Viridian: The Green Guide

Chapter 36: Berserk

"Are you sure?" Tsukauchi gripped the test results so tightly that the paper wrinkled. "There was absolutely no trigger in his system when he was brought in?"

"We checked three times." One of the doctors confirmed, adjusting her glasses. "And even if there had been, it would have long since metabolized by now. If he was like the other next-level villains you've brought in before, he would have calmed down shortly after he was brought in. Whatever made him like this...it wasn't just trigger."

Shouta looked through the glass of the cell at who used to be Jun Hamasaki. The doctors were right, he had worked with next-level villains before and, aside from a few unfortunate cosmetic changes, once the trigger was out of their system, they returned to who they had been before, but Hamasaki...it had been days and the uncontrollable rage he'd displayed when he was arrested had only grown worse. It was going to make him extremely difficult to interrogate, which was why they had been waiting for the effects of the drugs to wear off like they always had in the past, but difficult or not, they had to try, if for no other reason than to make sure the monsters who did this to him were brought to justice.

"There's something else." The doctor said. "With the police department's permission, we were able to run a whole slew of tests to try to figure out what those people did to his body.The physical changes are similar to what we've seen from the villain factory before, but the brain scans..."

She trailed off and Shouta turned to the team of doctors, gesturing for them to continue. After a moment, one of the other doctors continued where the first had left off, "The only area in his brain that was functioning at anywhere near a normal level was the amygdala, the area that is responsible for emotions such as fear and anger. It's no wonder that he tore up the city the way he did, considering that it's almost as if his brain has been rewired to optimize rage."

"When I arrived at the scene, Tensei said Hamasaki had gone completely berserk." Shouta said. "We thought there'd been some sort of trigger, but you think that was biological?"

The head doctor nodded, "Almost definitely. The other areas of his brain have started to atrophy at a much higher rate than we'd normally expect, almost as if his body is attacking itself. Right now, the only conscious thoughts he can even process are those that are boosted by his anger, but from the way his brain is decaying, even those might disappear in the coming weeks."

"Then there's no point in waiting any longer." Tsukauchi said with finality. "If we want to have any chance at getting any information out of him, it's going to have to be now."

The doctors looked hesitant and honestly, Shouta felt the same way. Hamasaki may have been restrained and mildly sedated, but they were in uncharted territory when it came to his body and quirk. Whatever the villain factory had done to him, it had made him stronger than he had any right to be, which made him unpredictable, which was more dangerous than ever because of his uncontrollable rage.

But Tsukauchi was right. It would be entirely illogical to wait any longer to interrogate him. He wouldn't get any less angry if they waited, and they might miss their chance if his brain atrophied any further. That didn't mean it was safe or that Shouta had to like it.

Tsukauchi gestured for the doctors to open the door, and Shouta followed him inside. The moment Hamasaki caught sight of them, he started fighting against his restraints, practically growling as he lunged at them. This was why he didn't understand why some of his students enjoyed horror movies so much.

Real life was so much scarier.

"Jun Hamasaki, my name is Detective Tsukauci and this is the pro hero Eraserhead." Tsukauchi said, feigning calmness and hiding the slight tremor in his voice behind a thick layer of professionalism. "We've met before. My quirk, Lie Detector, will be active during the course of his interview."