√A Chapter 10: 【Complications and Rifts】 9/16/2030 12:35

√A Chapter 10: 【Complications and Rifts】 9/16/2030 12:35

Radiation Level: 4,347 mSv

Remaining AD: 0

Area 5, Outer Ring

Infirmary

I’M dismayed by the allegations directed at me out of the blue. My confusion explodes into defensiveness. “Wh-What’s gotten into you, Ukita? Why would I ever need to tell a stupid lie like that?!”

“Because you have something to hide… That’s my thought, at least.”

“Like what?” He has me completely baffled.

Ukita gives me a hard look. “Several hours ago, you stole my security card, effectively preventing me from leaving Area 3. But even that action is odd when I think about it now. Why did you have to steal a security card? Isn’t it because you wanted to do something you needed to hide from LABO staff?”

“Do something? Like what…?”

“How should I know? But I can’t help thinking whatever it was is connected to Yuuri’s fear of you. And there have been multiple murders since then… How can I not suspect you?”

“I-I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Then prove your innocence to us here and now!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! How the hell am I supposed to prove anything without my memories?! Don’t you guys think he’s being ridiculous too?!” I look to the others for support. They all look like they want to say something but can’t find the right words.

I don’t blame them. I can’t defend myself, so why should I expect them to be able to? So how do I get myself out of this predicament, then?

Ukita doesn’t give me time to think as he tries to push me into a corner. “Get the picture now, Captain Kasasagi? Everyone is starting to become very curious about what you so conveniently forgot.”

“U-Ughh…!” I groan. I’m ticked that I don’t have a good comeback, and frustrated that I can’t remember anything.

Dammit! What in the world was I doing before I lost my memories?! I can prove my innocence if I can only remember! No sooner do I think that than white light suddenly bursts open in my head.

“Agh?!”

It’s the start of another one of those bizarre flashbacks. Various scenes flicker in front of my eyes—all related to the things I’ve seen and experienced until now.

“URK! Ahh…AGGHHHHH…!”

The torrential flow of memories zipping in front of my eyes distorts my sense of time and place. It’s as if a second is stretched into eternity, and an eternity has been shortened into seconds. Time travels backward, and the journey I’ve taken is played back in reverse: saving Yuuri in the factory; diving into the lethal gas to find AD; meeting Ukita, Miss Ena, and Yuuri; waking up in Area 1 and meeting Tachibana and Moribe; and at the end of those scenes—

Something unfamiliar floats into view.

What is this?!

I’m confused for a moment until it clicks—what just entered the forefront of my mind are my lost memories.

☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢

“Hurry, Captain!”

“I heard footsteps over here, sir!”

I don’t recognize their voices, but I know who they are: Dojima and Hiyama, my squadmates who’ve passed away in the line of duty. I had descended into the basement floors at their behest.

“Are you absolutely positive, Dojima?! Survivors are definitely down here?!” I confirmed with them.

“Yes, sir! It’s just as I reported over the radio!”

Taking their report seriously, I searched the basement floors with them until I spotted several people down one of the passageways—one boy and two girls wearing high school uniforms. They rejoiced upon seeing us.

“I-It’s the rescue squad!”

“They surely came to save us!” One of the girls jumped for joy and waved at us.

I sprinted over to them with my subordinates. “I’m sure you kids don’t work in this facility. What’re you doing here?”

“We happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in all this,” the boy answered me.

“Was anyone else with you?”

“No. Only the three of us you see here.”

“What are your names?”

“I’m Natsuhiko Tenkawa, this is Mashiro Toba, and the girl hiding behind me is Salyu,” the boy explained while pointing to each of the girls with him.

My eyes went to the blonde girl behind him. “Your name’s Salyu? Are you a foreigner?”

“That’s my nickname. Comes from Louise Yui Sannomiya.”

Just like that, we had taken Natsuhiko and the girls into our protective custody. But problems arose right after. We couldn’t escort the survivors to safety on the surface floor because the emergency staircase had completely collapsed. We raced around the facility looking for another way out.

An ominous alarm blared throughout the facility while we were searching—a Case N was announced the second we set foot inside Area 5. Worst of all, the security gate shut right behind me, separating me from the others who were following a few steps behind my lead.

I had no choice but to leave the kids to Dojima and Hiyama at this point, and start searching for security cards and AD. One of the rooms I eventually made my way to had a huge stash of AD.

I remember the nameplate on that room—"Dr. Miyoko Tenkawa.” The supply of AD was hidden in Natsuhiko’s mom’s desk.

Relieved, I continued my search with the thought I had to get AD to any other survivors trapped inside the facility.

It was in a certain room inside Area 5 that I met her for the first time. Her delicate features and frightened face struck an immediate chord with me. I rushed over to her side and asked, “Are you all right? What’s your name?”

“Y-Yuuri… Wh-Who are you?”

“I’m a rescue worker. I came to rescue you.” I hold an AD ampoule out to her and say, “Okay, I need you to inject this medicine.”

“I-I don’t want to!”

“You can’t refuse it. This area is radioactive! You’ll be in danger if you don’t take this.”

Yuuri refused to inject AD then too. I tried to forcefully administer it to her, but she shoved away my hand and fled the room. I chased after her, my pursuit eventually taking me to where the factory was engulfed in a fire straight from hell. Through the blazing inferno I dashed in search of her. But then something blew up nearby.

“GUAGH!”

I was thrown by the blast into the nearest wall. Flames from the explosion transferred to my hazmat suit, and I hurriedly stripped it off. Heat waves blew violently against my unprotected body.

I sensed my life was in serious danger. It was impossible to keep searching the factory amid this raging fire.

There’s no way Yuuri is here. I just know she ran to the next area. With that belief, I staggered my way toward Area 1. My head spun and I wasn’t walking straight. Not just because of the heat wave—I had smashed my head hard against the wall when that explosion blew me back.

Everything in front of my eyes was blurred and distorted. I couldn’t even tell if that was due to something wrong with my perception or the heat haze.

I pushed ahead with everything I had left in me. After a while, a security gate came into view. I fled into Area 1 through it.

There were no signs of fire in that area. Relieved for my momentary safety, I pushed on even farther, telling myself I had to find Yuuri.

But I was already past my limit. The strength suddenly went out of my legs and I dropped to the ground. I fell hard, without supporting myself, but the pain was dulled. My pain receptors weren’t the only thing blunted—all five senses felt out of whack. I couldn’t control any part of my body and my consciousness was growing hazy.

Through my fading awareness, I told myself: Now’s not the time to go down. Rescue those kids. I came down here for that sole purpose.

But my pep talk ended in vain as my mind slipped into darkness.

☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢☢

“—Captain! What’s the matter with you, Captain?!”

“Huh? Ah!” Tachibana’s voice brings me back to the present. The scene before my eyes switches from Area 1 several hours ago to the current Area 5. Ukita and Miss Ena are gaping at me.

“Y-You okay there, Captain?” Moribe cautiously checks with me. “You suddenly started screaming, then went dead silent without a single reaction to anything we said or did…”

“I-I’m okay… What’s more important here is that I remembered.”

“What?”

Everyone is taken aback by my confession. Tachibana grabs my arm and confirms it: “Captain, did you remember what I hope you did?!”

“Yeah… Finally got my…memory back.”

“What?!” Ukita’s eyes open so wide I wouldn’t be surprised if they fell out. “R-Rubbish! You want us to believe your vanished memories suddenly popped right back for you?”

“Yeah. Only a fraction of them did… It’s limited to my memories since arriving at LABO, but it might be enough to prove my innocence.”

“How…can that be?”

I slowly explain what I recalled to bring Ukita out of shock. “I’ll explain things in order. I came down to the basement because Dojima and Hiyama asked me to.”

“How did they do that?”

“I got a radio transmission that there were survivors in the basement floors. If I’m not mistaken, they called for me around…right, it was 6:42 am.”

“6:42 am…? Are you positive that’s the correct time?” Tachibana double checks.

“Yeah.”

I had looked at my watch and saw without a doubt that the hands pointed to that time. Something about that seems a little off to me, but I’ll trust my memory on this one.

“…I headed to Area 2 after that and found Natsuhiko, Mashiro, and Salyu.”

“Salyu?”

“That’s Louise Yui Sannomiya’s nickname, apparently.”

“Tenkawa and the others do call her by that,” Miss Ena says in support.

“Now that you mention it, we spotted survivors in the basement’s Area 2 as well,” Moribe adds, as if hearing me talk about it sparked her memory.

“You did?”

“It’s not exact, but the timing is pretty close to when you said. You guys might’ve been super nearby while we were putting out the fires.”

“Could’ve been. In any case, we took the kids under our wing, but…” I explain the rest of what happened from there. Talking about my memories helps me solve several of the outstanding doubts and questions I had too.

It explains how I knew the names of Yuuri, Natsuhiko, Mashiro, and Louise, why I wasn’t wearing my hazmat suit when I regained consciousness, and why I immediately felt the need to save Yuuri when I saw her again. The answer to all those mysteries had been lost with my memories. But there are still a few points I don’t understand.

After hearing me out, Tachibana voices my biggest question. “…I understand what happened to you now. But I wonder why Yuuri was so opposed to being injected with AD.”

“That’s the one thing I have absolutely no clue on…”

Yuuri has been adamantly opposed to being injected with AD from the start. It didn’t matter if it was me or Tachibana who tried to talk her into it—she hated it.

“…Maybe she disliked being injected with AD so much she left our group?”

“But why would she despise it that much? I can’t imagine most people reacting that way under normal circumstances…”

“I don’t know why, but there’s one thing I can say for sure.” I look at everyone in the group and announce, “I simply wanted to rescue Yuuri. You may not believe me, but my desire to save her hasn’t changed.” With that, my long story ends.

Right away, Ukita snorts in disbelief. “Hmph. Those are some mighty unreliable memories you’ve got there, Captain. Do you have proof your story is true?”

I’m stumped for a whole minute, before I realize there’s confirmation right there in my memories. “I’ve got your proof, Ukita.”

“You do…?”

“I discovered a treasure trove of AD inside this facility before I passed out. It’s located in Area 5’s inner ring.”

Moribe’s the first to react. “Isn’t that the contaminated zone we searched together?! There was more AD lying around?!”

I fish through my memories for the answer. “Yeah, in the office belonging to Dr. Miyoko Tenkawa, where we found the other five AD. I completely overlooked it our last time there, but there’s still a ton of AD in that room. It should be stored in the desk drawer.” I’m nearly positive about it. There’s no way such a vivid memory would lead me astray. “If that AD is still there, it’ll prove my story’s true.”

“…Tch.” My appeal silences Ukita.

“I-I’ll go check!” Moribe offers.

“I will come with you!” Tachibana says, running out of the infirmary with Moribe.

Area 5, Outer Ring

Infirmary

SEVERAL minutes later and the two of them come back with their hands full of medical boxes.

“Captain, you were right! There were six medical boxes with thirty AD total!” Tachibana’s news surprises us all. Even I’m stunned by the large amount.

“Seriously? There were thirty of them?! That’s thirty hours’ worth of AD!”

“Indeed. We won’t have to worry about a lack of AD for a good while now.” A relieved smile touches her lips.

Moribe grins and cheerfully points out, “Plus, this is clear proof that Captain was telling the truth! Isn’t that right, Mr. Ukita?”

“Hmph…” Ukita uncomfortably averts his eyes.

I prod an answer out of him in a calm voice. “Do you believe me now, Ukita? I have no ill intentions toward Yuuri or anyone else for that matter.”

“……”

“If I was some bad guy, I’d keep all the AD to myself. I’ve gone and shared everything with the whole group, so please believe me.”

My earnest appeal finally wrestles a bitter response out of him. “…It certainly seems you were telling the truth.”

Suspicion still reflects back at me deep in his eyes. But I should leave well enough alone now that he’s openly stopped accusing me.

Moribe walks over to me and whispers, “U-Um, I’m real sorry, Captain…for you know, not believing you right away…”

“Hmm? That’s nothing you have to apologize for.”

“But even if it was for only a second, I…doubted whether your amnesia was real.”

“Y-You did? Well, I can’t blame you for that one.”

Looking at it objectively, it’s inevitable she came to that conclusion. I should probably avoid doing things that draw suspicion from now on.

“I believed in you, Captain. You should scold Moribe,” Tachibana instructs me.

“Oh, really? I thought his whole amnesia spiel sounded fishy from the get-go.” Miss Ena’s frank admittance leaves me stunned.

“Th-That’s harsh, Miss Ena. I see your cutting remarks haven’t lost their edge yet.”

“That’s my candid opinion. But it looks like you were telling the truth and are starting to get some of your memories back too. You can just think of the whole thing as having a valuable experience few people get to endure.”

“Y-You know…you can only take positive thinking so far, and that right there about does it.”

Everyone laughs a little. Their laughter is temporary, but it still brings me peace of mind. After losing our newly found escape route, finding another victim, and Yuuri disappearing on us, everyone’s mental health is starting to fray. Getting into quarrels here and there is unavoidable. The scariest thing at a time like this is having everyone at odds. I convince myself of that.

“…All right, now that we got that out of the way, we have something more important to discuss here,” I say to bring us back on topic.

Tachibana’s eyes sharply narrow. “Yuuri.”

“Yeah. You don’t need me to tell you how bad it is that we got separated inside this huge facility.”

Miss Ena gives a firm nod and gets on board with my change of subject. “I’m concerned about Tenkawa and the girls too. Whether we passed each other by or overlooked them…doesn’t matter at this point. We have to reconsider our search method.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something important?” Ukita cuts in. “Isn’t searching for AD just as critical?”

“Huh? We just got our hands on thirty…”

“And that’s still not enough. With the cargo lift taken out of the picture, we have no choice but to wait for the lockdown to end. We each need to inject AD five more times to survive until the estimated release time.”

“Right. If we meet up with Yuuri and the three high schoolers, it’ll mean we need five hours’ worth of AD for nine people… So we need forty-five AD total, huh?”

That’s right—not everyone will survive if the AD we have here is all that’s left in the facility. It’d be a different story if people start stealing AD from others, though… That thought gives me the chills.

If we’re going to try to survive another five hours with the thirty AD we have on hand, there will only be enough for six people to be covered for the whole duration. Put another way, only six people can survive—three won’t be saved.

Everyone is holding on to their thin veneer of calm right now, but anything could happen as time and the radiation levels progress. Ukita turning on me just now is a perfect example of how things can go wrong.

If worse comes to worse and our stress, fatigue, and fear continue to escalate, a life-and-death game of “musical chairs” will inevitably break out.

S-Stop! Don’t think like that! Put your energy into coming up with a plan to keep everyone alive! I shake my head and try thinking about things in a different light.

I glance at the Procyon and check the radiation level. It’s reading 4,531 mSv right now—the levels are steadily increasing. Every area in this facility will eventually surpass 8,000 mSv if the contamination continues spreading at this pace. And if it does, it won’t matter whether we have AD.

“…There are four possible ways we can go about this,” I say to the others as I hold up four fingers. “One: prioritize finding an escape route. Two: look for an escape route while searching for the survivors, including Yuuri, and AD. Three: look for the damaged part of the gates and repair them to suppress the speed of contamination spreading. Four: look for everything—an escape route, AD, the damaged gates, and the survivors. Choosing which path we take may very well decide whether we sink or swim.”

Everyone loudly gulps. Tachibana answers in a low voice. “Searching for everything is unrealistic. Splitting our attention between too many things won’t yield any results. So four is out.”

“Indeed. Repairing the damaged gates doesn’t seem like a smart move either. I highly doubt emergency repairs will do anything to hold back the contamination,” Ukita says, knocking out number three as an option.

“Then that leaves us with option one or two. Either we prioritize an escape route, or we look for the survivors, AD, and an escape route…”

“I can’t believe you even think there’s a decision to be made,” Miss Ena snaps at Tachibana. “We’re going to search for the survivors and AD while looking for a way out of here. I mean, it’s questionable if there’s even another escape route, but we know for sure that Tenkawa and the girls are trapped down here!”

She makes a solid argument. Plus, Yuuri will be in terrible danger if we don’t get to her soon because she didn’t have any AD on her, and I doubt she’ll inject herself.

Moribe seems to be thinking the same thing I am because she agrees with Miss Ena. “Okay, guys, are we good to go with searching for the survivors, including Yuuri, while looking for an escape route?”

The whole group nods without argument. It seems like we came to a decision. I direct the conversation right into the next topic. “Then we should do one more lap around LABO leaving no box or shadow unsearched. How about we split into two teams with one searching clockwise and the other counterclockwise?”

“I like that plan,” Tachibana says first. “It will decrease our chances of missing the survivors. How do you want to split the teams?”

“Good question… Tachibana, Ukita, you’re with me.”

“Sure, I can team up with you.”

“I have no complaints on that front either.”

I’m secretly relieved they both agreed to join my team.

Ukita is dangerous. His hostility is directed toward me right now, but I can’t be sure he won’t turn on someone else next. I can’t shake the feeling things will end poorly if I pair him up with Moribe and Miss Ena.

Moribe is a rescue worker, but she’s still young and inexperienced. And Miss Ena is an untrained civilian. Tachibana and I will be more adept at squashing any problems with Ukita.

Tachibana gives me a slight nod as if she caught on to why I made this call. “All right, we are currently in Area 5, so one team should head toward Area 4, while the other heads in the direction of Area 6.”

“Where do we regroup?”

“Since we may pass each other along the way, I suggest using this infirmary as our final destination. We can take one lap around and set off again if we don’t come across the survivors.”

“Sounds like a plan to me. I want you all to return here in an hour, even if your search doesn’t yield any results. Come back sooner if you run into any unexpected trouble.”

“So what do we do about the AD?” Moribe interjects. “Take it all with us?” She points to the thirty AD we just obtained.

I mull it over. “No… Let’s take two hours’ worth with us—so two per person. We’re screwed if something damages them along the way.”

Each person takes two AD.

“How about we leave something like this behind too?” Miss Ena grabs a piece of paper and a pen and scribbles a message on it.

Dear Mr. Tenkawa, Miss Toba, and Miss Sannomiya,

This is your teacher, Miss Ena. It looks like we all got caught up in the same horrible disaster today. I’ve been looking for you guys this whole time but haven’t had any luck. So if you happen to find this note, please stay right here. I’m leaving a radiation exposure inhibitor known as AD for you. It’s medicine we’ve been using to protect ourselves from radiation damage. It will work for one whole hour if you inject it directly into a vein.

Wait in this room for help to come while injecting this medicine every hour, okay? I hope we can meet up soon.

Sincerely,

Miss Ena

“How about it? It’ll lower our chances of completely missing them again if we post this on the outside of the door,” she says with a smile.

“It’s worth a shot,” I say. We use some tape in the room to post the note to the door and head out.

We split up all the gear we’ve obtained until now, starting with the security cards. I keep the Level N card on me and hand out a Level 6 card to the other four. My team takes two of the Procyons and Moribe’s team takes the third.

“Okay, we’ll be heading to Area 4, so I want you two to search in the direction of Area 6.”

“Got it. Our goals are to look for AD, survivors, and an exit. We’re off, then.” Moribe walks toward Area 6 with Miss Ena at her side.

“…We should get moving, too, Captain.”

“Yeah.”

My team heads in the opposite direction.

Area 4, Outer Ring

I step into Area 4’s outer ring for the third time. This is the same area where Salyu fled from me, I ran into a flashover, and I discovered Hiyama’s corpse. The futuristic interior is scorched black, and stillness hangs heavily over the passageway.

A look at the Procyon shows it’s 6,610 mSv here. The contamination has grown worse. Obtaining a large supply of AD doesn’t change the impending dangers. I need to be even more careful about not wasting time.

“Let’s start searching. Finish within three minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

We hastily set about inspecting the floor. This particular area isn’t as difficult to cover with its few rooms. After circling all of them, we head for the elevator hall. Hiyama’s body is still there.

“What the—?!” I doubt my eyes. Something that was supposed to be here isn’t. It only takes me a second to realize what that something is. I know I left Hiyama’s fire axe next to his body as a grave marker. “The axe is gone?!”

My voice draws surprised looks from Tachibana and Ukita.

“Oh no… Why?!”

“S-Someone took the axe…?”

The six of us have been together all this time. That leaves one of the three high school students or Yuuri as the one who made off with the weapon.

What do they need an axe for? Each of my guesses is more unsettling than the last.

“…We don’t have time to spare. Let’s keep moving.”

“I-I agree.”

With that decided, we recommence the search.

We move to the inner ring after finding nothing in the outer ring. This is the floor where the supercomputer Brain Cell is located. We come up empty-handed there too.

We have no choice but to move on to Area 3. Tachibana stops walking when we reach the connecting passageway.

“This is where…” Her voice trails off.

This is the passageway with Dojima and the two researchers’ bodies. The scenery here hasn’t changed one bit. Wallpaper covers the three bodies covered in blackened blood. A rusty smell still lingers in the air.

I don’t experience fear at that sight as I had the first time.

Dojima…how you must’ve suffered…!

Regaining a portion of my memories brings out the sorrow I didn’t feel before. My regret over being unable to save the two researchers is stronger than ever.

Tachibana is biting her lower lip—she must feel the same way.

“Tachibana… Let’s have a proper burial for Dojima and the others when this is all over,” I whisper.

“…Yes, we should. For now I will concentrate on the search…!”

We give each other encouraging looks and walk past that place. Ukita watched over us in silence.

Area 3, Inner Ring

THE connecting passageway takes us into Area 3’s inner ring. This is where we came across Ukita in the surveillance room. There are only two rooms here.

“Let’s start with the first one, then hit the surveillance room.” The other two follow me into the nearest room.

It’s a large laboratory. There are too many blind spots to tell at a glance if anyone has fainted or is hiding, so we commence a more thorough check.

But there’s nobody and no AD.

Grr! Fine, I’ll look for more information while I’m at it.

Several documents are scattered around the lab. I’m hoping they might contain some hints on an unexplored escape route. So I pick up page after page and scan them. The titles of each aren’t much help:

“Area 3 Personnel Social Gathering”

“Senior Fellow Training Seminar: Accepting Applications”

“Dr. Miyoko Fanclub: Meeting Notice”

“Seven Wonders of Rokumei City: Outline”

“Special Observation Target Na2: 4th Periodic Report”

“Concerning the Abolition of Print Media”

The paper topics either confuse me or serve no purpose for us. And on closer look, they’re all dated around 2020—nearly ten years ago.

They even have documents on the abolition of the print medium. I guess most of their documents have been digitalized by now…

Thinking I shouldn’t get my hopes up for finding anything useful, I pick up a booklet from the floor. It’s titled: NBC Outbreak and Security Manual.

What’s this?

“What are you looking at, Captain?” Tachibana asks.

“I honestly have no idea. What’s NBC?”

“Oh, NBC stands for nuclear, biological, and chemical. So, for example, whenever you hear about an NBC disaster, they’re using it as a general term referring to a disaster caused by nuclear, biological, or chemical substances.”

In other words, this is a manual describing the security measures to be taken during a disaster much like this one. Though I always thought they were supposed to prioritize evacuation over security in these kinds of situations.

“What are you doing over there?!” A sharp voice at my back jolts me into spinning around to where Ukita is angrily glaring at me.

“Uh, well, I figured I could find a hint about how to get out of here.”

“We don’t have the time for that. And besides, all the paper documents in this facility are outdated. They abolished print nine years ago and decided to digitize everything after that.”

“Huh? Then what about the disaster prevention manuals? The ones we found were 2030 editions…”

“The latest disaster manuals are distributed in print format in case of an emergency. But everything in this facility is top secret, including the manuals. You’re only inviting trouble if you read them.”

“But this is an emergency situation—”

“I’m not simply threatening you for the heck of it! I’m warning you for your own safety!” Ukita interrupts me in a razor-edged voice. He continues his tirade despite Tachibana flinching away from him. “You shouldn’t take a government-run facility lightly. Not if you want to live in peace once you get out of here!”

His warning packs a serious punch. It’s almost as if he’s hinting to us that the world contains far more horrifying situations than the one we’re already in.

His intensity overwhelms me into backing down. “F-Fine. Let’s finish up this room and move on.”

Aggravation prickled the air between us, but we leave the room behind. Except, the moment I step outside, I catch a whiff of a disturbing smell. A burnt odor is wafting from somewhere.

“Is it just me or is something burning?”

“You’re right… Where in the world is it coming from?”

I follow the source of the smell to an emergency staircase and cautiously open the fire door. A thin layer of smoke has built up on the other side. I glance down the stairs and spot a small fire flickering behind the staircase.

“Looks like a small fire broke out. It’s dangerous, so wait for us up here, Ukita.”

“All right.”

I have Ukita wait for us at the door, and I descend the staircase with Tachibana to confirm the state of the fire.

The fire is burning in a hole in the cracked floor at the bottom of the spiral staircase. The cables embedded in the floor are fueling the fire.

“Did the embers reignite or something?”

“So it appears. The sprinklers weren’t able to put it out entirely because it’s in a hole behind the staircase.”

Putting out such a small-scale fire should be a piece of cake. Out of the corner of my eye I spot an extinguisher sitting right next to the cracked floor.

…A fire extinguisher?

Shivers race down my spine at the sight of it. Warning alarms blare inside my head. Tachibana sends me a questioning look as I stand there shuddering. “Captain? What’s the matter? We need to put out the—”

Her voice snaps me into action and I shout, “Tachibana, RUN!”

“What?!”

Right after I lunge at the fear-stricken Tachibana, a white light flashes behind me and a roaring explosion shakes the stairwell.