Kitty Killer Isn't So Cold

In truth, let alone the fact that the thick black fog had obscured everything from view, the agent commander could barely even make out these reports.

The crackling gunfire in the administrative hall blended together. At least eight guns were firing in every direction. It gave the agent commander a headache, but also left him utterly baffled. Where had they gotten so many Firearms Arts users?

And calling them enemies was even more ridiculous. There were only two fucking people in the reception room!

"Those of you firing from the rear, stop shooting already! You're hitting our own people!"

"Help, I'm injured! I can't move my arms or legs!!"

"Damn it, don't step on me..."

"If you're injured, can't you just lie down in a corner?"

"...This is the corner."

Seeing the situation descend into chaos again, with their own people seemingly shooting one another, the commander decisively gave the order:

"Enough!! Everyone, get down immediately! Casters, use aerial burst spells to disperse the smoke!"

"Beginning spell guidance... Aaaah! Someone's shooting at me! Cover me, cover me!"

Just from the sounds, the Mercenaries present felt as though they had returned to the battlefield between Columbia and Bolívar. Gunfire and artillery erupted without end, while screams and curses ran together... Finally, after a wait that felt like a lifetime, an area-of-effect spell of unknown origin detonated before the heavy defenders' final line, allowing the agents a brief glimpse of one another's bedraggled state.

"Heavy defenders, hold the line! We need to regroup to avoid friendly fire! Everyone else who can still move, retreat to the experimental area and establish a defensive line! The smoke's gathering again—move, move, move!"

With that, the battered agents fled through the heavy defenders' line and into the interior as though granted amnesty. At the same time, the commander keenly noticed that the enemy's previously nonstop gunfire had also ceased.

"So it really was all friendly fire just now... Listen up, ranged teams. Abandon the four-corner positions and assemble at the experimental area's first defensive line. From now on, attack wherever you hear movement..."

"But boss, a lot of us are injured..."

Seeing the gun-wielding Feline agent arrive at the line while supporting an unconscious companion, her crooked hat barely hanging from her cat ears, the commander hurried forward to help the little one support the injured man. He then had the heavy defenders offer up a shield as a stretcher and ordered the taller members to carry the casualty toward the rear of the experimental area.

"At a time like this, ask the experimental area for medical support. The employer said we can receive whatever assistance is available here."

"Understood!"

Watching the petite agent follow the stretcher into the rear, the captain had just wanted to ask where her gun case had come from and which squad she belonged to when a ranged team running toward him through the black fog was suddenly caught in an explosion.

"Aaaah! Help, that guy's still here! My Arts don't work on him! The smoke's gathering again!"

"That's Sarkaz Sorcery! Don't counter it—your emotions will be affected! Crawl if you have to! Crawl back here, all of you!"

No sooner had he spoken than another ranged team was swallowed by a booming explosion.

Listening to the explosions behind her, the black-haired Feline agent following the stretcher glanced back. By then, however, they had passed through an inactive decontamination corridor. Compared to the explosions at the front line, this place was filled with frantic urging and wails.

The few lab-coated staff wearing Loken Water Tank Laboratory badges were surrounded by several agent captains, all demanding that they treat their own team members first.

Seeing that none of them had noticed her, the black-haired Feline immediately turned her back on them. But then she met the questioning gazes of the two heavy defenders helping transport the wounded, their confusion palpable even through their helmets.

"Put the casualty down first, then have the laboratory medical staff treat people according to the severity of their injuries... After that, are you joining the second defensive line directly, or returning to the first line?"

Her preemptive question made the two men exchange helpless looks. One of them scratched his helmet and muttered,

"To be honest, I don't really want to go back... They seem to have stopped using guns and switched to explosives over there, right?"

"They have. It's terrifying."

Seeing their reaction, the Feline agent adjusted her sunglasses with one finger, then gestured with her thumb toward the agent captains still arguing with the medical staff.

"Then follow the boss's orders and establish the second defensive line here. You're from the heavy defender squad, so just pass on the message and serve as the second line's heavy defenders... After all, you two are the only heavy defenders here."

"Mm, okay... But you're with the agent group too, right? Aren't you going?"

At the big man's question, the little Feline's smile became somewhat strained. She removed the nylon glove from her right hand and showed them the bloodied mess beneath it.

"I need to... find some medicine first... And after all that indiscriminate shooting, I need to find someone to replenish my Etch Rounds."

"Understood. Take care of yourself, then."

"Mm. You too."

Watching the two large men use their broad bodies to completely block the agent captains' view of her as they went over to speak with them, "Agent Nana" finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it into Loken Watertank's experimental area at last.

First, she straightened the red beret that had slipped crookedly onto her cat ears after a few steps because it did not fit her head. Then Miss Killer wiped the blood from her right hand... It clearly was not her blood. As for the pencil that had become too slippery with blood to use, Nana had left that behind in the reception room as well.

While the agent captains were busy arguing, Nana quickly surveyed the terrain.

This building had probably not originally been connected to the administrative building. The steel plate barricades on the surrounding exterior walls must have been added recently... As things stood, the main structure of the experimental building's lobby was no different from that of the administrative building. Even the distance from the front entrance to the reception desk was exactly the same.

However, unlike the administrative area, which was separated only by several security checkpoints, the experimental area seemed to use a Landship compartmentalization system.

Those not particularly imposing automatic doors did not recognize disguises, only authorization. And there presumably would not be hired agents operating beyond those doors... Clearly, Nana needed a change of clothes, as well as an access card with the necessary clearance... Only then could she continue investigating where Kate and Cole were being held.

After looking around briefly, she noticed another group of lab-coated personnel carrying medical supplies joining the treatment of the injured. Slipping around the agent captains as they dispersed back to their respective squads, Nana watched them take attendance and hastened to select this round's unfortunate victim...

She was a Feline researcher with shoulder-length black hair. She had been treating casualties near the reception desk since Nana entered, and now seemed to be sitting down to rest from exhaustion... Nana moved over to her at once.

"Hello..."

"Ah, hello... Are you injured too? Please wait a moment, let me catch my breath..."

Seeing that the girl's complexion was nearly as pale as her lab coat, Nana glanced at the dark circles under her eyes and politely waved a hand.

"It's fine, mine isn't anything serious... It's just that I hurt my back, and it wouldn't be appropriate to take my clothes off here... Could you come with me to an unused room later and help me?"

"Sure... Sigh, why is it so busy today..."

Hearing her sigh, Nana tilted her cat ears in mild confusion.

"Wasn't the laboratory supposed to be under lockdown recently? And someone has already attacked the place. Shouldn't you be less busy, not more?"

The researcher smiled and wiggled a finger at this peer who felt entirely different from the Mercenaries.

"They attacked the place, but they're just causing trouble for the people above us, right... As for the experiments, the later they get, the more leisurely things become, actually. Loken Watertank's automation is first-rate. The project I was responsible for was completed months ago. The only reason I'm still here is because there was supposedly some problem commercializing it recently... They said I could go out with my boyfriend once I got time off... Look, he even gave me flowers today..."

Following the girl's gaze, Nana saw a hollow box nearly half a person tall beneath the reception desk, packed full of eye-catching bright red roses.

And in response to the researcher's almost showy manner, Nana curled her lips into an awkward but polite smile.

"Looking at those dark circles, you really do need some rest..."

"The original plan was to travel to Siesta with my boyfriend... Well, Dr. Williams pays a lot for overtime, so I put up with it..."

Stretching lazily, the researcher picked up the box full of roses and took a deep breath. Then she picked up her staff and called Nana toward a distant lounge.

"All right, let's go... Why are you bringing the flowers?"

"They're yours, after all. It's better to keep them where you can see them. We Mercenaries don't understand transfer procedures. If we need to use the table later, we'll definitely have no idea where to toss them."

"Ahaha... That really happens?"

Saying such strange things, Nana followed the swaying researcher into the room.

She shut the door first and drew the curtains. While the researcher warmed up her staff and prepared to use Originium Arts, Nana clicked the lock shut.

Facing the girl's puzzled gaze, Nana smiled.

"All right, let's begin." Skipping over the process in which the exhausted girl was less knocked unconscious by Nana than she was simply collapsing from having reached her limit, Nana changed clothes, carried her to a bed in the observation room, and tucked her beneath the covers... As for the large box of roses, Nana had emptied out part of it.

"Researcher Nana" placed the flowers in an empty vase beside the bed. What she needed was the long cardboard box they had come in. While Nana's suitcase would not look out of place in anyone's hands, having nowhere to put the scavenged shotgun was a real nuisance... Now she could hide it in the box full of roses.

Lastly, she slid the researcher's ID card over the surface of her universal work card. At the very least, that would prevent an awkward mismatch between the person and the photograph on the work ID. Nana took a deep breath, checked her equipment, then left the room with the rose box in one arm and the suitcase in the other hand.

Apparently, after the Mercenaries had called over several batches of researchers capable of using healing Arts for help, Nana, dressed as a lab-coated catgirl, immediately blended in upon stepping outside.

"Ah... Sorry, I'll put these things away first. I'll be back in a moment."

Using the fact that her arms were full enough to conceal her face, along with this nearly universal excuse, "Researcher Nana" quickly shook off the pestering Mercenaries... The lab-coated workers dragged out for overtime seemed to be in terrible moods. They could not even be bothered to look at her, and Nana smoothly swiped her work card to pass through the partition door.

As the partition door, apparently made from some kind of special alloy, sealed tightly shut amid the hiss of the airlock venting, the Feline girl carrying roses in one hand and a suitcase in the other finally dropped her professional smile.

"Next... I need a structural map..."

Fortunately, Loken Watertank's laboratory building had a very modern interior design, and one prominent feature of modern design was that signs pointing the way were everywhere.

After taking only a few steps, Nana spotted a directory at the stairwell showing the locations of the various research departments...

But those departments all used research codenames that looked like encrypted jargon. Nana could not tell from such a rough directory which one Loken Williams himself was in charge of.

Miss Killer's gaze immediately focused on the "Information Center" listed on one of the floors.

"...She's taking so long. Hasn't Sister Nana come back yet?"

"It's only been a few hours..."

"I'm worried about Sister..."

"I miss Mom."

Seeing her two brothers looking more frail than the other, as though they might burst into tears at any moment, Matilda carried over a tray and set the food down on the table with a thud.

"What's the use of worrying? Come eat. Grow up quickly, and once we're grown up, we'll go beat up the bad guys!"

The little girl first examined the bread given to her by the nun as if selecting something. Then she carefully put her own bread away before grabbing another piece and wolfing it down with the ferocity of someone tearing into an enemy.

"...Mia, chew your food slowly. Be careful not to choke."

"Who has time to chew slowly now? The enemy could come for us at any moment. If we don't fill up now, we might not have time to eat later."

"But Mom said that every time we ate..."

Colt's single sentence immediately slowed the youngest Little Cat's chewing. The three children fell silent for a long while before Kevin finally asked with reddened eyes,

"Is Mom still alive?"

No one could answer that question. The three children knew nothing, and there was nothing they could do... The unknown future was like a boundless void swallowing their minds. After they had finished eating, who knew how much time passed before the outside grew noisy as well.

"...Is it time for prayer? This should be our first time taking part in something like that..."

The three little ones spoke as they dragged small stools over and peered out the window. But when they saw armed personnel in black uniforms confronting white-clad believers below, all the Little Cats frowned.

"Something feels wrong. This looks like..."

"Like the people who came looking for us before."

As the three stared at one another, the attic door suddenly opened, and a nun rushed inside, panting.

"Children, are you still here? Quickly, take your backpacks. People from Loken Watertank have come for you. Father told me to get you out."

"Leave? But..."

How were they supposed to leave?

With that question in mind, the little ones looked blankly toward the window facing the backyard.

The black-clad armed personnel showed no intention of hiding at all. And for some reason, the children felt that those people were staring directly at them. Especially the largest one, the strange man wearing bizarre armor. When his eyes met theirs, he even showed them a creepy smile.

"Tch... It's fine, I have a way. I know plenty of routes out from sneaking off when I wanted to slack off, so don't worry... Anyway, get downstairs first..."

Just as the nuns prepared to use the terrain to circle around the searchers and see if they could get out, a series of heavy footsteps suddenly thundered in their ears. By the time the nun reacted and turned back, all she saw was a humanoid monster that had smashed through the wooden wall and was grinning at her...

The tremendous crash from the church's rear made the priest confronting the enemy at the front frown, but neither he nor the believers wavered in blocking the main entrance... Yet the priest, who always wore a smile in the past, now had a terrifyingly grim expression.

"You actually barged directly into the church... What blasphemy..."

"Yes, we did... And what are you going to do about it? I told you from the beginning that we were taking those three children away legally. You're the ones refusing to let us in and causing a scene here."

Shaking his head, Stanfield, his wrist still wrapped in bandages, held up the adoption documents and spread his hands.

"The children are right here, completely contradicting your claims that you 'didn't know anything' and that 'no new children came here.' Or is the Laterano Church actually in the business of abducting children? Believe me, if we want to, you'll be branded a cult by tomorrow..."

As the thudding footsteps drew closer and closer, and as the believers grew increasingly panicked, the priest turned around... He saw three struggling, crying children and a nun held in the iron monster's hand, blood streaming from her body, her fate unknown.

With a thud, the nun was thrown to the ground. The splattering blood sent the crowd into a panic, and those more sensitive to the presence of life had already realized that she was no longer moving.

The Liberi in the beige suit wore a radiant, almost dazzling expression.

"Now, one final warning. Move aside, then go back to whatever you were doing. All we want are those three children... If you really insist on continuing this argument, then contact Loken Watertank's legal department. Even if you call the police, we're in the right, so disperse. Don't make this impossible to clean up."

As though Father Mending would yield, the man in the beige suit smiled and waved a hand. More than thirty armed personnel wielding crossbows and firearms emerged from behind cover along the church's outer walls, while the iron monster holding the children prepared to swagger through the crowd and return to the convoy waiting on the road.

"No, you cannot leave..."

"Oh?"

The priest's resolute words steadied the bewildered believers. As the priest himself drew an old revolver from beneath his robes, the believers in plain outer garments also pulled out weapons from their clothing.

There were pistols, old lever-action shotguns, farming sickles, work hammers... In the distance, some people saw that the situation was turning bad and hurriedly called for others while handing out wooden clubs—things that could barely even be called weapons—to nearby residents... But in any case, Loken Watertank's convoy had instead been surrounded.