The Spores Are Screaming—But I’m the One Behind the Curtain
The spore storm outside howled with relentless fury, spewing spores like blood-red hail that clawed at the windows.
It was pure luck that I hadn't found Makahina yet.
I hoped the kid was still alive somewhere out there, kicking and laughing like he always did.
That was the temporary ceasefire we’d reached.
Since the common goal had finally aligned, there was no point draining energy on meaningless squabbles right now. The moment wasn’t screaming for a fight anyway.
…No, actually, this situation was perfect for using.
Once my head cleared, the calculations snapped into place so fast it felt unfair.
Our interests lined up perfectly for an alliance, but using this exact moment to my own advantage? Why not?
Just looking at Libera standing there already gave me the exact estimate.
She wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and grab me by the throat right this second.
She couldn’t say it outright with her colleagues watching, but her eyes burned with pure venom.
It was honestly hilarious to watch.
One of the agents couldn’t hold back any longer and asked carefully.
“You… you’re not really Elia, are you?”
Well, I had to answer that.
“Hmm. Why don’t you ask the one standing right there, Libera? She’s the one who’d know if I’m Elia or not.”
Every eye in the room snapped toward Libera.
She kept her mouth clamped shut, lips pressed tight.
She clearly had a lot to say, yet she wasn’t opening her mouth.
I could guess why, though.
The silence stretched on, and the hope slowly drained from the agents’ faces.
“…Yeah, it can’t be real.”
“Exactly. How could someone who’s supposedly dead come back?”
Eventually they settled on the direction that made the most sense: “That woman is someone who looks exactly like Elia.”
Her stance was crooked, one leg crossed arrogantly over the other.
Her tone had grown far more haughty than before.
And her gaze when she looked down at me carried pure disdain.
It was nothing like the gentle Elia I used to know.
If she had been completely different from head to toe, the agents would have been much more comfortable.
But what could I do? I was the perfect version of Elia, after all.
If I’d been a fake, there wouldn’t be traces of the real me scattered everywhere.
Well, who am I kidding? I’m real, so of course they’re reacting this way.
Ah, right. Since it’s a Customizing body, it’s not the real me anyway.
Just then, our eyes met. She’d been waiting for this exact moment and demanded through gritted teeth.
“You didn’t do anything weird with that body, did you?”
“Weird how?”
“You’re asking if you used that body for anything weird somewhere else.”
Weird?
Ah, I caught on quick.
“I didn’t infect anyone.”
That was the answer from a Receptor’s perspective.
Technically speaking, the word “infect” was wrong.
It was the process of creating a new Receptor from scratch.
Libera wasn’t an idiot; she’d figured out my true meaning anyway.
Arguing over the exact wording felt pointless.
“Correct. I can confirm that.”
Red nodded from the side without hesitation.
“…Hah.”
Libera finally took one step back.
She knew how sensitive I could get about Red, so if Red was vouching for me, she had to believe it was real.
In the tense silence, the Administrator spoke up as if to clear the air.
“…Makahina is most likely isolated in the tallest building in this sector.”
That building I’d seen while passing by.
Curious, I asked.
“Why would the little guy go there alone? It doesn’t make sense.”
“You don’t know about Sandrobel?”
Ah, right.
That was something we should all know.
Red answered.
“She ran away. Literally.”
“Red……”
“That’s what she did, isn’t she?”
“Ran away” was a stretch, but close enough.
The Administrator continued, clearly accepting my suspicion.
“There’s something important there.”
“Important? Why would anyone risk their life chasing a ‘thing’?”
I still didn’t get it.
Well, unless it was the dead’s leftover goods or something.
We could discuss the details later.
Right now, I needed to get the kid.
Red muttered to herself like a soliloquy.
“Get her? I wish she could just wait in a nice, safe environment like I did back then.”
Her face looked strangely emotional, not like Red at all. She was probably thinking about her own past, not Makahina.
“True. It’s a tall building, so maybe she’s on a high floor. No way she’s stuck in the basement, right?”
“You……”
Red shot me a glare, clearly baited.
She’d almost died in the basement during the spore storm, after all.
“The monsters are everywhere outside. The second the storm lets up, we’ll send in troops.”
When the spores come, going outside means death. That’s for everyone’s safety.
Of course, from our point of view.
“Wait? That’s just picking up the remains. I have to go now.”
“What?”
Libera sounded exasperated.
“I saw the bodies outside when I crawled in here.”
She pointed at the blood-red storm raging beyond the window.
“Humans gone mad, swinging bats like they’re monsters. If a monster discovers an isolated survivor, would they really just leave them?”
“……”
Plus, Makahina was just a kid.
She shouldn’t even have been in a place like this to begin with.
I’d have to talk to her mother later.
“You might be right. But relying on a gas mask? Too risky.”
“I can go.”
“What?”
“You know I can.”
Thud.
The Administrator slammed the table, watching everything.
“You can go? What does that mean?”
“Literally. I can go.”
“No matter how strong a mutant is, if they’re human, they can’t survive a spore storm without a mask. Ninety-nine percent chance of infection.”
“Ooh, you got it right.”
As expected of the Administrator.
“Can an already infected monster infect someone else?”
The room fell deathly silent.
So quiet I almost felt uneasy.
‘Ah, anyone, just say something.’
“Cough, cough!”
Just not a cough.
“……What?”
“M-monster?!”
“You?! You look totally fine!”
“You’re speaking normally? If infected with spores, you’d lose your mind right away!”
A barrage of questions hit me.
One by one would have been much easier, but some of them were annoying.
‘They have to go completely mad…’
They knew one thing but not two.
Someone backed away in terror, while others reached for their swords then hastily pulled back.
The Administrator kept opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish.
“W-wait. A monster that keeps its intelligence and reason? There’s no precedent. Just a metaphor, right?”
Calling yourself a monster was exactly the cognitive dissonance people tried to avoid.
“Humans always try to wrap reality in lies like that.”
If I let it keep going, we’d be up all night.
I decided to be kind and feed them the real answer.
“Receptor.”
“Receptor…?”
“Want me to explain it at your level? A ‘brainwashing monster’ that keeps intelligence and reason while controlling humans.”
One agent asked with a dazed face, stammering.
“T-that’s impossible… That’s the worst infection strain that went extinct ages ago……!”
“Ooh.”
I turned my head as if a little surprised.
“You know your stuff.”
I walked closer to the agent, my wariness level still at maximum.
I didn’t care. I tapped my temple with my finger.
“So, how would you describe my eyes right now?”
“T-that, what the——”
“Answer.”
The agent swallowed dryly, voice cracking.
“R-red…… It’s, it’s like blood……”
“Correct.”
I gave a satisfied smile.
“These red eyes are the perfect proof that I’ve completely settled into Elia’s body.”
Calling my own name in the third person was starting to feel natural.
I scanned the faces of Libera and the agents, wiping the playful smirk from my lips and lowering my voice to an icy tone.
“So it’s best to crawl away and pretend you saw nothing. One wrong mood from me and your lives could vanish in an instant.”
The agents looked completely broken, eyes vacant.
Perfect.
I was secretly savoring the black villain vibe.
The Administrator asked next.
“If Receptors are fundamentally like spores, then they can infect others too. Exactly how do you do the infection?”
“That’s……”
So on the nose for the Administrator.
Her question was sharp, but the answer was vague.
“Hey, Administrator. Even villains have privacy, you know.”
Privacy? What?
‘Is this supposed to be an explanation? That I scratched at your underground rant earlier, and you’re paybacking me with the perfect timing?’
“Privacy? What does that mean?”
“To infect someone, you have to use your body stealthily. Curious?”
“Red.”
Red just grinned like nothing had happened, not a single ripple.
Hah. All the dramatic tension I’d built up, ruined in one sentence.
“I’m going alone to get Makahina.”
◆◇◆
In short, we agreed I’d go alone.
Libera had ultimately accepted my abilities.
“Red, stay here.”
“Eh? Why leave me behind! I want to go too!”
“You’re human.”
“Just put on a gas mask!”
“It’s annoying and restricts movement. I’m better alone.”
“You’re treating me like luggage?”
“You’re weaker than me.”
“Damn it. Thanks to Elia’s power……”
Old Red peeked out for a moment.
As situations went, Red’s instincts were probably surfacing too.
“You’ve got bad memories of this storm.”
Red roughly holstered her gun.
“You’d be the same even if you got infected, just like old Elia?”
“……”
Why does that make me similar?
I’m nothing alike.
It shouldn’t be similar.
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll watch from here. Hurry back, partner~?”
With that, I closed the door.
I walked down the corridor, passed through another door, and finally stood in front of the last iron gate leading outside.
The second I turned the handle, the blood-red spore storm slammed in like a tidal wave, the horrible stench stabbing my nostrils.
It was fine.
‘Since it’s a fake body in the first place.’
I set off toward the tallest building, where Makahina was isolated.
“Krrrk……!”
Infected people covered in mold-like spores blocked my path.
I drew my sword from my waist.
With a swing, the monster’s head was severed, and it collapsed lifelessly.
Blood droplets rained down, staining the surroundings crimson, and the pungent smell grew thicker.
“Kieeeeek!”
Slashing through the horde, I advanced silently.
I wasn’t infected by spores.
I didn’t need a gas mask to hold my breath or block my vision, so there were no restrictions on my movements.
I arrived at the building in no time.
Crash!
I kicked the half-crushed revolving door with my boot.
I stepped into the lobby.
“……Inside or outside.”
The inside was a total mess too.