*
GenTek’s internal cafeteria was far too luxurious to be called a mere “research facility cafeteria.”
Pristine white tableware, gleaming metal tables, and dishes fit for an overseas hotel were quietly laid out in a steady rhythm.
At its center sat two researchers, facing each other.
"So, you were on a special project?"
The man rolling his fork looked up and asked.
The young researcher with blue eyes gave a small smile.
His brown hair fell slightly across his face, revealing a strange excitement in his expression.
"What did you do?"
"I don’t know exactly what we were doing. But in the end, we put everything together. At the time, I was definitely fascinated by it."
That excited expression was like that of a child who had just gotten a new toy.
Alex Mercer, lead researcher of DX-1118—the Redlight virus—spoke of his feelings with eyes closer to those of a zealot than a scientist.
"It was so beautiful. They kept mutating, over and over. It had the most complex structure of any virus I’d ever seen."
That was what Mercer said.
That of all the moments in his life—joining GenTek and becoming a researcher under McMullen—this had been the brightest.
"For the most part, it went smoothly. Though the ‘other one’ didn’t work out so well."
Alongside Elizabeth Greene, codenamed [Mother], GenTek possessed another sample: the one codenamed [Pariah].
A monstrous entity that showed neither any virus nor any reaction whatsoever, save for the fact that it was male. Because of it, the research had been stalled against a wall for years.
As years, then decades, passed without any progress, GenTek’s upper ranks and Blackwatch wanted results as soon as possible.
"Still, after M-01 was born, things advanced like a rocket had been strapped to them."
"What’s M-01?"
"Kiria. Another specimen created after Mother."
The young researcher’s colleague stiffened.
"That kid... was a test subject."
"A sample, technically speaking."
Alex added it casually.
"It was Dr. Minazuki’s proposal. He said we should create an entity with conditions similar to Pariah and use it to supplement the research. Elizabeth Greene was the host... and in the end, it was approved."
McMullen, GenTek’s CEO, had opposed it fiercely.
Because the disaster that would unfold if it could not be controlled was all too clear.
But Blackwatch and GenTek were running out of patience, and ultimately they accepted Minazuki’s argument.
"Kiria is different from Mother. That child is a life-form made entirely of virus, not a human being."
The cafeteria fell silent for a moment. Alex lowered his voice.
"Besides... a new virus was found in his body. DX-1118 M. This isn’t a Redlight variant."
DX-1118 M. A virus that had not yet been given an official name.
A year after Kiria was born, a new virus had been discovered within his body. It was not a variant of DX-1118, the Redlight virus. In other words, it was an unknown virus entirely different from Elizabeth Greene, its host.
"A completely new virus?"
"Yeah. Its identity is unknown. Its structure is simple, and it doesn’t seem lethal... but strangely enough, it’s incredibly compatible with Redlight and Blacklight."
Madness flickered in Alex’s eyes.
"I think that child is the key. The clue that will unravel everything."
His blue-eyed colleague could not hide the unpleasant chill crawling down his spine.
But Alex was already thinking about the next step.
"I’ll verify it soon. Personally."
Alex rose from his seat.
"And... I should call in the Specialist too."
At that moment, his colleague’s face froze.
"Her? Really?"
"Yeah. That child will need an opponent of that caliber."
With a meaningful smile, Alex left the cafeteria.
*
For the past few years since I fell into this world, my days had been boring.
Being a fetus, there was little I could do beyond crying and babbling. In the end, all I could do was fall asleep in my mother’s arms or receive nourishment.
But once I took my first steps and learned to speak, the world finally began to move.
My father began teaching me letters.
Minazuki Kir—my father.
He sat me at a desk and carefully taught me each sound, one by one.
"You learn remarkably quickly, Kiria."
The white-haired man beside me wore a proud expression. Minazuki Kir, my father, gently stroked my head. His blood-red eyes were somehow unsettling, yet reassuring.
"Your mother will be surprised when she sees this."
"Who knows? I’ll have to learn to read Mother’s expressions first."
Elizabeth Greene.
The host of the virus and the hive mind. Her eyes were always vacant, but...
Whenever she held me, even if only slightly, faintly, a light returned to them. I could not forget that warmth.
The original story gave a rough account of Elizabeth Greene’s past, but it never revealed why she spread the virus.
"Father."
"Hmm? Won’t you call me Dad?"
"Do you think that suits my personality?"
"Then Dad’s hurt, you know?"
"For someone who says that, Father, you look very pleased."
Kir grinned.
I had a good relationship with my father. You could say that after learning to speak, we had rapidly grown closer.
But I knew. I could not trust this man completely.
Whenever he drew my blood, and whenever he injected some unknown substance into me, Father wore that same smile. Yet it also seemed to conceal some other emotion.
Still, the time we had together now...
At least I knew it was not a lie.
"Hmm... what are you thinking so hard about, son?"
It seemed my being deep in thought had been far too obvious to Father.
"Well... um... I was thinking about Mother."
"That’s a little disappointing. I wish you’d think about Dad too."
There he goes again...
For someone claiming to be disappointed, you don’t look disappointed at all, Father...
"Things will work out with your mother. It won’t turn out the way you’re worried it will."
"...I hope so."
One day, she would escape the GenTek building. She would spread the virus through the streets.
And I knew that.
Could I stop her?
Could I persuade her?
"No. I have to."
Right. This was my world now.
Because I had to live here.
*
[GENTEK INTERNAL USE ONLY]
[PROJECT: MINAZUKI]
[SUBJECT ID: KIRIA (M-01)]
- Viral Composition
Genetic analysis confirms the composite presence of DX-1118-A (Redlight), DX-1118-C (Blacklight), and the unidentified new virus DX-1118 M.
The DX-1118 M virus acts as a “catalyst” for the mutation response of DX-1118, abnormally accelerating tissue transformation speed and regenerative ability.
M-01’s tissues have differentiated into a complete biomass form, allowing rearrangement at the molecular level.
*
Alex Mercer was deep in thought.
He was thinking about DX-1118 M, the unknown virus within Kiria’s body.
Closing the report, Mercer muttered to himself.
"There’s... too much that hasn’t been explained."
It was neither a Redlight nor Blacklight variant, yet it possessed the ability to combine with them at an astonishingly low rate of conflict.
He slowly tapped his fingertips on the desk.
"This... makes no sense.
Which means... I need to verify it."
Alex rose from his seat.
"Let’s find Dr. Kir."
At that moment, a gleam flashed through his eyes.
"And... I should put in a request to deploy the Specialist as well."
Gina Cross. Blackwatch’s finest officer. If it was her, she could draw out Kiria’s true nature.
"Good. Shall we begin?"
He started walking. Everything was moving in one direction.
The first test of [Project Minazuki].
And that test would soon,
come for him.
*
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