Chapter 1 ss2
Site 13 – Tokyo
The corridor was drowned in pitch-black darkness, so dense that even light seemed to be strangled the moment it was born. Only the red alarm lights remained, flashing madly, carving violent streaks of crimson across the cold steel walls like the lamps of a morgue.
Each time the red light flared, it reflected off iron gun barrels, aimed straight ahead—steady, unwavering, merciless. The soldiers advanced in absolute silence, clad in black tactical armor that swallowed every contour of their bodies. Their faces were erased behind gas masks, leaving only dark visors through which no emotion could be read.
On their shoulders, the insignia of Alpha 13 lay quietly—like a scar carved deep into flesh.
Along the corridor, surveillance cameras had been shot apart, hanging limply like bodies left to rot. Burnt cables dangled and swayed in the cold air, emitting faint, shrill sounds—something between a whimper and a dying breath. A few monitors were still alive, but all they displayed was static—the final image before being erased.
From the ceiling-mounted speakers, a synthetic voice echoed endlessly, stripped of warmth, stripped of humanity.
Alarm System
> The actions of the personnel are deemed a violation of containment!
Team 9 of Alpha 13 is ordered to cease all actions immediately!
Disarm and surrender to the nearest Security Forces at once!
Repeating—
The actions of the personnel are deemed a violation of containment!
There was no response.
No hesitation.
Only the sound of boots striking the floor.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Dry. Heavy. Echoing through the steel corridor like the ticking of a countdown clock. The steps were neither rushed nor slow—calm to a terrifying degree, as if the ending had already been decided long ago.
Ahead, a massive rolling steel door began to move.
Metal scraped against metal, producing a prolonged, ear-splitting screech—like the final scream of something being dissected alive. As the gap widened, a blast of freezing air surged forward, biting deep into exposed skin. White vapor poured out, flooding the corridor.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Beyond the door lay a space utterly beyond human scale.
A colossal cylindrical storage chamber opened before them—deep, dark, bottomless. Millions of capsules were arranged in perfect spirals, descending endlessly into the abyss below, like a mass grave with no end. The bottom could not be seen. The end could not be perceived. Light fell into it and vanished, as if devoured whole.
At the center stood a white elevator, solitary and sterile. Surrounding it were countless white containers bearing the EASRS logo, towering like giant coffins awaiting their turn to be opened.
A system display flickered to life:
> "The storage facility contains anomalous items that do not possess autonomous properties."
The soldiers spread out, forming a defensive perimeter around the lone elevator.
Then—
A different set of footsteps echoed.
Not military boots.
Soft. Light. Almost soundless.
The area's holographic system activated, bathing the space in cold blue light. A small hand tugged at the hem of an oversized black shirt, straightening it slightly, while the other hand reached forward and tapped on the holographic keyboard.
The keystrokes were slow, deliberate.
"U…"
"Uta…"
A brief pause.
"Un…"
Her deep crimson eyes narrowed slightly. Within them, a faint cross-shaped glow rotated quietly, reflecting the countless options drifting across the holographic display.
Her blue hair, darker toward the tips, was slightly messy yet naturally curled inward, framing a pale, childlike face—too young, far too young for this place. From her head protruded two small white horns, short and rounded, devoid of malice, almost angelic… unsettlingly so.
The black shirt draped past her thighs. Over it, she wore a short-sleeved white lab coat, split at the sides, making her small frame—barely 152 cm tall—appear even more out of place among the armed soldiers. White loose socks nearly swallowed her sneakers, creating a silhouette that was strange, mismatched, and yet unmistakably her own.
Her fingers continued.
"5."
"7."
"5."
"A."
575 A
She pressed ENTER.
Immediately, the chamber roared to life with massive mechanical sounds. From high above, a glass bridge extended outward from the elevator, connecting directly to a single container.
The lettering on its surface was unmistakable:
UTA 575 A – "LONGINUS"
The elevator doors slid open.
She stepped out first.
Two soldiers followed closely behind, weapons locked and ready.
Inside the elevator, soft blue LED lights dulled the madness of the red glow outside. As it ascended, the alarm sounds below were gradually swallowed, buried deep beneath layers of steel and earth.
Tink.
The doors opened.
Red light flooded in.
She stepped onto the glass bridge and withdrew her employee ID card from her lab coat pocket, swiping it across the scanner.
The system's voice echoed—flat, emotionless, absolute.
System Verification
> Name: Shion Winifred
Nationality: Japanese / German
Age: ??? (Biological Age: 14)
Personnel Rank: 4S
Position: Commander of Team 9, Alpha 13
Subject Code: Sinner 67
The container lights shifted from red to green.
Mechanical locks disengaged.
A surge of freezing air burst forth, instantly frosting the glass bridge. The soldiers grimaced, jaws tightening from the cold.
Only Shion remained still.
As the mist faded, what lay inside was revealed—
An ancient box, sealed with a rough metal lock, its design reminiscent of an artifact from a century long dead.
A holographic notice appeared:
> "The object was recovered in 1949 following a raid on a Freemasons facility."
Shion flicked her hand dismissively.
The text vanished.
No further explanation was needed.
The soldiers stepped forward, each gripping one side of the box. Their hands trembled slightly—whether from the cold… or from whatever slept inside.
A few minutes later…
Above the sky of the Anti World, the concept of "ground" no longer existed.
Fragments of shattered land drifted through a sky dyed crimson like coagulated blood, floating like unburied corpses between the stars. Enormous tree roots were exposed to the air, twisting without purpose, while dead trunks stood stiff and hollow—lifeless monuments torn from the earth.
A sound of rupture echoed endlessly.
Not thunder—
but the sound of reality itself breaking apart.
The land collapsed in massive sections. Rock and soil were pulverized, hurled upward before falling into the pitch-black void below. From those deep fissures came the continuous sound of flowing water—not gentle streams, but as if an entire ocean had been torn open.
Beneath the ground, there was only absolute darkness.
Above, the artificial sky of the Anti World began to crack and peel away. Fractures spread like spiderwebs, leaking shimmering liquid—like torn patches of the heavens, revealing the black emptiness behind, where light and order no longer existed.
At the center of this chaos, the white smoke of missiles still lingered.
Then more smoke appeared.
And more.
Tomahawk missiles tore through the broken sky, streaking across the collapsing space like spears hurled by humanity itself, trying to pierce a world that no longer belonged to them.
A deep, rumbling sound followed.
Not mechanical—
but like the beating wings of dragons.
Black-bodied CH-47 helicopters emerged, their rotors spinning violently like colossal saw blades. The logos of Alpha 13 and the EASRS Foundation were emblazoned on their hulls, standing out starkly against the collapsing sky—a declaration of defiance against reality itself.
Searchlights swept over the falling rock formations below. New fractures appeared before the eye, as though the world itself was rejecting human presence.
Then—
The sky split open.
No warning.
No time to react.
A massive rupture slammed straight down onto one of the CH-47s.
The helicopter was crushed instantly, erupting into a towering fireball. The shockwave tore everything apart, fragments of metal scattering like meteor rain.
It plunged directly into the EOV Sea below.
A catastrophic explosion followed.
The EOV Sea poured downward into the black void beneath, cascading like divine rivers of a fallen god, devouring everything in its path.
At the heart of the collapse, black smoke spread rapidly.
That was where Lux stood.
A vast, distorted existence within the warped darkness, attempting to devour the remaining CH-47s. In that scenery, humanity's helicopters were nothing more than ants, insignificant among the shattered remains of the world.
---
Meanwhile, at the temporary Alpha 0 encampment—
The sky was nothing but smoke.
Successive Tomahawk launches filled the air with debris and dust. Soldiers and scientists coughed violently, eyes burning, sweat mixing with ash.
The seismic monitoring teams were drenched in cold sweat.
Screens trembled nonstop.
> Warning: Seismic fractures approaching the facility.
Warning: Vibration levels exceeding safety limits.
The numbers flickered—
each update closer than the last.
---
Deep within a sealed, dark chamber—
Haruko opened her eyes.
Two cold blue pupils emerged from the darkness like stars at the bottom of the ocean. She rose and walked toward the door, turning the handle and pushing it open.
The scientists outside froze in shock.
Standing before them was neither an elderly woman nor an imposing authority figure.
It was—
a girl.
No more than fifteen or sixteen years old.
Dark gray hair, thick and messy, falling to her shoulders. A small, delicate frame wrapped in a neat vest that failed to conceal her strange cuteness. Barely 145 to 150 centimeters tall.
Whispers spread instantly.
This image was completely incompatible with everything they knew about 13_13.
Two scientists murmured quietly, one frowning in disbelief.
Scientist 1
> Is this for real…?
This is the one described as the "Ice Queen," the one who directed Project D853 and caused the overload incident…?
The other quickly covered his mouth, glancing toward Haruko.
Scientist 2
> Quiet… keep your voice down…
I'm not certain either…
But I heard the Council intervened after that incident…
Alpha 1, Alpha 25, Tau 17 weren't eliminated…
And Site 2000 still exists…
Another scientist signaled them to stop.
The internal records of 13_13 were filled with slaughter, inhuman experimentation, and war.
This was not someone they could speak about carelessly.
Then—
Haruko's voice echoed softly.
Gentle.
Sweet.
Like the whisper of an old fox.
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Haruko
> My children, my children…
If you wish to speak ill of someone…
Do it far away…
Because I can hear everything you just said…
She stepped closer, gently pulling a scientist's tie down to her eye level. He bent instinctively.
Haruko closed her eyes. Her voice dropped—soft, alluring—yet beneath it lay something that sent a chill down the spine.
Haruko
> Have the ones sent to retrieve the Sinners…
Returned yet, my dear…?
The scientist swallowed hard, replying with a slight tremble.
Scientist 3
> The convoy is on its way back…
It will reach the facility soon…
Haruko nodded.
Her ears caught the familiar sound of wheels and tracks grinding over stone. Farther away—
the rotor noise of helicopters, like wings beating against a storm.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
A notification flashed before her.
Haruko smiled.
A mocking, entertained smile.
Her voice dropped to a near whisper.
Haruko
> This is getting fun…
---
[To be continued]
The author reveals a secret: Chapter 2 might not be explosive, but Chapter 3 is definitely going to be.