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Part 22: Unruined Reason
We returned to Kirino and Aoi's outpost, as requested.
Welcome back, Unit 13.
Thanks for the hard work out there, senpai! You hungry? I brought some candy bars!
Oh, way way more than this, don't worry!
...Aoi, where do you keep that many?
Wow, Chisa. You're really just gonna ask a girl where she keeps her food.
Huh?!
That's mega cringe, sis. Out of the many things that are not it, this is certainly one of them.
I didn't realize it was that bad of a faux pas!
She's just messing with you, Senpai.
...are you just messing with her?
I don't know how many times I need to tell you people before it sinks in. I'm serious 150% of the time. I don't make 'jokes'. Fuck jokes. Everything I say is real. Raw insight without the horse shit. No, I will NOT follow trolls. Twitter dot com. I live for this.
Someone a little nervous?
I'M VIBRATING
Already?
We need to hurry. Please try not to be taken in by illusions this time.
Oh, you mean the ghosts?
Ghosts are not real!!
It's a start. Where should we place the next probe?
Where you fought those zombies should be good, actually. I know I'm asking a lot of you—
It's really no big deal. It is kind of our job.
Good luck out there, Senpai!
It's Back! A Minimap Story.
Shame we can't have all our progress already be on there, huh?
Haha, it's okay. I'm used to mapping things out. It can be pretty relaxing when you get the hang of it, right, Richter?
Very much so. I'm almost a little jealous of you for having gotten to map out all of those unique locales.
...You should be really glad you didn't have to map out the Empyreal Bridge.
Which one was that?
Space.
Ah, right. Yes.
(Wait, Senpai's been to space?)
(Look, she's a gamer. You have to accept a little delusion occasionally.)
This is my greatest failure. The loot was right there.
To be fair, the scent of rotting flesh isn't great for your nose.
I'm glad you understand
do you think if we used those on the zombies they'd explode
This is not Final Fantasy.
you're my final fantasy
Pfft, what?
I don't know
My noooose
Maybe you caught Mr. Ayafumi's cold?
Heads up. A monster incoming.
BWAH
Oh my lord!
So this is a Deathscissor. Deathscissors are the chunkiest randoms in Yotsuya, and actually have a pretty nasty trick—their Critical React skill is a buff that gives them a crit buff of 90% and gives them an extra turn if they crit. They've also got Predator, an attack that heals them for 50% of the damage dealt. If you let Deathscissors live, they can be real bastards.
Seiyah!
We haven't gone down this path before.
...Ah.
Yeah, that's dungeons
A straight line is all I ask.
I suppose in a way the Railcage was most to your tastes thus far, hm?
Hm. Are we counting Shibuya?
It might be wise to, but not until something happens.
Well, City Hall had all the rubble in our ways. The underground tunnels are horribly circuitous. Ikebukuro...
Huh! Bit of twisty design aside, it was mostly straight, wasn't it? There I was mostly mad about the indiscriminate slaughter of the SDF.
So your frustration was not at the dungeon itself, but rather at Ms. Hikasa.
She's a pretty frustrating woman.
Oh yeah.
We didn't look over here earlier, did we?
There's nothing over here, unfortunately.
Never hurts to check, I always say.
You've never said that—
—but it's consistent enough with your general ethos that I'm going to let that remark pass.
Transition shot of Youka punching a frog and killing it in one hit.
I don't like the flower monsters.
Hm. They rather resemble the Bloom, aside from the eye in the center. Do you think this may be a sort of parasitic organism that uses its coloration as camouflage to attack anything debilitated by the Bloom's ambient toxicity?
That's the best guess I've heard. If we studied one—
Perish where you stand!
WOOOO CAPTAIN WEED-WHACKER
...but anyway, there are more important things to worry about.
Alright, that should be the map data for all of this area secured. Thank you for your corrections, Jeanne.
Oh—um, no problem.
If we keep the map data to direct coordinates and only what we can confirm the ability to stand on, we should be able to have a perfectly functional map despite the illusions. So, for the time being, if I may make a request, Captain?
Oh, what is it?
I'm aware that you often look over my shoulder when I'm mapping, eyeing functional walls or areas that I have yet to fill in for accuracy's sake and getting a little twitchy. I sometimes attempt to acquiesce to these unspoken demands. Please do not do that until we have set up all of Mr. Ayafumi's probes.
Do I do that
It's pretty obvious, sweetie.
Aaaaaaa I'm sorryyyyyyy!!! I don't mean to backseat you!! I've just drawn so many maps there's a bit of a process that I have in my head and also it makes me feel weird when you don't put wall markings around stairs!
Hold on.
It took a moment, but Miroku came back on call.
I got the expert. Tell Chisa to stop backseating Richter.
Is this about the maps.
It's about maps, yes.
Hai, hai! If you backseat Richter, I'm gonna toss out your drafts.
ANYTHING BUT THAT yes ma'am
Works like a charm. Happy hunting, dear!
What is this manga you two are working on about, anyhow?
Oh! Well, given the time period, and the context, I was feeling a little nostalgic, so Mio and I decided to go back to our roots.
what you mean like kyuukare
Exactly!
'Kyuukare'?
When Mio and I first met, she was working on becoming a mangaka, but she lacked the confidence in her art to attempt to break into the industry immediately. So, her first literary project was meant to be a light novel called My Family Made Me Think I Was A Vampire for Fifteen Years, But When It Turned Out I Actually Was A Vampire, Boys Started Flocking To Me From Every Angle!! 'Kyuukare' for short—you know, 'kyuuketsuki', 'kareshi'? I read the story, or what she had of it, and I volunteered to try and become the artist for it—since I'd been practicing, and also had years of experience.
#justchisathings yes
It's the story of a girl named Raquel Edelweiss—her family are vampire fanatics who tried everything to become vampires, and in the process, they decided to convince their young daughter that their vampiric lifestyle was because she was, in fact, a vampire. So, she grew up being protected from the sunlight, becoming all pale and gothic... you know, like a vampire.
Uh-huh.
But one day, on her sixteenth birthday, a sudden gust of wind knocks a tree branch through the doors of their home, and it blasts them with raw daylight—and Raquel's skin actually does start burning! She starts letting off steam, and she has to be let back into her home. At some point along the line, she really did become a vampire!
How did that happen?
It's a long story. At first, the story was a sort of romantic comedy—as she came back to school, protected from the sun as she needed to be, her newfound awareness of her vampiric abilities meant that they started becoming more powerful, more developed—and vampires, you know, have glamour, that power of supernatural attraction.
Because they were a metaphor for extramarital sex, yes.
So the first part of the story is a romantic comedy where all sorts of boys from the school start competing for Raquel's attention, and she and her attendants have to figure out ways for her to continue a relatively normal life while working on finding a way to accurately judge the prospects of these suitors.
This is about where Mio's drafts ended when we met in high school, and I started assisting as an editor. At some point, it sinks in for Raquel that the surprise of all this meant that her parents were lying to her—and eventually, her feelings explode and she runs away from home. She wonders on her purpose in the universe, and what it means to be a vampire—to be what she is. She's the only real vampire she's ever met, after all—are there even any others, or is she all alone, adrift?
Eventually, her existential crisis at a breaking point, she stares into a lake that does not reflect her, and considers falling to its bottom. When her head goes under the water, though, the shock of it all shakes a memory out of her head—a few years before the story, she had a visitor to her home, a man in a mask who didn't state his purposes, only asked to see her, specifically. He seemed to know something she didn't, and she snaps back to attention, with the realization that this masked man is her best ticket to understanding herself.
But her parents want to remain in their fantasy—they want her to come home and remain their fantasy princess. All she has left are the human connections of the suitors who were vying for her attentions—and to make matters worse, more abnormalities are beginning to occur around their town, other supernatural creatures come to roost here. In order to properly investigate her own circumstances, Raquel has to change her identity and blend into society as a 'normal' human, and what started as a simple harem comedy premise becomes the basis by which Raquel comes to leave her shell and make more genuine friends, and come to understand the world as it truly is, rather than her sheltered former lifestyle.
I would describe the next leg of the series as something of a horror-mystery-action series, something a bit closer to the Magical Index series, or perhaps NISIOISIN's Monogatari novels. Essentially, there's a—
Hold on for a second?
Mmhm?
I can't help but notice that as soon as you showed up, the main character ran away from home and attempted suicide, and the series became much more complex and existential. Are you okay, Chisa?
Uh
I think she might be a bad influence on Mio.
Uh!!!
Haha! Look, it's a deck of playing cards!
Chaos is an ailment that is inflicted by one enemy in the entire game and it is not conveniently timed, considering we're still a few chapters away from that fight. Giving us a full immunity accessory to it is great, mind you, but it's kind of a weird time for it. "What does it do?" We'll get to that.
So here, right?
Er, it... seems not? The reading was a bit inexact.
Mayhap we could ask this lovely, rotting gentleman for assistance!
Calling Unit 13. Northeast of here is the location for the probe.
Well, here there's a zombie for us to work through.
Jeanne, you're a lovely kid and all, but you don't want to get into this argument with me. I will win.
There's no argument to be had!
Yes, because there is a physically understandable walking corpse right there!
Do you hear him screaming?
The audio data doesn't necessarily—
Jeanne, have you ever watched an iteration of Scooby-Doo?
...um, what?
The basic identity of Scooby-Doo is the idea that this group of four teenagers and their dog go around solving mysteries. Now, usually, what is thought to be a supernatural occurrence—moving machines, gator monsters, ghosts—are some sort of special effect created by, usually, some rich fool who wants to get richter.
But every so often, the monster is real. There's a real, supernatural thing, and it does nobody any good to claim it's not. Mystery Inc. only survives by admitting that something real and bizarre is going on.
So, riddle me this. If we are battling with zombies—real things that can use their actual guns to club us over the head and cause physical injury—what good does it do anyone for our navigator to tell us, 'no, actually, you can just walk past, that doesn't exist.'? Certainly, zombies are not usually real, but that fact does us no good right now.
Well, I...
I thought so.
nice beating a child in an argument koron
Well, it's great we've got a foothold in here now, at least.
...Let's avoid that one just for the moment. I'm not sure we're quite equipped to handle a second one just yet.
"Hey, Kinu! Why aren't you fighting that Dragon yet?""
Muscle Eye's a fuck.
"Hisao Suzuki — 1976-2020".
Youka didn't flinch at that one. Actually, she laughed.
Oh, thanks. I needed a smile.
Not a fan?
He was in the same year as me in school, and was always an obnoxious pest, but after I dropped out it got even worse. Any time he saw me, he'd go out of his way to ensure I knew he was there by making my life worse in some way. Buy the last of something I wanted and make a stupid face at me, maybe block a path I needed to go through with his car... Just a pest, really. And any time I had to service him in one of my jobs, he was the worst, too.
One of those sorts of people who you can tell never grew up. I imagine on some deep level he was mad he hadn't been the one to take my virginity, since he behaved in that sort of suppressed-crush way when we were younger.
Sure, it's sad someone died, but I can smile when it's someone I'm glad I'll never see again.
...Hey, Jeanne, is there a reading right over there?
No. Why?
He kept repeating that. 'I'm not feeling so well today.'
...
...Ms. Fudoji?
It's nothing. Let's move on.
Babang!
I read a few names off of these headstones, but I think Youka was intentionally ignoring them for the time being.
This place makes no sense.
Yup.
Hoo.
Something wrong, Satsuki?
My pockets are feeling a little heavy. You think maybe we should turn in some of this stuff now that we've got a place to do it?
That's not a bad idea.
This was the first time Satsuki had been struck by the sonic blasts these things could muster, and for reasons I didn't understand at the time, she went from looking confident to utterly petrified.
Um! Uhhh!!
Are you okay?! Is she okay?! What's going on?! Where am I?!
I'm fine—please just take it down, one more shot should do it!
Wha—How?! What do I do?!
Youka hurried over, and put her hands on Satsuki's shoulders.
It's alright. Just take a shot with that gun. You'll hit.
WHY DO I HAVE A GUN
I don't understand I don't know how to shoot a gun I—
Yes, you do. There, there. Just let your body move you. You'll figure it out. Calm down. I'm here for you.
AAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAaaa oh
Oh it's dead uh
Great shot! See? I told you you knew how to do it.
Satsuki blinked a few times, then wildly shook her head and clapped her cheeks.
Okay. I'm fine. No brain problems. Hi. Dragon dead.
Satsuki was muttering something to herself on the way back.
Are you sure you're alright?
What, me? I'm gucci, Cap. Just fine
(you are satsuki. the year is 2020. you're part of murakumo unit 13. your friends are chisa, koron, richter, and youka. you're a valued member of the team. everyone counts on you. you are well-liked. you're safe when you're with them.)
------------------------------------
I head back to base to rest up and switch around, but unfortunately we're only at 24 Dz out of the 27 we need. There's no way forward but through!
If I may, please allow me to take point this time. I believe I may be able to effectively assist against this type of dragon.
Not going to correct him?
I will admit I've become a bit curious about the classification of four-limbed bipedal draconids with wings, and I'll let you know if I ever have to append my previous classifications, but as far as I know, he's correct—that's a dragon. Frankly, Youka, I've explained this so many times that I'm beginning to think that you intentionally forget what I tell you to make some sort of point.
Is the point sinking in?
No, Youka, because the point is incorrect! Words mean things!
A chair is a piece of furniture with a raised surface supported by legs, commonly used to seat a single person. Chairs are supported most often by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or can have a different shape. Chairs are made of a wide variety of materials, ranging from wood to metal to synthetic material (e.g. plastic), and they may be padded or upholstered in various colors and fabrics, either just on the seat (as with some dining room chairs) or on the entire chair. Chairs are used in a number of rooms in homes (e.g. in living rooms, dining rooms, and dens), in schools and offices (with desks), and in various other workplaces.
...c-correct. Yes.
Please maintain a similar strategy, Koron, Youka.
You don't need to tell me twice.
Here we go! This should take a load off of our backs.
I feel like I didn't properly get to show off just how disgustingly good Trash Pickup is before. Hey, do you wanna see how good Trash Pickup is?
Youka used Counter Stance, so she'd already gone. Youka and Richter here are stopped.
LMAO NEVER MIND
While it did deal damage and prevent Youka's Counter Stance itself from going off (though the aggro manip and the counter from the Veil still went off), this essentially meant I lost no actual actions from the Destroyer Dragon's biggest trick, because Stop doesn't matter if you're cured of it before you act again! So, while my party looks relatively low on HP, I'm actually far better off than I would've been otherwise.
Nice! Back in the game and with no petrification to worry about.
Nice job, Richter!
I wasn't sure exactly what metal the Destroyer Dragon's mask was made of, but it sounded, when Youka pounded on it like an angry gorilla, like something I should've recognized. Perhaps it was iron.
Then the dragon dropkicked Richter.
OWWWWWWWWWWWW
Holy shit, are you okay?
Owwwwww
This is of course not to say that Destroyer Dragons aren't a threat if Muscle Eye can't stop you—these bad boys can still hit like freight trains. However, they can only single-target besides Muscle Eye—if you can keep your team making actions, you can keep the train rolling.
HEY THE DRAGON'S ABOUT TO DO ANOTHER KICK
We'll see how that works out for him!
Youka then barrelled toward the dragon with her own drop kick, meeting it foot-to-foot and causing a mild shockwave to emanate from the impact.
Of course, her feet were on fire, and all, so the serious burns the dragon took probably made it not the best exchange.
Youka, meanwhile, was able to parry and counter its next punch just fine.
Miss Fudoji, now would be the time to finish things!
On it!
Get bent, asshole!
Bye-bye, Invader!
Whoa, did you see that, Mr. Kirino?! That was so cool!
Richter, I have an apology to make.
What would that be, sir?
I trust you the most out of any of my operatives, yes. You have a good eye for skill and quality, and you're a very reliable man. However, in private I had always thought that a few of your reports may have been a bit exaggerated.
In particular, I had thought that your reports of one Ms. Fudoji sitting atop a 'mountain of bloody Dragon corpses' must have been something of an exaggeration. Perhaps one or two, not the boggling numbers you suggested.
I don't doubt you anymore! I believe you now! I'm sorry I ever doubted you!
That's okay, sir. She's a frightening woman.
But lovable!
But lovable, yes.
Er, why have you stopped? Is this where the probe goes?
Dead on!
Ah, right! That should be good...
What's wrong?
I keep losing track of you, and it's my one job to keep track of you at all times, but if I can't trust the data then—well, if you aren't here where you look like, then where could you be?
This is what keeping the radio on is for. They've been in constant communication, right? It's okay to believe your eyes and ears a little.
Yes, I have reason to worry! I can't just watch the monitor and blindly accept it! There's always more data to consider, and I have to figure out what data to believe! I don't even know that you aren't an illusion, and if I'm being tricked, then I'm putting Unit 13 at risk—
Is my cold contagious or something? I just want to focus on my analysis, Jeanne.
Do you want me to step in and navigate?
...I appreciate the thought, but while I'm... sure you have a fine sense of direction...
The dead walking, of all things. Honestly, I'm still shocked.
No kidding. We all got to see your face go white and your knees start knocking!
CAN I SEE THE FOOTAGE
There's no need to stay on this subject! There's two probes left to go. Over and out.
Jeanne, a moment of your time?
I could hear Miroku geeking out about the last battle in the background.
I'd like to continue our earlier discussion.
...Okay...
It's true that what is occurring here would appear to be supernatural. Zombies are, by all rights, not normally possible. However, on the subject—have you ever heard of Clairvius Narcisse?
No...
He was a man from Haiti who was admitted to the hospital in 1962, with a fever, fatigue, and hematemesis. Three days after his admittance, he was pronounced dead, held in cold storage, and buried. However, eighteen years later, he appeared before his wife, in the flesh, proving himself the genuine article.
W-what?!
He claimed to have been conscious, but paralyzed, during his burial. Per his account, at some point afterwards, he was exhumed, and was drugged with a paste—possibly of datura, to cause hallucinations and memory loss, and forced to work as a slave on a sugar plantation. The man himself claimed that this man was a Haitian sorcerer, a bokor, who had turned him into a zombie. Eighteen years later, he regained enough of his sanity to finally return to his family.
The 'zombie powder' thought to be used in this process was theorized by biologist Wade Davis to consist at least partially of pufferfish tetrodotoxin, to force the victim to enter a near-death state and be pronounced dead for a live burial. He wrote a book, I'm sure you can find it. While his accounts have received their fair share of skepticism, the fact of Narcisse's account remains.
Whether I believe Davis is fully correct about Narcisse's account and his theories is beside the point—however, what I mean to impart upon you is this. "There is nothing, nothing in this world that exists without a scientific reason. There is an explanation, a logical explanation, for everything."
For instance. For centuries, scientists would believe that my abilities would be impossible. Cockamamie. Jeanne, what is the explanation of my abilities?
...You suffer from Rapid-Onset Psychokinesis Syndrome. 'Akaneno's syndrome'. A sudden-onset condition that results in spontaneous alterations to the bodies of human beings, down to strands of their DNA. In particular, several new neural pathways are formed in the brain that allow for the brain's activity to be used in new ways—in your case, your primary ability is the speeding and slowing of molecular activity, particularly causing generation of heat and flame.
Yes, exactly. It's true, scientists still don't know the exact reason behind Akaneno's—and yet, Akaneno's patients like myself led the way for humanity to discover the Psy-Gene itself, and discover the truth behind ESP as a concept. Not just Akaneno's patients, but natural psychics as well—all of those confirmed to have extrasensory abilities can be understood through these discoveries. Thus, 'logic', and 'science' as well, shift ever so slightly in their nature.
Jeanne, I am not asking you to blindly believe everything that you see. Rather, I want you to accept it, and then ask, 'why'? Don't ask, 'are my eyes and ears lying', ask, 'why are these things occurring?'
You're in a position none of us can be in. You can analyze the data—you can see it from a bird's eye view. That logical explanation is something you can find, Jeanne. That is your job as our navigator. Don't lose faith in yourself.
Jeanne went quiet after that.
Should I like, tell him
I don't think it would do him much good—
Hey, Ikki. Have you showered lately?
Rotten Man: Ffff...Fudoji? Uh. Have I...?
You got too into your work again, huh. You've really gotta take better care of yourself. Who else is gonna do it if you don't?
Rotten Man: ...Yeah, my hair's all... my hair's all greasy. You're right. I'll go... shower.
Good man.
...
Next to the massive mantis, there was some manner of floating, non-corporeal... thing. This monster, as it turned out, could make noises—but all it was making were gibbering, retching noises with a distorted human voice.
Wraith: uUUuUUUUUuuu...aaAAbGBABbabBg! HLA, A, AAAAAbbbbfffttthhh.
That didn't stop Youka from grabbing it by its tail and slamming it into the dirt, causing it to dissipate.
Great conversationalist, huh.
Wraiths are the other enemy here with a React skill—in their case, it's Sway React, which doubles their evasion and gives them an extra turn if they dodge an attack. They can also Curse you with Cursed Surge (though only for 10% backlash,) and Noxious Surge has high odds of hitting a party member with Downer, doubling their MP costs. Thankfully, they're pretty frail, and doubling their evasion means Sway React only really becomes a factor if you get complacent and start auto-battling. Also they float so shoot them.
Wraith: UGI, UGI, UGI... GIIIgigigGAAAAALAAAAGGKKKKKKT. PPPPFEEEE. HI, HI, HI!!! HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!
Shut up.
Hmm... I see... yes. But these readings here... oh, right...
Kirino, we can hear you. Are you okay?
WHOA! C-Chisa, don't scare me like—uh, right, sorry, I was concentrating too hard. Uh, analysis is going great, but, uh... well, ahahahaha, from here...
I'm really sorry! I've got my fingers crossed for you!!
K-Kirino?!
There was a pause, as Kirino's mic cut out.
...I don't understand. Why would he say something like that?
Oh, well... I think he's just trying to be friendly.
Amidst deep, bone-chilling terror.
...Understood. Please continue to place probe #3.
SDF zombies? ...Should we really be fighting them?
We don't have a choice.
It'll just wear you all down... oh, geez, they're coming for you!
Shoulda gone to the gym some more!
Rendering assistance!
Aren't you gonna have to get that thing later
They always come back.
Burn and die!
He's looking for a way out, Jeanne. C'mon, you can do this. Don't get too scared.
But I'm—I'm useless without data, and we're surrounded... what do I do?
Bullets continued to rain down, as the five of us stood against a horde of the living dead.
Our position was tenuous—while all five of us coordinated, we could maintain it, but the instant one of us dropped, we would likely shatter.
S-shit... Come on, you stupid body, move! Don't give out on me yet!
Hey, are we... are we gonna die?
Like hell! No matter how much you shoot me, I won't die, bastards! Come on!
And then... he appeared.
...
???: Hey, hey, hey. Don't slack off out here—what's your Navi doing?
...?!
???: You're useless without data, huh? And the data's all over the place? You want my opinion? This is pretty pathetic. Without their Navi here, Unit 13's done for—kaput.
???: If you care about not screwing up, why not listen to people for once? Nagataka's a real blowhard, but she's got a good head on her shoulders.
Hey—!
Listen to people... I—Wait! That's it!
Jeanne went silent for a moment.
???: Hey, hey, talk to me! In a gloomy place like this, shouldn't you wanna be cheerful like me?
...
To be honest, you never really struck me as 'cheerful', so much... And it's a bit rude to call her a baby.
???: Okay, okay, I'm sorry I called you a baby. C'mon, say something.
Alright! I'll show you the way out, Unit 13—just wait a bit longer!
???: Good grief, you need a lot of looking after...
???: You here to greet them too?
...
You—you're Aitelle!
Wait! I have questions to ask you!
Her eyes remained fixed on the ghost before us.
???: Yeah, yeah, I get it... No need for me to stick around. They've got it from here.
...Heh. What did you think I was going to do, Genji? We're friends, so that's the least I could do for you.
So leave us be to kick some zombie ass!
And then—they were gone.
Everyone, those two's appearance just gave me an idea. I'm going to scrub this interference out!
Just give me a bit more time—
Jeanne.
Huh?
I'm proud of you.
Then come to me, living dead! Accept the final embrace of this cleansing flame!
HYAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Is that the best you've got, Imperial?!
Someone's enjoying herself.
ain't it nice to see
—It almost passed me by, when she said it, considering more and more zombies were flooding in. It took a moment to register.
Koron was able to see those ghosts from earlier even though she doesn't have real eyes—so it couldn't have been a sight-based trick of any kind. This dungeon is littered with inaudible sounds that trigger nervous pathways, causing mammalian sensory responses!
Of course! So it must be puppeteering the corpses through their still-extant aural organs! The dragonflies were doing the same thing—it only stands to reason!
I'm going to try jamming the signal using the probes. I don't know whether it'll work, but I have to try everything I can! It might be a bit noisy out there—cover your ears!
We did.
A high-pitched noise screamed out through the area, causing me and the rest of the group to recoil and fall to our knees. The zombies took it far worse, though—they all fell onto the ground, having lost their unnatural life.
Haaah. Haaah...
Shit... You weren't kidding.
They stopped moving? ...We did it! It's working!
That was really great thinking, Jeanne. Thanks—you saved our bacon.
Th-that's... I mean, I was scolding myself for even considering it, but this is all completely—
She stammered for a bit.
I'm—I'm going to have to keep some of this out of the official report. Ms. Hikasa would never believe me. But... I was right.
Then, I heard a happy little giggle.
You were. Great job, Jeanne.
Just head a bit east of here, and we'll set the third probe!
And there you go, all settled in. Do some good work out there, pal.
Once we set the last probe, we should be able to locate the Imperial Dragon. Let's head onward to the next area!
(You know, Koron... I think you're the best Vice-Captain I could've asked for.)
(What have I said about verbally fellating me?)
(Hehehe. Don't be so modest.)
(Take your own advice.)
Next time,
