The kind of pleasure that ordinary people cannot withstand will strip them of their very selves.
If even a single speck of dust from those thorns were to drift down into the mortal world, humanity as a whole would likely remain forever ensnared—flailing for survival as though trapped in a bottomless swamp.
...
[O-02-98] is contained in a newly constructed unit under the Control Department, monitored and managed exclusively by them.
This HE-class Abnormality outwardly appears to be some kind of hybrid between plant and creature.
In short—it is grotesque. When viewed through the Cognition Filter, it takes on the look of a twisted fairy tale: not frightening at first glance, yet saturated with an unsettling, alien strangeness.
Description:
[O-02-98] has a slender, serpent-like body, endlessly coiling and swaying, with portions suspended in midair. The mechanism behind its levitation is unknown—and deemed unnecessary to pursue.
Its resemblance is closer to a cactus with a serpent's body: green skin lined with visible plant fibers, its surface bristling with soft spines reminiscent of an ornamental cactus.
Most striking is its head—a massive crimson blossom. The petals burn with a vivid rouge, pure scarlet, as though painted upon an actor's face. Only the central pistil breaks the red, a perfect circle of bright yellow.
This feature alone suggests it leans more toward the botanical than the animalistic.
Perhaps… it is best described as a flower-serpent, a predatory plant that carries certain animal traits.
Around the junction beneath its bloom rests a collar-like shackle, inlaid with what looks to be a red gemstone.
Behavioral analysis so far indicates it is not overtly hostile. Indeed, with its round, sesame-sized black eyes set into the heart of the scarlet flower, the entity's expression comes across as oddly comical.
But this still requires debugging—filling in the unknowns. The danger Abnormalities pose to employees cannot be underestimated. Whether their forms appear fierce or deceptively adorable, their destructive potential can never be judged by surface appearance alone.
X did not want to see any more casualties. Yesterday, two employees had already been lost, the price of her own indulgence. For the Corporation, losing only two workers was trivial—hardly a statistic worth noting. But perfection is what people strive for.
Everyone hopes to complete their assignments without unnecessary bloodshed, don't they?
Besides, the death of employees sends ripples in many directions—Dean's mental state, overall morale, and her own performance evaluation as Manager, graded by Angela.
For such a vast Corporation, two deaths were not even the ripple from a pebble cast into a lake.
Yet that was no excuse to dismiss human lives, nor justification to deliberately allow employees to die.
X was no sadist. She took no joy in watching suffering, nor in toying with people's pain.
Every employee is a valued asset of the Corporation… The question remained: how to prevent losses? Perhaps only through "cheating." In the face of incomplete data, someone must test, someone must debug. The path of discovery is always paved with sacrifice.
Still… everything can be restarted.
[Lobotomy Corporation Simulator — The Best Work-Love Integration Simulator]
[The simulation has begun ——]
[Day 10 —— This is way more potent than Enkephalins~]
[Today, you have assimilated Abnormality Subject Number [O-02-98]. It is under the jurisdiction of the Control Department, and you hold great confidence in the Control Department Dean. You trust the Dean will manage everything flawlessly.]
[As you oversee operations, your attention divided among other Departments, a sudden report arrives from the Control Department Dean: an employee has died within [O-02-98]'s containment unit. His work result was marked "Excellent," and the energy output was considerable.]
[Considering the corrosive damage inflicted on the employee during 'Instinct' work with [O-02-98], despite his 'Excellent' performance,]
[You infer that [O-02-98] reacts directly to work results. It may be the type that becomes dangerous when results are rated 'Excellent.' You order another employee to attempt 'Repression' work.]
[Your deduction proves correct. [O-02-98] favors 'Instinct' but despises 'Repression.' As expected, the result was 'Bad,' yet the employee safely exited the Containment unit.]
[An urgent message arrives from the Control Department: [O-02-98] has breached containment. Suppression incurs heavy casualties.]
[The escape of [O-02-98] results in widespread deaths among multiple departments. It seems particularly lethal to employees with slightly lower stats, while elite personnel are capable of suppressing it with proper training.]
[You reattempt assimilation and management of [O-02-98]. The elite employee who worked on it exhibits a level of addiction surpassing even that of Enkephalin dependence.]
[...]
[...]
[Due to your management errors, the entire Department is now suffering under [O-02-98]'s addictive influence. The silver lining: few remain in the Control Department—most of their heads have already exploded.]
[You successfully completed today's energy quota. You decided to go home, even with [O-02-98] still on the loose.]
[The AI punishes you for catastrophic mismanagement...]
[Your psyche is Distorted...]
[You are delighted...]
[You begin to understand the employees' feelings, and their connection with [O-02-98]...]
[Achievement Unlocked — OMG, this is so much fun!]
[Reminder: Temperance is vital. The virtue of Temperance helps one restrain desires when faced with them.]
[Please select your reward:
1. Fortitude (+1)
2. Prudence (+1)
3. Temperance (+1)
4. Justice (+1)]
The word Temperance glowed with particular weight. X felt a hazy clarity, as though her clouded mind had finally grasped something.
"Ahem… Angela. Bring me another coffee. No sugar this time."
Heat rushed across her face, a sudden flush of embarrassment—not from illness, but from thoughts she had no wish to voice.
Uncomfortable, unsavory notions she tried to dismiss.
She finally understood why employees' heads would explode, and what exactly that "too much fun" was referring to.
Well… let's just say it was something every adult would understand—though X herself would rather not admit it.
For adults, one ought to grow accustomed to drinking something a little more… mature. Black coffee was a suitable choice.
Bitter, dark, rich—if savored carefully, it could even be… tolerable. Well, no, X still couldn't truly appreciate it. She was not a devoted coffee drinker; her palate still leaned toward sweetness. But now was not the time for sugar.
Bitterness brought clarity. Bitterness kept one sharp enough to work.
Coffee was never meant as an everyday indulgence, yet in the office, a cup was indispensable for keeping one's spirit from unraveling.
"Malkuth, regarding management of [O-02-98]: assign elite employees whose mental states are… questionable, perhaps even depraved, but whose [Temperance] stat is Level Four or above. Rotate them regularly, and do not allow others access to its Containment unit."
X watched the cactus-serpent bloom coiled within its chamber. She had likely grasped its defining trait. If her judgment was correct, [O-02-98] was an Abnormality that induced pleasure. And such pleasure…
It was indescribable—beyond what the ordinary human frame could withstand. For the common, that surge of euphoria was not exhilarating but lethal. Literally joy to the point of death.
Put another way, [O-02-98] could invert despair into delight—provided the subject could endure the overwhelming rush.
By the Corporation's stat divisions, only employees with [Temperance] at Level Four or higher could barely restrain their desires, keeping the blood from flooding their brains, preventing their heads from bursting like ripe melons.
This Abnormality was effectively a new form of addictive narcotic for the Corporation—its potency and side effects far exceeding Enkephalins. A specialized handler had to be assigned. And that handler…
Would almost certainly never leave [O-02-98]. The addiction was undeniable, a rapture beyond human imagination. Without continual exposure, the employee would collapse into madness—withdrawal symptoms worse than any known drug, obsession more violent than any craving.
Enkephalin itself was relatively mild. Used as intended, its side effects were minimal. Its dangers came mainly from misuse. With discipline, withdrawal could be endured, health restored within days. Compared to true neurotoxic narcotics, Enkephalin was merciful.
This was why the Corporation rationed it carefully. Enkephalin use was not forbidden—abuse was.
But [O-02-98]? That was another matter entirely. Its existence threatened to undo every addict's recovery, its allure making abstinence a mockery. Inevitably, this raised questions about X's judgment. Each new Abnormality she acquired seemed worse than the last—was she raising the bar of difficulty on purpose?
[O-02-98] demanded exacting stats. Under proper conditions, it was trivial to manage. But for those with low Temperance, it was devastating, nearly impossible to endure.
It was as though the Abnormality itself were urging X to abandon the hordes of cannon fodder and shift to an elite-centered strategy. It was a policy long overdue—yet X still hesitated to commit.
After all, the Deans were not heartless. They might not share deep bonds, but their intentions were rarely malicious. Not everyone could simply abandon employees who fell behind. And within the Corporation's carefully controlled environment—where true accidents were rare—motivation often stagnated.
Yet occasional incidents were necessary. Without them, employees lacked a sense of crisis, the pressure to grow sharper. X wondered if introducing a "Demotion to Clerk" disciplinary rule would help.
Downsizing, in the right measure, might strengthen survival instincts.
Constant assignments with mild Abnormalities like [One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds] or [Punishing Bird] left little room for growth. Talent cultivation was always difficult; perhaps that was why Angela scrutinized Hod with such merciless severity. After all, the Training Department existed to supply the Corporation with fresh blood.
The Information Department's compiled report on [O-02-98] confirmed X's initial assessment: this was an Abnormality capable of delivering overwhelming pleasure—so overwhelming it burst its victims' skulls.
Its official designation: [Porccubus]. The name was suggestive, but apt. Put more bluntly… well, suffice to say its origins lay in something Succubus-like. Best not to press further; X herself wasn't eager to dwell on the implication.
Containment Data:
Qlipoth Counter: 2
When an employee achieves an Excellent work result, [Porccubus] lashes out with its cactus-like tail spines, piercing the worker. If their [Temperance] stat is below Level Four, the euphoria is so extreme that their head explodes.
It is the kind of death where the entire upper skull bursts apart, leaving only the smiling lower jaw beneath. Even through the Cognition Filter, the scene is grotesque.
And yet… it is clear that the sensation must feel indescribably good. This is a death one embraces willingly.
[Porccubus] favors Instinct work. Testimonies from employees who survived contact describe it as a "trust game." Once trust is secured, [Porccubus] grants the worker their heart's desire—pleasure so absolute it becomes lethal.
To ordinary humans, it is like offering an ant an entire jar of honey. Unsustainable. Fatal.
Containment Protocols:
No employee with [Temperance] under Level Four is to enter [Porccubus]'s containment chamber.
Low-Temperance staff are forbidden from suppression operations against [Porccubus]. It is exceedingly lethal to those with inadequate stats.
[Porccubus] despises Repression work. A "Bad" result does not harm the employee directly, but decreases its counter by one, significantly raising escape risk.
Escapes must be handled by elite, high-Temperance employees only.
Desire is like quicksand—drawing people deeper until restraint is impossible.
X despised that. Or perhaps she despised indulging her own desires. Desire always ended in self-destruction, just as it had for those employees whose heads exploded in rapture.