Ei and Senano were currently being rocked along inside a car.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary black wagon, but the grim atmosphere inside and the array of monitors deployed from modified sections of the seats showed that it was anything but ordinary.
Ei sat quietly, looking around here and there with curious interest.
“First, let me tell you this.”
Senano began with that preface, then continued.
“There are monsters lurking in this world. We call them Aberrant Entities. They’re trying to erode our world and take it away from us.”
“……?”
Hearing that so suddenly, Ei tilted their head.
Senano had probably expected that reaction.
Letting out a sigh, Senano roughly scratched through her hair.
“Ahh, explaining this kind of stuff isn’t supposed to be my job…! If Raku-chan had stayed on as operator, I could’ve left the explanation to them too. …Anyway! This world is constantly being invaded by something! And the ones who fight those things are us, the beings called Enri bearers! If you want the details, ask somebody else!”
“……Ohh.”
Ei gave a few small claps.
Apparently Ei understood it, and for some reason seemed moved as well.
“So that means Senano-san is an ally of justice. Just like the heroine in this manga!”
Saying that, Ei pointed at the cover of the manga Ei had been reading.
Senano at least understood that this was praise, and perhaps because of that, proudly puffed out her chest.
“Hmph. That’s right, I’m an ally of justice. And what’s more, I’m one of the very best among them! Talent, effort, intellect, every last one of them is first-rate when it comes to me! Even this NARROW, which normally one is assigned to each squad, was given to me as my own personal NARROW! …………No, that’s not it.”
Senano had been feeling good from the praise, but then suddenly came to her senses and resumed the explanation.
“From here on, we’re going to test whether you have the aptitude to be an Enri bearer. I’m sorry, but you don’t have the right to refuse. Well, having it comes with all sorts of preferential treatment, so there are benefits.”
“M-Me!?”
“Yes, yes. Well, being an Enri bearer doesn’t just mean fighting on-site, so don’t worry. A complete amateur like you going to the field would be dangerous, after all. If you can visually confirm the Aberrant Entity, I’ll take care of the rest. Leave that sort of thing to an elite like me.”
“Ohh, could it be that Senano-san is an amazing person?”
“Kh! That’s right! I’m incredible, and…”
That was when Senano was about to continue.
As if cutting Senano off, a notification sound rang from Senano’s smartphone.
For a moment, Senano looked annoyed, but immediately took out the phone and checked it.
“…I see, E-Class.”
What had been sent to Senano was detailed data on the Aberrant Entity located at the place they were currently heading toward.
After quickly skimming through it, Senano glanced at Ei.
For a while now, Ei had been looking at Senano with sparkling eyes.
(Calling me an ally of justice… hehe, if Ei’s expecting that much from me, then I can’t help myself!)
Ordinarily, Senano would never do something like this, but Senano deliberately crossed her legs, brushed back her hair, and boldly declared:
“This’ll be easy. Especially for an elite like me!”
“Ohh……!”
Ei clapped again.
Senano was in an exceptionally good mood.
“Listen carefully, okay? Even if it’s only E-Class, the opponent is still an Aberrant Entity. To an ordinary person, it’s a monster that couldn’t be dealt with even in a lifetime. Don’t let your guard down. Like me, you must always exercise the utmost caution and account for every possible situation…”
Along with Senano’s good mood, Senano’s mouth was also in top form.
Just as Senano was thoroughly enjoying the kind of act she had always wanted to pull once there was finally a subordinate, the car came to a stop.
Apparently, they had arrived at their destination.
“Hm, we’re here. Get out.”
“Yes.”
Senano and Ei got out of the car.
Spread out before them was an abandoned village.
The roof tiles had collapsed, and the pillars stood exposed like bones.
Countless patches of moss and unidentifiable stains clung to the blackened wood, every window was broken, and the sharp shards trembled in the wind as they gave off faint sounds.
There shouldn’t have been any sign of human presence, and yet every house sat there in silence with its mouth open, as though glaring this way.
At the center of the settlement, a completely dried-up well gaped open. Countless claw marks were carved into its rim, and they looked like traces of mud-covered hands trying to crawl out.
Whenever the wind blew, the sound of grass and trees scraping together mingled with the wind passing through the houses and entered the ear as 『something like voices』.
The Jizō statue by the roadside at the village entrance had its head broken off, and with only the trace of a smile pasted on, it leaned at an angle and looked this way.
At a place that so obviously had an ominous atmosphere, Senano let out a snort.
(It really does look like the kind of place an Aberrant Entity would be lurking in. Maybe Ei’s already frightened by the atmosphere. In that case, I’ll have to encourage Ei a little as a senior.)
Senano turned around and looked at Ei.
However, contrary to Senano’s expectations, Ei merely let out a “Huhhh.”
“…You’re not scared?”
“?”
Ei tilted their head in puzzlement.
Apparently, there was no problem.
“W-Well, whatever. Then let’s go. The target Aberrant Entity is an E-Class that doesn’t even have a name yet.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best…!”
“There’s no need to work yourself up. Once I confirm that you can visually identify the Aberrant Entity, I’ll finish it off in no time.”
The moment the two stepped into the village together after that—
—clink, a bell rang once.
As the signal for it, the surroundings were swallowed by the darkness of night.
Unlike Ei, who looked around at the sudden change, Senano immediately realized the abnormality.
“Tsk!? A labyrinth!? Who was the idiot that sent in a joke report calling this E-Class…?!”
In front of the well at the center of the village, it had already appeared.
The figure standing before the well was like a bride quietly waiting for the ceremony to begin.
The white bridal robe was scorched in places, torn apart, and stained with dull gray and soot.
Patchwork threads ran across the entire garment as though sewing it together, and it carried the eerie impression of cloth made by stitching someone’s skin back together.
Its head was completely covered in white cloth, and the face could not be seen at all.
And yet beneath the white cloth, the faint outlines of cheeks and a jaw could be seen moving slightly, appearing and disappearing, giving the impression that even emotion itself had been sewn into place.
The overall impression it gave was a being in which ‘beauty’ and ‘death’ had become one.
In other words, it was the unfinished beauty of a bride that had never been completed.
Before that dreadful and beautiful oppressive presence, Senano raised Hibari.
The relaxed expression from earlier had vanished from Senano’s face.
In its place, anger toward someone had risen to the surface.
“What do you mean, an Aberrant Entity that accidentally escaped? No matter how you look at it, this is a B-Class or higher monster that smashed its way out of a containment facility…!”
(TL Note: So, there are places that contain monsters like the scp foundation! I’m liking this story even more. I wonder what type of monsters they have inside? god i cant wait)
Senano stood as though protecting Ei.
For Senano, an unexpected battle was about to begin.
■
■ Aberrant Entity Record File
Aberrant Entity Number: EN-8773
Name: Togigara no Yome
Class: A-Class (Enri-Contact-Type Entity Disaster)
■ Special Lockdown Directive:
Aberrant Entity EN-8773 is currently being managed as a fixed-manifestation-type entity within the designated lockdown zone “Nakazora Misaka Former Wedding Hall Ruins (Code: Sealed Zone-077).”
The target’s activity cycle is concentrated primarily during nighttime hours (19:00-04:00), and activation becomes especially pronounced in the presence of wedding garments and ornamental items.
In order to prevent accidental entry, a wedding-legend disruption field is to be kept deployed at all times within the lockdown zone, and for any target approaching the interior, the following three conditions must always be confirmed: “unmarried,” “unselected,” and “visually suitable.”
If the target activates, any human individual within a radius of 15 meters will immediately be subjected to abnormal interference in the form of skeletal manipulation and joint modification. For that reason, direct retrieval or elimination is not recommended. On-site response must employ an A-rank or higher Enri bearer together with a rejection chant using the anti-Enri resonant syntax “Blade-Ring Verse.”
■ Overview:
Aberrant Entity EN-8773, “Togigara no Yome,” is an disaster-type Aberrant Entity that manifested after acquiring an Enri-disaster structure from fragmentarily preserved regional wedding rituals within Japan and legends concerning brides who were never chosen.
Its appearance is that of a female-shaped humanoid covered in a damaged composite of white bridal robes and traditional Japanese wedding attire, characterized by tall stature, hyperextended joints, and arm sections possessing countless metallic bone needles. The face is always covered in white cloth and cannot be visually confirmed, while on the back there is a mask-like organ referred to as the “Laughing Groom.”
The target periodically selects “unmarried youths,” then approaches, restrains, and structurally alters them in order to remake them into “a form fit to be a bride.” The bone needles and thread-like organs used for restraint possess abnormal strength and flexibility, and after forcibly reconstructing the positions of the target’s joints, they sew a bodily outer layer that forms bridal attire.
Once the sewing is complete, the subject is reported to lose will, language ability, and individual distinction, and to stand silently before an altar-like structure.
Individuals in this state are classified as “pseudo-bride (Code Name: BR-8773-β),” and to date ██ bodies have already been discovered and recovered.
■ Supplementary Record:
Among the recovered pseudo-bride bodies, several were found to contain human bones believed to have been used during the sewing process, along with patterns from archaic wedding rites that do not exist in any records.
Most noteworthy is that in nearly all such cases, “the expression is fixed in a look of happiness”.
The Enri bearer in charge reported that this should be interpreted not as “rigidity caused by a fear response,” but rather as an “abnormal fixation of facial expression through emotional overwrite and synchronization.”
■【Aberrant Engagement Record – Failed Example】
Record Number: EN-8773-JP-ENG-LOG-032
Target Aberrant Entity: Togigara no Yome (EN-8773)
Date Performed: Reiwa ██, June 9
Involved Enri Bearer: Mozu Tomoya (Rank: B)
Mission Type: Enri-Sealing Mission / Solo Test Operation
■ Overview:
B-rank Enri bearer Mozu Tomoya was ordered to carry out a solo dispatch to the “Nakazora Misaka Former Wedding Hall Ruins,” where resonance with local legends had begun showing signs of activation, and undertook a mission to retest the sealing-type Enri syntax for EN-8773 “Togigara no Yome.”
This mission was intended to perform the preliminary actions for the lockdown ritual and measure the target’s responses, but one minute after the beginning of the sealing, unexpected runaway interference occurred, and the Enri bearer failed to escape.
■ Progress Excerpt:
20:44: Entered the lockdown zone alone. Chant preparation started.
20:48: Target reaction manifested. Sharp drop in ambient temperature. Oath-patterns appeared.
20:49: Darkening of the surrounding area confirmed. Target entity manifested. Appeared in an unconfirmed state (half-wedding form) while floating.
20:50: Target made a rapid approach. Evasion by the Enri bearer proved impossible.
20:51: Audio record: “Let us begin the ceremony.” Contact occurred immediately afterward. Reversal of the knee joints by bone needles was reported.
20:53: Communication lost. Thereafter, the Enri bearer’s whereabouts became unknown.
■ Result:
At a later date, Mozu Tomoya was discovered at the “central structure within the ceremonial site,” sewn into the form of a pseudo-bride body.
After recovery, the body was physically alive, but personality, memory, and language centers had all fallen into a state of abnormal silence, and the subject remains under protection without any capacity for self-recognition.
The observed expression was “fixed in a happy smile.”
The subject is currently being held in unstimulated containment at a special medical protection facility.
■ Evaluation:
There is a possibility that being unmarried, young, or emotionally unsettled strongly affects Togigara no Yome’s selection criteria.
Solo response by a B-rank is not recommended. The target’s physical attack speed is extremely high, and countermeasures against interruption during chanting are essential.
(TL Note: jesus christ)