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Chapter 83

“Already? Alright.”

“Take care.”

Three Wolfs who were in the Monument 7th floor security team office stepped outside together.

“What was today’s route again?”

“The usual, as always.”

“Oh. I don’t want to go near the guest rooms. I smelled something strange over there.”

“What smell? I didn’t smell anything.”

One Wolf with a dog’s head shook its head as if shivering.

“It’s the smell of a person sickening and dying. You heard it too. The coughing every night.”

“Ah, come on. People who eat all sorts of fancy food getting sick? Ridiculous.”

“By the way, isn’t something odd happening in the Defense Fleet?”

The Wolf with a cat’s head dismissed the idea of that happening, clapping its hands.

“Defense Fleet? Why would that be?”

“Some soldiers suddenly got weak and went to the hospital. Most of the officers took leave due to illness.”

“Even the officers? What did they eat?”

“A friend went to the hospital, and even there, they didn’t know the reason. Anyway, it’s causing a manpower crisis in the Defense Fleet.”

“Damn manpower issues. It’d be nice if we had fewer overtime hours here.”

“Exactly. I barely go to the entertainment zone; my balls are about to explode.”

“You’re insane.”

They continued their patrol, thoroughly discussing the upper levels of the Monument.

They were deep into gossiping, realizing the patrol route was nearly done.

“We’ve got only the 3rd and 4th floors left, right?”

“Yeah.”

The 3rd and 4th floors housed the food storage and equipment storage, respectively. Both areas occupied entire floors and were inaccessible to the general public.

“Hey, sorry, I need to use the restroom.”

“Have your coffee quickly.”

“Alright. I’ll catch up while you’re on your rounds.”

While the dog Wolf dashed to the restroom, the cat and cheetah Wolfs took the elevator down to the 4th floor.

As they arrived at the equipment storage, they found a woman standing there.

She wore a Mastercard from the Third Central Management Office on her chest.

“Oh? You’re Ana from the management office, right? What brings you here?”

“Hello. My flashlight broke, and I came to replace it, but I can’t get in with my card…”

Ana spoke in a troubled tone.

“You need to contact the Supplies Management Team and submit a request for replacement.”

“That’s probably the way, right?”

Ana nodded in agreement but didn’t show any intention of moving.

Before Cheetah Wolf, who sensed what she wanted to ask, could speak, Cat Wolf intervened.

“Hey, wait a moment. Ana, if you do that, you’ll have to wait a long time and it’s a hassle. Let me help you.”

“How about your patrol?”

“We have to check inside anyway. I’ll help Ana, then go straight there, and you stay on the 3rd floor.”

“Ugh, you’re unbelievable…”

Seeing her colleague’s maneuver, Cheetah Wolf shook her head in exasperation.

Since there was no use stopping her, she remained silent, letting her do as she pleased.

Cat Wolf descended from the elevator with a bright smile.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, no problem. Shall we go?”

Leaving her colleague behind, Cat Wolf walked with Ana down the corridor.

As the 3rd and 4th floors were occupied entirely by two facilities each, there were not many doors.

At most, there were entrances to the equipment storage and emergency stairwells.

“How’s the management office over there these days?”

“It’s the same as always.”

“Is that so? The security team here is struggling because of the higher-ups. They’re so edgy, thinking everyone is a cult member… Oh, Ana, I’m not saying anything about you.”

“Oh. Yes.”

Even while walking together, Cat Wolf didn’t stop talking.

Ana’s expression had been pale since they first met, but Cat Wolf only assumed it was because her flashlight was broken, making her feel upset.

“Okay, I’ll open it for you.”

Arriving at the storage, Wolf used the security team card to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Cat Wolf didn’t enter but stopped in place. His pointed ears perked toward the inside of the storage.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you doing that?”

“Oh, I think I hear something…”

There shouldn’t be anyone in the storage, yet a sound echoes within. It’s a faint, insect-like noise, easily missed without focus. But for Cat Wolf, it’s a discordant sound that grates on his nerves. Unlike the Wolf with keen hearing, Ana seems oblivious to any abnormalities. She nonchalantly enters the storage.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Really? Maybe it’s my imagination.”

Cat Wolf shrugged off the noise and followed Ana into the storage.

The storage room was vast, filled with metal shelves and drawers touching the ceiling.

“Why are the lights like this?”

Normally, small lights on the ceiling should be on automatically. But now, there are more off than on, some blinking erratically.

“Damn, this is eerie.”

Is it the strange noise or the flickering lights? He felt the coarse fur on his body standing up.

“Ana?”

In the dimness, Ana, who entered first, wasn’t visible. He switched on the flashlight.

The mixed scent of rusted metal and various items in the storage created a nauseating smell.

“Where are you, Ana?”

“Inside.”

She claimed her flashlight was broken, yet she wasn’t turning on the light.

“Even I can’t see well, but she went in like this.”

He followed the voice deeper into the darkness. With each step, the strange noise intensified.

“Where is it coming from?”

It echoed through the metal shelves, impossible to trace its origin. One thing was clear—it grew louder as he approached Ana.

Finally, he spotted her.

“Ana? You scared me. Why aren’t you answering?”

She stood turned away, seemingly transfixed.

“Ana?”

“…”

Only then did he sense something off. Her delicate, cult-like figure trembled unmanagementlably.

As Cat Wolf approached, the flashlight abruptly flickered and died.

“What’s happening now?”

He tapped the flashlight a few times in the pitch-black.

“Ah, there it goes.”

Instantly, the light returned, and the unsettling noise ceased.

Now, Ana faced him, or rather, her gaze was beyond his shoulder.

He realized it too late.

As he turned, the “thing” hanging upside down from the ceiling attacked him.

“Why aren’t they coming?”

“Are they stuck somewhere sleeping?”

“Ugh, seriously.”

Kenneth, from the security office, frowned at his subordinates’ delay.

“Whatever, I’m calling them.”

He picked up the communication device to reach his subordinates.

“Hey, where are you? Still not here?”

[Ts, Ts, Big, Ts, Ts, Event, Ts.]

“What? I can’t hear you properly.”

[Wat, Ts, Er, Ts, In, Ts, Ts, Ts.]

Kenneth’s face hardened.

The communication was unclear, but one word was unmistakable: assault.

“Where are you? I’m coming down!”

[Wat, Ts, Ts, Ts.]

“Hey! Damn it! Everyone, get your weapons!”

“Why, what’s happening?”

“Intruder in the storage!”

Kenneth’s shout sent the six Wolfs in the office into alert mode.

With many VIPs staying in the Monument due to an important event, an intruder now would mean a major incident.

As his subordinates geared up, Kenneth contacted the higher authorities, but the communication failed. He received a communication device from his subordinates.

As he tried to call again, the office’s power suddenly went out, followed by emergency red lights.

“Seems like it’s an emergency. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

The Wolfs nodded in agreement with Kenneth’s words. Each of them had a plasma pistol at their waist and a bracelet with a small psychic shield embedded on their wrist.

Meanwhile, Kenneth activated his own psychic power skill – “Physical Enhancement.” It significantly boosted the combat capabilities of allies.

After individually enhancing his team, Kenneth grabbed the motion detector available in the office.

Beep, beep, beep…

As he activated the detector, movements of the Wolfs in the office and the guests in the upper and lower-floor rooms were displayed. Adjusting the detector, Kenneth filtered out movements other than those of his colleagues.

“Let’s go.”

Kenneth rose, listening to faint signals with every movement of the guests. Exiting the office, they passed through the corridor and took the elevator. The central Wolf activated the psychic shield while the rest pressed themselves against the elevator door.

Upon arriving at the third floor and the door opening, the corridor appeared empty, engulfed in darkness due to a possible power outage. Kenneth and the Wolf activated small lanterns attached to their plasma pistols, casting numerous thin beams into the abyss-like corridor.

“Sniff, there’s a faint smell of blood from the other side.”

“…As expected. Everyone, be cautious.”

They passed the emergency staircase door in the corridor and stood in front of the storage room.

Beep-beep-

As someone mentioned, movements were detected inside the storage room.

At Kenneth’s signal, the Wolfs holding the psychic shields positioned themselves in front of the door, while others with plasma pistols prepared to fire at any moment. All were on edge as Kenneth used his security team card on the terminal next to the door.

As the door opened, a dark mass of fur sprung out from inside.

“S-Save me!”

“Hold your fire… Wait! Cease fire! He’s an ally!”

It was a Wolf with a canine head. Upon confirming his identity, the Wolfs lowered their weapons as per Kenneth’s command.

“H-Heek, w-we need to r-run away!”

The Wolf had narrowly escaped death but was oblivious to the situation. His shaggy fur was soaked in sweat, and terror filled his usually cheerful face.

Kenneth calmed the half-crazed Wolf. “Calm down. What happened?”

“I-I needed to use the restroom and went away for a moment, but when I came down, the storage was covered in blood. S-someone was eating our comrades.”

“Eating them?”

Kenneth felt something was amiss. Before coming down here, he had spoken with the female Wolf with a cheetah head, the deceased Wolf’s colleague.

According to the canine-headed Wolf, it meant he had conversed with his deceased subordinate.

“That can’t be. We communicated before coming down.”

Then, a “beep-” rang from the motion detector he was holding. Suddenly, the door behind them opened.

The emergency stairwell door.

The handle was gripped by violet-colored claws.

***

‘That makes it nine Wolfs.’

I bit into the head of the dog I was holding. There was a faint odor, but it wasn’t repulsive. It felt akin to tearing into ribs at a BBQ joint—smelly yet strangely addictive.

After neatly tucking away the remaining head and even licking my fingers, I looked down at the captured cultist.

“….”

He was paralyzed by thorn fur. Despite his handsome face, it was stained with tears and mucus.

‘But still good-looking.’

Indeed, a race of only handsome men and beautiful women gathered together. It might be comforting for him, but in this place, the cult isn’t just him alone.

Cultists who became my slaves after working in the Central management Room were also present. I summoned them all here.

“Gurgle, there are many in-number—”

“…The current count is highest in the 4th Central management Room, with three individuals.”

“Huh? Wait… Keh!”

Other management rooms either have only one person left under my management, or at most two, including any new arrivals.

‘If someone silently disappears from such places, they’ll surely investigate immediately.’

As seen with Ana, except for the 1st and 2nd Central management Rooms, the others operate with a minimum of two to three individuals.

In that case, reducing the personnel in the 4th Central management Room to two shouldn’t be a significant problem. They’ll probably think it strange if someone leaves without a word, but relatively, they won’t fuss much compared to elsewhere.

‘Moreover, the areas managed by the 4th Central management Room won’t require much attention going forward.’

Hence, the cultists from the 4th Central management Room were unnecessary for me. Without hesitation, I grabbed his neck and snapped it. A black centipede emerged from the dead cultist’s nostrils.

‘Know where to go, don’t you?’

Without hesitation, the parasite crawled towards the security team cultist lying motionless. With pleading eyes, he looked at the other cultists, although there was nothing his kin could do for him.

While the cultists turned their heads, the parasite found a new host.

I approached the fallen security team cultist’s face closely.

“Uh, uh!”

His eyes reflected my face. I explained to him what he needed to do next, such as dedicating more to the Wolfs and how to handle the aftermath.

By the time his paralysis wore off, his owner was no longer the overseer of this city. Now, he serves a new master, An Amorph.