Chapter 391
Chapter 391
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 391. Crossroads
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Ah, so this is what it feels like.
Maybe because it was a corpse now, no translucent window popped up, but I still got a lot of information from it.
A body that dies from one shot—durability is low.
If only durability was low, it wouldn't be much of a problem.
...
Hmm. Tricky.
I furrowed my brow slightly as I stared at the corpse.
Was there nothing else to watch out for besides this?
I opened the manual, but it didn't even twitch.
Either it had nothing to say, or there was no more information beyond this.
In that case, nothing had really changed.
"We have no choice but to keep going."
I said that, turned my gaze away from the fallen corpse, and looked at the three of them.
"But didn't the three of you think I might accidentally shoot someone?"
The three of them exchanged glances at my question.
"...It's fine, Jaeheon. As long as we know, right?"
"Yeah. I absolutely won't tell anyone."
"...Don't worry. I keep my mouth shut."
That wasn't the kind of response I was hoping for. I wanted something more affirmative about my abilities.
As I looked at them with that thought, the three nodded with serious expressions.
"Don't worry, Jaeheon! If the Management Bureau tries to arrest you, we'll run away!"
"...You stall for time first. I'll block the pursuit team..."
"Then, while that's happening, I'll twist their perception so they see this guy as someone else..."
"No, why are you already stressing yourselves out over something that hasn't even happened?"
"...It might happen?"
The three of them all nodded at my words.
...
I had a lot to say, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"We can talk about it later."
I replied calmly and started walking again. Soon enough, another door appeared.
"...A door again."
"But is it really right to follow this scrap of paper?"
Song Arin expressed her doubt at my mutter.
"It's not a scam... but do they even know what's going on properly?"
...
I stared blankly at the manual and shook my head.
"For now, it's the only thing we can trust."
I had no idea why the manual was staying quiet for once.
"...Fine."
Song Arin muttered in dissatisfaction, and we linked arms once more and passed through the door.
...
This time too, nothing happened.
"No, no matter how I look at it, this thing is a con artist."
Song Arin muttered as she tapped the manual's cover, and I shook my head.
"No, I don't think so. Let's try one more time."
There were doors everywhere anyway.
As I moved toward the door again, I glanced at Yoo Daon.
...
She had her eyes closed, deep in thought about something.
"Daon, what—"
Before I could say anything, our vision flipped upside down.
-Thud!
We tumbled to the floor.
"Ah..."
The back of my head throbbed.
"Everyone else...!"
I hurriedly looked around, and Jang Chaeyeon was getting up, rubbing her butt just like me.
"...It hurts..."
Jang Chaeyeon muttered with a furrowed brow.
"Chaeyeon."
"...Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon looked at me, her eyes widening slightly before scanning the surroundings.
"What about the others?"
"No idea."
I didn't know either.
I slowly shook my head, and Jang Chaeyeon nodded expressionlessly.
"They'll manage on their own."
How could she be so indifferent?
...
I looked around.
The yellow walls and floor were already gone, replaced by a marble floor and wooden walls greeting us.
It was like...
"A cathedral?"
I muttered, and at the same time, the manual opened.
[Office Manual]
[37th Floor, Cathedral]
1. Seventy years ago, after causing the Rapture Incident, they have been inhabiting this place.
2. The Rapture Incident involves records too vast to contain here, so please check with those around you or the Management Bureau database.
3. The group that caused the Rapture Incident can no longer speak human language due to the aftermath of the rapture, but their intellect remains human.
4. Their appearance is as follows. Detailed descriptions could cause severe mental contamination, so they are depicted as angels below.
Soon, an image appeared in the manual.
...
...
"What the hell is this?"
Jang Chaeyeon and I exchanged glances.
We both wore baffled expressions.
It was hard to tell from this alone.
"For now, let's stay cautious."
Just looking at them caused mental contamination, which was an even bigger problem for Jang Chaeyeon than for me.
"...Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nodded slowly.
"By the way, your housemate hasn't said much, huh?"
"Housemate?"
Jang Chaeyeon tilted her head, muttered "Ah," and shook her head.
"The Observer..."
She started to speak but closed her mouth. Soon, her smile softened, and she narrowed her eyes at me with a smile.
"I've missed you, Jaeheon. Yeah, I've missed you too. If only the place wasn't like this—"
"...I was just asking for your opinion, not inviting you to take over."
When I replied, the Observer laughed and shook her head.
"You're still so prickly with me, aren't you, Jaeheon?"
"What are you talking about? You're not Chaeyeon."
At my words, the Observer let out a sigh-like laugh.
"...I know why you're prickly with me, but it still hurts every time."
"...It's for both of you."
The Observer smiled again at my response and continued.
"Anyway, since you called me..."
She looked at me for a moment before turning her gaze elsewhere.
"What do you know about the Rapture Incident?"
"Nothing."
She nodded at my answer and continued her explanation.
"The Rapture Incident got its name seventy years ago when the entire population of a city 'ascended.'"
..."Ascended?"
The Observer continued.
"In one city, everyone vanished. Only Management Bureau personnel remained."
..."And they called that ascension?"
"It really looked like everyone was taken up to the heavens. That's why it's called the rapture."
The Observer furrowed her brow slightly.
"And those Management Bureau personnel were no longer human."
The Observer's gaze turned to the pictogram angel, and she sighed.
"It does look similar."
"You've seen one?"
"When the world ends, it means you've seen everything you'd only heard about."
The Observer closed her eyes.
"Anyway, they're not easy opponents. What you especially need to watch out for is..."
...
I looked at the Observer, and she opened her eyes and continued.
"And in reality, many people went mad just from seeing them."
"Mental contamination?"
"Something like that."
The Observer nodded.
"So, for now, I'll come along. Chaeyeon agreed."
..."She really agreed?"
When I looked at her suspiciously, the Observer smiled.
"I don't lie. Just like always."
...
Jang Chaeyeon wasn't one to lie.
I nodded, and the Observer stood beside me.
"For now, this way... no, this way... wait..."
She tilted her head with a dazed expression, as if she couldn't find the path.
"You sure she's reliable?"
"It can happen after being cooped up for so long."
The Observer cleared her throat and started walking, and I followed beside her like I was being led.
How long had we been walking?
"...Here."
The Observer pulled my arm forward, and I followed her.
"Look over there."
I looked where she pointed.
..."Huh."
"The real deal, right?"
There were a few people there.
No, could I even call them people?
...
They were human, but not human.
They clearly had human faces, but wore smiles so serene it was unnatural.
And that wasn't all.
Wings were flapping too.
Serene in appearance... something that wasn't human. That was the only way to describe it.
It felt like I'd seen people like this somewhere before.
..."Ah."
Suddenly, a scene flashed in my mind.
People spinning joyfully on a prairie, and...
..."This isn't connected to that church group, is it?"
"Church?"
The Observer looked at me with a puzzled face at my question.
"No, not at all."
"I see."
But this expression felt too familiar for that not to be the case.
...
I stared at the people smiling serenely, and finally recalled one fact.
..."What the hell."
"Why?"
The Observer looked at me at my mutter, and I slowly turned to her and opened my mouth.
"No, well. I can't see it."
"You mean the translucent window?"
..."Ah, yeah."
Of course. The Observer knows everything about me.
I nodded slowly, and she placed a hand on her chin, lost in thought.
"That's weird. Then it must be a corpse... or something conceptual."
..."Yeah."
She knows too much. Just how much did that version of me over there tell her?
"I know a lot."
..."How much?"
"Want me to tell you? One night, you came to me with your face all red and..."
"No, you don't have to. Please. Stop. Sorry."
In the end, I was the one surrendering, and the Observer smiled in satisfaction...
As I slowly nodded, she made a "hmm" sound and kept tilting her head.
"Something's off. I'll think about it more."
The Observer placed her hand on her chin in thought, and seeing her like that made me anxious.
Where are the other two?
*
..."Goddamn..."
Mimicking the man's habit, Song Arin removed her hand from her temple.
"Hey, black hair."
"Yes?"
She muttered irritably at Yoo Daon, who seemed fine and standing there.
"If someone's fallen, help them."
"I was keeping watch so Arin wouldn't get ambushed."
"How touching."
Song Arin sighed and stood up, letting out another sigh.
"Why is it always just the two of us left?"
..."Well, we've been having a lot of strategy meetings lately."
...
Strategy meetings consisted of discussing what Yoo Daon had said then—specifically, that the man seemed to like Yoo Daon, no, the other Yoo Daon—and what to do about it.
..."Ahem."
Song Arin cleared her throat and looked around.
"So, where are we?"
..."Uh..."
Yoo Daon blankly looked around and opened her mouth.
"A factory?"
As she said, the two were in a factory.
-Rumble!
From far away, it sounded like something grinding.