The Advent of Yours Truly
The Advent of Yours Truly
"It's my fault."
Kwang.
The wall of Hanhyun Prison vibrated intensely from the fist slammed against it by Jeong Yeong, Team Leader of Investigation Team 2.
"I shouldn't have brought the rookie.... It's all because I needlessly dragged her along...."
"You just wanted her to gain a bit more experience. How could you have known this would happen?"
"I didn't know. But I'm the team leader."
"......"
"I should have known. It was my responsibility to know."
Her final murmur was close to self-blame.
Her team members exchanged looks and nodded.
Because they knew which team the current Investigation Team 2 leader belonged to before she was assigned here.
And because they knew why she was transferred to this team, they responded with a considerate silence instead of trying to persuade her.
Ironically, that silence made Jeong Yeong's heart feel even more miserable.
Ttarrr.
Suddenly, the sound of a telephone echoed.
She nodded at a team member who was looking at her hesitantly.
"...Answer it."
It was undoubtedly Han Taehee.
She would probably just tell them it was useless and to return.
Having guessed that fact, Jeong Yeong's gaze was far from gentle when the team member, who had been saying "yes, yes" several times over the phone, turned their head toward her.
"Contact came from headquarters again...."
"If they're telling us to return, you guys go ahead first. Tell her I'm not leaving until I find the rookie."
"T-That's not it."
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Team Leader-nim, it's not that—."
...Sigh.
Right. She was too worked up.
What was the point of taking out her frustration over losing a subordinate on another subordinate?
"Sorry. I lost my temper a bit."
Jeong Yeong said, sweeping back her hair.
"Give me the phone. I'll handle it directly."
The subordinate flinched briefly at the following words, but ultimately handed over the phone to her.
Thus, she received the phone.
Usually, she had a lot of things she wanted to say to the General Personnel Team.
Just as she was about to spill the words she had kept bottled up,
"What on earth do you mean by that?! What? ...Yes, yes."
The person on the other end of the line spoke first.
And finally, around the time the call ended,
Jeong Yeong, Team Leader of Investigation Team 2 at the Anomalous Phenomenon Management Bureau,
"...Jiyoung is at headquarters right now?"
Why are you there...?
Trying hard to swallow those words,
regardless of the anger she had displayed just moments ago, she had no choice but to gape in blank astonishment.
###
About 30 minutes prior to that.
"So one missing person reported from the currently deployed team. It's unavoidable."
The department overseeing the deployment of agents and situational responses within the Anomaly Management Bureau.
The reaction of Han Taehee, Head of the General Personnel Team, was beyond emotionless.
"This is a war. Between humanity and anomalies. Hoping that in a war only the enemy dies while our side remains untouched isn't just greedy; it's living in a fantasy world."
Such things only happen in naive fairy tales for children.
There was simply one more inevitable sacrifice. Nothing more, nothing less.
Trembling over every individual person being treated as expendable was proof that one had not yet become an adult.
And Han Taehee was already an adult long before she rose to her current position.
She could make more mechanical judgments than anyone else, which was precisely why she could attain her present standing.
"It was a noble sacrifice. Tell them to award an honorific star to her seat, and tell the investigation team to start making their way back."
"Pardon? But Investigation Team 2 Leader-nim said—"
"'said' what? What, is there something she hasn't submitted a report on yet?"
Let us think logically.
First, regarding the urban legend in question, not a single case of survival or return has ever been reported.
Second, the person caught in it is the team's rookie.
Sure, there might be more variables, but is there any need to fuss over them?
"If it's not that, she's a rookie, right? A civilian who merely learned of urban legends and anomalies and received basic training."
The field where they worked was a place where even seasoned veterans could become cold corpses from a single minor mistake.
A mere rookie surviving inside an urban legend where nothing is known?
'Even if one harbors hope, one should harbor hope that has a realistic possibility.'
"If something like that walks back alive and well, it wouldn't be a human, but an anomaly mimicking a human. Investigation Team 2 Leader hasn't grown up yet either."
And the Management Bureau is an organization that fights against anomalies.
Not a place that indulges the tantrums of a child who hasn't grown up.
"Tell Investigation Team 2 Leader exactly this: stop useless investigations and return immediately."
No further words were needed.
With an unsatisfied expression, the subordinate nevertheless replied in agreement and left Han Taehee's private office.
Beyond the translucent glass window, she could see him picking up the telephone.
Watching the sight, Han Taehee sneered.
That's why you can't advance.
The qualification to reach high places is a vision that sees a worker's death merely as a decrease in numbers—.
Kwa-ang—!!!!!!!
Suddenly, without warning, the building shook violently.
Losing her balance, Han Taehee tumbled hard to the floor.
Shattered tempered glass rained down upon her.
'Wh-What—.'
An earthquake?
But this building was designed with earthquake resistance.
It was a countermeasure against the catfish anomaly passed down from ancient times in Japan, which causes earthquakes when it shakes its body.
Then a bombardment?
That, too, made no sense.
This building had military defense systems built in to prevent terrorism from lunatics possessed by urban legends or cultists worshipping anomalies.
The remaining possibilities were the same.
Layers of spiritual and physical automatic protection systems, including incantations, blessings, and curses, were constructed throughout this building.
An invasion by an anomaly was something one couldn't even imagine.
"Shit... What is this?"
Tidying up her disheveled attire, Han Taehee got up, and...
Through the wide-open gaping hole in the glass, she noticed her subordinates staring at her as if spellbound.
What is wrong with those guys now?
Why are they sitting there staring at me in horror?
It didn't stop there.
Han Taehee saw her subordinates pulling out the handguns at their waists, and—
:: H e l l o . ::
The sound of gunshots firing.
Even amidst it, so vividly distinct,
she felt a voice that could not be thought of as human coming from directly behind her.
:: L o n g t i m e — :: No, F i r s t t i m e :: m e e t i n g y o u . ::
...This is the 4th floor though?
Slowly, forcing her trembling body to turn, Han Taehee looked behind her, and—
"H-Help me! Here! There's an ano—:: Shh. Quiet. :: —maly here!"
:: Y o u ' r e f r o m p e r s o n n e l , r i g h t ? H e r e , I b r o u g h t y o u r e m p l o y e e . ::
"S-So suddenly out of nowhere...!"
:: S h e s e e m s v e r y s h o c k e d , s o p l e a s e c o m f o r t h e r w e l l . ::
An anomaly well over 2 meters tall, looking as though filth had taken shape.
The monster, who had smashed straight through a steel wall, shook its body as if bullets striking it meant nothing at all—
and she witnessed it gently pulling out the rookie who was reported missing from its side and putting her down.
"C-Cha Intern! Did you just bring an anomaly to the Management Bureau...?!"
"W-Well, this is a place that catches anomalies! I thought if I brought it here, something could be done about it...!"
No, what about security!
Where the hell did security go!
Where in the world is there a crazy person who spills the base location to the enemy expecting soldiers to catch it!
"B-By any chance, are we an organization that just gets completely wiped out if a single anomaly invades...?"
However, what returned instead was the rookie's audacious counter-question.
She was rendered speechless in many ways.
It wasn't that she had nothing she wanted to say—
:: I t o l d y o u s h e s e e m s v e r y s h o c k e d , s o p l e a s e c o m f o r t h e r w e l l . ::
:: A h , a n d s i n c e I ' m o u t h e r e a n y w a y , ::
She could not do so.
:: Y o u a r e M s . H a n T a e h e e , r i g h t ? ::
...!
"W-Why would I talk about Section Chief-nim to an anomaly! There was no context for such a conversation to even come up...!"
Eyes that moved involuntarily.
Intern Cha, receiving that glare, merely shook her head.
:: Y o u c u t y o u r h a i r , d i d n ' t y o u ? ::
:: Y o u s e e m t o h a v e l o s t s o m e w e i g h t , t o o . ::
Teok.
A slimy hand, appearing as if a shadow had taken form, slowly reached up.
The resting hand gently patted Section Chief Han's shoulder.
"..! ..!!"
It was clearly an anomaly she was seeing for the first time.
In the first place, even if she belonged to the Bureau, why would someone in Personnel buy targeted resentment from an anomaly?
:: P e o p l e t a l k a l o t b e h i n d y o u r b a c k . ::
Yet, as if dealing with someone it had known for a long time and disliked, the anomaly spoke in a voice:
:: B e c a r e f u l . Y o u w o n ' t l i v e o u t y o u r n a t u r a l l i f e s p a n l i k e t h a t . ::
Pointing directly at her, it threw out words that could only be interpreted as a death threat.
:: W e l l t h e n , I ' l l b e o f f . ::
:: T a k e c a r e . ::
Inside the pupils were yet other pupils.
Seething unholy filth. Multiple eyes surging after the mouth.
Hundreds, thousands of eyes surging out from the amorphous filth were staring straight into her very essence.
Peulseok.
Section Chief Han felt the strength leave her legs, and—
...Kkoleureuk.
Where is this sound coming from?
...Ah. It's my mouth.
- Uh, huh? Section Chief Han!
- Section Chief Han!!! Pull yourself together!!
The shouts of people calling out to her felt like they were echoing from far, far away.
Using those shouts as a lullaby, Han Taehee fell unconscious just like that.
###
And afterwards.
Classification Code, QNSFB-1587.
Phenomenon Tentative Title: Sinus Candy Prison Break Incident.
======================
Classification Code : QNSFB-1587-01
Entity Name (Tentative) : Candy Store Clerk
Overview :
- A black mucilaginous anomaly discovered inside QNSFB-1587.
- Takes the shape of a human wielding a double-edged saw, but judging from various circumstances, its essence is presumed to be amorphous.
Excerpt from the testimony of Agent Cha Jiyoung, a Bureau intern and the first survivor of QNSFB-1587: "A slime taking a human form... If I had to find a comparison, that's what it was."
- Mucus drips from its body, but mucus that separates and drips off is presumed to dissipate upon contact with objects.
- Processes and sells the prisoners who disappeared through QNSFB-1587. Refers to said prisoners as piñatas, and...
.
.
.
- July 11: Manifested in reality. Initiated a direct invasion against the Management Bureau.
- After putting down Agent Cha Jiyoung, who was caught up in QNSFB-1587, it vanished without committing any hostile acts. The intern in question was somewhat startled, but suffered no physical trauma whatsoever.
- The circumstances under which the anomaly invaded the Management Bureau building are currently unknown; further investigation will be initiated.
======================
A sub-document addressing the anomaly appearing in the anomalous phenomenon in question was added.
=======================
Remarks :
- General Personnel Team Leader Han Taehee actively expressed opposition to the statement in this report claiming there were no hostile acts. Quoting her statement below:
"I'm telling you, it threatened that I would be stabbed! If that's not hostile, then what is it?!"
- The returned Management Bureau intern stated she ordered a candy delivery from the anomaly. Quoting her statement below:
"It made an excuse saying it had urgent business.. And I thought it would be strange to pick out candy in the middle of all that, so I just..!"
=======================
Capable of causing an unprecedented storm in the history of the Management Bureau,
=======================
- As stated above, no direct hostile acts were detected from the anomaly. Furthermore, there is insufficient evidence to assess the lethal capability of the anomaly based on this.
- Nevertheless, comprehensively considering the facts that it knows the location of the Management Bureau, consecrated firearms had no effect, and there is a possibility of causing an anomalous phenomenon originating from 'candy delivery' to the Bureau in the near future:
- Regardless of the entity's actual lethality and hostile intent, its comprehensive threat level is temporarily designated as 'Special Grade'.
=======================
The anomaly destined to be evaluated as the most bizarre, and the agent destined to leave the greatest legacy.
It was a monumental document where both of their names appeared together for the very first time.
"There is a possibility that it will dispatch a new entity to the Management Bureau for 'delivery'. Or come directly."
"As the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Management Bureau, I shall convey this."
"As of this moment, I, as Acting Director, hereby issue an indefinite state of emergency alert targeting all agents of the Bureau."