Instant Death

Volume 3, Chapter 1 - Why should I have to die in such a place!

Translator: Thy Unsus

Edit: EstrdNxlea

『……Going into diagnostic mode. The circumstances have been judged as EX. Disconnecting the virtual human body and personality unit. Please get up.』

While she heard this voice, Shinozaki Ayaka woke up.

She was lying in quite a strange posture.

Her limbs were caught in something, and her body was tilted.

Her body wouldn’t move well, it was frustrating.

It wasn’t that she was not moving, but she felt like she was controlling something from somewhere far away.

After several times of trial and error, Ayaka got the hang of it.

After thinking that she wanted to move her body, there was a time lag before it actually moved.

In short, she could only move slowly.

Ayaka returned her entangled limbs to normal, then raised her upper body somehow and looked around.

Ayaka took some time to recognize that this place was the sightseeing bus, where the seats were all lined up.

Because the back part of the bus was gone, the floor was slanted.

The aisle was wet with blood.

She looked up a little, and there was someone who was lying down on the side of the doorway.

Lying in the narrow aisle was a student in a boy’s uniform.

There was a huge hole in the male student’s stomach.

He should be dead.

He couldn’t be alive with such a huge injury.

Ayaka then checked her own body.

She was also bloody, and there was also a huge hole in her chest.

Although she was the same as the male student, she was alive for some reason.

Ayaka remembered.

She was on a school trip.

The bus suddenly transferred to a plain, a woman who seemed to be a sage appeared, and her classmates went somewhere and left her behind.

She didn’t quite understand the situation.

But, Ayaka was extremely calm.

Nevertheless, she was aware of the current situation.

『Hello. Were you able to grasp the situation?』

“Who is it?” (Ayaka)

It was the voice she had heard earlier.

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It resounded directly into Ayaka’s head.

『I am a diagnostic unit. And you are a personality unit. You are personified as Shinozaki Ayaka.』

“I don’t understand.” (Ayaka)

Ayaka raised a flat voice.

She certainly didn’t know.

She hadn’t thought anything of it.

『There is confusion seen in your memory. Let us first organize it. We were killed by a mysterious creature during the school trip.』

Ayaka remembered.

Something that had come in through the ceiling penetrated her chest.

There was a dragon in the sky.

The classmates who had run away had said such a thing.

Then, she guessed it was a dragon that had attacked.

『To be exact, because the damage received was similar to a human dying, a state of death had been reproduced. Because, you have nothing similar to death like a human being.』

While the voice was speaking, Ayaka checked the hole that was made in her chest.

At a glance, it was a painful wound.

Blood was overflowing, the flesh was gouged, and the organs were exposed.

Seeing this, if it was said she was truly in a human body, it looked very suspicious.

She slowly inserted her right hand into the wound and checked the interior.

There wasn’t any sensation.

『We are an artificial human. Made of a combination of organic and inorganic matter, it’s an imitation of life.』

That was a shocking reality.

However, her feelings weren’t shaken.

She just thought that it seemed to be so.

“So then, why did you appear?” (Ayaka)

『Yes. Originally, in the case of the situation becoming similar to a human being dying, the state of death from a while ago would be maintained and then wait to be collected. However, wireless communication to the network couldn’t be performed, and the surrounding environment was beyond what was expected. It can be said that we have more stamina that humans, but in this state we will stop functioning after the situation comes to an end.』

“‘You will die when I stop’, isn’t that right? But if I’m an artificial human I won’t die?” (Ayaka)

『Yes. There isn’t no death as a human being. If it is possible to retain stored information, it is possible to recover even after the body’s functions stop. However, there is an argument if the recovery is being done in the laboratory. I judged that there was a low possibility for improving the situation even if I continued to be on standby, as I was. The damage was more than assumed, and there is a loss of several important organs. You aren’t able to move at all as things stand. There was a need to respond urgently, so I proceeded to contact you to do that.』

“In other words, you’re saying only I am able to move this body?” (Ayaka)

『That’s about the gist of it. It is most efficient to move this body through you.』

“The result would only be to die because of the injury similar to death. Is there meaning in prolonging life unreasonably?” (Ayaka)

She didn’t know what the purpose of making her was for, but she would just be newly remade if she was artificial.

Ayaka’s thoughts appeared to be that way now.

It seemed that she was okay in general.

『I don’t know in what way you are thinking, but as a project executing unit, it would be troubling if you die.』

A different voice came to be heard.

There appeared to be various units, but if the reason was for each of them to have individuality, Ayaka thought that it was considerably pointless.

『We don’t have individuality. It is only personality units that have algorithms to simulate emotion, so while you feel individuality in us, it’s nothing more than you continuing to interpret it like that. In actuality, this isn’t a conversation being carried out right now. It’s local communication due to protocols between units.』

“Then, what’s the ‘Project’?” (Ayaka)

『It is a project to build up the next generation of mankind. We are the third plan. With imitations of humans by means of individuals being fused with machines and living creatures, you are expected to adapt and survey their society, but your response is low.』

『It would be the effect of disconnecting the virtual human body. The emotions of the body, they feel influence from your brain.』

So it has the effect of removing pain due to injuries. As her vague feelings were like her body being far away somewhere, Ayaka felt like she left her emotions in some place.

『That is all. Since your project executing unit is having an unnatural situation like this, don’t hesitate to consent.』

『As a medical unit, it is judged to be the very best way. Even if we don’t mention your natural state, it can be said to that it is normal to be dead in this situation.』

『As an opinion from the battle unit, you aren’t able to even fight well as it is now. I am investing in life preservation through most of my energy, however, it’s like pouring water into a zaru missing a bottom. It would use up all of my strength immediately.』

『But I thought of a question from before, can it be said with confidence it is necessary to have a ‘battle unit’?』

『For the time being, how about restoring only the virtual human body? That way it isn’t seen that there is a giant hole in her chest.』

『Regarding that, it is okay. Because of the visual information being masked, she is able to appear and be seen in an unhurt state through the personality unit.』

『That is indeed so, given that the personality unit will gain difficulty in activities from the current status as it is.』

Having various senses resurrected just now, Ayaka fell into disorder.

“Hey! If you decide to do something, notify me in advance!” (Ayaka)

『Excuse me, it is your first time of some sort.』

『So, how is it? Is it your intention to die as is?』

“Certainly not! Why should I have to die in such a place?!” (Ayaka)

It was hard to believe her current state, she had stuck with a pessimistic view of life up until just now.

Ayaka confirmed the status of her body. The hole opened up in her chest had restored to how it was before. Her school uniform was as it was previously, and the dirt, blood, and the like had disappeared completely.

This personal experience was like a considerable shock. If such a thing was able to be done, it had continued to become truly questionable whether everything she was seeing was truth or lies.

“I understand that you guys are inside of me, and it seems to be such if you guys say I’m an android. So, my body is fine if that’s the case?” (Ayaka)

Nevertheless, Ayaka had aside her grand question of whether or not this world was reality. It was because it would be useless to care about that.

『It is necessary to compensate the parts that were lost. Please take in organic collateral.』

Considering what the medical unit was saying, Ayaka stared at the male student that was lying down in front of her eyes.

He was Yuichiro Kiryu. One of the four people left behind on the bus. He had the same experience as Ayaka, there was a large hole in his stomach.

“Take it in……this? This isn’t a joke! Even if I’m distressed to that extent, it’s doing such a thing as eating people!” (Ayaka)

『That is so. I will not say it’s impossible. The reason being it isn’t enough for this amount in the first place.』

『I am also opposed to taking in humans. That would be contradictory to the project.』

“How much longer will I be able to move?” (Ayaka)

『It would be about thirty minutes or so. The reason for that being the prolonged closure of the discussion between us units.』

“Since it is out of the question to do such things as taking in or eating things like human beings anyway!” (Ayaka)

Ayaka decided to leave the bus.

Getting off of the slanted floor, she exited the broken rear to the plain.

The reason of everything occurring in succession isn’t clear, but this scenery appears to be the most strange still.

Despite the fact the bus should have been travelling on the snowy mountain, it was in a plain enveloped in spring weather before she had noticed it. Such a thing didn’t seem very possible.

“Anyhow, I think there were two more people. Do you know what happened?” (Ayaka)

『It was Tomochika Dannoura and Yogiri Takatou that were left behind on the bus. It doesn’t seem to be like that anymore, so that means they aren’t dead in this place, at the least.』

“There aren’t any records or something like that in the time I was dead?” (Ayaka)

『But there is no way to hear or see something as a dead person? Our doing only corresponds with the research laboratory.』

“What an obstinate policy.” (Ayaka)

『Let us accept that there is a point where it surely isn’t possible to be flexible. Still, it is a policy change. Now, to take all the means that are obtainable, it is our maximum priority objective to return to the research laboratory in one way or another.』

She looked around at the surroundings.

The plains continued on thoroughly. There was a forest nearby, and something that seems to be a town is seen in the distance.

And, there was something that seems to be a large reptile collapsed on the side of the bus. It seems that it is a dragon. It is the being that had killed Ayaka and Kiryu.

Her anger surged as she looked at it. Ayaka approached the dragon and kicked its head.

Thereupon, the dragon’s head vigorously turned upward, and twisted to a ridiculous orientation.

“Eh?” (Ayaka)

Ayaka was overcome with surprise. She had intended to kick it lightly, with the reason being she thought it would only bounce off scales that appeared to be hard.

『Currently, the limiter is disconnected so the body can forcibly be moved. Please be careful.』

『If it’s the mass of this creature, it might be enough to restore the parts that were lost.』

『It is better than eating humans.』

“……this?” (Ayaka)

She looked at the dragon again.

Its skin was covered with tough-looking scales. It seemed it would take time to search for a part that could be eaten.

『It is a living creature we don’t know of, but it’s probably a reptile. It would be similar to a dinosaur that seemed to have existed during the Mesozoic Era. It is a carbon creature for sure.』(???)

Ayaka was a little perplexed. However, she couldn’t think of any other good ideas. Her remaining time was already under thirty minutes.

『As a judgement unit, I think you should die as a human instead of being as unnecessary as you are. If you leave behind a secured storage of records, it would be found by someone eventually.』

If the project was to fabricate a human, it would conclude with death. Even if she died here, she would probably still be called a precious result of the experiment.

Ayaka thought about it. If it’s fine to put and end to it and die here.

There wasn’t a reason to want to die. Ayaka’s life had been sailing smoothly up until now. She had expected to continue walking her life which had promised happiness in the future after this.

She was still a second year highschool student. In her future after this, there should have been many things she would be able to do. Despite this, would it really be okay to put an end to it and send her life into nothing in a place she didn’t understand for such a reason?

“Besides, I cannot bear to die after being used by such people.” (Ayaka)

As she thought about her classmates, she was attacked by a violent emotion that seemed to completely boil in her intestines.

They should have been thinking of a good way to escape with the entire class. However, they made a quick decision that was heartless and too easy-going.

At that time, it seems that something like a sense of discrimination towards incompetent people had already started to sprout.

She was unable to forgive that.

Above all else, she wasn’t able to pardon a person looking down on Ayaka Shinozaki.

“What should I do?” (Ayaka)

『I want to know the composition first, so could you please taste a little?』

Ayaka thrust into the dragon’s scales with her sword-hand.

Piercing easily, her hand slipped into the raw, warm flesh. Adequately tearing off some flesh, Ayaka carried it to her mouth. She wouldn’t be able do to such a thing if she was as usual. However, she would survive by any means necessary, and get revenge on her classmates. Such dark feelings, they made it possible to do disgusting acts.

The dragon’s flesh and blood was delicious. The moment she tasted it, she felt a pleasant feeling similar to being charmed. And then, a strong feeling of hunger began to assail her.

『There isn’t any problems. It would be sufficient if you receive and eat 10 tons.』

『I don’t accept the consumption of meat from a living creature I don’t know of with such a reason. Although, it might be less objectionable than eating humans it would seem.』

It didn’t take very long before Ayaka had eaten most of the dragon.