Chapter 6

CHAPTER 2 Apoptosis of Humanity’s Happiness “Huh?!” Ryuunosuke woke up on a bed in a room illuminated by LED lights on a high ceiling. He looked around to see where he was, but there were white hospital curtains all around him. “What is this place…?” He wondered if it was, in fact, a hospital. It could well be one, based on what little he could see and the medicinal smell in the air. He felt woozy, maybe because he’d only just woken. “…Huh?” Something was not right. Ryuunosuke found he couldn’t sit up. Worse, he couldn’t even roll to the side. He managed to lift his head at least and saw he was tied to the bed with belts, and he’d been changed out of his school uniform into a hospital gown. The uniform was neatly folded on top of a medical trolley next to the bed. “What happened to me…?” Slowly, the haze in his head cleared, and he remembered the dragon girl and the vampire girl, the battle in the park, and the armed group that turned up after with Ranko, who had flashed a strange light into his eyes… “You’ve woken up?” came a male voice. The curtains opened, and Ryuunosuke recognized the man in a suit from that night, except he was no longer wearing a suit, but a white shirt with a lab coat over it. The man was holding a device that looked like an LCD tablet. “My name is Suberu Sarashina. I am a medical researcher. May I ask how you’re feeling? Any headache or nausea?” “Um, no, I’m fine… My head feels a bit heavy, but that’s it.” “That’s a hypnosis side effect. Nothing to worry about—it will pass shortly.” “Oh, I also injured my arm…,” Ryuunosuke began, but he stopped when he craned his neck to look at his arm. Mari’s attack had left a large scar, but the wound had healed. He could move his hand without any pain. Ah, right. It healed on its own in that flash of light after the marriage vows… Suberu called someone on the intercom next to the bed. “Sarashina here. The boy is awake. Yes. Yes, of course.” He hung up and began to unbuckle the belts restraining Ryuunosuke. “My apologies for strapping you to the bed. Regulations, you understand.” Finally free, Ryuunosuke sat on the edge of the bed. “So…what is this place?” It wasn’t the man who replied to him, though. “Allow me to explain.” The student council president, Ranko, had entered the room, still dressed in her school uniform with a lab coat over it. She had an ID on a lanyard this time. “Sarashina, please take this report to the higher-ups.” “Sure.” The man left the room. “President…” “Don’t call me that. Here, I’m the deputy chief… Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Call me anything you want.” “So it wasn’t a dream after all… You’re here, too.” “You hadn’t dreamed it, Dazai boy.” She acted exactly the same as she did at school. The only thing different about her was that oversize lab coat. “I must inform you of something important first.” “Yeah?” “You’re no longer a denizen of an ordinary world. Returning to everyday life as you’d known it is impossible.” “Right…” He remembered what Rinne had said to him earlier. “It is a pact that will most likely bring new difficulties into your life.” At the time, he hadn’t really considered whether he was ready for such big changes in his life. He just wanted to put a stop to the dramatic events of that night—to save the girl. He didn’t regret his choice, because it achieved what he’d wanted at that moment. “Yeah, I knew it was a path of no return.” Ryuunosuke tried to sound nonchalant about it. “Good.” Ranko nodded, satisfied. “We are in the third district of West Kokonoe, Kokonoe City, Tokyo Metropolis. Do you know the Kokonoe Biochemical Research Institute?” “West Kokonoe, third district…?” That wasn’t far from West Kokonoe Park, where Rinne and Mari had fought. District Three was mostly hills. “Wait, is it on top of the big hill?” Ryuunosuke remembered exploring that area together with his friend Aya when they were in elementary school. The NO ENTRY signboards and surveillance cameras dotted around the place had been particularly memorable. “Correct. And it’s exactly the sort of facility you’ve probably imagined. Built on the big hill, much of it goes deep underground. We’re inside that hill. The subterranean part of the complex is called the Underground Kokonoe Factor Research Facility. This is the sick bay. You’ve been asleep for two hours.” “The Underground Kokonoe Factor Research Facility, huh…” Ryuunosuke gazed up at the ceiling. The sick bay had no windows. It might well be underground, or it might not be. “I’m the deputy chief medical researcher here at the Underground Kokonoe Factor Research Facility of the Special Calamity Prevention Research Institute.” “Deputy chief medical researcher…?” “My schoolgirl alter ego is just a cover. Sorry for deceiving you.” Ranko smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek. Ryuunosuke had no idea how important her position was, but based on how Suberu treated her with deference, she had a higher status here and might even be an adult. “I can’t help thinking that you’re just the student council president I know you as, and this is some elaborate joke…” “It’ll take you some time to adjust, I suppose.” Ryuunosuke looked her up and down. She didn’t give off the impression she was some deputy chief medical researcher. In all honesty, she didn’t even look like a high schooler. She was so small and seemed so young, anyone would assume she was in elementary school. “Sorry… I can’t picture you as a researcher…” “Well, all girls have their secrets. Appearances can be deceiving.” Ranko poked his cheek with her index finger. “I’m moonlighting as a high schooler, but this is my main job.” “But if you’re a deputy chief medical researcher, that means you’ve graduated with a degree in medicine…?” “If I were to explain, even briefly, it’d take around twenty minutes. I’ll tell you more about myself at some other opportunity. Don’t you have other questions?” Ryuunosuke immediately thought of Rinne. “That girl… Is she okay?” Ranko nodded. “Yes. She’s still asleep, but her vitals aren’t anything to be concerned about. I expect her to wake up soon.” “That’s good to know…” Ryuunosuke was overcome with relief. “Sorry,” said Ranko, “I should have thanked you, first of all.” “For what? I haven’t done anything, really…” “On the contrary. The whole country… No, the whole world owes you thanks for your contributions. You not only saved her, but also the entire world.” “I did what…?” He remembered Rinne saying something along those lines, too, but Ryuunosuke was just a high schooler who didn’t feel for a moment that he’d been saving the world. It wasn’t as if he’d defused an explosive powerful enough to blow the world to smithereens or defeated a powerful demon lord. He just happened to be there when two very strange girls had their very strange duel. “Hard as it may be for you to believe, it’s true. Accept it or not. So I’m guessing you’d like to check in on Rinne. Let’s continue our conversation on the way to her, if you’re not too tired to walk.” Ryuunosuke realized there were actually a lot of things he wanted to ask Ranko. He changed into his uniform and followed her out of the sick bay. The sterile white hallway reminded him of a hospital. They passed by many rooms with closed doors. Security cameras were monitoring everything. “What actually goes on in this underground research facility?” “We research mythical girls, investigating their mythical factors and ways to preserve them. We also protect, supervise, or restrain the girls as necessary, also ensuring their special qualities remain a secret from the society at large. The Calamity Research Institute is an independent organization unaffiliated with any particular country and operates outside most laws. To put it simply, this is a secret base of a secret organization.” “‘Secret’ this, ‘secret’ that… Okay, and what are these mythical factors and mythical girls you’ve been talking about? I mean, I get that Abara and the other girl are in this mythical girl category.” “Hmm, how should I explain it to you without making it too complicated for a layperson…?” Ranko fell silent, thinking, as they continued down the hallway. They passed other people dressed like researchers and a few armed guards. “First of all, I have to stress that they are human. They are human girls who display characteristics of mythical creatures that do not exist, such as dragon wings or vampire fangs. Those characteristics indicate the presence of a mythical factor. Girls who possess a mythical factor are referred to as mythical girls.” “So…mythical girls are girls with powers of supernatural creatures like dragons or vampires?” “It’s not exactly that, but it’s okay for you to understand it that way.” They had to pass through a few doors, which Ranko unlocked with codes. “When a factor manifests, the affected girl involuntarily gains superhuman and paranormal abilities. You’ve seen yourself what those girls were capable of.” Ryuunosuke thought about Mari and Rinne’s battle. Turning blood into weapons, growing wings to fly, lifting impossibly heavy objects—those certainly were supernatural abilities. “Are there lots of girls like this, secretly existing in this world next to us oblivious ordinary humans?” Ranko shook her head. “As far as we are aware, there are only seven mythical factors, and only one girl with each factor is present at a time. When a mythical girl dies, the factor migrates to another girl, so there are always exactly seven.” Ranko listed the seven factors for Ryuunosuke. “In other words…” First Factor: Unicorn Second Factor: Amorphous Third Factor: Dragon Fourth Factor: Phoenix Fifth Factor: Vampire Sixth Factor: Werewolf Seventh Factor: Succubus “…there is a mythical girl out there for every factor, although we haven’t been able to locate the phoenix girl in the last decade. Unlike the other factors, the phoenix factor can be dormant for some time.” Ryuunosuke nodded slowly to show he was listening. “And you’re researching girls with these…mythical creature powers—no, factors—here in this facility.” “Yes, although it’s to be disputed whether the girls possess powers modeled on mythical creatures, or whether these creatures were invented based on powers observed in these girls.” Ranko flapped her arms with the sleeves dangling below her hands, frustrated at having to explain an apparently very complex idea in very simple terms. Speaking of vampires… “President, did you know about Abara? About what she is?” “Yes, naturally. Both that she is a mythical girl and a member of the Order. I’ve known this from the day she enrolled at our school. She, too, is aware that I know.” “And what’s this ‘Order’?” “Both the Order and the Calamity Research Institute descended from the same original organization. Although we are currently hostile to each other, what they do and what we do is very similar, except their ways are more extreme than ours. They can be trusted to keep the matter of mythical girls confidential, at least.” “Oh boy. I had no idea two of my fellow student council members were involved in crazy stuff like that.” He suddenly gasped. “Wait… Don’t tell me Isurugi and Owari are also involved in super-secret stuff like this?!” “No, they are perfectly ordinary students.” “And why did both you and Abara enroll at my school? Don’t tell me…I have some special powers you’re after?!” “No, you are a perfectly ordinary… Scratch that, you are a peculiar but still normal student. Nobody was targeting you, although you do have a certain ‘power,’ which I’ll explain later. To Abara, the student identity was probably a useful cover for spying. I enrolled at your school…because I thought it’d be fun. And it was the closest to my house.” “‘Fun,’ huh…” Ryuunosuke was sure Ranko was hiding something, but he knew her well enough not to probe that topic. “What’s going to happen to Abara? Will she be arrested…?” “If only it were that easy. The authorities won’t do anything. Or to be precise, they can’t do anything. I don’t know what the Order might do. If she keeps coming to our school as normal, I’d like to keep our relationship the same as before. We may belong to opposing organizations, but I have nothing against her personally.” Ranko stopped in front of a door. Unlike the automatic doors they’d passed through before, this one was bigger and reinforced to prevent anyone without authorization from getting in…or out. She unlocked it, and they entered the room. The space was large and quite dark. At the center was a faintly glowing, semitransparent box—a prison cell equipped with a shower and a toilet. It granted no privacy at all. And the cell had an inmate. “There she is…” Rinne Irako, the girl with the dragon factor, was inside. “This is Rinne Irako, the mythical girl possessing the Third Factor, the dragon. Her code name is Dragon Princess. She was at berserk phase one when you soul linked with her.” Rinne was dressed in a straitjacket like when he first saw her, but she didn’t have a tail or wings. She was tied to a chair, still asleep. Her sleeping face looked so innocent, it seemed impossible that she was the same dragon girl who’d fought so fiercely earlier that night. “She was going to be executed.” Ranko looked at Rinne in the box, but the researcher seemed to be seeing some place far away. “What?” Ryuunosuke thought he’d misheard. “All the mythical factors have the devil inside them.” “The…devil?” “The proper name is Heimdall, the End-Bringer Factor. Existing on the astral plane, this factor awakens with each appearance of a mythical factor, growing and gaining sentience parallel to it. You can think of it as a spiritual cancer. I’m not joking about it becoming sentient. You’ve seen the mark on Rinne’s breast?” Ryuunosuke had a flashback to when Rinne exposed her chest. “Er… I wouldn’t say it was on her breast… It was on her torso, below the neck…” “That was a Stigma. The devil inside her. Allowed to grow, it would eventually overtake her mind and body and manifest in our world. We measure the degree of its growth by what we call the berserk phase. You’ve seen it.” “But she wasn’t going berserk, losing her mind and attacking everyone around.” “Because she was only at berserk phase one. At that phase, she was still able to think clearly but couldn’t switch between expressing and disabling her mythical creature abilities and characteristics. In other words, she couldn’t hide her tail and wings, for example.” That checked out—Rinne had her tail and wings out from the time Ryuunosuke met her until she’d fallen asleep. “At berserk phase two, the devil’s consciousness comes to the surface. At the final phase, a berserk mythical girl begins to lay waste to everything around, causing cataclysmal destruction. What happens depends on the factor involved. In the case of the dragon factor, it’s fairly straightforward—the dragon heart overheats, turning the mythical girl into a bomb. Rinne’s destructive potential is rated highest.” “This rating means nothing to me, though. How much damage are we talking?” “Do you know about the Tunguska event in 1908? A huge explosion near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Russia?” “Er… Sorry, I’m not particularly good at world history…” “Well, suffice it to say, it was an explosion on monstrous scale. An area the size of Tokyo was totally destroyed.” “What? An area the size of Tokyo?” “It happened in a remote area, so there were only a few casualties. The explosion was attributed to a meteor. At least, that’s the official version of the events.” “But that’s not what really happened…?” “No. The explosion was caused by the overheating of a berserk dragon girl’s heart. The annals of history are peppered with such large-scale destructive events that were, unbeknownst to the public, caused by mythical girls. Anyway, the Tunguska event was rated third for its destructiveness. Top-rated damage equals the destruction of modern civilizations. To the Calamity Research Institute, that is synonymous with the destruction of the world. That is the scale of explosion Rinne could cause if she went berserk.” “…I’m surprised the world hasn’t been destroyed yet by one of these mythical girls.” “It has come close to total destruction, but the disasters were prevented just in time by executing mythical girls who showed signs of going berserk or had already lost control. The growth of the devil in them can be slowed with special medication, but it cannot be completely stopped. From the moment a mythical girl obtains the factor powers, she’s set on a path to her execution.” “That’s brutal…” “…” Ranko looked sadly at Rinne in the cell. “Er… And what happens to the mythical girls when they’re executed?” “What do you think? They die, like any human. The only difference is that the mythical factor they had been hosting migrates to another girl’s soul. Another girl becomes a mythical girl. After she dies, the factor will migrate yet again. And so on.” “Hold on,” Ryuunosuke interrupted. “At berserk phase one, the factor characteristics show all the time. That’s what you said, right? But when I touched Rinne’s—What was it again? Right, Stigma. When I touched it, a light appeared on my left hand—it’s gone now, and I just have this dark mark, but it was a bright light at the time—so when that light appeared, Rinne’s horns disappeared. What’s that mean?” “We’re getting to the most important part now. That ring you have is known as a Sacred Sealing Ring. Those who possess them are called soul linkers.” “I’m a…soul linker?” “Contact with the mythical girl was presumably the trigger. The moment you touched Rinne, your link activated, and the Sacred Sealing Ring appeared. The fact that you were there at that time was nothing short of a miracle.” Ryuunosuke traced the ring mark with his right index finger. “I’m sorry that all I can tell you is my hypothesis of what occurred. This field has been poorly researched, and there are few historical records of soul linkers and Sacred Sealing Rings. It probably will be a while before we discover why you have this power or why Sacred Sealing Rings exist in the first place. But it is certain that your miraculous appearance when Rinne needed you diametrically changed her situation.” Ranko began walking toward the prison cell in the middle of the room. Ryuunosuke followed. “Sacred Sealing Rings have the power to absorb mythical girls’ sins, control their devils, and rule over all factors. Their most impressive ability is to stop a mythical girl from going berserk. When a soul linker touches a mythical girl’s Stigma and makes the soul wedding vows, their souls become linked.” “Hold on… Did you say ‘soul wedding’…?” When Rinne asked him to wed her, he thought she meant marriage. It wouldn’t have ever occurred to him that she was talking about something occult. The vows she’d made sounded just like what people said during wedding ceremonies. “Soul linking strengthens the factor, stops the growth of the devil within, and cancels the berserk status.” “So that’s why Rinne’s fine now.” Ranko nodded. “Also, some of the factor’s abilities are fed back to the linker. Your arm injury was healed thanks to the dragon factor’s regenerative ability. Linkers don’t benefit from the full power of the factor, though, which is why you have a scar left. A critical injury would kill you. Dragon powers can only do so much when you’re an ordinary human.” “I see…” “However, if soul linking is capable of enhancing a factor’s power and stopping it from going berserk, it might also be possible for it to have the opposite effect.” “What do you mean?” “Soul unlinking might elevate the berserk phase and weaken the factor. It is just my untested theory, of course, but I believe it’s now within your power to end this world if you harbor nihilistic inclinations.” “N-no, I don’t!” “It was just a joke, I know you wouldn’t do such a thing. By the way, nobody has ever managed to restore a mythical girl’s control once she reached berserk phase two. Soul linking requires the girl’s consent, which she’d be unable to give after losing her senses.” “Meaning rings have to be used before the berserk phase gets too advanced, or it’s game over.” “Yes. I have been researching the production of synthetic Sacred Sealing Rings to free mythical girls from their curse, but so far, I’ve had no results. This is about to change, though. Now that I have access to authentic rings, I’m confident I can finally make headway with that project. In all honesty, I would love for you to soul link with every mythical girl out there, but we don’t know what effect that might have on you. There are too many uncertainties. We must be very cautious about how we go about this.” Ranko put her hand on the wall of Rinne’s prison. “Dazai boy, will you team up with me to prevent more girls from ending up like her?” “You want me to work with you?” “With your ring, you can help not only Rinne, but also all the other mythical girls. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you’d be saving the world. Also, I wouldn’t want my research on you to be interrupted by the Order. I want to keep you close, for personal reasons.” Ranko offered him her hand. “Well? Won’t you use your power to help us?” “My ‘power’…” “I’ve been researching Sacred Sealing Rings and soul linkers for a very long time. Having a real soul linker right here is like a dream come true, not just for me but for the mythical girls, too. You’re our paragon of hope—a savior.” “Me, a savior…” “The Order will be desperate to have you in their hands, as well. They will fight to get you. Your life won’t return to how it used to be anyway, and many dangers await you. I will ask you one last time. Please help us.” Ryuunosuke looked at the confined dragon girl. “I don’t really know how much I’ll be able to help…” The truth was, he’d already made up his mind even before Ranko listed all the reasons he should help her. “…but I’ll do what I can.” He shook Ranko’s hand with conviction. “Thank you, and sorry in advance for involving you in this.” “No need to apologize. I’d gladly do anything you ask, President—you know that. So what do we do now?” “It’s quite simple, really. From now on, you and Rinne will—” “Huh?!” Ryuunosuke woke with a gasp. He was lying on a tatami floor. On the low ceiling above was a familiar lamp. He looked around at the slightly grimy walls and sliding door. He was, without doubt, back home in his seven-by-five tatami room, which was strewed with dumbbells and karate paraphernalia. There was a tiny bathroom and a separate tiny toilet room. The floors creaked when you walked on them. The furniture was basic, and it was old, cheaply made, or old and cheaply made. The house was an okay size for one person, but for two, it’d be quite cramped. It was a rental one-story house built several decades ago, with a wooden roof and rusty-red walls made of corrugated iron. It was Ryuunosuke’s home. “It was just a dream…” The sunlight shining through the window made him squint, and he thought about that strange dream. He rubbed out the tatami mat impression on his cheek. He was feeling dazed and sluggish. “Ow… That hurts…” His whole body felt stiff and sore. For some reason, he was wearing a crisp white shirt that looked brand-new. It was sticking to his sweaty skin. “I need a bath…” He’d only just woken up, but he felt dog-tired. Unsteadily, he made his way to the changing room. It was only a few steps, since his house was so small. Ryuunosuke opened the door to the changing room. He lived alone and never had guests over. But he was in for a surprise. “Excuse me?” “Eep!” There was a girl in his changing room. Her long hair was wet, as was the rest of her delicate, fair-skinned body, which was flushed from the hot water. He’d walked in on her when she was toweling off. She was no stranger—it was none other than Rinne Irako. Ryuunosuke’s mind froze, unable to process the situation. A new flush appeared on Rinne’s face as she glared at him. “You are wed to me, but in your eagerness, do not act like a tactless oaf!” She slammed the door shut on him. “…” Ryuunosuke stared at the closed changing room door blankly. “You’re up, Dazai boy? Good morning.” Someone tapped his shoulder. Ryuunosuke turned and saw a listless girl in a lab coat that was a few sizes too big for her—Ranko Akeda. “Huh…? President? What are you doing in my house?” “I understand you are a healthy young man with rampaging hormones, but peeping on a girl taking a bath is really rude.” “I wasn’t peeping on her! But wait, nothing is making any sense…” “Not to hurry you, but you should get ready for school,” Ranko said, heading toward his room as if it was the most natural thing to do. Ryuunosuke stopped her. “Can you explain just what on earth is going on?” “Hmm? Ah, yes, your memory must not be functioning properly yet. It’s a side effect of hypnosis. Don’t worry, you’ll remember everything soon enough,” she replied, going into his room. The haze in Ryuunosuke’s head gradually cleared, and he finally remembered what Ranko had told him just before he’d lost consciousness. “From now on, you and Rinne will be living together.”