episode_0204

As I went down the stairs to the basement, all around me were lumps of flesh floating around, naked.

It was a scene you could see anywhere on this street. The only thing I didn’t expect was that they were all men.

Including all visitors and staff.

“… ”

Why on earth did Mok Jin-woo use a place like this as his base?

I looked around, leaving my sticky gaze behind me. At the bar in the center, a skinhead who appeared to be a bartender was wiping a glass with a dry cloth.

Although the sight of her half-naked and wearing only a garter belt was a bit creepy… the spade tattoo on her belly button and the number 316 engraved underneath it were exactly as I had been told beforehand.

As I approached with reluctant steps, you were the first to show interest.

“Oh my, what a surprise. Seeing all these cute guests.”

My eyes close tightly on their own. Isn’t it obvious that she is a girl trapped in a man’s body? Otherwise, how could she be so calm…

“Good evening. I came here after being introduced by the old man of the big roof house. He said that a new dancer has come this time.”

As I spoke, holding back my swear words as best as I could, the bartender put his finger to his lips and burst into laughter.

“Haha. Honey, if you say that, I don’t know who you are. There must be more than one or two dancers who come in and out.”

“I heard you were the thirteenth person nominated during Friday’s intermission. You danced the wings of the swan… ”

Then, for a moment, a sharp light flashed through the eyes of the man wearing the garter belt.

“… If you go through the left passage, it’s the last room.”

That was only for a moment. The bartender nodded slightly and soon went back to wiping the glasses as if nothing had happened.

I walked quickly and headed to the place he told me about.

As I opened the door to the room where I could already sense someone’s presence, a familiar, cheerful man greeted me with a friendly wave.

“Branch Manager.”

“Are you here? It’s been a while. Come in first. And don’t stand there.”

“Why did you call me to a place like this? Do you have a taste that no one else knows about? ”

“Tsk! Where the hell did this guy come up with such nonsense. I’m such a good person, even if I like women.”

As soon as he brought up the subject, Mok Jin-woo became very angry.

If you think about his past actions, it certainly doesn’t seem like a lie…

“And what about a place like this? These people are also citizens of the Republic. They are also the ones you must protect as a wizard.”

He said with a shrug.

“They may look a bit odd, but they are people who live honestly in their own way. They don’t eat people’s intestines like warlocks, so what does it matter? Right?”

“… That’s not what I meant. But still, having a branch of the Information Bureau… is a bit… ”

“Rather, it’s a place like this that fits better. Who would have expected it? Everyone thinks like you. And… ”

He paused for a moment, then raised the corners of his lips.

“Isn’t that better for you? Of course, better than naked women.”

“… ”

That’s certainly true, but… why do I feel strangely uneasy?

“If my sisters find out that I came to a place like this, they’ll light a fire in their eyes and look for the branch manager.”

Then he waved his hands as if he was going crazy.

“Look, look. I thought of you and took time out of my busy schedule to do this. Those women are so extreme… ”

“It looks like you’ve been very busy.”

“You were busy. You only slept two hours in a week… ”

Mok Jin-woo pointed at his own sunken eyes with his fingers.

“There have been so many incidents and accidents recently. The domestic and international situation is also grim. People are dying, really… ”

“… ”

Suddenly, as I watched him grumbling, a strange sense of discomfort crept into me.

It’s definitely his way of speaking, making empty jokes and making grumbling sounds. But it’s more exaggerated and comical than usual… and yet there’s still tension in his eyes… What the heck.

You took the time out of your busy schedule to come see me. Could there be another meaning to that?

Even though we are close friends, he is not the type of person to prioritize something like answering my questions over official business.

‘perhaps…’

My curiosity is about the recent things he said.

The speculation that there might have been some kind of relationship between the two… is that too much of a leap?

Mok Jin-woo, who had been talking for a long time, gulped down his drink as if he was thirsty.

“Kuh… Yeah, judging from the fact that you came running right after receiving Muyeong’s call, you must have been quite excited, right?”

“That’s obvious. Are you really going to answer all my questions? Without leaving out any?”

“If I know.”

He nodded calmly.

“Well, if I don’t know, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Why? You haven’t been hiding it all along. So why all of a sudden?”

“Even though this guy is telling me.”

Mok Jin-woo, who was trying to make a move to grab me, soon let out a sigh and buried himself in the sofa.

“Because things are always changing. I just thought it would be more beneficial. For you, for me, and for this country.”

“What’s the situation… ”

“Okay. Let’s talk about that later. So what do you want to ask me? Should I give you a list of the prettiest girls living in the capital?”

“Don’t you know, the question I have.”

I answered his question immediately.

“The reason why I, who was completely insensitive, was able to use magic, the power that wasn’t magic or anything else, and who the woman in the underground capital was who knew the identity of the power.”

“… ”

“… And maybe all of those things are connected.”

“… I thought you might be curious.”

He said with a slightly resigned smile.

“That’s why I called you here.”

***

Beneath the large sofa in the room was an underground passage leading somewhere.

We moved along it. It was so long that we couldn’t see the end even though we had strengthened our bodies and were moving at a fast speed.

“Where are you going?”

“Secret Archives of the Republic.”

“Confidential…record keeping required?”

I still had no way of knowing English. I had to go back that far to find my answer.

“Even if the branch manager says so, can I just go in and out of such places without permission? I don’t even have the qualifications to handle Class B confidential information, let alone Class A information… ”

“There is no legal problem. It is not a place that exists in the existing information handling system.”

He answered without even looking, relying on the dim light as he went ahead.

“You can’t just tell them there… ”

“It’ll be easier to understand if you see it for yourself. Just wait a little bit. You’ll soon understand what I mean.”

After running like that for several hours, I finally got out of the passage and saw a building that looked like a research center that had been closed down a long time ago.

It seems to have been built in a rather remote place, as there is not a single light around, let alone any sign of life.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. Almost 10 years… ”

He calmly approached and blew particles into the lock according to the pattern. Soon, the heavy iron door opened easily with a scraping sound.

“… Follow me.”

Mok Jin-woo, standing in front of the door, gestured. The interior, devoid of any light, was filled with scattered documents and dust.

Inside, a large research building was spread out. The pungent smell of chemicals stung my nose the deeper I went inside.

“Whiiu… You asked me for information about spirits a while ago. Do you remember? It was when you first entered cradle school.”

He walked ahead, shaking off the dust with exaggerated gestures, and suddenly asked a question.

“You’re saying you’re going to seduce the red girl.”

“I never said that.”

“That’s what it means. And it actually happened.”

He said with a shrug.

“… ”

“Anyway… Do you still remember the knowledge about spirits you received back then?”

“To some extent.”

I wonder why he suddenly brought up the topic. Is he trying to ease the tension? I don’t think so…

“The only alien creature among the demons who came to Earth with the fall of the Sun…and who can communicate with wizards whose wavelengths reach them and use spirit magic… ”

“You remember well. That’s right, those are the facts known to the public about the spirits.”

Mok Jin-woo nodded his head in satisfaction at the words that brought back memories.

“If it’s external… does that mean there’s more information that isn’t known?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t stop walking even as he spoke. The smell of the medicine was getting stronger and stronger, and now it was hard to even breathe properly.

“There’s another alien species that fell along with the fall of the planet, besides the spirit. That one’s also extremely dangerous.”

“… ?”

It was hard to understand what he was saying. I looked through the dictionary of magic math so many times. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember seeing the content that Mok Jin-woo had mentioned.

If it’s an extremely dangerous demonic species, shouldn’t it be placed as large as a door?

In the midst of such doubts, we soon found ourselves in a laboratory filled with samples of demons’ immersion.

A variety of demons, large and small, swim in a transparent tank filled with liquid. The head-stinging smell seemed to be coming from here.

At its center was an unusually large and elongated tank.

I found something floating inside and just lost my mind.

Its length is estimated to be around 3m, and its body is extremely flexible, with no exoskeleton whatsoever. There are dozens of thin, slender tentacles extending out. No, rather, it feels as if the body itself is made of tentacles.

A strangely shaped being seen for the first time in one’s life. Its appearance, which is clearly not of this world, seems to awaken instinctive disgust and inner fear.

Before I knew it, I had forgotten the purpose of my coming here and was completely focused on imprinting its presence.

“You don’t have to be so nervous. Even though he looks like that, he’s definitely dead.”

Mok Jin-woo saw me gulping and spoke to me in a calming tone.

“What the heck is this… Is that the devil you were talking about…?”

“… That’s right.”

He nods heavily.

“I’m not sure if you can call this a demon… ”

“… I have never seen a creature like this before.”

“The same goes for us. Just as we don’t know the origin of the spirits, we also don’t know the origin of this.”

He said, placing his hand on the tank containing the monster.

“Do you have a separate identifier?”

“Well, people I know call it whatever they want. Punishment from God, the apocalypse from outer space, our natural enemy, silicon life, xenomorph, etc… You’ve probably heard of one of them, right?”

“I’m seeing this creature for the first time today… ”

In the meantime.

The voice that brushed past my ears, along with its calm demeanor, was definitely a sound I had heard before.

“Witch.”

***

“Wow… !”

I let out a pleasant exclamation of pity as I looked at the newly constructed buildings and the wide garden spread out between them.

The red mansion that I had seen in a few weeks. There was no trace of the fierce fighting that had taken place there.

As she got out of the vehicle, a servant ran up to her and bowed deeply.

“Welcome home, miss.”

“Thank you for your hard work. How is the progress?”

“As I told you in my letter earlier, about 90% of it is currently in the final stages of completion. In particular, the bedrooms have been expanded to make them even more magnificent… ”

Even as she walked briskly, she was busy listening to the butler’s explanation. There couldn’t be any flaws in this place that would become their new home.

As she arrived at the main building and was checking various things, the butler brought a small box from somewhere and handed it to her.

“What is this?”

“This is an item that was found while the main building was being repaired. The worker found it stored in a secret space under the previous owner’s bedroom. I think you should see it yourself, young lady… ”

“… ”

The painful memory from that time came to mind for a moment. I bit my lip without realizing it out of pity, but soon shook my head and shook it off.

She didn’t want to be stuck in the past anymore. All she wanted was a bright future.

“Hmm… ”

He took the box and examined it. He could tell right away that it was a safe that could only be opened by matching a unique lock pattern.

“… Okay. Go ahead. I’ll call you again if I need anything. ”

She put her finger on the box after dismissing the butler and servants.

Since she had been trained as a successor from the beginning, she quickly learned the unique pattern. Soon, the box opened easily as if it had been hers from the beginning.

Yeonmin-ha, who checked the contents, tilted her head as if she didn’t understand English.

“… Diary?”

I thought there might be some valuables or heirlooms inside, but the ending was a bit disappointing.

She picked up her father’s journal. She hesitated and hesitated for a moment, but eventually put it down on the table.

And then he carefully unfolded it and began to read.