--
"W-What… was that?" Aoki finally asked, breaking the silent stare that had settled between us.
I gave her a strained, exhausted smile. "That was my gene skill."
She didn't reply immediately. Her brows knit together as her gaze flicked over me—my posture, my breathing, the way I still hadn't fully steadied myself.
"…Was it supposed to do that?" she murmured. "The exhaustion. The pain." She gestured subtly toward my drained state.
I directed the question straight at Nox, irritation bleeding into my thoughts.
Yeah, Nox. Was it supposed to do that?
Her reply came instantly—calm, precise, and suspiciously professional. If sarcasm had a temperature, it would've been just below polite.
{'Sir, my records indicate that a mandatory informational broadcast was disseminated to all newly awakened individuals. Verification of receipt for your profile remains pending, which suggests either a transmission anomaly… or that the accompanying data was disregarded upon delivery.'}
My eye twitched as a very specific memory replayed itself like a scratched cassette.
[The alert tab pulsed rhythmically, likely signaling system messages or notifications, but I ignored it for now, focusing on the status tab instead.]
I let out a heavy sigh.
Turning back to Aoki, I rubbed the back of my neck. "No, it wasn't supposed to do that," I admitted. "Something probably went wrong… likely mana exhaustion." The last words left my mouth with a complicated expression.
Then I shifted my gaze to her. "But forget about me. What about you?"
Her brows lifted slightly. "What about me?"
"Your gene skill," I clarified. "What is it?"
Her tone dropped instantly, sharp enough to cut. "What do you mean, what's mine?" She narrowed her eyes. "Information about gene skills is supposed to be closely guarded. Besides—" she tilted her head slightly, "—you never told me yours. So why should I tell you mine?"
I stared at her.
Surprised.
A little dumbfounded.
"…Fair," I muttered at last.
{'She is intelligent,'} Nox chimed in.
'Yeah… she is.'
It was common sense, really. You don't spill the details of your abilities to strangers—especially not something as personal as a gene skill. But I'm sure we've all experienced or at least seen some idiots who'd shout their powers from the rooftops just to feel important, just to feed their ego for a few seconds.
So her reaction didn't surprise me.
I kept my gaze on her, noting the passive edge in her expression. 'I expected nothing less from a ranker.'
{'The seventh ranker, Kuzunoha, may not be her, sir,'} Nox added cautiously.
'I know…'
My breathing finally steadied. A faint smirk tugged at my lips as my gaze drifted down to the daggers resting at her side. But I've got a feeling I'm not wrong.
She rose to her feet, her glare sharpening as it locked onto my expression—clearly misreading the reason behind it.
I shook my head lightly, a soft chuckle slipping out as I muttered,
"Status."
The red panel shimmered into existence before me. The alert tab pulsed violently, still flashing with unread notifications.
I was just about to open it when—
BOOOM!
The entire room shuddered as something slammed into the main infirmary door. Metal screamed in protest, the sound reverberating through the walls.
My pupils shrank.
BOOOOM!!
Another impact—harder this time. I could hear the door buckle inward as its locking mechanism shrieked under the strain.
My smirk vanished.
"Shit," I breathed.
BOOOOM!!!
The walls trembled. Dust rained from the ceiling panels in thin, choking sheets.
My gaze snapped to the door behind us.
Too small.
Way too small.
If that thing broke through the main door and we were still trapped in this place, we'd be boxed in like animals.
"Bad place to fight," I muttered, a grim weight in my voice as I reached for my shotgun.
Aoki understood instantly.
Her eyes swept the cramped room, then locked onto the door, jaw tightening. Her hands moved to her blades without hesitation.
Another BOOOOM shook the room. A sharp hiss followed as the hydraulics began to fail.
"We'll use the main infirmary," she stated, her tone devoid of emotion.
I nodded. "I'll cover the door. You move first."
I slammed my hand onto the access panel, fingers flying through the pin. With a weak beep, the red-cross door groaned as it began to slide open—slow, painfully slow.
From the other side came another thunderous impact.
The main infirmary door wouldn't hold much longer.
A high-pitched cacophony of screeches and chittering echoed through the space as we slipped out into the larger ward.
'Nox,' I snapped. 'The notifications—summary, now!'
{'Affirmative,'} she replied instantly.
I barely registered her voice.
My attention locked onto the green glow bleeding through the warped main door across the infirmary, light pulsing through bent seams like something breathing on the other side.
Crimson warning symbols flared across my interface.
{'Structural integrity of primary barrier: 13%,'} Nox reported.
{'Threat classification: Elevated.'}
"…Well shit," I muttered.
The door screamed one final time before the lock detonated outward. Metal fragments and pulverized concrete blasted into the infirmary as the remains of the door were torn free, skidding across the floor in a shriek of tortured steel.
Dust swallowed the doorway.
Aoki dropped into a low stance, blades angled as she let out a slow, silent breath.
A faint crimson glow flickered between my fingers as I steadied my aim on the breach, heat bleeding into the air before snapping back as I reined it in.
Then something moved.
Heavy.
Massive.
A silhouette forced its way through the dust cloud, each step pulverizing tiles beneath its weight. A sickly green glow pulsed within the haze—brightening, sharpening—as the thing pushed fully into view.
It let out a shrill, chaotic screech.
The sound was wrong—raw and discordant—sending visible shockwaves rippling through the air. The blast shredded the dust curtain in an instant, scattering it violently and laying the creature bare.
My breath hitched.
…Creatures?
I'd never been a fan of rats.
But this—
This took that dislike to a whole new level.