Chapter 108
Chapter 108
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Emotional Reunion Amid Chaos
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The sirens wailed as desperately as the screams of a terminally ill patient, and in that moment, I found myself overwhelmed by emotions I couldn't even begin to describe.
Just yesterday, I'd felt a tangled mix of love and hate toward these people from the Tale Management Bureau. I never imagined I'd be confronting them now with such a heavy, suffocating feeling.
The four of them—excluding the hospitalized Kim Do-hyun—each wore different expressions as they faced me.
The Headquarters Chief and Hyuk Tae-jun, who had history with me, looked like long-lost childhood friends reuniting after years apart, their faces awkward as they barely held back a surge of emotions.
Park Se-jin and Moon Woo-seok, on the other hand, wore expressions that embodied pure confusion.
It seemed my deal with the angel had gone through smoothly.
"Jin-seong."
Just a few days ago, Hyuk Tae-jun had looked at me with cold detachment laced with faint hatred, but now he called my name with genuine warmth.
"It's been a while."
I couldn't even think straight about how to respond. I just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Yeah... it's been a while."
Even though time was of the essence, my mouth only twitched without forming proper sentences.
To escape the whirlwind of emotions and memories trying to devour me, I averted my gaze to the empty floor.
"I have no way of knowing how you turned back time... or restored our memories."
"..."
"Still, it feels like I know you went through hell on your own for a really long time."
I had no reply.
Hyuk Tae-jun gave a wry smile and approached me, only to stop abruptly.
"What can I say? My memories are all jumbled up. It's disorienting as hell."
He staggered slightly as he said it with a self-deprecating chuckle.
The Headquarters Chief steadied him and spoke up.
"I got the basic rundown from Tae-jun. I died, and things got this bad. You've been through so much..."
Whenever his eyes met mine, the Chief let out a deep sigh and looked away, as if regretting something profound.
"I'm truly sorry. I had no idea and just ordered you eliminated..."
To be honest, this wasn't something I intended.
I'd never even described the Chief's actions in my own story.
There were various calculated reasons for that, but mainly, I had a rough idea of how he'd act, so I didn't waste words on it.
So, I could understand him apologizing like this.
But I didn't want his apology.
"It's fine. Really."
Next, leaving behind the deeply confused Moon Woo-seok, Park Se-jin walked toward me.
He must have heard the story from Hyuk Tae-jun too.
I didn't know the details of what Tae-jun knew or how he'd explained it, but there was no flushed distortion of hatred on Park Se-jin's face.
Did he forgive me?
As if answering that, Park Se-jin slowly opened his mouth.
"Merchant."
The title now felt oddly endearing, but Park Se-jin's body trembled for a split second, as if he'd let it slip by mistake.
"No, Shin... Jin-seong."
"Squad Leader."
"What the hell... You're the Merchant. But... ha... Do-hyun died, and so did I. And you're a Tale? Wait, what did I just say?"
Park Se-jin seemed trapped in the gaps between his memories, struggling to piece them together.
"Squad Leader, I'm sorry."
"You—"
Boom—!
At that moment, the neighboring building exploded, showering the ground with debris!
Looking around, the chaos had intensified beyond the early stages.
It meant the malign gods' aura had grown even stronger.
I plugged my ears to block out the civilians' terrified screams as they lost their minds.
I'd wasted too much time.
Emotions, that unprecedented enemy, had gotten the better of me.
That's why I hadn't restored my own memories—I knew this would happen. And yet, the moment they returned, I screwed up like this!
"Sorry, everyone. I know you have questions, but... we don't have time."
The three experienced in the path to ruin—excluding Park Se-jin—trembled with anger and fear.
"I restored your memories to ask for a favor."
There was a personal reason too—to keep my future from being filled only with loneliness—but that was barely a tenth of it, a tiny fraction.
"I need a massive number of bodies. I think the Tale that you, Senior—no, Woo-seok—were researching should provide plenty. A lot. Really, a ton. Gather them and head into Exit 2 at Seoul Station via the emergency stairs!"
I worried briefly if my overly condensed explanation would get through, but they were elite Bureau hires. They'd figure it out. I broke away from the chaos quickly.
I had my own task.
Specifically, preparations.
Which meant standing right in front of where the outer god's fragment would emerge and facing its malice head-on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hyuk Tae-jun felt a pang of regret that he couldn't even have a proper conversation during this miraculous reunion.
But this was a chance Shin Jin-seong had created by sacrificing his own life. There was no time to dwell on regrets.
"Let's move, fast!"
He shouted at the awkwardly frozen Park Se-jin.
Moon Woo-seok and the Headquarters Chief had already started running.
Park Se-jin was so dazed he could barely move his legs.
He could grasp the idea of history being rewritten.
After all, no matter what anyone said, Park Se-jin was a seasoned expert with nearly ten years at the Bureau. He could adapt to the situation.
Or more precisely, it was still confusing, but he could fool himself into thinking he'd adjusted.
So the main source of his bewilderment was the jarring personality shifts in those around him.
The usually cold and curt Headquarters Chief was smiling warmly like a grandfather meeting his grandchild, and the emotionless doll-like Hyuk Tae-jun was full of energy.
But the starkest disconnect was Moon Woo-seok.
He'd always been the cheerful, slightly sly little-brother type, but after his memories returned, he acted like a completely different person.
Park Se-jin couldn't even imagine what kind of life Moon Woo-seok had lived after that "ruin."
Park Se-jin dashed over to Moon Woo-seok's side.
"Woo-seok?"
About five seconds later, Moon Woo-seok realized Park Se-jin had called him and turned her way.
"You... you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. So... no real issues."
"Right..."
Park Se-jin realized Moon Woo-seok needed time to adjust too, so she just ran quietly toward the Bureau.
The "Tale Moon Woo-seok was researching," as Shin Jin-seong put it, meant the Corpse Tree.
It was the only Tale he'd focused on, so no need to overthink it.
And without asking, it was easy to guess what Jin-seong wanted.
The Shop craving bodies once more, as always.
Normally, they'd block it at all costs, but those with restored memories had no right to refuse.
The Bureau's response teams were helping police and firefighters rescue civilians amid the chaos.
A few who recognized the Chief stiffly saluted as they stood, but of course, he had no time to return it.
They piled into the elevator and reached their floor in seconds.
Moon Woo-seok strode forward familiarly.
"Tae-jun, first time, so you might not know, but—"
But one thing nagged at Moon Woo-seok.
"The Mer... Jin-seong said he needs a huge amount. He probably knows what the Corpse Tree is. And my invention too."
Moon Woo-seok's thoughts raced ahead.
"Which means he wants me to activate the Corpse Tree without controlling my device."
The old Moon Woo-seok would have hesitated.
But to the one who'd used living people as fuel amid ruin, this decision was nothing.
"Everyone, be careful. This time, it's not suppression—we're accelerating it."
When he'd created the great core to block Tales, Moon Woo-seok had found a way to hasten the Corpse Tree's bloom.
"It'll tempt you humans. But I figure you can handle this much."
Moon Woo-seok glared sharply at Park Se-jin as he spoke.
"Wh-why...?"
"...Especially you, be careful."
Moon Woo-seok was doubting her mental fortitude, thinking about how she'd changed after Kim Do-hyun died.
The Headquarters Chief chided Moon Woo-seok, and fingers sprouted from the fertilized soil.
In less than a second, they grew wildly, blooming into a full tree that immediately bore flowers, birthing new Corpse Trees.
The explosive growth resembled amoebas multiplying.
But this Corpse Tree was incomparable, and once it reached a certain mass, it began emitting pheromones that drew people in.
As everyone braced mentally, watching warily, the Headquarters Chief started shambling toward it.
The moment Moon Woo-seok yelled to stop him, the Chief had already touched the tree.
"Ah, no!"
The Headquarters Chief smashed the Corpse Tree with one hand.
"Huh? Something wrong?"
The pinnacle of human mental fortitude.