Anne's Diary (5)
[EP6. Bergen Belsen]
-The Lost Girl, The Monsters Who Cannot Cry-
Originally, this episode was supposed to be told from Regia's perspective.
The story unfolds as the protagonist, who was kidnapped in the previous episode, "Abandoned Laboratory," is brought to Belsen.
The episode begins with a dark, barred cell.
[Sniffle... Sob, hic...]
A girl is crying, leaning against the cold wall.
The pilot, despondent over her situation, sheds tears powerlessly.
Just as fear grips her.
["Hey... Pink Sister!"]
["Over here! Over here!"]
A voice comes from somewhere.
Startled, she turns around to see a girl waving through a small gap.
Their eyes meet, and the girl smiles brightly.
["Nice to meet you! It's been so long since someone new came to the next cell!"]
["My name is Anne! Let's get along, fellow test subjects."]
A bright, sparkling smile.
Anne's entrance was no different in the original story.
The cheerful girl extended a hand to the protagonist, becoming a companion to prevent her from succumbing to loneliness.
A typical supporting character, one might say.
["Sister, take this."]
["It's a blanket!"]
A role of encouragement.
She was a character who skillfully maintained the somber atmosphere of the episode, preventing it from becoming too depressing.
Her unwavering hope was also touching.
["But sometimes... wouldn't it be okay if such fortunate things happened?"]
["We must be courageous, especially during difficult times."]
["Life becomes more beautiful the more you contemplate it."]
However.
The predetermined tragedy could not be avoided.
Bergen Belsen, Anne, diary... devices foreshadowing misfortune were hidden throughout.
And the girl ultimately met a cruel end.
It was a rather shocking demise.
["I'll be back."]
Later, Galimar's faculty was deployed for a rescue mission.
Thanks to them, the protagonist managed to escape, but as the price of survival, she had to witness a horrific scene.
[Screech... Caw]
Anne, transformed into a monster.
The episode ends with Regia in despair.
While recording the walkthrough video, I thought,
Even if it was based on actual history, was it necessary to show such a cruel ending?
It was a story that remained a painful memory.
But.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness."
"Sister, are you crying? Wh-why are you suddenly..."
This time, it was different.
Because I was there, beside the girl who had become a monster.
Perhaps it was a small act of rebellion.
'Predetermined ending... screw that.'
I hated tragedies.
If an unreasonable future blocked the path to happiness, then it was simply a matter of shattering it with a forceful swing of my fist.
I smile faintly.
"I-I don't understand what happened. I was clearly in the laboratory..."
"Hehe."
Anne's eyes dart around in confusion.
Careful not to startle her, I gently stroke her head.
Her warm body temperature seeps into my palm.
As if conveying the fact that she is alive.
"I, I thought... I was going to die."
"Anne."
"It hurt so much, I was so scared... I cried, I screamed..."
"It seems you had a nightmare."
I calmly soothe the girl.
"It was just a dream. If you close your eyes a few times and open them again, it will be a dream you won't even remember."
I cover her tearful eyes with my palm.
So that the exhausted girl can rest comfortably, so that she can escape from the terrible nightmare.
"You'll feel better after you get some more sleep."
Shadows gently ripple.
Anne's eyelids flutter closed.
As her consciousness fades and she sways, the fox beside her embraces the girl's body.
She whispers softly.
"Sleep well."
I smile faintly.
***
Soft breaths.
The sound of quiet breathing fills the air.
"...She's asleep."
"Indeed."
Anne lies with her head resting on the fox's lap.
The girl sleeps peacefully.
Irene tidies her messy hair and then subtly glances in my direction.
Her black pupils hold complex emotions.
"... ..."
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"... ..."
"Irene?"
The fox, who had been lost in thought for a moment, bites her lip and then asks a single question.
"How did you do it...?"
A short but by no means trivial question.
The scene the girl witnessed just now was extremely unrealistic.
The realm of the impossible.
In other words, a miracle.
It must have been something the fox couldn't comprehend.
I smile faintly.
I place my index finger in front of my lips.
"It's a secret."
"...I figured you'd say that."
It was a power too complex to explain.
"Let's just say I was lucky."
It wasn't entirely a lie.
The treatment was only possible because Anne was at least alive in the form of a chimera, not dead during the experiment.
Actually, it felt closer to restoration than healing.
Anyway.
Even a liar's power couldn't bring back the dead.
Lies whispered to the deceased were nothing more than empty words.
-Ding!
[Remaining output: 31.7%]
Even this was pushing it quite a bit.
Nearly 60% of the output was consumed just to restore this frail girl to her original form.
It meant that restoring multiple individuals at once was out of the question.
'I guess I did overdo it... I feel a bit dizzy.'
It was far more demanding than suppressing a professor-level threat.
Unlike battles that only required physical blows.
Restoring a chimera required elevating the concept to the realm of creation.
As such, the backlash was also intense.
"Wouldn't it be more beautiful to leave a miracle as a miracle?"
"Yes... I won't ask anymore."
"You're surprisingly giving up easily."
"I have some decency. Even though I swore never to trust humans again, I don't want to bare my fangs at someone I owe a debt to."
"That's admirable."
I nod, impressed.
Even though her distrust of humans was severe, she wasn't inherently a dark beast.
"I'll repay this debt somehow."
"I did it because I wanted to. Thanks to this, I also got to see you cry for the first time, Irene."
"...Shut up."
The fox wipes her reddened eyes.
It seemed the tension had eased.
I would have loved to just chat like this, but unfortunately, there was still something I had to take care of.
I get up from my seat.
"Ahem."
The liar's output was dangerously low, but... well, this much should be enough.
Enough to deal with the creepy guy watching us.
After taking a moment to catch my breath, I turn my gaze to one side and say,
"Why don't you come out now? I think I've waited long enough."
"What? Who are you suddenly talking to...?"
Just as Irene tilts her head in confusion.
"You insolent brat."
Someone who had been hiding behind the bars reveals himself.
A middle-aged man exuding an unsettling aura.
The man, his skin seemingly draped in a blood-red robe, steps out of the darkness with an amused smile.
It was a familiar face.
"...!"
Irene flinches and grabs her sword.
The fox seemed to recognize the man, but she couldn't bring herself to stand up rashly.
It was because of the oppressive aura surrounding him.
"This is quite interesting."
Research Director, Josef Kramer.
The demon who reigned over Belsen, the one who turned Anne into a monster.
"I had completely concealed my presence... I never thought you'd see through it."
The man approaches with quiet steps.
His characteristically languid voice echoes chillingly through the dark basement.
I reply calmly.
"I just have good eyesight."
"You're a funny one. I clearly saw you restore that failed experiment just now."
"By failed experiment... are you referring to Anne?"
"Anne? I don't know such a trashy name."
"Didn't you experiment on her with your own hands?"
"What use is a name for something that failed? It's nothing but trash."
"...Ha."
I can't help but let out a scoff.
He was this kind of character in the original story as well, but seeing him in person was even more appalling.
Especially his eyes, devoid of even a shred of guilt.
"So, how did you do it?"
The demon's pupils overflowed with nothing but vile greed.
"Did you use some kind of trick? A magic that restores a monsterized test subject to its original form... I've never heard of such a thing."
"That's a tough one. It's a secret I don't want to share with others."
"Yes, yes, of course. You wouldn't want to share such precious knowledge."
The demon laughs unpleasantly.
A dark red hazebegins to rise, and a foul odor stings my nostrils.
He's channeling dark magic.
"Oh, Bloodstained Master! Lend your eternal power to this place...!"
"Shatter."
Clang-!
I'm sorry, but
I'm not in the mood for games.
I don't want to see him striking a pose.
Josef Kramer.
The psycho who massacred, tortured, and turned tens of thousands into monsters.
I couldn't stand the thought of such a bastard getting a dramatic entrance just because he was the villain.
Crack-!
So I shatter the lights.
To prevent the spotlight from shining on the stage where he stands, I paint the script with only darkness.
It was the nightmare most befitting a demon.
"...?!"
The Research Director is startled as his magic dissipates.
I dryly part my lips.
"Blackout."
Immediately after.
Pitch black engulfs the world.
***
When they open their eyes again.
The two of them are sitting in a courtroom.
A world meticulously crafted with illusion magic. A new stage prepared for their play.
In the center, there's also a tall execution platform.
"Defendant."
The judge calls out to the accused.
The one sitting at the highest judge's bench is none other than the slit-eyed boy.
"Defendant, Josef Kramer. Do you have any last words?"
In the defendant's dock sits the demon, bound to a chair with ropes.
Staring at the abruptly changed surroundings, the defendant is unable to regain his composure.
The judge smiles ominously.
"Then, let us begin... the judgment of the sinner."
Bang, bang, bang-!
As the sound of the gavel echoes, the camera focuses on the rope hanging from the execution platform.
It was time for punishment.
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This power is awesome if it can do stuff like this.
ReplyDeleteNurnberg time
ReplyDeleteNo mercy, give that demon hell
ReplyDelete