Guilty Gear Transmigration: Light of Madness

Daubeny drew Serge's gun and tried to inspect it in full detail until Viidia walked to him.

"May I look at it?"

"Sure, go right ahead, I'm no gun expert."

Handing the gun slowly to Viidia, she took it and began inspecting it. Within ten seconds, her eyes lit up, but she was interrupted before she could tell anyone of her discoveries.

"This is what it means to be caught flat-footed. I failed badly."

Serge's hands were limply tied behind his back with an ID lanyard. His wrist, which had just been broken by Daubeny, hung limply in the strap, but he did not seem to be affected by the pain. Perhaps that was why he was sitting in the corridor with a large drop of greasy sweat on his forehead. In front of him, Viidia, who had picked up the pistol, was pointing it at him.

"The military has officially adopted this pistol—it's a Beretta M9. I don't need to ask who you are. Serge, why would someone from the military be in the middle of a situation like this?"

"I'd say they're here to make sure everyone is dead. What you just said is pretty much true. This is a covert military operation. We don't want any survivors. Especially someone like you, Viidia."

"Well, I'm surprised you're so open and honest about it."

"I may be a special agent of the military, but I am not a pawn in their game. If I am left here to interrogate people for too long, I will run out of time and end up dead myself. Whether I return or not, the operation will be carried out as planned, and this entire laboratory will collapse."

The vast underground laboratory was a big secret that needed to be destroyed. Viidia had predicted this earlier, but when it came from the mouth of someone in the military, Frederick could not help but be horrified. While Daubeny merely sighed.

"But you have a way out of a situation like this, don't you?"

"Of course I do. This, too, is the same as what you might have already guessed: the escape boat in the Gamma Section."

"You shot and almost killed Frederick," Viidia said. "How are you going to get into the Gamma Section?"

Viidia's question was valid, but Serge replied with a smug look on his face.

"I'm not going to spill the beans. As long as I'm the only one who knows the way, you won't kill me."

"So, let me be your guide."

"I could torture you and make you talk."

"Then you should try it. I'll do my duty to the very end. If I choose to run out the clock without telling you, you will die. That's all."

Viidia sighed at the answer as if she had no choice. And then, with the barrel of the gun still pointed at Serge, Viidia moved a little away from him and called the survivors close together. 

Then she said in a whisper, "The situation is unfavorable. We'll have to follow his lead, but there's too much room for things to go wrong. Stay on your toes."

"You mean he's still up to something?"

"Yes. I think he's trying to outsmart us somewhere."

"Even though one arm is missing and his other hand's wrist is broken, and he's tied up?"

"And she's got a gun pointed at him…."

When the staff members expressed doubt, Viidia shook her head lightly and then said,

"People like this who act alone have special training."

"Like you, huh?" Frederick said, and she looked at him for a moment but then immediately smiled.

"That's what I meant. Anyway, don't let your guard down. I don't know how you do it, but I don't think the monsters will attack you if you stay close together. But there's a chance they'll suddenly run and escape, so I'd like Frederick to stand in the lead and pin them down…. Daubeny follows behind them to make sure Serge doesn't do anything."

Frederick thought for a moment but then nodded. "Fine. But I'm not fully prepared for more combat right now."

"Thanks. I believe in you."

Viidia lightly patted Daubeny and Frederick on their shoulders and returned to Serge's front. Daubeny then lifted him up to his feet. Serge began to guide them along the escape route. With Frederick in the lead, they walked through the dimly lit floor, lit only by the emergency lights. Flanked by Daubeny and Viidia behind him and Frederick in front, Serge first requested that they search for a floor map of the wall like the one they had recently seen on the lowest level and then confirm their location.

"Are we on the right floor?"

"Well, I doubt it."

Serge brushed off Frederick's question. Apparently, he was not willing to give them more information than they needed to prevent them from trying to predict his next move before he could escape. As one might expect, Serge remembered the general route they took to the stairs to escape from the lowest level, leading them to the location on the floor map they had seen on the lowest level, albeit on a different floor. He led them to the floor map he had seen at the bottom of the building, even though it was on a different floor.

"Hey, Daubeny," he said. "I wish I could remember, but if you don't mind, could you tell me what you're doing here?"

He suddenly walked close to Daubeny's ear and said. "Did you, Frederick, and the doctor have this kind of backup plan in place from the beginning?"

"Backup plan…? Who do you mean by 'the doctor'?"

"Doctor Asuka. You know who I'm talking about, don't you?"

Frederick turned around swiftly and asked, "I know, but a backup plan? What the hell are you talking about?"

"From my point of view, you've both become monsters and interfered with my operation. Two men who should have died from their injuries. I'm thinking that the doctor was playing a trick on me. I'll be the first to question him when I get back."

"Did Asuka trick you two into…?"

"Enough of this, Serge, just tell us where to go." Daubeny tried to end the conversation right then and there. 

But Frederick...

Frederick's lost memories. He could recall a few things that happened during that period of about a month, but it needed to be more consistent. Before that, though….

"Was I shot and killed right in front of him? Serge just said that for sure. Then, inevitably…." Taking a quick breath and facing Serge, he asked. "Have I ever met you?"

"Yes, earlier this morning, with the doctor. I was a bit nervous when you appeared in the emergency elevator hall. If you didn't have amnesia, I would have been very suspicious at that point."

"Wait, wait…wait!"

As Serge spoke, Frederick involuntarily put his hand to his forehead. This morning, before Frederick woke up in his own laboratory. The memory of the time just before that had already returned, albeit only briefly. He had been shot in the neck, was writhing in agony, sprawled on the floor, and had lost consciousness. Such was the memory.

"Then…I am…!" His head ached, and his heartbeat thumped. Was this a sign that he was remembering something? Frederick suddenly became dizzy and stopped.

"Was I shot by…Serge?"

"Oh, come on, you've got to be kidding me."

"It was the doctor who shot you."

"Ah!"

It didn't make any sense. Frederick couldn't believe it. But at that moment, a flashback occurred in his mind, just as it had several times before.

The memory of rolling around on the lab floor, holding his head with both hands. His throat was so hot. And he soon found himself unable to scream. He arched his back and convulsed… and then his vision faded to black. Just before that, he was sure he was looking up. His best friend looked down at him while Frederick was dying, with a gun pointed at me.

Asuka R. Kreutz's cold eyes.

"You idiot…!"

Frederick found himself shouting at the top of his lungs. But now that the threads of memory were connected in that way, it was an undeniable fact. It couldn't be, and he was tempted to deny it, but now he remembered. He now remembered clearly. Asuka had shot Frederick.

"Why…why?! Why did Asuka!"

Serge snickered at Frederick soon and said, "I was told by the doctor that you were against the diversion of the research to weapons and that we would deal with you because you were a dangerous one who had even leaked classified information, but I guess not? Although Daubeny was already predisposed."

"What.....?!"

"I don't know what kind of magic trick you used to turn yourselves into monsters, but I can't think of anything but the doctor's handiwork, if not your own preparation. Maybe he shot you to make it look like a kill. They even have a stash in our military, some special Gear cells, or something. But that's just a guess if such a thing really exists."

Frederick agreed with that suspicion as to whether or not special Gear cells really existed. Dustin was also amazed at how Frederick's wounds healed, but as far as Frederick knew, simply having Gear cells transplanted did not give something this kind of regenerative power. Cell research has yet to make dramatic progress in such a short period as a single month. 

But the reality was that Frederick's and Daubeny's wounds could not have been regenerated without the help of Gear cells. It seemed natural to assume that there was something more than that. That was why it was even more confusing.

'What are you thinking, Asuka…?' Frederick thought.

It might be enough to say that Asuka had betrayed him if he had only shot Frederick. However, if he turned Frederick and Daubeny into monsters, there's no idea what he was trying to do.

"What was Asuka planning by making me like this, Daubeny?

"I have no idea?"

Frederick unintentionally punched the wall with all his strength. The roar of his fist, which slammed into the wall, seemed to prove that he was a monster, making him feel even more horrible.

Frederick shook his head and decided to put his doubts to rest. 

"It's rough. I would have liked you to remember everything, to see if the doctor was really a traitor."

"Even if I get my memory back, we'll have to hear it from Asuka himself."

"You're right, Frederick. We need answers, and when we reach the escape boat, Asuka will explain everything that's happened today."

As long as this military soldier, this Serge, in front of him felt cheated, Asuka must have some kind of agenda nobody knew about. Frederick believed it now and wanted to survive and meet Asuka to pry the truth out of him.

"I hope we can get such confirmation," Daubeny commented.

"That would explain the behavior of the three of you last month. Asuka could have been forced, but as long as we survive, we have a chance of knowing the truth." Frederick believed this and started down the corridor again. 

Then Serge suddenly looked at Daubeny and said in a strange whisper, 

"Oh, Daubeny, by the way, what time is it?"

Daubeny looked at his watch and replied, "Right now? 15:47, about ten minutes before the hour."

"Tell me exactly to the second."

"Seconds? Now 16 seconds to…."

"Stop!" Viidia suddenly interrupted.

"Serge? What were you going to do when you heard the exact time?"

"I'm just confirming the time of the operation, Viidia. It's important. Let's proceed. Frederick, ahead of you, to the left. Then right."

Serge's guidance resumed. Viidia furrowed her brow for a moment, but when Serge moved, Frederick, in the lead, had no choice but to move as well. As he walked along, a new T-junction appeared in front of them.

"Frederick, take a left there, and you will reach the objective."

"Objective? It's a dead end, Serge."

Standing at the turn ahead of him, Frederick could see the end of the corridor. But then Serge grinned.

"That's all right, three, two, one…."

Suddenly, Serge's voice began to count down, and at that moment, it reached zero. Serge quickly headbutted Duabeny, dazing him enough for Serge to escape. He ran past Frederick and slammed his broken wrist against the nearby wall with enough force to use it again, slipping past Frederick's side. Daubeny and Frederick ran after him.

"What will you do, head for a dead end?"

Just then, it happened. Instantly, an explosion and vibration formed a roaring wind and a cloud of dust.

"What the hell is…?"

The sudden pressure of the storm caused Daubeny and Frederick to collapse. The red and green of the emergency lights reflected in the cloud of dust, and the yellow mixture of the two together. He knew what had happened. An explosion had just occurred. It was right behind Frederick and the others, very close by.

Amidst the noise of the explosion, Daubeny heard a loud boom. To be precise, his hearing was distinguishing between two sounds. The screams of the station staff were lost in the noise of the explosion. And the sickening sound of bones shattering.

"Damn…. Frederick! Viidia! Everybody! Are you alive?!" Daubeny shouted, but no response was heard. Only someone coughing from nearby. He followed the sound through the smoke and found Frederick and Viidia sitting on the floor.

"I wonder if I was lucky or unlucky…." Viidia was apparently unharmed, but one of the staff was lying in her lap, folded over. Another one of the staff, Dustin, appeared to be dead as well.

"Argh!"

In the explosion's aftermath, Daubeny wondered if the scientist was hit in the back by debris or something that blew up. The back of his white coat was covered with blood, and he was already not breathing. If this was the source of the sound of bones shattering, then the other scream that remained, the one lost in the explosion, must be…

"I'm not sure if this means he took a direct hit."

He couldn't hear his breathing, couldn't feel his presence. As the smoke from the explosion gradually thinned out, he could not see the other worker; instead, he could see a large hole in the wall. It had been pitch-dark up to this point, relying only on the light from the emergency lamps, but there was a sooty glow coming from the other side of the hole. It was, as it were, a light of hope shining from the heavens. Frederick walked in front of Daubeny, saying.

"How reckless…to blow up the wall to create a route."

"Is the Gamma Section connected to…?"

"Yeah, it is."

And then a presence passed next to Daubeny again. Frederick was right before him, and Viidia was to the left; it must have been the other one who had fled just before.

"Serge! You!"

He must have turned the corner just before the explosion and escaped, slipping out of his bonds. The lanyard of the ID that bound him was thrown away in front of him.

"Ha ha ha! As you wish, the escape route is open! Let the finale begin!"

With that, Serge entered the Gamma Section.

"Sorry, thanks for saving my life!"

Viidia also noticed and stood up, sending the last word to the station staff on her knees.

"We're going after him! Frederick, Daubeny!"

"I know! If we let him go, we're done!"

Daubeny, Frederick, and Viidia followed Serge and dove into the large hole in the wall. The glare of the lighting, which would usually be the norm, made them squint. The floor of the Gamma Section was a single corridor, like a gentle slope spiraling up. The doors of each laboratory were lined up around the perimeter of the corridor. Looking down from the cavity in the center of the spiral, one could see that Serge was already several floors ahead. Daubeny ran after him, with Frederick following close behind.

"If one of us jumps down, we catch up with him, right?" Daubeny said, before scoffing at himself. 

Even if he was already a Gear, Daubeny was still as scared as anyone else. He thought running and catching up with him would be more realistic since he had time to think about it. Daubeny put all his strength into his legs and took each step as fast as they could, and the distance between Frederick and himself and Viidia quickly increased. While running again and again, Daubeny could feel vibrations coming from above. 

The military's plan was to silence the entire underground laboratory. Since Serge had just called it a finale, it probably meant that a full-scale explosion – a collapse – had begun. However, either the Gamma Section was solid, or it would be the last to be blown up after Serge's escape, and no significant explosions had occurred, only vibrations from the other sections. Daubeny continued to follow Serge, believing that it was not too late.

Looking around the main corridor, it was immediately apparent that the Gamma Section suffered the same unusual events that Frederick and his colleagues had experienced. Several researchers in lab coats, covered in blood, were lying in the middle of the corridor. The corpses were inhuman to look at, with parts of their bodies missing and entrails protruding. On the other side of the automatic door of the laboratory, which opened and closed repeatedly on corpses caught in it, the gruesome scene began to unfold even further.

Although the power source was alive and the lights were on, it looked worse than many tragedies in the Beta Section. On the contrary, as they made their way to the bottom of the Gamma Section, they passed more and more corpses in the corridors. The lower they went, the more damage was done.

"Why is this happening?!"

The answer became predictable as he ran. The blood of the corpses was almost dry. First, there was an explosion in the Alpha Section, and then the anomalies began. Then, the military bombing blocked the escape route, trapping the staff in the Beta Section, but where did the monsters that had been there come from? This may be the answer.

"Did they come from here?" Frederick asked while looking around and humming.

"It does look like it all started here, huh? With all effort, it should be more hopeful, not depressing."

As he and Frederick ran down the spiral corridor with this thought in his mind, he suddenly looked at the lab doors that lined the perimeter of the corridor. Looking down from the center of the spiral, there was no longer a long way to go. Then he came to a door with the number "1" written in large letters. This indicated the number of special laboratories at the lowest level. 

When Daubeny saw the door with the number "2" on it, he thought of Dustin's face. If it were true, he would have escaped from here. Looking in through the half-open door, he saw that the room was a mess as if an explosion had occurred. It was clearly not the work of a monster but rather human sabotage.

Even the emergency elevator in the Beta Section had been sealed off by an explosion. Now that he knew the heart of the situation- that the entire underground laboratory had been silenced by the military- he could begin to understand what was going on. From the opposite point of view, escape boats from other special laboratories should have been the first means of escape to be sealed off. But his means of escape, to which Serge was now heading, was surely different. With this in mind, Daubeny and Frederick ran past Door 2.

They then ran through the spiral corridor in the order of "3" and "4", and saw Serge ahead of them entering a laboratory. This was the end of the spiral corridor, literally at the bottom in terms of the depth of the basement. It was a special laboratory marked with the number "6." Daubeny and Frederick followed Serge and, a few seconds later, stepped into the sixth unique laboratory. He was surprised to find an unexpected scene. Frederick gasped while Daubeny frowned slightly.

"What is this place…!"

"No idea, but I have a bad feeling about this place."

"This entire day has been complete shit, how can this be worse?"

"You just had to say those words... didn't you?"

Daubeny hissed but realized this was not a room. The ceiling was high, the size of a large gymnasium or a hall. There were several large screens on the walls, and many fixed terminals were buried in the desks. What's more, there was a large, fenced-in hole in the center of the laboratory for whatever purpose. A big, deep hole with no bottom in sight. Surrounding the circular hole were many huge cylindrical capsules filled with green liquid but nothing else. This must have been the epicenter of the situation. Perhaps it was from these empty capsules that the other monsters they had encountered so far were unleashed, and the tragedy in the facility began.

"Where is he?!"

The disorderly amount of capsules blocked the view from the entrance. Daubeny and Frederick looked around the too large special laboratory, searching for Serge.

"Frederick! Daubeny! Where's Serge?"

In the meantime, Viidia had caught up.

"Hey, this is…."

Like Frederick and Daubeny, Viidia took in the unusual scene of the laboratory, her eyes scanning over the capsules and the hole in the center.

"I didn't think there was such a facility here. No matter how many other places I looked, I couldn't find it."

And then, from the shadows of a distant capsule came the voice of the one they chased. "I'm sorry, this is getting a little tedious. Now, where's that deactivation key?"

Daubeny heard the voice and caught a glimpse of Serge behind the capsule. He was communicating with someone, dexterously operating a console under one of the huge capsules with only his left hand. Eventually, he found it. Daubeny, Frederick, and Viidia quickly caught up with Serge, and he slowly turned to face them.

"Oh, I knew you'd come after me. Welcome to the military's secret laboratory."

The capsule he was next to was filled with something, unlike the others. Intuitively, Daubeny understood that the contents were the same kind of altered creature he had encountered before.

"It's… no... that bear died…!" Daubeny said in alarm, his face turning deathly pale.

Was that the source of Serge's confidence? The green liquid started draining out of the giant capsule.

"You're right. The one you met before did die, but that was just the first experience. The whole secret is out now. There's an escape boat at the end of that airlock, just like you wanted." Serge indicated with his thumb at the wall behind him. A thick door, like the one on an airplane or a submarine, was buried in one corner of the wall.

"The boat's maximum capacity is one person, however. I'll sit in that seat, of course." By the time Serge had finished, all the liquid in the capsule behind him had disappeared, and the transparent partition lowered with a mechanical noise.

"I hope this experimental weapon kills you both." The grizzly bear's eyes opened, red and glowing suspiciously. Just as Frederick and Daubeny braced themselves, Viidia screamed.

Viidia then fired at the bear with the pistol she had taken from Serge. Three shots echoed in rapid succession in the spacious special laboratory. All of the bullets hit the grizzly, two in the head and one in the shoulder, but for a moment, all that could be heard was the animal's yelp.

"It's ineffective?!"

"The conversion of Gear cells into weapons is now at the practical stage. If you want to kill this thing, you'll need explosive shells, not bullets. Or maybe... I can use 'that' power again, but I don't know how!"

Despite a few splashes of blood, the grizzly slowly descended from the capsule's pedestal as if nothing had happened. The few bullets that failed to penetrate spilled from its body and clinked onto the floor. Perhaps it was an animal instinct, but the grizzly flexed its claws, scratched its head, looked around, and sniffed the air. In the meantime, Viidia kept firing.

"I guess that means he's just like someone else…."

The fresh gunshot wounds to the grizzly's head, shoulder, and torso disappeared in the blink of an eye as if recorded images were playing backward.

-

An oval escape craft shaped like a small submarine sat docked, unmoving. Asuka was sitting inside with military researchers in an aircraft-like seat. Small vibrations came one after another. It was probably caused by the explosion and collapse of the underground laboratory, as was the military's plan, but it was somewhat surprising to Asuka. He had expected to escape immediately after Aria was placed in the cryosleep capsule, and all the materials to be taken out were transported to this escape boat. However, after putting on his seatbelt, the situation had not progressed.

"There seems to be a lot of explosions. Why haven't we escaped yet?"

Asuka asked the man who had been pointing a gun at him, precisely the one who had been sent by the military to watch over him.

"Don't worry about it. Just a miscalculation." The man on watch said as he faced a fixed terminal by the wall of the escape boat.

"Well, it won't take long to clear up."

"Something troublesome going on?" When Asuka asked again, the man kneaded his shoulder and snickered.

"Well, I won't deny it. Do you remember the man on your watch earlier this morning?"

"I think he said…Serge. What's wrong with him? He's been out of sight for some time."

As a result, Asuka's warden had been replaced by this man, but it was indeed Serge who had informed Asuka of the military's urgent instructions first thing that morning and had been watching him to make sure he did not do anything strange. His disappearance also caused quite a bit of tension that continued to build for Asuka, who had made a deception that was as good as a gamble.

"I had an additional mission for Serge, and I don't know where I went wrong, but it seems I brought a terrible case of bad luck with me"

The warden rolled his shoulders in disgust.

"We'll leave as soon as we're done over there. Oh, yes." The man grinned as if he had just thought of something good to say.

"If that's the case, doctor, would you like to see what's happening? An interesting experiment was about to begin, and the findings may be useful for future research."

The man then got up from his seat in front of the fixed terminal and asked Asuka to look at the terminal monitor.

"After all this time, the experiment…?" Asuka wondered for a moment, but there was only one individual left in that special lab—a huge bear that had been created without Asuka's knowledge, an experimental military weapon.

"I understand. Let me see it."

The Gear Project was no longer in Asuka's hands. The extent to which the military had been able to achieve this was an essential factor. Asuka unbuckled his seatbelt without prompting and moved to the seat the man had given up. Then, turning his eyes to the monitor before him, he first saw that enormous bear. Serge was standing next to it, but now facing him was….

"Huh? Daubeny and Frederick?!"

If these watchdogs were to discover Asuka's intentions, the whole thing could be ruined. Not to mention the fact that Serge was over there watching the process. He was the one who was in charge of monitoring in the morning, and now he must be having doubts about Asuka. Asuka must act like a fool for now, even if it meant betraying Frederick and Daubeny, his best friends.

"It is rather interesting to see the results of the military's research. Let's see what you two can do." Asuka almost sat up.

"What, do you know them?"

"Ah, they are staff members with whom I have a very close relationship. I didn't think either would still be alive." Asuka, who was smiling, was so happy that he wanted to jump up and down with all his heart.

He was focused on seeing his best friends standing alive on the other side of the monitor while thinking. "Thank goodness, Daubeny, Frederick, you were able to conform to the seeds."

For Asuka, it was the confirmation of the greatest achievement of all. A gamble won. No matter how much time it would take, this would avoid the worst-case scenario. Asuka's vision of the future was not far off.

"Even if only minimally, this is now…." Hope was connected. With this in mind, Asuka clenched his trembling fists and stifled his joy.

"Don't you want to see a killing show of people you knew?"

"It's not a problem. I told you, I have a history with them. It would be better if both died." Asuka put on his researcher's face and stared intently at the monitor. But his gaze was never on the military's experimental weapons.

"Live, please." He turned to face his best friends, who were the links to hope for the future.