Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Girl Ultimately Despairs, Great Library Investigation Operation (2)
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3.
"Hup."
That was when Shin Tae-yeop emerged from the maze. His body was a total wreck, but... in his hand was a hefty soulstone.
"You caught that thing all by yourself?"
"The Lead Hunter uncle helped me out."
Shin Tae-yeop tilted his head, sensing the odd atmosphere.
"Anyway, what are you all doing here?"
"......"
"Never mind. The rendezvous point is right up ahead. Let's go."
Sajik Park lay right before them.
This former cultural heritage site marked the end of the maze zone and served as the rendezvous point.
"We're going to cut straight through Sajik Park from here on out."
Shin Tae-yeop took the lead, with Yoon Geon-woo following.
Cha Seung-hyeon helped Do Ye-jin to her feet. She grabbed her Cannon X and trailed weakly behind.
Sajik Altar.
Tiled gate and hanok-style walls.
Everything lay in ruins. Even the informational signs were the same.
Crossing the collapsed gate revealed a muddy, squelching dirt courtyard.
Mutant plants overgrown like weeds.
These things wriggling to catch even a drop more rainwater... were truly horrific.
"Do we really have to go through the park?"
When Do Ye-jin asked, Cha Seung-hyeon pursed his lips.
"What kinda bullshit is that?"
"There's a road right next to it, dummy."
"We're not going that way. Or rather, we can't. You idiot moron."
"Why?"
Cha Seung-hyeon fell silent for a moment.
So did Yoon Geon-woo and Hong Byeong-gyu. Only after a long pause did Cha Seung-hyeon finally speak.
"There's a children's library right next door."
He shuddered as if he'd uttered a curse he shouldn't have. Hong Byeong-gyu cleared his throat awkwardly.
Was it an illusion?
For a split second, it felt like the mutant plants rustled.
"What about it?"
"You hear weird singing. Children's singing voices..."
"......?"
"Three veteran hunters went missing, and the one who came back was completely insane... The Star Messenger managed to heal him somehow."
The group passed through the east gate of the Sajik Altar. Its shrine-like entrance gave an immediate ceremonial feel.
"So you die if you get too close?"
"I dunno. They say your body gets drawn inside like you're hypnotized..."
Cha Seung-hyeon glanced cautiously around, then shook his head.
"Let's drop it. There might be subordinates listening. We still haven't even dreamed of conquering it."
The Sajik Altar was enclosed by inner walls. As for impressions...
"It looks kinda pathetic."
"That's just how Hel-Joseon cultural relics are."
The Sajik Altar consisted of twin stone altars side by side.
Surprisingly, that was the end of the description.
No artistic beauty could be found.
"The Sajik Altar was like the heart of Joseon."
The one who said this, sweeping his hand bitterly over the altar, was none other than Yoon Geon-woo.
"Its name comes from the earth god Sa (社) and the grain god Jik (稙). That's why it's called the Sajik Altar, enshrining both."
It was an intriguing story.
He was a history major, after all...
"It held higher prestige than even the Royal Shrine... Joseon kings prayed here for good harvests. There's even a song."
O Sa and Jik.
Grant us bountiful harvests.
O Sa and Jik.
Bring us the rains.
Yoon Geon-woo murmured the tune to himself. No one spoke during that time, and Do Ye-jin found herself gripped by an inexplicable gloom.
"Hey."
It was as they exited the Sajik Altar through the west gate that someone spoke again.
"Do you think Joseon's gods are watching us now?"
"Would you want them to be?"
"Why?"
"Those goddamned useless bastards... Have they ever protected Korea?"
His tone was playful, but his voice was dead serious.
"Shut it, you two. Time to cross the mutant plant zone now."
Shin Tae-yeop scolded them.
"You know, right? Once we get past this, it's the Great Library."
The group carefully ascended the long stone stairs.
Forests stretched out on either side.
Grotesque branches and roots shaking, forests emitting laughter.
Drip... drip... drip...
Everything was gone.
The fresh scent of the woods. Leaves that would sway and play symphonies in the wind.
Ah...
Do Ye-jin glanced back briefly and let out a short sigh.
The desolation of the Sajik Altar came into full view.
Do Su-jin had once said.
The world has completely lost its past... It really seemed that way.
- There's only one power that can stand against a world like this.
Was it the breeze?
Kim Baek-jun's words revived in her mind.
- The absolute power that only subordinates like you possess... that's the power you have.
She had never wanted this power.
She didn't want to use it either. But if, truly if...
- Doesn't that mean there's hope for our world too?
If she used this power to reclaim the world.
To regain their lost daily lives...
- Then I could see Dad again.
Do Ye-jin clenched her fist.
And then.
She turned away from the ruined world.
From the remnants of that fragrantly brilliant era.
The world had already perished.
The Great Library loomed before her.
Do Ye-jin had to become a subordinate weapon. She would.
4.
"Vanguard, entering the Great Library."
Choi Uk issued the command.
The four recon squads and five hunting squads plunged into the Great Library's darkness.
Do Ye-jin.
The girl waited at the main entrance with the First Hunting Squad. She had just been gazing around in awe.
This world's greatest library had been built to commemorate Unified Korea's ascent to G3 status.
The problem lay in that "world's greatest."
Seven floors above ground, three below.
The library was far too vast.
This was the factor pushing the investigation op's difficulty to the extreme.
- How about applying Ariadne's thread?
Choi Uk's solution to that issue was this.
- Use the rainbow essence stones. Vanguard, scatter them at every waypoint as you advance.
Rainbow essence stones were fluorescent stones.
Consumables sold at the [General Store]. Stones that glowed brilliantly even in dim light.
- If the essence stones break off midway or get bloodstained, it means danger.
The core of the investigation op was safely escorting the subordinate weapon to the catalyst's location.
- No need to avoid danger entirely. Just identify it.
Thus, the vanguard members spread out to their assigned floors, preparing for the worst.
Now.
What was the Great Library's worst?
Even seasoned nightmare hunters hesitated to name it. Even fellow heteromorphs feared them.
"What should we watch out for?"
When Do Ye-jin asked, Shin Tae-yeop sighed as he answered.
"Librarians. That's the name of the heteromorphs unique to the Great Library."
Do Ye-jin nearly laughed.
Librarians... it felt like such a vicious pun.
"What are librarians like?"
"Didn't they teach you at the training center?"
"Nope."
Yoon Geon-woo and Cha Seung-hyeon sighed wordlessly, while Hong Byeong-gyu stared at the distant sky. Shin Tae-yeop spoke.
"In this day and age, librarians are the types who rip the mouths off anyone who makes noise. So absolute silence in the Great Library. Got it?"
"......Got it loud and clear."
"It's relatively safe here, but still be careful. Geon-woo hyung, watch the rear. I'll take front with Byeong-gyu ajusshi. Cha Seung-hyeon, sides."
A signal came from Choi Uk's side.
Shin Tae-yeop rolled up the Great Library map scroll and tucked it into his chest pocket.
"Alright. Let's head to the first-floor lobby now."
Grand arch-shaped main gate.
The First Hunting Squad passed through it, stepping into the Great Library.
Silence was the Great Library's master.
Even in this pale twilight, the lobby's scene was majestic.
Towering ceiling.
Fantastic colonnades.
Luxurious marble floors.
The group crossed the lobby as quietly as possible.
Fear gripped them.
Their hands and feet slick with cold sweat, foreheads dripping into stinging eyes.
"Let's try it here."
Shin Tae-yeop stopped at the reception desk.
"It's the central point of the lobby too... I wouldn't know, but the Star Messenger said you might sense something, right?"
"That's what I heard."
"Focus your mind here for a bit."
It was a truly reassuring statement.
Do Ye-jin obediently slung her Cannon X onto her back and closed her eyes.
The world vanished, darkness arrived.
And nothing was felt. Like that, 10 seconds... 20 seconds...
Just as she was about to give up and open her eyes.
Ah... ahh... ahh heh heh... ahh heh...
Somewhere...
In the darkness...
The wails of thousands, tens of thousands sobbing... began to echo.
At that exact moment.
The despair within Do Ye-jin resonated with 'something.' Its location...
"...Up. Up and to the left."
Do Ye-jin spoke with her eyes still closed.
"Upper floor... that'd be the grand reading room. Left side means the left reading room, I guess."
Shin Tae-yeop let out a sigh-like hum. Yoon Geon-woo said,
"At least it's not underground."
"True, but... the grand reading room isn't great either. Third or fourth floor would've been better."
Something slimy licked across her mind at that moment.
Aha...!
So you're there right now.
A voice like thousands speaking in unison.
Hee, hee hee, ehee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee.
Wh-what...?
Do Ye-jin gasped for breath and snapped her eyes open. Hong Byeong-gyu asked worriedly.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with Ye-jin dongsaeng?"
"No... uh... I mean, didn't you just hear something?"
"Hear something? What?"
They hadn't heard it?
"I mean... like a bunch of people talking at once."
She couldn't remember what it said.
Hong Byeong-gyu exchanged glances with Cha Seung-hyeon, who was on perimeter watch, then shrugged.
"Looks like you heard a hallucination."
"Hallucination?"
"Yeah, common when you first enter a nightmare zone. Comes from fear of the dark."
Shin Tae-yeop cut into the conversation.
"We're heading to the second floor now. Once we leave the lobby, move in total silence."
Hallucination? Was it really?
As she followed Shin Tae-yeop to the innermost part of the lobby, the massive spiral staircase, she hoped it was.
She should have realized then and fled.
That very hallucination was the first harbinger of the worst.
5.
The stairs seemed endless.
By the time that thought crossed their minds, the First Hunting Squad reached the second-floor lobby.
Arch-shaped gate.
A [Silence] sign hung above the gate.
The first sense to detect something amiss was smell.
The stench of blood... it's here.
Tension spiked instantly.
Shin Tae-yeop raised his hand sharply. The squad members drew their weapons in unison.
They pressed cautiously against both sides of the gate and peered inside.
Grand Reading Room.
It was insanely vast.
Connected to the third-floor literature information room in a double-height structure, a corridor linked to the third floor ran along the 20-meter-high walls.
Do Ye-jin swallowed dryly.
The silence dominating the grand reading room was chillingly profound.
How much time passed. Shin Tae-yeop mouthed the order.
'Let's go in just up to the front for now.'
Shin Tae-yeop led, followed by Yoon Geon-woo, Do Ye-jin, Hong Byeong-gyu, Cha Seung-hyeon.
Shin Tae-yeop stealthily climbed onto a reading desk and scanned every corner.
'The rainbow essence stones are cut off.'
It was true.
The fluorescent stones leading into the grand reading room snapped off at some point.
'No sign of the vanguard squad.'
Conclusion reached in an instant.
'They're here...'
It was right then.
From beyond the hundreds of reading desks spread out, a pale figure leaped up and vanished.
Her arm hairs stood on end in that instant.
One, one.
And another.
The pale figures moved at astonishing speed but without a sound.
Those things... no legs?
Why are they flat on the ground, propelling with their hands?
"Tel, Bel, Baronsar!"
In that instant.
Shin Tae-yeop chanted and formed hand seals at blinding speed.
Crimson flickering flame prayer beads. Suddenly, a dozen orbs scattered in all directions, transforming into dazzling fireballs.
The moment the flame light illuminated the lobby, a hellscape unfolded.
"Kieee eeee eee aaah!"
"Heee eeee eee ek!"
The 'things' everywhere unleashed ear-splitting shrieks.
[Cultural Heritage Administration] Historic Site No. 121
Sajik Altar (社稷壇) Guide Map
[Great Library Floor Plan]
7th Floor:
[A1] - [A2] - [A3]
6th Floor:
[B1] - [B1a] - [B1b]
5th Floor:
[C] - [C] - [C] - [C]
4th Floor:
[D1a] - [D1] - [E1]
3rd Floor:
[B2] - [B2a] - [B2b]
2nd Floor:
[F] - [F] - [F] - [F]
1st Floor:
[G1] - [H] - [I1] - [I2]
A: Small Reading Rooms, Self-Study Rooms
B: Grand Literature Information Room
C: Virtual Reality Materials Room
D: Children's Room · Danuri Room
E: Visually Impaired Room
F: Grand Reading Room
G: Exhibition Hall
H: Grand Lobby
I: Snack Shop / Restaurant