Chapter 5

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 5

Chapter Title: The Bigger Predator

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Gangnam-gu area.

Han So-young walked through the alleys, focusing on her fingertips.

A faint afterscent lingered in the air. The traces of last night's incident hadn't fully dissipated. Under the streetlight, her eyes narrowed.

"Seo Team Leader."

Seo Jin-hyeok's voice came through her earpiece.

-What is it?

"There are two afterscents."

-Two?

Han So-young halted. It was at the mouth of the alley, before an old retaining wall.

"One's from last night's incident. It's fading, but still there. But..."

She reached out and brushed the air. A sticky sensation clung to her fingertips. Like paint that hadn't dried yet.

"There's another afterscent. This one's vivid. A clear, living Anomaly's."

The line went quiet for a moment.

-...Characteristics?

"Greed. Hunger. Endless craving."

Han So-young's face hardened.

"This is... a predator type."

-Predator type?

"Yes. Hold on, let me cross-check the database."

Han So-young pulled out her tablet and inputted the afterscent's waveform. It was a system that matched against the Special Division's Anomaly database.

A few seconds later, the results appeared.

Her breath caught.

Han So-young couldn't tear her eyes from the tablet.

"Team Leader, this..."

-I know. A Glutton on the move means it's found some juicy prey.

"But the direction of the Glutton's afterscent... it's the same as last night's."

A brief silence.

-...It's chasing that man?

"Seems like it. The Glutton caught a scent on him."

Han So-young gazed toward the end of the alley. Both afterscents stretched in the same direction.

-The Glutton's trying to devour that man...

Seo Jin-hyeok's voice lowered.

-Or the Anomaly he commands.

"What should we do?"

-Track it. We need to find the Glutton or the man—or both. No contact, though. Report immediately on sighting.

"Understood."

Han So-young started walking again.

Following the afterscent: toward the predator hunting its prey, and the mysterious existence that predator was chasing.

Same time.

Ian emerged from the convenience store and didn't break stride.

A gaze from behind. Hungry eyes raking his back. An instinct honed over tens of thousands of years whispered to him.

'It's following me.'

It had started right after leaving the store. The faint presence was growing sharper by the moment—closing the distance.

Ian slowly scanned his surroundings.

The night streets still bustled with people: commuters heading home, drunks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spilling from bars, youngsters bound for convenience stores.

'If it jumps me here, that'll be a hassle.'

Ian veered off course.

Into an alley.

The alley he entered was dark.

A place the streetlights couldn't reach. In the narrow gap between buildings, a few trash bags were piled up, and an unpleasant rotten stench rose from the damp floor.

Ian stepped into the alley.

And when he judged he'd gone deep enough, he stopped.

"Come out."

It was quiet.

The alley's silence settled heavily. Ian's voice seeped into the damp brick walls and vanished.

"I know you're hiding. Come out."

Still no response.

Ian sighed.

"If you don't come out, I'll..."

Before Ian could finish, the darkness stirred.

Something slithered out from the alley's end. Its form was distorted.

Like a shadow flowing like water.

Slowly, an outline took shape.

Humanoid. But the proportions were off. Arms too long, legs too short. No face... just a hole. A massive black hole. Like a mouth.

'Predator type.'

Ian thought calmly.

His eyes glowed faintly. An ability he'd naturally acquired after facing countless entities in the Backrooms over tens of thousands of years. Every Backrooms existence had its unique 'grain,' and Ian had learned to read it. Or rather, it had been etched into his body at some point. An instinct awakened through thousands of near-deaths.

That aura belonged to a predator eyeing its prey. It wanted to eat him.

Ian's shadow twitched. Null was reacting.

Ian raised a hand to hold it back.

'Wait.'

The shadow stilled.

Ian stared at the thing before him.

"What are you?"

Something rang in his mind.

Not an answer to his question.

『......Delicious...... smell......』

Ian's brow arched.

"What?"

『Long...... time...... concentrated...... aroma...... Looks tasty......』

The Anomaly's mouth-hole gaped. Hundreds of saw-like teeth packed densely inside.

『Eat it...... and get...... stronger......』

The Anomaly moved.

Fast.

It lunged at Ian with a speed that left only afterimages to the human eye.

But...

Ian didn't budge.

Instead, he smiled.

"Late-night delivery service."

The shadow at his feet erupted.

With its master's permission, Null surged forth.

A transparent body warped the air as it materialized. A massive form over twice an adult's height blocked the Anomaly's path.

The Anomaly froze.

『............???』

A Null arm-thing extended. Space tore.

Bang!

One of the Anomaly's arms flew off. The cut was clean. Black smoke billowed instead of blood.

『Kyaak?!』

The Anomaly screamed. It tried to retreat.

Too late.

Another Null arm seized its leg. Space folded. The leg twisted at an unnatural angle and crumpled.

『A...... aak......!』

The Anomaly collapsed. It tried to crawl away, scraping the ground with its remaining arm to flee the alley.

Ian approached slowly.

Footsteps echoed.

He stopped before the fallen Anomaly.

"The type that grows by eating other Anomalies... Plenty of those in the Backrooms too."

He bent down to peer at it.

"But get this."

Ian's eyes gleamed coldly.

"Never thought you'd end up on the menu, did you?"

The Anomaly shuddered.

『S...... spare......』

"Too late."

Ian snapped his fingers.

Null ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠moved, fully enveloping the Anomaly. The transparent form swallowed it whole.

Crunch. Rip.

Sounds of bones shattering. Flesh tearing.

The Anomaly's screams grew fainter.

Then stopped.

Silence blanketed the alley.

Null slowly withdrew. Nothing remained where the Anomaly had been. Just a wisp of black smoke drifting in the air.

Ian looked at Null.

"Tasty?"

Null emitted a satisfied chirping whine.

"Digest it well."

Ian turned and left the alley.

Behind him, Null sank back into the shadow.

The night streets remained peaceful. No one knew what had just happened.

Ian shoved his hands in his pockets and walked on.

'So this world has monsters like that too.'

It was unexpected. He'd thought the Backrooms were special, but Earth had them too.

But that was all.

Bizarre, abnormal existences. Supernatural, inexplicable aberrations—he'd encountered countless in the Backrooms. Nothing to be surprised about.

'Just means things'll get annoying from here on.'

His instincts told him so. Annoying, but unavoidable. Deal with them as they came.

Ian headed toward his officetel.

Special Disaster Response Headquarters, Basement Level 3, Briefing Room.

Seo Jin-hyeok stood before the screen. His tracking team sat at the table: Han So-young, Park Do-hyun, Kim Ji-eun. Exhaustion etched every face.

"Reporting tracking results."

Seo Jin-hyeok clicked the remote. A map of the Gangnam area appeared on the screen. A red dotted line snaked through alleys before cutting off at one point.

"Around 2300 hours, Agent Han So-young detected the Glutton's afterscent. It was heading toward Yeoksam-dong, speed consistent with pursuing prey."

The screen changed. The dotted line's end enlarged.

"2347 hours. The afterscent vanished in a Yeoksam-dong residential alley."

Kwon Tae-ho narrowed his eyes.

"Vanished?"

Han So-young replied.

"Yes. Not faded—completely gone. Like..."

She paused briefly.

"Like it got eaten."

The briefing room fell silent.

Seo Jin-hyeok advanced the screen. A photo of a dark alley came up.

"No physical traces. No blood, no damage. However..."

Han So-young picked up.

"Only that man's afterscent remained. Crystal clear. Right at the spot the Glutton vanished."

Kwon Tae-ho nodded slowly.

"So that's why you called off the track?"

"Without an afterscent, tracking's impossible. We swept the area until dawn, but no further leads."

Seo Jin-hyeok stared at the screen. A blurry photo of the man hovered there.

"To sum up: The unidentified man commands a B-grade or higher Anomaly. And last night, the Glutton tracking him got taken out instead."

He scanned the team.

"The predator became the prey. For an even bigger predator."

A heavy silence descended on the briefing room.

Kwon Tae-ho tapped his cane on the floor.

"...What the hell is he?"

The old scholar muttered.

The blurry photo on the screen gleamed faintly under the fluorescent lights.