Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies Chapter 267 - 262: Aria’s Change

The soft sobbing finally ca to an end after a long while.

Aria had cried herself weak and exhausted.

Haruto gently placed her back onto the bed. If only she'd known it would co to this—why even resist in the first place?

Once Aria's sobs subsided and she regained a bit of her strength, Haruto cleared his throat.

"Ahem... Miss Aria, please cooperate with containnt. Violent resistance won't lead to a good outco. The Foundation isn't so authoritarian organization—so long as you cooperate, the containnt conditions can be negotiated."

Aria lifted her head, her eyes still shimring with tears.

Normally, she'd have snapped back at him with a sharp tongue. But now, it was obvious she'd completely yielded.

Her voice was hoarse from crying.

After that, Haruto brought Aria back to the site.

He didn't confiscate her dual guns or blades, but along the way, Aria was unusually well-behaved—showing no signs of rebellion.

Once they arrived at the site, Aria was first taken to a containnt chamber.

The room was equipped with a full set of detection instrunts.

Dr. Seju stood nearby, looking a little puzzled.

"President, did a fight break out during the containnt? Her posture seems a bit... odd."

Haruto gave a sheepish smile.

"Ahaha... yeah, there was a bit of a struggle. It's rare for anomalies to willingly comply."

Dr. Seju nodded in agreent.

Before long, a diagnostic report was produced.

Aria's physical stats were several tis higher than that of an average human, and her body also showed signs of slowed aging.

Moreover, when engaging in combat, her physical stats would further spike. Her body also exhibited the potential to trigger certain special abilities. While still hypothetical, it was highly likely that Aria could manifest these abilities—

Including space manipulation, and even ti-based effects.

All of these abnormalities stemd from a crimson, bullet-shaped tallic object embedded within her body.

This tal was closely fused with Aria—

To the point of altering her natural eye and hair color.

In fact, physiologically, Aria's eyes and hair shouldn't have been crimson.

This rare tal was known as Crimsonite.

The tal itself was the anomaly—but its fusion criteria were extrely harsh.

The Foundation extracted 0.1 grams of Crimsonite and tested it on D-Class personnel.

Despite testing over a thousand D-Class individuals, none were able to fuse with the Crimsonite.

Based on compatibility and Aria's case, it was hypothesized that successful fusion required a young girl...

And also... one with a tsundere personality.

Upon reaching this conclusion, Haruto was speechless.

Was this tal so sort of tsundere fanboy?

Haruto couldn't help but think of Eriri.

Maybe a cute girl like Eriri would be highly compatible with Crimsonite.

The Crimsonite bullet, now fused within Aria, was left in place.

Forcibly removing it could cause irreparable harm to her.

Furthermore, Aria was currently the only individual known to have successfully fused with the tal.

For now, fusion testing was suspended.

Research shifted toward artificial synthesis of Crimsonite and developing Aria's capabilities.

At the sa ti, the Foundation discovered that the alloy known as ntal Barrier tal had excellent suppressive effects on Crimsonite.

Once all the diagnostics and experints were complete—

Peace returned to Aria's containnt chamber.

By now, Aria had also regained her composure from the earlier emotional breakdown.

However, when Haruto entered the room, Aria instinctively placed her hands behind her back, covering the still-tender spot.

Seeing this, Haruto chuckled softly.

As expected, tsunderes... they really need a good humbling to get grounded.

He sat down across from her and slid two folders in her direction.

Aria eyed him warily for a mont—

But in the end, her curiosity got the better of her. She picked up the docunts and started reading.

The mont she opened them, her crimson eyes locked tightly onto the contents.

These were containnt records—of a werewolf and a vampire.

Although both were Level-3 dangerous anomalies, sharing containnt records with her was harmless.

After quickly finishing the two docunts—

Aria looked up at Haruto, her gaze complicated.

The man who had just done that and that to her...

Was, without question, her benefactor.

Both the werewolf and the vampire were extrely adept at blending in with humans—

Hiding out scattered in Europe, they would've been near impossible to apprehend using conventional ans.

Actually, forget apprehending—just finding them would be a monuntal task.

After all, as long as they avoided the sun or the moon, they were virtually indistinguishable from humans.

Aria's mother had been frad for several cris.

If the charges weren't overturned in ti—

The consequences of her imprisonnt were too terrifying for Aria to even imagine. And Aria knew that on her own, catching those two anomalies...

Well, it wasn't impossible per se, but it'd be an uphill battle that would take ages.

Now, however, the Foundation had contained them—

And her mother's na had been cleared.

The entire operation had been carried out by Haruto. To call him her savior would be an understatent.

Once she finished reading, Haruto quietly took the docunts back and neatly organized them.

He didn't say much.

Then, he stood and turned to leave.

Aria's crimson eyes trembled as she watched his back—torn with hesitation. Just as Haruto was about to exit the containnt room, Aria finally spoke,

"Um Sir... please wait a mont."

Haruto turned back.

Was Aria actually using honorifics? Was the sun rising in the west today?

Still, that alone wasn't enough.

"You've read the anomaly docunts you were interested in. Since the clearance level was low, you won't be subjected to mory cleansing. The Crimsonite inside you is stable, so you won't be confined to the containnt chamber 24/7."

"There's a Central Life Garden upstairs—it's a great place to unwind. There are even small, harmless animals you can pet."

"As for Crimsonite research, the Foundation will never harm your body. At most, we'll just perform regular checkups, so there's nothing to worry about."

"If anything is missing from your room, just report it. Reasonable requests are usually approved. And if you want, after mory cleansing and signing a confidentiality agreent, you can even leave the Foundation and return to society."

With that, Haruto had dispelled every concern she might have had.

It was thoughtful beyond words.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

This kindness from the Foundation only made her feel more guilty. They had clearly helped her so much...

And she, she had even shot at Haruto.

"I... can I join the Foundation?"

She finally asked the question—

Looking at Haruto with eyes full of hope, awaiting a favorable answer.

But Haruto shook his head.

"There are precedents of anomalies joining the Foundation, but I'm afraid you're not suitable—not because of your powers, but because of your personality. You point guns at people at the drop of a hat, shouting about putting holes in them. That's a bit too much, even for our staff."

Aria imdiately wanted to defend herself—

But the words got stuck.

Because what he said... was true.

She had no excuse.

Normally, with anyone else, Aria would've thrown out a snarky coback. But not with Haruto—she couldn't get a word out.

His mildly disappointed and indifferent expression struck her like a knife.

"I... I can change. I'll control my temper. I won't cause trouble for others anymore!"

Aria declared.

Haruto sighed.

"Miss Aria, promises like that don't an much to the Foundation. They carry no binding force—anyone can go back on their word. And human nature doesn't change so easily."

Aria's face paled.

She knew her own personality well, and that Haruto was right.

But what else could she do?

Just then, Haruto coughed lightly.

"If Miss Aria truly wants to join the Foundation—then start by cooperating here at the site. Use your actions to prove yourself to the others. That's more convincing than any spoken promise."

Upon hearing that, Aria's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.