Chapter 14 - Run 2

Three Pathfinders raced frantically down a long, unbranching passage.

Thousands of Grotesques pursued them, letting out bizarre cries. They looked like a wave made of flesh.

As though responding to the unexpected chase, crimson emergency lights flashed throughout the ruins, accompanied by an eerie, ear-splitting siren.

Perhaps the passage the REST-man had blasted apart with an antitank shell was itself a vital facility in Gamma-7. The extensive damage might have activated some system.

But this was no time to worry about that crap. The three of them had more pressing concerns as they ran for their lives.

"Hah, haah!"

Akina, who had somehow ended up in the lead, gasped for breath. Her short stature already meant a short stride, and the enormous backpack on top of that was killing her.

"Aagh!"

As she sprinted headlong, Akina stepped on something awkwardly and pitched forward. Just before she fell, a huge steel arm caught her around the waist.

Ash had swiftly caught up.

"Give that here!"

He all but wrestled the backpack off her and slung it over his shoulder, then abruptly swung his blade overhead.

A Grotesque that had crawled along the ceiling and dropped toward them split wide open.

"Can you run?"

"I have to!"

Meanwhile—

BANG! BANG-BANG!

Ifrit's pistol fired without pause. The heads of the nearest two or three Grotesques burst into bloody fragments.

"Reloading! Help!"

Her words were oddly disjointed, but Ash understood perfectly. He launched himself forward, swinging his steel blade.

He cut down a creature crawling along the left wall and impaled another through its maw as it lunged from the right.

It was over in a flash.

"Now!"

The three sprinted again, trying to preserve the brief gap they had opened.

How long had they been running?

Far ahead, a familiar doorway came into view. It was the very stone door Akina had opened earlier through a Deep Dive.

There were quite a few forks beyond that door, so the pursuing Grotesques would scatter to some extent.

Surely things would improve once they reached it.

Or so they thought.

WHIRR! WHIRRR! CLACK!

Ominous mechanical noises sounded from the walls and ceiling around the stone door—even from the floor. Then something sprang out with a clunk.

Automated turrets.

At the same time, an announcement played.

-Warning. Multiple unauthorized life-forms detected within the restricted area. Unauthorized life-forms must immediately cease all vital activity and functions. Failure to comply will result in forcible suppression.

The language was distinctly different from the one spoken in Sanctum. But with his integrated language pack installed, Ash could understand some of it.

The problem was that the message was far from good news.

A dozen or so turrets cast out red targeting lasers in unison.

"Sentinels? Fucking hell, now we're getting shit from both ends!"

Ifrit hurled herself forward, cursing. The outer armor on her thigh opened and ejected three or four small discs.

They bounced in all directions, releasing harsh flashes and whitish smoke. Thick smoke filled the passage in an instant, scattering the turrets' targeting lasers wildly through its particles.

The Grotesques' cries, the Sentinels' mechanical noises, the announcements, and the sirens—it was utter chaos.

"I take below! You above, my lady!"

This time, Ash was the one speaking in strange fragments. But just as he had understood her, Ifrit understood him perfectly.

"Okay!"

BANG!

The Bloody Heart Mk.7 spat fire.

The turret protruding from the ceiling crumpled inward.

Without slowing his charge, Ash unleashed a flurry of sword strikes on the foremost turret. It was sliced apart before it could even emerge fully.

Having dealt with the nearest turrets, they briefly concealed themselves in the smoke.

-Warning. Failure to comply with shutdown request confirmed. Initiating forcible suppression.

The turrets engaged.

Rather than target the smoke scattering their lasers, they prioritized the Grotesques still closing in with monstrous shrieks.

-Cease all functions. Cease all functions.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

The wave of flesh fractured.

Armor-piercing rounds from the Sentinel turrets slammed into the Grotesque horde, punching great holes through its ranks.

The creatures shrieked even louder.

Ifrit pulled another couple of discs from her thigh and threw them ahead.

"Now!" she shouted, bursting out of the smoke.

Ash followed, holding Akina in his arms.

Leaving the Grotesques, their shrieks, and the Sentinel turrets' gunfire behind, the Pathfinders broke into another sprint.

It was the final dash toward the stone door.

Every so often, a few Sentinel turrets swiveled toward them, but each time Ash's blade flashed or Ifrit's gun spat fire.

At last, they reached the stone door.

"Damn it!"

The massive door was closing fast. The Sentinels had probably initiated a lockdown.

Still carrying Akina, Ash drew on the principles of Flying Dragon Shrinks the Earth and surged forward with explosive speed.

Ifrit followed, throwing herself into something like a slide and barely making it through.

THUD.

The massive stone door shut completely, cutting everything off.

"Wow, I seriously thought I was fucking dead!"

After checking that the door was closed, Ifrit slumped to the floor as though she could go no farther, breathing hard.

She caught her breath for a moment, then detached the drone mounted on her right shoulder and held it up.

"... Hehe! Ta-da! Reporting in alive! That gave you all a scare, huh? Me too, you know! Whew, I really thought I was going to die this time..."

While Ifrit chatted with her viewers, Ash carefully set Akina down.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Her face was pale and her legs trembled, but she nodded bravely.

"I'm fine."

"That is a relief."

"But what on earth happened? Weren't you going to deal with the REST-men?"

"... It is rather complicated to explain. First, we should..."

BOOM!

Ash, in mid-sentence. Akina, catching her breath. Ifrit, in the middle of her broadcast.

All three stopped what they were doing at once and stared at the stone door.

A moment later—

BOOM!

The dull impact sounded again.

It was the Grotesques pounding on the door.

The pounding grew increasingly violent, sending faint tremors through the stone with every blow.

If only that had been all. But Ash could see fine cracks forming in the massive door.

"... First, we should leave this place."

"Agreed."

Ifrit rose to her feet.

"Weren't you two mapping this place? Doesn't that mean you know the way?"

At her words, Akina took out her data pad and checked the stored information. After studying the glowing hologram for a moment, her eyes lit up.

"I've found the shortest route."

Ash adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and nodded.

"Lead the way, if you would."

And so the three Pathfinders began their escape, leaving the crumbling stone door behind.

* * *

The fighting never stopped.

The sirens and red warning lights seemed to have awakened every threat in Gamma-7.

Grotesques kept springing out from all over the red-lit ruins, and occasionally a Sentinel turret activated and rained down armor-piercing rounds.

But the three made full use of their respective abilities to navigate the dangers.

Ash took the vanguard, clearing the way, while Ifrit covered their rear and flanks. Between them, Akina constantly compared the surrounding terrain with her map, finding the best route and guiding them all.

Intermittent skirmishes alternated with breathless sprints. Then, at one point, all three Pathfinders stopped in their tracks.

"Th-this... This isn't supposed to...!"

A door stood before them.

An iron door, to be precise—or, more precisely still, a lockdown blast door.

The problem was that it stood squarely across the shortest route Akina had been guiding them along.

Apparently, the stone doorway was not the only passage the Sentinels had sealed.

Ifrit stared up at the blast door in dismay, then quickly shook her head and hurriedly turned around.

"We don't have time for this. Let's go back. Now."

Ash blocked her path.

"It is too late."

"Too late for what? We still have plenty of time!"

Despite her protest, he only shook his head.

Ever since their escape began, Ash had been using every ability at his disposal to extend his energy sense as far as possible.

That was how he knew.

"The Grotesque horde has destroyed the stone door and is nearly upon us. If we retrace our steps now, we will surely meet them head-on."

"So what? You're saying we should just die here?"

"Why should we die?"

Ash turned his gaze toward Akina.

"Do we not have a Technomancer?"

"... What?"

Ifrit looked from Akina to Ash, then raised her voice in disbelief.

"Don't tell me you're talking about a Deep Dive?"

Ash quietly nodded.

"I am."

"No, wait. So you're saying the two of us should buy time while the kid opens that door with a Deep Dive?"

"That is precisely what I mean."

Ifrit started to shout something, then closed her mouth and rubbed her chin. Even to her, it seemed better than blindly searching for another route.

No—it was their only option.

There was no guarantee this was the only blast door that had come down. If all the surrounding passages were sealed, they would have to break through somewhere eventually.

Using Akina's abilities as a Technomancer.

Ash took a step toward Akina.

"Miss Akina."

He knelt on one knee, bringing himself to her eye level.

"Can you do it?"

It was a calm question, as though he were asking whether she had eaten.

Akina bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Perhaps that sharp pain served as a trigger, for the trembling in her white eyes gradually subsided.

A moment later, her eyes shone more brightly than ever.

"Of course I can. I'm a genius!"

"... Wow. We're really doing this? Are you insane?"

That was what Ifrit said.

Then she grinned, the hearts in her eyes flashing.

"Sounds fun. Let's do it right now!"

Ifrit checked her remaining ammunition.

Ash set down the backpack.

Akina took a cable from inside her clothes and plugged it into the back of her neck, then glanced at Ash and Ifrit.

"Mister. Ifrit. I'm counting on you."

Ash nodded.

"They will not touch a single hair on your head."

His answer was just as calm as before, and Akina gave him a small smile. Then she let out a deep breath and began her Deep Dive.

A blue haze gently enveloped her, and her small body floated into the air.

SKREEEE!

The timing was uncanny.

Grotesques began emerging from the darkness at the far end of the passage, shrieking.

Ash stepped forward.

"I shall take the front. I entrust the rear to you."

"So, same as before?"

"Indeed. Same as before."

"Great. Let's have some fun! Oh, you don't mind if I stream this, right?"

SKREEEEEE!

The hideous masses of flesh filled the passage and charged as one.

Strangely enough, the sight reminded him of a scene from his past. It had been just like this when he stormed the Demonic Cult's headquarters alone and faced hundreds of its warriors.

'But today, there are three of us.'

A lunatic idol, a young Technomancer, and a humanoid swordsman.

If Ash had possessed a mouth, he probably would have chuckled at that moment.

Then his teal optical sensors began to shine with a chilling coldness.

"Come."

The electronic voice from his voice module was low, yet seemed to resonate throughout the ruins. Advancing toward the charging Grotesques, Ash brought his blade upright.

"Come!"

His seemingly leisurely steps suddenly became a streak of black light, surging toward the wave of death.