Another spring has arrived, and the label of the old year has passed. Casting off winter coats, cherry blossoms bloom as if to welcome the people living here to a new year that not everyone can enjoy.
In an unusually clean room, filled with the scent of incense ready to welcome any guest daring enough to venture here, Shird sat silently on a soft bed, his eyes fixed on his trembling hands as if he had just committed some horrendous crime. He then looked up to find only a broken mirror in front of him, mumbling:
"Are you… Shird? Or… Wird? Or… Frans?"
"...Who are you?"
A loud call from outside the room broke the silence. Since the Nine Council's rooms are well-soundproofed, it could only be vaguely heard as a male voice. Shird quickly adjusted his clothes and opened the door.
"What…?"
Shird spoke in a hoarse voice, as if to pretend he had just woken up.
A young man and a boy appeared before Shird. The boy was holding a small monster rabbit with button-like eyes. With its weak, cute appearance, it seemed that the boy was quite well-liked by those around him.
"Shird! Why didn't you come to see my piano performance yesterday? I'm the great Yu!!!"
The boy expressed his anger, though he didn't seem very threatening. Shird laughed at his demeanor, patted the boy's head, and apologized. The boy's name, though short, was rather… warm? At least, that's what I think.
"Yu, did you forget our purpose in visiting Shird…?"
The young man named Free beside him seemed quite irritated by the boy's thoughtless words.
"Sorry, Shird, did you forget the appointment with Mao?"
Yu's "Sorry" was devoid of any real remorse and even had a hint of mockery that might have irritated anyone who heard it.
"Ah, sorry, but I just woke up. Could you please guide me there, Yu…?"
Even though Shird was only pretending to have just woken up, perhaps to keep a secret or for some deeper reason, he asked Yu to guide him instead of going on his own. Little Yu cheerfully agreed, and the scene of him holding Shird's hand while walking down the dark hallway of BH5 (Butterfly Headquarters: Base Number 5) was peaceful yet somewhat dreary. Despite both Yu and Shird smiling and chatting along the way, there was a hint of loneliness and detachment on Shird's pale face.
At the door of a room stood a girl waiting for Shird and Yu. Upon closer inspection… it was Setsuna! The one everyone feared in the Nine Council. Just the day before, she had almost frozen four subordinates to death. Even Neo and Free were afraid, not just of her power but also of her unpredictable temperament. Who knew what she might do to those who were late?
"Yu! How many times have I told you? If he oversleeps, you should just break the door down and not wait forever! Mao almost fainted waiting!"
Setsuna immediately grabbed Yu's shoulders and shook him in terror.
"Ugh… stop…"
Yu spluttered as he was shaken by Setsuna's immense force.
"Setsu! Stop it now, I'm here, don't make me say it again!"
Shird instantly shifted from his kind, gentle demeanor to a cold, stone-like composure, with his eyes showing no trace of warmth as he looked at Setsuna.
Setsuna immediately stopped, waking Yu and creating a comical scene.
"Gah! You b*tch!"
The boy Yu, upon waking, immediately lunged at Setsuna, probably seeking revenge. Luckily, Shird stopped him in time; otherwise, a chaotic battle might have erupted. Shird wondered what would happen if two false gods clashed.
"Are you done whining? Let's go in; Mao is waiting."
Setsuna said as she opened the door. The room revealed a soothingly decorated space with a comfortable bed and numerous game consoles beside the TV. The most striking feature was a cat rolling around the room like a ball.
"Ah, hello everyone, please have a seat, Shird."
She immediately jumped up like an energetic cat, brought a chair in a very "cat-like" manner, brewed tea in a very "cat-like" way, and sat on the chair in a very "cat-like" manner. Shird took a sip of the warm tea, his face filled with contentment at its flavor.
"Thank you for the psychological consultation, Mao."
"Goodness… you always say that. Don't worry, you don't have to feel indebted to me."
Mao said with a friendly smile and enthusiastic manner, in true style of a psychologist.
During the psychological consultation, Mao tried to talk to Shird, probing his innermost thoughts to address his mental weaknesses. Both Setsuna and Yu listened attentively, possibly to use the insights to help Shird. But as for Shird… he was listening, yes, but his aura at that moment was markedly different from usual, reeking of negativity and darkness.
"...What, in your opinion, is the most terrifying thing?"
In the midst of the consultation, Shird suddenly posed a peculiar question to Mao. Just with such a question, the atmosphere of the room, which had been very comfortable and pleasant, shifted to one of tension and suffocation due to Shird's seemingly trivial but heavy question. Everyone in the room was genuinely confused and uncertain about how to answer, especially Mao, who had no idea how to satisfy Shird as a psychologist.
"With my—"
Just as she was regaining her composure, trying to open her mouth to respond to Shird, he cut her off, making her completely unsettled by his "self-questioning" act.
"People often talk about death… but it's so abstract. No one can truly understand what death really is or what it will be like."
"Is it when we no longer have life?"
"Or is it when no one remembers us and we are completely forgotten…"
"It is because of this thing called 'death' that we temporarily set aside the fear of it."
"And for me, what is considered the most terrifying… is receiving a gift bestowed by the void."
His expression began to grow heavy, looking much more complex than before.
"And then the surprise is."
"When we look at our own hands and feet, we suddenly realize that we are that very void."
After finishing his statement, Shird looked up at Mao, revealing a face weighed down with anguish and sorrow.
As Mao was taken aback by Shird's words, a pale hand reached towards her, not to do something gentle, but towards her neck, gripping it violently.
"Can you understand even a little of what I just said? Huh?"
It was Shird, with an angry tone, using a tremendous force to squeeze Mao's neck despite her frail strength. He seemed to have lost control, his eyes devoid of life, filled with killing intent but also profound sadness.
"Yu! Stop Shird!"
"Umm… yes!"
Setsuna and Yu immediately intervened, restraining Shird. He soon hit the ground. Whether it was due to Shird's intent or the strength of the two restrainers, Mao was left in shock. The pressure from Shird's hands was so great that even a slight squeeze left a significant mark on her neck.
"Are you alright, Mao?"
"I'm fine…"
Despite saying she was fine, fear and trembling were evident on the face of the energetic cat-girl. Partly due to the injury, partly due to the shock from Shird's words about the greatest fear. She… felt completely helpless during the psychological therapy, a surge of helplessness almost made her cry, but she quickly wiped away these sentimental emotions.
"…Hey, you two… take Shird to Mobius… she'll take care of him."
"Of course, I was just thinking of her."
Yu immediately responded to Mao with a cheerful, optimistic tone, perhaps to cheer Mao up after the shock of being strangled, replying with a light, yet somewhat sad, smile.
"Thank you, Yu…"
"Alright, goodbye. I promise I'll make it up to you later!"
Setsuna lifted Shird and, together with Yu, hurried down the dark hallway as before. The only difference now was that a troubled soul was left behind in the bright room, with hair that had come loose from its tie.
"It's such a dismal day…"
…
"Mobius! Open the door!"
Setsuna knocked loudly on the white door of BH4. Yu, embarrassed by the amused glances of the surrounding staff, pulled on Setsuna's sleeve, speaking softly, his face red, looking both funny and endearing.
"Please… be a bit gentler… others are watching!"
"Oh, sorry. I'll be more decisive!"
Indeed, Setsuna's decisiveness meant she kicked the door open and entered with resolve. There was nothing inside. Setsuna and Yu entered, and though the boy called out a few times, there was no response. The most noticeable thing was the door at the end of the room labeled "Surgery Room." Yu looked at the door with a fearful gaze, perhaps triggered by the word "surgery," which might evoke something from his past. Setsuna looked at the door with a sardonic expression, wondering, "I wonder how many victims there have been already."
Creak!
When the two entered, what greeted them was the sight of Mobius and Dev, an 11-year-old from the Food Department, experimenting on a cat-rabbit hybrid. Dev appeared clumsy with the sewing needle as he attempted to stitch up a cut on its belly, but Mobius seemed uninterested in reprimanding him. Instead, she simply took a box full of tiny larvae.
"Hey, don't sew it all up, leave a hole for me."
"Yes!"
Mobius then took a tube that looked like a blood transfusion apparatus, but instead of life-giving red liquid, she inserted the tiny larvae into the tube and plugged it into the hole. After the transfer was complete, she quickly sewed up the final stitch, and Dev looked quite nervous about the scene.
"Umm… what is the purpose of these larvae, master?"
"Oh, right, this is probably the first time you've seen this. It's quite rare, so I had to buy it from illegal sources. Returning to your question, I haven't allowed you to ask yet, just observe."
"Yes…"
Without waiting for Dev to fully recover from his reaction to the master's response, the larvae inside the creature began to consume all its internal organs as their food. Crunch… crunch… even just watching, one could hear the horrific sounds from inside the creature's weak body.
"Ugh…"
"Look!"
As Dev felt nauseous and wanted to look away, Mobius adjusted Dev's position so he could see up close. The larvae emerged from the empty organs of the creature and began to "process" the corpse. In less than a minute, everything remaining of the cat-rabbit hybrid was clean as if it had never existed.
"Ugh… bleh!"
"Wonderful, beyond expectations."
"...Why do the larvae have the right to take the life of the cat-rabbit hybrid…?"
"...Dev, do you know that life is very fragile?"
"...I understand that, but why couldn't you send it off more gently?"
"I'll say this, and you might not understand until a few years later: the life of all creatures is the same, even for gods. So I ask you, what is the difference between the death of a human and a rabbit? They are no different; they are all death. Even if you turn the world upside down, you won't find a difference if you look at their essence."
Mobius explained to Dev after his vomit and innocent question. Meanwhile, Yu and Setsuna opened the surgical curtain, Yu staring blankly at Dev's breakdown and the larvae meandering around the operating table. Setsuna sighed at Mobius's actions. At that moment, she had no clear expression—whether she was happy or angry was anyone's guess, even to those in the room.
"Looks like the experiment was a resounding success, huh?"
"Yes, with these larvae, the problem of disposing of corpses on the battlefield has been solved."
"Anyway, Yu and I have some personal matters to discuss with you. Could you ask Dev to leave?"
Upon hearing this, Mobius understood and took off her medical attire for Dev, offering him a sweet smile completely different from her earlier demeanor, and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm sorry, kid. I may have been too reckless in teaching you this today. I promise the future lessons will be gentler, okay?"
"Umm… alright, master!"
"Alright, now go quickly, come back whenever you want ~"
With a motherly tone, Dev couldn't help but be swayed and left immediately. Mobius's beautiful smile only faded when she saw the boy's small figure leaving. She then turned around, completely changing from a cheerful, gentle demeanor to a cold, sharp tone.
"What's the matter?"
"...Mobius, your 'darling' strangled Mao again. This is the third time this month."
Setsuna tossed Shird to Mobius, who caught him with a complex but clearly disdainful expression toward Shird, who was unconscious.
"...Is he agitated again?"
"Yes… oh, and if you plan to punish him or anything… please be gentle. Shird… will be very hurt…"
Yu spoke fearfully at Mobius's unusual demeanor, not expecting a positive reaction to this request. However, she responded with an unusually cheerful and kind tone.
"Don't worry, Yu. I understand Shird better than anyone. I promise to talk to him gently, alright?"
"Umm… yes!"
Mobius extended her hand as if to make a promise to Yu, who happily followed her lead.
"It's time for your shift. Go back now; I'll take care of Shird."
The two immediately complied and ran back to their headquarters, leaving the two troubled individuals together.
"Hmm…"
"I'm back now."
Mobius's gentle voice rose after hearing Shird waking up. They looked at each other with strange expressions for a while before Shird suddenly embraced Mobius tightly. Shird had a peculiar trait of regressing to a childlike state, though the reason was unclear, only Mobius knew. This hug was from Shird as a "child," clinging tightly to her without noticing that his head was pressed against Mobius's chest. But unlike other children, he cried out loudly in deep sorrow.
"Oaa! I'm sorry, Mobius! I was so agitated that I strangled Mao, I'm so foolish, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"...I understand… I understand…"
Shird's cries echoed throughout the room as Mobius held him tightly. It was a mournful cry, a truly dismal night for the two of them, a night filled with sorrow…