Sympathy for the Devil: 09/16/2030, 12:15    and finally, when she watched them force open the gate to the cargo lift with a crane.  (Yes, this is it... this is where that memory is...!) ♪ BGM: LABO Security Lv. 2 ♫  Yeah, we're counting on you. Yep, just leave it to me--Jun went through the opening in high spirits. But on the other side of the gate--  ...all they'd found there was the unidentified body of a girl.  ♪ BGM: Ominous Ambience ♫ (This is when Jun was infected with malice...! Then shouldn't that girl be showing up any second now!? A remnant of Subject N's spirit must be here!) Natsuhiko spoke to the corpse. Now come on out... I'll erase your malice from Jun!When Natsuhiko shouted that-- ???: --You come to kill me? Subject N answered. (...!) ♪ BGM: Evil and Nightmares ♫ Natsuhiko looked back at her, then replied. ...No, not to kill. I'm just repairing these memories back to their original state. Wrong. What you're doing sure as hell ain't repairing, bro. And what the hell do you mean by their 'original state' anyway? Aren't you just deluding yourself to believe that? You're just distorting these memories and rebuilding them as you see fit... If that's your idea of repairing, then that's hilarious. ...Well, maybe it's exactly as you say. But if I leave you alone, people will really die. I'm not talking about this mental world here. I mean the real world. I can't just let that slide. Not a chance. So you're killing in the name of justice, huh? Wow, looks like we got a bona-fide hero here. My body is long dead. And you erased the traces of myself that I left in Jun's memories. You're annihilating me. No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, in the end, it's still murder. You even do it without a moment's hesitation. You've got the makings of a killer, bro. ...Just like Jun.Those words sent a shock through Natsuhiko's mind. Just like Jun...!? You're telling me that Jun... has the makings of a killer too, and not just me!? Well, duh? You just now picking up on that?Subject N snorted. Hey, you ever heard the phrase 'kill one to save a thousand'? Jun hates that phrase. Where's this coming from? The full way of thinking is 'if killing one will end up saving many in exchange, you should do it'. Though she hates it, that's exactly the path Jun chose. You heard her earlier, didn't you, bro?At that moment, Subject N's voice turned into Jun's.   Listen! It's too late to act once someone's been killed! The dead are never coming back! It's not like I wanna do this either, dammit! But if the alternative is to regret the loss of another victim-- I'd rather take this guy down myself, even if his blood on my hands means I'll never work with Sirius again! ...! ...The only thing this girl has is 'saving people'. She believes it's fine to hurt others if it means getting that done. It looks like a paradox, but it all checks out. You've seen enough of her mind so far that you catch what I'm saying, right bro? Jun's a weak girl. She's a bundle of complexes which make her push herself to the point of recklessness. She's also real dependent on others. She's always chasing after someone, whether it's Nagisa, Sis, or the Captain. Relying on others and being relied on is the only way she can find any sense of value in herself. And she hates just how drat weak she is. That self-loathing turns into aggression towards others. She jumps way too easily at the idea of 'protecting Iives' just 'cause it's a just cause. ... You know what happened to Jun after I altered her memories? She got so drat obsessed with saving everyone's lives that she grew willing to slaughter anyone suspicious.The scene in front of them changed the moment Subject N said that.  Jun was walking through a connecting passageway while cursing under her breath. Where the hell... is that bastard...!? (... That bastard hit me on the head from behind...!) I see... so that really was it all along... (It wasn't the Captain. Mr. Ukita was the culprit...) Then... I have no choice... (If he stole the AD-- then I gotta do something.) I gotta do it or I can't protect anyone... I gotta kill that son of a bitch... (I gotta do it if I wanna save everyone...) I gotta bite the bullet and go through with it...! Get it now, bro? Jun wanted to kill Mr. Ukita after he attacked her. Shut up...! I didn' t alter that memory. Jun said those things for a 'fact'. She knew the AD had vanished and thought everyone's lives were at stake... but snapping like that? A little over the top, don'tcha think? She doubted the Captain too, remember? Then she even doubted you guys after all her efforts to keep you safe... Man, talk about putting the cart before the horse. She called Mr. Ukita a weak person, but the real weakling here was obviously J-- I told you to shut up!Natsuhiko interrupted Subject N. You know nothing about Jun...! She wanted to be a hero! Not a hero that beat up bad guys, but one that saved people! ...Do you even know how much blame she put on herself? Do you realize just how much it mentally traumatized her to be unable to save her friend? But she endured that trauma, faced her weaknesses, and overcame them... And that made her strong!Subject N's face warped slightly at those words. ...Of course I knew that much. Because I'm Jun, and Jun is me. Then why are you pouring salt in her wounds!? Shouldn't you at least understand that Jun's mind isn't in the right place anymore!? And also-- that you're the one who made her this way! ...! Hmm... so you're saying that I'm possessing Jun? That it's not just the memory alteration causing this? It's not exactly what you'd call possession... But you used BC on Jun. BC isn't just the power to convey words and memories to others-- but 'feelings' too. Things that can't be expressed in words, memories that can't be imagined-- and your vast malice. All of those feelings are now in Jun's brain as information energy... And once she took them in, Jun ceased to be her normal self. ...Hmph, now ain't that sentimental? 'The life of the dead is retained in the memory of the living' and all that jazz? Yeah... the fact that you're talking with me is proof that you actually exist here. Much like how that Nagisa girl still lives on in Jun's memory... ...Don't you dare say that name.Subject N glared at Natsuhiko. That girl pisses me off. That bitch died nine years ago, yet she still remains in Jun's mind...! ...Did you want to live on in Jun's mind too? No poo poo, Sherlock. We want to connect with others' hearts and minds, leaving our thoughts and feelings behind within them... That's what we Communicators desire above all else. ...I see. Maybe you're right. But... Jun just can't be herself as long as you're still here in her mind. ...I have to erase you.Subject N gave a resigned laugh when she heard that. ...Ha, so in the end, you're still erasing me. You have the 'kill one to save a thousand' mentality too. It's nothing as impressive as that... It's for my own selfish reasons. Well that's just nasty. That makes you no better than someone who kills for fun. No, it's kinda odd in hindsight, but maybe that's just what it is to be a hero.It was getting too painful for Natsuhiko to keep on listening to her. He heard Yuuri's voice echo in the corners of his mind.  {... Hikorin, it's time... You have to erase her. If she's an incarnation of Ms. Jun, then she isn't saying those words because she wants to...) (Yeah... I know.)Subject N probably regretted her own actions and longed to be erased. So she had been egging Natsuhiko on the whole time to goad him into finishing the job. --Natsuhiko had to justify his actions that way or else he couldn't bring himself to carry out his duty. ...I'm going to kill you, Subject N.She smiled at those words. Just hurry up and get it over with already, hero. Then live a long life suffering from the guilt. Yeah... I'll live with it until the day I die. Natsuhiko erased Subject N from Jun's mind. 
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| ← # ? Apr 29, 2017 13:53 |
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