[serious]…There's one way. Just one. It was the frozen darkness before dawn. Outside the abandoned testing grounds, huddled together in the lee of a windswept boulder, Glen spoke in a low, rumbling growl. The campfire had long since died. Their breath misted white and ragged between the three of them. Ryou gripped Marian's cold hand, which he held against his back. The link band pulsed red. [[Corrosion Stage 2 — Late Phase]] [[Estimated Remaining Identity: 37%]] Every time the number dropped, it felt like a cold drill was boring straight through the center of his chest. [serious]Where? And who's there? His voice was hoarse. His throat burned raw. "The abandoned research facility in the Calden Marshlands. About an hour southwest of here." Glen pulled out a cigarette but didn't light it, just toyed with it between his fingers. His gray-streaked slicked-back hair was whipped wild by the gale, making the old scar on his right temple look even deeper. "There's an electronic warfare Nikke there who escaped from Missilis Industry. A brat named Clarice. She's the only one who has the emergency protect code that can slow the progression of a Corrupt Seed." [surprised]Something like that… actually exists? "Yeah. But." Glen's gray eyes skewered Ryou. "That brat hates humans. Missilis used her as a lab rat and tortured her. Whether you can get down on your knees and beg her — that's the whole ballgame." Ryou bit his lip. He tasted iron. [[Corrosion Stage 3 — Estimated Transition Time: 4 hours, 12 minutes]] There wasn't a single second to waste. "I'm going." He stood up. His knees were shaking. His thighs were already screaming. Even so, he crouched down to hoist Marian onto his back. Her body against his back was cold as ice. The corrosion was already starting to degrade her thermoregulation. Her long silver hair slid over Ryou's shoulder with a soft rustle. [weak]…Partner… On the verge of losing consciousness, she murmured faintly. "I'm heavy, right… sorry." As if anything in this world could be heavier than this. [gentle]Shut up. You're practically light. I forced myself to smile. It probably looked like I was about to cry. [cold]Tch… follow me, you dumb bastard. Glen took point, and we started to run. Toward the Calden Marshlands. The gray sky was beginning, faintly, to pale. ―――― The marshlands were a dead seabed. The water's surface was slick with an oily sheen, and rotting aquatic plants assaulted the nose with a putrid stench. The water was so murky you couldn't see the bottom — impossible to tell where the deep spots were, or where Raptures might be lurking. [serious]Stop. A sudden hand signal. The three of us, half-submerged in the water, froze in place. Blub. Ten meters ahead, a bubble surfaced. The water bulged unnaturally. What slithered out was a grotesque shadow, like a cross between a giant dragonfly nymph and a stingray. Over three meters long. The seams of its armor drifted an eerie fluorescent pink into the water. (A Droog-class variant…) Ryou killed his breath. Marian stirred faintly against his back. Her cold breath brushed the nape of his neck. He clamped his hand over the link band to stop it from sounding an alert. Tens of seconds. The Rapture slowly turned and sank back beneath the surface. Glen silently waved them forward. Ryou noticed that the strength in Marian's hand gripping his shoulder was just a little weaker than before. I have to hurry. The alarm in his chest wouldn't stop ringing. "Don't rush. You rush, you die." Glen's voice was terribly calm. [angry]I know… He clenched his teeth. I know. But my body won't listen. Faster, I have to go faster—. "Kid. If you're dead, it's over. For you, and for that young lady too." That one sentence cooled his head. (Right. If I collapse, who's going to carry Marian?) I pressed forward, planting each step firmly into the sucking mud. ―――― The abandoned research facility stood in the dead center of the marshlands, jutting up like a gravestone. Cracked concrete. Walls with exposed steel beams. It must have been a fairly large experimental facility once, but now it was caked in Rapture filth and mold. Glen pried open the iron grate blocking the entrance with the butt of his gun. A shriek of tortured metal, and a gust of damp, musty air flowed out. The corridor was dim, the floor littered with shattered glass. At the very back, a laboratory with a half-destroyed door. "…That old geezer again?" The voice flew at them from the corner of the room. There, sitting with her back pressed tight against the wall, was a girl. A short bob of pale purple hair, pinned back to expose just her right ear. Huge, cat-like golden eyes glinted in the darkness, sizing them up. Maybe a hundred and fifty centimeters tall. The fingertips of her right hand were strangely metallic, emitting a faint mechanical sound. And above all, the management number tattoo visible on the back of her neck. The brand of Missilis Industry. "You're Clarice?" "That's your greeting? Brat." Clarice didn't smile. She just narrowed her golden eyes and looked Ryou over, like she was licking him from head to toe. "Huh. So you're the rumored useless Commander? And that's the manufacturing bureau's princess? You seriously came all the way to this deathtrap for a date?" [angry]…I came to help. "A Nikke? I've got no intention of being used by humans. If you're not going to disappear, then I'm leaving." She kicked off the wall to stand. The movement was pure wildcat. Her center of gravity was impossibly low, ready to pounce or flee at any moment. [serious]Wait. Glen's bark shook the room. "We don't have time. Brat, just listen. His Nikke's been infected by a Corrupt Seed. She's only got a few hours before Stage Three." "Stage Three? Hah? Sounds like a personal problem." Clarice spat the words out. Still facing the wall, she wouldn't even look at them. "You seriously want to save her? Or are you just gonna throw her away like the Ark does?" At those words, Ryou stepped forward. [serious]I'm going to save her. I'm her partner. "Partner. If you're the one saying that, guess there's no one else to say it." Clarice's mouth twisted slightly. Mockery, probably. But for just an instant, her golden eyes flicked toward Ryou's back. Toward the limp form of Marian. She must have noticed that Marian's right eye was already almost completely stained red. "…It's pointless. And there's nothing in it for me." [cold]Enough. We're wasting time. Let's go, Ryou. Glen yanked Ryou's arm. That's when it happened. [weak]…Clarice… Just as she was being lowered from Ryou's back to the floor, Marian forced out a hoarse voice. Her eyes, which should have been blue, were now almost entirely a murky red-black, unfocused. Yet she had unmistakably called Clarice's name. "…Please… trust Ryou…" Clarice's movement stopped dead. Her golden eyes flew wide open. "…Huh?" It was the sound of a tiny crack forming in the armor of her distrust. In that instant, Ryou dropped to his knees on the ground. He pressed his forehead to the floor, a mess of mud, his own sweat, and Marian's blood. He ground his brow into the cold concrete and poured strength into his very fingertips. [serious]Please. I'll do anything I can. I don't have money or stuff, nothing… but if you name it, I'll do it. So — please, save Marian. Silence. Clarice clutched at her own chest with her right hand. System error. Don't trust humans. They'll just use you. All of it, errors. Alerts should have been blaring inside her head, yet something was flowing into her from the forehead this useless Commander was grinding into the floor. "Shut up… geez…" Her voice was trembling. "…Just once. If it fails, not my problem." A click of her tongue. But her golden eyes were no longer looking down on Ryou's dirtied head. She turned away and started walking toward the tools laid out on the lab bench in the back. [cold]Get up, you dumb bastard. Glen's rough hand clapped Ryou on the shoulder. Ryou couldn't lift his face. He didn't want anyone to see it, smeared with mud and tears. But the sound of footsteps, and the metallic clink of tools being prepared — those were warm. ―――― Ryou held Marian's hand where she lay in the corner, refusing to let go. "…You came." Marian's lips moved faintly. It was less a word and more a breath. [gentle]Of course I came. Ryou answered, looking away. It wasn't to hide his embarrassment. It was because if he looked into her eyes right now, he felt like he really would cry. He squeezed her hand just a little tighter. Meanwhile, Clarice muttered to herself constantly as she connected old cables and terminals. "Why am I even doing this. This guy's useless. A Commander getting down on his knees like that, it's seriously hilarious. Is he stupid?" Her hands were surprisingly delicate. Her metallic fingertips tapped rapidly at the terminal. She didn't even realize it herself. That right now, with the utmost focus, she was desperately making "preparations to save someone." That's when it happened. Glen, who had been standing watch outside, spoke in a low voice. [serious]…I've got movement. Ryou looked up. [scared]Raptures? "No. Biosigns. Probably… a Missilis retrieval squad. Heading this way." Clarice's hands stopped dead. The blood drained from her face. The name she feared most. [scared]…They're here already? A trembling voice. From the marshlands outside, the faint sound of engines began to echo. Vrrrm. Low, heavy, like the wingbeats of a death god.