The sound of a bell.
Jingle.
The clear sound is proof of existence.
Evidence of some divine energy that repels evil.
Jingle.
What followed was the sound of footsteps.
A quick, unhesitating, brisk walk, heading straight for its destination.
Light, but not frivolous.
The footsteps drew closer and closer to the officetel, then paused, casting a shadow before the open door.
And then…
"Let's see, the citizen who arrived first is… No."
An agent from the Disaster Management Bureau revealed himself.
A long scar across his neck.
A smile.
Team Hyunmoo 1.
The one who was once my superior.
"So we’ve got the cult company here."
Agent Choi.
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes, as they assessed the situation, held no trace of laughter.
With somber eyes, Agent Choi scanned the blood-spattered living room and the corpse of the assistant director who had died by gouging out her own eyes.
"This can't be a coincidence, can it?"
"…!"
Jingle.
Agent Choi's hand pointed behind his back as if to hide something.
But I knew what was there.
A giant Executioner's Sword.
An illusion of blue light seeming to emanate from the blade.
Agent Choi moved his arm…
"Well then…"
"I surrender!"
Kang Yihak raised both hands and decisively dropped to her knees onto the floor.
"…?!"
[Oh, it seems she sells her knees on the cheap!]
But Agent Choi didn't even blink.
"Oh yeah? All the better."
"Wait! Just a moment!"
Kang Yihak, desperately trying to block the barrage of the Executioner's Sword, ran her mouth even faster.
"Heyy now, Agent-nim, you remember me, right? We met in that Darkness that gives out the expensive Conch Shell!"
"Of course, I remember."
Agent Choi grinned.
"You're the employee from that cult company who tried to escape using injured children as hostages, right?"
"That was Assistant Manager Butterfly acting on her own, not me!"
The Sergeant watched their back-and-forth in a dazed look, as if wondering what this was all about.
"We just came to see if there was a usable Darkness, but it was clearly out of our league, so we were just about to leave!"
"Oh~ So you're completely unrelated to this situation?"
"Is that what's important? What's important is this."
Kang Yihak quickly turned her head and solemnly asked the Sergeant.
"Director Cheong, are you still there?"
"The line… already cut off."
"Okay."
Kang Yihak, a broad smile on her face, looked back at Agent Choi.
"That means you can buy the information we found about the Darkness at the lowest price!"
Kang Yihak made a circle with her thumb and index finger, leaving a short and powerful impression.
[Good heavens.]
"Heyyyy, what do you mean, lowest price? A good public servant pays a fair price for goods. As for you, civilian…"
Agent Choi smiled and pulled his hand from behind his back.
And stepped forward.
"I'll make sure you get good prison food."
The Executioner's Sword flew.
Thud.
But the form of a Beast's Black Paw blocked the Executioner's Sword.
"…!"
The Sergeant's mutated left arm.
But between the giant, vicious claws, the Executioner's Sword had dug in as if it would slice right through it.
Chiiiiik.
Sparks flared from the surfaces in contact.
Just looking at the mangled state of that dangling paw, the pain must be immense, yet the Sergeant doesn't flinch. He just stared at Agent Choi, the Executioner's Sword between them.
"Hey… we're just… going to go back... We won't do anything funny… So let us go… We'll… cooperate…"
"My, my, how can I get your cooperation if I let you…"
Agent Choi's smiling reply was cut off. His eyes, looked at the Sergeant again.
His expression changed.
"…You."
As if he just realized the identity of the person whose silhouette and features were almost completely hidden by the security team's daytime work uniform, thanks to the current mutation.
…The night Director Ho placed the restriction.
The same Sergeant I had met in that Dream Incubation Chamber, where I was exposed as a spy by Agent Choi.
"..."
For a moment, a tremendous conflict and impulse surged across Agent Choi's face.
But the next moment, the expression vanished as if suppressed.
A business-like smoothness returned to his dry tone, which had regained its priorities.
"…The security team is here too? Wow, this must be no ordinary matter. I'll need to hear all your statements. As quickly as possible."
"You've got it wrong. We were just here to try and earn some extra income, yes, if you can just guarantee that part…"
"I'll just tell you everything."
"…!"
Lee Seonghae stepped forward, raising her right hand.
"A-Assistant Manager?!"
"You will?"
"Yep, yep."
Without even looking at Kang Yihak, Lee Seonghae spoke brightly.
"We have to help an agent who's working hard to rescue citizens."
"..."
"So could you please put away the Executioner's Sword? The Security Team officer looks like he's in a lot of pain!"
After studying Lee Seonghae's face for a moment as if to gauge her, Agent Choi soon retrieved the Executioner's Sword and smiled out of habit.
"Shall we do that, then?"
And he quickly listened to Lee Seonghae's briefing.
Lee Seonghae truly recounted everything, from the actions of the 'man on the screen' to the crisis situation that seemed certain to spread uncontrollably.
I wondered if she was going to mention that the USB was in her possession, but after glancing back and forth between the Sergeant and the transport cage I was in, she didn't mention it.
It seemed she thought it would bring harm to us.
"Okay."
…And all the while, the blade of the Executioner's Sword remained in front of the bars of the transport cage.
I held my breath.
So that the smoke would not escape.
…So that the other party would not know anything.
Agent Choi listened to Lee Seonghae's testimony as if memorizing it without missing a single syllable, not letting his guard down until the very end of the story.
Only at the very, very end did he put away the Executioner's Sword.
"Aigoo, thank you for your cooperation."
"Don't mention it! Helping a good person is the right thing to do!"
"Wow~ Really? That's my daily life, too. I'm achieving some real self-actualization through my work. Helping good citizens. But…"
Agent Choi looked at the golden mark on Lee Seonghae's mask.
An elite team's Assistant Manager, Dolphin.
"Why are you working for Daydream?"
"..."
"You already know that plenty of good people die because of what that company does, right?"
Lee Seonghae smiled faintly.
"Well, I try to stop bad things whenever I see them!"
"Is that so? How about just quitting?"
"..."
Lee Seonghae didn't answer. And Agent Choi stopped the conversation there
as well.
[Oh, it seems like he's about to leave.]
That's right.
This incident happened to multiple broadcast editors simultaneously. The
agents probably moved together, each assigned to a different location.
And now that he's found out all he can here, he'll leave the cleanup of the body
and such to the Joojak Team and go help the other Hyunmoo teams…
I know.
I, too, used to do it.
[…Friend, you seem to be in a bad mood. Oh dear, are you alright?]
I'm fine.
No, rather than being fine… my dull brain can't reach a proper conclusion anyway.
I don't really know what I'm feeling.
I just watched from beyond the bars of the transport cage as the familiar figure left the officetel door…
"You there."
Agent Choi, who had been holding the door, turned back as if he couldn't hold
it in, came close, and whispered in a low voice.
To the Sergeant.
"You know me, right?"
"..."
"You also know the employee who uses the alias ‘Roe Deer’, right?"
The Sergeant met Agent Choi's eyes.
"What happened to him? Don't give me that meaningless line about him being missing and processed as deceased after the train ghost story incident. I want the truth. What happened to him after that?"
"..."
"…Did he really use the Wish Ticket?"
The Sergeant answered slowly.
"The Wish Ticket… he used it."
"..."
Agent Choi's face went blank.
"And?"
"..."
"And, what happened after?"
The Sergeant gently tapped my transport cage, then turned his head this way…
"Don't."
The blade of the Executioner's Sword struck the bars.
"Use of supernatural disasters is prohibited."
A nostalgic light sparked from beyond the bars.
"Heyyy, sir. If you suddenly show up at a scene with a suspicious transport cage like that, anyone would think it's a portable containment unit for a supernatural disaster."
"..."
"Should I split it in half and check? See what it's used for."
"It's not… like that."
"Then please answer the question."
"..."
The Sergeant didn't answer.
Because he couldn't confirm my intentions.
And as the silence lasted for a few seconds, Agent Choi, who needed to wrap this up and join the civilian rescue for an active supernatural disaster, showed a hint of impatience… Then seemed to give up on getting an answer right here and now.
"Right. Well… maybe you don't feel like talking. That's your personal
freedom."
Instead, he chose another path.
"But you might feel like talking after relaxing over a bowl of hot seolleongtang."
The moment Agent Choi put his hand in his coat and grinned, I realized.
"And this whole situation is suspicious, you know."
"…!"
"A Daydream employee just heard a rumor and came to catch a Darkness, you say… The timing of the report is also quite a coincidence, isn't it?"
A chillingly accurate intuition.
"When witnesses are found at a disaster site, their statements often get clearer over time if they have a quiet place to think.”
And what comes out of his coat is…
A Glass Prison Transport Device.
"The Bureau will provide a place for you to rest and wait."
The agent had changed his mind, deciding to transport the Daydream Inc. employees all at once.
'…No.'
I have to return with the USB after finishing my task.
I released the smoke.
The moment I was about to slip out of the transport cage.
"You there."
A cold voice echoed through the officetel.
A new person, who had entered the room at some point, grabbed Agent Choi's arm.
"Cool your head."
"…!"
A tall woman, wearing a Four-Sided Divine Sword.
Team Hyunmoo 3's Team Leader Haegeum.
The agent I had encountered at the Cheerful Theme Park was standing there.
[Ah, I see. The employee who helped with your resort management!]
That's right.
"Tasks like dealing with cult-like companies are for team leaders to handle when they're present. Rookie agents should go to the broadcast station now."
"..."
"Still young, I see, full of vigor. Even trying to use shortcuts."
"Aw, come on, Noonim. I'm practically in the prime of my youth."
Agent Choi grinned, but his words were followed by a hint of urgency.
"But I have more to say…"
"I said, go. Agent."
"..."
"The chaotic cases have all been contained. Now you need to go to the broadcast station and sweet-talk the Bureau Chief. You're the right person for the job."
Agent Choi stood frozen to the spot for a moment, but eventually turned and
moved his feet.
The sound of footsteps running out the door faded away.
...
"Huu ."
Team Leader Haegeum straightened up, then glanced over the two masked people.
"Alright, you two from the Field Exploration Team, if you have nothing more to say, how about you get going."
"…!"
"Yep, thank you!"
"Wait a sec. Can the security team members go too?"
"Ah, this one has something to talk about with me. I'm not throwing him in
jail, so don't worry."
"Ah, then I'll wait—"
"Yes, ma’am! Thank you very much!"
After a moment of hesitation, Lee Seonghae followed the hastily departing Kang Yihak. And so, the two from the Field Exploration Team left the officetel.
Team Leader Haegeum watched the backs of the Daydream employees with a somewhat bitter expression, then approached the Sergeant.
And then…
She lowered her gaze.
To me.
"Golden Mascot."
…!!
"No, should I call you the Resort Owner?"
Team Leader Haegeum smiled wryly.
"Why so surprised? After you even hired me as a resort employee."
Ah.
"An event that alters one's existence to that extent is bound to leave a scar. For instance… in the form of recognizing a former employer."
But for something she described as a scar, the agent's expression wasn't bad.
On the contrary, she leaned down to the transport cage and said this.
"And I must offer my thanks."
…Thanks?
"Thank you for safely sending home the citizens who got caught up in the resort incident."
...
"Even if they didn't have the coins to pay, you hired the adults and gave the
children experience passes to let them stay the night."
[Good heavens. Friend, are you running a charity?]
"If it happened when the Red Zone existed, that supernatural disaster would surely have been classified as a Fracture-sanctioned anomaly, but thanks to you, it's only registered as a phenomenon."
In a strange, inexplicable shock, I looked at Team Leader Haegeum.
Yes.
That… was certainly a decision I had made in the past.
And I was still the owner of that resort.
Unchanged, even after all that had happened.
"So, what I'm saying is…"
...
"No matter how I think about it, you don’t seem to be a good fit for Daydream Inc, Resort Owner"
Ah.
"Are you bound by a contract?"
…!
"It seems Daydream Inc has finally managed it. A way to command a supernatural entity."
...
"A pure being is easily deceived by such a wicked promise. It's because they don't know the malice of humans."
>Denial.
"You're saying it's not to that extent? But… your energy has changed."
Team Leader Haegeum tapped the transport cage. When the Sergeant tried to stop her, she raised her hands slightly, then continued speaking…
"You seem very tired."
...
"This isn't the vibrant figure I saw at the resort before. Something… is turbid. It reminds me of the true form of that Magic Bunny, the red mascot."
…I remembered.
The grotesque form of the red mascot, which had been devoured by its mask, lost its original form, and melted away.
And the Blue Mascot, who never wanted to show its face without the mask.
"Do you want to run away? Before you lose more."
...
>Impossible.
"Hmm… is that so?"
Team Leader Haegeum, who had slightly furrowed her brow as if in pity, pressed her temples and thought deeply about something.
"Then what is it you want most right now?"
...
I want to at least have a human-like form.
Answering that would have been the correct answer.
Since that was my intermediate goal.
But… I unconsciously moved the smoke without realizing it...
>To get myself back.
It's a vague and impractical statement.
It's not that I lost myself; I was just originally this form. I've only just realized the truth.
Just as I thought I should take it back.
"…Hmm."
To my surprise, Team Leader Haegeum began to search her pockets.
"Team Leader Hong compared you to a lantern… but for someone like you, always shrouded in black fog, this might be better."
And she helped something out in front of the transport cage.
A small object.
A round thing made of jade and silver…
"Even if you can't see, you'll be able to hear the sound."
A bell.
"When you've lost yourself, when you can't see an inch ahead, when the world is blurred by confusion and doubt."
"Follow that sound."
Jingle.
"And realize. Who you originally were."
A clear sound rang from the bell.
Team Leader Haegeum handed it to me.
"It will help."
...
I formed a hand from within the smoke and took the bell.
At the same time.
Outside the officetel, in an alley in Seoul.
"Hoo."
Kang Yihak walked on with a sigh.
'Couldn't make a single penny here.'
It was so regrettable! No matter how she thought about it, this was a situation
where she could have at least snagged an item.
She looked at Lee Seonghae, who was now walking some distance behind her,
and smacked her lips in disappointment.
'She's not placing any bets.'
What a shame. Next time, she'd definitely figure out how to use this superior and generate some extra income!
Of course, if she was going to work with an elite team member, she’d rather work with a different superior.
'Assistant manager Jin Nasol is much more generous with her money!'
But then again, it wouldn't be a company if you could just pick and choose like
that.
'Still, at least I made my base pay.'
She resolved to strive for more in the future. Kang Yihak shrugged her shoulders only inwardly, then spoke amiably to Lee Seonghae.
"Assistant Manager, is the taxi fare for our return to headquarters also covered by the company…?"
Lee Seonghae stopped walking.
...?
"As I thought."
At that moment.
Seeing the person walking out from beyond the alley, Kang Yihak felt a strong premonition stab her in the back of her neck.
The feeling of being 'screwed.'
"You came this way."
It was another agent.
One who had finished his own rescue duties and, instead of being dispatched to the broadcast station, was scheduled to return to the Bureau to report his information.
The agent, summoned by Agent Choi when he ran to the broadcast station.
Agent Bronze.
"I am informing you. Those who have experienced a supernatural disaster are subject to a minimum of half a day to a maximum of indefinite quarantine for the purpose of debriefing and protection by the Disaster Management Bureau."
Kang Yihak immediately tried to turn and run. The moment she decided to use an item.
She saw it.
Lee Seonghae, standing behind her, urgently raising her hand.
'…!'
It was a motion as if to use some kind of equipment or ability, and in that moment, Kang Yihak flinched reflexively.
...
'Ah.'
Lee Seonghae, standing behind her.
Smiled and waved the hand she had raised at Kang Yihak.
A farewell.
"Commencing transport."
Before the blackout, Kang Yihak saw a giant glass curtain covering her.
TL Notes: -
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