Anomaly Chapter 38 – Conducting experiments [8]

(POV - Emily Parker)

Even though it wasn’t the first ti Emily had witnessed sothing like this, she was still amazed. Even after years of studying and analyzing anomalies, she could count on one hand the tis she’d seen an anomaly using its power this close up. After all, in normal situations, all the scientists would have been dead after an experint like this.

Despite the reinforced glass, which could withstand the pressure of a bomb, neither Emily nor the scientists felt completely safe behind it. Anomalies, after all, were precisely that: entities that defied every logical notion they held.

"Fascinating. She may not seem faster than the [Skull Wolf], but whenever she's about to be caught, she suddenly vanishes and reappears sowhere else. Could that be a second anomalous power, or is it sohow connected to her eyes?"

For a mont, Emily forgot she wasn’t alone. She cast a discreet glance at Graham, but as always, his expression made it hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Chief Researcher Emily, I don’t recall reading about this in the reports you sent to headquarters. While there was ntion of abnormal speed at certain monts, it was nothing as specific as what I'm seeing now"

Translating what Emily heard from Graham, his words sounded more like: “Why haven’t I received updated reports on this? Are you withholding information from headquarters? You know that’s a serious violation, right?” Emily frowned as she listened to Graham, interpreting his words for herself.

"At the ti we submitted the reports, we didn’t have detailed information about its anomalous powers. In fact, they remain a complete mystery. Since we couldn’t clearly observe what its other ability was, we chose to classify it as super speed. However, seeing this firsthand, I’m reconsidering what this power might really be that it's using to escape the [Skull Wolf]"

Graham turned toward Emily with a curious look, a gesture that left her extrely uncomfortable, sending a shiver through her entire body.

“Interesting. What are your thoughts on this, Chief Researcher Emily?”

Once again, a question erged that made Emily feel she should avoid answering at all costs. However, even if she decided to lie at that mont, the truth would have to be revealed in the report. Strange things happened to scientists who concealed information; those who were taken often returned completely different from how they had been before.

Of course, the usual Emily would tell the truth since she had no reason to lie. However, she felt compelled to help the little anomaly. Although she’d already done ntal contamination tests without finding anything, she had co to accept that her true desire was to aid the little anomaly.

Considering the possibility of partially revealing what she knew, Emily briefly opened her mouth, but her eyes widened at the sa ti. She wasn’t the only one; everyone in the room wore similar expressions. The reason for their surprise was simple: the little anomaly had defeated the [Skull Wolf] in a highly unusual and unexpected way.

***

(POV – Protagonist)

I’d been running around the room for several minutes now. Every ti the wolf got close enough to reach , I activated my power, and while it was frozen in midair, I kept moving. Curiously, even after so much running, I didn’t feel tired at all—a clear sign that I was definitely not human.

Even though, in theory, I could keep running from it forever thanks to my power, using it was starting to wear out. While it still wasn’t enough to make stop, I could feel the gap between and the wolf starting to close.

Although it was a good strategy, it wasn’t a permanent solution—I’d probably end up getting caught sooner or later. So I took advantage of a mont when the wolf was frozen to try to spot a weak point. All I found, however, was a small, rainbow-colored glimr. If that was it, it would still be manageable.

But the glimr moved across the wolf’s body. My first thought when I saw it was that this world was completely insane. Seriously, what was that supposed to be? Was that spot supposed to be its weak point? Did it have so kind of “heart” that shifted around its body? How did sothing like that even work? Even the shadow I fought last ti didn’t have such a weird weak point.

I an, once you realize that the shadow is actually controlled by a main body, it’s easier to accept. But how am I supposed to accept a weak point that moves around inside an elephant-sized wolf with a body coated in bones? Was this fight just a little unbalanced in my favor, or was that just my impression?.

Still, I didn’t have ti to keep pondering these questions. It was clear from how long I’d been running that it was unlikely anyone was coming to help. However, this chase hadn’t been for nothing; during this ti, I’d thought up a few ways to deal with the wolf. Most of them involved escaping, but I’d also considered a few strategies to defeat it.

In the end, I decided to go with the option I felt had the lowest chance of failure. After all, I really didn’t want to get bitten or, worse, eaten. Even if my body could regenerate, would it happen inside the monster’s stomach? Although, if I were still alive in there, I’d probably give it a bad case of indigestion.

My arms were still stretched out in front of as my body charged across the room at high speed. Ahead of , all I saw was a wall, but in that specific spot, a shadow was cast—right beneath the glass where the scientists were watching us. The shadow cast was Emily’s.

Although I hesitated to reveal more of my powers, in the end, did it really matter? Or rather, why did I even care about them finding out? With these thoughts, I ran as fast as my body could handle and threw myself into Emily’s shadow, which expanded abnormally at my command, now large enough for the wolf to enter as well.