The beam of light stretched forward.
Only moments later did Lieutenant Imosha realize—it was a Railgun blast.
She felt like she was dreaming.
What... just happened?
She understood that Carl Marcus had suddenly fallen from the sky.
But when that same Carl Marcus began to unleash unrelenting attacks on the nightmare that was Opacum, Imosha couldn't hide her disbelief.
"Carl Marcus..."
Logically, she knew.
The Rotting Body, Opacum was just an exceptionally powerful behemoth—not a god, not a demon. It was something that could be fought.
She knew that.
And yet... because Opacum had taken root so deeply in her nightmares, she hadn't even been able to imagine standing against it.
She knew it made her a fool—helpless, paralyzed.
But the terror that Opacum inspired wasn't something that logic could undo.
And now, the Carl Marcus who had suddenly appeared had shattered that fear without hesitation.
[GRAAAAAAAAGH───!]
Opacum—the nightmare—screamed.
Clutching the gaping hole in its chest, it thrashed in what looked like genuine agony.
"How... how is this possible...?"
"You don't have time to stand there wondering."
"...What?"
Carl Marcus said it.
The words he'd said to her so many times before.
"Do what needs to be done."
That snapped her out of it—just enough to catch herself as her composure began to slip again.
Right.
It wasn't even that complicated.
Do what needs to be done.
That was all.
She was a soldier of the Ark, and she already knew what a soldier's duty was.
"...Yes."
She clenched her teeth, so hard that blood trickled between her lips, but she didn't care.
"Everyone—"
But she didn't even get to finish her order.
With a deafening blast next to her, Carl Marcus had already drawn a CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher from who-knows-where.
[GROOOOOOOOOOOHH───!]
Opacum advanced.
But no longer did it haunt Lieutenant Imosha as a nightmare.
It was just a target.
One that needed to be eliminated.
"This is Gate Red-17's commanding officer reporting," she said firmly into the comms.
"Terminate the behemoth. Terminate the Rotting Body, Opacum."
* * *
BOOM!
KA-BOOOOOM────!
The projectiles fired from the CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher shot forward, hurtling toward Opacum.
[GRAAAAAAAAAGH!]
For the first time, the CRN-842 began to deal significant damage—not just to Opacum's thick outer flesh, but to its vulnerable innards.
After enduring countless attacks, Opacum's armor had finally begun to weaken—and the Ark's weapons were finally piercing through.
[GROOOOOOOOOH───!]
Opacum staggered violently, its relentless march toward the Red Line momentarily faltering.
The Ark didn't waste the opportunity.
A wave of firepower surged from its defenses.
TO-TO-TO-TO-TO-TO-TO───!
KABOOOM! CRACKLE—!
Explosions. Fire. Flame.
A maelstrom of destructive energy thundered forward to halt the advance of the colossal nightmare.
And yet, even under such hellish bombardment, the Rotting Body, Opacum refused to stop.
No—it became more ferocious.
[GRAAAAAH────!]
It shrieked in rage, hurling chunks of rotting flesh in all directions.
And those putrid hunks?
The Ark wasn't immune.
"Take cover!"
A desperate shout echoed as massive, noxious slabs of flesh crashed down. Some soldiers couldn't get out of the way.
"AAAGH!"
But it wasn't just the impact that killed.
Ssssss...
Opacum's flesh was no ordinary rot.
Each fragment was laced with deadly toxins and radiation—more akin to bioweapons than flesh.
"Guhhh...!"
A soldier caught beneath one of the chunks could barely let out a word before his protective suit began melting away, blood spraying from his mouth as he died.
The mask's filters had long since failed.
"Avoid contact with the flesh!" Imosha shouted. "I repeat—do NOT approach the rotting flesh! It's class-one biohazard!"
But it didn't matter how fast they responded.
If handling it were easy, Opacum wouldn't have held the title of regional dominator.
Despite Imosha's quick orders, casualties piled up.
"GHAAA...!"
"Just... someone... kill me...!"
Watching a person dissolve alive—there were no words.
'At this rate, the Ark's losses will only grow.'
Yes, they could kill Opacum eventually. But if the cost was the Ark itself... what then?
'I'll have to step in again.'
Leaving the Ark in this condition wasn't ideal. But under the circumstances—there was no choice.
"You—what are you—"
Thoughts ended. Action began.
I leapt from the Ark's wall, activating the Z-74 jetpack.
FWOOSH────!
I launched straight toward Opacum.
At this point, there were less than two kilometers between the beast and the Red Line.
If Opacum reached the walls, the Red Line wouldn't last long.
'I'm not letting that happen.'
Flying through a hellscape of bullets and shrapnel, I advanced.
Friendly fire was a serious threat, so I'd reinforced my hazmat suit with thin bone plating—just in case.
CLANG!
Sure enough, a stray round ricocheted off my thigh.
I could've withstood that without Janus, but it felt different this time.
'No room for error.'
As I closed in, flying monsters surged toward me—just as expected.
Persistent pests.
["Master!"]
'Block them for me!'
["W-What?!"]
Even flustered, Esther didn't delay.
[Block?]
[Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block. Block...]
[BLOCK────]
Ether under Esther's control surged outward, forming a faint barrier using my strength.
It wasn't the impenetrable shield she once conjured, but—
'It's enough.'
The flying beasts that had charged at me paused, wings flinching against the resistance.
A short opening.
But for me, plenty.
Clack—
I raised the Ark-34 and took aim.
If they had been dodging, I'd aim for the wings. But now? I could go for the head.
BOOM!
An A-985 explosive round ripped through one beast's skull.
And the splash damage—
[Kraaagh...]
—Tore through others nearby, sending them spiraling to the ground.
Still airborne, I didn't stop pulling the trigger.
BOOM!
TATATATATATA───!
If I had to pay per bullet, I'd have gone bankrupt.
Luckily, I didn't have to worry about that.
I had infinite ammunition.
["Master! The sky's clear!"]
"I see it."
The swarm had parted.
With no hesitation, I pushed the Z-74 to its limit.
KRA-KRA-KRA-KRA────!
The blue plasma engine roared as I rocketed forward.
[GROOOOOOOOOH...]
The closer I got to Opacum, the heavier the air grew.
The toxins and radiation grew thicker.
If I hadn't replaced my filter and sealed my mask, my lungs would've turned to soup by now.
'Even so... staying this close for long will kill me.'
[RAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!]
Did it sense me?
Or had it finally realized I was the one who hurt it most?
Whatever the reason, Opacum's massive front paw lunged toward me.
VROOOOOOOOOOM────!
A single swing stirred the air into a minor storm.
Dodging wasn't the issue—the real threat came from the flying chunks of poisoned flesh accompanying the attack.
'I have to avoid all of them.'
Fortunately, while dodging the meat was tough, shooting it down wasn't.
Clack—
I flipped the Ark-34 into shotgun mode and turned the barrel.
A-985 Explosive Rounds fired in a fiery blast, incinerating the incoming flesh mid-air.
WHOOOOOSH!
CRACKLE!
Blazing past everything, I finally reached Opacum.
It was time.
I slung the Ark-34 and pulled the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher from my coat.
Second only to the Railgun, this was my strongest weapon.
Its power increased the closer you were to the target—technically, it dropped off at range. But in close combat?
It was like wielding a plasma sword.
And right now—
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt────!!!
A searing beam burst from my hand, cutting through Opacum from head to toe.
SPLAAAAAAASH────!!!
Rotting flesh fell away in chunks.
But I wasn't done.
Zzzzzzzzt!!!
Again, and again. I swung the BLT-47 like a butcher with a cleaver.
[GYAAAAAAAAAAARGH────!!!]
Opacum's screams echoed across the battlefield, its flesh exploding outward with each cut.
But I didn't stop.
Over and over.
Until the Plasma Launcher started spewing black smoke.
Until—
[Guuuuuuugh...]
THOOOOOOOOOM────!!!
The Rotting Body, Opacum—
Collapsed.