"final comprehensive magical examination before interrogation begins." She placed the heavy book on the table. "I have the necessary protocols here."
The captain's frown deepened. "I received no such message."
"How strange," Reina remarked, her tone suggesting it wasn't strange at all. "Perhaps the messenger was delayed. Nevertheless, the order stands. I require one hour with the prisoner."
"Impossible," Valerius snapped. "You've had your time, Lady Reina. The Archduke left me in charge of the investigation in his absence."
"Indeed he did," she agreed smoothly. "And I'm certain he'll be most interested to hear how you countermanded his direct order upon his return this evening."
They stared at each other, locked in silent battle. Finally, Valerius spoke through gritted teeth.
"One hour. No more. And my guards remain present."
"The protocol requires privacy," Reina countered. "Magical energies can be disrupted by untrained observers."
"Then one guard, positioned outside the door," Valerius conceded with visible reluctance. "But I warn you, Lady Reina—if you're being manipulated by this man or his cult, you will share his fate."
"Duly noted, Captain." Her tone was ice.
Valerius gave instructions to the guards, who released Kazuki from the chair but left his manacles in place. As they departed, the captain leveled one final glare at both of them before slamming the door behind him.
The moment they were alone, Reina's composed facade cracked. She moved quickly to Kazuki's side, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"We don't have much time. I examined one of the monks' bodies last night—the transformation is like nothing I've ever seen. Their organs were rearranged in a pattern that makes no anatomical sense, yet seemed deliberately designed." She opened the large book, revealing that it was hollow, containing smaller texts nested inside. "But that's not the most disturbing part."
She withdrew a parchment and unfolded it carefully. "This was found carved into the monastery floor in the victims' blood."
Kazuki felt his blood run cold. The drawing showed the exact symbol he'd remembered—the modified caduceus with the two-faced mask.
"You recognize it," Reina observed, watching his face.
"Yes," Kazuki whispered. "It was in my memories. Associated with something called Project Bifrost."
Reina's eyes widened. "Then you are connected to the Masked Ones."
"No!" Kazuki insisted. "At least... not willingly." He struggled to articulate the growing unease he felt. "I think... I think whatever's blocking my memories is related to this symbol. But I don't think I'm working with the cult. I think I might have been sent here to stop them."
"Or to help them," Reina countered, though without accusation. "The timing of your arrival..."
"I know how it looks," Kazuki admitted. "But please—help me recover my memories. It's the only way we'll know the truth."
Reina hesitated, then nodded. From the hollow book, she removed a small crystal sphere and a vial of shimmering silver liquid.
"This is a memory amplifier," she explained, holding up the sphere. "Combined with this elixir, it can temporarily weaken magical barriers in the mind. But I must warn you—once begun, we cannot control which memories break through first. Some will be painful."
"I'm willing to risk it," Kazuki said firmly.
Reina studied him a moment longer, then nodded. "Very well." She uncorked the vial. "Drink this, then hold the sphere in both hands and focus on the symbol. I'll guide your consciousness toward the blocked memories."
The liquid was bitter and burned like strong alcohol. Kazuki grimaced but swallowed it completely, then took the crystal sphere in his manacled hands.
"The key," he remembered suddenly. "Your key can unlock these."
"Keep it hidden," Reina advised. "If this goes badly, you may need it to escape. For now, you can hold the sphere even with the manacles."
Kazuki nodded, settling the cool crystal between his palms. The symbol from the parchment burned in his mind's eye as he concentrated on it.
Reina placed her hands over his, enclosing the sphere between their joined fingers. She began to murmur in that strange language, her voice rising and falling in rhythmic patterns. The crystal grew warm, then hot, beginning to glow with an inner light that pulsed in time with Kazuki's heartbeat.
Pain lanced through his skull—white-hot needles driving into his brain. He gasped but maintained his grip on the sphere, which now glowed bright enough to cast shadows across the room.
Images flashed before him, too rapid to fully comprehend:
The Tokyo laboratory again. His own hands injecting a substance into a test subject—a rat that convulsed, then grew unnaturally still.
The same mask-like symbol on a secure door, requiring a fingerprint to access.
A colleague—face still frustratingly blurred—arguing with him. "The ethical implications alone, Mizushima! You can't possibly think this is acceptable research!"
His own voice responding: "Ethics are a luxury we can no longer afford. The disease is spreading too quickly."
A hospital ward filled with patients exhibiting strange symptoms—their bodies distorting, internal organs shifting position beneath their skin.
The sound of laughter—his own voice, but wrong somehow. Higher, more manic.
The crystal sphere shattered in their hands, fragments turning to dust that dissipated in the air. Kazuki fell forward, Reina catching him before he hit the floor.
"What did you see?" she asked urgently.
Kazuki's head spun, the fragments of memory refusing to form a coherent picture. "I was researching something... a disease, I think. Something that caused physical transformations, like the ones you described." He struggled to focus. "But that doesn't make sense. Why would I be researching the same disease that's appearing here?"
"Unless it's not the same disease," Reina said slowly. "Unless you brought it with you."
Kazuki looked up sharply. "You think I'm patient zero? That I'm infected?"
"No," she shook her head. "Your blood showed no signs of disease. But perhaps..." She hesitated. "Perhaps you are the disease."
Before Kazuki could process this disturbing suggestion, the door burst open. Captain Valerius stood in the threshold, sword drawn.
"Time's up," he announced coldly. "The interrogation begins now."
Reina rose to her feet, positioning herself between Kazuki and the captain. "I've confirmed that his mind has been magically altered. The blocks are sophisticated—beyond anything the Masked Ones have demonstrated capability of creating."
"So he's an even greater threat than we suspected," Valerius concluded, advancing into the room. "All the more reason to extract information by any means necessary."
"Or he's a victim of the same force that's attacking the kingdom," Reina countered. "Captain, think! The precision of the transformations, the magical sophistication—these aren't the work of some disorganized cult. We're facing something far more dangerous."
"All I see," Valerius said, pointing his sword at Kazuki, "is a foreign spy who appeared by magic just as prophesied by the very cult we're fighting. His convenient memory loss fools you, perhaps, but not me."
Four guards filed in behind the captain, surrounding them. Kazuki's hand slipped into his trousers, fingers closing around Reina's key.
"Captain, please," Reina tried once more. "Give me more time with him. The memory amplification was working—we were breaking through the blocks."
"Your time is done, Lady Reina," Valerius stated flatly. "Guards, escort the lady physician back to her quarters. She is not to leave until the Archduke returns."
Two guards moved toward Reina, who stood her ground defiantly. "You exceed your authority, Captain."
"I protect the realm," he responded. "By any means necessary."