"Things kept coming out of his body... Anyway, he didn't come back. That's why we closed the door."
As the words rang out, a look of pure horror spread across the faces of everyone present. The audience watching the live broadcast shared in the shock, with their expressions mirroring the stunned silence in the room.
No wonder they say you're dead once you enter.
Once inside, what awaited them was an endless nightmare of demons.
If they tried to retreat, they melted as soon as they left the door.
What on earth could they do?
In the scene, the female agent cursed softly under her breath. "Shit, madman, f**k!" Her frustration was palpable. It was clear she had already made up her mind to find the door and escape.
But, alas, that was a dead end as well...
As the note continued, James silently read along, his expression hardening as he absorbed the grim details.
[As for what this place is like, I can only say that it's enormous. It's not just a farmhouse; it's like those things stole bits and pieces of space from different places and pieced them together at random.]
[Some of the rooms look like apartments, others resemble shopping malls, and one is a perfect replica of an old closet from my high school. It's exactly the same, even down to the plaid pattern.]
[There are also fragments that aren't made of physical material... They're black, like shadow matter, and most of them are found in well-lit areas.]
[If light can penetrate through, you can put your hand through them. I don't recommend doing that, though. That's how we lost Torres. Something grabbed him and pulled him in. The hole was too small for his head, but he somehow managed to squeeze in.]
The chilling image formed in everyone's minds—an agent dragged into a dark, mysterious hole, crushed by its impossibly small size. The hole wasn't large enough to fit his head, but his body was pulled through anyway, squeezed into nothingness.
A cold shiver ran down their spines at the thought. At the same time, a deep sadness gripped their hearts. The agent had described the horrific scene so calmly, but the fear he must have felt was unimaginable.
[Definitely, there is no escape. We've figured that out as well. Any door you find just leads to another room in this damn house, or back to where you started. Clearly, we can't survive here.]
So, they had no choice but to wait for starvation to claim them, or to be caught by one of those creatures. There were plenty of options, weren't there?
[There is one more thing you can try. I couldn't do it, but maybe you can.]
[It won't keep you alive, I don't think, but it's... important. Someone has to do this, otherwise those things will escape and cause trouble outside sooner or later.]
The horrifying thought of these demonic entities being released into the world filled everyone with dread. They could already imagine the destruction they would cause.
[I've only seen one of them once, and for just a brief moment.]
We followed it after one of them took Denning's heart. It carried the heart into a room that seemed to be the center of the place.
"It's all just shadowy stuff, and I think they're bringing in whatever light they can find—fluorescent bulbs, flashlights, candles, whatever you can think of. They're bringing in more light as I watch."
[In the center of the room, there was a pile of hearts. Each one was torn apart and tossed there in a heap. The creatures threw Denning's heart on top of the pile, and it started to beat, trembling violently.]
Then it tore apart, and the new members of those things tried to crawl out of the heart. It swayed, slowly grew, and began to take shape. The most disgusting thing was that even though the heart had been ripped apart, it still beat furiously. I swear, I could feel a sharp pain in my chest as I watched.]
At this point, the agent's vivid description painted a gruesome image for everyone. Even though they were all watching through a screen, the audience could almost feel the excruciating pain described in the agent's words.
Stark Industries Building.
Tony Stark frowned, his mind whirling as he processed the information. "I guessed wrong. The worker ants didn't bring back food. What they brought back was... a breeding ground?"
A chill crept down his spine as the implications of the agent's words sank in. "That's when I started running away. I couldn't take it anymore, you know? I wasn't trained for this kind of shit."
"I found a closet that was the perfect size for a hiding space in the dark and have been holed up there ever since. I write with a small flashlight and turn it off when I hear something approaching. So far, it's working fine."
The audience, watching the live broadcast, finally came to a painful realization.
Even agents, who were trained for dangerous situations, were just human. No matter how prepared or capable they were, there was no defense against the bizarre and terrifying horrors they faced. Even superheroes wouldn't stand a chance in such a situation.
"I can't hold on any longer. I still have some bullets left in my gun, but I can't pray anymore, and I mean that."
[But you, if you found this, you must also be an agent. Maybe you're stronger than me. If you can, go and destroy the nest.]
[Destroy every heart. If you do that, you might be able to kill them. It's the only thing I can think of. You might die while doing it, but you'll be dead anyway. So what are you afraid of?]
"I'll try to get this report to the living room, where hopefully you'll find it. Then, I'll make sure they don't use my heart to create another monster."
As the note concluded, a connection clicked in James' mind.
It was the same corpse Captain A had mentioned earlier—the one that had torn out its own heart...
At the time, everyone had been puzzled. Why not just shoot yourself in the head if you wanted to end it all?
But now, the mystery was solved.
The heart was the key.
Everyone felt a mix of emotions—grief, anger, and a deep sense of helplessness. The true horror of the situation became clear.
James held up the note in the dim light, showing it to the others. The final words of the note were visible to all:
[Good luck.]
[I salute you from the Decedent.]
And with that, the gravity of the situation settled in.