“I haven’t seen any creatures in this area. I came to find out why.”The question was direct, almost abrupt. Pietro, however, replied without the slightest trace of unease.

“There are many miracles in this world. This is just one of them.”“Is it really just a miracle?”

Someone came in at that moment and set a cup of black tea down at the table.“Have some.”“No, thank you.”

I didn’t want to drink something without knowing what it was. That kind of foolishness didn’t appeal to me.“Then….”

He let out a sound but I couldn’t grasp the meaning. Did he really believe it was a miracle? Or was he simply very good at hiding his emotions? I lacked the information to be certain of anything.“Was your name Kyle?”“Yes.”

“I don’t know what you’re so suspicious of, but trust what you see.”“It’s because what I see looks suspicious.”

The old man gave a bitter smile at that answer.“Religion developed alongside humanity thousands of years ago. It’s built on morality and norms, trust and faith.”“…….”

“Do you know what most religions, above all, considered taboo?”“I’m not sure.”“A challenge to the gods. Defying providence.”As the conversation continued, the old man’s expression somehow grew sombre.“Those who denied the providence of aging became monsters. They refused providence and so earned the wrath of the gods.”What was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} he trying to say? I watched him without much expression. Pietro shook his head and continued speaking.“The biggest reason you were able to survive is that you followed providence. So I hope you follow providence this time as well.”“What providence should I follow?”“I won’t give you the answer. Find it yourself.”For a moment, a look of devastation flashed across the old man’s eyes. Why? What was that look supposed to mean?“Trust only what you can see with your own eyes. The answer will be there.”I sensed that the sentence that followed was what he truly wanted to say.‘I won’t get the answer here.’Pietro. He clearly knew the truth, but he didn’t give even the smallest hint. Maybe he couldn’t.  ‘It’s because what you see looks suspicious.’‘Trust only what you can see with your own eyes. The answer will be there.’In his own way, he warned me. The situation inside was more complicated than I had expected. Yet I had the feeling that everything was leading toward a single clue.‘What on earth did they do to the mutants?’

My mind grew increasingly tangled, yet clarity remained out of reach. Thoughts piled upon thoughts until they became obsession, and stacking obsession upon obsession felt like plunging into a bottomless abyss.‘This is annoying.’

I glanced around to clear the faint dizziness. Instead, my head throbbed more. The scene was that horrific — it could almost pass for an actual apocalypse city. Naturally, I felt wary glances.‘They’re guards.’The guards led by Lucas Isaac. They all glanced at me subtly. As guards, that was to be expected, but their looks felt excessive — more than suspicion, bordering on hostility. The workers, the ones suffering through labor, gave me odd looks too. Their eyes looked almost pitying. That sense of discomfort pressed on my chest.‘There’s definitely something here I don’t know.’Maybe I could find a solid clue inside one of the buildings? That seemed difficult. Everything seemed so strange that the very oddity of it acted as perfect camouflage, clouding any clear judgment. Still—“Hmm?”

Something flicked my field of vision like it had been waiting.“That’s—”It was the young man who had taken blood from the mutated rats. He looked pale, hurried, anxiously scanning around.‘I should follow him.’

I tailed him so he wouldn’t notice, weaving through alleyways. The young man headed into a building that smelled faintly of food — clearly they were preparing meals inside. Just before he went in, I stepped in front of him.“Wait.”

He jumped back, wide-eyed.“H-hey!”“Consuming infected blood is out of the question.”“What are you talking about?”“Isn’t that what you have there — the blood of a mutant?”“That’s nonsense…!!”The young man quickened his retreat, trying to deny it, but he was still only an ordinary runner. When I lunged, he stumbled and dropped the glass vial.“No, no!”

The glass bottle spilled dark red blood. He shoved the vial into his clothing and hid in a corner, making sure the pursuing guards didn’t see.“Huh? He definitely went this way….”“Where did he disappear to…?”They weren’t fools who couldn’t track him; he had simply chosen a clever hiding spot. I waited until the guards’ footsteps faded before removing my hand from the young man’s mouth.“W-who are you?”“You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous.”There were quite a few empty buildings nearby. Most were ruins, but they’d do for a brief conversation. With a slightly rougher grip than necessary, I dragged him along.“Let go of me!”

He reacted violently, as if trying to hide his fear. Watching him carefully, I couldn’t help but ask:“What happened here?”“Huh?”“What exactly went on that made you plan to kill everyone here?”“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”“Please. Tell me.”“How can I trust you?”“I’m not one of them. Aren’t I more trustworthy for that reason?”“This has nothing to do with you.”He turned his face away. But I kept staring at him — he might be the only one who could answer this complicated situation.‘If this doesn’t work, I’ll have to use force.’If it came to that, countless lives could be lost.“My comrades will come here soon.”“……?!”

“There are strangely no infected around.”“…Isn’t that a good thing?”“If they’re clustered somewhere it’s a different story. If we start our operation and they’re concentrated, they’ll be attracted to the noise. Then the casualties would be unpredictable.”“How is that my problem?”“Then answer me this: is the reason you’re making that choice related to the missing creatures?”He couldn’t answer. His silence was almost an admission.“I’ll help.”“Help how?”“If you tell me the truth here, I’ll help.”“How?”“I can’t help with revenge. We aren’t a group that kills people. But I know how they treat you here. I’ll take you to our base.”For a moment the young man’s eyes wavered. Did that offer work? No.“You sound sincere.”His tone changed before I realized it: “What do you know?”“Nothing. If I knew anything, it would only be that the looters were the ones being abused”“Don’t be ridiculous.”“……?”“There were no looters to begin with.”A shocking new fact. Whether it was true remained uncertain.“Isn’t it strange? There wasn’t even a shortage of supplies that would create looters—what sort of looters—!!”One thing was certain: someone was lying.The young man pointed to the ground as if offering an answer, his sneer seeming to mock the whole situation.“I don’t trust you. If you really want to know, go dig in the ground. You might find the answer there.”Something passed through my mind, unnoticed until then. ‘Wait.’ Dig in the ground?That wasn’t a joke to mock me. Was there something under this place? Puzzle pieces from many fractured memories began to fit. One crucial piece filled in the edge. There was something below this place…‘There’s a subway.’An underground railway ran beneath.The subway entrance. Finding it wasn’t difficult. I already had the locations of major buildings etched in my head. The guards didn’t stop me from leaving; if anything, they seemed to welcome it. As I moved, an indistinct vibration reached me — the feeling of the ground trembling.‘Here it is.’The decisive hint from the young man. I realized the subway tunnel might hold the answers I wanted. But it wasn’t the only key. This place could give the answer I most wanted and also reveal the second puzzle behind the whole mystery. When I could see the subway turnstiles, I noticed the interior had quite a bit of groundwater pooled inside.

“Huh.”Like the underground public-works shelters, the subway would inevitably flood without pumps. It was natural. Movement was restricted and the damp interior made my chest tight. But from that I learned something:“Don’t come out.”I wasn’t alone down here.“This is….”“Isaac Lucas.”“You really knew my name. What are you really?”Isaac, who had been hiding as if he’d expected everything, revealed himself.“I hope you don’t go any further.”“Why?”“You’ll see something shocking. It’s not a nice sight.”“Did they use living people as food for the creatures?”“Hmm, we don’t use such barbaric methods.”He tried to make a teasing voice, but his eyes were dangerous.“So you knew why the creatures were missing. Why didn’t you say so earlier?”“Even if I knew where the creatures gathered, I didn’t know why they gathered.”No further answer was needed from him. From here on, we could see for ourselves.“Are you really going in?”“Are you going to stop me?”“Of course not.”Isaac didn’t press further and followed behind. As we went deeper, my trait ‘Threat Detection’ activated.My vision flushed red. A display of crimson unlike anything even in the city center.‘There are special entities…?’No — it might not be a matter of special entities. The deeper we went, the more intense the red glow became. A low, buzzing noise swelled inside. Crackle—‘Rats?’Not only rats. The growls and screams of beasts and human mutants echoed too. The scene suggested many possible hypotheses.“What the hell were they doing here?”“We’re almost there. Don’t be shocked when you see it.”Isaac snorted. His mockery made me irritable in a situation that left nothing to laugh about. But we had to face the threat ahead. I suppressed emotion and moved on, silencing my presence and sound. Soon the creatures became visible. At that moment I felt nothing but hopelessness.‘This is insane.’I didn’t know how it was done or why. But the creatures had gathered in one place. Their numbers were enormous — in the hundreds of thousands.‘A wave.’There was an infected wave in this subway.“How do you like it?”Anger I couldn’t hold back surged; my hand shot out first.“Arrgh!”“What the hell did you bastards do?”

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