NOVEL NEXT “That’s right. Among them, he’s particularly vile. While others usually plan terror for their own purposes, that guy makes killing people the very purpose of his terror.”
At Oliver’s words, I asked back with a strange look.
“Wait, that’s not right. Didn’t he say it was for world peace?”
And as far as I knew, the word ‘terrorist’ had absolutely nothing to do with world peace.
How strange. Has the meaning of the word subtly changed without my knowledge?
“He’s the one who raids the Abnormal Phenomena Management Office, stealing numerous abnormal phenomena. He has taken countless abnormal phenomena from the management office, and the human casualties that occurred in the process are too many to count.”
Of course, that was to be expected.
Sure, there might be some mitigating circumstances.
Since, with different goals over the same objects, conflict is bound to arise.
Even if they share a common goal of serving humanity.
In the end, if the means are different, people will shed blood without hesitation.
Especially if they think their goal is correct and just.
“That alone would be enough to classify him as a terrorist… but the truly horrifying part is that he’s causing indiscriminate massacres across the world with the abnormal phenomena he’s stolen.”
“Wait… seriously?”
“Yes. The immortal monster that attacked this base last time was also his doing.”
However, what he showed beyond the monitor seemed far removed from a simple ideological battle.
In scenes from cities and countryside around the world, monsters and phenomena slaughtering people, in one corner of which was that peculiar conical hat I had seen in the underground passage.
“Despite using things that are extremely hostile and dangerous to humans, he has never once been attacked by those phenomena. It’s as if he controls them.”
“….”
“That’s why I thought you might have been influenced by him… but fortunately, it seems that you’re unaffected.”
After watching all the photos and videos, the first emotion I felt was rage.
And understandably so. To babble about world peace while doing such things in reality.
As I mentioned before, despite various experiences, I was still human.
Witnessing someone killing another for no reason was an extremely uncomfortable sight.
“….”
However, the contemplation that followed quickly chilled my head.
I recalled how that crazy terrorist had threatened my family right after meeting me.
“Or maybe… did he do something to them?”
Of course, it wasn’t as if there weren’t ways to deal with it.
I could reveal the truth to Oliver in front of me and get his help.
Or I could just find a way to escape and return to my family.
“No, it’s not like that…”
I was sure that he was a trustworthy person.
But would that really guarantee my family’s safety?
Either way, the fact that I had a family would surely come to light.
Maybe, like the monk said, someone else would also take my family hostage and threaten me.
Depending on the scenario, that might be even more troublesome than being threatened by a single organization.
“That means—”
Perhaps, all of this could be a bluff.
He might be waiting for me to blurt out something about my family.
Of course, considering what that monk said, this was merely a wishful thought.
A multitude of choices raced through my mind.
My thoughts grew tangled.
I hesitated, repeatedly starting to articulate something only to stop.
Eventually, I decided on one option.
I opened my mouth to finally present the first part of my determined answer.
――――Beeeeeep
The unpleasant sound that suddenly rang out, one I had heard somewhere before, made the words I was going to say get swallowed back down.
“…?”
“?!”
Oliver and I locked gazes.
The emergency alarm sounded, echoing throughout the room.
It clearly indicated that something was amiss in this facility.
[Researcher Oliver, are you there?]
Amidst the crackling static, a voice calling for him emerged from a communicator beside the desk.
A strangely relaxed voice that seemed out of place given the situation.
Hearing that voice made me think something was odd, but Oliver seemed to have no time to feel that and hastily grabbed the communicator.
“I hear you. What’s going on?”
[An abnormal phenomenon has broken down the entrance of the isolation room and escaped.]
“…What? Is it an attack from a hostile group?!”
[No. It’s not an attack. That entity escaped by its own power.]
“Raise the partition walls and evacuate the personnel! Have the emergency procedures been activated?!”
He quickly began to manipulate the screen in front of him.
The numerous scenes displayed of the facility’s situation.
[No, it seems unnecessary to do that.]
However, what I saw there was almost the same appearance of Base 17 as before, and the contents I heard through the communicator were entirely contrary to Oliver’s frantic appearance.
Only then did Oliver realize that that voice carried considerable calmness.
With an expression of realization, he regained his composure and adjusted the communicator.
“Did the escaped entity… escape from Phenomenon 3741?”
[That’s correct.]
Upon hearing that, he let out a very deep sigh and began scratching his head roughly, as if faced with an irritating task.
“Sigh… What’s going on? The regular report date is still quite far off.”
[It seems something went wrong with the offering this time.]
“Something went wrong? There shouldn’t have been any abnormalities with the prepared items.”
[I’m not sure about that either. By the way, could you come here? I’ve been calling for you for a while now, and I might just come looking for you myself.]
“…Got it. I’ll be there right away.”
The voice through the communicator cuts off.
A moment of silence.
I couldn’t fully understand the conversation that just took place, but surely something escaped, so I could only think that a dangerous situation had arisen.
Thus, I asked him whether I should step in now.
“Is it a dangerous situation?”
“No, not really.”
“What broke down and escaped then?”
“Yes. But it’s not a big issue. …It’s a bit of a hassle, that’s all.”
“…?”
It was strange.
From my perspective, it could easily break through, but objectively speaking, the door to the isolation room in this facility was quite robust.
If it could break that, it surely expressed that whatever it was didn’t take kindly to being here.
Moreover, if it was capable of breaking through that door, it would certainly have no trouble breaking through a human.
“Could you wait a moment? It seems I need to go there.”
“Will it take long?”
“Shouldn’t be.”
“Really… okay. I’ll wait.”
Nonetheless, it seemed he didn’t want to send me away for some reason.
I had no clue why. It didn’t seem like a situation where I could ask for an explanation.
He just donned a shirt as if handling an annoyance and stepped out of the room, saying he’d return soon.
“….”
Thud, the door closed.
Silence returned.
After a very brief wait, I suddenly felt an itching curiosity rise from my toes.
“…I’m curious.”
Well, yeah. I know. It’s not very mature behavior.
Oliver likely had a good reason for not wanting to send me away.
But what could I do? Curiosity was killer.
It didn’t seem like an especially dangerous situation.
And if it really was, I could help…
Maybe sneaking a peek once wouldn’t hurt, would it?
I leaped down from the chair that was just high enough to barely close my thighs.
Whoosh, the door opened easily.
I popped my head out and quickly scanned the hallway for anyone before recalling where Oliver previously went.
With a quiet but quick step, I began to chase after his presence.