NOVEL NEXT WORLD It’s been weeks since the 1983rd entity caused the last emergency situation.
The atmosphere in the base, which was chaotic after two consecutive emergencies, had finally calmed down, and even the researchers, once on edge, started to show signs of relaxation.
Sophia, the blonde researcher, stared at the elevated screen in front of her, her expression as unreadable as ever.
Ah, peaceful…
Peace.
There aren’t many who dislike peace, unless you’re a crazy warmonger, but for her in recent times, the word “peace” had taken on a special meaning.
Since the moment she entered this field, she had made certain preparations and had experienced some dangerous events, but the two incidents that happened in the last few weeks had planted a fear in her heart that she’d never known before.
With the last incident involving the 1983rd entity, her daily life was finally returning to peace after a long break.
She silently prayed in her heart that this mundane life wouldn’t end anytime soon.
“Ugh, my arm! My arm…!”
“Make way! Injured person coming through!”
Of course, for someone like her in the Abnormal Phenomena Research Department, the standards for a peaceful daily life were quite distant from what the average person felt.
A researcher was being rolled away on a stretcher, making a clattering sound.
It was a scene that looked like something out of an emergency room, but around them, there wasn’t even a hint of surprise or sympathy.
The sight of someone losing a body part was common in Base 17.
“Who is that? I haven’t seen that face before.”
“Must be a newbie? I heard we got someone new a few days ago.”
“Guess they were a victim of the 2512th entity. No matter how much precautions we give, some people just keep messing up. Didn’t Arthur get a finger cut off before?”
“When was that? You, old-timer, had your ankle messed up once too, didn’t you?”
“That’s just cruel. How can you publicly embarrass someone like that?”
“Sure, just say whatever you want…”
Arthur sighed and turned away from his senior.
The stories of lost fingers or ankles were too violent to be considered normal.
In Base 17, a bit of bodily harm was just a minor injury, and thanks to the medical technology of the Abnormal Phenomena Management Office, as long as one didn’t die, they could save someone who was critically injured.
“Still, it’s a relief, right? Losing an arm is a quick recoverable injury. It’s a good thing they didn’t come during the chaos.”
“Don’t say that in front of the newbie! They might just bolt at the first hint!”
Arthur thought about how cruel it was but couldn’t help but repeat it to himself.
Even though they had grown numb to people being rolled away with spurting blood, they were still terrified of dying.
Not too long ago, an entity that could obliterate humans had escaped, and a portal to a dimension of death had opened repeatedly in the base. If that horrifying fact reached the ears of the poor newcomer, it was clear that their mind would shatter like sand.
“By the way, is that thing all good now?”
“What thing?”
“You know, the incident during the escape. Last time, just mentioning it made the atmosphere awkward.”
“Oh, that’s all good. It’s in the past. If I dwelled on every little thing like that, I wouldn’t be able to work here.”
Arthur glanced at his senior, who was maintaining her usual stoic demeanor.
She probably hadn’t completely overcome it, but at least she wasn’t traumatized to the point of just recalling it anymore.
As she said, this place wasn’t a leisurely one where you could ruminate over past crises.
At the very least, she seemed to have reached the point where she could joke about those old times like they were light-hearted anecdotes.
“…”
He took a sip of his coffee while watching Sophia.
It seemed like she had something to say.
“What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“What? I can stare if I want. What’s with the sensitivity?”
“True, but you only stare like that when you want to ask something annoying.”
“…Can’t deny that.”
Did that show too much? He scratched his neck awkwardly.
Having spent a considerable amount of time together, they knew a lot about each other, but having one’s feelings exposed wasn’t a pleasant experience.
“So, what do you want to ask?”
Sophia prompted, her tone suggesting he should hurry up if he had something to ask.
“Well, it’s nothing major. It’s about that anomalous entity you’re in charge of.”
Despite Sophia’s assurance, Arthur was dragging his feet about what he was about to ask.
It was unavoidable. What he was about to ask was a sensitive topic.
Though he didn’t want to burden her mentally by bringing it up again when she was still confused after those incidents, he couldn’t keep his curiosity down anymore.
“Are you… possibly seeing your younger sibling in that entity?”
The question was about the family she had lost.
It was something common, especially for those in the Abnormal Phenomena Management Office.
There were no unwounded people there, and those who lost precious things were numerous enough to trip over.
Like other researchers, she too had a family member she had lost.
But no matter how common it was, it was still a sensitive topic.
Even if there were dismembered bodies scattered around, if someone had a knife stuck in their own gut, everyone would feel the sting.
Losing a family member would feel the same, so Arthur had to be extra cautious in posing the question.
“Sophia.”
Hearing her speak his name made him shudder slightly. He was feeling the tension.
But he couldn’t hold back anymore.
No matter how cute the entity was or how it behaved gently, behaviors stemming from anomalies could never truly comprehend human emotions.
Even if they showed interest, affection, or love, in the end, nothing would come back.
If she was projecting her lost family onto that entity, it was bound to lead to her getting hurt in the end.
He had to stop her from making that mistake for her sake.
“I understand what you want to say, but that was a long time ago.”
However, what came out of her mouth wasn’t the harsh words he had imagined, but a much softer tone than he had anticipated.
There was not a trace of anger or disappointment in her calm voice.
Unlike before, she was acting as if she had let everything go regarding what she had lost, and Arthur could finally breathe easier knowing Sophia had somewhat overcome her festering old wounds.
“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not hung up on the past as much as you think.”
“…Okay. If that’s the case, then I’m relieved.”
He said with a sense of comfort, and he went back to sipping on his coffee.
As long as she wasn’t reacting emotionally towards the 19th entity because of previous mistakes, he assumed he didn’t need to interfere any further.
Yeah. Putting a bunch of dolls in the anomalous entity’s room, making excessive bodily contact, and sending a pile of reports to the responsible researcher for taking it on walks – all of it was just because he thought the 19th was cute.
Wait a second.
Thinking about it, this might be a more serious issue.
“Wait, are you saying the reason you brought it outside solely because you thought it was cute?”
“Why are you so surprised? You were completely losing it wanting to pet the 19th as soon as you saw it. I saw all of it.”
“No, that’s not the same. At least I―”
As soon as their serious conversation ended, they fell back into their usual non-humorous banter.
With two cold cups of coffee in hand, as they walked towards the office, their previous serious demeanor was nowhere to be found, and even as they approached the office entrance, they showed no signs of wanting to end the ongoing discussion.
Suddenly, the whole base was filled with a loud WEEEEEEEEP!
They had to stop their ongoing conversation and momentarily freeze due to the sudden siren echoing throughout the place.
“…Emergency alarm?”
Arthur muttered, finding it strange.
The sound blaring throughout the base belonged to the most dangerous situations he knew.
For instance, when something had invaded the Responsible Researcher’s office…
Cratatatatatatatatata!
Just as that thought crossed his mind, loud gunfire began to erupt from somewhere nearby.
The deafening sound that seemed like it wanted to dismantle the entire base made Arthur instinctively feel that something was off.
CREEEAKE! AAAAHHHHHHHH!
Then came a gut-wrenching scream from the end of the hallway.
Moving faster than he could think, he was already preparing to bolt.
“Crap! I thought things were too quiet lately…!”
The curse tumbled from his lips.
After the escape incident with the 871st entity and the sudden changes of the 1983rd, now they were declaring a top-tier emergency situation?
He couldn’t think of it as anything else but a tightly tangled mess.
“Hurry, Sophia! If we don’t move, we’ll become sitting ducks like last time!”
He shouted as he roughly grabbed Sophia’s arm.
That piercing scream they had just heard came from somewhere not too far off.
Based on the conditions of the siren’s blaring and the direction of the sounds, something terrible was likely happening right in front of the Responsible Researcher’s office.
Having already tasted the terror of death at the hands of an abnormal phenomenon, he thought this time they really had to run, dragging along the still-dazed senior.
But for some reason, she seemed unwilling to move from her spot despite his words.
“Sophia?”
He called out, confused by her actions, turning to face her.
What he saw was a face that looked more than just terrified.
Her eyes were wide with fear, and her quickened breaths mirrored those of someone with a traumatic episode.
It was as if she was overlaying a past situation onto the present one.
“I-I just suddenly remembered something I left behind! I really have to go get it!”
She swatted away his grip and began to back away, her voice trembling.
Arthur immediately sensed what she was going to do and tried to stop her, but it seemed she couldn’t hear him anymore.
“Don’t worry about me! Go on ahead! I’ll catch up right after!”
“Wait, hold on…”
With each step, she distanced herself.
Where she was going was pretty clear. He could chase after her, but it would still take time to catch up, even if he started right away.
But the reason he wasn’t moving was that he was fully aware of how that was a suicide mission.
The incessant sound of gunfire and screeches still echoed vividly.
He shifted his gaze between the direction of safety and the direction Sophia had just taken.
“Dammit, overcoming what…”
As he scratched his head in frustration, he decided to just let things be and took off after her, running fast down the path she had gone.