The minimal light from the starry night sky filtered onto the dimly lit atrium from which a corridor extended out, both of which looked like they had been abandoned for some time.

The two explorers, tasked with regaining control of the Deken base for their client, could smell the faintest trace of chemicals in the air.

“It’s dark in here.” Of them, Seola spoke first.

Before Soobin could reply, however,

“The Wremud swarm must have switched the main power off, leaving only the emergency lights on.”

In their ears, the voice belonging to the woman called Manicom sounded.

“We’ll use it to our advantage, Raven, Dew. Let them think that you’re not here.” She advised.

“Hmm?” Soobin noticed the silence between them. “Where are the others?”

“I’ve separated the team’s communications into two channels, so that their fight outside will not interfere with the main operation.”

Seeing that this was going to be an infiltration operation, having as little noise to distract them as possible was imperative to their success. At least, that was what Manicom surmised.

“Now,”

A packet of map data was sent to Seola and Soobin’s navigation system. The two of them approved its integration into their respective information banks, and a simplified version of the entire headquarters building loaded into their UI.

On the map, a point in the centre was marked, corresponding to the words ‘Base Command’.

“Your mission is twofold: First, disable the base security systems from the Base Command and allow the rest of the Haulers to enter the HQ building; and second, work with the others to eradicate the Cold Wremud threat from the base.”

Manicom went on.

“For the purpose of this mission, you are authorized to use all the facilities and supplies in the base, provided that you do not destroy, sabotage or otherwise incapacitate any of our assets on site.”

“Duly noted.” Seola responded.

“Don’t want a Code Amber happening in here myself.” Soobin followed up.

“The moment callsigns Boreon and Glutana choose to retreat from their fight in the airspace of Deken, there’s a high chance that the drones will go for you next.”

The board operator explained.

Do not worry about our fighters’ lives; worry about yours instead.

Her last words left the two of them aware of the time constraints they had for this operation.

“…Let’s move, unnie.” Soobin spoke first.

With a nod, the two explorers set off towards their first destination; the Base Command.

---

Through strangely flickering lights, a room with a closed door appeared to the left as they turned a corner.

“This is…?” Soobin mentioned.

The characters written on the door spelt out ‘Munitions 012’.

“Let’s see what’s in here.” Seola suggested, and Soobin agreed without delay.

Both of them had working Hazard Shields, and their blasters were already prepared ever since they landed on Venusian soil. Still, Manicom did permit them to use anything they could find in the base for the mission, and it’s better to have more options at your disposal in situations like these.

A holographic security prompt appeared on the door in the form of a hand scanner when Seola approached it. Using her right palm,

*FIZZLE*

The door parted both ways, granting them access into the room.

Inside, several lockers lined three of the walls in the rather small area. On the fourth, by the door, several documents were laid out on a desk.

Let’s see…

Ignoring the papers, the two of them rummaged through the lockers to see if they could use anything for themselves.

As expected, there were plenty of firearms stocked in them, befitting for a base headquarters this big. The fact that such a fortified building was abandoned in the first place was strange enough as it is.

Seola picked up a weapon that looked like an assault rifle. Unlike the toys that Ujungs gave them during fansigns, this one felt cold and heavy, somber.

‘CER-5 Denoted’

The description came up on her UI.

“We’ll get one of each, Soobin.”

She handed an identical one towards her partner, who was looking for her own weapon on the other side of the room.

On her part, Soobin also found two markedly different weapons; one that looked like a handgun and another that was longer, though not quite the length of Seola’s AR. Both weapons had a futuristic desgin, but their technological components couldn’t look anymore different from each other.

‘CER-023 Mandate’

‘VX-5T Mackerel’

A pistol and a short-barreled shotgun.

Soobin picked both of them up, as she turned towards her partner.

“Sure.”

As she received her own Denoted from Seola,

“You can have this one, unnie. I’ll hang onto the shotgun instead.” She passed the Mandate over to her.

“Got it.” Seola accepted.

As they left the munitions room, the two explorers examined their arsenal, before putting them away in their inventory space.

“Should we test them out first?” Seola suggested.

“The last thing we want to make is a commotion, unnie.” Soobin shook her head.

“Ah, right. Of course.” She recalled what Manicom said about the operation.

They would sneak their way onto Base Command and deactivate its security systems, so that the Haulers can come down and help them deal with whatever it is that’s in here.

Armed and ready, they moved further into the base.

---

Other than the dim emergency lights and the slight layer of dust that had settled around the interior, the headquarters building was surprisingly tidy and ordered; as if whatever took over didn’t really care about looking for valuables in this place.

However, this quickly changed as the odour of chemicals grew exponentially stronger. Mixed with a rotting stench, the source of this pungent smell was the assortment of splotches of an unidentifiable substance, staining the floor and glass walls of the building.

“What is this…?”

“Ugh.”

Taken aback, Seola and Soobin held their breaths as they moved past the mess.

The stains increased in density the deeper they delved into the base.

“We must be close.” Seola whispered.

The location for Base Command was still distant from their current position;

“Right.” Understanding what she meant, Soobin prepared the Denoted in her inventory space, ready to be switched out at any time.

What Seola meant by ‘close’ was to whatever it is that is occupying this Deken base.

At the end of the corridor,

“Oh?”

What appeared before the two of them was a door, as well as a flight of stairs that climbed up to the left.

Looking through the small window on the door, the other side appeared to be some sort of garage or hangar. Broken ship parts were left half-finished, with all sorts of equipment and machinery scattered around, some still connected to the parts.

The flight of stairs on the left also ended in a door, which, they discovered, was connected to a higher walkway that passed through the same hangar.

On that walkway,

!!

Two or three humanoid figures, clad in mechanical exoskeletons, could be seen.

“Is that—”

“Wait.”

Seola held her hand up and interrupted Soobin’s words.

Taking a closer look, the figures seemed like they were observing the hangar space below the walkway.

Still, the two of them stayed still and continued to observe them.

A few seconds passed in silence. Then,

*CLANG*

A small tool or metal part fell onto the floor inside the hangar, making a loud sound as it hit.

“Ah—”

Seola bit her lip, trying her best to restrain her surprise.

In response,

“Look, unnie!”

The calmer Soobin pointed towards the walkway.

One of the armoured figures, alerted to the noise, began to approach the door at the end of the stairs, apparently wanting to go down to the lower level to investigate.

However, the way it moved… did not match the gait of any natural lifeform.

With unstable, shaky strides and crooked arms that failed to give its stance any balance, the exoskeleton walked like a deranged person… like a zombie.

“Oh shoot.” Seola exclaimed.

“What do we do, unnie?” Soobin panicked.

“I don’t know!” She responded.

“It’s coming right here!” Taking out the Mackerel, Soobin pointed it in the direction of the stairs.

“Aren’t we supposed to be quiet!?”

“Do you have a better plan!?”

The two explorers scrambled to think of something as the grotesquely moving figure reached the door.

---

The figure opened the door and walked through it. Looking down the flight of stairs… no one was there, and nothing looked out of the ordinary.

Still intent on investigating the noise on the ground level of the hangar, it slowly shuffled down the stairs and headed for the other door.

It arrived at the end of the stairs and reached to open the panel.

Before it could touch the metal surface, however,

*SWING*

An arm coiled around the armour’s neck and grabbed onto a metal part by its shoulder.

With a precise snap,

*STAB*

Seola her wrist and drove an iridescent blade into the figure’s neck, aiming for the tender gap in between the mechanical joints. A crackle could be heard in the contact point between the dagger’s edge and the flesh of her target.

This deep into their vital points, the Condensate Razorblade, Seola’s Day 1 login bonus, should be able to terminate an unprepared enemy. The idea was that the material that made up the blade would react with organic tissue like flesh or membrane, reducing them to carbon.

Even so,

“…!”

The figure did not cease to resist and fall to the ground, like it should.

Caution rose up in her heart.

“Seola unnie?” Behind her, Soobin asked what was wrong.

…Of course, this was assuming the fact that they were dealing with one opponent.

The head of the figure could no longer move, but several slithering sounds could be heard from within its body.

“Damn it.”

Releasing her hold on the shuddering figure, Seola quickly moved away from it and went to Soobin’s side.

Her partner was already aiming the shotgun in its direction, and she brought out the Mandate as well.

“It’s not a single lifeform!” The retreating explorer exclaimed.

The next moment,

“The hell…?”

Those words escaped Soobin’s lips.

From the joints and orifices of the exoskeleton, several slimy, dirt-coloured shapeless abominations emerged, and the figure quickly fell onto the ground, as if all its strength gave out under it.

The Cold Wremuds.

The name of the monstrosities passed both their minds.

This group of gooey monsters were the ones inside the armour, controlling it.

“Fire!” Soobin shouted.

*BLAM* *BLAM*

She primed the Mackerel and fired shotgun rounds at the advancing swarm of monsters, while Seola supported her with fire from the handgun in her hand.

A few of the monsters wailed as they fell to their gunfire. By the time Soobin finished a clip of her shotgun,

“These things can take a lot of hits!” She groaned.

“What's going on down there?” Hearing the noise, Manicom asked through the transmission channel. “Have you been discovered?”

“There was no way we could cross the hangar without their notice!” Seola answered.

“So the infestation has gotten that far.”

The board operator set her hands down on her station atop the bridge of the Immerser. After a sigh,

“Time for the contingency plan, Raven, Dew: Let ‘em rip!”

Three of the seven Wremuds were still alive, writhing from the moderate damage they sustained but still closing in on them.

“So stealth is out the window now?” Seola asked.

“Duh!” Soobin answered, reloading her shotgun.

“Right!”

Hearing her words, Seola rushed forward through the swarm of Wremuds. Because of their slimy nature, the monsters were not able to react quickly enough to chase her down.

“What are you doing!?” Soobin called out.

Swinging open the door to the hangar,

“They won’t be able to catch us if we run fast enough!”

Seola shot the monsters from behind, blasting a path open for her partner.

*SQUELCH*

The Wremuds recoiled as the rounds from the Mandate pierced into their bodies.

Ah, to hell with it!

It didn't look like they had any other choice at this point, so Soobin followed behind her partner as they ran through the door and across the space of the hangar room.

“…!!”

The other two figures who had been alerted to the fight from the gunshots they hurt saw the two explorers running across the what's the large room, below the walkway.

Like the previous one, the monsters that were occupying these exoskeletons were too slow to catch up with them.

Jumping over and weaving through the abandoned machinery, the two girls quickly traversed the length of the hangar and approached the door on the other side.

We can do this…!

As soon as the two of them passed through the door, they would close it behind them to hold of the Wremuds for a little while.

At least that was Seola’s plan.

---

Of course, things wouldn't be that easy.

The moment Seola opened the door on the other side of the hangar,

“...?”

A macabre spectacle of slime and filth greeted them.

The stench of decayed material and chemicals heavy in the air, countless Wremuds littered the walls and floor of the corridor.

As soon as the two explorers appeared, they all had their attention.

Taking in the spectacle from behind her partner,

“Oh.”

Soobin let out a single word.

“No two ways about it, then.” Seola called.

Switching out the handgun in her hand for the Denoted,

“FIRE!”

Seola unleashed a rain of bullets onto the nasty monstrosities.

Soobin drew her own AR and the two of them opened fire on the crowd of monsters, giving them no chance to retaliate.

They advanced slowly down the corridor as they mowed down the Wremuds. However, the ones that survived the volley of gunfire began to surround them from either side of the wall, and even from the ceiling, closing in on their position. Also,

*THUMP* *THUMP*

Loud knocking could be heard from the door behind them.

They'll catch up to us like this!

Seola was too busy trying to carve her way through the enemies to notice the rest of her surroundings.

“Unnie!” Soobin tried calling out to her.

However, amongst all the shrieking of the Wremuds, Seola wasn’t able to spare her attention anywhere else.

*THUMP* *CRUNCH*

Soobin heard the door start to buckle under all the monsters’ attacks.

“Wanted to save this for a better time,”

Soobin made a decision.

“But you leave me no choice!”

The explorer took out a handheld electronic device, holding it up towards the crowd of Wremuds taking Seola’s fire.

Ready,

Soobin pulled her partner back by the shoulder and shielded her eyes with one hand, as she triggered, in the other, the contraption that came from her Day 1 login bonus.

A click sounded, then,

*FLASH*

A high-pitched sound rang as a blinding flash of light dyed the corridor in blue and white.

“What are you doing, Soobin!?”

Her eyes obscured, Seola called out.

“Keeping your consciousness in one piece, unnie!”

The device in her hand, the Mindflash, could stun any creature’s minds, as long as they possessed eyes and were not resistant to bright light.

Coupled with the dark environment they were used to, the searing light’s effects were amplified against the Cold Wremuds. As expected, their mental states were thrown into disarray.

“Now!!”

Taking advantage of this chaos, Soobin ran ahead of the swarm of slimed creatures, pulling Seola along by the hand.

It was not feasible for them to eradicate the entire swarm by themselves; that was why Manicom told them that disabling the security systems came first.

Escaping the confused group of monsters, the two explorers ran down the corridor as fast as they could.

“Thanks, Soobin.”

Realizing what just happened, Seola can't help but admire her quick thinking, faced with the critical situation from before.

“It had to be done, unnie.”

She answered, looking down on the Mindflash in her hand.

“Now I only have one use left on this thing today.”

Even then, their path down the main corridors of the base, heading towards the Base Command, was not a smooth journey: Not only did the dirty and slippery floors make their travel difficult, the decayed fluids also ate into their Hazard Shields.

Along the way, they sprinted through any group of Cold Wremuds they came across, not giving time for them to react before the two of them had already left the place.

From the constant rumbling behind them, Soobin could tell that their pursuers were increasing in number. Running for this long, the two of them were beginning to get tired as well.

And then, something else appeared in front of them.

Hanging with their appendages extended from the ceiling of the corridors,

“What the hell are those?” Seola grimaced.

Gooey, fleshy creatures that vaguely resembled the Wremuds littered the path in front of them.

---

“Damn it.” Seola reached for the Condensate Razorblade in her inventory.

Just as her fingers barely touched the handle,

*GLURCH*

Alerted, the monsters all pointed their appendages towards them. Seola and Soobin could see the eyes on the base of the appendages, by the main body which adhered to the corridor interior.

In the span of a second,

*SPLAT* *SPLASH*

The hanging monstrosities all spat out globs of dark purple liquid at them.

“Of course…!”

Soobin dove to the side, evading the volley of fire, while Seola lunged at the nearest one. She jumped to reach it, and, with the Razorblade, cut it down.

The hanging creature shrieked its dying throes as Seola’s knife plunged deep into its main body.

As the monster died, its name appeared in her system.

‘Cold Wremud (Looseteeth)’

“They’re variants, Soobin!” Seola called out.

“Got it!”

Soobin switched out the Denoted.

“I’ll take care of the further ones, unnie!”

Soobin aimed the AR further down the corridor and began shooting, while Seola continued to slash through the ones obstructing their way.

Even then, a few drops of the fluid managed to land on them, and their Hazard Shields sizzled.

“Ugh.”

The stench from the liquid was unbearable, but the two held their breaths as they mowed down the dangling creatures.

Before the fastest of the Wremuds chasing them could catch up, they were able to slice open a path through the Looseteeth nest and escape.

Barely escaping their pursuers, Seola and Soobin passed a partition in the corridor and reached the inner part of the HQ building.

Glancing at the navigation, it seems like they were on the right track.

Then, from the silence that held itself over the abandoned base,

*BOOM, BOOM*

Periodic tremors shook the floor in short intervals… as if a giant was slowly walking somewhere further down the path in front of them.

“Oh no.” Soobin groaned.

“This definitely isn’t like the others, Soobin.”

Seola warned, taking out the Mandate.

“Get ready.”

Just how many forms are there…?

Their own guns at the ready, the two explorers inched forward with caution.

After a minute or so, the space in front of them branched off into different sections, connecting to several rooms in each part.

“This looks like an office of sorts.” Seola pointed out.

As she passed a room, Soobin found a label written next to the door.

[Superiors’ Office]

“We should take a look inside, unnie.”

“Hmm.”

Seola listened for the tremors from before. The periodic thumping was getting neither louder nor quieter.

“Good idea, Soobin. We can hide if whatever that thing is comes by.”

They backtracked to the room they passed and went inside.

The office area had a single desk in each room, but the one they entered was larger than most of the rest. File cabinets and archived documents were neatly arranged in the rest of the space, surrounding the large desk located on the opposite wall of the door.

“Not a lot of cover to use.” Seola mentioned.

Rummaging through the drawers attached to the desk, Soobin found a few broken firearms and emblems, possibly mementos from the battles the owner of this office was in.

Then,

“Look, unnie,” She called out to her partner. Pulling out a box from under the table, she showed its contents to her.

‘Ankite 55’

The annotated description appeared for both of them.

“An incendiary charge…” She repeated the key point describing the rubber-encased charges in the box, dark brown in colour with orange highlights.

Soobin scooped out a few of them and stored them in her inventory.

“Just in case.”

“Right.”

Following her, Seola did the same.

For a while, the two of them went through the stuff in the other rooms, but aside from a few ammunition packs for the guns they acquired, none of the stuff they found was useful.

In a small space between the office that seemed to be the pantry,

“Rations and buffer packs.” Soobin detailed what she found in the food storage area.

The two of them chewed on the rations they picked while they rested. Hidden away from the main corridor, they managed to avoid the pursuers by staying put in this room. The thumping seemed to have gotten quieter as well.

“Will they be mad when they find out?”

Seola felt a trace of guilt from what they did just now.

“It’ll be fine, unnie. We’ve taken their guns and bombs, so this would hardly be any different.”

Soobin reassured her.

“If you say so.” Seola sighed.

Also,

Checking her navigation system,

“From the map, the master electric board is close by, Soobin.”

Seola suggested.

“We can turn on the lights and make our lives easier.”

“I’m not so sure about that, unnie.” Soobin pursed her lips. “We don’t want to make it easier for those things to find us, do we?”

“…Probably not.” Seola admitted. “You’re right.”

“Right?”

Finishing her snack, Soobin picked the Mackerel back up from where she left it, by the corner of the room.

Seola nodded and stood up from her seat.

“Let’s get out of here.”

The explorers, recovered for their fatigue, left the place to continue their journey.

…

While the rations were still digesting in their stomachs,

“Hmm?”

Soobin turned a corner.

“Uh”

What she came face to face with was an oozing body that towered above her height.

Looking up, she saw the somber visage of a hulking behemoth of hardened flesh, with bits of scrap and junk plastered haphazardly around its body.

“…”

The giant abomination made a low growl as it looked down on her.

At the same time, its name appeared on her system.

‘Cold Wremud (Callous)’

“…Looks like it was another variant after all, unnie.”

Soobin managed to crack a joke in this situation.

“…RUN!”

In panic, Seola dropped the ration she was holding and pulled her partner along as she ran in the opposite direction.

“How did we not hear it coming, unnie!?”

While the explorers sprinted away, the giant monster gave chase, and the footsteps it made shook the floor around them. They were definitely what made the tremors earlier.

“How would I know!?”

Cutting down a few stray basic form Wremuds on the way, Seola led them to another branched section of the inner headquarters area. This time,

“!!”

They quickly met a dead end: A walkway that connected to rows of rooms where bunk beds lined up in order.

[Quarters Area]

“Over here, unnie!”

Soobin pulled her partner into one of the bedrooms and hid behind one of the mattresses.

*BOOM* *BOOM*

The Callous Cold Wremud slowed down and looked around the area, trying to scope out the slightest sign of its prey as closely as possible.

“!!”

The two explorers held their breaths.

Adrenaline surging through her body, Seola ran through her arsenal, trying to think up of a tactic. All-purpose tool, blaster, the Condensate Razorblade, the Denoted and the Mandate, the Ankite charge…

It was an unfortunate of luck that she picked the Platinum Slip for her Day 2 login bonus. As a supply and logistics tool, the limitless prepaid card was amazing to have, but the transactions it could make were only limited to civilian products and services.

Wait,

“Your login bonus from today, Soobin!”

She turned to the person next to her.

“Won’t it work on that thing?”

“The electromagnetic waves or whatever wonn’t work on biological tissue, unnie.”

Soobin was skeptical.

“The armour, though!” Seola explained. “It’s made out of metal, right?”

Soobin realized what she was talking about.

“Of course, unnie! Good call!”

Hatching a plan of their own, the two explorers nodded, then moved around the room.

---

“…?”

The Callous Cold Wremud caught wind of light footsteps and turned in the direction of the room Seola and Soobin were in.

!!

It picked up the sight of a figure through the opening of the door.

Lowering itself to fit the door and enter the troom, the giant traced the path it predicted the Human would follow.

On one of the bunk beds, a lump could be seen under the covers of the lower mattress. Being so poorly hidden, the Wremud suspected that it was a trap, and it began looking around for anyone trying to ambush it.

However, the shape under the blanket trembled, and any doubt the monster had dissipated away.

It went over to the bed, and without bothering to pull the cover away, threw a heavy punch and crushed the frame of the entire bunk.

“!!”

Just before the top part buckled, Seola jumped away from under the blanket in surprise. Not expecting the giant monster to go straight in for the kill, it took her longer than planned to switch out her Mandate. Still, she managed to pull it out in time, and,

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

Several rounds fired out from the handgun and hit its face square on. The successive gunfire took the Callous Cold Wremud off guard, but it clearly took little damage from the attack.

Putting the firearm away,

“Now, Soobin!”

At her call, Soobin busted herself out of a locker behind the monster, and pointed what looked like a baton towards it.

The top part of the rod housed some sort of machinery, which glowed blue as she activated its functions.

At once, the metal parts on the Wremud also lit up, the same dim blue colour as on the baton.

“Get away, unnie!”

As soon as she saw the parts on the monster light up, she swung the stick in the opposite direction, ‘pulling’ it as hard as she could.

“…!!”

Acted on by an invisible force, the Wremud felt its body levitate, pulled on by the junk armour attached to its body.

In one throw, the entire weight of the monster was launched into the direction Soobin swung the baton to, and it crashed into a couple of bunk beds to the side of the room.

“Nice!” Seola cheered.

Soobin’s Day 2 login bonus, the Momentum Cane, was a device that allowed her some form of pseudo-telekinetic control over inorganic materials, particularly metallic ones. While the weight capacity was commendable, it wasn’t quick enough to turn metal shards into high-speed projectiles, limiting its effective use.

“Come on, unnie!” Soobin urged. She wasn’t going to stay and keep fighting with that dangerous behemoth.

“Right.”

Leaving the monster as it struggled to get up, the two of them ran out of the room and quickly left the crew quarters.

Looking at her navigation system, Soobin took the lead as they followed their route to Base Command. Along the way, Manicom came in to their transmission system, but before she spoke—

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

More of those tremors appeared. This time, they could clearly hear multiple footsteps from the rumbling.

“This is not good.” Seola gritted her teeth.

“Status update, base team!” The board operator requested, “Where are you now? The fighters won’t hold up for much longer in the airspace!”

“We’re trying, Manicom!” Soobin replied. “These giants are getting in the way!”

“Giants!?”

Manicom raised her voice in shock. Under her breath, the two explorers could hear her curse.

“The Callous forms!? They shouldn’t have appeared this early in the infestation!”

“What…?” Seola responded.

“Get to Base Command as soon as possible!” She ordered. “Do not engage with any of the higher order Wremuds you see!”

“Easy for you to say!”

Without responding, Manicom left them to their own devices.

“Looks like we’re biting off more than we can chew, Seola unnie.” Soobin mentioned.

Calming herself down,

“We can do this, Soobin.” Seola kept her spirits up. “Those things are big and slow; we should be able to slip by them if we’re quick enough.”

Pointing to her handgun and Soobin’s Momentum Cane,

“As long as we can distract them for just a moment,”

You get it? Seola raised her eyebrows.

Catching her breath, Soobin sighed and reclaimed her determination.

“Alright, unnie. The sooner we’re done, the better.”

They prepared their weapons and charged straight onto the advancing footsteps.

Soon enough,

*THUMP THUMP THUMP*

Several Callous Cold Wremuds appeared, rushing towards the two women as soon as they saw them.

“Let’s dance.”

Pointing the Mandate and readying her aim, Seola fired a few shots into their faces. Several rounds missed and chipped away at the walls of the base, but only two bullets struck the enemies square on.

“Soobin!”

“Here it comes, unnie!”

The two lumbering figures stunned by Seola’s gunfire were pulled down on the ground by Soobin’s Momentum Cane, tripping the others in their path.

“No hard feelings!”

Soobin commented as they jumped over the pile of fallen monsters.

“This can work…!”

The two of them nodded at each other as they advanced.

Three or four more waves of giants obstructed their path, and they dealt with them in a similar way: Seola staggering them with well-placed shots, then Soobin shoving them through doors on the side or crashing them into each other.

Soon enough, they reached a flight of stairs that would take them to the top floor.

“Phew.”

After this, there is only the last stretch before they would reach their destination.

Still, the moment they began moving up the stairs,

“What is that…?”

Slimy web-like threads as thick as vines spread out around the stairway, hanging from the walls and railings as well as on the steps themselves.

---

Not just that,

“It’s one after the other…”

*PUFF*

Clouds of green gas expulsed from the dozens of pores located throughout the length of the thicker filaments.

“Shoot them with your shotgun, Soobin!”

Taking out the Condensate Razorblade, Seola hacked away at the vines, careful not to approach the regions of gas.

However,

*SNAP*

“Ugh!”

As the threads severed, the same gas was released from the cut areas. Taking her by surprise, Seola was unable to avoid inhaling some of the toxic fumes.

She felt her body become heavy and sluggish to move, and began to lose her balance.

As Soobin blasted the ones that littered the stair steps, she saw her partner’s posture destabilize, having to lean on the wall to keep herself upright.

“Come on, unnie!”

She pulled Seola’s arm around her shoulders and continued climbing up the stairs, relying on her Astronaut physiology to clear the ascent. Firing the shotgun with one arm was difficult, but it helped clear the way for them without exposure to the green gas.

“…”

Seola was silent as she focused everything into keeping herself conscious.

Then, on the last flight of stairs to the exit on the top floor,

*DRIP*

“…I knew something was behind all of this.”

Soobin stared at what appeared before them.

A spongy clump of tissue hung from a network of vine-like web by the last flight of stairs.

A few seconds passed by in silence while Seola raised her head, trying to see its exact form. Then,

*GURGLE*

Multiple eyes appeared on the shape, all of them staring at her. In a flash, it disappeared from its current position.

“Unnie!!”

The clumped lifeform rapidly crawled through the network of vines it made and jumped towards their right side, pouncing at Seola.

Producing the green gas from its body, it intended to weaken her with the toxic gas to the point that she could no longer put up a fight.

Unable to avoid it, the abomination wailed as it reached and clung onto its prey, coming into contact with—

“!?”

—Seola’s right hand, which swung and grabbed its body at the last second.

Heaving a grunt, she threw the creature onto the step of stairs in front of them, then sunk the heel of her standard issue Hauler boot into its body.

With repeated stomps, she proceeded to obliterate the life out of the lifeform without ceremony, as Soobin recoiled in surprise.

After that,

*BLAM*

She finished it off with a few shots from the Denoted for good measure.

“…You were fine, unnie?”

Soobin realized that her partner was putting up a façade, appearing weakened to lure the monster in.

“Just barely, Soobin.”

Seola read the description of the dead monster under her foot.

‘Cold Wremud (Webber)’

“I didn’t want you to inhale the noxious gas as well; one weakened member was enough.”

“Thanks, unnie.”

Gesturing her to make some distance, Soobin blasted the vine-like mesh of threads covering the exit open.

Shaking the remaining lethargy from the poison off her body,

“Let’s get going.” Seola nodded.

Climbing onto top floor, the corridors were narrower and had lower ceilings, but the Cold Wremuds that roamed them proved to be dangerous.

Unlike the ones on the lower floor, multiple types of Wremuds were present within the groups they faced. The basic slimy form, the hanging Looseteeth, the brutish Callous giants, even the clumped Webber forms; all four of them were present.

“This is impossible to rush through, unnie!” Firing a volley of rounds from her Denoted, Soobin turned to the person fighting beside her.

“Looks like we’ll have to use the grenades from the office, Soobin.” Seola replied. “I’ll go first.”

Seeking out a gap in the enemy lines, she lobbed one of the Ankite charges into the group, and the two women braced themselves for the explosion.

*BBOOMM*

Seola switched to the Mandate and Soobin equipped the Mackerel, as they rushed through the hole the explosion tore open.

Looking at how much the incendiary blast hurt the Wremuds, it seems like pyrotechnics were more effective against them compared to blunt metal bullets. Switching to their blasters, the laser rounds damaged the monsters more as well.

It was fortunate that the Wremuds were clustered separately and far enough from each other to know what was going on, so they all fell into the same tactic: A grenade thrown into the crowded group, and shots from their guns to take care of the surviving monsters.

A few Callous giants tanked the explosion on several occasions, though, but Soobin’s Momentum Cane quickly suppressed them before they could land their hits.

At long last,

“We’re down to one Ankite, Soobin.”

“The Cane is also running out of power, unnie.”

The two of them exhausted a lot of their firepower, but they finally reached the reinforced door, the last obstacle between them and the Base Command.

“Status update, Raven, Dew.” Manicom came into their transmission channel.

“We’re here, Manicom.” Seola replied. “I’ll get the door open.”

She put her palm on the sensor beside the gate, and the security system recognized their ID.

*CREAK*

The composite gates swung open, revealing a large room in front of them.

“Well done.”

A hint of relief could be heard in the board operator’s voice.

Speaking into the other channel, she gave out her order.

“Callsigns Boreon, Glutana; the explorers have reached Base Command, pull away from Deken as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Looks like they’ll make it out safely.

Seola and Soobin also felt a weight lift off their shoulders.

Then,

“Shut the door after you get in, base team. HQ security will not attempt to break the door to Base Command, so the swarm drones will not seek you out.”

Manicom explained.

“Got it.”

In the distance, the wailing of other Wremuds could be heard from around them; the battle was drawing their attention from other areas of the base.

“Let’s go.”

Nodding to each other, Seola and Soobin hopped through the gate and closed the reinforced doors behind them, giving the enemies no chance to reach them.

---

While Soobin held on to her shotgun, Seola switched to the Denoted AR, carefully approaching the dimly lit expanse that made up the core of the Deken base, the Base Command.

“The rest of Squad Splinter have successfully escaped the drones’ effective range, base team.”

Manicom reported.

“The sequence to disable the security systems should be on the wall by the rightmost console of the control room.”

“Which right… oh.”

Looking at the structure of the room, with numerous control boards and consoles all curving towards a huge screen, it was not difficult to guess the orientation.

On the screen was an array of security camera footage, displaying different areas of the Deken base. Corridors, rooms, even the outside of the base.

…Wait.

“Aren’t these… all the places we passed?” Soobin pointed out.

On one camera, the Resplendent 02 and the Relentless 05 could be seen parked outside the southern entrance of the HQ building.

“Yeah, this looks like the entire southern section of the HQ building.” Seola agreed. Speaking into the transmission channel, “Isn’t the whole base abandoned, Manicom?”

“Yes, it should.” The board operator confirmed. “All our assigned personnel have been accounted for in the nearby settlement.”

Don’t tell me…

As soon as they began to suspect something,

*STEP*

*STEP*

*GROWL*

The sound of metal limbs against the floor could be heard from the shadows around of the room.

“…For a duo of headless fools,”

A pack of metal canines emerged, surrounding the two explorers ready to strike.

“What…?” Soobin gasped.

Atop the one larger metal beast, the pack leader of the canines,

“You impress me for having gotten this far.”

A dirt-coloured, slimy monster sat upright, riding the commanding automaton like a mount.

The creature was was very much identical to the basic form Wremud, with chemicals oozing out of its body and various pieces of junk jutting out its loosely bound skin.

The only difference was that,

“If you surrender now and offer yourselves to my cause, I might just let you live.”

A large, prideful eye that made up most of its body, above a malformed maw that sputtered out its words.

…Unlike all the Wremuds they’ve encountered before, this one was sentient and capable of speech.

The two women held still, careful not to provoke the fanged drones while glaring at the talking Wremud that commanded them.

“What will it be, trespassers?”

Seola kept staring at the monster indignant, while Soobin relayed the situation to Manicom behind her.

“I have never heard of a Cold Wremud that could talk, Dew.”

The board operator replied.

“But those Mercury Hounds should be deactivated; we shut them down because they were too dangerous! How did it get to them!?”

Just as she finished her sentence—

“It’s Lord Wremud to you, Manicom.” The lifeform responded, as if it heard their conversation.

“How—”

“As the most important ground base to the Oxley Haulers’ operations, Deken is very closely integrated with the Immerser in all systems, except the security processes. Knowing all that, intercepting your communications is but a simple task.”

The Lord Wremud explained. It bent forward, showing Seola and Soobin the antenna that extended out of the rear of its body.

“How does it feel, having to flee to your floating cruiser because you’re afraid to suffer my wrath?”

It goaded.

“You…!”

Manicom lashed out, but Soobin held her back before she could finish.

“Leave this to us, Manicom.” She reassured her.

The two of them stayed silent towards its taunts, but suddenly—

“The only thing we’re afraid of is having to look at your disfigured face, Lord Wremud.”

The sentence that left Seola’s lips made the entire room fall silent.

Despite her calm demeanor, Seola herself was surprised at how strong the venom was in her words.

She had no idea why she was speaking in this situation, but continued to run.

“Resorting to the Haulers’ drones instead of facing us yourself? You bark like the dogs you ride on, coward, but at least they know how to bite.”

Her provocation, which seemed to come out of nowhere, caused the Lord Wremud’s expression to sour. Even Soobin stood in shock, speechless at her partner.

After a few seconds,

“…I offered you mercy, yet you pushed my hand away.”

The Wremud lamented.

“I will savour the taste of the blood I spill from your flesh like the nectar from the heavens, trespassers…!”

*RUMBLE*

The entire control room shuddered.

“Uh oh.”

With numerous creaking noises, swarms of Cold Wremuds slithered out of the crevices of the consoles and screens, each of them possessing a few chunks of scrap stuck onto their bodies.

“ATTACK!!”

In unison, the Mercury Hounds and the Lord Wremud’s minions charged at them.

The two women opened fire as they evaded the onslaught of attacks that converged upon them. Both the minions and hounds attacked using their jaws and limbs, neither possessing the capability to use ranged attacks.

Staying out of their contact range was not difficult, but it took a lot of gunfire to take the hardy Wremuds down. On the other hand, the metal canines shrugged off the bullets and laser rounds from their weapons, only taking damage from Soobin’s shotgun.

“Behind you, Soobin!”

Seola climbed atop a console and fired on the minions that were trying to ambush her from behind, continuing to shoot until her Denoted ran out of ammo. Soobin’s shotgun fire was crucial in keeping the Mercury Hounds at bay, being the only weapon that could effectively hurt them.

“Unnie!”

Soobin swung around with her blaster switched out in her hand, firing a few laser rounds at a Wremud that was trying to get the drop on her partner.

*BLAM*

The shot blasted the metal shard it was holding into pieces, and some of them grazed Seola’s face.

“Gah!”

The Hazard Shield absorbed the bulk of the chip damage, but she still felt the pain on her temple.

Keeping her wits about her, she pushed away the dead monster and leaped around the room, covering Soobin’s blind spots as necessary.

On the ground, Soobin focused her shotgun fire on the metal canines, not forgetting to use the Momentum Cane to deal with any of the Wremuds that got close.

One by one, the Mercury Hounds began to die off. However, the strategy they used failed to account for the increasing number of Wremud minions entering the Base Command room, and their sheer numbers began to overwhelm them.

Trying to gain the upper hand,

“I’m throwing the bomb, Soobin!”

Seola shouted out, triggering the one last Ankite charge in her hand and throwing it a crowd of Wremud minions advancing towards them.

The fuse fizzled, then—

*BBOOOMM*

Dozens of the slimy creatures burnt to ashes in the explosion, and the others scattered away.

However, the blast also destroyed some of the control boards nearby, and the debris flew around the control room.

“!!”

Soobin crouched behind a desk while Seola instinctively covered her face with her arm, shielding her eyes from the broken shards.

“!!”

Taking advantage of the lapse in attention, a Mercury Hound got past Soobin’s range of fire and jumped onto Seola, knocking her off the console she stood on.

“No!!”

Seeing the automaton take her down, Soobin yelled out. She finished off the metal canine in front of her as quickly as she could, then ran towards where her partner fell.

In her panic, a cluster of Cold Wremuds hiding between the control boards sprang out and grabbed onto her leg. Their viscous bodies causing her to trip and fall, a short distance away from Seola.

“Soobin…!”

Seola pistol-whipped the Hound trying to maul her with the Mandate, but the fanged drone kept her pinned to the ground, so she couldn’t see how Soobin was doing.

With her back to a control board, Soobin exhausted the power in her Momentum Cane trying to fend herself from the advancing swarm of Wremuds, resorting to her blaster instead.

With fatigue from their prolonged battle weighing them down, the two people were unable to keep up with the horde of Wremud minions that kept pouring into the Base Command room.

“Sigh.”

The Lord Wremud and the leader Mercury Hound, who were only observing the fight so far, jumped down from its vantage point.

Leaping to Soobin’s position in a few steps, the greater Mercury Hound kicked her abdomen with great force, flinging her entire body crashing into the giant screen, along with a few unfortunate minions caught up in the impact.

Then, it leapt onto Seola and drove its front leg into her guts, crushing the other fanged drone between them.

“HAAAH—!”

She screamed from the pain as the broken parts of the destroyed mercury hound dug into her flesh.

“After that vicious provocation, I expected more of you.”

On top of its mount, the Lord Wremud wore a disappointed expression, looking at the woman beneath itself.

“The revered and awe-inspiring Oxley Haulers, reduced to gambling their entire fate on two incompetent explorers.”

The talking lifeform stared down at Seola, but its words were directed to the person on the other side of their transmission channel.

The surviving Mercury Hounds moved away from the battlefield, while the horde of Cold Wremuds crawled onto their two victims, holding them in place with their sticky bodies.

“Seize the resources, seize the state; a tactic even a foot soldier knows by heart.”

The sentient lifeform recalled.

“How far you’ve fallen since your catastrophic failure in the Kemb Wars.”

“…!!”

Soobin heard Manicom draw a breath on the other side of the channel. Its comment must have struck a nerve.

Beneath the foot of the larger Mercury Hound, Seola continued to glare at the Lord Wremud.

“You shall have none of my mercy this time, trespasser.”

The Lord Wremud stated, this time addressing her like how a predator would its prey.

“Seola unnie…”

Just able to barely keep a minion from smothering her breath, Soobin reached in the direction of her partner.

The larger Mercury Hound moved its foreleg from Seola’s torso to her neck.

With a snap, it pressed down on her.

Unnie…!

White lights appeared in her mind.

!?

In the span of a heartbeat, the two of them linked.

---

A white space expanded in Soobin’s mind, and a figure of a slender, fair-skinned woman appeared front of her.

…Seola unnie?

Without moving her gaze, that person replied:

Soobin.

It was indeed her.

Isn’t this…

Before Soobin could finish her question, she felt a presence appear in the linked space.

!!

It was the entity from Seola’s ship before, phasing into existence.

Are you sure about this, descendant?

This time, however, the presence coalesced itself into a tangible form, an elongated shape which coiled as it floated down upon the two of them.

Is that… Seo-ri?

Recalling the name Seola gave the presence, Soobin called out to the apparition appearing before them.

With platinum patterned scales covering its entire body and luminescent feathers adorning the span of its wings, the Winterhymn Drive appeared in their shared mental space in what looked like its true metaphysical form: An eight-winged, dragon-like serpent with a white radiance emanating from itself.

Yes, I am.

Seola responded.

Her words returned Soobin to her senses.

…You will bear the brunt of the astral invocation and set yourself aflame for a people who seek only to use you for their own gains?

The entity replied, its expression somber.

No, I will not.

Seola answered.

Then…?

The serpent was confused.

Why would the descendant call upon its existence if she did not intend to use her bestowed gifts?

I will not drag myself through your endless silver fires for those people.

She reiterated.

But—

The descendant turned around and looked at the person behind her.

For her, for them: I will do it a thousand times over without hesitation.

The Winterhymn Drive laid its gaze on Soobin, then,

Heh, so it would seem.

Seo-ri let out a single, resigned chuckle.

For a Drive to forget the first question it ever asked its chosen… I must have become complacent with myself.

[Tell me what it is you fight for, descendant.]

She was honoring her word.

…As you wish.

With a smile full of expectations, the serpent faded from existence, and the mental link severed between them.

I look forward to the achievements you will bring… my master eternal.

---

When Soobin came to, a white light was shining from where Seola and the Lord Wremud were.

The Hazard Shield, which was on the verge of shattering from the force of the Mercury Hound’s legs, turned frosty white and no longer budged.

“What is this…?”

Seola’s hair began to float, and her entire body glowed with the same radiance that covered Seo-ri back in the mental space.

Sensing danger,

“I won’t let you do that!”

The Lord Wremud commanded its mount to tear through her Hazard Shield and slit open.

However, the fangs of the Hound shattered from the diamond-hard shield, and,

“Impossible!”

Seola pulled the automaton’s legs off her neck, throwing its entire body aside as she rose back up from the floor. The Hound was flung away like a toy thrown by a child, crashing with heavy force into a nearby console.

Then, extending her left hand out in front of her,

“Scatter.”

An array of platinum lights, uncannily similar to what the Resplendent 02 fired before, extended out of the woman’s fingers and spread out around the entire room.

Despite their clear, pure colour, the rays held a destructive power far beyond any handheld weapon they had ever seen. The array disintegrated all the Mercury Hounds it touched completely, to say nothing of the minions obliterated without as much a scream.

“…Who are you?”

The Lord Wremud screamed, as it tried to scamper away from the levitating explorer.

“No, what are you!?”

Staring at the fleeing lifeform, Seola took a breath, and,

“I am your downfall, scourge.”

She fired a beam of radiant silver at it, blasting off a huge chunk of its mass despite merely grazing it.

“…!!”

Before Seola could shoot out another ray of light, sparks of white lightning appeared around her, and Soobin saw her body tremble as she began to lose control of the power she possessed.

“Seola unnie!”

More of the platinum rays fired from her body, but they scattered erratically, crashing into the walls and floor of the Base Command Room, destroying the consoles that had the misfortune of being in its path.

The sliver of light that touched Soobin’s Hazard Shield burned through it without resistance, barely missing her shoulder.

“Stay away, Soobin!!” Seola shouted.

The excruciating pain burned her willpower as it spread through her entire body, not used to the burden of channeling the Winterhymn Drive’s energy through herself.

With the amount of power she held, Seola could feel herself turning into an overflowing vessel, subjecting everyone in the entire area to a widespread rift of destruction the moment she lost hold of herself.

At the very least, she hoped Soobin would survive, if only to save her face in front of Seo-ri.

Even if this was a game, I shouldn’t break their trust.

I mean, she’s just going to respawn somewhere else in the universe, right?

However, In the face of the crisis in front of them… her partner did something unthinkable.

“You’re not leaving me alone in this godforsaken place, unnie!!”

Soobin’s words stirred her from her thoughts.

Seola turned to see the woman, who was holding up a device in her hand—

*FLASH*

A bright light fired, illuminating the entire room.

Then,

*CRACK* *BOOM*

The other consoles caught fire and imploded, setting off a chain of explosions that quickly spread out the entire room.

“Raven!? Dew!?” Manicom called out.

Before she could say her next words,

*BBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM*

A deafening blast resounded in the transmission channel, forcing the board operator to pull away from her control board on the bridge of the Immerser.

“What happened, Manicom!?”

Seeing her jerk back from the noise, Clare Langan went over to her colleague’s station.

“Callsign Indera… I…”

She tried to recompose herself.

“Base team, status update!” Clare took over Manicom’s station, speaking into the channel.

On the hologram projected by the board, the two operators could see the top floor of the headquarters building burst into flames, corresponding to the location of the Base Command room.

“Raven! Dew!! Do you copy!?”

“…”

There was not even a trace of static in the crosstalk, let alone any worded reply.

---

“What happened, Manicom!?” In the other channel, Boreon called out to her.

“Boreon, look!” Glutana interrupted him, marking a position on his ship navigation system corresponding to the Deken base.

He turned to see columns of smoke rise up from the headquarters building of the Deken base.

One of them was not like the others: It was a smoke trail left by a projectile.

“Callsign Indera, we have a missile bound for the Immerser!”

Another board operator alerted, drawing the entire bridge to them.

“It’s a Garuda Anti-Ship Ordnance, Director! …It’s from Deken!!”

---

“What the hell is going on down there, Manicom!?”

Clare brought her face closer to her colleague, demanding to know what happened in Deken.

“The Cold Wremuds, Indera, one of them have gained sentience!”

Her words made several of the personnel on the bridge cry in shock.

“It was the reason why the infestation progressed so quickly, Director: It was leading the entire colony!”

She continued.

“Somehow or rather, it learned almost everything about us.”

Lowering her voice,

“It… It even knew about Kemb.”

“Damn it!!”

Understanding the situation, Clare couldn’t help blaming herself.

Hiring underqualified mercenaries was one thing, but seeing such a dangerous threat pop up right under their noses was another.

At this point, as much as she grieved for the explorers she recruited, Clare could only hope that the explosion on the HQ building had taken the sentient Wremud’s life along with it.

“All stations, prepare the spall partitions!”

Instead, Clare focused on protecting the rest of her comrades: The entire crew that manned the Immerser.

The proximal defenses were being maintained after the battle with the bandit raiders, and none of the fighters would make it in time to intercept the path of the missile.

Minimizing the damage of the impact was the only thing they could do.

As ‘Indera’, she resumed command of the bridge, overseeing the deployment of the cruiser’s last line of defense.

Green energy barriers appeared, surrounding the critical regions of the cruiser. An energy-intensive defense system, the spall partitions protected the most important parts of the orbiting base against any explosive impact directed towards them.

In their fighter ships that were too damaged to catch up with the missile’s path, Boreon and Glutana saw the rocket fly well past their altitude, heading towards the Hauler’s most important asset.

Even Skulmiset, who was still floating around amidst the wreck of the Daggers, witnessed the payload soar towards its target.

[Ten seconds to impact]

“Here it comes!”

Clare called out.

[Five]

Manicom held onto the board, bracing herself against it.

[Four]

The rest of the Haulers prepared themselves for the impact.

[Three]

The light trail of the missile could be seen, blazing brightly as it neared—

“!!”

The shockwave of the explosion rocked the entire vessel, and the sharp sounds of metal fragments hitting the glass of the bridge windows assailed the Haulers’ ears.

Two successive impacts could be felt throughout the Immerser, one much larger than the other.

…What?

That one word passed through all of their minds.

The Garuda ordnance specifications did not feature a two-phase detonation; having worked with them for a long time, all of the Haulers knew this.

“Status update, bridge.”

As soon as the rumbling stopped, Indera called out.

“Analysis of the missile’s impact complete!”

A board operator reported.

“…It wasn’t aimed at us, Director; the Garuda has collided with a stealth interplanetary warhead targeted towards us!”

The report shocked everyone on the bridge.

“The warhead came all the way from Phobos!”

“Phobos? Mars’s moon?”

She repeated their words.

“There have been sightings of Dagger ships around the dark side of that moon, Director.”

Another operator stated.

Silence returned to the bridge for a few moments after the last impact subsided.

“So, what you’re saying is: The missile fired by Deken saved us from being destroyed by the Daggers’ final retribution?”

Amidst the murmuring of the bridge personnel,

“It seems to be the case, Callsign Indera.”

Manicom spoke up.

Pointing to a blinking indicator on her hologram,

“The security systems on the Deken base have successfully been disabled.”

She reported.

…

A long distance away from the Immerser, within the atmosphere of Venus,

“They did it.”

Glutana muttered.

“They did it, Boreon…!!”

“I have to admit, I didn’t think they had it in them.”

Boreon sighed.

“Well done, Raven, Dew.”

As a Hauler pilot arrived to pick him up, Skulmiset also nodded silently, glad to have known and fought alongside the two explorers, even for a short time.

---

[Day 2, Evening]

Despite having to testify for the destruction of the Deken base’s assets under her supervision, ‘Indera’ was given a commendation by the Oxley Haulers for contributing to the reclamation of the mercenary group’s most important ground base, along with Manicom and the three members of Squad Splinter.

Down on the HQ building, the five of them personally involved themselves in the post-operation investigation and salvaging process, as well as cleaning up the rest of the Cold Wremuds, which seemed scattered as if they lost their morale.

As Clare tore out the head of a Mercury Hound and destroyed its A.I. core, she looked around the dilapidated Base Command room, filled with countless bodies of Cold Wremuds amongst a litter of burnt metal and electronics.

The remains of the leading Hound were also there; at least, the bits of its body that could be identified were.

“Hmm.”

On the other hand, no trace of the two explorers she recruited could be seen.

“There is the question about the leak of the Haulers’ sensitive information…”

She mulled over whether it was worth it to send someone to bring them in and get them to agree to keep quiet about what they saw and heard in the Deken base.

The copies of their personal details were still in her office, but she didn’t believe that they would serve much purpose to her search.

“Either way, it looks like their communications were cut off right after the explosion.” Clare sighed.

Recalling the Garuda missile that prevented the Daggers’ warhead from hitting the Immerser,

“I can always put out another contract and wait for them to come. Explorers are always in need of money, just like us mercenaries do.”

She smiled. Just as her opinion of the two explorers improved,

“We’ve inspected the Superiors’ Office, Indera.”

A call from one of her subordinates arrived.

“…The frozen food and rations are fine, but our prized stash of ice cream is nowhere to be found!”

The expression on her face froze, and her mind went straight back to those two.

“I’ll remember this, you two…!”

---

“Wow, Jupiter Vanilla is amazing, unnie!”

“You think so? Strawberry Ring is my personal favourite, so far.”

In another part of the Solar system, a pair of ships flew in unison: The Resplendent 02 and the Relentless 05, still spaceworthy despite the damage they sustained.

However, both of its pilots were not at their seats; rather, they were together in the crew quarters of the Prober, sitting on the floor beside the bed.

“You don’t understand, Seola unnie! You can’t leave out vanilla when you’re talking about ice cream, you know?”

“So many flavours in the world and you’re sticking to one, Soobin?”

Seeing Soobin ramble about the cones in her hand, Seola shook her head in disappointment. Both of them were the same plain vanilla flavour.

…The squabble of children.

Seo-ri appeared in their minds, commenting on the spectacle of two full-grown women arguing about the ice cream box between them.

The Winterhymn Drive was piloting the Soarer on Seola’s behalf, but it could still spare its attention for its master and her dear partner.

“Wow, Seo-ri,”

Soobin retorted, bringing out her inventory window and pointing to the Mindflash inside it.

“This ‘child’ did go on to save your descendant and the Deken base, you know?”

“Yeah, right.” Seola countered. “Because respawing is totally not a thing in this game, right? And I’m still the one who shut down the security system!”

While the two explorers continued to argue, a jar fell off Soobin’s bed and rolled towards them.

“Yes, I agree, what you’re saying is completely correct, princess Soobin! You can count on me to take your side at any time!”

Inside that glass jar, a dirt-coloured, one-eyed lifeform showed its full support towards her.

Gesturing towards the creature in the jar,

“And why in the world would you save the very thing that tried to kill us in the first place!?”

Seola exclaimed.

“It was the only one that could cut us off from the Oxley Haulers, unnie! I’d sooner be dead than have to deal with them again!”

Soobin replied.

“For a person to be willing to save me from certain death, it must only be one thing, princess Soobin: You’ve fallen for me!”

The Lord Wremud boasted.

“Fortunately for you, so have I! With you as my queen, the empire we build will be unstoppable!”

Sticking its face to the walls of the jar, the sentient lifeform, reduced to a tiny fraction of its original size, repeated its proposal for the umpteenth time.

“Shut up, freak.” Seola shut it down.

“No thanks.” Soobin followed up.

“I mean, as a Gyne Cold Wremud, shouldn’t you be female? All the other Wremuds were your children!”

“I am not Lady Wremud!” It protested. “My name is Lord Wremud and those creatures are my minions, and you shall address us as such!”

“Oh yeah?”

Soobin picked the jar up and shook it around.

“Address this!”

“Ah! Ahh!” It wailed. “Forgive me, princess Soobin!”

…

After things have settled down,

“If I may be so presumptuous as to interrupt with the affairs of princess Soobin and her knight Seola,”

The Lord Wremud looked at the two of them meekly.

“…Can I have some of the ice cream?”

“No.” Seola declined.

“Whyyy…!” It burst into tears.

Seola intended to be strict with their captive, but—

“It’s just one ice cream, unnie.”

Soobin looked at her, with similarly pleading eyes.

A descendant of Winterhymn should learn to be merciful.

Seo-ri also gave her its advice.

It was three against one, and Seola found herself the odd one out.

“…Fine.”

She finally gave in to their persuasion.

“Try anything and you’re gone from this world, creep.”

She warned the Lord Wremud.

“I would never do anything to harm princess Soobin and her knight!” It swore. “Cross my heart and hope to die!”

“Do you even have a heart?” Soobin mentioned, placing a cone into the glass jar.

“I have only one and it’s for you, princess Soobin!” Between ravenous munches, the lifeform proclaimed its loyalty to her.

“Whatever.” She dismissed its words.

…

With a sigh, Seola stood up and laid herself down on Soobin’s bed, after putting away the rest of the stash in her freezer.

Still,

They signed up for the Haulers’ mission as two, but now they were four.

Disregarding the unknown and possibly dangerous nature of these two existences, she can’t help thinking that their adventure had become much livelier compared to the first day.

It’s only been, what, around ten hours? But Seola still found herself missing the company of the rest of the WJSN members.

“I can’t wait to see how the other girls will react to Seo-ri, Soobin.”

She giggled.

“And that thing in your hand, I’ll just let KC deal with it if it misbehaves.”

“You’re right, unnie.”

Soobin smacked the glass jar, making Lord Wremud pause in its feeding.

“These friends are proof that we can play online games just as well as they do!”

The two of them laughed as their ships zoomed onwards, to whatever will be the next part of their journey.