The American Branch
Once the company decided something, you followed it.
I moved fast, headed straight home, crammed clothes and essentials into the travel suitcase I'd bought on In-seo's advice, and got out of the house.
In-seo and I made for Incheon Airport.
"What about me? I'm not even a Management Bureau employee."
It wasn't just In-seo and me tagging along. Eun-hwa was already seated right beside us.
"We've received a summons from the American Branch. They say a mind-reader is a first for them, and they want to run a full battery of precision tests."
General Manager Kim Yul-ryeong laid out the situation. Survivors who walked out of anomalies sometimes came back with special abilities. There were cases like Eun-hwa's, where the person fused with the anomaly, and cases where the fusion took other forms.
"Any anomaly that can be controlled and that can hold a conversation requires mandatory precision testing. You'll be summoned to America and examined thoroughly by their researchers."
"I'm not going to die, right?"
"That won't happen."
Eun-hwa relaxed at Kim Yul-ryeong's words. Meanwhile the car pulled into Incheon Airport.
"First time in first class."
"Once you hit team-leader rank, you'll be riding it all the time."
Everyday chatter between people who'd flown enough to be bourgeois about it.
"I've never been on a plane before."
"Me neither. Me neither."
Dirt-poor Eun-hwa and I were both first-timers. Business class? Economy? What the hell was that? After getting spit out of the orphanage, every day had been a scramble just to stay alive. I'd never even taken a real trip, let alone boarded a plane.
"Whoa… so this is an airplane."
I gawked with the pure, wide-eyed joy of a country kid seeing the big city for the first time. The shock was on par with the first time I ever saw a woman's pussy. I wandered the cabin in a daze, taking everything in.
"Hey. Don't start thinking dirty shit."
The Saintess's scolding was just the cherry on top. I ignored her irritation. You can't exactly put a leash on a person's thoughts.
Hold on… I'm suddenly getting nervous…
An anomaly wasn't going to pop out mid-flight, was it? The creeping anxiety kept me from sleeping.
"Khh—"
At some point I just blacked out. No anomalies, no ghost stories, nothing. There simply weren't any plane-related anomalies in this world. Ten-plus hours of flight melted the tension right out of me and I dropped into deep sleep.
"Tits. Huge fucking tits."
In the dream a pair of massive breasts floated toward me. I lost my mind and latched on, sucking. Soft flesh, and right in the middle a tiny little nub. A nipple. Like a salmon fighting upstream on pure instinct, I zeroed in on that nub and chewed it gently. The taste in my mouth, though, was dry and chalky.
"Ptoo."
When I came to, my face was buried in Eun-hwa's chest. I jerked back in panic, spat the nipple free, and scanned the cabin. Please let nobody have seen that little performance.
"We'll pretend we didn't see it."
Aside from Kim Yul-ryeong, who hadn't slept, no one had witnessed my disgrace.
"Heehee."
Eun-hwa let out a tiny laugh that said she'd seen every last second of it.
Guess I'm staying awake for the rest of the flight.
Thirty minutes left until landing. Sleep still clung to me, but I decided to tough it out.
The plane touched down. Passengers woke one by one and started gathering their things. Ten-plus hours in the air, yet first class had kept the fatigue manageable.
"We're here."
In-seo, still clueless, stretched with a big yawn.
"Do it again next time."
Eun-hwa shot me a conspiratorial little eye-smile as she brushed past, like the whole thing was our private secret.
"This way."
We fell in behind Kim Yul-ryeong. Outside the terminal a massive transport vehicle was waiting for us.
"Dedicated vehicle from the American Branch."
"That's the kind they use to move anomalies. What's loaded inside?"
In-seo frowned and circled the truck. The exterior was plastered with crosses and every holy relic imaginable. Something seriously powerful was sealed in there.
"Seraphina's inside. She didn't ride the same commercial flight we did—she came on a Management Bureau dedicated plane—so relax."
"What?"
Seraphina? Why the hell was she showing up here? The Saintess's earlier words flashed through my mind and my mouth went bone-dry.
"Special request from the American Branch. They said they plan to put Seraphina to some kind of use."
"One of you ride with me to keep an eye on her. Our job is surveillance."
"I'll do it."
No need to think twice. I volunteered for the watch detail on the spot. I had to find out whether Seraphina had survived the Causality Regenerator's regression with her memories intact.
Kim Yul-ryeong and I climbed into the vehicle. Inside sat an enormous coffin—the one holding Vampire Queen Seraphina. Just looking at it, you could tell the thing weighed a ton.
"Where exactly is the American Branch?"
"Somewhere between New York, Newark, and Philadelphia."
An awkward middle-of-nowhere spot. Unlike Korea, where the Bureau sat dead-center in a major city, this one nestled between several of them.
"We'll be driving about two hours. Stay sharp."
"Yes, ma'am."
After that firm warning, the General Manager promptly dozed off, chin tucked, snoring lightly.
General Manager's so fucking hot.
I wanted to mash my mouth against hers, tangle tongues, stroke her pussy. But I was a gentleman who knew timing. There was something I needed to check before I even thought about Kim Yul-ryeong.
"Um… hello?"
I spoke carefully toward the coffin. Even if the Vampire Queen was awake, they'd assured me this coffin could never be opened. So I felt safe enough addressing her.
She's awake.
A thick lid stood between us, yet I knew. Right now the Queen was listening to every word.
"Y-you don't… remember, right?"
My heart was hammering for no good reason. If the regression had run through me, I could breathe easy. But the Causality Regenerator was an incomplete regression. The odds that Seraphina still held her memories weren't just a hunch anymore. Just as In-seo remembered the loops, just as blood-drinking Eun-hwa remembered the previous cycle, the Vampire Queen might remember everything that had happened at the Management Bureau.
We remember.
A faint will brushed against my mind. Seraphina was transmitting her intent through me. I closed my eyes and endured it. Fuck. The bad premonitions never miss.
Causality Regenerator's fucking useless.
I cursed the machine under my breath and wet my lips. Time to beg the Queen for mercy. I could not tolerate a top-tier anomaly sitting there waiting for the perfect chance to kill me.
"O merciful, radiant, and true Vampire Queen…"
"Please… just this once, spare me."
No. Did you not treat Us like a dog?
She remembered every single detail. Her words dropped me into pure despair.
"Just once. Please, just look the other way this once."
As long as regression existed I was invincible—but sudden ambushes still wrecked me. I'd met Seraphina, yet no auto-save text had arrived. If she decided to kill me right now, I'd snap back to the last auto-save. Die here and I'd wake up before we'd even cleared the cult anomaly.
No. Go ahead—try erasing Us with that Causality Regenerator or whatever it is.
That was the last will she sent. Silence after that.
Fuck you, Causality Regenerator, you piece of shit.
Kieeeeeek—
If I'd just regressed one more time none of this would be happening. I clutched my head and thrashed. One extra loop and this mess never starts. But a sudden wave of anxiety hit, I didn't regress, I hit the tenth-floor button instead—and everything twisted from there.
"Sorry. I dozed off for a second."
Kim Yul-ryeong woke up.
"What are you doing?"
"Suddenly felt like I needed to grab my head, ma'am."
"Weird guy. We're almost there, so don't make a scene."
The transport vehicle began to slow. In the distance a massive building came into view.
"We can't show a bad face in a foreign country, can we?"
Right. I was a staff member representing the Republic of Korea at the American Branch. Looking pathetic wasn't an option.
The vehicle rolled into the building.
"Why won't it open?"
"Wait. These transports are designed so they can only be opened from the outside."
If an anomaly ever broke free, the idea was to buy time by sacrificing the Bureau staff inside. I accepted her explanation and sat still, waiting for the doors.
"Welcome. Welcome, staff of the Korean Management Bureau. Welcome to our American Branch."
The doors opened on their own. A foreigner with a mustache that screamed "failed art-school entrance exam" stood waiting.
"Please step down."
At his gesture we scrambled out of the vehicle.
"My name is Jack. Oh— is this the one?"
The man who introduced himself as Jack approached Eun-hwa.
"Forgive the abruptness, but I'd like to run a few tests. Please say the word I'm thinking right now."
Jack launched straight into testing Eun-hwa's ability. She passed without a hitch.
"Remarkable. Mind-reading has never been observed before. With this, uncovering anomaly phenomena will become far easier."
He smiled and beckoned us to follow.
"This way, please. I'll show you to your quarters."
We trailed after him. Unlike Korea, the American Branch building contained on-site lodging. An entire floor had been designed like a hotel.
"There's nobody here but us."
Yet we were the only people on that floor.
"Traffic between branches isn't frequent. Local Management Bureau staff already have their hands full just handling their own country."
That made sense. A Bureau that sometimes had to grind people into paste just to keep the status quo couldn't spare personnel easily.
Is moving Seraphina really that important?
I understood Korea's position. A top-tier anomaly was a nuclear warhead. Of course they'd want to dump it on another country if they could. But why the American Branch had agreed to take the Vampire Queen was still a mystery.
"You must be tired. Get some sleep early tonight."
"Yes, ma'am."
I'd already slept plenty, yet sleep was pulling at me again. I entered the room assigned to me and stretched out on the bed.
Returning to the auto-save point.
"We've arrived. Get up."
Kim Yul-ryeong's voice pulled my eyes open. The plane had landed at the airport. At her words I sat up—and a crushing sense of déjà vu settled over me. The feeling of watching the exact same scene play out again pressed down on my chest.