Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Perfect Host
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Rustle!
Amid the sound of stone fragments crumbling, I step into the collapsed wall.
"What on earth happened here?"
Yoo Daon looks around with a puzzled expression.
I recall the black hole we saw earlier.
The Time Shift talent, and the ruined Management Bureau building.
"If my reasoning is correct, then we might have come to the future... or the past...? Or maybe some other time period...?"
"That could be possible... We've experienced plenty of things we couldn't explain with words ourselves."
"But the buildings and even the interior layouts don't seem like some distant future or ancient past. They're too similar to our own era."
I look around at the surrounding buildings.
Buildings that look exactly like those in our current era. Even the sundae gukbap restaurant across from the Management Bureau building stands there with the identical sign.
"You're right. So should we assume it's a different time period?"
Yoo Daon nods and starts walking.
The ruined first-floor hallway welcomes us.
"On my first day here, I was so shocked."
As Yoo Daon walks, she continues speaking.
"The moment I came in, people were dying, we ran away with the Team Leader, went down to the basement, and that's where I met you, Jaeheon."
"It was an unforgettable day."
It was the day we, who lived straddling the line between everyday and extraordinary, fell completely into the extraordinary.
"Is there a way back?"
"There has to be."
If there's an entrance, there must be an exit. I just haven't found it yet.
"With the Management Bureau headquarters in this state, we should look for something useful inside."
I recall the day I met the Gangseo Branch Chief.
She had tapped her desk twice with a pen, and a door opened.
If there's an underground headquarters, we might find useful items there.
"Shall we head to the branch chief's office first?"
"What about the underground containment rooms?"
"If containment isn't properly maintained there, it's a death sentence."
I imagine dozens of containment objects like Butterfly's Dream running loose.
We can't go there.
I lead Yoo Daon toward the elevator.
Unlike the desolate, crumbling interior, the elevator is still lit up and operational.
"Let's take this up."
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"..."
I look beside the elevator.
There was a sign that read [Emergency Exit].
"Oh, stairs."
Yoo Daon mutters as she peers at the door.
"Should we take these? If the elevator collapses, we're in big trouble."
"..."
Did the Management Bureau have an emergency exit?
I pull out the manual and open it.
[Office Manual]
[B - Emergency Stairs]
1. The Management Bureau does not have emergency stairs. All movement must be done via elevator. If you discover emergency stairs, do not enter under any circumstances.
2. If you enter the emergency stairs by any chance, close your eyes and huddle in a corner. The Security Team will come to assist.
3. If you must escape on your own, never go down. Keep going up until you see the exit.
"Let's take the elevator."
"Huh? If you say so, Jaeheon..."
Yoo Daon nods and presses the elevator button.
With a cheerful bell sound, the elevator doors open.
"Where to?"
I press the button for the floor with the branch chief's office, and with a jolt, we start ascending.
"But what kind of person is the branch chief?"
"The branch chief?"
Yeah, how should I explain her.
"She's a bit mysterious."
"Mysterious?"
"Someone who hides her information well, I guess."
I've checked her out twice, but I still don't know much about her.
"But she's incredibly strong."
Even if Yoo Daon fought her, as long as the branch chief had stamina left, she'd never win.
If even someone like her was taken down, what on earth happened here.
The elevator doors open to a wide hallway.
The branch chief's office door, which should have been closed, is wide open, and unlike the first floor, dried bloodstains are splattered here and there.
"Looks like... there was a fight."
"..."
I cautiously step inside.
No one is visible. Just bloodstains scattered everywhere.
No bodies, only bloodstains.
"Daon, any smells?"
"Smells?"
Yoo Daon closes her eyes and sniffs.
"No, nothing. Just a bit of blood smell. Jaeheon, do you see anything?"
"No."
If there's nothing visible or any smell, it should be safe to enter.
I pick up the pen on the desk and tap the desk twice with the end.
-Rumble!
The center of the desk splits open, revealing stairs, and Yoo Daon widens her eyes at the sight.
"You knew about this too?"
"I saw it once before."
"...You two seem pretty close."
Yoo Daon mutters.
"We've met twice. Close? Please."
If meeting twice made us friends, I wouldn't be an office worker at the Management Bureau. I'd be a rec instructor or something.
As we descend the stairs, the iron doors I saw last time line up in a row.
"Wow...!"
Yoo Daon mutters in wonder, looking around, then her gaze stops on one side.
"Jaeheon."
"Yes."
"Was that door always open?"
"...No way it should be open here."
The door that was closed with no handle when I met the Gangseo Branch Chief.
That door is open.
[Name: Iron Door]
[Age: X]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: Selection]
[Background: For humanity's last hope, the door has opened.]
[Weakness: -]
I recall the text I saw before.
[When the time comes, the door will open for humanity's last hope.]
[On that day, the door will open automatically.]
If the door opened automatically,
"It might already be too late."
"Huh?"
"Humanity here might have already perished."
If the door opened for humanity's last hope, it means humanity's fate was truly at its end.
Did the one who entered actually obtain hope?
What kind of device did the Management Bureau prepare as a last resort?
If they went to such lengths to protect it, it must be something that could greatly help us too.
"Let's go in."
I stride inside.
As we go deeper, a fishy smell stings my nose, and Yoo Daon sticks close to my side, whispering.
"Jaeheon, blood smell."
"I know."
"Something's there. ...This is..."
Sniff sniff. Closing her eyes, Yoo Daon mutters while smelling.
"A sweet smell...?"
Sweet smell.
Yoo Daon snaps her eyes open, and we look at each other simultaneously.
"Butterfly's Dream."
"Adult form."
As our words end, the sound of something dragging starts.
"Run now."
I rummage in my pocket, and this time, the pistol comes to hand.
I had two Criticals: one from Midsummer Night's Dream and one just before from the two we got. Unless it's something major—
As I prepare to flee, backing away stealthily, Yoo Daon's steps halt.
Her body stiffens, and she mutters in a dazed voice.
"...Me?"
It was Yoo Daon.
Or rather, what used to be Yoo Daon.
It had Yoo Daon's face, but scales-like things were embedded, and she was muttering incomprehensible words.
Wearing a suit torn to rags, her lower body had already transformed from human to butterfly.
A translucent panel naturally appears.
[Name: Butterfly's Dream (Complete)]
[Age: Created 1 year ago]
[Trait: Immortality]
[Talent: Domination]
[Background: On her first day, the man she was with died. A year of relentless parasitism destroyed her mind, leaving only her body to endure endless pain.]
[Weakness: Think about where in time you've been sent, and decisively end it to close off the future.]
"...Ugh..."
Seeing herself, Yoo Daon covers her mouth and retches.
It was the first time the ever-composed woman showed disgust.
"Daon."
"Me... like that..."
"Daon!"
"...It's okay."
Yoo Daon covers her mouth and looks at herself.
"What do we do."
"..."
"...Run...?"
Shoot an undying enemy that has my colleague's face?
It—no, the thing with Yoo Daon's face looks at me, and a faint light returns to her blank eyes.
"..."
It opens its mouth and mutters something.
"..."
Die,
"..."
give,
"..."
me.
My feet won't move.
At the same time, countless monsters burst out from behind her.
Where eyes and nose should be, nothing; abnormally long arms and claws.
I hurriedly draw my pistol, aim at its forehead, and fire.
-Ting!
As expected, the bullet bounces off its forehead.
"Daon!"
They charge at me and Yoo Daon simultaneously, and I spin around, shouting to her.
[Chronos's Shield: 1.5 seconds]
Yoo Daon leaps in front, spreading her arms, and a translucent barrier instantly unfolds, halting all the monsters. I too must choose.
Decisively end it.
Is that truly the weakness of the complete Butterfly's Dream?
Probably not.
I lunge forward, aiming my gun.
[Critical: 2 -> 1]
Critical is ultimately a skill that inflicts fatal damage on anything.
Then it should deal massive damage to that thing too.
The world turns black and white, slowing down.
My eyes fix on the monster that was Yoo Daon, or Yoo Daon,
"...Huh...?"
No red dot appears anywhere.
[Critical: 1 -> 2]
At the same time, Critical recharges, and the world returns to normal.
"What the..."
She had no weakness.