Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Transport Team (5)
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The gazes of the guest monsters filling the restaurant were downright chilling.
Just the fact that dozens of faceless heads were all turned toward us at once sent shivers down my spine.
In this suffocating tension, I bellowed at the dress monster who seemed to be orchestrating the whole scene.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? You think we're a joke?"
But the dress monster didn't react at all to my shout.
Even though it clearly understood.
It just let out a mocking kikik, then slowly gestured with its hand.
At that signal, new monsters began slinking out from the shadows of the kitchen and various spots in the restaurant hall, like shadows come to life.
They were monsters dressed in crisp waiter uniforms.
They approached us slowly, surrounding the team in the same poses they'd held while serving food—or in grotesquely twisted forms.
Clank, clank!
Thud thud thud!
The team members tried to open the sealed door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Damn it, we're surrounded!"
"Captain, this has to be a trap!"
"Sh-should we use the escape items?"
The team members started shouting in panic.
Some of their faces had already gone pale.
The sight sparked a surge of irritation in me.
"Shut up!
You so-called elite team!
Are those combat items just for show?!"
At my sharp rebuke, they seemed to snap out of it, hesitating for a moment before pulling out their respective items and assuming combat stances.
Only then did I start to calm down a bit.
Yeah, we could fight them.
They were numerous, sure, but monsters in the end.
We just had to take them all out and grab the register.
I fixed my gaze on the dress monster once more.
I wasn't sure if I'd get an answer, but before we dove into a fight, I needed to at least know the reason.
"Why are you doing this? Is it because of Deputy Kim Hyun-soo? Did that guy screw something up?"
In response to my question, the dress monster slowly—and very clearly—shook its head.
Not because of Kim Hyun-soo?
Then what the hell was causing this extreme situation?
I couldn't guess.
The dress monster, shaking its head as if Kim Hyun-soo wasn't the issue, smoothly—and eerily gently—turned its head to stare at one spot inside the restaurant.
And there stood a man.
"Why the hell is a human there...?"
He was an ordinary-looking guy, a bit stocky, nothing particularly striking.
His clothes were no different from the transport team applicants we'd used as bait.
Yet the dress monster was saying that this man was the reason for all this.
Not Kim Hyun-soo, not the register we were here to retrieve, not even the deal itself—just this nameless guy.
It made no sense. I furrowed my brow and scrutinized the man's face.
"...Somewhere... yeah."
A face I felt like I'd seen before... Racking my brain, I finally remembered who he was.
About a month ago, a guy I'd personally scouted. Back then, I'd just thought he was a lucky rookie who'd survived the underground hotel.
Incredibly, a month later, he was still alive and kicking.
But at the same time, a strong doubt welled up.
'Why the hell is that guy here?'
He wasn't on the delivery list this time, and he sure as hell wasn't a punishment target.
Just as I opened my mouth to voice this new question, he beat me to it, directing a question my way.
"...Is this common?"
His voice was low but firm.
The man slowly looked around at our team, me, and the surrounding monsters before continuing.
"Sacrificing people without a second thought for the company's gain..."
"What?"
What the hell was he suddenly on about?
I let out an incredulous chuckle.
Ridiculous.
It was only because of the massive profits we raked in.
That let the entire exploration team enjoy the unprecedented perk of a four-day workweek, and talented rookies pocket ten million won a month.
"It's not common. Monsters like this are one of the few beneficial ones for us."
"..."
Monsters we could deal with like this were the good ones.
Some required us to risk our lives in combat.
And occasionally, there were monsters we couldn't even dream of fighting.
Beyond this hotel, plenty of monsters were managed by tossing people in.
"If we can calm a monster with just a few people, it's a bargain."
"..."
I could see the man's expression darken even further at my words.
His eyes flashed coldly, and then he gave some subtle signal to the dress monster—a twitch of the hand or nod, I couldn't tell.
What happened next was unbelievable.
The dress monster reacted to his signal with a kikikik, raising its hand, and in that instant, every waiter monster filling the restaurant charged at us all at once.
Kikikik!
"...Goddamn it! All-out attack!"
Caught off guard by the sudden assault, I reflexively shouted and raised the machete in my hand.
Damn it all, everything had gone to hell.
Why was the dress monster listening to that guy?
"Hrah!"
Shwick!
I swung my machete at the monsters pouring in from all sides.
This wasn't just any blade.
Thud!
Whirr whirr whirr!
The moment it touched a mannequin monster, the blade spun like a chainsaw at high speed, mercilessly shredding everything it contacted.
The arm of the waiter monster charging at me sliced off like paper and flew through the air.
It staggered but lunged again—only for my machete to cleanly sever its head.
The other team members were holding off the horde with their own items.
A few seemed to be struggling, but as befitted Dongto's elite exploration team, they weren't crumbling easily.
The gunfire from the team members' weapons and the sounds of their items left my ears ringing.
The restaurant quickly filled with the acrid stench of gunpowder, the reek of shattered monsters, and the fishy stink of bloodstains.
Whirr!Shrick—!
Grind!
I ground down two more mannequin heads lunging at me in succession.
"What kind of mannequins are this tough...!"
There were still more mannequins in the restaurant, waiting their turn.
At this rate, we'd take heavy losses.
I didn't think we'd lose, but the damage would be massive.
I bellowed at that damned dress monster once more.
"Stop this now if you don't want to all die!
Whatever that guy's offering, we'll match it!"
But the dress monster ignored my desperate cry.
It just glanced slyly at the rookie, then began sending out yet another type of monster from deeper in the restaurant—from the kitchen.
These were chef-clad monsters, even more grotesque and powerful-looking than the last.
Why?
What the hell was that rookie that it was going this far?
It was incomprehensible, but one thing was clear.
That man was the key to this mess.
Take him out, eliminate him, and everything would go back to normal.
No way the dress monster would avenge him or honor some loyalty.
"...Here I go!"
I made my decision.
I slammed the heels of my unassuming combat boots together hard.
A faint mechanical whirr emanated from them, blue light glowing.
Normally just comfy shoes, but activated like this, they were a special item granting explosive speed.
Tat tat tat! I kicked off the floor and charged.
"C-Captain?"
"Damn it! Cover the gap! Captain's charging!"
The monsters didn't even have time to react as I slipped through them like lightning.
I ignored the confused voices of my team members behind me, bewildered by my sudden disappearance.
Killing that guy would solve everything anyway.
Just as I'd expected.
The dress monster saw me rush past it toward the rookie but didn't try to stop me—instead, it stepped aside, almost clearing the path.
It shrugged slightly with a kikik.
It looked like laughter, sending chills down my spine—but 'Focus only on him now.'
I closed in on him in an instant.
He stared at me with a clueless expression, like he hadn't grasped the situation yet.
I aimed for the center of his forehead. I thrust the machete with all my strength, the spinning blade aimed to bury itself right there.
"Die—!"
Shwick—!
My machete nearly touched his nose.
—That instant, my vision spun, and I saw the restaurant's dilapidated ceiling.
"Huh?" Thud! "Gahk...!"
Then, almost simultaneously, a violent impact hit my back, and the air whooshed out of my lungs in agony.
Only then did I realize.
Me, the captain of Exploration Team 5, sprawled pathetically on the floor by him.
"Urk... ugh..."
Wincing through the pain, I barely turned my head.
He was looking down at me coldly.
His eyes held no emotion.
Just the blank stare you'd give a bug.
After staring down at me for a moment, he calmly walked toward the restaurant exit as if nothing had happened.
As he approached, the door swung open on its own.
In the spot where he'd vanished, familiar clicking high heels approached, and the dress monster drew near.
Its shadow engulfed me as it glided up with elegant yet menacing grace, stopping right in front of me.
The faceless mannequin head tilted toward me.
"Y-you...!"
Only then did sensation flood back into my body, a tidal wave of horrific terror crashing over me.
The dress monster picked up the machete I'd dropped, pressing it to its own neck.
Whirr!Whirr whirr... grind... grr.
The machete spun furiously but stopped slowly without leaving even a scratch on the dress monster's neck.
Then the dress monster laughed.
No face, but I could feel it laughing.
I could never have beaten it with the machete.
Escape items were the only way.
Through my blurring vision, I saw a few team members who'd grabbed escape items fleeing.
The ones left behind, unable to escape, collapsed in despair.
Clink, clink.
The guest monsters began tapping their plates with knives and forks.
Unable to resist the urging, the chef-clad mannequins approached.
Each holding a vicious oversized kitchen knife in one hand.
"U... uwaaaaaah!"
Seized by primal fear, I screamed—a pathetic, wretched wail I could hardly believe came from me.
For a moment, all other sounds in the restaurant seemed to stop.
My scream alone filled the sinister space.