Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: The Meaning of Life
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Taxidermy,
to put it simply, is the act of preserving a living creature in a fixed state.
There are chemical treatments involved, and if I got into the details, it could go on forever, but that's not the point right now.
...
I gaze at the monster Yoo Daon standing before me.
Her mouth stained with blood, frozen in place.
"...Jaeheon?"
"What's... this?"
Yoo Daon mutters as she looks around.
"The thing's time seems to have stopped. More precisely, just that one...?"
"That's what it looks like."
I murmur calmly while scanning the surroundings.
[Fixes the target to the time axis.]
What exactly does that mean?
It didn't take long to figure it out.
"...Huh?"
Yoo Daon mutters in confusion and taps my arm.
"Jaeheon."
"Yeah."
"Something's visible, but is my eyesight acting up?"
"...No. I can see it clearly too."
I follow her gaze.
A translucent clock hand was embedded right in the center of its body.
About as long as two of me standing end to end, sharpened to a point.
"...Hah."
A hollow laugh escapes me.
Instinctively, I knew what this ability was.
An inviolable domain.
It completely halts the target's time. It fixes only that target's time, separating it from the world.
But in turn, we can't interfere with it either—an untouchable state.
The problem is, I've also realized it doesn't last forever.
It's a sure-kill technique, but not one that can actually kill.
A horrific noise echoes from afar, followed by another thunderous boom.
Yet the monster Yoo Daon doesn't move.
...
I stare at the frozen monster Yoo Daon.
...
...
What now?
I still haven't found a way to kill her.
On the other hand, Yoo Daon seems to have realized something and slowly approaches the monster Yoo Daon.
"Jaeheon."
"...Yeah."
"I think I get it."
"Yeah?"
"I don't die easily."
She murmurs in a calm voice.
"Well, yeah."
"But the butterfly in my body—you can kill that, Jaeheon."
"Uh..."
"What we've stopped right now is the time of 'Yoo Daon.'"
Yoo Daon turns to face me.
"Isn't it?"
"...Ah."
I get it.
I recall the first time it parasitized her.
There was a wound on the back of her neck back then too. And if my memory's right, that's how she became the perfect host.
Host.
A term reserved for when there's a parasitic entity.
By that logic, the current Yoo Daon is also in a parasitized state.
"Let's check her neck."
I rush over and examine the back of the frozen Yoo Daon's neck.
Naturally, no scar remains, but my eyes don't miss it.
[Name: Butterfly's Dream - Adult]
[Age: 1 year]
[Trait: Parasitism]
[Talent: Parasitism]
[Background: Having reached adulthood, it has entered a stable phase and found a host to fully mature.]
[Weakness: After parasitizing for an extended period, it is weaker than expected.]
"Let's carve open her back."
"Got it."
The issue is how to carve it open.
Time to use the manual for this.
I pull the manual from my pocket.
[Office Manual]
...
Nothing is written in the manual.
It's open as if showing it to someone other than me, facing away,
and a chilling aura from behind makes me whip around.
A black mist hovers in the air, sliced in half.
"...What the hell."
As I turn to guard against it,
-Kwachik!
It passes right through me and Yoo Daon, grazing the monster Yoo Daon's back,
-Kwang!
Her back writhes, and something bursts out.
A monster without a face, with butterfly-like wings and long claws.
It feels different from the adult form I'd seen, but my eyes confirm it's the adult.
And as if it had expended all its power, the black mist explodes into nothingness after passing it.
"Now it's really just the two of us."
"Same as old times."
But I already have a plan to kill it.
"Daon."
"Yeah?"
"Pin it against the wall."
"Huh... Just push it into the wall?"
"Yeah."
"Got it."
Yoo Daon nods as if she understands and slips on her black gloves.
I grip my gun in one hand and butane gas in the other, ready to fight.
Yoo Daon charges the adult first, and I follow right behind her.
-Tang!
The gunshot rings out, striking its forehead.
Its head snaps back, but it starts returning to normal as if nothing happened, and Yoo Daon shoulders it.
With a thud, it staggers back a few steps as she slashes at its neck? No—Yoo Daon draws a red line across her own neck? Wait, no:
It slashes at Yoo Daon's neck.
"Kuhok...!"
A red line appears on her neck, and as she gasps for a split second, she regains her breath and grabs its waist, starting to run.
Its claws relentlessly tear at Yoo Daon,
but before they can, she barrels into it, grabs hold, and shoves.
Every time it reaches for her arm or neck to slice, I shoot its claws away, and Yoo Daon, bleeding from all over, keeps pushing it.
I reload the magazine while running after her.
"Daon!"
"Don't hesitate—shoot!"
Yoo Daon screams as she keeps shoving it, and I relentlessly pump bullets into it to hinder its movements.
The fierce exchange continues nonstop.
By the time I swap in the third magazine, Yoo Daon's body is covered in her own blood, red and unrecognizable as human or monster.
But she doesn't seem to care at all, shoving its face with her blood-soaked hands.
Her blood leaves a handprint on its face as she grits her teeth and yells.
"Burn it!"
"No—"
"Now!"
"...!"
The hesitation lasts a moment.
I sprint forward, yank the butane gas from my pocket, shake it, and pop the lid.
-Hwaaak!
Flames roar out, engulfing Yoo Daon and the adult. Even as it writhes in the fire, Yoo Daon just keeps pushing while burning.
-Pueok!
Still wreathed in flames, she slams it into the wall, finally pulling away.
Hideous burns appear and vanish as she looks at me.
"Pinned it!"
"Good!"
[Chronos's Shield: 10 seconds]
A translucent window pops up before my eyes.
More time added?
But that's not important now.
Let's think about this shield.
[After you fix XX with your eyes, Yoo Daon refracts that spot to block all damage.]
No idea what XX is. Haven't grasped it yet.
But one thing's certain.
This isn't just any shield. It's the ultimate defense—one that's blocked every attack so far, at least in terms of hardness.
Which means,
As Yoo Daon reaches out, a translucent barrier forms between it and the wall, crushing down on it.
-Kwajijik!
The sound of its carapace cracking echoes from where it's sandwiched between the containment room wall and Chronos's Shield.
It twists desperately to escape several times,
-Kwachik...!
But Yoo Daon just presses it emotionlessly.
-Pueok!
And with that, it bursts, spraying green blood.
[Chronos's Shield: 0 seconds]
At the same moment, the shield's time expires, and the translucent barrier vanishes like a mirage.
"Hah... hah..."
...
I pant heavily while Yoo Daon stares expressionlessly at the corpse sprawled against the wall.
Simultaneously, the clock hand pinning the monster Yoo Daon pulls free.
...
Scales fall from the monster Yoo Daon's body.
With a plop, she stands and looks at me.
[Name: Yoo Daon]
[Age: 24]
[Trait: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: After enduring long ordeals and death, she has finally been granted peace.]
[Weakness: -]
"...Thank you."
"Daon—"
She says only that and collapses to the floor—
shattering into sand like grains.
"...Huh?"
I can't help but blurt out like an idiot.
She's dead? That Yoo Daon?
"Wait, no. Daon..."
"...So this is it."
As I mutter, Yoo Daon walks past me, kneels by her sandy remains, and gently smiles, brushing them with her finger.
"Looks like this is how much abuse it takes for me to die."
...
I can't read her enigmatic smile as she ceaselessly strokes her sandy self.
I don't know what to say.
At the same time, a black circle forms above our heads.
Are we heading back?
"...Daon."
"Yeah?"
Yoo Daon looks up at me from her knees.
"It's... fine."
"...Huh? What is?"
She gazes at me, genuinely unsure what I mean.
"...That..."
For someone who can't die, life might be suffering. But should I voice that lightly?
As I hem and haw in thought, Yoo Daon beams and says,
"I'm good."
"...What?"
"Now I know exactly how much abuse it takes for me to die, so until then, I can die as much as needed."
She continues without losing her smile.
"If it helps you, Jaeheon, I can die over and over."
...
What on earth made her like this?
"Shall we go?"
She takes my speechless hand gently and leads me.
Darkness envelops us,
"...Hey!"
"...Wake up...!"
and I have no choice but to wake to Song Arin's and Jang Chaeyeon's noisy voices.
*
Honestly, I have no idea how things wrapped up after that.
They said the wedges closed, but I don't understand what I saw inside meant, or how the remaining ones were sealed.
Word is, the branch chief, who was rushed in as emergency backup, sealed the northern one alone; the management team handled the western one; and personnel from another containment team, dispatched in a hurry, took care of the southern one.
But there are way too many nagging questions.
What exactly are these wedges, why do they treat them as a given, what were those log entries about?
And what the hell was that scene I witnessed?
I tried talking to the branch chief about it, but she just smiles the same as always and says, "Ignorance is bliss."
Even the black-sunglasses guy who usually calls me in after jobs didn't summon me this time.
As if nothing happened, we returned to our daily routine. Completely against our will.
I had mountains of questions, but no one brought answers.
Song Arin and Jang Chaeyeon acted like the Management Bureau's attitude was perfectly normal.
And things got a bit awkward between Yoo Daon and me.
More precisely, it was awkward for me around Yoo Daon.
That side of her she showed stuck with me.
I sit at my desk, tapping the keyboard, staring out the window.
Monsoon season, huh.
Made the commute a pain.
The rain keeps pouring, and no one's shown up at the office.
Team Leader's on a business trip. The other three should be here—why aren't they?
-Clunk!
The door opens, and wet footsteps echo.
"Argh... why's the rain so damn heavy... my hair's totally fucked..."
A voice full of irritation, followed by the scrape of a chair as Song Arin plops down behind me.
My eyes meet Song Arin's—clothes soaked, hair a total mess.
...
...
...
...
"Enjoying the view? First time seeing tits?"
She mutters, face red, and I quickly turn away.
"Sorry."
"...Whatever."
Song Arin mutters and scrapes her chair as she sits.
...
Come to think of it, I can just ask Song Arin about Yoo Daon.
Keeping my eyes on the monitor, I call out to her.
"Song Arin."
"...Yeah."
"Got something important to ask. You free?"
"...Huh?"
Her voice jumps oddly.
"Well, just the two of us right now. Perfect timing."
It's not often Song Arin and I are alone. Jang Chaeyeon's usually around, and asking about Yoo Daon there would be weird.
"No, uh, what... do you wanna ask?"
"Bit hard to say here..."
Who knows when others might show.
...
I hear Song Arin gulp.
With a scrape, she places a hand on my shoulder.
"...Okay."
I turn to look, and she's staring at me with a resolute expression.
"I'm ready."
For what?