Cheong Harin's Lucky Day (4)
For quite a long time, the Korean Urban Federation did not bother to reclaim the territory it had lost to the magic beasts.
The Sephirah 'Invisibility Cloak', which hid humans from the magic beasts, was not infinite enough to cover the entire world.
While the physical barriers blocking the magic beasts were highly scalable, the cost of expanding them was astronomical.
Since the governing bodies of each city had always been calculating, it was only natural that they chose to maintain the status quo rather than attempt reclamation.
And for some, this situation presented an opportunity.
Specifically, the various criminal organizations that were constantly looking for a chance to secretly expand their operations.
This organization had built a massive warehouse beneath the migratory bird sanctuary on Ganghwa Island, opening it up for on-site deals whenever an important client arrived.
Changro, the second-largest criminal syndicate in Korea, was one of them.
"Damn it. The deal is right around the corner, and now this...! Why the hell didn't we install cameras over there?"
"According to the records, it was to cut costs."
"To cut costs?!"
"The area directly above is a heron habitat, so no crazy bastard would ever try to break through there."
"?"
"...is the comment left by the former branch manager who was in charge of construction at the time."
"Son of a bitch."
The crucial deal was only three hours away.
While most of the world slept in silence, a massive amount of dirty money was scheduled to change hands down in this underground facility.
But suddenly, the ceiling of the transaction zone collapsed.
It was now clear that an intruder had broken into the underground base.
"Boss! We have a huge problem!"
"What is it now?!"
"We've lost contact with the eastern anti-aircraft battery!!"
"Fuck. Why there of all places?!"
"According to protocol, a recon squad was dispatched just now, exactly one minute after contact was lost... They should confirm it soon—"
"Oh, so you're just going to sit and wait until then? If whoever is over there runs straight this way, our heads will blow off in no time. Right?"
"Ah. Yes, sir."
"Don't just say 'yes, sir,' you idiot! Is there no video feed from there?! There must be internal cameras! We can watch the feed from here, can't we?!"
"Y-yes, sir! I'll pull up the screen right away!"
Why were there so few competent men among his subordinates?
The Branch Manager, the fifth-in-command of the Changro syndicate and the head of this underground base, swung his fists in the air out of sheer absurdity and frustration.
Punching his subordinate's face wouldn't make him feel any better.
The only satisfaction he could hope for was bringing the intruders to their knees and proudly reporting it to the Chairman when he arrived in three hours.
"The video is ready, Boss!"
"Don't just tell me, play it."
*Beep.*
The video began playing on the central holographic interface of the command center.
The Branch Manager tapped the screen with a scowl, skipping forward.
Skipping a few seconds at a time, the footage of the anti-aircraft battery exploding finally appeared.
"...What is this?"
It was indeed an explosion, but it wasn't caused by gunpowder.
The solid steel burst like a balloon, and out walked a black-haired girl.
She was clearly the cause of the explosion, but a young girl?
Did this make any sense?
Could it be...?
Rewinding the paused video, he saw the syndicate members stationed at the battery firing at the girl all at once.
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
The bullets failed to pierce the girl and were absorbed directly into her body.
At the same time, the men who fired the guns collapsed.
No matter how he looked at it, this was not a normal phenomenon.
An anomaly...!
But why an anomaly?
Why did it suddenly break into this base?
Time was running out.
The Branch Manager quickly switched the feed from the internal camera of the battery to the external one facing outward.
How did something like that end up rolling in here?
Then, a flock of herons appeared on the screen.
The herons, surrounding something in a sphere-like formation, flew toward the base, only to drop like flies as the anti-aircraft guns fired.
After shaking off the herons a few times, the battery exploded.
"Can't we zoom in more?"
"This is the maximum zoom, sir."
"Tsk... Damn it."
In the end, time ticked away without them figuring out what had been hidden inside the flock of herons.
About ten seconds after the Branch Manager started rewinding the video again.
"Aaargh!"
"Run away!!"
Loud gunfire and screams echoed through the long, narrow corridor.
"Recon squad! Recon squad!"
"They're not responding."
"P-protect the Branch Manager first!"
Recalling what had happened at the anti-aircraft battery, the Branch Manager shouted.
"Wait, stop! Everyone, lower your weapons!!"
It seemed like an absurd order, but the Branch Manager was a former Fixer.
He had experienced various anomaly incidents and knew all too well that blindly attacking an anomaly was suicide.
Moreover, he possessed a Sephirah of his own that could help him survive anomaly encounters.
That was why he had to calm down first.
His foolish subordinates had already made the mistake of firing blindly twice. If they did it again, the exact same thing would happen.
To hell with the deal in three hours.
Wouldn't they all be found knocked out by the Chairman?
He could already picture a future where the Chairman threw them into the cold sea to become snacks for deep-sea magic beasts.
"Do not fire under any circumstances until I give the order. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!"
"If anyone looks like they're about to shoot, the person next to them needs to subdue them. If you shoot, we all die. Got it?!"
"Yes, sir!" "Understood!!"
A few more seconds passed.
Patter, patter.
The sound of bare feet walking on a steel floor echoed a few times.
Through the heavy door blocking the passage between the corridors, something black poked out.
It was hair.
Each strand was moving in a way that defied physical reality.
It was as if every single strand of hair had its own consciousness, squabbling amongst themselves.
"What is that...?"
"It-it's an anomaly."
"An anomaly?!"
"Is it trying to break through...?"
"No way, that door weighs tons..."
Right after the newly recruited syndicate members muttered in terror.
*Creak.*
*Screeech.*
"Uaaah."
"C-crazy."
"Holy shit...!"
The thick iron door began to warp, making sounds it never should have.
The iron door crumpled like a cardboard box, and the reinforced concrete supporting it crumbled like crackers.
Stepping lightly past the door, which had instantly turned into a heap of scrap metal, was...
"...A kid?"
"......?"
A girl.
She looked like a young girl, through and through.
Her long bangs hung down, completely obscuring her eyes.
Yet, not a single person dared to look down on her.
It was only natural.
After all, she was a girl walking casually through the heart of a criminal syndicate's secret base.
A thin dress, bare feet, and writhing hair.
Nothing about her was normal.
Everyone stared at the girl in tense silence before turning their eyes to the Branch Manager in unison.
Although there were several Fixers present, they likely expected that only the Branch Manager had the experience to face an anomaly of this caliber directly.
"...I'll handle this."
The Branch Manager sighed and stepped forward.
Now, as in the past, a criminal organization could not function properly unless its leader possessed overwhelming power.
"Hey. Can you hear me?"
The girl replied.
"I can hear you just fine~."
"...I'm glad we can communicate. Why did you come here?"
"I was attacked~."
"Attacked... Ah."
So that was it.
The defense system the Chairman boasted so much about had to cause trouble at a time like this...
The reason the herons had chased Baek San-a was because they detected her anomaly wavelength.
When they first flew in from the outskirts of Seoul, they had simply mistaken her for prey.
But from the moment she began to fly, they had sensed her anomaly wavelength and pursued her relentlessly.
And the personnel guarding the base's anti-aircraft battery had one absolute rule they had to follow.
To blast away whatever was being chased by the flock of herons.
It was a perfectly logical defense protocol, but it had unfortunately provoked a dangerous anomaly.
...Wait.
But as he thought about it, something seemed off.
The defense system protecting this underground base utilized the basic nature of magic beasts.
It took advantage of the herons' tendency to immediately devour anything that emitted a weaker anomaly wavelength than their own.
The herons must have been chasing a wavelength 'weaker' than theirs, but did the anomaly standing before him look weak in the slightest?
Not at all.
She tore apart anti-aircraft guns and knocked out our men in an instant... Something doesn't add up...
The Branch Manager asked cautiously.
He maintained as much dignity as possible to avoid looking intimidated.
"So... why were you being chased by the herons...?"
"I think you would know that better than me~."
"W-well, yes. But as far as we know, those creatures have no reason to attack you."
"Hmm..."
Tilting her head as if in thought, the girl grinned.
Her eyes were hidden, so it was just her mouth stretching wide, but the expression startled several syndicate members into raising their guns at her.
"I told you to lower your weapons! You brainless bastards!"
"S-sorry, sir...!"
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Right after the Branch Manager barked at his men, the girl spoke.
"If there was no reason to attack, then why did the humans attack me~?"
"..."
"It hurt so much~. Hundreds of bullets got stuck in my body~."
The girl's size began to grow.
It wasn't like she was growing up; she was physically expanding.
Her human-like skin tone gradually darkened toward pitch black, and her slowly swaying hair began to whip around violently, striking the surroundings.
"Tell me, why did you guys attack me~?"
The wall panels crumpled under the pressure of her expanding mass.
Destroyed monitors, pipes, and all kinds of equipment were flattened instantly.
*Creak. Groan. Screeech.*
At this rate, the entire facility was in danger of imploding.
If the facility ruptured toward the surface, what would happen?
The herons would swarm in, thinking, Oh, look, free food!
No... We have an important deal today...!
Avoiding hostility with anomalies whenever possible was the number one rule of survival for a Fixer.
But to protect the underground base in this situation, there was only one way.
Reluctantly, the Branch Manager drew the Sephirah hanging from his waist.
Holding the cube-shaped object, the Branch Manager rushed toward the girl.
"Why did you attack meee~."
The expanding girl made contact with the black cube without resisting.
In the next second, she vanished completely.
"...Whoa."
"She's gone."
"As expected of the Branch Manager!"
The Branch Manager had vanished as well.
Both he and the anomaly girl had been pulled into the cube.
*CRASH!!*
"Hieee!"
"Holy crap."
As if it now contained a colossal monster.
The cube, smaller than a fist, fell and caused the floor to cave in by about a meter.
The syndicate members gathered around the small crater.
The man acting as the Branch Manager's direct secretary muttered.
"Everyone calm down. Let's wait until the Branch Manager comes back out."
I was planning to threaten the bad guys in the underground base and encourage them to turn themselves in.
But watching them get all terrified was so fun that I played around a bit too much, and now I've been dragged into this weird room.
It was obviously an anomaly's domain.
It's safe to assume that any sudden teleportation like this is related to an anomaly.
I'm here all by myself.
The room was a very simple cube, about ten square meters in size, but there was one peculiar thing about it.
A large iron door occupied one of the walls.
And on it was a framed sign with some text.
[The Room You Can Only Escape by ■■ing]