Chapter 86 : Chapter 86
Chapter 86
Yun Jeongseop strained with all his might, clinging to his gradually fading consciousness.
His mind was still hazy.
He could not see anything before his eyes, nor could he even judge where he was.
Within that faint awareness, the only thing he could distinguish was the conversation of unidentified people.
“Hey, he is different from the test subjects we have been researching. You do not know what kind of variable might occur.”
“It cannot be helped. We have no choice but to do as we are told.”
“Damn it, of all things, our research has to be ruined because of this kind of trash.”
“Calm down. Since it has come to this, let us try using that.”
“What? Are you out of your mind right now…….”
The voices did not continue.
He had lost his grip on consciousness.
He remained unconscious for quite a long time.
Yet whenever his mind returned intermittently, he could not perceive the passage of time, as if he had just awakened from a dream.
“How does the progress look?”
“No change. Just like usual, there is no reaction at all. He is nothing but a living corpse.”
“It would be better to drag in an awakened one barely surviving in the outskirts and experiment on them instead.”
“Is it really right to keep doing this?”
“For now, let us observe a little longer. It is still within the expected range.”
Holding onto consciousness was difficult.
Whenever he tried to awaken, he was rendered helpless once again by an unknown force.
‘What in the world is happening…….’
Neither the flow of time nor even the chance to feel pain—nothing at all was permitted to him.
“What? They might shut down the bunker?”
“They will just suck up the data and throw us away afterward. Those bastards!”
“Damn it, what do we do now? If the experiment is stopped, that means they will eliminate us.”
“Probably. There is no better way to silence us.”
“Damn it!”
“……There is still a chance. If we can prove our usefulness to them again.”
“Usefulness? You are not seriously suggesting we place our hopes on that failure, are you?”
“Whether it becomes poison or medicine, let us raise the dosage to the maximum. If we can prove that this research is effective on awakened beings as well, they will not treat us like trash anymore.”
“Are you insane? It is already at the upper limit! If we inject any more, he will just die!”
“Damn it, then are you saying we should just let them do whatever they want to us? I am going to struggle no matter what!”
The fragmented conversations he overheard were Yun Jeongseop’s only comfort.
At the very least, they were proof that he was still alive.
‘I have to return to everyone somehow……!’
How much more time passed after that?
Yun Jeongseop had regained his senses whenever he heard voices before, but this time, exceptionally, his vision had brightened.
“……D-did it work?”
“He is recognizing us……!”
“Hey, can you hear me? Hurry, move something!”
Alchemists stood before his eyes.
A grotesque laboratory that looked as though necromancy might be performed there at any moment.
And restraint devices binding his limbs…….
Many astonishing sights came into view, but among them all, the most striking was his own reflection in the glass.
His entire body was covered in fur, hardly human at all. His hunched back loomed over the alchemists from a higher vantage point, and uncontrollable power overflowed throughout his body.
“W-wait! Does not his condition seem strange?”
“Do not worry. Those shackles are made of the same material as the handcuffs used by Dispel. They are not metal that a monster can easily break.”
“That is a relief, then…….”
Yun Jeongseop’s shock at his own appearance lasted only a moment before he began to writhe under an unfillable thirst.
‘I will kill. I will kill them all. I will kill them.’
A blind, overwhelming impulse to slaughter.
At some point, his reason vanished, and a thirst to kill the humans before him dominated Yun Jeongseop completely.
“L-look! Th-the shackles!”
“Damn it! This cannot be happening……!”
As if to prove them wrong, Yun Jeongseop shattered the restraints binding him.
Then he began to slaughter everything that existed before his eyes.
It did not matter that his opponents were awakened beings.
They were all torn apart by the overwhelming difference in power.
“S-save me!”
“Aaaargh!”
It took no more than five minutes for every human inside the bunker to be killed.
Even so, it was far from enough to satisfy his thirst.
Relying on his transcendent senses, Yun Jeongseop escaped the labyrinthine bunker.
When he emerged outside, a full moon hung in the sky.
It was a moon so beautiful that anyone who saw it would be unable to look away, yet regrettably, it did not captivate him.
“Grrrr…….”
Yun Jeongseop ran aimlessly through the forest.
The darkness and shadows of the woods posed no obstacle, and any trees or rocks blocking his path were instantly smashed apart by his claws.
How long did he wander through the endlessly stretching mountain range like that?
Eventually, Yun Jeongseop encountered a group of humans.
“A m-monster? And one we have never seen before……!”
“There was no sign of a rift, was there?”
“Everyone stay calm! It is just one!”
There were about seven of them.
Judging by the weapons they carried, they were clearly awakened beings, but that posed no problem at all for Yun Jeongseop.
BANG! BOOM! RATATATAT!
A hail of bullets poured down.
Yun Jeongseop brazenly evaded them, seized the blind spot of the nearest human, and instantly bit down on the back of his neck, crushing it.
“……!”
A death that did not even allow for a final scream.
Yun Jeongseop began taking their lives one by one.
As cruelly as possible.
As swiftly as possible.
Thus, he halted his movement with only one remaining.
There was a saying that enjoyment should be saved for last. The final survivor emitted the strongest mana among the group.
Moreover, despite the deaths of his companions, he showed no sign of panic, instead fixing Yun Jeongseop with a sharp gaze as he searched for a weakness.
“Grrrr.”
“…….”
A brief standoff.
Then Yun Jeongseop kicked off the ground with tremendous force.
There was no opponent he could not overwhelm with physical abilities capable of dodging a hail of bullets in the first place.
Once again, Yun Jeongseop seized his opponent’s blind spot.
It was a movement so fast that the opponent could not even turn around.
He raised his claws to tear the man apart.
At the very moment his claws were about to strike from behind, the opponent suddenly dropped his posture as if collapsing to the ground.
“……!”
A completely unexpected move.
The man then aimed the shotgun he was holding straight at Yun Jeongseop’s muzzle, and the gun roared, flames bursting from the barrel.
BANG!
The buckshot struck directly into his mouth.
Overpowered by the firearm’s force, Yun Jeongseop was knocked helplessly to the ground.
“Hoo…….”
The man reloaded the shotgun and approached the fallen Yun Jeongseop.
“I am sorry, but I cannot die here. There is someone I absolutely must find.”
Click.
The muzzle of the gun was aimed at Yun Jeongseop.
Just as the trigger was about to be pulled again, Yun Jeongseop swung his claws and knocked the shotgun away.
“……!”
He then drove his claws deep into the man’s chest and lifted him into the air.
The buckshot that had struck Yun Jeongseop’s mouth had been fairly effective, but under the full moon hanging in the sky, he possessed abnormal regenerative power.
To begin with, he was not a monster weak enough to be brought down by bullets made by humans.
“Khk! Cough!”
The man continuously spat out blood.
If Yun Jeongseop clenched his claws as they were, the man’s upper body would be crushed and he would die, yet Yun Jeongseop showed no movement at all as blood flowed down along his claws.
No, to be precise, he was hesitating while staring intently at the man’s face.
Because the face was far too familiar.
Not only that, but even the letters embroidered onto the uniform were familiar to his eyes.
‘Gwon Seongjun…….’
His reason was already under control.
And yet, his body refused to obey.
“Why… why are you not killing me?”
“…….”
“Do not humiliate me!”
Suddenly, the surrounding corpses he had killed came back into view.
Every single one of them wore the same uniform.
And on those uniforms was a familiar name.
‘Dispel……?’
An inexplicable fear swallowed Yun Jeongseop whole.
The guilt over his irreversible actions seized hold of what remained of his reason.
‘I… I killed everyone……?’
He flung Gwon Seongjun to the ground and fled into the forest.
No one chased after him, but Yun Jeongseop ran with every ounce of strength he had.
Into the darkness of the forest, into the shadows untouched by moonlight.
To somewhere—anywhere—he could hide the fact that he had become a monster.
“…….”
Eventually, he came to a halt in the middle of the forest.
It was not by his own will.
Catching the scent of nearby humans, his body instinctively suppressed its presence.
As expected, the impulse to slaughter surged up once again.
If he lost his reason this time, how many people would he kill?
No, would he even be able to return to his original body at all?
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in a brief instant, but before his reason was overwhelmed, there was only one choice he could make.
“…….”
Suicide.
Without hesitation, Yun Jeongseop raised his claws and pierced his own heart.
***
Eighty years after the Great Rift, in the year 2039.
Once the situation at the lodge had been somewhat settled, Cha Yeri immediately left the area.
After all, throughout the chaos, neither Ji Seokhyeon nor Yun Jeongseop had been seen.
‘What on earth is that man up to this time?’
She ran along the tops of dense trees, securing her field of vision.
The fierce winds were still raging, but to her, who possessed wind attributes, they posed no hindrance at all.
Relying on her seasoned detection experience, Cha Yeri reached a cliff from which extraordinary mana was emanating.
As expected, Ji Seokhyeon and Yun Jeongseop lay there unconscious.
To be precise, Ji Seokhyeon was dressed as a Phantom Thief, while Yun Jeongseop was sprawled face-down without a single thread of clothing.
Seeing the sight, a deep sigh escaped her without her realizing it.
“What in the world is going on here?”
What was she supposed to do with these two?
Would they wake up if she grabbed their shoulders and shook them?
To make matters worse, all of the healing potions had been left behind at the lodge during the earlier battle.
“There really is nothing more irritating than people like this!”
Cha Yeri first lifted the Phantom Thief’s hood that was covering Ji Seokhyeon’s face.
She tensed, wondering if it might be someone else, but thankfully, it was that all-too-familiar, infuriating face she knew.
“Well, it is more bearable than when your eyes are open.”
Still, what was she supposed to do about these Phantom Thief clothes?
They were filthy with dirt and dust. Was she supposed to shamelessly wash them and return them later?
‘That makes no sense.’
But she could not exactly leave him dressed like this either.
If it became known that a probationary investigator from the Special Affairs Division was a Phantom Thief, the situation would become extremely troublesome.
Cha Yeri pondered for a moment, then soon formed a meaningful smile.
“This…… might not be such a bad idea.”
***
Seoul’s Outskirts District 26, an overpass above the railway tracks.
Gwon Seongjun, the branch chief of Dispel’s 3rd Branch, stood on the overpass, gazing at Seoul’s nightscape.
He was waiting for someone, killing time as he leaned against the railing in a remarkably natural posture.
It was as though he had visited this place countless times before.
As he passed the time like that, a voice he had been waiting for spoke from behind him.
“It brings back memories of when we first met.”
It was Baek Dojun, the Special Affairs Division Chief.
Leaning his back against the opposite railing, he continued speaking.
“The wind was blowing strongly that day too, just like today.”
“Pointless nostalgia.”
“You looked quite sentimental as you gazed at the night view. I suppose that was just my imagination.”
“I do not know what sort of misunderstanding you had, but I have no sentiments to share with you.”
Baek Dojun watched Gwon Seongjun for a moment, then followed his gaze toward the city lights.
“Do you regret it, perhaps?”
Without a moment of hesitation, Gwon Seongjun shook his head.
“No. No matter when it happened, I would have made the same choice.”
“That is a relief. I was worried you might be getting tired.”
“Tired, you say…… Well, there really is no investigation more stagnant than this one.”
“Originally, to catch a big fish, you must first endure the stormy seas.”
“You are still terminally afflicted.”
“Despite appearances, I am rather impatient. After all, there are less than two years left.”
“Two years… you mean the Director-General’s term.”
“Yes. The chance to drag Baek Dojin down from that position.”
“Enough chatter. Why did you call me here today?”
“Ah, I found someone who might be able to help us achieve our goal. I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.”
“Just in case, did you ask that person what he thinks? About becoming involved in bringing down the Director-General, that is.”
Baek Dojun smiled awkwardly.
Gwon Seongjun clicked his tongue, as if he had expected as much.
“Well then, at least tell me who it is.”
“You know him as well. He is an investigation cadet at Hero Prep, and he was recently assigned to the Special Affairs Division as a probationary investigator.”
“Haa…….”
Gwon Seongjun waved his hand once, as if there was no need to hear the name.
He straightened his body from the railing and slipped one hand into his pocket, fidgeting with the lighter inside.
“You really are…… disgustingly vicious, the lot of you.”