95
Chapter 95
Dawn. The time of life and blooming.
Unaware of the mindset of those waking up to start their day, the sunlight was simply bright.
The warm, benevolent, yet somehow irresponsible touch of light slipped through the narrow window crack, bending slightly as it embraced the water, piercing into the large Water Tank to gently stroke the eyelids of the soundly sleeping person.
"Mmh......."
Yoo Parang, awake.
Checking the Clock, it was half past five in the morning.
She was up incredibly early for her usual self. Perhaps it was because she had fallen asleep so early yesterday.
Sitting up and looking around, she saw that the companions who had been sleeping nearby were nowhere to be seen, having apparently already left.
'They are incredibly fast.......'
This part was a bit unexpected.
Parang had wanted to chat with her colleagues about the memories they saw yesterday, naturally assuming they would discuss it once they woke up.
'They could have at least left a message.......'
Fumbling for her Cellphone, Parang opened her messenger app to check her piled-up notifications.
Russell Bright: Something urgent came up, so we all decided to head out first. It seems like you have something important to do today, so I hope you do your best and finish it well. Let's finish that first, and it would be good to gather and talk about our next steps later.
At a glance, the tone of the text was awkward. Who in the world sends a message like this?
'Seriously, he is so bad at lying.'
It was the distinct way Russell spoke whenever he lied. If the tone was going to be that stiff, the content should at least sound believable, but it was far too obvious.
Unlike Parang who streamed, they were just folks who lived leisurely fishing at home, so what urgent matters could they possibly have?
Most likely, after hearing vague words from Cylo about her having an important task ahead, they had decided to let Parang get as much rest as possible.
They were hopelessly good friends.
And as a result, their judgment was spot on.
Right now, Parang's mind was practically on the verge of exploding, left in an incredibly troubled state.
It could not be helped.
Parang opened another text message addressed to her, this one from an anonymous sender.
- Please come to this room by eight thirty in the morning.
Along with this text, a rough map of the Basement in her current building had been delivered.
Parang knew exactly what this room referred to.
It was the Laboratory where the seal on the Evidence had been removed.
From the very beginning, Parang and Cylo had intended to use this Artifact called the Evidence for two purposes.
One was checking the memories of the Slayers.
The other was exactly what Oceanus had simply referred to as important work.
'Important work. Right. Important work.'
What was the point of hiding it? That important work Parang had to do was the assassination of the Hunter Association President, Natsuko.
In other words, Parang had to kill someone today.
Between her past and present lives, it would be her first murder.
Even while revealing everything else to Oceanus and her companions, this was the one thing Parang did not tell them.
The fact that she would become a murderer today.
Parang wanted to bury this reality in the back of her mind until the very end.
The fact that she had to kill someone.
She was from 21st-century South Korea, a place where neither powers nor Monsters existed.
Naturally, her aversion to the act of murder was tremendously high.
Being inherently soft-hearted only amplified those feelings.
Furthermore, she was now in a position where she had to meticulously plan and execute the murder of someone she had never even interacted with.
And then there was her motive.
It was simply because leaving her alive would be a threat to the world.
Thoughts that she was no different from a psychopathic villain in a Movie kept rearing their ugly heads in the corner of Parang's mind.
Moreover, the method of killing was another issue entirely.
She wouldn't just swing a Weapon to end it; she had to forcefully pour horrific memories that a Human could not withstand into her Head, shattering her mind.
'Is there no way to resolve this without killing? Like persuading her, or just locking her up?'
It was a question Parang had asked herself hundreds, if not thousands, of times.
But, incredibly cruelly.
Whenever she asked that question, Parang only edged closer to the conclusion that she had to kill Natsuko herself.
Persuasion? Out of the question. Trying to persuade her would more likely result in Parang suffering a terrible fate instead.
It was obvious she wouldn't listen to threats either.
The Natsuko that Parang had seen was someone impossible to reason with.
Just look at what she was trying to do.
Releasing a Monster into the city to let it kill people, all because she needed to absorb a strong Monster that had killed many to grow stronger?
Was that even an idea a Human could come up with?
Someone who seriously advocated for that, even forming a team to launch it as a project.
Could Parang possibly appease someone like that?
Just look at what she had already done.
"To confuse the Slayers, we will perform the Ritual and advance the date by about two weeks. The Material is already prepared, and if things go wrong, we are ready to cut off only those who performed it."
Those were the words from the video she received from Seo Sunwoo.
The Original Work's Novel details the method to accomplish this Ritual.
[ First, prepare a heavily pregnant woman, a handful of Parasitic Grass Seed, and a black Goat starved for three days. And....... ]
After reading that description, Parang fell into a trauma and couldn't even eat for a while.
Even as time passed, recalling it brought an unparalleled sense of disgust.
'Thinking about it now, I don't know how such a terrible description could appear in a Novel.'
It was the kind of description that wouldn't have been surprising if it triggered an immediate warning or a revision request from the site.
It was also inhumane.
If Parang had been the person in charge, she wouldn't have just let such a description slide.
'Uh......?'
For a moment, Parang's Head throbbed, and something seemed to come to mind...... then completely vanished.
Well, anyway.
An option like confinement was equally impossible.
When a single person's combat power easily matches a legion, how could one possibly lock them away and seal them?
It was absolute nonsense.
Furthermore, cruelly enough.
Even to the question of whether she absolutely had to do it herself, Parang had no choice but to answer yes.
If not her, there was no one else to do it.
However, even so.
Killing someone she had never even spoken to, simply because it was necessary.......
'No, no. Let's think simply.'
Parang shook her head vigorously to brush off the thoughts.
It was a train of thought she had already gone through hundreds of times. A meaningless repetition.
'Bury it. Don't think about it.'
Parang thought.
If it was a problem that couldn't be solved by thinking, the conclusion was to just ignore it.
Parang also knew that this would never be a real solution to her worries.
But, ironically, it was also the only solution she could come up with.
'Since I am doing it anyway, I need to make sure it is done right.'
If she ruined things due to pointless worrying and caused a worse outcome, Parang felt like she wouldn't be able to endure it.
Gurgle-
As her rampant thoughts subsided, only then did her body react, sending a signal of hunger.
Parang really wasn't in the mood to eat, but she couldn't stay on an empty stomach forever either.
Reluctantly, she left the room to at least grab some Gimbap for a quick bite.
#
"......So, you just need to put your memories in here."
A little time passed, making it nine in the morning.
Parang stood in front of the Artifact with a Cylo Scientist.
"In here, you mean the memories."
"Yes."
The Researcher's voice was so calm that it made this task feel as simple as folding Paper.
Did this person know that they were trying to create a lethal weapon to kill a human being?
He definitely knew.
If so, how could he be so incredibly calm?
Ever since she was asked to assassinate Natsuko, Parang had felt this way countless times.
Whenever that happened, she even wondered if she was the only one in this vast world who was twisted.
But life was inherently harsh, and there was nothing Parang could really do about it.
After all, this was something she had to do anyway.
Parang grabbed the Evidence and brought it to her forehead.
And then, she injected the memory.
The memory to inject was already decided.
The memory of when she first saw that eye.
The most terrifying and horrific thing Parang had ever seen in her life.
With mixed feelings, Parang poured the encounter with that entity—the one she swore the people above ground must never know about, no matter what—into the Artifact.
"......It is done."
The Necklace in Parang's hand once held a brilliant green Jewel, but now it possessed a deeply murky black hue.
"......The operation is at seven this evening. It is at this location here."
The location the Scientist pointed out was a Warp Station in Ulsan Metropolitan City.
It wasn't too far from Pohang, where Parang's home was.
"You can rest comfortably at home and come then. The details are in here."
With a heavy heart, Parang picked up the File Folder he had pulled out from who knows where.
Rest comfortably at home, he said. Considering Parang's current state, that was the absolute greatest load of bullshit ever spoken.
Parang returned home carrying the heavy File Folder and an even heavier heart.