Susan raised her head and looked at Maki and Kaguya as they entered, her expression haggard.
She looked to be in extremely bad shape. Her clothes were tattered, her body covered in bruises of blue and purple, as if she had just escaped from a refugee camp.
Not only that—if, when Takumi had previously seen her, this woman had at least still been able to run, jump, and think, then now her gaze was already almost completely vacant, as if the soul within her were close to dispersing. Her entire body was rigid, frozen in place without the slightest movement.
However, for Maki and Kaguya, neither of them had ever seen Susan before. As such, at this moment they could only compare the woman's current appearance with the image Takumi had described, and roughly infer her identity.
"Excuse me… are you Miss Susan?"
Maki stepped forward and crouched down in front of Susan to ask. At the same time, Kaguya flicked the scalpel in her hand a few times and cut through the iron chains locking Susan's wrists.
Because the rescue team member—who, as a Horror Story, could not be eliminated by conventional attacks—had used his body to forcibly withstand the explosion, he was now standing at the doorway, helping the two of them stand guard and prevent anything from suddenly appearing to attack Kaguya and Maki.
[…]
Susan did not move.
She merely sat there on the ground, completely motionless, sitting dazed as if already dead.
What was going on?
Under the perception of the blessing, it could be felt that she was a living, breathing human. Who was it that had tortured her into this state?
Maki was thinking about what exactly was going on with her, when at this moment Takumi suddenly sent a communication, informing her of his confrontation with Rex and the truth he had ultimately discovered.
"Oba-san, cut open her wrist. Be careful—her condition may not be right."
Having understood something from Takumi's information, Maki stepped back and spoke. Kaguya, naturally without the slightest hesitation, stepped forward and drove the scalpel straight into Susan's arm, cutting deeply, then pried open the blood-gushing wound to look inside.
Small black stones flickered faintly within the flesh and blood.
The same situation as Rex.
This person had also undergone modification. It was just that, unlike Rex, the modifications on Susan seemed not to have been very successful. Those black stones were almost embedded directly into the flesh and blood. The bluish-purple marks that Kaguya and Maki had originally thought were some kind of wounds were, in reality, effects caused by these small stones inside the body.
Reaching out, Maki touched those small stones.
In the next moment, she saw fragmented hallucinated remnants.
The traces of time left behind within this body that had almost already become an empty shell.
[Is this person someone who knows the truth?]
Someone outside the cell asked in a low voice.
[Just like the man next door, this one is also someone who knows the truth. In any case, the instruction from above is to treat them as a test subject.]
[Alright then. If that's the case… being a bit rough shouldn't be a problem.]
The lights went out, and everything returned to darkness.
In a dazed haze, it was already impossible to know how much time had passed.
Pain and fear ground away at the will, until in the end, nothing remained but blankness.
[An interesting phenomenon. By relying on bizarre power, it split into two different individuals—one retaining normal memories and personality, the other almost completely losing its personality, leaving only a mass of flesh with neural responses. How was this even achieved?]
[Mm. Release the other one. That's fine—maintaining a certain level of surveillance will be enough. That individual doesn't remember anything anymore. Perfect. I also need to test just how "normal" that individual can be after returning to ordinary life, considering she has already lost a considerable amount of memory.]
[Oh, right—the "important individual" has already been transported over, correct? Let's go. Let's take a good look at what makes this individual special, and what new breakthroughs she can bring to our experiment.]
A woman's screams and cries of pain mixed together with a man's low chuckle.
[Don't be angry, Ms. Hedda. Your child is making a sacrifice for the future of humanity.]
[Selfishness is quite a terrible trait, you know. You should learn to correct it, and stop thinking only about the happiness of your own family. Before long, you too will become the next one, and human civilization will advance toward an even greater era because of sacrificers like you.]
[That's right. You should be grateful for this—this is your honor. Mm, begin Modification Experiment No. 2. Directly suture the newly fused entity into her body. Let us see just how deep Andres's obsession with his wife truly is.]
The smell of blood drifted through the air.
The woman's painful, low moans went from clear to gradually faint, slowly sinking into silence.
That day's torment finally came to an end.
But when the next day arrived, and the lights turned on once more, the hellish days were still continuing.
[Sure enough, you are special.]
[An ordinary person would have died long ago under this dosage. You're the first one who can still remain conscious up to now.]
[Maybe if I take you directly to the "Blood Vessel"… no, that won't do. If an obsession is satisfied, will the Horror Story still continue to exist? Perhaps I should change my approach. Mm, don't rush. I'll think of how to deal with you properly.]
That man was always smiling. When the woman wailed and cried, when she let out painful, low moans, he was always laughing nonstop.
The smell of blood never truly dissipated.
The cell where the woman was held alone was called the confinement room. The walls and floor there were made of soft material, and the woman was tightly restrained and fixed in place. Food, water, and bodily waste were all handled through tubes connected to her body.
She was subjected to all kinds of torment again and again, and was not allowed to harm herself, repeating this cycle day after day.
Until that day, when the woman's voice finally fell silent.
[Dead?]
[Confirming the end of vital signs—she's really dead? Just like that? That's it?]
[Useless trash. I had such high expectations for you, and yet you ended at this level? Forget it, so be it. Mm, her corpse can be handled the same way as the previous ones—just throw it directly into the Great Rift. There are plenty of bodies dumped in there already anyway.]
[Tch, and that rift too. The records put so much emphasis on it, so why hasn't there been any change there at all? Could it be that not enough people have been sacrificed?]
[Looks like I'll still have to change my approach. Maybe those previous modification surgeries need to continue after all.]
The room in the middle of the prison area that had been used to confine the woman later took in quite a few more prisoners.
It was just that these prisoners often died in less than a day.
And when they died, the breathing sounds of that vanished woman would always echo around the area.
As if she had not died.
As if she were still lingering here.
Anger.
That sound was filled to the brim with anger.
An inextinguishable, fiercely burning rage.
Until this place was completely destroyed, that anger would never have a moment of calm or extinguishment.
[Have I finally succeeded?]
That man came to the cell once again.
Facing the confinement room that had long since been empty, that had already begun to undergo bizarre changes and had, for safety's sake, simply been welded shut, he murmured in a low voice, with no obvious emotion audible in it.
[After failing so many times, I've finally succeeded in creating a Horror Story.]
[Is it because this one's psyche was twisted enough? Probably not. Before her, there were plenty of people who had been tortured to the brink of wishing for death.]
[Or is it because of her relationship with the previous Horror Story, making her situation special? If that's the case, then maybe adding test subjects with familial ties would be better. But then test subjects would be harder to find… still, this kind can be obtained from illegal immigrants.]
[Just how much farther do I still have to go to reach it—the road that leads to god… I won't give up. I will find it. I must find it…]
Amid those muttered words, the man turned and left.
And what followed after that was an endless spread of blood, and within that blood, the figure emitting low chuckles slowly walking past.
The screams never stopped.
The sound of hurried footsteps fleeing rang out, then stopped—until even breathing vanished without a trace.
And that cold, sinister laughter advanced step by step, eventually moving deep into the base, disappearing to an unknown destination.
And this was precisely what this prisoner—now nothing more than an empty shell, long since having lost herself—recorded like a video recorder: the horrifying events that had taken place in the past.
As Maki sensed those lingering illusory thoughts through physical contact, she closed her eyes, slowly released the woman's arm, and then let out a long breath. She had already learned many things from those memories and come to understand the powerful obsession possessed by the eerie presence located beneath the Great Rift.
"Mm…"
The somewhat weakened girl suddenly sat down on the ground.
Coming into contact with fragments of memory was by no means an easy matter. Even though Maki's mind had already been strengthened through blessings and enhancements, she could not help but feel mentally exhausted at this moment.
This kind of thing—Takumi had already done it more than once. Why was he able to ignore such a mental burden? If I could also possess mental fortitude as resilient as his, would I be able to help with more things?
"Maki-san, are you okay?"
Kaguya helped Maki up and asked her softly.
"I'm fine…"
Maki gently shook her head, then turned to look toward the outside of the door, toward the confinement room that had already been sealed shut.
That welded-shut door was now gradually deforming, and it looked as though it would soon be completely destroyed, revealing whatever lay behind it.
She could feel the other party's gaze.
At this moment, having learned information related to the core obsession, Maki was already able to perceive that cold gaze. And it was right in front of her—right here within this confinement room.
Because information about the core obsession had been obtained inside the research base, had its power entered the imminent release phase more quickly?
"Move, now—we have to leave immediately!"
Realizing that something was wrong, Maki spoke quickly, forcing herself to start running.
The rescue team members led the way at the front, with Maki and Kaguya following behind. Although Maki was fatigued at first, she was also rapidly recovering her stamina with the help of the power from the badge.
This Obsession Item really was powerful. Its effect was so simple and convenient, yet it almost never went out of control.
Lowering her head to look at the badge pinned to her chest, Maki could not help but marvel inwardly at how powerful this item was.
And at that very moment, just as Kaguya and Maki were about to pass d6—that is, the cell where Kaguya had previously been held—when the rescue team member at the very front reached the d7 position, the door to d7 suddenly flew open. Immediately after, an eerie figure wearing a white lab coat emerged from inside.
Vernon.
The instant she saw him, Maki recognized who it was. Kaguya's eyes widened as she suddenly realized that the man who had called himself "Howard," whom she had heard over the past couple of days, was very likely Vernon in disguise.
If she had responded to him back then…
There was no longer time to think carefully about anything else.
Because the target of that eerie being had already locked onto Maki and Kaguya, and it strode toward the two of them.
Then it was seized by a rescue team member by the collar and slammed against the wall beside them.
[Begin suppression of dangerous individual obstructing rescue operations]
Accompanied by such cold words, the rescue team member's fist slammed into Vernon's face in the next instant, caving that face inward from the center.
At this moment, eerie powers clashed against one another.
Vernon struggled, yet he was unable to break free from the rescue team member. Although the rescue team member himself was also being dragged and could not completely suppress him, the balance formed between the two sides at this moment was already enough for Maki and Kaguya to take action.
Breaking into a run, the two of them—one after the other—rushed out of the cell block and arrived at the Quarantine Zone.
By this time, the spreading water had already flowed throughout the Quarantine Zone, and for reasons unknown, all the doors leading from the Quarantine Zone to the Red Nut Grey Cave were in an open state.
Maki and Kaguya could vaguely make out that, within the water spreading across the entire room, there seemed to be several firefighters standing there.
Were different spaces overlapping?
Thinking of this possibility, the two of them quickened their pace even more.
The soldiers who should have been holding their positions in the Quarantine Zone had now all rushed into the Observation Area.
A large number of soldiers and researchers were packed together in the shattered corridor, completely blocking the passage. Faced with such a situation, there was no way for Kaguya and Maki to force their way through these obstacles.
Could they only try digging through the wall with scalpels? With such high-intensity use, it was hard to know whether the two of them would be able to hold out.
Holding the scalpel, Kaguya had already begun to think of other methods.
But Maki merely stood in place, unmoving, simply watching those eerie beings crowded together in the corridor, waiting in silence.
She soon waited for what she had been waiting for to happen.
[This is a notification to all personnel. In my capacity as the "highest commanding officer of the Cave Research Base," I hereby issue the following order. All researchers, all soldiers, and all explorers are to obey my command and proceed to the Quarantine Zone to block the entrances to the Red Nut Grey Cave and the cell block. I repeat, this is an order from "General Gallagher." All personnel must comply and are forbidden from engaging in any actions unrelated to this directive.]
Takumi's voice sounded over the broadcast.
At the same time, Maki had already taken Kaguya's hand and stepped forward, entering the corridor of the Observation Area.
Amid the splashing sound of rushing water, those eerie beings likewise began to move, walking out to meet Kaguya and Maki.
The figures of both sides passed by one another in the corridor.
Even though two living people who were not strictly wearing proper attire were right there in front of them—even though Kaguya's and Maki's clothes had been damaged to varying degrees by the earlier explosion and, in theory, could no longer be considered a perfect disguise—not a single one of those beings paid them any attention, merely continuing to move forward in silence.
Maki closed the door that was still continuously letting water pour in, interrupting the effect of the Blood Key. However, the murky, polluted water that had already flooded into the base showed no sign of receding, and instead seemed to be spreading even further.
Within this Instance, the different space–time segments that had originally been independent yet interconnected with one another seemed, along with the players' actions, to be gradually showing signs of losing control and beginning to merge with each other.
"That just now was Takumi-kun's voice—did he do something?"
Kaguya looked toward the broadcast on one side of the corridor, the expression on her face appearing somewhat complicated.
"After all, it's Takumi-kun. That guy's personality isn't exactly great, but his abilities really are beyond question."
As Maki said this, she revealed a slightly proud expression, as though she were talking about someone from her own family who was particularly impressive.
What she did not notice was that after she said this, the expression on Kaguya's face became even more complicated than before, even carrying a hint of hesitation—like someone struggling to do something, yet unable to act because of reasons such as conscience.
And while the two of them on this side were, step by step, drawing closer to the Research Area, at the very same time, Takumi was inside the "General Gallagher's Office". He sat silently in front of the desk, reaching out to lightly tap the desktop, his gaze resting on a document lying on the desk.
[Strategic Plan No. 1 — Extermination Operation]
[Based on experimental verification through the Red Nut Grey Cave, selecting specific circumstances to deliberately create massacres—causing victims to die under extreme emotional states while enduring prolonged torture during the process—may give rise to new eerie entities. Furthermore, in the case of family members with harmonious relationships, adopting a method of torturing and killing them one by one, continuously intensifying the torment inflicted upon the final survivor, may offer an even greater chance of creating a new eerie entity.]
[As long as specific personnel are arranged to infiltrate enemy nations, and suitable targets are selected within important cities of those nations for torture, once successful, it will be possible to create eerie incidents that affect large numbers of people, thereby effectively weakening the enemy nation's strength.]
[This plan has been approved.]
[Strategic Plan No. 2 — Angel Operation]
[Through human experimentation in the cell block, it has been confirmed that eerie power can merge with the human body to a certain extent. If the plan proceeds smoothly, it may be possible to create a truly immortal person—one who possesses extraordinary power, a god among mortals.]
[After long-term experimentation, this plan now has a high probability of success. However, it still requires one test subject to undergo implantation to verify its success rate. Considering that, if successful, the test subject would very likely become an uncontrollable factor, should this plan be approved, it is imperative to carefully select a test subject worthy of everyone's trust.]
[Dr. Vernon has voluntarily applied to become the test subject.]
[This plan is not approved.]
[Regardless of whether this plan succeeds or fails, Vernon is no longer needed. It is time to deal with this unstable factor, General Gallagher.]
Bloodstains were scattered across the final page of the document.
And on the floor on one side of the room lay a man's corpse—no, merely a set of clothes.
Takumi was able to see what had happened that day.
Gallagher set down the document he had just received, prepared to issue the order, already having made preparations to deal with Vernon.
But what he did not expect was that Vernon had already foreseen the arrival of this moment. He stepped into the office one step ahead of him, fired directly at Gallagher, and then, using his own authority, issued a lockdown order to the base, causing the entire base to be cut off from external contact.
Then, knowing that this would only delay things for a very short time, Vernon made the only decision he could think of—the only decision he could make.
[Lift the Quarantine Zone lockdown. After I have exhausted myself to obtain all these results, you think you can just abandon me?]
[Don't even think about it. Next, let this base sink into hell together with your despicable beautiful dream.]
[And I will ascend to godhood and become the sole god of the new world!]
Amid the low, heavy laughter, the entire research base completely lost power.
A terror overflowing with resentment and rage swept toward the research institute.
And the man who had caused all of this stumbled as he ran, leaping rapidly down the stairs, sprinting toward the Research Area, toward the direction of the Cryogenic Area.
He opened the heavy sealed door.
Ignoring the despairing wails of the researchers and soldiers outside the door, he continued onward, crawling and scrambling forward.
In the end, he arrived at the Cryogenic Area and looked toward the device he had long since prepared—the device whose success he did not, in fact, know whether it would work.
He stepped forward and lay down inside the device.
Injection tubes injected that black, foul blood and ground stone powder into his body.
The blood-red long dress was already advancing forward step by step.
…
Relying on the power of the scalpel Obsession Item, Kaguya and Maki cut open the protective door and entered the Cryogenic Area in this manner.
"Mr. Vernon, stop hiding. You're here, aren't you?"
Staring into the darkness ahead, Maki spoke calmly, her tone carrying not the slightest ripple of emotion.
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