The first thing that hit was a subtle tremor.
Like a delicate spider’s web gently shaking, or a speck of dust floating in mid-air.
It was such a tiny tremor that an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice it.
―Whaaaaaa
From deep underground, something awakened in the darkness and let out a mighty roar.
A lament and shriek that spewed forth from thousands of heads.
It didn’t sound like human screams; instead, it echoed like the cacophony of hell.
Moreover, the subtle tremor shaking the underground felt as if this very underground were a living creature, trembling violently.
―Whaaaat, I can’t go back!
A colossal presence shifted.
Not just some simple writhing, but movement with a clear purpose.
Even though it was a being devoid of self, it longed for just one singular purpose.
Despite being nothing more than a mass of flesh with no structured form, it shook the entire underground, like a gigantic wave crashing about.
―Let me go! Take me back! To my home, to my family!
A massive crack appeared in the wall. A deep pit formed in the floor. Dust filled the air, obscuring clear vision.
The sheer size was enough to collapse the underground with mere movement.
From deep below, it extended out like a monstrous tentacle.
That tentacle reached upward, burrowing into the wall as if firmly anchoring itself.
Soon after, it began to slowly lift its massive flesh-filled body into the air.
“Damn it, I had a feeling things wouldn’t end smoothly…”
“Ugh… I knew this would happen!”
With a panicked voice, Eleanor dashed out of the control room.
The vibrations and booms continued ceaselessly.
It felt like the underground might collapse at any moment.
Just moments ago, they had been through a dire situation similar to this, and they were now desperate to escape.
“You too, get out! Something really big is about to happen!”
Cooper tried to follow her out, but then realized one person still remained inside.
To rescue him, he marched back into the room.
“Hey! Can’t you hear me?! We have to get out now!”
Once again, Cooper shouted loudly towards Elijah.
But for some reason,
Even though he clearly heard his name being called,
He remained completely still, just staring out the window.
“…”
After a few seconds of inexplicable silence,
Finally seeming to hear the calls of his companions,
He turned his head toward them.
“No, I’ll stay here.”
Just like that, he abruptly conveyed a message akin to choosing suicide.
“…What?”
Cooper blinked in astonishment.
It was a natural question.
After all, hadn’t they all struggled to survive and come this far?
And now, with just one step left to their destination,
The person before them was declaring he would give up his life at that last step.
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“We can’t let that thing go outside just like this. We need to find a way.”
Of course, his words weren’t simply driven by a feeling of existential crisis.
That was a living bomb; it was a fiercely threatening object.
If it were to get outside, a terrible catastrophe would ensue.
Thus, as a member of the Management Office, it was only right to sacrifice himself to minimize its impact.
“Don’t be stupid! We can just contact the Management Office after getting out of here!”
“By the time Headquarters realizes it, it’ll be too late. It will surely affect areas way beyond our projections.”
“And so you’re just going to throw your life away here?!”
“Someone has to do it. You know that too.”
Cooper spoke in a tone still filled with disbelief, but Elijah had already made up his mind.
With his one functional arm, he began tapping on the control console, searching for a way to blow it up at a moment’s notice.
“I’ll find a way to detonate it from here. You should escape as far as you can with her.”
“…”
An uncomfortable silence followed.
In a time where every second felt precious,
Cooper hesitated to take a step forward.
“Hey, when are you two planning to come out?!”
From outside, Eleanor’s voice echoed with impatience.
While she was waiting, the wall and floor were slowly widening the crevice.
Because she had gone outside earlier, she hadn’t heard the two of them speak.
All she felt was frustration at why they hadn’t come out yet.
“…Alright. I’m coming.”
“Wait! We have to take Elijah with us!”
“Forget him. Just leave him be.”
“What do you mean leave him? Did you two get into a fight or something?”
Avoiding Cooper’s objections, she entered the room like Elijah had done before.
It felt like their earlier conversation was about to repeat itself.
Wanting to waste no more time, Elijah nodded towards Cooper to communicate his intent.
He turned to say what he had previously mentioned, to leave her behind, but—
“…E-Elijah! Behind you!”
Suddenly, Eleanor’s eyes widened in shock as she pointed, and when he turned around,
He reflexively raised his arms to protect his head.
“――Kuh?!”
With the sound of shattering glass, intense pain enveloped him.
A shock that felt like his skull was being shaken apart.
Like a massive root breaking through the earth, the tentacle descended into the center of the room.
It split the wall apart and hurled Elijah’s body to the floor.
Then, it reached out toward the other two—
―――Kuguguguuuuuuuung!
With an enormous sound,
It completely demolished the control room they were in.
Silence engulfed the area.
The only sound that could be heard was the debris collapsing to the ground.
Sruuuuuuuh――
A thick, fleshy tentacle emerged from the rubble.
Once again, it climbed upwards towards the silo.
Having dealt with the disturbances, it seemed to have no further business here.
Only broken fragments flowed down into the space.
For a few moments, quiet stillness reigned,
“…Are you okay?”
Suddenly, with a loud clanking sound,
A massive iron door that had been leaning was pushed away,
And the four who had been hiding inside revealed themselves.
“Th-thank you… we owe you our lives…”
“Cough! This one seems to have fainted again…”
The two who had been saved by the girl spoke up.
Just before the tentacle had completely squashed them,
The girl had covered them with the iron door she was holding.
Except for Elijah, who had already taken a blow and fainted again,
The other two were able to remain unharmed.
“So, what’s going on right now?”
“U-uh, I don’t know. All I know is that when we stopped the launch, that thing suddenly began to move.”
“That thing?”
Eleanor turned to follow the direction the girl was pointing.
It was the thing slowly crawling up towards the long ceiling.
The girl easily recalled that it was the living bomb they had seen earlier.
“That thing could move?”
“We don’t know either. All we know for sure is that it’s causing big trouble by moving.”
“Hmm, I wonder if hitting it would calm it down.”
“No, absolutely not! Can’t you see the light glowing from the center? If that thing explodes, we’re all dead!”
Cooper waved his hands strongly in protest against the girl’s simple conclusion.
It wasn’t that he doubted the incredible abilities she had shown, but there were many abnormal phenomena that couldn’t be solved with sheer strength.
Unfortunately, the one before them was exactly that kind of case.
“First, we need to get outside. Damn it, at this rate, there’s no way out…”
Looking at the blocked exit due to the recent shock, Cooper clicked his tongue.
Now, there were no more exits available.
In this frantic situation, he was brainstorming how to overcome their predicament when—
“What, okay. So we just need to get outside, right?”
Suddenly, he felt a small hand gripping the back of his neck.
He paused all his thoughts and turned his head back.
“…?”
He looked at the girl with a puzzled expression.
Because he couldn’t comprehend why she was gripping his neck.
At a time like this, with urgency to get up and run, her action felt completely unreasonable.
“…Hey, wait a sec. You’re not…”
However, with the girl’s prior comment,
He recalled where her eyes had momentarily looked.
Understanding why she had grabbed his neck sent chills down his spine.
“Shut up. You’ll bite your tongue.”
“No, at least give me a moment to prepare—”
In an instant, before he had a chance to resist that grip,
He felt himself being yanked violently upwards.
He screamed like a little girl.
