Konrad doubted he could ever get used to these out-of-body experiences.
He also hoped he'd never have to, either.
But to become a ghost in the CNPP's reactor chamber of all places?
Watching as the decades-old ruins still smoldered?
Actually, if he could perceive the world like this, and has been free to move around—
He might as well have taken a proper tour of the place.
The parallel brain—no, he had to start calling her by her name.
Paula must have been going around, causing trouble in a similar state, too.
And as she said, Major Degtyarev had, in fact, intervened.
Despite acting the tsundere, he entered the chamber and immobilised the Controller.
Right now, he was dragging Konrad's body, unaware of the battle raging on the inside.
And meanwhile, his soul had been floating towards the ceiling to take a look at the mess.
Flying through the Monolith, he realised they had never destroyed that emitter. How the hell did someone put those things up inside the half-destroyed roof structure?
No, the better question would have been why?!
Dmitry had been close. Another magazine, and he'd destroy both the projector and the rudimentary emitter. But now that Konrad was there—
Could he even do anything in this form?
And, like, how long would it take for Paula to absorb the Controller's soul?
He forgot to ask, and she never told him. But as the seconds kept passing, his body disappeared through that crack in the wall. Was it actually a good idea to trust her?
Well, in the unlikely case that he'd be stuck like this forever—
He decided to test what he could do with that transmitter.
The first thought was to punch it, but he had no body at the moment.
The best he could do was glare at it, trying to crush it or set it on fire with his mind.
Fly through it? Could he have possessed that thing as Paula did his body and others?
But what if he got stuck inside?
Hmm. What would have even happened if he hurled his soul-matter at it?
Did he even have such a thing? Was he matter? Or like a trace in the mana?
Too many questions, and not a single answer.
So he went with the hurling plan and flew through everything, broken ceiling and all.
In fact, like a hovercraft, once he had his momentum, he had no idea how to stop, and—
For a moment there, he was outside, looking down at the Block 4 Sarcophagus. Still within the gigantic new Dome, which offered the craziest views on its inner surface, but—
What surprised him more was catching sight of Strelok, jumping through a portal.
Something kept drawing his mind's eye to him, even after he teleported, and next time, he was on the ground. He ran through between smaller structures, then stopped as if hesitating—
And he was gone, for good.
That's when Konrad first felt the pull, and he knew better than to resist it.
There was a force, pulling him towards where he expected his body to be.
First through the concrete, then the broken ceiling, and before he realised—
He was back in his own body, sitting up, panting as if he had a bad dream.
"Well, that went great, hasn't it?" the Major greeted him, wiping away his own sweat.
But despite all the sarcasm, Konrad knew how he had come to help him and Dmitry earlier.
"Thanks for the assist," he muttered, looking for his friend. He was still out cold but breathing fine, and—the Gepard was lying right next to him as well. "One second, and I'll finish the job."
He wouldn't admit it, but Konrad had been curious how it felt to shoot that thing for a while.
And since the gun's owner could not do it for him—
He grabbed the heavy rifle and reloaded it with a fresh, five-round magazine.
"You're not planning on going back there, are you?" Degtyarev asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you do, I'm definitely not going to drag you out again."
"It'll be fine," he said, pulling back the charging handle, and the first round entered the chamber.
He was one of the strongest mages in Kasserlane, but he had never felt this powerful before.
"You took care of the Controller's body, and Paula sorted out the rest," he explained. "All I have left to do is take out a transmitter, and I know exactly where to find it."
"Who the fuck is Paula?!" the soldier asked, but Konrad only shook his head.
"Never mind that. I'll be back in a moment."
The rifle was heavy, and he expected the recoil to be even worse.
But with that large scope and the memories of where he saw those things hidden—
BANG. BANG. BANG.
For the love of the spirits, it didn't sound any quieter when he was shooting it, either. But by the third round, the voice finally stopped, and the fourth made the Monolith's image flicker.
The fifth round had shut it down for good, and—
Took down another good chunk of the ceiling.
Good thing he didn't have to go closer, or it would have crushed him as well. But even if he was safe, his ears were still ringing, and his shoulder hurt like hell.
"Yeah, guess this thing is not for me," he mumbled, resting the rifle by its actual owner.
"And?" the Major demanded. "Are we good now? Where to next? The farther away, the better."
"Hmm, we're almost done here," Konrad said, finding some hints from Paula buried in his mind. "All we have to do is meet up with Strelok in the Control Center, and—"
"Slow your horses," the soldier grunted. "What about him? And Sokolov and the rest?"
Right. Right.
Now that he thought about it—
"I'd say you guys should evacuate. You couldn't even fathom the forces we're about to face. Only Strelok and I. And if the Monolith chases after you—that's also pressure off our backs."
The Major's eyes narrowed.
"What forces? You think I came this far to turn back before I figured everything out?!"
Fair, but Konrad had the perfect comeback, too.
"We're talking 'bout the guys who created the Zone, Anomalies, zombies, and mutants," he noted. "These guns won't do much, and once the real shit goes down—I can't protect you all."
"W-Why would I take your words for granted?" the soldier asked, but—
His expression made it seem as if he had already done so.
"A little trust would not hurt, huh?" Konrad scoffed, flashing a smirk. "You came to rescue those aircrews and gather information, right? You have already done that, so let me do my job, too."
Which sounded cool, but—
Then he remembered how the Major dragged him out of the chamber only moments ago.
"That parallel brain of yours would better keep us posted," Degtyarev grunted. "And if—no. When you fail, I'll lead an entire battalion here and raze this place to the ground."
Hmm. Yeah. Razing a sealed-away radioactive disaster site. Sure.
But if he let him have his moment, Konrad wasn't about to take away his, either.
"Deal," he said, grabbing the guitar case. "Good luck on your way out."
And taking a glance at the still-unconscious Dmitry, only then did he realise—
It might have been the last time he had seen his friend.