Chef's Blade Clears the Factory
• This entity is fully conquered.
• You can summon this entity at any time.
• Naming it has bound it to you.
• Through your bond, you can borrow its power and draw out its potential.
***
"A chef has to know how to cut meat precisely. The texture and flavor change depending on how you slice it, right?"
Thud. Another "employee's" head hit the floor.
"That's why you learn by watching. Where and how to cut. I'm a chef who does the deboning myself, after all. Any chef could do it, don't you think?"
Lisa said.
No, you're the weird one....
Most chefs absolutely couldn't....
...That's what I wanted to say, but of course, I couldn't let it slip out.
You don't piss off someone holding a knife.
I was reminded once again that trying to understand monsters is a fool's errand.
What was supposed to be a tense horror stealth mission had turned into pure hack-and-slash thanks to Lisa.
Ruthless and unrelenting. Yet her cuts were meticulous.
If it had flesh, skin, organs—they were just ingredients to her, something to slice.
Meat chopped into pieces, blood splattered, bones shattered.
After countless slaughters, Lisa stood alone in the heart of the factory.
"I did a decent job slicing, but this place is too unsanitary to serve you a meal. These thugs aren't tasty ingredients either. Still, I put my heart into it."
Blood-soaked—not her own—Lisa smiled at me.
"How was it, Mayuri? Is this enough?"
"Y-Yeah... plenty."
"Oh? Why the formal speech?"
"Just felt like it.... Can you put the knife away first?"
At my request, she sheathed the kitchen knife.
...Only for her to draw it again less than a minute later.
There were more "employees" on the way to the second floor.
Were there? Nope, gone.
No need for details.
"Oh? What's this?"
How long had we been on the second floor? At the end of the hallway sat a massive gem-like thing.
Big enough to fill a studio apartment.
Inside the orange-glowing gem slept what was clearly an "employee" monster.
But up close, it differed slightly from the usual ones—bigger, with a more beastly face.
• Confirmed at least one unique entity in the factory distinct from standard "employees."
• Does not engage in production or operations; exists in dormancy on the second-floor area.
• In cases where power supply devices stop, the entity emerges from dormancy.
• Upon awakening, it attempts to restart power supplies while aggressively eliminating intruders.
• Cannot yet confirm if it directly causes factory anomalies. Temporarily designated "One Person Factory Manager" as key observation target for ongoing monitoring.
One horror game trope: a monster trapped or bound somewhere will definitely chase you later.
The "Factory Manager" was sealed in that gem now.
But once you shut down the second-floor control room's power supply, it would awaken.
Then chase you like mad, delivering jump scares... the quest's boss, basically.
In other words, it wasn't active yet.
Can I take it out early?
In the game, it was an indestructible object, but who was beside me now? Sword Saint Yerisa.
If she held a real sword instead of a kitchen knife, she'd be a sword master beauty.
Better to drop it here than deal with jump scares later.
"Lisa, can you take that thing out?"
"Doesn't seem possible."
...Huh?
"Is this a gem? Or ore? Edible gold exists, but this isn't food."
Can't slice it since it's not an ingredient. Sorry.
So said Lisa.
...Ridiculous.
What now? Charge straight ahead?
Deal with jump scares when they come?
Or should I try?
Nothing to lose. I extended my fingers into a hand blade and swung down lightly.
'Carnival Chef' Bond Effect Triggered.
And with that, it split in half.
In manga, they sense ki or mana or whatever.
Even as it cleaved before my eyes, I felt nothing.
The cut was clean, like slicing jelly with a kitchen knife.
Just... happened.
The gem. The Factory Manager inside. Both halved.
Did it wake just before? It twitched, but halved, it couldn't function.
Bleeding out profusely, it died silently.
"...It worked."
I was stunned.
***
Baesena from the Special Forces wasn't human.
Baesena received contact from "numerous Baesenas."
[Lee Kang-un sent a rescue request!]
[Lee Kang-un? The guy who retired on age pension?]
[Yeah! He's been missing for weeks! Caught in an anomaly after all!]
[Gotta go save him!]
[Apparently a human girl got caught in it too!]
Baesena was a monster.
Born a monster—no, "born" was odd.
Like other Muksi Saengmyeongche, she just existed one day, now ranked Harmless (Nigredo)—Threat Level 0.
Safe for humanity, even beneficial.
"B-Baesena sunbae-nim...! D-Dispatch...!"
A Special Forces staffer told her, tense.
"Yeah, I know. Rescuing Kang-un, right?"
"Kang-un.... Y-Yes, correct...."
"No need to stress! You're Jisoo, right? Yoon Ji-su? The new recruit."
"Yes...."
"Treat me casually! I may look like this, but I never harm humans!"
Cheerful Baesena was in mannequin form.
No face, no expression—scary for a newbie? She swapped faces on the spot.
Data showed women built rapport easier, but Ji-su was a woman.
Male then? Decisions, decisions~.
Thus, 3-4 Baesenas gathered, tweaking appearances.
But as a born monster, Baesena couldn't be perfectly human despite the effort.
Existing in varied forms, doll joints always remained.
Humanoid dolls, but not human.
Those joints: her insurmountable limit.
"Weird form again."
Team Leader Kang Hyun-seok appeared.
Baesena knew he'd lost family to monsters.
So he inwardly disliked her.
Tried bonding for 10 years, no dice~.
"Hyun-seok! Insertion prep done?"
"Tch... Takes time to assemble. Our team enters first."
"Got it? I'll buy time then?"
Kang Hyun-seok nodded.
Special Forces aimed to exterminate all monsters, protect humanity.
Yet they spared Baesena—not just because killing her was impossible, but humanity first.
She could exist as many simultaneously, unlimited.
She'd die in staffers' place anytime.
"I'll head in first~."
Her carefree tone irked him? He scowled, swiping his ID.
Door to Isolation Room 10 opened.
A massive beast crouched, filling the space.
Entity Name: Cheshire Cat from Wonderland
Management Rank: Scar (Caudapavonis) (Threat Level 1)
Affinity: Non-Hostile
This entity's mouth transcends space, connecting anywhere. Provide a clear destination for instant travel. Without one, it sends to a random Earth location.
All-black beast. A cat? It opened sleepy eyes, glanced at Baesena, then yawned knowingly.
The "Cheshire Cat from Wonderland" knew this routine.
Four Baesenas stepped in casually.
Acrid black smoke. Unpleasant factory air, like blood.
[Whoa, what! Multiple Kang-un corpses!]
[Copied him and butchered like crazy!]
[Kang-un cloning factory?]
[Where's the real one?]
Baesenas shared thoughts, concluded: Factory's huge. Split to investigate.
Most efficient for infinitely divisible Baesena.
One dying? Fine—means danger there.
Better me than humans~.
[1F production line. All power devices off.]
[2F control room. Power supply destroyed. Probably why factory stopped.]
[At stairs. Blood trails everywhere, no bodies?]
[Incinerator reached. Burned human corpses— all different people.]
[Pre-Kang-un kidnap victims?]
[Maybe? Horrific!]
[No monsters? Vanished when power died?]
[Deepest 1F. Found Kang-un!]
"Kang-un!"
Baesena shouted.
Old man coughing in the corner. A girl tending him.
Shattered glass tank, green liquid spilling.
Was Lee Kang-un preserved inside, like a formalin specimen?
Aigoo....
"Kang-un! Aigoo, our Kang-un! Why so skinny since last time?!"
Baesena rushed to him.
"Retired? Stay home! Don't get anomaly-ed! Think of your age! You'll die!"
"Cough cough... Head hurts. Quiet down...."
"I can't go on, aigoo.... Kang-un, hospital now. Contacting agents."
Scattered Baesenas converged, securing the missing elder.
Baesena eyed the girl.
"Kid, you resolved this anomaly?"
"Uh, y-yeah...."
"Talented! Thanks for saving our Kang-un!"
Baesena grabbed and shook her hand—meant as a handshake, but the girl tensed.
The doll joints on her face? Sorry if scary.
"What's your name?"
"Mayuri.... Mayuri."
"Yuri, huh! Wanna be our family?"
......Huh?
Mayuri blinked.
"Special Forces recruit! Join now, bonus pay! Meet conditions, live happily in shelter forever...! Good kids like you deserve my care forever! Join up!"
"N-No thanks...."
"Gasp...!"
Rejected Baesena was shocked.
So sad.... Sob sob....