The Scent of Monsters Returns
The acrid, chemical-laced stench of a monster filled the air once more. I sat sprawled on the sofa with my legs spread wide, and when the Doctor entered after handling the album and picture frame, I flashed her a bright smile and asked, “All done?”
The Doctor answered with an excited expression. “Yes. It’s finished.”
“How do you feel?”
“Just… a bit bittersweet? That feels about right. They were things I was attached to, after all… though not anymore.”
She quickly added the extra words, clearly worried I might be upset. After washing her hands, she came over and sat right beside me, sniffing the air.
“It smells. Should I open the windows wider?”
“It’s fine. It’ll fade soon enough.”
“I’ll call the antique dealer tomorrow and have him take the golf clubs.”
I gently massaged the Doctor’s leg that had settled on top of mine. “You don’t have to report every little thing to me. You can handle it yourself, sis.”
“But I want to tell you.”
“Then go ahead.”
The Doctor smiled shyly and reached for my hand, but at that moment—rumble—thunder roared outside, and rain began to pour.
She stood up and closed the windows, leaving only a small gap. As she quietly listened to the sound of the rain, she stretched, then turned her head toward me.
“Having you here makes rainy days feel nice too… Want some coffee?”
“That’d be great.”
“Hot? Or iced?”
“Hot.”
“Got it.”
While the Doctor brewed the coffee, I flipped through the TV channels, looking for any news worth listening to. Up until last week, stories about monsters had still popped up occasionally. Now there was nothing at all—just ordinary, everyday news. It was proof that the world had become truly peaceful.
All thanks to this Demon King watching over it, of course. The humans should be grateful to my merciful self.
I was killing time by switching channels when the Doctor, having finished the coffee at some point, handed me a mug.
“It’s ready.”
I took the cup and sipped. The flavor was rich. She must have ground in a lot of beans. It was far better than the bland coffee I’d had when I first moved into this house.
Thinking back on those old days, I let out a small chuckle. The Doctor’s eyes widened.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing… it’s nothing.”
I stared at her for a moment before deciding it was time to bring up the matter I’d been thinking about. “Starting tomorrow, shall we begin making the Devices?”
“Tomorrow? Alright.”
“And I want to add one restriction when we make them.”
“A restriction? What kind?”
“Let’s make it so we can control the Aether.”
The Doctor tilted her head, not understanding what I meant. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we should design it so the Device only activates with our permission.”
The Doctor brought a hand to her mouth. She looked shocked at the sensitive suggestion, but soon composed herself and tried to persuade me.
“Is that really necessary…? That would be restricting their freedom… We haven’t had any problems so far. Sehwa and Yuria only transformed when it was absolutely necessary.”
“Silvia and Adele are incredibly strong. Their Aether capacity is far greater than Sehwa’s or Yuria’s… If they could freely charge and use it, there’s no telling what they might do.”
“You don’t trust those two?”
“To be honest, I’m suspicious. They’re not from Earth, so we can’t investigate what they were doing before. Adele uses holy power and can purify monsters, so she’s fine, but Silvia is the problem.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s hard to read her true intentions. It feels like she’s hiding something.”
The Doctor thought it over carefully, then refuted my words. “When she talks to me, I’ve never sensed anything like that… And Silvia is an Aether compatible. She fundamentally has a good heart.”
“You know better than anyone, sis. The ones we firmly believed were on the side of good tried to overthrow America. No one can truly know what’s inside a person’s heart.”
“W-well, that’s true, but… still…”
“If you’re that worried, how about this? We secretly install a control device first, observe the situation, and then decide whether to remove it or not. Sound good? If we become fully convinced we can trust them, we’ll take the device out.”
“Hmm…”
After deep deliberation, the Doctor nodded as if she had decided to compromise. She trusted me completely right now. However, because I hadn’t corrupted her with malice yet, she was reluctant to do anything that felt underhanded. Even though she had agreed to follow my wishes, her expression showed she wasn’t fully convinced.
Time would take care of that. She had only recently begun to assimilate my values, after all.
The next day, we began work on the Devices.
Thanks to my understanding of future science, I quickly learned the manufacturing process. Sitting side by side with the Doctor, we smoothly built the Devices’ frameworks. For the first three days, we worked nonstop, so progress was incredibly fast. But after that, it slowed down. The Doctor had started attending yoga classes from morning until lunch. On top of that, her fertile period had arrived, and she demanded sex at every opportunity. Her libido was so strong that she often got wet before we even started.
Today, the fourth day, was no different. After returning from yoga, the Doctor had stopped working on the Device and was staring at me with sparkling eyes that clearly said she wanted to do it.
Feeling her gaze, I took off my microscope goggles and let out a weak laugh. “You want to do it right now?”
“Yeah…”
“Let’s do it when we get home. We’re working right now.”
The Doctor’s embarrassed expression suddenly changed. “Even though I didn’t feel like it, I still did what you asked.”
She was referring to making the control button for the Devices. It was funny—and absurd—that she was using the same line she’d used yesterday again today.
I set down the Polymus welding tool and said, “You did me a favor, so now I have to sleep with you? Are we in some kind of transactional relationship?”
When my voice rose, the Doctor flinched. But she didn’t back down at all. “Sorry if I misunderstood. But you promised, didn’t you? You said you’d do it a lot during my fertile period. You said we should work together since I’m infertile.”
“It’s not like your fertile period is only today. And it’s not like I pass out the moment I get home… We go until dawn, don’t we? We did it three times in the lab yesterday, and even more when we got back.”
“It’s because I’m anxious… I’ve never had a child before, and there’s not much time left…”
The Doctor expressed her complicated feelings by spinning her chair left and right. I moved closer, reached out, and gently rubbed the back of her neck. Once she seemed to calm down, I asked in a gentle tone.
“Sis, you got prescribed ovulation induction medication at the hospital today, right?”
“Yes… I have to take it for the next four days.”
“Did you get the ovulation shot too?”
“They said to start the shots the day after tomorrow.”
“The reason you couldn’t get pregnant even when you tried before is because you never thought to try things like this. Everything will work out, so don’t worry. I guarantee it.”
The Doctor’s complexion brightened just a little. “Okay… Sorry for pushing so hard…”
“Come here.”
When I spread my arms wide, the Doctor jumped from her chair and leaped into my embrace. Normally she would have moved carefully since we were in the middle of making Devices, but the fact that she rushed straight at me showed just how far she had fallen.
As I gently stroked her back, I said, “Want to watch that movie we missed and then head home?”
“I’d like that…”
“Then let’s book—”
Beep—! Beep—!
Evilion energy has been detected.
Evilion energy has been detected.
The alarm went off right in the middle of my sentence. Startled, we both turned to the monitor at the same time without needing to say a word. The word [CAUTION] appeared in large letters on the central monitor of the situation board. Then a mechanical, feminine voice rang out.
> Evilion energy has been detected.
> Evilion energy has been detected.
The Doctor’s eyes widened. “W-what is this…?”
In the past, she would have immediately prepared countermeasures the moment the alarm sounded. But the long period of peace had dulled her, and she couldn’t snap back to cold rationality right away.
Without a word, I pushed my chair toward the situation board and checked the predicted location where the portal would open.
“It’s Argentina.”
“Argentina? That’s on the opposite side of the planet from Korea…!”
“We can get there quickly. Why the fuss? Calm down and check the status of the portals we placed in Argentina.”
“Ah, okay. Just a second…”
The Doctor shook her head to clear it, regained her composure, and began typing rapidly on the keyboard. After checking the portal status, she nodded.
“They’re fine. Operating normally. What about the Evilion gauge? What rank is the monster?”
“It stopped at fifty-four percent. It’s C-class.”
“Then we’ll need a Beast Slayer. I’ll contact Yuria.”
Doctor, why are you deliberately leaving Sehwa out? It was so obvious. Why not just muster the courage and ask? Ask how their relationship is right now. Though, this wasn’t exactly the time for that kind of conversation.
The Doctor put on her wireless earpiece and immediately connected to Yuria’s Device.
“Doctor, go ahead.”
Yuria’s clear, ringing voice. The Doctor asked in the calmest tone she could manage. “You heard the warning sound, right?”
“Yes. I checked the information on my Device. C-class, location Argentina… correct?”
“That’s right. Can you head there now?”
“I’ll leave immediately.”
“We’ll also—”
The Doctor was about to say something when she saw me shake my head and quickly corrected herself. “Since it’s C-class, you should be enough on your own. We’ll monitor from here.”
“Understood.”
After ending the communication, the Doctor fidgeted restlessly and looked at me. “Jihyeok… shouldn’t we go too…?”
“No need. It’s C-class. At fifty-four percent, it’s on the weaker side even among those.”
“But it’s been a long time since a monster appeared. The World Coalition and Argentina might not handle the response protocol properly.”
“They should be grateful we’re helping for free. Sending Yuria is already more than enough on our part. The rest is their problem. Besides, even if we take a fighter jet, it would take hours to get there. Our bodies can’t handle the portal. So it’s better to just watch from here.”
“Haa…”
The Doctor let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her chair. Even though she had grown completely disillusioned with the World Coalition, the fact that she was still acting this way suggested she still had some love for humanity left. I wished she would abandon humanity sooner… but it couldn’t be helped. Since I hadn’t injected her with malice yet, I had to understand.
Until the Saint became my subordinate—or at least until she could no longer use her power—I had to proceed with the utmost caution.
I approached the Doctor, who still wore a deeply worried expression, placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently massaged it with soft pressure. At the same time, I reassured her.
“If Yuria gets there quickly, it might end without any casualties.”
“Yeah…”
“Does it feel strange that I’m acting like this?”
“…No. I agree with what you’re saying…”
“Don’t stress about it. This is an important time.”
“I know… But is Tyrat finally starting to move again?”
That’s right. He’s about to move. Our lovely monsters are starving for blood.
“Since a monster has appeared… I suppose that’s the case?”
“Just where on Earth is he hiding that we can’t find him… This is a serious problem…”
“There’s also the possibility he’s not on Earth but in space.”
“That’s true… Since he uses portals similar to ours… that makes sense.”
As I chatted casually with the Doctor, I manipulated the monitor to show the portal closest to the monster. Not long after, from the portal standing alone in the middle of a vast plain, Yuria appeared in her Beast Slayer form.
With her light green braided hair draped over one shoulder, wearing a skintight leotard and skirt, she looked around. It had been so long since I’d seen her like this. It reminded me of the day Astaroth died.
—Kuuoooooo!!
The monster’s roar echoed from far away. Yuria kicked off the ground powerfully and soared into the air, then flew toward the source of the sound by kicking off invisible steps in the sky.
I operated the drone I had installed next to the portal and had it follow Yuria. Then I sat back in my chair and watched the monitor in a relaxed manner.