Dawn Office Fixer: Faust's Story
[.......]
[It has been determined that this case merits preservation as a record. The following is the case record pertaining to today's request.]
[Case Name: Thousand Needles.] [Serial Code: Dn-00113.] [Grade: Urban Legend.]
[The case has now developed to a point where assigning codes beginning with "A-" to the victims no longer serves any practical purpose.]
["Catastrophic propagation via a series of random chain reactions" would be an appropriate description for the nature of this case. As such, it would be both inefficient and impossible to assign individual serial codes to every victim scattered throughout this street.]
[The circumstances surrounding the case align with both the information gathered from rumors and the case report compiled by Representative Gregor of the Dawn Office.]
[Now briefly recording the state of the case scene.]
[Sections of the building have been liquefied...]
[And beneath the damaged structure, traces in the form of human remains can be observed.]
[Many of the victims' remains are no more than distal extremities of the human body.]
[By contrast, it is rare to find torsos and internal organs that maintain even a moderate resemblance to their original forms. Given this fact, it is reasonable to infer that the prevailing cause of death in this case is something of an explosive nature.]
[Remaining bits and pieces of human flesh also indicate that the said explosion was accompanied by countless shrapnel tearing the bodies inside-out.]
[Faust determines that all of these observations indeed point to a single property: omnidirectional fragmentation of this pitch-black matter from within the body...]
[A presentation identical to that of prior cases.]
[Hm. The matter is abnormally dense compared to its mass. Its material strength is also unnaturally high - merely touching the surface of the wall permits the matter to drill through it with negligible resistance.]
[... Immediately after making contact, the matter begins to melt an area several times larger than the point of contact. It is difficult to believe that such a material could have been produced by the human body.]
[It is certain that this matter is identical to the one currently under Faust's investigation as an object of interest - designated as "needles."]
[... Yes, that is correct. Symbols of an irregular, atypical pattern, which Faust had repeatedly received on-site verification requests for, are present on the material.]
[Now cross-referencing this observation against Faust's information.]
[... No matching information found. In that case, the minority hypothesis, which alleges that the symbol points to a "malicious advertisement attempt by a certain upstart Workshop," may be dismissed as false.]
[Now moving on to the next proposed hypothesis. "Yesterday's Promise and Demonic Magic"... Has the presently recorded case's scene yielded any verifiable fact that substantiates the said hypothesis?]
[... Understood. Faust recalls having stored a piece of information regarding the body of a corporate employee found in the Backstreets - a victim of the so-called "gut-harvesting." The corpse also bore a much similar symbol.]
[... Gut-harvesting refers to the criminal act of the Backstreets Syndicates by which corpses are stripped of anything considered to have monetary value. Fausts who limit themselves to observing Nest-sourced information may have been unsuitable participants in the discussion of this particular subject.]
["Magic"...?]
[It strains the realm of believability... But if such an incomprehensible phenomenon does indeed exist, perhaps this would be one of the ways by which it is manifested.]
["Balloons popping"... would be the closest approximation. The radius of the damage is far too great for such a seemingly weightless impact force.]
[Does the entity designated as "Yesterday's Promise"... truly employ a power that may be termed as "magic"?]
[Perhaps access to some more pieces of information... would help Faust thread together the truth of the matter...]
[... Yes, of course. Faust is aware that access to any information beyond this point is prohibited.]
[However, it is an established fact that the entity's ability concerns "contracts"... In which case, working as a Fixer should bring Faust closer to an answer.]
[Understood. Then the discussion regarding this record will conclude here. Faust will need to head to the Office and submit a report.]
[.......]
[Sinclair said he had something he wished to say to Faust once this was over... However, it appears Faust will not be able to hear it.]
[And it seems probable...]
[It seems probable that this will be Faust's final record.]
[Current location: The "Library," as per the popular denomination.]
[Correct. This is the same place that has recently been reclassified as an Urban Plague.]
[Faust confirms that writing one's name on the invitation alone is sufficient to transport the invitee to this place. This record is best shared with the other Fausts in advance...]
[Ah.]
[Access rights received. Faust cannot help but notice that access is granted to Faust... when it is already too late.]
[Would that mean - no, please disregard that.]
[Concentrating on the battle at hand would be the more rational choice.]
[Yes. The opponents seem determined to make Faust their initial target. It is unlikely that Faust will be able to fend off the entirety of their focused offense.]
[They are healing themselves merely by grabbing pebbles in their hands.]
[And Faust hears... the incomprehensible ringing of a cry, a song, or perhaps just an echo... The mind feels as though it were shaking and staggering just by hearing the sound...]
[Is this an attack launched by utilizing the properties of Abnormalities? If so, what could this place possibly be...?]
[.......]
[Though I find this development disappointing... I should think of this as a fortunate outcome that has availed me the opportunity to leave an account, at the very least.]
[Because even should this Faust fail here... The grand objective of Faust must be preserved at all costs.]
[Faust only has one wish - to know all of the City.]
[... Ending record.]