The 214th: Something That Eats People

Apparently, when human remains are discovered, they must be burned and disposed of after recovering any personal belongings possible.

Leaving them unattended for too long can turn them into a breeding ground for infection, it seems.

We calmly carried out our work, staring at the fresh, mangled cross-sections with no particular emotion.

"It's strange, though... even now that money no longer helps, people still carry wallets around, you know..."

And inside most wallets, there's usually a government-issued ID.

So it's actually quite convenient when compiling a list of victims' names.

While everyone else was searching through the corpses, I remained expressionless, using my fourth fire-based spell.

Even though I used to feel queasy just at the sight of a rat crushed under a car, somehow I’ve grown numb to the current situation—strangely indifferent, as if it no longer stirs any particular emotion.

Well, well. Human beings really are remarkable when it comes to adapting to their environment—quite a feat, really, for someone so foolish.

"Sotatsu-san."

"Yes?"

"That man the woman mentioned earlier—'the one who eats people'... Could it be...?"

An ogre who eats people?

There was something like that in the "job-changeable options" she mentioned before, wasn't there?

Her words make me联想 it unavoidably.

The one who participated in this massacre—wasn't it the "player" who chose that "man-eating ogre"?

But the girl in the maid uniform firmly declared:

"That's not possible."

"Is that... so?"

"Yes. In fact, I doubt there's any 'player' who would choose a 'man-eating ogre' to begin with."

"Wait, what?"

"The 'man-eating ogre's' eyes possess a skill called 'Madness'—a remarkably risky ability that drastically boosts power at the cost of reducing intelligence. I can't imagine any villain, no matter how wicked, willingly choosing a path that would cause them to lose their very sense of self."

"I don't know. When people are pushed to the limit, you never know what they might do..."

"That's true, but still... I just can't believe this was done by a 'player'."

A villain consumed by power mistreating innocent people—common enough in stories, but...

"I won't deny that there are heretics in this world. But I simply can't believe one would be lurking around here..."

And muttering quietly under their breath.

Tsuzuri-san seems to want to say this, after all.

—Whoever they are, I don’t think the culprit is a "player."

"But judging from the evidence at the scene, the culprit is likely a 'player,' isn't it?"

"Yes. It’s clearly not something a 'monster' or a 'zombie' would do."

Then who, exactly, could be pulling off something like this...?

"Hey, Yassan. Can I ask you something?"

"?"

"You did say it, didn't you? During the Phase 3 announcement, something about 'a powerful hostile lifeform has been activated' or whatever."

"Yeah, well... to be more precise, it was like this: 'The previously inactive hostile lifeforms are now activated.'"

Oh, Yoriku-san, you're surprisingly good at imitating Hyoujou's voice.

"Specifically, what exactly is being 'activated'...?"

"Unknown."

"Hmm..."

Rinon seems to be fully immersed in the role of a detective, just like in a mystery novel.

"What's wrong? What's bothering you?"

"Well, I just realized... the so-called 'reincarnated' Koihara Hakka did say something like this: After the 'Phase 3' announcement, 'enemy lifeforms capable of flying through the sky' will appear and start attacking communities all over the place."

"Hmm."

That's why, in preparation for such a scenario, we've stockpiled emergency rations in various locations and set up shelters in places like subway stations and sewer systems....But even though the so-called 'Phase 3' has begun, there's still no report of those monsters appearing.

Flying enemy lifeforms, huh. I've never encountered anything like that myself.

The dragon that Hakka commands must be what they're referring to...

And once again, silence fell.

Just as I was about to suggest we quickly head back after crisping up the last corpse,

"Hey, I'm guessing this—maybe the one determining your so-called 'Phase' is operating the 'End' using a system somewhat similar to yours?"

"Oh? Really?"

"So, when you level up, you pick one skill at a time from a variety of options, right?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Maybe the guy who caused this 'end' isn't actually breaking those rules after all."

With those words, Yoruiku-san and Tsumuri seemed to grasp it intuitively.

I'm the only one feeling a bit left behind.

I see. So what you're trying to say is that the guy in question didn't choose the skill to activate the "flying hostile lifeform," but instead selected another skill—activating some other "hostile lifeform."

"Yeah. If that's the case, it makes sense why Hana's 'end' differs slightly from the one she experienced before."

"Due to the influence of that so-called 'reincarnated one,' the board changed, so the 'End' fellow adjusted his move accordingly."

"Or perhaps."

Then Rinne crossed her arms and swiftly mounted her mountain bike.

"And so, this massacre was caused by that new 'hostile lifeform'—probably a berserker with abilities similar to a 'player,' someone who mercilessly slaughters even zombies, tearing humans apart with a single punch... and then..."

Finally catching up to the conversation, I continued.

"...eating humans."

"Yeah, that's it."

After urging Yozuka to be extra cautious, I left the scene.

Even I, usually carefree, was growing increasingly uneasy.

I had to meet up with Hakka as soon as possible.

If Rinon’s suspicions were correct—then the kind of atrocities I’d just witnessed would only keep escalating from now on.