“What’s the situation?”
A clear, boyish voice answered.
“Ninety percent of the patients have completed treatnt, and the critical patients are being treated in coordination with local hospitals. But the dical services haven’t been paralyzed like before. Most of the minor injuries are being treated in tents.”
“Even trash can be useful.”
“That expression isn’t quite appropriate, Master.”
“Then what phrase would suit better?”
“The saying ‘even a dung beetle has its skills’ would be more fitting.”
The man chuckled lowly.
“Alright, let’s go with that.”
Screech... Crocs stopped in front of the sliding door.
Click. A press of the button, and a blinding light flooded the room. The light illuminated the massive corpse of a monster sprawled on the floor. A white coat, along with tied-back white hair, swayed as delicate fingers pushed up a pair of glasses. Nam Woojin put on the gloves and mask that the boy handed him, then shuffled in his Crocs toward the monster’s snout. The creature lay dead with its tongue sticking out.
“You brought it in pretty much intact. I thought you’d deliver it in pieces.”
“...”
In the corner of the operating room, Honeybee, who had been leaning against a shadowy wall, gave a brief nod. Nam Woojin ran his hand over the monster’s massive teeth and jaws. The dust clinging to the blood, and even the blood itself, hadn’t yet dried. A pool of blood dripped from its mouth and ford a small puddle on the floor. This probably wasn’t the monster’s own blood.
“But why was a ranker in charge of delivery? I expected it to be soone from the Rift Managent Agency.”
“...They told to go, so what could I do? Orders are orders.”
Honeybee wore an unusually gloomy expression. Nam Woojin glanced at her before looking away. He knew well enough why the Director had assigned her this delivery. There were too many people out there linked to Protheus. She was quick-tempered and acted fast, and who knew what she might do.
‘He wants to keep her occupied.’
The man was a master at manipulating people. Nam Woojin gestured to the boy. The boy hurried over and effortlessly pried open the monster’s mouth as wide as it could go. Nam Woojin shone a light inside. Blood and fragnts of sothing broken were clinging to the insides.
An abnormally large mouth and disproportionately small eyes. The eyes appeared to have regressed, no longer serving their function. Nam Woojin picked up a sharp scalpel.
“I should thank those guys. Thanks to them, I now have the ti to dissect this thing piece by piece.”
“...”
Honeybee glared icily at Nam Woojin. He responded with indifference.
“I was joking. No need to get worked up.”
“Oh, a joke? I thought you were trying to rile up.”
“My apologies.”
The sound of the scalpel slicing through skin, fat, and flesh echoed loudly.
Honeybee let out an irritated sigh and crossed her arms, closing her eyes. Inside, she was boiling. She wanted nothing more than to grab the nearest enemy and beat them senseless. Who were these people, anyway? Did they have an antidote? Was Matthew in better condition now?
It was then that Nam Woojin, who had been rustling around for a while, called out to her.
“Honeybee, I have a question.”
Honeybee slowly opened her eyes.
“What is it?”
“Did you catch this thing the mont it fell from the sky? Was it unhard when you captured it?”
Honeybee twisted her hair around her fingers and raised an eyebrow.
“Huh? I captured it when it was tearing things apart. You saw the blood, didn’t you? It was covered in it.”
“...Really? But if that’s the case...”
Nam Woojin’s voice echoed hollowly from behind the massive body.
“There’s nothing here.”
“What? What do you an...?”
As Honeybee moved closer, the boy stepped in her way. With clear eyes, he handed her a white mask and gloves. Honeybee twitched her lips but obediently put them on and stood next to him. Nam Woojin used his gloved hands to pull open the monster’s huge stomach.
There was nothing. Just as he said.
Honeybee blinked in shock. She covered her mouth with a bewildered expression.
“...Hold on a second. This doesn’t make sense. I saw it with my own two eyes. It was biting down on power poles, chewing up cars. It even swallowed people.”
“...”
There were no traces of the power poles or car fragnts, no pieces of flesh or bones from the people it had supposedly swallowed. The monster’s stomach was a perfect void. Nam Woojin’s face, rarely showing emotion, had a hint of discomfort. He stared at the emptiness with eyes that seed to burn white.
“You said this monster swallowed everything it ca across?”
“...Yes. Its eyesight is poor, but it has an excellent sense for detecting presence.”
“When I first heard about it, I assud it would stop moving once its stomach was full. It would need ti to digest. Even monsters in the system follow the basic rules of living creatures, so it seed like a reasonable conclusion.”
“That’s what we thought.”
“I also believed that lower-ranked hunters would have a chance to defeat it if they tid their attack right.”
That was true. The monsters in the dungeons, despite their differences in appearance and ferocity, had patterns of eating, sleeping, and moving that weren’t too different from other animals on Earth. But this monster before them was completely different.
It was a being that defied the laws and rules.
“But...”
Honeybee’s expression hardened as she guessed what was coming next. Nam Woojin touched the emptiness inside. He felt nothing.
“If it’s a creature that feels hunger no matter how much it devours...”
“...”
“If it’s a monster that keeps endlessly consuming without ever stopping...”
“...That would be troubleso.”
Honeybee anxiously bit her lip.
“Is this the apocalypse? Are these the kinds of monsters that co with it?”
“That can’t be.”
A shadow crossed Nam Woojin’s pale face.
“It hasn’t even begun properly yet.”
---
Ssshh... Amidst the sound of water pouring down, a black liquid splashed into the bucket. Ugh... Sa-yeong, who had been clutching the bucket while retching, blinked her wet eyelashes and wiped her lips roughly with the back of her hand. She staggered to her feet. Bloodshot violet eyes stared back at her.
The bathroom light flickered. She felt dizzy. Sa-yeong tried to steady her breath but couldn’t resist the urge. She grabbed whatever she could and hurled it at the light.
Crash—pop! Sothing shattered with a small spark, and the light went out. As the darkness enveloped her, her mind began to calm. Sa-yeong gasped for air and lifted her head.
Bang, bang, bang! Soone pounded on the door from outside.
“Hey! What are you doing in there? Are you okay?”
“...”
“Should I call Nam Woojin? Huh? Want to go to the Seowon Guild?”
“Just put in the request for now, Deputy Leader...”
“...Shut up.”
Sa-yeong growled back, her voice low. Cold sweat clung to her neck and forehead. From the mont she opened her eyes in the eting room, she hadn’t been able to regain her composure. Her heart raced, and the nausea wouldn’t stop.
“Ah...”
It’s irritating.
Sa-yeong shoved her face into the sink, which was on the verge of overflowing with water. Her feet beca soaked as the water spilled over. Finally, everything went quiet. At last, she could think clearly.
Cha Uijae.
Minggijeok must be handling it well. If anything had happened, he would’ve contacted her imdiately...
Her fingertips trembled slightly. Sa-yeong pressed her face harder into the water. She knew better than anyone why her body was reacting this way. Just rembering a bit of the past had thrown her into this state. It was almost laughable. She could practically hear a mocking voice. Can’t even handle this, can you?
—You’re still a child.
‘Shut up...’
Sa-yeong clenched her teeth and lifted her head. She roughly wiped her drenched face with both hands and swung the door open. Bae Wonwoo and Kang Jisoo, who had been leaning against the door, stumbled in. The two of them looked up at her in confusion from the floor. Bae Wonwoo, who was covered in band-aids, stamred as he spoke.
“Hey, are you... really okay?”
“How many tis do I have to say it? I’m fine...”
With a tired expression, Sa-yeong swept her wet hair back.
“The light broke, so get it replaced.”
“Oh, uh, sure.”
“Minggijeok. Still no contact?”
“Huh? No, nothing yet. Where did you send him?”
“...”
Sa-yeong walked barefoot across the slick floor.
“I sent him on a quick errand. To find soone.”
“...”
“Handle the request for cooperation from the Awakener Managent Bureau.”
“Where are you going, Leader?”
Kang Jisoo craned her neck forward and asked. Sa-yeong stretched her words lazily as she replied.
“To find the runaway dog.”
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