Emergency Elimination Target (1)
Emergency Elimination Target (1)
Object Heads cannot sleep.
Lifeforms for whom the concept of deep sleep does not exist.
They may feel fatigue, but the desire to sleep never arises.
So Object Heads use one method.
Shutting down their consciousness.
Like a computer entering sleep mode until touched.
Because if they don't do this, they'd have to spend 24 hours boringly with a clear mind.
So even now, Blade Head chooses to pass the time in this tedious containment cell by shutting down his consciousness.
Ignoring anyone who speaks to him.
Ignoring them even when they inflict pain or torment.
But he will definitely make them pay for bothering him.
Bearing it patiently, storing up the stress they cause him, the moment even a single finger enters the containment cell, he immediately shoots out the blade on his head.
He's killed quite a few that way.
Still, that doesn't mean Blade Head can leave the containment cell.
How many years has it been?
Unable to see the sky, he's lost all sense of time.
They certainly wouldn't tell him, and they didn't leave a watch either.
A prickling sensation flows through his non-existent head.
A short-circuit of memory that sometimes occurs when he shuts down his consciousness.
Ticktockticktockticktockticktock.
The sound of a clock that felt like it would drive him mad.
That guy was an Object Head, but he was somehow different.
A unique vocal ability that didn't interfere with electronics.
— You're wrong. This Head is the worst. What kind of humanity did he consume to be born, that he can't even manage a single interactive conversation?
As if he himself had mastered everything.
And when he saw beings who didn't meet his standards, he pitied them and felt sorry for them. He hated that attitude.
— Unfortunately, it's hard for you to access the Source. For the sake of 'our flame' that will be born in the future, you must be used for message delivery.
— You? You're human. Just think of it that way. Without even that, it'll be hard for you.
He said I was human.
When I felt confused about my identity, he clearly said I was human.
But then he said the Blue Flame wasn't human.
Kagagak!
The blade that shot out scraped across the floor.
Just remembering that day makes my blood boil.
That damned Pocket Watch bastard.
Chwi-ii-ik-
The decompression door opened.
Beyond the reinforced glass, a man in a suit entered and sat on a chair.
Above his neck, a blue flame flickered.
※※※
March 31st.
My head is still burning.
A little over a month since I opened my eyes and came to be.
Not once has the flame gone out, nor has there been any sign of it.
In that sense, I want to try something dangerous but intriguing.
I pressed myself against the nearby wall.
Pressed the cross-section of my neck against the visible wall.
"......"
No change.
No emergency like the wall catching fire or the flame going out and me collapsing.
When I take my head away again, the flame is still burning above my neck, as if nothing happened.
I looked into the full-length mirror provided for me.
Without eyes, you can't see.
That's the natural order.
But my reflection in the mirror is still clearly visible in my field of vision.
A suit with a clean fit and dignity.
A double-breasted suit that upgraded the style from my usual clothes.
Personally, I think double-breasted suits really accentuate a man's figure.
'Should I go.'
When I opened the containment cell door and came out, Kang Tae-jun was in the management room.
He gestured with his eyes toward the outside.
"Let's go."
I arrived at the containment cell where Blade Head was, along with Kang Tae-jun.
A structure similar to a visiting room, blocked by reinforced glass like at headquarters.
In the exact same posture as that day. Blade Head was sitting on the floor.
"I will inform you of the precautions."
The temporary handler explained.
"He still won't communicate, and his violent tendencies remain. He refuses any conversation."
Nothing has changed.
Didn't they break through the electronic interference ability?
Yet he still doesn't want to talk.
"Still, if there is a change, it's that he reacts a little more than before."
"For example?"
"When the name 'Blue Flame' is mentioned, he raises his blade."
That's it?
Kang Tae-jun poked me in the side.
"But is there anything more to get from that guy?"
"......"
"Anyway, that Wine Glass bitch probably knows more than him."
"...Crackle- He- had contact with someone before the Bureau——."
I think that existence is the same as the Pocket Watch.
If the Pocket Watch appears everywhere I go, he must have planted some information in Blade Head too.
I sat on the chair in front of the reinforced glass.
Seeing me sit, Blade Head also stood up.
He staggered closer and then crouched down in front of me.
"Crackle- I hope you'll be obedient today——."
This time, I didn't give him a keyboard.
He can use his interference ability now, can't he? I should use a speaker the same way.
"Crackle- Isn't it frustrating- living in there——?"
The guy raised his head (blade tip).
The blade facing me makes me anxious, not knowing when it might suddenly shoot out.
Putting the reinforced glass between us was definitely a good idea.
"Crackle- I'll- give you one good offer——."
I placed my palm on the reinforced glass.
I'm attempting to communicate in my own way.
"Crackle- I'll let you see the outside world. So—— cooperate with me—."
Blade Head has been trapped in the containment cell for years.
If my thoughts are correct, he's probably itching to the point of madness.
If so, throwing a sweet bait would get his cooperation.
Given his personality, he can't accept the same terms as me.
First, I'll open a friendly relationship route so I can at least analyze him, then teach him so he can be deployed in operations——.
Bang!
A fist slammed onto my palm.
The blade hit the glass and started scraping against it with a kkigigigik-.
And then.
"Crackle— Fuck——— you———."
The word I finally heard from him directly was a curse.
A sense of futility washed over me as I dropped my hand.
Maybe I felt this method was hopeless.
Kang Tae-jun said, as if telling me to give up.
"Can't be helped. Let's go back today. With that attitude, nothing will progress..."
"Crackle- Kang Tae-jun—."
A guy who won't listen to anything you say won't be resolved by coaxing or soothing.
He has self-regeneration, so there comes a time when I need to be bold.
"Crackle- If there's a disobedient agent- what do you do?"
"Use force. Make it clear who's in charge here."
Oh, is that so?
That's how you do it?
Kwadangtang.
I pushed back my chair and stood up.
I gestured for the startled Kang Tae-jun and the doctors to leave.
"Crackle- I'll- do it."
"You're not actually going to, are you? Can you do it?"
"Crackle- I'll- do it."
They went outside, and the decompression door closed tightly.
I took off my coat, rolled up my shirt sleeves to my elbows, and said.
"Crackle- Open——."
Through the microphone, someone's anxious sigh flowed out.
The alarm activated.
Beeeiiiiii—
As the warning light flashed red, the reinforced glass rose upward.
Blade Head, who had been acting like he was about to smash everything, showed signs of panic for the first time.
He didn't expect me to actually open it and make contact?
"Crackle- You- said you were human——. Humans learn manners first——."
Even humans fight.
They test their strength, compare who's better at fighting.
If someone starts a fight or has no manners, you show them the difference in power to flatten their ego (even if they don't have a nose).
I'll crush him so badly he won't even be able to cut an onion.
※※※
"C-Chief?"
The handler staring at the monitor had a bad expression.
He looked afraid that something might go wrong and cause an accident.
On the other hand, Kang Tae-jun, with a nonchalant expression, just rested his chin on his hand and watched the monitor.
"Are you sure it's okay to leave it like that?"
"Yeah. I authorized it."
"No, that's not what I mean. Are you sure there won't be an accident?"
Kik. Kang Tae-jun laughed and waved his hand to reassure the doctors.
"There won't be an accident. Don't worry."
Very reassuring, that.
The scene visible on the monitor.
Blade Head being thrown around.
Pushed in the stomach, kicked, his blade head crushed by a fist, tripped and knocked down by a kick.
It was the classic image of a good fighter beating up a weaker one.
"He learned well, the bastard. But he's missing a finishing blow."
"Y-yes?"
※※※
Kwadangtang!
Blade Head spun around and crashed to the floor.
Now he didn't move at all.
The kitchen knife above his neck was crushed as if beaten with a hammer.
His whole body was a mess from bruises.
He probably wouldn't feel like getting up for a while.
In contrast, I dusted off my hands and checked my condition.
'The bastard stabbed me a lot.'
My chest, abdomen, and limbs each had at least one cut.
But all of them were insufficient to stop me.
Blade Head's blades are very deadly to humans, but against a self-regenerating Object Head, they were pathetically weak.
Blade Head, lying on the ground and struggling for breath, said.
"Crackle— It——hurts."
"Crackle- It hurts—. If you don't listen tomorrow—— expect the same beating."
"Crackle— You——or that clock bastard—— you're all the same."
I was about to pick up my coat and leave, but I turned back.
What did he just say?
Clock bastard?
"Crackle- Pocket Watch——?"
Blade Head's chest heaved.
I wondered what that action was, and it resembled the shaking sensation when he bursts out laughing.
From the actual speaker, a bizarre sound presumed to be laughter also came out.
"Crackle— That bastard——or you. You both just look down on me——."
"Crackle- I never- looked down on you."
"Crackle— Just you wait——. I'll get my revenge——."
He only says ominous things.
Blade Head is a particularly difficult type to converse with.
His tone is aggressive, and the conversation doesn't progress.
Since he himself has no will to talk, we can't move into deep conversation.
Especially the noise sound.
It's particularly bad, making me lose the will to talk.
"Crackle— I'm—— human."
There's stubbornness there.
I wondered why he suddenly brought that up, but it seems he's been holding it in since our first meeting.
Even after I showed him the mirror, he still believes he's human.
No, that's not it.
It feels like a desperate grasp at straws.
"Crackle— I'm human——!"
"Crackle- You're the same kind as me—."
"Crackle— Human—— I said!"
Blade Head's limbs trembled as he forced himself up.
He slumped against the wall and fumbled at his crushed blade.
"Crackle— I'm human——! You're not human——! Then why——! Are you the only one treated like a human——!"
Is that it?
Something like an inferiority complex.
Or jealousy.
Object Heads have an oddly strong longing for humans.
So strong that realizing they aren't human brings great despair.
He had believed he was human, but seeing himself trapped while I, also not human, get to be with humans—his jealousy seems to have exploded.
But the fact that such inferiority is exposed is actually a good sign.
It means the closed door of his heart has opened.
"Crackle- If you want to be treated like a human—— you have to put in the effort—."
I'm not naturally inclined to speak kindly, but I know how to kindly point the way.
"Crackle- Even if you can't be like me—— you can at least earn some respect——."
"Crackle— How—— do I do that?"
I put on my coat and stood in front of the decompression door.
The lock released, and the door opened.
"Crackle- You already know——."
I left the containment cell and returned with Kang Tae-jun.
Of course, news of this fight reached the Council's ears.
I expected some kind of disciplinary action, but the Council must have sensed something too, because they simply gave a brief warning and let it pass without further comment.
※※※
Blade Head's containment cell after the commotion.
The handler on night duty in the management room yawned as he looked at the monitor with tired eyes.
"Haaaam-. Getting beaten up did make him a bit more docile."
This was the entity that had been so uncontrollable.
Getting beaten by a stronger anomaly injected some manners into him.
As the old saying goes, there's not a single wrong word.
A mad dog needs a beating.
"But still, I feel a bit sorry for him. He got beaten like a dog on a dog day."
In all my years, I never imagined I'd see an anomaly getting severely disciplined by another anomaly.
But it happens sometimes.
As one of the categories of destroying anomalies with anomalies.
Bringing an anomaly slated for disposal before a stronger anomaly.
The weaker anomaly runs around frantically before finally being devoured by the stronger anomaly inside a sealed containment cell.
'This case is special because it was genuinely about instilling manners.'
But that's only for disposal purposes.
The contact between these two Object Heads was a real fight, just like humans.
Only their heads were objects.
"Please, let him get thoroughly indoctrinated and start listening. Having a cooperative anomaly wouldn't be bad for the Bureau."
Muttering his wish, the handler picked up a coffee can from the corner of his desk and opened the lid.
Since the Blue Flame started cooperating, the Council has become very interested in cooperative anomaly relationships.
It's a new direction for the Bureau's pattern of only containing, studying, and disposing.
Or is it just my imagination?
Recently, the entire Bureau feels unusually excited.
"Usually, when things go this well, something terrible happens."
He casually spoke the ominous words, then shook his head.
What am I saying, being so negative?
Let good things be good things. Why think negatively about it?
Tchaek.
"Huh?"
He turned around.
He looked at the clock, but it was just the early morning hour—nothing unusual.
"Did I hear a second hand tick loudly?"
Now it's quiet again.
It's the quiet early morning, so I must have heard it for a moment.
Just as he turned back to the monitors.
"...Huh?"
Was it an illusion?
I thought I saw someone in front of Blade Head just now.
It was such a brief moment—less than a second—so it must have been my imagination.
He tried to dismiss it.
"......Maybe I should review the recording."
An inexplicable sense of dread.
He rewound the CCTV feed and played back the recording.
He placed his finger on the spacebar and watched the screen intently.
The image of Blade Head, slumped and still.
Nothing changed.
There should be nothing changed.
Tak.
He stopped the frame with good reflexes.
It was clear.
Even though it was only a single frame.
Something else was definitely captured in it.
"Fuck......"
A person.
No, another being in the shape of a person.
A white suit embroidered with gold thread.
An antique, elegant-looking man, but with no head.
A pocket watch floating above the severed cross-section of his neck.
"Bullshit... no fucking way. This is the Bu-, the Bureau. The Bureau—how did...?"
Where's the entry route?
Has our location been discovered?
How did he get into the containment cell?
Or is it Blade Head?
Calm down.
Don't apply common sense to anomalies.
I don't know the route or method, but an external anomaly's intrusion is certain.
Contact someone first.
Who's the highest-ranking person in charge of Blade Head?
Seo Young-eun? No, Kang Tae-jun is better for on-the-spot judgment.
Kang Tae-jun's number... number... wait.
"Ah, I think the Chief is on duty today."
He was about to pick up the terminal but changed his mind.
Calling someone individually shouldn't be the priority.
He has to press the emergency button.
According to the manual, if an external intrusion is suspected, it is permissible to press the emergency button under individual judgment.
Slowly, he moved his finger toward the button under the desk.
Chwi-ii-ik-
A chilling sound.
A sound that should never be heard.
"H-heup...... huff, huff.huff."
His gaze locked onto the direction of the containment cell stairs.
The dark, unlit containment cell.
The decompression door must never open under any circumstances, and the control is in the management room.
So, that sound is impossible.
No, it must not happen.
'Why? Why did it open? That shouldn't open!'
Mental contamination levels rise.
He can't assess the situation; his mind freezes.
His vision narrowed like a tunnel, creating a claustrophobia he never had.
It must be an illusion.
Right, I heard an auditory hallucination.
Maybe it's because I'm tired.
Let me check.
Look at the containment cell CCTV.
The containment cell must still have Blade Head slumped there.
Blade Head, dejected after being beaten by the Blue Flame earlier that day.
Tak. Tadak.
The CCTV feed from the recording.
Blade Head, who should be there, isn't.
"Fuck, fuckfuckfuck. Fuck."
He drew his emergency pistol and aimed it toward the stairs, but he already knew it was meaningless.
This pistol is issued as a countermeasure.
But there's an unofficial rumor about the current gun.
It's a last resort to commit suicide before the situation escalates due to possible mental contamination.
Of course, that option is usually only taken in facility collapse crisis situations.
Kudangtang, kung!
Unable to make sound judgments, the handler urgently hid under the desk.
The chair tipped over in the process, but he had no time to care.
And then.
Tuk. Tuk. Tuk.
The sound of bare feet.
He remembered Blade Head was barefoot.
In the dark silence, quiet footsteps shattered the stillness.
Soon, a leg in an orange prison uniform appeared in the handler's field of vision.
"Mmph... hmph..."
The pressure of not making a sound.
Extreme terror paralyzes human judgment and intelligence.
The footsteps approached and stopped in front of the desk.
Without moving, standing there for a long time before the handler's eyes.
A human with paralyzed judgment freezes up.
But a human who has been indoctrinated and trained to know the manual by heart will act.
Even if it means being discovered and killed.
The paralyzed judgment forces the unconscious, ingrained manual protocol to be followed.
He pressed the emergency button.