Chapter 56: Chapter 56
Finally, the third drawer had two things in it; a slim folder and a removable console. Issei picked up the folder and skimmed through it. Basically, the console was the Emergency Base Destruction Console. The only way to kill the Breeder was to destroy the Base with it, as it was assumed by the Purifiers that if they needed to kill the Breeder, then the entire plan was defunct, necessitating the destruction of all evidence.
The steps to destroy the base were rather simple as long as he had the console, although he was worried about what might happen to Kuō City above if it worked. Then he read on and relaxed, as it seemed to be some sort of magic system to fill the place with concrete. It was, in his opinion, a bit…Okay, a LOT hypocritical of them to both hate and use magic, but that's human nature for you.
Stowing the console in his inventory, Issei headed to the door leading to the control booth, but froze when an enormous gob of something green slammed into the wall just outside of the door. Peeking out, he could only guess that it came from the Breeder. A poison spit attack? OK, now that was rank!
The Breeder screeched unintelligibly at him and spat another one at Issei, who decided that being in the same place as the spit (which was eating into the wall like acid!) was a Bad Idea, so he ran out onto the walkway and proceeded to dodge and evade every single spit attack that came his way. Once, he had to block one with a [Lesser Barrier Shield] and only barely managed it.
Screeching to a halt in the booth, he pulled the console out and slotted it into place in the workstation. Issei then looked around and flipped a switch, lowering some metal shutters over the window that should hold the acid-like poison of the Breeder at bay to get his job done.
Pulling the folder out, he followed the instructions on it precisely, inputting codes and flipping switches when directed. He sped up after he felt several spit attacks slam into the control booth in succession. Finally, he pressed a button and a small screen on the console blinked some words at him.
[Commencing eradication of Subject #683783756b (Ratman Breeder)]
A pop up appeared that made Issei's eyebrows shoot up.
Achievement unlocked: Kill It With Fire! (Destroy something with overwhelming amounts of fire and napalm) Reward: +2 levels to all Fire Magic spells and skills you possess!
[Lesser Fire Magic] has levelled up! LV1-LV3!
[Fireball] has levelled up! LV1-LV3!
[Flame Spear] has levelled up! LV1-LV3!
[Burning Bomb] has levelled up! LV1-LV3!
Useful.
A pained shriek from the Breeder was cut off by a loud klaxon. Curiously, Issei flipped the switch that retracted the metal shutters to see what was happening. The Breeder was writhing in its armoured prison as several small flamethrowers coated it in burning napalm from the top up. Then a voice spoke via the announcement system.
"Warning! Warning! The Ratman Breeder is about to be destroyed! All personnel please evacuate the base in a calm and orderly fashion. For the Purity and sanctity of our souls!"
With that, the large rocket engine (how had the Purifiers gotten their hands on that?!) lit up and started to burn the Breeder away. Amazingly, Issei could still hear the thing screaming in agony even as it was engulfed in pure flames.
Hearing a whirring sound, he turned around to see that a hidden doorway had opened. Well, that made sense. With the heat out there, it wasn't like whoever used this could just waltz out of here unharmed. Stepping through the doorway cautiously, Issei was thankful that the closed door cut off the death cries of the Breeder.
As he walked down the passage, he got a notification.
You have successfully slain the [Ratman Breeder]! You earn 5000 EXP!
As the Breeder was killed with an enormous amount of heat and fire, it is impossible to loot this corpse.
Stands to reason…it sucked, but it made sense.
At the end of the tunnel was…a room very much like the ones at the end of the other burrows. A single desk, a single chair and a single piece of paper on said desk. Walking over, Issei read it.
"To Agent Flamberge
Project Rat King has raised the concerns of Central Command and we have created a project specifically to neutralise the products of Project Rat King in the event of an uprising. The Counter-Project has been named, appropriately enough, Project Rat Poison. Your orders are to monitor the situation at Burrow #1 and, should it seem like the ratmen are rebelling, you are to commence tying up loose ends. After which, you are directed to go to Project Rat Poison's central location and initiate the plan. If at all possible, you are to recover any and all valuable documents regarding the project before leaving.
For the Purity and Sanctity of our Souls."
Issei felt numb. Could…could it be…that those Purifiers earlier hadn't been killed by Gutter Runners? Had this…Agent Flamberge…killed them instead? Picking up the paper, Issei flipped it around to see another map, this time with a symbol of a rat's head on a spike marking the location. That must be where Project Rat Poison was located, and presumably where this Flamberge guy had legged it to after possibly murdering his/her colleagues.
"I don't much like you, Flamberge." Issei muttered darkly as he stuffed the memo into his inventory. "And I'm gonna find you and ask you exactly what you did here. Mark my words!"
Storming out of the other door, Issei came upon a set of stairs walking up them, he found himself in an abandoned warehouse, as seemed to be the norm for the back exits to the burrows. A trumpet sounded off, startling him.
[Quest Complete!]
Ratcatcher: You have successfully conquered each of the seven Dens of the Ratman and gathered information of the Purifiers in each one as you went! The mention of your name now brings fear to all ratmen!
Quest Reward: +1000 EXP, +¥8000, +2 AP, [Bloodmetal Swordbreaker], Title: Ratcatcher.
Bonus Reward: [Sword Talent] Skill book.
[Basic Swordsmanship] has levelled up! LV5-LV6!
[Poison Resistance] has levelled up! LV11-LV12!
[Short Sword Mastery] has levelled up! LV5-LV6!
[Bloodmetal Gladius] special ability activated! Skill generated: [Short Sword Defence Mastery]!
[Short Sword Defence Mastery] (Passive) [LV1, 0%EXP]
Offensively, short swords suffer when compared to longer swords. But defensively, they actually provide a verifiable advantage to their wielders.
- Gain +1 to all defensive sword techniques while wielding a short sword.
Removing his armour and weapons, Issei grinned. "Well, that's something. Now home for dinner. Don't want to worry Kaa-san."
With that, Issei headed off, a part of him wondering absently if his [Gamer's Mind] was making him a little bipolar.
Elsewhere
"The #1 Burrow has just been destroyed, ma'am." A deep male voice said in a dark room.
"Agent Flamberge?" a contralto feminine voice responded.
"Negative. We have lost contact with that Agent. MIA, presumed KIA."
"Humph. With those abominations lording it up over there, we dare not rile them further as of yet." The woman snorted. "Still…some purely preventative and exploratory measures are justified. Place the Cleanser Squad on high alert and dispatch some Sparks. I want to find whoever or whatever did this. Before those monsters do."
"Yes ma'am. Should we contact the area commander in Kuō?" the man asked.
"That fool has let those lowly rats get so out of hand that someone else discovered them and dealt with them for him." the woman verbally sneered. "No. As of now, all personnel in Kuō are considered in the cold. We're cutting them loose. If they survive, we may go and retrieve them. Maybe."
"As you wish, Chairwoman." The man responded and left.
"Filthy monsters…!" the Chairwoman of the Purifiers' Central Command snarled. "I'll kill you all!"
◤K◢◤o◢◤-◢◤f◢◤i◢
⸻
Did you like what you read? Support me on Ko-fi, where you can find advanced content!
⸻
The novel is available in PDF, visit the Ko-fi store.
⸻
☕️ https://ko-fi.com/sunflowers_fic ☕️
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone