BAR-207, The Larva of Many Faces - Part 2
The Seoul Branch hummed with an energy it had never known before.
After I, Ara, handed out those talismans, the entire atmosphere shifted. It was as if someone had finally turned on the lights in a place that had been running on emergency candles for years.
Back then—back when I was locked away—the staff were so exhausted they could barely look each other in the eye. Smiling, laughing, sharing idle gossip? It was unthinkable. One day a colleague would be carted off to the psych ward, the next they’d collapse from overwork. No one had the luxury of small talk.
That was exactly why Kim Miryeo had to step up and speak for me. The whole branch had been teetering on the brink of collapse. But now? Now it felt almost… alive.
Seoul Branch morale: Dramatically improved. Work efficiency increased by 40%. All staff recommended to request additional talismans immediately.
Kim Miryeo herself was glowing. She kept telling me, “Ara-nim, you really saved us.” She even went so far as to pat herself on the back. “Of course, my decision to advocate for you was brilliant.”
She was right. But even the brightest light has a price. The way the branch was buzzing, it felt like the storm was finally ending… only to realize the calm might be the eye of a hurricane.
Today was the day. Today I, BAR-322, would finally speak directly with BAR-207, the Larva of Many Faces.
Kim Miryeo’s face when I mentioned it had been unreadable. “I cannot predict what variables may arise.” Even she sounded uncertain. That alone was enough to make my tail—er, my nonexistent tail—twitch with anticipation.
* * *
When the time came to produce another four hundred talismans, the order finally arrived. The perfect moment to speak with a real demon had arrived at last.
My isolation cell had been decorated to feel almost… livable. But the anomaly had been placed in a far harsher facility. It was said the creature was not even treated as human.
So instead of me being dragged there, I had decided to go to it. “Ara-nim, please remain calm. I will use full restraint.”
“Hmph. Do what you must.”
I was shoved into a state where even my inner thoughts were blocked. No matter. I knew the layout of the facility by heart. If I ever wanted to escape, I would simply wait for the perfect moment.
Being carried like a prized package was oddly comforting. It felt like riding in a palanquin. I didn’t even need to move my legs; the handlers did all the work. This wasn’t punishment—this was luxury.
After what felt like an eternity, the restraints were released and my vision cleared.
I was inside a stark white cell, glass walls on one side showing dozens of researchers staring at me. I waved cheerfully.
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Did you all have breakfast?”
“I enjoyed some chocolate pie again today. Delicious!”
Since my talismans had been distributed first, these researchers knew me personally. Most still carried one I had personally blessed. Yet today they looked… uneasy.
Only Kim Miryeo returned my greeting.
“Good morning, BAR-322.”
Official greeting exchanged. Researchers advised to maintain professional distance during anomaly dialogue.
She was treating me like a number again. Serious business indeed.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Yes, I always have coffee, three nuts, and grapes in the morning.”
“Blue grapes?”
“My lord loved them too!”
“Even now, the taste of that single blue grape he gifted me still lingers in my mouth.”
“If the chance ever comes, please give me one as well.”
Blue grapes existed even in my era?
“Study history more diligently, Doctor Kim.”
Blue grapes—those were a delicacy only the tyrannical kings could afford. One bite and I was satisfied for days. I had only ever tasted one because the king had deigned to share it once.
Good morning greetings were over. Time to cut to the chase.
“Let us speak plainly.”
I pointed to the direction where a heavy pressure emanated. “That is where your guest is.”
“The pressure is not overwhelming. It is not an outright malevolent spirit.”
Kim Miryeo nodded, as if she had anticipated my words.
“Understood.”
Dialogue protocol initiated. BAR-322 and BAR-207 will converse. Information exchange permitted under special conditions.
“Tell me what I must do and what I must not do.”
Kim Miryeo’s smile was genuine. “According to protocol, no information may be shared with either anomaly. However, considering BAR-322’s unique status as a Rank 0 entity, it is wiser to provide information.”
A small piece of paper dropped from thin air.
“First, read this.”
“Very well.”
I devoured the information with great interest.
The creature known as the Larva of Many Faces was a classic in-face demon—human head on a worm-like body. The unusual part: every half-hour, the head changed and the personality changed with it.
I had never met the thing, yet I was already intrigued.
“I have read it all.”
Kim Miryeo asked the question I had been waiting for.
“BAR-322, this is unofficial, but last time we met that unidentified entity… it seemed you knew its identity instantly.”
“Do you know anything about this particular anomaly now?”
“The Larva of Many Faces?”
“In-face demons are common enough,” I replied. “When humans meet birds, they become in-bird demons. When humans meet tigers, they become in-tiger demons. When humans meet insects, they become in-insect demons. I am quite familiar with this type.”
“But to change personality every half-hour?”
“I have never heard of a demon possessing such a capability.”
“I see.”
Kim Miryeo continued with the warnings.
“BAR-322, the sole warning is this: the anomaly is a useful asset for the management department. Under no circumstances may you eliminate it. Everything else is permitted.”
“Hmm.”
“Of course I understand.”
“Shamans exist to exorcise demons—er, malevolent spirits. Your very nature and philosophy seem to contradict that, yet…”
“Hmm? No.”
“I am not in the least opposed.”
Did I misunderstand what shamans were?
“My explanation may have been lacking.”
“Doctor Kim, a shaman does not treat every demon cruelly. For example, the Taejagwi—a ghost of a dead child that has become a demon—requires the utmost gentleness. We soothe its spirit and return it to rest.”
“The Hogubyeolseong, the god of smallpox and pestilence, may share the essence of a demon, but we still revere it as a divine being.”
“In short, if it is not an utterly malevolent demon that harms people, I will not interfere.”
“Understood, 322.”
Kim Miryeo pulled out a memo from her pocket and wrote something down before continuing.
“Then, should the opponent prove to be that ‘utterly malevolent demon’…?”
“Without exception, I will exorcise it.”
“If I were to face a malevolent demon and refrain from exorcising it…”
“It would be like sitting with chocolate pie before me and refusing to eat.”
Warning: Extreme caution. Dialogue protocol active. Maintain professional distance.
“…”
“No answer?”
These people really could resist chocolate pie when it was right in front of them. Their willpower was truly formidable.
“That being said,” I continued, “if the management department has even locked up an utterly malevolent demon, I will not interfere with that exorcism. But our conversation from now on will proceed without hindrance.”
“Understood, BAR-322.”
Kim Miryeo nodded once. The white wall behind her began to slide open with a soft hydraulic hiss.
Wall retracted. Dialogue with BAR-207 commencing.
Modern adaptation was still difficult. Every time I saw technology like this, a sigh of wonder slipped out.
When the wall was fully open, there it was—the creature from the paper.
It twitched.
“Hmm. It does not seem particularly malevolent.”
“The pressure is mild.”
“According to the director, it is useful to the management department. Therefore, I see no need to eliminate it immediately.”
Following the paper’s description, the head began to morph. In seconds it became that of a Western woman.
Oh? A woman’s personality?
I was genuinely curious how she would treat me. The paper had warned that the conversation partner must be male, otherwise… well, I would find out soon enough.
“Nice to meet you!”
“I am Ara.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
The creature stared at me with an unreadable expression.
“Man?”
“Or woman?”
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