Night Raid on the Infirmary

Deep night had fallen on the Nest. Everyone was asleep, including Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, who had finally finished their discussions and retired to their assigned rooms. Even Adam, Lyle, and Sora, exhausted from their lengthy explanation, were fast asleep.

But one person remained awake.

Shu hadn't planned on sleeping. His [Prayers] kept him in peak condition, always ready for action. The first half of the night had been dedicated to unraveling the children's investigation, and the second half was reserved for his clandestine visit to the infirmary.

He was determined to uncover the secrets of this unsettling place.

With the lights off, the Nest was pitch black. Shu squinted, navigating by touch, his hand trailing along the wall. It's really dark in here, he thought. There should be at least some moonlight filtering through. Is it just me, or is it unusually dark? 

Maybe it's my guilty conscience playing tricks on my eyes. I should probably get some sleep sometime…

He reached the doorknob. Squinting at the sign on the door, he confirmed it was the "No Entry" room, then tapped the lock with a finger.

A faint click echoed in the stillness, so quiet that Shu almost thought it was drowned out by his own heartbeat. This was one of the [Prayers] Kiana had prepared for him.

He hadn't brought the others along simply because the room was too small to accommodate them all. A group of people barging into a tiny infirmary wouldn't exactly be a clandestine operation. The person inside would think they were under attack.

The infirmary's size was also a source of suspicion. How could such a small room hold nearly a hundred people, even if they were children?

He carefully pushed the door open, making sure the hinges didn't squeak, then slipped inside.

A wave of oppressive stillness washed over him, a strange discomfort settling in his limbs. Ignoring the feeling, he looked around.

The infirmary was even darker than the hallway, illuminated only by a few blinking red lights and an eerie green glow. The red and green lights mingled in the darkness, accompanied by a rhythmic beeping sound.

The atmosphere was unsettling, yet strangely… fitting. The staunchly materialistic warrior silently offered prayers to several different deities before cautiously stepping further into the room, closing the door behind him. Sometimes, closing the door is a bad habit.

He and the others had envisioned various scenarios: a hidden assassin, a man-eating monster…

But they hadn't considered the possibility that Shu might not be able to see in the dark. Not even Shu himself had thought of it.

A Honkai beast-slaying warrior with night blindness? Preposterous!

He could use his powers to create a night vision effect, but that seemed wasteful… His [Prayers] were precious, enough to fight aliens. He wasn't going to waste them on something as trivial as night vision.

No, even I can't be that extravagant. He decided to continue navigating by touch, carefully exploring the room.

As he focused, the infirmary slowly came into view.

Rows of beds lined the walls, each draped with white curtains that hung motionless in the still air.

Shu: "..."

Just curtains… nothing to be afraid of… He took a deep breath and approached the nearest bed.

The beeping sound grew louder, and he recognized it. A heart monitor?

He frowned and cautiously lifted the curtain, peering inside.

He finally understood the source of the red lights: the small indicator lamps on a heart monitor. And the green glow was coming from a bracelet on the child's wrist.

His gaze traveled up the small arm resting on the white blanket, finally settling on a small, round face.

"Just as I suspected…" he murmured, his brow furrowed.

At first glance, it looked like a normal children's ward, except for the glowing bracelets. The bedcovers were neatly tucked in, suggesting someone had cared for the child after they fell asleep. Everything seemed normal…

Except for the four closed eyes on the child's face.

His suspicions were confirmed. These were the deformed children.

Shu looked around the room, his gaze sweeping over the rows of closely spaced beds, a feeling of dread settling over him.

No, it was more than dread… He felt a tightness in his chest, a sharp pain radiating through his limbs. He had felt it when he entered the room, but now, closer to the beds, he knew it was coming from these sleeping children.

He took a deep breath, pushing aside all thoughts of logic and reason. He leaned closer to the four-eyed child, squinting.

The only visible deformity was the extra eyes. Everything else seemed normal, though most of the child's body was covered by the blanket.

Should I pull back the covers? He considered it, then decided against it. The child's hand rested on top of the blanket. Moving it would be too risky. He needed to survey the rest of the room and the other children first.

An IV drip was connected to the back of the child's hand, and several unopened vials hung from the IV stand. But the vials looked… strange.

Shu's eyes narrowed. He reached out, slowly, towards the vials.

"You'd better not touch those. I arranged them in a specific order. If you mess it up, I'll have to prepare them again…" A tired voice came from beside him.