Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Return
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Where was the boundary of space? Exactly how far did the hospital's domain extend, and where did the passage to reality begin?
I couldn't tell. Because I couldn't tell, I had to keep running without rest. Ian ignored the two massive monsters battling behind him and checked the remaining fuel.
‘Not much left...’
The fuel hadn't been plentiful even when he first mounted the bike, but thanks to the insane speed he'd been pushing, it was already on the verge of running dry.
Perhaps it was because the flow of time in this space was distorted, or maybe the bike's fuel efficiency was just poor.
Either way, time was running critically short. Ian raced down the open road, no longer caring about the well-being of those following him.
“Kyaaack!”
Every now and then, anomalies would leap out from the end of the road, but Kim I-seo sniped them all, exploding their heads.
Precise marksmanship while riding in a vehicle.
That overwhelming focus and shooting skill must be what had kept her alive this long.
A reassuring ally, but terrifying as an enemy. Ian etched her pink hair into his mind and floored the accelerator.
Vroooom!!
A noise like tearing through the air assaulted his ears relentlessly. The fierce battle behind shook the world, the heavens and earth vibrating as balance crumbled.
He forced himself to endure. Ignoring the blood streaming down his face, he charged forward with escape as his sole goal. He raced on, hearing Cecilia moving alongside him and the Management Bureau agents' engines behind.
After a long while, beyond the open road, the hazy silhouette of a city emerged like fog.
Skyscrapers piercing the sky. A forest of buildings.
It was Seoul, the capital of Korea.
Park Hee-su shouted as he saw the faint city outline.
“Ah! There it is! Head there!”
Screeech!!
Ian swerved directly onto the road leading to the city. Cecilia followed him, and the Management Bureau agent tailed them with a divinely inspired drift.
“There’ll be a spot where space is breaking! Get in there!”
A spot where space was breaking.
Ian leaned low, tilting his head slightly to scan for distortions in space.
Spotting minute warps in space at over 150 km/h was no easy task.
But he had to do it to survive. He endured the wind stabbing at his eyes and surveyed the surroundings.
“...!”
After a long search, a patch of empty air shattered like glass came into view. Instead of calling out, Ian pointed to indicate the path and turned the front wheel right. The two vehicles followed.
KABOOM!!
At that moment, a Watcher plummeting from somewhere crashed into the middle of the road. Its crushed body lay there briefly before spotting Ian and lightly waving its tentacles. The gesture almost looked like a friendly greeting, drawing an involuntary chuckle from Ian.
Crunch...!
Instead of rising, the Watcher blocking the path shaped its tentacles into a road, guiding the three vehicles through.
Reason overriding instinct. Clearly more intelligent than a Messenger. Whether higher physical power meant higher intellect, or this Watcher was exceptionally unique, he couldn't say—but with that level of intelligence, communication was surely possible.
Perhaps it could even be stopped from mindless devouring. He couldn't try now, but experimenting later if the chance arose didn't sound bad.
Yes, later.
Escape came first now.
Vroooom!!
He rode up the tentacle road without refusing it. Cecilia hesitated briefly but soon followed Ian, and though the Management Bureau agents looked uneasy, they didn't refuse either. The three vehicles sped toward the exit, tires gripping the slick yet sharp, sturdy tentacles.
Crunch-crack!
Other tentacles not forming the path writhed like harpoons, stabbing madly at something.
The Hospital Director was probably in that direction.
He could vaguely make out blood spraying, so it wasn't far. Ian glanced at the Watcher for a moment, wiped the blood from his face, and gunned the throttle toward the spatial distortion.
The bike, slicing through the wind, soon reached the shattered space. At that instant, a clear sound like breaking glass rang out, and the distortion widened further. A beautiful yet grotesque white landscape filled his vision, and Ian was sucked into the broken space as if vanishing. Cecilia and the Management Bureau agents followed.
The distorted space remained unchanged even after the group passed through, refusing to repair. But as part of the space itself, the anomaly couldn't follow, left with no choice but to watch them go with a lingering expression.
[ ...Heh. ]
The Watcher chuckled alone as it saw the Hospital Director poke its head into the space from afar. After a moment, it dissolved into blood mist and vanished.
Its belly was full long ago. Lingering this long had simply been curiosity.
A human that intrigued the ‘Creator.’ The pale blue being that became His companion, drawing out deep affection, desire, and interest.
Weak in personal power, but thanks to the Creator's will, a type of human quite to its liking. It couldn't be sure it would be summoned next among its kin, but if the chance came, it wanted to meet and communicate again.
Just... next time, not an Anomaly.
After all, clean, pure lives like humans were the true delicacy. Eating about a thousand would fill it just right, so it hoped to be called back to reality when needed.
Thinking that, the Watcher fully dispersed. Now, only the Hospital Director remained on the road.
The Hospital Director, crawling on all fours and bleeding profusely, wildly swung its arms alone in the empty space.
A blatant display of rage, but no one was left to receive it.
*
The moment he crossed the space, Ian's eyes snapped open as if awakening from sleep. He bolted upright and looked around.
“...Here.”
No need for a close inspection. A small rectangular room. The roll of toilet paper beside him and the sign ‘Please don’t flush toilet paper’ made it obvious this was a restroom. Ian fiddled blankly with the paper for a moment, then let out a long breath and leaned back against the tank.
‘Back...?’
His last memory was riding the bike through the space. He'd feared waking up on the road, but fortunately, that wasn't the case.
“...Hoo.”
Ian dry-washed his face briefly, then picked up the bag on the floor.
Checking the contents, nothing seemed missing. The two grimoires were still there, as were the other alchemy items.
‘No way we’re still inside the hospital, right?’
A dizzying thought flashed, but he pushed it aside. No spreading blood smell meant the escape had succeeded.
Still, just in case.
Ian sat on the toilet, calmly loaded his revolver, and cocked the hammer preemptively. Then he stepped out.
Click.
Opening the stall door revealed the stark white hospital restroom. A ordinary-looking man stood at the urinal.
‘We’re back.’
No room for doubt now.
He washed his hands lightly at the sink and peered into the mirror. Blue and red blood clung to his black hair, hardened, but it didn’t look much like blood at a glance.
Still unsettling, so Ian doused his hair thoroughly while the restroom was nearly empty.
“Daddy, that big brother’s washing his hair here!”
“Ignore him...”
Ignoring the voices, he cleaned the bloodstains from his face and neck. He couldn’t do much about his clothes, but the black fabric hid it well enough. Still annoying to feel dirty.
‘...Guess I should head home, shower, and change first.’
He rinsed his mouth, shook water from his hair, and exited. That’s when he spotted Cecilia, leaning against the wall in ragged clothes.
“......”
“......”
Silence hung between them. People whispered at the sight of Cecilia—clothes nearly shredded, soaked in blood—but she ignored them, looking up at Ian. He looked down at her.
“Um... are you an emergency patient? Oh, but no wounds...”
The silence ended with a cautious nurse’s voice. Cecilia shook her head at her and moved her lips.
“I’m fine. Found these clothes.”
“Ah... are you homeless...?”
“......Yes.”
Lacking a better excuse, she mumbled that and grabbed Ian’s wrist firmly.
“Let’s go. Shower and clothes first.”
“......Who are you?”
“You think that’ll work?”
Cecilia let out a hollow laugh and dragged Ian out of the hospital. He’d only said it half-seriously and followed her.
They quickly bought clothes at a nearby shop, checked into a motel, showered, and changed.
Even sharing a room, no awkward atmosphere arose. Instead, they eyed each other warily, feeling only prickly discomfort.
Ian changed at a distance from her and sat in a chair. Cecilia sat on the bed’s edge, staring at him.
Silence settled between them again. They’d talked and cooperated inside the hospital, but expecting that to continue after escape was foolish. Some rapport might have formed, but not affection.
They still couldn’t trust each other that much. At least, that’s what Ian thought. He didn’t know Cecilia’s mind, but she likely felt the same.
“......Anyway.”
After a moment, Cecilia broke the silence first. She chewed her lips as if choosing words, then finally spoke.
“The reason I came to Korea—”
Ding.
Just as her words continued, Ian’s phone vibrated. He apologized briefly to Cecilia and checked the message.
[Nun: Ian, have you checked on So-yeon’s condition? What did they say?]
“Ah.”
Reading it, he sighed.
Right, the original purpose of going to the hospital.
He’d forgotten amid the urgency.
Ian awkwardly informed Cecilia of the Nun’s message. Cecilia sighed too, scratching her cheek.