Chapter 56: IF-017-1 Part 9

“Emily? Oh my goodness, how long has it been? How have you been?”

“Ah, Sarah. It’s been a while.”

Emily Harper, a member of the FPL 017-1 Branch Facility, was exchanging casual greetings with a colleague.

It was her first time doing so since returning from the 4th Research Division.

“How was your dispatch to the 4th Division? Don’t tell me you just spent the whole time babysitting the newbie?”

With a playful wave of her hand, Emily responded to her colleague’s teasing.

“That’s what I expected too, but it wasn’t like that at all. There was this girl named Kang Hana, and honestly, she reminded me a lot of Giselle. Really sharp and capable.”

“Oh, so that’s the junior I keep hearing about—Giselle’s protégé.”

As the two continued their small talk—

Her colleague clapped her hands and leaned in curiously, clearly getting to the main point.

“So, IF-017 woke up, didn’t it? You saw it with your own eyes, right? Do you think it has anything to do with how weird 017-1 units have been acting lately?”

From the spark in her colleague’s eyes, Emily could tell that this was the real reason for the chat.

Officially, the priority of her mission had been to assist Kang Hana, who was working without a team.

But in truth, Emily had been dispatched from the 017-1 Branch Facility for a different reason.

At the question, Emily searched her memory.

For some reason… the last thing she could remember was seeing IF-017 in an ascension state, lying motionless in the isolation chamber.

That was it.

Beyond that point, her memory was completely blank.

“I’m not sure. It didn’t seem all that active to me.”

Even as she said it, her memory felt so hazy that she wasn’t confident in her own words.

Her unhelpful answer drew a disappointed sigh from her colleague.

“Really? They’ve sealed off the whole place, and now no one can even go check. It’s frustrating. Do you know why the 4th Division is being shut down like that?”

Emily tried to recall again, but her thoughts remained foggy.

By now, even she could tell that her memory had been unnaturally severed.

“…This is weird. I think I might’ve been given a memory suppressant.”

Memory suppression was a common protocol in the FPL for maintaining confidentiality.

But in such cases, it was standard to receive a notice: ‘You have been administered a memory suppressant for the following reasons.’

Administering one without even informing the subject? That was a whole different issue.

“I guess it’s classified… Got it.”

Seeing Emily’s uneasy expression, her colleague didn’t press any further.

As her colleague walked away, Emily gave her a small bow.

***

A few moments later—

While she was calmly organizing her desk, a loud vibration rattled her wrist.

Emily checked her watch, and her expression turned grim.

“…Oh no.”

Emergency alert.

Emily shot up and sprinted down the hallway.

IF-017, a top-tier unidentified phenomenon that had been in containment since the early days of the FPL. And the beings that called themselves ‘Gray City,’ worshipping it as a god.

Naturally, IF-017 and its worshippers were classified separately—as IF-017 and IF-017-1.

The main body of IF-017, still in a dormant state, posed no real threat unlike other ancient lifeforms.

Given its peaceful status, containment was easy.

That was the end of it.

But the IF-017-1 units were another matter entirely.

They were awake and active.

Each one powerful enough to rival even the highest threat classes.

Unlike their slumbering god, these creatures were so dangerous that they warranted their own dedicated response base.

The 017-1 Branch Facility.

Its purpose: rapid response to IF-017-1 activity.

Among all FPL’s bases, this one handled some of the most difficult and dangerous missions.

Emily was a researcher there, specializing in behavioral analysis of the 017-1 entities.

As she sprinted through the corridor, she spoke into the hologram emitted from her wristwatch.

“What do you mean one of the secured 017-1 entities is acting strange?”

[The subject had been in a coma, but recently its physiological responses have increased. It’s resumed activity. We’ve subdued it for now, but you need to see it for yourself.]

To that, Emily shook her head in disbelief.

“That level of metabolism shouldn’t be capable of such activity.”

[Just come and see.]

But she knew they wouldn’t be making things up.

Emily pushed open the doors to the designated location, rushing inside.

And just as she had been told—

“Hello. I’m looking for 017-1. Where is it?”

“Ah, you’re the researcher. We’ve confined it beyond that temporary barrier.”

Inside a chamber the size of a sports field—

Emily looked past the heavily armed tactical unit, toward the area beyond the barrier.

The air was thick with the stench of blood.

The ground beyond the makeshift wall was littered with shredded flesh and organs.

Blood-soaked fabric was the only clue to the victims’ identities.

At the center of it all, a wounded humanoid lay sprawled in the gore.

At first glance, she looked like an innocent girl caught in a tragedy.

But this was the very creature responsible for tearing dozens of people apart.

IF-017-1.

Her appearance was deceptively harmless, like a harmless young girl. But the look in her eyes—cold and ruthless—was that of a merciless killer.

The moment their eyes met, Emily instinctively took a step back.

Her voice trembled with disbelief.

“This… This is enough to qualify as a full ascension state. Just recently, her brainwave activity was completely flat… When did this change?”

A member of the tactical unit answered.

“Her vitals started rising on the 8th. She began moving today.”

“I see…”

Emily tried to recall what happened around that time.

She remembered something involving IF-684 and IF-017, but everything else was a blur.

“Damn it! Why can’t I remember anything?!”

Frustrated, Emily shouted.

She resolved then and there—she would go to HQ and demand answers.

That’s when it happened.

****

Splish.

A wet sound echoed as something stepped through the pool of blood.

017-1 was getting back up, staggering to her feet.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Emily quickly adjusted her wristwatch to begin measurements.

The anti-entropy readings were spiking out of control.

“…You said she was neutralized?”

Being pulled back by the hands of the tactical unit, Emily’s voice trembled.

Eventually.

Horns and a tail slowly emerged from 017-1’s body, its eyes rolling back.

—Creak, crack.

It wasn’t like it was retrieving organs it had previously stored.

No, the sound was far more grotesque—like bones breaking and muscles stretching to forcefully generate entirely new organs.

Soon after, IF-017-1 clutched its chest in pain, exhaling a scorching breath.

“Detected heat surge in Jin-Damani organ.”

“Everyone, be advised. The entity is entering ascension state.”

“Code Red.”

Surrounded by members of the tactical strike unit, Emily kept her eyes on 017-1.

“It’s not at top-tier level, is it?”

Even as its transforming body began to collapse, there were still no signs of wings.

Among the IF-017-1 units, this one was considered young and weak.

If this had happened at another lab or base, the Code Red would have meant a full-blown emergency.

But here, at the 017-1 satellite base, it was still within manageable limits.

That is—if it had ended there.

The anti-entropy index was rising uncontrollably.

“Why isn’t it stopping?”

Just as Emily fell back toward the rear and muttered, The temporary containment barrier began to melt, And along with it came flashing red lights and blaring alarms.

A sudden escalation.

The entity that had been classified as Code Red was now upgraded to Code Black.

“The entity is receiving abnormal levels of caloric energy.”

“Internal core temperature is now… 1100 degrees—no, 1130 degrees…”

—Ssshhhkk.

And then—

***

Dragging along a body crumbling into ashes, IF-017-1 pushed through the softening barrier.

It stared back with vicious, bloodshot eyes.

“We have to kill it before ascension completes. Open fire!”

A barrage of gunfire poured out.

And then, IF-017-1—now fully in ascension state—began to rampage.

“…What the hell did it turn into?”

From the relative safety of the rear, Emily observed the battle.

Without a doubt, 017-1 was overwhelming.

It freely manipulated flame reminiscent of IF-684’s breath, vaporizing not just people but entire objects.

It was always an unreal sight.

That fire—it was hot and destructive enough to incinerate even 017-1 itself.

Its heart rate surged past 300 in ascension.

Its aggression was clearly the result of stress levels beyond the limit.

Its body was breaking down nonstop.

It was obvious that no 017-1 could survive long with that kind of fire burning in its heart.

Before ascension even finished—

The fire that had consumed dozens of tactical unit members ended up destroying IF-017-1’s body on its own.

***

Crack.

As a recoil effect of the ascension, 017-1’s left arm crumbled and vanished.

And at that very moment—

—Boom!

An explosion erupted from the exposed reverse scale under 017-1’s jaw.

“Direct hit.”

The entity stumbled.

017-1 wavered and collapsed, powerless.

Horns and tail crumbled to dust as it coughed up blood in vain.

It was over.

“Situation neutralized.”

The strike team dispersed.

All that remained were the non-combat personnel—and IF-017-1, too injured to ever stand again.

Emily approached 017-1.

It was a familiar scene.

She didn’t really want to get close, but she figured she might be able to learn something from this unexpected incident.

That was the only reason.

“…Hah.”

She drew closer.

When her eyes met 017-1’s again, Emily let out a soft sigh.

Even though it looked just like a young girl, Watching 017-1 die after taking a hit to the reverse scale was never easy to get used to.

With a dazed expression, 017-1 mumbled:

“I wanted to see the little young High Priestess again…”

Her face—just moments ago contorted in rage as she ripped soldiers apart—now looked heartbreakingly wistful.

Tears streamed down her face as she forced out her final words.

“Please… live well without me, Master Giselle…”

The moment the sentence ended, IF-017-1’s body completely broke down and melted away.

All that was left was a human-shaped pile of ash soaked in blood.

Nothing different from usual.

“…There’s nothing to figure out.”

Emily turned away, mood thoroughly ruined.

“Tend to the wounded.”

“Goddamn it, how many died this time…”

The area bustled with chaos as personnel scrambled to handle the failed containment.

Emily paused in silence, lost in thought.

It was hard to believe, but supposedly—

Years ago, before the establishment of the FPL—

The 017-1s hadn’t always been so openly hostile to humans.

They said things started to go wrong after that one incident.

And once the FPL secured custody of IF-017, the relationship turned outright antagonistic.

Emily tried to picture 017-1 from that time, One that supposedly used to follow humans around like a loyal pet.

But she just couldn’t imagine it.

Instead, the face that popped into Emily’s mind—

Was that of the one person who claimed to have witnessed 017-1 back in those days.

“I went all the way to Research Lab 4… I should’ve asked while I had the chance.”

But Emily shook her head.

Digging into someone else’s wounds without permission wasn’t right.

“Well… I’m sure Giselle will tell me eventually.”

With that, Emily moved on.