By Zephyria Lee Sa-young wouldn’t be here.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
I know.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
But I couldn’t stop my feet from running wild. Eui-jae chased Lee Sa-young’s aura as if possessed. It was in a very deep place. He passed through long corridors several times and went down the stairs several times. Perhaps because there was a meeting, he didn’t encounter anyone.
Eventually, a corridor full of iron bars, very similar to what he had seen in Prometheus’s headquarters, appeared.
“…….”
Eui-jae slowly moved his steps. Instead of test subjects, mutated humans were imprisoned in the prison here. From those who had completely mutated into Monsters to those whose body parts had mutated like Monsters. Most of them seemed to have lost their minds, staring blankly at the ceiling.
‘They must have given them drugs….’
He felt sick. Eui-jae closed his eyes and chased the aura. The aura was felt beyond the thick shielded door. If he broke it, it would be too obvious. It was the moment he started groping around the door, looking for a device.
“…Who are you?”
A small, wary voice asked. Eui-jae turned his head. A boy whose body was turning white in places was holding onto the iron bars. Seeing that his right leg had mutated like that of a carnivore, it seemed that the Mutation had already progressed to some extent. The boy grabbed the iron bars and glared at Eui-jae.
‘…Can I talk?’
The test subjects wearing white cloths didn’t seem to talk. Eui-jae didn’t answer and continued what he was doing. The boy said suspiciously.
“You’re not a guard. The guards don’t come here.”
“…….”
“And they’re not as small as you.”
“…….”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll call someone.”
He seems a few years older than Ha-eun, but kids these days are so smart. Eui-jae sighed softly. He squatted down in front of the iron bars where the boy was imprisoned.
“It’s obvious that I’m on a different side from the guys who locked you up here. Can’t you just turn a blind eye?”
“What do you do?”
“Hunter.”
“You’re a Hunter?”
The boy’s voice grew louder. Eui-jae hurriedly pushed his hand into the iron bars and covered the boy’s mouth. The narrow iron bars bent according to the shape of his hand.
“Be quiet, I came secretly. Help me out.”
The boy nodded. Eui-jae removed his hand that had been covering his mouth and put the bent iron bars back in place. The boy stuck close to the iron bars.
“If you’re a Hunter, you came from outside… right? Right?”
“That’s right. How did you end up here?”
“My mom brought me here because she said I needed treatment…. She said they would treat people who prayed hard first, so my mom and I kept praying….”
The boy’s thin shoulders trembled. Fear settled in his dark eyes. The boy grabbed the iron bars and shook them hard.
“Sa, save me! Take me out of here! I, I’m scared. It hurts!”
Eui-jae opened his mouth slightly. For a moment, the crying boy and the young Lee Sa-young wrapped in bandages overlapped. The boy, the young Lee Sa-young overlapping the boy, shed tears and trembled his hands.
“Mom, I miss Mom… It hurts so much here, it’s scary, it only hurts…. I want to go to Mom….”
Lee Sa-young, who couldn’t even say the word ‘hurt.’ The little boy who had to express it only with the movement of his fingers.
[When are you coming next?]
He reached out and stroked the boy’s head. The sobbing boy dropped tears. Eui-jae stared blankly at the boy, at the young Lee Sa-young. Did Lee Sa-young cry alone too? Did he cry because it hurt, because he was scared?
Did he cry? Because he missed me.
Eui-jae nodded.
“…Okay, I understand.”
“…Re, really?”
“Yeah. But, only after I check inside that door. Do you know what’s inside there?”
The boy wiped away his tears with the back of his hand and answered.
“I don’t know…. But, the people who go in there wear… strange clothes. Like spacesuits.”
“Spacesuits?”
Could it be something like a protective suit? The boy continued, stammering in a trembling voice.
“Yes…. And then, suddenly, the door slams shut…. And I hear screams.”
“Did you see how they open the door?”
“If you press somewhere on the wall… that, that thing to pull. I saw something like that. On the right wall.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Eui-jae grabbed the hand holding the iron bars and whispered.
“I’ll be right back after I check. Wait for me.”
The boy nodded quickly. Eui-jae began to grope the wall next to the iron door. Then, he felt a space where something was out of place. When he pressed down hard on that spot, the wall slid down and a red lever was revealed. Eui-jae pulled the lever down without hesitation.
Clunk.
The tightly closed iron door slowly rose. At the same time, a dizzyingly strong, sweet smell poured out.
“…….”
It was Lee Sa-young’s scent. Eui-jae slowly headed beyond the iron door. After passing through the corridor, there was another door, which was fortunately half open.
It was a dark space like a laboratory. The first thing that caught his eye was a huge glass tube. The glass tube was filled with bubbling purple liquid. Eui-jae stared blankly at it. He could tell at once. The glass tube was full of Poison. The source of the sweet scent was there.
‘It looks like a similar liquid to the Antidote Lee Sa-young gave me….’
A piece of paper with a bright red skull mark was attached to the front of the glass tube.
[Handle with Care]
Do not approach without protective gear.
Always carry an Antidote when approaching.
Always work in pairs.
Only one person should approach during work, and the other person should wait at the door with a walkie-talkie.
If the person working collapses, immediately lower the Shield and evacuate.
Be careful, because if you ignore it and approach recklessly, you’ll really die~ Even Hwata can’t save you 🙂
The last phrase was added by someone, leaving traces of ballpoint pen smudges.
At that moment.
Thud!
Something inside the glass tube hit the wall. Eui-jae took a step closer. A strangely distorted body was vaguely visible through the thick, dark liquid. It seemed like their eyes met for a moment. The blurred, melted eyes wandered, searching for signs of life. Submerged up to the crown of its head, it was struggling inside the glass tube filled with Poison. Thump, thump, thump….
‘This is….’
Isn’t that the test subject Ga-young was taking around? Eui-jae hesitated for a moment. Should he take the test subject out? Can he fight here? But he couldn’t just leave it writhing in pain.
‘Damn it… Isn’t there a machine or something?’
It was full of Poison, so he couldn’t break it carelessly. There must be a button to safely discharge the Poison. Eui-jae urgently looked around and found a screen that appeared in the air next to the glass tube. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked. Eui-jae quickly scrolled through the screen to find useful information.
[…Modified by referring to the records of test subject No. 4……]
[When a strong Poison is injected, the body cannot withstand the Poison and collapses. Reconstruct the body through boosters, and proceed with recovery power modification as well…. The body structure changes….]
[…Strengthened as the process is repeated….]
[…Note: Awakened Lee Sa-young also periodically ingests Poison. It is unclear whether this is an act to recharge the Poison or to strengthen himself.]
[Purchased the same Poisons that Lee Sa-young purchased.]
[Will proceed with modification by increasing the stage of Poison in the same way as was done with test subject No. 4.]
[Responsible Researcher: Ga-young]
A fist appeared and disappeared through the bubbling liquid. The shaking of the glass tube grew larger and larger. Gurgling, coughing, gasping sounds were heard vividly. The thing in the glass tube was desperately struggling. To live. Because it wanted to live. His whole body turned cold.
Test subject No. 4.
‘…Could it be. Lee Sa-young?’
It was clear that the test subject Ga-young was taking around was modified based on ‘that child’s’ data. Then, the scene before his eyes now.
The sight of him being stuck in a glass tube where he couldn’t even breathe.
He had expected it. That Lee Sa-young would have been subjected to various experiments while he was away. Unspeakably terrible experiments. To the point where his body would instinctively stiffen just by hearing Ga-young’s voice. But, the weight of imagination and reality was so different.
The struggling in the glass tube gradually subsided. The surging Poison slowly regained its original appearance. The sound of gasping for breath, the sound of struggling to live, were no longer heard. Silence came.
Eui-jae touched the surface of the glass tube. It was so cold that his hands were numb. No signs of life were felt. Grind. He gritted his teeth. When an indescribable anger struck, his head cooled down instead.
Was he soaked in Poison that melted his skin and burned his insides?
Did they treat his tattered body with a rigid body?
Did they force him to eat Poison?
To the child who was blinded by Poison and couldn’t even speak?
His vision flashed red. Eui-jae put his forehead on the glass and took a deep breath. He puts his hands behind his back, afraid that he might break the glass tube with his clenched fists. His short-cut fingernails dug into his hard palms. He didn’t even feel the pain. This pain is nothing compared to the pain Lee Sa-young went through….
Eui-jae let out a small breath. His chest heaved and beat. His eyes were wet. Eui-jae grabbed the glass tube and tried to catch his breath. However.
Hic, a sob he couldn’t hold back leaked out.