Chapter 1438
It took a little while before Seung-Hyun finally woke up after recovering.
Grace screamed at the top of her lungs as she held his hand and shook it wildly, “He's awake! He's awake!”
He grimaced as he tried to endure her deafening shouts. “Ugh. My head... Where am I right now?”
Grace quickly answered, “The hospital.”
“The hospital... Ah!” Seung-Hyun suddenly remembered that the two guys were targeting Grace before he passed out. “Grace! Are you okay?!”
Grace shot back, “Is this really about me?! Those bastards clearly focused all their attacks on you!”
He gave a shrug. “Well, we both managed to live through it. All’s well that ends well.”
Her face darkened, responding, “Don't be ridiculous! If you get hurt, who'll cook for me?! Who'll play games with me?! Who'll...”
She looked incredibly stressed out.
Seung-Hyun gave a wave of the hand. “It's all good, you dork. You're the one who’s not used to this world. If I don't protect you, who will?”
People suffering from extreme loneliness would often become overly reliant on the person who helped them through it.
Seung-Hyun and Grace were subconsciously beginning to rely on each other.
“Don't do that again...” she muttered back. “Promise me.”
“Got it. I promise.” Seung-Hyun cracked a smile. He felt relieved to find that he and Grace had grown much closer after enduring the whole ordeal.
“They caught all the bad guys.”
“That's good! So, why were they after you then?”
“They didn't really tell anyone.”
He was shocked to hear that. “Not even you, the person whose life was at stake? How does it make sense to keep you out of the flow of information?”
“They said they'd tell us once the investigation's done.”
Knock, knock.
Just then, the door to the private room opened, and three familiar figures walked in.
Si-Woo, the tallest of the arriving group, smirked and shook the fruit basket he was holding. “Looks to me like you’re doing just fine over here with your lady.”
Seung-Hyun’s face lit up, feeling valued. “Hey, you still came to visit.”
“Of course! I wouldn't miss your snoring for the world. How are you feeling?”
“I'm okay.”
Elysia cut in to inform him, “Ummm. This medicine here will help your body. It's made with an officially registered recipe, rigorously tested for side-effects, so it's sure to be good for you.”
“Oh. Thank you, Elysia.”
“Oh, no, it’s no problem at all. If there's anything I can do, just let me know.” Elysia shyly replied, and Seung-Hyun's gaze naturally drifted toward her.
Nostrils flaring with frustration, Grace frowned and smacked his side with a clump of her hair.
“Cough!”
“I guess you're totally fine, huh?”
He didn't understand why she would suddenly assault him. “What the hell was that, you jerk?!”
Annoyed, Grace got up and sauntered over to sprawl out on the couch in the corner. “Whatever.”
Elysia, who had been fidgeting between Si-Woo and Seung-Hyun, cautiously approached Grace.
Evangeline turned to the two men and said, “I’ve been debating whether or not I should tell you something.”
“Something about what happened? No, wait, let me ask you something first—why is Alfland always having problems?”
“Beats me, man. Seriously, maybe it's jinxed.”
One could perhaps argue that accidents were more likely purely on a statistical basis, considering how crowded it usually was. Yet, by that logic, other places should have been having accidents all the time as well, not just Alfland.
“It seems like my dad's getting a headache over it too.”
Even if Davey tried not to micromanage and solve every problem by himself, it had to be weighing on his mind as he waited for the resolution.
“More importantly, I need to talk about the people who targeted Seung-Hyun and Grace,” Evangeline told the group, growing more serious. “It looks like the whole ordeal started because of an accident at a gate.”
“A gate accident? You're saying a monster popped out, and that's what attacked me?”
He had been the victim of a phenomenon where a monster burst out of a gate for whatever unknown reason. While not extremely rare, it was certainly an uncommon occurrence.
In the past, the gates had appeared randomly, rifts haphazardly opened across the world. Monsters poured out from them, yet once Davey had established his domain on Earth, the opening of rifts and monsters emerging had become extremely rare.
Thanks to careful preparation, the ones that did appear were typically detected before any damage could occur. In a situation where the beast lairs and Earth maintained a suitable balance, afraid of experiencing mutual destruction, monsters appearing so suddenly without any warning or signs at all was unusual.
“Then... those two guys were monsters?” Seung-Hyun nodded, only to then realize another problem. “But isn't Alfland under Davey’s...?”
“That's right,” Evangeline confirmed. “Dad set up barriers all over the place to protect Alfland, so it's incredibly difficult for monsters to get into the park.”
Alas, even the most careful of barriers weren't foolproof.
“Unfortunately, there are weak spots that someone can exploit with the right knowledge. Plus, the monsters used were dagon parasites. They're creatures that burrow deep inside a person's body and parasitize them.”
The monsters had used the two men as shields to bypass the barrier’s scans.
“They managed to extract the parasite's eggs from inside those two people.” The important thing was what came next.
Evangeline continued, “But the Awakened Association still hasn't found the mastermind. They’re investigating, but it doesn't seem to be going well, so the culprits are still out there. Since they're targeting Grace...”
If they started targeting her, both her and Seung-Hyun could be in danger.
“First, the association will dispatch an agent of their own to help investigate.”
Seung-Hyun hung his head with a wry smile. “Life really is throwing every bad thing it can at me, eh?”
“Don't overthink it,” Evangeline reassured him. “It’s their job to protect people, so you’ll be fine.”
“What about you?” he asked her.
“Normally, I'd step up, but...” her
Unfortunately, it wasn't like the past dark priest case, and Davey had told her explicitly not to get involved.
“I can't step in.”
“Right. It'd be too brazen for us to just leave everything to you and the others.”
Evangeline turned to the side. “And Elysia, you should stay here if you can. We don't know why they're targeting Grace, but you might be targeted too.”
“Ummm. Wouldn’t I just be a bother here?”
“It'll actually be better for you to stay here.”
* * *
With dagon parasites having escaped, the association had no choice but to go on high alert.
However, due to the sensitive nature of the situation, they couldn't just announce it to the public. Thus, the number of Awakened agents they could mobilize was limited.
In Seung-Hyun's hospital room, Grace lay sprawled out on the couch, playing a game and munching on snacks, with Elysia sitting beside her watching.
Si-Woo, Evangeline, and even Kouna were there, too.
“Normally, I shouldn't give out this information, but I don't really care about following procedure.” Kouna decided to spill the information the association had gathered so far. “The two people who attacked Seung-Hyun completely lost their memory of the event as soon as the infection was cleared. The association investigated that guild Valtan they belonged to, but, oddly enough, no one else tested positive.”
“Valtan? I’ve never even heard of that guild.”
“It's a small-to-mid-sized guild. They're known for being pretty shady, and they're not particularly powerful.”
Si-Woo raised his hand. “Ummm. Kouna? From what I've heard, the dungeons with dagon parasites inside are strictly quarantined. Purged, even. Normal guilds shouldn't be able to get in at all...”
She nodded. “Yes, but since there was a leak, we have to investigate all possibilities. The most credible conclusion we’ve come up with is...”
“Did a dagon parasite come out of a normal rift?”
“There's a good chance of that, but it's also possible an outsider infected with the dagon parasite influenced those two people.”
Just then, Elysia slowly raised her hand. “Ummm. Sorry to interrupt...”
“What is it?”
“I think I might be able to help...”
“You can help?”
She cautiously replied, “Yes. Well... I know I don't look like it, but I'm a succubus...”
“A succubus?”
“Yes. I'm still practicing, but I can charm someone to make them confess the deep truth. It doesn't work if their immunity is too strong, but... if it's a normal person...”
“Absolutely not.” Si-Woo decisively cut her off. “Absolutely. Not. Happening.”
“Si-Woo?”
“It's too dangerous.”
Though that didn't seem like the real reason. Evangeline and Kouna immediately sensed his true feelings. The thought of the woman he fell for at first sight charming another man must’ve seriously bothered him.
“Well, I feel the same way,” Kouna agreed. “I'm not going to let a civilian take on that kind of risk. We're handling the investigation. My goal is to protect all of you against any potential attacks in the meantime.”
“I'd love to help, but I need to back off and withdraw soon,” Evangeline muttered bitterly. “I can't forget my duty.”
“Don't worry,” Kouna reassured everyone. “The danger from dagon parasites comes from the infection itself. Their actual fighting ability isn't much of a threat.”
Besides, it was impossible for them to even parasitize high-level Awakened individuals, or those with special powers.
“So, please don't worry.”
Nonetheless, all of them couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
* * *
Grace was naturally lazy, and had an incredible appetite. However, there were definitely things she prioritized above all else ever since she was born.
Late that night, Grace sat next to the soundly sleeping Seung-Hyun, poked his cheek, and sighed to herself.
‘I couldn't do anything...’
They’d said the monsters came for her, putting Seung-Hyun through all that pain just to get to her. That thought made her burn inside with annoyance and anger that went beyond her usual laziness.
Seung-Hyun was an absolute pillar in her life, and she wanted to get rid of the unpleasant feeling that was messing with her heart. It was all because of those damned monsters.
She couldn’t help but fear they might target Seung-Hyun again.
‘But I don't have much power.’
An icy feeling came over her, and she slowly got up. Then, she quietly walked out to the hospital’s garden area.
While even walking was troublesome to her, if Seung-Hyun was in danger just because she stayed in the room, she hated staying still even more.
‘But is it right for me to just leave him alone like this?’
“You're all alone.” Kouna, who seemed to have approached out of nowhere, gave a sigh. “Don't you know how dangerous it is to go out on your own right now?”
“I know. But... if I stay there, Seung-Hyun will get dragged into it.”
“That might be true, but I can stop anyone who might be infected with the dagon parasite. So go back and let me be the one to worry about it. I'll find the host as quickly as possible.”
Grace frowned at her firm response. “I'm not an idiot! Humans are cunning. If their goal is to kill me, they could just set off a bomb at that hospital, killing Seung-Hyun and I once and for all.”
“You don’t think we’d be able to stop such a thing? Do you not trust us that much?”
“I'm eliminating the possibility. If I'm out here, they won't need to specifically target Seung-Hyun.”
Kouna sighed. “Dagon parasites invade a person and then absorb their knowledge. Since those guys have a goal, they won't foolishly—”
Suddenly, she instinctively drew her sword. “My bad. Scratch that. It looks like these guys are completely out of their minds.”
A crowd of Awakened approached and gathered around her.
Their levels weren’t very high. If the dagon parasite could manifest them, they couldn't be considered high-level Awakened individuals.
They approached like eerie dolls without saying a word. They didn’t even have any discernible connections to one another.
Kouna shouted, “Why the hell are you after Grace?!”
They didn't answer.
She got into a defensive stance, commanding, “Get behind me, Grace.”
“I know...” She looked pretty unhappy with the fact that she was useless in the situation.
Boom!!
Finally, the ragtag group lunged toward the two.
Kouna hummed a soft, beautiful melody, and her sword then shimmered as if it held a galaxy within.
Whoosh! Slice!
If Kouna used her Deliverer power, she might be able to stop them. With a power close to restoration, she might even be able to revert them to their pre-infected state.
However, ever since losing the dimensional pearl, she couldn't fully control her power, so it could prove ineffective. It’d be quicker to subdue them directly, rather than take on an unnecessary burden and risk.
She lowered her stance slightly and gripped her sword tightly.
While there were a lot of them, subduing a hastily-assembled group of Awakened shouldn’t be a problem for someone as strong as her.
[Divine Beast Dance]
[Ode of Haitai]
She and her sword blurred like an afterimage.
At the same time, the afterimage of her sword burst out in all directions like an expanding galaxy.
If a host’s body was close to death, a dagon parasite would instinctively flee in order to survive. Taking advantage of that was the only method that Kouna could think of which likely wouldn’t result in lasting casualties.
She just needed to drive the enemy to the brink of death; force the parasites out; and then heal the host.
It didn't take Kouna long to subdue all of them.
“Whew...”
Once finished, Kouna let out a sigh of relief before muttering to herself, “Coming out so openly like this... Are they going for a war of attrition, or is Grace just that important? Either way, I should probably call for backup...”
Sling... Clank!!!
With the sound of a sudden roar, Kouna was violently pushed back.
“What the...” Her eyes widened with shock at the realization that there was still an intact enemy.
That attack she’d just suffered wasn't on the power of a mere low-level Awakened. Based on the blow, their level was comparable to Kouna’s at the very least.
A rare look of tension appeared on her face.
Tap. Tap.
Finally, someone in dark clothes emerged from the shadows.
Kouna trembled slightly with recognition. “You?!”
The man approaching her was an S-Class Awakened, a member of the first-generation wave just like Kouna.
From what she could recall, he wasn't someone with a malicious nature who’d get involved with evil monsters.
“They infected an S-Class Awakened? How’s that even possible?”
High-level Awakened didn’t get infected by the dagon parasite. It was impossible for them to be infected in the first place, given their power. Yet, he was targeting her alongside the crowd, which meant he had to be working with the dagon parasites.
‘If it's not an infection...’
A look of disbelief took over Kouna’s face before she yelled, “Wait... are you helping them even though you know what they are?!”
The man kept walking calmly, ignoring her outburst.
‘No. These are clearly symptoms of infection. I need to report this quickly...’
Swoosh!!
“Ack!”
She was sent flying in an instant.
Yes, she was caught off guard, but the power he displayed was greater than the strength he naturally possessed. It was as if he was recklessly drawing out his latent power without care for his own body.
Her wound wasn't deep, but it was nonetheless severe enough that it needed to be treated and diminish her abilities.
She'd made the mistake of letting her guard down, thinking a high-level Awakened couldn't possibly get infected.
She tried to get up, but the man immediately kicked her and sent her flying once more. She’d sent Killer Rabbit away, so she wasn’t able to rely on its help to save her.
She slowly got up and controlled her breathing.
“No time to worry about the details now...”
She gradually calmed herself and lowered her sword.
During the conflict, she’d noticed Grace's condition gradually getting worse. The girl’s breathing was extremely ragged, perhaps from being exposed to extreme stress right after the first attack. Dragging things out with the enemy would only make things worse for her.
She needed to quickly subdue the man and remove the parasite.
She gave a battle shout to psych herself up. “Hyaah!!!”
Just as she was about to move in, she instinctively picked up on Grace's ragged breathing.
At the same time, an eerie current, along with the power of the Haitai, showed her a momentary glimpse of the future. She saw that the moment she lunged, she’d be hit by something massive.
Wary, she instinctively pushed off the ground and left the spot.
Grace's eyes snapped open before her hair wildly grew, shooting forward and wrapping around the man like a mass of tentacles.
She quickly ran toward the man whom she’d instantly subdued.
Her hand then melted into a mass of liquid and quickly seeped into the man's body, lifting him into the air.
Shocked, Kouna desperately shouted out, “Grace!”
All she gave in response was a monstrous scream.“Grrr... Grrr.. GAAAA!!!”
Crack!
She then tore out some hideous writhing mass from the man's mouth.
There were no previous cases of a parasite being extracted so completely, owing to the difficulty of such a procedure. Grace had inserted her own being into the man's body, taken control, and found the parasite to pull it out.
Grace was a slime, sure. However, no slime Kouna knew of had ever demonstrated such power.
Grace abruptly showed an expressionless face and declared in a monotone voice, “Stress-inducing target eliminated. Original creator Davey O'Rowane's self-defense mode No. 22 deactivated, entering sleep mode. Caution: Monitor individual unit’s stress level.”
Perhaps it had been triggered by her extreme stress.
Having robotically recited the machine script, Grace collapsed weakly with a thump.
The parasite she’d torn out was much larger than any dagon parasite Kouna had ever seen. It desperately sprung up to find its next host, but she immediately caught it with her fist. All it could do was slump over in her grasp.
“No. 22? What the hell... did he create? No, wait...”
Kouna supported Grace and frantically called someone on her phone.
Her call went to Hyun-Ah.
“A mutant variant just showed up to attack. It doesn't seem to be a regular dagon parasite.”
- What? What are you talking about? A variant? Do you really think that makes...
“I just fought an S-Class Awakened. They were infected.”
Hyun-Ah fell silent for a moment before finding a response.
- No way... Is it one of those named entities that appear with an extremely low probability?
“I think we’ll need to find out.”
* * *
At the same time, Neltarid, who had been watching Grace restlessly from the sanctuary, yelled with bulging eyes, “What in the world did you put inside that child?!”
His anger was considerable, owing to his unusual obsession with Grace.
Davey avoided his gaze, softly responding, “Well, I wanted her to be able to protect herself, you know...”
All he got was a stare in response before Neltarid questioned, “You sure it wasn’t your personal preference?”
“You got me. Just so you know, I put a lot of thought into every part of her.”
“And that No. 22 thing?”
“Aeonitia and Milpieu kept adding all sorts of things to the self-defense systems.”
Neltarid didn’t know what to say.
“Oh! But I did put in a lot of useful functions, like self-repair. And she can even receive radio waves! Plus, I gave her a super-tough palate that can handle the Gourmet Research Society's bizarre foods with ease.”
‘This lunatic...’
Neltarid finally understood why Grace had been born so differently from what he’d expected. He never should've left it to that human!
Well, the premise was wrong from the start. Had Davey O'Rowane ever created a normal body besides Perserque's, even once?
Neltarid shook his head in misery.
Eager to defend himself, Davey made the excuse, “These days, if I make stuff like this, Perserque kicks my ass and tells me not to waste our budget on useless things.”
Grace, who was perhaps the last model Davey would ever directly create, was, in fact, the greatest masterpiece he had ever made.