By Zephyria 263
Honeybee must have thought the same thing, as she glared.
“You’re getting straight to the point like that?”
“Didn’t you guys roughly explain things? It’s a waste of time to beat around the bush. Besides….”
Nam Woo-jin glanced at J.
“You said you didn’t forget his existence. Then he’ll figure something out.”
“…….”
“As you guys know, we’re facing a severe manpower shortage. We can’t just let him freeload because he lost his memories.”
Irresponsible. Eui-jae quietly clenched his fist behind his back. Nam Woo-jin opened the tightly closed door and stepped inside.
In the middle of the dark room was a huge telescope-like machine, and three blue Mana Stones were spinning around it. Lee Sa-young, unable to withstand the piercing gazes of Honeybee and Eui-jae, subtly pointed at the machine with his index finger.
“What’s that?”
“A Whitening observation device.”
What’s that? Once again, Honeybee and Eui-jae stabbed Sa-young in the back. Sa-young asked again with a crumpled face.
“…What is it?”
“Did you forget about Whitening too?”
“Oh my, I guess I did.”
“Didn’t you guys explain it?”
“We didn’t even know he didn’t know.”
Honeybee and Eui-jae shamelessly added a word each. Nam Woo-jin glared with wide eyes before sighing.
“…You really didn’t do anything. You said he was found in the wasteland. Whitening refers to the phenomenon where land becomes uninhabitable due to the effects of Doomsday. The wasteland is an area where Whitening has progressed. An area permeated with white ash becomes a land of death where not even a single blade of grass can grow.”
“Why does that phenomenon occur?”
“I told you, this world is being destroyed because of Doomsday. It’s a phenomenon caused by Doomsday.”
Nam Woo-jin, who spoke of Doomsday and destruction, was nonchalant. Sa-young narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Are you just accepting the destruction?”
“Of course not. We’re still fighting.”
“…….”
“But at this rate…. Who knows.”
Nam Woo-jin swallowed his words. Eui-jae folded his arms behind his back and racked his brain. The first stage of Doomsday in our world was the appearance of Monsters. What about here?
“It would be helpful if you could tell us the stages or order of Doomsday.”
“Stages? Ah….”
It seemed like a good question. Nam Woo-jin nodded and operated the observation device. Soon, the image of a Monster with a large mouth open in the air appeared. It was the Monster that appeared in their world and devoured humans.
“The first was the appearance of the Big Mouth. After the Black Hole turned into a Whitehole, they suddenly appeared all over the world. They devoured everything, regardless of humans or buildings.”
“…….”
“They have poor eyesight but are sensitive to presence and smell. And what they eat… disappears completely. It’s more accurate to describe it as annihilation.”
Honeybee lowered her eyes and sighed.
“Their stomachs seem to be connected to the cracks in the world. No matter how much they swallow, they can’t satisfy their hunger. So they keep eating and eating. Until their lives are exhausted.”
“…….”
“The number of Big Mouths naturally decreased. We learned how to deal with them, and strangely, they stopped appearing at some point. The next stage is…. the Monster Wave.”
Eui-jae and Honeybee raised their heads at the same time. Monster Wave, a phenomenon that had not yet appeared in their world.
“Whitened Monsters poured out of Dungeons and Gates. You could call it a war of attrition. Fortunately, we were able to handle it well, but the Whitened Monsters scatter white ash when they die.”
“…….”
“In the end, the more Monsters we kill, the more Whitening is accelerated.”
“…What’s the next stage?”
“It’s happening now.”
Eyes burned white contained the three of them. Bathed in the light of the blue Mana Stone, Nam Woo-jin looked strangely inhuman. He raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
“Mutation.”
“…….”
“Humans are becoming Monsters.”
Honeybee’s expression hardened. Everyone was probably recalling the same memory. The Monster who was her colleague was hidden behind the Seowon Guild. She didn’t know how long he would be there.
“Not many people know, but at least everyone in this room knew. Even if one person forgot.”
“Is there a way to stop it? Or a way to turn the people who became Monsters back?”
Honeybee asked accusingly. Nam Woo-jin shrugged as if asking why she was asking such a thing.
“Why are you asking when you know the answer? There isn’t. There’s no way to stop it, no way to turn them back. However, it seems that humans who have been exposed to Whitening for a long time mutate faster…. That’s the only speculation we have.”
“…….”
“We’re working with other Doctors and researchers to find a vaccine, but… who knows. I don’t know if it’s possible.”
His voice was weak. Honeybee bit her lip tightly. Her clenched fist trembled. Eui-jae deliberately stepped forward to shield her.
“Thank you for your time, Doctor.”
“J.”
Nam Woo-jin crossed his arms and snapped sullenly.
“Move while thinking about your body. Got it? You don’t have to do everything. Saving the world is only possible when you’re alive.”
“…….”
“Your body is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment. Be careful. Run away if you think it’s too much. And come find me right away. Got it?”
Eui-jae blinked. In fact, his body felt heavy. Ever since he entered the Seowon Guild and replaced himself as J, it had been like this. But he couldn’t show it. He slowly nodded. His heart ached sharply.
“Yes.”
“…You can go now. I won’t keep you any longer. After all, you have to stay by Lee Sa-young’s side.”
Nam Woo-jin waved his hand to chase the three of them out. Thud, the door closed. Honeybee, who was mechanically walking forward, suddenly stopped. She turned around with a determined face.
“We don’t have anywhere else to go, right? Or anything urgent.”
“We could make something up, but not right now.”
“Then I want to go to the HB Guild.”
“…….”
“It’s okay if you don’t come. I want to go alone….”
Honeybee’s voice gradually lost strength. Did she want to meet Matthew? He hadn’t been able to wake up for a long time in the original world. He knew that feeling well. Eui-jae slowly nodded.
“Okay.”
“…….”
“Go ahead. We need information about the others anyway. Let’s meet in front of the Seowon Guild. Jung-bin is here too.”
Honeybee looked at Sa-young as if seeking his opinion. He nodded lightly instead of answering. Immediately after, Honeybee suddenly hugged Eui-jae tightly. So tightly that he could hardly breathe. Eui-jae, who was suddenly embraced, only blinked at the unexpected warmth and pain. Honeybee whispered softly.
“Thank you.”
The wind-like hug ended quickly. Honeybee let go of Eui-jae and ran off energetically. As he watched her quickly shrinking figure, he rubbed his shoulder where she had hugged him, and a weight settled on his shoulder. Sa-young was leaning on him. Eui-jae asked awkwardly.
“…What?”
“Why don’t you hug me?”
“Honeybee-ssi just hugged me unilaterally.”
“Uh-huh…. I saw you patting her back.”
“…….”
He had good eyes. It would be better to resolve this before it got more twisted. Eui-jae spread his arms wide. Sa-young wrapped his arms around Eui-jae’s waist and pulled him close. His solid body filled his arms. Eui-jae patted Sa-young’s broad back. Soft hair tickled his cheeks, ears, and neck.
“Happy now?”
“…Fast.”
“Huh? What?”
“Your heartbeat.”
“…….”
“There’s an unpleasant sound mixed in too….”
Fingers dug into the gap between their tightly pressed upper bodies. A large hand that had forced its way into the gap settled on Eui-jae’s heart. Mysterious purple eyes were fixed on Eui-jae’s mask. Damn it, he thought it was jealousy, but it was a condition check. Eui-jae pushed away the approaching upper body and leaned back. But he couldn’t put as much strength into his arms as he thought.
‘What is this?’
He was flustered. The fingers that touched Sa-young’s upper body shrank involuntarily. The arms wrapped around his waist tightened even more. He felt pain even in a hug that would normally be nothing. Why was he so strong?
There was no choice.
Eui-jae closed his eyes tightly and muttered.
“Exc.”
“Exc?”
“Excited, I’m excited, you crazy brat….”
“…….”
A smile gradually appeared in the slowly blinking purple eyes. Just as he thought the long eyelashes were fluttering, lips landed on the smooth black mask.
“Ah… Is that so? Excited?”
“If you know, get off! What if someone comes?”
“It’s okay. I can sense that much.”
“I don’t care, get off….”
“Does it hurt? Right now.”
“What are you ta―”
The moment Sa-young put strength into the arms that were wrapped around his waist, ah, a small scream burst out. Eui-jae gritted his teeth and lowered his head. Sharp pain struck. His body trembled. Sa-young released the strength in his arms. And carefully supported Eui-jae’s staggering body. A light kiss landed on his sweaty temple.
“You’re stubborn.”
Eui-jae tried to catch his ragged breath and cursed. His vision kept blurring.
“…You, you crazy bastard….”
“I’m sorry. I thought you would insist until the end if I didn’t do this.”
The hand that gently stroked his neck was the last thing he felt. His vision turned black.