

Officer 103 got out of the car and knelt before the monster.

“I’ve brought him as ordered.”

The monster glanced at him, then glared back at William.

The monster opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth.

“I never lose my prey.”

The voice that flowed from the monster’s mouth was surprisingly familiar. It was the voice of Officer 112, who had entered the building with him during the operation.

As the creature’s head approached, William screamed.

There was no one to hear that scream except himself.