Number 7

[Memory 2]

'Where... am I?'

Slowly, the eyes of the white haired man opened as he ran his hand across the rocky ground that surrounded him.

At first he could see nothing, but soon enough his sight adjusted to the darkness, and the formation of a cavern displayed itself around him.

'Ah...'

Looking to his side, there was a note.

Slowly, the man picked up the note as he squinted, making an attempt to read it before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cell phone.

Using the phone as a flashlight, the man gazed upon the words which were written with an unknown red substance - however based on the odor and the chaotic dripping of the writing, Victor could hazard a guess as to where the substance had been obtained.

Dearest human,

Congratulations.

You've survived an encounter with me. This is a reason to celebrate.

Today you lost.

However, I will not kill you just yet.

If you return to this place someday and are able to defeat my slave, then I will grant you the runes of reawakening.

And you will be free to do with them... as you will.

However, do be careful.

For the next time you face my slave... she will not go easy on you like today.

And if you show a display as pathetic as the one that was shown today... then I suppose you will lose your life as well.

However... I am an advocate of EQUALITY.

Therefore... I will not interfere in such a battle.

Prepare yourself as long as you need.

Obtain whatever weapons you think will be necessary.

For in war... There is only victory and defeat.

And whatever method is used... can only be questioned after the fact.

Yet the results are unquestionable, and the victors are the ones who write history.

Therefore... win.

Win at any cost.

Using any method.

And if the weapons you bring to the fight are not sufficient... then I suppose that will be all that this humanity is worth.

Good luck, human.

-The Determined

As the man read this, his eyes filled with veins as irritation filled his mind.

"Why that arrogant...."

Crumpling the paper in his hands, the man slowly stood to his feet, a furious glare in his eyes.

"So... that demon thinks that she got the best of me?"

Grabbing the finger which had been realigned, the man trembled as he slowly dragged himself towards the exit of the cavern.

"She thinks that because that slave of hers has been empowered with some strange magic that I couldn't possibly defeat her... eh?"

Without a doubt, the human had been empowered.

Her movements that she had shown before - the ability to deflect bullets with a sword, and the speed to appear as if she had teleported behind him - were nothing less than inhuman.

'If she was a human before... then by serving that demon... she must have made some sort of pact. And in doing so... she has obtained power beyond belief.'

Taking a deep breath, the man approached the exit to the cavern as light filled his eyes.

It was bright enough to make him shield his vision, shrinking away from it as if it was his enemy.

'How... annoying.'

Squinting his eyes, the man pressed forward into the light as he exited the cavern.

There, waiting for him, were a number of government and military officials.

Tanks and planes spanned the area, and Victor was immediately greeted by a gruff man who gave off the appearance of a hardened General.

"Doctor Lichtenburg. What is the status? Why have you come out without anyone to guard you?"

The man stepped forward raising an eyebrow, greeting the scientist with a rough expression.

His mustache drew itself down his face, covering his mouth completely.

"General Bachtenjarl. I do apologize, but we encountered something... unexpected. Needless to say... I am the only survivor."

Thinning his eyes, the General nodded quietly.

"I see. And? What did you find in there?"

Crossing his arms, the man seemed to resign to this fate - almost as if he had been expecting it.

However what he did not expect was the hardened look in the eyes of the young scientist.

The white haired man slithered past the General, walking past him without so much as looking him in the eye, whispering just one statement.

"A Demon."

And with this single word, even this hardened General felt it.

A change in the air, so immense that just invoking such a word seemed to overwhelm him.

Unaware how to even respond to such a thing, the General could do nothing more than stare forward blankly, eyeballing the cavern which had been discovered on this remote island.

Closing his eyes, the man took in a deep breath as he wondered.

'Just what happened in that place? No...'

Turning around, the man faced his back to that place as he followed the Doctor.

'Perhaps… as a man who understands war and death better than most... this is not something that I should try to understand. But rather... something which mere men should avoid altogether.'

----

'How does one defeat such an enemy?'

'A nuclear weapon?'

'Will such a thing work on someone who holds power which is beyond human logic?'

'No... before that even... how would I obtain such a thing?'

'And even if I were to obtain such a thing... having permission to use it would be another issue altogether.'

Victor found himself in a predicament.

It was true that Victor had only seen the woman redirect a couple of bullets.

Yet there was something else that stung in the heart of the man.

'Was it that moment... the moment when she whispered into my ear?'

It was beyond horrifying.

It was a feeling so indescribable that it overtook every aspect of his being.

Remembering that overwhelming sense of power, the man knew one thing for certain in his heart.

'Even if we were to bombard such a woman with tanks and planes of war... somehow... I feel that such things would not be enough.'

'Only a nuclear weapon would suffice.'

'Or perhaps.... something greater.'

Widening his eyes, the man came to a realization as he sat in his laboratory office, isolated from those around him.

'Eh?'

'Something... greater?'

'Something... more powerful than a nuclear weapon?'

'What... could possibly be more powerful than such a thing?'

The gears in the mind of the man slowly turned, meshing together in a clockwork of madness.

And it was as this happened... that the concept formed.

'A weapon of unmatched power...'

The concept which would lead to the destruction of the world... as it was known.

'What if I were to match that human... with another?'

Perhaps this was the scheme of the demon.

'What if I were to empower a human... to the point where they held power equivalent to a nuclear weapon... yet with the intelligence to use that power with purpose?'

Or perhaps it was merely a coincidence.

'Slave... slave... that word was continuously used to refer to that woman...'

'What if such a powerful person was created... with the sole purpose of serving me?'

As the man's mind created such an idea, a sinister grin overcame him as he scrambled to take notes.

And as this man took his notes, sitting in her throne from another dimension, the demonic woman smiled.

[How interesting this has become. Would you not agree, my other self?]

[You've unleashed something horrible on this world. Think of the poor people who will suffer as a result of this.]

[Always so concerned about inferior existences... haha... just sit back and watch, my other self.]

With a snicker, the angel and the demon discussed these things as they watched.

[Things are about to become... chaotic.]

Perhaps it was planned... or perhaps it was nothing more than a coincidence.

Yet regardless of whether such a thing was planned... it would without a doubt entertain her.

[End of Memory 2]

----

[Memory 3]

"You... have a purpose."

Sylvia felt the strange feeling once again which she could not describe in mere words.

The feeling of existing within a body which was not her own.

A small body - the body of a child.

Her hair was long enough to drape down to the ground, and her skin was pale as if she had been malnourished.

And here she sat, on a stone table, chained to it with her body SLICED OPEN.

Her heart was visible, and she watched it as it beat, its pace hastening as she suddenly was enveloped by a wave of pain.

She wanted to scream, yet she could not.

For she had no control over this body.

'Ahh....'

She wanted to cry, yet even as the pain overwhelmed the woman, the girl who laid on this operating table did not utter a word.

It was not that any anesthesia had been used.

Sylvia knew this, for she felt the same pain which the girl had felt at that time.

Nor was it that the girl had been dulled to pain.

Sylvia knew this because of the indescribable torrent of emotion that raged within the girl.

[I.... I cannot speak.... I cannot complain... I cannot make a sound... for if I do... then he will be angry with me...]

Rather - it was because she had been trained.

Trained to be completely and utterly loyal... and silent to her own afflictions.

[I cannot allow him to know... that it hurts...]

[For if I do... it will only inconvenience him... and slow his important research.]

The man dug around inside the chest of the child, slicing away at her arteries as he connected them to tubes here and there, pumping a disturbing amount of fluids into the girl who had the appearance of a mere child.

"Your purpose... is to become my weapon."

The man connected tube after tube to the girl as her body was rattled, bloated with so many serums and toxins that she felt as if she was being dissolved from within.

Yet even so, she did not utter a word.

For that was what it meant to be a good slave.

"You are to become a weapon for my sake... so that I can defeat those who want to destroy me. Therefore... do not die. Instead... focus on becoming powerful."

The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

The person who screams the loudest will receive the compassion of those around them.

The person who complains and objects, hyperbolizing even the most minor of inconveniences is the one who will become the victim to be compensated.

"You may be weak... but I am a human. And I will grant you the power to face even those who are more powerful than myself."

Yet the one who is truly tormented... will remain silent.

For true suffering is not something which can be so easily spoken of.

"Well, Number One? What is your answer? You will defeat my enemies for me, no?"

"Of course, Doctor Lichtenburg."

Barely able to speak these words, the girl spoke calmly as she responded without question.

For the Doctor was everything.

He was a man who was a human - an existence who was far beyond her.

And it was her duty to serve this particular human.

"But Doctor Lichtenburg... are your enemies also human?"

Yet even so, the girl still had some doubts.

For she had been taught all her life that humans were above her - and that she was never to lay her hands on one.

"Oh... that. I see... I see. Number One. Listen very carefully to what I am about to say."

Stepping away from the machinery as the scientist looked down upon the girl, he raised his finger with a dominating smile.

"While it is true that you are inferior to humans, and that you are to obey us without question... There are many humans who are in disagreement about how things should be done. And when humans disagree with one another... this creates an issue. So for someone such as yourself, who should always make yourself subordinate to us... what should you do? That much is very simple."

Grabbing the chin of the girl, the man glared into her emerald eyes with a possessive gaze.

"You do as I tell you. Nothing more... and nothing less."

Letting go of the girl, the man walked off with the flutter of his coat, returning to his desk as he grabbed a number of scalpels and various tools.

"And if I tell you to kill a human... then you are allowed to kill a human. For if I order the death of another human... then they were clearly a human who held no worth."

Widening her eyes, the girl's mind was filled with a contradiction.

[A human... Who has no worth?]

For the girl, who had been taught that humans were beings that controlled everything in existence, this was a contradiction that shook the very foundation of her knowledge.

It was something which could not be.

Yet the man who had raised her... the man who had told her everything about the world... said this.

Therefore, it must have been true.

[I see.]

Accepting this reality, the girl came to a conclusion.

She was nothing more than a weapon.

A weapon to be fired.

A weapon does not kill on its own, nor does it decide who it kills - but instead it kills according to the will of its owner.

And there is no such thing as a weapon which does not fire when the trigger is pulled.

For if such a weapon were to exist... then it would be considered BROKEN.

"Then... which of your enemies do you need me to kill, Doctor?"

As the girl asked this question, a victorious grin overcame the expression of the man known as Victor.

For truly, he had won.

"Not yet, Number One. Not yet. But soon... you will be completed. And then... I will bring you to the woman who I need you to slaughter."

----

[Memory 4]

Placed in a cage.

Locked away in a cargo hold, like some sort of vicious animal which needed to be detained.

Shackled and bound, gagged like some sort of monster whose existence should never be known to the world.

Despite the fact that One did not resist in the slightest, the men who dealt with her still treated her in such a manner.

All according to the orders of the Doctor.

[I wonder where I am being taken now?]

How long had it been?

How many experiments had she endured to this point?

Too many to count.

Yet the day before, One had been told something.

"It is time."

"I can progress no further with you until that enemy has been defeated."

"For now... you have been completed."

[I wonder... what will I be fighting this time?]

How many fights had one been in to this point?

Lions.

Tigers.

Bears.

Robots.

Tanks.

Drones.

Planes.

And finally...

The girl shivered as she recalled her most recent test.

She had been chained up, brought into a field, and given a single order.

"No matter what happens, remain in this place."

And remain she had.

One had stood in that field, waiting and waiting on that day.

Minutes had passed.

Minutes became hours.

And then she heard it.

A buzzing sound from above.

This was a sound she knew well - the sound of a military aircraft passing above.

She was not instructed to defeat anyone or anything, therefore rather than attacking like the previous tests, she waited.

And waited.

She watched as the aircraft made its way above her, and then she saw something.

Something had dropped from the plane.

A piece of metal.

It was falling from an unimaginable height, aimed straight at her.

[I suppose... this is what I need to endure this time.]

Closing her eyes, the girl braced herself for the impact as the metal object fell, wondering if it would hit her or not.

[I could block it so easily... yet that is not my objective.]

[I was told... to stay put.]

Witnessing the object come closer, the girl knew.

Her sight had been heightened, and she could tell the trajectory of the object.

It had been perfectly dropped so that it would hit her dead on.

[Therefore.... I will endure.]

"Experiment Number One..."

"You were the first success... in a series of successes."

One recalled the words of the doctor as the object came closer and closer, to the point where she could hear it dropping.

"Do not disappoint me."

And then, with a thud, the object hit her.

However it was not a mere metal object.

If that were the case, then blunt damage would have been the only pain she experienced.

Yet instead, in that instant, a flash of light overwhelmed the eyes of the girl.

An immense heat overwhelmed every nerve in her body, lighting her on fire as she was engulfed in a sea of flames.

And in that instant, she screamed.

"AGH!!!!!!"

She screamed and she cried as everything around her was destroyed by an immense wave of destruction.

She could see nothing but the blinding light, overwhelming every sense she had.

Her eardrums exploded as the loud sound caused vibrations which tore her apart.

For the first time in her life of enduring this pain, the girl screamed.

She knew with every fiber of her being that a scream was unforgivable.

Even if nobody was around, she was not allowed to imitate those who were human.

Therefore showing even the slightest sensation of pain or emotion... was unforgivable.

Yet that was completely overtaken by the immense heat which engulfed her.

"HELP!!!! AGH!!!! AGH!!!!!"

However, the pain did not cease.

Her body was torn apart, and she was boiled alive.

Reduced to a pile of flesh which was spewed about, thrown around and sinking into the ground, the girl's organs ceased to function.

However... she did not cease thinking.

Nor did she die.

Soon enough, the light died down.

The explosion ended, and the vibrations ceased.

The radiation continued to fry her, yet the clouds soon dissipated - revealing the broken form of what once was a person.

Yet now, she was nothing more than a pile of irradiated flesh.

A grouping of cells which had retained their consciousness.

Her hair had been burned away, and her organs no longer held any form.

However even so, these pieces of flesh collided in on themselves.

They formed a ball, which soon molded itself to take the form of a human.

Then, her hair grew back, as if it had never even been destroyed in the first place.

The girl stood in this field, looking around to see that she was standing in the center of a crater.

And at that moment, she frowned.

Tears flowed from the eyes of the girl, yet she used all her strength to keep herself from crying.

For such a thing was unforgivable.

The girl was boiling on the inside as the radiation fried her, yet even so - that was not something she had the right to scream about.

Wiping her tears, the girl stood up as she continued to wait in that spot.

She waited.

And she waited.

Days passed, and she continued to wait.

And then, after some point, a plane flew overhead once more.

And from that plane, a voice spoke out from a loudspeaker.

"Number One. It would seem that you survived. You are now free to exit that place. Head West."

The Doctor was the one who said these words.

She knew his voice, and immediately obeyed.

She stepped forward, walking out of that crater as she carried the weight of the world on her back - and she did not stop.

For this was Experiment Number One.

And even something as potent as a Nuclear Bomb could no longer defeat her.

This was the moment that a human calamity was born.

----