Chapter 10

If possible, I think it would be more enjoyable to read it alongside the next "What Happened Then: Side B."

It might be a bit difficult from a smartphone, though...

[1]

The man's body, accustomed to the occasional luxury of cigarettes, began to choke in response to the acrid smoke of gunpowder.

"Ah, damn it... This is a mess."

[2]

Alone, the man coughed amidst the pile of debris and rubble, but still managed to pull out a cigarette. It seemed he had dropped his lighter somewhere, and after frowning and muttering, he noticed the smoldering remains of a nearby fire. Dragging his blood-soaked body, he approached and lit the crushed cigarette.

"Huff... huff..."

The smoke from the cigarette pushed into his lungs, which were already filled with the smell of gunpowder and burning, and the man finally relaxed his shoulders, feeling the chronic discomfort in his body begin to dissipate.

[3]

"Hmm, hmm... I don't know if this will be of any use now, but it's better than nothing, I guess."

Only when he stood up did he realize that his clothes, though now dyed a dark red with blood, were originally camouflage. The man pulled out a bayonet-equipped rifle from the mouth of "it," which had been shot through the brain and was likely dead. After examining the rifle for a moment, he determined it was functional and began to walk, rifle in hand.

[4]

"The rendezvous point... Damn, it's far."

The man, who had just put away a device with three blinking lights, started walking, the smoke from his cigarette trailing behind him like an animal's tail.

A tower, its base snapped and collapsed, a building with a hole that was clearly not part of the original design. The road was cracked and broken, worse than any animal trail, and among the ruins, the bodies of "it" lay scattered, exposing their deaths.

What should "it" be called? In shape, it resembled a lion or a wolf, but its surface was covered with a smooth, plastic-like shell. Where there should have been two eyes, as with any mammal, it looked as if a blindfold had been cut with a knife, creating a grotesque, inhuman creature.

[5]

"Where did D2 go...?"

Reacting with heightened sensitivity to the occasional collapse of rubble, the man continued to move forward. Amidst the dead bodies of the creatures, the rubble, and the flames, he advanced step by step, cautiously and steadily.

Finally, he reached the destination.

"The scar of the visitor, huh..."

[6]

It was more than just a ruin. The massive object from the sky had pierced the earth, and the circular shockwave had obliterated everything in its path.

It was a concrete manifestation of "destruction." The scene from the edge of the crater, where the man stood, was a vast expanse... a giant "triangular prism" stood there, a sight that even the man, who knew and understood the information, felt a certain fear and awe.

Clank!

"Wh-what!?"

"Vororororo!!"

[7]

It was not a sound of physical logic, but the sound of rubble being pushed aside by something other than the man. He turned, gun at the ready. In the next instant, he was knocked down by a creature that leaped from behind.

"Damn it...! You, you half-dead thing!"

The creature, with half its face and two-thirds of its back torn away, was far from normal. Nevertheless, it emitted a fierce killing intent as it tried to sink its half-remaining teeth into the man, splattering greenish-brown fluid.

"Get off...! You, you monster!!"

Human ingenuity erupted. The full-auto gunfire, fired at close range, struck the creature's cracked chest, and it was thrown back, sparks flying.

[8]

"Damn it...! You, you damn thing, causing trouble...!"

The creature, which had momentarily retreated, showed no emotion on its inhuman face. However, the way it crouched and growled, brimming with energy, conveyed its feelings more than words or expressions ever could.

"The head, the weak point... It's exposed, but it's not broken... That's why it's still half-alive."

A gem-like sphere was exposed from the half-blown face, possibly from a machine gun blast. Even without words, the creature would not run out of energy as long as this sphere remained, even if it had lost half its head.

The man wiped the greenish-brown fluid from his face, which had been splattered when the creature pounced on him. Mixed with blood on his sleeve, it turned a murky color, but he had no time to grimace.

[9]

The man and the creature circled each other, the human, weak in physical terms but armed, and the creature, strong in physical terms but half-dead. Despite their different standards, rules, and intelligences, both seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"!"

"Voroa!"

A short, decisive battle, to finish the opponent before reaching one's own limits. The creature, still leaking fluid, leaped to the side, and the bullets tore through the spot it had been. The man, muttering, tilted the gun and fired again. The creature, moving constantly, was quietly but surely aiming for the moment to deliver the final blow.

Then, a hollow sound echoed.

[10]

"Damn!!"

Out of ammunition. There is no infinite existence in this world, and the first to reach its limit was not the man or the creature, but the rifle that had run out of bullets. For the creature, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the energy it had accumulated to its limit was released. The half-opened jaw, following its own reason for existence, was about to crush the "thing" in front of it...

[11]

'Identification number V8-2, operator "James MacMillan"... You are late to the rendezvous coordinates, by five minutes.'

The creature's certainty of victory was shattered by a massive high heel that descended from the sky.

[12]

It was a giant steel giant, but it was not a crude and dull rock-like entity. It possessed a grace akin to a celestial being and the refined beauty of a doll designed for battle. Though burned and missing some of its original armaments, its silver color, now tarnished, only enhanced its beauty.

[13]

The giant, which should not have been a living being, directed a gaze filled with a clear will toward the man, who now held only a bayonet-equipped rifle. In response to this gaze, the man threw away the rifle and spat out the cigarette he had been smoking, turning to face the silver lady.

"I'm on foot, unlike you, so cut me some slack, you piece of junk."

'I request a correction. I am an Identity Type Nephilim "Agent Agent" of Nephilim Company's Third Branch "Kyoto".'

[14]

"I call anyone with a name longer than ten characters a piece of junk."

[15]

'I understand. I will take this into consideration... Operator "Junk".'

[16]

The woman's voice, high and inorganic, returned the insult, followed by a brief silence. The first to raise a hand was the man... James.

[17]

"Alright, you got me. That was a step above."

'My identity evolves daily. If I fully utilize my current specs, I could even etch my name in history as the king of comedy.'

"...Alright, that was actually pretty funny."

[18]

Such banter had become a regular form of communication between the man and the giant.

The silver giant knelt, offering a hand the size of a king's welcome. The man climbed onto the giant's palm and was lifted up.

[19]

"Ajer, what's the result of the search?"

'I have thoroughly checked within a 2-kilometer radius, but there is no response. The possible scenarios are that the coordinate beacon has been completely destroyed, or...'

[20]

"...'Puppet Hiding'?"

[21]

'The Nephilims assigned to D2 are all Non-Identity Type Nephilims. The possibility is high.'

The man's body turned to light. James, freed from his physical form, was absorbed into Ajer... the silver giant, and as he was completely absorbed, the giant's eyes changed from blue to red.

[22]

"We can't keep playing around with them; it's not even overtime. We're heading back."

'I have no objections, but I request a body cleaning.'

"Since the cost of weapons will be deducted from my pay, I'll lower the grade of the cleaning agent."

'...I strongly protest.'

"Denied."

[23]

The man and the giant, the visitor and the world.

Even amidst the chaos, the sky remained as vast as ever, welcoming the silver giant soaring through the blue.

[24]

Fade to black.

The flames ran like shadows, revealing the text.

'VISITORS CRISIS'

[25]

The flames ran again, revealing the true name that had been hidden until this moment.

'Nephilim Hollow 2'

[26]

'Early next Fall.'

[27]