Chapter 60

Chapter 60
While the troops finished clearing away the carcasses of the massive beasts, the Commander and I sat face to face inside a hastily pitched tent.

“What happened?”
“What happened?”

We repeated the exact same question to each other, both frowning slightly for a brief moment. I would have preferred a chronological explanation, but as the subordinate, I had to speak first.

“I assumed the signal flare had gone off by accident. Thinking there would be six or fewer, I brought only Meursault and the two new officers. My assessment was wrong. If I had known there were nine, I wouldn’t have come with just our small group.”

“That is not what I asked.”

The Commander wore a look of bewilderment more intense than anything I had witnessed from him before.

“How did you manage to drive those creatures away?”

Ah. So that was the inquiry.

However, I remained entirely unaware of why they had suddenly fled, leaving me somewhat uneasy. Their retreat was certainly fortunate, yet without knowing the underlying cause, they might return for another assault. Simply stating that I lacked an answer, though, would fail to satisfy him. I had no alternative but to put forward Meursault’s theory at the very least.

“Truthfully… in the sector we searched, we did not encounter a single small- or medium-class beast, let alone a large-class one.”

“Not even one?”

“Based on the team reports, only tracks were left behind—as if something had terrified them all into scattering simultaneously.”

“The exact same thing as the ones that just fled. I can barely credit what I witnessed myself, but those creatures appeared to be running away from you. If the monsters already cleared out of the area, the catalyst for their sudden flight has to be you.”

“Yet I fail to comprehend why they would flee from me. Until I reached the scene and eliminated two of them, they showed no particular sign of terror.”

“That troubles me as well. You did not suddenly transform midway through the battle.”

Something had indeed shifted halfway through, of course, but I could hardly inform the Commander that the title might be the cause. I needed a plausible response.

“Is it possible they simply panicked after watching me take down two of their number with such ease?”

“That sounds the most logical explanation—yet right up until the second they ran, they looked utterly enraged at you for slaying their comrades.”

“Then I truly have no explanation.”

Such frankness should have sufficed to address his questions. Now it was my turn to inquire.

“What about your situation? How did you end up in combat with nine large-class monsters?”

The Commander let out a heavy breath and replied in a troubled tone.

“The same applies here. I am clueless as to why.”

“Pardon?”

“As you are well aware, large-class beasts do not travel in packs.”

I knew this characteristic intimately. Massive monsters consumed anything that moved—including members of their own kind. Same rank offered no immunity; large-class beasts devouring other large-class beasts was a common occurrence. Consequently, rather than congregating, they actively avoided one another upon sight.

“Yet after we commenced the central search and spent hours without catching even a glimpse of them, they ambushed us from behind. In a pack.”

“Large-class monsters ambushed you as a group?”

As I noted previously, among monsters, smaller varieties frequently possessed higher intelligence while the massive ones tended to be simple-minded brutes. Yet individuals capable of sophisticated strategies such as an ambush—not just one or two, but nine simultaneously?

Now that I reflected on it, among the creatures I fought earlier, one had used its wits slightly… In the heat of the moment, I had not analyzed it deeply. Raising its head so we could not target its gem was atypical behavior for a massive monster. Had that particular individual orchestrated the group ambush?

“Indeed. During the initial surprise attack, four men perished instantly. We frantically fired every signal we possessed, and fortunately Team 2 survived. Following that, the other teams who spotted the signal converged one after another—which is the sole reason we are still breathing. Many failed to make it, but casualties proved lower than anticipated…”

He trailed off, then addressed me in a resolute voice.

“This is entirely thanks to you.”

Suddenly?

“I believe I arrived last.”

“No. I am not referring solely to direct assistance.”

The Commander rested his chin on his hand and gazed at me steadily.

“Numerous soldiers lived because of your performance, but beyond that—the fact that our numbers were small from the outset is why we survived this ordeal. Had we formed the subjugation force in the conventional manner, the destruction would have been far greater. If that many individuals had attempted to flee the ambush, we never could have secured a perimeter as swiftly as we did. The monsters, attempting to assault a force smaller than themselves, ended up blocking each other’s paths and failed to build momentum. That is how we managed to reach Team 2…”

He paused, then questioned me with eyes that blended suspicion and expectation.

“Did you… possess prior knowledge?”

Hm.

That was true—I had informed the Commander that I was a regressor. It was logical for him to assume I had foreseen a large-class ambush and restructured the force into teams on purpose. He suspected I had known yet remained silent. Conversely, he harbored hope that if I had predicted this, I could also resolve whatever lay ahead.

However, the team configuration had been designed strictly for efficiency, and I was not genuinely a regressor. Even within the game I had played, no narrative existed regarding massive monsters launching coordinated pack attacks.

Merely from my expression, the Commander appeared to deduce that I knew nothing regarding the incident; the glint of suspicion and expectation faded away.

“It appears you were unaware after all.”

“This never transpired in the future I am familiar with.”

“Then… could that individual have interfered?”

“That individual…?”

When the player from the Unicorn Area had ambushed me previously, I had told the Commander that the man might be a regressor like myself or a player akin to Mother, meaning the theory that he was connected to this was not entirely far-fetched. If occurrences never witnessed in the game were unfolding here, player intervention stood as the primary suspect. Other sectors merely dispatched surveillance at best, but given the technology of the Unicorn Area, controlling large-class beasts was entirely feasible.

Still…

I cannot shake the thought… why go to such lengths?

That individual had shot at me from point-blank range. There was no incentive for him to bother puppeteering massive monsters into an ambush. Moreover, had it been his doing, the illogical retreat of the monsters made even less sense.

“I doubt a person who already put a bullet in me would bother utilizing monsters.”

“I heard the one he originally attempted to assassinate was that youth—Darling Outsider. What if he was targeting your companion once more?”

“That would be terribly inefficient if he was after Darling. He should have dispatched the beasts toward the team that individual belonged to, rather than Father’s Team 1. Claiming he targeted Father is equally ambiguous. When the monsters scattered, they did not even cast a glance toward Father’s direction.”

At my counterargument, the Commander pressed a hand against his forehead as though it ached, then leaned back heavily into the modest chair.

“…Should we head back to the Area?”

Having secured five targets, we had accomplished a significant portion of the subjugation’s objectives. The massive monsters in the vicinity likely amounted to those nine and no more. Remaining longer in a locale where inexplicable events unfolded might merely invite additional peril; withdrawing proved the wiser course. Leaving four unaccounted for felt unsettling, yet if they simply fled at the sight of me next time, finishing them off would prove difficult regardless.

“Sir.”

At that exact instant, Meursault shoved open the tent flap and strode inside.

“Reporting. Total monsters subjugated: five. Killed in action: six, of which two bodies remain unrecovered.”

“Casualties?”

* Three severe, twenty-one minor—totaling twenty-four. All personnel waiting in the alternative sectors are confirmed safe; Second Lieutenant Platon is guiding them here. The monster carcasses are prepared for transport, but… what are your orders?

Meursault had clearly arrived to inquire about returning as well. The Commander gazed at me with an expression seeking direction on our next move.

“How many of the twenty-one lightly wounded can operate a motorcycle?”

The reply came instantly, as though Meursault had anticipated the inquiry.

“All twenty-one can manage a bike at a minimum.”

“Then dispatch the corpses and the wounded back to the Area first.”

The Commander looked at me intently.

“You intend to press on with the search?”

“I believe we should maintain it until the injured personnel return. There is no guarantee those who ambushed us once will not repeat the action.”

The Commander and Meursault exchanged glances, then nodded in unison.

“We cannot send only the wounded, so we shall select a contingent of soldiers to accompany them.”

“A reorganization will be necessary.”

Within moments, they determined who would return, reduced the ten teams to five, and assigned eleven men to each unit. Team leaders were selected from the survivors of the Commander’s Team 1. Because Team 1 had been intentionally filled with battle-tested veterans to support the Commander, the loss of four members hit particularly hard. Including the Commander, six survivors remained, meaning one individual was left without a squad and assigned instead to oversee the escort of the wounded.

My Team 10—neither slain nor injured, consisting entirely of fresh officers—was evenly distributed across the five units. Meursault and I were naturally assigned to Team 1 under the Commander, but what took me by surprise was his decision to place Yeobom into Team 1 right away.

“You are bringing him along?”

“The individual who was sprinting toward you before the monsters scattered—was that not your companion?”

Even amid that chaos, he had noticed Yeobom charging in my direction. I remained unconvinced that the fellow would have provided genuine assistance, but watching him rush to my aid under those circumstances impressed me regarding his personal growth as well.

At that moment, Meursault regarded me as if a sudden recollection had struck him.

“Now that I think of it, Private Outsider was standing outside the tent looking as pale as a ghost…”

“He is out front?”

“His Excellency and I will manage the remainder. Would it not be wiser for you to check on your friend?”

When Meursault made that remark, the Commander similarly assured me that stepping outside was fine. Since the reorganization no longer required immediate input from me, I exited the tent.

“Dopamine… Haydam!”

Pale as a sheet, Meursault had stated—and the description proved entirely accurate. Yeobom was white as a specter, as though he had witnessed something profoundly horrifying. Even when he had nearly perished at the hands of the Unicorn player, he had never appeared this terrified. I found myself questioning him instinctively.

“Are you… alright?”

“Those things earlier… those things!”

Yeobom continued shaking his head as if he had failed to register my words.

“Something is bizarre… something is terribly wrong…!”

Upon closer inspection, the hand gripping my arm shook violently as well. The reaction seemed somewhat excessive if it stemmed purely from confronting several massive monsters moments prior.

“Calm yourself. I also found it peculiar that large-class monsters launched a pack ambush, which is why I intended to investigate—”

“The packing is not the issue!”

Yeobom shouted, prompting me to clap a hand over his mouth immediately. Directly behind us, separated by merely a single layer of canvas, stood the Commander and Meursault. Yeobom glared at me resentfully, but considering he had nearly blurted out Dopamine Addict a second prior, the precaution was fully warranted.

I dragged him away from the tent, confirmed no one lingered nearby, and only then withdrew my hand from his mouth.

“First of all, settle down.”

“Now explain what is wrong.”

“Those creatures…”

Yeobom swallowed hard before continuing.

“I witnessed them… consuming people…”

I nodded as if comprehending.

“That must have been dreadful.”

I attempted to show empathy in my own fashion, but Yeobom shook his head vehemently.

“No! It was not dreadful. The terrifying part was that it was not dreadful at all!!”

Growing weary of the hesitation, I finally frowned. Yeobom responded in a muted voice.

“I definitely saw it. The corpse of the individual they consumed…”

He stared at me with trembling eyes and forced the words out slowly.

“The instant their teeth touched it, the body dissolved into blue particles.”