By Zephyria “What’s the situation?””
A clear, boyish voice answered.
“Ninety percent of the patients have completed treatment, and the seriously ill are being treated in connection with local hospitals. Still, medical care hasn’t been paralyzed like before. Most of the minor injuries are being treated in tents.”
“Even dog poop has its use.”
“That expression is not appropriate, Master.”
“Then what expression would be suitable?”
“The expression ‘Even a Sluggard has its own skills’ is appropriate.”
The man chuckled softly.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
Screech… The Crox stopped in front of the sliding door.
Click, the button was pressed, and pure white light poured out. The light illuminated the corpse of a massive Monster slumped on the floor. A white gown and the white hair tied beneath it swayed. Delicate fingers pushed up glasses. Nam Woo-jin put on the gloves and mask the boy handed him, then dragged the Crox right up to the Monster’s nose. The Monster was dead with its tongue sticking out.
“You brought a pretty intact one. I thought you’d bring it in pieces.”
“…….”
Honeybee, who was leaning against the wall in the corner of the operating room, nodded. Nam Woo-jin touched the Monster’s huge mouth and teeth. Neither the dust matted with blood nor the blood itself was congealed. Blood flowing from its mouth pooled on the floor, forming a small puddle. It probably wasn’t this Monster’s blood.
“But why did a Ranker have to deliver it? I thought someone from the Rift Management Bureau would come.”
“…What can I do when they tell me to go? If they tell me to do it, I have to do it.”
Honeybee had an uncharacteristically gloomy face. Nam Woo-jin glanced at her and then looked away. He knew why the Director had her deliver it. Because Prometheus-related bastards were all over the place outside. Because they didn’t know what she might do with her quick temper and fast actions.
‘He means for me to keep her here.’
He really knows how to handle people. Nam Woo-jin gestured to the boy. The boy, trotting over, easily pried the Monster’s mouth open to its maximum. Nam Woo-jin shone a light into the open mouth. Blood and broken fragments were stuck together inside.
A monstrously large mouth and monstrously small eyes. The eyes were atrophied and didn’t seem to function. Nam Woo-jin picked up a sharp scalpel.
“We should thank those guys. Thanks to them, I have time to dissect and tear it apart piece by piece.”
“…….”
Honeybee glared at Nam Woo-jin with a cold look. Nam Woo-jin replied nonchalantly.
“I was just joking, so relax.”
“Oh, a joke? I thought you were trying to provoke me.”
“My apologies.”
Swoosh, the sound of cutting through leather, fat, and flesh rang out clearly.
Honeybee sighed irritably, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes. Her insides were churning. She wanted to grab the bastards passing by and beat them to a pulp. Who were they, and did they even have an Antidote? Was Matthew doing okay…?
It was then. Nam Woo-jin, who had been rustling around for a while, spoke.
“Honeybee. I have something to ask you.”
Honeybee slowly opened her eyes.
“What is it?”
“Did you catch the guy who fell from the sky right away? One who hadn’t caused any damage?”
Honeybee twisted her hair and raised one eyebrow.
“Huh? I caught the one who was biting everything in sight. You saw its mouth. Covered in blood.”
“…Is that so? But it doesn’t seem like it, considering…”
Nam Woo-jin’s voice echoed hollowly from beyond the massive body.
“There’s nothing inside.”
“Huh? What are you talking about…”
The boy blocked Honeybee as she approached. The boy offered a white mask and gloves with clear eyes. Honeybee twitched her lips and obediently put them on before standing beside him. Nam Woo-jin opened the Monster’s massive belly with a gloved hand.
There was nothing inside. Just as he said.
Honeybee blinked a few times with wide eyes. She covered her mouth with a bewildered expression.
“…Wait a minute. This doesn’t make any physical sense. I saw it with my own two eyes. Tearing apart telephone poles and swallowing cars. It even swallowed people.”
“…….”
There wasn’t even a fragment of a telephone pole or car, let alone the flesh, bone fragments, or bloodstains of the people it had swallowed. It was perfect emptiness. The Monster’s stomach was. A rare look of embarrassment appeared on Nam Woo-jin’s face. He stared at the emptiness with eyes that had burned white.
“This Monster. You said it swallows everything in sight?”
“…That’s right. It has poor eyesight but an excellent ability to sense presence.”
“When I first heard that story, I thought it would stop when its stomach was full. Because it would need time to digest. Even Monsters that move under the laws of the System… weren’t too different from the characteristics of ordinary living things, so it was a reasonable assumption.”
“It was.”
“I thought even low-ranking Hunters could handle it if they aimed for that timing.”
That was right. The Monsters in the Dungeon, though different in appearance and degree of ferocity, ate, slept, and moved in patterns no different from other animals on Earth. But the Monster before them was completely different.
An existence that deviated from rules and laws.
“But…”
Honeybee’s face also hardened as she realized what would follow. Nam Woo-jin touched the emptiness. He felt nothing.
“If it’s a guy who keeps feeling hungry no matter how much it eats.”
“…….”
“If it’s a Monster that endlessly repeats the act of chewing and swallowing forever…”
“…It’s going to be a pain.”
Honeybee bit her lip anxiously.
“Is this Doomsday? Are these strange Monsters appearing because of it?”
“It can’t be.”
A shadow fell over Nam Woo-jin’s pale face.
“It hasn’t even properly started yet.”
Swish…
Amid the sound of pouring water, black liquid splashed into the container. Ugh… Sa-young, clutching the container and retching, blinked his wet eyelashes and roughly wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He staggered to his feet. Bloodshot purple eyes were glaring at him.
The bathroom light flickered. He felt dizzy. Sa-young tried to calm his breathing, but in the end, he couldn’t hold back and threw everything he could grab at the light.
Crash— Fzzzt, with the sound of something breaking and a small spark, the light went out. Darkness came, and his mind calmed down a little. Sa-young panted and raised his head.
Knock knock knock, the sound of someone banging on the door rang loudly.
“Hey! What are you doing! Are you okay?”
“…….”
“Should I call Nam Woo-jin? Huh? Do you want to go to Seowon Guild?”
“Let’s contact them first, Vice Guild Leader…”
“…Shut up.”
Sa-young snarled and snapped. His clammy neck and forehead felt sticky. He hadn’t been able to come to his senses since the moment he opened his eyes in the conference room. His heart was beating fast, and he kept feeling nauseous.
“Ah…”
Annoying.
Sa-young plunged his face into the overflowing sink. His feet got wet from the overflowing water. Only then did the surroundings become quiet. He could finally think properly.
Cha Eui-jae.
Min-gi Seo will be handling it well. If something had happened, he would have contacted him right away….
His fingertips twitched. Sa-young submerged his face in the water even harder. He knew better than anyone why his body was in this state. He had only recalled a little of his past memories, and he was in this state. It was ridiculous. He could hear a mocking voice. Saying he couldn’t even overcome this much.
—You’re still young.
‘Shut up….’
Sa-young gritted his teeth and raised his head. He roughly wiped his soaking face with both hands and flung the door open. Bae Won-woo and Kang Ji-soo, who had been leaning against the door, tumbled in. The two looked up at Sa-young with bewildered faces as they propped themselves up on the floor. Bae Won-woo, who had bandages plastered all over him, stammered and asked.
“Hey, are you… really okay?”
“How many times do I have to say it? I’m fine…”
Sa-young languidly swept back his wet hair.
“The light’s broken, so tell them to replace it.”
“Oh, okay, sure.”
“Min-gi Seo. No contact yet?”
“Huh? I haven’t heard anything. Where did you send him?”
“…….”
Sa-young stepped on the smooth floor with his wet feet.
“I sent him for a bit. There’s someone I need to find.”
“…….”
“Handle the Awakened Management Bureau cooperation request on your own…”
“Where are you going, Guild Leader?”
Kang Ji-soo craned her neck and asked. Sa-young drawled out the end of his sentence.
“To find a dog that ran away from home.”