Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Strange Companions
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**Kwachijijik!!**
The tentacles racing down the corridor crushed entire patients in their grasp. Blood sprayed everywhere in a gory mess, and the harpoon-like twisted tentacles clattered their teeth as they sought the next prey.
The hospital lobby was cleared in an instant. The Management Bureau agents, who had been standing there in a daze, snapped to attention and rushed toward Park Hee-su.
“Are you alright?”
Yeoul spat the words as she drew her long sword. Though she addressed Park Hee-su, her attention was entirely fixed on Ian. Ian felt it but chose not to react. Instead, he tapped his grimoire with his fingers, ready to respond at any moment.
The Watcher was currently obeying Ian’s will, refraining from attacking any ‘humans.’
It was following orders for now while sating its hunger, but once the prey ran out and it was still unsatisfied, it would writhe to devour any living thing, ignoring commands. And its first target would be Ian.
‘So if the Management Bureau agents turn hostile toward me, I’ll change the orders. Sacrificing a few more would buy me a little extra time.’
There was no need to carry the burden of those who refused to cooperate and turned hostile without reason.
The role-playing as patients and guardians was already over. The moment the hospital began to crumble, any cooperation was just for show. He could discard it anytime he wanted, and if it benefited him, he’d do so gladly.
“…….”
Cecilia’s intentions were unclear, but above all, Ian’s priority was his own safety. He wasn’t indecisive enough to bear the risk for someone who offered no real help.
Fortunately, the Management Bureau agents did not turn hostile toward Ian.
“……You’re a mage, aren’t you?”
Yeoul asked after finishing her conversation with Park Hee-su.
Her voice was remarkably calm, but the surroundings were anything but.
Though it had swept through the patients once, their numbers had been overwhelmingly vast. Even now, the tentacles thrashed wildly, harvesting heads and hearts from the incoming horde. Blood poured down like rain, filling the air with a revolting stench.
Yet her ability to speak so calmly meant she was a veteran accustomed to such chaos.
Ian tucked the grimoire under his arm, reloaded his revolver, and jerked his chin toward the emergency exit.
“We’ll talk on the way. We’re heading to the underground parking garage.”
“……The parking garage?”
As Yeoul’s eyes narrowed slightly in question, Park Hee-su answered.
“Management Bureau Spatial Anomaly Response Protocol Article 151. If there’s no visible way out, use physical means to reach the parking garage, find your car or steal a vehicle, and escape beyond the spatial boundary. You know all this.”
“I do, but…… isn’t that just a last resort for suicide when there’s no other option?”
“Yeah, pretty much. But we’ve got a mage and a heresy inquisitor here. We can make it work.”
With the joined group totaling eight, the sizable party descended via the emergency stairs. Thanks to the preemptive disposal of the burning patients, they only faced nurses and patients—no doctors in sight.
“But…… can we trust them?”
Yeoul whispered in Park Hee-su’s ear. He shrugged and shot dead a legless corpse crawling up from below.
“We have to stick together until we escape. And those tentacle clusters? All summoned by that mage. Provoke him, and we’ll end up skewered too. So watch your actions and words.”
“……Got it.”
As Yeoul replied, a tentacle whipped past her ear. It crushed the head of a nurse crawling up from below, splattering brain matter everywhere. Yeoul wiped the transparent, sticky fluid soaking her face and bowed her head toward Ian.
“……Thank you.”
Ian spun the cylinder of his reloaded revolver instead of replying.
More people was a good thing. It meant more targets for the anomalies to go after. Reducing his own risk of death was something to welcome.
The downside was that the additions were Management Bureau agents. If they’d been masked, it might’ve been different, but with their faces openly exposed, the consequences were unpredictable.
‘The community warned it could lead to complications, but is that really all?’
He knew there were mages who collaborated with the Bureau, albeit a rare few on the peninsula. But he had no idea how they were treated or what the Bureau thought of them.
-Deep Sea Angler: It’s not all bad.
Watching the writhing tentacle mass, he recalled a comment he’d read in the past.
Deep Sea Angler.
The most prominent mage known to collaborate with the Management Bureau, who had offered advice on workshops.
-Deep Sea Angler: There are conditions, of course. Promise to mostly follow the Bureau’s orders, and the treatment’s better than you’d think. It’s just a hassle, and the agents don’t like mages much, so you feel eyes on you—that’s it.
Ear Bug: Don’t bullshit. My acquaintance collaborated with them but ditched it all and fled overseas because he couldn’t stand their attitude.
ㄴDeep Sea Angler: Fair enough. Everyone’s different. But it worked for me. Still does.
That mage never revealed what the Bureau demanded or what they offered in return, but he often shared that working with them wasn’t so bad. Of course, he didn’t blindly defend them— he frequently posted rants or comments criticizing them.
Yet he kept collaborating, which meant there must be good reason.
‘If the Bureau approaches me after this, I should at least hear them out.’
Ian gripped the grimoire tightly, thinking that. Blood poured from the ceiling, soaking his hair, but he only grimaced without voicing annoyance.
Fortunately, no blood splattered on the grimoire. Or rather, it did but evaporated instantly. No need to worry about it getting dirty. If it got cheeky later, he’d douse it with coffee or water.
“We’re here!”
In the midst of his thoughts, they reached the parking garage entrance. Park Hee-su quickly scanned the area, grabbed the door handle, and turned it. When it didn’t budge, he unhesitatingly blasted the handle with his shotgun.
**Taaaang!!**
The door shattered with a deafening boom and swung open limply. Park Hee-su reloaded his spent shells as Yeoul drew her sword and took point. Cecilia stayed close to Ian, as if guarding him.
“……”
Kim I-seo glanced at Ian sidelong as she followed Yeoul. Ian avoided her gaze and surveyed the surroundings.
The parking garage was quite spacious. Ceiling lights flickered intermittently, casting light sporadically, while tentacles writhed beyond the exit. Judging by the blood flooding in, the Watcher was handling patients descending from the exit.
But how long could the Watcher hold? It would be reverse-summoned once sated, fine for now but not a long-term solution.
Escaping quickly was the right call.
Ian tore his eyes from the tentacles and stepped toward the parked cars in the vast garage.
But the garage was as empty as its size suggested. Only a few discarded corpses, a musty smell, and the parking attendant remained.
“……There’s nothing here.”
Cecilia muttered beside Ian. As he inwardly agreed, the Management Bureau agents exchanged glances among themselves and approached the attendant.
The grotesque-looking guard, leisurely watching a human flesh mukbang video, tilted his head at their approach.
“What’s the matter……?”
“Where’s my car!”
Park Hee-su bellowed suddenly. The attendant flinched, eyes widening. Viscous fluid and blood oozed from his crushed orbs.
“Y-Yes? Sir, what do you mean……?”
“I parked my car here, damn it! Where is it, you bastard!”
“Car?…… I’ve been here all day and haven’t seen any other cars come in.”
The attendant said awkwardly, then his voice turned icy as he gripped a bone knife made from ribs.
“Are you…… lying, perhaps?”
A chilling aura settled over the air. Raw killing intent radiated, enough to pierce throats at the slightest misstep.
Unlike the mindless patients, this guard was a cunning anomaly, and its power seemed considerable too.
But Park Hee-su didn’t blink, continuing to berate it.
“Of course it’s not from today! I was a patient here! But now that I’m checking out, my car’s gone!”
“My car’s missing too. How do you plan to compensate us?”
Yeoul chimed in beside him.
“Quickly, give us some solution. If we can’t find our cars like this, we’ll sue the hospital.”
“……Ah, aaah……! Just a moment……! I’ll check right away!”
The attendant sweated profusely as he hammered the keyboard. Ian stared at him coldly, twitching the cigarette in his mouth.
It seemed they were rushing the attendant to forcibly summon their cars—an escape method. Creative and dubious, but if it was in the Bureau’s manual, it was reliable.
Compared to the earlier fuss about it being near-suicidal, it felt anticlimactically simple. Not bad, but hardly worth the drama—
**Thud!**
The world shook once. Those in the garage staggered, the agents urging the attendant harder amid cold sweats. Cecilia and Ian widened their eyes at the presence felt from above the hospital.
‘……Something.’
Something was coming.
From above the hospital. Outside the emergency exit.
A massive something had suddenly appeared and was descending into the parking garage.
**Kwagagak!!**