A full nine seconds passed.
Only then did time begin to flow again.
The Foundation personnel outside the room continued their actions from before the pause, completely unaware. As if the world had never stopped for nine seconds.
This was the power of The World.
Satisfied, Haruto put away the system panel. Then, he handed the Arc Reactor over to the Foundation's research personnel.
As for the Panacea, he kept two pills for himself and placed the rest into the Foundation's containment. At the same time, he documented the Panacea's anomalous properties and uploaded the report to the Foundation's database.
After that, Haruto left the Foundation, got into a vehicle, and headed toward Kisemori Town.
By the time night fell, he had arrived at his destination.
This small town was situated in a lowland area, surrounded by a few modest mountain ranges.
The mountains weren't high enough to isolate Kisemori Town from the outside world, yet they seemed like a natural barrier, offering protection.
Such an environment was reminiscent of a utopia, a paradise hidden from the world.
Unfortunately—
Standing at a high vantage point, Haruto looked down at the town and shook his head. The actual scene of Kisemori Town was far more tragic than what the images had shown.
Earth and stone were overturned, buildings were shattered by unknown forces, and the entire landscape of the town had nearly changed.
Closing his eyes slightly, Haruto held his breath.
Spreading out his perception, he began searching for anomalous entities within Kisemori Town. A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing across his face.
"There's actually a survivor."
Kisemori Town had been devastated for seven days.
The D-Class personnel sent in afterward had all perished.
Under such circumstances, there was still a survivor?
Under the cover of night, Haruto swiftly rushed toward a certain direction in Kisemori Town. With just a few leaps, he had already entered the town's boundaries.
The roads were in complete ruin.
The cement and asphalt roads looked as if they had been clawed at by something, covered in jagged, twisted fissures.
Walking through these crevices, Haruto finally arrived outside a destroyed and dilapidated building. The aura of the survivor was inside.
Looking up, Haruto realized—
This was an orphanage.
Stepping inside, Haruto frowned.
At the entrance alone, there were numerous dried bloodstains and severed limbs. The people who had been killed seemed to have been brutally smashed apart by something.
Flesh and blood splattered in all directions.
A survivor... still struggling to live in such an environment?
Thinking of this, Haruto quickened his pace.
He easily cleared away the debris at the entrance. Then, he stepped into the orphanage. The hallways bore countless signs of destruction, with dried blood staining the ruins.
Finally, Haruto stopped outside a particular room.
On the floor lay a fallen plaque.
Picking it up and flipping it over, he saw the words: Restroom.
Pushing open the door, Haruto saw a small, curled-up figure in the corner.
It was a petite girl.
A frail body, snow-white hair. Long, unkempt bangs covered her face. Beneath the bangs, a yellowed white cloth was tied over her eyes.
Haruto's gaze swept over the girl's attire.
It was a dress, washed so many times it had turned slightly yellow. The hem had been torn, and the cloth covering her eyes clearly came from it.
Hearing movement, the girl visibly trembled. Then, she raised her hands and covered her already blindfolded eyes.
Haruto took a few steps forward and gently embraced her.
This gesture was both to comfort her and to let her feel warmth, assuring her that the person before her was not a monster.
Sure enough, as she felt Haruto's warmth, the girl lowered her hands from her face.
"What's your name?"
Haruto asked softly.
"…Shiro…"
Shiro's voice was hoarse, her throat clearly in poor condition.
Haruto glanced at the floor.
Scattered around were a few biscuits.
It seemed Shiro had survived these seven days by relying on them and drinking tap water.
"It's okay now." Haruto reassured Shiro. "You're safe from now on."
The girl trembled slightly in his arms. But the expected sobbing didn't come.
"Did you kill the monster?"
Shiro asked hoarsely.
Clearly, she possessed a maturity and wisdom beyond her years.
"Not yet, but I will. Now that I've found you, you're completely safe. You've been through a lot."
Haruto's voice was filled with certainty.
"The monster is strong. Guns can't kill it."
Shiro didn't respond to the reassurance but instead provided what information she knew.
"When it attacks, it lets out sharp screams and cries. Its speed is so fast that it creates a sonic boom the moment it moves. The condition for triggering its attack might be seeing its face. The others were killed after looking at its face."
Hearing this, Haruto was momentarily stunned.
Shiro's information almost completely matched what the Foundation had determined using D-Class test subjects.
In fact, her details were even more precise.
Such calmness, such intelligence—
Was she a genius?
"Shiro, would you like to leave with me? Since you're in an orphanage, that means you can be adopted, right?"
Haruto suddenly asked.
The girl in his arms stiffened slightly, then murmured in a low voice:
"Shiro is a lonely, troublesome child who brings misfortune."
"That's fine. I'm very strong." Haruto added, "And besides, geniuses are often misunderstood by the world. Being lonely is normal."
Shiro was silent for a moment, then sniffed at Haruto's scent.
Finally, she whispered, "Okay."
"I'm Takamine Haruto. From now on, I'm your brother. Please take care of me."
He lifted Shiro off the ground and spoke gently.
She buried her head in his chest.
"I'm Shiro. From now on, I'm your sister. Please take care of me."
-----------------
Holding Shiro in his arms, Haruto stepped over the ruins and walked out. But just as he exited the orphanage, he heard faint sobbing.
Following the sound, Haruto looked over.
In the forest outside the orphanage, a thin, elongated figure was crouched there. Amidst the shattered trees and overturned earth—
A creature with unnaturally long limbs, an emaciated torso, and a grotesquely disproportionate body was squatting in the debris, covering its face and crying. Its limbs looked as if they were made of mere bones wrapped in thin skin, seemingly fragile enough to snap at any moment.
"Brother, don't look at it!"
Shiro immediately warned.
Haruto pressed her back into his embrace. Then—
"Za Warudo!"
The world turned gray, and everything fell into absolute stillness. Haruto quickly approached the crying figure from behind.
He extended his hand.
Black feathers rapidly grew from his palm and shot out—
Dozens of feathers wrapped around the creature's head.
From a distance, it looked as if a sack had been placed over its head.
Since seeing its face triggered attacks, why not just cover it?
With that done, the time stop had yet to end. After a brief thought, Haruto reached out and drew his blade,
Dojigiri Yasutsuna—
Gripping the treasured sword with both hands, he poured his full strength into it.
In the frozen world of stopped time, the ground suddenly cracked, but the fissures did not spread outward.
The blade slashed down from above. Wherever it passed, the air seemed to split apart, rippling outward in layers. When speed reaches a certain threshold, air becomes a viscous resistance; just like now, being sliced open.
After delivering this strike, Haruto released the sword and withdrew.
Time resumed. The world became vivid once more, and the flow of time continued.
A terrifying explosion resounded.
The strike of Dojigiri Yasutsuna still carried a dreadful momentum as it slashed downward.
Then…
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic ringing echoed.
The legendary blade, Dojigiri Yasutsuna, renowned for slaying great demons, shattered the moment it struck the slender, skeletal humanoid figure. The blade fractured into three segments, breaking apart instantly and flying off at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow.
Yet, the being struck by the treasured sword only had its flesh cut open, its bones remained entirely unscathed.
It didn't even react.
Still crouched there, face buried in its hands, weeping.
"Brother!"
Shiro called out in concern.
"I'm fine." Haruto reached out and ruffled Shiro's small head. However, when he turned his gaze toward the anomaly, he couldn't help but click his tongue in astonishment.
"It's practically indestructible."
[Anomaly: The Shy Guy(SCP-096). Object Class: Euclid.]
[This entity exhibits the following traits: It remains docile under normal circumstances. However, if any creature observes even a minuscule fraction, down to one ten-thousandth of a pixel of its face, it will enter a state of uncontrollable rage.]
[Possesses extrasensory perception (can instinctively detect when its face is being observed and pinpoint the observer's exact location).]
[Exhibits extreme mobility (its minimum speed is 35 km/h. under normal conditions, then reaching subsonic speeds when enraged; its upper limit is unknown. No known material can obstruct its movement).]
[Possesses immortality (its skeletal structure is virtually indestructible; its flesh has mid-to-low regeneration capability, but damaging it has no effect on the entity).]
Haruto retrieved the Foundation's satellite phone and dialed.
"Containment successful. Dispatch an armed unit to KisemoriTown for transfer operations."
"Under no circumstances should the entity's black feathered headpiece be damaged. No one is permitted to retrieve any recording devices that may contain visual data from within Kisemori Town."
"Also, send another armed team to the military base to delete… never mind, I'll handle it myself."
After issuing his commands, Haruto ended the call.