We return to the central command room where the crimson dragon was being controlled and head back to the cruiser.
As we step into the command bridge, Mr. Balder greets us.
“Director, you’ve returned?”
“Yes, how’s the crimson dragon?”
Just in case, I confirm.
“I confirmed it had stopped working a while ago.”
“I see, then while we defend the bottom, please prepare for us to ascend at any time and slowly move over the city.”
“Yes! Maximum lower barrier, slow forward! While maintaining a 60-degree angle, we’ll move above the sealed city.”
Mr. Balder explains my instructions in further detail.
The cruiser tilts slightly.
The golden warship moves past the basin where the crimson dragon had settled, slowly casting a shadow over the city.
…
An extended silence.
A significant amount of time has passed since the cruiser entered the city, yet no counterattack has come from anywhere.
“This is strange…”
“Edu?”
“It’s too quiet… Mr. Balder, can you show us the ground?”
“Of course.”
Mr. Balder gives orders to the soldier, and a large holographic screen appears in the center of the command bridge, showing the ground.
A gray city poorly maintained, with cracks here and there, covered by grass and plants.
Not a single living thing moves, and the buildings, like tombstones in a graveyard, give off a desolate atmosphere.
“Hmm.”
“Edu, what’s been wrong since earlier?”
“I don’t see any automatic combat weapons that are supposed to be guarding the city.”
“…”
Nisia tilts her head in confusion, and Jenny continues her question.
“Why? If the city is empty, then it’s good that there’s no unnecessary fighting, right?”
“That’s not it.”
The city’s defense entirely consists of the crimson dragon and automatic combat weapons.
If one of them isn’t functioning but the city is still maintained, isn’t that strange?
On top of that, the inside of the city…
No matter how you look at it, it’s too clean.
Even disregarding signs of something happening, it’s absurd that there’s no trace of the automatic combat weapons that must have endlessly roamed this city.
So if someone cleaned that up, why would they be so cautious?
Continuing doubts.
But even if we just keep worrying, a clear answer won’t come, so I make a decision.
“Hmm, we should check it out ourselves.”
Either way, the situation dictates that we must go down to the city.
We’ll check while we’re at it, right?
“Directly?”
“Yes. Nisia, can you take charge of Colossus?”
“No problem!”
She brightly smiles and answers me.
Next, I look at Mr. Balder.
“Mr. Balder, please keep vigilance so that the ship and personnel can immediately respond if anything happens.”
“Understood.”
Mr. Balder bows his head.
Finally, I shift my gaze towards Edward and the others.
“Then we’ll be back shortly.”
“Hold on, Edu. This time, we’re going together.”
“Huh? You guys too?”
“Yeah, it’s awkward and boring just waiting here.”
“That’s right, pay attention to us too.”
Agreeing with Edward’s words, Jenny mutters.
“I’m not that bothered, but… I do have some interest in this city.”
Saying that while trying to maintain her composure, Clarissa subtly glances at the holographic screen with eyes full of curiosity.
Jack just casually shrugs his shoulders.
“Hmm…”
What should I do? Since they’ve come this far, it’s a bit awkward to leave them behind.
“…Alright, but you have to listen to me, right?”
“Of course.”
“Okay!”
“I see.”
“Yeah.”
…
“Director, please return safely.”
“Thank you.”
The shuttle slowly rises.
Only we are left in the center of the empty sealed city.
“Summoning armor, Colossus. Type is Normal Module.”
-The Normal Module has not yet been unlocked. Would you like to unlock it using skill points?
“Yes.”
-Skill unlocked. Consuming MP to summon a summoned creature equipped with the Normal Module.
A large amount of mana flows out of my body, leaving me feeling a bit drained, and a mana sphere appears in the air.
The mana sphere sparks and then swiftly transforms into a human shape.
The bulky legs and extended arms; over the hollow internal frame, thick armor panels smoothly appear as if paint was spreading.
Thick iron plates resemble a knight’s helmet draped over the front and back of the skeletal face.
Clang, thud.
Vibrations run through the ground as the 6-meter giant stands on the earth.
“Wow, this is…!”
“Wow-”
“Very impressive.”
“Hmm.”
Each friend expresses their own impression.
Their reactions puff up my nose without me even realizing it.
“Hmph, isn’t it cool?”
“Yeah, it’s amazing.”
“Yep, it’s cool!”
“To be honest, I’m a bit surprised…”
“It’s impressive.”
Their compliments puff up my shoulders even more.
Meanwhile, Colossus bends its knees and extends its hand towards us.
“Although everyone can’t fit in the cockpit, riding on the palm should work, so everyone, get on!”
Nodding their heads, the friends carefully climb onto the hand, Nisia and I also ascend the hand and enter the cockpit.
“Colossus, since the friends can’t fall, please slightly bend your palm.”
Following my instruction, Colossus forms its left hand into a basin shape, enveloping the friends.
“Nisia, don’t rush, let’s go slowly.”
“Okay.”
“Hold on tight, everyone!”
At my shout, the friends look a bit nervous and excited while nodding their heads.
“Alright, let’s go!”
Thud.
Colossus takes a step forward.
The noise of the giant moving echoes through the city.
The changing scenery around us.
But there is no sign of anything unusual anywhere.
“This is really strange…”
“Edu, we’re approaching our destination.”
“Ah, okay.”
Thud.
Colossus stops in front of a large building.
After double-checking that this is the correct building of Company K’s Asian branch as per the request, I step out of the cockpit.
“Alright, let’s get down – oh?”
Inside Colossus’s palm lies the disheveled form of my friends.
“Ugh…”
Edward, looking pale green, is trying not to vomit.
“Haaaaa-”
Jenny is lying flat on her back, her eyes spinning around, while Clarissa is leaning on her hand with a pained expression.
Even Jack, who was always dependable, doesn’t look too good.
Ah, now that I think about it, since there was no shock absorption device in the hand, the vibrations must have been transmitted directly.
“Eh? Are you all okay?”
Nisia, startled by the dire state of her friends, rushes towards them.
“I’m… hea…?”
Edward responds weakly, on the verge of unconsciousness, and the other friends shake their heads as they respond to Nisia’s question.
Of course.
The impact from the 6-meter giant walking was something they would have felt all over their bodies; being perfectly fine would have been strange.
Deciding to ride the Saver more carefully from now on, I turn my gaze away from my friends.
“Edu, what should we do?”
“Hmm… let’s leave the friends here to rest while we two go in and check.”
“Eh? Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous?”
“It’s fine; I’ll give Colossus instructions.”
After answering that way, I shout towards Colossus.
“Colossus! Move in autonomous mode! Protect the friends and stay here on standby!”
The blue eyes of the black giant turn yellow in response to my command.
The color indicating it is operating in autonomous mode.
Then Colossus lowers its hand to the ground.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Uh… okay.”
Nisia gazes for a while at Colossus’s hand moving back up, perhaps concerned about her friends.
“Nisia?”
“Ah, okay.”
Only after prompting her again does she start to move.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of Nisia’s footsteps echoing in the quiet building.
Even though it’s still the bright afternoon, a chill lingers in the long-abandoned building.
In the center of the hall stands a faded statue of a tiger holding a cereal bowl filled with milk.
“Edu, where should we go?”
“Hmm… usually, it’s either the top or bottom. Let’s check out the basement first.”
“Okay.”
Important information is often stored in vaults, which become monstrously secure depending on the importance of the information they hold.
And this city’s catchphrase is “the world’s best security.”
So, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a large vault beneath the building, would it?
“The stairs… ah, there they are.”
Through the stairs to the basement.
Since it was too dark around us, Nisia takes out a gear and shines the light.
Only then do we see the facility’s signboard.
Nisia points her finger at each description until she firmly taps one.
Secure Area.
If there’s something, it would be over there.
“Nisia, over there.”
“Yeah, the secure area, right?”
Nisia moves forward step by step.
And, as expected, a large vault room appears at the end of the secure area.
“Alright, here we go.”
A facility where the entire space functions as a vault, something you’d only see in movies or dramas.
Next to the large locking mechanism resembling a ship’s wheel, a small terminal is visible.
“Nisia, over there.”
“Okay.”
A device covered in white dust.
When pressing the button, a green light flickers.
Good, the device hasn’t broken yet.
I input the code we received from Jo to access K Company’s confidential information.
– Tiger energy.
A crisp beep sounds, and the locking mechanism resembling a ship’s wheel begins to rotate, securing the giant iron gate.
Large, thick iron pillars slide aside, and with a creaking sound, the lock disengages one by one.
Creak…
The giant iron gate opens.
“Alright, let’s go inside.”
“Okay.”
Nisia carefully takes a step into the vault room.
The light from her gear extends into the dark room, gradually revealing the inside.
Various objects stored on one side of the room.
Among them, the small vault containing the recipe Jo requested is visible, alongside the requested equipment.
A vault within a vault, not as a matryoshka doll but remarkably well-hidden.
Anyway, this completes our objective.
When I thought about returning, something vague was seen in the shadows over there.
“Hmm? Nisia, can you move that way?”
“That way?”
According to my request, she moves forward.
After advancing a few steps, an unusual sound reaches our ears.
Splash.
The clear sound of water echoing.
“Eh?”
When I look down, a purple liquid covers the bottom of her feet.
“Eh, eh?”
A flustered Nisia.
“Nisia, step back!”
Responding reflexively to my shout, she steps back sharply. Her gaze turns toward the front and her eyes widen.
“Wha-?”
She looks at me with a bewildered voice.
A bead of sweat rolls down my forehead.
An unusual object wedged in a corner of the vault room, not moving at all.
Severely wounded, it shouldn’t be there.
“Why is that here…?”
A voice that slips out involuntarily.
But as I look everywhere, there is no mistaking it.
The thick external skeleton encasing the whole body like armor.
The humanoid form slightly distorted, and the massive size proves it’s not human.
At the tip of the long tail, a sharp spike, and below each wrist, a pair of stretched blades.
“Edu, do you know what that is?”
“…Yeah.”
The highest-class Cryptid, the Queen.
Monsters whose mere existence is treated as a threat to humanity, but among the Queens, there are exceptionally three designated Named monsters that have been given names.
Despair’s White Queen.
Terror’s Red Queen.
Nightmare’s Purple Queen.
Each leads an army with absurd power and combat ability, pushing humanity into great crises at Act 3.
And the creature right in front of us is the sole bodyguard to that White Queen.
A monster that fights alone but is equivalent to an army-level power, risking its life to protect the White Queen.
Even though the name doesn’t appear in the AOE, people who have fought this monster consistently give it the same name.
“Beast Knight…”
I carefully scrutinize the monster’s appearance.
Then I notice the mechanical debris stuck to its blade.
“So this monster defeated the automatic combat units.”
That’s why the city was so empty.
The Beast Knight could easily knock out the automatic combat units in the sealed city and have enough intelligence to hide them.
However, there was one strange point.
The pools of blood on the floor and numerous wounds all over its body proved that the Beast Knight had suffered fatal injuries.
The problem is that the Beast Knight boasts a deranged physical ability capable of even blocking artillery fire.
Exactly what happened to leave this monster with such grievous wounds?
“Hmm?”
While pondering this carefully, I realize something:
“It’s… smaller?”
The clearly smaller body size compared to the Beast Knight in my memory.
While thinking about this, something carefully cradled in its hand catches my eye.
A sphere slightly smaller than my body.
It began wriggling and rolling out towards us with a “thud.”
“Ah?”
Reacting reflexively, Nisia stretches out both hands to catch it.
Simultaneously, I desperately grip her back with both arms.
“Nisia! Are you… okay?!”
“Uh, yeah!”
She answers despite the startled scream, seemingly indicating no major issues.
Although it was a careless action, there’s no time to point that out as the sphere in Nisia’s arms begins to vibrate.
Shaking and wriggling more and more actively, the sphere splits apart with a “plop” sound, revealing a tiny creature inside.
A large head with round eyes resembling a human baby reaching out to us.
“Uhh, uuh!”
A strange, indiscernible sound that might be speech.
But soon after, a bright smile spreads across its face.
“Ma, uuuu… Mama!”
“Eh, Mama?”
“Mama!”
Exclaiming loudly while reaching towards Nisia, the baby-like creature continues its motion, making it seem pitiful.
Moved by this, Nisia gently stretches her hand towards it.
The abnormal baby grabs Nisia’s hand with its own.
A sweet smile appears on the baby’s face.
“Keeau, uuu!”
“Wow, waaa…”
Nisia smiles along with the baby.
At that moment, a chilling sound echoes.
– Kuurrrrr…
The growling sound of a beast nearby.
When I slowly turn my head, a giant monster of unknown arrival towers right behind us, drooling.
It possessed a human-like skeleton with four protruding arms on its waist and shoulders.
The sharp fangs gleam even in the darkness, and the eight wiggling eyeballs’ gaze pierces towards us.
The grade 5 Danger Cryptid creature, Vanguard.
– Kiiiiiiiiii!!!
With a shriek, the monster’s right arm is raised high.
The curved blade flies towards us before we can even react.
