Chapter 3 – Unknown vs. The Invisible Hand

Chapter 3: Unknown vs. The Invisible Hand

To sum up everything that’s happened.

On my way home from school, I was lured into a blizzard, chased by a monster that looked like a shark, and then somehow ended up being rescued by a complete stranger.

Honestly, I had no idea how to process anything that had just transpired.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Huh? Ah, no. I think I’m okay.”

“That’s good. Then, please stay where you are. If you move carelessly, I won’t be able to protect you.”

“O-okay…”

The person who appeared before me was a man wearing glasses.

He was probably in his early twenties, maybe?

A cloak-like piece of fabric hung over his right shoulder, covering part of his face, and his outfit was clearly different from what an ordinary person would wear.

How should I put it?

It looked like some kind of military or special operations equipment.

It wasn’t camouflage, though.

“UJP-06-26, ‘Snow Shark.’ It could be a natural phenomenon-type Unknown, containment may prove difficult.”

“…Eh?”

After muttering something completely incomprehensible, the man pulled out a small square box.

Then, he dropped it onto the ground.

The moment it landed, it began transforming right before my eyes.

Just like something out of a sci-fi movie, it unfolded and reshaped itself into a rectangular object about a meter long.

“Tactical Unit Yamata-no-Orochi. Deploy.”

The transformation didn’t stop there.

The rectangular object split apart into countless triangular fragments.

Each fragment floated independently before changing shape.

Swords.

Spears.

Firearms.

Weapons I’d never seen before.

Weapons that shouldn’t have existed.

No matter how advanced the technology was, there was no way something like this should’ve been possible.

Hold on. Is this really Earth? Did I actually get transported into another dimension?

The objects were clearly increasing in volume despite all coming from inside a tiny box.

They floated through the air on their own and assembled themselves into weapons.

I’d never heard of technology like that before.

Honestly, it’d be way easier to believe I’d been transported into some sci-fi world than accept that this was reality.

“What the hell is going on…?”

The moment I voiced my confusion, something burst out from beneath the snow with a loud zwoop!

A shark.

The same shark that had been chasing me all this time.

And now, it was charging toward us.

No…

Towards me?

“Please don’t run. I’ll protect you.”

Just as my body instinctively prepared to flee, the man calmly said those words.

And somehow, before I even realized it, my feet had become stuck to the ground.

Wait, what?!

I can’t move?!

“Hey! What did you do?!”

“Yes, I understand how you feel… however, this is part of protocol. The protection of civilians exposed to an Unknown is left to the discretion of the responding personnel. Unfortunately, I’ll have to be a little forceful.”

As he spoke, he drew two pistols from his waist.

Living in modern Japan, you don’t often see a gun. Even when you do, it’s usually a fake or a gag toy.

After all, firearms are heavily regulated here.

However, those pistols looked undeniably real.

I didn’t know enough about guns to identify the model, but I’d definitely seen similar ones in games before.

Bang! Bang!

Sharp gunshots echoed through the snow.

Shell casings flew from the chambers.

Yep. There was no mistaking it.

Those were definitely real guns.

“…!!”

“Tch. I fired for confirmation, but as expected, ordinary weapons are ineffective. ‘The Invisible Hand,’ huh?”

The Snow Shark should’ve been riddled with bullets.

Yet, it continued charging forward as if nothing had happened.

The guy in front of me was already doing ridiculous things.

But honestly, the shark might be a little worse.

It wasn’t even pretending to be a living creature anymore.

“────!!”

The shark launched itself through the snow and opened its jaws wide.

Ah.

Crap. My feet won’t move.

I can’t even run.

Seriously? Is this how I die?

The only thing waiting for me now is the process of becoming shark food.

I should’ve given up earlier…

No matter how confident this guy sounded, I couldn’t bring myself to believe he’d actually be able to protect me.

Memories from my life began flashing through my mind.

So… this is what people mean by your life flashing before your eyes. 

Man, I wish I could’ve had a little more fun.

“Hmph!”

Just as I resigned myself to death, a sharp paan! echoed through the air.

The next moment, everything became brighter.

The giant shark that was about to devour me… was gone?

“…Wha-?”

“Don’t worry. I told you, didn’t I? I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

Floating in the air around him were countless weapons.

The one that had struck just now was probably the sword, seemingly made from a black metal and layered with blue rune-like symbols.

The shark had been blasted away somewhere into the distance.

But before long, new sharks began emerging from the snow.

Oddly enough, the sharks that had relentlessly hunted me before now seemed hesitant to approach.

Almost as if this man’s presence alone was keeping them at bay.

“Hmm. The report said it had heat resistance, but there were also records suggesting it dissipates over time. So, it resists both, huh? Containment or destruction might be difficult…”

Muttering to himself again, he stepped forward and positioned himself between me and the sharks.

Protecting me with his back.

For some reason, now that back looked strangely reliable.

Come to think of it, the sharks hadn’t attacked from beneath my feet ever since he arrived.

Were they wary of him?

“Judging by the time, there should be about two hours left. Sorry, but this may take a little longer than usual.”

“Ah… okay.”

Caught off guard, I could only give a vague response.

And so, the battle continued.

The sharks attacked relentlessly from every direction.

And every single time, he stopped them.

The way he fought was completely absurd.

Floating swords.

A hammer large enough to crush a person.

A spear that returned after being thrown.

Even laser beams straight out of an anime.

Everything about it felt impossible.

The weapons.

The technology.

The powers.

Nothing made sense.

If something like this happened openly on Earth, the entire worldview I grew up with would collapse overnight.

How much time passed after that?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell.

At some point, I stopped noticing the cold.

I became completely absorbed in the fight unfolding before me.

“─────.”

“Oh. Managed to intercept that one too. I would’ve preferred to suppress it completely, but that’s asking too much. Natural-type Unknowns are troublesome.”

“Is… is it over?”

The snowy world slowly began to fade.

The blizzard disappeared.

The impossible scenery dissolved.

And eventually, the sidewalk I had originally been walking on came back into view.

In other words, this hadn’t happened in another world.

It happened right here.

On Earth.

The Earth I thought I knew.

Though at this point, being told I’d somehow wandered into a parallel world sounded more believable.

Looking down at the remaining snow around my feet, I slowly stood up.

“Are you injured?”

“N-no. I’m fine. Thank you. I still have absolutely no idea what just happened, though…”

“Ahaha. That’s completely normal. The first time I experienced something like this, I froze up even worse than you did. I couldn’t understand any of it.”

The man scratched his cheek awkwardly before continuing.

“That said, I’d like to ask a favor. Would you mind coming with me? There are a few things I’d like to discuss.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’d like to ask you about what happened here today. We investigate and research abnormal phenomena like this. Testimonies from people who directly experienced them are extremely valuable.”

That sounded suspiciously close to saying that most people involved in these incidents don’t survive.

Was this the part where they eliminate me in order to keep their secret society hidden?

Well, he did save my life.

If I went with him, maybe I’d finally get some answers.

Besides…

Refusing didn’t exactly feel like an option.

“Understood.”

“Thank you. Then let’s head over. I have a vehicle waiting nearby—”

Suddenly, his expression changed.

“Look out!”

Without warning, he reached toward me.

Confused, I followed his gaze downward.

And immediately understood why.

The snow around my feet was moving.

A shark burst out from it.

Trying to swallow me whole.

Wait.

Don’t tell me that snow was part of the shark?! 

It appears that I was destined to die from the beginning.

By the time I realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The jaws closed around me.

Everything went dark.