Fwssshhh─!
After unleashing every explosive laid across Opacum's swamp, I blazed forward on the Z-74 jetpack, continuously bombarding the beast from above.
Tututututututu───!!
Boom! Boom!
Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle in my right hand.
CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher in my left.
A truly optimized combo for rapid airborne assault.
'Sure, I'd love to be riding Horus and tearing through with the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun, but... given how close I am to the Ark, that's just asking for trouble.'
If anyone from the Ark caught a glimpse of me atop Horus, things would get very annoying.
Even with my bone mask hiding my identity, a defector like me showing up on the front lines? That's a huge red flag.
Click, click─
As Horus began its descent, I pulled the trigger. The barrels of the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun roared to life.
Whirrrrrrrrrr...
Then, as they reached full spin—
TO-TO-TO-TO-TO-TO!!!
The barrage rained down ruthlessly onto the ground.
[GRAOOOOOOOOOOO─!!!]
Each time Opacum thrashed, monsters and beasts alike were swept away in its wake.
BOOOOM────!
CRAAAAAASH!!!!
But these weren't just ordinary bullets falling.
They were rounds accelerated by both gravity and Horus's high-speed dive.
["Ughhh!"]
Esther screamed and clung to my shoulder, struggling to keep up with the intense descent.
VROOOOOOOM────!
Below, I could see Opacum flailing under the hail of bullets.
'Now then...'
Sensing the timing was right, I yanked back on Horus's reins and halted the descent.
Any lower, and I'd risk entering Ark's visual range.
"Back up."
[Kihet!]
With a powerful flap of its wings, Horus began to ascend once more.
Then came the loop.
Rise and fall, rise and fall—each dive heralded another barrage.
TO-TO-TO-TO-TO-TO───!!!!
The NOA-31's bullets tore into Opacum's already battered head.
Even for a monster like Opacum—already wounded by countless explosions—this was too much.
It staggered under the barrage.
[Guhhhhhh...]
It was almost pitiful, honestly.
But pity wasn't on my schedule.
No, this was the perfect opportunity.
'I need to inflict as much damage as possible before it reaches the Ark.'
Horus flapped again, ascending higher.
Because to strike, I had to climb first.
Flap—
FLAP!
Then, in mid-ascent, a swarm of flying monsters blocked our path.
Usually, beasts don't fly this high. Clearly, I'd stirred up too much attention.
'Drew aggro, huh.'
Didn't matter.
Let them come.
"Horus."
[Kihet!]
I quickly stashed the NOA-31 back into the [Rift Space].
Horus needed to shed the weight for evasive maneuvers.
I pulled the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle off my back.
The heat on the barrel was manageable—usable again.
'Then let's go for it...'
Clack─
I flipped the rifle into shotgun mode.
At this range, against flying beasts with vulnerable wings, nothing was better.
Zing—CHK!
Fssssht...
With the conversion complete, I aimed.
Target: a Grade-5 flying type on my tail.
No hesitation.
BOOM────!
The spread shot couldn't blow off its head, but it shredded its wings.
[KYYYYAAAGHH───!]
The beast spiraled down, crashing toward the swamp below.
I didn't stop.
Clack, clack—
Aim, fire.
Effortless, precise motions—one after another, wings were torn apart.
[KIEEEEK!]
One shot. Two. Three. Four...
Pellets scattered through the air.
—
[You have slain Grade-5 Flying-Type: Dark Ray.]
[Damage to Dark Ray increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain Grade-7 Flying-Type: Spiny-Tailed Cuckoo.]
[Damage to Spiny-Tailed Cuckoo increases by 0.05%.]
[You have slain Grade-7 Aberrant-Type: Cursed Bird Statue.]
[Damage to Cursed Bird Statue increases by 0.05%.]
.
.
.
[You have slain Grade-4 Aberrant-Type: Gargoyle.]
[Damage to Gargoyle increases by 0.05%.]
—
Thud—
CRASH!!
Flying monsters and aberrants plummeted helplessly to the swamp below.
Maybe now they'd realize rushing me head-on wasn't the smartest move.
The rest started to fall back, surrounding me at a distance.
Then they shifted strategy—ranged attacks.
[Ptooey!]
[Pffftht!]
Acid shot in from all sides.
If even a drop touched skin, it'd melt right through.
'Not happening.'
I grabbed Horus's reins and began evasive maneuvers.
"Fly!"
[Kihet!]
Darting left and right, Horus dodged a chaotic storm of acid sprays, poison spit, and even rocks.
Nothing's perfect, of course—some of it splashed against his skin.
But Horus just raised his bone scales and shrugged it off like nothing.
[Kihehehehet─!]
Fighting through the swarm, I saw it:
Opacum nearing the Ark.
It was time.
Time for me to join the fight on the ground.
'Alright then...'
Gripping the reins, I turned Horus toward the Ark.
Still at a high altitude, far above their line of sight—no risk of exposure.
"Wait for me here."
[Kihet?]
["W-Wait! What are you doing?!"]
Without another word, I launched myself from beneath Horus.
* * *
Thoom!
THOOM!
The Rotting Body, Opacum.
It was advancing toward the Ark.
"..."
As she watched it approach, Lieutenant Imosha's eyes involuntarily overlapped with a scene from long ago.
The day the Black Line fell.
A day she had thought everything was over. A day steeped in despair. The memories of that day crept back like a rising mist.
'...I won't let it end like that again.'
Lieutenant Imosha clenched her fists tightly.
She would not allow a repeat of that time.
She would not let the Red Line fall the way the Black Line had.
With that resolve burning in her chest, she stared directly at the advancing Opacum.
THOOM───!
Thoom!
But something was off.
The Opacum she saw now—after so long—was different from the one that had haunted her memories.
It was scorched and burned, shambling like a beaten wreck. Opacum limped as it drew closer to the Red Line.
'...What is this?'
The Opacum in her memory had been the embodiment of terror.
It had marched forward, spreading rot and decay, corrupting everything around it with its oozing, putrid flesh.
But now, it looked crippled—damaged to the point that it seemed almost... manageable.
'...No. I can't let my guard down.'
Lieutenant Imosha raised her voice.
"Level 1 bio-chem threat! Everyone, masks on and seal your suits to maximum tightness!"
At her command, soldiers from Gate Red-17 sprang into action.
Level 1 bio-chem alert.
A condition where exposure could literally melt a body alive through toxins or radiation. In such conditions, proper protective gear was non-negotiable.
Soldiers sealed their hazmat suits tighter and donned their gas masks.
But there was a downside.
Wearing a gas mask restricted vision and mobility, meaning the battle would be even harder than usual.
Hssss, huff... huff...
The sound of filtered breathing filled the battlefield.
Then the combat began.
Tututututututu───!!
[KRAAAK!]
[KEEEEHHK!]
Even amid the battle, Opacum inched ever closer from the distance.
But compared to the Opacum that had once obliterated the Black Line, this one's movements were sluggish—almost pitiful.
'...We can do this. No—we have to do this.'
Lieutenant Imosha forced herself to shake off the creeping fear.
The very sight of Opacum still threatened to pull her into a waking nightmare, but she suppressed it with sheer will.
Until—
[GROOOOOOOOOHHHH...]
That deep, dreadful roar tore through the air.
And with it, all the resolve she had built up came crashing down.
"Haah... haaaah...!"
Fear.
Overwhelming, all-consuming fear.
She felt like she would lose her mind if she didn't run right this instant.
"A-ah..."
And then came the flood of memories—vivid and cruel.
「"Help me—!"」
「"Kyaaa! Mama, mama!"」
「"Please... not my child...!"」
「"Someone, please help us!"」
The screams of the past.
The monstrous beasts devouring lives, heedless of the pleas around them.
And the one who led them.
The colossal monster that destroyed the Black Line.
The nightmare itself.
The Rotting Body, Opacum.
"Ah... aaah..."
Imosha lost her courage.
The enemy stood right before her, and she couldn't move.
["Lieutenant! We need orders!"]
["GRAAHK!"]
The voices of her soldiers crackled through the comms, but she couldn't respond.
She had to move. She had to act.
But she couldn't.
No matter how many scars Opacum bore now, no matter how much fire had scorched its skin—it was still the same nightmare.
[GROOOOOOOOOOOHHH───]
It drew closer.
Opacum.
The nightmare.
"AAAAAHH...!"
Imosha could only gape as it approached, lips trembling.
And then—
VROOOOOOOOOM────!
A sudden sonic boom.
She instinctively looked up.
Something was descending toward the Ark.
'...An enemy attack?'
No... wait.
As she focused, it became clear.
Too small to be a flying beast.
Too human-shaped.
'No way...'
And then, just before it collided with the Ark's wall, its descent slowed to a perfect halt.
"...Huh?"
Imosha stared.
And then she saw who it was.
Who had landed atop the Ark's wall.
"Carl... Marcus?"
"Cover your ears."
"...What?"
But there was no time for further questions.
Carl Marcus had already taken position, gripping the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle.
And the rifle—began to shift.
Click, click, clack─
What emerged wasn't any of the standard modes she knew.
Imosha, for all her military training, didn't recognize what she was seeing.
"That's... what is that—"
She never finished the sentence.
From Carl Marcus's hands, a searing beam of destructive light roared forth.
And it pierced Opacum in an instant.