White… just white…
Where am I…?
I felt as if I had been thrown all alone into a comfortable, zero-gravity-like space…
After a while, I heard a loud sound coming from somewhere. Some kind of mechanical sound? As it gradually grew louder, I was able to discern what it was.
(The sound of a helicopter’s rotor… But it seems too quiet for that…)
Just as I thought that, my vision suddenly changed. In the darkness, two military helicopters were heading somewhere. From their shape, they looked like stealth helicopters, but also like tiltrotor aircraft. My field of vision was looking down at the helicopters from a high vantage point. Just like a movie. Even if I moved my gaze, there was no three-dimensional change in the scene I was seeing…
< Special Operations Unit AAST Night Striker. Approaching target point. After descent, *Alpha Team* will immediately secure the area and extraction route. *Beta Team* will commence assault on the enemy facility upon my signal. I repeat– >
A radio voice. It was as if I was being shown a movie… I could hear the voice clearly.
< Alpha Team Leader to all Alpha Team members. This operation has been designated a Threat Level 26%, Class D by *MARIA*. It is believed there are no AWs present. In the unlikely event that civilians are present, we do not want any casualties. Firing and use of weapons are strictly prohibited until a Code Red is ordered. >
This voice… It’s Kamikura’s voice. I’m sure of it!
< To all personnel on board. Update of the latest tactical information from MARIA confirmed. No biological signatures in the abandoned village in the target area. Assault route confirmed. Commencing descent now. >
The two helicopters descended in the darkness towards what appeared to be the plaza of an abandoned village. It was pitch black all around. There was no moonlight. Was it a new moon? If it was a surprise attack operation, it was the perfect night.
“Captain, what are you looking at? Your girlfriend?”
The situation inside the helicopter. About eight members were sitting against the wall, standing by. They were wearing special body armor, but from the looks of it, it seemed to be a suit focused on mobility. Everyone was wearing a helmet with a special visor, so I couldn’t see their faces.
“It’s nothing.”
I couldn’t tell by his appearance, but it was definitely Kamikura. Kamikura put a photo away inside his suit. Then, along with the impact of landing, the door at the rear of the helicopter opened.
” Operation Start. First Squad. Commence clearing the area.”
The eight members of the First Squad, including Kamikura, quickly spread out and checked the safety of the area.
< Beta Team Leader to Alpha Team. Approaching target facility. No biological signatures around the church. Awaiting assault order. >
“–Donovan. The enemy is likely hiding underground. Shoot them all on sight. Listen, don’t let a single one escape.”
Kamikura’s words… Shoot them all on sight? Just what kind of operation is this…?
< Leave it to us. You and I have already killed hundreds of people… I feel no remorse at this point. I’m counting on you if anything happens, Kamikura. I’m expecting great things from your skills as the *Wizard Killer*. >
Just what… are they talking about…? Kamikura… Wizard Killer…?
My heart… my heart rate is going up… What is about to happen. It’s already obvious, but will I be able to look straight at it…?
“All areas clear! Beta Team, commence assault. Shoot all targets on sight. After securing the area, plant C4 and evacuate immediately. I repeat–”
Kamikura issued the orders… I had no choice but to listen to Kamikura’s cold-blooded orders in silence…
A welling sense of disgust… and the urge to cover my eyes…
< Target spotted. Beta Team commencing attack. Quite a crowd gathered this time! >
Over the radio, I could hear fierce gunfire and screams… The only screams I could hear were from women… I even felt like I could hear the crying voice of a little girl…
In my field of vision was the Alpha Team, standing guard outside the church…
It happened then. Just as the pitch-black night sky flashed brightly for an instant, a dazzling light appeared above Kamikura and his men. It was too bright for me to tell what it was.
“Captain! What is that?!”
Kamikura stared at the light above with an astonished expression. The surrounding team members also seemed unable to hide their surprise. At that moment, one of the team members started shouting.
“…What are these things… Captain! Creepy people are appearing one after another from the abandoned houses!”
< Beta Team, enemy annihilation complete. Setting C4 now… What the? These guys are getting back up one after another! All units commence attack! Pour every bullet you have into them! >
Radio transmissions flew back and forth one after another. Kamikura and his men were completely surrounded by those creepy people.
It’s hard to believe, but… are these zombies? Bodies that looked rotting in places. And with bloodshot, bright red eyes, they surrounded Alpha Team, approaching slowly but surely.
“Captain! Permission to attack! We are completely surrounded! It’s dangerous if this keeps up!”
At that moment, the light overhead began to move outside the abandoned village. And Kamikura suddenly started chasing after it.
< Hey, Kamikura! What’s wrong?! Give us orders! What’s happening outside?! These guys aren’t dying at all! Shit! Beta Team commencing retreat! Beta Team is retreating! >
“Captain! Where are you going?! It’s no use! Code Red! Alpha Team, commence attack! I’ll take responsibility as Vice Captain! It’s a Code Red! Everyone, commence attack!”
The scene descended into chaos… becoming a gruesome situation. Fierce gunfire, the angry roars and screams of the team members… Kamikura was desperately chasing the light overhead… as if he were possessed by something…
< Beta Team Leader to all members! Rescue the wounded and retreat! Everyone get to the choppers immediately! I repeat– >
It happened then. Just as the dazzling light emitted an intense flash…
A tremendous explosion… echoed throughout the area…
My vision going entirely white…
A while after that, little by little, the surrounding scenery began to come into view…
Beyond the horizon… the morning sun was gradually rising. The entire area had been turned into ruins with rubble scattered everywhere due to the explosion… The abandoned houses, and the desolate church… there was absolutely no trace of them left now…
And the two helicopters, reduced to wreckage.
The retreat… didn’t make it in time…
When I came to, I was on my bed…
I looked at the clock. The hour hand pointed to 4:55. Red light was shining through the closed curtains of the hotel window. It was already dawn.
It was a realistic dream… Or rather, I felt like I was watching a gruesome movie…
Special Operations Unit AAST Night Striker… Wizard Killer…
< Leave it to us. You and I have already killed hundreds of people… I feel no remorse at this point. I’m counting on you if anything happens, Kamikura. I’m expecting great things from your skills as the *Wizard Killer*. >
The lines connected. And I couldn’t help but feel… that it might have been better if I hadn’t seen it.
If his words were true, Kamikura had killed hundreds of people in that unit… and probably all of them were women. Including young girls.
It was only for a fleeting moment, but I also caught a glimpse of the basement of the church. Everyone who had been killed was a woman. Women dressed in black robes, looking just like witches. They were covered in bright red blood, their bodies mangled in places as they lay collapsed. It was a gruesome scene… just remembering it makes me want to look away…
Kamikura… had spent a whole year in a place like that… An ordinary person surely… wouldn’t be able to endure it… The reason why his smile disappeared… It was more than enough of a fact to explain it…
What can I do…? To clear away the darkness in Kamikura’s heart, what must I do…?
All I can do is understand him and stay by his side. Thinking back, his attitude seems to have softened, albeit little by little, since the first day we reunited… Kamikura, too, is fighting the darkness in his heart.
If so, I have no choice but to continue supporting him by his side. Until that darkness in his heart disappears, I have no choice but to keep shining a light on him.
With a renewed feeling in my heart, I get ready for work.
(Huh…)
What is… this sense of incongruity. Getting ready for work… the hotel…
Where was I before I fell asleep to begin with? No… what is this strange sense of security?
Kamikura’s past… How did I find out about that?
Remember. No. This seems like reality, but it isn’t. My intuition is telling me so. Do not think of this as reality. If I completely believe it to the point of recognizing it as reality in my heart, I’ll never be able to leave this place again! My current state is extremely dangerous!
I slap my cheeks with both hands as hard as I can. It hurts. I have a sense of pain.
But no. I feel like I’m forgetting something important. What is it? This strange sense of security and comfort is some kind of power trying to deceive me. My intuition is telling me so. There is no doubt about it.
Hands… I look at both of my hands. White, slender fingers. Even though the insides are rough from various training, they are beautiful hands, if I do say so myself…
Something is wrong… This sense of incongruity. It’s close. I feel like the answer is right there!
(!?)
I remembered… It was supposed to be fitted on the middle finger of my right hand. That ominous ring.
Instantly, as if my memories up to this point were being restored, I recall the events of the past few days. Reuniting with Kamikura. Conducting the interview investigation with Hojo-san. The night I spent with Tetsuya. Meeting Asagiri, forcibly taking her in, and temporarily being stripped of my qualifications as an investigator as a result.
Kamikura, Tetsuya, Chris, the Director, Hayama, Stephen, everyone’s faces float into my mind.
I… that’s right. I told my wish to the Witch of Dreams. And I fell asleep. In the residential area of Ground Base.
I remembered everything. And on my right hand, that ominous ring is fitted. By remembering everything, I was able to take a step out of the illusion.
And then, I made all my preparations and left the hotel room.
I was running… through this bizarre, empty city…
The bizarre space spreading before my eyes… I couldn’t tell if the red-black sky was dusk or another world, and I couldn’t hear a single thing—neither the noise of the city, which should have been bustling, nor the sound of cicadas typical of the season.
The street where many people would normally be walking. Not even a single car was driving by, and despite being right in the middle of a major metropolis, I couldn’t sense a single trace of life…
Even though the sun shouldn’t have set yet, there was a bizarre sensation as if the temperature had dropped drastically. Whether it was shivering from the cold or shivering from fear, it was freezing enough to send chills down my spine…
(What, what happened…?)
I don’t know how long I’ve been running anymore.
I got off the elevator and went outside from the front desk… Thinking back now, I feel like things were already strange from that point. What spread across my field of vision was a scenery that looked familiar, yet I had never seen before. A terror as if I had suddenly wandered into another world. The breaths I inhaled were heavy and painful.
An indescribably eerie red-black sky, and a complete silence that felt like it was slowly eroding my heart. The many buildings were just lined up like empty husks, like the gravestones of a major metropolis…
And, something clearly unknown was chasing me…
I did not look back. The moment I looked back, my body would freeze from fear. “Don’t look back,” my instinct was telling me.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, and breathing was painful. My legs were hurting to their limit. My underwear and camisole stuck to my skin with sweat, causing intense discomfort. I had no idea where I was running anymore.
An unfamiliar scenery that seemed to continue eternally. It looked like the usual road, but it was a clearly different scenery…
Eventually, unable to run anymore, I entered a narrow alleyway, and began climbing the external stairs of a large building that lay at the end of the convoluted alley.
At that moment, I stopped dead in my tracks.
What is… this déjà vu… I feel like I’ve experienced this scene once before…
After this, what happened to me…? Remember! It’s extremely important!
If I recall, I… climbed the external stairs after this… and there, I couldn’t walk anymore…
And then, I encountered it… that entity, which emitted a divine yet ominous, absolute aura.
No. If I go to the rooftop, I will definitely be killed. I must not climb these external stairs.
It was just as I thought that.
“Eh…”
I inadvertently muttered that…
I was on the rooftop of the building… A red-black sky. A large moon that had appeared before I knew it…
And I felt it. The entity floating overhead.
I look up.
Looking down at me eerily, it emitted a divine yet ominous, absolute aura, just like that time…
“–Greetings.”
A voice echoing directly in my mind…
The wish and the price… The time to pay it had finally arrived…