Seeing Aurelia at the door, Beatrix's first instinct was unease.
"Wait—did they discover I have some freaky midnight hobby? Did that weird 'superhero simulator' from another world get exposed?"
But thinking it through—he didn't think so.
After all, superheroes in games acting independently in the real world? That's way too abstract. No normal person would come up with that conclusion.
Most likely, they were following up on yesterday's incident at the university.
And he was half right—but also a little off.
"Want to come in and sit down?" Beatrix offered politely, stopping himself from adding, "My place is pretty big."
"Not today," Aurelia chuckled. "I'll wait for a proper off day to visit your place. But not now."
"So, today…"
"Our team just wrapped up and was heading back to HQ. We happened to pass by this area," she explained.
"The higher-ups had something they wanted to tell you—so they sent us to bring you in. Do you have time now?"
The higher-ups? Asking for him directly?
That felt strange.
If it was just routine data collection, why would leadership get involved?
Was there something special about him?
"Alright," Beatrix nodded after a moment. "Let me go change first."
He returned to his room, quickly got ready, and followed Aurelia downstairs.
A black car was already waiting at the curb.
Agent Cid—the bald one from yesterday—leaned against the side, smoking a cigarette.
When he saw Beatrix, he grinned.
"Fancy seeing you again." He held out a cigarette. "Want one?"
"Thanks, but I don't smoke." Beatrix waved him off.
"Hey, no need to be so polite. I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to chat again."
"Appreciate it, but I really don't smoke."
Beatrix declined a second time, starting to wonder if there was some hidden meaning behind the offer.
But Cid and Aurelia didn't elaborate—just smiled and opened the car door for him.
Inside, logistics girl Bernica was already seated, holding her ever-present tablet. She looked up and greeted him politely.
Beatrix noted—again—that Bernica's beauty was striking.
If she attended his university, she'd probably be crowned campus goddess without question.
But compared to Aurelia?
That was a whole different league.
It wasn't that Bernica wasn't attractive—it's just that Aurelia was something else entirely.
A true S-rank beauty.
Bernica was maybe half a step between A and B-rank.
Compared to Aurelia, she was a few whole tiers behind.
In short: when levels differ this much, comparisons are pointless.
Beatrix sat in the back seat.
The car started moving.
Cid hummed a tune in the passenger seat, Bernica scribbled seriously on her tablet with a stylus, and Aurelia stretched her snow-white legs while flipping through a file.
Then Beatrix realized something.
Who was driving?
He glanced at the front.
There—behind the wheel—was a young man with messy black hair, a pale face like he hadn't eaten properly in days, and dark circles under his eyes.
Beatrix wondered if this guy was really fit to drive.
The driver noticed him looking and gave a sleepy nod.
"Kitagawa Junpei."
A Japanese name?
Well—only Beatrix thought that.
In this world, national borders didn't really matter anymore.
Names from Earth were just part of the mix.
The young man offered that much as a self-introduction, then went completely silent and focused on driving.
---
"Let's get you up to speed."
Aurelia tossed the file aside and turned to face Beatrix.
"I'm sure you're still curious about what happened at your university yesterday," she began.
"To be blunt: your classmates were infected."
"Infected?" Beatrix blinked. "Like a virus?"
"Not quite," Aurelia shook her head.
"Not in the usual sense. No one knows exactly where it came from—but at some point, this world veered off the rails."
"Some ancient, unknown presence is awakening… and it uses different mediums—forms we can't predict—to infect humans."
"Most early-stage infections begin with mental symptoms. That's why we've developed a specialized monitoring system."
She continued, explaining calmly:
Infection level under 10%: Considered normal. People may be more irritable, more anxious, or show early signs of mental stress—but generally safe.
10%–50%: Victims start showing visible changes. They may become disoriented, hysterical, even violent—and might try to infect others.
50%–99%: Things escalate quickly. Victims lose reason, their physical potential gets unlocked, pushing their bodies to human limits. Their resilience and aggression spike.
"We've seen cases where someone survived a severe skull fracture," Aurelia added casually.
Beatrix immediately thought of the man named Edge—the one who decapitated himself in the Klein Corporation conference room during his first game session.
That must have been someone whose infection was close to 100%.
What kind of horror causes not just mental collapse—but also changes in the body?
Aurelia's explanation hinted at something deeply unnatural.
Was this infection even biological? Or something far older… far more dangerous?
She continued:
"Below 50%, there's still hope. The lower the level, the easier it is to recover," she said.
"Your classmates, for example—their highest infection was only 40%. They'll be fine."
Beatrix suddenly thought of something.
"What if someone hits 100%?"
Aurelia's expression didn't change—but her tone did.
She nodded slowly.
"Yes. 100% exists."
"But very few things are capable of pushing someone that far."
Then she leaned in slightly and whispered—just loud enough for Beatrix to hear:
"Reaching 100% means one thing—"
"You've gone beyond what it means to be human."