The jazz music inside the bar stopped instantly.
Everyone's movements froze in mid-air. The gentleman swirling his whiskey glass, the couple chatting intimately, the bartender wiping the bar counter, and Hayato's group who had just sat down and hadn't yet ordered.
Time seemed to have its pause button pressed.
Dozens of pairs of eyes—mixed with astonishment, confusion, and gazes like seeing a madman—simultaneously focused on the black-raincoat-wearing man panting at the door.
The atmosphere was dead silent.
Darius ignored those gazes. His gaze like a high-precision radar quickly scanned the dimly lit bar's contents, until finally locking onto a purple-clothed figure wearing a server's uniform behind the bar counter.
Kawasaki Saki.
The girl held a tray, preparing to deliver drinks to customers. Her facial expression completely froze, her pupils dilated in shock.
"Experimental Subject S-01 found!" Darius raised his finger, pointing at Saki from afar. His voice was loud, full of irrefutable authority. "All personnel attention, target confirmed, immediately execute Level A isolation procedure!"
"Pffft—!"
A mouthful of fruit juice that had just entered Yumiko's mouth immediately sprayed out.
Hayato's perfectly smiling face also showed cracks. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, clearly unable to process this surreal scene before his eyes.
Saki's face, at a speed visible to the naked eye, changed from white to red, then red to purple.
She never imagined even in her worst nightmares that her efforts to secretly work part-time to supplement her family's household money would be publicly exposed by her schoolmate in this "social death" manner. Moreover, by the madman famous throughout the school!
Her brain went blank, her only thought was: I don't know him, I don't know him at all.
She turned her body stiffly, trying to use her back to escape from all this.
"Attempting to sever mental connection is a manifestation of infection deepening." Darius's voice echoed behind her, like a soul-reaping curse. "Your silence is the best proof that you've been controlled by the virus."
He strode toward the bar counter, completely ignoring the server trying to block him.
"Stop! Who are you?!" Behind the bar counter, a senior bartender wearing a vest with slicked-back hair furrowed his brow, shouting in a heavy voice.
Darius stopped in front of the bar counter. Instead of answering, he stared sharply at the row of variously colored bottles and jars before him.
"Base spirit, liqueur, bitter, syrup..." He named them one by one, his gaze growing colder. "Using various colored liquids to mix potions that can make people's minds excited or depressed. You are the Chief Pharmacist at this base."
The bartender was stunned. In his twenty years of career, this was the first time he heard someone describe cocktails in such a way.
"What are you talking about?" he raged. "Get out of here quickly, or I'll call the police!"
"Police?" Darius snorted coldly. Suddenly he extended his hand, pointing at a blue cocktail the bartender was mixing. "What's this? 'Heart of the Ocean'? No, this is 'T-DeepBlue' brainwashing fluid that's been injected with nanorobots! People who drink it will gradually lose self-will and become your puppets!"
"Crazy!"
The bartender finally ran out of patience. He came out from behind the bar counter, extending his hand to grab Darius's collar.
However, Darius's body bounced backward at an impossible angle, as if he had no bones, easily avoiding the bartender's hand.
The bartender caught air. His body lurched forward from inertia, and his elbow struck the bar counter hard.
*CRASH!* *SHATTER—!*
A row of freshly mixed cocktails fell and scattered. Colorful liquids mixed with glass shards covered the entire bar counter and floor. The strong smell of alcohol instantly filled the air.
"Disaster!"
Darius suddenly jumped from the floor, covering his nose and mouth with a fearful expression, then shouted to the entire room:
"He broke the poison gas tank! High-concentration neurotoxin leak! Run!"
That shout became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The customers who had been just watching were startled by this sudden incident and the nose-piercing alcohol smell. Although no one truly believed there was poison gas, the atmosphere of chaos and panic was contagious.
"Aaah!"
Someone started that scream.
The entire bar instantly exploded in commotion. People screamed, pushed each other, competing to reach the exit. Tables and chairs toppled over, the sound of breaking glass followed one after another.
Yui and Yukino slipped in amidst the chaos. Seeing this commotion, Yui clenched her fists enthusiastically: "Wow! Commander's plan succeeded!"
Meanwhile, Yukino held her broom, staring vacantly at the disaster-film-like scene before her. She felt her soul being pulled out of her body bit by bit.
Saki hid under the bar counter, holding her head, feeling like dying from embarrassment. Hayato protected his female companions while furrowing his brow deeply, truly not understanding why the situation could develop this far.
In the midst of this chaos that could be called apocalyptic, a very angry voice was heard from the second-floor stairs, drowning out all the noise.
"STOP EVERYONE!"
A middle-aged man wearing a suit with a pot belly came down hurriedly. He saw his devastated bar, his body trembling with anger. He pointed at the only person still standing upright in the middle of the room, Darius, and roared:
"Who the hell are you!"
Darius slowly turned around. His raincoat hood covered the upper half of his face, only revealing a cold smile.
He raised his finger, pointing directly at the man.
"Finally you've revealed yourself. Supreme commander of this underground base, the mastermind behind the scenes of this 'Nest'."