Into the Threat Isolation Facility
…………I walked along Gangnam Main Street.
Something's off. It's around noon already, but there isn't a single person in sight. No cars on the road. No buses. No taxis. The pedestrian signals at the crosswalks are just lonely, flashing red and green on empty streets. The sidewalks are naturally deserted, and not even shop owners are visible. It feels like a brand-new town where construction just wrapped up and no one's moved in yet. Could Gangnam really be this quiet? My memories from when I was human are fuzzy, but I know it used to be a noisy, chaotic place.
……Oh, I get it now. It must be because of that monster the red guy fought earlier. The news called it a Tera grade threat, so an evacuation order must've gone out. Pretty smart of me to figure that out so quick. Right?
[……….]
The accidents are all quiet. Everyone must agree. Huh?
Something's hovering above me. I look up at the sky. Clear blue, not a cloud in sight, and way up high, a few tiny dots floating around. Drones. That's gotta be about 10 kilometers altitude. Military drones, maybe? Probably checking for any civilians who didn't evacuate. Good little workers. Go get 'em. I flash them a thumbs-up.
The drone suddenly climbs higher. Why? Eh, whatever.
Step by step. My footsteps echo hugely on the empty street. Walking alone where it should be bustling with people suddenly feels kinda lonely.
That's when I spot a digital billboard on a building exterior. Power's still on—it’s broadcasting footage to the vacant street all by itself.
Red text scrolls urgently, followed by a frantic news anchor's voice and footage. Filling the screen: a massive, writhing black slimy blob. Tentacles, teeth, eyes. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of tentacles twisting together, embedded with every kind of eyeball imaginable. Tooth-lined mouths at the tentacle tips opening and closing repeatedly.
Whoa. What a truly horrific, terrifying monster. Looks seriously bad for mental health. People might get PTSD just from seeing it. Broadcasting that without mosaics? Talk about zero consideration.
So that's the monster the red guy fought. Impressive he took that on. S-rank Awakeners really are something else. Gotta give him props.
Hmm, but staring at it keeps giving me this weird feeling. Kinda familiar. That black mixed with purple and pink on the tentacles, those eyeballs, those teeth. It's like... looking in a mirror.
……No way.
The screen changes.
The screen shows a girl. Right in the middle of a ruined crater. Wearing a white dress, long purple hair flowing, hands up by her face in a double V-sign.
……That's me.
Eh…… Ehhhhhh? Me?
——No, wait. That's me? That monster is me? My jaw drops so wide it nearly unhinges.
Hold on, hold on. Let me sort this out.
The Form of Madness that appeared in Gangnam. The monster fighting the guy in red power armor. Disguised as a human girl. Tera grade threat.
That was me?
So the crater, the melted asphalt, the shattered buildings—all my doing.
I'm screwed. Homo sapiens—I wanted to befriend you clever folks, but day one and I'm already a terrorist. If I get sued, how much would the settlement be? With all those buildings wrecked, I'd have to sell my organs and still couldn't pay it off.
Oh, wait—no. I can regenerate organs endlessly. Material creation just needs energy anyway. But that's a hassle. And who'd buy 'em?
I nearly collapse onto the street in despair. "Despair forges a man," goes the saying. I think I qualified as a man before this……but not anymore.
So can I grow through despair now? As all these thoughts swirl, the news keeps rolling. An expert in a suit appears, explaining away.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. No, that's not it? It's just a double V-sign. Like, "Ta-da! Nice to meet you." Means I'm humanity's friend, completed and ready. Annihilation in two hours? Where'd that come from? Who sees a V-sign and thinks doom?
Misunderstanding. A serious misunderstanding.
But if I rush the station and start explaining, the staff and viewers would all foam at the mouth and collapse. Can't have that.
How is this possible? No way to clear it up.
Subtitles still crawl at the bottom.
Whoa, even the Tower of Reason? That's where the relativity martial arts doctor and the infinite variable wheelchair robot doctor……anyway, humanity's top forces gather. This might be more serious than I thought. What do I do?
…………A bit of walking calmed me down. Whew. Took a deep breath.
Some US president said it, I think: "It's okay to walk slowly, just don't walk backward." Can't recall who. Probably also warned not to trust internet posts.
What's done is done. Smashing the city, being labeled a Tera threat on the news, the double V twisted into a doomsday declaration. Can't undo any of it.
Blending in as a human is impossible now. One word from me and they all foam up anyway—what's the point of human cosplay? Gotta communicate first to mingle.
Time for a new plan. Top priority: clear the misunderstanding. Convince humans: "I'm not a bad monster. I just wanna have fun with you guys."
But how? Can't speak.
Hmm. Pacing and pondering, something faint bubbles up from deep in my mind. A foggy memory from human days. A building with insanely high floors—even the basement levels were ridiculous. And I worked there.
Oh, right. Threat Management Agency HQ. Something might click if I go. Could jog more human memories too.
I put some oomph in my legs. Whoosh. Careful not to rip the air, but faster than the wind. Vision warps once, straightens—and I'm at the destination.
A massive gray building. Intimidating logo. Threat Management Agency.
And right out front—a convenience store. Memories flood back. Back when I was human, I bought triangle kimbap there every morning. Tuna mayo. Sometimes bulgogi. Even remember the part-timer: short-haired girl, always sleepy-eyed scanning barcodes. Pretty and shy-looking, got tons of confessions from ajusshis.
Anyway. I worked here. Observing alien threats through space telescopes. Then I spotted Mama's main body by chance, and……well, became like this.
Deep underground in this building: the Threat Isolation Facility. Where they lock up captured threats.
……Shall I check it out? Come this far already.
Yeah. Old workplace—maybe a way to prove I'm harmless. Let's go in.
The lobby doors slide open right on cue. Black-suited folks pouring out.
Swoosh. I slip through them like wind.
Past the lobby to the security gate. Metal detectors and energy scanners on both sides.
WARNING. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.
One step in and alarms blare. Damn, red lights flashing like crazy. Too noisy—I nudge the gate lightly.
Crunch. Oops, pushed too hard. The alloy gate crumples like paper. Sorry, I'll compensate when I'm rich.
Emergency stairs to the basement. Open the steel door and peer down: a seemingly endless spiral staircase.
Whoa, dizzyingly deep.
I hop onto the handrail. Butt perched, lean forward. Perfect. Handrail slide time.
Suddenly dying to try it. Whiiirrr——!
Whoa. Fun! Spiraling down the helical rail like an amusement park ride.
Basement 10. 20. 41.
Whiiirrr—thud. Rail ends; I land lightly.
Wanna go again, but later. Ahead: a massive blast door blocking the way. A meter thick—not a door, more like a wall. Mechanical lock in the center, beside a biometric panel and 12-digit keypad.
Hmm. Password? 0000? 1q2w3e4r? No dice—red light.
Unauthorized access.
Can't remember. Oh well. Hook fingers on the edge. Super tough metal. But not hard to open.
Groooan. Screeeeech—rumble rumble rumble.
Open. Oops, ripping it like this'll cost a fortune to fix. Add it to the tab. When I'm rich.
Alarms wailing like mad, but ignore. Beyond the gaping hole: a white corridor.
Welcome back to the old workplace, me. Different department now, though.
Time to tour the Threat Isolation Facility.