Shoulder-length, long, white hair.
A lean yet solid-looking body.
Features like a sculpture.
At first glance, the Immortal appeared to be an ordinary human—no, an extraordinarily handsome man.
But one mustn't be deceived by appearances.
The Immortal.
As the name implies, the Immortal was immortality itself—an opponent I had no chance against, even now.
I had no idea why the Immortal, who should be in the Cracked Desert, was here.
But one thing was certain—if we made a single wrong move, the entire team could be annihilated.
'If I were alone, I could somehow slip away… but there's no way I can do that with all of them in tow.'
Even if, by some miracle, I could escape, it would still be a problem.
To escape from the Immortal, I would have to expend everything I had, and in doing so, the true identity of the Turncoat Pawn would be exposed to the reconnaissance team. Even if they survived, it would be the worst possible outcome for me.
["M-Master..."]
Esther trembled with fear as she watched the Immortal slowly approach.
It was understandable.
The Immortal was practically the antithesis of Ether itself.
'Still… I suppose it's a relief that the Immortal doesn't look to be in perfect condition.'
Just as that thought suggested, the Immortal bore signs of having been buried somewhere—ripped and broken all over.
The fact that even the Immortal's renowned regenerative powers weren't healing those wounds meant the damage was severe.
'If it's now, we can escape.'
I didn't know why the Immortal was here, nor what had happened.
But I couldn't afford to worry about those things when the presence of the Immortal before us was so overwhelming.
"Hildegard."
"…Yes?"
Without realizing it, Hildegard had activated her insight eye, and tears of blood streamed from her eyes.
It meant that even just looking at the figure before her was no easy task.
"From now on, you're the reconnaissance team leader. Lead the members back to Ark. Immediately."
"…Understood."
Hildegard said no more.
She instinctively sensed through her insight that the situation was gravely abnormal.
"What on earth is—"
"Quiet. Just follow me for now."
Dmitri and Klutz began to speak, clearly confused, but after seeing Hildegard's expression, they quickly fell silent.
Iris and Kurilta, for their part, seemed to grasp the situation to some extent, and followed without a word.
"Carl."
At that moment, Kurilta looked at me and said,
"Don't die."
"That's an unnecessary worry."
Kurilta smirked.
"Yeah, figured as much."
With that final exchange, the reconnaissance team began to withdraw swiftly.
...
Fortunately, the Immortal showed little interest in the team's retreat.
More precisely, it seemed like he had no interest in us at all.
["Is… is he just going to leave?"]
'…Hard to say.'
The Immortal limped past me, barely acknowledging my presence.
Then, as if searching for something, he wandered through the ruins.
["Shouldn't we run now?"]
'If we flee recklessly and he follows us to Ark, it'll be a disaster.'
Ark hadn't yet completed its anti-Immortal weaponry.
In fact, they hadn't even started development.
The threat of the Immortal was still unknown to the world.
What if the Immortal were to descend upon Ark?
Of course, at first, they would try to stop him.
They'd burn and blast his body dozens, even hundreds of times to hold him back.
But how long could that last?
The Immortal cannot die.
He embodies immortality itself—and in the end, he would drive Ark to its doom.
'I can't let that happen.'
Luckily, the Immortal doesn't approach Ark unless certain conditions are met.
So normally, he should be quietly lingering in the Cracked Desert, yet here he was—alarmingly close to Ark.
'At this point, I need to figure out what's going on.'
I kept a careful distance as I followed behind the Immortal.
["M-Master! What are you doing?! Now's our chance to run while he doesn't care about us!"]
'I need to know why the Immortal is here. Ark could be in danger.'
["That damned Ark...!"]
Esther cried out in disbelief, but my decision was already made.
I had to uncover why the Immortal was here.
["Ugh, seriously...!"]
Even as she complained, Esther obediently followed behind me.
Or rather, she had no choice.
...
The Immortal wandered aimlessly through the ruins, as if half-possessed.
His primary focus seemed to be the bones scattered throughout the place.
...
He picked up a bone, snapped it like a stick, and began to consume it.
Crunch, crunch──
["…What is he doing?"]
'I don't know.'
Although his physiology differed greatly from typical living beings, the Immortal also consumed matter to gain energy.
Still, the sight of him devouring bones like that was bizarre.
Crunch-crunch-crunch──!
His grotesque feast continued for a while.
Almost as if entranced, he devoured bone after bone scattered throughout the ruins.
["…Shouldn't we stop him?"]
It wasn't a wrong suggestion.
If we were going to fight him, we should do it before he finished eating and regained his strength.
'What should I do....'
To fight or to observe.
Depending on my choice here, many things could change.
["Master?"]
'…Let's observe for now.'
My decision was to wait.
It was too risky to act without knowing the Immortal's true purpose.
'If the Immortal's goal isn't Ark, then attacking now might just provoke him unnecessarily.'
I trailed the Immortal from a safe distance, continuing to monitor his movements.
Squelch, squelch─
Crunch…
His actions were consistent.
Find a bone. Eat it.
He only stopped moving after finishing the last of the bones in front of him.
"Smell..."
Then slowly, the Immortal's gaze turned in my direction.
As if he now saw me… as prey.
"Bones… smell…"
Esther spoke as she watched the scene.
["…Master, I suddenly have this really bad feeling. It's not just in my head, right?"]
"Seems like it's not."
Unfortunately, Esther's ominous premonition quickly became reality.
"Smell…!"
Whatever the reason, the Immortal suddenly twisted his body and lunged straight at me.
'Tsk.'
But there was no need to panic.
Even if the enemy was the Immortal, with the firepower I had now, I could still restrain his movements—at least temporarily.
Clack—
I switched my Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle, slung across my back, into shotgun mode.
Time taken: approximately 1.5 seconds.
And that 1.5 seconds was more than enough for the Immortal to reach me.
"BONES!"
As the Immortal bared his monstrous nature, Janus responded by unleashing his bone tendrils.
[Gi-git!]
Janus's bone tendrils extended in an attempt to block the Immortal's approach.
But against the Immortal, Janus's bone tendrils snapped like brittle straws.
Crack!
Crunch-crunch—!
Tendrils tough enough to withstand most heavy firepower couldn't even resist the Immortal.
["Master!"]
As Esther cried out desperately, my finger pulled the trigger on the Ark-34 Shotgun.
BOOOOOM───!
Loaded shell: A-985 Explosive Round.
It wouldn't kill the Immortal, but it was enough to momentarily halt him.
Fwooooshhhh—
Amid the roaring flames, the Immortal's charge faltered.
Seizing the moment, I activated the Z-74 Jetpack and quickly widened the distance between us.
["…Whew."]
Esther sighed in relief, but sadly, it was far too soon to be relieved.
Despite taking a direct hit from an A-985 Explosive Round, the Immortal showed not a single scratch—and once again began moving toward me.
["What is that freak…!"]
I pulled the trigger again.
With another blast, the Immortal's body paused once more.
"Haaah…"
As expected, even with the Ark-34 Shotgun loaded with A-985 rounds, it could only briefly interrupt his movements. Nothing more.
'I can't keep running forever.'
The Immortal can't be killed.
Perhaps, once Ark completes a weapon designed to seal him, that might become an option—but not right now.
'In that case…'
I drew the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler from inside my coat.
Aside from the Ark-34 Railgun, this was the most powerful burst-fire combo I had.
'This should be enough to stop him, even if only briefly.'
No hesitation. My thoughts were quick, and my hands even quicker.
As the Immortal started to approach again, I fired the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
Pssssssssss───!
A wave of intense cold shot forward. The Immortal's movements gradually slowed, and then—
He froze completely.
But I knew.
I knew this frozen state would only last for a very short time.
Zeeeeeeeeng───!
Which is why I didn't stop—I immediately swung the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher.
Thanks to countless upgrades through Maybell Pilgrim, the launcher's brilliance now outshone anything it had ever produced before.
BOOOOOOOOM—!
A searing flash expanded outward, engulfing the Immortal.
KA-KRAKKA-BOOM!
One of the most powerful combos, effective even in late-stage engagements.
Proving that fact, the Immortal's body collapsed under the force of the blast.
["Master! You did it!"]
Esther cheered.
But I knew better.
The Immortal was a being that couldn't be killed to begin with.
'It's not over.'
["Huh?"]
'He's coming back.'
And just as I said it, the Immortal—who had taken a hit that should've left nothing behind—began to rise once more.
Shuffle, shuffle—
The cracks formed from freezing and shattering started to mend.
["What is that thing...!"]
The only consolation was that the Immortal was clearly not in peak condition.
'The wounds I just gave him are healing… but the older ones are still there. They must have been serious.'
No—if he had been at full strength, there's no way I would've lasted this long.
'Then…'
I holstered the BLT-47 Plasma Launcher and the ICE-54 Plasma Cooler.
Though most of his injuries were already healed, there seemed to be a bit of lag, and he hadn't fully closed the distance yet.
'Esther.'
["Yes?"]
'Help me.'
I pulled out the Ark-34 Automatic Conversion Rifle again, switching it to Railgun mode.
Zeeeeeng—
Pshhh, chk, chk—
Distance to the Immortal: roughly 130 meters.
Plenty of space to charge the Ark-34's Railgun.
Tchzzzt, tchzztchzzzt───!
Ether sparked violently around the muzzle of the Railgun.
[K-kill...]
[Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared. Scared.]
[Screeech, skkkkrrk!]
Sensing the Immortal's presence, the Ether reacted violently, resisting.
But Esther forcefully suppressed it.
["Obey!"]
Preparation complete.
Now, all that remained was to pull the trigger.
"BoNeS… sMeLL…"
The Immortal, now risen, staggered toward me once more.
But I had no intention of letting him get close again.
'Now.'
At the short signal, the massive energy stored in the Ark-34 Railgun surged forward—directly at the Immortal.