Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 193. Sister
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"Ugh..."
Song Arin clutched her nose and stared at me.
"What is this?"
"The workshop."
This must be the workshop the Team Leader had mentioned.
"..."
Yoo Daon closed her eyes and sniffed the air.
"Out of all the blood smells I've ever encountered, this one's the thickest."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
She nodded.
"It's... well, there's just so much of it. And it's not like blood that spilled all at once—it's the kind that oozed out really slowly."
"Slowly?"
"Like deliberately slicing into the body bit by bit, or torturing someone."
Yoo Daon gazed straight ahead as she continued.
"You can't let it pour out in a rush. It's about various methods to make it trickle slowly—inflicting pain, performing surgery... that sort of thing."
"..."
If Yoo Daon, who knew this stuff inside out, was saying it, then it had to be true. Still, it felt like I'd prodded at one of her old wounds.
"You sure it's okay to go in?"
"We have to..."
Song Arin let out a sigh, and Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon stepped inside.
I followed after them.
The interior looked surprisingly clean.
"It's cleaner inside than I thought."
Yoo Daon muttered under her breath, only for Jang Chaeyeon to smack her back right away, while Song Arin slapped her forearm.
"Quiet."
"That's not something to say."
"Y-Yes, okay...?"
I tore my gaze from Yoo Daon's flustered mumbling and scanned the room.
The wooden desk was rough-hewn and primitive. There wasn't even a chair.
An easel held a single canvas with an unfinished painting on it.
In the back, there was one closed wooden door.
I examined the painting.
"..."
A white-haired woman was snapping someone's neck.
The white-haired woman reached out with a wretched expression, while the other woman's neck twisted unnaturally.
The victim's body and face weren't fully rendered yet, so it was impossible to make out exactly who she was.
The subject herself was unfinished too, so no telling there either—but the white-haired one? I knew her.
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon, the painting's owner, wore a bewildered look.
"...Me?"
"...You know her?"
"No. No idea."
Jang Chaeyeon shook her head slowly.
"I don't kill people like that."
"...I see."
It took me a moment to grasp what she really meant.
"...Only when I have to."
"I know."
Jang Chaeyeon wasn't the type to kill for fun.
I nodded to show I wasn't worried, then started inspecting the painting.
Not that there was much to inspect, since it wasn't finished.
As I studied it carefully, I noticed some writing at the bottom of the canvas.
[Please set a title]
I checked the painting again, but no translucent window popped up.
"The door just shut."
Song Arin fiddled with it and muttered as she glanced my way.
The best approach in a situation like this was the simplest one.
"Chaeyeon."
"...Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded and extended her hand. A massive thud shook the door.
-Bang!
But for all the noise, it didn't budge an inch.
"...Huh?"
Jang Chaeyeon muttered in confusion.
"It won't break?"
Yoo Daon scratched her cheek.
"I wouldn't think it's something Chaeyeon can't smash with her strength."
-Thunk!
I punched the wooden door, and the sound reverberated.
"See? It's just a regular wooden door."
Nothing out of the ordinary met my eyes.
"Maybe your strength's weakened, Chaeyeon?"
Yoo Daon eyed her, and Jang Chaeyeon—uncharacteristically indignant—shook her head at Yoo Daon.
"It's not."
"Hmm..."
Yoo Daon poked at Jang Chaeyeon's arm, got her palm smacked, yelped "Ow!", and shook the door.
"..."
Song Arin propped her chin on her hand and stared at the door.
"Not everything in this world can be solved with brute force."
"Huh?"
She fiddled with the door as she turned to me.
"If force fixed everything, the Containment Team would've smashed the place to bits by now."
"Then..."
"Yeah. Could be some kind of mechanism."
Song Arin muttered as she ran her hand over the door.
"Least from my experience. Otherwise, the branch chief would've personally demolished every containment object out there."
Hadn't he?
"Got it anyway."
"Yeah. I'll think on it too."
Song Arin swept her hand along the wall as she spoke.
I shifted my gaze from her back to the canvas.
Honestly, if that was the case, only one thing nagged at me.
[Please set a title]
The text on the canvas caught my eye.
"...The title."
"Yeah?"
Jang Chaeyeon approached me, looking puzzled.
"..."
She stared at the canvas text.
"You think we should set one?"
"...Honestly, no idea."
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon gazed at the painting in silence, then let out a deep sigh.
"Might be the right move."
"Chaeyeon... should I?"
"No."
She shook her head slowly at my words.
"I don't want you stressing over my stuff."
"It's not stress."
"...I'll do it."
Jang Chaeyeon gave a small smile, pondered for a moment, then drew in a deep breath.
"Something that won't happen."
She murmured the words, and they etched themselves onto the canvas.
[Something that won't happen]
-Creak...
The door swung open.
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon furrowed her brow, and Yoo Daon peered beyond the door.
I looked past the room from over her shoulder too.
It was pretty dark.
Yoo Daon squinted as she muttered.
"Looks like a sculpture studio this time...?"
"Sculpture studio?"
Peering over Yoo Daon's shoulder into the room, sure enough—it was a sculpture studio, just like she said.
Another wooden door at the far end, predictably shut tight.
A chisel and mallet sat there, and in the center lay a human body.
A woman's body.
But made of something wood-like, rather than stone.
If I had to describe it, it felt like one of the Aesthete's bodies.
And once again, no neck.
A spare torso, maybe?
"But what's that thing...?"
"It's a mannequin."
"...I was about to say the same..."
Song Arin cut in before Yoo Daon could finish, and Yoo Daon murmured to her in a timid voice.
"But it's off."
"Yeah?"
"I can sense an ego. Faint, but there."
Song Arin walked toward the mannequin, frowning.
"Feels human-like."
"Human?"
"Like a sleeping person, maybe. Gives me a bad vibe. I'll be careful not to wake it."
Song Arin proceeded cautiously, glancing around.
"...There's something here."
She soon peeled a sheet of paper off the mannequin's torso.
[Please name the work.]
"Again?"
It's not like we're naming something important.
A body with no head—how do you even name that?
"So what's the point of all this?"
"Who knows."
Song Arin frowned unpleasantly as she replied to my question.
"If this were your run-of-the-mill anomaly, it'd have some logic."
"..."
"But as we know, we're dealing with something that doesn't play by the rules."
"So it could just be toying with us."
"Honestly? Yeah."
Song Arin nodded.
"It's confidence."
"Confidence?"
"Confidence that no matter what, it won't lose to us."
"..."
Hard not to be confident.
I thought back to facing the Aesthete.
Yoo Daon and Song Arin stabbing at it with their hands.
Jang Chaeyeon getting clocked out cold by her own swing.
And Critical failing completely.
Truth be told, I didn't want a one-on-one this time either.
"...Anyway, we need to name it first."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Yoo Daon, Jang Chaeyeon, and Song Arin all turned to look at me.
"...Can I do this one?"
"Oh, no, Jaeheon-ssi, we're not putting it on you!"
Yoo Daon caught my eye and waved her hands frantically.
"It's just—you're way better at coming up with names than me...!"
"I agree."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded.
"...Not like I'm trying to dump it on you or anything..."
Song Arin twirled a lock of her hair.
"You're always the one who takes charge on stuff like this."
"...Got it."
Yeah, probably should be me.
I nodded and eyed the mannequin.
A name, anyway.
"Mannequin."
The door stayed shut.
"Too lazy?"
"You're not even naming it yourself—why backseat? Want to try, Arin?"
"Geez, that wasn't an insult."
Song Arin grumbled.
"...Aesthete knockoff? Yi-ju-mi-taem?"
Still nothing.
This was tough.
"Aesthete Lee Ho-gi?"
No dice.
Man, this is hard.
"I trust Jaeheon-ssi's naming sense, even if it's not the best!"
"Just give me a sec. I'll get it right."
Yoo Daon cheered me on, but I had nothing else.
I'd never even raised a dog—how was I supposed to name this?
Just throwing out my best shot.
"..."
Not that I wanted to give it a great name either. That felt risky.
"...Art?"
The paper fluttered down at my words.
[Proof of Art]
Then text engraved on the paper.
-Fwoom!
[Thank you.]
The mannequin vanished, and the paper fell.
"..."
-Creak...
The door opened.
"Feels like it's about time to head out."
We'd found the Team Leader. Now we just needed the exit.
"I'll take point then?"
Yoo Daon headed for the door again.
"...Huh?"
A bewildered sound escaped her.
"What?"
"No, it's..."
Yoo Daon peered ahead as she muttered.
"..."
Jang Chaeyeon followed her gaze and sharply inhaled.
Her face went pale, and she soon clamped both hands over her mouth.
Looking past Jang Chaeyeon,
The mannequin from before was there.
Along with a single human head.
"..."
The problem was, it was like a mosaic had been slapped over it—the head wasn't properly visible.
"..."
Even squinting didn't help. It was as if my eyes were "refusing to see," static fuzzing out the face.
A translucent window appeared before me.
[Name: Proof of Art]
[Age: Just created]
[Specialty: -]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Masterpiece, born here.]
[Weakness: -]
"...Sister...?"
Jang Chaeyeon murmured in shock.
Sister?
-Crackle!