Buzz—
A faint sensation of spatial distortion washed over him, and the scenery before X changed in an instant.
The first thing that came into view was a forest.
But this forest was completely different from the one belonging to One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds, which had been filled with gentle light and tranquil serenity.
This was a black forest—or, to be more precise, a "dark forest" eternally shrouded in twilight.
Unlike Old Bones' domain, the forest within the Punishing Bird's Abnormality space was vastly larger.
Although the trees here were somewhat twisted in shape, they were also far taller than ordinary trees—so tall that they nearly blotted out the sky.
Time itself seemed permanently frozen at the moment of sunset, making everything feel even deeper and dimmer.
As a result, the atmosphere of the entire forest was heavy and oppressive, carrying a faint sense of ill omen.
And yet, within this dark forest, upon the branch of one enormous tree, sat a small girl dressed in a pure white dress.
She was not far in front of X .
On the chest of her white dress was a large crimson stain, as if soaked in blood, forming a stark contrast against the pure white fabric.
Her sleeves were slightly longer than her arms, with wider-than-usual cuffs that flared out like small bells.
From the cuffs up to about the elbow area were delicate light-blue embroidered patterns, shaped like the flight feathers of a bird.
At her waist, there was also a pair of incredibly tiny wings.
If Old Bones could be considered a young woman who had just entered society…
Then this little one, sitting quietly on the tree branch, was more like an adorable elementary-school girl in the lower grades.
Her petite figure, round and youthful face, and those clear, bright eyes free of any impurity all pointed to that impression.
The moment X saw her, he confirmed her identity—
O-02-56, Punishing Bird.
A very cute bird-type Abnormality.
Employees usually liked to simply call her "Little Bird."
Her most obvious traits were her small body, those blue-and-white little wings, and the red mark on her chest.
"Huh?"
While X was still observing her, the girl had already noticed him. She waved her small hand cheerfully.
"Hello! Human!"
"Uh… hello?"
As he returned the greeting, X quickly ran through Little Bird's preferences and precautions in his mind—
She liked Insight work the most. Instinct and Communication were acceptable. She disliked Repression work.
If no one worked with her and someone entered another containment unit to work, her Qliphoth Counter might decrease.
If she breached containment, she would fly out and peck employees several times, dealing minor physical damage before flying back on her own.
Employee panic would reduce her counter. If an employee's panic directly caused her breach, she would fly to that employee and help restore their mental stability.
And most importantly—if she was attacked while breaching, she would transform into another form…
All things considered, as long as one did not treat Punishing Bird as an enemy, she was, like Old Bones, a relatively "peaceful" and friendly Abnormality.
"Well then, hello there, little cutie."
After confirming her type, X more or less settled on how to interact with her.
The slight tension on his face from entering an unfamiliar environment gradually Relaxed.
"My name is X . I'm the supervisor of the humans who came to see you during the day and played with you. May I ask—are you 'Punishing Bird'?"
"Mm? Punishing Bird?"
The girl on the branch tilted her head cutely, wearing a puzzled expression .
"Seems like… some of the humans I saw during the day did call me that…"
Sensing no malice from X —only a warm, friendly presence—the tiny blue-and-white wings at the girl's waist suddenly fluttered.
In the next moment, she lightly floated up from the tree branch.
Her speed wasn't fast, but she drifted through the air in a way that almost seemed to defy gravity, wobbling gently toward X .
Soon, she "landed" on X 's shoulder, sitting there steadily.
"You can just call me Little Bird, big brother."
Little Bird giggled beside his ear.
"That's my name! Everyone in the forest calls me that!"
The weight on his shoulder was practically negligible—so light it could almost be ignored.
It didn't match at all with her appearance as a seven- or eight-year-old girl.
"Everyone?"
X , who had been quite enjoying this friendly closeness, immediately caught the key word in her sentence.
"There are… other people in this forest?"
"Nope! No other humans!"
Little Bird shook her head.
"Besides me, there are only animals here, big brother."
Mm… well, there might be one more… but we never let him enter the forest…
So that should count as no other humans, right?
Little Bird thought to herself.
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