Chapter 151

Episode 151. The Strongest Hero (1)

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What is the true nature of the Abyss?

The conclusion was similar to usual.

The Abyss is a collection of supernatural phenomena. It resides deep underground, a gathering of supernatural phenomena that calls humans and other intelligent beings into its depths.

One of them is this.

Something inside the Black Temple that calls lost machines into the lake within the cave. On one hand, it was reassuring. Familiar.

Over countless eons, what has challenged us, beings that threw down the gauntlet to humanity, disappeared without leaving a trace.

The master of this temple is not human.

A sense of disgust for beings never seen before, boiling over as it passes through blood vessels, synapses between nerve cells, and every muscle fiber. It was a strange yet familiar sensation.

They are not “human.”

They are not “us.”

“……”

[Are you alright, Dr. Kim?]

“Perfectly fine.”

[Your presence feels off.]

My physical condition is at its peak.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good.

“Do you hear that presence?”

Click. I checked if my weapon was loaded again, hugged the wall for cover, and moved forward. Let’s see what’s there.

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“Dr. Lee. Doesn’t the interior of this structure feel familiar? The buildings are radiating outward towards a central point.”

I don’t know about practical uses, but the structure where power converges has strong symbolic and occult meanings.

Like the ancient Stonehenge, or the Pentagon of the U.S. Department of Defense, or more recently…

[The Garden. The Foundation facility at the center of the Garden had this structure. Is that what you’re trying to say?]

The purpose of the Foundation facility at the center of the ‘Garden’ was to contain Cernunnos. Was it Cernunnos or Kernunnos? Anyway, a facility that existed to contain that ancient deity.

“That’s what I think. This facility seems to have been built to contain something as well.”

Then the question is what it was built to contain, but there’s no need to ponder. It must be a facility to contain a monster powerful enough to abduct an entire nuclear submarine.

[Hostile entity ahead.]

“I know.”

First, let’s deploy smoke grenades.

In a battlefield dominated by modern weapons, even humanoid supernatural phenomena, or generals, can become stains on the floor under a barrage of 12.7mm lead bullets.

Spreading smoke will obscure me from the enemy, but my optical equipment has thermal imaging, giving me some advantage.

Where did it go?

What is that?

That wasn’t the kind of monster I was expecting. Not a tentacle monster, nor something humanoid. A kind of mechanical device with four legs.

Will bullets work?

Bang!

Whatever it is, the bullets didn’t seem to have a clear effect. The enemy’s orange laser cut through the smoke, and I took cover.

I have no idea what’s going on.

Thud. Tap tap tap tap. The sound of a spider-like quadrupedal robot moving. It doesn’t seem like just one or two. How do I handle this?

First, the weapon.

I reloaded the Foundation-Made Rifle and rolled Wilson towards the direction of the enemy.

If physical means work on the enemy.

If not, I can try Niguras-5 or sorcery-based special ammunition. For now, I’ll fight.

The central corridor of the temple was as wide as a subway platform. There were places to hide, but not many.

“Dr. Lee. Still a lot?”

[They don’t seem to be affected by bullets.]

Right.

Crash! Boom! The sound of something being crushed, followed by an explosion. At least Wilson seems to be effective, which is a relief.

I fumbled and pulled it out from my belt.

‘A camera that traps subjects.’

Specifically, a Polaroid.

Against humans, it’s not much better than a gun. Aim at the target, press the button, and the target dies. A gun is much better for that.

But what if the enemy is immune to bullets?

I aimed the lens at the hostile entity and pressed the shutter. A device confiscated and modified from Dr. Chloe.

I don’t know the rules of this device. Range? Restrictions on the type of subject? What if the supernatural characteristics disappeared during modification?

“……”

It’s gone.

What?

Situation resolved.

Whether it was the camera’s effect or something else, the things filling the underground corridor were all lying on the floor.

The photo from the Polaroid was completely black. What on earth… just happened?

****

Crystal Clock, Dr. Lee.

Honestly, I thought it was ridiculous.

Even if Dr. Kim’s opponent isn’t human now… imagine if the opponent was human. What result would that have?

First, smoke and a cloak. Without advanced observation equipment or supernatural phenomena, Dr. Kim would be invisible, and biochemical weapons wouldn’t work due to gas masks, Foundation vaccinations, and Popo Serum.

Ordinary pistol or rifle bullets would be stopped by Foundation-Made Bulletproof Vest. And there are several teleporting mages perfectly aligned with Dr. Kim waiting in the rear.

I can’t think of any way to stop that. The enemy we’re dealing with now might be some kind of magical engineering weapon created by non-human entities.

But Dr. Kim just showed the impression of someone who saw a mouse while taking a walk.

What is that? Why is it there? Should I kill it?

****

The Polaroid camera was completely useless. Honestly, its performance was shockingly impressive, even beyond my expectations.

Dr. Chloe is not human but a child of an outer god. Shouldn’t the weapons she used have abilities befitting that?

[What just happened?]

“I’m using it for the first time too.”

[Dr. Kim, there’s a reason the Foundation doesn’t usually use such suspicious items.]

“That seems to be the case.”

We know nothing about this supernatural phenomenon. Opening it could cause a supernatural energy explosion, killing everyone around.

It might be something that drains the user’s life force. We literally know nothing. It might be better to just seal or destroy it.

That aside. Let’s check the surroundings.

Thud. I kicked the mechanical device lying on the floor. It wasn’t moving at all. There was some blood on the floor.

Huh.

I hit the metal plate with a monkey wrench and pried open the mechanical device. As I thought. Something was sitting inside the mechanical device.

A humanoid supernatural phenomenon. Pale, hairless, and without a nose, it wasn’t human.

[What is that?]

Surprisingly, the most grotesque and unpleasant supernatural phenomena aren’t incomprehensible monsters or objects moving by their own rules.

Well, that’s possible.

What can you do if they exist? The most unpleasant ones are these.

Things just slightly off from reality. The monsters wandering the Garden, fused with human corpses or living humans. Wooden Dolls.

And this time. Beings that resemble humans, have physical and chemical substance, but are just not human.

I attached a bayonet to the rifle and poked the specimens lying around. There was no clear evidence they weren’t human, but well.

[Really, really grotesque.]

Right. I sighed.

“Well, Dr. Lee, don’t worry too much. If things go south, I’ll use that.”

[‘That’? What is that?]

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[Supernatural Phenomenon P-1318]

[The Uncanny Valley]

[This supernatural phenomenon deals with the interaction between non-human intelligent beings and humans.]

[‘The Uncanny Valley’ is a trait shared by almost all humans, and it’s unclear whether this is a supernatural phenomenon or not.]

[There’s no evidence that this trait is a supernatural phenomenon, but it seems likely.]

[It’s a well-known fact that people instinctively dislike things that resemble humans.]

[That this leads to abnormal behavior in certain groups is a secret the Foundation keeps.]

[Case 1.]

[1980, somewhere in Utah, USA.]

[Starting that summer, numerous sightings of monsters were reported in the forest. The villagers suddenly decided they had to kill the monsters, armed themselves, formed a militia, and went hunting.]

[Concerned authorities dispatched law enforcement, but the police who arrived at the scene joined in instead of stopping them.]

[Reason unknown.]

[For a week, mortars, rifles, and other heavy weapons were used, and there was no way to stop the police and federal officials sent to the scene.]

[The Foundation presumes that all humanoid supernatural phenomena hunted during this incident were either killed or fled.]

[Continued below.]

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[About ‘The Uncanny Valley’]

[Author: Dr. Matthew]

[I’m not sure if this document explains the characteristics of this supernatural phenomenon well. To summarize again:]

[Humans have an instinctive disgust towards other intelligent beings, especially those similar to humans, imprinted at the genetic level. This trait manifests from birth, as soon as the subject can be seen.]

[Thus, P-1318 doesn’t just refer to that trait, but the entire process of eliminating intelligent beings that compete with humans.]

[Don’t we know?]

[Why humanity dominates the Earth’s surface, what humanity’s true natural history is.]