19. Collision (2)

If you don’t know the exact location, no one can reach it. A secret space buried deep underground without any passage connected to the outside.

Only an Awakened specialized in space movement can move without problems, and only when they perfectly grasp the location coordinates.

In other words, the facility didn’t need to prepare for external intrusion in the first place.

That was the greatest strength of the secret facility ‘Gon (坤)’ under the National Intelligence Service, surrounded by the natural defense of soil and stone.

‘Then, can’t you just send out artificial waves to figure out the location?’

Of course, such questions may arise.

However, as with other secret facilities, Gon is also using strategies to make it impossible to pinpoint the location by utilizing artifacts such as the Eight Trigrams (八卦) and the abilities of the Awakened.

Actually, I never thought I would know so much about national secrets.

In the first place, it wasn’t detailed in the original work, and until I met Ray, I never expected to face such a dark side.

All I had done was type a few times on the keyboard at a deep web information search site, so when I heard various stories from Ray, I couldn’t help but exclaim at everything she said.

“You know what the Gon of the Eight Trigrams looks like, right…? Ray knows it, so I’m sure you know it too! Anyway, our facility is exactly that shape, and it’s divided into areas A through F in order, and each area is further divided into 6 sub-areas. Got it?”

Detailed explanations about the facility that was actually built in the shape of Gon (☷), or,

“But, chuup… Is this how you do it…? Jihoo’s is too big, so… I can’t suck it well…♡ Eung, ueum… It’s like eating a huge sausage…”

No, not this.

Why is this suddenly interrupting when I’m trying to remember something important?

“The researchers and team leaders were mainly in areas D and E. I don’t know what Sian eonni is trying to do… but if you go there, you’re likely to run into her. As for what research she did, please don’t ask for now…”

Yes, this was the line.

She talked to some extent about artificial Awakening and the projects that the researchers were conducting, but seeing her vaguely gloss over it, it was clear that Ray was also involved in some way.

It seems impossible to hear the story directly from her, and I think the only key to knowing the truth of the incident is to somehow access and steal the classified data.

In that sense, we decided to head to area E5 first.

There’s no need to visit areas A, B, and C, where accommodations and various convenience facilities exist, and area F, which serves as a warehouse for storing weapons and strategic materials, so we’re starting with area E5, which is the central part of area E located in the middle.

“We’re almost there. You see that gray door over there…? If you go through there, it’s area E5. I haven’t been here many times either, so I don’t know the details, but… since there probably aren’t any Awakened among the researcher ajeossi-deul, you can move around without being detected if you’re in a transparent state…!”

Now it was time to split up and explore each area as originally planned.

First, Ryu-shin and Juha, who can actively respond to threats, are in areas 1-3 and 4-6 of area D, respectively, which are far apart, and Ray and I, who are not so good at physical abilities, are in areas 1-3 and 4-6 of area E.

Since it would be good to join forces when a crisis occurs, this is the best strategy for now.

If we all move together, it’s good to respond to sudden threats, but mobility is also greatly reduced, and we can’t immediately know where Sian appears…

“This is the passage to area D, right? You said she has ashen hair and green eyes… I’ll contact you as soon as she appears.”

Ryu-shin turned around first and disappeared into the passage.

Even after Ryu-shin left, Juha grabbed my clothes a few times as if she didn’t want to be separated from me, and then, inevitably, she drooped her eyes and said to me.

“Tell me right away if it’s dangerous. Okay…? I’ll go save you right away. I won’t let it go if you get hurt… I love you, Jihoo.”

After barely stopping Juha, who was trying to share intense skinship, and sending her to area D, there were only two people left in the passage.

No, to be exact, there are a total of three people, including one demon.

First, it was decided to keep Alice in Ray’s shadow.

I can withstand a few times with Critical Shield, and Juha will come to save me if it’s really urgent, but Ray is an Awakened with a pure supporter feel, so she has no means to deal with the crisis.

• Alice, I’m trusting you. Keep a close eye on Ray from the inside so that no problems arise. If you think you’re going to get caught, use space movement right away without saving your strength.

• Okay, Master-nim. Ah, and… judging from the fact that I don’t feel any signs of demons coming or strong magical power yet, I think we have some time. I’ll tell you if I catch any signals to watch out for, so until then, you don’t have to worry about it and move around.

“Then… shall we start looking?”

The goal is to steal documents related to the magic power transplantation project.

Since there are no strange signs at all right now, it seemed like I could search for documents with peace of mind for a while.

I’ll have to think while going around from the left first.

After transmitting waves to confirm that there was no one inside, I carefully pulled the handle of the iron door with the sign [Laboratory No. 1] attached to it.

The body melts away as if it were clay.

The girl was looking down at her body, where nearly half of her arm had disappeared beyond her wrist.

The children who had been laughing and talking together until yesterday had long since turned into a sticky liquid, staining the bed crimson.

From the terrible and bizarre screams coming from both sides, the girl could instinctively sense that she was next in line.

Corrosion (腐蝕) climbs up the forearm.

To the chest, to the lungs, and to the heart as it is.

The girl, who had realized her predicted doom too early, no longer had the strength to scream.

She was just sitting silently on the bed, waiting for her turn.

And then, a voice was heard.

“You’re holding out a little longer. Normally, you should be wetting the floor already at that age… May I ask what your name is?”

The man’s low voice, approaching the girl, tickled her ears.

Although he was wearing a thick gas mask and she couldn’t see his face, the girl somehow felt like she could tell what kind of expression the man was making.

“I… don’t know…”

“Hmm, you don’t know your name? Well, that’s okay. We can solve such trivial things slowly.”

The man reassured the girl in a cheerful tone that didn’t match his voice, and then began to slowly look around the large room with his hands behind his back.

Each time the sound of high heels clicked, a faint flame of life went out, and went out, and finally only one remained.

The man’s steps, humming a bizarre melody and walking around the room, stopped when he discovered that the corrosion (腐蝕) that had climbed up his arm had begun to collapse the girl’s chest.

“Yes… now it’s starting. Now, it will hurt a little more than before… but if you bear with it, you can be completely different. That’s right, when your chest opens and the small rough stone inside is revealed…”

The girl could no longer hear the man’s words.

Whether it was because the man stopped talking and looked at her with ecstatic eyes, or because the girl’s ears were eventually corroded and melted away, she didn’t know.

The thin skin covering the chest flows down to the floor along the legs that are still remaining.

The muscles, which struggled to resist the sudden change, shrank like thin threads, and the bones became so cracked that they seemed to break if you just touched them.

And finally, the jewel appeared.

The unknown jewel, so small and transparent that you couldn’t even see it properly unless you concentrated, was nevertheless emitting a faint light and exuding a faint presence.

“Finally, finally…! If we succeed in high-speed growth as it is, it’s really over… Please…!”

The man cried out in a mad voice and clenched his hands tightly.

One more step forward, just one step until the result of sacrificing the sweat and blood of countless people appears before his eyes.

As if responding to the man’s earnest wish, the jewel began to tremble.

The jewel, which was greedily sucking up the surrounding blood and flesh and gradually increasing in size, suddenly spread a dazzling light all around, so that nothing could be seen.

“Let there be… light!”

As the light, which seemed like it would last forever, gradually subsided, there was no longer a jewel on the bed.

Instead, the being lying in that place was a small girl with pink hair.

In a cradle made of blood and flesh, a being was born that would finally mark the end of humanity’s true infancy.

The man, who had been staring at the sleeping girl for a long time, quietly whispered in her ear.

“You said you didn’t have a name… Yes, I’ll give you a name.”

Your name is… Ray.

It means dawn (曙光), the light of dawn.