The siren storm in Bunker 013 subsided. The blood of the Lurkers froze beneath the leadership of Captain Bear, the 'monster with a heart.'
In the control room, scientists huddled in discussion; the rhythmic dance of fingers on monitor keys blended with echoes of chatter under the harsh glare of neon lights.
"Thank you, Bear. You saved this bunker," Scarlett said, her red hair now tied neatly. Her voice cut through the bustle, low yet radiating absolute authority.
The dark, hulking figure, standing 190 cm tall and rigid, merely gave a firm nod. He was Bear. A suit of golden armor made of carbon nano-fibers encased his body, tracing the contours of his massive muscles. He stood before Scarlett—a stark contrast, like a giant looming over a mere mortal.
"Perhaps Project Executioner will end soon, once my robot project is successful," she added.
She walked away without looking back. Behind her frozen mask of authority, only her inner soul dared to voice a lethal truth in PETERUMMAN: she wanted them to stop being killing machines.
In another corner of the control room, Diana approached Varkas. "Sergeant Varkas, Captain Bear orders you to return!" she commanded.
Varkas smiled and bowed low. The moment Diana, Bear's vice-captain, left, Varkas glanced at the main gate and smirked.
Beyond the main gates of Bunker 013, the cold air froze the tips of one's ears. The blizzard shrouding the earth was never kind to life. Without PETERUMMAN's tactical uniforms, none could survive except monsters and magic-users. Yet, the snow never touched the massive walls of PETERUMMAN. There, only a damp, chilling air lingered—one that froze one's courage more than any blizzard outside. Just like in Sector 007.
Cycle 18.00
Dorm Block B greeted them with a bored stare, indifferent to their exhaustion. They were merely tools forced to be useful; if broken, they were discarded.
Inside the warm Room 09 B, the atmosphere was marked by a rare sight: a smile from Reyna.
Amae was scrubbing the bathroom floor with overflowing emotion. Beside him, Nugia was fascinated by the water flowing from the tap, as if calculating the flow rate per second.
Feeling safe from Meyra's reach, Amae's inner mischief flared. He grabbed a hanging towel and wrapped it around his head like a haughty woman. Seizing the toilet brush like a command baton, he began pacing in front of Nugia.
"Nugia! Listen!" Amae sneered, pouting his lips to mimic Meyra's shrill, fierce tone. "Outside, Zilla is the leader, but in here, I am the Queen! If there's even a tiny stain, your lumps will become ten-story snail houses! Understand?!"
Amae giggled to himself, feeling a sense of victory for mocking the "dictator" behind her back. He continued his impersonation: "Of course... but you must scrub this bathroom until I tell you to stop!"
Suddenly, Nugia stopped inspecting the tap. His eyes locked onto the door behind Amae.
"Amae," Nugia said flatly.
"What? You want to say I look exactly like that witch, right?" Amae grew more excited, twirling the brush in the air.
"Meyra is behind you."
The world seemed to stop spinning. The brush slipped from Amae's hand, hitting the wet tiles with a pathetic metallic clang. Amae didn't dare turn around. He could only feel a burning heat on the back of his neck—a heat far more intense than any bathwater in Peterumman.
"Go on, Amae. I want to hear... which part of my speech sounds like a witch?" Meyra's voice was deceptively soft, yet each word felt like a needle poised to pierce his lungs.
Cycle 19.00 - Blue Light
Amae and Nugia knelt before Meyra.
"Why do I have to feel your 650 Newtons too, Mey?" Nugia asked innocently, rubbing his head.
"Because you conspired with him, you deserve that lump!" Meyra glared at them. Amae kept his head down, not daring to look up. Zilla was explaining the manual she had read a thousand times to Reyna, her voice a background hum to the silence Meyra had created.
"I can't believe it. How dare you insult me!" Meyra paced back and forth in front of them.
"Shouldn't we go out and get our food?" Nugia asked, pointing to the glowing blue light.
"SHUT UP!!! You... you know your mistake is fatal. Even your innocent tone is a sin!" Meyra barked.
Zilla trembled, suppressed laughter bubbling in her chest. When Meyra glanced over, Zilla quickly pretended to read with frantic focus.
"Look, Zilla is trembling from hunger! Right, Zill?" Nugia said, pointing at Zilla.
"You really want your lump to be multi-storied, don't you?" Meyra growled.
"Multi-storied?" Nugia tilted his head.
Thwack!
The blow landed again in the same spot, and Meyra turned away. Her heels struck the concrete floor with a short, heavy thud with every step, leaving for the bathroom without looking back. Amae grabbed their iron mess tins from outside the room, which were being distributed by Instructor Jean and his assistant.
Nugia looked in the mirror, seeing his lump had become two tiers.
"Amazing, it's growing and tiered, but it stings even more!" he said, his eyes sparkling as if he had found the best toy. Zilla and Amae burst into silent laughter. Meanwhile, Meyra indulged in the warm water to calm herself. Beyond it all, the most beautiful thing was Reyna's smile, making their warmth eternal.
***
The next day, in a room smelling of citrus, Colonel Lion chose to stare at a photo of his daughter. To him, that longing was far more urgent than dealing with reports from incompetent subordinates.
Before long, the hydraulic door slid open with a mechanical creak. Sergeant Varkas entered confidently.
"Varkas, you've returned from the monster containment at Bunker 013. What happened there?" Lion didn't even look up.
"Captain Bear stayed there to secure the site. As promised, he sent me back, though the situation isn't entirely stable yet!" Varkas observed Lion's every move.
"And how are your wards? I heard you injured them for your own ego?" Lion finally looked at him.
"Forgive me, Colonel. That was only... a bit of over-stimulation to trigger their potential." Varkas kept his gaze straight, avoiding Lion's face.
"Since you've admitted it, I'll allow you to mentor them again. But remember, they are Lord Vier's precious assets. If you slip up, I'll make sure your head is replaced with scrap metal." Lion set down the photo of his daughter.
Lion stood and approached Varkas. The cold sweat on Varkas's face could no longer hide his fear under Lion's piercing gaze. "I received word that one of them caused the strength-meter to error. And when I tried to check it, the data had been manipulated. Watch Jean; he is one of Lady Scarlett's subordinates, and he is loyal. Subject 009 might be the answer we're looking for. I am the one who requested your return. Make sure you find something to report to me!" Lion whispered, his voice cold enough to freeze Varkas in place.
***
Time passed quickly. Varkas's presence in Project Executioner made life for Unit 009 significantly harder.
The hellish routine rolled on—from dawn marathons to combat simulations that drained their mana circuits. Without realizing it, official uniforms now clung to their bodies, a sign that the real 'game' had just begun.
Cycle 20.00 - Red Light
Instantly, the rows of cadets froze like solid pillars.
"Today you've graduated—from dregs to trash!" Varkas shouted, breaking the ice.
There was the sound of a faint hydraulic leak every time Varkas's left foot hit the ground, a predatory rhythm they knew by heart. It made Zilla's expression tighter than usual.
"Don't be proud just because my title for you has changed! As my greeting to you, you must arrive at the Flag Field in 10 minutes," he shouted again, his cyborg eye darting wildly, searching for the mistakes he so craved. Reyna repeatedly fought the tremors in her hands.
"Without using your feet, you must become one with the floor! Anyone late gets a special gift from me—one fails, everyone breaks!" Varkas concluded with a satisfied smirk. Amae tried to hide the shaking in his knees every time Varkas's roar echoed in his ears.
"On the count of three, begin! ONE! TWO!" Varkas shouted, intentionally pausing his count. He watched them begin to hug the floor, stopping in front of Unit 001, the lead unit. "THREE!" They began to race against time and a formation that prevented them from overtaking the unit in front.
"Why are they so slow...?" Meyra protested, slapping the dirty surface. "You know, I suspect Varkas intentionally wants us all punished!" Zilla replied flatly. "So, are we just going to stay quiet?" Meyra asked, her knees and elbows beginning to feel the strain.
The concrete floor they usually stepped on now felt like a coarse grater, ready to skin them alive. The sound of uniforms scraping against the floor was agonizing, a sickening orchestra of suffering. Unit 001 in front moved like exhausted snails, hindering the other units, including Unit 009, whose tempers were beginning to flare.
"Hurry up, bastards!" Meyra hissed through gritted teeth. Her elbows felt hot, and a stinging pain began to creep along her arms. But she couldn't overtake them. Varkas's rule was absolute: the formation was everything. If one person overtook the rest, everyone was considered a failure.
Varkas walked casually beside the crawling line of humans. The click-hiss of his mechanical leg felt like a ticking time bomb right next to Amae's ear.
"Nine! Where is that blue eye-glow of yours? Show me how a Level A monster crawls in the dust!" Varkas whispered low, savoring every drop of sweat that fell from Nugia's face.
At the very back of Unit 009, Nugia moved with a constant rhythm. His eyes remained flat, even as his fingertips began to bleed from gripping the cracks in the concrete. He stared at Zilla's back, absorbing every vibration of anger and exhaustion from his teammates. To Nugia, this wasn't just punishment; it was a simulation of how the world would keep pressing them down until they were truly leveled with the earth.
Ten minutes passed. When the fingertips of the lead unit finally touched the white line of the Flag Field, Varkas stopped his watch exactly at the 600th second.
"Ten minutes and one second," Varkas said with a faint smile, one that looked more like a predator's grin. "Welcome to the true hell. Because of that one second, I guarantee your sleep will not be peaceful. Stand up!"
Unit 009 and the other units rose tremblingly. The floor dust clung to their uniforms, tainting the honor they were about to receive. Under the red glow of the moonlight, they stood tall, gazing at the towering flagpole, realizing that in PETERUMMAN, they were indeed just assets waiting for their turn to break—or explode.