A world where red evil spirits run rampant.
The Saint's Tears, stored deep within Tochka Fortress, were drying up.
The holy water that the priests, led by Dolores, have been sprinkling all over the walls is running out, and so are the poisonous people's attacks.
The walls, once so high, were now much lower.
The ground had been raised by the many corpses of the poisonous people that had fallen from above.
The siege began at dawn and continued until nightfall.
…kwakwang!
A black palm rose above the castle wall.
The palm, larger than the average soldier's body, was rotting with poison.
[Geu-oooooh!]
A mutant, whose combat strength easily surpassed that of a poisonous common soldier, emerged over the castle walls.
It had been bathed in oil, flame, gunpowder, and nails during its climb up the wall, and its appearance was even more hideous than when it first reached the base of the wall.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Poisonous people! No, it's a monster!"
"Stop it, stop it! If that thing gets inside the castle...!"
The soldiers brought out their clubs and long spears and tried to push the mutant back, but it was like pushing a boulder with a toothpick.
The heavily built creature was not being pushed back at all.
[Ku-rrrrrrrrr...]
Then, the mutant pulled itself fully up onto the walls.
The first poisonous man to successfully climb the walls of Tochka was born.
The creature stood nearly six meters tall, its tongue dangling from its missing lower jaw as it stalked its prey.
Eventually, the Mutant spots a boy soldier who is too late to escape.
[Ooooooh!]
The Mutant raised its giant palm.
"Aaa... Ahhhh...."
The boy soldier tripped over a stone beak on the ground and could only cry out, not even daring to anticipate the weight of death falling upon him.
And then.
jjeoeog-
A hideous mouth gaped open.
A mouth that has everything you would expect, with protruding gums, sharp teeth, and a tongue that dangles from one side.
The problem is that it is stuck all over the body, not where it should be.
The mouth attached to the center of the mutant's palm pointed at the soldier on the ground.
"No!"
Several soldiers rushed to the boy's aid, but it was too late.
...just then.
Boom!
A terrifying sound erupted.
It felt as if something huge and fast had swept past in a blink of an eye.
"...?"
When the boy soldier regained his senses, the monster was no longer in front of him.
Because it was flying like a piece of trash into the sky in the distance.
…Boom!
The flying poisonous man disappeared into the sky, and soon collapsed into a blood clot on the ground.
And in front of the boy soldier stood a tall, old man looking down at him.
Warden Orca. The Overlord of the Nouvelle Vague prison guards.
He stood guard on the ramparts, a large club in his hand.
"Hold your ground, boy soldier."
With that, Orca walked up the ramparts, his club in place.
His demeanor was casual, as if nothing had happened.
"...Yes!"
The boy soldier saluted as if he'd been crying all day.
His eyes shone, rekindling the hope that had been dying from lack of sleep and water.
Soon, energized by Orca's appearance, the soldiers began to push back the poisonous people again.
They scavenged for oil and lit the fire with gunpowder scraped from the floor.
If they couldn't find a piece of iron, they'd pick up a rock and throw it.
Orca barked out instructions in a gruff voice.
"Each of you report to the Chancellor on the state of the castle tower, and abandon the broken parts of the outer castle; we can stop it from the inner castle!"
"Tell all the vigilantes in charge of security within the castle to come up, the situation within the castle is pointless now!"
"Focus your arrows on the poisonous soldier, and don't let them take down the lower part of the walls!"
"For the stokers of the cannons, pour in the oil and gunpowder without sparing anything! Just hold out until the next drum beats!"
His gaze reached every corner of the defenses.
He would closely examine in real time what was crumbling and what was holding, and then send in reinforcements.
Of course, he didn't just give orders.
He was at the front of the line, swinging clubs to crack the skulls of the poisonous people.
Neither long, sharp spears nor thick, fast arrows could penetrate Orca's unseasonably thick coat of fur.
…Charararak!
As the club wrapped around the chain flew through the air, and all the mutants hanging from the ramparts fell with their skulls cracked open.
"Oooh, Major General Orca, the god of defensive warfare!"
"Master of water warfare!"
"As long as Orca-nim is here, Tochka will not fall!"
The soldiers' morale was high.
However. Many have seen the back of a hero, but few have seen the front.
No one could truly see the expression on Orca's face as he stood on the front lines.
'...This is a difficult situation.'
Orca's brow was currently furrowed.
No one could see the cold sweat running down his temples and spine, hidden by his tight gray hair, beard, and thick fur coat.
Orca gazed at the horizon below the ramparts.
It was all black.
The sky was filled with red death spirits, and there was no end to the number of poisonous people coming.
"No wonder we have a civil war."
The House of Leviathan was indeed powerful enough to overwhelm the combined forces of all the other Houses.
Moreover, each and every one of the poisonous people coming from now on were mutants of great size and power.
No matter how invincible Tochka's fortress may be, it is ultimately overwhelmed.
Even Orca, a master of defensive warfare, could not overcome such a numerical disadvantage.
Especially in a place like this, where ragtag vigilantes recruited from the refugee population make up the overwhelming majority of the army.
"This is regrettable. If only my soldiers in Nouvelle Vague had been there...."
Orca fumbled with his other hand, the one holding the bloodied club.
He searched for a cigarette.
However, the cigarette had long since been burned off, with the insides turning black.
Orca cleared his throat, which was parched from lack of water.
It was his habit when he ran out of tobacco.
Just then.
Chuck.
A cigarette pack was held out from Orca's right side.
It was filled with his favorite thick cigars.
"...?"
Orca instinctively pulled out a cigarette.
And then.
Chick-.
A matchstick flicked out from Orca's left side, lighting the end of his cigarette.
"...?"
Orca is just about to turn his head to the side.
[geu-oooooh!!]
Two giant poisonous mutants leap toward Orca.
And.
kwa-kwakwakwakwang!
In the blink of an eye, the two mutants are torn to shreds.
One shredded by the swirling storm of charges, the other impaled by the countless spikes protruding from the ground and ramparts.
Then, beneath a shower of falling flesh and blood, two shadows rose from the dust.
"So."
"Who will be the next head of the prison?"
Two figures, a man and a woman, stood in front of Orca and asked the question.
Both faces were familiar to Orca.
"D'Ordume. Souare. How did you guys get here...?"
Major General Orca looked a little taken aback.
Then a squeaky voice came from behind him.
"You can't see me because I'm small? I was a little taller."
Orca's gaze turned to see a girl in a black helmet.
BDISSEM.
She reached out and swung a bunch of BDISSEM restraints.
peopeopeopeopeog!
The poisonous people climbing the castle are instantly reduced to powerless, mana-less fools, and falling down the walls.
Out of the water, the effect was less effective, but it was enough to halt the poisonous people's general assault.
"...Huh."
Orca seemed surprised to see the Nouvelle Vague's wardens here.
And then. Something happened that surprised him even more.
kkuleuleuleuleug-tsutsutsutsu...
A rust-colored glow that started on one side of his vision and slowly colored the entire area.
It looks like moss is growing all over the castle walls.
It sprouted from between the bricks that made up the walls of Tochka Fortress, from the gaps between brick and brick, and soon covered the entirety of the vast wall.
[...oook?]
[...Grrrr?]
[...Kiik-sshhh?]
The poisonous mutants climbing the walls, sticking their fingers between brick and brick, were bewildered by the greenish liquid that filled every gap they could find.
It was slippery and squishy and... intensely hot!
Chiiiig!
The terrifying acidic green liquid soon began to cover all the poisonous people climbing the walls.
[Kaaaaaaaaaagh!]
The poisonous people scrambled to escape the melting skin, flesh, and bone, but it was too late.
jjeobjjeobjjeobjjeob-
The liquid that oozed from between the cracks in the stones of the wall moved as if it were alive, engulfing the poisonous people and growing in volume as it did so.
"Has it even come...."
Orca muttered to himself as he watched the green ooze slide down the ramparts, devouring all of the poisonous people.
Flubber J Tarbond.
Even the prehistoric creatures of unknown race that had inhabited the Nouvelle Vague since before it was discovered had made its appearance here.