Chapter 288
Chapter 288
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 288. Logical
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I gaze at the translucent window in front of me, lost in thought.
There are only a few conditions under which a translucent window like this appears.
You're either human, a Containment Object, or possess something equivalent.
So, what I'm seeing right now must be akin to a Containment Object, or perhaps one outright.
"Should we head down?"
"Wait a moment."
I reach out to stop Yoo Daon as she starts to step onto the stairs, sinking deeper into my thoughts.
There are too many suspicious things here.
Even if we assume the path was cleared using that monster, An Sanghyeon.
-Ahhh...!
The horrific screams continue to assault my ears.
Is that really An Sanghyeon?
The voice doesn't match what you'd expect if he were captured and screaming. On the contrary, it sounds more like he's gone inside and is fighting something.
"But these stairs look like they haven't been used in ages."
Yoo Daon mutters as she peers down the stairs.
"There's way too much dust."
"It's true."
Song Arin pokes her head out to inspect the stairs, and Eileen furrows her brow slightly.
"They were behind the wall to begin with. Why the hell is something like this even here?"
"The Riverside is still not fully mapped out, even by the Management Bureau. Every time we go, it's a life-or-death gamble."
Jang Chaeyeon responds calmly to her grumbling.
And yet they asked us to handle it.
"The Riverside is just too anomalous."
"...This feels less anomalous and more like one of the Management Bureau's underground containment rooms..."
Eileen trails off and looks at me.
"What do we do?"
"..."
-Ahhh...!
The sounds keep echoing, and I stand at a crossroads.
Not that it's much of a choice—honestly, what I have to do is already decided.
"Let's go."
"Hey, is that really the right call? Shouldn't we call for backup—"
"It's anomalous, remember? If we back off now and can't find it later, it'll be pointless."
We have to end it here.
A strange sense of duty wells up inside me.
If we don't finish it now, it'll come back later as an even bigger threat. That's my gut feeling.
It's already targeting me like this—imagine how desperate it'll be to devour me later.
Suddenly, the image of Yoo Daon fully matured flashes in my mind, and I look at her. She tilts her head.
"Huh? What is it, Jaeheon?"
"Sit this fight out, Daon."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't just wait here, though. We don't know what Containment Objects might come at us."
Yoo Daon stares at me in bewilderment, and the others look at me with equally confused expressions.
"Why...?"
"..."
If I fail and die, their next target is obvious.
Yoo Daon.
That would turn the hypothetical future I saw with her into a certainty.
In other words, the end of the world.
Even if I die, I have to stop that.
Maybe there's a version of me who already failed.
Ah, right.
I can just check the record left by that failed version of me.
I pull the manual from my pocket and open it, but it's blank.
Nothing?
That can't be.
I flip through it several times, but the manual reveals no text at all.
It just opens to other pages as if annoyed by my repeated attempts.
[Office Manual]
[Mindset for Management Bureau Personnel]
1. Handle your own work yourself.
2. Even if the things in your hands feel like a mountain of burdens, never give up—give it a try first.
Roughly translated, it means: I don't know, so figure it out yourself.
Fine. I'll do that.
I let out a small sigh and close the manual.
"Anyway, that's my take. If Daon gets parasitized, it'll be a disaster."
"I've been fine so far..."
"You saw it too, Daon."
That future. That horror.
"..."
Yoo Daon understands the implication and falls silent. Jang Chaeyeon steps forward.
"Got it. I'll take the front."
"Yes. Chaeyeon and I will lead."
"Got it."
"Then me, Rotten Blonde, and Black Hair bring up the rear?"
"That's the plan."
"Yeah, let's do that. I'm out of ideas now anyway."
Song Arin mutters in resignation, and Jang Chaeyeon and I step onto the stairs.
The stairs are too narrow. Barely enough for one person to walk single file.
I draw my gun and take the first step down.
-Creak...
The stairs creak like they're made of rotting wood, and we all descend carefully.
-Creak... Creak...
The stairs keep groaning,
-Ahh...!
and the cries still echo from far away.
"The stairs... go on forever."
Jang Chaeyeon is right.
The stairs are endlessly long.
We've gone down what feels like five floors, but the end isn't in sight, and worst of all, the sounds haven't gotten any closer.
"Hey... we didn't take a wrong turn, did we? What if we can't get back out...?"
Song Arin mutters anxiously, but Eileen shakes her head.
"No, the air is still flowing from above. The way out is fine, so quit whining and keep mo—Ack! What the...! Why am I hitting my own head...!"
"Nerves must be frayed. She's lost her memory too—needs some R&R. We can use the money I stashed away to buy a villa."
Eileen glares at Song Arin, who just shrugs and avoids her gaze.
At least Eileen guarantees the path back isn't sealed.
The issue is when these stairs end.
It takes another five floors or so before they finally do.
A gray floor greets us, along with pitch-black darkness devoid of any light.
I shine my smartphone's light as I move forward.
"...Doesn't seem like anything's here."
Jang Chaeyeon mutters beside me.
She's right.
It's an incredibly cramped basement.
No more than about 100 square feet.
The only things around are old toys that look like they belonged to a child, and a single bucket whose age is impossible to tell.
-Ahh...!
The sobs still come from afar.
"Feels like a kid's secret hideout."
Song Arin, who came down last, mutters as she looks around.
"The bike's kid-sized, and who knows what the bucket's for."
"..."
A bike, a bucket, and the translucent window in my vision.
I read it again, but nothing's changed.
"What is this? It looks like a basement straight out of a TV show from forty years ago."
Song Arin mutters, scanning the surroundings.
"I was expecting something like a pseudo-hell. Piles of corpses and..."
"Disappointed?"
"You think I'm a psycho like you, Black Hair?"
I tune out their banter and focus on my thoughts.
The origin... the origin...
Origin is a tricky word.
The literal source of everything.
The Butterfly's origin...
No way.
I slowly approach the bucket and peer inside.
Corpses of a few small animals, and a single larva wriggling among them.
"..."
So this is the origin.
"This is..."
Yoo Daon, following behind me, stares at the larva and mutters in confusion.
"The Riverside creates anomalies, right, Chaeyeon?"
"Yeah."
"Do all those anomalies cause incidents?"
"No. Some just appear and vanish, others encroach on areas."
"..."
"It's like earthquakes. Sometimes they're strong, sometimes weak."
Jang Chaeyeon answers from a distance.
Just as I thought.
This anomaly should have quietly emerged into the world and disappeared on its own.
On the intensity scale, a 1 or less.
The kind no one would even notice.
It should have vanished naturally.
But everything changes if an oblivious child picks it up.
A child's innocence means not fearing even a monster.
And unfortunately, the disaster can't comprehend that.
So the child would feed it a few animals before inevitably becoming food itself.
But if only the child became food, that would be one thing.
It went further than that, and the Management Bureau would have responded accordingly.
So why am I seeing this situation now?
I look at the translucent window again.
[Name: Butterfly's Origin]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: Every action has its reason.]
[Weakness: Feed it the food it wants.]
"..."
Now I get it.
This is a problem.
Otherwise, I couldn't explain why there's a basement at the bottom of these stairs.
Because this is far too 'logical.'
It's different from illogical anomalies.
But there's one flaw in this reasoning.
I turn to look at the others.
Song Arin making retching noises at the bucket, Eileen kicking the toys, Yoo Daon fiddling with the wall, and Jang Chaeyeon beside me.
None of these four can see that message.
A problem is only a problem if people can solve it.
Otherwise, it's just child's play or a mystery.
That's why they can't reach the same conclusion as me.
But I can.
It's a leap of logic, but only I, who can see through these eyes, can solve it.
I look at Jang Chaeyeon.
"Why did the Riverside form, Chaeyeon?"
"Don't know."
She shakes her head calmly at my question.
"..."
It's tough.
I entered an anomalous zone, and waiting for me is a logical question.
What awaits if I answer it?
Or is pointless death all that's there?
The thought finishes, and the manual opens.
[Office Manual]
[Mindset for Management Bureau Personnel]
1. Handle your own work yourself.
2. Even if the things in your hands feel like a mountain of burdens, never give up—give it a try first.
3. You can do it.
"..."
Right. I can.
Feeling like I've taken a step closer to the truth, I decide to answer the question.
I reach out and grab the wriggling larva.
"...Jaeheon?"
Yoo Daon looks at me puzzled,
-CRUNCH!
and as I place the larva on my neck, I vividly feel its teeth sinking into my flesh.
"J-J-Jaeheon!"
Yoo Daon's scream, and my vision rapidly darkening.
I've fed it, so now it's time to receive the correct answer.