Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: The Seeker's Box
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The Seeker in the Box has six people here who possess exactly as much story as it desires.
Which one among them to hurl into the slow, excruciating agony of an inescapable death averaging twenty-seven years...
Such an absurd choice was right before us...
"Deer."
I lowered my head.
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, in the guise of an old grandmother, was tapping near my shoulder.
"Come on, put me down. Even looking like this, I'm not really some frail old lady."
But...
"Let me spit out this marble and get my mobility back too. Things look pretty dicey from what I can see."
......
I set Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je down. She spat out the glass marble and began reverting to her original form.
The bronze agent's expression changed.
"You there..."
"Well, hey, long time no see, you old fogey."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je grinned.
Coincidentally, the two had crossed paths before in this very Ghost Mountain Village, and now they met again in a similar spot.
"Oh, hello, Deputy Manager! How've you been since you left the company?"
"Yeah, yeah."
As Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je exchanged greetings with Deputy Lee Seong-hae, the bronze agent's mosaic face twitched while glancing back and forth at Ho Yu-won.
As if realizing the entity that had been possessing Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je's body.
"Are you currently being threatened with your life or unfairly pressured by a supernatural entity?"
"Something like that, but my situation isn't that urgent, so let's skip it for now."
Tap, tap.
The deputy tapped me.
"Deer, looks like you know a thing or two about this bizarre darkness. Start by explaining it to us. We can't risk hitting some danger button blind."
......
I explained it to everyone as quickly as possible.
The danger of this box, the peculiarities of this location, and the fact that we were fleeing from this cult—straightforwardly.
And finally, the most basic countermeasures.
A hush fell among the horror veterans as they read the words I traced in smoke.
"So, shove two in there, they get tortured for a few decades until they die, and the rest pass safely. That the gist of this darkness?"
Correct.
"Extracting even one B-rank dream essence from it would make the company filthy happy."
"Ah, figures. Dodging entry altogether probably just counts as avoidance."
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je glanced at Ho Yu-won and muttered in a tone of relief.
Anyway, so...
> Don't provoke it needlessly.
The Seeker in the Box will relentlessly pursue anyone it deems suitable for its quota.
For that duration...
It persists eternally until the quota is filled and the box fully closes.
The Seeker in the Box will never abandon its attempt to fill an empty slot with a suitable individual.
That is its faith.
As time passes, the box draws ever closer to the sacrifice, extending both hands in invitation, until it appears right before their eyes every time they turn their head.
At that point, any attempt to move inevitably leads to contact with the box.
One of us could end up like that...
If my salivary glands and esophagus were in place, my mouth would have gone dry.
'Need to check.'
Whether the box was currently homing in on one of us. Exactly which of the six it was closing in on.
'Or...'
Take the initiative and bait the box myself.
'Easier to handle if it chases me.'
Worst case, I might even try 'reading' it to erase the setup before it swallows me.
...Shuddering to think what lethal side effects that process might bring and for how long, but still better than decades of torment displayed inside that box...
"Hold up, Grape."
......
"...Didn't it say not to move? That includes you."
After confirming I stopped, Agent Choi scanned the surroundings.
"Alright. Everyone hear that? Anyone dying to hit the bathroom or something? No? Well, silver lining in this mess, huh?"
The bronze agent clutched his forehead beside him.
"Just a little more time! Sounds like we've got some breathing room."
Agent Choi, sweating coldly yet grinning, calmly crouched down.
"Not right in our faces yet."
His eyes fixed on the eerie hands inside the box.
"Everyone sit tight, don't provoke the box... and let's brainstorm countermeasures. Sound good, Grape?"
......
I nodded slowly.
However.
It would draw closer as time passed.
And so, the six of us sat with the Nameless Radiant Church underground bunker's entrance between us.
Three inside.
Three outside.
And... the black box nearby by the entrance, hands extended.
A bit closer.
'...Position adjusted.'
The guillotine blade was inching nearer.
Already half a step more.
"Grape Agent."
I turned my head laboriously. The moment I sat, the bronze agent casually tossed something my way.
"Your issued gear you left behind. Take it."
I caught it reflexively before realizing what it was.
......My agent jacket.
'...Why.'
No point wearing it now. And why bother tracking down a corporate spy who'd even submitted resignation papers?
My innards churned. Unsure what to do, I just fiddled with the jacket.
'For now... tuck it into the tattoo.'
I reached for the hem to fold it...
I sent black smoke inside to carefully probe, identifying it.
Colorful lines.
Five-colored shoelaces.
Right.
An item issued one per field agent for emergency escape from supernatural disasters, ignoring clear conditions.
The very thing I'd just asked Ho Yu-won about—something truly needed. But...
'...Why give me this now?'
In this critical moment?
I looked at the bronze agent again, but his mosaic face avoided my gaze, chatting with Agent Choi instead.
As if wanting to gloss over the jacket's contents.
No way...
'Use it now?'
Using it would send me to the Bureau's designated exit, transferring my identity there naturally.
But what about the others left behind?
What was the intent? The bronze agent's solo move?
"Let's get started then."
As Agent Choi pushed forward regardless of my confusion...
"First off, the box counts as quota anyone with a personality..."
"Over here!"
Flash.
Deputy Lee Seong-hae raised his hand first.
"Got it! The fastest, simplest way!"
The words straight out of a company man's mouth.
"You said it's a cult, right? Just find the two worst ones and stuff 'em in!"
"......"
"Pardon?"
"Beat 'em to the punch. Doesn't have to be one of us."
Yeah.
Agent Choi went for the sensible approach. 'Let's brainstorm options within the time limit.'
But there's a problem.
With this lineup, I could already guess how it would end.
'With the blade at our throats, we can't afford drawn-out discussions...!'
For starters, Deputy Lee Seong-hae insisted on scouring the base for villains to sacrifice.
The kind who wouldn't bat an eye if his own squad died. With the cult backdrop, nothing would hold him back.
"Ah, solid idea. The box has already swallowed one cult executive. Another's unconscious back there."
"Ooh, perfect! Easier to toss in."
Lee Seong-hae beamed, and Ho Yu-won smiled too.
But.
"Bronze, think I went deaf? Sounded like someone just said they'd feed civilians to a supernatural disaster right in front of government agents."
Someone here wouldn't stand for it.
Agent Choi tossed it lightly like a joke but ultimately sighed and spoke.
"Sigh, I get the sentiment! But we only consider that as a last resort..."
"Eh, we're short on time already. No need for good folks to risk new experiments and get scared, right?"
"...!"
Hoo.
"Not just any believers either. For cult execs, dying's actually better for society! They barely get punished even if arrested..."
Lee Seong-hae rubbed his chin and nodded seriously.
"Chance to punish 'em properly!"
A brief silence fell.
"...That's a pretty personal judgment."
"Won't make you agents pick. I'll grab the other one myself, so wait! If the box follows, I'll dodge and slip 'em in easy!"
"No..."
"Please wait a moment."
The bronze agent spoke up.
One might think he was joining to stop Lee Seong-hae.
But...
"We'll handle the selection."
"...!!"
Today's Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau was an organization that could say, 'If someone must die, it's them.'
Selecting villains via the scales of evil to sacrifice in place of greater losses.
The agent who'd played murderer at the lodge—living proof—spoke up.
Gesturing nervously at the box, now half a step closer.
"Has anyone here personally witnessed a cult executive causing mass casualties?"
"Well, saw it."
The deputy spoke.
Deputy Manager Eun Ha-je, the realist, seemed willing to accept a mildly humane option in the circumstances.
"Brewing booze probably killed at least dozens."
"Confirmed."
"Bronze."
"Agent."
The bronze agent cut off his senior.
"Rules are rules."
And if a confirmed villain existed, they should die instead.
"Endless debate based on hypotheticals when proven methods exist only makes decisions harder."
...Logical.
"And as time passes, we may lose even the chance to choose a proven option."
Whether the cult exec woke up.
...Or the box got too close.
"We must try while we have leeway."
Even Agent Choi fell silent at that.
Public opinion had already tipped past majority.
A deflated voice like Braun's echoed.
Agent Choi shut his mouth, and I spotted Ho Yu-won smiling as the others hashed it out and settled the matter.
And I stayed silent.
'...Is this really okay?'
The truth of the Happy Ending Church muddled my thoughts.
I couldn't suppress these folks bound for outbursts and force them to heed me, and even if I could, no better alternative existed. But...
'Maybe buy time for other tries by aggroing the box myself...'
"Grape."
I turned.
Agent Choi, who'd been staring at the floor in silence, alternating glances at the box, deep in thought like he was calculating something...
Had picked up the goblin lantern he'd set down.
"...You were planning to lure the box yourself, right? Keep everyone else safe until they escape."
...!
"Still the same. Heh, nailed it again."
Laughter.
"But that's not the rook's job. It's seniority."
Wait a sec.
Agent Choi grinned at me.
Eyes of resolved determination.
"Gotta try what an agent's capable of. ...Thanks."
Hey!
Agent Choi stood and moved. The bronze agent rose late in reaction to the sudden action, but too slow. The box sensed the agent rich in tales and shifted toward him...
"He's surprisingly un-hypocritical for an agent. Not very Bureau-like. You think so too, right, Deer?"
Scram!
"So I'll do some selecting myself, Deer."
Thud.
"The more Bureau-like one."
The bronze agent was shoved by Ho Yu-won's hand.
His body collided with the box.
Thud.