"My coworker's brains are splattered everywhere… did you see it…? The corridors are full of blood…"
"We're all going to die! Those monsters will tear us apart!"
"Manager! Please open the emergency exit! Let me out!"
"Give the order… hehehe… give the order!"
"Security wiped out… what do you have to say now? I'm listening."
"Audrey died because of your incompetence! How will you compensate for the loss of that employee?!"
…
In the flood of screams from employees and accusations from Sephirah over the comms, X pinched the bridge of his nose and said nothing.
Even with the cognitive filter dulling the reality of the footage, watching corridors churned into meat and seeing bodies torn apart—even through a screen—was enough to convey how catastrophic it was.
At the center of the display was the cause:
A massive iron box, its keyhole set with a human eye.
It swung two saw-blades large enough to reach most of the corridor. Clerks and employees—those who'd broken mentally and fled in panic—were butchered as they ran.
"I'm sorry… everyone. This is on me."
X's voice was hoarse in the empty office.
His trembling hand pressed the red-lit button:
Restart the Day.
Time-reversal light swept through. Blood and chaos vanished instantly, returning to the calm of morning preparation.
X stared at the containment slot in the Security Department labeled with a new "?" abnormality and felt only helplessness.
He couldn't even remember how many times he'd been forced into this choice today.
O-05-76—the newly contained Abnormality.
—In the lockhole of the machine, you can feel an unsettling eye watching you.
Because of Qliphoth deterrence meltdown, even if he tried to have employees ignore it, the day inevitably forced someone to enter its chamber to address the meltdown.
But for some reason, every time an employee performed work on it, it escaped—instantly.
Instinct, Insight, Attachment, Repression—it didn't matter.
And worst of all: once it escaped, the combat power it showed was absurd.
Even veteran Level IV employees armed with HE-grade E.G.O weapons and armor had no chance to fight back—no chance even to stall.
The twin high-speed saws came out, and it became a storm of flesh in seconds.
—
After who knew how many restarts and how many bottles of sanity-restoring medication, X finally finished the day with no escape and zero casualties.
Normally, after hitting the daily energy quota, he would make employees work overtime to raise stats and extract more PE-BOX for R&D to create new E.G.O gear.
But today had hollowed him out.
The moment the quota was met, X ended the day without hesitation.
For the employees, perhaps less than eight hours had passed.
For X, he had commanded from the Manager's Office for what felt like an entire day and night.
If not for the thorned crown from One Sin the night before—sharply boosting his mental resilience—X wasn't sure he could've lasted until end-of-day at all.
—
As X trudged through the rest area, dragging his heavy steps—
"Hey, Manager! Rare for you to let us off this early. Want to join our little get-together? A couple drinks?"
"No, thanks, Justin."
X forced a polite smile.
"I'm not feeling great. I'm going to rest."
"Ah… okay then. Take care of yourself, Manager!"
"You too. Have fun. Stay safe."
After parting with the employees, X headed straight back to his room and collapsed onto the bed.
Beep—
Angela initiated a call.
"Hello?"
"X, I've told you this many times."
Angela's projection appeared in the center of the room.
"At work, beyond meeting company targets, the most important thing you must protect… is yourself."
"Thanks."
X sounded drained.
"I'm happy you care. But I'm really fine."
"I don't think you take my words seriously, X."
Angela's brow knit almost imperceptibly; displeasure seeped into her tone.
"To Lobotomy Corporation, employees are the most basic—and the least valuable—consumable resources."
"Even if this entire batch dies to accidents, there will still be countless people—tomorrow, even the next second—desperate to break their skulls open for the chance to join and fill those vacancies."
"The value of their lives is not comparable to your safety."
"Alright, alright… I got it…"
X cut off her lecture with a few perfunctory replies and ended the call decisively.
"Good night, Angela. I'm going to sleep…"
"…You… fine. Sigh."
Angela could only relent.
But beneath her helplessness was a thin thread of hope—
That this Manager would keep that mindset…
So that when the time came…
Even if only for a few days…
She could receive his attention, too.
"…Please rest well."
The projection flickered and vanished.
"Honestly… I can't do it."
X buried his face in the pillow, voice muffled.
"Watching people I know—people who laugh and talk like normal coworkers—die like that…"
"If one day even you needed me to risk my life to save you…"
"I think… I'd do it without hesitation."
"…Angela."
She didn't hear it.
-------
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