Unwritten Mythos

Mei sat at her desk, the soft glow of her lamp casting shadows across the room. Her hand moved steadily over the paper, recording each observation with precision. Today's document was unlike her usual meticulous work. It was personal, chronicling the unsettling changes in her body.

She paused, looking up at the mirror across the room. Slowly, she opened her mouth and inspected her teeth. "Six more... growing," she muttered, noting the extra teeth that had appeared at the back of her jaw.

Next, she focused on her right eye. With a deliberate blink, the pupil split into nine distinct parts, like shards of glass. A moment later, they merged back together seamlessly. "Pupils can split and reassemble at will," she noted. It was another unsettling ability she had come to accept.

Her gaze shifted to her hands. With a slight flex of her fingers, thin silver threads shot out from each fingertip. They gleamed in the dim light, sharp as steel yet incredibly flexible. She observed how they shimmered before turning completely transparent, blending into the air as if they didn't exist at all.

"Threads have hardness approaching iron and steel," she wrote, "and can become invisible at will."

She continued to detail the versatility of her abilities. The silver threads not only cut through metal but also allowed her to control puppets. These puppets could be created in two ways: either by direct contact with objects or by embedding her threads into living bodies. The latter was how she had been controlling four people simultaneously.

Another ability that fascinated her was her capacity to refine materials like 005. With a simple thought, she could turn rocks, metals, or other materials into weapons or even puppets. What made these puppets particularly dangerous was their lack of heat, rendering them invisible to thermographic sensors.

Yet, despite the intricacies of her powers, Mei knew that puppets were secondary. "Directly cutting life through threads is simpler,"

For Mei, the true value of her puppets lies in their ability to set routes for her threads. The threads could only shoot in straight lines, and to change direction, she needed a puppet as a pivot point. Whether the threads moved left, right, up, or down, the principle remained the same.

To optimize this, Mei crafted small wiring puppets, miniature creatures made of metal. Their chests opened like mouths, serving as the perfect anchors for her threads. In theory, with these puppets placed strategically in advance, she could weave her threads through every corner of a space, cutting through anything in her path.

The threads had their advantages—speed, range, and devastating power. But they also had limitations. Setting up the threads took time, making them less effective in prolonged battles. If the fight dragged on, the threads would eventually become tangled, limiting their utility.

Controlling puppets offered a different approach. There was no need to pre-arrange the battlefield, and the invisible metal puppets could remain undetected, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With enough puppets, she could sustain a long battle without worrying about her threads getting caught up.

Yet, puppets had their own flaws. The connection between Mei and her puppets was a fragile thread—literally. If the thread was severed, the puppet would be rendered useless. And while the puppets could wield weapons, cold weapons often lacked the immediate lethality Mei desired.

However, if she equipped her puppets with thermal weapons and made those weapons invisible, the game changed. The bullets might be visible once fired, but the enemy would have no idea where they came from. This confusion alone made it difficult to counter her attacks, especially in long-range combat, where the threads were less likely to be cut.

"Speaking of which, those people didn't seem like regular police. Could the secret have been leaked?" Mei mused, her mind racing with possibilities.

Among the creatures she knew, Queen Bee was the most human-like in appearance. If her exposure had indeed drawn these people in, then who were they? A special organization designed to handle supernatural threats or monsters? It seemed plausible.

Mei had read enough novels and watched enough movies to recognize the pattern. If there was one special force involved, there were bound to be more. At least three, she figured. Why three? Because a triangle is stable.

And when special forces appear, they usually bring along a roster of characters with incredible abilities, each more complicated and powerful than the last. They would fight each other, escalate conflicts, and amidst the chaos, there would always be a bunch of side characters sent out to die first.

Reflecting on this, Mei realized those people from earlier were probably the sacrificial side characters. And then there was Enko. Could he also be from that organization? By her logic, if the side characters showed up first, Enko must be one too.

Yet, even as a side character, Enko had managed to kill 002. If that was the standard, the characters who appeared later would be terrifyingly strong.

"...This won't be easy," Mei muttered. All sides could turn out to be her enemies. If these powerful organizations uncovered her secrets, they would undoubtedly try to seize them. And the bad news? It seemed they might have already gotten a whiff of something.

Her concerns weren't baseless. Take her Vase, for instance. If absurd things like that existed in this world, there was no reason to believe they were unique. Others like it could be out there, possibly held by organizations or governments.

If these things were capable of creating extraordinary beings, then the situation could quickly spiral out of control. Though her thoughts were hypothetical, the enemies she imagined were within the realm of possibility. What if her thought came true?

Determined, Mei pulled two Potions from her drawer. "Experiments on the undead characteristics must begin."

...

A few hours earlier, right after Mei had taken Vex away, the Kitsune 01 brigade returned, their mission incomplete.

"Catching the bee, failed," Varian reported grimly.

"We approached the target smoothly, but when we were about to capture 004, a new monster appeared. There was no mention of this one in the intelligence."

He paused, his voice heavy with disbelief. "She can control thread, and even invisible puppets. Unbelievable—she destroyed our weapons in less than 0.1 seconds. Forgive me for being blunt, but her danger level is extremely high. She's nothing like the Fish-Man; she's far more dangerous."

Varian looked around, his frustration barely contained. "Speaking of which, where's Enko? Doesn't he know anything about these monsters? About this new one—does he know something we don't?"

Hearing Varian's words, the logistics staff merely shrugged.

"This is temporarily still uncertain," the logistics staff replied. "Enko must cooperate with us for some experiments during this period. You can ask him about any related issues once the experiments are over."

Varian's eyebrows furrowed. "When will the experiment end?"

The logistics staff thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Not sure, but you can watch this."

He then displayed a video in front of Varian. The footage showed a seemingly light punch—yet it had three times the power of a normal person's strike.

Varian's eyes narrowed. "Who is he?"

The logistics staff remained calm as Varian's frustration boiled over.

"Enko?" Varian's voice rose. "If he's capable of this, then why is he being kept here instead of out there with us? We need him on the front lines, not tucked away in some lab."

The logistics staff sighed. "The experiment is crucial. We're studying his transformation—it could lead to breakthroughs in how we deal with these monsters."

Varian slapped the table, his voice sharp. "Breakthroughs? What good are breakthroughs if our soldiers are dead? Enko has the strength to face these monsters head-on. Keeping him here is a waste. We need him out there, making a difference where it counts."

"Look," the logistics staff started, but Varian cut him off.

"You're dealing with monsters, not terrorists. If that monster today had decided to kill us, we'd be dead. Armed forces mean nothing when we're up against something like that. We need elites—people who can actually stand up to these creatures. And right now, that's Enko."

Varian's eyes burned with intensity. "If you want to capture monsters efficiently, you need to fight fire with fire. That means Enko belongs with us, not stuck here in a lab."

Varian's frustration simmered beneath the surface as he clashed with the logistics staff. Their disagreement over Enko had escalated, each side firmly entrenched in their beliefs.

The logistics staff insisted that developing strengthening drugs was paramount. "This isn't just about today, Varian," he argued. "This is for the future. If we can harness Enko's transformation, we could create a force capable of handling any monster that comes our way."

But Varian wasn't swayed. "The future?" he scoffed. "What future are you talking about if our entire army is wiped out on the next mission? You can't guarantee that drug will even work, and by the time it's ready, we might all be dead!"

The room felt charged with tension. Varian's fists clenched as he continued, "Enko has the strength to tip the scales now. With him on our side, we have a better shot at surviving these missions. You're gambling on something that hasn't even been proven, while we have a weapon ready and waiting."

Neither side budged. The logistics staff remained steadfast, convinced that the research was crucial for long-term success. Varian, however, couldn't shake the gnawing fear that they were wasting precious time.

As the argument reached a boiling point, it became clear that compromise was impossible. Varian, frustrated and on the verge of taking matters into his own hands, seemed ready to pull Enko from the lab by force if necessary.

That's when the Kitsune's top leader stepped in. Recognizing the brewing conflict, they quickly intervened, mediating between the two groups. After intense negotiation, a fragile peace was restored. The action group and the supply group backed down, but the decision was made.

Enko would stay in the supply group, continuing his role in the development of the strengthening drug. Varian, though dissatisfied, had no choice but to accept the outcome—for now.