From the moment the lights turned off, I knew that I had a fraction of a second to react. With numerous people inside, anyone could sound the alarm at any given second.
The moment that happened, I knew that I’d be done for.
Therefore...
Swoosh!
The first thing I did was cancel my disguise, including that of the Conductor, as I recalled him back. With the monitoring devices down, there was no need for the Conductor to remain in room 57.
I was also not alarmed about removing the Conductor from there since I knew that there was nobody in the room. But even if they were, it wouldn’t really matter since I was almost done with this area.
Most importantly...
’It’s really taking a strain on my nodes.’
Though faint, I could hear them. The subtle, yet ever-present, cracking sounds coming from deep within my head.
’Ah, this is not good.’
I really was pushing myself with this entire thing.
Despite this, I couldn’t stop.
I needed to see this through to the end.
For me to live...
I had no choice but to keep going.
And⎯
"Ha."
Covering my lips, I just barely stopped myself from chuckling.
’Ugh, now is really not the time.’
Kek!
Despite the situation I found myself in, I...
I was quite enjoying it.
Unsummoning the Conductor and dropping my disguise took less than half a second. The moment I did, I activated another one of my nodes.
[Trait Transfer: Time Freeze]
"⎯⎯!"
A sharp pain hit the back of my mind the moment time froze.
In that instant, I nearly stumbled forward, only barely catching myself against the table before I could fall. Taking a few deep breaths to steady myself, I heard a voice call out from behind me.
"You’re... doing too much."
I didn’t need to look back to know who it was.
I smiled in response.
Too much...?
"This is merely the bare minimum."
At least, for what I wanted to achieve.
"....."
Kyle didn’t take my words kindly, his expression tightening as he spoke, "I know that I’ve decided to work with you, and that you’re not the same Seth that I know, but if you keep going this way, then..."
"Then, I die."
"That’s not⎯"
"That’s exactly what’s going to happen. You saw it yourself. This isn’t just a simple situation."
I cut Kyle off before he could continue to waste my time.
"I’m currently a target. A very attractive one. I’m doing all of this to make them understand..."
I paused, my lips pressing together as the pain took the words out of my mouth.
When I looked back at Kyle, I kept my mouth shut. I realized rather quickly that I didn’t need to elaborate further.
Taking another deep breath, I lifted my head and looked around me. It was dark, but with the sunglasses I could see everything.
My gaze hovered over the numerous people in the room, none of them aware of the fact that time around them had frozen.
A dark figure emerged from beneath the ground.
The Realmwalker’s expression was anything but kind, but I paid no mind to its expression as I nudged my head.
’Go.’
SPURT!
Blood spurted in all directions as a figure tumbled across the ground, time no longer frozen for them.
Kyle’s expression changed at the sight.
"Wait, what are you...!?"
"Cough."
Bringing my hand to my mouth, I wiped the blood that lingered across my chin before shifting my attention back towards the table, ignoring Kyle’s shocked voice as the Realmwalker moved onto the next engineer.
One by one.
’I’m curious. Is the object that he was referring to inside of this thing, or is it actually the entire table?’
I pressed my hand over the table, feeling its cool metal touch. I quietly scanned the entire thing before a figure appeared next to me.
"It’s over there."
Mirelle’s figure stood next to me as she pointed towards the center of the table.
"...I can feel it."
Mirelle’s [Warden] Decree heightened her sensitivity to anomalous energy. Even so, the sunglasses proved invaluable, allowing me to pinpoint where the primary source behind everything converged.
’Looks like she’s in her child form.’
Her form varied based on my condition. Normally, she was an adult, but there were times when she’d return to her child form. Given the current state of my nodes, it made sense.
"Alright, then."
I didn’t waste a second. Activating one of my nodes, a dark film spread across my entire arm as I brought it crashing down with all my strength.
BANG!
The table folded quickly.
At the same time, Mirelle giggled as my surroundings wavered. The pain inside my mind only intensified, but I forced it down and looked around before settling my gaze on a certain cube nestled within the broken table.
’It should be that.’
I reached for the cube and pulled it away from the table.
Halfway through the motion, I stopped, taking a few breaths as my surroundings wobbled even further. I wanted to take another pill, but I knew that it would have no effect as I put the cube away and turned to face my surroundings.
"....."
Every single one of them was down.
Blood painted the floor, the walls, even the faces of people who hadn’t been given the chance to realize what was happening. At the far end of the room, the Realmwalker stood in silence, waiting.
Kyle hadn’t spoken in a while. When I looked at him, he was still staring at the bodies. Not at me. At them. Like he was counting.
"You..."
His voice came out a moment later.
"I’m sure you’ve seen it for yourself," I said, before he could find the rest of what he wanted to say.
"These people kidnap and experiment on others. Rowan’s sister is currently being experimented on. It’s fine if you want to reprimand me, but ask yourself whether they can even be called people in the first place."
The words came out clean and even. They always did when I needed to sound righteous.
I didn’t actually care about any of that. I got rid of them because leaving them alive would’ve made things more troublesome. Kyle didn’t need to know that, so I gave him the version that would get through his head.
But in the first place... I didn’t kill them all.
I couldn’t kill them all.
"....."
Kyle didn’t respond.
He looked at me in silence, his lips opening before closing again
He nodded a moment after. It was a simple nod, and yet, it bothered me more than I expected.
"....."
I took that as good enough.
’Right, we’re just cooperating. That’s all there is to it."
I took another deep breath, time around the room resuming as I had the Realmwalker dispose of all the bodies present. The strong smell of blood lingered throughout the room, overtaking everything. It was pungent and strong.
Looking at the ventilation, I knew I didn’t need to worry too much about the scent spreading beyond it.
"Anyways..."
I turned my attention back towards the door.
"With the surveillance system down, I should be able to move without any more problems."
This was the greatest hurdle. With it gone, I could now do as I pleased, as my appearance changed once more, and I became the Enforcer again.
’I should probably hurry up. There’s not much time.’
I didn’t know when the security captain would return. But thinking about the doctor, a growing sense of unease settled in my gut as I moved toward the door.
It wasn’t even the captain that bothered me.
The Doctor was a different problem. Something about him sat wrong in a way I couldn’t place, and I’d learned a long time ago not to ignore that feeling.
’Maybe I should get rid of him.’
Just as my hand reached for the handle, my entire body froze. The handle shifted on its own, and as the door swung open, a familiar face appeared on the other side.
"Enforcer...?"
He blinked a couple of times before stepping back.
"You’re leaving?"
"Oh, captain."
I answered a moment after, my jaw tightening.
"...You’re back."