"HIEEEEK! HIEEEEEEK—!""
The Matriarch’s panicked, piercing shrieks continued to echo, filling the room and clashing with the otherwise sterile environment.
I stared at the nurse who had come into the room, her head tilted slightly as she looked at me and then the Matriarch, her lips pulled into a thin smile.
"...Look at what you’ve done. Now that the patient is like this, it’ll take a while to calm her down. I’d like for you to please leave the premises."
Her tone remained polite, but I could tell that things weren’t so simple.
"You’re part of the cult?"
"Cult?"
The nurse tilted her head further.
"Oh, my. Why would you think I’d be a part of something like a cult? Could you also be sick?"
"Don’t think so."
Maybe.
Yeah, I probably was.
"HIEEEEEEK!"
The screams grew louder, and the nurse turned her attention back to the Matriarch.
"I’d still like for you to leave the premises. As you can see, the patient isn’t doing very well."
"I can tell that."
"Then please—"
"But you see, there are still questions that I’d like to ask her. If possible, could you wait a little bit more?"
The nurse’s smile faded.
Something about the air shifted. Suddenly, it grew heavier.
"This isn’t negotiable. If you continue to obstruct me, I’ll have no choice but to call security. We don’t want things to escalate to that point, do we?"
Listening to her words, I blinked a couple of times.
We don’t want things to escalate to that point?
"No, but I do."
Why wouldn’t I?
I usually wasn’t one to look for trouble, but that was the old me. The current me was different. I needed answers.
I wanted answers.
That’s why I decided to come to the hospital.
I knew I’d find my answers here, and I was also aware of the possibility that this place was controlled by another cult or organization, keeping the Matriarch in check.
In other words—
"I’m here to cause trouble."
The nurse blinked, confusion filling her face.
"Trouble? I’m just..."
"Yeah, yeah. That’s interesting. Anyways, I still need to talk with her for a bit. If you would be kind and just give me a few more minutes. I’d really appreciate it."
I tried to be polite when asking, but for some reason, the nurse didn’t seem to appreciate that. Her eyes squinted as she stood by the door.
"Will you really not leave?"
"...Soon."
"I see."
The nurse smiled once more.
Then—
Flick!
The lights went out completely, plunging the room into darkness as the sound of the cardiogram faded, along with the Matriarch’s shrieks. In an instant, everything fell into a deafening silence.
Despite the sudden situation, I did not panic.
Instead, I extended my hand forward, a knife forming in my grasp. The moment I activated its ability, I became instantly aware of the numerous presences scattered throughout the room.
’I see. There’s more than one.’
About three...
This more or less confirmed my previous assumption.
This place was no normal hospital. Perhaps a part of it was, but another part was controlled by another strange cult or organization.
This was perfect.
Swoooosh!
All of a sudden, I felt something stab in my direction. Long aware of what was happening, I merely tilted my head to the right while simultaneously activating [Trait Transfer] and slowing down time.
Needless to say, the person attacking me wasn’t much stronger than me. However, I knew not to let my guard down as I immediately went for the throat with the knife.
Spurt—!
I felt the connection instantly, something wet splattering over me, but the brief sense of satisfaction only lasted a few seconds before the person collapsed into nothing.
A fake?
No, I wasn’t sure, nor did I have the time to care.
Swooosh! Swoosh!
Suddenly sensing multiple presences behind me, I activated the same skill again, slowing time. But the moment I did, my expression shifted, and I quickly turned toward the Matriarch.
...Oh.
By the time I realized, it was already too late.
The figures that had been hurtling toward me vanished just as suddenly as they had appeared, their presence dissolving into nothing. At the same time, the lights above flickered back to life, casting a dim, uneven glow across the room and revealing the Matriarch’s body as blood spilled down from her shirt alongside the knife that was stabbed in her chest.
I stood in silence, observing the Matriarch.
"I see."
From the start, I hadn’t been their target. Their goal was to silence the Matriarch.
But that raised the question...
’Why did they do it now? Was it to stop her from saying anything to me?’
"Ah, this is annoying."
I ruffled the back of my head.
"Even though she was a little crazy, I could’ve just used the Conductor’s music to get her to talk. Now that she’s dead, it’ll make things a lot more difficult for me. Still... I guess it also confirms a few things for me, and..."
Turning my head to stare at the entrance of the room, I started to make my way towards it.
"...It’s not like I’ve lost track of them."
Clank—!
Stepping out of the room, I was met with complete silence. The hallway was empty, not a single person in sight, as rows of benches lined the walls, and doors stood closed on either side. The air felt still, almost suffocating, as if everything had been abandoned in a hurry.
Looking around, my gaze passed over the repeating pillars stretching into the distance before settling on a particular hall, my head tilting a little.
’They’ve run pretty far.’
I didn’t immediately give chase.
Instead, I looked around me. At the space.
How were they able to clear this entire place so fast? Last I recalled, the place was packed with people. Were they all fake? Or did they use some trick?
Whatever the case was, I knew that pulling off something like this wasn’t easy.
’Looks like I’m dealing with something troublesome.’
Tapping my foot against the ground, I finally made up my mind and started moving. Whatever was going on, staying still wasn’t an option. Things were bound to get more dangerous, and staying in the same place would only make things more difficult for me.
Of course, I wasn’t too worried either.
As I stepped forward, my foot sank into the ground, the floor giving way beneath me as it pulled me down. The world seemed to fold in on itself, the ground rushing up until my vision went completely black.
Then, just as suddenly, I found myself somewhere else. Everything looked the same, yet the air felt different, heavier somehow, and the entire environment carried a subtle, unsettling shift.
Step. Step—
"Hmm~ Hmm~"
As the quiet sound of my steps echoed, I found myself humming as I looked around the place.
I kept walking like that until I finally came to a stop at a certain spot, my head slowly lifting as I looked up.
"Here...?"
I tilted my head slightly before nodding.
"Yup."
Deactivating the skill, the world collapsed in on itself as the air shifted once more, the colors of my surroundings snapping back into place. The back of a figure appeared before me, standing still as they spoke to someone, unaware of my presence.
"Where are you running off to?"
Without hesitation, I reached out toward the back of their neck.
"...There are still many questions that I need to ask of you."