Chapter 132
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 132 How to Set a Goal (6)
I sucked in a breath. ‘That guy, he's Erentos's grandson.’‘There's a rumor that Erentos personally researched ‘Spiritual Power’ in depth.’‘It's possible the Spiritual Power research was passed down.’ To think that hypothesis Nika mentioned was correct. And of all people, the one to inherit that research was that mosquito bastard! As I thought, Spiritual Power and those cryptic remarks were definitely related. Just then, Choi Garam, who had been quietly listening to us, spat out.
“Yeah. That grandson. Seems Erentos really doted on him. Why'd he turn out so twisted?”
“Who knows….”
It seemed the relationship between Erentos and Park Yulhan was deeper than I thought. I recalled Park Yulhan, who, every time we met, spouted incomprehensible things about saving the world, Irregulars, and Gate movement. If so, was Erentos also interested in that field? Why? While I was lost in thought, the researcher, seeming to have finished her conversation with Choi Garam, stood up from her seat and said goodbye.
“See you tomorrow, Nahyun.”
“Ah, see you tomorrow!”
I saw her off with a smile as she left with light steps. I'd unexpectedly found a very valuable clue. Among the people I could approach in this situation, she was the one closest to Erentos. If this goes well, I might be able to get a hint about Spiritual Power. I'll have to stick close to her tomorrow and ask more questions. …Come to think of it, I didn't even hear her name. I should ask for her name, too. I made my resolve and sucked down the disgusting juice.
“Uweek…”
“Uuup…”
“Don't puke! If you're gonna puke, do it in the mess hall bucket over there! Aaargh—!”
…I pretended not to hear the commotion. Good luck with that, Choi Garam-ssi.
[A Story Fragment has been added.] [Story Fragment / Unread]
The researcher who left the mess hall needlessly stroked the golden bracelet on her left arm with her fingertips. The rough texture under her fingertips calmed her. She hadn't expected to talk about Park Yulhan. Startled, she had hurriedly left. She thought of the vampire and proud junior who had come to her not long ago and given her this bracelet. ‘It was hard to get! With this, you won't get swept up by the Oracle!’ Thanks to this bracelet, she, a human, was now able to cooperate with the Wild Hunt. —Unlike the past. She stroked the indented part of the engraving and recalled the day she and Park Yulhan had to part. That was about 5 years ago.
“Erentos-nim is dead.”
Erentos had been murdered. The killer was a researcher from the same lab.
“I, I… I don't know… I don't remember at all… I didn't mean to…!”
“He's right. With our abilities, there's no way we could have killed Erentos-nim. A mere researcher killing an S-Rank Hunter? This is strange.”
“...The analysis is out. Traces of Spiritual Power remain. There was intervention from an external existence.”
“But why…?”
“Is there a spiritual existence that can intervene with humans? But why would it kill Erentos-nim?”
The small lab, built anew after the lab in Yongin collapsed. The researchers who were secretly conducting experiments on Spiritual Power inside it fell into chaos. And,
“Uwaaak—!”
“Wh-what! Suddenly—”
“Presumed to be the existence that murdered Erentos-nim! It's moving between possessed bodies and killing key researchers! It seems possession is only possible in humans, so quarantine all humans!”
“Damn it, is that even possib—Ugh…!”
When she came to her senses, the researchers in the lab had been annihilated. Forced against their own will, they had stabbed each other and been stabbed, becoming a pile of corpses with eyes that couldn't even close. When she happened to look down, her own hand was stabbing her deeply in the stomach with a knife. It hurt. She felt a burning pain. Just as her consciousness was fading,
“What on earth is…!”
She saw a small child run into the lab. The child, seeing the gruesome scene, froze as if nailed to the spot, clearly in shock. Soon, he snapped out of it and ran over. That small, still-small child was Park Yulhan. With his help, she lived. It was a saving grace that, in her dying state, she didn't have the strength to stab the child, too. After holding funerals for her many comrades and burying the cause of their deaths as a secret, the first thing Park Yulhan did was to get her far away from him, and from the research Erentos had been conducting. Park Yulhan invited her to a place with all kinds of complex magic circles. Only there could they talk properly. Only after her safety was guaranteed did Park Yulhan briefly explain the situation.
“...The one who caused this situation is a bastard called the Oracle.”
“...Oracle?”
“Yes. The reason he probably isn't coming to kill you is that he's confirmed there's no important information in your head. So it's best for you to get out at this point.”
The reason she was able to stay alive was that she had only been in charge of chores. A member of the research, but a low-level researcher who only helped with basic tasks. Someone who only knew of the existence of Spiritual Power.
“It's even broken through the stealth barrier Gramps put up. I don't know why, but that bastard has recently become obsessed with this research and those related to it, beyond imagination. I'm going to continue the research while avoiding the Oracle's pursuit.”
“Is there any way I can help?”
“No. As long as you're human, you can't escape the Oracle's control. If anything, the Oracle will now use you to get information from the researchers. There's nothing easier to control than a target that's been possessed once.”
Dusky, garnet-red eyes shone with a dark anger.
“From now on, there will often be days you don't remember. It might be painful. But please, wait. For us… and for the world.”
The Park Yulhan from that day was still vivid in her memory. Because those burning eyes, as if he had steeled himself for something, were shining as if they would devour the world. She just couldn't forget those burning eyes. Just as he'd said, even though she was often controlled by the Oracle, even though she felt helpless, she continued to live. Solely captivated by those eyes.
I needlessly looked up at the person walking silently beside me.
“You're quite popular, aren't you?”
“You think so?”
After eating dinner, I sent the three female party members, who looked unwell (perhaps due to the disgusting dinner), to the barracks and went for a walk. Choi Garam had tagged along. But for some reason, every researcherChoi Garam passed in the garrison looked at her with immense respect.
“Choi Garam-nim!”
“Garam-nim, about the attributes of the monster that just appeared…”
“I told you I'm not a researcher anymore.”
Choi Garam, while acting annoyed, faithfully gave them advice. The people who heard Choi Garam's answers would return, excited, as if they'd had an epiphany. Only then did I recall Choi Garam's reputation. The competent and outstanding researcher who created the GAH filter. The living legend of the researcher world. Well, if I thought of it that way, I could understand their attitude.... But feeling resentful that the achievements of the people who left me behind were being evaluated so highly,
“...Are you really all that?”
“I guess so.”
At my blunt words, Choi Garam, who had been walking silently with me, retorted just as bluntly.
“What is all this, anyway.”
“Shouldn't you be the last person to say that?”
“Who knows. The truth is, when I receive this kind of respect, I sometimes remember what I left behind.”
“……”
“I'm sorry. I know those words aren't enough.”
I just remained silent at those words.
“You're a real idiot. If you were going to abandon me, you should at least not regret it.”
“You're right about that.”
We were engulfed in silence, watching the sunset in the distance. In the noisy garrison where people bustled about, no words were exchanged just between us two. I was the one who spoke first.
“...My mom. What kind of person was she?”
“You're curious?”
“Yeah. I couldn't find out much just by searching. In the first place, why were you guys so obsessed with that filter? Was it that important?”
“It was important.”
Choi Garam, who had chuckled, looked at the distant mountains.
“Should we sit down? This might be a long story.”
“...I guess.”
We sat side-by-side on a suitable rock in a deserted place. It was noisy around us, but it was a perfect spot for the two of us to talk. Choi Garam, who had been staring silently at the noisy people coming and going, finally opened her mouth very, very slowly.
“We… I mean, me and your mom. We were from the Gate Orphan Generation, the ones who became orphans because of monsters.”
Their story began to flow slowly.
You know.After the Projection-type Gates started popping off at the beginning. The people who lived in the metropolitan area… you kids probably don't even know this concept, huh?Anyway, a lot of people who lived near Seoul and in Incheon died, you see?It was no joke back then.Projection-type Gates poured out, just like this unusual situation now.They said the Gates would spread to Gyeonggi-do in an instant, but that Erentos person did something to slow the progression. Anyway, that's how it was.In any case, the thoughts of snot-nosed brats who watched so many people get killed by monsters right in front of them are pretty obvious.‘Kill monsters, and save people.’Well, that's what we thought.And luckily, I became an Awakened.I was able to become a Hunter.Your mom, though, wasn't.…Thinking about it now, it might have been better if neither of us had become Awakened.Then the dream of killing monsters or whatever might have just remained a childish fantasy.Just living without knowing anything, just…Alright, alright. I'll stop with the nonsense.So, what was the problem?Um… I couldn't stand watching Ahyeon despair, so I gave her the new dream of becoming a researcher.It was a camel passing through the eye of a needle, but it was the only way for a regular person to connect with the Gates.And that was the beginning of everything.