Kwa-rururung───!!!
The ceiling collapsed.
Kalakin desperately rolled his body away, barely avoiding being buried alive under the avalanche of falling rocks.
'What the hell…?'
He could tell.
This wasn't a natural cave-in—it was a deliberate, calculated collapse.
'But who would do such a thing?'
Of course, the Kronos remnants had their share of enemies. Living outside the Ark was never easy, and they must have made more than a few foes along the way.
'…No, that's not what matters right now.'
The priority was saving himself and his team.
"Damn it, who the hell—?!"
The masked figure, for once, let their emotions slip as they stared at the collapsing cavern.
Kalakin could tell—they were about to flee.
He couldn't let that happen.
"Hey! Untie me!"
The masked figure turned to face him.
Through the mask, Kalakin could feel the searing heat of their fury.
"And why the hell would I do that?"
"You'll regret it if we die here. If we don't make it out, Ark will just send another team—only this time, it won't be rookies like us. It'll be real investigators."
"You think I'd be scared of that?"
"If we die, you'll never learn about Carl Marcus."
"…"
Whether it was that last line that got through or something else entirely, the masked figure hesitated for a brief moment—then reached down and freed Kalakin from his restraints.
"…Don't try anything stupid."
"Don't worry. Not yet."
"The way you said that pisses me off, but fine. Whatever."
Kalakin stretched his wrists as he stood.
"Where are my teammates?"
"…Follow me. We're heading the same way anyway."
The chaos in the collapsing Ant Nest was absolute.
"Attack! We're under attack!"
"Move, move!"
Armed figures burst into the corridors, their weapons at the ready.
Kalakin took a good look at them.
'These aren't just some ragtag band of survivors.'
'Even in the middle of this crisis, the Kronos remnants remained composed, moving with the precision of trained soldiers.'
'It was as if cave-ins and sudden attacks were nothing new to them.'
They were well-organized.
And if they really did form an alliance, as the masked figure had claimed…
'If these people unite under one banner, they could become a real threat to Ark.'
Whether they were actively hostile or not didn't matter.
What mattered was that they could be.
Then—
Kuururururung───!!!!
Another tremor, another massive collapse.
"Where's my gear?!"
"With your teammates. Now shut up and follow me!"
But the deeper they went; The more paths became blocked.
They were being forced to take a detour.
"…Where is this attack coming from?"
"Not your concern."
Kalakin asked, but the masked figure had no intention of answering.
With no choice, he followed in silence.
Then—
'This is…'
The masked figure suddenly stopped in their tracks.
"What is it?"
"Finally… Finally…"
Their voice wavered—was it excitement? Awe? Something else?
'What's going on?'
Kalakin didn't have to wonder for long.
From the darkened corridor ahead, a silhouette emerged.
A familiar one.
"Damn… You guys really know how to hide, huh?"
The voice was casual, almost annoyed—like none of this chaos even mattered.
Kalakin froze in place.
'Carl Marcus…'
He was alive.
No—he had come for them.
'How had he known?'
'How had he gotten past the beasts?'
A hundred, no, a thousand questions filled Kalakin's mind.
But none of them mattered now.
What mattered was that Carl Marcus was here.
"Carl Marcu—"
Kalakin's words were cut off.
Because the masked figure suddenly let out a cry.
"O-O… Oraboni!"
A word completely foreign to the scene.
And as Kalakin processed it, his face twisted into sheer disbelief.
* * *
My original plan was simple.
To slip through one of the hidden entrances of the Ant Nest, quietly extract the investigation team members, and get out undetected.
But all those plans crumbled the moment the unexpected collapse occurred.
"Cough! Cough!"
A thick cloud of dust obscured my vision.
I had no idea what just happened, but one thing was clear—this visit wasn't going to be as easy as I had hoped.
'What the hell is going on?'
Esther, who had gone outside the Ant Nest to scout the situation, returned with a report.
["It looks like this place is under attack."]
'Attack? By who?'
["Not entirely sure... but it seems like zealots of the Church of Morte."]
'The Church of Morte... What the hell are they doing here?'
["Beats me. Guess they don't get along too well."]
'Tsk.'
In this world, whenever something bizarre happened, you could usually trace it back to either the Church of Morte… or the Church of Morte.
Sure, sometimes the Shadow Order would get involved, but they were nothing compared to the Church of Morte—the true masters of chaos.
The Shadow Order was, at its core, a small and focused group with clear objectives.
Unlike the Church of Morte, who seemed to wreak havoc just for the fun of it.
In any case, if the Ant Nest was under attack, that meant I didn't have much time left either.
The only silver lining was that in the midst of the chaos, nobody was paying much attention to an outsider like me.
"Over there!"
"This way, move!"
"Call for backup!"
The remnants of Kronos—no, they weren't a union just yet—were frantically rushing through the tunnels.
For someone who had intended to infiltrate quietly, it was a rather ironic sight.
Still, I wasn't about to complain.
["...Are you sure it's okay for us to just walk around like this?"]
'They don't all know each other yet. The union is still forming.'
["Union? What union?"]
Damn.
'Forget it. Just find the investigation team.'
["Me?"]
'Yeah.'
["Why?"]
'Just do it.'
["You're such a tyrant."]
With that, Esther's form began to fade.
She always complained, but in the end, she got things done.
I waited.
After a while, she reappeared.
["I found them."]
'What's the situation?'
["They seem to be with someone… but things aren't hostile. Feels more like a temporary truce."]
'Hmm. Lead the way.'
Following Esther's guidance, I carefully made my way through the tunnels.
["This way."]
'That's a dead end.'
["Oh… then this way?"]
'That path just collapsed.'
["Huh? Then… um…"]
'Are you messing with me?'
["Oops, my bad."]
As a spectral entity, Esther could pass through walls, which made her sense of direction utterly useless.
If this were above ground and we were flying on Horus, her navigation would be flawless—but here in this labyrinthine that was Ant Nest, she was hopeless.
'Just describe the landmarks you saw. I'll figure it out.'
["You could've just said that from the start."]
I swear, if I could punch her…
'Wait, maybe I should?'
I absentmindedly fiddled with the magazine of my gun, loaded with the experimental round—GHOST-157.
Maybe I should just put a bullet between her eyes.
…But I decided against it.
I had no time for nonsense.
'Consider yourself lucky.'
["Huh? What are you talking about?"]
'Never mind. Just tell me what you saw.'
["Okay, so I saw a fork in the tunnel—three paths. There was a green light on the right-hand wall, and also…"]
'Got it.'
["Wait, seriously? That's all you needed?"]
'Yeah.'
I picked up the pace.
If I was too slow, Kalakin, Hildegard, Dmitri, and Iris could all end up dead.
And then—
I finally spotted Kalakin.
He was standing next to someone.
"Damn… You guys really know how to hide."
I pushed aside the dust cloud and stepped forward.
Kalakin saw me and his lips moved.
"Carl Marcu—"
But before he could finish—
A strangely familiar voice rang out.
"Oraboni!"
…Huh?
"...What did you just say?"
"Oraboni, you're alive!"
…What the hell?
I didn't mishear that, right?
I wasn't the only one caught off guard.
Even Kalakin—who rarely showed emotions—was staring at me in shock.
But the masked figure in front of me?
They were furious.
"What took you so long?! Do you have any idea how hard I've been searching for you?!"
The one calling me Oraboni...
Was the masked person standing before me.
Judging by the situation, they were probably the one who had brought Kalakin here.
But that wasn't the problem.
'No… the problem is… that mask looks familiar…'
Something about this whole situation felt both unfamiliar and eerily familiar at the same time.
I couldn't hide my unease.
["Oraboni? Are they family?"]
'...Maybe.'
["What do you mean maybe? Either they are or they aren't!"]
'They could be, or they might not be.'
["Wow. You're trash. How can you just abandon your own sibling?"]
Esther wasn't entirely wrong to say that.
Even if they were my sibling, they were Carl Marcus's sibling, not mine.
'The weird thing is… their voice sounds familiar.'
I didn't have to overthink it.
When in doubt, just ask.
"What do you mean Oraboni? Do you know me?"
"…You're joking, right? How long has it even been? How could you forget me?"
"I'm serious. I have no clue who you are."
Though the mask concealed their face, I could feel their frustration.
"H-how could you forget me?!"
"Enough. Take off the mask."
"Ah."
The masked figure blinked.
As if they had just realized their mistake.
Slowly, they removed their mask.
And for a moment, I was at a complete loss for words.
Because I knew this person.
"All right. Do you remember now?"
Brown eyes. Brown hair.
I knew that face.
"…Yeah. I remember now."
I desperately tried to process the situation.
So…
Carl Marcus had come from a tribe near Kronos.
When Kronos fell, he had fled alongside Kurilta and other refugees, eventually reaching Ark.
But what about the ones who didn't escape to Ark?
The answer was obvious.
Those left behind became the remnants of Kronos.
'…How did I not realize this sooner?'
No, that wasn't quite right.
I simply never had the time to think about it.
When you're barely escaping with your life, you don't have the luxury of wondering what happened to others.
Especially to a sibling you'd never even met.
Lania.
Lania the Harbinger of Ruin.
The future second-in-command of the Kronos Union.
And the one who would bring about the fall of Ark.
She was my sister.