Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Doppelganger Overlap Anomaly (9)
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Her body sliced through the gap without a tremor.
Now, all that lay before her was the massive black engine.
The arm she had pulled back as far as possible whipped forward with full force.
Screeech—!!
In an instant, a deafening roar tore through the air like shredding metal.
Lightning-like cracks spread across the engine's surface, and dazzling light burst from the spiderweb fractures.
The entire hall rumbled with a low, resonant hum.
Kang Su-ji lost her balance and rolled across the floor several times before barely coming to a stop.
Behind her, as she gasped for breath—
Ruuuuumble—!!
The mountain-like engine began to collapse, scattering metal fragments.
The heavy chunks slammed into the floor, sparking like flashes of lightning.
In the blink of an eye, the hall turned into ruins.
"Finally... over..."
A faint sense of relief colored Kim Sera's voice.
The echoes faded.
Silence settled over the ruined hall.
Only the dry clatter of rolling metal fragments broke the quiet.
Breathing and heartbeats rang in my ears.
It really seemed to be over now.
But before that thought could fully form—
"Wait, hold on...! That feeling when the sword caught just now..."
Kang Su-ji's bewildered voice echoed through the hall.
At the same time, I noticed it too.
'...No system window.'
I turned my head. The collapsed engine came into view.
Sticky black liquid oozed from the cracks, flowing thickly like blood.
The engine slowly melted away, losing its shape.
Just like all the other fake entrances we'd encountered before.
"...No way."
***
A conversation I'd had with Kim Sera during our maze exploration came back to me.
"Alpha... do you remember what I mentioned before? About the contract."
"The contract... you mean the term you used when explaining that 'the anomaly's rules don't change'?"
"Yes. Normally, the rules should never change. But this maze has seen too many alterations. Not just infiltration by doppelgangers..."
I finished her unfinished sentence for her.
I'd suspected as much myself.
"...Not mere parasitism, but predation occurred. And as a result, the contract's subject has been replaced."
Kim Sera nodded gravely.
"...Exactly. When the subject changes, the contract's contents update too. This shouldn't happen at all, so it was hard to notice. But looking at everything we've been through, it explains all the 'changes' we've seen."
Doppelganger was a Stage 1 Caution-level anomaly.
Underground Sewer was a Stage 2 Danger-level anomaly.
Just one stage apart, but an insurmountable wall lay between them.
'...Normally.'
However—
"Already weakened to the extreme by repeated neutralization attempts, the anomaly must have been mere prey in the doppelganger's eyes. And then that atypical phenomenon occurred."
Damn it.
I racked my brain, wondering if I'd missed something.
If the doppelganger had devoured this maze...
'...Then where did the devil come from?'
A doppelganger was ultimately powerless without an original to copy.
"...Kim Sera. Do you have any information on... the devil?"
"The devil...?"
As she pondered my question,
The chat, having overheard, erupted.
[Anomalous Gallery's Longest Member]: Devil, huh... Hmm. My senior hasn't come back to the lab yet, so I can't ask.
[Storm Emperor]: Heard it came from Egypt side. Not certain. That area's a demon realm now, no detailed info. I don't know either.
[Kkru]: No way, you think there's a devil in this maze?
[Hell Hurts]: Think I saw it in some religious text.
Then, one comment caught my eye.
[Information Junkie]: First mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Judaism. In Christianity, it's the adversary of good. In Islam, depicted as 'Iblis.' Going further back, entities like 'Lamashtu' or 'Pazuzu' from ancient Mesopotamian myths form the roots of the modern devil concept.
That single line halted the scrolling chat for a moment.
As if waiting for more explanation.
[Information Junkie]: No observation reports on devils yet, but academia discussed it once. 'What stage would a devil be if it appeared in an anomaly?' Pure curiosity.
[Information Junkie]: That's when the always-fighting scholars reached consensus for the first time. Minimum Stage 4. Considering potential and influence, even up to the unimplemented Stage 5.
[Information Junkie]: But don't worry. If such a thing existed, it wouldn't slack off like this upon appearing.
[Information Junkie]: From the moment of its existence, they are... near perfection.
Seeming to notice the subtle tension on my face, Information Junkie posted again.
[Information Junkie]: Hmm... You're worried, huh. If you asked if there's 'even a sliver of possibility,' I'd say no.
[Information Junkie]: The underground sewer sweeps in everything from the surface. Since Korea's founding, devil-related items or body parts could have been dragged in. Of course, extremely low probability.
But low probability offered me no comfort now.
I'd already seen it.
The black sun.
The being with two horns and black wings resurrecting there.
That absurd tiny possibility made real.
[Information Junkie]: Continuing. Even if it was a tiny fragment, if the doppelganger devoured the anomaly in Gyeonggi Province and grew strong enough to copy a 'duplicate' of it... it wouldn't match the original much.
[Information Junkie]: ..Run, newbie.
Those last words echoed in my mind.
[Information Junkie]: That area's now one of the world's few demon realms.
[Information Junkie]: It'll become barren land where no life can survive.
***
The ceiling began to melt like sticky goo.
Blended with scorching heat, even the darkness flowed like slime.
Soon, some outline crept out from the cracks.
Instinctively, I looked up at the ceiling, the source of the heat.
Kang Su-ji and Kim Sera also turned their gazes upward at the sudden anomaly.
It had never been on the floor to begin with.
During the three-day period.
The thing hiding in the maze, never revealing itself until hatching, wouldn't stand blatantly in the hall's center like this.
The ceiling.
That instant, my eyes met Kang Su-ji's from afar.
In the darkness-engulfed hall, in a space without a single light, only her eyes shone clearly.
Lips pressed tight, unwavering resolve.
Not a shred of surrender in those pupils.
— It's not over yet.
Amid the cold fear seeping in, that gaze lingered in my chest like a single ember.
That ember pushed back the regression impulse still remaining within me.
Not now.
After seeing it through to the end, when everything truly collapses... then it won't be too late to go back.
Dozens of arms burst from the black curtain.
Slender arms with sharp claws lunged to grab her.
I reflexively pulled the trigger.
Soon, Kim Sera joined, firing flares upward.
Baaang! Baaang!
As the blinding flashes cut through, the black arms reaching for her shattered.
From here on, this was uncharted territory for me too.
Everything was variable, an unknown future.
The arms touched by flare light melted, but the emerging numbers showed no sign of slowing.
Far more were being created than disappearing.
The black curtain twisted like waves, spewing even more arms than before.
As if this were nothing.
At the ceiling's center.
A massive egg slowly burned black.
Just like back then.
Black smoke-like flames wrapped the black egg's surface, slowly rising toward the sky.
The curtain rippled violently.
Arms sprouted from walls, ceiling, floor—everywhere.
Several times more than before.
Three rounds left.
Baaang!
Two.
Baaang!
One.
Hundreds of arms outside the flare's range swarmed, furiously charging at Kang Su-ji.
Miss this final chance, and it was over.
That moment, I saw her bite down on something with her teeth.
"Awakening agent?!"
Kim Sera cried out in shock.
Knowing its nature well, her voice trembled.
"It explosively boosts resistance for a short time... but why now—"
I didn't hesitate.
I understood. The meaning of her choice.
Couldn't block all the arms enveloping everything with one shot.
Then—
The muzzle shifted.
The last remaining round.
I pulled the trigger, firing it at her.
The moment white light enveloped Kang Su-ji, the darkness briefly receded, creating a gap.
Her arm whipped out explosively, unleashing a sword strike.
Screeeeeeeeech—!!!
The sound of space tearing filled the hall.
The black sphere rising to the sky halted midway, its raging flames gradually losing momentum.
The shadows surging toward Kang Su-ji belatedly lost form and scattered.
Soon, her body, drained of strength, plummeted under gravity.
Unconscious, not even twitching.
I reflexively threw myself to catch her.
My wrist buckled numbly under the weight on my arms, but I didn't let go.
Holding her, I rolled across the floor a few times, then looked up at the ceiling.
Within the black fissure.
An immature monster was forcing its way out.
The overwhelming presence I'd seen then wasn't here now.
No wings, horns not yet grown—an premature form.
Black flesh patchy and missing in places, joints grotesquely protruding.
It turned its head toward me.
Its two eyes filled with clear malice.
As if knowing who was behind all this.
The moment it opened its mouth to speak—
Bang—!!!
I pulled the trigger.
"Did you think I only knew how to shoot flares?"
Dazzling light erupted along with its head.
Soon, a familiar warmth embraced my entire body.
...Clear.
Ding!
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[Doppelganger Maze Horror]
[Progress]: 100%
[Rulebook – Doppelganger Maze Horror]
Rule 1. Map
1-1. The underground sewer map is based on the rules of the underground anomaly and doppelganger anomaly.
ㄴ Previous maps cannot be used.
1-2. If a path not on the map appears, a new rule has been applied.
1-3. If rules change, the reliability of the entire map collapses.
Rule 2. Exit (Manhole)
2-1. The manhole is a valid exit to leave the underground sewer at any time.
2-2. However, light that looks like an exit may not be the real exit.
2-3. If the 'light reflection' seems off, it's a trap.
2-4. Heading to a trap causes the body to melt into black liquid and be digested.
Rule 3. Re-entry Restriction
3-1. If exiting midway through the manhole, cannot re-enter immediately.
3-2. A closed manhole does not reopen until a certain time passes.
Rule 4. Mimicry
4-1. Doppelgangers can imitate the form and voice of living people.
4-2. Beyond simple human mimicry, they copy memories and speech patterns.
ㄴ If the mimicked entity is alive, they only copy appearance, not memories.
ㄴ They are mainly drawn by sound.
Rule 5. Passages
5-1. Some underground sewer passages are 'false paths.'
5-2. Entering a 'false path' triggers a trap.
ㄴ Trap types vary: water filling up, entire space heating, etc.—the environment itself warps.
ㄴ Specific countermeasures are meaningless.
Rule 6. Hall.
6-1. The hall exists at the maze's center, wielding absolute power within the maze but infinitely vulnerable to physical force.
ㄴ To compensate for this weakness, the hall is guarded by a 'sentinel.'
[Rulebook Update Complete]
[Current Rule Count: 6]
[Level Adjustment: Danger-level][Potential Max Grade: Extinction-level]
[Next Stage Progression Conditions Met]
[Successfully neutralized Doppelganger Maze Horror.]
[First Clear Bonus: 100 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
[Initial Clear Bonus: 100 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
[100% Progress Bonus: 200 Anomaly Coins awarded.]
*Anomaly Coins can be used at the Anomaly Shop.
*Coins sponsored via broadcast will be tallied and settled after the broadcast ends.
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