(Pov - Laura Cavendish)
Honestly, Laura began to question her own sanity. Although she had been indirectly saved by that anomaly who seemed like a simple, cute child, she knew that anomalies were generally hostile to humans—or rather, hostile to almost anything.
Moreover, despite its human-like appearance, it was clear that it was not human. After all, humans don't have bodies as pale and translucent as to look like ghosts. Although its eyes were normal now, Laura couldn't forget the swirling, glowing eyes from moments earlier, which seemed to pierce right through her soul.
Even with all these uncertainties, Laura saw a small glimmer of hope in the situation. If that anomaly really was hostile, it would have attacked by now. Moreover, with the speed it had demonstrated before, neither Laura nor the security team would have had any chance of defense—they'd probably have died without even understanding what hit them.
While she was lost in thought, Laura heard footsteps from behind. Turning around, she saw one of the security guards who had been accompanying her. Despite the critical situation, the man was much more skilled than he appeared. After all, he was the one who had practically decimated most of the dog-like monsters earlier.
"Are you really trying to communicate with an anomaly? Do you even think it can understand us?"
Laura couldn't answer that question. From her perspective, the anomaly seemed innocent at first glance. In a way, the earlier scene, with the anomaly removing the heart from the monster with its own hands, seemed almost like a hallucination.
"Do you have a better idea, Victor? Besides, if it really wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead. Did you see how it moved? I barely kept up"
Victor quickly made a scowl as he recognized that Laura was right. Even with several years of experience dealing with "fast" creatures, he hadn't been able to perceive any movement from the anomaly in front of him; it was as if time had stopped for a moment.
"Well, I don't think we need to worry too much. Just looking at it, you can tell it doesn't seem to want to hurt us"
Upon hearing Laura's words, Victor raised an eyebrow, expressing doubt.
"How can you seem so confident saying that?"
Despite asking the question, Victor wasn't prepared for what Laura would say next.
"Well... it's cute and doesn't seem like the type of kid that would hurt us, right?"
The question wasn't directed at Victor but at the anomaly. However, all the creature did was tilt its head again, showing confusion. Victor couldn't deny that it was incredibly cute. Compared to other anomalies—and even other children of the same age—its cuteness was remarkable.
"Laura, you haven't suffered any kind of mental attack, have you? Aren't you forgetting that just two minutes ago it ripped out the heart of one of the monsters and made the others flee in panic?"
"Now you're just being rude. Even so, I'm a respected researcher. I'm proud to say I'm one of the most promising"
Victor sighed upon hearing Laura's words and watched her adopt a relatively confident posture. It was typical of her to become so absorbed in a new research subject that she ignored everything else. However, even Victor had to admit that the anomaly was indeed strange.
As Laura had mentioned, the anomaly didn't seem particularly interested in them, or rather, didn't seem interested in anything in particular. While they were talking, its gaze was distant, wandering around in an almost ethereal way. The sight was somewhat unsettling.
"How adorable!"
Victor looked at Laura with a worried expression as he saw her gaze so absorbed and passionate towards the anomaly.
"Ah, whatever. Let's get out of here. I don't want to be here if those things come back. This forest gives me the creeps every time I'm in it"
Saying this, Victor went back to the other two remaining agents, instructing them to prepare for the withdrawal. Laura, on the other hand, kept her gaze fixed on the small anomaly in front of her. From the beginning, her goal had been to understand the reason for the strange behavior of anomalies in the forest.
This strange behavior had started a few days ago. Teams were periodically sent into the forest to report any changes, even the most subtle ones. So far, however, there had been no information about an anomaly like the one in front of them at that moment.
"Can you understand what I'm saying?"
Laura watched the anomaly in front of her with expectant eyes, but the response was only a curious, confused look, maintaining its cute demeanor. Laura wondered if she was suffering some kind of mental attack. Although it looked like a human child, it was still an anomaly. What intrigued her most was the anomaly's similarity to a human; she had never seen anything like it before.
"Laura, everything is ready. We can leave now. I've communicated with the rest of the team outside the forest, and they said nothing unusual has occurred. It seems that the anomalies' unusual behavior hasn't affected the anomaly in the forest"
Laura sighed in relief upon hearing Victor's words. She could hardly imagine the chaos that would unfold if the monsters managed to escape the forest. The world would likely plunge into complete disorder.
"Alright, let's go"
Laura turned around again and was surprised to find that the anomaly had disappeared. She quickly looked around until she finally spotted the anomaly behind one of the agents who was checking his equipment.
In a matter of seconds, a shot rang out in the area. The soldier had fired directly at the anomaly, creating a hole in its body. However, the anomaly continued to stare at the agent, who trembled in fear. The gun fell from his hands as he collapsed on the ground, sitting awkwardly.
At that moment, everyone present shared the same thought: the man was definitely dead. However, as everyone watched, the wound on the anomaly healed completely within seconds. Nothing else happened; the anomaly continued to stare at the agent for a while before losing interest and returning to Laura's side, this time holding a part of her white lab coat.
"... What exactly just happened?"