[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 8 Ch 2 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.
Please hover over the image to see the text.

"How long do we have to stay like this for?" Rikiga stifled a yawn. He fished out a flat metal bottle from his jacket pocket. The stench of alcohol stung Inukashi's nose.

"That stinks. What's in there?" he asked as he pinched his nose.

"Do you want to know?" Rikiga flashed a vulgar grin, and lightly shook the bottle. Inukashi could hear liquid sloshing inside.

"I don't even have to ask. It stinks of cheap booze. Ugh, that smell! Makes me wanna throw up." He pulled his face into a scowl. It was no act. The bottle was not even open, but the nauseating odour radiating from it assaulted his nose.

"Don't ask if you already know," Rikiga said.

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 8 Ch 2 (a)

CHAPTER 2
I've done

"I've done with fancies, imaginary terrors and phantoms! Life is real! haven't I lived just now? [...] The Kingdom of Heaven to her- [...] Now for the reign of reason and light... and of will, and of strength... and now we will see! We will try our strength!"^[1]
-Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

Lili was sleeping. She breathed softly, lying on the tattered sofa at the back of the shop.

She was in a fetal position, and with her furrowed brow and her pursed lips, she looked anything but peaceful. Tear streaks still stood out on her face. Out of anxiety, perhaps, she had curled up into a ball, clutching tightly onto the blanket Karan had covered her with.

"Lili... poor thing." Karan smoothed the blanket's wrinkles out. Lili's lips moved imperceptibly.

"Daddy... don't go," she mumbled in her sleep. Her fingers closed tightly around a corner of the blanket.

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 8 Ch 1 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.

"Thank you. I am grateful." Safu clasped her hands, and bowed her head.

"I don't need any thanks. Destroying the Mother is like shooting the Correctional Facility through the heart. I could have wished with all my might and still not gotten this opportunity. It's worth a try, if this column will really open and expose the Mother, even for a moment."

Nezumi's eyes glittered. It was like the glitter of a finely-sharpened knife.

The control panel lit up without warning. Words emerged in the air. Nezumi gave a short whistle. He placed his fingers on the control panel.

"Unlocked, unlocked, unlocked... heh, a miracle transformation from haughty queen to meek lady. Now even I can handle her."

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 8 Ch 1 (a)

You don't feel it?
Feel? Feel what?
Something off.


CHAPTER 1
Ring the alarum bell!

I gin to be aweary of the sun,
And wish the estate o' the world were now undone.
Ring the alarum bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack!
At least we'll die with harness on our back. ^[1]
- Macbeth, Act V Scene V

I love you, Shion. I love you more than anyone else.

Brains floated in the middle of the transparent columns.

Human brains.

How many? Ten, twenty, thirty... perhaps more than fifty. There seemed to be a light source at the base of the column, for the entirety of it emitted a soft, white glow.
A scene he had never seen before. It was orderly, inorganic, and sterile. Not a single stain marred the smooth floor. The chamber was odourless and almost soundless. But that in itself was terrifying. Shion felt that this scene was more terrifying than any he had seen until now. He couldn't hear the tearful cries, the screams, or groans. There were no corpses, no flowing blood, no faces distorted in agony. But this scene here was so much more wicked than the picture of hell in the basement that he had witnessed and burned into his memory.

[Novel] NO. 6 Sidestory - Days in the West Block

This booklet was included with Volume 4 (special edition) of the manga.
A big thanks to Annamirka for scans.


SIDESTORY
Days in the West Block

There was not a cloud in the sky that day in the West Block, and it was bright and clear. It was truly a cerulean sky.

But of course, since the West Block lay in the shadow of No. 6, daylight hours were always short no matter how sunny it was. In the winter, it was especially so.

Shion looked up at the sky, and gave a huge stretch. The suds on his hands turned into small bubbles that floated into the air above.

They reflected the light and sparkled in rainbow-coloured hues.

"It's such a nice day today."

The blue of the sky and the light from the bubbles stung his eyes.

"Hey, Shion. Get a move on." Inukashi looked up from making soap suds in a bucket to glare at Shion. The light on his raven hair made it look even more black.

"Take your sweet time, and the sun'll be down before you know it. We gotta finish washing the dogs by afternoon. 'Cause if they don't get washed by then, we'll have to burn a whole extra fire just to dry them off. It's a waste of firewood."

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sorry about that."

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 7 Ch 5 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.
Please hover over the underlined text to see notes.

"E-Escorting me... where?"

There was no answer. The two muscular Bureau officials, alike in height and shoulder width, remained silent with their guns pointed at Getsuyaku.

Nothing spoke louder than their lack of words.

Destruction was approaching. Getsuyaku understood that he was in no position to escape. But he couldn't relent.

No. No.

"Wh―why am I... what are you saying I've done...?"

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 7 Ch 5 (a)

CHAPTER 5
A Treacherous Joy

A deep, inexpressible joy filled her heart, a treacherous joy that she sought to hide at any cost, one of those things of which one is ashamed, although cherishing it in one's soul . . .
-Maupassant, "A Life"^[1]

"Is Daddy home yet?" Lili sighed. "Did Mommy get to see Daddy? Did she get to say 'welcome back' to him? It's getting so dark. I wonder what happened? Yuna's daddy and Ei's daddy are already home. They always come home on the same bus. You know, sometimes me and Yuna and Ei go and meet them there."

"I see. And Daddy's very happy, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Really. He picks me up, and kisses me on the cheek. But it's kind of embarrassing. I don't need to get a kiss from Daddy to be happy. I'm not a little girl, you know. But Daddy still thinks I'm a little girl. That's why he kisses me in front of all those people. It's kind of a problem."

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 7 Ch 4 (b)

This is a continuation of PART A.
Please hover over the underlined text to see annotations.

Whoosh.

He felt a breeze.

He smelled flowers. The faintly sweet smell of wildflowers.

Whoosh.

The breeze touched his cheek, and caressed his bangs.

Oh, it's that again. It's... that.

He opened his eyes.

The light stung.

A field stretched out before him.

[Novel] NO.6 - Vol 7 Ch 4 (a)

CHAPTER 4
Are you sad?

"Are you sad?"
"Yes, I am."
"You're not really, are you?"
"No, I'm not."
-Hoshi Shin'ichi, "Bokko-chan", Short Short 1001^[1]

Two conveyer belts were running. Humans lay on them. Someone had put them there.

They were not alive. He could tell clearly even from where he stood behind the glass.

Bodies. Several dozen, maybe even a hundred, were being carried down. A half-moon shaped device of enormous size was operating beyond.

The bodies were sucked in one after another into two square openings. It seemed like the glass was of a special kind, for he could hear nothing of what was occurring on the other side.

Bodies slipped by continuously in this silent scene.

[Novel] NO. 6 - Vol 7 Ch 3 (b)

Continued from PART A.

They were at the top of the stairs. It was such a cramped space that they had barely any room to stand.

"Shion, there's no exit."

There was no handle or button to be found. Only a blank wall.

We've messed up.

His heart pounded. Cold sweat streamed down his back. If this was a dead end, then there was no escape for them. They could not fend off the pursuers coming from below.

"Up," Shion yelled. "Push the ceiling up!"