Chapter 6
Chapter 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: They Wouldn't Understand Even If I Told Them
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Red tissue or blue tissue? Choose whichever you like."
A grotesque entity wearing a red cape flipped over its head and a yellow mask covering its face posed the question.
Its hands were hidden under the cape, so it was impossible to tell what it was holding.
"Sigh... Whoosh. Don't you have any other colors? I want white!"
The man at the front took a deep breath and shouted loudly at the entity.
The entity's neck twisted at an angle impossible for a human, and the yellow mask contorted in apparent rage.
Swish.
The entity pulled a bony hand from beneath the cape and swung it through the air.
The man's left arm was severed as cleanly as if cut by a blade, falling to the ground.
"Gaaahhh!!! Open fire! Take it down now!"
As the armless man screamed, the other three opened fire on the entity with their pistols.
Gunshots echoed through the dark night street.
Though equipped with suppressors, the shots were still quite loud up close.
The bullets flew straight toward the entity.
But as they touched the entity's cape, they merely rippled slightly before vanishing into thin air.
"Red tissue or blue tissue? Choose whichever you like."
The entity repeated the question leisurely, as if it belonged to another world entirely.
Gunshots rang out repeatedly.
The entity advanced slowly, unperturbed by the hail of bullets.
"Ugh.... Damn it. How the hell are we supposed to take down a freak like that?!"
One man's pistol, fired frantically, finally clicked empty with cold, metallic ticks.
The entity approached with mounting confidence.
It strutted with exaggerated leisure, fully aware of its overwhelming advantage.
"Damn it. We can't beat that thing on our own. Hold out as long as we can until backup arrives!"
The three abandoned their attack, retreating while shielding Se-hwa and the armless man.
Now I could finally move freely.
"Hey, you ugly entity. I want both. Give me red and blue."
Hearing my response, the entity drew both hands from beneath the cape.
Swish, whoosh.
The entity swung its skeletal, emaciated hands.
My arms and legs were severed.
Before hitting the ground, I rapidly regenerated my limbs, maintaining my dignity as I stood tall.
"Is that all?"
I taunted lightly, and the caped entity distorted its mask in anger.
The entity drew two long swords from within the cape.
Gripping a red sword and a blue sword in each hand, it charged at me.
Thwack--.
I casually swung my fist, smashing the entity's head along with its yellow mask.
The entity collapsed dead without swinging its swords even once, still clutching them tightly.
I bit into its arm, cape and all, for a quick taste.
"Ugh. Tastes awful."
I'd worried it would be flavorless given its scrawny build, and sure enough, it was hideous—just like it looked.
I gave up on eating it.
"I-Is... is that thing dead? That entity?"
The man with the severed left arm asked through gritted teeth, his face twisted in pain.
"Can't you tell? Anyone can see it's dead."
"Bullets had zero effect. How did you kill it?"
"It ignored physical interference until you answered its question. Once you did, it severed your limbs based on your choice. Oh, and if you didn't pick red or blue, it treated it as no answer."
"H-How did you figure that out so quickly?"
"Intuition. It just felt right."
You could do it too after 9,999 years in the Backrooms.
I kept that thought to myself.
They wouldn't understand even if I told them.
"Impressive."
The man's face contorted in pain, but his eyes gleamed with admiration and surprise.
The urgent sound of military boots approached from somewhere.
"We've secured Researcher Lee Se-hwa and the Black Princess. Where's the unidentified entity?"
A horde arrived, dressed like the people I'd encountered in the research institute corridors.
Guns firmly shouldered, ready to fire at any moment, they surrounded us while scanning all directions.
"It's lying on the ground over there."
"On the ground? What do you... Huh?"
I pointed to where the entity lay, and one of the newcomers let out a dumbfounded noise.
"T-Team Leader! There's an entity down here!"
The first to spot it shouted, and the man called Team Leader pulled something from his pocket and tossed it at the fallen entity.
The entity didn't resist at all, slumping limply upon impact.
"It's already dead. What happened, Agent Jeong Gi-cheol?"
"The Black Princess took down the unidentified entity. With a single punch."
"That's... surprising, to say the least. Head back to the institute immediately. Designated personnel, recover the entity corpse and return."
Agent Jeong Gi-cheol, minus his left arm, was helped away by the others toward the institute.
Se-hwa, wedged among the crowd, rushed to me the moment the situation ended.
"Princess! Are you hurt anywhere? Your limbs got sliced off earlier. Want some painkillers?"
"I'm fine. A scratch like that doesn't bother me."
Se-hwa knelt with a worried look, kneading my arms vigorously.
It seemed like concern, but a glint of curiosity in her eyes unnerved me a bit.
I subtly edged away from Se-hwa as she clung to me.
And so the nighttime stroll ended.
Se-hwa and I headed back to the institute amid the throng.
"Sure it's okay to head back already? Don't you want more walkies?"
"Yeah. I'm ready to go back and crash."
"Aha, so you do sleep."
Se-hwa nodded as she walked beside me.
Even after parting from the others upon reaching the institute, Se-hwa insisted on escorting me to my door.
"Hmm. You completely wrecked the door."
Se-hwa gave a troubled smile, chuckling wryly.
I hope I'm not getting kicked out for breaking the door.
They were the ones who rigged the handle weirdly in the first place.
"I'm not getting evicted, right? I only broke it a little because it wouldn't open..."
"Ahaha! We wouldn't dream of kicking out Princess. But this door needs a full replacement even from a little damage. Next time you want to go for a walk, tell me ahead of time. I'll go with you."
Se-hwa smiled kindly, her dark-circled eyes crinkling.
"Thanks for today. You saved my life, Princess."
With a grateful farewell, we parted, and I returned to my room.
With all three doors wide open, entering was incomparably faster than before.
I flopped onto the fluffy bed and surrendered to the wave of sleep.
The next morning.
I woke gradually to the sensation of someone groping my body.
Opening my eyes, I saw Se-hwa sitting beside my sleeping form, touching me all over.
Our eyes met.
"Sleep well?"
"...What are you doing?"
"Morning physical exam."
Undeterred by my question, Se-hwa continued prodding and pulling at various parts of my body.
She was squeezing my cheeks now.
"Didn't we do this yesterday?"
"This is a more thorough check. Exams get more accurate with repetition."
Se-hwa released my cheek, jotted something on her clipboard, and stood.
"Thanks for cooperating. I'll be back soon with breakfast."
"Huh. That ended quicker than I thought."
"I already checked most of it while you were asleep. Oh, and I inspected under your underwear too. All clear! You're perfectly healthy, no worries."
Se-hwa dropped the bombshell casually and left the room.
Her brazen confidence left me speechless; I couldn't even protest.
Plenty of time before breakfast.
To kill time, I booted up the faded computer.
For some reason, it only accessed the Ansong Research Institute community; other sites were dead.
Resigned, I logged into the staff community, and the chunky CRT monitor displayed a slew of posts.
💬 Employee Community [Did the Princess really escape from her containment cell?] [One of the field agents here. Spilling what I saw at the scene yesterday] [Office worker here, saw the Princess while pulling an all-nighter lololol] [Can I touch the Princess???] Seeing the staff community overflowing with talk about me gave me a ticklish feeling deep inside.
I clicked whichever post caught my eye.
📰 Thread Can I touch the Princess???
No weird intentions here. Just want to verify if direct contact with the Black Princess's epidermis causes secretion of toxic substances, presence of pathogenic microorganisms, or contact immune responses (allergic/inflammatory reactions), etc., and if it's harmless to the human body. Absolutely no weird intentions. — Anonymous #1 Augh, the anomaly perv is back again ↳ Reply #0 Pure academic curiosity. — Anonymous #2 Always wondered: is this one guy posting or multiple people? ↳ Reply #3 If it's not just one guy, I'm seriously worried about this institute's future — Anonymous #4 Based on investigations so far, it's harmless — Anonymous #0 Thank you! — Anonymous #5 Scariest thank-you of my life — Anonymous #6 You aren't seriously planning to touch her, right? Princess is super strong too. You might get punched and die. Hmm.
What comment should I leave on this one?