"HIEEEEK! HIEEEEEEK—!""
The Matriarch’s panicked, piercing shrieks continued to echo, filling the room and clashing with the otherwise sterile environnt.
I stared at the nurse who had co into the room, her head tilted slightly as she looked at 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 sothing 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.
Sothing about the air shifted. Suddenly, it grew heavier.
"This isn’t negotiable. If you continue to obstruct , 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 tis.
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 . The current was different. I needed answers.
I wanted answers.
That’s why I decided to co 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 a few more minutes. I’d really appreciate it."
I tried to be polite when asking, but for so 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 mont I activated its ability, I beca instantly aware of the nurous presences scattered throughout the room.
’I see. There’s more than one.’
About three...
This more or less confird 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 sothing stab in my direction. Long aware of what was happening, I rely tilted my head to the right while simultaneously activating [Trait Transfer] and slowing down ti.
Needless to say, the person attacking wasn’t much stronger than . However, I knew not to let my guard down as I imdiately went for the throat with the knife.
Spurt—!
I felt the connection instantly, sothing wet splattering over , 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 ti to care.
Swooosh! Swoosh!
Suddenly sensing multiple presences behind , I activated the sa skill again, slowing ti. But the mont I did, my expression shifted, and I quickly turned toward the Matriarch.
...Oh.
By the ti I realized, it was already too late.
The figures that had been hurtling toward vanished just as suddenly as they had appeared, their presence dissolving into nothing. At the sa ti, 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 ?’
"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 . Still... I guess it also confirms a few things for , 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 t 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 imdiately give chase.
Instead, I looked around . 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 so trick?
Whatever the case was, I knew that pulling off sothing like this wasn’t easy.
’Looks like I’m dealing with sothing troubleso.’
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 sa place would only make things more difficult for .
Of course, I wasn’t too worried either.
As I stepped forward, my foot sank into the ground, the floor giving way beneath as it pulled down. The world seed to fold in on itself, the ground rushing up until my vision went completely black.
Then, just as suddenly, I found myself sowhere else. Everything looked the sa, yet the air felt different, heavier sohow, and the entire environnt 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 ca 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 , standing still as they spoke to soone, 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."
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