Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Strange Companions
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Ian read the text aloud slowly, letter by letter, to accommodate Cecilia, who still couldn't read Korean well.
[2. If you're not recognized as a patient, there's only one way out. Accompany one patient as their guardian and meet with a doctor to go through the discharge procedures.]
[3. To qualify as a guardian, certain conditions must be met. First, there must be at least two people, and those two must act as a married couple or siblings. Same-sex pairs won't work. You'll be dragged to the psychiatric ward.]
[4. Do not use the hospital bathrooms. Don't even wonder why. Just know that five of my team members who went in there were strung up alive.]
[5. Emergency exits are not for emergencies. A patient completely engulfed in flames will maniacally chase down and kill anyone who enters. Do not go in.]
[6. We've encountered a total of four doctors: surgeon, internist, orthopedic surgeon, and neurosurgeon. They each appear under different conditions, and we've only figured out the conditions for the surgeon and internist for sure.]
[7. The surgeon appears if you sustain serious external injuries or worse. You'll be treated as a patient. If you refuse, you'll be abducted straight to the operating room. If you encounter the surgeon, please just kill yourself.]
[8. The internist appears after consuming any food or drink in the hospital, like tap water or convenience store lunch boxes. They'll say you have a stomach issue and slice open your belly right there to pull out your organs. No need to kill yourself in this case. You're dead anyway.]
“......It's all just talk about dying.”
“That means it's that tough. Let's keep reading.”
[9. Food and water handed out by nurses have been thoroughly vetted, so it's safe to eat. However, if you're acting as a guardian and eat the food meant for patients, you'll be the one on the meal tray the next day.]
[10. So where do guardians get their food? You don't. Somehow hold out.]
[11. Aside from emergency exits, there are no stairs in the hospital. Use the elevators. But using them consecutively will take you somewhere unknown. Definitely use the elevator, explore the floor, then use it again.]
[12. Do not use the information desk on the 3rd floor. You'll be grabbed and forcibly made into a patient.]
[This is all the information we've gathered. I'm about to die soon. If you see the name Park Sang-cheol on a hospital bed, please wish me peace in the afterlife. Don't talk to patients who aren't in their right minds. Find a sane patient while posing as guardians and get out of here.]
[Long live the Management Bureau. For humanity. Do not fear noble sacrifice.]
The note ended there. Ian let out a groan as he closed the booklet.
“The Management Bureau was already here and left.”
At least they hadn't done nothing. But they hadn't succeeded either. They'd only left behind this rulebook and achieved nothing more.
That was accomplishment enough in itself. Ian memorized the name Park Sang-cheol and opened another booklet.
This one was an original hospital guide, not handled by anyone else. Cecilia peeked over from beside him.
“Oh, I can read this. Looks like Italian.”
“Must be because the anomaly wrote it. Then let's each read it silently this time. My throat's burned, so talking nonstop is tough.”
“Okay.”
Cecilia nodded. Ian pulled a cigarette from his pocket and just fiddled with it without lighting it.
If his throat weren't parched, he could've smoked one. What a shame.
He set the grimoire on his knee, spun the revolver's cylinder, and looked down at the booklet.
[Yohan General Hospital is a safe place for everyone!]
Bullshit right from the first page. Cecilia let out a hollow laugh, and Ian's eyes hardened coldly.
[Our hospital cares for and manages all patients with utmost dedication. No one will die here, and skilled doctors and nurses will ensure your life is maintained forever by your side. So please rest assured!]
[However, if you fail to follow the precautions below, we cannot take responsibility for what happens to you. We earnestly ask that you memorize them.]
[Patients must never leave their rooms without instructions from our medical staff.]
[Patients requiring surgery cannot refuse it. If you do, we will have to use forceful measures, so please understand.]
[If patients fight each other, both parties will be restrained.]
[The psychiatric ward is off-limits to non-staff. Let's not even go there out of curiosity.]
[Nurses' and doctors' words are absolute. Do not defy them.]
[Discharge is only possible with a doctor's professional judgment. Or a guardian must come and persuade the doctor.]
[Do not skip meals. If the internist diagnoses an empty stomach, they will forcibly open you up and inject food.]
[No anesthesia is used in any surgery at this hospital. But there will be no pain, so rest assured.]
[Guardians visiting this hospital must absolutely obey the doctors. No matter how much you want the patient discharged, if the doctor deems it impossible, the request will be denied.]
[Aside from emergency exits, there are no stairs in this hospital. Please use the elevators.]
Those were the key rules. The rest were minor: no running in hallways, no causing trouble for nurses or doctors, etc. As long as you followed basic hospital common sense, there were no issues.
The crucial part was the doctor's judgment.
‘Even if you find a sane patient, if the doctor rules discharge impossible, you still can't leave.’
What an absurd place. Ian clicked his tongue and handed the booklet to Cecilia. She, slower at reading than him, took it, read a bit more, and looked back at him.
“What now?”
“We check the rooms first. Finding a sane patient is priority. Doctor's judgment matters, but we need a patient to even do anything.”
Cecilia nodded.
“It says rooms are from the 6th to 66th floor. All of them?”
“Until we find a sane one.”
Ian rolled his shoulders and opened the grimoire.
“First, some prep.”
Without waiting for her reply, he took off his coat and spread it neatly on the cold floor.
Squeeze...
He borrowed Cecilia's dagger, pricked his finger for a drop of blood, and drew a magic circle on the inside of the coat. Since the surgeon only appeared for serious external injuries or worse, this much was fine.
He finished the circle and wiped the blood roughly on his clothes.
Then he placed a ghost's spirit body from his bag on the circle and chanted the incantation.
“You, agent of God. Ward off the evil of the wicked and proclaim God's will. You are the companion from another realm, the messenger, the eye, the sword, and the shield.”
Tsss.
The orb melted into the magic circle. The blood-red circle turned black for a moment, then vanished without a trace.
“......Did it fail?”
“No, success.”
The circle disappearing might look like failure at a glance, but the magic had activated properly.
A defensive spell that turned the coat liquid-like upon sufficient external impact, absorbing and dispersing it.
Single-use, and not nullification but absorption and dispersion, so not perfect absolute defense. But it was enough. Worth staying up all night studying grimoires.
Ian put his coat back on and turned to Cecilia.
“Want me to do yours too?”
“......No thanks. Scary getting magic from a mage.”
She said with a reluctant expression. Ian shrugged without pressing her.
“Let's go.”
“Okay.”
Revolver in one hand, grimoire in the other, he started walking.
Cecilia took point with her pistol and dagger. They passed the empty lobby and hallway to reach the elevator where they'd first entered this space.
According to the Management Bureau agent's note, elevators were fine to use. Just not consecutively. Explore the arrived floor first, then move again.
Tricky rule, but not hard. Cecilia nodded back at Ian and pressed the call button.
Rumble rumble!!
Something rushed down beyond the doors, and the number above the elevator changed rapidly.
About five seconds later, 66 switched to 1, and the doors jerked open.
This elevator had no hands on the ceiling. Cecilia peeked inside first to confirm it safe, then beckoned Ian.
“Nothing there.”
“Phew......”
Ian followed her in, fiddling with his cigarette. His throat stung more with each breath; the pain was worsening. He'd need to head straight to a hospital after escaping.
“Cough, cough... Start from 6.”
“Okay.”
Cecilia pressed the 6 button hard. The doors slammed shut. Less than a second later, they arrived at 6.
The doors didn't open. Must need to open from inside.
Ian habitually tossed his cigarette on the floor and rubbed his throat. Cecilia watched and asked cautiously.
“......Hurts?”
“A bit. Still manageable. Gotta be careful not to get seen as a patient.”
“......If your throat hurts...”
“No ENT, so probably the internist. The moment you're caught, they'll rip out your throat. Act completely fine to stay safe.”
“......Sorry. Should've protected you better.”
Cecilia murmured gloomily. Ian looked down at her briefly and gave a wry smile.
“It's fine. I'm grateful, actually. Without you, my head would've exploded right there.”
“......Then, good.”
Cecilia replied softly, then hardened her gaze, reversing her grip on the dagger. She turned to Ian.
“Open the door?”
“Yeah.”
At Ian's word, Cecilia hit the open button.
Whirr.
The heavy steel doors parted to the sides.
And the sight that greeted them.
“......Just a normal hallway.”
A typical hospital ward hallway lined with patient rooms welcomed them. Beeping noises echoed from somewhere, and the air reeked of thick disinfectant and blood.
Ian rubbed his sore throat and spoke.
“Quick search, then up.”
“Okay.”
No need to linger long on 6. Still 60 floors above.
Time wasn't on their side.