Chapter 247
Chapter 247
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 247
Chapter Title: Aftermath
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Another day had passed.
The abandoned apartment complex on the outskirts of Unjeong Station.
The commotion I caused there... well, saying I caused it might be a bit of a stretch. In any case, the aftermath of that uproar had spread straight north.
The fighting hadn't continued.
“I saw it! I saw it! The destruction demon with four eyes! The destruction demon! It summoned lightning and brought calamity!”
“We’re doomed! It’s collapsing! It’s being destroyed! That one will purify our sins with that pale blue lightning!”
“Aah! He is a god! The great god of destruction, undoubtedly the reincarnation of the god who descended to bring ruin to this world!”
Lunatics raced down the hospital corridor, shouting in fanatic fervor. Seized by bizarre ecstasy, they rampaged with superhuman strength beyond their limits.
“Grab them! Hold them down!!”
“It went that way! Don’t let it escape!”
Paju Central Hospital’s combat nurses moved to subdue them.
“Gyaah! The destruction demon has come! The destruction demon is near!”
“Destruction Demon! Destruction Demon! Save me!”
...But didn’t those guys go on about earthworms yesterday? After I smashed all the earthworms, their object of terror shifted from the worms to the destruction demon... in other words, to me.
“Where’s this destruction demon supposed to be!”
One of the nurses shouted.
They pinned a lunatic down with their burly arms and injected a sedative, then suddenly felt an odd unease and slowly scanned their surroundings.
‘They can’t detect me.’
Not just a presence-concealing spell—I had [Invisibility] active.
Even so, the lunatics pointed toward me with transcendent perception (or maybe pure coincidence), shuddered briefly, then lost consciousness.
I had no idea how they’d come to fear me (or fixate on me), but in that state, they were doing pretty well. At least they were moving around healthily, right?
“This is surprising. So many surreal entities burrowed into their bodies, yet they’re still alive and kicking. Fascinating.”
The kind of thing Lee Ha-seo would say, but it wasn’t her voice. This hospital was full of doctors just as crazy as her.
I thought that as I slowly approached the direction of the voice.
Yesterday, I stopped the descent of the [Drinker of Fear].
Thanks to that, Bong Il-cheonpa secured one of Jeokdu’s bases, and I stole the [Drinker of Fear]’s divine relic and his magic power.
It was a fight where both sides gained, though some suffered irreparable aftereffects and indelible wounds.
“Kkiik-kkiik— Kkiik-kkiik—”
“Kkiik-kkiik— Kkiik-kkiik—”
People dominated by worm-like monsters, hwal-gok. The hwal-gok had completely lost their power, but the holes bored into bodies and the worms inside... even I couldn’t remove them right away. I didn’t have that ability to begin with.
So Yeom Geumja and I transported them to Paju Central Hospital for admission.
But this hospital didn’t have an immediate cure for them either.
“What do you mean you can’t fix it! Isn’t that what this hospital’s for?!”
Yeom Geumja’s voice from another room. Followed by curses too filthy to repeat.
The doctor in the room with Yeom Geumja seemed more mild-mannered than that crazy one from before.
He listened quietly to her tirade before responding.
“Uh... well... too much flesh has been eaten away. The whole body’s like, like... um, a sponge. Liver, lungs, muscles. Even the brain—full of holes everywhere.”
“W-what? Full of holes? Then how are they still alive?”
“Ah! That’s the fun part of this case!”
Ah, not mild-mannered after all—it was Lee Ha-seo. Calling it “fun” while people were dying.
“Uuum... seems like the worm buddies are keeping them alive. We could excise them, sure. Used high-frequency on a similar case recently. But... if we remove those worm buddies from these folks, they’ll die? Uuuum... probably?”
“You little...!”
A torrent of Yeom Geumja’s curses aimed at Lee Ha-seo—and the whole Paju Central Hospital. Yes, ma’am, give ’em hell.
* * *
In this dangerously unstable Paju, few institutions could care for patients infected with surreal parasites or lunatics raving about their fear and obsession with the destruction demon.
Paju Central Hospital aside, maybe the Foreigner Management Agency, Helistic, or Cure Biotec?
The Agency only “protected” foreigners, so off the table from the start. Helistic and Cure Biotec would pamper them, sure—as lab rats for experiments and research.
‘Well, this hospital pulls some weird shit too.’
But only on uncontrollable surreal monsters. For cases improvable through “treatment,” or those still within human bounds, they weren’t that harsh.
So in the end, Yeom Geumja had no choice but to entrust her men’s “treatment” to them and leave.
“Hey, where the hell did that destruction demon bastard go?”
Yeom Geumja’s grumbling words.
I was still in the hospital corridor, invisible, watching them. It felt oddly voyeuristic, but I wasn’t eavesdropping on purpose. They just happened to start talking about me right by where I stood.
“Who knows? Hmm, hmm. He left a ton of tasks for today and tomorrow, then vanished. Hmm. Ahem. But thanks to him... it all worked out, didn’t it?”
Ryu Jae-geun’s response as he accompanied her. He said it, then squeezed his eyes shut and hunched his shoulders. Yeah, bracing for Yeom Geumja’s signature curses...
“Hmph, who said I was complaining? Just curious.”
Huh? What’s with the mild reaction?
Yeom Geumja glanced toward the patients, then muttered as if to herself.
“Those psycho doctors said they can’t be fixed, but that destruction demon guy...”
“You think so too, sis.”
“Yeah. At first, I thought he was just some terrifying monster... but now... what’s the word.”
Yeom Geumja started walking slowly down the corridor. Ryu Jae-geun followed, chiming in agreement.
“Gives you that feeling he can pull off anything, right?”
“Yeah... I’ve seen plenty of monstrous freaks since the Great Collapse, but never like him. No matter the cost...”
They were too far now. I could barely hear the rest of Yeom Geumja’s words.
“Anyway! What bullshit do we have to do next?”
“Ah, yes. Ahem, hmm. Sis, not here—let’s talk properly in the car.”
Yeom Geumja and Ryu Jae-geun left the patient ward behind.
From here on, those two had a ton of work ahead. Some of it tricky, but Ryu Jae-geun would handle the support.
[Yeom Geumja: Firm Ally]
[Bong Il-cheonpa: Firm Ally]
Yeom Geumja and Bong Il-cheonpa had been steadily improving relations, but the worm incident forged them into firm allies.
Unless I blatantly tanked their favor, they’d move for me fully.
Unjeong New Town was Paju’s busiest district, surrounded by vast entertainment zones fueling organized crime profits.
The abandoned apartments where the worm incident happened...
Clinging to the edge of Unjeong New Town, but securing it gave Yeom Geumja a foothold to reach for those interests.
‘Would’ve been perfect if Yeom Geumja hadn’t overdone it.’
But the manpower losses to claim it were devastating. Just those hospitalized were 20% of her forces.
Add the injured sidelined for a while, and over half her personnel were spent. Even if they didn’t return... underworld code meant Yeom Geumja had to keep paying for their treatment and recovery.
A painful loss in every sense.
The hospital called it untreatable, but if they recovered—it’d benefit not just Yeom Geumja, but me too.
‘Anyway, for what’s coming, better to have plenty of expendable pawns ready.’
Wait, did my thought just glitch?
I retraced it.
‘Better to have plenty of people I can help.’
Yeah, that’s what I meant.
* * *
After a brief discussion, Paju Central Hospital’s doctors named the issue with Bong Il-cheonpa’s new patients IPE-4587, [Parasitic Earthworms].
On the conference table sat a glass case with [Parasitic Earthworms]—a few hwal-gok—wriggling, extracted from a patient.
The elderly doctor chairing the meeting tapped the lid thoughtfully before speaking.
“Alright, this case goes to Section Chief Lee.”
“Yahoo! Thank youuu~”
Lee Ha-seo, thrilled at the interesting assignment. A few doctors eyed her with jealous envy. Did this place only hire psychopaths?
“By the way, Section Chief Lee.”
The older doctor questioned her.
“Yeees~?”
“Any treatment ideas in mind?”
“Uh... need more tests, but maybe using crystal spiral energyyy—”
The moment “crystal” left Lee Ha-seo’s mouth, the room’s mood darkened.
Her words cut off before she finished.
“Stop! Stop! Knew it. Still clinging to that freakish crystal spiral energy scanner?”
“But last time, we got pretty good resuults?”
“Results?”
Another doctor jumped in.
“The latest ‘result’ was the patient claiming enlightenment to see the moon’s far side and jumping from the fourth floor.”
Another chimed in right after.
“Before that, IPE-1789 [Sleeping Wizard] woke and escaped, but unclear if spiral energy caused it.”
IPE-1789 [Sleeping Wizard] was what Paju Central Hospital called me.
“See, Section Chief? Told you before—that crystal crazy ray is banned.”
“Uuuu— buttt...”
“No buts! Meeting over!”
The doctors filed out.
Left alone, Lee Ha-seo muttered, “So what treatment should I use?” while staring at the worms in the case.
Her eyes gleamed demonically through her long, curly hair.
“Hmmmmm— but you guys are so cuuute?”
Gazing at them in rapture, like beholding something beautiful and lovely, Lee Ha-seo donned latex gloves from her pocket and opened the case lid.
She picked up the last remaining hwal-gok—the grotesquely plump one bloated on its kin’s fluids—with tongs.
She raised the sinister, horrific creature high, twirling it this way and that, then slowly opened her mouth.
And brought it toward her mouth—slowly, so very slowly.
Saliva pooling inside. Tongue extended to her lips in welcome.
I knew what Lee Ha-seo was thinking. She planned to eat the monster.