"..."
Time stopped.
My mind couldn't process the words of the man who seemed to belong to a special unit of some organization.
All I could see was an MP5 pointed at my head, but moments later.
"I'm kidding. You can enter now."
The man took a step to the right, leaving me space to enter through the gate, and then, at that moment.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I turned my body around; the man was hitting the dogs near the supervisor with precision in their heads.
Kiyaaak!
The dogs only slowed down a little, even though their heads were pierced by bullets.
Their semi-flayed skin and heads deformed by bullets made them look like creatures from hell.
I felt a hot lump forming in my throat.
"As expected, his reflexes are fast."
The man spoke cryptically as the supervisor began running toward the gate.
"..?"
As if he already knew him.
And when the supervisor approached the gate.
"The dogs are retreating?"
The creatures, which seemed invincible, suddenly retreated far away.
"They are... cautious."
The supervisor uttered the words with difficulty while trying to regulate his breathing.
They retreated suddenly as if they saw something more terrifying than themselves.
I looked at the man in front of me, who was still holding his weapon steadily.
"Special forces?"
I whispered faintly to Mark, who was now standing beside me.
"Most likely."
Mark wiped drops of cold sweat from his forehead, then turned toward me.
His gaze scanned my body from head to toe.
"Marilyn, are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine, sir."
"Good."
He nodded slightly, then approached the man.
"Thanks for the help. I am Detective Mark Harrison from the City Police, and this is Detective Marilyn Carter."
He raised his badge slowly, but his gaze was fixed on the man's uniform.
"We are here to investigate some cases related to this area. May I know who you are? And what entity do you represent?"
I followed Mark's gaze.
He was staring at the embroidered badge on the man's shoulder.
It was clear he was checking the badge fixed on his shoulder.
The sun.
But it wasn't a normal sun.
It was completely black.
I have never seen such a logo in any government or military record before.
A secret unit?
Or mercenaries?
The man ignored the question, and instead, pulled the iron chain of the gate and closed it tightly.
Clang!
"As far as I know, Command has not registered any official joint operations with the police in this sector today."
"..."
He was right.
All cases related to this place had been closed and classified as ordinary accidents.
We came here on personal initiative, without an official order.
But how did he know that with such confidence?
Did we judge too quickly?
Does he belong to a higher sovereign authority? Or an international organization specialized in dealing with these entities?
Questions buzzed in my head, but one stood out among them.
"We apologize for the misunderstanding regarding coordination..."
I began to speak.
"But we are here to do our duty. And these monsters... what the hell is their story?"
Mark let out a short sigh.
He was clearly annoyed by the man ignoring his question about identity, but he is a pragmatic man who knows when to concede temporarily to get information.
"Cerberus."
I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Cerberus?"
"That's its name. As you can see, they aren't normal dogs."
He nodded his head toward the trees behind the fence, where the monsters had disappeared.
"If I hadn't intervened at the right time, your partner would be dead."
He looked at Mark.
"Or to be precise, he would have turned into a mindless creature that does nothing but crave to devour human flesh."
My eyes widened in astonishment.
"..."
Turn?
"How did you know I would become like that?"
Mark asked, his tone full of suspicion and disbelief.
The man tilted his head slightly, as if looking at a child asking obvious questions.
"Since you asked... I have a mission here and it must be executed."
He paused for a moment, then said in a tone not devoid of arrogance.
"But thanks to the presence of two intruders here, I had to temporarily delay my schedule."
"Wh..."
Mark tried to speak, but the man interrupted him firmly, raising his hand to point toward a small concrete annex nearby.
"The Q&A session is over."
A strict military order came out, accepting no debate.
"This area is unsafe, as you know. So I kindly ask you to head to the security room in that annex. Do not move an inch until I am finished."
Clack!
He cocked his weapon with a sharp metallic sound.
"It is the only place where you might stay alive."
"..."
Mark fell silent.
He realized that matters here were beyond the jurisdiction of ordinary police.
Those "Cerberus" creatures.
They were indeed something we could not handle right now.
"We won't hide!"
I shouted, stepping forward.
"We are police officers! Protecting this city is our duty. You can't just issue orders to us and expect us to obey like we are—"
"Marilyn! Stop!"
Mark shouted, grabbing my shoulder firmly to pull me back.
I knew... I knew what he was thinking.
If I hadn't been with him, he might have argued or fought.
But with me, the trainee, here, he feels responsible.
I am the burden here.
I won't allow that.
I stared at the masked man defiantly.
A heavy silence prevailed for several seconds.
"..."
"..."
Then, his rifle lowered slightly.
"You have a good look in your eyes."
He said it in a slightly different tone, carrying a hint of amusement.
"Hmm... Alright, you can accompany me. But..."
He turned toward the huge white building. The dilapidated sign above the entrance.
[Saint Helen Medical Services Hospital]
"Prepare to see what is worse than just flayed dogs."
"..."
His easy agreement was suspicious, but it was our only chance.
"Marilyn, this is madness. It's beyond our capabilities."
Mark whispered in my ear.
"You know how stubborn I am, right? I won't back down after seeing those things. And neither will you."
Mark sighed deeply, resigning himself to the reality.
He raised his gun and checked the ammunition magazine for the last time.
"You know how to hit a nerve... I'm definitely going to regret this."
***
'As expected of the main characters.'
In truth, I intended to take them with me from the start.
Trying to push them away was just an act to reinforce my position as a character belonging to an authority figure, and to avoid annoying questions about my identity.
Humans tend to obey those who treat them with superiority during crises.
I glanced secretly at Mark's left arm as we walked toward the entrance.
It was intact.
'In the original scenario, he should have been bitten by now'
The events of the original game flowed into my mind.
The two heroes of the first part suspect corruption within the police department and come to investigate the closed cases.
Mark sacrifices himself to protect Marilyn from the Cerberus attack at the gate.
He gets bitten on his left arm, which makes him infected.
And as the infection progresses in his body, they fight together until they reach the boss, and there Mark's transformation is fully completed.
Marilyn is forced to kill her supervisor with her own hands. And from that tragedy, the avenging heroine of the subsequent parts is born.
A strange prick in my chest.
Remnants of old memories of two people sitting in front of a screen, one preferring to play as Marilyn, and the other preferring to play as Mark.
'My brother...'
I shook my head vigorously to drive away the intrusive emotions.
"Catch."
I threw the electronic card in the air toward Mark.
He caught it skillfully, and looked at it with surprise while adjusting his loosened tie.
"A card? What do I do with it?"
"A master key card. Be useful and open the door when I give you the signal."
I reached my hand into the bag hanging on my back, and felt the coldness of the metal inside.
"And by the way, stand on the right side as soon as the door opens... unless you want a very warm welcome."
I took out an industrial spray and a metal lighter from the bag.
I looked at the girl with short hair, who was staring at my hand.
I remembered her character description.
That look of hers was an attempt to understand.
Why would someone wearing a special forces uniform use such primitive tools instead of the rifle hanging on his shoulder?
Those curious looks made me want to teach her.
Chick.
The small flame ignited, dancing in the dark.
"The things we are going to meet..."
I saw the reflection of the flame in her eyes.
"Have extreme sensitivity to fire."
"Sensitivity?"
"Bullets are useless against them. They are very small, fast, and move in swarms."
I raised the spray with my other hand, aiming the nozzle forward.
"Mutant flies."
It was information no one outside the organization should know.
I watched their exposed necks, and their exchanged glances.
"..."
A sharp headache hit my head like a hammer, and red numbers began floating in my vision.
My body staggered slightly.
"You... are you okay?"
I raised my hand to stop her.
"Sir, you are not in good condition."
He continued seriously.
"If you are injured, request support immediately. We cannot enter while you are in this state."
I pressed my temples with my fingers, pushing the pain to the background.
"Save your concern for what is behind this door, Detective."
I raised my head and looked at them coldly, as the red numbers gradually disappeared.
"I am perfectly fine. If you want support, request it from your unit."
"..."
'It has been 7 minutes since the last contact.'
I must submit my report soon.
It seemed they had something to say, but I ignored them and stood before the door.
There was a small glass opening through which one could look inside, but visibility was almost nil.
"Oh my God."
The glass wasn't opaque.
"We weren't wrong, there must be a connection..."
Rather, it was painted with blood from the inside.
"They are behind the door... their voices are like painful human screams."
The girl said, staring at the door in horror, her ears picking up what we failed to hear.
When her companion heard her words, he placed his hand on the grip of his weapon.
I raised the lighter and the spray, ready to fire.
"The card."
They stood aside as I requested.
Mark pointed the card toward the electronic reader.
Beep.
The red light turned green.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
Before the door fully opened, I pressed the spray.
Fwoooooosh!
A column of flame rushed toward the opening.
Disgusting sounds of burning rose up.
Gyaaaaaagh!!!
A symphony of screams rising on the other side.
I advanced slowly over the writhing bodies of the flies.
"Watch out!!"
From the midst of the flames, a massive shadow rushed out.
It wasn't flies.
Long claws sliced the air directly toward my neck.
In that moment when time slowed down to see the face of the winged monster full of multiple eyes, I remembered only one thing.
'Damn it.'
This monster did not exist in this part of the stage.
"I just learned the details of my death"
An uncalculated event.