By Zephyria 
The body of the delusion patient writhed, and humans with limbs severed like teddy bears crawled out one by one. The fear that had been forgotten, colored by Jeil Heon’s composure, resurfaced. That was right. This was an Aberrant Realm where humans were hunted, murdered, and eaten by monsters.
Yoo Jiha curled up, clutching his head with trembling hands, but the afterimage of the blunt-limbed humans rushing toward Jeil Heon all at once, like marionettes controlled by strings, remained vividly etched on his retinas, refusing to fade.
……thisismyplaygrounddonotinterfereIwillkillyouuuuuhBearerohthoughyouhavereturnedfromdeathyourfaithislackingsoIshallpersonallyleadyouyoutoobemycompanionwhereisthericegrainsniffsniffdidyoueatitcruelbibimbapislivebibimbapIwillmixandeatallthetastymeatoftheBearer……
He closed his eyes, but he could not close his ears. The voices of Aberrations, indistinguishable from one another, surged relentlessly from all directions.
His consciousness felt dizzy, as if he were inside a large vat being shaken by some giant from the outside. He felt miserably pathetic for his own complacency—thinking he could just meet and pick up people one by one without even knowing what an Aberrant Realm truly was.
“The welcome is so warm I hardly know what to do with myself. Did you miss me that much?”
However, Jeil Heon’s voice, cutting through the sounds of the Aberrations, held a sense of ease that filled the gaps of his wavering heart. Yoo Jiha bit his lip to endure the fear, making sure not to let out a useless scream that might hinder him.
“Whew……”
Eventually, the Strange Sound of the Aberrations ceased. The squelching sound of Aberration flesh and fluids dripping away vanished. The echoes within the hospital building subsided. The only thing ringing through the suddenly silent corridor was the sound of Jeil Heon’s breathing as he steadied his somewhat ragged breath.
Jiha cautiously opened his eyes. In the corridor, tilted from the aftermath of the chaos, lay lumps of flesh beyond recognition, and amidst them stood Jeil Heon with his back turned. Just as he had at first, shielding Jiha with his own body. Unchanged.
Yoo Jiha slowly realized that despite the surroundings being defiled by the flesh and fluids of Aberrations, the space directly in front of him was clean.
Brushing back his disheveled hair, Jeil Heon looked down at his palm. The fire axe he held was fusing with his body, digging into his flesh as if taking root. It was a sight horrifying enough to make even Yoo Jiha flinch from a distance, but Jeil Heon was not surprised.
Rather, as if it were familiar, he tore the fire axe away with his other hand. Flesh that had been fused with the object from the Aberrant Realm was ripped away with it, scattering blood. The horror did not end there. The wound, where flesh had been torn away so deeply that white bone was visible, began to recover at a rapid pace.
Ah. A vivid realization flashed through him. Even if his eyes had been plucked out, the wound would have healed quickly.
“Jiha, you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
Jeil Heon, shaking off the remaining blood from his hand, approached. As the large man leaned down, a dark shadow cast over Jiha’s entire field of vision. Concerned that the pale young man looked bloodless, the man reached out to examine his face.
That was the hand that had held the fire axe just moments ago. The hand that had recovered instantly, just as it had when the eyes were plucked out. The same as the first sight when Jiha had perceived him as an Aberration.
Unconsciously, Jiha’s shoulders flinched. The hand that had approached his cheek hovered awkwardly in the air before being withdrawn.
“I scared you. I’m sorry.”
With a bitter smile, the man kept his distance. So that his very existence would not become a source of fear.
Jeil Heon backed away to the opposite side of the corridor and leaned his back against the wall. Standing there with his arms crossed and eyes closed, he seemed to be signaling with his entire body that he would not cause him any harm.
“I might be scary, but it’s still hard to be certain that the Aberrant Realm is safe. Agents from the Management Bureau will come to rescue us soon, so would you mind waiting until then?”
At those words, a sensation of something hot surging up his throat heated his heart. Why had Jeil Heon faced the Aberrations in the first place? Was it not Jiha himself who had asked him to save others while he was trying to escape quietly?
Yoo Jiha placed his hand over the left side of his chest. He took a deep breath, pressing down on his heart, which was still beating anxiously. So what if he was a monster? If it hadn’t been for this man, he might not have even made it this far and could have died having his blood sucked by an alcoholic.
“……Um, Mister.”
It was just as he cautiously parted his lips. The air, which had been settled with a stale, fishy smell, suddenly moved rapidly from beyond the corner, and red dots from laser sights instantly locked onto Jeil Heon.
Before he knew it, four people who looked like special forces members appeared, aiming rifles at him.
* * *
“Big Crow reporting. One victim secured on the 3rd floor, estimated to be a male in his early twenties. One Aberration discovered, adult male type. No Blind Eater. Over.”
The team leader of the Annihilation Execution Department of the Water Abnormality Worship Management Bureau, tasked with the internal search of the Eight Phases Mental Hospital, finished the radio transmission and quickly re-verified the interior. The victim was extremely pale, but no injuries were visible to the naked eye.
In that case, the only thing to be wary of immediately was that Aberration, presumed to be a new species. The tense gazes of the team leader and the agents were directed toward the Aberration.
Aberrations that take human form are the more dangerous the closer they are to humans. This one resembled a human strikingly. From the natural clothing to the ribcage slowly rising and falling in sync with its breath. It even perfectly mimicked the ‘beauty’ that humans generally perceive. To the point where, had they encountered it outside, they would have been fooled into thinking it was a rare handsome man.
But this was an Aberrant Realm. The intuition of the agents, who had traversed numerous Aberrant Realms and dealt with Aberrations, screamed that this thing was not human.
The team leader, still aiming his rifle at the Aberration, first proposed a compromise.
“We are the Water Abnormality Worship Management Bureau. As you would know if you had stayed here, it wasn’t us who killed the Aberrations in this realm, nor was the closure of the realm our intention. We will rescue the victim and withdraw quietly.”
“What is a Blind Eater?”
They were in a situation where they were not prepared to deal with a powerful Aberration. At the team leader’s suggestion to simply mind their own business and leave, the Aberration finally opened its eyes and asked. Because even its manner of speaking was as smooth as a human’s, the team leader grew even more tense.
“You probably call it something else. Its characteristics are the Essence of the floor, a giant mouth, black flames, and chains.”
“Ah, that thing?”
The Aberration gave a short laugh and glanced at the victim.
“That guy was killed because this kid figured out its weakness.”
“……What?”
“He is a possessor of the true eye.”
It was the moment the agents wavered slightly at the unexpected explanation. The Aberration leaped forward, snatched the gun of a nearby agent with one hand, twisted his arm, and subdued the agent behind its back. Simultaneously, it aimed a machete pulled from the agent’s waist at his throat.
It happened in the blink of an eye, so quickly that the trained agents couldn’t even mount a proper response.
“You bastard……!”
Unlike the agitated agents, the Aberration continued calmly.
“I wanted to have a conversation. If I didn’t do this, you’d just ignore the words of a mere Aberration, wouldn’t you?”
“If you want to talk to us, start by blowing your own head off!”
“Let’s do that later. If the Bureau is still in contact with these people, can you let me meet them directly? Choi Beom-seok, Kang Sukja, Bang Hyeon-jeong, Im Sang-ho……”
A murderous intent appeared on the team leader’s face. Not only was it spouting absurd claims that a Blind Eater had been annihilated by a mere true eye, but it was even demanding a conversation. Contact with an Aberration, in itself, contaminates the mind.
Furthermore, the creature had obtained information on retired or deceased agents and mentioned them on purpose. The hostage agent was unavoidable. He had to be dealt with before it could harm the Bureau. Just as the team leader was about to order an attack, a hesitant voice was heard from behind. It was the victim, who had been ignored.
“If the monster I met in room 404 is indeed the Bl-Blind Eater, it really disappeared.”
“How can you prove your words? You might have been contaminated by the Aberration.”
“T-the situation at the time was……”
Despite the clear look of terror on his face, the victim earnestly explained the situation, using both hands and feet to gesture. What the team leader noted was the essence of the Blind Eater that he claimed to have read with the true eye.
‘It said [corrode and melt] was repeated……’
It was more accurate than the True Eye Text ‘corro■■■■melt■■■■■■■’ revealed so far, and some characters matched. After a brief deliberation, the team leader made his decision.