Chapter 395
Chapter 395
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 395. I Already Knew
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I hurriedly scan our surroundings.
Seeing as they've come all this way to meet us, they're probably not alone.
And it seems I'm not the only one thinking that, as Song Arin whispers to me while looking around.
"No sign of them."
"I see."
So just the two of them came?
As that thought crosses my mind,
"You were pretty aggressive back there too."
"I'm not aggressive toward people."
"So that means I'm not a person, huh."
She smiles softly after hearing my words, and the man sighs upon hearing them.
"Anyone can see we're human."
"But you're not."
I look once more at the two standing before us.
[Name: Yoo Hyunjun]
[Age: 50]
[Specialty: Not human]
[Talent: None]
[Background: This one is not human.]
[Weakness: Get rid of them first.]
[Name: Park Youngin]
[Age: 48]
[Specialty: Not human]
[Talent: None]
[Background: This one is not human.]
[Weakness: Get rid of them first.]
"Get rid of them" is one thing, but these descriptions are seriously bothering me.
"...Chaeyeon."
"Yeah."
Jang Chaeyeon nods as if no further explanation is needed and reaches out her hand.
-Kwaaang!
With an enormous crash, the debris we've shattered up to now surges toward the two of them.
The moment they exchange glances,
"No way!"
Song Arin shouts and thrusts out her hand. At the same time, their movements freeze like they've been nailed in place.
-Uujijik!
Countless shards embed themselves as the two fail to withstand the impact and go flying backward. Song Arin stands beside me and lets out a sigh of relief.
"G-Good thing. It worked."
"Mental attacks get through?"
"Yeah. I was really worried they wouldn't."
She presses her temples as she answers, and Yoo Daon watches the scene with a calm expression before approaching Song Arin and whispering something.
...
Song Arin nods with a hardened face after hearing Yoo Daon.
What did she say?
"They didn't die, right?"
"They're alive even after taking a bullet to the head. Of course they're still kicking."
Song Arin replies to my mutter as if it's the most obvious thing,
"You've been through so much, huh? You just take it as a given."
The two rise, riddled with countless shards embedded in their bodies.
"Even with black hair, surviving all that... must be genetic?"
Song Arin frowns at the sight, and the woman presumed to be Yoo Daon's mother shakes her head with a smile, as if responding to her question.
"No way. I'm not as exceptional as Daon."
Exceptional?
What does that mean?
My sudden surge of curiosity draws my gaze to them, but
-Cheolpeok!
The two melt into the floor like liquid.
Jang Chaeyeon hurriedly stands in front of us, spreading both hands wide, and I draw my gun and fire at the melting figures.
-Tang! Tang!
Gunshots ring out, bullets pierce the puddle, but as if it's nothing, the puddle writhes and
-Cheolpeok!
reforms into human shape.
...
And there they stand, perfectly fine, staring at us.
"We couldn't talk properly like that."
The two smile kindly, and a sense of helplessness wells up inside me.
Physical attacks don't work. This is way different from what I heard.
As those thoughts swirl, their legs halt, and they exchange bewildered looks for a moment.
...
Song Arin presses her temples and speaks.
"Mental attacks work really well, so you must be human. What are you?"
She keeps her hand on her temple as she glares at them, and the two exchange glances before smiling faintly.
"Now we can finally have a proper conversation."
"Right."
As if all this time, we were the ones antagonizing them, preventing real talk.
Irritation flares up for a moment, but right now, gathering intel on them takes priority.
"Ah, so you're willing to listen."
They smile as they look at each other and continue.
"What do you think is the origin of the Management Bureau?"
"Origin?"
I raise one eyebrow and ask back, and they nod.
"Yeah. Why did the Management Bureau rise to protect humanity? Something like that."
...
Well, obviously, humans were in danger, so they banded together to survive.
Sure enough.
"The Management Bureau was created to protect people from containment objects."
The man mutters in a calm voice.
"But it wasn't all that useful. We were always too late."
...
Always too late.
I know what that means.
Me, the other teams—more often than not, we only resolve things after incidents occur.
"In the end, the Management Bureau became like a one-step-late fixer that shows up after disasters strike, separate from its grand mission to safeguard humanity."
They continue.
"And we wanted to prevent that."
"...Don't tell me that involves Daon?"
What, using an immortal body to roll around, preemptively finding or countering containment objects?
But to my question, they just laugh happily and shake their heads.
"Come on, would we do something so inefficient and tough?"
"Exactly, exactly."
Then what?
I stare at them blankly, and they continue.
"We're dreaming of a bigger world."
"A world where humans are the only ones truly free in this one."
...
A world where humans are the only ones truly free.
And as if refuting my thoughts, they press on.
"Think about it. A world with no containment objects left, only humans remaining to lead everything."
"Humans dominating it all. Nature, everything else. Truly the lords of all creation."
Suddenly, all their actions flash through my mind.
My first meeting with Yoo Daon.
Yoo Daon as an adult form, possessed by one, and even stepping up herself to resolve everything while dying.
And in the world where she became an adult form, a future where everything was already dead.
"...You don't mean you're using Daon for that?"
They smile at my mutter.
"Exactly."
"You're quick on the uptake."
If I recall all of Yoo Daon's actions, it was entirely possible.
No, in a way, she might have even more talent for destroying containment objects than I do.
Because she went beyond mere immortality.
If it were just immortality, bad luck—no, neutralization—would lead to something worse than simple failure and death...
But in tough spots, Yoo Daon was someone who could fight by rewinding her own time.
"...Then Daon is..."
"Right."
She smiles softly at my question.
"Our child, born to protect people. For us."
"...Then why send her to the hospital..."
"That, we do feel a bit sorry about."
"Yeah."
They look at each other apologetically at my words.
"We got a lot of help from the hospital for budgeting and... procuring necessary sacrifices, and in return, we agreed to provide viable samples."
"So we had to send Daon off with regrets."
They gaze at Yoo Daon, and suddenly they freeze, then grasp their own fingers and
-Uuddeuk!
begin snapping them.
Song Arin steps beside me.
"I can't listen to any more of this."
"You did well. I was about to stop too."
I nod at her mutter and stand, looking at the two snapping their fingers.
"Sorry, but I don't get it."
"No need to be sorry."
They exchange glances and smile.
"We figured as much."
The moment I hear that, I hurriedly assume a stance.
I never expected things to go smoothly.
Something shatters.
-Uurung!
And the floor crumbles.
"Kyaaak!"
"...!"
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin's bodies vanish straight downward.
Soon, my body follows with a floating sensation,
"Kuh...!"
plummeting to an unseen bottom.
Yoo Daon watches me with a bewildered expression,
-Kung!
as I collide with something, blacking out in intense pain.
[Your knowledge of Yoo Daon has increased.]
[Critical: 0->1]
Along with an inexplicable message that suddenly appears.
*
"Jaeheon!"
The moment the man falls to the floor, Yoo Daon widens her eyes and cries out in anguish.
"Daon."
The man calls to her in a calm voice as she stares.
"It's fine. It's just temporary longing."
"Right. You have to listen to us."
The two look at Yoo Daon, and she looks back at them before glancing downward again.
I have to jump.
She positions herself to leap, and the woman sighs.
"Really, kids never listen."
At that instant, countless memories flood Yoo Daon's mind.
Memories with her parents, happy times.
"There were happy times too, weren't there?"
The woman's voice rings in Yoo Daon's ears, and she bites her lip.
Memories she desperately wants back.
Memories of the Song Arin she knew, who would tell her to snap out of it and run if under mental attack.
Yoo Daon's feet move on their own.
Honestly, she had expected this.
Even Yoo Daon, a total novice in this area, had figured some kind of failsafe was implanted in her.
That's why she had asked Song Arin for help.
-Kwajik!
Against her will, Yoo Daon draws a spike and stabs her own throat.
Pain pierces her flesh, and soon she can't even breathe.
"Daon!"
The two's shocked voices ring in her ears.
"What was that?!"
"Th-This code wasn't supposed to be there...?"
"What else? Hurry and grab her...!"
They rush toward Yoo Daon, who releases the spike's handle and staggers.
Unable to breathe, her balance fails.
And that's exactly what she wanted.
She stumbles forward and falls through the shattered floor.
"Kyaaaak! Daon!"
"Daon!"
Their screams echo as Yoo Daon simply smiles in delight.
The human mind is so fragile. Yoo Daon knew that all too well.
That's why, to overcome her own mind, she had to be prepared to kill herself.
-Kung!
Her head smashes into the hard floor, a snapping sensation accompanying it.
And with that, Yoo Daon blacks out for a moment.