279 – HGL 279

Intersection

“Administering the prototype of the cure.”

Whoosh, the space beyond the transparent glass wall filled with hazy smoke. The figures of two people with their arms crossed were reflected in the hazy glass. Ga-young with a dubious smile and Nam Woo-jin with a blank expression. And then.

Thump!

A grotesquely twisted beast’s hand emerged from the hazy smoke, gripping the wall. The hand, covered in fur and claws, was entirely white. Kkeueuk…. A bizarre cry was heard. Ga-young twisted a strand of hair beside her ear and muttered nonchalantly.

“Failed. Well, I didn’t expect much anyway.”

“It doesn’t seem to have even the slightest effect.”

“I know, right? Still the same~”

The Monster trapped beyond the wall opened its large mouth wide. A Monster with human teeth in its beastly maw was bizarre to behold. Monsters with traces of humanity left. Could there be any humanity left in those who had mutated? Nam Woo-jin suddenly wondered.

Ga-young turned away indifferently.

“Hmm~ How about doing a tissue examination? Who knows, there might be changes in the cells.”

“You really seem to enjoy experiments involving the body, like tissue examinations and such.”

“Hehe, it’s the most accurate data, isn’t it?”

Ga-young covered her mouth and chuckled. Her eyes sparkled behind her glasses.

“Ah! Don’t tell me…. You still think that thing is human, do you?”

“……”

“More broad-minded than I thought, huh? Unexpected.”

“Instead of being sarcastic, why don’t you think of another way? The number of Mutants is still increasing.”

“Huh? Isn’t the government and the Awakened Management Bureau diligently covering it up?”

“There are limits to that. You can’t block all information.”

“I can only imagine how noisy it will be when the fact that humans are turning into Monsters is revealed…. I’m already looking forward to it~”

Ga-young, who let out a low laugh, nodded her head in greeting.

“I’ll be going now~ Ah! Please cut off one of that guy’s fingers and send it to my lab. Please? My business partner.”

“…I will.”

“Hehe, thank you~”

Step, step, step, the sound of footsteps faded away. The collaboration with Prometheus was continuing, albeit creakily. Ga-young led her researchers and took a place on one side of the Seowon Guild. The areas they could go to were very limited, but she said it didn’t matter.

They harbored both malice towards the Awakened and love for humanity. Most of the conversations among the Prometheus researchers were similar.

‘We can save humanity.’

‘Let’s hang in there a little longer.’

Judging by their conversations alone, they were more righteous than anyone else. It was just that their sense of justice was slightly twisted, which was the problem.

According to the background check, most of the Prometheus members had unfortunate circumstances. People who had lost family members to Monsters, people exposed to Awakened crimes, and people who had lost everything in the Rift. Their tragedies were twisted by someone’s hand into resentment towards the Awakened.

‘The one who provided that nourishment….’

Must be the leader of Prometheus. Nam Woo-jin took off his glasses and rubbed his face. The boy, who had been standing beside him, approached with hurried steps.

“Master, shall I cut off the finger right away?”

“Yes. Give them everything they want. And never take your eyes off them.”

“Of course, Master. Not only me, but Min-gi Seo is also cooperating. It’s possible with the two of us.”

Nam Woo-jin only nodded in response. The boy picked up an ax as big as himself and headed beyond the firmly closed iron door. The Monster stared intently at the boy who entered the door and opened its mouth. At that moment, the Monster’s scream was heard from beyond the wall.

Kyaaaaak!

Splatter, white blood splattered on the transparent glass. The Guild members frowned and covered their ears at the chilling scream. Nam Woo-jin watched the whole scene without any change in expression.

Is the transformation of humans into Monsters a disease, a curse of the System, or a trick of Doomsday? Can it be stopped with human power?

‘Is all this meaningful?’

Turning mutated humans back, preventing Mutation. It all seemed like a distant future.

The boy, covered in white blood, approached. Clear, marble-like eyes reflected Nam Woo-jin. The boy respectfully gathered his small hands and held them out, showing his palms. On the palm was a finger dripping with white blood.

“I’m back, Master.”

“…Okay.”

Nam Woo-jin stopped as he was about to pick it up. A hand with only bones left like a mummy remained in his vision like an afterimage before disappearing. He clenched his fist in the air and withdrew his hand.

“Boy.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Cooperate with Min-gi Seo to create a contact route with Yoon Ga-eul.”

“Understood, Master.”

The boy disappeared, leaving a trail of white blood. Nam Woo-jin put on his glasses. The Monster, clutching its hand and wailing through the streaks of white blood, was clearly visible.

The crying sounded just like a human.

118 hours until Cha Eui-jae’s death, Seowon Guild.

Eui-jae was leaning against the collapsed bookshelf. His eyesight still hadn’t returned. Nevertheless, he spent time among the piles of books. Since he couldn’t see, his job was to feel the spines of the books with his fingers to find out the titles and pick out plausible books. It was difficult to do with books printed without special treatment, though.

Reading?

‘That’s Lee Sa-young’s job, I guess.’

Eui-jae opened a book and glared at it. It was still dark.

He tried desperately not to let anyone know that he was blind. Eventually, when dividing up the research, Eui-jae lied that he hated books and fell asleep whenever he saw letters, and Lee Sa-young and Honeybee believed the lie without a shred of doubt.

He felt bad.

‘Who do they think I am, a fool?’

I’m the one who wrote the Monster Encyclopedia. I wrote the encyclopedia that is the textbook and lifeline for novice Hunters. You guys grew up reading it too! Eui-jae nudged the books piled up beside him. At that moment, someone approached. A quiet voice asked.

“J, are you here?”

It was Ga-eul. Eui-jae nodded his head towards the source of the voice. Ga-eul sighed in relief and whispered.

“Thank goodness…. You really shouldn’t go anywhere. Okay?”

“I’ll stay put.”

“Yes…. Please, please do. Really.”

Ga-eul made a desperate request and then walked away. Eui-jae sighed and leaned his head against the bookshelf.

The moment he stepped into the Seowon Guild with the help of Romantic Opener, Nam Woo-jin rushed over like a wasp-catching uncle and struck Lee Sa-young’s head with a stethoscope. A clear and refreshing clang! echoed. Jung-bin, who followed, stopped him from hitting him again as he huffed and puffed.

‘Let go of me! Why are you stopping me!’

‘Nam Woo-jin, you’ll hurt your hand! Please stop!’

‘Even if my hand breaks, I have to reform that rude bastard! Let go of me!’

‘Please calm down!’

Lee Sa-young was surprisingly docile. His expression was as fierce as if he would kill someone, though.

Afterwards, Nam Woo-jin gave a long speech, his neck veins bulging. Are you in your right mind, well, of course he wasn’t, what if something happened to J’s body, why did you commit such a crazy act! Besides, you even broke the building wall, you must be crazy! Every word was right, so there was no room to interject.

Eventually, Nam Woo-jin, who was staggering with his neck grabbed, disappeared with Ga-eul supporting him. Jung-bin smiled gently and stared at Sa-young and Eui-jae, Honeybee, and Romantic Opener lying on the floor. Whether it was because he had experienced more or because he had accumulated experience, the pressure of his smile was tremendous. He spoke kindly to Honeybee.

‘Honeybee, Matthew is looking for you. Please return with Romantic Opener.’

‘Oh my, is that so? I’ll go quickly.’

Sa-young glanced at Honeybee.

Are you running away?

Honeybee also glanced at Sa-young.

Yeah, I’m gonna run, so what?

She shouldered Romantic Opener and left in a hurry. In the end, only Sa-young and Eui-jae were left in front of Jung-bin. After a long silence, Jung-bin handed something to Sa-young.

It was a hammer and nails.

‘You’ll have to repair the broken wall yourself, right?’

Sa-young clicked his tongue, but obediently took the hammer. Jung-bin smiled at Eui-jae.

‘J….’

‘…….’

‘It would be best not to go outside, right? Since you’re not feeling well.’

Yes. Eui-jae also nodded obediently. It seemed that Jung-bin here wouldn’t accept it even if I acted up and asked if he knew how many Monsters I had caught. I miss the soft Jung-bin who answered when you poked him….

Bang, bang, bang…. Eui-jae came to his senses at the sound of hammering ringing out clearly. Judging by the sound coming from the sickroom, Sa-young was repairing the wall again today.

‘It’ll be a while before he comes back.’

Eui-jae listened to the regular hammering sound and then lay down. The smell of old books and wood, and the cold floor felt good. The moment Eui-jae closed his eyes,

Thud.

Something fell on his head. Eui-jae quickly moved his head to avoid the collision. What is it. Eui-jae frowned and picked up what had attacked his head.

‘A book?’

It looks like a small book. Eui-jae carefully moved his fingers to feel the book. The cover and paper are rough, so it seems quite old.

‘Huh?’

It’s strangely familiar. Eui-jae flipped through the book. Even the size of the book and the texture of the pages are familiar. Where have I touched this kind of book before? He quickly racked his brain. And then.

‘…Ah!’

Eui-jae widened his eyes and quickly got up. The voice of the boy, as emotionless as a doll, came to mind.

‘You are the first guest to find that book. Do you recognize it?’

‘That book was found in the Dungeon. No one recognized the letters. It was a language of our world, but it is unknown whether it was distorted by the magic of the Dungeon or whether it was a language of another world. It is being kept in the Seowon Guild for safety.’

It seemed like the book he had accidentally found when he visited the Seowon Guild to find Lee Sa-young’s whereabouts. There’s definitely something about this! Eui-jae tried to roll his eyes hard, but that didn’t bring back his lost eyesight. He grabbed the book and turned it this way and that, then screamed silently.

‘I’m going crazy!’

It was a huge crisis for Cha Eui-jae, who used to solve everything with strength.