The Little Prince in the Ossuary
Chapter 49

00049 — #signs–

# Signs (5) Atascadero

Jeffrey’s squad cautiously approached. They had no idea what to expect. Whenever they reached corners, Gyeo-ul stretched out a convex mirror so they could see what was lying ahead of them. Jeffrey and the soldiers were doing their best, but Gyeo-ul felt that it wasn’t enough. After they had checked the locked doors, it seemed as if they let their guards down.

Gyeo-ul then borrowed a six-fire grenade launcher from one of the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey has walked into a trap. Unbeknownst to him and his team, a gray figure was crawling down the wall, covered by darkness. It was moving silently, like a predator stalking its prey.

“Jeffrey! Get down!”

Gyeo-ul began firing as he screamed out his warning, surprising the soldiers. By reflex, they found themselves lowering their postures as bullets flew all around them.

“Get down!”

Tu tu tu tu tu tu!

Gyeo-ul seemed to be aiming at an invisible target over the auditorium’s window. A series of explosions then occurred as the bullets found their mark. The dark hallway was filled with explosions and flashes of light. Torn iron bars and glass debris poured out like rain.

Gyeo-ul threw the grenade launcher at the soldier, then raised a rifle and began running. Soldiers followed him promptly. The figure in the dark blocked the bullets with one arm and held onto the doorknob with the other. There came a spark. The door opened as if it had never been locked.

Only then did Jeffrey saw the monster so close to them. The monster’s flesh was torn off by some of the heavy ammunition. Soon, more monsters began to pour into the auditorium.

“Oh, my God! What’s all this!?” Jeffrey’s screamed.

“Come this way! Come on!”

Gyeo-ul then threw a grenade. Bursting inside the entrance of the auditorium, he knocked down a bunch of them who were pouring out. Squad members followed Gyeo-ul’s movements, switching from grenades to rifles in quick successions. However, one of them misfired while using a grenade launcher. The grenade bounced off a metal bar above them. It was going to fall and explode over their heads.

Ting!

Gyeo-ul’s bullets hit the grenade, just enough to change its direction without making it explode. The grenade went over the window and explode as soon as it was outside. Gyeo-ul slapped a soldier on the cheek.

“Wake up!”

The stinging pain on the soldier’s cheek was enough to wake him up. He could not afford to get angry at Gyeo-ul. Every ammunition they had was important. He should make better use of their grenades.

Gyeo-ul finally joined Jeffrey. He knelt next to him as they fired toward the mutant herd pouring inside the auditorium.

“Are you all right?”

“I don’t know what’s going on!”

Drrrrrr!

“But I’m fine!”

A bottleneck was occurring. As it was pushed out into a narrow space, the monsters could not use their strength. The piled-up bodies became obstacles. Around the auditorium door, it filled more than half the height of the hall. It was an obstacle, even for Gyeo-ul. Beyond that, a special monster that ran away did not need to come into view.

“I’m going after the prey! Cover me!”

“Hey, hey!”

At this, Gyeo-ul began to run. Three mutants ran toward him, bursting through the pile of bodies. His rifle was out of bullets, and so he immediately took out his pistol and fired. Two of the mutants fell on their tracks; however, the other one wasn’t as badly injured as the others. Still, Gyeo-ul slammed his pistol’s grip on the mutant’s head, crushing its skull.

He then jumped over a wall, changing his magazine. Mutants crowded at the foot of the wall he was on, pushing it until finally, it gave in. Gyeo-ul miraculously finished reloading and rolled over to the other side, avoiding the claws and teeth aimed at him.

He immediately regained his balance and ran right away. It was very close until he identified a special mutant running away from the cage and caught it on sight.

When the bullets rained down, he found the nearest way out – a door that went to the side. There was a small vacant lot.

The monster was waiting for the Gyeo-ul.

“Ugh!”

Gyeo-ul quickly shifted direction as a whip narrowly missed his head. It was a deformed arm with no bones and only muscles. Gyeo-ul, who lay back, aimed with one hand.

Tudududududududu!

After getting hit several times, the special monster ran away again. Gyeo-ul quickly chased it into a vacant lot.

A special mutant hanging from the wall then hit the arm against a rain-soaked bush.

There came a spark. The current flowed through the ground and water. It was inefficient due to the wide range, but it was still enough to slow down Gyeo-ul.

Combat shoes were insulators, but rainwater proved to be a problem—momentary paralysis. Aiming at this setting was difficult. The monster took advantage of his momentary pause and began climbing the wall, leaving bloody tracks behind it from several wounds. Gyeo-ul began firing indiscriminately, hitting the concrete wall to weaken it. Some of his bullets dug into the monster’s calves.

Despite that, the monster kept on running away. It then climbed up to the roof.

“Throw a magazine when I get up!”

There may be a shortage of ammunition. Gyeo-ul was running toward the wall, shouting out to the soldiers that soon followed. With [Movement] correction, he could step on the window frames and drains and overcome them by 8 meters vertically.

“Take it!”

The magazine then flew in. At the same time as climbing on the roof, Gyeo-ul chased the monster once again. The fleeing monster was already being shot. The soldiers deployed in the watchtower significantly reduced the speed of the special monster, although they were not able to hit. The mutant used a poorly intertwined ventilation system on the roof as a cover.

The ventilation system was so messy. It is to prevent the prisoners from escaping. Gyeo-ul had jumped them several times. As soon as he crossed the obstacle, the monster was 20 meters away. With some low exhaust ventilation between them, they faced each other head-on. It was pretty weird to aim straight. In the upper body of the mutant, the ribs were red.

Hwaaaaa-!

There was a rush of heat. The attack was too fast, so he avoided it late. It was exposed momentarily. The rolling Gyeo-ul was embarrassed to see the steam rising from the whole body.

‘Yes, he’s a man of electricity and radio.’

This conjecture was affirmed by [Insight]. It was the principle of a microwave oven.

It was a monster he had never seen before, a pattern he had never seen before. He had no choice but to bump into him.

Gyeo-ul pulled out a flash bomb pin and let a safety handle go. Two seconds later, he jumped up and threw, then immediately closed his ears and eyes.

The black world, for a second, turned white. The explosion was heard throughout the body and soul. Gyeo-ul rose and moved again. The special mutant gripped the eyes and stumbled. In the midst of all this, the upper body was burning up. He could see the trace of the microwave with his eyes. Raindrops vaporize little by little, and a light, cloudy shroud unfolds.

However, the aim was more accurate than he thought. It was just staggering, and it was already reacting properly to the movements of Gyeo-ul. Just as bats perceived their surroundings with ultrasound, would it be another cognitive tool? Gyeo-ul thought so.

The range of the distant pattern was identified. Gyeo-ul threw the remaining flashbang.

Bang!

Mutants recovered faster than humans, but the continuous flashbang blasts had made the monster lethargic.

Gyeo-ul was aimed at the monster’s knee. He shot until one of the monster’s joints was smashed. It was the same leg that Gyeo-ul had hit before, for he was making the monster’s injury worse.

With a meaningless whipping around, the special mutant grabbed the injured area with its spare hand. The spark and smoke rose. It was to prevent bleeding by burning it.

The whipping arm stretched well. It would also have electricity.

‘It’ll be dangerous if I get caught.’

The returning monster then stared at Gyeo-ul. He felt anger bubbling up from within him. However, the action was to run away. Even though a leg was smashed, it ran away in an unusual manner.

Throw in one arm swinging like a whip and grab an object far away. Arm muscles contracted. Its body came with it. It proved to be faster than a man’s sprint. The other arm replaced the leg. It was a strange sight.

Gyeo-ul then threw grenades. He adjusted the time so that it exploded in the high sky. The storm then pressed down on the monster. The special mutant thrown on the floor had been stained with blood that could not be erased by the rain. The deformed body wriggled like a bug. The desperate escape was like a sloth.

「Lieutenant Han, Can you hear me? Are you alive? Answer me!」

The interference has decreased dramatically. It was evident that the energy of the special monster was exhausted. Gyeo-ul took his breath and chased the monster.

“Yes, I’m fine. Go ahead.”

A sigh of relief flowed out of the receiver. Second lieutenant Jeffrey then began to ask.

「Ha. That’s a relief. Where are you located? We’re still on our way to the rooftop.」

「Lieutenant, are you sure you’re okay?」

Sergeant Lieberman’s words overlapped. It is a problem caused by the sudden possibility of communication. It wasn’t to the point where he didn’t understand. Gyeo-ul then replied.

“Take your time. I almost overpowered everyone.”

The special mutant could no longer escape. Wiggle in place. A tentacle-like arm was as shiny as a worm on a rainy day.

Even so, it would stop soon. Except for the slender chest, it was but a dead body.

Gyeo-ul himself didn’t get too close. There was a possibility that he had pretended to be dead because he was sneaky.

It was time for two other squads to approach the rooftop after a long time. A special monster was flashed by surprise.

Kuaaaa!

Muscular whips then flooded in. it was a live whip that changed its direction while being swung. Gyeo-ul jumped out of the way. It was a close distance from the beginning. He tried to use up all his remaining strength, but he ran fiercely, twisting his arms and legs. However, it was not enough to catch up with Gyeo-ul.

In a short time, extreme noise splattered on the radio. Crossfire poured from Jeffrey and Lieberman. The skin of the mutant was ragged. Gyeo-ul had to give up communication and scream.

“Don’t shoot! Hold your fire! Hold your fire!

A large signal had been sent to the tower. Seeing his arms repeatedly cross in an X-shape, he also stopped shooting.

However, it already got hit too much. The holes in the mutant body were hard to even count. Everything around was full of blood. Gyeo-ul approached the tip of the tentacle, pushing it.

There was no response. If there was more power left, it was time for an electric shock pattern. Gyeo-ul put a sword at the end of the gun and touched the wound. Still unresponsive.

“What happened?”

Lieutenant Jeffrey, who was panting, suddenly stopped a few steps away. He was afraid of monsters. Oh, shit. Short verbal abuse. Gyeo-ul kicked the mutant corpse a few times before finally pressing down on the neck to check his pulse.

“He’s dead, unfortunately.”

“Huh? You’re sad?”

“I heard he told you to capture it. The doctor.”

“…Are you sure you were going to do that? You’re out of your mind.”

This was a compliment.

Lieutenant Jeffrey, who was communicating with the headquarters, delivered the news.

“Everyone, be glad. The doctor is going to be penalized. I feel so good inside.”

“Penalized? Why?”

“He’s dealt with it wrong. The person in charge has changed.”

Details of the situation would be known later.

Anyway, the helicopter flew in, just as promised. New information could be obtained from the transport helicopter personnel. Just like during the [Grumble] shock, the new species was emerging simultaneously in a wide range of regions. It said a large-scale response operation was in operation.

“We’re not the first ones, are we?”

Gyeo-ul asked the health service officer. His rank was a major, but he felt more like a scholar than a soldier. Two bodies of the same mutant were already fixed in the helicopter. The condition was not very good. It was the result of exposure to terrible firepower. The officer nodded.

“The damage was considerable, but it’s better than the [Grumble]. Because the Air Force was very active.”

“Is the air force involved?” When Jeffrey asked a new question, the officer answered in a positive manner.

“At first, I thought it was a foreign military intervention. They fired radio-tracking missiles.”

“A missile? That must have been hot.”

“Anyway, it’s a shame. The samples you’ve acquired are the most intact. If I did well, I would have gotten a living sample of research.”

The major seemed to be genuinely sorry. He asked if they would return to the helicopter, but they could not leave the vehicle unattended. Before returning, the major asked Gyeo-ul to shake hands.

“I will regret not to shake hand when I met a celebrity like you.”

With a smile and salute, he boarded the helicopter. Sergeant Lieberman then made a suggestion while looking at the helicopter squadron moving away.

“There’s too much going on now. Let’s get out of here.”

His mission to locate the missing persons continued. However, the soldiers were exhausted, they were out of ammunition, and there was not enough time left until the sunset.

As a senior officer, Jeffrey accepted the offer.

“Yes, we’ve done enough, so let’s go back. Don’t you agree?”

At this, Gyeo-ul nodded.