As the creature that resembled her friend slowly approached, Ember felt a horrible sensation.
The worms spilling from its mouth slithered across the floor, leaving behind repulsive slimy trails, and from the severed stump of its head, new worms constantly erged.
“Co join us.”
The voice coming from the monster’s mouth sounded like her friend’s, but there was an unnatural tone mixed in.
“Nexus Node is always waiting for you, ‘Green Race’.”
“Nexus Node...?”
The mont she heard those words, a chill ran down Ember’s spine.
With a look of shock, she instinctively took a step back.
Her mind scrambled in confusion.
Until now, Ember had assud this grotesque being before her was just another product of the Erosion Domain—one of the many inexplicable phenona occurring across Babel.
Sothing like a cyber-necromancer, an occult entity of unknown origin, or like the monsters from the outermost edges of Babel that had erged after the great cataclysm.
But Nexus Node?
The corporation that was a symbol of reason, logic, and cutting-edge technology?
The very gacorp she had once worked for, controlling all of Babel’s communications networks—how could they possibly have created such a horrible monster?
It didn’t make sense.
Nexus Node didn’t have the technology to create such monsters.
“Could it be... the work of those lunatics?”
In that instant, mories of the past flashed through Ember’s mind like lightning.
The start of it all had been the new technology developed by Nexus Node to surpass the limitations of AI fraworks.
A groundbreaking concept found in the legacy of MK Corp—building a network between sentient beings.
But that technology had planted a cancer deep inside Nexus Node.
“We received revelation! We saw the truth descending from the sky!”
The mad cries of a scientist tainted by the network still echoed in her ears.
He had claid that through the ‘true wisdom’ descending from the sky, humanity would be led to the next stage, forcing human minds to connect with unknown entities in horrific experints.
“Ember, you’ll understand soon. Why we have to do this...”
The hollow eyes of forr colleagues, their words sounding like excuses.
They had beco fanatics, willingly participating in the mad scientist’s experints, and her own team mbers had beco sacrifices in those rituals.
Those who Ember had considered her true family, since she had none.
And now, even the 'friend' before her, this monster wearing her friend’s face, had been sacrificed in the na of 'offerings'—subjected to unspeakable tornt.
Experints that went beyond the realm of science, just cruel ‘tests.’
By the ti Ember returned from her long mission, everything had already ended.
She swore vengeance.
To root out the source of that madness, risking everything she had.
She killed the mad scientist, his followers, and even the directors of Nexus Node who had condoned or supported these horrors—without sparing a single one.
As a result, Ember beca a fugitive, hunted by all of Nexus Node, forced into a long life on the run.
That horrific ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ experience left deep scars on Ember’s soul.
She could no longer trust any gacorp or their sweet promises.
And now, the friend she thought was dead, no—this monster pretending to be her friend—was standing before her, ntioning the na of Nexus Node.
It felt like a nightmare from her past had co back to life.
“Co on!”
With a disgusting, gut-churning sound, the monster took another step toward Ember.
Snapping out of her brief mont of thought, Ember imdiately drew her handgun.
But just then, the Child that had jumped forward, rushed at the monster.
[Bad monster!]
With a small cry, the Child transford one of their arms into a sharp blade and without hesitation, sliced through the monster’s leg.
A sharp ‘swish’ sound was followed by a flash of blue light where the blade passed.
“!!!!!!”
The monster, which had once resembled her friend, let out a scream so horrific it could no longer be called human.
Unlike the bullet wound Ember had made, the wound caused by the Child didn’t allow the worms to escape.
Instead, blue flas seed to burn inside the wound, eating through the body.
After the Child slashed at the monster several more tis, the creature began to lt away, as if its body were dissolving.
The blue fire that spread from the wounds uncontrollably burned up the entire body.
The final sight of the monster, no longer able to maintain its form, scattered into blue particles, a horrifying and unknown entity far removed from Ember’s friend.
Seizing the opportunity, Ember quickly placed the Child on her shoulder and bolted from the horrific house.
Once she escaped the suffocating stench and the hallucinations that filled the space, only then could she breathe properly.
She imdiately tried to contact Scarlet, but the AR interface only showed a connection failure ssage.
The communications had completely cut off.
Leaving this area was now urgent.
Ember surveyed the surroundings.
The alleyway, now shrouded in twilight, seed deserted and abandoned, with not a soul in sight.
“I can’t believe I didn’t feel suspicious coming here...”
Ember muttered to herself in self-reproach.
It had looked like an ordinary neighborhood, but now that she thought about it, there were more than a few things that seed off.
The street had been too quiet, the empty houses visible through the windows.
It felt like the entire city was one giant trap.
Just then, the Child on her shoulder tapped her cheek lightly.
[It’s okay!]
With a strong voice, the Child’s face popped into Ember’s view.
As their eyes t, the Child smiled brightly as if there were no worries at all.
That innocent smile made Ember, without even realizing it, feel her tension ease a little.
She gently patted the Child’s head before quickly moving through the darkening alleyway.
At that mont, in the distance, faint green streaks of light drifted through the darkness like a ghost.
Seeing it, Ember imdiately crouched down, drew the anti-tank rifle slung over her back, and took aim.
The green light she saw through the scope was startlingly similar to the color of the optical camouflage she used back at Nexus Node.
The optical camouflage, designed and modified by Ember herself, with its body perfectly concealed and only a faint, glowing green light to deceive the enemy’s position.
“Trying to beat the original with a fake imitation...”
Ember muttered coldly and pulled the trigger.
A powerful energy round cut through the darkness, hitting the unseen enemy dead on.
The ‘Green Race’ hiding thod could never fool Ember.
As the optical camouflage shattered, the broken pieces of the creature scattered in all directions.
It was black, rotten flesh and wriggling worms.
“Hoo.”
Ember exhaled lightly and strapped the anti-tank rifle back onto her back.
‘Has Nexus Node still not gotten past the ‘Green Race’?’
For a gacorp constantly in competition, this was absurd.
Just looking at the technology from Titan Tech or Hexa Core Armory made it clear how far behind Nexus Node had fallen.
‘It’s probably those lunatics who’ve slowed down progress. Occultism doesn’t mix well with technology...’
As Ember thought this and prepared to leave, dozens, maybe even hundreds, of green lights began to appear from every direction.
Like a pack of starving wolves that had found their prey, they quickly moved toward Ember, filling the dark alley.
It was truly a swarm of the ‘Green Race.’
‘Damn...’
****
As soon as Scarlet inford that communication with Ember had been cut off, I didn’t hesitate and headed straight to the last location where Ember had sent a signal.
I slid through the shadows and quickly arrived at a quiet residential area in the eastern part of Babel.
But the scene before was nothing like I had expected.
As soon as I arrived, what caught my eye were nurous beings dressed similarly to Ember.
They wandered the streets, their forms identical to hers, like cloned dolls.
But there was a critical difference from the real Ember.
Their skin was dry, withered, and between the cracks, disgusting worms writhed and moved.
Their eyes were unfocused, staring blankly into the air, and from their mouths ca incomprehensible, eerie moans.
Like parasites infesting corpses, the worms seed to use their bodies as hosts, crawling through them.
“More bugs...”
I muttered, genuinely annoyed.
The caterpillar nightmare from the Perfect Food pizza was still vivid in my mind, and now, worms?
It felt like a headache was coming from the disgusting sight of these bugs following around.
The worm monsters noticed and started crawling closer.
‘...’
I could no longer tolerate the horrific sight and reached my hand to the sky.
Shadows surged upward, creating a massive rift.
From the rift erged the pride of Seoul Dino Park, the Space-Shadow-Mosasaurus, in all its glory.
The massive Mosasaurus, cloaked in black shadows, hovered gracefully above the residential area.
“Crush everything!”
At my command, the Mosasaurus plunged its massive body toward the ground.
KWAAM!
With a deafening sound that shook the earth, the Mosasaurus began sweeping through the residential area.
Like a living asteroid, each massive movent of its body crushed buildings like paper, and the asphalt cracked open.
The worm monsters that resembled Ember were trampled, unable to put up any resistance, crushed like insects.
The Mosasaurus, made of shadows, was immune to physical attacks, and the unknown projectiles the worm monsters shot at it disintegrated in the air without effect.
It was a one-sided massacre.
Hehe.
I sat perched on the roof of a house, smiling in satisfaction as I watched the exhilarating scene.
****
Only the traces of destruction left by the Mosasaurus remained in the streets.
Buildings were crumpled like paper, and the asphalt was torn apart by its giant claws.
[Eh!]
[Eh!]
The few surviving worms were being burned alive by the Children, who were going around the area.
Ember slowly rose from the debris of a collapsed building.
Not long ago, this place had been filled with enemies, truly a life-or-death situation.
“Hoo...”
With a long sigh, the tension in her body slowly lted away.
Because A had co.
Well, technically, it was the Mosasaurus that A summoned, but it ant the sa thing.
“Ember!”
At the familiar voice, Ember turned her head to see A suddenly erge from the shadows, waving.
The mont Ember saw A, she broke into a wide smile and pulled A into a tight hug.
“A, thank you for saving !”
Ember held A for a long ti.
‘...’
Until A began to squirm, clearly uncomfortable.
Then, Ember grabbed A’s shoulders, locking eyes, and with a serious expression, she spoke.
“A, sothing about this feels off.”
Her voice was low and serious.
“I think I need to dig into Nexus Node for a while.”
Upon hearing this, A tilted their head, then said as if it were obvious.
“I’ll go with you.”
Ember looked at A with curiosity.
Nexus Node had no direct connection to MK Corp, and no one had specifically requested anything from them.
“Are you sure? Nexus Node probably has no connection to MK Corp at all.”
A paused for a mont, resting their chin in thought, before replying.
“The worms... looking closely, they remind of those chained corpses I saw last ti.”
Chained corpses.
The Hexa Core Armory warehouse, filled with blue mist and eerie spiderwebs.
Ember furrowed her brow at A’s words.
Could there be a connection between these two incidents?
“Let’s head back to Dino Park first.”
Ember said, sorting through her complicated thoughts.
“I’ll have to properly plan the Nexus Node infiltration back there.”
A nodded at Ember’s words.
The Child, now perched on Ember’s shoulder, also gave a small, satisfied smile.
Without hesitation, Ember and A leaped into the shadows beneath their feet.
The familiar darkness that led toward Seoul Dino Park enveloped them.
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