Chapter 0: Prologue

Prologue

A pleasant time ended with a high-pitched sound. Raizou Takakura reluctantly opened his tightly closed heavy eyelids.

The body pillow was wet with drool, and the summer blanket was twisted and could no longer even distinguished between the front and back. The cause of the noise was still ringing at the bedside.

Raizou always randomly changed the alarm sound every day, but the song selected that day was a time bomb-themed alarm sound.

The sound suitable for the time when the morning almost over made Raizou's eyes looked like he was angry. The blurred vision was useless, so he groped around with his right hand, and finally grabbed the 'victory'.

After completing the troublesome approval screen, the annoying alarm clock was silenced. Then, Raizou pulled out the charging cord and placed it on the desk. He finally got up. He felt annoying to hear the creaking tone of the old bed.

"Aah, I'm so tired."

Raizou speculated that the cause of fatigue might be due to overtime work that lasted until late the day before, but he had sent the email just in time. He thought that it would be nice to have a radiant morning with relief and a sense of accomplishment once in a while, but it was only fatigue that had continued since last month.

Contrary to the gloomy mood, the bright sunlight entered the room from the opened curtain. Raizou, who squinted his eyes, sighed a little.

I'm not in my perfect condition these days. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I'm in a bad condition.

Raizou made an unpleasant sound when he turned his head. He went to the sink to change his mood.

The cracked floor squeaked every time when Raizou walked. It was like a duet between the sound of bare feet and the squeaking sound.

Reflected In the mirror was a man, Raizou Takakura, 33 years old, single.

Raizou laughed at the wrinkles on his face which was appropriate to his age, dark circles under the eyes showing his accumulated fatigue, but at least his face has not really changed.

"Baby face is good..."

Even when he was a new employee, he was mistaken for a mid-career employee. Raizou still remembered being terribly upset when he was suddenly asked about the future schedule at the site he was working.

Twisted the knob on the water faucet, washed the face with cold water and straightened the hair to get rid of the laziness.

Raizou paid attention to the sink in front of him, he noticed that a considerable amount of hair was scattered.

"Are you kidding me?"

Raizou didn't dye his hair or grow it long, he had lived with normal hairstyle until now. So, he wondered if his hair roots have some complaints. Raizou held a grudge against his hair, but nothing he could do.

Raizou took milk from the refrigerator and a cup from the shelf and sat at the desk. Before having a breakfast, he reached for the remote control at the table and turned on the morning news.

『"It was an incident in which young people who were visiting a certain city in a certain prefecture went missing, but it turned out that they could not contact the 13 Ground Self-Defense Force members who were searching."』

『"The container ship 'NTR' owned by ◯◯ Corporation and the 'Erotic Saline' belonging to Saline Company have sunk in the port of Yokohama. The detailed cause is unknown, but it seems that both ships sank after being hit by a large impact on the bottom of the ship below the waterline. There is a suspicion that a submarine of unknown affiliation collided――"』

『"What an unpleasant disaster. Mysterious phenomena continue all over the world. Even though it was just said that an unidentified aurora turmoil had just occurred in Tokyo the other day, it seems as if the world has come to an end."』

This high-pitched commentator appeared on the screen. Raizou hated the commentator a little, but he agreed with the comments. Since the end of last year, strange phenomena had occurred all over the world... The land, sea, and air.

An interview with a self-proclaimed shrine maiden who was spreading her arms to communicate with GOD, an interview with an old man whose dog was taken away by a green humanoid monster, and a story about the destruction of all the flora and fauna of the mountain in an instant.

Raizo didn't hate watching that kind of news on TV. It might be a lie, but at least it was interesting.

"Hmm!"

Raizo opened the bag of bread he bought in an exaggerated behavior, then he brought it into his mouth. The sweetness that can be called 'extreme sugar' could be tasted from the soft bread.

Raizou realized that the bread was a new product, melon chocolate caramel cream bun, but it was bad. [TN: Yep, I guess so...]

Raizou poured the bread that remained in his mouth with milk while frowning. In such a condition, Raizou, who was getting ready in the morning, noticed the sound of the clock and checked the time... It's a good time to get on the commuter train.

After brushing his teeth, Raizou began to get ready. 'The morning preparation' that he had cultivated for more than a dozen years was his speciality.

Put on black socks and closed the button on the ironed shirt in the shortest possible time. Put on the upper and lower suits, put on the wristwatch, and Raizou was ready to go.

Raizou also checked the business card holder, smartphone, work bag. It was his three sacred treasures. If he had this, he was confidence that he can overcome any situation.

Wore the worn-out leather shoes while trimming the heels and headed outside.

Raizou knew that there was a trick to closing the old door. You needed to lift it up lightly and turned the lock quickly. He was wondering whether the hinges were the cause, or that the door was warped because the entire apartment was aging.

Raizou was frightened for a moment by the outside temperature, but he did not hesitate and pushed out. He passed through the narrow corridor and went down the stairs with heavy breathing.

Raizou missed his youth... it's not like this when I'm in my twenties.

With a sound far from rhythmic, the rest was three steps. Raizou, who tried to step further, called out for something wrong with his body.

"Uhhh, Arrghh? Ahhh, Aahhhhhhh!!"

It came abruptly. Raizou held his chest down with the intense pain that came without warning. He couldn't endure the pain and so he couldn't help but to rolled down.

Raizou grabbed the wall or something and tried to stand up, but he couldn't stand the burning pain in his chest and the sensation of pressure on his body and, fell to the ground.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... hurts.

Raizou was choking. In addition to dizziness, the field of vision was distorted, and the cold sweat did not stop coming from his forehead. He couldn't breathe properly, his limbs couldn't move, so he had no choice but... just to look up to the sky.

Raizou was now out of the house with his hair was soiled with dust, and his half-opened mouth was smeared with saliva. He reached out for help, but only that day somehow, there were no people around.

The edge of the field of vision shimmered, and the field of vision slowly darkened and narrowed. Raizou didn't know what happened to his body, but one thing he could understand was... that... he... would die as it was-

I don't want die. I still, want to live.

Raizou slowly raised his right hand while his physical freedom was being lost one after another.

His hands were trembling like a fawn who just born. It was a ridiculous sight, but Raizou couldn't even afford to laugh.

Then, Raizou vaguely remembered the weather forecast said that he should take measures against heat and be careful about heat stroke.

The terribly annoying cicada's voice that Raizo hated so much... he couldn't hear it. All that could be heard by him was the irregular breathing sounds and the weakening heartbeat.

Perhaps due to the darkening vision, Raizou saw hallucinations. The ground where he was fallen, was dyed black and swirled. Countless shadow of midget-like person came out from inside.

The shadow surrounded Raizou and tried to drag him into the hole. It was like a scene that appears in some travel journals.

Oh, it's really a hallucination... at last, it's finally over.

Although it was faint, Raizou heard someone happily calling his name, but he could no longer hear it, and his consciousness was completely lost.