Chapter 2 : Field Action

The email was empty, with no content.
I sat there blankly, staring at it, then whipped my head around to face the darkness.
There was no one there.
A creepy prank—no, it was too sickening to be called a simple prank.

A quick check with the Personnel Administration Department confirmed that the personal email accounts of deceased soldiers are locked for security reasons.
That meant even Ian’s family couldn’t have sent the email.
Not that it mattered, since he had no family to begin with.

“Hmph….”
The place where he died was the Abyss.
A massive hole in the earth that opened up in the middle of a wasteland seven years ago.

Countless soldiers went down to explore that pit, only to be devoured by tentacled creatures living underground and never return.
Except for a few who miraculously escaped, they were all trapped below when the Abyss was sealed two years ago.
No human can escape from there.
Only occasionally, when cracks form in the ground, do the subterranean creatures crawl out and roam like insects.

“Humanoid Abaddon spotted in Sector 17. Humanoid Abaddon spotted in Sector 17. Please evacuate to the nearest shelter immediately.”

Hearing the distant district announcement from above ground, Hannah drew a pistol-shaped emitter.
The familiar voice of Company Commander Major Müller flowed through the receiver.

• “Captain Hannah Tara, welcome back. Nine are coming up through the sewer catch basin 20m ahead. Deploy two by two around the junction.”
  “I will handle all nine myself.”

• “Looks like you had a good rest. Confidence is good, but they’re expected to pass you in 3.1 seconds.”
  “I’ll have more than enough time to finish them before they get topside.”

Hannah, advancing through the underpass while watching the screen on her helmet, stopped in her tracks as the screen flickered with interference.
She aimed her gun into the darkness, focusing on the sound of water in the sewer.
30m, 20m, 10m.

The sound of a crash and her pulling the trigger were perfectly simultaneous.

“Fall back!”

As she shouted behind her, she heard the heavy sound of something violently striking the water.
Then, a shower of stone dust rained down on her head, as if something in the darkness was trying to break through the ceiling.
Hannah raised an arm to block the debris, her brows furrowing.
‘I have to end this before it gets to the surface and increases the damage.’

One more time, and another, with her senses on high alert.
Bang, bang.
With each pull of the trigger, a thrill close to ecstasy shot through her fingertips.
‘All direct hits.’
She could tell.
Her instincts, after returning from the Abyss, had surpassed the limits of a normal human.

“Don’t turn on the lights yet.”

The water surface finally grew calm, but Hannah pressed her receiver, radioing the team members on the other corner of the sewer.
Even though the strong interference had disappeared, the flickering screen still bothered her.
But her warning came too late, as a light flashed from the opposite passage far away.
It was Private Kevin Howard, who had transferred in last week.
‘That idiot.’

The moment Hannah’s eyes narrowed and she quickly switched her weapon to shoot out the light, a black tentacle, stretching like a thorn toward the beam, exploded in mid-air and scattered into pieces.
It was a brilliant explosion, visible even from a distance.

• “First Company, target neutralized.”

Crackle.
A low voice flowed into her ear.
Her body froze for a moment.
As the helmet screen cleared and Hannah’s arm slowly lowered, lights began to turn on throughout the sewer.
Amidst the scattered human corpses dressed as sewer workers, long black tentacles could be seen hanging from their mouths like thick tongues.
Commonly known as Abaddons.
The tentacled creatures from underground use human corpses as hosts, as they die when exposed to strong electromagnetic waves like sunlight.

The approaching soldiers, there to confirm the kills, turned over each body and pulled their triggers.
The soldiers, all clad in electromagnetic wave protective suits, held pistol-type X-ray emitters in their hands.
Nemesis, the special forces unit of the Allied Forces created to suppress Abaddons, was a special formation composed of only two companies, commanded by a Major rather than a Captain due to the highly classified nature of their missions.
Reorganized to be led by a higher-ranking officer, it had an independent atmosphere different from the regular military.

She strode unhesitatingly onto the flooded floor, walking toward her team member who had fallen on his butt with a splash, but her gaze kept wandering over the faces of the corpses.
Even though she knew they were wearing sewer worker uniforms, the email from yesterday morning had her on edge.
‘Could Ian possibly be here?’

“S-s-s-Second-in-command, Ma’am, I’m sorry. I will be more careful in the future….”

Kevin, helped to his feet, immediately snapped to attention and apologized the moment he saw her.
She stared blankly at the main culprit who had let another team steal their kill, then replied stoically.

“If you don’t want to die, keep your head on straight. Before turning on a light, first confirm that the interference has completely disappeared.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Finally, her gaze shifted to the man who had helped him up.
There weren’t many in the military whom she, at 175cm tall, had to look up to.
The black-haired man, who had taken off his helmet to talk to someone, looked down at her as if he felt her gaze.
He was the one who had delivered the final blow, the second-in-command of the First Company.
And…

“I didn’t need your help. And the protocol is to give a warning call when humans are within the radiation range.”

He was also the man who had been with her until yesterday morning.

“Warning? Do only humans hear that call?”

He tilted his head loosely, gesturing with his eyes at the pistol she was holding as he retorted.

“A shame, but it looked like you needed the help. Unless you were foolish enough to be switching weapons in that situation.”

“If the light had been out, it would’ve been enough. They wouldn’t have found Howard in the dark.”

“That’s assuming your bullet hit the light precisely. If you don’t want to get your comrades killed, you’re the one who needs to get her head on straight.”

“I-I’ll just say I got a hundred X-rays, s-sir.”

While Private Howard muttered, not knowing what to do between the two captains, they glared at each other so intensely that the surroundings seemed to fall silent.
Until Second Company’s commander, Major Müller, approached and clapped her on the shoulder.

“Ah, there’s just no competing with talent that’s been down in the Abyss. We’re heading out before the cleanup crew arrives. We’ll leave the cleanup to the First Company.”

As Zakar saluted the major, Müller nodded for him to go.
Thankfully, he acted normal in front of other teams, even if he was usually a friendly, booze-loving old man.
Just then, Zakar, turning to leave, glanced at Müller’s hand on her shoulder and let out a faint, mocking sneer.
It was fleeting, but distinct enough for a very perceptive person to notice.

Before she could argue, Major Müller pulled her along as if to hurry her.
Private Kevin Howard also followed them with splashing steps.
She could feel curious gazes on them from all directions, likely because of their well-known bad blood.

“I was the one who called the First Company. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, but requesting support was unavoidable for absolute safety. The hypothesis that Abaddon appearances are concentrating near national facilities is now a confirmed fact.”

Major Müller explained in a placating tone as he walked beside her.

“Everyone is feeling the sudden increase in the frequency of appearances. So far, it’s just been the small fry, not the giant ones, but with the election coming up, we can’t afford to make a single mistake and let one slip by.”

Hannah said nothing.
She didn’t say that if the frequency was increasing, they needed to manage the night raids even if it meant lifting the regulations on AI development.
Nor did she mention that the discipline of this special team, unfamiliar to everyone, was deflating like a balloon.
A soldier’s virtue lies in following orders without dissent.

“I know that well enough without you nagging.”

She silently climbed the ladder and was the first to board the military vehicle that came to pick them up in the glaring sunlight.
Even though it was only June, the beginning of summer, the hot sun was painful.
As she took off her helmet and gasped for breath, Lieutenant Maya, who was leaning her arm on the window, tactfully rolled it up and turned on the air conditioner.

“Captain, you look particularly exhausted today.”

“It’s because she ran into Zakar Kairos.”

The answer came from Müller, who was sitting in the front.
At his joking tone, Maya glanced back and forth between them and shrugged.

“I’ve always wanted to ask, why do you two hate each other so much?”

“Well, if I had to say, it’s because they’re as similar as twins. They’re prideful, they’ve lived their lives believing only their own experiences are correct, and it annoys them when the other person says the opposite with the same conviction. Anything else?”

“That’s not it. I’ve told you several times, Major. It’s because Zakar Kairos unfairly stole my position as the top student.”

Hannah spat out cynically at her superior, who had reverted to his usual old-man persona.