The desperate violent actions of the cornered executive department.
The worst-case scenario that the inspection department had anticipated was always among the top ranks, and they had prepared for it to some extent, so it wasn't something that would shock them too much.
But things are different when the Reptors are involved. The category itself is completely different, being 'internal hierarchy struggle' versus 'war.'
The three departmentsāinspection, execution, and administrationāthat had been bickering like sworn enemies would, from the moment the Reptors' movements were detected, start to cooperate actively, an unwritten rule that had never been broken.
[The executive department... is planning to overthrow the 47th sector dome in collaboration with the Reptors?]
[Once the election is over, even if the directors aren't replaced, the department heads will be, right? They must have already prepared for it. They want to survive, so they're looking for a way out. The executive director is probably already collaborating, or being forced to collaborate. Or maybe he's already dead. Even a corpse can be recognized by the biometric code. Since they worked together, forging communication with voice mimicry would be easy.]
[What's your evidence?]
[Well... circumstantial evidence?]
[Hey, Professor Park! Do you know how serious this is?]
[An overwhelming amount. So much that even a fool could understand.]
The professor's words flowed out smoothly, recounting the situation he had confirmed so far.
With the 45th sector bunker as the starting point, the Reptors' situation where they would be pushed out if the dome wasn't immediately erected.
And the executive department's officers, who would naturally all die if they didn't do something.
For some reason, the executive department brought a flimsy and obviously doomed theater plan, despite the significant losses.
Their strange behavior, as seen from the perspective of those directly involved in the theater.
Though there was no clear evidence, if one assumed that 'the executive department was collaborating with the Reptors to overthrow the dome,' everything fit together like a puzzle, revealed in detail through the communicator to the inspection department people.
[...They're crazy. If the dome becomes desolate, the surviving executive department members will have nowhere to go.]
[They found a place. In the 45th sector.]
[Would you rather be the tail of a dragon or the head of a snake?]
[The Reptors probably won't give the traitors much leeway... but they might be treated like livestock handlers.]
Indeed, the head of the inspection department. Even with a rough explanation, he understood perfectly.
The explanation was long, but the judgment was swift.
[1st Squad. How far have you come?]
[I can see you on the green roof, sir.]
[The rest?]
[2nd Squad. Near Point 3. The model garden's perimeter is in sight.]
[3rd Squad, still transporting the battery pack, so we haven't come far from the hangar!]
Through the communicator, fast but clear orders were being issued like a rapid-fire barrage.
[Good. 3rd Squad, just leave that and head into the dome immediately. We must defend the central generator at all costs! If the executive department is at the center of this, they might already be moving!]
[We're on our way!]
[2nd Squad, return immediately. Pick up the battery pack left by 3rd Squad on the way and prepare for combat. Delmar, which sector was the Reptors' nest last seen in?]
[Um... it's hard to pinpoint the exact location due to signal interference, but the tracks of the nest moving as a whole have been confirmed. It's near the 43rd sector.]
[Then 2nd Squad, pick up the battery pack and prepare defenses in the direction of the 43rd sector. 1st Squad, return with meā]
[Ah, hold on, hold on. The others can go quickly if needed, but you need to stay a bit longer, sir.]
[What now! You keep cutting the communication?!]
[I understand your urgency, but you need to finish what you're doing. Look at the model garden.]
At the professor's words, Mongclaire briefly lifted his head. There was no need to look. Smoke was rising from various places, the streets were collapsing from mortars, and buildings were being destroyed by Old Picture's rampage.
[You know, Ralph, this thing doesn't die so easily, right? You faced it before. It will wake up soon, and this time, it won't calm down and go home like before. Seeing the central area in this state as soon as it wakes up... its reset memory will surge again, and it will start rampaging.]
[...Yeah. That's why when we suppressed it last time, we destroyed its body and fried it with batteries for over 30 hours until the streets were restored. But we can't do that now! The Reptors' main force is advancing on the dome, and we have to stop the executive department's terrorism inside! We don't have the troops to hold this devastated area! The only thing we can do is hope it doesn't head for the dome and stop the enemy!]
The professor recalled Ralph, who had always been depressed and gloomy due to his sick mother, and who had approached him first despite being burdened with all the dirty work of the executive department.
'You've changed a lot in a few years, haven't you? Is it because you became a director? You're calculating even in this urgent situation.'
Though a bit bitter, he thought, 'You're human too. You need to look at the bigger picture, so it's understandable.'
[We're not short of options. Both you and I have seen the Old Picture's theater to the end. We know there's a way to completely suppress it, right?]
[...]
The communication paused for a moment after the professor's words, then Mongclaire's voice came through more clearly with a hiss. A yellow light appeared in Mongclaire and Aijel's communication names, indicating a private communication.
[Why are you embarrassed? That you have to calculate even in this situation?]
[Professor, do you know how many lives have been lost to keep Old Picture settled in this sector? It's more than a few. If we give up now, all those lives will be meaningless. It's not that simple!]
Ah, it's not that simple. So you've thought about the complexity of the problem? Indeed. With all this chaos, you must have weighed your options.
[The situation has changed. From a controllable monster to one that the enemy might control. The Old Picture plan has already failed. And you're saying we should pray it doesn't go elsewhere? I guarantee it will crawl to the center of the dome, 90% of the time. Without the city's defense systems, can the exosuit handle anti-tank rounds or armor-piercing shells?]
[...]
[It's not a choice but a necessity. The only firepower capable of eliminating it is city-level weapons, which we can't use now. If we leave it, it will reset and rampage again, leading to the dome's destruction. We have to eliminate it. Let's be honest. You brought it, didn't you?]
[...Let's talk in person.]
Click!
With Mongclaire's deeply troubled answer, the private communication ended.
"Professor, what's all this about? Reptors? War? The executive department betraying?"
"Ah, right. Good communication, Aijel. We'll talk when Brother Ralph arrives. I don't want to repeat myself. He'll be here soon, so let's prepare to move. Vex! Gather all remaining weapons and come over here! We'll move out after a final check!"
"Is there room? For all four of us? All of us?"
"The spaces for the battery packs can be used for carrying the wounded. Two can squeeze into the driver's seat, Ian can go in there, and Vex can hang between the frames. It should work."
The professor got out of the driver's seat and approached Ian, who had already freed himself from the magnetic restraints and was searching for intact weapons among those scattered by the exploding truck.
"Hey, did you hear that?"
"Don't talk to me, bastard. That truck was... my comrade."
"I know. Hyde did it, but ultimately, I was the one who let it loose. I'm sorry. That's why I spoke loudly enough for you to hear."
"....Damn!"
"So, stop losing it and get ready to move. Did you hear? The Reptors are coming. Not just a raiding party, but the main force. With combat vehicles, armed trucks, and tanks and armored vehicles from the nest... Wow! Doesn't it make your mouth water? If the Old Picture plan fails, we'll just have to deal with the fools who will charge into the dome's space defense! Let's go get a new truck!"
"Ah, ah. Indeed. The armed truck we usually use is already in bad shape, so it's time to replace it."
Indeed. That's how he noticed. The moment he heard about the Reptors, he was already thinking about what to loot.
Rustle, rustle!
While preparing to move, Old Picture, hanging motionless on the hill, slowly began to move again, like in slow motion.
"Ah, Professor Park! It's moving! It's moving without a head! It's coming towards us!"
"Don't worry. It's just shedding its useless outer body to preserve the core while moving to a safer place."
Without looking, the professor answered Aijel's scream.
The giant's upper body crumbled as it slowly climbed up.
[Crack... Ah...]
The creature's weak moan, incomparable to its initial rampage. Though not as shocking, the waves were strong enough to convey memories to those nearby.
Its body was disintegrating, but Old Picture was still desperately trying to communicate its memories.
"Why... is it emitting so much mental energy? Does it hate us that much?"
"You're wrong, Aijel. It's a Type 3 variant. Unlike Type 1 and 2, it doesn't have the urge to attack humans and incorporate their materials. It has no intention to attack at all."
Sizzleā
Finally, it lay its chest on the observation deck, its body crumbling. From the debris, a pile of shoes and three intact mannequins, unscathed despite the chaos, fell out. The memories continued.
==========
Eeeeeee!
[To all citizens. This is the National Safety Bureau, Civil Defense Alert Control Center. We are issuing a real air raid alert. The current time...]
Sudden sirens. People poured out of shops and houses, running in panic. His wife and son, terrified, stared at the scene.
'It wasn't supposed to happen.'
His wife's antidepressants had run out long ago. Despite her best efforts, she would often lash out at their son's complaints and then feel guilty and more depressed. So, just for one day, they decided to take a family walk, as they used to on Sundays.
========
"Anyone have a headache?"
"Yeah... it feels like watching a realistic movie."
"Of course. That's why the creature emits mental energy."
A Type 3 variant. A monster that forms based on the host's last memories. It had no intention to attack. It just lost control when emotions ran high, causing deep memories to be transmitted, affecting nearby people and sometimes leading to depression. Its goal was always one.
In its usual calm state, it whispered.
When it was startled by the changed streets, it spoke like a frightened person grabbing anyone nearby.
When it rampaged, it screamed, facing a reality it didn't want to accept, pleading and wailing.
[....]
[It's a necessity. The only firepower capable of eliminating it is city-level weapons, which we can't use now. If we leave it, it will reset and rampage again, leading to the dome's destruction. We have to eliminate it. Let's be honest. You brought it, didn't you?]
[....Let's talk in person.]
Click!
With Mongclaire's deeply troubled answer, the private communication ended.
"Brother Ralph."
"....Professor Park. You were really alive."
"Then what was the communication just now, a ghost?"
"I thought I might have been hallucinating due to the mental energy on the way here."
Mongclaire parked his exosuit next to Aijel's.
"You really forced it into this state. How did you do it?"
"That's not the important thing right now. Did you bring it? Given Old Picture's rampage, you must have prepared for any situation."
"....Is there really no other way? Giving up on it... is..."
"It's already been used by the enemy. We're not giving up; we're scrapping it. The enemy's project."
"....Damn. If word gets out that we released Old Picture, a few reprimands won't be enough. I'll have to wear a bulletproof vest for a while."
"Once this is over, the executive department will be reorganized. What are you worried about?"
"The director is a good shot. He carries a revolver loaded for 24 hours."
With that, Mongclaire, who had sighed deeply, took out a firmly sealed box from the back of his exosuit.
=========
It's hot.
I was hit by a car. Probably a truck.
No, the car couldn't move. The road was blocked.
Am I... alive?
The burning pain forced my hazy mind to wake up. It hurts. The pain is so intense I can't think clearly. What was I doing? At the end, I was sure...
'Sungjin!'
I have no strength. It's hard to turn my head. But something warm welled up in my chest. The hot, tingling hand, but I'm definitely holding it. In my grip, there's a small hand.
'You must be scared. I'll calm you down. Dad is fine, just resting a bit. Go to grandma's house with mom... go to grandma's house...'
It felt like a heavy stone in my throat. Slowly, tasting the bitter blood in my mouth, I turned my head towards my son. In one corner of my blurred vision, a small blue sneaker appeared. My son's shoe. The one I bought for his birthday, which he loved so much he only wore it when we went out to play.
"Ah... Ah... Ah..."
Opening my mouth felt like spitting fire. What should I do? My lungs must be damaged. I need to tell him. I need to...
Slowly. Gradually. Like the hands of a clock, my gaze turned towards my son.
There's a shoe. It's definitely my son's shoe. It's the one I bought, the one I searched for so desperately. And the small bones and penguin-patterned wristband on top are definitely my son's! If it's my son's foot, then...