Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 106. Hall of Nature
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“Be careful.”
“...Yeah.”
Song Arin nodded at Jang Chaeyeon’s words and began walking cautiously, avoiding the spots where light shone through.
Song Arin glanced back at her, her voice less irritated than usual. Jang Chaeyeon tilted her head, meeting her gaze.
“What?”
“...Nothing.”
I watched the two of them talk, then turned my eyes to the wall.
The walls were decorated with people turned into trees.
Their poses varied, but they all shared one thing: expressions of intense agony.
“Daon, watch out there.”
“Ah, thank you.”
As long as they avoided the spots where light shone occasionally, it wasn’t a big problem.
But it didn’t seem like that was the end of it.
“...Daon, you’re not hearing any voices or anything, right?”
“Huh? Voices?”
“Yeah. Like... telling you to head toward the light...”
“Hmm, no?”
Yoo Daon tilted her head as she answered.
“Nothing so far.”
“Got it. If you start hearing anything, tell me right away.”
“Okay.”
No matter what, stay in the darkness.
Which meant there was something that forced you out of the darkness.
“What’s the Management Bureau doing, not catching scum like this?”
“It’s like mutual non-aggression.”
Jang Chaeyeon responded calmly to my mutter.
“We don’t call it mutual non-aggression when they use people as materials.”
“You’re right. But you’re overlooking something.”
“Huh?”
“The Management Bureau steps in immediately to suppress any massive damage.”
“Suppress?”
“Think back to that flood last time.”
As if on cue, Song Arin picked up my question and started explaining.
“Assuming incidents erupt right in front of us at the same time—one killing 10 people and another killing 1,000—we obviously have to prioritize the one killing 1,000.”
“...”
“Of course, if we deployed the branch head like you said, we could eventually catch the aesthetic terrorists.”
“That might be true.”
They were like our side’s asymmetric force, after all.
“But there’s only one incident in the world at a time? And there aren’t that many branch head-level people, honestly.”
“That’s... true.”
“So this is like an unspoken agreement between the Management Bureau and them.”
“...An agreement?”
“If the Management Bureau fought with full force or risked paralyzing operations, those guys would eventually get taken down.”
“...”
“And they know that, so they haven’t crossed the line yet.”
“But what if they go crazy and cause a huge incident someday?”
“Exactly. So the Management Bureau keeps it in mind, but...”
“...”
Jang Chaeyeon clenched her fist so hard her nails dug in as she listened to Song Arin. Seeing that, Song Arin muttered.
“It’s not easy.”
“...”
“Shh.”
Yoo Daon, walking ahead, hurriedly gestured for us to be quiet.
-Clink.
Something started clinking.
I hurriedly looked around.
A place to hide...
In the darkness, behind the sculpted trees, the four of us hid in perfect unison.
Bright light began approaching from far away.
“...Light?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at the source.
It was a doll made of wood.
The size of an average adult male, except a flashlight was attached where its head should be.
It patrolled, shining light everywhere as it wandered around.
Soon, a translucent window appeared above its head.
[Name: Patrol Squad]
[Age: Created 3 years ago]
[Specialty: Light]
[Talent: None]
[Background: These objects patrol the Hall of Darkness and are instrumental in creating more than half of the works here.]
[Weakness: Destroy the flashlight on its head.]
Just touching that light turns you into artwork.
Should I shoot it?
But calling the guide would make things more annoying.
A quiet way to end it.
I looked at the other three.
They all looked at me, waiting for my instructions.
“Daon, pass the awl to Chaeyeon.”
I whispered to Yoo Daon, closest to me.
At my words, Yoo Daon pulled out the awl and rolled it toward Jang Chaeyeon. I looked at Jang Chaeyeon and mimed digging into my head with my finger.
Jang Chaeyeon nodded in understanding and reached for the awl.
Soon, the awl floated into the air and shot toward the flashlight head at ferocious speed.
The flashlight heard it and whipped its head around,
-Thunk!
With a dull impact, glass shattered and flew, and the wooden body slowly collapsed to the floor.
-Thud.
No sounds of breaking or exploding.
“...Easier than I thought?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t help but agree with Song Arin. I hadn’t expected it to go down so quickly.
“Ah. Could it be because of the awl?”
While we huddled and pondered, Yoo Daon clapped her hands, trotted over, and pulled out the embedded awl.
“Look at this. Chaeyeon threw it with such force, but it’s not bent or damaged at all!”
I looked at the awl following Yoo Daon’s gaze.
No bend, not even a scratch, just as she said.
I looked at the translucent window again.
[Name: Awl]
[Age: Created 20 years ago]
[Specialty: Piercing]
[Talent: -]
[Background: The man pondered while making the object. The awl is too soft in my opinion. Let’s make a sharper one.]
[Weakness: He entrusted this awl to someone he trusted.]
Come to think of it, the mirror’s background also mentioned a man, right?
I recalled the mirror’s background.
[Background: How can I make people happy? He agonized all day. Soon, he reached a conclusion. I’ll make a mirror that shows people what they want.]
So, the same person made the mirror and the awl?
The one who showed me past and future, and sent the awl to Yoo Daon—is it the same entity?
At that moment, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Critical: 0 -> 1]
“...”
Meaning the one who gave it could be non-human, related to a containment object, or the object itself.
For now, there must be a reason it went to Yoo Daon.
I looked at her and spoke.
“Daon, keep taking good care of it.”
“Yes!”
I watched Yoo Daon carefully store the awl, then opened the manual and started reading.
[Employee Manual]
[Gallery 1 – Hall of Love and Darkness]
8. Passing through the Hall of Darkness leads to Gallery 2.
8-1. Sometimes the entire Hall of Darkness lights up. In that case, refer to [T-Suicide Method] before it’s too late.
8-2. The Hall of Darkness exit varies, but you’ll always pass trees blooming with countless people. You might spot acquaintances among them. They are never real, or if real, there’s nothing you can do, so ignore them completely.
“...Ah.”
Before I could relay that, Jang Chaeyeon had already stopped, one hand clamped over her mouth as she muttered.
“...Unnie.”
“Unnie?”
Did Jang Chaeyeon have a sister?
I thought she said she was an only child during the Cube incident.
As I squinted to call her, Jang Chaeyeon turned back to me and shouted desperately.
“My unnie’s there! Save her!”
I looked where she pointed.
A massive tree sculpture.
Countless people were embedded in a round wooden sphere, all reaching toward the light shining from above.
Like people racing toward the sun, they all gazed at the spotlighted ceiling, and above all.
-Kreeee...
A horrific sound echoed.
Like nails scraping a chalkboard.
“Ugh...”
My face naturally scrunched up as I covered my ears.
“What the...”
“Unnie!”
Jang Chaeyeon lunged forward,
But Yoo Daon grabbed her shoulders, pulled her back, and the two rolled on the floor.
“Chaeyeon! Snap out of it!”
“Unnie! Unnie!”
“...Chaeyeon, there’s no unnie of yours there.”
“No. She’s right there...! Look...! That agonized expression—”
Jang Chaeyeon trembled, struggling against Yoo Daon’s grip.
“Chaeyeon.”
I continued calmly.
“Everything there has no faces.”
“...”
Jang Chaeyeon froze.
“...Let’s go.”
Yoo Daon took her wrist and led her. Jang Chaeyeon followed, still in shock.
“Daon.”
“Yes?”
“Do you see or hear anything from there?”
“Uh...”
Yoo Daon looked at the tree and shook her head.
“I see and hear it too. But it’s people and voices I’ve never seen or heard before.”
“Huh?”
“So... honestly, I don’t feel anything.”
Yoo Daon laughed awkwardly with an “ahaha.”
“What about you, Arin?”
“I...”
Song Arin looked at the tree, then touched her temple.
Composure returned to her shaken expression.
“I see something, but I’m fine.”
“...Got it.”
I nodded at her words and looked at Jang Chaeyeon, still staring blankly at the tree.
“Chaeyeon.”
“Yeah.”
“All the artwork here messes with your mind.”
The vicious part was there was no direct mental attack to block.
It preyed on traumas, past, or future, leaving no countermeasures.
Vicious.
“...”
Yoo Daon held Jang Chaeyeon’s wrist and passed, and I did the same with Song Arin as we moved.
Soon, a bright path appeared.
A lush, overgrown path unfolded,
And the manual opened again.
-Flutter!
[Employee Manual]
[Gallery 2 - Hall of Nature]
[Welcome to the Hall of Nature. Countless natures and lives assimilated into them will greet you.]
1. Remember, all lifeforms you see here besides you and your colleagues are not human.
-Splash, splash.
Footsteps sounded, and someone appeared.
“...Me?”
I looked at the person before us as Jang Chaeyeon muttered.
Her hair drenched, she stood in front of us.
[Name: Jang Chaeyeon]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: Telekinesis]
[Background: This is not Jang Chaeyeon.]
[Weakness: Shoot the head.]
As it reached out, I drew my gun and fired.
-Kwach!
-Bang!
The thing resembling Jang Chaeyeon reached out as the bullet pierced its forehead,
“Aaack!”
Song Arin beside me let out a pained scream as her right arm twisted grotesquely, clutching it and dropping to her knees.
“Arin!”
“Eyes, front!”
Song Arin gritted her teeth, kicked me, furrowed her brow,
And another Jang Chaeyeon monster reaching out snapped its neck in half and collapsed.
“...Huff...”
Jang Chaeyeon, face pale as a sheet, locked eyes with us, hand outstretched.
-Splash, splash.
Footsteps sounded.