Chapter 82
A black shadow walked briskly down the corridor, its footsteps making no sound.
With her dark hair fluttering behind her and her black cloak trailing like a tail, the girl headed decisively toward a room in the luxurious hotel, its floor covered in a heavy carpet.
Her name was Gakidou. No one knew her given name.
"Good work."
Two large agents stationed in the corridor gave Gakidou a slight nod in greeting.
"Hey."
"Ah, y-yes, what is it, Agent G?"
Although Gakidou had sharply said "Hey (angrily)" in a harsh tone, she said nothing more and strode past them with the wind on her shoulders. The agents were left deeply uneasy, convinced they had angered the legendary super-elite agent.
Of course, she wasn't actually an unpleasant superior who took out her bad mood on subordinates—she had simply meant to say "Hey (no need to be so formal)" as a sign of concern.
"What's gotten into everyone? They all seemed so jumpy... Could it be Finger Man's doing again? (*As usual.)"
Agent G was about to make her routine report on the live thread: "Finger Man is tampering with the minds of the people around me. I can't trust anyone anymore."
Hm, we're here. But since I've arrived at the destination, I'll post on the thread later." She tucked her smartphone into the pocket of her cloak, tightened the usually-loose tie a little, and adjusted her sunglasses lightly with her middle finger. One must maintain appearances. Gakidou knocked on the door of the hotel room protected by Foundation agents and entered with a simple "I'm coming in.
The room was decorated with elegant, high-quality furnishings.
On the desk sat an absurdly large platter of fruit that seemed completely unnecessary.
"You're late...! Just how long do you intend to keep me waiting...?!"
The one chomping irritably on the fruit platter was a giant with an extravagant white beard—Gregorious Shita Chichigasky, known as the modern-day Marx.
Gakidou walked over without changing her expression and sat across from Dr. Shita Chichigasky.
"Hah, what a joke—'the land of manners'? And they call someone like this the most elite agent among all the Foundation branches? It's laughable!"
"(The grapes look tasty.)"
Gakidou picked up a bunch of grapes and began munching them one by one.
"Tch, to act like that in front of me... Hmph. I suppose that's what makes you Agent G. To behave that way before Gregorious Shita Chichigasky... That kind of nerve must come from your pride as a top-tier agent. It borders on arrogance. But I suppose only an agent of your caliber could get away with it."
"(I'll save these as rations for Captain Chun later.)"
Gakidou tucked the grapes into her coat.
By the way, Captain Chun was the sparrow who led the non-human special team G-Squad under Gakidou's command. She was popular in some circles for her cuteness.
"Shita Chichigasky, one of the 'Four Emperors of Dungeon Academia.'"
"Kuh... (What a cold voice... Only someone utterly devoid of human emotion could sound like that...) You made contact with Finger Man. What I want to ask is your impression of him."
Though overwhelmed by Gakidou's intensity, Dr. Shita Chichigasky gulped and puffed up his massive body in a show of defiance.
"That doesn't matter! It's your job to do something about him! You should be using Outer Sea Six Paths to kill him right now!"
"Pitiful. He's in extreme confusion."
"W-wait, what are you doing... What's with that hand?!"
"This is a hand chop."
Gakidou formed her hand into a chopping shape.
In that instant, Dr. Shita Chichigasky rolled his eyes back and lost consciousness.
She was so fast that everyone missed the motion.
When next he awoke, Dr. Shita Chichigasky was slumped face-down at the same desk.
"Ow..."
As soon as he woke, a sharp pain shot through the back of his neck.
"Good morning, Shita Chichigasky."
"Why was I asleep...?"
"I want to hear about Finger Man."
Gakidou repeated in a flat voice.
"R-right! That's what I was saying! You have to kill Finger Man!"
"Pitiful. Still confused."
Another hand chop. Struck in the neck, Dr. Shita Chichigasky lost consciousness again.
When he next woke up, he was once more slumped over the desk.
As he lifted his face, pain shot through the back of his neck—worse than before.
"Good morning, Shita Chichigasky."
"Eh... (Didn't I just see this...? N-no way, a time loop...?)"
"I want to hear about Finger Man."
"Y-yeah! That's right! You people don't understand how dangerous he is, so you're acting so carefree! To eliminate him, I'd even use nuclear fire—"
"Pitiful. Still confused."
And so Gakidou's hand chop repeated, and Dr. Shita Chichigasky began to feel like he was trapped in a looping timeline.
A manual time loop, essentially.
"(H-how can I escape this time loop...?! The pain in my neck is so bad I feel like I'll die next time...!)"
"I want information on Finger Man."
"(Maybe I'll try a different approach this time...)"
Dr. Shita Chichigasky obediently answered Gakidou's question and began to talk about Finger Man. But as he spoke, he recalled overwhelming terror, began to slur his words, and couldn't stop trembling.
"I—I was captured by Finger Man..."
"He attacked you first, and after the fight, you lost and were taken prisoner."
"Yes... But 'prisoner' doesn't even begin to describe it...! Hiiiee! Ahh, my brain, my brain is starting to itch!"
"Your brain itches?"
"He—he killed me over and over! Each time, his body would twitch with pleasure, and he'd smile with a sticky, slimy grin...!"
"Finger Man... So he really does have extreme fetishes."
Gakidou grinned, satisfied that her profiling had been accurate.
Suddenly recalling something, Gakidou pulled out an item of evidence.
'Ring Finger of Meteoritic Iron'—a revival-type anomalous substance.
When it was thrust before him, Dr. Shita Chichigasky gasped sharply.
His face turned pale in an instant.
"You said he killed you multiple times. Doesn't that mean you were revived multiple times as well?"
Gakidou asked flatly.
Perhaps realizing he couldn't weasel out of it, Dr. Shita Chichigasky put on a defiant face and said boldly, "Yeah, so what...?! I had no choice but to use it to withstand Finger Man's relentless torture!"
"Treaty of Rome."
"Hah! A naive little girl like you dares to lecture me?!"
"......"
"International law means nothing! Gregorious Shita Chichigasky, one of the 'Four Emperors of Dungeon Academia,' is beyond such things!"
"......That may be true."
Gakidou admitted it without argument.
In fact, Dr. Shita Chichigasky had covered up many misdeeds with money and power. Many had been silenced, erased, or died with regrets—losing their research and having their honors stripped away.
Dr. Shita Chichigasky leaned back in his chair, proud that he had overpowered even Gakidou.
"A-anyway, Finger Man is the issue right now!"
Despite leaning back, his voice trembled when talking about Finger Man.
"He dragged me into a bizarre pocket dimension, imprisoned me, and used the 'Ring of Meteoritic Iron' to revive me over and over—then kill me again and again...! He's a demon. I can't believe he has a human heart. I only survived because I had 60 levels' worth of explorer status. If it weren't me, no one could've escaped him."
"You barely escaped with your life from Finger Man."
"Y-yeah, that's right! (Strictly speaking, it was Shirokko who took my place and saved me... I never thought he'd be so loyal...)"
"I see. That's impressive."
Gakidou confirmed, "Is that all you have to say?"
"Yeah. I have nothing more to add."
That is the full account of the incident between Dr. Shita Chichigasky and Finger Man.
Dr. Shita Chichigasky attended a dungeon-related conference, where he encountered Finger Man. One of his guards was attacked with a mind-affecting skill, and he was then assaulted, abducted, and imprisoned. Finger Man had his twisted fun, but the brave, clever, and brilliant Dr. Shita Chichigasky managed to escape the pocket dimension—barely alive. ←You are here
"Listen, you must not let Finger Man roam free. And stop pointlessly confining me in this hotel. We don't have time for this. (I've failed to eliminate that petty scientist. I need to finish him off before he says anything unnecessary, but these agents keep getting in my way.)"
Gakidou calmly completed the report, closed the file, put away her pen, and began preparing to leave.
"H-hey! What are you doing?! Didn't I tell you to release me?!"
"It's dangerous outside. We don't know where Finger Man might be."
"Then you should protect me, Agent G!"
Ignoring Dr. Shita Chichigasky's words, Gakidou walked out of the room.
In her place entered a girl with white hair and tanned skin.
Her name was Chikusendou. Her given name wasn't very well known.
"Gakidou onee-sama......♡"
"Agent C, I leave the rest to you."
"......Y-yes! ——Alright, let's go, you shriveled, impotent lackey of Araragi."
Chikusendou entered, bringing with her a hulking brute of a man.
The big men flanked Dr. Shita Chichigasky on either side—one seized him in a full nelson while the other clenched his fist and drove it mercilessly into his solar plexus.
The blade-like punch made Dr. Shita Chichigasky retch violently and nearly collapse onto the floor.
"Gah...! W-wait, what the hell is the meaning of this...?!"
"Retribution, obviously. Don't you get it? You stirred up quite the mess inside the Foundation. Even rooted yourself this deep into Japan."
Chikusendou pulled out a tablet and thrust the screen in front of Dr. Shita Chichigasky.
On it was an image of the Dungeon Foundation's JPN headquarters' number two, beaten to a pulp by Chikusendou's torture.
The moment he saw it, Dr. Shita Chichigasky understood.
He had lost all backing in this country.
The ambush forces he had set up had already been wiped out.
"W-w-wait! I'm the Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the RUS Dungeon Foundation! I don't belong here! I should be immediately extradited to Russia!"
"Yeah, but this isn't Russia, is it?"
Chikusendou gave a signal with her eyes, and the big men injected a sedative into Dr. Shita Chichigasky's neck.
"Guh! Damn it... are you planning to erase me...?!"
"Erase you? Don't be ridiculous."
"Eh..."
"There's a lot we want to ask you. Oh, and look—we even got a fun new toy. Looks like we'll be able to 'play' plenty."
Chikusendou picked up the 'Ring of Meteoritic Iron' that had been deliberately left on the desk and dangled it in front of Dr. Shita Chichigasky's face.
In his fading consciousness, Dr. Shita Chichigasky realized the worst outcome was still yet to come.
"Ah, w-wait, wait... guha, ngh... it was me, it was all my fault..."
"Saying something that convenient now? That's hilarious."
"No... stop... let... go... no..."
Muttering those broken words, the Doctor eventually lost consciousness.
After that, no one ever saw him again.
With the new intel she had acquired, Gakidou updated the report on Finger Man.
"Finger Man... I'll find you, no matter what."
Agent G's investigation continues——.