Story Reader / Main Story / 17 The Surviving Lucem / Story
02:07 p.m.
It has been 32 hours since she left the conservation area of City 043. The girl finally makes it back to this place, her leg fractured and broken.
...
Liv wants to speak, but her words are lost before they can reach her trembling lips. Her leg is in pain, but compared to that, what she feels in her chest is even worse. It is like something got stuck there and is pulling at her pain nerves.
No matter how many times she checks, the result is the same. The boy in front of her has grown cold and lifeless.
The sunlight at noon is warm. A gentle breeze echoes through the central courtyard and the empty halls like a playful child.
The exit to freedom is so close yet so far to reach for those trapped here.
...I... I...
The sorrow and sadness she tried so hard to bury inside her heart over these past few days are too much to bear. She can no longer hold it in. Her mind crumbles, letting out all her most emotional feelings. She hates herself.
The skinny border collie circles around his dead master, licking the blood that has run dry and turned black, but the wounds will never heal again.
It turns around and touches Liv's hand with his nose, telling her to use her bandage.
...
The girl dressed in a white suit looks down at the item in her hand. It is a gift that comes from her perilous journey over the past 31 hours.
Back then, there was still hope—
Making it through countless collapsed buildings lying in rubble while surrounded by the Corrupted and Hetero-Creatures, two overloaded ambulances drove for 13 hours before they reached the conservation area of City 046.
Just as Lucia predicted, the armed Scavengers living in this place are not at all friendly.
After some "exchanges" using violent forces and firepower, their leader finally agreed to have a "friendly" conversation with the Constructs.
Get out of here! Constructs are not welcome here!
This conservation area is our promised land. We kept our side of the bargain and rebuilt it, but Babylonia took the liberty and gave it to someone else.
Now that we have finally reclaimed what is rightfully ours, you filthy dogs still refuse to let us be?
No. We just wanted to find shelter for the wounded people in these cars.
Humph. I'm sick and tired of your excuses. They told us last time they had to prioritize those in need due to limited resources. And guess what happened? We were driven away and forced to rebuild another place!
No. That's not we want... We were indeed under attack by a barrage of Hetero-Creatures. We will never take advantage of your space. Please listen to us and give us a chance.
Liv tries to explain the many benefits if everyone helps each other, but the Scavengers won't listen to reason.
In the end, what makes them compromise is the Hetero-Creature disaster that took place in City 043.
In exchange, all the Constructs but the Gray Ravens must remain there to stand guard and protect City 046 from the potential threat of more Hetero-Creatures.
Since the threat is real, I will insist no longer. I hope we can survive together, but when things get out of hand, we'll have to save our own skin first.
Bring your casualties inside. And don't forget your promises.
Rest assured. I never go back on my words.
After helping the casualties and refugees settle down and handing over their duties in the conservation area of City 046 to the other guards, Gray Raven returns once again to City 043.
After the problems are resolved, Gray Raven returns once again to City 043.
But what awaits them isn't the flat wasteland they used to see in the outskirt area of City 043. Instead, they see despair in crimson color.
This time, the Red Tide isn't as overwhelming as the one they encountered in City 075, but it is more than enough to submerge the outskirts of City 043.
Thankfully, the conservation area is located on high ground and safe from the threat, for now.
We don't have enough protective measures. We must proceed with caution.
It's okay. I know an underground tunnel. It was a metro system abandoned halfway through its development. Many Corrupted workers still remain there.
This can be dangerous and we'll have to take a detour, but it is absolutely doable. And we'll make it there in time.
—If nothing went wrong, they would have safely made it through the Red Tide and back to the conservation area in 3 hours.
But there is no "would have."
Without the commandant's access, they have no way of knowing in which city the twins are.
And when they appear within the detecting range of Liv's sensors, Gray Raven realizes the incarnation of despair and catastrophe has already made it across City 042 and arrived at this very place.
...
...
They want to cross the Red Tide... And they are approaching the conservation area!
Cali, Lina, Stanley, and Matches are still there in the conservation area!
We have to stop them!
We cannot directly make it through the Red Tide. But if we take a detour, we'll be too late.
Let's draw their attention.
That is the only way to stop them from getting inside the conservation area!
Alright.
Standing right next to the Red Tide, Lee shoots at the twins from 3.8 kilometers away several times. But the distance proves to be a problem as those shots fail to land on their targets.
Tsk. If only Snipe or Wanshi were here...
Wait a minute. I think they are turning around... and heading for us!
Have we been spotted?
They are indeed approaching us. Perhaps they heard our voices?
Another possibility is those creatures have learned... or should I say stolen the movement detecting technologies from a certain Construct.
In any case, we have managed to draw our targets' attention. Let's split up and retreat. We must not engage them in a fight!
Alright.
You go that way. Liv, I'll carry you!
The three of them immediately jump off the car and run off in different directions under the cover of the night.
The twins seem to have noticed this trick and stopped for a few seconds to rethink their next move.
Then, they imitate Gray Raven's tactic. The male twin turns to chase Lee as the female twin follows closely behind Liv and Lucia.
The pursuit continues for hours. They hunt Gray Raven with such ease that it is more like they are playing with their prey.
...We cannot shake them off...
I don't think they are even going at full speed. What must we do to escape?
Lee, what's your status?
Same as yours.
It is still on my tail.
Though they manage to distract the twins from the conservation area, they are also trapping themselves in a tricky situation at the same time.
Just when the three of them are exhausted, desperate, and about to give up, they receive a call from the Babylonia HQ.
Seizing their one chance to shake off the twins, the members of Gray Raven agree to participate in the first testing program of the Omega Prototype.
Starting from there... they are caught in a fierce fight where bullets fly and blades clash.
The three of them suffer different levels of injuries. Liv's leg, previously bandaged and supported by a splint, fractures completely. She can barely move without Lucia helping her.
And when they finally return, it is all too late.
The three of them split up to search for survivors in City 043, but Vanessa and Bambinata are nowhere to be found.
Tired and wounded, Liv trudges back to the conservation area only to find the three people who stayed behind have passed away.
...
All the deaths that Liv witnessed before didn't make her indifferent or cold-hearted. She regrets her inability to save lives.
If only I had the ability to change all this, or had I been able to take them with us, I would've been able to save them. Cali, Lina, Stanley, Vanessa, Bambinata... all of them...
...But there is no "would have."
Meanwhile, the researchers and decision-makers of Babylonia are waiting anxiously, dying to know if their "hope" has born any fruits.
The mission is complete... Glad we made it.
It seems Gray Raven has enough strength to handle the twins.
No. If they had enough strength, they wouldn't be driven to the corner.
He sighs. Now that is rare.
Had we given Gray Raven more time to prepare, they would've done better. And the result would've also been better.
But there is no "would have."
Devastated by the disaster and hunted by our enemies, neither the victims nor our Gray Raven had time to react. And those maniacs wouldn't wait either.
...
Show me the records.
Nikola takes the terminal from Celica. Together, the two of them look at its data, their eyebrows furrowed.
In the footage, Gray Raven barely managed to complete the rescue mission at the crash site and throw the Omega Prototype at the male twin.
Coming into contact with the cube, his "skin" started to fester, melt, and peel off.
Like a human, he wailed and watched as the skin fell to the ground.
That's all the damage we can do?
...But it seems his Punishing Virus... was absorbed?
Recycle the weapon. We'll do another test round on the female twin.
Okay!
After an ugly fight, they finally landed the Omega Prototype on the female twin as well. The same festering process occurred, this time eating away her hands and chest.
—Not only that, the festering wounds caused by this weapon didn't heal shortly afterward.
We have the data we need. The two tests show pretty much the same result.
Our mission is done. Fall back!
She turns around only to find Liv's leg is broken.
Liv! We gotta get out of here!
She grabs Liv by her hand and uses the thruster to take flight, quickly pulling away from those two extremely dangerous threats.
The twins learn and adapt very fast, but they are not smart enough to see through the tricks of our Omega Weapon yet.
Recorded data shows the twins watched as Liv and the others left. They were looking at each other's wounds and making twisted, horrifying sounds.
—"D-don't worry about me..."
—"I'm not leaving you here..."
Humph. And who are they imitating this time?
After the two went out of sight, the twins finally started to observe the Omega Prototype dropped on the ground.
They no longer made physical contact. Instead, they found tools from their surroundings and used them to touch the cube in front of them.
Before long, this Omega Prototype Hassen once called "hope" stopped functioning because it was both overloaded and ravaged by stones.
The records stop here.
Are they still following Gray Raven?
No. Asimov believes they are now wary of the Omega Prototype, which is why they have also given up on pursuing Gray Raven.
But I don't think they... No, it's nothing.
He was right. This experiment did help Gray Raven get out of that dangerous situation.
What happened to our team that helped deliver the Omega Prototype?
Gray Raven tried to save them. 4 survived and 6 died. And they only managed to retrieve 1 supply box.
With these ugly numbers, the two know this isn't a fair deal. They sacrificed more than what they could rescue.
But they didn't send down this cube—this Omega Prototype—just to rescue people.
Sacrifices are inevitable. Had we faltered, we would've suffered heavier losses.
Have we delivered the data and records to Asimov?
Yes. He confirmed it. Our Omega Prototype does have the power to absorb the Punishing Virus and actually hurt the twins.
Hassen feels relieved.
Woof!
Just when Liv is about to fall down deeper into a vortex of regrets, a loud barking sound interrupts her thoughts.
Matches...
Upon hearing his name, the border collie sits next to Liv like a good boy.
You are the only one left...
—Should she take him with her?
The people are biased. They don't like Matches. Perhaps she should let him go free for his own good.
But he might not live safely out there. The enemies wandering in the outside world might attack Matches, including those humans.
Liv doesn't know what to do, but then, she notices something white in the boy's breast pocket.
...What's this?...
Her trembling hand takes out a note stained with blood from that breast pocket.
She opens the note and sees a pair of wings. The lines are thick as if they are going to penetrate this paper.
Her fingers move along the pencil lines and flip the paper over, and she finds the scribbled message left by the boy—
i'm worried about matches. if by the time you return, matches is still here, please take him with you
i don't regrt leaving that vehicle. i wanted to help him
if you see me like this, please don't be sad
the fact that you have kept your promise and returned this makes me hapy
thank you. i'm afraid i must go now
