*
GenTek, 51st Floor. Containment Room.
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow—
This is where I wake and sleep, the entirety of the world where I have stayed longest since I was born.
I can no longer count how long I have been confined here.
Has it been years? Or decades? Time melted away inside this room and lost its shape.
The seasons that passed, the whims of the weather, the city's breathing—all things from the outside world had blurred in my memories like paper soaked in water.
Even so, I am not lonely here.
I have a family.
A bond twisted in a way no one else in the world could imitate, yet connected more fiercely than any blood or flesh—
Minazuki Kir.
Elizabeth Greene.
They are my father and mother, holding on to me more deeply than every bond from my previous life.
And the vow I quietly made in my heart when I first fell into this world—to form a bond with Elizabeth Greene and prevent the tragic outbreak of the original story...
Looking back now, it seemed to have come true, at least to some extent.
At the very least, we were now bound together beneath the single name of family.
*
The first thought that always comes to mind when I open my eyes is the same.
'Ah. This ceiling again.'
There is something remarkably fair about beginning each day with that ceiling. It means yesterday and today are no different. Sense of time? It was classified as waste the moment I entered this room. There are no seasons here, no day or night, not even the scent of the wind.
But today... the air smells different.
The virus dwelling inside my body surged and receded like waves, sending me a signal.
Foreboding.
A tiny crack crawling out from somewhere. And the scent of approaching darkness.
The sensation beneath my skin whispered.
Something bad is coming.
"...The atmosphere is strange today. Is someone about to die or something?"
I said it with a light, mocking laugh, but Mother approached with a serious expression at my joke. Greene immediately bent down and embraced me.
"My baby, are you scared?"
Her touch was warm, and that warmth alone made the walls of the whole world seem to fade for a moment.
"I just... have a bad feeling."
Greene patted me and said,
"It's all right. We're here with you."
I had to admit, those words eased some of my unease. But the virus buddies inside me were brutally honest. Something was coming. Something big and loud, something that would chew up my peace—that was what they seemed to be warning me.
As always, they never fail to live up to expectations.
*
Test Room.
The place where the usual endless examinations and tests awaited me.
I was beyond used to it; I was sick of it. Including the soldiers standing over there, this place had always made me feel the absolute pinnacle of boredom.
I sat in a chair, watching the soldiers and researchers bustle about. Their steps were faster than usual today, and their gazes more cautious.
"Dad, things are really chaotic today, huh? Did you reinforce the place because you're worried I might escape today?"
Father looked up from the documents for a moment.
"...GenTek received reinforcements."
"Ah, then I was right. They came to stop me."
I asked with a trace of sarcasm, and a tiny crack appeared at the corner of Father's mouth. That minute tremor alone told me everything.
"...It's true?"
After a brief silence, Kir nodded heavily.
"...Yes. They're forces meant to control you."
I raised one eyebrow.
"You objected, didn't you?"
"That—"
"Right. You're the only one who would object."
The words seemed to strike Father squarely in the chest, and he forgot how to speak for a moment.
"It's okay, though."
I smiled.
"Because you're on my side, Dad."
Kir drew in a deep breath. A quiet current of emotion spread throughout the room.
"How harmonious. I suppose that is only natural between a father and son."
Before Father could finish speaking, a low, firm voice came from the doorway.
I turned my head.
Jet-black hair, sharp soldier's eyes, a scar at the corner of her mouth.
"...Sis?"
"It's been a long time since I heard you call me that."
Gina Cross. The Specialist who had watched over me since childhood stood before me again after several years.
"It's been a long time, Sis. This is the first time I've seen you since I was little."
Her presence alone felt as though clean air was filling my lungs. Beneath her soldier's sternness was a person steeped in a strangely warm emotion.
"Don't tell me you came to keep that promise? The promise that you'd finally face me properly?"
I smiled at her teasingly.
"I do not forget promises. Especially promises I made to you."
She slowly turned her gaze away, trying to maintain an impassive expression—but my eyes did not miss the hint of red that passed over the tips of her cheeks.
Still so serious. But teasing serious people is the most fun thing in the world.
Like an exceedingly polite little devil, I held out my hand.
"I'm looking forward to working with you again, Sis."
Gina hesitated for a moment, then carefully took my hand.
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it too... Kiria."
But there was a faint hesitation in her fingertips, along with guilt she could not put into words.
She could not tell me, but I already knew.
She had not returned here to protect me—
She had returned to watch me,
or, if the need arose...
to eliminate me.
And that fact
was quietly shaking her heart.
But I could feel that it hurt her far more than it hurt me.
So I smiled. With the most carefree expression in the world.
"Still, I'm glad to see you today, Sis."
Those words told her nothing. Not that I already knew everything, nor that the virus inside me had even read her emotions.
I simply decided to enjoy this moment.
The world would soon fall apart—
Before then, surely there was time to play around like a child for a little while.
*
The heavy air in the Test Room began to take on mass when the researchers all stopped moving at once. Somewhere, the brief sound of cold, oiled metal grinding together rang out, and the air trembled faintly afterward.
The virus inside me noticed first and warned me sharply. This was not an ordinary test.
I suppressed that ominous tremor and curled up the corner of my lips.
"Dad, there's something else you're hiding today, isn't there?"
Kir flinched ever so slightly. Ordinarily, he would have brushed it off with a gentle smile, but today his eyes clearly wavered.
"Kiria, today is... a somewhat special test."
I immediately gave a small laugh.
"I'm sick of special. Is ordinary really that difficult?"
But the moment I saw Gina's stiff expression, my nerves sharpened on instinct.
Gina Cross—a soldier who could accept any order without changing her expression. Yet now... she was so tense I could even hear her swallow her breath.
"...Sis?"
She did not answer. Instead, she lowered her head as if naturally trying not to look at me. That one gesture made every piece of the puzzle click into place.
Ah-ha.
Today was the day they were going to do something to me.
The real thing had arrived.
The equipment carried in by four researchers was unfamiliar. It differed from the existing suppression devices, but more than anything, it carried the scent of virus. The virus beneath my skin quivered faintly. Like a beast bristling its fur, it whispered.
—That is an enemy.
—It will gnaw at you.
—It will bind your strength.
Slowly lacing my fingers together, I muttered inwardly.
'Yeah. I know.'
But outwardly, I spoke in an exceptionally unconcerned voice.
"Cool equipment. Are you planning to wreck me again today? Or is there some more exotic torture on the menu?"
One of the researchers answered.
"This is not torture, M-01. Today's procedure is... an internal regulation protocol."
Internal. The word left a metallic taste in my mouth.
"Internal, huh... I guess you're cleaning out my stomach?"
Father spoke.
"Kiria—calm down. This is for your sake too—"
"Ah, Dad. That excuse won't work on me, at least."
My voice was astonishingly calm. Composed, and it even sounded like a pleasant joke. Yet those words took dead aim at the deepest part of Father's heart.
Kir could not continue.
Right now, Father was... a scientist.
More than he was a father.
I realized that a little early.
Cross stepped forward.
"Kiria. The procedure being conducted today... will not harm you."
"You're not very good at lying, Sis."
I smiled gently.
"The virus inside me is in complete chaos right now. If you say it won't hurt me, they'll get upset."
Cross closed her eyes briefly at those words. Then she murmured, very quietly,
"...I'm sorry."
I heard that whisper. And I deliberately pretended not to. To a soldier, saying sorry was like lowering their gun on the battlefield.
"We're ready."
A researcher spoke.
A mechanical arm descended, and purple liquid swayed slowly inside a transparent vial.
The liquid was not merely a virus.
—An internal host-suppression bioparasite.
A custom-made bioweapon designed to weaken me.
It was designed to crawl inside my body, suppress my metabolism and mutations in an instant, and immediately "cut off" my life force should signs of rampancy appear.
It was an enemy my instincts rejected more than anything.
As the machine was about to penetrate my arm, I muttered lightly.
"Dad, Mom would cry if she saw this. Watching you inject a parasite into your son to weaken him."
Kir hung his head.
Outside the room, Greene watched me through the glass, tapping it with frozen hands. She was unable to enter.
In that moment, even the vast darkness dwelling in her eyes
was understandable.
A parasitic suppressor for her child. She was crying, Father had stopped cold, and Cross was swallowing her breath.
And in the middle of it all, I—
was smiling.
"All right, let's begin. If I refuse, they'll just pick some absurd fight with me again anyway."
The instant the needle pierced my skin, the virus within me churned madly.
It burst like flames and swept through my entire body like an electric current of pain.
My bones screamed, and every individual cell raised a sharp blade against this unfamiliar invader.
I clenched my teeth. But my smile did not break.
"Ngh... ah... this is a little... stronger than I expected?"
My body trembled violently. The sensation of the parasite flowing through my veins was like a cold, viscous shadow endlessly sweeping between my organs.
The virus reacted.
Inside my body—
It felt as if all my power were being slowly severed.
The flames went out,
the current stiffened,
and my innate mutation abilities felt as though they were being sealed away one by one.
My eyes met Father's.
With a pained expression, he said,
"...Kiria, endure it."
I smiled.
"Dad... you're so cruel."
Then I added, very softly,
"Just like me, of all people."
It took exactly forty-two seconds for the parasitic suppressor to spread through my entire body.
My body convulsed, the technicians gripped the equipment, and Cross could neither step closer nor retreat.
"Neutralization rate: 68%... 79%... 92%..."
The researcher's voice trembled.
And then—
finally.
"Injection... complete."
My breath caught in my throat.
Exhaustion flooded over me, and I heard the world inside me slowly closing.
My power... had been cut away.
Suppressed.
By the method Father had chosen as a scientist.
I lifted my head and spoke with a face so calm it was cruel.
"Is it over?"
The researchers answered in trembling voices.
"...Yes, M-01. The procedure was successful."
I nodded.
Then I laughed very quietly, too low for anyone to hear.
"Good. Now I understand."
I slowly closed my eyes.
"Just how little you all trust me."
The last sound I heard
was Cross's restrained whisper.
"...Kiria."
And I realized.
Today's procedure was not simply
about weakening my power—
It was also a test of my emotions.
And for some reason,
that made me want to laugh.
*
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register