Well, there is an occupation that’s called “veterinarian”.
Because of the depiction in these manga, novel and film, almost nobody who didn’t know what a veterinarian is.
A doctor who deal with animals.
From about 1,000 people who passed the national examination, only 40-50% of veterinary student find employment in veterinary hospital, the remained work in places that didn’t depicted too much in the drama.
The places that others hardly knew are working in health and sanitation in agricultural cooperatives or health care center, airport quarantine, or researching in pharmaceutical company, and the other similar work.
A veterinarian is a hardly popular occupation, the situation between doctor who deal with animal and with people are also greatly different – but let’s just leave it at that.
If he was asked with a “Yes-No” question, he would become troubled in choosing the answer.
Since he was small, he was influenced by the dream, roman and fantasy from animes, games, mangas and novels. Well, in the current times it wasn’t unusual for someone to be overwhelmed by the subculture.
First of all, since the universities typically had the same low number of student, about 30 people, in the class and they held the same motive then they could easily became intimate easily with each other.
Well, it could be said that veterinary university had a peculiar trait that because of the frequent gathering, the students get well along with the seniors and knew all the professors.
These characteristics, combined with freedom in university, the students could spend their time in the university meaningfully if they have eagerness to actually do it.
Kazami felt regret leaving such university, he was a type of person who will ask for study extension moratorium so he could stay a little bit longer on the university.
What was called laboratory was a place where experiment or routine work was conducted under a professor that studied a subject of their expertise.
Infectious Disease division researches things like Microbiology, Parasitology, Epidemiology, or Sanitation; in other words researching microbes that can cause sickness. They have no problem researching in laboratory with bio-safety, food poisoning, or building sanitation.
Among those research divisions, Kazami belong to Pathology laboratory tthat belong to Basic Life Science division.
「Yes, it’s fine. As usual, I will collect the report and also took several photos in the middle of autopsy, right?」(Kazami)
While working in the laboratory it was normal for a professor to ask a undergraduate student or postgraduate student to finish his work.
「I think they will come soon – oh, here they are.」(Professor)
While they were talking, a humming truck engine could be heard from the outside.
Putting the overalls, Kazami hurriedly changed his clothes and head towards the client that couldn’t be made to wait for long.
□
From ancient times, it was believed that blood possessed a power.
It was said that by gathering hundreds, no thousands of blood to use in a Commandment, it could even create a miracle or calamity.
In the past there were 4 Miracles such like that.
The First was unexpectedly summoned in a battlefield washed in blood, even when the First was lost for words, the First helped the wounded people in the battlefield, and thus afterwards the First guided the people and calmed the flame of conflicts.
Many people were saved by the Foreign knowledge on every Miracle.
The people who were called from another world like this ―― the Visitor, was respected as the Eminence and extolled by the people more than a hero or a great person.
The monsters ran rampant, while the countries contesting with each other desiring more territory.
Officially it was to resolve an epidemic disease and famine from a long drought.
However, if he kept as it is then he would surely head to ruin.
Such words were something happened at every time, everywhere, and everyone.
The job was only to perform cutting up one after another of the meat sacks filled with blood ―― humans.
The place was a shrine grove with an old history.
The calm scent of the forest, now was blended by the blood stink.
There were three types of people in the forest.
The cloak wearing knights uninterestedly slit their neck.
They already cut down so many people that in just several dozen they would soon reach 500. Normally, people with a conscience would certainly fell disgusted in their heart by this spectacle, however there was none in this place.
「Geez, it still not finished yet. I don’t find killing like this interesting at all. Since I will report to the Feudal Lord while watching for abnormalities in the surrounding; leave the killings for the fellows with murdering tendency. The guys who hesitate can stop. Since they would only kill half-heartedly and will needlessly suffer for it. Call me if you short of hand. Understand, Guren?」(Captain)
On a place not far from this murder site was the aforementioned Feudal Lord ―― the knight’s owner, the real performer of this killings.
「Umm, Lille-sama. Is this…… Really the correct conduct……?」(Girl in Priestess Garb)
「I don’t understand…… When I see this scene, I become not understand.」(Girl)
As it was blanketed by the white fog, as far as eyes could see there was nothing strangeness could be seen.
The raw stench from spilled contents of a living being began to envelop the forest.
The girl in priestess garb made a grimace.
「…… Although it would be cruel, but I think that in a hindsight it can be said that it was good that it could be saved just with 500 people…」(Girl)
If she concentrated her eyes, red stains could be seen from her place. Nearby, an elderly woman in tears was about to be cut down.
「Ye-yes….」(Girl)
Although the girl feel sad by this, but this also a piece of this world, so the woman admonished her.
「However this was just my thought. This might be how the decision of the Feudal Lord to try dealing with the prospect of his territory fell into ruin from infringed by another country. Well, perhaps this is just an optimistic thinking. It was the fault of the feudal lord to cling on a dream tale.」(Lille)
The woman couldn’t even made a wry smile and just let out a sigh.
Certainly, even if many were died, if by a small sacrifice then a large number of people could be saved then this might be said as a correct decision.
The people that said that these were bad should think that they were also the same people saved by it.
However, the girl shook her head.
「Hmm?」(Lille)
「If there is no sacrifice, then he couldn’t appeared in the first place, right?」(Lille)
「I see. Then that will be arduous.」(Lille)
The girl, who the woman thought to be crushed by reality and become depressed, was instead brushed this aside and made a resolution.
「It will be wonderful if it is a person who can save everyone. Where anyone wouldn’t get killed, get starved, get sick, and fight with each other. Completely saving everyone, making the dream tale into a reality, it will be great if this happened.」(Girl)
But the girl was deadly serious. She was deeply eager in working to make it become a reality.
While these two priestesses were conversing like this, the Feudal Lord and the demi-human knight arrived.
Beside Kazami was a calf that was only as high as Kazami’s waist. *coff*coff* It had a muffled cough. It could be called the hallmark symptoms of pneumonia.
If it couldn’t be cured with antibiotic and before it spread to other cow, it would be deemed as useless and like this it would be handed over to the university, killed and become another industrial waste, or rendered into fodder or fertilizer powder[6] by recycling parts of its bone and fat.
This was a sad story, but it was the heartless reality of animal husbandry and trade of this area.
「Sorry. I’ll make it as painless as possible.」(Kazami)
While cuddling and petting the calf’s head, it might had been become hungry as it sucked his finger. It seemed that it hadn’t reached the weaning age.
It was quite accustomed to people. Maybe the farmer had raised it affectionately.
「There, there. Then I think I will make a milk.」(Kazami)
He pulled the rope tied to the halter and entered the autopsy room.
After dissolving the milk powder with warm water, it brought closer to the cow and it extended its tongue towards the bottle. It seemed that it was really hungry.
「Hey, no need to rush.」(Kazami)
After he giving the milk, it decreased in a blink of an eye.
He quickly inserted the syringes into the vials and then nimbly took them out.
Then he tied its feet with rope, inserted electrode to its mouth and anus and then gave it an electric shock to cause a cardiac arrest. After he confirmed that it had negative pupillary reflect and had died, he slit its throat and drain out the blood.
Even by comparing the number there absolutely a progress compared with the past. Compared to ten years, no twenty years ago, the difference is evident.
While Kazami was closing his eyes for ten seconds and pray for it to be able find happiness in the next life ---- At that moment…
『------found him ------ 』
However in the autopsy room there was no one else. He look around for a chance that a student visited to search for something, however as expected, there was no one else in the room.
「Am I just hearing things?」(Kazami)
He never felt an auditory hallucination this real, however believing that it has no use thinking about t any further, Kazami took the dissecting knife from the shelves. Pulling himself together, he began the pathology autopsy.
While keep an eye for swollen lymph or other abnormality he cut a hole from the top of the rib to the abdominal cavity. While holding the still warm stomach he cut open the costal cartilage tubercle where the cartilage originated in the middle of the rib cage until the clavicle. Even if the bones didn’t get cut, by severing the cartilage that connected the bone, a creature could be disconnected with just one knife.[9]
After that finished he put the pathological parts into the zip pack filled with formalin and his task was completed.
Kazami, who was washing the blood clinging in his hand, he look around restively at the surrounding shelves.
「Let see. The containers and the vinyl bags are…」(Kazami)
Then he would hand over the autopsy specimen to a merchant, although it should be burned or recycled by rendering it, since either process took tremendous labor, they called the merchant many times.
From low magnification to high magnification.[10]
He was just looking for the states of the cells to the signs of the pathogens ------ at that time, with a jolt suddenly the electricity to the microscope was interrupted.
「Hm? What happened?」(Kazami)
This microscope was just bought recently that’s why for it to be broken was weird.
The electric light that should have switched on had gone. Not only was that, but the outside that should have been still bright in this time of year was dark.
「Eh……What?」(Kazami)
Kazami who started doubting his own eyes, checked his wristwatch.
The scenery, that he usually seen from the window was covered by the blackness that didn’t shine even one bit, he couldn’t even see any shape or form in it.
It was “blood” dripping from the window. It came down dripping like raindrops.[11]
Even if he blinked many times to fix his mistaken sight, it was red. It wasn’t rain water.
The deep crimson red color, the trait where the color turned irregular when slipping off, and the gel of blood that slid down the glass like a half congealed jelly. He had seen them all.
As expected, something is wrong.
Fortunately, this room was located inside school building. He should head towards the professor’s room or class room that wouldn’t be exposed to the blood in the outside.
It was what he thought but…
「Wha-……!?」(Kazami)
The moment he rushed out from the room, the endless darkness continued until the ground just in front of his steps.
This was really miraculous. His stretched out arms by coincidence touched the doorknob. This was fortunate, otherwise he was going headlong to the open hell.
「No way, this is a lie right……!?」(Kazami)
Supporting his weight using the doorknob, Kazami who was hanging in the air became pale.
The door metal hinge began to scream unpleasantly, his fingers start to slip from the doorknob. His shoulders that were overworked started to throb in pain; Kazami desperately put his whole power to the fingers.
Whenever he saw, everything was solid black.
However the “start” didn’t wait even a bit for Kazami, and it immediate intensified.
「Eh……?」(Kazami)
Suddenly, there was crack going along the laboratory outer wall.
「Wai-, eh? No way, it will……!?」(Kazami)
Furthermore, the crack didn’t only travel in the wall but also in the space, and start to spreading out. It was as if a crack on a LCD monitor.
And then the crack travel as if disregarding space where people exist. It even pierce through Kazami who couldn’t give any resistance, it keep spreading.
Because of by a threatening phenomenon he didn’t understand and the sounds of the crack spreading out, as one would expect, Kazami’s heart began to thumping fast.
「What is going on here!?」(Kazami)
One by another the connection to the world broke down.
The words he spoke out that time, became his last word in his hometown.