God-Living Anomaly 359 (3)
The Fixer Gallery's Joodak is an incredible person.
It's as if they're monitoring me around the clock. The moment I break a rule, I'm expelled from the gallery in the blink of an eye.
Thanks to that, I was constantly tracked, blocked, and had my traces erased.
Every time it happened, I would ask the internet wraith, Joodak's headache, the all-knowing "God" for a new account and keep hanging around the gallery.
But today, of all times, God's anonymity app crashed while I was posting an ad, exposing my IP.
So I obediently followed Woo Chun-yeop outside.
Since I couldn't use the gallery anyway, I figured something interesting might happen if I went out.
“Aigoo! I'm so sorry!”
“…”
“Um… there's a one-minute laundromat nearby. How about leaving it there? I'll cover the cost. I'm truly sorry.”
And then it actually happened.
While heading to the crowded one-minute laundromat because Woo Chun-yeop's suit had been stained with coffee, something flew in and embedded itself in the back of my neck as I stood there dazed.
It was Sephira substance, capable of knocking out even large magical beasts in a single hit.
A sedative extracted from anomalies, effective against most anomaly-based lifeforms, especially magical beasts.
However, my body was completely immune to foreign substances.
Unless I willingly swallowed it with my own mouth, that is.
This immune system was remarkably precise. Like a water jet, it instantly returned the foreign object to its original location, and in the process, one of my blood droplets was carried along.
I simply called this thing a “droplet.”
Because, like a bell tied to a cat, it revealed the opponent's location.
In reality, it had several other functions, but to mention just one that activated immediately…
“No way, the team leader was right. There really is someone attacking. This is ridiculous.”
Just like this woman who had fired the sedative round at me, any living being touched by the droplet would inevitably faint.
Most humans would die instantly upon attack, but since causing incidents in the city was forbidden, it had been set to the weakest possible level.
“…Didn't you say you were a vampire? Your ability.”
“If I remotely control and consume blood, that still counts as vampirism… Hik.”
Startled, I hunched my shoulders and turned my head to find Woo Chun-yeop standing there.
I knew he was agile, but this fast?
His approach speed was almost on par with mine, who could swap positions with the droplet and my main body.
I had only planned to check his face and return, never expecting to be caught this quickly.
“Remote vampirism aside, how did you locate the sniper?”
“Well~ because I got attacked, it automatically~.”
“We'll have a lot to discuss once we return.”
I was flustered.
I didn't have future prediction, but I could see the future.
Wow, this was a 200% expulsion flag for safety reasons, wasn't it?
No way? My happy shut-in gallery life… disappearing?
“I'm exercising my right to remain silent!”
Woo Chun-yeop pointed his finger at my neck.
Immediate expulsion from the city upon refusal to comply with orders.
No!
How long had I endured—no, enjoyed—these past six months!
“I'll talk…”
“I'll make an objective judgment, so don't hide anything later and tell me everything.”
I made a throat-slitting gesture with a tearful face.
“But according to regulations, if an anomaly attacks a human, isn't it immediate expulsion or execution?”
“Surely you didn't attack?”
“No, it was just self-defense. I only made them faint…”
“Anomalies aren't protected by self-defense. However, if there are no external injuries, it should be fine.”
Did the extremely fine hole where the droplet pierced the skin count as an external injury?
Which was it, team leader?
“…No, even I can't be certain right now. We'll have to discuss this after dealing with these people first.”
What do you mean you can't be certain either?
…I'm screwed!
* * *
Before long, the three members of the Cheongsi Union gathered in a secluded spot inside an abandoned building.
Perhaps because they could be recaptured instantly even if they fled, Woo Chun-yeop began his interrogation without binding them.
Since the Management Bureau was a state institution, Woo Chun-yeop, as its affiliate, naturally held the upper hand in the conversation.
“So you're saying the anomaly accompanying me interfered with your work? You found them by chance, captured them, and tried to extract a confession.”
“Yes! Look at this. They posted manipulated photos as if they were real, and citizens who fell for it swarmed in and disrupted our work for half a day.”
Their reputation must have been terrible for a single photo to cause such chaos.
Now that I thought about it, they had messed up and were trying to pin it on me?
And these guys called themselves fixers.
I muttered into the terminal that was still connected to Woo Chun-yeop.
“That's complete bullshit. Those guys really sold their equipment. The photo I posted was definitely one I got from God.”
Before the interrogation began, Woo Chun-yeop had told me to hide somewhere and report anything suspicious while listening.
I was desperate too, since my wise anomaly lifestyle was about to end.
Whether the fact that my source was God, who was on the Management Bureau's blacklist, would work as an advantage or disadvantage remained to be seen.
I had no choice but to go all in.
Woo Chun-yeop glanced at the wooden crate where I was hiding before asking the Cheongsi Union members.
“…Is that all?”
“All? Do you know how much trouble we went through calming the citizens?”
“No matter how ignorant citizens are about fixers, there's no reason for them to swarm like that. Have you considered that your usual reputation might be the problem?”
The man who appeared to be the Cheongsi Union representative trembled with facial muscles and shouted.
“Team Leader Woo… Does what you just said mean you trust the anomaly more than us?! We humans should help each other and live together! Why are you protecting an anomaly that provides no help to humans and only causes trouble in the gallery?”
An absurd black-and-white logic.
But in the current world, such words surprisingly worked well.
There was even a saying that when losing a logical argument, you should just accuse the other person of being an anomaly spy.
The Cheongsi Union representative had tried to corner Woo Chun-yeop with some cleverness.
“No help, you say?”
“It's Hesed. Just an anomaly that wastes food.”
But he had underestimated Team Leader Woo.
Even I, who had lived through countless years, was overwhelmed by his eloquence.
Attempting to outtalk him in conversation had been a mistake from the start. Cheongsi Union.
“How did you know that? Information about contained anomalies is classified. Someone must have leaked it.”
“…!”
The Cheongsi Union representative, finally realizing his mistake, averted his gaze.
Strength filled his scar-covered hands.
Woo Chun-yeop didn't miss the signal.
“An internal audit will quickly identify the leaker. However, because of what you just said, you won't be able to avoid suspicion of leaking state secrets either.”
For a while, only the sound of water droplets falling through the hole in the ceiling filled the space…
The two members besides the representative exchanged glances and nodded, then whispered something to him.
Their suspicious behavior suggested they were about to do something.
Those with some power always tried to resolve things with force when things went wrong.
I had already thrown droplets at the three of them.
Soon after, their reaction came.
“I'm sorry!”
“If you just keep quiet…!”
As if on cue, just as the three pulled out weapons and aimed at Woo Chun-yeop, I used the droplets I had thrown to restrict blood flow to their heads.
The three staggered from temporary dizziness and vision loss.
Woo Chun-yeop instantly disarmed them.
As if he had anticipated my response.
Disassembled gun parts and magazines scattered across the floor.
Whoa, he's insanely fast. I can barely see his hands.
Before long, heavily armed humans in black gloves swarmed in and took them away…
Only then did Woo Chun-yeop approach me in my hiding spot.
Without telling me to come out, he spoke.
“I'll tell you what I've figured out, so just answer whether it's correct or not.”
“Yes.”
“Besides physically sucking blood with your mouth, can you also perform remote vampirism?”
“Yes…”
“And you haven't sucked blood even once since coming to Earth.”
“Yes!! I've never sucked human blood!!”
“Beyond vampirism, is it possible to remotely control blood?”
“Yes…”
“So the sniper fainting and those three people staggering just now were all due to that ability.”
The last part sounded like he was talking to himself, so I didn't answer.
Now all that remained was waiting for expulsion—
“Try using it on me as well.”
“Kuk… I knew it, release me into the wild…… Yes?”
“Make me faint too.”
“What? Why? Besides, if I attack the team leader, I'll be expelled immediately…”
Beep.
The neck armor's light, which had been periodically glowing, turned off.
The immediate expulsion function had been temporarily disabled.
“Is it fine now? Try making me faint.”
“Ah, um… Damn, I don't know!”
Left with no choice, I scattered droplets as I had done to the Cheongsi Union members and manipulated blood flow to induce fainting in Woo Chun-yeop.
“Aha. So this is what it feels like.”
“?”
Woo Chun-yeop was completely fine.
What? Did the power not work properly?
‘No, I definitely felt the sensation.’
Did he regain consciousness immediately after fainting?
Was this guy really not human?
Kyaaak, anomaly!
“Why didn't you mention having this ability from the beginning?”
“Well… I thought anomalies with strong offensive capabilities would seem threatening…. Only safe Sephira are accepted into the city…”
“That depends on the anomaly. In the first place, an anomaly that communicates as well as you is a special individual that must be contained and observed. It's Management Bureau protocol.”
“Even if I can communicate, you can't trust me, right…? You said half a year ago that there were anomalies who approached first and did bad things…”
“That was a lie.”
What, a lie?
“I said that to test you. Did you really think an anomaly would approach someone by deceiving them like that?”
“Well, it seems like it could happen, but also not~.”
“If it were an anomaly, they would have induced mental collapse or brainwashed instead. That's an extremely human method, and you reacted as if feeling some guilt from that story.”
“I~ guess so?”
“I really hate to admit it, but there are times when you're frustratingly more human than humans.”
As I stood there with a blank expression, drooling, he let out a dry laugh and spoke.
“Well, that's beside the point. There's something important I need to tell you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“The current containment facility director will be dismissed. Since they committed a serious crime, they'll be strictly punished according to city law.”
“Eh? Don't tell me the director is the one who leaked my information?”
“In the first place, only the director and I had access rights. You were a special individual under information control.”
Whoa, that pig bastard.
I didn't expect that from him, but he sold me out?
Leaking classified information from an institution meant the death penalty. Serves him right.
“The problem is that this means you also have to be released from the containment facility.”
“What? Why? The one getting kicked out is the director, right?”
“Because there won't be anyone to oversee you while the containment facility undergoes a full investigation.”
“But the team leader is the one overseeing me, and you're not involved in the investigation, right?”
“I am the investigator in charge of that investigation.”
Unable to hold back, I poked my head out of the wooden crate.
There was not a hint of playfulness on Woo Chun-yeop's face.
As always, 100% serious.
“Wait, what, weren't you actually from the Byeoksa Bureau? You were from the Byeoksa Bureau?”
“Your intuition for that sort of thing is really sharp. In truth, I was busy with other work, so I was asleep for half the time I was supposed to be monitoring you.”
The Byeoksa Bureau?
The special operations unit that had only been an urban legend in the gallery?
The organization that followed any order from the Five Elders, Seoul's leadership, and crushed anyone—whether anomaly or human—who threatened the city's survival?
“What the hell…?”
My god-like life was coming to an end just like this.
Why would the Byeoksa Bureau reveal their identity?
Because secrets are maintained when no one who knows them exists in the world!
It wasn't expulsion, it was disposal. That's why he didn't say expulsion.
‘No…!’
No matter how good my survival skills were, a direct confrontation was dangerous.
I wanted to avoid a battle of attrition that consumed my lifeblood as much as possible.
As I clutched my face with both hands in shock, Woo Chun-yeop continued.
“So, how about staying at the fixer office until things are resolved?”