Ch.49Anne’s Diary (5)

# [EP6. Bergen Belsen]

-A Lost Girl, Monsters Who Cannot Cry-

Originally, this was content told from Lezia’s perspective.

The story of how the protagonist, who had been kidnapped in the previous “Abandoned Laboratory,” was brought to this place, Belsen.

The episode began with a dark iron cage.

[Sniff… sob, ugh…]

A girl crying while leaning against the cold wall.

The pilot was despondent about her situation, helplessly shedding tears.

As she trembled in fear.

[Hey… pink big sister!]

[Over here! Over here!]

A voice comes from somewhere.

Startled, she turns around to see a girl waving her hand through a small gap.

When their eyes meet, the girl smiles brightly.

[Nice to meet you! It’s been so long since someone came to the next room!]

[My name is Anne! Let’s get along, fellow test subjects.]

A brightly shining smile.

Anne’s appearance in the original work wasn’t any different.

The spirited girl reached out to the protagonist and became her companion so she wouldn’t tremble in loneliness.

You could call her a typical supporting character.

[Sister, take this.]

[It’s a blanket!]

A role that gave courage.

She was a character who helped maintain the mood in this gloomy episode.

Her refusal to lose hope was touching.

[But sometimes… wouldn’t it be okay for something fortunate to happen?]

[We need courage especially during difficult times.]

[Life becomes more beautiful the more we contemplate it.]

However.

She couldn’t escape the predetermined tragedy.

Bergen Belsen, Anne, diary… devices hinting at misfortune were hidden everywhere.

The girl eventually met a horrific end.

It was quite a shocking finale.

[I’ll come back.]

Later, the Gallimard faculty was deployed for rescue.

Thanks to them, the protagonist managed to escape, but as the price for survival, she had to face a terrible sight.

[Squawk… squawk]

Anne, transformed into a monster.

The episode ends with Lezia in despair.

I thought while recording the walkthrough video.

Even if it was based on actual history, did they really need to show such a cruel ending?

It remained a painful memory.

But.

“Thank goodness… really, thank goodness.”

“Big sister, are you crying? W-why so suddenly…?”

This time was different.

Because I was by the side of the girl who had become a monster.

It might have been a bit of rebellion.

‘Predetermined ending… go to hell.’

I hated tragedy.

If an unreasonable future blocks happiness, you just need to shatter it with a roughly swung fist.

I hold a gentle smile.

“I-I don’t understand what happened. I was definitely in the laboratory…”

“Hehe.”

Anne rolls her eyes in confusion.

Being careful not to startle the girl, I gently stroke her head.

Warm body temperature colors my palm.

It felt like it was conveying the sensation of being alive.

“I-I… I thought I was going to die.”

“Miss Anne.”

“It hurt so much, I was so scared… I c-cried and s-screamed…”

“It seems you had a nightmare.”

I calmly comfort the girl.

“It was just a dream. If you close and open your eyes a few times, it will become a dream you won’t even remember.”

I cover her teary eyes with my palm.

So the tired girl can rest peacefully, so she can escape from the terrible nightmare.

“You’ll feel better after another nap.”

Shadows rippling gently.

Anne’s eyelids slowly close.

As her consciousness becomes hazy and she begins to sway, the fox beside her embraces the girl’s body.

She whispers softly.

“Sleep well.”

I smiled faintly.

***

Breathing softly.

The sound of quiet breathing echoes.

“…She’s asleep.”

“Indeed.”

Anne was lying down with her head on the fox’s lap.

The girl sleeping with a peaceful expression.

Irene tidies the disheveled hair, then slowly shifts her gaze toward me.

Beyond her black pupils are complex emotions.

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…”

“Miss Irene?”

The fox who had been in a daze for a while.

Biting her lip gently, she soon leaves a single question.

“How on earth did you do that…?”

A brief but by no means light question.

The scene the girl had witnessed just before was extremely surreal.

The realm of impossibility.

In other words, a miracle.

It must have been incomprehensible for the fox.

I smile brightly.

I put my index finger to my lips.

“It’s a secret.”

“…I thought you’d say that.”

It was a complicated power to explain.

“Let’s just say I was lucky.”

That wasn’t exactly wrong.

It was a treatment that was possible because Anne had not died during the experiment and was still alive, albeit in the form of a chimera.

In fact, it felt more like restoration than healing.

Anyway.

Even with the liar’s ability, I couldn’t bring back the dead.

Whether limbs were torn off, they were butchered, or became monsters… they had to be alive first.

Lies spoken to the deceased are nothing more than empty words.

-Ding!

[Current remaining output: 31.7%]

Even this was extremely strenuous.

Restoring this frail girl to her original form consumed nearly 60% of my output.

There’s no way I could handle multiple cases at once.

‘I guess I pushed myself too hard… I’m feeling dizzy.’

It’s far more challenging than subduing a professor-level force.

Unlike combat, which only requires physical strikes.

Restoring a chimera required elevating to the concept of creation.

And the backlash was proportionally strong.

“Isn’t it more beautiful to leave miracles as miracles?”

“Yeah… I won’t ask anymore.”

“You’re backing down surprisingly easily.”

“I have some decency. Although I’ve sworn never to trust humans again, I don’t want to bare my fangs at someone I’m indebted to.”

“How admirable.”

I nod my head, feeling proud of her.

Though she deeply distrusts humans, she wasn’t a creature with a black heart by nature.

“I’ll repay this debt somehow.”

“I did it because I wanted to. Thanks to that, I got to see Miss Irene cry for the first time.”

“…Shut up.”

The fox wipes her reddened eyes.

She seemed to have relaxed.

I would have liked to just chat idly, but unfortunately, there was still something that needed to be finished.

I get up, dusting myself off.

“Ahem.”

The liar’s output was dangerous, but… well, this much should be enough.

To deal with the one watching us sinisterly.

After catching my breath for a moment, I turn to one side and speak.

“Why don’t you come out now? I think I’ve waited long enough.”

“What? Who are you suddenly talking to…”

As Irene tilts her head in confusion.

“What an impudent little one.”

Someone who had been hiding between the iron bars reveals himself.

A middle-aged man exuding an alien atmosphere.

The man, wearing a blood-red robe like a skin, walks out of the darkness with an intrigued smile.

A familiar face.

“…!”

With a start.

Irene grabs her sword with a surprised reaction.

The fox seemed to recognize the man, but she didn’t dare to stand up hastily.

It was because of the pressure weighing down the surroundings.

“This is interesting.”

The laboratory director, Josef Kramer.

The devil ruling over Belsen, and the very person who turned Anne into a monster.

“I was completely concealing my presence… to think you saw through it.”

The man approaches with quiet steps.

His characteristically languid voice echoes coldly through the dark basement.

I answer calmly.

“I have rather good eyes.”

“You say amusing things. I clearly saw you restore that failure just now.”

“By failure… do you mean Miss Anne?”

“Anne? I don’t know such a garbage name.”

“Didn’t you experiment on her with your own hands?”

“What use is a name for something that failed? It’s nothing but trash.”

“…Ha.”

A hollow laugh escapes me without realizing.

He was this kind of character in the original work, but seeing him in person was even more appalling.

Especially those eyes without a trace of guilt.

“So, how did you do it?”

Only vile greed swirled in the devil’s pupils.

“Did you use some trick? Magic that restores a monster-turned test subject to its original state… I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“That’s troublesome. It’s a secret I don’t want to share with others.”

“Yes, of course. Of course. You wouldn’t want to share such precious knowledge.”

The devil smiles unpleasantly.

Crimson haze begins to rise. A foul stench brushes against the tip of my nose.

He’s gathering black magic.

“Then I’ll take it by force. I’ll extract your brain whole and analyze it piece by piece.”

“That’s quite a chilling statement.”

“You’ll make an excellent specimen! While we’re at it, I’ll recycle the trash next to you too. How about cutting off your limbs and attaching them to each other? Just imagining it is thrilling.”

“…”

Does this bastard know?

That every word he spits out is provoking me.

“It’s been a long time… since I’ve been this angry.”

I calmly catch my breath.

Then I pat the head of the fox, who clearly looks anxious.

As if to say don’t worry.

“This will be over quickly. Please cover her ears so Anne doesn’t wake up.”

“…Alright.”

Irene hesitates but nods.

I smile slightly and step forward.

Whoosh-!

The basement is now filled with a blood-red aura.

Sharp fragments are aimed in this direction.

If he chants like that, everything around will be torn apart at the atomic level.

The opponent is the ruler of Belsen.

A powerful figure with at least professor-level strength.

With just one incantation, he could bury this entire basement.

So I had to be careful.

‘…If I hit him with too much emotion, he might die too easily.’

When dealing with weak creatures, special caution is needed.

I load a lie at my fingertips.

Cold anger flows down my spine.

The man rushes forward, lips moving to pray.

To invoke black magic.

Death flutters.

“O blood-stained master! Your eternal power here…!”

“Shatter.”

Crash-!

I’m sorry.

I wasn’t in the mood to play around.

I didn’t want to see this guy’s posturing.

Josef Kramer.

A psycho who slaughtered, tortured, and turned tens of thousands into monsters.

I simply couldn’t tolerate such a bastard receiving a dramatic presentation just because he was a villain.

Crack-!

That’s why I smash the lighting.

So no spotlight can shine on the stage where he stands, painting the script only with darkness.

The nightmare most fitting for a devil.

“…?!”

The laboratory director is shocked as his magic dissipates.

I move my lips dryly.

“Blackout.”

Immediately after.

Pitch darkness dyes the world.

***

When they opened their eyes again.

The two people were sitting in a courtroom.

A world meticulously created with illusion magic. A new stage prepared for their play.

In the center stood a high gallows.

“Defendant.”

The judge calls the defendant.

Sitting at the highest bench is none other than the narrow-eyed boy.

“Defendant, Josef Kramer. Do you have any final words?”

At the defendant’s seat is the devil, tied to a chair with rope.

Looking at the suddenly changed background, the defendant couldn’t gather his wits.

The judge smiles ominously.

“Then from now on… I will begin the judgment of the sinner.”

Bang bang bang-!

Along with the echoing sound of the gavel, the rope hanging on the gallows is zoomed in on.

It was time for punishment.