Chapter 61: IF-017-1 Part 14

Giselle stared blankly at IF-017 and the other unknown phenomena.

They would gather together, disappear somewhere, and then reappear again.

She had no idea what they were doing, but she thought Kang Hana, mingling among them, looked like she was genuinely having fun.

It was while she was letting time slip by without a thought.

Giselle chuckled to herself.

She had no idea what IF-017 was thinking, but it had picked up her junior in an embrace.

Her junior was quite tall, yet now she was being effortlessly lifted by the tiny hands of IF-017—quite the sight to behold.

But then, it happened.

“Huh?”

[Huh?]

Neither Giselle nor the ghost had expected it.

With the junior still in its arms, IF-017 suddenly spread its tiny wings and began sprinting—then slowly began to rise into the air.

It was a scene that defied the law of gravity.

As Giselle doubted her own eyes—

IF-017 vanished right before her.

[Wha—where did it go?!]

The ghost, clearly rattled, flitted around as if it hadn’t seen anything.

But Giselle had seen it.

She stood up and trudged forward.

Giselle pointed at a spot in the sky through the open hole that stretched all the way up to the rooftop.

“There it is…”

“Where? Why—why can’t I see it?!”

The ghost squinted, but in Giselle’s vision, IF-017 was clearly floating through the sky.

It soared like a bullet, rising swiftly into the heavens.

“It could fly…”

Giselle thought back over the past few years.

Even when experiments involving her were constantly conducted in the lab, IF-017 would always curl up and sleep with its eyes shut.

That same IF-017—she’d always held only a vague sense of unease toward it.

“I never knew…”

Despite studying it for such a long time, she had never imagined it could fly with those absurdly small wings.

And she had certainly never imagined it would be the first to just leave like this.

“Where is it going?”

Her voice turned bitter without her realizing.

“Will it come back…?”

Even as she said it, Giselle let out a dry laugh.

‘There wasn’t a single researcher in the world who expected a runaway unknown phenomenon to willingly return.’

That thought alone sent a chill from deep inside her chest.

Giselle dropped to her knees.

Clutching her chest did nothing to ease the pain.

It was a sensation that felt like the heat in her heart was slowly dying out—nothing external could soothe it.

It wasn’t panic or cardiac arrest.

Giselle had experienced those before.

This was different.

She gasped for breath.

“What’s happening to me…?”

Like an engine shutting down.

The warmth in her heart faded, and the heat that had connected to her head began to disappear.

As the white curtain that had been clouding her mind lifted—

Giselle spoke naturally.

“Article 14, Clause 4: In cases where mental contamination by an IF is suspected, first—wait, what?”

Even with her head in a jumble, the regulations came back with perfect clarity.

That’s when a thought occurred to her.

Giselle remembered that spiritual unknowns often weaken their prey’s mental barriers and slowly erode them.

And in such cases—

The entity typically appears in the form of someone the victim knows.

It felt like Giselle had figured out the ghost’s true identity.

“You bastard… you’re the ghost?!”

Now that she knew, there was no way she would fall for it.

All that was left was for the ghost to vanish with a “Whoops, I’ve been found out!” or start throwing a fit.

That’s what Giselle expected.

“Ack! Wait—why does my nonexistent heart feel cold and painful all of a sudden…? Researcher lady, do you know something?!”

But the ghost clutching its chest in pain, just like her, was completely unexpected.

Now Giselle, in perfect sync, furrowed her brow with both hands on her chest.

“What… is this?”

***

Behind Giselle, something slowly approached.

She gasped in shock.

Above the clouds—

I smiled with satisfaction.

‘Whoaah, this is really high! Right now, I must be ten times taller than Kwangcheol. Hey Kwangcheol, go back to your real form! Let’s compare our heights!’

‘This is my real form… even if it looks a bit awkward right now…’

‘Huh? Seriously? Then I’m already taller than you anyway!’

My descendants’ chatter filled the air, now that they seemed to have adjusted to the altitude.

‘Your lashes are all wet from the clouds—so cute, Lug! I’ll wipe them for you.’

Thump, thump.

And Kang Hana’s heartbeat thumping softly as she brushed her sleeve across my face.

Maybe it was from stretching her arms out at such a height, but her pulse was faster than usual.

It was comforting.

‘If there’s no lake, then maybe the sky is better than the ground.’

But still…

Resting in the sky just doesn’t feel right.

If I spread my wings as wide as I can and glide like a parachute, I could stay up until Kang Hana becomes the star of the lake—but the real problem is something else.

It’s dry.

Drier than the ground.

‘Maybe if I stayed inside the clouds, it’d be fine, but the sky’s not really a place to hang around for long.’

I spotted a familiar landscape below.

A lot had changed with time, but some landmarks remained.

‘Almost there?’

It hadn’t been that long, but I was already near the entrance.

‘Weird. Was it always this close?’

Well, whatever.

I lowered my altitude.

“No! We’re falling!”

“We’re noooot falling… we’re laaanding…”

“…I—I knew that!”

As the voices suddenly grew louder, I frowned.

I didn’t mind the chattering of my descendants.

‘If they were actually speaking aloud, I’d have warned them. But since they were just communicating with thoughts, it wasn’t that noisy.’

The real noise was coming from below.

That building.

So sturdy and solidly built, it made me wonder if humans had really constructed it.

A grating sound echoed from inside.

Hmmm.

‘What do you call that again?’

I used to hear it all the time in the previous building.

You know, that red glass cup-looking thing on the wall that lights up—

Ah, right.

They called it a warning light.

That’s it. The sound that goes “wheee-ooo” when it flashes.

Thanks, human memories.

I offered a silent thank-you to the timely recollection as I looked down below.

A building that looked more like a fortress.

Normally, you’d build a fortress to be reasonably sized for easier defense…

But this one was massive.

‘Just how many stonemasons did they grind through to build something like this?’ I couldn’t even guess.

The building we were in earlier was the same.

Humans these days sure love constructing these gigantic buildings, even though they seem to struggle just to complete one.

While I was marveling at the size of the structure—

“Guys, we’re almost at the entrance now!”

Kwangcheol sent a thought message on my behalf.

“Wowww!”

“Awesome!”

The excited kids responded with their own thought messages.

“Huh? I see the ground… Lug, are we there yet?”

Kang Hana smiled with relief.

Just as I was about to nod and say yes—

I heard something whizzing up from below.

‘Huh. What’s that?’

‘Something insanely big and thick… An arrow? No, a chunk of metal?’

I casually spun twice in midair to dodge it.

“Whoaaa, noooo!!!”

“Help!!!”

“…!”

Nessho and Tongtong the snake, and Kang Hana all went pale in an instant.

But whatever.

The giant metal arrows whizzed past me and exploded in midair.

Boom! BOOM-BOOM!

Hmm.

‘What was that?’

‘Celebratory fireworks… maybe?’

“Gyah?”

I had no clue what kind of metal harpoons those were supposed to be, but I landed lightly on the ground.

After I set Kang Hana down, the kids tumbled out of her arms one by one.

Tongtong the snake, completely carefree.

Kwangcheol, looking visibly displeased.

Nessho, whose short legs were trembling.

And finally, Kang Hana straightened her back after setting everyone down.

From what I remember as a human, this scene resembled… the Bremen Town Musicians or something.

‘What even is that?’

“Seventy-two…”

‘Why did Kwangcheol look so upset?’

‘It’s not like he’s afraid of heights—he’s always been good at flying.’

‘Was it the metal arrows?’

‘Hmm.’

‘Maybe those exploding bolts were actually an attack?’

Not sure.

Calling that an attack seems… a little weak.

The idea that humans would dare attack me head-on feels kind of absurd…

If that really was an attack, it might be about as offensive as a “level-one breath.”

Well, we’ll find out soon enough.

‘Does it really matter either way?’

There’s something more important waiting for me.

Alright, kids. Let’s go.

Follow me!

I walked ahead of Kang Hana and the kids, leading the way.

Following a faint memory.

Past a familiar field of reeds, through a familiar swamp, and into a familiar forest…

And finally—

The entrance to the lake appeared.

“Gyao…!”

I had a tiny bit of hope, but of course, it was completely shut tight.

Still, just getting here meant something.

Now I just had to open it.

Beyond this gate, the city and Lake Mna had to be waiting.

Even though the time we spent here was short, it had been exhausting.

Now, it was finally time to end it all.

“Ah? Lug, wait a second!”

I ignored Kang Hana calling from behind and dashed straight for the entrance.

She could see me, so I figured she’d follow on her own.

And then, just in front of the entrance—

***

I slowed down, noticing something.

I had been fully prepared to open the gate in one go and dive into the lake.

But this was enough to stop me in my tracks.

Right at the entrance.

Something was stuck all over the firmly closed gate.

‘Huh.’

‘What… is all that?’

It looked familiar.

They looked a lot like… the ones still living in my heart even now.

I walked closer to get a better look.

They were like will-o’-the-wisps, fiery orbs squirming to get through the sealed entrance.

They were all my flame spirits.

I gathered the flames at my fingertips and wrapped them around my hand.

What the—

These are just the right size to belong inside a priest’s body.

‘Why are they out here, all alone like this?’

“Gyao…?”

‘Where are the priests?’