Episode 5: Let's Go to the Lab!

"Hehehe, I heard all about it, Kotoyorozu~ You were quite the star!"

Last night I'd somehow ended up asleep in my futon at the dorm. When I came to the living room in the morning, I was immediately accosted by Koito-senpai, who was in high spirits and grinning from ear to ear.

"We got a super polite thank-you call from the Chaos people~♪ They said to give their regards to Kotoyorozu too... well, they called you 'Kotton' or something weird like that... but anyway, they said 'thank you very much'!"

That was definitely Léa.

"Basically, the Captain never gets praised by outsiders because of how she normally acts, so she's happy."

The twin tails bobbed up and down from the kitchen. Despite how rough yesterday must have been for her too, Koshiba was already making everyone's breakfast. What a trooper. I should help—

"Hey, Kotoyorozu! Get over here! Ahh, you're such a good boy! Good boy, good boy, noogie noogie~!"

"W-wait... Koito-senpai...!"

She put me in a headlock and ground her fist into my head. If some random old guy did this, it'd be 100% power harassment and sexual harassment combined, but when a beautiful senpai with a nice chest did it, the good smell and the sensation of her chest through the slightly stiff uniform fabric and various other soft things made me feel like I was losing my mind.

"Fwaaah... good morniiiing..."

"L-Luna-san!"

Luna-san came into the living room, saw me blushing to my ears in Koito-senpai's hold, and—

"...Huh. So you're into that stuff. Sure, whatever."

She shot me the saltiest side-eye I'd ever gotten from her.

"N-no, this isn't—"

"Ahhh! Kotoyorozu is such a good boy! I'm gonna rub my cheek on yours! Good boooy~!"

".............................."

I surrendered to the cheek-rubbing from the beautiful, always-joking-around senpai.

"So then, you two are officially enrolling in Azure Academy. Is that correct?"

At breakfast, Mef turned a businesslike gaze toward me and Luna-san.

"...Yeah. I'm fine with it. It was a farce with no real choice from the start anyway."

"Yeah, I've made up my mind too. I'll become an Azure Academy student!"

Luna-san was right—this "tour" had just been a formality following tradition, and we couldn't have escaped joining Azure Academy.

(But more than that—I've decided in my heart.)

After seeing that insane, horrific "Viscera Apartments."

(If my efforts can reduce incidents like that even a little—I want to try.)

Not that I'd be that much help, of course.

"Then I'll be distributing these to both of you."

What Mef produced were two sets of clothes. No—uniforms.

"Ooooooh!"

School uniforms! That crisp new-clothes smell! This definitely got me hyped!

"...I'm not really good with uniforms."

"Oh, it's not mandatory. It's just that this uniform has..."

Mef showed the lining.

"Functions like Physical Resistance LV1, Information Jamming Resistance LV1, and R-Value Fluctuation Resistance LV1, so wearing it is recommended. Though Luna-san probably doesn't need it."

...That was a bit disappointing. I'd wanted to see Luna-san in a uniform.

"And also these."

Mef distributed cards to us. They had our photos and were labeled "Wingless."

"Oh, student IDs?"

"No. Security cards. These will give you access to more areas within the academy."

Speaking of which... she continued.

"Starting today, you two will be working in the lab."

Lab? Seeing me and Luna-san tilt our heads, Koito-senpai smiled brightly.

"That's right! Starting today, you two will be—guinea pigs!"

■

A bird without wings is no different from a mouse crawling on the ground.

With that ridiculous logic (honestly, quite rude to rodents everywhere), Kotoyorozu-kun and I boarded Azure Academy's strangely long elevator, heading for a place called "the lab."

"This is amazing, Luna-san. How many floors underground do you think this goes?"

Kotoyorozu-kun murmured. The only part of the meticulously white elevator that showed any black—the display showing the current floor—read B-267. Meaning, basement floor 267.

(Probably one of the Expanded Spaces.)

Redefining spatial parameters to create a kind of "Otherworld." This method let you use any cramped space as a baseball field. A common trick for these weird organizations.

(Kotoyorozu-kun in his uniform is pretty cute though.)

The clothes he'd been wearing until yesterday suited him too, but the slightly oversized uniform hanging loosely on him brought out a childlike quality that was adorable. Made him seem his actual age.

"Oh, is this our floor?"

The elevator stopped with a slight clunk. A \ding\ sounded. The doors opened.

"GyByyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyッ!!"

The instant the doors opened, what appeared was a horrifically huge four-legged monster. Dozens of human arms grew from its back, and each of its three tongues had star-shaped eyeballs embedded in them.

"...Huh?"

While he couldn't process reality, I extended iron wire from my wrist.

"—Get back."

The monster charged at the elevator like a rocket. I grabbed Kotoyorozu-kun by the collar. He'd reflexively pressed the "close" button, but—it wouldn't make it in time.

"GyByyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyッ!!"

The monster lunged toward us—and in that instant, it was sliced apart like tokoroten being pushed through a press. We were showered in blood like a fire hose's worth.

"Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo, so gross"

I'd strung up the iron wire beforehand. This wire could cut through anything as hard as concrete like it was tofu. Any half-assed monster that charged in would just get shredded.

"A-are you okay, Luna-san?"

"...Feeling awful though."

Ugh, seriously. So disgusting! We desperately shoved the huge monster with its sliced-up brain out of the elevator, crawled out onto the blood-soaked floor, and got out.

"But what was this monster anyway?"

"They told us, didn't they? We're 'guinea pigs.' Meaning—we were probably used as bait."

The food for raptors and reptiles was always mice. Those Illuminati people didn't seem to have any normal sense of ethics anyway.

"Is anyone... here? Hello~. Excuse me~. Anyone home~?"

It was an office. Tall stacked bookshelves, a huge computer. The oddly spacious floor had just a single large white desk placed in it. I looked around, but there was no sign of anyone.

"Luna-san, look at this!"

Kotoyorozu-kun was staring at the desk. On it was a large, rugged handgun.

\"If you need something, shoot this at the floor."\

After exchanging glances with Kotoyorozu-kun, I picked up the gun. Being careful of ricochets, I pulled the trigger.

—BANG!

There was a loud sound and flash, and the bullet that flew from the gun cracked open like an egg.

"Phew... someone finally came..."

Sitting on the floor where I'd fired was a brown-skinned man.

(He's naked.)

Yikes. Looking at a naked guy is just gross and I don't wanna. Creepy.

"You there. Hand me that lab coat."

Kotoyorozu-kun, looking startled, obediently passed him the lab coat hanging on the wall.

"Hmm. So you're the newbies that weakling Von Simon mentioned."

The arrogant brown-skinned man looked around, spotted the monster corpse I'd killed, and murmured "hoh." He grabbed the chainsaw that had been leaning near the desk and started the engine.

"—My name is Termibek Janebekova. I am the master of this room."

The man sliced open the huge monster's belly with the rapidly spinning chainsaw. While we watched in shock, he pulled a human corpse out of the monster's stomach.

"Wha—who is that...?"

"This? This is me."

Ter was holding his own corpse. Huge bite marks from being eaten by the monster, skin already starting to melt on the surface. Other than that, Ter and the corpse looked exactly alike.

"Ew. What, gross. What is this. Ew. Gross. So gross. This is seriously too much."

"No, this is way beyond just 'gross'!"

Kotoyorozu-kun dutifully retorted to my airheaded comment. That side of him is cute, I think. When someone engages with my nonsense, it makes this emotionally unstable girl happy.

"This is the ability of my gun—'Weeping Giant Bird.'"

\\\[Weeping Giant Bird (Alp Kara Kush)]\\ \[Gunscar]

A Gunscar that "returns." A single-shot handgun. Fires a bullet that grows into a human with completely identical body, mind, and memories as the owner. A bullet is only loaded when the owner's heart stops.

"S-so that means..."

This Ter had just grown from a bullet. Which meant the corpse from the monster's stomach was...

"Yeah, this is the previous me."

"Previous?"

"The previous me was killed by this thing—Artificial Human No. 129—due to an experimental mishap. Hmph, what a fool. Hard to believe it's the same me."

Wasn't this guy constantly saying horrifyingly unethical things?

"So Ter-san's gun brings yourself back to life?"

"It's not that simple. Me and me are identical in memory, experience, and body—everything—but we're never continuous. One could argue that makes us different people."

So such an insane gun existed. The Angel of Gunscar was brutal.

"This gun only loads one bullet after I die. Meaning I can't fire it myself. That's the only troublesome, annoying part of this Gunscar."

Ah, so that's why only the handgun was left on the desk. So someone would shoot the bullet for him.

"Anyway..."

Kotoyorozu-kun said with an awkward smile.

"We're all covered in blood, so shouldn't we get cleaned up first?"

I nodded vigorously in complete agreement.

■

After borrowing the shower room, I changed into a fresh uniform (apparently these incidents were so routine they had endless spare uniforms) and returned to the lab.

"Forgot to mention earlier, but you look cute in that uniform."

"...Please stop teasing me."

Seeing me in uniform, Luna-san grinned. She was still in her usual jersey and maid outfit, but the blood was gone. Had she brought spares?

"Now then, once more—welcome to my palace of knowledge."

Termibek Janebekova-senpai puffed out his chest proudly. At some point, the monster's corpse had vanished. Another mysterious gadget unique to this academy?

"Von told me I could use you however I pleased."

"Wahoo~ Should I give you a shoulder massage then~?"

Luna-san asked with a loose grin.

"Wha—I-I'm not that kind of improper person...! B-besides, having someone of the opposite sex do that would be sexual harassment, I learned that properly in training...!"

Ter-senpai was surprisingly proper for an ore-sama type.

N-no way the newbie coming to my lab would be a woman

And she looks kinda scary too. So many piercings. Ugh... I can't look her in the eye...

Ter-senpai was surprisingly bad with women for an ore-sama type.

"Now then—"

Ter-senpai knocked twice on the desk. At the same time, the contents of the bookshelves floated up and formed an arch. With a faint light, the book arch transformed into an actual door. A long corridor stretched beyond.

"! Is this an Apocalypse too?"

"Hm? No, this is traditional Miracle Theory. Hmph, country bumpkins from the surface wouldn't know."

I didn't even know what Miracle Theory was. Luna-san whispered in my ear, "Uh, roughly speaking it's like magic? Totally half-assing this explanation though."

"This is the area where Stage 2 and below Apocalypses are stored. Most haven't been investigated."

We followed Ter-senpai down the magical corridor. On both sides, separated by glass, were many research rooms. Research rooms... I said, but their contents were quite barren.

"Wow..."

Each had just a one-meter pedestal with various items placed on top—like an unremarkable teacup, or a one-eyed clown's severed head, or chopsticks that changed color depending on viewing angle.

"Kinda fun, isn't it? Getting pumped up. Right, Kotoyorozu-kun?"

It felt like being in a weird museum. My excitement was definitely rising.

"The Apocalypses I store number over 300. About 30 sections."

That was a staggering number. Each one held the potential to destroy the world.

"Stage 2 Apocalypses that don't move autonomously. Basically, small fry. Not worth someone of my caliber bothering with—but that doesn't mean none of them are useful for committee activities."

"So that means..."

"Yes. You two will investigate the Apocalypses in this area and compile reports."

Before facing truly dangerous monsters, we'd warm up with weak ones?

"Hmph. Do as you please after this. I'm busy."

With that, Ter-senpai brusquely turned away.

"If you sense danger, report to me immediately. Even Stage 2 includes many Apocalypses that could easily kill one human. Always wear safety gloves and helmets. I'll order lunch delivery from the cafeteria, so write your orders on the form and give it to me. Oh, use the water cooler freely."

"Ter-senpai, are you... actually the caring type?"

"Hmph! I couldn't care less about the ignorant masses!"

Ter-senpai strode away like a king.

"Also, the bathroom is at the end of the hall on the left!"

Ter-senpai was caring until the very end.

This corridor apparently stored about 30 Apocalypses. In front of each room were heavy locks and plain documents.

"I'm interested in this one. The clown head. Isn't it cute?"

"...Luna-san, your standards for cute are mysterious."

"Huh? You in your uniform are just normally cute? For real."

"Wh-why do you keep teasing me?"

Seeing me genuinely flustered, Luna-san grinned. She picked up the documents for the clown head. I peered over her shoulder.

\\\[No. 1821: "Remains of Circus Calum"]\\

\\Properties:\\ Unknown

\\History:\\ City streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Discovered August 2021.

A random stabbing incident occurred involving an adult male claiming he had "escaped from Circus Calum."

The man was apprehended by police but self-immolated at the detention facility. No gasoline or ignition source was confirmed, so the method is unknown.

Among the man's burned remains, only the head was completely unharmed.

Several days later, the police officer who had first discovered the body committed suicide, leaving a note:

"You cannot escape from Circus Calum.

Circus Calum is my son.

Circus Calum is my wife.

Circus Calum is my future self.

Circus Calum is a single gaze watching the shadow you've stepped through.

Please don't take my head anywhere."

The officer died by jumping from a high-rise building. His head was completely unharmed.

Luna-san and I looked at each other.

"Let's skip this one."

"Yeah, definitely saving this for last."

"I-it's not like I'm scared or anything."

"R-right. I'm just... not in the mood for it."

Through the glass, we stared at the "Remains of Circus Calum." It was a clown head with a wide grin. But looking closely, it wasn't just one head.

Several small, dried human heads were tied around the clown's neck. Before investigating, we had no idea why the heads were shrunk, whose heads they were, or what that clown was. Everything was unknown.

(He said Stage 2 Apocalypses were just small fry!)

One wrong move and we could die at any moment.

"...We should seriously think hard about which Apocalypse to investigate. Phew. Kotoyorozu-kun, shouldn't we start with the least dangerous-looking ones? We're level 1 scrubs here."

"Completely agree."

We walked down the corridor, browsing the Apocalypses.

By afternoon, Luna-san and I had narrowed our investigation candidates to two.

"I think this 'Etherveil Teacup' would be good. That's my take."

The Apocalypse Luna-san was pushing was a teacup that "returns poured liquid to its tea leaf state." Pouring black tea generated normal tea leaves, but what happened when pouring other liquids hadn't been tested yet, leaving room for investigation.

"The Apocalypse I'm curious about is this one... 'The Iron Heart.'"

It was an 80-meter steel heart beneath the surface of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park, Tokyo. Despite clearly not being biological, it pulsed steadily. Everything else about it was a complete mystery.

"I mean, I'm curious too! The heart! I super wanna go to Tokyo!"

"...Yeah, I guess..."

My homeland, Japan. I hadn't been back in years. It was true I wanted to eat convenience store onigiri again. Luna-san seemed to understand that too, but she shook her head.

"Let's be practical and tackle something we can actually solve. Right?"

"Yeah... I guess..."

"Something wrong?"

When she asked, I hesitated a moment before speaking.

"That teacup gives me a bad feeling."

"Huh?"

"It feels like it \wants\ to be experimented on. I sense malicious intent to deceive us."

That means, Luna-san murmured. Honestly, I didn't want to believe it myself, but.

"—Kotoyorozu-kun. Can you peek into the minds of Apocalypses too?"

Apparently I could. Was this a good thing? Somehow, I didn't feel like it was. Rather, I sensed something powerful—a fate as black as darkness.

"Okay. If you say so, let's skip this one."

I didn't sense will from every Apocalypse. But from several, I felt terrifyingly strong mental force. The teacup was one of them.

"You'll believe me?"

"...I'll ask you the opposite. In this situation, is there anyone I can trust besides you?"

She smiled gently, and I found myself smiling loosely too. Of course. For me too, the only person I could truly trust in this world right now was Luna-san.

"But The Iron Heart is way too mysterious, isn't it? We go all the way to Ueno, puooon... and then how do we even investigate? I have zero clue, lol."

"We bring a full diving suit set to Shinobazu Pond?"

"And if we find out nothing, that's wasted effort. We'd be totally useless."

True. As Luna-san said, the best approach was to investigate an Apocalypse where we could definitely be helpful.

(Let me rethink this from scratch—)

When I tried to peer deeply into someone's mind, I'd take a deep breath, close my eyes, and concentrate. Maybe I could peer deeper into Apocalypse minds the same way? That might change things.

8°24'025"—130°50'035"

"...What?"

No, I hadn't even started concentrating yet.

(Where did that mental voice come from...?)

The mental vector was definitely directed at me. I looked toward where the voice came from.

"—Huh?"

I pointed at one room. Its door wasn't white like the others—it was dyed deep red.

"...Was this room here before?"

"What do you mean?"

"This bright red room."

When I answered, Luna-san's eyes went wide in surprise.

"Huh? You're right. This definitely wasn't here before. I didn't notice until you pointed it out. What? That's creepy."

In this pure white corridor, blood-red stood out too much. There was no way we'd miss it at first glance. We stared through the large glass window into the red room.

"Are those... masks?"

And not just one or two. Countless masks were piled high in the red room. Luna-san picked up the documents by the door.

\\\[No. 228: "Mud Masks"]\\

\\Properties:\\ Unknown (Take Cognitive Neutralization Medication when researching!)

\\History:\\ Discovered from 1993 to 2023 along coastlines from East Asia to the Americas.

312 masks have been stored to date. The material has properties similar to sand but a completely unknown composition.

Apocalypse Potential measurement devices give Stage 2 readings, but its properties are unknown.

(Many masks found along Pacific coasts. We don't know what they're made of or what their purpose is. We only know for certain they're a relatively weak Apocalypse—is that it?)

8°24'025"—130°50'035"

8°24'025"—130°50'035"

I knew it—the masks had been directing their mental vector at me this whole time. Desperately trying to convey something. What was this string of numbers?

(But... somehow... they seem so desperate—and sad.)

Like they were asking for help, I felt. That intuition was almost certainty.

"Luna-san. These things have been trying to tell me something."

"Hm? What. Should I take notes?"

When I relayed the numbers to Luna-san, she formed letters in the air with her thread as a makeshift notepad.

"Isn't this—coordinates? Latitude and longitude. Well, probably."

Apparently we needed a map. A smartphone would be handy at times like this. But since Luna-san and I had only been freed from captivity a few days ago, there was no way we'd have one.

"I think we should investigate this."

"Mm, roger."

"...That's it?"

Luna-san smiled wryly.

"Like I keep saying. I trust you. Wow, that sounds so lame even to me, lol."

Luna-san murmured, looking embarrassed, and lightly nudged my shoulder.