Neulbom Villa Reconquest Operation
In a way, isn't that impressive? Even after coldly defining her own existence as fake, she doesn't waver and actively moves to resolve the situation! The shell is gone! What matters is existence itself! Her skin is like white jade, and her hair is snow-white, as if expressing extreme purity…! Truly, she is the modern incarnation of reason-centered thought accumulated through Descartes, Kant, and Hegel…! Kya! Lee Yena is the best!
"That's not it."
"Huh? What isn't?"
"You were probably thinking that I quickly accept being fake and even wage a battle of wills against myself, and that I'm scary or something."
"…."
"I am merely acting as Master’s subordinate and the head of the Hyeonhwi Group to respond most appropriately to this chaotic disaster situation."
"Whoa."
At my clapping, Lee Yena placed a hand on her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
"I am just as confused. I am the same as always, yet I am supposedly fake."
With a slightly displeased expression, she clenched and unclenched her fists while her eyes scanned the items she had gathered once more.
"It is merely a matter of choosing the time and place."
What Lee Yena held was a small fan. Jung Ji-soo had the kitchen knife, and Min-hee had the broken table leg. …For the record, the broken table leg hadn’t originally come with the word “broken” attached. Lee Yena had simply split it cleanly with her bare hands. She’ll compensate for it… right?
Lee Yena looked at Hyun-ah, who was tapping her leg, then reached out and tightened the knot on the cute backpack with the white fluffy character that the girl had been wearing since the beginning. What is Min-hee doing? She should be looking after her child first. I understand that her expression is dark with tension, but you’re the mother, aren’t you?
Lee Yena continued quietly as she watched me pouting.
"If you do not act when you must, the one who regrets it in the end is yourself."
"Unnie! Thank you!"
Lee Yena looked troubled as Hyun-ah clung to her, then lowered her posture slightly and took the girl’s hand. Still holding it, she began to walk. Jung Ji-soo’s face was full of envy. Oh-ho… so that’s her preference? Lee Yena, if you have any sense, you should yield a little.
"Let us depart."
"Yes…! Chairwoman!"
Ah, right. Their relationship was clearly superior and subordinate. Creak. The door to 206, which had been keeping us cozy, opened. Still, our average age exceeds six hundred. There’s nothing to be scared of, right? One true vampire, one (fake) subordinate, one self-proclaimed agent, one civilian(?), and one child…! The Neulbom Villa Security Squad is moving out!
**
What could their true nature be? Jung Min-hee wondered as she quietly brought her daughter Hyun-ah along. Everyone thinks they are special. They believe that beneath the oppressive social structure they have only hidden their truly remarkable individuality, that they possess a uniqueness that would astonish everyone. That is why they can readily display an empathetic ability to understand even those who are somewhat heterogeneous or unique. And in that sense, Jung Min-hee also considers herself to be of a similar kind. That is… until she saw these people.
"Those teeth look sharp."
"They clearly don’t seem to have reason, do they? Or maybe they do?"
Are these people fearless? They weren’t just watching animals at a zoo; they were pressing right up against the glass entrance door, observing the zombies that were rubbing their bodies against it up close.
"Look, Min-hee. Can you see the crack here?"
A small fracture had formed at the corner of the glass door from the repeated thrashing of the zombies. Lee Han. I never got to hear that name directly to the end. I only learned it when I heard the girl named Ji-soo, who was standing pale yet somehow steadfast in front of me, call him by it.
The man, who had been examining the door with an amused expression, took a light step and suddenly appeared beside me.
"In the end, anomalies aren’t something you can just endure. Most of them have some kind of time-limit mechanism like this."
It was something I had heard earlier as well. I had wanted to quietly hold out inside 206, but in the end, under the guise of a meeting, I was forced to come out. I don’t understand anything about anomalies or these phenomena, and I just wish everything would stay still….
"An anomaly… right."
"That’s correct."
"Then if what’s happening in this villa right now is an anomaly…."
I glanced slightly toward the outside. Kieeeek. Kyaaaak. At the sight of those violent figures drooling and opening their mouths wide, my shoulders instinctively shrank.
"Then are those things anomalies too?"
"Hmm?"
"You said this apartment was swallowed by an anomaly. But outside isn’t an apartment, yet it’s such a mess."
"Well. As for how far the anomaly’s encroachment reaches…."
Those eyes. The eyes that had watched me while I was isolated among the zombies. The eyes that had coldly said they would only let me stay until today without even giving a name. The eyes that had withdrawn their hospitality as if they had taken on a nuisance. The eyes that had ordered me to follow without accepting any rebuttal. And… the eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. Those eyes soon curved into a gentle smile.
"We’ll have to find out from now on."
"…."
"Ah, how could I possibly know every situation? I’m just acting according to the circumstances. Lee Yena!"
He turned lightly and called out to the girl dressed like a noble young lady from some wealthy household. She calls him Master… I wonder what their relationship really is.
"Your curiosity’s been satisfied, right? Let’s get moving."
"Just a moment. There’s something I must confirm…."
"Hey, that’s enough. I already know everything. Come on, there’s nothing special on the first floor, so let’s head upstairs. Judging by the looks of it, the higher we go the more dangerous it gets, so steel yourselves."
"Huaaah, yeees…!"
"No, Ji-soo, I think you put a little too much spirit into that…."
If you think it’s dangerous, you should just stay still. Why does it have to be… Sigh, if only that cowardly girl had taken my side a little, things would have been much easier.
"Mom, do you feel bad?"
"No, it’s nothing."
I held Hyun-ah’s hand tightly.
**
Living while serving an eccentric as one’s master is clearly no easy task. Nevertheless, as my duty, I serve the one I have chosen. When did my connection with Master begin… A thousand years. Time has faded many memories, but that one remains vivid. Amidst the raging flames. I lifted the small shelter made from my mother and father’s corpses. In that hellish landscape of the human world painted in crimson, I took the hand that was extended to me.
"Are you all right?"
Contrary to me lying face-down in a pile of corpses, he reached out beneath a starlight that shone far too brightly. Yes… just like now. Now?
"Mister?"
A black-haired foreigner. His brown eyes reflected the surging red flames. Those eyes resembled my own, which had been pointed at as a witch’s eyes, so much that I felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
"Will you follow me?"
Nod nod. I probably just moved my head without speaking. But why, why did you betray, mock, and abandon us all? I curse you, I curse you. I resent you. The you who deceived me, the you who pretended not to know, is terrifying. Even after hearing all those harsh words. Chomp! The first vampire bit my neck. At that time, I was nothing more than an ordinary girl. Looking down, I could see the Adam’s apple moving up and down. Thus, I was bound by the chains of eternity. Yes, it seems you tried to touch that emotion. Even so, I cherish you, with whom I have spent a thousand years. Now, only you can make me laugh, and only you make me laugh. Knowing where your heart is directed, I am merely waiting. Therefore, the depth of my years is by no means light, so if you wish to imitate it clumsily, stop and disappear already. Master was far more refined, you know?
The illusion of Master, who had sunk his teeth into my neck, scattered with a flick of my hand. "Are you all right?" Now, this version of you feels quite familiar.
"Uh… why? I was just waiting quietly!"
"I simply recalled the past for a moment."
"Oh, the past! I like that too! So, back in my day…!"
"That’s enough. I have no desire to converse with someone who doesn’t even remember."
"Huh? What memory are you talking about!"
Besides, I am fake, so what use is there in sharing memories? I let out a small laugh and looked at the people writhing and convulsing on the ground. So… it’s embarrassing, but borrowing Master’s words, it was the “Neulbom Villa Reconquest Operation.” The operation went awry from the very start. The elevator, whose internal mirror was shattered, only operated one floor at a time. When we tried using the stairs just in case, no matter how far we climbed, we couldn’t go up more than one floor. In short, we had to alternate between the stairs and elevator at both ends of the corridor, tasting every floor as we ascended. Still, that part was easy. The intention was obvious, wasn’t it? It was just a nasty desire to see if we could really make it all the way to the top. It was clichéd, but we had no choice but to play along.
The second floor, as we knew, simply had a few monsters wandering around. Without any particular tricks, we just ran steadily without falling behind and slipped into the stairs. That was the end of it. The third floor, upon arrival, had enough blood and entrails to make anyone frown immediately. Of course, since I covered Hyun-ah’s eyes, who had a somewhat cute side, with my illusion, there was no problem, so there was nothing to worry about. The rest were adults, weren’t they? Whether they vomited or trembled, it was up to them to overcome it themselves; I had no obligation to care for them like a nanny. Sorceries offered with blood and flesh throughout the floor summoned poisonous insects or raised corpses, but before whom? Screaming at hands that suddenly grabbed one’s ankles was something only children did. …Not that I’m old, of course.
The fourth floor was simply a corridor. A corridor that seemed like it would never end. Occasionally, people claiming to be residents would say they were trapped too and urge us to give up and rest, or to jump out the window, but we didn’t listen. Only those who were slightly tired and whose legs were shaking would fall for such words. Ah, of course, I wasn’t talking about the cute Hyun-ah riding on my back. Did this path really continue forever? It was all a trick. In times like this, you just had to ignore the senses deceiving us. After walking with my eyes closed for a bit, the fourth floor was cleared in no time. Finally, as we ascended to the fifth floor, in a space filled with thick fog, cries that could have been human or beast echoed, so we carefully moved forward when suddenly everyone else disappeared. I was a little worried about our cute Hyun-ah and Master, so I looked around when that unpleasant illusion appeared again.
"Was Master all right?"
"This much is nothing. I’ve been watching for a while now."
"Well…."
I laid the groaning Hyun-ah on my lap for a moment and sent a bit of power into her forehead. What was tormenting the child so much? Illusions that directly touched trauma would be quite difficult unless one was at Master’s or my level. After waiting a moment, Hyun-ah’s expression eased a little. Hmm… the illusion had ended, and she seemed to have fallen asleep.
"You’re not going to help the others?"
"Why should I? I have no such obligation."
"As expected, your personality…."
"Do you have a complaint?"
I lightly brushed off the half-lidded eyes. "Wow… you really lived a wasted life, a wasted life." Heh heh heh, I’m sorry, Master. I seem to be in a bit of a bad mood. Still, it’s not bad to feel a little refreshed.