Chapter 10: Tatiana Belorov (2)

"Wha…?"

Splatter—

Chunks of flesh rained down around her, and Tatiana's eyes widened in shock.

What…?

What just happened?

She didn't have time to process it.

It was only a brief moment of reprieve before more beasts lunged at her.

"Ugh!"

Tatiana's left hand flickered with a bright flash—

Schling—!

Another monster's throat was cleaved in a single, precise stroke.

But that stroke left an opening.

Another beast pounced, aiming for the gap in her defense.

Tatiana's attacks were powerful enough to cut through steel—

But between each strike, there was an unavoidable gap.

That was why she was in Recon and not Defense.

[Kraaaah!]

Crack— Crrrack!

Ether churned violently around her.

Tatiana braced herself, body straining under the burden, preparing her second strike—

PANG!

Before she could swing, a gunshot rang out—

And the monster's head exploded.

'A sniper.'

It was only a fraction of a second, but Tatiana's sharp instincts picked up on it immediately.

Was it Ark?

No. It wasn't.

Based on where the beast's corpse fell, the bullet hadn't come from Ark's direction.

And Ark was still too far away.

There was no way they could have sent backup this quickly.

'Then… who?'

This wasn't Ark's doing.

And yet, no one outside Ark should have been out here—

Let alone helping her.

'Where? I can't sense anything at all.'

If this shot had come from within 2 kilometers, she might have been able to pinpoint its origin.

But right now?

Tatiana had no idea where the sniper was.

All she could tell was the general direction.

This was impossible.

No—

This was something that shouldn't exist.

And then another thought struck her.

'How did they know?'

A shiver ran down Tatiana's spine.

She wasn't just anyone.

She was a Level 3 Ether User.

Yet even she couldn't perceive the sniper's position.

Then how had they found her and managed to land that shot?

'Could it be… their senses are sharper than mine?'

No.

No, no— this wasn't good.

If this sniper had chosen to shoot her instead of the beast—

Then she wouldn't have even realized she was dead.

'…They're not confirmed as an ally yet.'

Despite her lingering doubts, the sniper kept firing.

More monsters lunged toward her—

And more of their heads burst apart.

PANG!

PANG!

PANG!

Tatiana couldn't believe what she was seeing.

This sniper was firing from at least 2 kilometers away—

And they hadn't missed a single shot.

'Even in Ark, snipers this skilled are rare.'

She couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration—

But she didn't stop moving.

The unknown sniper had bought her time, allowing her to put some distance between herself and the monsters.

SWOOSH!

[Yelp!]

[Screech!]

[GRAAAAH!]

And still, the sniper didn't stop.

One by one, the monsters fell.

'…There's no downtime between shots.'

Sniping shouldn't be like this.

There should have been reloads.

There should have been a delay.

And yet—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shots kept coming, relentless and unbroken.

And that could only mean one thing.

'There's more than one sniper.'

A sniper this good—

And it's not just one person?

That was impossible.

Only Ark's military had forces capable of coordinated sniper fire at this level.

'They're helping me… so they must be Ark. But which unit? Red Line Recon?'

Or maybe—

The White Line Defense Force.

The elite, unseen warriors who guarded Mount Noah itself.

They were said to be capable of feats like this.

'No… It doesn't matter who they are.'

Somewhere along the way, her suspicion of the sniper had melted away.

'Whoever they are…'

Tatiana swore—

If she made it out alive, she would thank them.

She would repay this debt.

And then—

She finally felt it.

She had crossed into Ark's defense perimeter.

FWOOOOSH!

PANG!

[GUHHK!]

[YELP! YELP!]

[GRUAAAAGH!]

There was no visible line marking Ark's territory.

But the moment the monsters crossed it—

All hell broke loose.

BOOM!

BANG!

KRRRRAAASH!

Gunfire, artillery, and explosions rained down—

Turning the pursuing beasts into piles of smoldering corpses.

Ark's counterattack had begun.

She had made it.

"Ha… haha…"

Tatiana almost collapsed on the spot.

Her legs screamed for rest.

But—

She couldn't stop yet.

She had words that had to be delivered—no matter what.

She ran.

And ran.

And ran some more.

How far had she come?

["Halt."]

A cold, mechanical voice rang out from a speaker.

She had reached the gate.

["State your affiliation."]

Tatiana steadied her breath, forcing down the air burning in her lungs.

"...Major Tatiana Belov, Navy Line Headquarters Recon Unit."

["Please hold."]

A scanner activated, sweeping over her body.

Bzzzt—

She always hated this feeling.

But she endured it.

["Identity confirmed. Welcome to the Red Line, Major Belov."]

The massive gate of Red Line's entrance began to lower.

Chiiiiiik—!

And the moment she saw the woman standing there—

The tension in Tatiana's face completely melted away.

It was either a coincidence or fate.

The gate officer was someone she knew.

"...Imosha?"

"It's been a while, Tatiana. Ah, I suppose it's Major Belov now?"

Red Line's Red-17 Gate Lieutenant, Imosha, stood before her, welcoming back an old comrade.

"Imosha!"

Tatiana ran forward and threw her arms around her.

A long-lost reunion between warriors who had once fought with their backs to each other.

***

Hssssss—

I stared at the Ark-15 anti-materiel rifle's barrel, glowing red-hot.

'Even Ark-15's heat-resistant barrel ended up like this… I really overdid it.'

A flaw in my so-called infinite ammo.

I'd fired so much, I hadn't even noticed my gun overheating.

Clink.

I ejected the spent magazine, the metal casing clicking against the rock beside me.

'But there was no choice.'

If my target had been even a little slower, they would've been in serious danger.

If I had hesitated, tried to pace my shots—

They never would've made it to safety.

The moment they reached Ark's defensive perimeter, the beasts chasing them were utterly annihilated.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Artillery and gunfire drowned out their dying screams.

A couple hundred monsters didn't stand a chance against Ark's overwhelming firepower.

'Still… was this the right call?'

If I hadn't intervened, they would have been caught.

There was no guarantee that their survival would be a good thing for me or for Ark.

'Chances are, they were a recon soldier or something similar.'

Meaning, they were on a mission outside Ark and got into trouble on their way back.

That was the most logical assumption.

And based on what I knew of Ark's external missions, the odds leaned more toward this being a net positive rather than a negative.

'Besides…'

This wasn't a loss for me either.

Ding!

[Successfully executed a 10km ultra-long-range snipe.]

[When sniping from 5km or farther, gain +5% bonus damage.]

[Dexterity increased.]

[11 -> 12]

[Responded to the call of the spirits.]

[Ether Sensitivity increased.]

[7 -> 8]

Maybe it was because I was staying in Mount Noah—

But my Ether Sensitivity kept rising at ridiculous rates.

Normally, Ether Sensitivity was one of the hardest attributes to improve.

My growth rate was absurd.

"Well… there goes another night without sleep."

Sssshhh…

The first light of dawn crept over the horizon.

A long, long night.

'I really stayed up all night, huh.'

I wasn't as exhausted as I should have been.

Maybe the hot spring had helped.

Not that I would've slept well anyway.

I opted to move instead of forcing a half-hearted rest.

The first Wave wasn't far off now.

I had to keep moving.

'Which means… it's about time.'

I glanced down at the tin can by my feet.

Thump! Thump!

The thing inside had been pounding on the metal non-stop.

It was getting restless.

'If you want out that badly… I don't mind letting you out.'

Of course, it would be on my terms.

The Bone Parasite.

Click—

Time to put it to use.

***

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