"Mumble."

I got to see the cute look on the forehead gla.s.ses Cla.s.s Rep's face as she woke up.

"H-huh? Everything's all wet inside my skirt… Wait, what is this!? I'm soaked with blood, I reek of roses, and Satori-kun is carrying me bandit-style inside some kind of abandoned building!?"

"Ha ha ha. Are your memories still all mixed up, Cla.s.s Rep? But not to worry. The scary part is over."

"Y'know, Onii-chan, you should probably stop rubbing your cheek against her thigh with that refreshed smile and put her down. The view up her skirt is kind of incredible from straight ahead."

"Wait, you can see that, Ayumi-chan?"

"It's like a parabolic antenna."

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!?"

She really started to struggle now, so I decided it was time. I obediently lowered her from my shoulder to the floor. Heh, I'm not the kind of guy to force people to do what they don't want. Although I will secretly make a Cla.s.s Rep swimsuit dance file set!

The cursed coffin had fully met its demise after having the lid stabbed through with the end of several metal pipes and the head of some golf clubs. It was the perfect Kagami Biraki for such a momentous occasion. The Cla.s.s Rep had turned into a vampire from being exposed to a curse instead of being bitten, so she could return to normal if we destroyed the item producing the curse.

…This was an extreme exception. It was nothing but dumb luck that this was based on the Polish Vampire Princess. If she had been bitten by the kind of normal vampire you find walking around, there wouldn't have been any hope of returning her to normal.

I got along with my vampire older sister and zombie little sister…or I tried to. But I was not going to offer up myself or people I cared for. That wasn't my idea of "coexistence".

With the cursed coffin destroyed and the Cla.s.s Rep safely returned from Dhampir to human, we had no more business here. There was no abnormality on the X-ray screen, but I didn't want to stick around in the radiology department filled with machinery that might not be safe. Who could say what was leaking out of the rusted areas or cracked plastic.

We all left the bas.e.m.e.nt and made our way to the first floor. Now that we were all together, the late-night abandoned hospital no longer felt scary.

Erika opened her mouth once we arrived in the large lobby on the first floor. The lobby was probably used for making appointments, paying, and receiving prescriptions, so you would've had room for a basketball game if you removed all of the benches.

"So, Satori-kun."

"Yeah?"

"…What are we going to do now?"

She was referring to the unseen person we guessed was still hiding in the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital. We didn't know if they were young or old, man or woman, or even human or Archenemy, but since they had so thoroughly hidden their presence while interfering with our actions, they seemed quite dangerous. I doubted it was just a brave boy on a test of courage who had happened across us and decided to help out. Their actions were just too perfect and it felt like we couldn't even track down a slight trace of their presence.

For example, if someone happened across a fire and ran into the burning building to save a child trapped inside, they wouldn't think about covering their tracks by wearing gloves, wrapping a towel around their mouth, keeping their hair inside a hat, and wearing a mask to catch any saliva.

And today had been nowhere near peaceful enough to unconditionally trust someone who was following us while hiding their ident.i.ty.

Who had gone to the trouble of unlocking all the bas.e.m.e.nt doors?

I was extremely curious about that, but…

"I don't want to have to redo all this because the Cla.s.s Rep gets captured again. Whoever it was probably saw that we went out of our way to return her to normal instead of defeating her, so they might think of taking her hostage if they have business with us."

The abandoned hospital's Ghost management program had showed no sign of understanding that, but this was probably a human or Archenemy. They would probably easily come up with the idea of capturing me or the Cla.s.s Rep before trying to deal with my vampire older sister or zombie little sister.

"Hey, Onii-chan, about that…"

"Yes. When the range of activity is set, like with the Polish Vampire Princess, taking Cla.s.s Rep-chan back to her home is enough to guarantee her safety, but wouldn't that be meaningless if that isn't the case? I bet they would just break into her house and kidnap her there."

"Oh, honestly! Wasn't there some traditional rule about vampires not being able to enter houses without permission!?"

"Well, yes," admitted Erika. "But we don't know what kind of Archenemy we're dealing with here. If they're a werewolf or skeleton, that does us no good."

"And we don't even know it's an Archenemy," added Ayumi. "It might be a normal human who's a normal murderer."

Dammit, that means I can't relax yet! Whoever it was knew what we looked like and we didn't know the same about them. So if we let them get away here, they could attack us at any time afterwards. Would we be safe at home? Would our schools get caught up in this mess? Would my parents or sisters be safe when they went out? Would we have to worry about that forever and ever? Screw that!!

"Change of plans. Let's settle all of this tonight. Leaving anything undone will only lead to trouble."

But playing a game of hide-and-seek against a single person in the large Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital would be difficult. For one thing, they had no reason to stay in the abandoned hospital. If they sensed danger, they would probably think of retreating. I had Maxwell and Laplace, but our manpower was enough to count on a single hand. I had even destroyed the controls for the hospital's deadly motocross bikes, so I couldn't use their cameras now. Even just watching the exits would be difficult and splitting up could easily lead to one of us being attacked. That was a real concern for an intellectual type like me or for the Cla.s.s Rep with her regained humanity.

If we were going to split up, we would have to place Erika and Ayumi on separate teams, place me on one team, and place the Cla.s.s Rep on the other. Any other way would leave us with a non-Archenemy human team and that would lead to either death or abduction.

It was that or search as one big group. One big group was safest, but we would naturally make more noise that way and the search would take longer. And it could easily lead to the foolish situation where the target of our search fled through the back entrance while we were searching from the front.

What would we do?

What was I supposed to choose?

"User."

But before I made up my mind, Maxwell interrupted with an SNS speech bubble.

"I have detected some concerning movement on a video sharing site. I doubt it is unrelated to the current situation."

"A video sharing site…?"

The first possibility that came to mind was the unseen person filming us using a digital video camera or smartphone. But what for? a.s.suming they were human, were they revealing Erika and Ayumi's ridiculous fighting skill to the world so they would look like a threat? …That might have stirred up the ma.s.ses half a year before, but it wouldn't work now. After all, it was just a few days ago that the Colosseum had turned Archenemy battles into a major show business and broadcast them nationally. Some of it had even swept across the world via the internet. It was true that Archenemy battles were impressive, but everyone was already accustomed to them. And as seen from the Bright Cross's collapse, the current trend was to see Archenemies as victims more than anything. Uploading a video meant to inspire a bigoted negative impression would only get the poster attacked in the comments.

I gathered my thoughts and explained them to Maxwell, but his…no, her response was a surprising one.

"No. That is not the intent here."

"What?"

I frowned. What else was there? Could they be trying to make Maxwell into a threat? Whatever the case, I used my smartphone to check the video in question.

There might have been more videos than there were people on this planet, but Maxwell guided me to one with a red circle indicating rapidly rising popularity.

It was t.i.tled "A Round of Applause is in Order".

We all gathered around and stared at the smartphone. It did indeed show the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital. It was terribly grainy and blurry due to using night-vision, but what was being said plainly reached our ears.

However, the focus was not on my vampire older sister or my zombie little sister. Nor was it the Dhampir-ized Cla.s.s Rep or Maxwell the disaster environment simulator.

"…Then I'll create one."

It was me.

I didn't know who, but someone was focused on me, a human, for some unknown reason.

"I'm already living with Erika and Ayumi. There's no problem there! So there has to be something! The answer is right there next to me; I just need to give it a name and a form!! It won't be a society where everyone fears the death penalty and it won't be a society where you think like you're making all your decisions but even the color of your underwear was decided for you! It will be something kinder, more just, and more normal!! There has to be a way for humans and the undead to get along!!"

But why?

What value was there in this naïve-sounding exchange of words? Wouldn't it be far more worthwhile to introduce the lifestyle or traits of Archenemies?

"Do it, Maxwell. I regret destroying the Bright Cross without thinking it through, but I've still decided to keep moving forward. I won't stop even if it means blowing away that absolute guidance society! So do it!! Clean this planet of that method where someone sits in their throne and looks arrogantly down on everyone else!!"

I couldn't figure it out no matter how much I looked into the details.

But the answer came from a surprising place. In order to view every centimeter of the video with my eyes as wide as dinner plates, I had turned the comments off. But once I replayed the video with them on, a flood of words rushed in.

"Well said!!"

"I've been keeping a low profile and hiding that I'm a yeti this whole time, but I'm done with that. I feel like this new age is one I can live in."

"That was a close one, nyah. I was just about to give up on humans."

"I feel like we can trust this one, don't you?"

"I mean, he's the same guy who tore down the Colosseum and rescued the trapped Archenemies the other day."

"Kyah! I want his babies!"

"He's gotta be a giant kraken or something."

"In all seriousness, I want him to act as an international representative. Could he maybe get involved in all of our troubles with humans? Like some kind of amba.s.sador or something?"

"j.a.panese highschools is crazy! All wizards and psychics! I very very love!!"

"If you can type in j.a.panese, why can you only use such broken j.a.panese?"

"That's obviously because she's actually a short, bob-cut kimono girl who's very shy. Open your inner eye and reach enlightenment, Warrior of July."

"The best part is how he doesn't choose to support just humans or just Archenemies."

"For humans and the undead, he wants to reward the good ones and punish the bad ones. Honestly, why can't all the other supposedly smart people do something so simple?"

"I cried when the boy refused to give up on the half-Archenemy girl and continued looking for the coffin! (sob)"

"Although he is something of a pervert."

"They do say great men enjoy sensual pleasures."

"That saying is the perfect example of how the winners justify their own actions."

"It'd be a little too heavy if he went the self-sacrifice route and asked to be bitten too, so this is about the perfect distance to keep."

"I want to call him colonel."

"But he doesn't have a beret, eyepatch, or cigar!"

"Colonel!"

"Colonel!!"

"Wait, it's already spreading!?"

"…What the h.e.l.l is this?"

I felt like I was viewing the commotion from the outside. Was it really me at the center of all that? Being buried in anonymous comments made me feel as distant as someone on the other side of the planet. No, it was as grotesquely hard to accept as learning a Martian was walking around in a disguise that made him indistinguishable from a human. Was that really Amatsu Satori? Where had "I" gone!?

"The video was meant to…raise Satori-kun up as a hero…?"

The Cla.s.s Rep gave voice to her confusion.

And surprisingly, it was Ayumi who provided further information.

"No. This might be more than just the video. The entire abandoned hospital incident was used to lionize Onii-chan."

"So it's meant to gather all the world's Archenemies around Satori-kun?" asked Erika. "No, it might not be that simple. If they increase his reputation and then make a show of killing him, the shock will be even greater the more people have gathered around him. And that confusion could lead to Archenemies rioting all across the world at the same time."

Either way, this was bad.

It was a mystery how the video's uploader wanted the world to view me, but it was only a matter of time before this information matured and settled into the public consciousness. You had to strike while the iron was hot, but you had to let it cool once you were done. That meant whoever was hiding in the convalescent hospital had finished their job with this. They had no more reason to stick around, so they would escape without leaving any hint behind.

"Maxwell! Who uploaded the video? I'm sure it was pa.s.sed through several proxy servers like usual, but work your way to the source anyway. Do you think you can get through it all?"

"Sure. Do not underestimate the processing power of the system you yourself built."

Theoretically, no route was completely untraceable. If it was, you couldn't get data from Point A to Point B. When a drama or movie said that something had been pa.s.sed through foreign servers, that was not a technical limitation. It was mostly saying that several countries' judicial branches would be involved, and that was a pain to work with. Not every country had signed international treaties ensuring cooperation on criminal investigations and things got even harder when it involved politically untouchable routes such as emba.s.sies or military satellites. If a single country's police tried to trace the signal on their own, they would never find the answer.

However.

Those barriers meant nothing when it came to Maxwell who would not ask for permission in the first place.

"…Fiber optic cable is used to travel around the planet a total of four times and it makes a jump using five civilian zombie computers infected with a remote-control virus, but this is likely the origin point. I doubt there is anything further than this."

At times like this, Maxwell did a perfect job since she was not led astray by emotion.

Meanwhile, I was driven to confusion by the result she gave me.

"What is this, Maxwell? Are you sure this wasn't just a relay point?"

"Sure. This is the origin point."

"You're…kidding."

No one moved.

The divulged name was displayed at the center of my smartphone screen. It came from the contract information for the smartphone used to post the video.

Amatsu Yurina.

My…stepmom…from the remarriage…?

At first, I had honestly not gotten along well with the stepmother who had brought Erika and Ayumi with her. She had been too young to think of as a mother, but too old to think of as a big sister. She was beautiful and kind, but that was what made it so hard to judge the distance between us. I always got nervous around her and waited for her to speak to me first, so I had to have been a pain-in-the-a.s.s kid for someone who married into the family. Although she always played with me without showing any displeasure with my behavior.

And my trouble with her had probably been rooted in the fact that there was another woman who the word "mom" more readily brought to mind.

My difficulties with her had vanished for an incredibly self-serving reason: parents day at school. That beautiful and kind mother's age was hard to judge and she could even pa.s.s for college-aged if she tried, so she became the talk of our cla.s.s and, for some reason, that improved my standing. While the other cla.s.smates' parents found her embarra.s.sing and criticized her use of perfume or wearing a pearl necklace, she had stood proudly tall and created a bright presence.

I had been proud to call her my mom.

A child's greed is a frightening thing indeed.

…To be honest, it's the same with Erika and Ayumi, but when I look back, I feel like that could have ended very badly - perhaps even in an outright disaster - if that forehead gla.s.ses Cla.s.s Rep hadn't been by my side. In that way, I was thankful for having a normal person as a childhood friend. I was glad I liked her, as embarra.s.sing as that was to admit!!

"But why would my stepmom do that…?"

I didn't understand.

So even though we had the answer, I began searching for a way to reject it.

"O-oh, right. Maxwell, this only means it came from her phone, right? So maybe someone stole it. They could have chosen it intentionally to confuse us…"

"No. Miss Amatsu Yurina dislikes having to memorize a pa.s.scode, so she generally uses biometric authorization: fingerprint, vein pattern, retina, earhole, etc… Each and every one of them is difficult to reproduce."

"There might be an Archenemy that can do that, right!? Maybe they can freely change their appearance!!"

They were all part of my family, but this felt different from when it had looked like my sisters had turned against me. My image of an adult had been shaken. That was a powerful shock for a kid. During adolescence and during a rebellious phase, you might say adults don't play fair and teachers are out to get you, but actually seeing it for yourself was entirely different. It was…yes, it was exactly the same as back then. I had believed my family was entirely safe and there was nothing to worry about, but I had realized too late that things had cooled to the breaking point between my parents and it felt like all of those happy memories were being rejected.

The creeping premonition of collapse was enough for me to freeze up. I felt dizzy, I had trouble breathing, and an awfully cold sweat continually flowed from my forehead.

I felt like this went far beyond a sibling quarrel. The peace that supported my lifestyle was being threatened. Would it collapse again? Would I lose it all again? I couldn't bear that! I didn't want to see my family divided up as strangers over and over!!

Meanwhile.

Maxwell must have decided there was no convincing me with words because she did something else. She selected a familiar number from my smartphone's address book and made a call.

Yes.

I'll say that again: a call.

The melody of a perfectly ordinary pop song played so lightly I could barely hear it.

It seemed to seep out of the darkness and from the abandoned hospital as a whole. But that was enough to feel like the word "home" was falling apart via Gestaltzerfall. It hit me directly in the heart instead of the center of my head. My chest ached like I had stepped out the front door and immediately found a dump truck approaching me from head-on.

She was there.

In the darkness.

"Yurina…-san…?"

I wasn't sure what to call her and I oddly reverted to the more distant form of address from shortly after the remarriage. My mind continued to reject it, but my heart had already accepted this fear. And my subconscious was probably telling me to re-judge my distance from her.

I could have sworn I heard laughter from that highly viscous darkness.

She was a little taller than the average woman. Her white body had an even more ample build than Erika's. Her long, fluffy red hair was tied back with a hair tie. She wore a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her b.u.t.t showed through. That alone gave her a casual look and anyone would have believed it if they were told she was a college girl, but wearing an ap.r.o.n on top of that really made her look like a homemaker. She was a strange person.

But.

That ordinary appearance was what made her feel so out of place in somewhere as out of the ordinary as the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital. Her presence felt even creepier than taking a group photo and finding there were too many legs in the picture.

Just like back then, the look on her face was soft but somewhat troubled and very, very kind.

And she spoke with a comforting voice.

"Oh? You can show your affection by calling me 'mom' if you want."

This was no time for a belligerent smile over finally facing a formidable foe. Why was she here? What was she doing? What was that video for? How was she involved in the relations.h.i.+p between humans and Archenemies? I had so many questions for her, but I couldn't even get my tongue to move.

My vision seemed to waver and then I noisily collapsed to the floor. To the others, it would have looked like a guy collapsing from shock just because his young stepmother spoke kindly to him. And the girl I had feelings for was watching. It had to have looked comically pathetic. If our cla.s.smates learned about it, I could hardly complain when they gave me some cruel nickname.

But that was my limit.

The core of my heart really had been torn apart.

And because they too were family, Erika and Ayumi understood my pain and exploded before I could.

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing, you old haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!???"

"What the h.e.l.l are you doing, you old haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag!!!???"

With explosive sounds on the left and right, all the benches left in the lobby were blown away. A zombie and vampire were representative Archenemies which could threaten a city, country, or even continent depending on how they used their powers. And now they had given into their anger and were charging forward.

But.

And yet…!?

"Oh, dear."

Her voice was as gentle as someone thinking of leaving for the local supermarket and noticing it had started to rain a little.

That was all.

"Wha-…!?"

Erika's body spun vertically through the air. Her gothic lolita dress and gorgeous blonde ringlet curls danced in a circle after a moment's delay. And my redheaded stepmom, Amatsu Yurina, didn't even bother watching her daughter fall. She instead grabbed a surprised Ayumi's collar as the zombie girl tried to slip in from below.

"Uuh!!"

She then forcefully spun herself around on her support leg and threw Ayumi's small body into the air behind her like part of the hammer throw.

The two sisters collided in midair and collapsed to the dirty floor without any real preparation for the impact. A horrifically loud noise burst out. Amatsu Yurina probably could have attacked them again as they struggled to get back up, but she intentionally wasted that opportunity. As if to say she could supply a finis.h.i.+ng blow at any time.

And the action she took instead was simple.

She turned around.

That monster with a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her b.u.t.t showed through faced me where I still lay pathetically collapsed on the floor.

"…Who the h.e.l.l are you…!?"

"I am Amatsu Taizou's wife and Amatsu Satori's mother. I am the homemaker who works part time as a cas.h.i.+er and whose name is known at the afternoon mama's club. And that name is…Amatsu Yurina! Tah dah!!"

Yeah, right

There was no way she could be summed up like that!

Even if a zombie and vampire were most powerful when it came to infectiousness, they each had ten or twenty times the strength of a human. They clearly weren't an opponent a normal human could take on barehanded!!

I would have found it more convincing to hear this was a Little Grey from Mars wearing a disguise identical to my stepmom!!

No.

Wait.

She looked oddly young to call my mother. She had the abnormal physical strength to defeat a zombie and vampire at the same time. And more importantly, she had arrived along with two Archenemy "daughters".

It couldn't be.

You're kidding, right? It just can't be!

"You…"

"Heh heh. Are you trying to talk back to your mother? Are you going through a rebellious phase, Satori? If so, I welcome it. You were a little too obedient during middle school, so I was honestly worried. Now, let's communicate to our heart's content via punches and kicks. Can you draw out your mother's ssss.e.xy losing voice?"

"You were an Archenemy!? Mom!?"

"Archenemy. These days, that term is widely used to refer to the highly infectious undead, but did you know it originally referred to demon lords in general?"

Amatsu Yurina grinned.

And this was a fierce, seductive, coquettish, and dangerous smile I had never seen from her before.

"If Lilith, the mother of all succubi, meets your definition, then I would have to answer yes to that question."

What-

…memories are break-

My mind…can't keep-

"Khah!?"

"Agh!!"

I didn't know how many times it was now, but my mind refocused on reality when I heard Erika and Ayumi's cries of pain. What had happened since then? Either my memories were too mixed up or they had taken too many unrealistic actions because I couldn't sort anything out no matter how much I went back over the information in my head.

Whatever the case, we were no match for her.

Erika and Ayumi kept trying to attack Amatsu Yurina, but each time, they were defeated as easily as taking candy from a baby. I clenched my teeth, stood up, and raised a meaningless cry as I charged toward her. Even now, my stepmom with her long fluffy red hair tied back with a hair tie did not hit me. She simply reached out her slender hand and gently stroked my cheek. That caused something to happen and I found myself spinning wildly like I was caught in a tornado. Then I fell onto my back, knocking the breath out of me.

Lilith.

That was Adam's first wife and the demon lord of infanticide and s.e.x. She was a top ranker who had given birth to a great many demons and brought chaos to the world. Not only was she strong on her own, but she had filled the world with demons on the level of Azazel. And in Azazel's case, the entire world had ultimately needed to be swept clean with Noah's Ark and the deluge. That was the extent to which Lilith could contaminate the earth.

Of course.

I didn't want to believe anything as ridiculous as a major player like that taking physical form and living on this tiny island nation!

The Cla.s.s Rep may have been the calmest one throughout. Maybe even more so than my stepmom. Because she was not part of the family…no, because she had seen the chaos of the divorce from the house next door, she may have avoided having the blood rush to her head.

"Ma'am? Does that mean that…Satori-kun's father didn't know anything…?"

"Oh, c'mon, Cla.s.s Rep-chan. That man saw through it the moment we met: 'Quit feigning innocence, demon lord.' Oh, we had quite the fistfight after that. But I met a wonderful man thanks to it. That dreamer seriously hoped for the coexistence of humans and Archenemies even as he worked as a Bright Cross researcher. That n.o.ble soul was just about crushed between his personal feelings and the organization's demands!! Ohh, how could I not find him so very adorable? The next thing I knew, I couldn't keep away from him. Oh, sorry. A woman like me shouldn't be getting so worked up. You don't want to hear me talk about my husband, do you? Oh ho ho ho ho."

She laughed casually, but I dug my fingernails into the dirty floor.

It had happened again. She had just revealed a hidden side to another member of my family. My dad worked for the Bright Cross? He was on the side that had made Erika and Ayumi suffer? I'd never heard a word about that!!

When I turned toward my sisters like a fierce dog on a chain, they refused to look me in the eye.

They had known. Even if just in part.

They had suspected their mom was some kind of Archenemy and that my dad visited that research facility.

I was the only one.

Dammit! I was the only one in the dark!!

"Don't give me that look, Satori. While that man was innocently researching Archenemies at grad school, he was ensnared by a dangerous and exploitative corporation before he realized what was happening. Even inside the Bright Cross, he was part of the moderate faction that was constantly insisting they improve their treatment of Archenemies. Even though it made him an outcast and the much younger members laughed at him. …And he did receive his punishment. When a portion of the Bright Cross's deeds came to light, it created a devastating fissure between him and his beloved. Knowing his own actions had torn his happy family apart was so very, very painful for him."

What was this?

I had no complaints about my current home environment. I was glad Erika and Ayumi were a part of my family. I really was.

But on that day when my other mom had disappeared, it had felt like she no longer loved me and only saw me as a nuisance when she turned her back on me at the front door. But my family falling apart had all been…had all been…!!

"How much…how much do the two of you need to screw with my liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife!?"

I had given up on moving, but now a disconcerting straining sound came from it. I had no idea how much stress I was placing on my body, but I managed to stand up.

Meanwhile, the demon in a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her b.u.t.t showed through lightly waved her index finger.

"Now, now, Satori. You are the hero of forgiveness. You're the hope of all Archenemies who will bind humans and the undead together. Don't get angry and clench that fist you barely know how to use. Not only will you ruin what I set up for you, but you'll hurt your hand. When a beginner pushes themselves too far, they'll end up breaking their own fingers."

"Shut…up."

"Satori, if you want to challenge your mother, then either use an openhanded blow or bring a weapon. Look, copy my hand here. Just hold it out like this and focus on s.h.i.+fting the strength from your legs to your hips."

"Shut uuuuup!! What is with all this!? What are you trying to get us to do!?"

"You have to ask?" Archenemy Lilith actually looked a little taken aback. "The world is going to end soon, so I thought it would be nice to make some rescue preparations ahead of time. Y'know, like building a giant ark before the flood."

What?

What, why, what?

What did she just say…!?

"Huh? You mean you hadn't caught on? But there were so many signs. And, Satori, you were so delighted when you built that big disaster environment simulator all on your own. So why couldn't you predict something as obvious as this Calamity?"

With her tone, she might as well have been asking me why I didn't do my summer homework sooner.

But wait.

Wait just a second!!

"What are you trying to start here!?"

"Like I was saying, we're simply constructing the Absolute Noah in preparation for the upcoming ruin. Oh, and just to be clear, we have nothing to do with the Calamity itself. Also, this is a project using my face as an Archenemy - a demon lord - so it has nothing to do with your father, since he's a former researcher for the human side. Ever since you destroyed the Bright Cross, he's been pretending to go to work and heading to the employment center instead. You should thank him for being kind enough to not complain. Oh, but don't directly thank him. It would hurt his pride as an adult."

"You mean…?"

"Is it true? Of course it is. Archenemies have existed forever, but recent reports say their numbers have increased dramatically in recent years. We can't worry about appearances when it comes to boarding the ark. Although I doubt even the undead could survive being exposed to the Calamity." That beautiful person breathed an exasperated sigh. "By our reckoning, we'll be lucky to pick up 36% of the planet's lifeforms even if Absolute Noah is completed. I mean, the insect kingdom of Costa Rica has way too many kinds! And getting samples of things like deep sea fish won't be easy, so I seriously doubt we can get to it all before the time limit arrives. We'll probably have to compromise somewhere, but I want to make sure we find time for the quetzals."

"What about…?"

"Yes?"

"What about humans? How many of them are you planning to bring onboard?"

I had no idea what Absolute Noah was. Was it simply a giant boat, was it some kind of rocket, or was it a vast shelter deep underground?

The earth had a human population of 7 billion. Simply announcing that they were abandoning half of those would likely trigger nuclear war. That meant to divide the world in half and let one side go extinct, so anyone would fight back against it.

However, Amatsu Yurina's answer was truly frightening.

"That's the real problem there. I think it will be a few thousand in all."

…That's nowhere near-

What did she just say?

It was true that was the realistic limit of placing people on a single vehicle or craft! There was no way you could place 100 million, a billion, or 7 billion people on even the largest nuclear aircraft carrier or cruise s.h.i.+p!! But…but this would mean…!!

"Don't worry. Those with a connection to the project are given priority. Satori, your mother is the project leader and you would act as the hero of forgiveness who would kindly watch over all the troubles between humans and Archenemies that occur onboard Absolute Noah. That's two reasons why there will definitely be a ticket with your name on it." That demon smiled. "And you can rest easy because the 6.9 billion not chosen by the lottery won't just be abandoned. We'll make sure to take genetic samples and keep them in microscopic cold storage, so there will be evidence of their lives. Of course, a double helix base sequence can't store memories or personalities, so that might be a bit of a problem. But it isn't like we can't do anything. Once the Calamity has pa.s.sed and this planet regains its pure blue color, we can sow those seeds across the land once more. People are strong, so I'm sure they'll cover the planet shortly thereafter."

No, not that.

That wasn't what I was asking.

Was she saying this answer deserved a perfect score with no room for criticism? Was she sweetly whispering in my ear, trying to get me to agree by telling me I alone was guaranteed to be safe?

If so, she really was a demon.

No matter how correct her logic was, she was a seducer at heart. She was someone who placed things on the scales and waited until my soul gave in.

"What are you thinking?"

"About living peacefully with my family. It took a loooot of doing securing enough seats for all of you. But the next thing I knew, you all had important positions☆ As your mother, all I wanted was to get my entire family onboard Absolute Noah."

That might be true.

Or she might have been using that n.o.ble goal to tempt me.

She was saying she worked so hard and stained her hands with blood for her family and she was asking if I would make all that for naught. Just like accusing someone of being inhuman for not crying at a movie about a penguin and zookeeper being separated by war, she might have been using my conscious and kindness as a s.h.i.+eld to trick me into doing this.

"To h.e.l.l with that, mom."

But this was different.

True righteousness was not cobbled together like a winning hand in poker. You couldn't add Condition A and B together and then place C alongside them to earn 50 points' worth of tears. A war movie? A penguin and a zookeeper? Who cares? No matter how emotional it might be, you could grimace the instant you sensed the cheap corporate side behind it all. There was no such thing as a reason why you had to force yourself to cry. If someone felt pressured into crying or laughing because it would seem inappropriate or self-restrained otherwise, would any real emotion appear inside them? Of course not. Then you could find no righteousness from something like that. After all, they wouldn't know why they were doing what they were doing.

I couldn't lose sight of it.

I couldn't lose sight of myself.

I couldn't let the mood carry me away, drown out my own emotions, and make me feel like I had to cry or I was doing something wrong. People's hearts were their own. Even if everyone else in the movie theater was crying their eyes out, you were free to yawn if you thought it was ruined by the wooden acting of the comedian dubbing the voice.

"Oh? This is unexpected. Are you rejecting it? But that leaves death as your only option."

"Yeah."

"Is this part of your rebellious phase? You really were too obedient during middle school, Satori. If you had been a little more wild back then, you wouldn't have screwed up when it really mattered here. A normal high schooler will feel humiliated by the path laid out by their parents, but they will know that taking the easy route and accepting it is the right thing to do. Especially in this case where anything else means death is 100% guaranteed."

What was she talking about?

I didn't care about this Calamity, the fate of humankind, or my position on the ark.

Amatsu Yurina.

My stepmom.

I was saying that the path she had laid out was missing something crucial.

"Because."

"Because that won't let me protect someone I care about. Nor will it let me protect the world she cares about. Mom, did you really think your son would choose such a pathetic future!?"

To be honest, I could barely stand and I didn't have it in me to support someone else's life. But I knew I had to be standing protectively in front of a certain girl. Yes, my face felt warm, I couldn't look back. I was pretty sure my head would explode and I would die if my eyes met the Cla.s.s Rep's right now.

But I couldn't back down here.

Not on this.

No matter what happened. Even if it meant making an enemy of a true demon lord, one of the original Archenemies.

"You certainly know how to act cool. It's obvious you have that man's blood in your veins."

Amatsu Yurina smiled thinly.

It was an enchanting smile that seemed to bring out the greatest tragedy and misfortune to test the good inside you.

"But do you really think you can have your way against a legendary-cla.s.s demon lord? …The time for your rebellious phase is over, you brat. I'll teach you the harsh truth that nothing you can do will change anything. I hope you mature a little after running headlong into this immovable wall☆"

But what was Lilith really?

She was one of the world cla.s.s demon lords, but she had no horns on her head or wings on her back. She did not breathe fire and her eyes did not petrify. I had lived with her for years, but nothing at all had made me suspect she was an Archenemy.

That was just how human she seemed.

…Virtual reality had its upsides and its downsides. After being sliced and crushed as a garlic so much, I felt like I could somewhat suppress the fear of pain trying to hold me back.

I could do this now. I could.

Or so I thought.

And yet.

Nevertheless.

She was overwhelming.

This was not martial arts or self-defense techniques. It was a seductive dance that sucked all the air out of an evening party.

I did weigh around 60kg. Over short distances, I could run about 20kph if I had to. That might not seem like much, but if I ran full speed into her without bracing for impact at all, it would provide the same impact as a collision with a light scooter. My slender stepmom with a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her b.u.t.t showed through weighed less than 50kg, so it wouldn't surprise me if she was knocked away.

But reality was different.

Amatsu Yurina spiraled around. Her red hair drew a large circle as it trailed after her like a tail light. Once I realized she had just barely dodged my tackle, I felt a soft sensation on my back. Of all things, we were standing back to back. And as if she were pressing against a revolving door, she actually added to my momentum.

I pa.s.sed right through where she had been, as if I had charged full speed into some fog or an illusion. And I slammed nose-first into a square column.

"Khahh!?"

"Oh, that looked like it hurt. But each blow like that will give you depth, Satori."

Her gentle voice froze my spine. Before I could look back, I decided to crouch as if falling straight down.

That entire solid column shook and a large crack ran through its side. That had probably been caused by the long leg raised to face height. If that had hit the back of my head, it would've crushed my medulla oblongata like an empty can!!

Cold sweat soaked my body as I looked to my hand instead of checking behind me. I glanced at the smartphone screen to see what advice Maxwell had for me!

"Warning: The left-"

That was the limit. I rolled with all my might in the designated direction. At face height, Amatsu Yurina's leg had sent a crack through a column thick enough to support the lobby and this time it moved vertically instead of horizontally. Her heel dropped down like a meteor and tore into the linoleum floor.

And even though I dodged, I felt scorching pain running through my entire back. I clenched my teeth and checked the screen.

"Warning: The left should be avoided. It is covered with the shards of a broken fluorescent light."

Dammit. Maxwell's simulation is accurate, but I don't have time to read the message and then move. This isn't a Nostradamus prophecy, so coming up with a fitting interpretation after the fact isn't good enough!

My stepmom did not make a follow-up attack.

She was also leaving my sisters and the Cla.s.s Rep alone.

She was fundamentally different from the Bright Cross or the people from the convalescent hospital. She was not trying to settle things as quickly as possible with the greatest amount of damage possible. She was trying to stretch this out so she could enjoy it some more.

Yes.

This was not a professional baring her fangs against a disobedient amateur high school boy. Quite the opposite. She was looking the stubborn child in the eye and showing him what the world of a professional was like.

"Satooori. I'll play this game with you today, but I'll give you the answer up front: you cannot defeat me."

"It's true I might be a confusing sort of Archenemy. I'm not covered in dragon scales and I don't have nine tails growing from my b.u.t.t. However, that is the real issue here. Erika, Ayumi, and even Cla.s.s Rep-chan, who took a step toward becoming a hunter earlier, might stand a chance. But, Satori, there is no chance at all of you winning. Because…"

"Lilith is still viewed as one of the demon lords and some theories say she controls sloth, one of the seven deadly sins," said Maxwell. "But she is also said to be one of the first humans created by G.o.d along with Adam, thus predating Eve."

"…Hu…man…?"

"Yes." Amatsu Yurina made it sound so simple. "Adam was created by G.o.d and Eve was newly created from his rib. That means both man and woman are missing something and the ritual of marriage is used to make them whole again."

"But that process does not apply to me. I was not split off from Adam. I am loathed more than anyone, but I also possess the full set of what it takes to be human. Just like a living fossil drifting deep in the ocean. …Hey, Satori, are you familiar with the concept of the Adam Kadmon? It refers to the original form of man or the ideal form of what humankind should be. To wield power equal to G.o.d's own, some magic cabals use meditation and isolation to cleanse themselves of the world's impurities in order to reach that state. But since that form was split when the rib was taken and they were stained with original sin, anyone born from Adam and Eve would honestly have a very difficult time accomplis.h.i.+ng that. Although with modern medicine extending people's lifespan, they might just barely be able to accomplish it if they continually trained themselves over a lifetime. That said…"

"Warning!"

"It has nothing to do with me since I remain whole and, even if I am wicked, I never once reached for the forbidden fruit. You are an incomplete human and I am a complete human, so there is no way you can defeat me. So. While a vampire or zombie might have some chance…you have none whatsoever since you exist in the same human framework as me."

The trailing end of her beautiful words blurred.

h.e.l.l approached from dead ahead. And it took the form of a huntress licking her lips.

"Wah!!"

I rolled along the gla.s.s-covered floor to escape her falling heel, but before I could get up, I struggled in vain by grabbing a piece of plywood lying on the floor. It was probably leftover from covering up the windows.

But her hand easily broke through the wood I raised like a s.h.i.+eld. My heart pounded wildly in my chest as I rolled along the floor with no concern for the injury that caused. My clothes and hair were covered in small shards of gla.s.s and Amatsu Yurina continued pursuit. She would use her hand or her foot.

Before long, I noticed something.

I was still alive, but it wasn't my doing. Nor was it thanks to Maxwell. I was up against a legit demon lord who could reign supreme against all 7 billion people on earth and who some theories said ruled one of the seven deadly sins. No matter how much I resisted, there was no way an amateur high school boy could avoid her attacks just by rolling around.

"…Mom."

"What is it, Satori?"

"Are you toying with me?"

"You could also say I'm entertaining you. This isn't really the same as a family party game where you grab at each other's hair, is it? Don't worry. As a demon lord, I excel at playing the host, so I'll make sure you aren't bored. Entertaining a party of legendary heroes is a simple task."

This was the same as a basic magic trick using playing cards. Her movements were normally far too fast to follow, but there were odd cracks in that speed just before a truly devastating attack. It was for less than a third of a second, but it felt odd, like a video lagging slightly. Basically, it was like she was giving me a warning before she used a major attack. But if I had not calmed down after the blood rushed to my head, I wouldn't have noticed and I would have a.s.sumed it was all thanks to my own excellent instincts. I would have mistaken it for Hero Amatsu Satori releasing his latent talent after being cornered by Evil Demon Lord Lilith.

"Dammit!!"

In a samurai or kung fu movie, the overall quality of the product was just as influenced by the lead as it was the defeated villain and mooks. That was why my stepmom had described it as "entertaining" me.

She was an expert at making you feel that a human could defeat a legit demon lord, that you were special, and that you were the greatest genius. And that would lead you to forget your awe of the inhuman and the necessity of hard work, stopping any further growth and making you grow rusty. That may have been why she was given as a candidate for the demon lord of sloth.

I couldn't let my eyes get used to this. I couldn't let it go to my head. It was the same as the slow and gentle p.r.o.nunciations in a conversational English lesson. If I let myself get used to that and then I was thrown into the middle of New York, I would never be able to keep up and I would be swallowed up by the deluge of words. So I had to maintain the accuracy of my internal clock. If not, I would be defeated by the inevitable discrepancy. As soon as my mind went blank, a single blow would end it.

I remained wary.

I understood what was going on.

But even that sense of understanding was a deadly poison.

A moment later, Amatsu Yurina had slipped right up to me and she did not hesitate to produce a loud impact at my solar plexus.

At first, I gasped for breath.

Before the pain and suffering could catch up, the soles of my shoes rose up from the filthy floor. Then my entire body flew parallel to the floor. I heard a dull and heavy sound as my back collided with the reception counter and my remaining momentum bounced me straight up. Then I fell behind the counter.

"Khah!? Gh, ugh, ah, cough, cough!! Ghhhhhh…!!"

I couldn't breathe.

Even my cries were m.u.f.fled.

"Ah ha ha. Satori, this isn't like you."

I heard approaching footsteps on the other side of the counter.

"You aren't the main character of a shounen manga. When you encounter an incomprehensible situation or monster, were you the kind of person to start by clenching your fist? I know you know what would happen if you tried to fight a zombie or vampire."

"Normally, you would start by hiding and observing. Wouldn't you use Maxwell to a.n.a.lyze everything from their actions and environment to their words and legends? You know the value of a life, so you would never step out into the open until you had set things up so you could win. Isn't that right?"

Could it be?

I had predicted that she played the villain so her opponent would get carried away, but was even that realization a part of it…?

"I might be able to win today." Amatsu Yurina's words stabbed into me. "I might be able to do it now. I might be able to cross that red light. I might be able to get this mahjong tile through. …That's not how it works, Satori. Probability isn't going to alter itself after the fact to work in your favor. Quantum theory isn't all powerful and it isn't going to help you out in your everyday life."

Something exploded.

It took me a while to realize it came from her kicking the entire plastic counter from the other side. The power cables for the lamps and computers on the counter were torn apart and whipped about. The obstacle was smashed, a heavy impact ran through my back, and I collided with the metal lockers lined up behind the counter.

More than having trouble breathing, I forgot to even cough this time. I couldn't see what my stepmom looked like right now. My vision was sparking, so I couldn't tell if it was a beautiful woman standing there or if a horned monster had stripped away her human skin.

I was in trouble.

There was no strength left in my body.

The thoughts in my head, the fear tormenting me, and my desperate resistance may have all been part of some script.

I doubted my stepmom actually intended to kill me. She had said as much herself. She was not even letting me up onto that stage. This was not a fight to the death.

…Had I screwed up at the very beginning?

For example, when you spot a monster wearing a hockey mask and wielding a chainsaw, you can choose to desperately hold your breath or casually call out to them. Had I made the wrong decision at the very, very start like that?

"Gh, cough…no."

I desperately worked to gather my mostly scattered thoughts.

That wasn't it. I hadn't made a mistake. After all, I couldn't go along with Amatsu Yurina's plan. I couldn't accept a future that only saved a few thousand out of 7 billion people! That was less than 1%! Humanity might not be destroyed. We might quickly retake the planet with reproductive power greater than c.o.c.kroaches. But that was no reason to accept 7 billion deaths. I had to point out that was wrong! If no one else would say it, then I would have to switch the rails myself!!

What could I do?

What could I do from here?

I was not a legendary martial artist and I was not a hero with a demon lord's soul embedded in my body. To be honest, I would have difficulty even standing up under my own power after being pummeled to this extent. Sharp pieces of the plastic counter were scattered around like gla.s.s shards and the torn power cables were lying around. Grabbing those would not be enough to reach Amatsu Yurina, my stepmom. Even if I asked Maxwell to search for the traits and legends of Archenemy Lilith, I wouldn't be able to use that knowledge in any practical way.

But.

Wait.

What if…?

"What is it, Satori? Are you tired of trying to look so manly?"

The demon lord in jeans and a blouse so thin her black bra showed through had walked right up to me.

She slowly crouched down, bent over, and grabbed my hair with her slender hand.

"Gah!?"

"You can give up if you want. I'll show you how pa.s.sing out can feel quite good depending on how it happens, so don't fear. But as your mother, I honestly wanted to see you show off a bit more."

I needed an opening.

Sharp plastic shards and torn power cables littered the floor. To use one of them, I needed to make her mind go blank for even half a second.

"Mo-"

"Mo?"

"Mom…"

"What is it, Satori?"

And.

I still could barely move, but I slowly opened my mouth and spoke.

"15ae89fa33c4eb21ff."

Amatsu Yurina frowned a bit.

But I did not repeat myself. That would defeat the purpose of it.

"You said this isn't like me, didn't you?"

"…Wait. What was that just now?"

"But didn't it ever occur to you that everything was going a little too well for you? Almost like the entire world was gently guiding you in that direction?"

My stepmom was no fool.

She had all the skill implied by the name Archenemy Lilith. But that was why she would definitely notice this tiny thing.

Had she seen my expression or my fingertips? It didn't matter. She would notice that my body was jerking to a stop at times. Just like an online video lagging due to a poor connection.

So I had to say it.

I had to give the decisive statement.

"When the Dhampir-ized Cla.s.s Rep was too much to handle, we placed the headband-style dive device on her head to tear away her consciousness and protect her. …You're an even more formidable opponent than the Cla.s.s Rep, so how can you be sure the same thing hasn't happened to you? You knew my sisters and I had used that method before."

"Are that voice and your jerky movements some kind of bug or error…?"

With her long, fluffy red hair tied back with a hair tie, Amatsu Yurina remained crouched and looked around with my hair in her hand.

"Kh!! When did you trap me in the simul-…!?"

The Archenemy's words were cut off. There was a simple reason why: My hand had silently crawled along the floor and grabbed one of the torn power cables.

"Just kidding."

A horrific zap reverberated through the room and my own body jerked violently since she was holding my head.

Amatsu Yurina was a true demon lord. But at the same time, she was apparently a human made along with Adam. In that case, her bodily structure was no different. If she was strangled, tranquilized, or hit with an electric shock, she would lose consciousness like normal.

It happened almost too easily.

With no scream or cry, the beautiful demon lord collapsed to the side.

I slowly breathed in and out while gradually tensing each of my muscles to see how my body was doing. Nothing seemed broken or torn, but I had needed to use every trick in the book to avoid that. If I pushed myself again today, I was pretty sure all of my muscles really would snap.

Even after I finally got up, I stared blankly into the distance for a while.

What was with today?

My sisters had gotten into a fight, the abandoned hospital's Ghost had sent groups of killer motocross bikes after us while pretending to be Maxwell, the Cla.s.s Rep had turned into a Dhampir and back again, it had all been broadcast online so I was being treated like a hero by the Archenemies, and then my stepmother in a blouse so thin her black bra showed through and jeans so tight the shape of her b.u.t.t showed through had turned out to be a real demon lord. If I wrote this up as a blog entry, it would cause all of the readers to leave like a receding wave! I was supposed to be the normal one, but hadn't that needle rotated way too far in the opposite direction!? I know it isn't my place to say that, but still!!

I pulled the torn power cable from the outlet and used it to tie Amatsu Yurina's hands behind her back. Although I had no idea if that would be of any use against an incarnation of evil that did not actually appear in Genesis but whose shadow could be glimpsed here and there. At the very least, it was better than nothing.

"…S-Satori-kun?"

"Cla.s.s Rep."

I sluggishly looked over while tying up my stepmom and I saw the Cla.s.s Rep pus.h.i.+ng up her gla.s.ses while soaked red with who-knows-whose blood. Erika and Ayumi were also approaching. It looked like everyone was safe. Even though this had been a fight between mother and son, I couldn't help but feel this was a miracle. How many times had we slipped past certain doom in such a short period of time?

"I would ask if you're hurt…but it looks like you'd have a harder time finding a part of you that isn't hurt."

"Fuguu. Just how immature is mom?"

…Oh, right.

"Erika, Ayumi. Did you know that she was, um, one h.e.l.l of an Archenemy?"

"Of course not. She kind of had the scent of an Archenemy, but we never would have guessed she was Lilith. That's a legit demon lord."

"Um, I'm a zombie and Onee-chan is a vampire. And our hair color is black and blonde respectively. Onii-chan, you could imagine it was something of a complicated household before we joined with yours, right?"

"Well, more or less…"

My parents' divorce was not a topic I enjoyed, so I had thought it was good manners to not delve too deeply into such things. But now that I thought about it, it was certainly possible that Amatsu Yurina was a stepmother for my sisters as well as me.

But I could learn all that bit by bit. Erika and Ayumi would tell me when they were good and ready. And if they never wanted to, I wouldn't force the issue. Plus, there was no need to ask them about it while we stayed in this creepy convalescent hospital. We had done everything we needed to do. We could deal with the rest after returning home.

But was that really true?

For some reason, I felt like I was forgetting something. I had been putting it off because we kept finding ourselves in some kind of trouble, but there had to be some mystery remaining in the abandoned hospital.

Oh, that's right.

"…Why did mom come to this hospital?"

She had relayed the events in the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital to produce a reaction in the world's Archenemies, but was there any real reason why she had to set foot inside the hospital herself? She could relay it all just by setting up a bunch of cameras in advance and the Ghost had been fully functional to start with. She could have used the cameras on the deadly motocross bikes.

For my stepmom, Amatsu Yurina, we may have only been one of her objectives. If I started getting suspicious here, there would be no end to it, but what if she did have more than one objective? What was the second objective that forced her to visit the abandoned hospital deep in the woods?

We had searched through the abandoned hospital from the top floor to the bas.e.m.e.nt. This place had been used to research a spare plan meant to replace the threat and deterrence system guided by the death penalty implemented by the Bright Cross's Colosseum. Instead of killing the Archenemies, they would externally control their movements, nip any crimes in the bud, and endlessly tamper with the system meant to maintain order.

…But did my stepmom need that? According to her, the world was ending soon and only the few thousand who could fit in the Absolute Noah would be saved. Amatsu Yurina a.s.sumed that the current system would be smashed to smithereens, so she wouldn't need a system to control society. Just like a method of getting a perfect 100 on a test was meaningless once the school itself was blown up.

But what else was there?

The abandoned hospital's Ghost had possessed the Polish Vampire Princess's cursed coffin to test its methods. As the Cla.s.s Rep had proven, that could be used to endlessly create vampires. …But that didn't seem enough for such a great demon lord to seek it out. Archenemy Lilith was simply on a different level from vampires. It was like making Satan and a succubus fight. And if she only needed a vampire, she had Erika, a queen-cla.s.s, at home. She had no reason at all to go this far out of her way to procure a vampire.

In that case, was there still something else here?

Something fearsome enough to catch the interest of a demon lord mentioned in holy texts?

"…Wait."

"Satori-kun?"

"There is an area we still haven't explored."

That was right.

Back on the bas.e.m.e.nt floor of this hospital, hadn't the inner walls of the distorted rectangle of hallways been entirely covered in b.l.o.o.d.y writing and magic circles? There hadn't been any doors and it was possible any entrance had been filled in with concrete. …What slept there? At the very least, it had nothing to do with the Polish Vampire Princess. We had found and destroyed the coffin elsewhere and that had saved the Cla.s.s Rep from the curse.

All things had a beginning.

What had initially led the people at this convalescent hospital to seek out something as ridiculous as an absolute guidance society? No, what had they seen and feared that made them think that pipe dream was necessary? There had to have been something. And they had gone out of their way to seal it away just like an unmanageable contaminant spill being sealed up in a stone tomb.

"What…?"

The next thing I knew, I was speaking to no one in particular.

"What is in the bas.e.m.e.nt…?"

No one was expecting an answer.

But a kind female voice provided one regardless. It came from Amatsu Yurina, who had supposedly been knocked out by an electric current and had her hands tied behind her back.

"Isn't that obvious? A true monster."

I didn't have time to ask for clarification.

A moment later, the entire abandoned hospital - and perhaps the entire dark forest surrounding it - shook violently as if being thrust upwards from below.

I more or less understood.

My stepmom had wanted to do something before this happened, we had interfered with her schedule, and because she had been too late, the worst case scenario was erupting from the sealed part of the bas.e.m.e.nt.

There was already no guarantee of safety in this abandoned building, so it could collapse at any time with all this shaking. But that normal sort of fear was the furthest thing from our minds. Something much worse and much more brutal was arriving. And that robbed every other thought from us.

It was coming.

Something was approaching.

Thud, thud. That was all it was: thud, thud. The series of sounds was as accurate as the ticking of a clock and I quickly realized they were footsteps. They came from the elevator hall…no, from the emergency stairs installed there. This fear was far more horrifying than the collapse of the Peace Committee Convalescent Hospital. The fact that something like this could walk on two feet was somehow refres.h.i.+ng and almost elicited some out-of-place laughter from me.

No one could move.

Not