“Then I’ll open it.”
When the iron bars restraining the Scrap Metal Doll opened, it slowly walked out.
Restraint chains bound its entire arms.
No matter how strong it was, it shouldn’t be able to snap those chains in an instant.
“Move!”
Just a few steps, and it would be in the new isolation chamber.
However, no one let down their guard.
Even with its arms unusable, its lethality had been proven.
“Close it!”
Once it entered the inner part of the isolation room, the door began to shut.
Now it was truly almost over.
Unless it went berserk at the very end.
“Confirmed isolation of identified entity Scrap Metal Doll. Good work.”
It felt as if all the strength was draining from my body.
Now I could finally put one worry to rest.
What a relief.
“Thankfully, it ended without incident.”
“Don’t even mention it. You have no idea how tense I was.”
“You must feel a bit relieved now.”
“Relieved, my ass.”
How could I feel relieved when that thing was still alive and staring with both eyes wide open?
If it died, maybe. But not yet.
Still, I’d have to place my faith in the fact that things might be different here.
“Will you be leaving right away?”
“Ah, yes. I have to file a report, too.”
“Understood. Then please return safely.”
Chester gave a slight bow and disappeared deeper into the facility.
“Let’s go. We still have a lot to do.”
“Yes, understood.”
First, let’s head back.
From now on, this is their problem to handle.
+++
“Director, the guests have left.”
“Have they? Then, as tradition dictates, we should do that.”
“Are you really going to? I don’t particularly want to.”
“I’m the one doing it anyway, so why are you acting so put-upon?”
“I’m telling you, that thing only riles them up for no reason.”
“Ha, you brat. You’re damn picky.”
“Yes, yes. You know whose teachings made me this way, don’t you?”
“Wow, I could dump the director’s seat on you right now and you’d do just fine, wouldn’t you?”
The adjutant left the director’s office while dry-heaving.
With reactions that entertaining, how could I not tease him?
“Then, shall I go do some work?”
+++
“Ahh, I finally feel alive.”
It seemed the long headache had finally settled down.
Just how long had I been asleep?
Maybe it was because I’d slept in a strange position, but my body felt creaky.
After all, when I stretched like this, I could hear the sound of metal.
Wait a second. Something’s strange.
No matter how weird a position I’d slept in, would it really make a sound like this?
With that question in mind, I looked at my arm.
“No, fuck, wait a second!”
I thought something was strange, and sure enough, something was seriously wrong.
My arm was made of metal, so of course it made metallic sounds.
Wait, why the hell is my arm made of metal?!
So, what, I somehow survived, but my arms got replaced with machines?
That explanation didn’t quite work, because the place where I’d woken up was strange, too.
A room blocked off by walls that looked solid at a glance.
It looked just like a prison.
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no way I could understand this situation.
“Then my original body…”
It was probably dead.
There had been plenty of guards who died because they couldn’t receive treatment, so there was no way a mere researcher like me would have survived.
Should I call myself lucky?
For now, I had survived in a different sense.
Though this wasn’t exactly the kind of life I wanted.
Just then, I heard someone approaching.
“Yo, this is your new home. How is it? You like it?”
Because the wall was transparent, I could tell someone was standing there.
Had they made it like this because there was a chance I’d destroy cameras?
“Hmm. Can you even understand speech? Doesn’t seem like it.”
If I wanted help, I’d first have to let them know I could talk, but let’s hold off on that.
Even if I babbled here about how I was actually human or whatever, there was no way they’d believe me.
For the time being, it would be easier to live like a mute.
“Ha, why is it so hard to find one I can communicate with?”
When I didn’t move at all, he seemed to lose interest and slowly disappeared from view.
I definitely saw the epaulet that person had been wearing earlier. It said 469.
Back when I lived buried in piles of documents, I’d seen information about Area 469 before.
A facility located on a remote island, where entities that had caused human casualties were isolated.
If my memory was correct, this was definitely Area 469.
“Guess escape is out of the question.”
Wait.
This might actually be an opportunity.
Honestly, would anyone go out of their way to mess with an entity that had caused human casualties like this?
No. Anyone in their right mind would never do such a thing.
In other words, even if I did absolutely nothing and just lazed around, there’d be no one to scold me.
Who in their right mind would take interest in a monster that had bitten off people’s heads?
They might be wary of me, but there was no reason they’d take an interest.
With that in mind, the first plan I came up with was:
Taking a nap.
“Wow, even lunch break was only thirty minutes. This is totally awesome, isn’t it?”
Back then, even lunch break hadn’t been enough, so I’d gotten by with cup noodles and the like.
I’d gone from being chased by time to having far too much of it.
When I hadn’t even had enough time to rest, when would I have found time for naps?
This was an opportunity.
An opportunity to sprawl out and sleep as much as I wanted!
“Man, this place is heaven.”
The only downside was that my actions were restricted, but so what?
Life as an Unknown might actually be pretty satisfying.
+++
“Nothing unusual, right?”
“Yes, nothing noteworthy so far.”
“I’ll be stepping out for a bit, so report immediately if anything seems strange.”
“Understood. Have a safe trip.”
Once the director left his seat, I turned my gaze back to the computer screen.
Thermal sensors had been installed to track the movements of most entities.
With these sensors, we could immediately tell what actions they were taking.
As I was checking them, I detected a strange movement.
“Hmm. Is this right?”
“What is it? What’s going on?”
Another team member guarding the control room checked the screen.
Likewise, even that team member tilted his head.
“Uh, that’s… possible, isn’t it?”
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen an entity lying down like that.”
Most entities either caused a ruckus in their isolation rooms or continuously wandered around.
They would scratch at the walls of the isolation room, or search for holes they could escape through.
It wasn’t as if there had never been a docile entity among them.
However, an entity lying down like that was practically a first.
“Watch the control room for a bit. I’ll go check.”
“Uh, yeah. Please do.”
Nah, the thermal sensor must have detected it wrong.
Wait, wouldn’t that actually be a bigger problem?
Of course, we did install additional surveillance cameras right in front of the entity isolation rooms.
But since the sight was hard to believe, it was better to check directly.
“Oh, you’re back.”
The guy who’d gone to check had arrived.
Judging from his expression, he looked like he had a lot to say.
“It really was lying down.”
“What?”
“I checked, and it was just lying there without moving. Like it was sleeping.”
“That’s a first.”
“Same for me.”
As if he still couldn’t believe it, he stared at the surveillance camera feed of the Scrap Metal Doll.
The thing was still lying down.
“Should we tell the director about this? No, the adjutant?”
“What would you even report?”
“‘The newly admitted entity is lying on the floor like a person’?”
“He’d probably reject it and ask if you have that little to do.”
“True. Unless he sees it himself, I doubt he’ll believe it.”
“Let’s just leave it alone. What could happen?”
“Should we?”
We decided to leave it alone.
It was a new environment, so maybe it needed time to adjust.
No, had it adjusted too quickly?
+++
“Eh, this is bad.”
It seemed I’d enjoyed the situation of my body changing like this far too much.
I’d ended up in a truly troublesome situation.
What should I do about this?
“My God, what kind of bastard takes a nap all the way until midnight?!”
This was a huge problem.
After sleeping that much, I looked like I might end up sleeping all day again.
“Wait, do I really need to sleep?”
Since I’d have to live in this body anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to get used to it in advance.
So I decided to test this and that.
“Come to think of it, it was able to pull out tentacle-like things.”
When I tensed my back hard, black tentacles wriggled and appeared.
I thought it would definitely feel disgusting, but I didn’t feel much of anything.
“I thought seeing them directly would make me recoil, but has my state of mind changed, too?”
For now, let’s start by practicing how to control the tentacles.
I thought it would be difficult, but they obediently moved according to my thoughts.
“It feels unfamiliar, yet familiar. As if they were originally mine.”
When I lifted the rags covering the body, the eyes of the tentacle cocoon were revealed.
The cocoon blinked its eyes and stared at me.
“Looking at it like this, it’s kind of cute.”
I really must have changed.
To think I’d find a cocoon like that cute.
My condition was serious. Seriously.
Then the next test was strength.
I was sure I was stronger than when I was human, but just how much muscle power did I have?
I lightly clenched my fist and threw a punch at the wall.
“Eh?”
Where my fist struck, cracks spread and fragments were crumbling off.
It was a tremor anyone would have noticed.
Ah, I’m fucked.
Aren’t they all going to come running because they think I’m trying to escape?
I hurriedly lay face down on the floor and pretended to sleep.
“No, if I’d known it was that strong, I would’ve held back.”
If it had been the type that fought with brute strength, I wouldn’t have felt so wronged.
Who could have known?
Who would have thought a single punch would leave a dent in the wall?
I’d assumed it fought with tentacles, but its raw strength was no joke either.
“This is all their fault for using such a fragile isolation room. I know nothing about it.”
Nah, surely not.
What are they going to do, scold me for breaking the wall?
Not my problem. Exactly.
“Damn, if I’m going to escape, it has to be today.”
Once they saw that mark, they would definitely think the isolation room walls were at risk.
It was obvious they would move me to a new isolation room with reinforced durability.
But Area 469 was located on an island.
Even if I escaped, it would only be a matter of time before I was caught.
For now, I decided to wait a little longer.
+++
A sharp sound that seemed to tear through the ears.
The sound of metal clashing against metal came from somewhere.
As if reacting to some stimulus.
It slowly raised its body.
As though the time had come.
Soon after, a dull sound filled the interior of the facility.
As if it could not accept the fact that it had been imprisoned, and was trying to escape.