“It’s a person! I see someone—it’s a person!”
Someone’s shout echoed loudly.
My mind stirred, hazy but returning. My fingers twitched faintly as I coughed from the acrid smoke and dust in the air, finally opening my eyes. A sharp sting made it hard to keep them open—maybe the blood that had trickled down my forehead had gotten in.
What the… what happened?
BOOM!
Whatever soft mass had been covering me shook violently.
—GRRRAAAAAHHH!
A deafening, rage-filled roar followed, the kind that could burst an eardrum—it was that close.
I raised a hand and groped at the fur in front of my eyes.
“…Rai?”
A voice, hoarse and laced with static, squeezed out from my parched throat.
He was curled tightly around me, sheltering me completely with his massive body.
“What? A person?”
“Cease fire!”
I turned my head to the side. Although Rai’s fur and legs mostly obscured the view, I could see a bit of the outside.
I drew in a shallow breath. We were surrounded by an armed strike team. Thick smoke still rose from the barrels resting on most of their shoulders.
A tense silence fell.
“Goddamn… It really is a person.”
“Wait. That looks like a school uniform. Could that be the son we heard about?”
The team members who caught sight of me through the gap stirred with unease.
“You telling me the monster’s taking a hostage now?”
“Are you kidding? That’s obviously protection. No wonder… fuck. It’s just been crouched there the whole time.”
“No way. That thing protecting a human?”
“Think about what kind of research was going on here. Maybe it actually worked.”
“I don’t know… What if it’s just hiding him to eat later?”
“Is that seriously what you’re worried about right now? We already have to be careful not to damage the hull—”
Someone grumbled irritably, complaining about yet another complication.
“Why the fuck isn’t the sedative working on that monster?”
“How should I know? Though… it’s been kind of wobbling for a while now.”
They kept talking in that lazy, flippant tone like none of this really mattered. It was nothing like I’d imagined the strike team to be. Not that I had the time to care about that right now.
“Wait a moment… cough. Just a moment!”
Rai’s body shifted at my shout, his bulk rippling in response. A low, weary rumble escaped him, sounding exhausted. I couldn’t even guess how many attacks he had endured while I was unconscious.
Swallowing a groan, I rolled over and crawled forward to face the soldiers directly. As I tried to squeeze through the gaps in his mane, a massive paw gently but firmly pressed down on my head and pulled me back into his embrace.
“It’s okay. I’m not going far.”
Grrr.
“…Rai.”
No matter how many times I tried, it was the same result.
In the end, I had no choice but to speak from within his hold.
“As long as I stay right here by his side, he won’t fight back. Not unless you try to separate us.”
I raised my voice toward the strike team.
“Please capture us both like this. I’m begging you.”
“…What?”
Unsurprisingly, the soldiers looked utterly dumbfounded.
“The hell… You want us to capture you together?”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“Rai is… A7B91 is…”
I wracked my brain and forced the words out.
“He’s the sole subject of the Military Beast Project that the Captain has personally supported over the years. My parents have been compiling long-term data through A7B91. If he dies now, the entire project could collapse. No—it will.”
If the kill order hadn’t come directly from the Captain, they couldn’t just ignore what I was saying. They’d naturally be afraid of cutting off the future of a research project backed by the Captain herself.
Even if the Captain had given the order, they’d probably hesitate and wonder if they should reconfirm with him. The best outcome would be for the team to contact him here and now—so my parents could convince him.
“……”
“……”
The expressions that came into view were strange.
Some of the gazes turned toward me were oddly filled with pity, and instinctively, my body froze.
Why… why are they looking at me like that?
“Are you certain?”
It was the first time the soldier who had remained silent until now finally spoke to me. He had disheveled black hair, pale skin, and sharp, slanted eyes—his face exuded a fierce intensity.
“You’re sure that beast will stay calm?”
He wasn’t mocking me or laughing it off as nonsense. It was a straightforward question, purely for confirmation. He had already seen Rai, curled around me protectively, not moving a muscle.
“…I’m sure.”
I answered as calmly as I could. The man’s dry gaze shifted toward Rai’s face.
Soon after, he turned to look at his comrades. He and the rest of the strike team lowered their voices so much that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. They seemed to be discussing something through radio comms, likely due to the wide spacing between them caused by Rai’s massive body.
It didn’t take long. The man who appeared to hold the highest rank gave a slight nod. In response, the soldier who had questioned me handed his launcher to another gunner.
Then, he began approaching us—alone.
“…!”
Click. Clack.
The muzzles of the other team members’ weapons all began to aim at Rai. While maintaining their formation, they approached slowly, lagging just slightly behind the man walking ahead.
My eyes widened.
“Tranquilizers don’t work. We don’t have any containment equipment either. Sorry, kid—but there’s no reason for us to follow your request.”
The soldier who’d taken command addressed me.
…The sliver of hope that they might actually listen to me crumbled to dust.
Crack. I bit down hard on my lip and clenched my fist tightly against the ground. What do I do… how do I stop this? My mind, seized with tension, couldn’t come up with anything. You idiot. Useless piece of shit. I was so anxious, so frustrated, that curses nearly slipped out on their own. Cold sweat trickled down my temple, following the throbbing pulse at my temple, eventually clinging to the tip of my chin.
“Besides, the project’s over anyway. The Captain’s already been briefed on the situation.”
“….”
“We regret it too. Truly.”
I lifted my head, which had been hanging low for a moment.
What the hell…?
Grrrr…
Rai let out a low, eerie growl. As the soldiers crept closer, he lowered his head slightly, his posture growing more alert and guarded.
Just as he let out another warning snarl—
The man who had been approaching without a single weapon suddenly burst into a run. In an instant, he closed the considerable distance between us, dodging the swing of Rai’s claw—heavy with murderous intent—at a speed I could hardly believe. In that fleeting gap, he locked eyes with me—his pitch-black pupils fixed and unwavering.
Then, lowering his stance and leaning back, he slid effortlessly into the narrow space where I was trapped.
“Don’t move.”
With that expressionless face right in front of mine, he wrapped his arms around me.
“…! Gah!”
Naturally, he grabbed my injured leg too. The pain that struck made it impossible to even register the elevation of my body. I tried to stifle the scream, but a strained whimper still escaped.
Whoosh! Rai’s thick tail swung toward the man holding me, aiming to strike—but halted midair. He must’ve heard my cry. Maybe he realized I might get hurt by his attack too.
The man glanced briefly at the trembling tail frozen in midair. Perhaps sensing it was the perfect chance, he kicked off the ground and pulled away, escaping from Rai’s partially crouched embrace. From the moment he dove in to when he pulled me out—barely ten seconds had passed, if that.
Eyes closed, I felt myself bouncing lightly on his shoulder as he ran. When I opened them again, the tears that had gathered from sheer reflex scattered, and my vision cleared for the first time in what felt like forever. I saw something I hadn’t been able to from Rai’s arms.
“…Ah.”
A hollow sound slipped out.
The wreckage.
Collapsed and crumbled into heaps of rubble, that ruin had once been… where my family lived.
Our home.
Even through my wavering vision, the broken fragments were seared clearly into my mind, leaving it utterly blank for a moment.
“…They’re out.”
I barely forced the words out through a throat that felt choked shut.
The soldier turned his gaze toward me.
“My parents… they came out of there, right?”
I looked around as I asked, my voice trembling. Even my lips were twitching uncontrollably. The absence of my mother and father—nowhere in sight—made it harder and harder to breathe.
The silent soldier came to a halt near a piece of debris large enough to conceal us. Only after gently setting me down on the ground did he finally meet my eyes.
“…My condolences.”
That brief reply carved reality into stone.
No.
…No.
Did I really only realize it just now?
“Ugh…!”
I braced myself on the ground, dry heaving violently.
The truth was, I’d known the moment I woke up amidst the rubble underground. I’d known my parents, fast asleep and unprotected, likely hadn’t escaped the building before it collapsed.
I’d just been too afraid to accept it. Pretending not to understand the words that hinted at the truth, choosing ignorance to protect myself.
“……”
The soldier, who had started to turn away, hesitated.
Then he came back and gripped my wrist. He seemed to be saying something, but my ears were so clogged—like submerged underwater—I couldn’t make any of it out.
And then, as if summoned by instinct, my eyes landed on Rai.
He was swaying on unsteady legs, as if his sense of balance had given out, completely surrounded by the strike team. With a heavy thud, he collapsed to his haunches. His side was charred black, the hide on his back had melted completely, and deep gouges in his leg exposed bone. Blood was pouring freely from the wounds.
Half-collapsed on the ground, Rai turned to look at me. Our eyes met—those bright, wild yellow eyes I had known for so long.
“…Rai.”
I muttered without thinking.
…He was still here. I still had family left.
I don’t know where the strength came from, but I shook off the soldier’s grip in a single motion. Forcing myself up, I limped toward Rai’s fallen form. My leg didn’t even hurt anymore, as if the pain had simply vanished. My mind was filled with one overwhelming thought—that I couldn’t lose him too. That singular desperation was now controlling my body.
But the outcome was inevitable.
The soldier caught up easily and pinned me in place with both arms.
And then, in that very moment—
BOOOOOOM…!
A deafening roar shook the ground beneath my feet.
The strike team had opened fire on Rai all at once.
…this is not the first chapter of this novel that made me cry. but now I’m crying harder