"Damn it... damn barbarian."
Dmitri grumbled under his breath.
Beside him, Iris spoke up.
"...Not because of someone's orders, but for Ark."
"I know that. Stop acting so high and mighty. Cursed one."
Iris flinched.
"Cursed one"—one of the most degrading slurs used in Ark against ether-compatible individuals.
"Dmitri, this isn't the time," Hildegard interjected.
"I know."
Hildegard placed a reassuring hand on Iris' shoulder.
"Don't let it get to you. That bastard's always been like that."
"...Okay."
As Kalakin had pointed out, the monster horde had drawn dangerously close.
Objectively speaking, Hildegard, Dmitri, and Iris—who were supposed to one day lead Ark—were still weak.
Even Kalakin himself, despite his experience, was still closer to the weak than the strong.
In the past, that wouldn't have mattered.
They would eventually grow stronger, as planned, and take their places among Ark's high command.
But things had changed.
With Esther—a member of the Shadow Order—now bound to me, and with multi-wave outbreaks occurring, the situation was no longer predictable.
More variables had been introduced. More would follow.
And if, in the midst of all these changes, one of them were to die?
Ark's power would dwindle far faster than I had anticipated.
I don't need to lead them. I just need them to grow stronger. That alone benefits Ark.
That's why this was a golden opportunity.
Not only could we thin out the incoming wave ahead of time, but this would also provide valuable combat experience.
[Kyaooooooo──!!!]
[Kyaaaaak!!!]
The monsters surged forward, their frenzied cries cutting through the air.
But these weren't ordinary recruits. They were Ark soldiers.
A monster horde alone wouldn't be enough to shake them.
"Everyone, prepare!"
At the front stood Kalakin.
I had already made it clear—with force, even—that I was not the commander of this unit.
And among the investigation team, Kalakin was the closest thing to a leader.
"Hildegard, the enemy?"
Hildegard quickly scanned the approaching horde.
"...Around 300 Grade-10 and Grade-9 beast types monsters, plus 50 Grade-8 beast types."
"It's not going to be easy."
For me, it was nothing.
For them, it was different.
And for one very simple reason.
"We need to conserve ammo. We still have a mission to complete. Shoot wisely."
"Got it."
Unlike in Ark, this was the wasteland.
No resupply stations. No reinforcements.
A finite supply of bullets.
And those bullets had to last not just for this battle but for the entire mission.
No matter how superior our firepower was, they couldn't afford to waste it.
Especially since they had barely faced monsters at such close range.
Fighting on Ark's walls was one thing.
Fighting out here, on open ground, was another.
Out here, even the same monsters they'd normally handle with ease would turn into predators.
A stark reminder of just how insane my abilities were in comparison.
'I used to be like them once…'
Counting every round. Calculating every supply.
But those days were long gone.
[Grrrrrr──!]
The monsters closed to within 300 meters.
Up until now, the team had held off on firing, saving ammunition.
But now?
Now, they had no choice.
"Now!"
On Kalakin's signal, the Kronos Investigation Team opened fire.
The Ark-15 automatic conversion rifles in their hands roared to life.
Of course, it wasn't at my level—no insane full-auto bursts.
[Kreeeek!]
[Guhhak!]
Monsters dropped like autumn leaves.
They might have been recruits, but they were still future Ark elites.
Handling this much was nothing.
"Reload!"
By the time the monsters closed to 100 meters, their numbers had already been cut by half.
But the real battle was about to begin.
The main force is still intact.
Grade-10 and Grade-9 beast types monsters were manageable with Ark-15s.
But Grade-8 beast types?
A different story entirely.
Monsters of the same rank as the Skull Hounds.
While Skull Hounds were a special case—each were treated as an elite unit—other Grade-8 creatures were still not to be underestimated.
"Shit! Here they come!" Dmitri shouted.
For the first time, the team flinched.
It was one thing to shoot from a distance.
It was another to have monsters charging straight at you.
At the end of the day, they were still new blood.
"Iris! Hold the vanguard's legs down!"
"A-Alright!"
Iris, the only other ether-compatible in the unit besides me, stretched out her hands.
[Stop…]
[Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come. Don't come.]
[Aaaaaaah…!]
A violent etheric pulse surged toward the monsters.
But her strength was too weak.
Barely Level 2.
At best, she could slow them down for a few seconds.
"Ugh…!"
A few seconds.
That was all Kalakin had asked for.
Because that was all he needed.
"Hildegard, weak points?"
"Four vanguard at NE. Three at 75 degrees. Five rear units at SE."
"Got it."
With Insight, Hildegard had analyzed the enemy's formation at a glance.
Kalakin's hands moved.
Click.
'AKR-BOM-30 grenades.'
Standard Ark-issued explosives.
Not the strongest, but plenty deadly.
'I don't use them because they're inefficient… but for them, it's perfect.'
His throw was flawless.
Whizz!
Three grenades sailed through the air, landing exactly where Hildegard had called out.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM!!!
[KIEEEECK!]
[KYAAAK!]
Some monsters were blown apart, others staggered, their formation collapsing.
Kalakin did not let the opportunity slip.
"Bayonets!"
He attached a Smel Workshop combat knife to his Ark-15.
The others followed suit.
"Here they come."
The distance?
30 meters.
The monsters charged.
* * *
Humans cannot defeat the Monsters.
Humans lack the sharp fangs and claws of the Monsters, and even if they were armed with firearms, it would still be difficult to counter an oncoming Monster.
Thus, Ark's Close-Quarters Combat Technique against Great Monsters was devised.
The concept is simple:
Avoid the attacks of Monsters, which are several times larger than humans, block what cannot be avoided, and, in the gaps between, plant bullets into the Monster's vital points.
Though it is called a close-quarters combat technique, it is essentially a technique for evasion and defense against monsters.
"Take your positions!"
Following their training, Ark's soldiers, including Kalakin, moved into formation to execute the Close-Quarters Combat Technique.
Having already disrupted the monsters' formation once, no more than three of them could charge at once.
In other words, with their current formation, they could still manage, even in close combat.
[KIEEEEEEEEH!!!]
BOOM—!
The Ark-15, switched to shotgun mode, roared with fire.
The greatest advantage of shotgun mode was its stopping power.
Thanks to this, even without precisely targeting vital points, it could halt the monsters' approach to some extent.
"Scatter!"
As the forelimbs of a Grade-8 monster came crashing down toward the expedition team, Kalakin shouted.
THUD—!
They narrowly avoided the strike, but their formation was now broken.
Chaos ensued.
In a numerically disadvantaged situation, disorder was inevitable.
"...Tch!"
Kalakin gritted his teeth and faced the charging monster head-on.
With the formation in disarray, each member now had to handle the monsters on their own.
'At this rate, the expedition team will suffer casualties.'
Rolling along the ground, Kalakin pulled the trigger at the advancing monster.
BANG—!!!
The buckshot from his Ark-15 pierced through the Grade-8 monster's eye and shattered its skull.
SPLASH—
As blood rained down, Kalakin quickly assessed the battlefield.
"Aaargh!"
Dmitri let out a scream.
Kalakin rushed to aid him—
Until he saw a flash of red light.
SCHLNK!
A crimson glow slashed through the air, cleanly decapitating the Grade-8 monster that had been about to pounce on Dmitri.
Kalakin's eyes widened.
Something was here that shouldn't be.
'…A plasma weapon?'
His gaze instinctively shifted toward the source of the flash.
And sure enough—
Standing there was none other than Carl Marcus, the mercenary and tactical director assigned to this expedition.
"Gahh!"
Every time a member of the expedition was in danger—
SCHING!
A burst of plasma light erupted from Carl Marcus' hands.
[KIEEK—!]
[SCREECH!]
Thanks to him, they managed to catch their breath, but the problem remained.
'Plasma weapons don't have a long operational duration.'
There were still too many monsters left.
If Carl Marcus' plasma weapon ran out of energy now, the situation would revert to a nightmare.
And then—
PSSH—...
The continuous plasma flares died down.
Carl Marcus immediately switched to his Ark-15 Automatic Conversion Rifle, but as his weapon changed, so too would the battlefield.
"Kyaah!"
Hildegard failed to evade a monster's forelimb and was sent flying.
If nothing was done, she would be devoured.
'…No choice.'
Kalakin was about to push himself to aid Hildegard—
When—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—!!!
A devastating level of firepower erupted.
'Even with A-985 Explosive Rounds, that level of destruction is… what the hell?'
Yet, the battle didn't stop.
Following Hildegard, Dmitri and Iris were also in danger.
"Damn it, these bastards!"
"Urgh!"
Gunfire and ether flared across the battlefield.
But against the oncoming monsters, it wasn't enough.
At this rate—
'…I have to choose. One of them must be sacrificed.'
As Kalakin gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his Ark-15, preparing to fire—
RATATATATATATA!!
Gunfire rang out, and the heads of the monsters surrounding Dmitri and Iris exploded in succession.
"Hah… Hah…!"
"T-Thank you…"
Even Kalakin, who had been forced to consider sacrificing someone, had thought it impossible to save both of them.
Yet Carl Marcus had done it effortlessly.
He was calm.
Despite standing at the front lines against the monsters, he rescued every soldier under siege with an uncanny precision, mere inches from their demise.
Because of him—
Even in a situation where at least one person should have died, no one suffered severe injuries.
It was all thanks to Carl Marcus' near-divine skill.
'…Is this even possible?'
To simply call him strong was an understatement.
It felt as if—
The entire battlefield was within his grasp.
'Carl Marcus…'
Kalakin finally understood.
Why Ark had only assigned four rookies and a single mercenary to this critical mission.
Lieutenant Colonel Banol already knew.
He knew exactly what kind of person Carl Marcus was.
And—
'…He's different.'
Kalakin had seen countless warriors within Ark.
Brigadier General Douglas of the Red Line, known as the God of War. Colonel Emily Croft of the Orange Line, Commander of the Special Mobile Assault Unit. Countless other elite soldiers who had fought on the frontlines.
But the man before him—
Was different.
More than just strength,
His perspective on the battlefield itself was something beyond comprehension.
Kalakin's eyes followed the figure of Carl Marcus.