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Episode 2 - 1. [ Risk Level 2 : Harpy ] [ Risk Level <2> : Harpy ]_(2) [ RL.2 - SIREN (risk removed) ]
He stopped in front of one of the many doors lined up in the hallway. The sliding security door, which perfectly
matched the stark white corridor that gave off the strong impression of a high-tech science research facility, looked
so sturdy at a glance that it actually made me afraid of what might be inside. What's written here is... Siren?
"Come on, go on in."
"Urgh?"
As he placed his ID card against the sensor next to the door, it opened automatically. Contrary to my expectation that
the inside would be bright, the room was pitch black. My footsteps abruptly braked at this, but unable to resist the
hand pushing my back, I stumbled deep into the dark room.
The sound of the door closing echoed from behind me, and since the lights weren't on yet, even the illumination from
the hallway vanished. Now, I really couldn't see anything.
"Team Leader...?"
Panicking from the fear of the unknown brought on by the darkness, I hastily waved my hands around, but nothing
touched my fingertips. However, my palms met a smooth wall right in front of me, and just as I was thinking it felt
way too cold to be a normal wall...
"Turning on the lights."
Flick..!
".. Urk?"
As soon as the lights came on, the face of a beautiful woman with pale skin appeared right in front of my nose,
exactly where I thought the wall was. I barely swallowed the scream that instinctively threatened to burst out. No...
she wasn't directly in front of me. There was a thick glass wall separating us. Furthermore, the other side of this
glass wall was filled with water. Do I need to save her right away...?
"...?"
Just as I thought I had to immediately rescue the drowning woman, things that couldn't possibly exist on a human body
started catching my eye one by one.
The gaping slits opening and closing on both sides of her neck. At first, I thought they were simply wounds, but those
evenly spaced indentations looked just like a shark's gills. A bare upper body. And her lower half...
"Ah...?"
Thud. My already trembling legs completely gave out, and I slumped to the ground pathetically. Instead of the two legs
that should have been there, the end of her body was covered in scales like a fish, wriggling with fins.
A mermaid... It was a mermaid. Siren... Ah, a Siren!
Moreover, she wasn't alone. Perhaps because the lights turned on, countless mermaids were gathering toward this side
inside this unmeasurably large water tank. They were undeniably beautiful, but their corpse-like pale skin and
lifeless eyes gave off an eerie, repulsive feeling.
"...?"
Their mouths opened and closed, trying to convey something to me through lip-reading.
Get... me... out...? Save... me...? Faintly understanding the meaning by following their lip movements, I urgently
turned my head to look for the Team Leader—
"Gasp..!"
He had already bent down toward me where I sat on the floor, thrusting that creepy mask right in front of my face. He
looked as if he was observing my reaction, and it felt like it was going to drive me crazy.
...Dangerous. This is genuinely dangerous. For the first time in over 20 years, my long-dormant survival instinct was
ringing alarm bells.
"Ahem..."
But contrary to my worries, he didn't do anything. He examined my expression for a long time before straightening his
back, pulling that terrifying mask away from me.
"'Save me', 'Get me out'... Even though these things have had their vocal cords removed, they will always try to buy
sympathy like this from any human they see for the first time."
"Vocal cords?"
"...Now, I will slowly release the block. What are these creatures thinking right now?"
As soon as his question ended, the beautiful voices of countless women began rushing into my head.
'Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.
Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry.'
'I want to eat. I wonder how soft that young human's flesh is?'
'Once I get out of here, I'll tear them all to shreds and kill them.'
'And I'll devour every last torn piece without leaving a trace.'
'Especially that Pierrot.'
'Especially that damn Pierrot..!'
'I'm going to rip that bastard's body to shreds and swim right through his blood and guts for all to see!!'
The true intentions of these creatures, who were mimicking the lip movements of drowning people begging to be saved
and let out, were... festering with a madness-like starvation and blatant malice.
"The malice... towards you, Team Leader..."
"Now, watch."
He slowly approached the glass wall and then turned his back to them. I didn't even have time to question what he
wanted me to look at before—
Screeeech...! The mermaids' mouths tore open all the way to their ears, laying bare the grotesque insides of their
gaping maws. Lined with multiple layers of teeth, it was like looking into the mouth of a lamprey. It was a horrifying
shape that a human mouth could never possess. The disgusting sight of hundreds of sharp, densely packed teeth moving
independently, looking as if they could pulverize anything put inside, inevitably came as a massive shock to me.
Thump....! Thump...!!
With their mouths gaping wide, they instinctively lunged at the Pierrot who had turned his back to them, slamming
their teeth against the glass window. Like a school of piranhas that had spotted their prey, the grotesque mouths
covered the glass, and the clattering sound of their sharp teeth scraping against the surface made my knees go weak.
"Don't worry. This glass wall is quite sturdy."
"..."
Perhaps I lost my mind for a moment seeing him still look so relaxed, because I actually found myself wanting to rely
on him. My jaw was still dropped just from seeing a mermaid—a creature I thought only existed in imagination—in
person. But the shock of witnessing the exact moment a beautiful woman I initially wanted to save revealed her true
nature as a crazed, man-eating monster left me entirely speechless.
"I'm warning you in advance: I hope you never fall for their outward appearances. Of course, since you can hear their
inner thoughts, I trust it won't be an issue for you."
"..."
"Let's move on, then. If you have any questions, I'll answer them on the way."
After being speechless for a long time, I finally managed to find my voice and asked him once we were back in the
hallway. I felt like I had to ask this now.
"What exactly do you do in this place...?"
"Containment and protection, followed by research and rehabilitation."
Rehabilitation?
"Our Eunrang Art Museum has three main departments. First is the Response Team, responsible for preventing such
non-human entities from being exposed to civilians through mass media or social media, guiding civilian evacuations,
and locking down the scene when an incident occurs."
The fact that I was able to dismiss these beings as mere legends or fairy tales until now... was that all thanks to
the Response Team doing their job properly?
"Next is the Field Team, who tracks them during normal times based on observed anomalies, legends, or anonymous tips.
When an incident occurs, they are the first to dispatch to the scene to protect civilians and secure the non-human
entities."
Pausing his steps for a moment, he placed a hand on my shoulder and introduced the final team.
"Finally, there is our Management Team, which quarantines those brought to the facility into respective level zones
based on their risk level, manages them so they don't die, and conducts research and rehabilitation."
And... the Team Leader of that Management Team was this Pierrot. But for some reason, a certain word had been
bothering me for a while.
"But regarding 'rehabilitation'..."
"Strictly for entities capable of hiding their true nature on the surface and living like humans, we teach them basic
knowledge and things they must not do. Those deemed safe are granted permission to go out."
"..."
"Of course, a guide will accompany them when they go out, and they will be under heavy surveillance... It's a
cumbersome task, but a worthwhile one that grants them a degree of limited freedom."
Going out... Going out?! You're saying they let those monsters loose among people? In what world is that a 'worthwhile
task'?
"Of course, man-eating individuals are excluded from the rehabilitation program in the first place, so don't worry."
"I-I see."
He added the explanation as if he had read my mind. I had many more questions, but it seemed we had already arrived at
our next destination. The sheer pressure radiating from the security door standing before me once again naturally made
me hold my breath.
"Now then, let me introduce you to your first counseling subject, Mr. Woong. Aren't you excited?"
My heart was indeed pounding—with fear and tension. Instead of answering this ridiculous question, I opted to first
check the name written on the door. It was Level 2, the exact same risk level as the mermaid monsters from earlier.
[ RL.2 - HARPY ] Harpy... Harpy...?
Perhaps he hadn't actually expected an answer, as he just looked at me, tilted his head slightly for a moment, and
then, just like before, brought his ID card up to unlock the door.
"..Gulp."
As the door opened, I recalled the horrifying sound of teeth scraping against glass I had heard just moments ago and
didn't let my guard down. Contrary to my expectations... this time, the room wasn't dark.
"..."
Unlike what I had been on guard for, inside this large room, there was only a massive iron cage—like a magnified
birdcage—sitting completely isolated in the middle.
"Let me introduce her. Mr. Woong's first counseling subject is... the shy Miss Harpy!"