Chapter 29: Anomaly Catching Anomaly

How to Kill What Doesn't Die (3)

Anomaly Report
744th Anomaly

Alias: "Satan's Tail"

Hazard Level: Stage Ⅴ (Extremely Hazardous)

The 744th Anomaly is a spiral spear consisting of two red, sharp stones.

Its surface is densely covered with indecipherable characters, presumed to originate from the ancient ███ civilization.

The 744th Anomaly constantly emits unique mental waves, inducing severe mental contamination in exposed lifeforms.

Symptoms of this contamination include extreme excitement, uncontrollable violence, hallucinations indistinguishable from reality, self-harm, and, ultimately, ██.

If a deceased human is within the Anomaly's effective range, then immediately—

"U-Unidentified entity detected ahead!"

A desperate voice echoes from the hallway beyond the door.

A terrified voice, as if having discovered something truly horrifying.

For those who regularly confront the gruesome and bizarre, fear should be a long-lost emotion.

Yet, upon seeing it, they couldn't hide the tremor in their voices.

"Open fire immediately! Don't let it get close!"

"All units, suppressive fire!"

_Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!_

The sound of gunfire erupts, filling the hallway along with the commands.

A deafening, thunderous roar persists, creating the illusion of being in the midst of a lightning storm.

Whatever stands before them, the concentrated firepower is enough to tear it to shreds.

Staggered by the relentless barrage, it remains motionless for a moment.

—Screeeeeech

A grating metallic screech, like rusty gears grinding together, fills the air.

Then, as if provoked, it charges forward, intent on obliterating everything in its path.

Crack, snap, shatter.

The metallic screech is followed by a series of shattering sounds as something breaks and crumbles.

The hallway reverberates with the sheer weight of it.

Ignoring the hail of bullets, it continues its relentless charge towards the operatives stationed at the door.

The heavy footsteps, devastating everything around them, are about to collide with the operatives.

"Damn it, it's not working! The numbers are increasing—"

A desperate voice, laced with profanity.

He seems to realize that he can't stop it from reaching him, but it's already too late.

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!"

A piercing scream fills the hallway.

"―――――"

Oliver's eyes widen in horror.

The vivid sounds of death—flesh tearing, bones breaking, bodies being mangled.

The cacophony of gunfire and screams paints a clear picture of the situation beyond the door.

Frozen in place, he can only listen helplessly as his comrades are slaughtered.

"Isn't it marvelous? An ancient civilization that modern technology can't replicate. This is what they mean by the wisdom of our ancestors."

The monk speaks, appearing utterly serene despite the carnage unfolding just beyond the wall.

Of course. He was the one who stole it from the Management Bureau, the one who brought the lost Anomaly back here.

That's why they're called insane cultists and madmen.

The way they kill people emotionlessly, not for pleasure or gain, but as if it were their duty,

makes them seem less like humans and more like Anomalies themselves.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I've never participated in its original methods. Using people as materials, even corpses, is such an unethical act, don't you think?"

Oliver's eyes begin to bloodshot.

To hear the word "ethics" from the very person who orchestrated the massacre behind that door is infuriating, making him want to tear the monk apart.

The 744th Anomaly transforms human corpses.

And the transformed corpses immediately attempt to create more corpses, which are then mutated by the Anomaly to create even more corpses.

Reborn as weapons utterly unlike their original human forms, they would rapidly multiply and become a mobile disaster.

A catastrophe that could endanger not only this Site, but potentially the entire world.

To unleash such a thing and then act so brazenly… anyone would feel their blood boil.

"So, we tried to change its nature, in our own way. For quite a long time, actually. And, surprisingly, we succeeded."

The gunfire gradually subsides, and the screams that filled the hallway begin to fade.

Oliver silently prays for the souls of the operatives who met their gruesome end outside, then closes his eyes, anticipating the inevitable.

Given the nature of the 744th Anomaly, the corpses of the fallen operatives would soon be transformed and reanimated.

'...?'

But no matter how long he waits, the sound of flesh and bone twisting, which should be audible, never comes.

Only the sound of the last few operatives screaming their final moments echoes through the hallway.

"But there was a problem. It was good that it no longer used corpses, but we couldn't find a suitable substitute."

Oliver's eyes waver at the monk's words.

His claim that he had changed the nature of the Anomaly was starting to sound less like a joke.

He made it so it doesn't use corpses? He changed the very essence of the Anomaly? How?

More importantly, if what's out there isn't made of corpses, then what is it made of?

"Then, something in this Site came to mind—"

—Bang!

Cutting off the monk's words, something crashes through the thick barrier and into the office.

The mangled face of an operative, hanging limply, caught in the doorway.

The tattered mass of flesh slides down, leaving a large hole in its place.

"―――――"

Oliver gasps.

Beyond the hole, he sees the monster created by the 744th, just as he remembers it.

But something is different.

The twisted bones and flesh that should be jutting out menacingly, are instead made of plywood and rebar.

'...Dummy?'

In that moment, something flashes through Oliver's mind.

There was only one thing that could be called a dummy in Site 17.

An Anomaly that creates copies of itself upon impact, often used in experiments requiring impact measurement due to its property of not damaging the original.

If the 744th Anomaly had started using that dummy instead of corpses...

Then, then—

"It seems to be working even better than I expected. I'm glad."

He wanted to ask what they had done.

There was only one dummy in Site 17.

The dummy, which looked like it was used for vehicle crash tests, was a safe-class Anomaly.

It was characterized by the fact that it replicated upon impact, creating damaged copies while the original remained unscathed.

But if they had somehow managed to transform it into a self-propelled killing machine—

As far as he knew, there was no way to stop it.

—Screeeeeech

The chilling metallic screech sounds again, and the monster with the spiral spear embedded in its chest begins to walk down the hallway.

Heavy footsteps, thud, thud.

But the entity making those footsteps was not alone.

Following the nature of the original, which replicates infinitely upon impact,

the numerous copies that appeared after being struck by countless bullets were walking behind it.

And soon, Oliver could clearly hear another scream echoing from the distance.

"Well, I've finished my business, so I'll be on my way."

The monk, having nothing more to do, rises from his seat.

Oliver wants to pull out the gun from the drawer under the desk and shoot him in the back of the head, but he remains unable to move.

"What we told you is still valid, so if you ever change your mind, you are always welcome."

The office door, which never opened easily from the outside, began to open smoothly as the monk touched it.

Even with the numerous corpses sprawled in the hallway, he moved into the hallway naturally, as if stepping on a red carpet, seemingly unfazed,

"I sincerely hope you remain safe until then—"

He looked at Oliver as he did when he first came here, with his hands clasped together.

With a soft thud, the door closed and he quickly disappeared.

"Keuh…!"

As the duration of the bubble ended, Oliver staggered and collapsed.

It must have been due to the recoil from forcing his body to move earlier.

"Request support from the Management Bureau immediately…!"

However, despite the pain, he had no time to lie down and rest.

The monk's intrusion, Anomaly number 744, and the characteristics of the dummy doll fused with it.

Nothing was not urgent, and the personnel present at Site 17 alone had no means to stop the ongoing disaster.

It was a moment when he had to contact the Management Bureau immediately to inform them of the severity of the current situation.

With trembling hands, Oliver reached for the lower drawer.

The target was the communication device given to those of the rank of Principal Investigator or higher.

That device, which could ignore signal interference and contact the Management Bureau and other key executives, was the perfect choice to inform the outside world of the situation at Site 17.

The communication device is grasped in his hand from the opened drawer.

Oliver, with an urgent heart, trembles as he takes out the communication device to request support.

But the moment he looked at the screen, his urgent expression was briefly filled with doubt.

On the screen of the communication device, which would normally only be used for outgoing calls for someone of his rank,

An alert appeared that someone with an unfamiliar name had been trying to contact him several times.

_Emergency Communication_ _Sender: Senior Researcher, Benjamin Campbell_

And on the alert on the screen,

Was the name of a Senior Researcher who had been rumored to be requesting strange information about Site 17 for several weeks.

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