Chapter 24: The Third Research: Black Tentacle (1)

The city was quieter than I expected, aside from us.

Only military helicopters and armored vehicles disturbed the streets; there were hardly any people or cars to be seen.

This time, the authorities were controlling traffic in the area to prepare for the soon-to-open Gate.

Compared to other Gates, we actually had a fair bit of extra time.

You never know what might happen.

Throughout the day, dozens of helicopters flew overhead.

Preparations for the Gate incursion were almost complete.

Now all that remained was to wait for the third Gate to open…

At that moment, Dr. Yeon glanced around and spoke to me.

“Doctor Lee’s team seems more thorough than I thought.”

“Yes. We paid close attention to the details.”

This operation, strictly speaking, was a joint mission with the United States Military, so the ultimate command authority lay with the ROK-US Combined Forces Command. Meaning Korean government officials couldn’t interfere.

Thanks to the involvement of the US military, we were able to get cooperation—perhaps even more than we should have.

I nodded.

Dr. Yeon and his Research Team were all holding black Submachine Guns.

“The atmosphere is quite tense, isn’t it?”

This Gate was different from the previous ones.

The third Gate was expected to have many enemies capable of flying or moving at high speed, so we needed assets to counter that.

Infantry Fighting Vehicles equipped with machine guns and Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Guns had been deployed en masse in Daejeon. All to hunt the Tentacle Dragon.

But it wasn’t as if guns alone would suffice.

If we could win against Monsters just with guns, the Gate situation wouldn’t be this much of a problem.

Ultimately, Hunters are the best solution.

“I’ve watched Doctor Lee’s records over and over. In Seoul, the Gate was entered almost immediately after a brief battle, and in Busan, you entered the Gate before any enemies even emerged, right?”

“That’s right.”

“It took over a week after the Gate incident began to realize it, but the most important thing is to cross over to the other side of the Gate as quickly as possible. That’s the main lesson from your operations, Doctor Lee.”

He’s right.

We need to begin exploring the world beyond the Gate as soon as possible. Of course, that comes with risks, but it’s still better than being the one invaded.

About an hour later.

Disaster Alert Sirens began to wail throughout Daejeon. A Gate reaction had been detected. I quickly turned on my Tablet.

Looking at the triangulated position, it matched my memory—the Gate had opened inside the Outlet.

“This one’s going to be tough.”

I sighed inwardly.

When a Gate opens inside a building, fighting becomes exhausting. It was the same before I regressed.

I took the Mana Geiger Counter out of my bag and switched it on. The mechanical sound came on immediately.

Normally, it would emit a faint sound or react lightly to internal equipment, but now the Mana Geiger Counter was making quite a racket.

“That way.”

“You’ve even managed to make a tracking device already?”

“Technically, tracking a Gate isn’t difficult. It’s building a system around it that’s troublesome.”

Dr. Yeon frowned.

“I just don’t get it. Like you said, Doctor Lee, the Gate opened in Daejeon, and it’s detected just as you predicted. Tracking a Gate shouldn’t be that simple.”

“I’ll discuss the method with you later… First, I need to talk to the Ministry of National Defense about the technology.”

Not sure if there’s anything worth sharing.

And maybe there’s something they can’t implement on their end.

But from another country’s perspective, regardless of whether the technology is amazing or practical, if there’s a usable method, they’d want to adopt it right away.

“Let’s think about that when we get back.”

After we’ve dealt with the Gate. For now, our priority is responding to the Gate that’s opened inside the building…

More than anything else, worry came first. There’s nothing as dangerous and time-consuming as fighting indoors.

“Let’s move.”

I grabbed my weapons and got out of the car. Dr. Yeon’s Research Team followed after. Now we had to find the Gate.

Several armored vehicles had already established an almost perfect perimeter around the building. Barely any time had passed.

I had requested it, but I hadn’t expected the response to be this effective. Everyone knew.

What happens if you fail to quarantine a Gate even once.

I checked my gear.

Weapons. Gas mask. My two Summoned Beasts were faithfully following, and Dr. Yeon’s team was waiting by my side.

“One regrettable thing is, since the Gate is inside the building, it’s hard to bring in heavy equipment. Combat will be far more restricted.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you going inside the building with us?”

“Of course we are.”

It’s not a given.

For the first and second Gates, people were able to go near the Gate because we had tanks and heavy equipment.

This time is different.

You can’t easily control the interior of a large building like this. The chance of unforeseen events is high.

“Then, let’s head inside.”

The soldiers encircled the Outlet building with armored vehicles and set up a quarantine zone encompassing the entire structure.

This time, instead of setting up a direct quarantine area around the Gate, they chose to surround the entire building.

The only ones entering the danger zone inside the building were me and Dr. Yeon’s Research Team. At least for now.

“Let’s move as quickly as possible.”

“Okay.”

The Gate might have already opened.

We need to go now. The Mana Geiger Counter hanging from my belt was still emitting an eerie mechanical whine.

Not every Gate gives you time to prepare. I checked the radio and started moving toward the building.

“This is Seal-1. Dr. Yeon speaking.”

“This is Sparrow.”

Radio was working fine.

I checked the information just uploaded to my Tablet. Looked like they’d secured the building’s internal surveillance camera footage. Now I had the exact location of the Gate inside the building.

“The third Gate is on the first floor, just in front of the central stairs. Just keep going straight.”

“This is Seal-1. Copy that.”

Guess I’ll have to take point.

Of everyone here, I’m the only Awakened, and the only one who won’t die if a Monster lands a hit.

Inside the building, a strange mist had already started to spread. Not a good sign.

If the Gate’s air was already seeping out, Monsters might have already crossed over.

They could be hiding, waiting for a chance to ambush us.

I sighed. Bringing fewer people into the building had been a good decision.

If you fight up close with non-human things indoors, people will die in droves.

Should I have waited until we could bring more Hunters? But there wasn’t enough time, not today.

We’d deployed a lot of heavy equipment this time, but with multiple Gates opening just days apart, it wasn’t easy to allocate personnel and combat assets optimally.

Let’s just head to the Gate for now. We walked to the point where we could see the central stairs of the Outlet building—

“This is Sparrow-1. Stop.”

The Gate revealed itself before us.

Around the Gate, a black metallic-looking lichen was growing, glinting strangely in the light—just like last time.

“A bit late.”

In that state, a Monster would have already emerged from the Gate. I quickly looked around.

——-!

With an indescribable, bizarre sound, a massive Monster fell from the ceiling.

It was my second encounter, but the primal fear was still intense…

I reflexively raised my gun.

A deep instinctual revulsion and terror welled up. Even at a glance, the Tentacle Dragon was clearly an entity from another world.

Even Goblins would scream and run if they saw something like that. The Tentacle Dragon was truly horrifying, even in appearance.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Dozens of eyes stared at me. Utterly disgusting.

I’ve made up my mind. I’ll never eat octopus again.

The monster we’d dubbed Tentacle Dragon. Its form was like a huge bird or reptile, and its color was black.

Now that I think about it…

The Tentacle Dragon I encountered earlier must have gotten hit by a lot of projectiles early on, so it couldn’t fly. Normally, these things fly.

Must’ve been limited in mobility from all the gunshots.

We pursued the Monster. All over its body, dozens of tentacles and eyeballs were wriggling out; some formed wings, hence the name Tentacle Dragon.

Tang!

One shot hit, but it didn’t seem to do much damage.

Too fast.

The Monster stared at us with dozens of yellow eyes, then charged straight at our position.

If I backed off, the Research Team behind me would be wiped out.

I aimed for the Monster’s head and fired, but that didn’t seem effective either. The Monster hesitated for a moment.

Dr. Yeon’s Research Team opened fire with their Submachine Guns, but of course, that did nothing. The submachine gun rounds disappeared into the mass of tentacles without effect.

That’s why I came prepared.

Parts of the Tentacle Dragon’s body were covered in mucous tissue, and some were even exposed eyeballs—dozens of them.

All potential weak points.

If its regeneration is too strong for bullets to work—

Taking advantage of its hesitation, I hurled a tear gas grenade at the Tentacle Dragon’s face. Capsaicin Gas, you wretched thing.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

The octopus Monster let out a horrifying scream.

Tang!

A shot from the Hunter Rifle hit the octopus Monster’s head.

Its many tentacles flared out like wings, but it twisted in agony, thrashing wildly.

Like an octopus being boiled alive. We were all nearly killed. But throwing the tear gas at its face worked wonders.

From its wound, a blackish-red fluid began to flow. So bullets weren’t completely ineffective after all…

Tang!

We trained our guns on the writhing Monster.

I heard the sound of spent cartridges dropping beside me.

The Monster wrapped itself in its tentacle-wings and fled up the stairs, spilling what looked like blood everywhere.

I looked over at my team.

Dr. Yeon shrugged, then began to walk after the Monster, following the trail of blood.