“We’re here. Everyone off the bus.”
The ride took longer than expected. Despite the Guild’s reassurances, word of the anomaly had already begun to spread, and people were starting to abandon their homes.
This resulted in quite a bit of traffic forming.
“Uwa…”
“My back is sore. That took way longer than I expected.”
“I hope we get to rest a bit. I feel like my back is killing me.”
Coming out of the bus, I could hear the complaints of the other members as I calmly walked out of the bus and looked around.
A wide street stretched out before me, lined on both sides with identical houses, each with a triangular roof, a driveway, and two stories. Each house had a well-maintained garden, and several people in uniform appeared by the door of each house.
They were all holding onto notepads, and each wore sunglasses.
’Are they from the bureau?’
They didn’t look like they belonged to the Guild, which made this the only explanation that I could think of.
Looking back, I could also see the other buses arrive.
The place started to become even rowdier.
“Where is the support team? If there’s anyone from the support team, come here.”
Shouting was the same man from before as he raised his hand while looking around. I scratched the back of my head before walking over to him.
Spotting me, he paused.
“You’re from the support team?”
“…Yes.”
“Okay, wait here.”
He looked around and waved his hand again.
“Where is the support team? If there’s anyone from the support team, come here.”
He continued to shout the same phrase over and over again, and by the time several minutes had passed, five people had gathered. They were composed of two girls and three guys. The girls both had shoulder-length hair, differing from brown to black, while the guys all had short black hair.
Their faces… weren’t anything to praise, but they didn’t look bad as they all seemed to know each other.
I was probably the only one who wasn’t familiar with the others.
“Since everyone is here, follow me. I need you all to check up on the subjects before we release them.”
Subjects?
I was confused, but I nonetheless followed as we were brought directly to one of the houses.
The agent from the bureau standing by the entrance merely glanced at us before letting us in.
“This place is not bad at all.”
“…Looks even better than my place.”
“Right?”
Overhearing their conversation, I looked around. Well… it was better than my dorm, that was for sure. Although it had nothing fancy, it had all the necessities. From a large TV to a sofa, and flowers.
Looking around, I felt a little envious.
’When can I get a house like this?’
I could technically buy one when the money came in from the games, but unfortunately, I needed the money to buy shop items and fragments.
’Now that I think about it, I still haven’t checked the Second Order shop.’
Now that I was a Second Order, I could access it.
I wasn’t in a rush, though.
I was… in a bit of a financial crisis at the moment.
“Y-you will really… let me go if I do this? Are you… sure? You’re not lying, right?”
Walking past the living room and into the kitchen area, two people appeared before us. One was a man wearing an orange jumpsuit, while the other was another agent from the bureau.
As if noticing our presence, they both looked in our direction.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
The agent turned towards the man in the jumpsuit and said, “You stay here. I’ll be going out for a few minutes. Don’t even think about escaping. The moment you do the deal is off.”
Then, without looking back, he left for the living room as we followed behind.
Eventually coming to a stop, he handed a file to the Team Leader.
“His name is Jason Fingler. He’s forty-eight years old, and he’s the man I’d like you all to check on. Although he looks harmless, he’s killed seven women in total.”
Killed seven people?
I blinked my eyes and thought back to the appearance of the man in the jumpsuit.
He was neither charming nor handsome. With his lanky frame, bald patch at the back of his head, graying hair, and round, wire-framed glasses, he didn’t look like someone who could harm a fly.
He was the last person I’d expect to be a serial killer.
“I want all of you to check for any abnormalities in him immediately. Once the test concludes, if he survives, I want him tested again. Gather as much data as possible. The Bureau wants this anomaly to remain classified as Melas. No one wants to see it escalate to Thrall Class.”
I was a little taken aback by the way the agent was speaking.
It was as though he had no concern at all about whether the man died or not.
Then again… This man was a serial killer.
“Don’t worry. We’ll have them checked right now. Are there more we need to check later?”
“A few others, but we can leave those out for later.”
“Got it.”
The Team Leader turned to look in our direction.
“What are you waiting for? Go… Check up on the subject.”
“Yes!”
“On it…”
The Team Leader didn’t follow us as we headed back towards the kitchen. It was there that the man appeared, quietly sitting in one of the chairs.
“A-are you here to check up on me?”
His voice was a little shaky as he spoke. Looking at him, I started to doubt if he really was a serial killer.
’It doesn’t even look like he could kill a fly.’
“Yes, we are.”
Stepping forward was the short-haired girl with brown hair. With a distinctive mole at the bottom of her chin, she smiled kindly at the man.
“My name is Rosanne. I’ll be here to check up on your health. Please stay still.”
Rosanne began to move behind the man while placing her hand against his back.
“Breathe in slowly. Keep your heart rate normal.”
“…O-okay.”
The man quietly nodded while closing his eyes and leaning forward a bit. His chest rose and fell as he listened to Rosanne’s instructions.
A strange silence filled the room shortly after that as Rosanne continued to give instructions.
In the meantime, the others jotted down a few things while observing the situation.
Err…
On the other hand, I was at a total loss.
Everyone looked really busy. What was I supposed to do?
If it’s like this then—
BANG!
“…!”
A thunderous crash jolted me out of my thoughts as my head snapped up towards the ’harmless’ man as he swiftly turned around and reached for Rosanne’s neck.
“I’ll kill you!!!!”
It was as if he had turned into a completely different person.
His bloodshot eyes bulged with murderous intent, his face contorting sinisterly. Every muscle in his face twisted, twitching… as though something had taken over him completely, his hands lunging out for Rosanne.
“Help!”
“Holy shit!”
“Quick!”
The others sprang into action. Without wasting a second, they dashed toward the serial killer, grabbing him from behind and forcing him to the ground.
“Arkhhhh—! Kill! Kill!!!”
Froth bubbled at the corners of his mouth. Spit sprayed as he thrashed, his gaze locked on Rosanne with a hatred so raw it felt inhuman. His hand dug at the floor, scraping it as he desperately reached for her.
“Die!!!”
Rosanne stumbled back, her face startled but at the same time somewhat rational. Perhaps… this wasn’t the first time she had witnessed something like this.
But I…
I was left at a complete loss by the scene.
“Hey!”
It took a certain shout to snap me out of it as one of the members from the support squad shouted in my direction.
“Quick! Call for the Team Leader!”
It was only then that I sprang into action and hastily moved out of the room.
This…
’I didn’t make a mistake coming, right?’