(3rd POV - Kato Megumi)
a bit of flashback
[Mutual Aid Chat Group]
Stelle: So I'm telling you, if it jiggles, it's probably edible.
Lumine: That is not a reliable standard.
Stelle: Says the person who lives in a world full of slimes.
Lumine: Slimes are not food.
Stelle: You're telling me no one has ever tried?
There was a brief pause, as if Lumine was reconsidering something she really didn't want to admit.
Lumine: …That's not the point.
Stelle: So that's a yes.
Lumine: It's a "stop asking."
Stelle: Coward.
A new message appeared, cutting into their exchange.
Belle: I leave for five minutes and you're debating whether elemental lifeforms are edible?
Stelle: Important survival knowledge.
Lumine: It's not.
Belle: Please don't test that theory and then ask me how to fix it.
Stelle: No promises.
The chat continued at its usual, oddly relaxed pace
Megumi: um, guys I think there's… something in front of me.
The flow of messages stopped.
Not completely.
But noticeably.
Stelle: Oh. New message.
Belle: Megumi?
Lumine: What happened?
Megumi: There's someone in front of me.
Megumi: …But they don't feel normal.
Lumine: Describe it.
Belle: Stay calm. Don't get closer.
Stelle: And don't eat it.
Megumi: I wasn't planning to.
Megumi lifted her gaze from the translucent screen floating before her eyes.
The "person" crouched ahead in the alley remained unnaturally still. Its shoulders twitched sharply every few seconds while broken giggles escaped from its mouth nonstop. The sound was hollow and wrong, completely detached from normal human emotion.
Its fingers dug into its own arm hard enough to tear flesh apart, yet it showed no reaction to the pain.
Then its head slowly tilted sideways at an impossible angle while black-and-red eyes locked directly onto Ren. The smile on its face stretched wider and wider until it almost reached its ears.
At the same time, something fleshy suddenly emerged from behind its back.
It resembled a long crimson tail covered in veins and twitching flesh, dragging itself slowly across the ground like a living organ.
Megumi quietly stared at it for a moment before typing again.
[Mutual Aid Chat Group]
Without moving her hands, without making a sound—
A thought formed.
And was sent.
Megumi: It's crouching… laughing. Its movements are unnatural. Eyes are black and red and It has some kind of tail coming out from its back.
Lumine: That's not human.
Belle: Agreed. High probability of a hostile entity. Avoid direct confrontation if possible.
Stelle: Yeah, that sounds like something that would try to eat you.
Megumi's gaze remained steady on the figure ahead.
Another thought surfaced.
Megumi: I'm not alone.
A brief pause followed
Belle: Ally?
Stelle: Or liability?
Megumi's eyes shifted slightly toward Ren's back.
He stood there casually with one hand holding his bag, posture completely relaxed as if the thing in front of him wasn't dangerous at all.
Megumi: A classmate. He's standing in front of me.
Lumine: Is he aware of the danger?
As if answering that question—
"…Why are you staring at me like that?" Ren's voice sounded, calm and unbothered. "Also… do you need eye drops?"
The creature's laughter sharpened, turning more unstable.
Megumi remained still.
Megumi: …Yes. He's aware.
A short pause.
Stelle: I see...That's very like-protagonist behavior.
Belle: Focus. Megumi, what's his condition? Panicked? Injured?
Megumi observed Ren for a moment longer.
Megumi: Calm. Very calm.
Lumine: That's unusual.
Belle: Either he doesn't understand the situation…Or he understands it completely.
Stelle: Or he's the strongest one there.
Megumi didn't respond immediately.
Her gaze remained on Ren.
On the way he stood as if none of this mattered.
On the way he didn't move even a single step back.
Megumi: …I'm not sure which.
Belle: …Wait.
Belle: Why is there no Aid prompt?
A short pause followed, as if the system itself had been questioned.
Stelle: eh?
Belle: Last time, when Lumine got chased by a pack of slimes, the system immediately issued a support quest.
Stelle: "Emergency Aid: Prevent Lumine from becoming slime food." Rewards included, too.
Lumine: …I remember. It was unnecessary.
Stelle: You still ran.
Lumine: Tactical retreat. Also That wasn't the right wording!
Stelle: Same meaning.
Belle: Focus.
A brief silence settled again, heavier this time.
Stelle: So why isn't it triggering now?
Belle: …Good question.
The chat paused.
Then—
A new system line appeared.
[Scanning current environment …]
Stelle: Oh NOW it decides to work.
Belle: Quiet.
The message lingered for a moment.
[Analyzing threat level…]
[Evaluating participant condition…]
[Analysis complete.]
A final line appeared.
[Result: No aid required.]
The chat froze for a second.
Stelle: Huh?
Belle: …That's not right.
Lumine: Yeah, can you explain why?
Another system line followed.
[Conclusion: User "Megumi" is not in danger.]
A brief pause.
Then—
Stelle: …Are we looking at the same situation?
Belle: Hostile entity confirmed. Proximity is extremely close. yet the system concludes "no danger"…?
Lumine: Wait, is it because...
Lumine: The system does not recognize the current situation as a threat because of him.
Stelle: …By the classmate?
Megumi's eyes shifted, just slightly, toward Ren's back.
Stelle: …Okay.
Stelle: Now I'm REALLY interested.
Lumine: Megumi, Stay close to him for now.
Belle: Agreed.
Megumi: …Okay.
Megumi quietly looked toward Ren's back again.
(Change of POV, Back to the Present)
Ren let out a quiet breath.
In front of him, the ghoul's body lowered further, muscles tightening like a coiled spring pushed to its limit. Its laughter had stopped completely now, replaced by something far more dangerous—focus.
"…Yeah," Ren muttered, tilting his head slightly. "That's usually when things go bad."
Behind him, he could faintly sense Megumi's presence. Still quiet. Still there.
Good.
That meant he didn't have to worry about anything slipping past him.
The ghoul moved.
No warning, no hesitation—its body blurred forward, It's kagune aimed straight for Ren's throat with inhuman speed.
Ren didn't dodge.
He didn't step back.
Instead, he raised his hand slightly, as if casually greeting someone.
"Alright, time-out," he said.
*Snap*
The world… didn't stop.
But something changed.
Invisible. Subtle.
Like a script being edited mid-scene.
The ghoul's body suddenly jerked violently.
A strange, muffled sound echoed from within its chest—like something shifting where it shouldn't.
It froze.
Its hands trembled slightly, fingers twitching as confusion overtook its expression.
The ghoul's body twitched again.
Then its mouth slowly opened.
At first, nothing happened.
A moment later, something small pushed its way out from inside.
A twitching shape.
A tiny nose.
A pair of glossy black eyes.
A squirrel.
It slipped out of the ghoul's mouth and dropped onto the ground, landing lightly before darting off without hesitation.
For a brief second—
Everything was still.
Then another one appeared.
And another.
Small squirrels began emerging one after another, squeezing their way out as if the ghoul's body had somehow become a nest. They didn't hesitate, didn't look back—each one immediately scampered away, disappearing into the corners of the alley.
The ghoul staggered, its body swaying as its strength rapidly faded.
No blood.
No violent struggle.
Just an unnatural emptiness, as if something inside it had been quietly… replaced.
Ren watched the scene with mild curiosity, tilting his head slightly.
"…Huh," he muttered. "That's one way to solve a hunger problem."
The last squirrel slipped out and vanished into the shadows.
The ghoul's body went still.
Then it slowly collapsed.
The alley fell silent once more.
Ren stared at the corpse for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
"…Huh."
He scratched his cheek lightly.
"Okay, that might've been a little overkill." ( •̀ - •́ )
Behind him, Megumi remained silent.
Ren glanced back slightly, his tone returning to normal, almost casual.
"…Sorry about that. Shortcut might've been a bad idea."
Ren cursed inwardly. Who would've thought the traits of SCP-2030 (Reality Warping) would twist his intentions like this?
When he used its power, he only wanted to end the fight quickly—without bloodshed, without anything gruesome, especially with Kato right behind him.
End the battle quickly? Done.
Without any bloodshed? Well, technically, turning every organ and drop of blood into something else meant no blood was spilled.
Nothing gruesome? Turning everything into cute squirrels… also done.
"…What the hell," Ren muttered under his breath. "I'm not in Fuyuki, and I'm definitely not using that broken cup. So why does my wish still get twisted like this?"
He let out a quiet sigh.
"…Wait," he paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Is it because SCP-2030's nature is already twisted to begin with?"
'I guess, Power like this wasn't something I could use carelessly.'
If SCP-2030's reality warping worked similarly to that broken cup wish fulfillment, then vague intentions could easily become twisted results.
Which meant that if Ren wanted precise outcomes (though it might still get a bit twisted), he would need to picture every detail clearly before using it.
But in the middle of a fast-paced fight?
That was practically impossible for him right now.
'Yeah… there's no way I'm smart enough to micromanage reality warping,' Ren thought.
"Let's go Kato-san"
As he walked past the corpse, Ren could feel Megumi Kato's gaze lingering on him.
It was… uncomfortable.
"Do you want to know?" Ren asked without turning around.
The only response he got was an even more intense stare.
"…Sigh. Alright."
He rubbed the back of his neck lightly.
"The thing you saw back there—it's called a ghoul. Have you ever watched movies about ghouls? It's basically what you think. The kind that eats humans."
Megumi remained quiet, listening.
"Though, if we're talking about the ones in movies, those are usually undead," Ren continued. "The one you saw… is different. That one was man-made."
They continued walking down the street.
Ren kept talking along the way, explaining what he knew about ghouls—keeping it simple, leaving out anything too disturbing.
At first, he hadn't planned to tell her anything about this side of the world.
But now that she had already seen it…
Ignoring it would only make things worse. Erasing her memory wasn't an option either.
Not because he couldn't—
But because he didn't want to.
Megumi was one of the few people he could consider a close friend. If she understood even a little about the dangers hidden beneath the surface of this world, she might at least be more careful.
After all, this world was a complete hodgepodge of different realities.
Ghouls were just the beginning. There were angels, demons, beastmen, yokai, evil spirits… dragons… even gods.
Danger existed everywhere. Seen and unseen.
"…What about you?" Kato asked.
Ren glanced at her briefly. "You mean my power?"
"…Yeah."
Ren thought for a moment, then let out a small breath.
"Mm… it's kind of hard to explain," he said. "But if I had to put it simply… it's like, 'I think it, and it happens.'"
He paused, then added with a slight shrug,
"Though… I haven't been using it for long, so sometimes the results come out a bit… twisted."
Megumi fell silent.
Even though she wasn't particularly familiar with fantasy concepts, the logic behind his explanation was simple enough to understand.
And that was exactly why—
It was shocking.
Something like that shouldn't be simple.
It shouldn't be something a normal person could just say so casually.
Megumi looked at Ren again.
He was walking beside her as if nothing was unusual, his expression calm, almost indifferent—like he had just explained something completely ordinary.
"…I see," she said quietly.
But her gaze lingered on him a moment longer than usual.