~Inganock's 2nd year, Unknown Season. City Skyscraper~
---This was before he ascended the Golden Spiral Staircase.
---This was in the Fantasy City.
The red light cast from the emergency lights blared across the cold corridor mixed with chrome. The floor, walls, ceiling. Here and there, the ringing alarms echoed in every corner of the facility, and many researchers involved in city-concealment-level experiments came and go. There were many figures in the facility that should have been unmanned. It was an unusual situation. A very unusual situation.
The city skyscraper. An unmanned quarantine area at the back of the secondary temporary engine factory directly managed by the upper tiers. An automatic regeneration engine prepared for the prototype "Upper Tier Soldier" in test operation was installed here, and currently it had completely airtight protection from anything that tries to get down from the upper tiers with the researchers invisible that are dressed in clothes and gas masks. It was an unusual situation. In order to find traces of the prototype Upper Tier Soldier who escaped during regeneration, not only the upper tiers but even the staff of the first tier's city management department moved and initiated the work, but the situation wasn't favorable. All the researchers had to admit the excellency of the person who used it and became a hindrance.
There were no traces. The prototype Upper Tier Soldier erased his tracks.
However, the spinning emergency lights emitted light and the alarm echoed.
However, those who squirm in search of traces were completely erased.
"The telegraph signal from the built-in tracking transmitter has been disconnected."
"In addition, Weapons A and B have also been taken out."
"The prototype?"
"Yes. A fine weapon."
"The only thing that was before the installation and implantation surgery of the built-in heavy weapons."
"Any adjustments?"
"According to residual reports, the regeneration engine was shut down prior to the fifth process."
"Is this the fourth process? I'm in the middle adjusting the brain." "There isn't any way to shut it down."
"It's a wonder that he hasn't died out yet."
"The maximum processing time was 700 hours in the fourth process."
"That's long." "We're completely behind now."
"What was the city administration even doing? This isn't enough to donate one or two bodies."
"On the contrary, the second-class plan execution officer will be "transferred"."
"As do we, yes."
The conversation over the gas masks was full of tension.
Researchers in each field shared a common mind to not lose their valuable sample case. Although it was a mindset from a research and experimental viewpoint, there was yet another common mind. That being the creation of the Upper Tier Soldiers, done through the city rulers' direction. The city ruler. The king. Prior to the city's law of death came into force, they had already understood many of it in the city. The absolute king who reigned over them. Except for those in the city's administration, they were fortunate to become aware of the threat of Monsters and the consequences of the Critter disasters only with knowledge and records, knowing through their ears, eyes, and skin of the absolute terror.
What did the Great Duke bring?
What was he in charge of now, having brought the Cracking Effect and Crack Engines made to save the city?
He was the absolute king. The ruler. It was he who reigned over the fear in the enclosed fantasy city of Inganock. Ruling over its pain, its screams, and even that of cruel death that cannot be escaped was ruled over. All the researchers here understood it. At this rate, they were all aware that they will follow the same fate as those of the citizens from all tiers they've been using in their experiments.
Thus they tried to find even the faintest trace possible yet...
There were none. The guinea pig himself erased them.
However, the spinning emergency lights emitted light and the alarm echoed.
However, those who squirm in search of traces were completely erased.
"...it can't be helped. Arrange for a Runner."
"Roger that."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Inganock's 2nd Year, Unknown Season. 8th tier suburbs~
Both of these were around the time when no one whispered on the street corners of any tiers.
The female Runner, Oona the Monochrome Assassin, was in a small private room in an apartment house on the eighth floor of the city's lower tiers. Its room was in disrepair and the occupants were missing, which was just perfect for her. Enough for the sake of observation...
Observing. Yesterday and today. She didn't starve from such boredom.
She lightly held her pipe while her binoculars hang from her right hand.
Currently one of the lower tiers drug gangs was taking the trouble of "expediting" to the 8th tier. Being hostile with some of the profiled characters who are openly controlling the 8th tier, Oona rented this apartment house without permission from its occupants (not helped with them not being there). She could clearly see the gap in the thin curtains from the window at the hiding spots of one of the profiled characters, Jid, who was in a fight with a drug yakuza. She can see it.
Observation. A rather boring job for a Runner. However, this was no such job for Runner Oona. Jid had hired some Runners to act as personal security, but Oona herself wasn't interested nor involved with it. There was someone far more interesting to Oona than silver coins for her to notice this conflict.
They won't move. Guess I'll sleep until the night.
"Big sister, big sister." "Hey, knock it off."
"So noisy."
Noisy. Very noisy.
Oona let out a sigh of purple smoke, pinching the back of her right hand while lightly touching the window with her left arm elbow, hearing the sound of "owowow" and "ouchouchouch" from her right arm in both arms. These were Oona's arms.
The Crack Engines created by the Grand Duke enabled her tremendous power in surviving the physical and social risk of performing illegal surgery, but at the same time gave her unexpected side effects. They were noisy. They could speak. According to the dark doctor on the second tier, the Engine Spirits that dwelled in the surgical tools somehow managed to transfer over to the Crack Engine arms. She would have torn the dark doctor who said such a thing in aloof manner but stopped herself and decided to pay the 50% discount fee, as much as she regrets it to this day. Though it was a lot, change will come. Though she kept a lot of things in the name for consolation money.
"Hello miss, I'm back...uhm, what are you doing? You imitating a ventriloquist again?"
Whispered Duke, the Shelob man who entered the room.
He was a man who transformed into a beetle-shaped insect in an upright posture. Simply speaking, they were an upright ladybird of about 5 foot tall. They merely had two arms back when they were a human. Wearing gloves bothered Oona's nerves. In any case, this guy wasn't the kind Oona hated as much. After all, she was the kind whose arms were discarded while being human, while Duke's arms remained while his humanity was discarded. She thought if this was a good balance between the skillful Runner and her assistant, or handmaid or of such. Duke's wings shook as he laughed at what was funny.
Duke was a wise man. He didn't do well as a Runner but survived after working with Oona several times. His head often turns over, unaware that Oona's arms don't speak internally. Either he didn't know, or have heard of them many times before but refused to believe it. It didn't help that he wasn't explained about it, as Oona simply handed the Western World style binoculars to him without looking back.
"That would have been a little easier. You've been stocking up, have you?"
"Of course", Duke took out the soy burger out of his shopping bag and scooted over, "Jid doesn't seem like the kind to be a fixer. That guy definitely has to be hiding something bloody there in that strangely large place. And according to the hired Runners, he's been telling his people he got one of the Critters from the first ten tiers."
"What kind of Critter could be owned by a human?"
"Duke?"
"Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?"
"There you go again. What were you staring at?"
"Sorry, my bad. I was just looking at your breasts."
"Is that so?" Oona had a sudden troubled expression. "So you still like women's breasts even after being turned into an insect. That's what men are about."
"Hehehe. That's exactly what men are, no matter how much of an insect they become."
"Knock it off with the laughter. Your wings make the glass resonate."
Oona's shoulders gave up as she lifted her lips off the smoke pipe and exhaled white smoke.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~Inganock's 2nd Year, Unknown Season. 8th tier street~
The man was in the back alley. The Street Knight was a man who continuously pursued Monsters that are a threat to the city. His name was Crack Chrome. The Steel Equation User. He chose to give himself that name, but he could not remember it. The man had lost some of his memory. What had happened to him? Why was it possible for him to go and kill Dragon, who should have been inactive at the bottommost tier of the city's Underground Large Engine? He could not know.
However, he remembered Oona's words. That female Runner.
The woman with a fragrant colon from the Western World. That female Runner.
Where did he remember meeting her? He recalled getting readjusted at one of the few classy concealment facilities in the city skyscrapers. Of course, he was aware of himself as the prototype Crack Engine weapon, the "Upper Tier Soldier" developed in the upper tiers. But readjustment? More than 90% of his human body had succeeded in the few second engine replacement surgery, the only known successful case present, and his body that had turned into a weapon with a human brain, had already become chrome. No kind of readjustment was required unless there was some significant damage.
If so, should he not have been hurt from his battle with Dragon?
The situation tells him the rumors were true. But he did not know.
Where was he?
Why did he kill it? Why did he kill Dragon?
Critter Dragon was absolute. He knew that himself 2 years ago. Humans could not kill Critters. All kinds of armament, poison, and phenomena could not affect them, and Dragon was their king. They were absolutely immortal, absolutely physically impenetrable information bodies. All heavy armaments, including artillery used by tanks, and even the Cracking Effect that could distort the laws of physics were not applicable to one of the 41 Critters that devoured people, one of the 41 great terrors that covered all of the city's lower tiers 20 months ago and scattered numerous deaths. It was the Underground King. Even if he had turned into chrome, he was a human being. To be exact, it was the human brain. Apart from Monsters, it should have been impossible to kill a Critter.
Crack Chrome had lost some of his own memory.
He had lost memory of Dragon's death.
And even memories of her behind him...
"A Critter tamer. So the story's are true..."
...what is this?
"We just wanna make sure. So don't be a bother, will ya?"
Around him were many figures in the narrow back alley's shadows. Several Ogres whose violence have been enhanced by illegal drugs grade 2 or higher. They surrounded him from all around in the dark back alley, blocking off his escape. No, they were trying to kill him.
It wasn't just the intent to kill him, vile words also came from the men.
"What a drag." "What kind of slender man is this?" "This must be who mister Jid has been looking at for." "No, no, no. This guy is coming with us." "This too much for the red drug?" "You're crazy." "He's pretty thin." "He looks weak." "Let's kill him." "Eat him." "Kill him." "Break him." "Kill him!"
"...So noisy."
He felt no strength in his left arm. This wasn't going to be easy by the looks of it.
Humans do not kill those who were human.
That was his pride as Crack Chrome. Yet what was with the looseness in his left hand wielding the long black sword? Weapon A, which normally didn't feel heavy at all, was currently horribly heavy. A block of metal that weighed over 200 pounds was heavy to him.
"Sorry, but I can't control it well. I'm having a bad headache here."
He spat out those words.
And with the weight of his sword...
"I'm Jid. It's a pleasure to meet you."
...why?
...hey, Crack Chrome. Why are you...
(To be continued)
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