Chapter 140: Nothing Was Asked
That evening, at the Special Division.
As Kamihara Shinji integrated the heart into his body, containing the anomaly, Kimura Kohei sat in his office, exhaustion etched between his brows. For days, he’d received no word from the Joint Research Society. He’d informed Nanba, the society’s president, about the Hell Girl anomaly, urging him to notify if any solutions arose. Yet, days later, Nanba hadn’t contacted him.
Kimura knew expecting a breakthrough in mere days was fanciful. Even the think tank was stumped on handling Hell Girl. Lost in thought, he felt the room tremble faintly. Unfazed—Japan, an earthquake-prone nation, experienced over a thousand minor quakes yearly—he barely registered it. But then, his office’s black phone rang.
Startled, he grabbed it. The black phone connected solely to Kamiyama. “What happened?” His voice was grave, recent events piling up, tempting thoughts of retirement.
“An earthquake struck around Kamiyama,” the liaison reported, voice cautious yet tinged with fear. “The source was inside the room.”
Inside the room? Kimura’s head spun. Earthquakes near Kamiyama typically didn’t warrant his notice, handled by specialists. This report jolted him. The room confined the ‘God.’ “Are you certain?” he pressed, steadying himself. “The source is the room, not underground?”
“Confirmed after multiple checks.”
Kimura said little, driving swiftly to Kamiyama. Arriving, he spotted a figure outside the room. “President Nanba.”
“Section Chief Kimura.”
Exchanging greetings, they stood side by side, gazes fixed on the building housing the ‘God.’ Under pressure, Kimura spoke first. “President Nanba, any thoughts on the quake originating inside?”
Nanba glanced at him, displeasure in his eyes. “The God killed Hell Girl once?”
Kimura sighed deeply. “Yes.”
“Why wasn’t I told immediately?” Nanba’s anger flared at Kimura’s silence. “Because I’m mixed-race, you delay sharing critical information?”
Despite his black hair, Nanba’s blue eyes and striking features—still charismatic in middle age—marked him as a Shikoku mixed-race individual. In an anomaly-ridden world, his presidency stemmed from ability, not lineage. The Special Division feared he might defect to another nation, so they deliberated internally before briefing him, treating him as a tool.
“I’m sorry,” Kimura apologized sincerely.
Nanba rubbed his temples. “Fine, I’m used to it.” He eyed the building. “How long since the God killed Hell Girl?”
“About two weeks, with no anomalies since,” Kimura replied, no longer withholding. Worried, he asked, “Any ideas?”
“You’ve already guessed, haven’t you?” Nanba said coolly. “A sentient anomaly consumed by the God—what do you think happens?”
Sentience emerges? Kimura had buried this fear, deceiving himself. Nanba’s words tightened his expression. “Any solutions?”
“Yes.” As Kimura’s face lit up, Nanba doused his hope. “Report this to the international anomaly department for global discussion. It might yield a plan.”
“But…” Kimura frowned. “That exposes the existence of sentient anomalies.”
“You’re still hiding it?” Nanba’s restraint snapped, anger surging. “Kimura, at this stage? If the God gains sentience, will it stay confined here? Will it let us restrain it?”
Kimura, silent, reached for his cigarettes. Nanba snatched them, snapping, “Stop smoking. Your health’s poor, and you’re containing anomalies. If you die, who leads the Special Division? None of our monitors are ready to replace you.”
Kimura didn’t reclaim the pack, sighing heavily. “Two days ago, I had someone use the Forced Response Earpiece to ask Hell Girl two questions.”
“Two?” Nanba frowned. “You said it was one.”
Yesterday, the Special Division revealed the phrase “beyond the rules,” shocking Nanba. Its simplicity unnerved him. How could humans exist beyond rules? He had no clue. Now, Kimura admitted to two questions, confirming Nanba’s suspicion of withheld information. Numbly, he waited.
“The other was whether other sentient anomalies exist in this world.”
Nanba remained calm. “When I learned Hell Girl was sentient, I assumed others existed. The Special Division didn’t need to ask such an obvious question.”
“You’re right, but we needed facts, not guesses,” Kimura countered. “Yesterday, I sent another monitor to question Hell Girl.”
Yes, the Special Division had approached Hachiman, another monitor with a death-substitution ability. “What was asked?”
“Hell Girl didn’t respond,” Kimura said, craving a cigarette.
“Nothing was asked?” Nanba froze, his expression turning grave.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 141: Containment: Human Body Hospital (Heart)
“Nothing was asked.”
The phrase threw President Nanba’s emotions into disarray, his thoughts churning. The more he pondered, the grimmer his expression became.
“Yes, Hell Girl gave no response,” Kimura Kohei confirmed. Seizing Nanba’s distraction, he snatched back his cigarettes, lit one, and sighed. “The Special Division has several theories.”
“First, Hell Girl’s sentience is rudimentary. After being killed by the God and reviving, her anger expanded her killing rule’s scope, but the rule itself hasn’t changed. Even sentient anomalies must follow their killing rules.”
“Second, the Forced Response Earpiece never worked on Hell Girl—we were deceived. Her prior answers were lies.”
“But this doesn’t hold up. Hell Girl saw the God and survived, claiming she’s beyond the rules.”
“Third, Hell Girl hinted at an anomaly alliance. Why? The think tank suspects sentient anomalies resist something, seeking human cooperation through her.”
“Fourth, the second question was too sensitive, so she stayed silent. This supports the second theory—the earpiece is ineffective. Or, having killed enough to complete her rules, the earpiece lost its power.”
Nanba fell into thought. Hell Girl’s silence on the second query was odd. If she answered the first time, why not the second? “What were the second questions?”
“Two,” Kimura said frankly. “One was whether humans can retain sentience and become anomalies.”
Nanba frowned. “Too sensitive.”
He felt disappointed. For a millennium, global research on this yielded nothing. This was why the Special Division told Nanba about Hell Girl’s sentience but urged secrecy from international anomaly departments. Her sentience suggested a method for humans to become sentient anomalies, an opportunity Japan wanted to seize.
But Nanba thought Kimura overly optimistic. If Japan discovered this, so could others. Why not report it internationally? Kimura’s counterargument silenced him: other nations might have found sentient anomalies and hidden it, explaining Japan’s lack of intel.
“Indeed, the first question was too sharp,” Kimura nodded. “But it came from the think tank.”
Initially stunned by the first answers, the think tank regained composure, showcasing their intellect. Sato Hikaru, in particular, suggested Hell Girl might be lying. This freed their thinking—rule-based items weren’t always effective, and a sentient anomaly could deceive like humans.
So, the Special Division enlisted Hachiman to probe with the Forced Response Earpiece, asking two questions: how humans could retain sentience as anomalies, and where other sentient anomalies resided. Hell Girl answered neither.
The first question’s silence confirmed the earpiece’s ineffectiveness, suggesting Akane’s prior answers were false, angering and disappointing the think tank. The second question’s silence puzzled them—its disclosure seemed harmless, yet Hell Girl remained mute.
Thus, Akane’s answers were her deliberate gift to humans, while Hachiman’s questions fell outside her intent, prompting silence. “So, the Special Division thinks…” Nanba clarified, “Hell Girl wants to ally against something?”
“Roughly,” Kimura nodded slowly. “Akane’s answers were her gesture, signaling her stance.”
Nanba fell silent, pondering. Kimura, not interrupting, gazed worriedly at the building. The God’s killing of Hell Girl might have birthed sentience, per Nanba’s theory. Yet, the God hadn’t moved, its state unclear. If it gained sentience, could Hell Girl help?
Nanba broke the silence. “Does the Special Division want to ally with sentient anomalies?”
“Of course,” Kimura replied without hesitation. “Humans live in an anomaly-plagued world, steeped in despair. If sentient anomalies seek alliance, joining them could uncover how to become anomalies.”
“A solid plan—join, then maneuver,” Nanba said, smiling faintly but pessimistically. “But you’ve forgotten the International Joint Research Society’s theory: if humans die and are chosen as rule vessels, they lack sentience.”
“By this logic, even Hell Girl’s sentience likely emerged post-transformation, not from her human mind.” Seeing Kimura frown, Nanba coldly stated the harsh truth: “Otherwise, why play riddles with the Special Division? She could just tell you.”
“Perhaps sentient anomalies scheme among themselves?” Kimura offered a weak jest.
After a pause, he resolved, “We must try, or the God’s movement would be Japan’s catastrophe.”
Nanba, silent, looked skyward, then said heavily, “Try it.”
Meanwhile, at Harajuku Hospital, Kamihara Shinji awoke in the rest area. Had he contained the anomaly? Pressing his chest, he felt no distinct sensation. Sitting on a bench, he touched his neck pendant. His notebook materialized.
Flipping to the second page, he saw a surge in legend points, joy flashing in his eyes. Containment succeeded. Turning to the master page, he froze at the blood-red text: Human Body Hospital (Heart).
(End of Chapter)
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