Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 55. Chronos's Shield
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-Thud! Thud! Thud!
Its head bounced as it flashed a chilling grin.
How on earth did my eyes pick up on something different?
Did it notice my gaze? It looked at me with its mouth stretched in a torn-wide smile.
"Your optic nerve is way more densely packed than most people's."
My eyes?
As I unconsciously fiddled with my own eyes, a jet of green liquid shot straight toward my face,
-Splat!
Yoo Daon thrust out her arm to block it.
-Sizzle...
A horrific melting sound came from her arm, but she kept her gaze fixed straight ahead without a care.
"Not on my watch."
"Get real. The kid who could only come back from the dead is yapping like she's hot shit just because she heals a little faster now."
Thud, thud. Bouncing its head, the neurosurgeon continued.
"Even so, you're just a useless immortal human who can't die!"
...
Yoo Daon froze at those words.
"So give up already—"
Before it could finish, its body flew backward and slammed into the wall.
Jang Chaeyeon stood in front of me with a icy expression.
Anyone could see she was furious.
"Do your job."
Jang Chaeyeon extended her hand toward me.
"Find the exit. Get us out of here."
"I'm talking here—"
"Shut up."
-Crackle!
With the sound of air warping,
-Boom!
It crashed into the wall again as Jang Chaeyeon stared at Yoo Daon with emotionless eyes.
"Don't mind it."
Was that her way of being considerate?
"You rude little—"
"...Don't touch that person."
-Boom!
Jang Chaeyeon thrust her hand out again, and this time it embedded deep into the wall beyond. She turned her gaze back to me.
"Let's go. Find the way. I'll block anything coming our way."
"Don't ignore me!"
With a splatter, green liquid sprayed out, but Jang Chaeyeon brushed it aside with a flick of her hand, not even bothering to glance at it.
"I'll cover from behind. But I can't see ahead."
...
Clap! Song Arin slapped her cheek so hard it turned bright red, then glared forward with wide eyes.
"Then I'll take the front."
Her tone was fully back to normal.
"You okay?"
"What do you take me for? I'm Song Arin from the Management Bureau."
She clearly hadn't recovered from the shock yet.
She clasped her trembling hands together once and flashed a confident smile.
"This is nothing. I'll scout ahead, so you keep running, Black Hair. You rack that brain of yours."
"Got it."
While Jang Chaeyeon kept it pinned, the three of us rushed past her and down the stairs.
"Ignoring...!"
-Boom!
"Me...!"
-Kaboom!
"...I said...!"
-Kaboom!
"Sis!!!!"
Every time the monster spat out a word, something shattered even louder. Only after we'd all passed did Jang Chaeyeon give it one final hard shove and start running after us.
Now we were sprinting down the creepy corridor.
I quickly flipped open the Manual.
[3-5. The morgue's location is randomly generated. Normally, we recommend not making much noise, but if you're already being chased, just run. We hope you find the morgue before they catch you.]
"You bitch!"
Soon, an enraged voice pierced my eardrums from behind.
And ahead, a few nurses appeared.
"Nurses!"
"Coming!"
Luckily, we had someone who knew their weakness and someone who could exploit it.
"Song Arin! Worst memory!"
At my words, Song Arin immediately widened her eyes, and the nurses clutched their heads in silent screams before collapsing in place.
"You had a plan too!"
Song Arin looked at me in admiration.
Jang Chaeyeon was busy deflecting incoming globs of liquid from behind.
In contrast, Yoo Daon quietly kept her head down, just running behind us.
Time to do my part.
I pondered as I ran.
What is a hospital? Honestly, it was too vast a concept. Grasping the essence of such a massive entity—not some containment object—was no easy task.
Think smaller.
What was Gangseo University Hospital built for?
To cure diseases? No, because all that happened here were horrors.
To create diseases? That felt too forced with everything going on.
I recalled what I'd seen in the hospital.
I glanced up at the ceiling.
Countless jellyfish drifting aimlessly like they were swimming in the sky.
And the jellyfish dangling from the patient's neck.
Finally, the memories and emotions that burst out when the jellyfish popped.
Something was starting to click.
How much farther did we run? Song Arin shouted loudly and pointed ahead.
"Here!"
We skidded to a halt in front of a sign reading <Morgue>.
This was supposed to have the freezer.
I quickly opened the door,
"...What the."
I was speechless at the massive morgue.
It felt like stepping into a huge stadium.
Freezers lined the walls everywhere, so at least I didn't have to worry about finding the right door.
Of course, another problem was waiting for us.
...
The thing leaning against the wall, checking a chart, straightened up as we entered and looked at us.
"So it really was Management Bureau scum."
From the pitch-black shadow, the orthopedic surgeon grinned with twisted gums as it eyed us.
"And trying to take our prized lab rat with you? No can do."
...
Beside me, Yoo Daon clenched her fists, while Song Arin stepped forward protectively and whispered to me.
"That one's immune to hypnosis."
Looking back at Song Arin's words, Jang Chaeyeon was still locked in fierce combat behind us.
"Haa... haa..."
She backed through the door, breathing heavily.
Her collar was corroded, so even Jang Chaeyeon wouldn't last much longer.
"Song Arin, help Chaeyeon."
"What about that one?"
"I'll handle it."
"...Right. You can do it."
Song Arin glanced at me, nodded, then headed toward Jang Chaeyeon.
-Splatter!
She deflected another glob of green liquid.
"You annoying bitch! Sis, we gotta kill her...!"
The battered neurosurgeon lunged at us from all sides, but Jang Chaeyeon slammed it into the wall again, and Song Arin joined her.
Song Arin whipped out a shotgun from behind her back and fired.
-Bang!
The neurosurgeon's upper body jerked back, then froze.
Its joints tore through its flesh and dangled, but the head it held was still pinned to Jang Chaeyeon.
"...Shut up in there...!"
As it screamed, Song Arin planted several rounds into its torso with precise marksmanship.
"Ha! Underestimating Management Bureau folks!"
As the two held the line behind us, I faced the shadow-made doctor.
He was still holding the chart, staring at Yoo Daon.
"Time to return our patient."
"Just buy me time, Daon."
Now to analyze this thing.
At my words, Yoo Daon stepped forward to confront it.
"...It's just a human body. It won't die, that's all."
The orthopedic surgeon spoke slowly.
"So what can you even do?"
He extended his arm.
I quickly drew my pistol and fired.
The bullet whistled through the air, passing harmlessly through the shadow.
I knew it wouldn't work, but this was too obvious.
Stay calm. Observe carefully from now on.
But nothing happened.
The world just darkened a bit.
No. The world wasn't darkening.
All the light was converging in one place.
I looked up at the ceiling.
The jellyfish began to scatter.
Amid murmurs of fear from the people, the jellyfish floated away somewhere.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
The orthopedic surgeon, now just a shadow, murmured in rapture as he watched them disperse.
"What do you make of this?"
"...Memories and souls."
"Huh."
It turned its head toward me.
"Why do you think that?"
"I popped one open."
Now I get it.
Gangseo University Hospital isn't for studying diseases.
This place studies 'souls'.
The flower bud patients, the stemmed bodies left behind. Sunflowers.
And the incomprehensible surgeries.
At first, I thought it was just mad scientists treating and researching illnesses.
But no.
The goal here is to 'inflict pain'.
They torment people, then extract their souls and memories somehow.
I couldn't know the endgame, but I could guess that much.
"You know your stuff."
It nodded, and a familiar window popped up before my eyes.
[Your understanding of the 'hospital' has increased.]
[Previous understanding gains are being tallied.]
[Please wait a moment.]
Is that it?
Where's the Critical?
-Thud!
While I desperately searched for the Critical, the ceiling collapsed, and something massive dropped in front of me.
It was the huge monster that had chased us down the hall earlier.
It swung its arm at me,
Yoo Daon shoved me aside and went flying herself, embedding into the wall with a massive crash.
-Grind!
Her bones crunching, Yoo Daon let out a scream.
"...Guh..."
She groaned a few times, then staggered back to her feet. Meanwhile, I rolled across the floor, dodging its attacks.
-Thud!
I ran for my life.
I hadn't been hit yet, but that wouldn't last.
The wind from its descending fist twisted my body.
This was dangerous.
Jang Chaeyeon and Song Arin were glancing our way but too busy blocking and deflecting the neurosurgeon's assaults.
In the end, this was my fight alone.
-Boom!
"Argh...!"
The floor shattered, shards pummeling my body. The earthquake-like quake scattered my focus, and I collapsed flat.
Its fist came down on me.
This is it.
Bracing for the pain, I squeezed my eyes shut without thinking.
Am I dying like this?
I curled up tight, preparing for crushed bones and flesh.
-Thud!
I heard the sound. But no pain came.
"...Kuhak...! Kuhak...!"
Yoo Daon had thrown herself over me to shield me.
Drip, drip.
She looked down at me with a resolute expression.
With a gush, blood poured from her mouth and nose onto my face.
She wiped the flowing blood with her finger, forced a smile, and stood up again.
"If it weren't for you... Jaeheon... I would've been nothing."
She steadied her staggering body and faced the monster.
"Even if we'd escaped, the parasite would've gotten me."
She coughed, raising both arms.
"It's because of you that someone worthless like me can be Yoo Daon."
As she spoke, a window appeared.
[Tally complete.]
[Merging Manual and your records.]
[Objects documented so far: 2. Objects encountered: 5.]
[Critical max cap increased to 2.]
At the same moment, the giant monster raised its arm and thrust at Yoo Daon.
"...Thank you."
[Mutual understanding between you and Yoo Daon has increased.]
[Learned combined skill 'Chronos's Shield'.]
[Chronos's Shield: Fix your gaze on XX to lock it down, then Yoo Daon refracts that spot to block all damage.]
[Current duration: 3 seconds]
"Daon!"
At my call, she rushed to my side like compelled, spreading her arms wide. Its fist halted right in front of her as if time had frozen.
"...Huh?"
As Yoo Daon blinked and murmured, the Manual began to unfurl.
-Flutter!
A page labeled 'Gangseo University Hospital' opened in my hand.
So that's how it works.
"Updating info for Containment Zone: 'Gangseo University Hospital' now."
[Employee Manual]
[Containment Zone: Gangseo University Hospital - Latest Edition by HR Team's Kim Jaeheon]
No sooner had I spoken than the Manual's section expanded, ready to log the info.
"Object: Neurosurgeon. Spews acid."
[Neurosurgeon: Carries its head and spits acid. Avoid ranged fights.]
"Object: Sunflower. Tremendous strength."
[Sunflower: Colossal monster. It won't budge easily. Recommend fleeing.]
[Critical: 0 -> 2]
-Boom!
It flew backward, and Yoo Daon hurried to me, extending her arm to help me up.
"How'd you do that?"
"No idea."
But I could say with confidence, smiling.
"Doesn't feel like we're gonna lose, though."