Raid on the Lab
The research lab under Branch A sat deep in the mountains beyond the branch's outer perimeter.
We were in the car heading toward it.
Kang Yurim, seated in the back, had been silent with nerves at first, but at some point she'd turned to the person beside her and was staring at Shifty with wide, curious eyes.
Well, of course. It was probably the first time she'd ever seen anything like that robot suit...
"Um... are you... actually a robot?"
She hesitated a moment before venturing the question. A low, voice-modulated tone answered her from beside.
"No. It's a suit. Calling it a robot would be a stretch."
A short, precise answer.
"Why do you talk like that, though?"
"I've always talked this way."
"Isn't it stuffy inside the suit?"
"It's better than it looks. Automatic climate control, full visual coverage, air-cushioning—functions like those."
"Wow...."
Genuine admiration spilled out of her.
"So you wear the suit when you go on missions?"
"You could put it that way. Most operations are conducted in this form."
Kang Yurim kept scanning Shifty with those sparkling eyes. It was the reaction of a kid encountering something brand new. Her nerves had been swallowed whole by curiosity somewhere along the way, and even Shifty didn't seem to mind the attention.
"By the way, Closer?"
"What is it?"
"When we go inside... do I have to take the suit off?"
Ah. So that was what had been bothering her.
"For now... that would probably be for the best. It's an Association-affiliated lab, so the place could be crawling with hostiles. Slipping in quietly beats picking a fight for no reason."
Shifty fell silent for a moment. Something oddly like deliberation radiated from her.
"Understood."
The answer that finally came back was as curt as ever. Her tone was unchanged, but there was a distinctly deflated note underneath it.
I added a light explanation.
"There's no way around a fight breaking out, but we don't need to advertise it to everyone, right?"
"Right. I know that."
Our objective this time was finding the Commander. Quiet entry was obviously the ideal—but reality wasn't about to be that accommodating. The security systems would be layered three, four times deep by default, and the people inside weren't going to roll out the welcome mat for us either.
"Then... it would be prudent to release it in advance."
With a hiss of venting air, the suit's locking frame began to come apart.
The outer shell split open, the internal drive mechanisms disengaged, and Shifty emerged from within. Silver hair spilled slowly down past her shoulders, and her crimson eyes swept the surroundings out of pure habit.
No matter how many times I saw it, it was hard to believe that figure had been sealed inside that mass of machinery.
And apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so.
Kang Yurim had been watching Shifty quietly, and her eyes went perfectly round for an instant—as if she were looking at something not quite human.
"What's wrong?"
"You're... a woman?"
"I am. Is that a problem?"
For her part, Shifty's face said she couldn't see a problem anywhere.
"N-no... it's just... I guess I'd say it was... really unexpected."
"A common reaction."
Shifty answered flatly and began picking up the released pieces of the suit, gathering and stowing them one by one.
Who knows how long that pointless little chatter carried on...
Eventually the looming silhouette of an enormous building spread out before us—a lone monolith rising out of a forest packed wall to wall with trees. The car rolled to a stop, and the three of us opened the doors one after another and stepped out.
So... the Commander is somewhere in there, huh.
The entrance sat at the dead center of the building's front face. No guards—just a biometric authentication system standing there all alone.
Had it been designed from the start so only approved personnel could come and go?
"Yurim, let's give it a try."
"Ah—yes, okay!"
"This is the first time you've used your ability on anyone besides Selene, isn't it?"
"Yes, but... I'll be fine."
Kang Yurim carefully extended her arm and closed her eyes.
Distorted light spread out from around her shoulders like a heat shimmer.
I raised a hand and tested my psychokinesis. Definitely... it was as if some component from another dimension had been spliced into it—the texture of my power had changed completely.
I reached out, and the yellow steel pillar barring the entrance wrenched free from its socket. Rusted seams snapped, and the heavy metal rose into the open air.
[STATE YOUR PURPOSE OF VISIT.]
"What did we come here for, you ask?"
I aimed the torn-out steel pillar at the entrance...
"We're here looking for someone."
...and slammed it straight into the door.
"My goodness, I never imagined an A-Rank Hero would file a request so suddenly like this."
The Chief Researcher greeted her with hands clasped together as if delighted. There wasn't a trace of wariness to be found on that smile-wrinkled face.
"Was that too abrupt of me...?"
"Not at all, not at all! Quite the opposite—it's an honor to have an A-Rank Hero conduct an inspection for us!"
Inside the research lab, Valkyrie gave a small nod and walked in.
She let her gaze drift naturally, as if merely taking in her surroundings.
"This facility has only ever been staffed by B-Rank Heroes on rotating shifts, you see. With someone as reliable as you here, our lab can finally work in peace for a whole day."
Watching him speak with that smiling face, Valkyrie's brow creased faintly.
The truth was, she had come here for a different reason entirely.
Kang Yurim's identity file, seen two months ago on a junior colleague's laptop. The last trace marked on the records of a girl declared dead had pointed to this vicinity.
There was every chance that information was a coincidence... but anything worth checking was worth checking thoroughly.
Of course, she couldn't put a private reason like that in an official report. So the pretext she'd filed was on-site verification and equipment inspection—and that single absurd justification had cost her over a week of waiting.
"Then I'll show you this way. Let me start with the lab's main facilities."
"Yes. Please do."
And so Valkyrie followed the Chief Researcher deeper into the building.
"This is an auxiliary research lab under Branch A, primarily responsible for the development and analysis of ability-related equipment."
The Chief Researcher kept up a calm explanation as he walked.
"We build equipment, control systems, response manuals and the like based on ability data. In short, you can think of this as a place that makes things useful in the field."
Neatly organized laboratories lined the corridor beyond. Each room held equipment and instruments arranged for its own distinct purpose, and farther in, researchers in white coats bustled about their work.
It was, unmistakably, the picture of an ordinary research facility.
"Recently we've also been working on protective gear for non-Ability users, and filtering devices capable of countering psychic interference."
"And this room is..."
"And over there is..."
"If I were to describe this section, it was established over fifty years ago..."
How long did she get dragged around like that...
"And here we are, that's the end of the tour! If anything piques your curiosity, please tell me at any time. I'll do my utmost to assist you."
"That's it?"
Valkyrie stopped in place and echoed the words back. The fatigue she'd been forcing down was showing plainly on her face.
"Yes—is something the matter?"
"It seems we haven't visited the most important places at all."
"I'm not sure what you're referring to..."
"That door back there. I need to verify what's on the other side of it too."
"That area... is difficult without authorization. It requires approval from above."
"Approval from above... then I'll contact them right now."
"I'm sorry?"
Valkyrie pulled out her communicator and punched in a number.
"Hello, yes—we're conducting an inspection right now, but we're being refused... I see. You'll change it directly?"
She held the communicator out to the researcher.
"Take it."
"Who exactly..."
"Your superior's superior."
The researcher accepted the device with a look of complete incomprehension.
And then...
"Hup—! Branch Director! Concealing it, sir? Oh dear... surely you don't think I would?"
His mouth trembled violently as he nodded along again and again.
"Yes, yes... I'll open it right away. I apologize. No, no, sir! I would never dream of such a thing... yes...!"
He handed the communicator back with exaggerated care, then looked up at her with the eyes of a man grasping for anything to hold onto.
"I... I truly apologize. I had no intention of hiding anything—it's simply that protocol requires the proper procedures..."
"Would you open it, please."
The researcher bowed his head a few more times, then scurried over to the security panel. Fingerprint scan, iris scan complete—and just as he was about to turn the auxiliary authentication key...
WHIIIIIINE—!!!
Intruder detected! Intruder detected!
Red lights flashed, staining the corridor crimson. A massive alarm blared and echoed through the wall speakers.
"What is this...?"
"Someone—an intruder from outside has apparently entered the facility!"
"Tch... of all the possible times..."
She clicked her tongue lightly and turned to the Chief Researcher.
"Get yourself to a safe zone, now! As for what's in there... we'll confirm it once I've finished dealing with all of this."
With that, Valkyrie took off running down the opposite end of the corridor.
"....."
Only after watching her vanish to the end of the hallway did the Chief Researcher lift his communicator.
"We are escalating to Code Red. It appears that..."
He turned slowly to look down the corridor, in the direction Valkyrie had run.
"You will need to come here in person."
"Everyone heard the plan?"
"Affirmative."
The research facility was in complete chaos. Red emergency lights flashed overhead while the alarm hammered at our ears without pause.
Shifty gave a small nod at my question.
Not that you could really call it a plan. While the confusion lasted, Yurim and I would head for the sector where the Commander was presumed to be, and Shifty would sweep the remaining areas. That was the whole of it.
"If physical contact occurs..."
"Use your own judgment. If you find the Commander, just contact me immediately."
"Understood."
She looked at me and Yurim one last time.
"Good luck."
With that single parting word, Shifty quietly set off in the other direction.
"Well then, let's get moving too. You said you remember where it is, right?"
"Yes."
We headed down the opposite path.
And a short while later—
"Hey, what are you doing?! Evacuate, now!"
The voice flying at me from up ahead made me freeze mid-step.
It was a face I couldn't possibly fail to recognize. Pale golden hair and blue eyes.
Valkyrie.
What the hell is she doing here?
No—stay calm. It's fine. Still fine.
I desperately ordered my thoughts.
First of all, I wasn't wearing my mask right now. And from her point of view—a colleague who'd only just arrived—I would look like nothing more than an ordinary staff member trying to evacuate. That was exactly why I'd fitted my mask with voice modulation in the first place, in case a situation like this ever came up. Not to mention that my manner of speech changed depending on whether the mask was on or off.
So there was no way she could pin me down as 'Closer' right now. I was just an Association employee who'd gotten lost on the way to evacuation. All I had to do was act like an ordinary civilian with zero information.
With that settled, I lifted my head toward her...
...but her face wasn't aimed at me at all. It was fixed somewhere else entirely.
"Kang Yurim...?"
"Huh? It's the big sis from the Association from back then...!"
Oh, you have got to be kidding me...