NOVEL NEXT WORLD Bang! The door slammed shut violently.
The sound came from the room across the way.
As the heavy door, which had just begun to open, revealed a view that was completely different from this place, I couldn’t help but note that.
For sure, that door which had just been wide open,
closed harshly as soon as I confirmed it.
‘Kind of feels like I’ve been hurt a little.’
I squinted at the door, feeling a complicated array of emotions.
It’s generally an act that causes emotional harm to someone, no matter their gender or age, when you suddenly close the door on someone taken by surprise.
Especially if that person previously gave you overt signals to kick them out of the house, it’s even worse.
Being someone who’s never really been very observant, I had just joyfully barged around back then despite seeing so many exits, blissfully unaware.
But after hearing all sorts of explanations later, I finally realized what that scene actually meant.
“Didn’t they say it’s dangerous when it closes?”
[…They did. But it feels a bit different from that situation right now.]
Of course, I had no intention of just turning back.
If what I heard previously is correct, that thing is more like a monster that eats people than a kind landlord rejecting intruders.
They probably let me in back then with some nasty intention, to begin with.
Now begging not to be let in would earn me not even a smidgen of sympathy.
[19th entity, can you open that door?]
“I’ll give it a try.”
At Oliver’s words, I nodded and walked towards the closed door.
As I approached it and reached for the handle to open it, the knob held firm, indicating it would allow no one entry with a stubborn gesture.
‘…It won’t budge.’
I shook the door gently but all that came was a clinking sound and no movement.
Yeah, this isn’t working. It’s completely locked.
[So regular methods won’t work after all.]
“Should I try to force it? Though it might break a bit.”
[…Please refrain from doing that. I mentioned it before, but we don’t know what happens if it gets damaged.]
After asking Oliver, he warned me against it.
Looks like using force is off the table.
Honestly, it’s frustrating, but I can’t gamble with other people’s lives either.
I started thinking, wondering if there could be another way to open this door.
‘Speaking of which, last time I went in….’
While I recalled past events, something suddenly sparked in my mind.
Thinking back, that thing acted like it had a sense of self, didn’t it?
Trying to send me outside, and slamming the door so hastily just now was definitely an action of someone with self-awareness.
In that case, it might be possible to engage in some dialogue.
Extending my hand towards the closed door to verify my assumption,
“Open up.”
Tap, tap, tap.
As I knocked, the sound echoed lightly around,
But the door remained tightly closed, still offering no hint of movement.
“I’m aware you’re listening.”
I knocked once again, this time a bit harder, but still, the door remained flat.
Weird. It’s talking, but ignoring me.
“I won’t intrude. Just open it for me.”
No, let’s think this through a bit.
I’ve messed around inside a bit, but that thing let me in initially.
Considering Oliver’s words about countless people disappearing inside there, it’s hard to say its actions were benign.
But what damage have I really done? Just explored a little here and there.
Still, it’s treating me like a home invader…
Geez, now that I think about it, it’s rather annoying.
“Open up!”
With my head feeling a bit hot, I unconsciously put strength in my voice.
I quickly disengaged from the doorknob, fearing it might break.
—Crash!
Suddenly, with the same tremendous force as when it closed,
the door that seemed like it would never open flew wide open in an instant.
“…It opened.”
After successfully getting the door open through logical argument and persuasion,
I looked beyond the doorway but was disappointed to find it had become a space I could no longer enter.
For beyond the door was not a scene completely different from here, like before…
But just an ordinary door showing nothing worth mentioning, mirroring this very place.
“What the heck is going on?”
I wondered if I had accidentally triggered something wrong, so I turned to Oliver,
but he remained silent for a long moment, looking pensive before finally replying,
[…I don’t know either.]
With a voice that seemed somewhat troubled, he answered me.
Experiment Log 1983-19-1
Date: ████ Year, October 12
Experiment Details: Cross-experiment of 1983rd abnormal phenomenon and 163-19 anomalous entity
During an interview with the 163-19 anomalous entity, it was confirmed that this entity is immune within the 1983rd abnormal phenomenon.
Wishing to explore the interior of the said abnormal phenomenon using the 163-19 entity, the entity abruptly closed the door upon the appearance of the 163-19 anomalous entity.
This unexpected phenomenon did not align with the emergency situation that occurred a few weeks prior, as it was confirmed that the characteristic of the abnormal phenomenon did not shift to any door within a certain distance.
Not long after the 1983rd abnormal phenomenon closed the door, it opened again,
but since then, the unique characteristics leading to an unknown space seem to have disappeared.
Oliver was deep in thought.
Well, that’s a pretty common thing.
For someone managing a facility where people often drop like flies, existential dread follows them around like a loyal shadow.
Especially when countless lives could vanish from a single mistake of theirs.
It was typical for him to reflect on even the simplest tasks dozens of times over.
From the moment he witnessed his superior being brutally harmed and dying at the hands of an anomaly during his rookie days, he realized he was doomed to never lead a peaceful life.
“…”
But this time, it wasn’t concern over such reasons.
It was a different kind of dilemma, far more lightweight than the usual cruel and harsh worries.
After seeing through the screen, showing the anomaly that had turned the base upside down a month ago —
[This time, it’s being rather quiet.]
The sight of a girl standing there holding a pitch-black shadow in one hand plunged him into an inexplicable inferiority complex.
“I’m really at a loss here, but how are you… actually holding that?”
[This? I just grabbed and lifted it.]
“So what I’m saying is… never mind. Sorry.”
Oliver closed his eyes.
Ever since starting this job, the years had been nothing but war.
Not in the sense of merely being tired and exhausted, but a real war.
Having witnessed countless people getting injured and dying against unknown monsters,
and with both the 1983rd and the 871st anomalies claiming many lives.
The sight of an unknown creature, impervious to all attacks aside from light, being held so helplessly in the girl’s hands.
Thinking back on his past years, he felt deep emptiness welling from within.
[So, what now? Tame it?]
At the voice of the girl coming through the communication device, he snapped back to reality.
“No, this experiment’s merely to check if you can physically interact with it.”
The 871st abnormal phenomenon cannot be harmed by any physical attack except light.
But considering how it had willingly entered the isolation room without causing any injuries during the previous escape incident, the girl must have used some method.
Although this crossover experiment was just planned to verify that method,
what the girl showcased was not some sort of special magic,
but merely the act of pulling it up from the ground.
‘Feels like I’m in a dream…’
Oliver muttered inside his mind.
Of course, this bizarre sight was a hundred times better than gory scenes.
But if one’s life’s work can be accomplished in an instant by something else…
It was only natural to feel emptiness.
[So, is this it for today?]
“That’s right. But there’s still one last question to ask before wrapping things up.”
However, there was no room for Oliver to feel that emptiness.
What was happening before him was just a part of his overarching goal.
If truly he wished for the tranquility of humanity, instead of feeling empty about the scene unfolding,
it was crucial for him, as a researcher and manager of this place, to discover how to conquer these unknown anomalies.
“The 871st abnormal phenomenon isn’t inherently a passive entity. It actively seeks nearby living creatures. Yet, ever since the day you interacted with it, it oddly chose to isolate itself.”
This also rang true for the 871st.
Despite now exhibiting passive movement, showing no signs of aggressive tendencies towards living beings like it used to,
it originally had a threat level of IV, a monster responsible for many escape incidents and casualties.
So, if the girl was truly the reason it had changed to this state…
He needed to uncover the method from the girl, no matter the cost.
“Can you tell me what influence you had on it that day?”
Following his question,
the girl seemed to contemplate for a moment, staring at the empty ceiling,
[It was just being aggressive suddenly, so I made it calm down.]
Finally, she blurted out that short reply.
“…Made it calm down? What does that mean?”
Oliver asked again.
He just couldn’t wrap his head around the girl’s words.
The phrase “made it calm down” sounded similar to…
[Usually, if you hit an animal, it calms down.]
With a brief response like before.
The words caused Oliver to fall into deep thought for a moment,
before ultimately deciding to let go of any complicated thoughts.