Gundam, Gravity Elegy

"sorry!"

The younger-looking boy had completely curled up under the abuse of the older man.

Even though the sharp knife had fallen out of his pocket, he ignored it, helplessly curling up and letting his brother's fists or boots fall on his body until the elevator doors opened again.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Upon witnessing this brutal act of violence, the Good Samaritan couldn't help but step forward and knock it away.

But before he could help the poor child up from the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on your brother!"

"why?"

His body went limp and he collapsed, his eyes filled with confusion and pain.

However, his questions remained unanswered until the very moment of his death.

At the very last moment of consciousness, the brave protector simply collapsed limply to the ground, while the victim, who should have been protected, continued to swing the dagger in his hand, plunging the sharp blade into his chest and abdomen.

The splattered blood and the motionless corpses ultimately formed a beacon powerful enough to awaken human instincts.

That is a primal instinct that humanity, which has entered the cosmic century and calls itself civilized, can never escape:

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

The screams were an unconscious roar, a privilege that humans have been granted since primitive times.

But this time, they were not facing other wild beasts, but their own kind.

"Ugh—this is so annoying!!!"

Amidst the roar, the young soldiers of Zeon simply covered their heads, the voices filling their minds ultimately awakening their instinctive killing intent.

"Quiet down, everyone!"

'boom'

'boom'

Like a wild beast unleashed from its cage, what erupts in the corridor is the steely howl of humanity, a ferocious beast that prides itself on reason, and what it extends is the cruelty that still exists when humanity established social order.

…………

"murder?"

"To be precise, it was torture and murder."

"That's so unfair..."

At that moment, even Eileen, who had regained her senses, couldn't help but cover her mouth, while Gao Ren felt his mind go blank:

“Slaughter…”

When the word reached his ears, he even felt a buzzing in them.

But the news reports and clear photos from a few days prior, placed before him, further stimulated his eyes and mind:

"Shooting, dismemberment, indiscriminate killing..."

“I have compared the news reports and information about this city in the past. Since those guys came to this city, all sorts of bizarre cases have emerged in just a few days.”

"So it was all done by this so-called ghoul squad?!"

No, not all of them.

Meeting Gao Ren's horrified gaze, Kuvatro calmly shook his head:

"But you should understand that even if only two or three of them were done by them, it would still be a terrible thing, considering they've only been here for a week—and according to what I heard from the casino, the cause was actually quite minor."

How small would that be?

"Maybe it was just some kind of argument, or maybe it just made them angry."

"Taking the life of a stranger at will, trampling on the lives of others, simply because...are you angry?"

"Well, regardless of gender, age, social status, or family background, the only motivation is probably just a sudden whim?"

Kuvatro's tone still sounded light, but it felt like a huge boulder pressing down on Gao Ren's shoulders.

Anger, yet also an instinctive unease emanating from the depths of his being.

As Cuvatro emphasized, those who are capable of doing such things are not normal.

"In descriptions, they are said to get excited by killing, calmed by blood, and unwavering even when wounded; this term is used even within the Zeon army to describe them—"

…………

"monster!!"

The terrible, mournful howls echoed from the top, but were quickly completely blocked out by the favorable environment.

The luxurious restaurant on the top floor, which should have been a place for enjoyment, was eerily silent as the highly paid orchestra scattered and ran around.

Of course, perhaps precisely because of this, the 'humanoid' standing amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood also reacted to it.

Are there any survivors?

Following the sound, when the boy's figure came into view, the blond boy, whose appearance could still be described as human, was simply stretching his limbs.

He instinctively raised the pistol he was still holding, but when he pulled the trigger, there was only the sound of the mechanism turning, but no bullet was fired.

Only when this fact came to light did the boy suddenly realize:

"Oh no, we're out of bullets."

He casually tossed the gun onto a fallen corpse, then pulled out his knife again and gently wiped away the blood with his tongue.

Then, he slowly walked towards the little boy:

Why didn't you run away?

"..."

"Why don't you scatter and run like everyone else, whether it's fighting for the elevator or escaping down the stairs? Humans are, after all, animals that should run away when they feel pain, aren't they?"

Of course, the boy probably wouldn't understand these words at all.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that his little head can no longer hold anything else.

When the monster, the hunter wielding a dagger, approached, he instinctively lay down on the two bodies that should have provided him with warmth.

"Dad...Mom."

But at this moment, they did not respond to his call as they usually did.

Her frail body lay in an odd and unnatural position, but her eyes were fixed straight in the direction of her child.

die……

Once this impression was truly imprinted in his mind, the boy simply unleashed his fury with all his might:

"monster!!"

Like the non-human beings described in fairy tales, only such words could describe the enemy a child had in front of him.

"You monster, give me back my mom and dad!!!"

Upon seeing the gleaming blade, the boy couldn't help but rush forward and bite the handsome young man's arm, but he showed no displeasure whatsoever.

Even though his tender teeth had already chipped his skin, the boy's expression remained unwavering.

"Heh heh, so instead of running away, you're walking right towards me. That takes courage, but unfortunately, it ends here."

The lights flickered, illuminating the blade stained with thick blood. The boy looked up, only to see it thrusting straight toward him.

"Don't move, police!"

"Tsk, where are the police..."

Then, everything came to a standstill.

Chapter Sixteen: Lamentations (Tenth Update)

"Monsters—that's what even people within the Zeon army call them."

The spacious room echoed with Cuvatro's deeply moved voice:

"Those guys rarely show any delicate emotions, and they react hysterically when something happens, which sounds like they're mentally ill..."

"So, after a while, the lieutenant will be facing enemies like this?"

"more or less."

In response to Eileen's question, the captain yawned:

"But there's no need to worry about anything. Strictly speaking, mobile suits can make up for the gaps in physical fitness and other aspects to the greatest extent, and we happen to have two of the best pilots on Earth here."

Despite having just spoken about those truly shocking things, Cuvatro seemed completely unconcerned about them.

Perhaps for this man, who came from the intelligence service and had seen it all, only one thing mattered:

"Don't hold back."

When Gao Ren looked up, he saw the captain speaking in a serious tone:

"Although our Federation and Zeon have different opinions on the 'Black Gundam' now, the fact is that you rarely attack the cockpit of enemy machines directly."

"The essence is simply that there are reasons for this; I just want to secure as many resources as possible for the front lines..."

"But there is no such room for maneuver now."

Kuvatro spoke.

"You are likely facing an enemy who is not afraid of death, does not know pain, and will not even faint from pain or impact. If you fail to deal with them immediately, even the fusion reactor of the machine itself will be used as a 'weapon'. You should understand what this means."

Yes, no pilot didn't understand what this meant.

The Minovsky particle fusion reactor—even though it is merely a product of using Minovsky particles to opportunistically shrink the nuclear fusion environment and is difficult to detonate, its expansion and explosion is still a powerful bomb.

and so……

"I know."

Trying his best to loosen his unconsciously clenched fist, Gao Ren merely tried to soothe his voice:

"Anyway, we just need to take care of them all, right?"

"That's absolutely right. Whether it's you or Lieutenant Page, you need to be as swift and decisive as possible in combat..."

Then, Kuvatro stood up, stretched, and casually straightened his flashy T-shirt:

"Speaking of which, are you hungry?"

After patting his stomach, he picked up what appeared to be a dedicated tablet computer from the table:

"The restaurants here are quite famous. Even if we don't dine in, suites like ours can opt for room service."

After lying down, Cuvatro lightly slid his fingers across the tablet and then directly opened the communication:

"Is this a restaurant? I'd like to order something..."

"I'm very sorry, sir, the restaurant is not accepting orders at the moment."

"why?"

"There's been an accident at the restaurant... there's been some trouble at the restaurant."

Despite this, a slight background music could still be heard on the exceptionally high-quality internal phone calls:

Is anyone still alive?

"Is the child still alive? Are there any other people?"

"In short, please wait for the official announcement for the specific reasons... We are very sorry."

The call ended abruptly, but at this point, perhaps no further explanation is needed.

"Seriously, it seems we're having a run of bad luck; there's nothing good to eat."

That's what Cuvatro said, but behind his sunglasses, the captain's naturally red eyes were already narrowed.

He looked at the sofa directly opposite him and saw that the boy was also looking up.

As they stared at each other, the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold and silent. At that moment, Corporal Ellen, sitting to the side, felt a confrontational atmosphere that, while not intense, was definitely present.

"Second Lieutenant? Captain?"