The Time to Hatch from the Egg
Before the sun rose over the outside world, the city lay shrouded in a veil of darkness. Most people were asleep, and only patrol officers and vagrants moved along the streets. An officer who had been ordered to seal off the roads until dawn suddenly heard a strange sound. He saw a manhole cover rattling violently. In the distance, it sounded like something was exploding, and the entire ground seemed to hum and vibrate. The officer stopped in his tracks, seized by an eerie sensation. He stared at the manhole ahead. The ground that had been writhing as if alive had gone still.
…Was it just his imagination?
The moment he turned away, muttering that it must have been his mind playing tricks, a thunderous BOOM erupted. The manhole exploded outward. It wasn’t gunpowder or pressurized water that had blown it open. It was a monster. If you plucked every last hair from a drowned human corpse, it might look something like this creature. One after another, such monsters climbed up from the sewers onto the surface. The same scene was unfolding across the entire city.
Some officers screamed. Others radioed for backup. And the thousands of monsters ignored the officers right in front of them, sprinting down the streets. Gunshots rang out—bang! bang! bang! bang!—but the creatures kept advancing even as bullets tore through their bodies, spraying green blood. It was as if that was all they knew how to do. Like they were staging some grotesque protest, they left their traces all over the city. Chunks of monster flesh and splatters of green fluid painted the streets and building walls.
In the midst of it all, certain specimens ignored everything else and charged straight into the homes of government officials and wealthy elites, as though following a particular stench. They paid no attention to the wives, children, or kitchens, only tearing apart the insects they found there. The families of those “insects” screamed in terror. Citizens jolted awake by the midnight chaos added their own shrieks upon spotting the monsters, and the wail of sirens soon filled the city, accompanied by gunfire and explosions.
The officers fired their weapons. The monsters died. And the research lab that had spawned them collapsed in real time. It was shattered to pieces by the bombs detonated by their creator as he fled. The pillars gave way first, then the building itself tilted and slammed into the ground. Countless structures spread across the vast compound rained down debris, intent on burying the two people inside along with the secrets they concealed. A sea of rubble formed, rising into a mountain.
And one particular officer watched the live burial in silence. Chin resting on his hand, he observed the new ordeal bestowed upon humanity with a look of fascination. Suddenly, he murmured,
Demian.
At last, he opened his eyes.
When Demian Cloud regained consciousness, he tried to gauge how much time had passed, then quickly gave up. His entire body felt heavy, the world was pitch black, and he couldn’t get a sense of anything. The only things he could register were the throbbing pain in his head, the sensation of blood flowing, and the crushing weight of debris that continued to press down on him from all sides, trying to smother him.
‘……Ah.’
There was one more thing.
His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, and he soon noticed the young lamb gazing up at him from within his arms. She was the reason he had fallen all the way down here.
Demian Cloud looked at the girl, who had finally stopped crying, and confronted his own question.
‘……Why am I here?’
He had given up so much for the sake of his dream. Not only the toys and innocence of his childhood, but also his duty and pride as a human being. He had willingly stripped himself of the freedom and opportunities to live an ordinary life. During the day, he had built a respectable company; at night, he had slaughtered countless criminals. He had made a pact with a demon. He had become a pest that killed people and broke the law. He had lived the life of an insect.
It was true that he had also worked to protect the happiness of good people and to save them. But was a single survivor important enough to throw away all that time? No, it wasn’t. He was confident he could make far more people smile. He had been ready to turn a blind eye to anything for the sake of his dream.
So why was he here?
After sacrificing so much over such a long period to chase that dream, why had he done this? Everything had been going according to plan—why had he thrown himself in? What on earth had possessed him to save her?
‘……Why did I save her?’
He hadn’t jumped in because he was certain he would survive. He hadn’t planned to beg the demon for his life, nor had he calculated that his underpowered suit could dig through all this rubble. He had simply thrown himself forward. He had cast aside all the time he had spent until now, his very life, to save Inspector Ellyse Bertman.
Why?
Demian Cloud asked himself. It couldn’t be for some trivial reason. He wanted to know why he had chosen to be crushed beneath the mountain. He needed to find a reason he could accept. He had to find it and come to terms with it. Any element that could harm his future plans had to be cut away. Hesitation and compassion—he had to set them down right now and move on.
Demian Cloud stared at the girl in his arms, holding her tightly as he thought.
Why am I here?
What was the reason he had abandoned his dream and saved Ellyse Bertman?
Because she was the child he had personally rescued as a boy? Because she was a righteous person who had chosen to become an inspector? Because she was someone who contributed to the world, never abandoned her duty, and fought monsters to the end? Or was it simply because that inspector was a beautiful woman? Had he thrown himself in because he was captivated by her appearance? Had he given up everything he had built just to obtain something so insignificant?
No. That wasn’t it.
Then what had he thrown his life away for? What reason could possibly…
Demian gritted his teeth and endured the weight that was slowly crushing him. He glared at the woman in his arms who looked up at him with clear, bright eyes. Even when she had been rescued from a monster, even when she had faced him, she had shed tears. Yet now, at the brink of death, she showed no fear at all. How could she face this moment with such composure?
……Why did I save her?
When Demian asked himself once more, a crack appeared—crunch. The lower half of his mask shattered. Fragments fell away and vanished somewhere. The realization sent a chill through Demian. Ellyse Bertman, on the other hand, looked at the man who had saved her yet again today and finally let go of her sense of duty.
In this space, isolated from all the responsibilities and roles of the outside world, she momentarily forgot her identity as an inspector. She faced the man before her simply as someone who had been saved.
‘His real face must be behind that mask.’
Though she could only see the corner of his mouth, she knew he was rigidly bearing the full weight. She knew he was in pain from the blood streaming down. Ellyse Bertman, who had accumulated countless curiosities over the years, wanted to ask him so many more questions. But in this situation where they could be crushed to death at any moment—or rather, in a situation where she might have to burn her own life to save his—there was no time for many words.
Whichever way it ended, this would be their final brief moment.
Therefore, after careful thought, she decided to fulfill the one wish she had cherished for so long.
Ellyse reached out and gently wiped away the blood flowing down his face. She stroked his cheek. This was the person she had longed to touch for so long. A surge of joy filled her, and she finally whispered the words she had wanted to say for years.
She had wanted to say those words for such a long time. Ellyse Bertman smiled brightly. She closed her eyes, preparing to meet her end.
And Demian Cloud, watching her, realized his own weakness anew. He had thought he had given up so much, had resolved to become an insect, yet it seemed he had never truly abandoned his humanity. Foolishly, he still longed for human warmth.
Until now, he had not let out a single groan. But as his vision began to blur, he quietly whispered,
At the low sound of his voice, Ellyse flinched and opened her eyes. She was startled again by the arms that tightened around her waist. Demian pulled the woman fully into his embrace and released the weight that had been crushing him. He gave up on bearing it.
For some reason, his mind felt clear and his shoulders felt light. Strength surged through him. Even if it meant facing death, there were things he had to do. So he would simply do them.
Demian Cloud lifted his head and looked up at the world that had trapped them. There was no longer any time to wonder why he had fallen into this pit. Perhaps he didn’t even need to. He might have to break through countless walls and scatter pain and blood. No—he surely would. But Demian no longer hesitated. He rose upward, solely to survive, or to save her.
He shattered the ceiling and swam through. To face the world beyond, he had staked his life and offered up this very moment. It had been a long wait. And it was a fleeting happiness.
At last, Demian reached the summit of the mountain. Holding her in his arms, he emerged into the outside world. He stared blankly up at the sky. Perhaps because he had been in darkness for so long, the world looked brighter than usual. There was radiance there.
The sun had risen.