"Kitahara-kun, all the residents have reached their designated positions. I'm counting on you now."
The voice of Kojima came through the earpiece.
"..."
At this moment, Kitahara stood at the very front of the crowd, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and with a "Magic Cookie" clenched between his teeth; his expression was calm.
The "Madness Toxin" was a substance harvested from Otherworld. Outwardly, it appeared as a purple mist, but this mist was unique—it didn't corrode the body, but rather the soul. Standard hazmat suits offered no protection against it.
The Bureau's original plan had been to use a remote-controlled robot to trigger the toxin's release. Since the robot was a purely mechanical construct, its soul wouldn't be corroded. However, only Kitahara could use the "Artifact Bait," so he had to step up and handle the task himself.
Of course, Kitahara had absolutely no intention of sacrificing himself to save the world. He chose to step forward only because he had a way to escape safely—
He had already handed the "Pet Collar" item to Kita. Once the Imposter was lured out, he could simply use the collar to teleport away instantly. That was precisely why he had stripped down to his underwear beforehand.
"Who is that boy?"
"Why isn't he wearing any clothes?"
"Is this a necessary part of the physical exam?"
"Oh no... even if it is a physical exam, shouldn't it be done in private?"
"..."
Seeing Kitahara standing there in nothing but boxers, the ordinary residents—unaware of the truth—naturally began to whisper and speculate.
Meanwhile, in the second-floor safe room...
"Kitahara-kun is amazing; he isn't blushing or acting shy at all." Reiko, the bespectacled girl, stood behind the glass window, peering cautiously downward. "If it were me standing in front of so many people in just my underwear, I'd probably be too mortified to even breathe."
Kita clutched the bell that paired with the collar tightly in her hand. She stared unblinkingly at Kitahara below, muttering under her breath:
"Actually, Kitahara-kun used to get embarrassed, but later on..."
"Huh? What happened later?"
Reiko looked over curiously. Kita's face flushed slightly. "He became incredibly shameless after that."
The bespectacled girl: "..."
Matsusaka stood beside the bespectacled girl with her arms crossed, remaining silent. Her gaze was fixed on Kitahara, yet the scene from the clubroom that day involuntarily flashed through her mind.
Kitahara had transformed from a pet back into a human—even his boxers had vanished in the process...
She had thought she had completely forgotten the incident, but recalling it now, the image remained vivid. Heat rose in her cheeks; she hurriedly shook her head to banish the scandalous thoughts.
"Matsusaka-senpai, what's wrong?"
Reiko, the bespectacled girl, noticed her reaction and turned to look.
"I'm fine."
Matsusaka quickly composed her face into a serious expression.
"But your face suddenly turned so red..."
"..."
Just as Matsusaka was grappling with her embarrassment, Kita's voice rang out:
"Kitahara-kun is making his move."
The two girls hurriedly focused their attention, gazing nervously down at the hall below. The other staff members in the safe room also looked tense, bracing themselves for what was to come.
In contrast, Kitahara was the picture of composure.
"Alright... time to fish for the bug."
Kitahara silently raised his right hand, revealing the item [Magical Lure] in his palm. He visualized the form of the Imposter in his mind and activated the fishing attribute.
The next second...
The [Magical Lure]—defying the laws of physics—emitted a soft, glowing white light. It floated from Kitahara's palm into mid-air and began to vibrate with a low hum.
As the lure vibrated, everyone watched in astonishment as ripples of transparency radiated outward through the air. Though the ripples appeared slow, they moved with surprising speed, quickly enveloping everyone in the room. "What's going on with that bait? How is it floating in mid-air?!"
"What on earth is happening?"
"Could he be an exorcist?"
"Something's wrong—there's definitely a problem here..."
"..."
Although the ordinary people in the group were baffled, they sensed a creeping unease and danger.
What happened to the reported toxic leak?
A supernatural ability like that... surely that's the work of a legendary exorcist!
The very next moment—
A series of low, guttural growls erupted, sounding as if something were lodged in the throat.
"Hrrgh... hrrgh..."
An ordinary man turned toward the female college student standing beside him. For some reason, she was clutching her head, her face distorted in agony and struggle; veins bulged beneath her fair skin, writhing and squirming like earthworms.
"Ms. Suzuki, are you alright?"
The man asked with concern, stepping forward to steady her.
They were neighbors in the same apartment building and often ran into each other while leaving in the morning, exchanging polite greetings; over time, he had developed a secret crush on the young woman next door.
But the next instant, the sweet-faced student's mouth flew open, her expression contorted into a mask of unprecedented, hideous pain. Then, a slimy, black-and-red monstrosity of an insect crawled straight out of her mouth!
"Urgh..."
Amidst the sound of retching, the man—who had stepped forward to help—looked down in a daze. There, on his suit, sat a bizarre, grotesque insect the likes of which he had never seen before, radiating a sinister, evil aura that washed over him. The man felt a buzzing in his head and numbness in his limbs; a flash of lightning seemed to cut through the fog in his mind, and realization struck him instantly:
"There was no 'dangerous individual leaking toxic substances' at all... it's an anomalous monster!"
"A monster has infiltrated the human ranks!!!"
Waa—
Pfft—
The [Magical Bait] vibrated and hummed in the air, sending ripples through the void. Sounds of retching erupted one after another; the impostors wore hideous expressions and trembled violently, yet they were powerless against the bait's effect. One by one, the impostor-worms involuntarily crawled out of their hosts' mouths and scuttled rapidly toward Kitahara...
"So many impostors."
From the safety room on the second floor, everyone held their breath and shuddered as the impostors finally revealed their true forms.
Numbers are, after all, cold and impersonal; they fail to convey the true gravity of a situation. It was only now—watching countless impostors shed their disguises and spew out those worms—that everyone present felt the overwhelming terror of the reality: if these impostors were allowed to spread and infect others, they could truly destroy the world.
"Three, two, one..."
Kitahara held his breath, exercising the utmost caution as he silently counted down.
As the impostor-worms closed to within five meters of him, several pre-positioned robots sprang into action, swiftly smashing the special containers holding the Bureau's ultimate weapon.
Crash.
Shards of debris flew in all directions as a blood-red, maddening mist rapidly expanded outward.
From the safety room on the second floor, the mist appeared eerily unnatural. Indistinguishable, unsettling whispers drifted from within it, and countless faces—human, monstrous, and spectral—bobbed in and out of view. As these faces surfaced and vanished, they stirred up uncontrollable, maddening impulses in the minds of those watching.
As the red mist appeared, the impostor-worms began to shriek and squeal. Their bodies trembled uncontrollably with terror, and they tried to retreat and flee; yet, unable to break free from the bait's hold, they ultimately plunged screaming into the red mist. Hiss, hiss, hiss...
The moment the red mist made contact with the insectoid-humanoid creature, a teeth-grinding sound of corrosion erupted.
The creature's body began to melt rapidly, like an ice cream bar exposed to the scorching sun; utterly defenseless, it lasted only a few breaths before being completely dissolved by the mist.
"It really is dangerous."
Kitahara felt a surge of wariness; his body tensed, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
Up in the second-floor safe room, Kita's eyes were wide and she was holding her breath, not daring to blink even once.
Before long, the red mist had rapidly advanced to Kitahara's feet.
Snap!
Kitahara decisively bit down on and swallowed the "Magic Cookie" he had been holding in his mouth.
Swallowing all the cookies in one go guaranteed a "surprise" effect—provided one's mouth was big enough. It certainly wouldn't work for someone like Kita, who would choke on a mere cold capsule.
The "surprise" triggered, and Kitahara instantly transformed into a dog.
"Now...!"
Kita's eyes widened as she hurriedly shook the bell in her hand.
The next second...
Kitahara—now a dog—vanished from the ground floor and teleported straight into Kita's arms; all that remained was a pair of boxer shorts, which drifted through the air before being swallowed up by the red mist.
"Thank goodness, Kitahara-kun is finally back!"
Kita clutched the dog-Kitahara to her chest, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Woof."
Kitahara tried to speak, but in his pet form, all that came out was a series of barks.
"He feels a little different from the last time he turned into a dog, doesn't he?"
Reiko, the bespectacled girl, stepped forward curiously, her face full of anticipation.
"Um... could I pet him?"
Kita was quite generous. "Go right ahead, Reiko-chan! His fur is super soft and comfy."
"Kitahara-kun, can I touch your paws?"
Reiko looked over expectantly. Kitahara: "..."
Seeing Kitahara lying there, completely resigned to his fate, Reiko—the girl with glasses—cautiously extended her right hand and touched the dog-creature's right paw:
"It's so fluffy; it feels just like a real dog... Matsusaka-senpai, do you want to try touching it?"
Matsusaka took a half-step forward, a rare look of anticipation on her face:
"I'll give it a touch, then..."
Thanks to the combo of the [Magical Bait] and the Poison of Madness, the insectoid impostor-monsters were wiped out in one fell swoop. The oblivious bystanders finally snapped back to reality and began fleeing in a panic—though, fortunately, no one was foolish enough to run into the red mist.
Meanwhile, among the ordinary people who had been parasitized, those who hadn't been infected for long managed to retain their consciousness; many sat slumped on the ground, weeping bitterly, while a larger number of the victims had fallen into a coma, with no telling when—or if—they would wake up.
Cries, shouts, and calls for help rose and fell in a chaotic chorus; the entire gymnasium had descended into utter pandemonium.
Aside from a few staff members who remained behind to monitor the situation, the rest of the Bureau personnel had left the safe room and headed downstairs to maintain order.
Of course, none of this concerned Kitahara and his group; they simply needed to stay quietly in the corner and wait for the effects of the transformation biscuit to wear off.
A short while later.
Sensing that the transformation was about to wear off, Kitahara sat up and gave the back of Kita's hand a gentle pat.
Kita nodded in understanding and set Kitahara down:
"Kitahara-kun is about to turn back into a human. Reiko-chan, Matsusaka-senpai—everyone, close your eyes."
"Okay..."
Reiko, the bespectacled girl, hurriedly agreed and quickly covered her eyes with her hands, though she couldn't help but leave a tiny gap between her fingers.
(Just one peek... No, I can't!)
(Kitahara-kun is Kita-chan's boyfriend; I absolutely cannot betray my best friend!)
While she was torn by this internal conflict, Kitahara had already reverted to his human form; he turned onto his side and reached out toward Kita.
"Kitahara-kun, hurry up and put your clothes on."
Without needing to be told, Kita had already gathered his clothes and quickly stepped in front of him to shield him from view. Her face flushed as she anxiously scanned his body, only letting out a quiet sigh of relief once she confirmed he was completely unharmed. Kitahara quickly put on his clothes, then opened his arms toward Kita and said gently:
"I need to replenish my energy from Lady Kita."
Kita tried to hold back the urge, but in a moment like this, she simply couldn't resist; she threw herself straight into Kitahara's arms, her eyes welling up with tears:
"It was so dangerous just now... let's not do anything that risky ever again."
Kitahara naturally didn't argue; instead, he seized the opportunity to push his luck, whispering into her ear:
"Since I was in such danger, how about a reward from Kita tonight?"
"Huh?"
Kita's face flushed crimson, and she couldn't help but shoot him a playful, reproachful look:
"Kitahara-kun, stop filling your head with lewd thoughts!"
"What? Saving the world isn't enough to earn a reward from Kita?"
"W-we can talk about that later tonight!"
"..."
There were others in the safe room; once the initial impulse passed, shyness quickly took over. Kita hurriedly pulled away from Kitahara's embrace, her face still flushed, and lowered her head to whisper:
"I... I need to go to the restroom..."
Kitahara said softly, "I'll go with you."
"No." Kita shook her head in refusal, her face bright red. "I'll just go with Reiko-chan and Matsusaka-senpai."
"I will arrange for two staff members to accompany Miss Kita." Kojima stepped forward, bowing first to Kitahara before speaking seriously: "We will still need to rely on your help for the upcoming operations, Kitahara-kun."
Watching as two female staff members moved to Kita's side to provide protection, Kitahara turned his attention back to Kojima to discuss the next steps.
While the Impostors inside the gymnasium had all been eliminated, there were still others who had gone out to "work" and remained unresolved; these, too, had to be eradicated—not a single one could be left behind.
Only Kitahara could distinguish the Impostors from real people, making his role crucial for the operations ahead.
"Kitahara-kun, we require your assistance for what comes next." Kojima bowed respectfully. "Please rest assured, the compensation will be to your satisfaction."
Kitahara naturally didn't refuse; he accepted the request with a serious nod. Participation in the operation was mandatory, even without pay; if the "Impostors" were to spread, they could truly destroy the world.
Time ticked quietly away.
Kojima was constantly taking calls and coordinating operations, and the others were just as busy—only Kitahara remained quietly in the corner.
"It's been ten minutes..." Kitahara glanced at the time on his phone. "Kita should be back soon."
But a few more minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and there was still no sign of Kita. Unable to sit still any longer, Kitahara sent a message to ask what was going on.
The message was marked as "Read" almost immediately.
"Phew..."
Kitahara let out a soft sigh of relief.
The fact that the message had been read meant Kita wasn't in danger...
But the very next second,
Kita's reply popped up on his screen:
"That's strange—Kitahara-kun is right here next to me, so why are you sending me a message?"