[GundamAce]

Episode 13: The Undiscovered Ninth Person

◆September 16th, 5:00 P.M. Episode/Route A――――

(Is the culprit who killed those six starting to move!?
　 Shit!　Do they intend to massacre us!?)

Right then and there, Watase is taken aback as he realizes this.
"――If that's the case, Tachibana's also in danger!"
Watase leaves the corpse there, and rushes through the connecting passageway.
But over there, there's something awaiting Watase――
"Wha...!!?"
The instant he treads upon that section, Watase is left for a loss of words.
Blood is spreading all over the floor――.
In it, Kazami has fallen face up.

"――Tachibana!!?"
He rushes over and helps Kazami sit up.
There's a large, vertical cut across Kazami's chest.
The blood overflowing from there is still warm.
"Ugh... Wa-Watase...?"
Kazami is still breathing, if faintly.

"Tachibana! Hold on, I'm going to get you medical treatment now!"
But perhaps his voice doesn't reach her, as Kazami starts talking in delirium.
"Captain, please tell me...
　 Just... Just what have we been caught up in...?"
"I don't know, Tachibana. I'm also――"
As he talks, he can tell that the life is fading from Kazami.

"Tachibana, that's enough! That's enough, so don't talk anymore!"
"Ah... I can't see anything...
　 Hey... Where is this...?
　 N-No... I don't...
　 want to be alone... any... more..."

Kazami mutters this in a trembling voice,
――and softly closes her eyes.
In Watase's arms, Kazami calmly breathes her last.
Silence arrives in the darkness.

"............"
Dumbfounded, Watase stares at the dead Kazami's face.
Before long, endless anger bursts from the bottom of his stomach.

"... A... Aaa...
　 .... Ghhhh...
　 ... AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!"
　 Why!? Why the hell is this happening!!?
　Tell me, Tachibana!"
But Kazami doesn't awaken――
Watase's wish fleetingly vanishes into the darkness.



... After that, Watase staggers, wandering about LABO.
He still seeks the final rescuee.



In the midst of that, suddenly, a question occurs to him.



Even though the entirety of the temporal LABO should be reaching its contamination limit――



――Why is it that he doesn't feel any pain at all?

(TN: The word for "pain" here can also mean, "agony" or "bitterness". Interpret it as you may.)



But soon, that question no longer matters to him.



And then, he searches everywhere within LABO, but――



In the end, Watase was unable to find the "9th rescuee".

※The image and text are still in the middle of development.