Chapter 360: Episode 17

We suspect Tokunosuke has been parasitized by a bug, but he has no time to worry about it now. The eggs hatch 5 hours after infection. First, you must escape to a safe place.

Pass through the forest as quickly as possible. Thanks to the guidance of Nen-hori, there are no enemies on the road. However, those who are chasing us from behind have not disappeared. On the contrary, with every moment, the signs become stronger.

The first thing I noticed was the gaze. The look of a thirsty, hungry beast aiming at its target. It attacks from behind, as if to cover itself. It is as if you are staring over your shoulder; you can feel the gaze from afar, feeling like skin-to-skin contact.

In reality, the distance is great. Even if the enemy's position is still far away, you are attacked by the illusion that you are right next to it. Is this one of the enemy's abilities? My body reacts out of fear, and I want to turn around to check. Even though I know it is a bad move, I cannot help but worry if I can continue running without looking forward.

The elder's distraction has no effect on the pursuer. It will aim at you with all its might. Finally, he draws near to hear the sound of footsteps.

His footsteps are as silent as the rustling of leaves blown by the wind. However, that faint sound is definitely closing in. The sense of distance is shattered by the unnaturally quiet presence and the psychedelic gaze. Is the opponent really a giant worm monster? Although there are doubts, the naked eye is not allowed to see it.

Fog begins to gather around us. It is already dark, and the forest road with poor visibility is blocked by fog. This is not an accidental natural phenomenon. It should be a poison attack, but the quantity is astonishing. The dense fog spreads out, and even the members running beside them cannot be seen.

"Ritual: Wind!"

A gust of wind strikes, blowing away the poisonous fog. Tokunosuke manipulates the Nen-birds, gathering their flapping wings to create wind.

"Ritual: Flower!"

The Nen-mouths fly backward one after another, and immediately after, a loud explosion and intense light come from behind. This is a technique that uses the Nen-worms as flashbangs. The elder's attack power cannot hurt the worms no matter how many birds you gather, but this technique can be used to distract.

However, the detention is not successful. The enemy says nothing, acts as if nothing happened, and continues the pursuit. It gradually catches up with the pressure. Isn't this the speed that makes Nen users run for their lives?

This is too different from the information I heard beforehand. At first, I suspected that the humans were deceiving me with the intention of trapping me, but judging from the panic of the members, this seems to be an unexpected situation for them as well. Judging from the fact that Tokunosuke was the first to be harmed, it can be said that this was simply caused by a misjudgment of the enemy's strength.

The data they obtained from actual combat is insufficient. The worm we are encountering now is special. There is no difference as a worm, but the specifications are clearly different. Perhaps the research team thought the worm was an adult while it was still in the growth process.

The most annoying parasitic ability has also been enhanced. I was infected just by watching the video. Night vision is useless. Perhaps there are conditions for infection, but this time I didn't have time to verify them. Whether you use a camera or not, you must assume that if you see it, you will be infected.

However, even if infected, Quinn can handle it. The eyeball should be removed within 5 hours. The lost eye can be regenerated through body repair with Aura. This ability has been explained to the research team as "Idol Molding (Crazy Doll)," so there is no problem using it.

I thought so at first too, but things have changed. This is enough for Quinn, but what about the main body? The main body also shares the visual information that the eye sees. It cannot be said that the infection does not affect the main body.

This is a problem I have been considering for a while, but I don't think it is a serious problem because there is information that "once replaced by video, it will not be infected." It has come here and collapsed from the prerequisites. Not knowing what to believe and how much to believe, I cannot be optimistic.

There is still a way to unlock it. You can defeat the enemy by hitting it with "Erosion Machine Bullet (Sistshot)." The enemy is a caterpillar and is not wearing crustacean armor. Due to its body size, its target is large, and even if you cannot see it, you should be able to hit it by throwing bullets at it.

However, there is a problem. Since this ability was not disclosed to the research team, improper use will lead to distrust. My goal is not only to survive in this place but also to escape the Dark Continent. It cannot be easily exposed.

A particular problem is that the opponent is a creature that uses poison. Based on my current combat experience, I am very likely to have resistance to poison. Even if my poison cannot kill it, I cannot escape the infection of the Almeiza Machine, but if the members see that scene, they might become increasingly suspicious of my danger.

However, he no longer has room for hesitation. It is only a matter of time before the enemy catches up. If I just want to survive, I still have a way, but in order to let the research team escape, I can only stop them here.

Slow down a little and move to the back of the squad. Since everyone is facing forward, you will not be able to see the moment of firing. However, the sound of the shot cannot be completely hidden. The sound of gunfire rings out from time to time on this unusually silent battlefield. There is no guarantee of a one-shot hit. It is also unclear whether the enemy is within this range. If you fire a few times, you might be suspected of what you are doing.

However, I must do this.

"Quinn! Avoid!"

Katrai cried. He was the first to notice the enemy's Malice. I reflexively dodged from where I was.

A mass of white stuff passed through where I was a few minutes ago. Thread. The worms use threads to attack. That was information I knew in advance, but if Katrai hadn't notified me, it would have been a direct hit. If I had been caught, I wouldn't have been able to escape. A chill ran down your back.

You cannot dodge all the thread attacks launched from behind at high speed without seeing them. It is as if he had luckily avoided it earlier. Use "Together" to prepare for the next attack. Although it is painful to continuously launch "Together" while sprinting at full speed, there is no time to complain.

Then I felt the enemy's presence. The huge body emerged as if it were burned into the bottom of my eyes. I had never seen it before. Nevertheless, it entered Quinn.

A feeling of incongruity invaded my eyes, as if it were reaching out from my brain. There was no pain, and the slight abnormality quickly subsided. If I didn't know, I might not have noticed. But I knew it was a nasty pest colonization.

Sensing with only "Together," both eyes became parasitized.

"Together" is a technique that maximizes the five senses, expands the area covered by each sensory organ, and overlaps them. By forcing synesthesia, it is possible to perceive information that could not be perceived originally. This makes it possible to detect the enemy's position and attacks in places that cannot be seen.

It can perform extensive precise enemy searching like "En," but the biggest difference is persistence. "Together" places a considerable burden on the brain when used, so it can only be activated temporarily. For the same reason, it cannot be launched randomly. In exchange, there is no need to worry about the enemy discovering this enemy search like En. Furthermore, it exceeds En in instantaneous enemy search accuracy.

However, although there are some aspects that are superior, basically "Together" is backward compatible with "En." If I had the talent to create a large En, I wouldn't need to develop this desperate imitation. War is constantly changing, and it usually requires persistence rather than instantaneous accuracy.

People with abilities like Cher and Katrai who can create large En are reliable allies. Especially Cher's En, which covers a radius of 100 meters, is far beyond that of an ordinary person. Due to the worm's "parasitize upon seeing" characteristic, it goes well with En. One of the reasons for choosing her as the return carrier is that she can act without seeing the worm.

The effective range of my En is at most 5 meters. That is why I left the work of finding the enemy to Cher and the others. And in fact, they were using "En" to perceive the enemy. As a result, there were no reports of parasitic phenomena. Therefore, I decided that using "Together" was okay.

"En" has a perception ability that relies on touch. You can feel objects within the range as if they were being touched. On the other hand, "Together" is a technique that mixes all five senses to create extra sensations. This is a contradictory way of expressing it, but it is close to deliberately obtaining the feeling of intuition and insect notification.

In other words, "En" looks for enemies by feeling rather than fully seeing the opponent, but "Together" mixes "Sight Vision" into the identification. Indeed, we lack most visual perception of invisible objects, but because of the overlapping areas of our other senses, we "see" them. Synesthesia is a phenomenon that links different senses together: touch and sight, smell and sight. That is why it is extrasensory, but this time it backfired.

This is the guess in my heart, but I don't believe it at all. Although I didn't see it with the naked eye, and it wasn't seen as a clear image, just a momentary intuition, the phantom outline of the enemy vaguely emerged. Is it not allowed to just feel that sign?

How ridiculous. But it didn't end there. Disaster (Risk) does not allow any goodwill.

Although I didn't use "Thought Warfare," I slowly perceived the enemy's invasion. It passed through Quinn's eyes and entered the main body.

The threat of the worm was planted in my body, and it shared the field of vision with Quinn. The experience of helplessly laying eggs for a mysterious monster was elongated in the concentrated subjective time. The feeling of being immersed in another entity causes an maddening itching sensation.

The primitive fear locked in the deepest part of the heart was resurrected.

"——!"

Someone cried. By the time I could barely hear the sound, I had already been attacked. A mass of thread was wrapped around my left leg.

Quinn's body stopped. The momentum of moving forward was suddenly stifled, and I was about to collapse.

Reach out your hand quickly. However, his hand never grabbed anything. I just stared at the backs of those running in front of me.

"Everyone, run without looking back, yeah yeah yeah!!"

＊＊＊

Grug-mcmiyah never thought of himself as anything special. He is the commander of the Sahelta United States special forces called Quantum, but although he feels responsible for his position, he is neither boastful nor proud.

Enlisted at 25. Before that, I worked in jobs related to railways. Worked at a facility management subcontractor site. He has the skills and qualifications of an engineer, and although his salary is not high, he has enough income to live a comfortable life.

I have a wife and a child. There is an ordinary but satisfied warm home. He is happy to see his child grow up and strives to be a good father.

His life is ordinary. If nothing had happened, they would still have a happy family. They shouldn't have come to the Dark Continent.

It all started with an incident. A fatal accident occurred at the site where the company he worked for was performing maintenance. To put it bluntly, if you work in railway-related jobs, you will naturally encounter such accidents. This was not the first time for Grug.

An accident where a boy accidentally crossed an Obstacle at a railway crossing, entered the tracks, and was crushed by a train. The boy's body was not intact. Initially, the police considered the line between suicide and murder to be narrow and determined that it was an unfortunate accident caused by the boy's carelessness.

But as the investigation progressed, other factors emerged. It was discovered that the circuit breaker was faulty. It might not have been working properly at the time of the accident. The boy's surviving family filed a lawsuit, claiming that the railway company and the facility management company were responsible for the accident, demanding compensation for losses and alimony.

The person in charge of maintaining this railway crossing was Grug. Hearing this story, he couldn't believe his ears. This is because the circuit breaker had just undergone a regular inspection recently, and no abnormalities were found at that time.

Eventually, the lawsuit filed by the deceased's family was dismissed due to lack of evidence, and Grug's company was not brought to justice. In other words, there was no problem. He was able to live a normal life.

However, he still felt some guilt. I don't think my inspection was flawed, but an accident was actually happening. I couldn't digest the discomfort that couldn't be expressed in words.

At least the people around him didn't blame him. I know his sincere work, which is why I was entrusted to be the person in charge of the site.

However, no one is more unforgivable than himself. Day after day, I am tormented by guilt. It's not your fault, be careful next time. Ordinary people think about problems in their own way. Even a murderer in court claims innocence and truly believes it.

He lacks the "power" that people are born with. For the first time, he realizes he possesses a tremendous sense of justice. It did not stir up righteous indignation against the perpetrators of violent crimes that make headlines. It can only be directed at yourself.

Did I really neglect to check the circuit breaker back then? I must have made a mistake I didn't even notice. Without it, a young life would not have been lost. Why didn't you pay more attention? What if the victim of this incident was my child? I can understand the sorrow that parents bear painfully.

He hallucinated a boy he had never met. The moment the accident happened, I had many dreams. He kept apologizing to the dying boy whom he could not save even in his dreams.

At the end of the apologies, his guilt never vanished. No matter how much you apologize to the boy, you cannot make up for your sins. This is sophistry; the living only do it to escape their own guilt. The dead have no words of forgiveness.

The apologies that never reached him continued to destroy himself like a Curse. That was his essence, the end of humanity.

"Everyone, run without looking back, yeah yeah yeah!!"

So I cannot turn a blind eye. The sight of a girl being attacked by an enemy beside her and falling to the ground shook the emotions deep within his heart.

In my mind, I made a cold judgment. The first priority is to ensure the return is delivered to the ship. This is the mission entrusted to a Special Forces commander. The return should take precedence over everything else.

If you rationally consider serving this purpose, Quinn should be abandoned. When she feeds the bugs, it can buy you precious time. Perhaps the enemy will be satisfied with this and will return.

Ignoring all these thoughts, my body moved. Changing direction with enough force to wear down your heels. He faced a "Disaster" that should never have been seen.

Stupidity has its limits. But he had a vow he made to himself. Namely, "Never retreat in a decisive battle." When he violates this Contract, he will lose all his Nen Ability. Not only the Emitter, but even basic Aura handling becomes impossible.

The act of "not looking back" and "not turning back" is deeply ingrained in his daily behavior. At first glance, this seems like a vow of bravery and masculinity, but the thoughts he himself put into this vow are different. This is a manifestation of self-weakness; he has no choice but to turn away from the past, let redemption be realized, and look only to the future.

His investigation of this Dark Continent has always been a flight. Even if he fights alone, if it were a head-on confrontation, there would be no chance of survival. Because once it is established, he cannot escape the battle. There is only one way to defeat the enemy or die himself.

All the enemies are too powerful, even the opponents that can be defeated. Resisting is no different from suicide. So he has always been committed to running away, always maintaining his own ability. Running away in front of an enemy does not violate his vow. His vow is not based on chivalry. It is a more trivial and selfish rule.

I should have thought this way. However, when he saw Quinn being attacked by the enemy, his spirit decided to fight before reason could take effect. This eliminated the escape option. Even if Quinn were abandoned, without Nen, Gragg Mcmiyah could not survive.

He himself was also vaguely worried. If he were to complete the mission of the investigation team leader, he should treat Quinn as an object of the operation. If you mix personal feelings, you might end up making mistakes in the order of priority.

However, he recognized Quinn as a person, not an object.

Quinn asked Gragg Mcmiyah. I have been asked many times about the continent where humans live. Like a young child wanting to ask casually about things they don't understand, and that figure overlaps with something important to him that he left in the past.

Quinn is just a child. Gragg Mcmiyah has enough reason to act without knowing it.

The monster is coming. The Shadow emerging from the depths of the forest easily exceeded the size of the worm. The giant rib-like legs swung methodically, crawling quietly along the ground. Its swollen top had two stinking horns that would emit toxic smoke. The strange thing was like a steam locomotive.

Most importantly, the "eyes" gave a sense of presence. It was not just huge.

Some butterfly and moth larvae have "eyespots." It evolved to evade birds, the natural enemies of caterpillars. Birds take instinctive avoidance behavior toward snake-like eyes. This is a type of avoidance defined as biological. It is pre-installed in the blueprint called genes.

Of course, human instinct is different from birds. However, in the face of this Disaster, the framework of categories like humans and birds is nothing more than a small matter. It attracts the depths of more fundamental consciousness.

Run away.

All thoughts converged into one. Give up all possibilities. This is not scary. It is just a feeling that comes with it, and instinct is its premise.

But Gragg Mcmiyah barely stood his ground. Although I was swallowed by that terrible feeling that gripped me like the Fire of hell, I did not leave that place.

This is not the result of his courage overcoming him, but simply the fact that he practices every day to keep his vow. If you take a step back after facing an enemy, you break your vow.

Gragg Mcmiyah could not move. I could feel the eggs parasitizing my eyes, but even that did not bother me. Physical death is imminent. Collision in one second. That sense of oppression, combined with the influence produced by the giant eyes, made the Dragon look even more terrifying than it actually was.

The performance of Nen Ability varies greatly depending on a person's mental state. Under the pressure that a normal person cannot even think about, it is the surging emotions in the heart that push him forward.

No matter which path they take, it is clear that even if they continue to run, they will be caught up. Someone must stop him. In this case, he must have saved his life.

No, this decision was too late. If he had stopped earlier, Quinn could have escaped. Her regret outweighed her fear.

"'Never Retreat (No Fair)'"

Gragg Mcmiyah is a Materialization System user. The prize that appeared in his hand was a strange pole. It had yellow and black stripes and was 8 meters long. Those who see this ability for the first time either wonder why they decided to materialize "it" or will laugh.

The emission of Materialization System ability makes the required object carry Aura. Many people materialize weapons, but none are particularly strong because they are weapons refined by Aura. Special abilities can be attached, but their performance depends on how the original weapon is used. Most importantly, it is said that the time required to master the Materialization System is the longest of all systems.

I am afraid there is no one else who would choose the "Obstacle" pole as a lifelong companion for a Materialization ability user. It is not a weapon in the first place, and it is extremely unsuitable for use in combat.

Of course, it is impossible for someone who can materialize a pole to serve as a captain of the U. S. Special Forces. It has the special ability to "offset the kinetic energy of objects approaching it."

In other words, anything that touches this pole will come to a standstill. Its effect has no upper limit. Even if it hits while following the propulsion of a space shuttle, it can easily catch it.

The special abilities that can be attached to materialized objects are limited, and it is usually impossible to attach such crazy abilities. For example, a materialized Sword cannot have the ability to "cut everything." At most, it is a degree of strengthening sharpness.

However, there are exceptions. One case is when a person with a special ability creates an ability using the Materialization System. Another is when you make a Heavy vow.

The vow to never take a step back, and that once broken, you can no longer use Nen, is truly too Heavy. In some ways, this is greater than risking your life or life-threatening situations. Depending on the opponent's Nen Ability, it is easy to deal with, and once it happens, it immediately turns into a person who cannot act, and if it is in battle, then one can only wait for death.

His power is distorted. Perhaps we can stop a giant worm. But this is only the part that the pole touches. It will not stop all the enemy's attacks. If even one thread is thrown, there is no way to deal with it.

Nevertheless, even if it is only for a short time, it is worth stopping.

I am sure I cannot protect Quinn. This ability is not meant to protect anyone. It is the opposite. I have already abandoned many people who could have been saved because of this vow.

For the sake of return, for the sake of human development, I abandoned friends for such slogans. Behind him are the ghosts of comrades who died in vain. He insisted that he would not let him escape.

Up to now, I have survived by relying on that sacrifice. If so, it should be completed here. If you are someone who will be crushed ugly, then living carelessly is meaningless.

Stop the eating at all costs. He prepared a generous prize. It rushed toward the enemy and was sucked in. Facing the intimidation of the monster, he did not look away for a moment.

However, once the Collision was imminent, a major change occurred in the enemy. The worm's skin, elastic and not subjected to any attacks, soon deteriorated.

The thick skin, originally loose like an old man's skin, turned into a Red Crystal-like substance with a metallic luster. The mutation spread to the whole body of the worm in an instant, turning into a huge red structure.

The Dragon, which had approached silently, stopped moving in the same silence. Gragg Mcmiyah did not know what had happened. Before he could stop, the enemy was silent.

The Dragon's whole body was covered with cactus-like Crystal, as if it had been infected by other monsters.