Thud thud~
"How are they?"
Ron rushed into the dark corridor of the hospital, which was drenched in flesh and blood everywhere.
"Two out of the three have regained consciousness. Quân suffered from drug shock this morning, had a seizure, but has been stabilized and is currently undergoing treatment."
Lunas spoke as he followed closely behind Ron, his eyes constantly narrowing as he advanced step by step along the stark white corridor.
"...Those two— No, Lunas, how are you feeling right now???"
Ron wanted to say something, but abruptly stopped and shifted to a different question directed at Lunas himself.
Lunas found it slightly confusing, but he easily accepted it.
"I am... fine, nothing is wrong, I am still healthy, just a little sleepy."
Lunas spoke in a drowsy voice, but he did not receive empathy from Ron, but rather a terrifying gaze.
Ron glanced at Lunas while running, his eyes widening, the golden pupils faintly appearing within the shadows of the corridor like the predatory gaze of an eagle.
"Lunas... I just saw dozens of corpses outside, certainly killed by you. How did you feel when you killed them? Right at the moment you tore them apart."
Caught off guard by Ron's question, his footsteps gradually slowed down. Lunas seriously fell into his own memories.
"...No, um... well, it was kind of like killing a beast, even though I knew I was killing a human... who was insane."
Instantly, Ron's gaze froze. His footsteps did not decrease in speed, but rather rushed even faster, though there was still some time left before reaching the room of those people.
During that time, Ron racked his brain pondering over Lunas's words. He first signaled for Lunas to rest, then headed upstairs to find the room.
'Dehumanization psychological mechanism? Or psychological dissociation? Cotard's delusion? Schizophrenia? Cognitive dissonance? No, this situation is truly hard to say. Lunas is still the Lunas I know, regardless of morality. Lunas's actions and words remain the same, and there is no state of being manipulated by magic. If that were the case, it would definitely have to be an extremely powerful entity.'
It must be noted that Lunas was a good person, but he was also someone who was not entirely clean. A murderer could also be someone who sold children's toys if they wished.
But since when did slaughter like this become a daily routine?
Except for Ron and Janeus, two unusual individuals, was there anyone else like this in this lifetime? Yes, war produced plenty, but Lunas was only eighteen years old. The number of lives he had taken was merely a fraction compared to what a butcher handled in a week.
Lunas's psychology was also always thoroughly examined. Anything could happen in this line of work, so proper preparation from the beginning was exactly what was needed.
Ron thought of another alternative, which though more feasible, made Ron incredibly skeptical.
'Is it a fake Lunas? No, if so, why kill that horde of monsters? Wouldn't that benefit the ground? Is it to gain trust? No, if that were the goal, staying with those three people would also build trust. What kind of plan is it? Is there any possibility?'
Ron immediately recalled two matters.
First, the twenty second protocol. In truth, it came from the fact that Ron was the proactive party to meet and speak.
Indeed, whether it was a long distance communication device or a meeting request, he had to be the one to speak first. This was a method to avoid being traced if Lunas were captured, which was why he broke the protocol because he was not the party requesting the meeting.
Accordingly, the three times meeting Lunas were:
Fake: broke the twenty second protocol. Real/Fake: twenty seconds. Real/Fake: twenty seconds.
Because Ron did not notice anything unusual, it leaned more toward being real.
The second matter was...
The hypothesis Ron had formulated from observing since the beginning.
This space was unpredictably abnormal. The 'residents' had shifted from tearing each other apart to becoming more cooperative, and then leaving each other alone to live. But why attack Lunas if Lunas had not attacked beforehand?
'Meaning...'
Ron stopped thinking. He halted his steps before a door, where the next secrets would be unveiled.