Report
Emergency Command PT-4891 Termination Report
Estimated Fatalities: ██
On October 22, 2███, around 8 PM, all communications suddenly ceased from personnel dispatched to anomaly 4891.
Communications were not restored until midnight, prompting the Management Office to activate emergency alerts according to facility lockdown procedures.
A total of █ special task forces were deployed, but similarly to before, all communications were cut off after entering the facility.
Before executing final containment measures, the anomalous entity 163-19 and a temporary support team were deployed.
Twenty hours later, an Mw █.5 earthquake occurred at the coordinates of the anomaly, and the mission was successfully terminated.
Survivors List
Name: Elijah Moore
Rank: Field Agent, Base 17
Physical Examination Results: Compound fracture of the left arm and multiple contusions and fractures throughout the body
Elijah was a member of the temporary support team for anomalous entity 163-19, dispatched during the emergency triggered by anomaly 4891.
The emergency was successfully resolved, confirming partial control over anomalous entity 163-19.
Name: Cooper Reynolds
Rank: Incident Response Agent, Anomaly 4891
Physical Examination Results: Minor gunshot wound and multiple contusions throughout the body
He is the sole survivor among the field agents present during the emergency triggered by anomaly 4891.
He followed protocol to evacuate to a safe area during the incident.
Despite interviewing him as the only survivor among the personnel, the fundamental cause of the emergency could not be ascertained.
Name: Eleanor Green
Rank: Field Agent, Special Task Force Echo-5
Physical Examination Results: [Censored]
The subject is currently isolated and—
“Oliver.”
“Hmm?”
The voice coming from the front disrupted Oliver’s focus as he read the report.
He instinctively turned his head. In his line of sight was a girl with messy hair, looking at him with a slightly dissatisfied expression.
“…Ah, I’m sorry. I was just a bit confused about the situation regarding the recent incident.”
After a brief silence, Oliver, having grasped the current situation, sought the girl’s understanding.
He had summoned her to his room for some reason, but he hadn’t noticed her presence because he was engrossed in the report about the recent incident.
“There were an excessive number of anomalies, entities appearing in the facility, and the sudden rampage of anomaly 4891… I don’t know why, but everything feels just plain unnatural.”
His gaze returned to the report.
If you think about it, this incident had always been strange.
Anomaly 4891 had been a site where many mysterious events occurred even before, yet it had been successfully contained under the management of the Office for a long time.
Yet, without any signs, a severe containment failure occurred to this extent.
Oliver couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling regarding this incident.
“Well, even if you ask, I can only tell you what I’ve seen.”
“Well, that’s true. After all, it’s my job to investigate this. Sorry for bothering you.”
But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
Either way, the girl had already told him everything she had seen,
and more than that, the reason he called her today wasn’t to interview her about the previous incident.
“…Are they all okay?”
Just as Oliver was about to get to the main point, the girl spoke up, as if inquiring about someone’s well-being.
“Are you asking about Agent Elijah?”
“No, all three of them.”
“The rescued agents? I heard there’s no life-threatening condition, but… why the sudden interest?”
“I just, you know, wanted to know…”
Oliver looked at the girl, who questioned him in a rather unusual manner.
Having seen her cool demeanor until now, it felt strange to see her suddenly concerned about others.
Especially since those individuals were merely agents she’d only interacted with for a day rather than research staff she spent a considerable time with.
Of course, she seemed unusually shy, scratching her cheek, causing Oliver to regard her with a puzzled expression.
“Anyway, what was the reason for calling me today?”
Sensing the subtle atmosphere, the girl quickly shifted the topic.
Reluctantly ignoring his curious thoughts, Oliver started to return to the main point.
“Oh, it’s nothing special. Just wanted to ask you a few things before we proceed with the planning.”
“Ask me what?”
“Like, for example, about your title.”
The mention of a title made the girl slightly frown.
She thought it was too late to come up with a new title considering she had no intention of revealing her name.
“I don’t remember. You can just call me whatever you’ve been calling me.”
“Sorry, but that might be a bit tricky. There are way too many entities with the designation 19 in this base.”
“…Then why didn’t you just call me something else from the beginning?”
“Unfortunately, at that time, we had no way of knowing about your existence.”
In fact, it was not common for the Management Office to modify the serial numbers assigned to entities.
With the complexity of managing numerous anomalies, changing names arbitrarily would only cause confusion in handling information.
Unless there was a major incident, there was no need to change a set name.
“Did you know? You’ve already neutralized four anomalies. Two of which were physically unmanageable, and the other two were rated with the highest level of danger.”
And conveniently, now was the time when that major incident had just occurred.
It was an extraordinary situation that sequentially neutralized anomalies that had seemed unmanageable,
and it was not something to be brushed off lightly.
Referring to the existence that triggered this incident with just a two-digit serial number seemed ludicrous given how many entities shared that designation.
“This is something unprecedented in all the records held by the Management Office. To be honest, I even doubt whether you can still be categorized as an anomaly.”
Of course, his words didn’t merely stem from the concern that the girl’s designation overlapped with others.
Even if a different name were to be assigned to an anomaly, it would only serve as another serial number,
and the name she wanted wouldn’t be formally reflected in the report.
“A lot of people will be interested in your achievements. And surely, information about you will attract quite a bit of attention.”
Thus, it was just a simple suggestion for self-introduction.
Not to record something for an investigation as a researcher,
but simply a gesture devoid of any significant purpose to communicate with the person in front of him.
“I want you to not just be recognized as a mere serial number.”
“…Why?”
“In our world, we attribute a great deal of meaning to names.”
He responded to the girl’s question.
The girl still seemed puzzled, not fully grasping his words, but nevertheless, he continued.
“We assigned serial numbers to distinguish what we call anomalies. However, those entities remain beyond our understanding, and thus, despite being just a number attached to them, we still feared them.”
Anomalies are inherently things that inflict harm upon humans.
This fact hadn’t changed since the discovery of anomalies.
Thus, those affiliated with the Management Office naturally viewed entities with serial numbers as monsters.
“But you are different. You are clearly an entity capable of communication and understanding. There seem to be those above thinking this is a deception, but at least I don’t think that’s true.”
Names serve a purpose. They give identity. They provide a reason for existence.
The girl is undoubtedly different from previous entities. Yet, is it not simply due to her memory loss?
Even if she never recovers her memories, if treated only as a serial number, wouldn’t she eventually lose the ambiguous humanity she displays?
“I do not wish for you to be perceived as an incomprehensible entity from another world like other anomalies. And I hope you also don’t see this place as a mere bewildering world.”
Thus, he wished to grant the girl an individuality as a human.
Even if one day the hidden essence within her might reveal itself,
he hoped that the humanity growing from her inner self would suppress that awakening.
“….”
As his words came to an end, the girl silently gazed at him.
A moment of silence.
And soon after, her mouth opened, flowing with the same tone as her usual voice.
“So, in the end, you’re just saying not to think weirdly and keep helping with work, right?”
“Not exactly in that tone…”
Oliver murmured with a slightly flustered voice.
The girl’s reaction was more indifferent than expected, and he couldn’t shake the feeling she saw through his intentions.
Yet, that didn’t bring him a bad mood.
After all, he knew her goodwill wasn’t just empty words, and her having received kindness after so long, even if she wasn’t accustomed to it, undoubtedly got her spirits up.
“But, well… got it. I’ll think about it.”
Once again, the girl’s voice softly echoed in the room.
An ambiguous atmosphere where it was hard to tell whether it was affirmative or negative.
Oliver couldn’t help but show a slight expression of ambiguity before soon releasing a small sigh and shifting the conversation to another topic.
“…Thank you. Now regarding the support team―――”
In the deep darkness, in a place resembling an ancient temple.
Only a single candle faintly flickered, barely illuminating the surrounding area, where a monk quietly sat on the floor.
—clap, clap, clap, clap—
A hollow sound echoed repeatedly.
The source of the sound was the wooden block the monk held in his hands.
The heavy, deep noise was certainly repetitive, yet it felt more absurd than sacred.
The monk, with his face concealed and barely revealing any gender, quietly shook the worn-off robe.
In front of an artificially created altar, he continued to strike the wooden block.
“Ascetic.”
From not far away, someone called out to the monk.
Clap.
As they struck the wooden block, the monk softly placed it down and quietly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
“What is it?”
“Regarding this operation…”
The voice emanated from a man clad in medieval armor, his expression revealing an element of discomfort.
It was understandable.
He was about to relay the inevitable failure of their operation.
Especially considering how much effort had been poured into the operation, it wouldn’t be strange for him to feel the pressure just from sharing such news.
“Oh, if it’s about the operation, you don’t have to tell me. It was bound to fail.”
Yet, the monk spoke as if he knew this from the start.
Without it sounding significant, the monk appeared blithely unconcerned.
The armored man blinked a few times, momentarily shocked before once again inquiring about the operation.
“Did you know?”
“Of course. This operation was never aimed at success.”
“What? But… there was clearly a long investment in this operation, wasn’t there?”
The monk’s statement elicited confusion from the armored man.
The effort they had put into the facility had been ongoing for quite some time.
If the missile sleeping beneath that facility were unleashed across the globe, it would undoubtedly bring significant progress to their project.
That was why they disrupted the launch control of the facility, amplified the anomalies, and unleashed them.
So why did he treat this operation as if it were undoubtedly destined to fail?
The man was simply bewildered by the monk’s remarks.
“Indeed, they have poured countless efforts into that facility. And the time and toil spent there were invaluable.”
The monk accepted the documents from the man.
Inside those documents were numerous photographs capturing the interior conditions of the facility filled with various inexplicable phenomena and entities.
“However, sometimes there are things of greater importance than such efforts. Humility, kindness, virtue… or perhaps, certainties.”
The monk rapidly flipped through the photographs, seemingly gazing at nothing in particular.
The images of incomprehensible phenomena and entities blurred into ghostly remnants, ultimately finishing with nothing but the sight of something terribly ruined.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“That’s alright. One day, you too will come to understand.”
Attempting to reassure the bewildered man?
The monk placed a hand on the shoulder of the armored man, causing him to naturally kneel on one knee.
With a soft thud, the floor reverberated slightly.
The vibrations caused one of the photographs held by the monk to drop, fluttering before landing near the floor.
“Seems like…it’s about time to meet.”
The last photo that fell from the documents captured the image of a girl gazing directly at the camera from a distance.
