Just as Satomi Rentaro had seen—

The Gastrea infected by the Blacklight Virus had become immensely powerful. And at their core, these creatures operated on just three base-level directives.

These were hard-coded by Haruto into the Blacklight Virus from the very beginning—Like foundational programming code, these were rules all infected organisms were bound to follow.

First: Slaughter.

An unstoppable instinct to kill, unaffected by anything. They would annihilate every living creature on the planet—except those also infected by the virus, or defined as "human."

Second: Evolution.

Unrestricted, ceaseless evolution. They would absorb any genes, any viruses—all in pursuit of the highest form of existence.

Third: Protection of humanity.

The infected wouldn't just refrain from harming humans—They would go out of their way to protect them with all their might.

And the standard by which they recognized "humans"?

Cognition.

Only beings perceived as human would fall within these protective parameters.

Satomi Rentaro was one of them.

Unfortunately—

Letting him live, letting him witness the fall of the world and the destruction of civilization with his own eyes, was a punishment far crueler than death.

Though, Haruto hadn't done it on purpose—It was just a natural result of the virus' configuration.

One could only say... Rentaro was just unlucky.

Once Haruto had determined this world's civilization was unworthy of existence, he devised a way to squeeze one last ounce of value from it.

People of this world couldn't even qualify as D-Class.

The primary value of a D-Class subject was to serve as a human specimen for Foundation containment trials and anomaly experiments.

And that required them to be truly human, otherwise, the data was worthless.

If the experiment subjects were these twisted, cognitively altered beings—Any data collected would be skewed.

There was no guarantee that non-human cognition wouldn't cause unpredictable effects during interaction with SCPs.

Like the case of Tomie—Their reactions wouldn't reflect how a human would respond.

So, these beings that didn't even qualify as D-Class—The only value Haruto could think to extract from them…

Was biological material.

Conveniently, Haruto had long wanted to establish a biological testing ground.

His enhanced version of the Blacklight Virus had tremendous evolutionary potential. However, by its very nature—It would lack sufficient experimental subjects in the Main World.

In one alternate Earth, the original Blacklight Virus had spread uncontrollably.

Even without external anomalies, it had led to bodies strong enough to resist nuclear explosions.

But Haruto's supreme version of the virus had yet to reach its true potential. What it needed—was a massive number of subjects to evolve and reproduce through.

And this alternate reality was the perfect incubator for the virus.

"Please, don't kill me! It wasn't my fault! It was the government—ahhhhhh!!"

"You lunatic! Why would you destroy us for those monsters?! Damn you—arghhh!!"

"Spare me! I'll give you all my assets! Please, noooo!!"

Screams. Roars. Begging. Endlessly echoing.

Those who were killed by the monsters—After a few moments on the ground, began to swell and twist, turning into new creatures.

The slaughter spread geometrically.

The virus ran rampant.

The remaining residents of the Tokyo Area screamed into the sky in utter desperation.

They had nowhere to run.

Beyond Tokyo lay an endless swarm of Gastrea.

They tried to use shouting, pleading—to summon Haruto back. To make him feel pity and destroy the monsters.

Maybe it wasn't naivety.

Just pure desperation.

They had no other options left.

The plaza overflowed with blood, nearly forming a crimson stream.

And among it—Were those who, just days ago, had stood in this plaza shouting, calling for the deaths of Cursed Children.

Now they were either kneeling on the ground, limbs torn off, guts spilling out—Or had already mutated into monsters, joining the slaughter of others.

The ones who had bullied Ai—were here too.

There was no escape.

Like fish laid bare on a chopping board, they could only await slaughter.

The wailing was deafening.

Had anyone truly repented?

It sounded like it.

Many knelt on the ground, praying to the sky for Haruto's forgiveness.

But let's be honest—

That was just how it sounded.

If they had truly repented, they wouldn't be begging for forgiveness—They would be reflecting on their sins.

They weren't repentant.

They were just afraid.

Afraid of dying.

So they begged.

Across the world, Haruto teleported randomly, each time stepping out from Kamui Space, and tossing a Blacklight Virus sample tube into the area.

As for what lay beneath?

It didn't matter.

Whether inside a city or out in the wild—

Mountains or forests—

Once infected by the virus, creatures would evolve strong enough to ignore terrain.

Even massive stone barriers would be meaningless.

So in the end, everywhere in this world was the same.

Nowhere to run.

After scattering a dozen vials, Haruto stretched lazily.

That should be enough.

The rest… was just a matter of waiting.

Though while he waited, there were still some other things he could do.

Haruto twisted his form and returned to the Foundation's main site in the Main World.

Inside the containment room, two girls were waiting for him.

Tendo Kisara and Seitenshi.

When Seitenshi saw Haruto return, her eyes were complicated.

She wanted to ask about the state of Tokyo Area—But Haruto had already taken her away after he had declared its destruction.

Just imagining it, she could guess how terrible it must be now.

Haruto didn't even look at Seitenshi.

To him, she was simple to define—

A capable leader.

A talented human.

Had she not been born into that bleak world, she might've achieved great things. And genuinely brought well-being to others.

Someone like her should never have had to suffer in that world—Not even emotionally.

So Haruto had kept her from witnessing Tokyo's fall with her own eyes.

That's why he had played that game with her—To show her what human nature really looked like in that rotten world.

Because as a player in the game, she saw more. Saw it more clearly. And the more she understood, the easier it would be to bear that world's destruction.

But truthfully—Haruto hadn't returned to the Main World just for her.

"Miss Kisara," Haruto said gently, "let's go. It's time."

Tendo Kisara's expression turned solemn.

She stood up.

At her waist was a katana—Not the varanium one she had used outside the city, but a more worn blade, its hilt wrapped in black cord, its scabbard scarred with signs of use.

One hand rested on the hilt.

Her other hand fidgeted, not knowing where to go.

Seeing this, Haruto simply reached out his own hand to her.

She froze for a moment, then quickly stepped forward—And gripped his hand tightly.

On this dark road of vengeance, she had never walked beside anyone.

But now, someone had reached out to her.

She held his hand tightly, feeling the warmth it carried.

Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.

The two of them stepped into Kamui Space—

And disappeared.

Leaving only Seitenshi behind.

She let out a long sigh, and slowly averted her gaze.

Meanwhile, Haruto and Tendo Kisara returned once more—To that grim, parallel world.

They arrived on the streets of Tokyo Area.

Only now, what was once a gloomy street was stained with vivid crimson.

Tendo Kisara looked at the scene around her—

Surprisingly, she felt no discomfort.

In fact, she felt it was only natural.

This grim world had long since been due for the trash heap.

Screams and howls echoed in their ears.

And then—someone seemed to notice Haruto.

"Sir! Please save me! I'll give you a hundred million yen if you spare me!"

One person cried out desperately.

And when one did—others followed.

"Sir! I once gave money to a Cursed Child! I don't deserve to die! Please save me!"

"Save me! I'll give you any woman or treasure you want!"

"Sir, you like Cursed Children, right? My daughter's just ten—I'll give her to you to play with! Just let me live!"

The begging was endless.

But—

Haruto ignored them completely.

Ever since he judged that this civilization had no right to exist—he treated its people with only one method:

Complete indifference.

Their screams, their despair—

Meant nothing to him.

"Let's go," Haruto said calmly.

And so, Haruto and Tendo Kisara silently walked down the street.