"Hah... Haha. These insane people. If I hadn’t come, they would have really killed the child..."

The researcher muttered to himself, barely regaining his composure as he turned his gaze to the test subject.

"Are you alright? You’re still alive, right?"

He already knew there wouldn’t be a reply. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if this test subject was human. However, by all appearances, she was just a young girl.

She was still breathing, though her breathing was unsteady, and she was burning up with a fever.

"They said she was for disposal. Incinerator..."

The researcher searched for a solution. Others treated this test subject as if she were merely a human-shaped monster. Perhaps they were right. She had shown an astonishing level of resilience.

He didn’t know the exact details of the experiments being conducted. But judging from the condition of the other test subjects, he could make a guess. Ethics didn’t exist here.

This place was full of monsters, creatures he didn’t know how they had even been procured. Whatever methods they had used, all of them had been subdued into docility. They obeyed orders well.

Once experiments began, none of them ever came back intact. Most never returned at all. Their shredded corpses were simply incinerated.

But somehow, this girl in his arms had survived. He didn’t know if it was because the intensity of the experiments was lower or if it was a different kind of experiment altogether. What was clear, however, was that she had reached her limit.

"Damn it."

Of course, no one would object if he threw her into the incinerator. In fact, the problem was that no one cared. It was a world gone mad.

She was considered something vaguely human, a type of monster. But he was starting to question what it even meant to be truly human anymore.

Carrying the test subject, he headed toward the incinerator. But then he hesitated.

In truth, incineration was the right choice. He was just doing his job. There was no need to kill her first; he could just throw her in alive.

"They always bag the trash separately..."

Of course, he had no intention of burning her. He wouldn’t kill her. Keeping her alive was the right thing to do.

He had been powerless before, unable to do anything. Giving her snacks had been the limit of what he could do. But maybe this time, he had a real chance. Perhaps he could get her out of here.

"Maybe I’ll disguise her as trash to smuggle her out."

He decided to drive the garbage truck out. Once they were outside the facility, he could figure something out. Surely, that would work.

But what would he do once they got outside? Should he take her to a hospital? Would a hospital even treat something that wasn’t human? He couldn’t form a clear plan. Outwardly, she looked like a person.

The researcher still didn’t know what this girl was. She had no name, no identity.

"Sigh..."

Sometimes he thought, maybe this girl wasn’t a monster at all. Maybe she was just a human who defied common sense, like the many other awakened humans that existed. Could she be one of them?

But no, that couldn’t be the case. They couldn’t be part of an organization that did such things. Surely she wasn’t human. They locked her up because they believed she wasn’t.

There was plenty of evidence to suggest she was a monster. It was even possible to prove it.

-Don’t be fooled by appearances. There are monsters that can change shape. Are you going to pity all of them just because they look human? This is no different.

She was just a monster. She should be killed, but she was kept alive because she was of use to humanity.

-If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. You can handle all the cleaning yourself if you want. Is that what you want? Do whatever you like.

And so, he had essentially become a cleaner. He couldn’t bring himself to participate in unethical experiments. In reality, he was running away. Yet, the salary kept him tied to the facility.

Occasionally, bringing snacks to the girl felt like a necessary act. He had thought about exposing the facility’s corruption or freeing the girl someday.

But he never imagined that day would be today.

"No, if I’m going to escape, why go to the incinerator at all... Wouldn’t disguising her as trash be more of a hassle?"

He sorted out his thoughts. He needed to come up with a plan quickly. It wouldn’t be hard to hide a girl who didn’t look like a terrifying monster.

Just go now. Running away seemed like the best option.

Stairs? The elevator would be faster.

B5. The elevator marked "B5" appeared.

The incinerator wasn’t in this direction. But this was the quickest way out.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened. The first floor. He needed to get to the first floor. He gently placed the girl on the elevator floor and pressed the button.

The elevator started to rise.

B5. The lower floors were rarely used. It was where they stored large monsters, but transporting those monsters was an ordeal in itself.

B4. This floor contained smaller, but more numerous monsters.

B3. Monsters that were easier to catch and more common were stored here.

B2. Monsters ready to be used in experiments were kept here.

B1. From here on, it wasn’t a storage area for monsters anymore.

1.  

The elevator whirred to a halt.

Ding.

The doors opened with a chime. No one was supposed to be here. But someone was.

Across from him stood a familiar figure.

"The director?"

It was the research director. He wasn’t supposed to be here at this hour. It was late evening, and most of the staff had already gone home.

Behind the director stood five members of the containment team. They were dressed in protective suits reminiscent of space suits, each holding a baton crackling with electricity.

Something was wrong.

"So... where exactly are you taking that? Didn’t I tell you it was scheduled for disposal?"

"Oh, yes. I was on my way to the incinerator."

"Right. The incinerator is in the opposite direction."

"I must’ve taken a wrong turn..."

The director laughed.

"Haha. A wrong turn, you say? We’ve been watching you."

The cameras. Of course. He hadn’t expected the director and the containment team to respond so quickly.

"I knew this would happen. How many times have I told you? A monster is just a monster."

"But—"

"I gave you so many chances because I thought you were talented. But if you keep this up, you won’t even be fit to handle the cleaning. You’re trying to smuggle a monster out."

"It’s a misunderstanding."

"Put it down, and we’ll talk."

The researcher carefully set the girl down. Though she couldn’t move, she seemed to be conscious.

"Take her."

"Wait...!"

The containment team immediately grabbed the girl and dragged her in front of the director.

"Where did I leave that golf club? Bring it over."

What was he planning to do?

"This is just a monster. Didn’t I show you the mana detection chart? She’s not human. Stop letting appearances fool you."

"I understand. I’ll take care of it myself. There’s no need for you to get involved."

If he left her in their hands, it was over. There would be no rescue, no escape.

"Oh, right. Here’s the club. Go ahead."

The director handed the researcher a golf club.

"Hit her."

"Excuse me?"

"You said you’d take care of it."

"What are you talking about?"

Thud.

The director kicked the test subject toward the researcher.

"Does this look like a person to you?"

She didn’t even seem to feel pain. Maybe she really wasn’t in pain. So does that mean anything could be done to her?

"Haha, this thing?"

She looked human. Ironically, it was the director who seemed inhuman.

"Swing it. Hard."

He was telling him to beat her to death.

"..."

The containment team stood menacingly. Refusing would have consequences. After all, she was just a test subject. A monster.

He could do it.

But he knew he shouldn’t. He knew better than anyone that he shouldn’t.

The girl looked up at the researcher. He still hadn’t had the chance to cut her bangs. He hadn’t even given her a snack.

If he made the wrong choice now, it would haunt him for the rest of his life. He would regret it forever. That would be no different from being dead.

"...I can’t do it."

He couldn’t say anything else.

"Well, if that’s how it is. Hand over the club and leave."

The researcher took the club from him.

"Even so, I’ll handle this test subject, so please trust me just this once..."

Whoosh.

The director raised the golf club. He intended to do it himself.

Stop him. How?

Thwack.

It wasn’t the test subject that was hit—it was the researcher. There was no way to stop it. He had tried to throw himself in the way, but...

"...There’s no other choice."

Thud.

A simple kick. The containment team could subdue any monster with just that much force. But the one who had been kicked was a person.

Thump.

The researcher was sent flying all the way to the elevator entrance.

"It’s a shame to waste such talent... Well, you can just stay in there for now."

The containment team opened the elevator door and shoved the researcher inside. The doors closed.

"And... what’s this?"

On the floor lay bread and milk. The containment team must have kicked it over. It was the snack he had brought for the girl.

"Snacks? Were you planning to give this to the test subject?"

He had grown attached to the test subject, it seemed. Why bother with something so pointless?

Crunch.

The director crushed the bread underfoot.

"Get rid of it."

But no one responded. The only sound was an odd squelch.

"What’s with all of you...?"

He turned to see the reason. The containment team stood frozen in place, large black spikes piercing through their heads. One by one, their electric batons slipped from their hands and clattered to the ground.

They were dead. Quietly, quickly.

"What the...?"

He couldn’t believe his eyes, but it was reality. They had been silently impaled.

Standing behind them was the test subject.

"Wait, what? How...?"

There was no waiting. It was already over.

Thud. He couldn’t even scream.

The director froze in place as if suspended in midair.

"Aha."

The test subject smiled.

Squelch. Crack. Thwack.

Sticky blood oozed out. The sound was terrifying.

Wooooo-oooo.

The wail of the facility’s alarm echoed. The facility would automatically lock down in the event of the director’s death. Five containment team members had been killed. It was an extremely dangerous situation. If the monsters escaped into the city, the chaos would be uncontrollable.

The white hallway was drenched in the red glow of the emergency lights.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It was hard to tell if the blood was red because of the lights or if it was actually blood. All the test subject did was keep stabbing.

She was a monster. That’s why she killed people. It was the research facility’s fault for not managing the situation properly.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

She had stabbed enough to be satisfied. The blaring alarm was annoying. The lights kept flashing.

The test subject’s gaze fell to the snack on the floor.

The bread had been stepped on, but the milk hadn’t burst.

She picked it up and dusted it off. Aside from the bread package being slightly torn, there was no issue. The bread had lost its shape a bit, but it was still fine.

But she still needed permission to eat it. The researcher was in the elevator. She opened the elevator door.

The researcher was lying there.

Tap, tap. She poked him, but he didn’t get up. She shook him, but it didn’t work either.

He was still alive.

So now, what should she do?

The elevator doors closed. It was quiet, and she couldn’t hear the noises from outside anymore.

Nom.

She pulled out the squashed bread and began to eat it. It tasted good.

She simply waited until Researcher A woke up.