episode_0203

……………………………

……………

……

Villain organization 【Abyss】’s hideout.

A little ways from S City, in a forsaken district called the 【Closed Zone】, their hideout lies among the rows of dilapidated buildings.

Thirteen parked the car a short distance from the hideout, just in case, and descended underground, advancing through a collapsing passage.

A temporary passage created by adding modifications to an existing underground tunnel.

After walking a bit further, a noticeably pristine iron door stood alone.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep

Clank! Screeeeeech——

He deactivated the mechanical lock, which was different from its appearance, and opened the door to enter.

Beyond the door, a small space illuminated by a small LED light appeared.

The empty space simply had stairs leading upwards in one corner.

Thirteen and Violet climbed those stairs together.

“You’ve returned, Boss.”

Reaching the end of the stairs led to the hideout’s lobby.

There, Dorothy, who had been sitting in a chair positioned directly in view of the stairs, stood up to greet them.

Violet was puzzled by Dorothy’s welcome, but she accepted the greeting nonetheless.

“Why are you here, Dorothy? Shouldn’t you be in the lab at this hour?”

“…I was worried about your condition, Boss, and that idiot has something to deal with.”

Saying that, Dorothy looked at Violet.

Dorothy, wearing a monocle on one side, carefully examined Violet with her blue eyes above dark circles.

“Are you alright, Boss? You’ve been in bad shape since yesterday, and you left with such murderous eyes… I at least thought Thirteen wouldn’t make it back alive.”

“…N-No, that’s not possible. More importantly, yes, I’m fine now. Thanks to Thirteen’s help, I was able to avoid making the wrong choice. …I’m sorry for making you worry, Dorothy.”

Violet said, “I’m not qualified to be a Boss after all,” but Dorothy shook her head.

“That’s not true. It’s a natural emotion. Rather, I’m proud of you for overcoming it, Boss. Don’t say you’re not qualified.”

Dorothy, who is usually blunt, terse, and even has social anxiety, spoke this time with remarkable politeness and sincerity.

Thirteen was slightly surprised as the two finished their conversation. Violet spoke to Thirteen, then said she was tired and went up to her room on the upper floor.

Having barely slept for almost two days, she would probably fall asleep as soon as she washed up.

Violet was seen off in the lobby, and once she was completely out of sight,

“…Amazing. I honestly thought you’d fail.”

“I even looked into funeral arrangements,” Dorothy said, returning to her usual attitude.

At the very least, she had expected Thirteen, who had defied the Boss, to return brainwashed by mind-control drugs, becoming Violet’s puppet slave.

But judging from the situation, Thirteen’s plan to brainwash Violet seemed to have succeeded.

She wondered what kind of magic he had used.

In any case, Dorothy was quite surprised, and she had slightly revised her assessment of Thirteen.

However, Thirteen himself was still unable to grasp the reality of being alive, so he could only vaguely answer Dorothy’s words.

* * *

Eeeeeeeeeeeee——

Tap tap tap tap

Thud!

Dorothy’s personal space.

The door to the lab opened, and Dorothy strode inside, plopping down on a nearby chair.

Thirteen followed Dorothy in and pulled up a suitable chair to sit in front of her.

“How are you really still alive? I thought you were just desperate to commit suicide when you were being so stubborn.”

“…Well, somehow I’m still alive.”

Dorothy had suggested to Thirteen that he brainwash Boss Violet.

Thirteen agreed with Dorothy’s opinion, and they discussed the details and made a plan.

Of course, Dorothy already knew that Thirteen had abandoned the safety net of launching an all-out offensive with brainwashed Heroes, claiming it wouldn’t work.

So much, so much, so much, so much.

She had told Thirteen to toughen up so much.

But in the end, Thirteen relied on luck or whatever, and ended up being so indecisive.

He had already fallen as far as he could by deciding to brainwash Violet, but what was he holding back?

It’s really unexpected, but he seems to have a delicate side that doesn’t match his appearance.

“Well, I just thought that rather than betraying the Boss’s trust while carrying guilt, it wouldn’t be so bad to be a mindless puppet slave to the Boss. It’s not just because I was indecisive.”

“Thirteen, are you a masochist? You just wanted to be the Boss’s slave, didn’t you?”

“Honestly, my position so far has been slave-like enough… Well, never mind that.”

Thirteen waved his hand at Dorothy’s teasing and said.

“More importantly, am I really alive? The me here is actually a ghost, or I’m already dead and my soul is just floating around here… Isn’t that the case?”

He somehow managed to survive, but he couldn’t grasp the reality.

When he was having sex with Violet in that abandoned warehouse, he didn’t have such thoughts because endorphins were pouring out, but.

As he returned here and gradually calmed down, he slowly became aware that something truly absurd had happened.

He couldn’t grasp the reality of being alive, so he touched his neck, pinched his cheeks, but he couldn’t find any evidence that he was a ghost or dead.

“I’ve never seen a human soul with my own eyes, so I don’t think you, who I see now, is some kind of ghost.”

“Then I’m really alive? How did I survive?”

“How would I know, you idiot. Isn’t that the part you should be telling me?”

And so.

Thirteen omitted most of the details and briefly explained the situation.

In other words, the plan was successful, Violet was brainwashed, and the anger and hatred that had been tormenting her were somehow resolved for the time being.

“Anyway, good job. The Boss looked so distressed, it was heartbreaking to see from the side.”

“Come to think of it, you’re older than the Boss, aren’t you?”

“Only by a year. I wasn’t trying to act like an older sister, but——”

Dorothy stopped speaking in the middle of her sentence, then continued with a distant look in her eyes.

“I also understand that feeling to some extent… If I were in the same situation, I would have done the same, I think.”

The look in Dorothy’s eyes behind the monocle contained a special emotion that Thirteen could not dare to say he understood.

Only then did Thirteen remember something.

The story of Dorothy’s family that he had heard from her before.

Like Violet, Dorothy also had a younger sister, he recalled.

Dorothy, who had been drunk and talking about her sister, had said that she was very proud of her sister, very precious, and more valuable than her own life.

She also said that she felt sorry for not doing enough for her, and that she missed the child who had followed her so well.

…And that sister.

Unfortunately, like Violet’s sister, she was ‘dealt with’ by Heroes as a rampaging 『Awakened』.

The end of an 『Awakened』 who cannot maintain their sanity and harms those around them with their power is obvious.

Since there are no facilities in this land that can easily subdue and imprison those with superhuman powers, it is common to kill them to prevent further harm.

‘Awakened’ people have no human rights.

The world has given up on treating those who are not ordinary, those who do not abide by the common sense that humans have built up over thousands of years, as people.

During the Dark Ages called 【The Great Disaster】, that argument was even stronger, so ‘Awakened’ were often killed regardless of their level of danger.

Anyway.

To protect the safety and peace of ordinary people, both the Boss’s sister and Dorothy’s sister were sacrificed.

It was an unavoidable event on the scales of society to maintain society, and there would have been no other means, but.

However, to those who are blood relatives of those who were sacrificed, the words ‘it couldn’t be helped for the sake of society’ do not work.

The words ‘we have to kill your family for our sake’ cannot work for those who are affected….

“What are you thinking about?”

Thirteen, who had been lost in thought for a moment, came to his senses at Violet’s words.

Violet had somehow gotten up from her seat and was taking out a bottle of barley tea from a mini fridge in the corner of the lab.

She brought a beaker that was nearby, poured barley tea into it, and pushed it towards him, telling him to drink it.

…Dorothy always serves drinks in beakers, and even though she disinfects and wipes them thoroughly, it’s still a bit unsettling.

He worried if his throat or stomach would burn if he drank it, and Dorothy pressured him silently.

In the end, he had no choice but to hold the beaker in his hand and sip the contents.

…At least, there doesn’t seem to be anything like sulfuric acid mixed in.

“Anyway, it worked out well. You brainwashed the Boss, no unnecessary blood was shed, and the demands of the unknown assailant were not met.”

“It didn’t work out well. My heart is tattered from betraying the Boss.”

“You were doing lewd things to the Boss anyway.”

Thirteen avoided eye contact, feeling stung by Dorothy’s words.

Indeed, Thirteen, who had taken advantage of the Boss’s favor to satisfy his desires, had no right to speak.

“……Shut up. More importantly, the problem is what to do next.”

Thirteen turned his gaze back and said with strength in his eyes.

The matter with Violet was regrettable, and it was something that fulfilled his wish, but.

In any case, this incident had caused pain to the Boss, who was more precious to Thirteen than anything else.

Someone he didn’t know, a mysterious person.

He had been swayed and swayed by the messages and notes that person had sent, and in the end, Thirteen had even betrayed the trust of someone precious.

A precious person.

He had touched Violet.

He had tried to do something bad.

That fact alone was enough for Thirteen to be furious.

Violet was like a reverse scale to Thirteen. [A reverse scale is a dragon’s scale that, if touched, will cause the dragon to go into a violent rage.]

Clang.

Thirteen put down the beaker filled with barley tea and looked at Dorothy.

“If I find out who that bastard is, I’ll definitely teach him a lesson. I’ll tear him limb from limb and throw him to the dogs and pigs.”

“If it was done to me, it wouldn’t matter.”

“I might forgive whatever you do to me, depending on the situation.”

“But touching the Boss, that crossed the line.”

“The Chief of Staff thing too. …I don’t know what happened to the Chief of Staff now, but depending on the case, I’ll make him regret being born so thoroughly that he’ll be finished.”

“I’ll definitely make him look miserable.”

Thirteen says.

Thirteen says.

Thirteen declares.

“That son of a bitch. I swear I’ll kill him with my own hands, I swear.”

Thirteen growled murderously.

A rare murderous look from Thirteen.

At his words and appearance, Dorothy, who was sipping the barley tea in the beaker, narrowed her eyes.

The monocle in front of one eye faintly reflected the light from the ceiling lamp….