Reverse Qliphoth energy meltdown, Level One.
"The Level Two meltdown afterward is Amber Dawn? That's not too dangerous."
"The little bird got out… I need to keep Faust, the one holding the 'magic bullet,' far away from her… I really don't want to hurt her again for no reason…"
"Why does it have to be that dog's containment unit melting down right away…? Looks like my luck isn't very good today…"
"Hm… fine. I have no idea what kind of mood it's in today. I really don't want to deal with its humanoid form again…"
His mind kept chattering nonstop, but X 's hands issued response orders with precision and speed:
"Employee Faust, proceed to Control Team Containment Unit No. 1 and conduct communication work with 'One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds.'"
"Employee Harumoto, proceed to Training Team Containment Unit No. 3 and conduct communication work with the Abnormality 'Nothing There.'"
"Note: during work with 'Nothing There,' avoid excessive or meaningless movements as much as possible to reduce the samples it can learn from."
"No matter what happens, once the work is complete, do not remain in the containment unit. Leave immediately."
"…Why did T-01-68 escape again? Today's meltdown just reached Level One…"
"Employee Justin, immediately proceed to Central Headquarters Corridor No. 1 and suppress it!"
Watching the surveillance feed, X saw the butterfly-headed figure silently walking down the corridor with a gigantic coffin on its back. He couldn't help muttering to himself:
"Seriously… you're not even that strong. Why are you always thinking about breaking out?"
Seeing T-01-68 quickly hacked down by employees wielding the great blade Mimicry and suppressed once more, even X felt a bit sorry for it.
"Sure, you coming out to get beaten up can help train the employees' courage and combat skills, but… sigh, there's no need to come out all the time."
"Still, you do seem to enjoy repression work… maybe you're the type of Abnormality that likes having its existence suppressed, or even likes getting beaten to a pulp?"
Crack—
At that moment, a crisp yet jarringly abrupt sound rang out, as if something had shattered.
"Hm…?"
X 's attention shifted to the containment unit beside him because of that sound.
Once his focus settled, he noticed something was wrong—
The bright, cheerful, energetic magical girl from before was gone.
In her place, she was kneeling on the ground with a dark expression , both hands clutching her hair in agony.
Her lips moved incessantly, as if she were repeatedly muttering something under her breath.
In this state, ominous black heart-shaped symbols occasionally surfaced around her body.
When those black hearts became clearest, cracks suddenly split down their centers, and they shattered in two like broken illusions.
"The magical girl… why is she like this now?"
Driven by curiosity and unease, X connected to her containment unit and turned up the volume of the faint sounds coming from inside—
"I hate this quiet place. The world can't possibly be this peaceful…"
"I'm the chosen one… who else but me can protect the world…"
"Without darkness, there is no light. I have no meaning here at all…"
"Why is it still so peaceful here?! I was born to defeat bad guys!"
"This damn world doesn't need my existence at all, does it?! I'm clearly the chosen savior, the one meant to bring peace to the world!"
"But… today, it's still so quiet! It's far too quiet!"
Amid those obsessive, despairing whispers, there were also hoarse cries filled with pain and resistance.
—
"Oh boy, another fanatic…"
X cut away from the unsettling surveillance feed and rubbed his temples with a headache.
The current state of this Abnormality reminded him of what had happened with Hod not too long ago.
"We're one of the Wings of the World, for crying out loud. Whether it's employees, department heads, or even containment subjects… how come every single one of us has some kind of psychological problem?"
X temporarily set aside his work and pulled up the management guidelines for the "Magical Girl," complaining:
"At this rate, we might as well add 'taking in, supervising, and treating mental patients' to L Corp's main line of business."
"Manager, the number of mentally ill people in the City may far exceed what you imagine."
Angela, standing nearby, spoke with a hint of helplessness.
"L Corp doesn't have the extra manpower or energy to manage anything beyond Abnormalities."
"Pfft… Angela, you actually took that seriously…?"
X nearly spat out the water in his mouth.
"I was just joking. I'm only a manager—decisions about corporate direction aren't exactly my place to make."
"Anyway, more importantly, let me take a look at this thing's precautions…"
X didn't notice the subtle expression on Angela's face, focusing instead on the data displayed before him:
"Huh?! 'Whenever a reverse Qliphoth energy meltdown occurs, if the number of personnel who died during the previous meltdown level is fewer than three, O-01-04's reverse Qliphoth counter will immediately decrease?'"
"Oh damn, there's even a way to lose the counter like this. Learned something new…"
He continued reading:
"And when the counter is reduced to only one, she enters a hysterical state, lowering the success rate of all work?"
"In that situation, if employees are dispatched to work with her… and if that work extracts sixteen or more PE-boxes, then O-01-04's reverse Qliphoth counter will increase."
"Otherwise, O-01-04's reverse Qliphoth counter will immediately decrease."
"So that means… she needs to be comforted."
X closed the Abnormality encyclopedia and returned his gaze to the magical girl who was already on the verge of collapse.
"But in this state… if the comfort goes wrong, it might have the opposite effect…"
If it were nighttime, and he were inside the back-end of Lobotomy Corporation, it might be easier.
X couldn't help thinking that.
"But judging by how she looks now… what would it be like if a magical girl escaped?"
He soon abandoned this baseless line of thought and instead pulled up his command interface.
"Whatever. Let's probe first and see."
"An ALEPH-class is out of my league, sure—but I can't handle a mere WAW-class?"
A flash of resolve crossed X 's eyes.
"As long as you're not immune to physical damage, you won't be turning the tables!"
"Employees Justin, Harumoto, and Audrey, immediately proceed to Central Headquarters Corridor No. 1 and prepare for suppression!"
"Employee Faust, proceed to Central Headquarters Area One, Containment Unit No. 1, and conduct communication work with Abnormality O-01-04!"
"If you're willing to cooperate, then everyone's happy…"
After issuing the work orders, X muttered softly to himself.
"But if you're not willing… then don't blame my elite employees for giving you a proper 'welcome.'"
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