Chapter 001: Unknown Enemy

Somewhere at Certain Time

"HEY, SNAP OUT OF IT, MAN! Don’t just stand there—GET READY TO DEFEND YOURSELF AND FIGHT!" shouted the male soldier as he nudged and shook his squad mate. His voice filled with a mixture of fear and desperation. He didn’t want to face the massive monsters alone—he needed his comrade’s strength and resolve to survive this.. true nightmare.

As that male soldier shouted to his comrades, another soldier, a woman, finally snapped out from her paralyzed state of terror. She quickly raised her SMG (sub-machine gun) and opened fire on the giant monster. But her efforts were in vain. The bullets merely dented and bounced off the creature's armored scales, doing no damage.

"Argh! My SMG bullets aren't working! They don’t penetrate the monster's scales! What should we do, Sergeant? SERGEANT MAKOTO!?" she cried out, panic and confusion clear in her voice.

Her desperate call seemed to break the others out of their stunned state, including Sergeant Makoto himself. This was the most dangerous encounter of their lives, and none of them knew how to handle it. Their wide, terror-stricken eyes turned to Sergeant Makoto, awaiting direction, while some couldn't stop their bodies from trembling uncontrollably.

Sergeant Makoto and his team were now facing a life-threatening situation—their worst living nightmare.

—

Suddenly, a man with authority voice crackled through Sergeant Makoto's radio, snapping them back to their grim reality.

"RETREAT, SERGEANT MAKOTO! ABORT THE MISSION! EVACUATE YOUR SQUAD! FALL BACK! GET OUT OF THERE! NOW!!"

The command from the authority-voice man brought them to their senses. His urgent tone cutting through the tension in the air.

Without further hesitation, Sergeant Makoto immediately gave the order, "EVERYONE, FALL BACK! RETREAT FOR…"

His command was abruptly cut off as a loud shriek from one of the monsters ripped through the air.

SCREEEAAAAAAK..!!

But it was too late; the first giant monster had already closed in on one of the soldiers. The creature’s enormous mouth opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and it slowly descended toward his defenseless upper body, ready to consume him whole.

“NOOO..!!” Two nearby soldiers screamed as they raised their rifles, opened fire in a desperate attempt to save their comrade and stop the monster.

RATATATATATA! TINK! TINK! PLANK! PLANK!
RATATATATATA! TZING! TAK! TZING! CHAK!

They fired their rifles frantically, but their efforts were in vain. The bullets bounced off its armored scales, completely ineffective, just as the sub-machine gun rounds had been moments ago. The creature’s thick, armor-like hide absorbed every shot, leaving no sign of damage. The other soldiers could only watch in horror as the beast devoured their helpless comrade.

"HELP! AAARRGGHH..!" His screams echoed through the room as his upper body was engulfed, the sickening crunch of flesh and bone reverberating as if he were being devoured by a tiger or shark.

His final, desperate cries merged with the grotesque sounds of tearing flesh.

The two soldiers nearby stood frozen, unable to save him. Within seconds, his entire body disappeared into the monster’s massive mouth, leaving nothing behind but the chilling memory of his final moments.

"GODDAMN YOU! You motherfucking monsters! AAAAARRGGHH..!!" one of the soldiers watching from a distance cried out in rage and agony, unable to accept the tragic death of his comrade and friend. His anguished scream echoed through the chamber, filling the room with the sorrow of loss.

—

The other soldiers, along with Sergeant Makoto, stood frozen in terror, their faces pale as sheets. They had watched helplessly from a distance as their comrade was devoured alive. Their bodies trembled, their legs shaking as they couldn’t believe that their friend had been eaten by one of the giant monsters.

In a matter of seconds, the situation had turned deadly, threatening the lives of all of them.

"AAAAAAAARGH..! AAAAAAHHH..!" Another female soldier, paralyzed by fear, screamed uncontrollably. Her entire body shook violently as she fell to her knees, dropping her dual handguns onto the floor. With shock in her eyes, she hugged herself tightly, shaking her head, desperately trying to deny the horror unfolding before her.

At that moment, Sergeant Makoto realized his responsibility for his team's safety—he had to act. He couldn’t let his entire squad be wiped out by these alien creatures.

"HEY, YOU TWO, REGROUP! Everyone, we will perform the defensive retreat formation!" Sergeant Makoto ordered the two soldiers who had been closest to the group of monsters to move back toward the team.

"Don't worry. We’re getting out of here alive, TOGETHER..!!" he shouted, attempting to encourage his remaining soldiers as they braced for the regrouping of their two comrades.

Hearing Sergeant Makoto’s words, the soldiers snapped out of their daze, their expressions hardening. Though terror still gripped them, a renewed resolve sparked within. They weren’t going to give up—they would survive this nightmare. The female soldier who had fallen to her knees earlier took a deep breath, then slowly stood up, retrieving her handguns and cocking them with newfound determination.

As the two soldiers ran to regroup with Sergeant Makoto and the team, more cracking sounds echoed through the massive chamber. One after another, many monstrous giant creatures burst free from their confinement. Their red, glowing eyes fixed on the soldiers. Yet they remained still, as if biding their time before launching a unified attack.

—

“DEFENSIVE RETREAT FORMATION! Move toward the entrance! No grenades or explosives—wait for my command!” Sergeant Makoto ordered, directing his squad into a coordinated retreat.

"Yes, Sir!" the ten soldiers replied, steeling themselves with a fierce determination for a desperate escape to survive and protect one another.

As the soldiers finished their formation, some monsters began surging forward, screeching their monstrous roars as they crawled toward the squad with high speed. The rest of their kind soon followed, echoing their eerie cries through the massive chamber.

SCREEEAAAAAAK..! SCREEEEEE..!

"NOW! TO THE ENTRANCE!" Sergeant Makoto's voice rang out, commanding and authoritative, as the squad initiated their retreat.

The soldiers sprinted toward the entrance of the massive room in a tight retreat formation. And they need to descend through many paths to reach the building’s main entrance on the first floor to escape. This was a race against time—and against death. Their hearts pounded, adrenaline surging through their veins.

The creatures’ eyes glowed with an eerie, otherworldly red, casting sinister lights across the room. Their screams and screeches echoed ominously as they crawled rapidly toward the squad. Four soldiers positioned at the back of the formation ran backward, firing their weapons in alternating rifle-shotgun order to keep the monsters at distance.

RATATATATATATA! TZING! TAK! TING! CHAK!
BAM! Clack! Clack! BAM!

The blasts of gunfire reverberated throughout the room. At the same time, the smell of gunpowder filled the air. But the beasts seemed unaffected by the rifle bullets and shotgun shots—they were unstoppable.

Even as they were being chased, somehow the soldiers at the rear managed to keep the monsters at bay with their barrage of bullets. But then, the two soldiers at the back of the formation looked at each other and nodded, realizing that the whole team wouldn’t survive if there is no one hold the monsters and stay behind, to buy the others time to escape.

Without hesitation, the two soldiers stopped running.

—

One of them shouted to the others, "GO, LEAVE THIS PLACE! We’ll hold these freakin' monsters!! GO NOW!!"

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET BACK IN FORMATION!" Sergeant Makoto ordered the two soldiers, but deep down, he knew their intention—to sacrifice themselves.

"NO! JUST GO, SERGEANT!” One soldier shouted back, his voice resolute.

“Please survive and escape! Do it for our beloved country, FOR JAPAN! Just don’t forget us—and destroy these monsters for good someday! NOW GO!" Another soldier beside him shouted back with a determined expression.

"NOOO! Don’t do it! I will never forgive you, come back here!" the female soldier who had earlier fallen into despair cried out loud, trying to go back and pull her comrades. But she was grabbed by a comrade at the front of the formation and dragged along with the team.

"Sergeant! Take these! Give them to our families!" One of the two determined soldiers called out, throwing the both of their dog tags toward Sergeant Makoto. With steady hands, Makoto caught the dog tags and carefully secured them in his tactical bag.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE COUNTRY! Okay, we must go now!" Makoto shouted, his voice heavy with both grief and respect. He raised his hand in a sharp salute to the two brave soldiers before turning and running alongside the remaining eight, retreating in a tight new formation.

The two selfless soldiers turned their backs on their comrades for the last time, facing the advancing monsters. Raising their rifles, they aimed at the creatures’ glowing red eyes.

Kuroda, an explosive expert, looked to the side, "Thanks for being with me, Omura. You’re braver than most—even for someone who only joined the Special Forces last year. Let’s give these damn monsters a lesson they’ll never forget!"

"Don’t mention it, Kuroda. If my sacrifice means protecting our people and country, then I’m more than happy to do it. FOR JAPAAAN..!" Omura, a junior Japan Special Forces soldier, replied, his voice filled with emotion as he prepared to fight the monsters to his last breath.

Please, my comrades, make it out alive. I’m honored to have served alongside you.. Kuroda thought as he steadied himself for the inevitable.

—

Then, both of them opened fire continuously, not looking back, trying to stop the giant monsters from chasing their comrades. They pulled the triggers and held the firearms to their shoulders, blasting their bullets at the beasts and tossing a few grenades as the creatures closed in.

RATATATA! TAKATATAK! BANK! CHAK! CHAKA! BANK! CHAK! Tzing! BOOM!
RATATATATAT! WANG! Bank! Tzing! Zetiing! Chaka! Zipping! TZING! BOOM!

"DIE, YOU BASTARD! AARGHH!" Kuroda shouted at the top of his lungs after reloading his rifle and firing again.

"UURAAAAAA..! EAT THIS, MONSTERS!" Omura screamed, standing his ground and firing again after loading his last magazine.

The horde of monstrous creatures seemed almost unstoppable. The bullets and explosions slowed them only a little, but still, they came, moving with speed.

SHREEEEEEEEEKSSSSHHH!
SCREEEAAAAAAK!

“HEEAAAAAAAAA..!!” Kuroda and Omura screamed in unison, standing their ground with unyielding courage as the wave of monsters closed in.

They refused to retreat, fired every last bullet into the horde, holding the line with all their might.

And then… everything went dark…

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