All beings that once lived in this field in ancient times had become monsters called mutants.
In a way, it’s kind of like an aptitude issue.
However, in this case, it wasn’t some kind of accident caused by the interference of an Outer God.
Mutants were, ultimately, nothing more than the alchemists’ attempt at human evolution.
It had simply failed.
They had pondered how people might live without hurting one another in a world of endless war.
One idea they focused on was insects. Specifically ants.
Communication through pheromones and a standardized command structure.
—There could be no evolution more efficient than this!
And so, they set their sights on connecting the minds of all humans into one.
But the alchemist who lived in the cabin had rejected that idea.
He believed that the essence of human existence lay in free will.
That’s why he was cast out from the alchemist society, choosing to leave the city and live in a cabin in the nearby forest.
I suppose… it must’ve felt like being the only sane person in a world of madmen.
Jun had seen a similar kind of movie before.
It was a futuristic sci-fi film where machines controlled human minds. Something along those lines.
In the end, the alchemist who wrote this journal came to accept reality.
The two-eyed man who had fallen into a world of one-eyed people couldn’t bear the loneliness and gouged out his own eye.
That was the true identity of the mutant they had encountered in the cabin.
“Anyway, what we really need to take away from this is… that the alchemists of this world made the wrong choice.”
“In what way? I mean, not to defend them, but wasn’t it actually a pretty efficient way to eliminate war? Leaving aside the results, I mean in terms of logic.”
Jun replied sincerely to Eleanor’s question.
“Their logic was flawed from the start. There’s no such thing as a perfect lifeform in this world. Humans are no exception.”
Ants’ pheromone system is perfect?
If it were, then every species on Earth would have evolved like ants.
But they didn’t. And that’s because the system isn’t perfect.
“A typical example is something called the ‘death spiral’ in ants.”
“Death spiral?”
“Oh! I’ve read about that in a book!”
Aiden, who had once been obsessed with reading, raised his hand.
“It’s when their pheromones malfunction and they just start going in circles until the entire colony dies, right?”
“Exactly. Those creatures don’t think…. they only follow orders. Which means they can’t adapt flexibly to unexpected situations.”
The behavior of the mutants they saw in the city wasn’t much different.
They moved like terminal units receiving commands. It might’ve looked efficient on the surface, but it was far from perfect.
That was exactly why Jun and the others were able to escape the city.
“And the most important part here is this… If you kill the one emitting the pheromones, the rest fall into complete chaos.”
“So, all we need to do is take out that one enemy that attacked from long range earlier?”
“That’s one way to do it… but to be honest, it won’t be easy.”
Instead, Jun had chosen a different approach.
A much more efficient one.
“The pheromones… or more precisely, the mana they use as a command structure. What if we copied that?”
It was an outrageous idea.
***
Ants were social insects.
They lived in groups, and there was a clear hierarchy among individuals.
And what distinguished those ranks was pheromones.
However, pheromones had many weaknesses.
A prime example was the survival tactic used by samurai ants, which exploited those weaknesses.
The samurai ant would kill a worker ant from another colony and smear the dead ant’s pheromones all over its own body.
Then, it would infiltrate the target colony.
Until that point, not a single ant recognized it as an enemy. Because it was covered in the scent of an ally.
The samurai ant, having made it all the way to the queen’s chamber, would kill the queen ant.
Then, by coating itself in the queen’s pheromones, it would devour the entire colony, eggs and all.
—In short, the moment pheromones failed to serve their purpose, those creatures became effectively blind.
Jun intended to make them blind.
A week had already passed since they arrived in the city.
“Huff, huff. Will this be enough?”
“Yeah. More than enough. You did great, Aiden.”
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
Behind the heavily sweating Aiden lay the fallen bodies of five mutants.
He had infiltrated through the west gate, taken down a few mutants, and dragged them out.
“This should be more than sufficient now.”
Before they knew it, dozens of mana fluid cores were rolling around on the ground behind Jun.
“These cylinders were what acted as their pheromones.”
They used the mana inside those implanted cylinders to identify each other.
And now—
Jun had analyzed the pattern within the mana fluids and, using Eleanor’s staff, with its [Transformation] ability, implanted that pattern into the bodies of his companions.
And then—
“Incredible… they’re not recognizing us at all.”
Aiden watched a mutant walk right past him with cold sweat trickling down his face.
The thing glanced at him as if he weren’t even there, then continued on its way.
At the city’s entrance—
Even after that, the group passed by several more mutants, but none of them showed the slightest hint of alarm.
“Don’t let your guard down. We still have to stay hidden.”
“Understood.”
Though the mutants imitated the pheromone-based system, they weren’t as irrational as real ants.
There was probably a degree of self-awareness in the one issuing commands.
If it discovered Jun and his party, it would immediately order the mutants to attack.
Before that happens, I have to kill it and copy its mana pattern. That’s the only way we’ll be able to move freely through the city.
Jun didn’t think this was a standard strategy.
One had to be at least the seventh circle to reach the level where they could read and mimic the flow of mana.
It was only possible thanks to Eleanor’s staff and its [Transformation] ability.
In short, Jun and his party were using a kind of cheat code to solve the problem.
But what choice do we have? We weren’t even supposed to end up on the fifth level in the first place.
That meant they had to use whatever means were available, without hesitation.
Anyway… we need to head in the direction of the medium.
Jun looked off into the distance toward a six-story building.
There were ten-story buildings as well, but the six-story one had particularly tall ceilings, giving it a wide view over the western area.
If it were me, I’d be there.
As the tallest building in the vicinity, it offered a clear view of the surroundings and was an ideal sniping position.
Jun immediately led his party into the building.
[Detection] wasn’t a viable option. The mutants were unnaturally sensitive to mana.
Using it would be like broadcasting their presence to everything nearby.
Don’t panic.
The most dangerous thing in Blackout was impatience.
Rushing ahead in frustration could bring everything they’d accomplished so far crashing down.
Jun carefully stepped forward, scanning the first floor.
His [Keen Eyesight], pushed to the limit, missed nothing. Not even the tiniest detail.
According to Aiden, that mutant had a hunchbacked frame and unusually long arms.
Its height was around 1.5 meters.
If it straightened its back, it would be over two meters tall, but in any case, it was said to have an extremely skinny appearance.
The way it attacked from range… Creatures like that usually have soft exteriors.
That meant they had to spot it first….and strike first.
If not, it would issue commands to nearby mutants through its Mind Channel.
One step. Then another.
He moved forward with utmost caution.
They climbed the stairs leading to the second floor, and by the time they finally reached the sixth—
There it is.
They spotted the mutant standing blankly by the window.
Looking closely… something is embedded in its back… Cylinders.
Three cylinders were lodged from its spine up to its head.
Jun extended three fingers to Maya, pointing at the creature’s back, then crossed two fingers into an X.
It meant to be careful not to destroy those three cylinders on its back.
Maya nodded and began blending into the surroundings as she approached the creature.
Step by step.
As she slowly advanced toward it—
Slick—
The Acanthus Fang in Maya’s hand swept silently across the mutant’s neck.
Even then, the creature didn’t realize Maya was there.
Thud. Thump.
At last, its neck was completely severed.
“I-Is it over?”
Just as Jun was about to nod to Eleanor’s question.—
“How curious. So different from us, and yet… possessing similar mana.”
“……?!”
The mutant’s severed head, now rolling on the ground, opened its mouth.
It was clearly staring at the group.
“Ahh. So you imitated our mana pattern exactly. I see…so there was a flaw after all. No, I knew about it. I just never believed there would be someone capable of exploiting it.”
“…Maya!”
“……!!”
At Jun’s command, Maya immediately slashed at the mutant’s head that was speaking in an ancient tongue.
The Acanthus Fang cut through the head again and again, and the creature’s blood and brain matter streamed down onto the floor.
Naturally, the mutilated hunk of flesh that used to be its head never spoke again.
“What… was that just now? Its head came off, and it still didn’t die!”
“It stayed alive for a moment. No, but that’s not the important part right now—”
Screeeeeeeeeech—!!
The city began to wail.
The entire horde of mutants had realized their leader was dead. And began to go berserk.
“…Let’s just get out of here.”
“Uh, are we even safe to leave right now?”
“They’re not fighting each other, are they? Then we should be fine.”
“Hmm…”
Just as Jun said, no mutants attacked as the group moved along the road.
Instead, the creatures howled incessantly, rampaging violently through the city.
At times, they looked like children who had lost something precious, but their grotesque forms made the scene all the more disturbing.
“Damn it.”
With Eleanor’s muttered curse of disgust, the group hurried out through the west gate.
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