"—All staff, please evacuate.

—There has been an incident in the facility, and casualties have been reported…

—Suppression and rescue teams are en route."

"What the..."

The researcher slowly came to his senses. He was inside the elevator.

It didn’t seem like much time had passed. The test subject was still nibbling on the snack, chewing thoughtfully. He must have only blacked out for a moment.

Leaning against the elevator wall, he managed to stand up and pressed the button to open the door.

All he saw were corpses scattered across the floor. Each one had a hole through its head. Who could have done this?

There was no doubt—it was her.

"Haha..."

At least she seemed to have enjoyed the snack. The problem, though, was that now there was no way to deny she might actually be a monster. And they were definitely being pursued.

Was she truly a monster? Or an Awakened one? If she was an Awakened, then she was technically human.

But it seemed unlikely that a human could even survive in this facility.

"This is a serious problem. There’s no way out."

Barrier walls had dropped down, blocking the corridors. They were designed to contain monsters from escaping. All the exits were sealed off.

The test subject was still leaning against the elevator door, waiting as if to tell him to get back inside.

"The elevator won’t go above the first floor. It’s still operational, though."

Did she understand what he was saying? Either way, he explained the situation. She was clearly stronger than him, and up until recently, he’d thought she was someone to protect.

Could she really be a monster? She had killed them all. The presence of so many corpses created an eerie atmosphere.

The test subject smiled, then pressed a button, closing the elevator doors.

"You can’t get outside that way…"

And just like that, she was gone.

The test subject defied understanding. One thing was certain—she wasn’t an ordinary little girl. He had no idea what she was doing.

—Rescue team is entering the facility.

Even if she went downstairs, there was no way out down there. It would only trap her further, as that area contained only cages of monsters.

—Please proceed to a safe area until the rescue team arrives.

The loud announcements echoed in his ears. The rescue team was supposedly here to save him. From what exactly? Most likely, the test subject who had taken the elevator down.

"Ugh."

The researcher slumped against the wall. He could handle being hit with a golf club, but the place where he’d been kicked throbbed painfully. Even walking was difficult. Damn the director.

Then again, there was no need to curse him. He was already dead.

"...Damn it."

Compared to what they had done to the other test subjects, this was nothing. With other test subjects, it was justifiable. But with her…

He should have taken action much sooner.

The consequence of his negligence and complacency had led to this. He had expected a tragic outcome.

But things had taken an unexpected turn. Instead of him being dead, it was the director. And the containment team shouldn’t have been taken down so easily.

What should he do now? Wait for the rescue team? But if he did, he didn’t know what would happen to her. What if she really was a monster? What if she escaped and started massacring people outside?

—She’s a monster.

Looking at the director’s corpse brought back their past conversations.

—A monster. She’s going around killing people, that’s what I mean.

The implication was that she had been caught killing people outside, which was why she had been confined here. If that were true, he had to question his choice to free her.

B1.

The elevator stopped. Did she get off? What was she doing?

About thirty seconds later, the elevator started moving again.

B2.

The second basement housed monsters awaiting experiments. He had no idea what she was doing down there.

B3.
B4.
B5.

This time, she went straight down to the fifth basement. The problem was, he had no way of knowing what was going on. He’d never seen her this active before. Most of the time, she had just stayed quietly in her room.

The sirens continued blaring.

B4.

The elevator stopped again, then after about five minutes, it moved once more.

B3.

The elevator stopped again. Was it his imagination, or was there a strange noise?

B2.
B1.

The elevator was coming up, without any stops.

1.

The elevator arrived, and the doors opened.

Crunch.

A young girl stepped out, munching on a chocolate bar. Just press a button, and food would come out.

"Oh, were you just hungry?"

Was that all it was? But that food was probably laced with drugs. For her health, it would be better to eat something else.

"Drug."

The test subject spoke. It wasn’t his imagination; she had definitely said something. The fact that she could talk was a shock.

"Dr-drug?"

She nodded.

Was she asking for drugs? There were many kinds. He tried to think about what she might want.

"......"

She rolled up her white lab coat, revealing scars and pointing to injection marks on her skin. She mimed injecting herself, smiling.

Then she held out her hand.

"You’re asking for drugs?"

She nodded as if he’d finally understood, with a hint of madness in her smile.

He had a guess. It was that new drug made by grinding up dragon scales. He’d heard it was highly addictive.

He couldn’t understand why they would go through the trouble of grinding up dragon scales to make such a thing. But those who had used it had said nothing compared to it. He knew everyone who tried it had died that very day. This was information he’d only heard about because he worked in this facility.

Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t died. Even large monsters hadn’t survived long after being administered the drug.

"Drug."

This time, her smile faded. She seemed to be serious. Her vocabulary seemed limited.

"To get that, we’d have to go to the lab... or maybe outside. It’s in a different building."

Did she understand?

"It’s in the lab building. You’d see it on the lobby map, probably stored there. If not, it could be in the special materials storage… I’m not entirely sure. Sorry."

He gave her as much information as he could. She smiled as if satisfied.

"Thank you."

She even expressed gratitude. Politeness.

She knew how to be polite.

Then she was human. Not a monster. The researcher chuckled. Even though the pain still lingered, he couldn’t help but laugh.

"Right…"

She wasn’t a monster. Not throwing her into the incinerator had been the right choice. Anyone would have made the same choice if they had a shred of sanity.

"......"

The test subject looked at him as if she had something to say. Her eyes were partially hidden by her hair, but he was certain she was looking at him.

"Heh..."

She smiled. Then she spoke.

"Rest."

Suddenly, his body went limp. It was hard to believe he’d been so tense just moments before.

Then his eyes closed.

---

Researcher A was resting deeply, lying on the floor.

[230 hours 12 minutes]

The time had to be replenished.

There were originally 240 hours left before she had told him to rest. They called it a "word command" or something similar. It was close to that. Ever since she’d been heavily dosed with drugs, it had been possible.

No matter what she said, her remaining time would tick down.

Her very first command had been, "Get lost."

She had told that to a researcher who’d entered her room carrying some food that looked vaguely like a meal. He’d actually left, and she hadn’t been fed for a while. It had taken some trial and error to realize the command had worked.

After that, she had remained silent. Whether it was by choice or necessity was unclear.

In any case, her mind had deteriorated further. She knew she wasn’t entirely sane, but everything else was blurry.

Get lost, just get lost.

What had the researcher brought that made her say that? She couldn’t remember.

Time had disappeared then as well. She had lost about 20 hours. It was a system she couldn’t understand.

Drug. Drug.

Even speaking single words cost her a couple of hours. That’s why she avoided speaking. She thought she might be able to write instead.

It had taken considerable courage to say thank you. But she’d wanted to express it.

"Heh."

At least laughing was free.

Bang.

The sound of something pounding against the barriers echoed.

Researcher A would be rescued by the rescue team. But she was alone now.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The barrier dented. Something was trying to break through.

Thud.

The thick metal wall crumbled. Behind it stood a monster with a drill-like head. Though it had no eyes and walked on six legs, it resembled a rhino or a hippo in shape, covered in scars.

The elevator wasn’t the only way up to the first floor. There were transport routes for monsters, as well as stairs. Everything was interconnected. Once the barriers were broken, they could go through.

She had ordered the drill-headed monster to break down everything in its path. Speaking that command had cost her over a hundred hours, but it had been worth it.

She wanted to tell it "good job," but saying so would cost her time.

Yes.

There was no time.

She needed the drug.

If the researcher was right, there was a storage room

 with it. Since she wasn’t the only one it was used on, there should be a considerable supply. That was the lab she was dragged into every other day.

She planned to head there first.

—Please follow the instructions of the rescue team.

—Military reinforcements are on the way.

The building shook as if there had been an earthquake. She knew the reason. She had released all the monsters held captive in the building.

"Break."

Bang!

The monster rammed its head into the wall beside her. Going through the corridors would be too slow. The barriers and walls were equally strong, so breaking through was just as effective.

[222 hours 30 minutes]

She had lost around eight hours.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The wall shattered, and an exit to the outside opened. The drill-headed monster charged forward, leaving a trail of dust and debris.

—Military… upon sight… resistance… not advised…

The wall speakers seemed to be broken. It would have been strange if they hadn’t been damaged when she shattered the wall. The announcements crackled and then stopped entirely.

Fresh air began to flow in. It was nighttime. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but the air was cold.

She stepped outside the building. She could see the other escaped monsters rampaging around. In the distance, she saw some people by another building. She wasn’t sure if they were military, rescue personnel, or facility staff.

She knew where she needed to go. Her destination was the lab. That’s where the drugs would be.

"Ugh."

Her legs gave out.

Thud.

She collapsed again. She couldn’t move. This was her usual state.

But now, she knew how to overcome it.

"Stand."

Stand.

By saying so, she was able to stand again. She had mumbled similarly when she saved Researcher A.

It worked again. She pushed herself up from the ground.

[217 hours 46 minutes]

She could replenish her time with the drugs.

"Move."

[206 hours 9 minutes]

Move, move, move. She repeated the command to herself. Her legs started to move.

She understood what was happening. She was forcing her body to comply. But there was no other choice.

The moon was bright in the night sky. The air was cold.

Now, where exactly was the lab building? Where were the drugs?

A sign helpfully pointed her in the right direction.