Anne's Diary (5) [EP6. Bergen-Belsen] - The Lost Girl, Monsters Who Cannot Weep
It was originally a story told from Legia’s point of view. The protagonist, kidnapped from the Abandoned Laboratory in the previous incident, is dragged to this place—Bergen-Belsen—and the narrative unfolds from there. The episode opened inside a pitch-dark iron cage.
Sob… hic… ugh…
A girl wept while leaning against the cold wall. The player, despairing at her situation, could only shed helpless tears. She was trembling in fear when—
“Hey… Pink sister!”
“Over here! This way!”
A voice called from somewhere. Startled, she turned around to find a girl waving through a narrow gap. When their eyes met, the girl gave a bright smile.
“Nice to meet you! It’s been so long since anyone moved into the next room!”
“My name is Anne! Let’s take good care of each other as fellow test subjects.”
That brilliantly sparkling smile. In the original work, Anne’s entrance had been no different. The brave girl reached out to the protagonist and became her chatty companion so she wouldn’t tremble in loneliness. A classic supporting character, you could say.
“Sister, take this.”
“It’s a blanket!”
She played the role of giving courage. She kept the oppressive atmosphere of the gloomy episode from sinking too low. Her refusal to lose hope was heartbreakingly lovely.
“Still… sometimes, wouldn’t it be all right for something fortunate to happen?”
“In hard times, we have to hold on to courage.”
“The more we worry, the more beautiful life becomes.”
But.
She could not escape the predetermined tragedy. Bergen-Belsen, Anne, diary—devices hinting at misfortune were hidden everywhere, and the girl eventually met a horrific end. It was a rather shocking finale.
“I’ll be back.”
Afterward, Galimar’s faculty was deployed for rescue. Thanks to them the protagonist escaped, but the price of survival was having to witness a nightmarish scene.
Creak… caw…
Anne, transformed into a monster. The episode ended with Legia in despair.
While filming the strategy video, I had thought: even if it drew from real history, did they truly need to show an ending that cruel? It remained a painful memory.
But this time was different.
“It’s a relief… It really is a relief.”
“Sister, are you crying? Wh-why are you suddenly…”
Because I was right beside the girl who had become a monster.
It felt like a small act of rebellion.
To the predetermined ending… go fuck yourself.
I hated tragedies. If an unreasonable future blocked happiness, I simply had to smash it with a fiercely swung fist.
I smiled softly.
“I-I don’t understand what’s happening. I was definitely in the laboratory…”
“Hehe.”
Anne rolled her eyes in confusion. Careful not to startle her, I gently stroked her head. Warm body heat seeped into my palm, as if conveying that she was alive.
“I… I thought I was going to die.”
“Miss Anne.”
“It hurt so much, it was so scary… I cried, I screamed, I—”
“It seems you had a nightmare.”
I soothed the girl calmly.
“It was only a dream. Blink a few times and it will be a memory that fades away.”
I covered her tearful eyes with my palm—so the exhausted girl could rest easy, so she could escape the terrible nightmare.
“After one more good sleep, you’ll be fine.”
A gentle shadow flickered. Anne’s eyelids slowly closed. As her consciousness blurred and she swayed, the fox beside her caught the girl’s body and whispered softly.
“Sleep well.”
I smiled faintly.
The sound of steady breathing filled the quiet space.
“……She’s asleep.”
“It seems so.”
Anne lay with her head pillowed on the fox’s lap, sleeping with a peaceful expression. Irene tidied the girl’s disheveled hair, then subtly shifted her gaze toward me. Beyond those black pupils swirled complicated emotions.
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“……”
“Miss Irene?”
The fox, who had been lost in thought, finally bit her lip and asked a single question.
“Just what did you do…?”
It was short, but by no means a light question. The scene the girl had witnessed moments ago had been utterly unreal. The domain of the impossible. In other words—a miracle. It must have been impossible for the fox to accept.
I smiled brightly and placed my index finger against my lips.
“It’s a secret.”
“……I figured you’d say that.”
It was a complicated power to explain, after all.
“Let’s just say I got lucky.”
It wasn’t entirely wrong. The treatment had only been possible because Anne hadn’t died during the experiment and had remained alive, even as a chimera. In truth it felt closer to restoration than healing, but anyway.
Even the Liar ability could not bring back the dead. Whether their limbs were torn off, they were hacked apart, or turned into monsters… they first had to be alive. Lies offered to the deceased were nothing more than empty laments.
Ding!
Current Remaining Output: 31.7%
In fact, even this had been quite a strain. Nearly sixty percent of my output had been consumed simply to restore this slender girl to her original form. Doing several at once was out of the question.
Looks like I overdid it… I feel nauseous.
It was far more difficult than suppressing a professor-level combatant. Unlike battles that only required physical force, restoring a chimera demanded elevating the concept all the way to creation. The recoil was correspondingly severe.
“Isn’t it more beautiful to leave miracles as miracles?”
“Yeah… I won’t ask anymore.”
“You’re backing off more obediently than expected.”
“I have some shame, too. Even though I swore never to trust humans again, I don’t want to bare my teeth at someone I owe a debt to.”
“Admirable.”
I nodded, genuinely impressed. Her distrust of humans ran deep, yet her nature was not that of a dark beast.
“I’ll repay this debt somehow.”
“I did it because I wanted to. Thanks to that, I even got to see Miss Irene cry for the first time.”
“……Shut up.”
The fox wiped her reddened eyes. The tension seemed to have drained from her. I would have liked to sit and chat idly, but unfortunately there was still work to finish.
I stood up.
“Ahem.”
The output cost had been dangerous, but… this much should suffice. Enough to deal with the bastard who had been watching us creepily from the shadows.
After steadying my breath, I turned my gaze to one side.
“Wouldn’t it be better to come out now? I believe I’ve waited long enough.”
“What? Who are you suddenly talking to—”
The moment Irene tilted her head in confusion—
“Impudent brat.”
Someone who had been hiding between the iron bars revealed himself. A middle-aged man radiating an alien aura. Wearing a blood-red robe like a second skin, he stepped out of the darkness with an intrigued smile.
It was a familiar face.
“……!”
Irene flinched and gripped her sword. The fox seemed to recognize the man, yet she could not recklessly rise. The oppressive pressure weighing down the surroundings prevented it.
“This is quite an interesting development.”
The research director, Yosef Kramer. The devil who reigned over Belsen and the very man who had turned Anne into a monster.
“I was hiding my presence completely… yet you saw through it.”
The man approached with quiet steps. His characteristically relaxed voice echoed chillingly through the dark basement.
I answered calmly.
“My eyes are rather good.”
“You say interesting things. I clearly saw you restore that failure earlier.”
“If you mean the failure… are you referring to Miss Anne?”
“Anne? I don’t recall any trash with such a name.”
“Didn’t you experiment on her with your own hands?”
“What use is a name to something that failed? It is nothing but garbage.”
“……Ha.”
An involuntary scoff escaped me. He had been like this in the original work, but seeing it in person was even more grotesque. Especially those eyes that held not a shred of guilt.
“So, just how did you do it?”
Only ugly greed churned in the devil’s pupils.
“Some trick? Magic that restores a test subject turned into a monster to its original state… I’ve never heard of anything like it.”
“It’s troublesome. It’s a secret I don’t wish to share with others.”
“Yes, of course. Naturally. There’s no way you’d want to share such precious knowledge.”
The devil laughed unpleasantly. A dark red haze began to rise. A sinister stench brushed my nose. He was gathering dark magic.
“Then I’ll simply take it by force. I’ll rip your brain out whole and analyze every piece.”
“How chilling.”
“You’ll make an excellent specimen! While I’m at it, I’ll recycle the trash beside you too. How about cutting off their limbs and stitching them to each other? Just imagining the composition is thrilling.”
“……”
Did this bastard realize that every word he uttered was provoking me?
“It’s been a very long time… feeling anger like this.”
I steadied my breathing. Then I gently patted the clearly anxious fox’s head, telling her not to worry.
“It will be over in a moment. Please cover Miss Anne’s ears so she doesn’t wake.”
“……Understood.”
Irene hesitated briefly before nodding. I smiled faintly and stepped forward.
Whoooosh—!
Before I knew it, the wide basement was filled with a blood-red aura. Sharp fragments aimed at me. If he finished his chant, everything around us would be torn apart at the atomic level.
The opponent was the master of Belsen. At minimum, he possessed power above the professor level. A single chant from him could bury the entire basement.
I had to be careful.
……If I strike with too much emotion, he might die too pathetically.
One must always handle weak creatures with special care. I loaded a lie at my fingertips. Cold fury slid down my spine.
The man moved his lips and charged, reciting a prayer to manifest his dark magic. Death fluttered in the air.
“O master stained in blood! Bring your eternal authority here—!”
“Shatter.”
Clang—!
Sorry, but I wasn’t in the mood for games. I had no desire to watch his pretentious performance.
Yosef Kramer. The psycho who had massacred, tortured, and turned tens of thousands into monsters. I could not tolerate such a bastard receiving dramatic direction simply because he was a villain.
Crunch—!
That was why I destroyed the lighting—so no spotlight could shine on the stage he stood upon. I painted the script with nothing but darkness. It was the nightmare most fitting for a devil.
“……?!”
The research director recoiled in horror as his magic vanished. I moved my lips dryly.
“Blackout.”
Immediately afterward, jet-black darkness dyed the world.
The Trial of Yosef Kramer
⚖ Presiding Judge: Narrow-eyed boy (Judah)
🪑 Defendant: Yosef Kramer
🩸 Charge: Crimes against humanity
When I opened my eyes again, the two of us sat inside a courtroom. A world meticulously constructed through illusion magic—a stage newly prepared for their play. In the center stood a tall execution platform.
“Defendant.”
The judge called to the accused. Seated at the highest bench was none other than a narrow-eyed boy.
“Defendant, Yosef Kramer. Do you have any last words?”
In the defendant’s seat, the devil was bound to the chair with ropes. Staring at the suddenly changed background, he could not regain his senses.
The judge smiled ominously.
“Then, from now on… we shall begin the sinner’s judgment.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With the echo of the gavel, the rope hanging from the execution platform filled the view. It was time for punishment.