Moon's Fall - The Reason for Their All-Nighter
Hey, anchovy.
Foundation Story - The Reason They Had to Pull an All-Nighter
The monsters contained by the Foundation were released. The cause was the cult. The cult terrorized a Foundation-affiliated research institute, and many monsters leaked out into the world. Some were recaptured, but others remain unrecovered. And some fell into the cult's hands.
The cult's goal is always the same: either the total destruction of humanity, or turning everyone into monsters. To achieve this, the cult incited the monsters to cause anomalies. And now, you must subdue the monster causing the anomaly.
The differences between the Foundation and the Special Task Force are numerous, but the biggest one is their scope of operations. The Special Task Force is a government agency, primarily active within Korea, with the goal of exterminating monsters and protecting the public.
The Foundation, on the other hand, is a supranational organization—far larger in scale and range than the Task Force. Rather than killing monsters outright, their aim is to capture and study them. This racks up astronomical costs every year, funded by scraping together investments from various sources—corporations, and sometimes even nations.
Because of that, the Foundation can strong-arm governments. If we don't manage them properly, the monsters will break loose—wanna risk it? So cough up the cash. The government hated that, which is why they created the Task Force. And the Task Force's push to exterminate monsters? It's partly to save money. Why spend on containment when you can just kill them?
"Didn't read the manual?"
Ryu Harin asked.
"…Huh?"
"You have to read the manual. You need to know the Muksi Saengmyeongche's traits to do the job right."
"W-Well, yeah…"
…I already know it all, but maybe I should pretend to read.
I looked at the manual Ryu Harin handed me.
Moon's Fall
I skimmed every page, but it matched what I remembered. If anything, it felt too simplified—just the key points for field agents. Fair enough for briefing the team heading out.
Entity Name:Moon's Fall
Management Rank:Death (Viriditas)(Threat Level 3)
Hostility:Hostile
This entity is a white sphere approximately 40mm in diameter, identical in size and appearance to a standard ping-pong ball. When fully submerged in water, the moon becomes unobservable within a certain radius centered on the entity.
I glanced up at the sky absentmindedly. The night sky. Maybe because we weren't in the capital area, but the stars seemed especially bright. No moon, though. Like it had been carved right out of the heavens.
"I'll brief you on the way. There's a lake on the mountain, and we need to retrieve the Muksi Saengmyeongche from it."
Ryu Harin, walking ahead, spoke up. I'd heard it from Deputy Park Jong-cheol at base camp already, but she continued, probably to reinforce it.
"As you saw in the manual, it's shaped like a ping-pong ball. Normally just a solid one, but the moment it submerges, it triggers the anomaly."
When submerged, the entity causes the following phenomena:
• Within a certain radius of the entity, the moon becomes completely unobservable in the night sky.
• The moon reflects on the water surface, generating mutants centered on the entity. These mutants are designated "hunting dogs" for convenience.
• Humans observing the moon's reflection on the surface or the submerged entity itself undergo mutation.
• Males mutate into deer; females into "hunting dogs."
"Even though there's no moon in the sky, it'll reflect on the lake. Looking at the reflection or the submerged Muksi Saengmyeongche turns you into a monster. So be careful when we reach the lake."
"Uh, yeah… Got it…"
"…Why the casual speech since earlier? I don't mind since you're older, but."
Ryu Harin shot me a slight glare. She was younger than me, a 00-born…
To think of it now, Ryu Harin was one reason I installed the Cute Girl Mod on that monster game. The devs made pretty character designs—solid art style. She was a cute one, but they killed her off without mercy…
Beauty leads to early death fit her perfectly. Or really, they made pretty characters easy to kill on purpose. Maybe they thought she was the type who shines brighter dead—a sacrificial cute girl.
That left a bad taste, so I ended up modding it.
How long will this world's Ryu Harin last…?
She was designed as a death squad character from the start. Even if the player saves her, she'd drop dead off-screen. Her habit of stumbling into anomalies made her a cult favorite ironically.
I hoped she'd live long, but who knew.
"Shh. Hold up."
Ryu Harin stopped, grabbed my hand, and pulled me behind a nearby tree.
Thud, thud. Thud.
The mountain path under the trees was pitch dark. Footsteps echoed in that darkness, accompanied by glowing red eyes.
As they drew closer and my eyes adjusted, I made out the shape. A hunting dog standing on two legs. Perfect description.
Sharp teeth, fierce dog head. Bipedal like a human, covered in black fur. Sharp claws out as it strode forward.
"Moon's Fall" generates mutants called "hunting dogs," which have the following traits:
• No aggression toward humans who haven't observed "Moon's Fall."
• Actively hunts and preys on deer.
• Immediately becomes aggressive upon detecting other Muksi Saengmyeongche besides "Moon's Fall."
Whoosh!
The hunting dog suddenly leaped out. In its direction, a deer fled.
…That deer was probably human once.
"Just like the manual says—not hostile to humans."
"These are pretty rare," Ryu Harin muttered.
A moon-related monster. Harmless to humans normally, but turns viewers of its submerged self into deer. Easy enough to understand.
"Know Actaeon?"
Ryu Harin stepped out from the tree and walked ahead again. She'd said briefings would be short, but here she was explaining away. Nosy, or showing off her competence?
"In Greek-Roman myth, Artemis was bathing, and Actaeon saw her naked. Furious, she turned him into a deer."
Is this Muksi Saengmyeongche Artemis herself? Or born from human faith in her? No clue, she muttered.
"Muksi Saengmyeongche sometimes draw from myths. Keep that in mind if you're sticking in this field."
"Uh, yeah… Sure…"
If memory served, Ryu Harin had been at the Foundation… three months? She was basically a newbie too. But I knew she was acting all veteran…
…Whatever, let her do her thing. If it makes you happy, anchovy.
We climbed the mountain path. We encountered a few more "hunting dogs" along the way.
"……."
They ignored us completely. First sight had me a bit spooked by their looks, but after a few, it got familiar. Knowing they don't attack humans helps. Plus, with the chatterbox beside me, no room for fear.
"Got everything Deputy Park gave you?"
I nodded at Ryu Harin's question. She pulled out a vial from her own stock. Looked like an energy drink.
New product developed by 'Woorim Group,' sponsor of the Foundation. Made via Muksi Saengmyeongche extraction tech.
Allows free breathing and movement underwater for ~20 minutes upon consumption.
Caution: Consuming 2+ vials within a week causes loss of humanity.
"Drink two or more, and you turn into a monster. So don't steal anyone else's if you're desperate. —Ah, looks like we're here."
Ryu Harin stopped. I did too. The faint scent of lake water hit my nose. The lake peeked through the trees ahead.
"Now that we're here, here's the plan: Drink the Mermaid's Blood, close your eyes, enter the lake. Grope around the bottom for 20 minutes to find it, then get out no matter what. Got it?"
She pointed at the lake surface.
"Final warning: As you can see, the moon's reflecting on the water. Never look at it. Absolutely."
"…You're saying that, but why are you looking?"
"Pardon?"
"Tell yourself not to look first… Too late now, though…"
I sighed. Then Ryu Harin collapsed.
"Ah, aaah, AAAAHH—!!"
Her eyes glowed bright red. Teeth sharpening. Tail sprouting from her waist. Claws lengthening. Fur erupting across her body.
Ryu Harin was turning into a monster. But instead of horror… I was just baffled.
"Um… Hard to say this, but… are you an idiot?"
Even for an anchovy like me, I didn't expect this level. Just be a little careful—distracted warning me, and boom. No time to intervene, just hollow laughter.
"Sigh… Hang in there. I'll wrap this up quick."
I chugged the Mermaid's Blood. Gulp gulp. Cool liquid slid down my throat into my stomach. Tasteless, like water.
Walking on land felt weird now. Proof it was working.
I pushed through the trees to the lake. I looked at it.
As Ryu Harin said, the full moon reflected on the surface—a supermoon, maximum brightness etched in the water. No moon visible overhead.
Felt like seeing the forbidden. Taboo broken.
Such things existed. Never meet the eyes of the high and mighty. Even glancing was irreverent back then. Among humans, no less.
Daring to look up at a god? Touching the reverse scale. "Divine punishment" burned into my mind.
The heavens raged. That's what it felt like.
But at the same time: Isn't punishing a cute girl like me wrong? Cute girls deserve love.
Can heaven smite so casually? If it rages, I'm the universe's top cute girl, beyond the skies.
If gods fury, my beauty's already divine.
I, universe-top cute girl Mayuri. The cosmos won't let me devolve to beast.
Too massive a loss—from the universe's view.
"Ugh… Dizzy."
A bit woozy. And that was it.
I knew from Kunekune: I'm locked as the cute girl protagonist. No un-cute-fying me.
Monsters like Moon's Fall are headaches for the Foundation. For cute-girl me? Easy overcome.
I entered the lake. Clothes soaked, clinging uncomfortably, but breathing felt easier. Like a real mermaid.
Even in the night lake sans sun, underwater was clear.
Observing the submerged "Moon's Fall" instantly mutates humans. Thus, precise description of its form is impossible. However, radio reports from death-row subject observation experiments confirm it emits a faint yellow glow when submerged.
Conducted experiment to recover submerged "Moon's Fall." Direct contact halted the anomaly immediately. No difference between bare hand and gloved.
Far off, a ping-pong-ball-sized orb glowed faint yellow. I swam toward it.
Luckily, grabbing this ball resolved the anomaly. Ryu Harin would revert too.
She owed me thanks. For saving her life. For existing, a cute girl like me.
I reached out and grabbed the ball.
To target.
Applying (0%)... Please wait.
"……?"
What the. I didn't even land a "cute girl punch" this time…?