The Sixth Dose
My head throbs. A metallic taste of blood lingers in my mouth, and the sharp, overwhelming scent of disinfectant fills my nose—that cold, clinical smell you only find in hospitals. Where am I…? Where’s Scarlet…? Number 13…?
“Number 13~?”
A voice…? “…?”
“You’re awake. Ah, I’m so relieved.”
It’s a woman’s voice, soft and gentle. Yet for some reason, it brings no comfort. The feeling that rises naturally is fear. I don’t even know why I’m afraid. A vague dread simply presses down on the crown of my head, forcing it lower.
“Come now, open your eyes. Look over here, won’t you?”
A soft hand cups my chin and slowly lifts it. I can’t resist. I don’t have the strength to. My body won’t respond at all.
“Mm, good. Number 13… You held on well again this time. Shall we have a treat~?”
Something small and firm is brought to my lips and slips easily into my mouth. Only after it touches my tongue do I realize it’s a piece of fruit-flavored candy.
I open my eyes slowly. The bright light right in front of my face makes me squint immediately.
“Ah, sorry. That must have been too bright.”
The light clicks off. When I open my eyes again, I finally come face-to-face with the owner of that terrifying voice.
“I’m glad we get to meet like this again.”
Pale pink hair the color of wildflowers. Eyes gently closed. Yet she smiles brightly right in front of me. For some reason… I remember her.
“Sarakael?”
The moment I speak the name from my memories, her expression brightens even more.
“You remembered my name? I’m so happy~”
This time she bends slightly and strokes my hair. Only then do I realize I’m sitting in a chair with my hands and feet bound. But why do my arms… my hands… feel so small? My bangs hang thick and heavy over my eyes…
“Well then~ Shall we begin the compatibility test again?”
“…!”
Compatibility test. The words make my body tremble violently, as if it no longer belongs to me. Why am I shaking?
“A…!”
When I see the syringe in her hand and the black liquid inside it, I feel something warm and wet beneath me. It isn’t hard to tell it’s urine.
“Oh my~ It’s all right. There’s no need to be scared.”
Even as she watches this happen, Sarakael keeps the same gentle smile on her lips and approaches with her eyes still softly closed, looking straight at my face.
“Number 13 will definitely succeed. This is already the sixth dose, and those unsightly horns have grown on your head, yet you’re still holding on to your sanity.”
“No… I don’t want this… Please… No…”
My mouth speaks the terrified words on its own. I notice that my voice sounds much younger and thinner than usual.
“I’m sorry, but thanks to Number 13’s sacrifice, we’ll be able to move forward together toward our grand goal~”
Even though her eyes are clearly closed, the way she stares straight at me creates an inexplicable pressure.
“Ah… poor child. Born carrying sin, yet I know how kind your heart truly is.”
“No…”
Thud…Push…
“You’ll have the honor of sacrificing yourself to lead us into the light. You simply haven’t realized it yet… For a sinner destined to perish, how great a joy that must be.”
“Ugh…! Aaaagh…!!”
I’m swallowed by pain so intense it feels like malice—pure evil—boiling up from beneath my veins. It’s as though my skin is being peeled away and my flesh carved out just to stuff pretty pebbles inside for a new body.
“Hic… Ghh…! Aaaagh!! Ghhrrgh…!”
The agony of having the sticky mass of my brain crushed inside my half-open skull finally rips my consciousness away. In that moment, I feel as if I’m being flung outward, my body suddenly free.
Strangely, the horrific pain from moments ago has already vanished, as though it were nothing more than a brief nightmare. Dazed, I look around at where I’ve been thrown and see…
“…… Cough… Hack…”
A child slumped limply, unconscious, vomiting thick black blood. Clink… plop… An undissolved piece of candy falls into the puddle of blood.
The child’s hair is a familiar dark purple. Their limbs are thin, ribs visible through their frail body. It’s pitiful to look at.
Number 13…?
Only then do I realize this isn’t something I’m experiencing firsthand. These are Number 13’s memories. I remember connecting my mind to hers through my ability. And… Founder had…
“Director, Numbers 11 and 12… as well as 14 and 15… none of them survived the sixth dose.”
Wait, this is… Number 13 seems to have lost consciousness, yet I can still hear this conversation? Feeling the strange sensation of an out-of-body experience, I focus my mind toward the other voice.
Sarakael has just finished the injection on Number 13 and stepped out of the room, now receiving a report from someone in priest’s robes.
“…Numbers 16 and 17 have already had more than half their bodies demonized and show no signs of regaining consciousness. As for 19 and 20, their bodies rejected the first dose so violently that… well, during the second dose they swelled up like balloons and burst apart.”
“How… unfortunate.”
Her lips press together in a sorrowful line, yet her eyes remain gently closed. Still, she quickly smiles again.
“Come to think of it, Number 18 also wanted to participate in the test…?”
“Ah~ Number 18 was summoned by Lady Gabriel, so she won’t be joining the experiment.”
Number 18…? If she caught Gabriel’s eye, could that be Scarlet…?
“I see. I thought her flame-type ability might suit the demons well.”
Flame-type ability. Definitely Scarlet. So she was originally supposed to take part in this experiment…
“What do you mean by that? No matter how sinful they are, how could they possibly be compatible with demons? Even as a joke, that’s unpleasant to hear.”
“…My apologies. I spoke without thinking.”
“We must show them faith first if true conversion is to occur. You understand~?”
Numbers might be a ladder the prisoners desperately want to climb, but to these people, they were nothing more than a way to select test subjects. I just heard the results for Numbers 11 through 20. Except for Number 13, almost all of them failed. Then what about Numbers 1 through 10…?
I wonder if moving farther from here might let me learn more about this place that looks like the Inquisition…
“Huh…?”
Suddenly my vision darkens as if my eyes are closing. When I open them again, I’m lying on something cold and hard.
“Nngh…”
My limbs still won’t move. I can tell they’re tightly bound. Clank!Flash…!
Even with my eyes closed, I can feel the blinding light beyond my eyelids. What is it this time?
“I’ll begin recording now.”
“Yes~ Please do.”
Hearing the familiar voice, I open my eyes and immediately turn my head away from the hot light in front of me. Someone is standing beside me. I can’t see their face, but they’re all wearing priest robes.
“We’ll begin by cutting off the horns.”
“..?? Mmph…! Mmmph…?!
When I see the large woodworking saw in one of their hands, a panicked sound escapes me. Something is stuffed in my mouth, so I can’t speak properly, but contrary to my expectations, the pain doesn’t come right away.
Vrrrrr…! Vrr…! Vrrrrrr…! Vrr…!
“Does it hurt?”
“……”
I shake my head. Vrrrr…!Thud…!
The sensation of something being pulled from my head and the rough grinding of the saw blade reach me clearly. It’s frightening, but it doesn’t actually hurt. Maybe it’s okay to relax a little. Just as I start to let my tense body go slack…
They move to my right side.
“Next, we’ll begin amputation of the demonized body parts.”
“Mmph…?! Mmmph…!! Mmmph…!!”
This time they grab below the shoulder of my right arm.
“Please prepare, Director.”
“Yes, I’m ready~”
Unlike with the horns, I can clearly feel their hands gripping me. My nerves stand on end again from the tension.
…This means something obvious. If my sense of touch is intact, then my sense of pain is working perfectly too.
CRRRRRUNCH…!!Crack…!
The saw blade tears mercilessly through my flesh with a grotesque sound. The agony is as horrific as the noise itself, gripping my throat and twisting it violently.
“Hnnngh…!!”
“Hold her down properly. Breaking the bone in one go makes it easier to repair later~”
And in that moment, what rises in my mind isn’t resentment or self-blame. It’s a pure, familiar question.
…Just what did I do wrong to deserve this much pain?