Black Beetle (7)
"..."
Again. Those tiny lights, countless and bright, drifting through this dim space. Like the void of outer space, this place had swallowed me up once more, even though I had lain down on my bed intending only to sleep.
Why?
I looked around, but of course there was nothing there. The question rose first and foremost in my mind, but honestly, if this was just another coincidence, there was nothing I could say about it.
"I take it you're wondering where this place is?"
But this time, it was plainly different from before. In a space that had clearly contained nothing but me, a white rabbit mask in a suit suddenly appeared and spoke in that voice I knew all too well.
"Agares."
Staring at his eyes, I murmured blankly. I knew this was, in a sense, a dream, but even so, this was the first time I’d faced him directly like this instead of through a screen.
A strange, oppressive force pressed in from all around him. This was no ordinary dream, and he was certainly no ordinary being.
"There's no need to be so surprised. I am your guide, after all. I can help you with anything, truly."
"You know where this is?"
"Surely you know yourself that it isn't actually all that grand a thing?"
Unlike me, frozen stiff, he merely chuckled as he always did, speaking lightly as if it were nothing.
"I know where it is. But..."
"You don't know how to put it into words? I understand perfectly. If I must explain it in a single word, this place is a kind of network. A communications web in which countless Ascalases are connected, all centered around the router known as the Grand Lord."
Network.
With that single word, Agares explained where this place was. It was the term that most accurately described the concept I had already half-anticipated.
"Then perhaps you really did just connect here? You are, after all, practically the owner of this place."
And then he gave me a hint.
"You mean I didn't just come here by accident?"
Once again I looked around and muttered blankly. What had I done the first time I came here? No matter how I thought about it, the only thing I could remember was finding Lena.
"You'll figure it out soon enough, so why don't you move?"
Agares urged me to do so. Of course, I had no intention of simply standing still just because he said it. I took a step forward and began walking aimlessly, heading toward the countless stars that kept shining here, stars that could not even begin to compare to what I had seen before.
"...What is that?"
Something simply caught my eye.
One red star shining among the others. Naturally, I headed straight for it.
"It seems the connection to the network succeeded, more or less, but one terminal ran into a problem and failed to activate."
Watching the red star draw closer, Agares said that much.
As I approached it, I passed a few other stars and realized they were Lena, Karin, Robinson, and the others.
But this time, Lena did not awaken, and I did not touch her either.
"This child..."
"He must be the soul that joined us this time. Unfortunately, he breathed his last just before becoming an Ascalas, so the power of the essence could not work properly."
Before long, I was standing in front of the red star. And the identity of that red star was revealed: the boy named Lark, whom we had tried to bring into our ranks this time and failed.
The quest failure notification that flashed the moment an arrow struck Lark in the back, and Lena's furious grinding of her teeth, were still vivid in my mind.
"You're saying he can be saved?"
"The part of him that was infused with the essence of Ascalas forcibly kept hold of his soul as it tried to leave the body. So now all that remains is a choice: your choice, and this child's. Whether to invest in him, and whether he will pay everything to continue living once more and ultimately obtain what he desires."
Agares gave me an unexpected answer. At the words that he could be saved, I looked down at Lark in shock.
Lark, who had been floating there as if lying on his back, slowly furrowed his brow and tried to wake. Seeing that, I stiffened even more.
This wasn't a game where I could control everything with a few taps. I had no idea what I was supposed to do.
"Do... you have your senses?"
In the end, with no understanding of anything at all, I had to face the boy as he slowly opened his eyes.
"Ah..."
As soon as Lark saw me, his face went pale and he looked utterly stricken. What exactly was it about this unemployed shut-in in a wrinkled tracksuit that had put him so clearly into a state of terror?
I definitely didn't know Lark. Yet Lark reacted and behaved as if he knew exactly who I was.
"Don't be scared."
In the end, the only thing I could do was swallow back what I really wanted to say and tell him not to be afraid. It didn’t seem to have much effect, though, so I kept going, watching him thrash weakly as if trying to move his body.
"You definitely died. Not at Lena's hands, but from being struck by one of the arrows fired by the knights who rushed in to help you."
"I... I..."
"I don't know yet what kind of story you had. That isn't what's important right now. What matters is that you came here."
I understand what kind of beings we are now, so I can only act and explain things according to that nature. Besides, I didn’t want to lose someone with more than 60 percent suitability in a situation like this.
"We are surely monstrous creatures that harm people, all living things. But at the same time, in the process, we are a group that searches for its comrades. You were chosen, Lark. Whether by chance or not, you have the qualifications, so the choice is yours. Do you have something you want so desperately that you'd give up everything for it?"
I told Lark I would give him a chance. A chance to cast aside contradiction, hypocrisy, good and evil, conscience, all of it, and obtain something through that sacrifice.
"Together, we grow stronger only for that, and we run only for that."
That was our foundation. All that remained was Lark's choice. If Lark accepted our power for the sake of his own desire, then a new high-tier unit could be born.
I hadn't really considered the possibility of refusal. If he were the kind to refuse, then Lark wouldn't have ended up here in the first place.
"Can I... take revenge?"
"If you have the strength, you can do anything."
And, just as I expected, Lark chose to seize the chance.
He offered everything in exchange for what he wanted. He joined hands with the terrible monsters who slaughtered people without mercy. Just like me, when I accepted this game.
"Connection terminated."
With Agares's voice, that was the moment I woke from sleep and bolted upright on my bed.
"Lark will soon recover and prove and demonstrate his ability as a Warrior. If that succeeds, he may grow even higher, just like the others."
"...Right."
It was 4 a.m., but my sleep was over for good. In any case, after living the life of a pro, I would have to adjust my schedule sooner or later.
I set down the phone, where Agares was still rattling on, and stood up from the floor. A few hours from now, I would have to visit Fluke’s office again to sign the contract.
"Are you being swayed in a direction different from before?"
"It's true that it's complicated."
After taking out some water and drinking it, I gave a bitter smile. I had stopped denying it long ago, but the fact that I had not only admitted it, but had started using it, shocked me.
In the end, all of this was for the sake of my desire. It didn’t matter if that desire wasn't some grand revenge or revolution. For me, it was everything. I had to prove it.
And for that, I would really do anything.
"Welcome! We've been waiting for you. This is our chairman, Chairman Choi Jeong-su."
And that morning, for that first step, I visited Fluke's office once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"I look forward to working with you for the next year. I hope this ends well for both sides."
"...Likewise. Thank you."
A professional agency was a godsend for someone like me. Besides, it was only a one-year contract that I saw as a stepping-stone anyway, so I agreed without hesitation.
I didn't need money, and I didn't need anything else. All I wanted was the chance to step onto the stage and prove my value.
"Now that we're family, I suppose we can speak a little more candidly."
"You can speak casually with me, Coach."
It was still a little unreal that I had ended nearly three months of being an unemployed bum and become a player again. For now, I told Coach Park Yong-bin to drop the formalities. In this place, I was nothing more than a player.
"Then I will. What I wanted to say isn't anything huge. You were the first to sign, but the others will be coming to sign soon too."
Now that we were officially on the same team, he told me all the details of the team's internal situation. Most important among them were the teammates I would be playing with.
The game Redfield, in which I played as a pro, was a team game where five players moved as one. It was the kind of game where people openly said team luck mattered just as much as individual skill.
"As you know, they're all rookies, but... that means they're full of fire too. We might be able to start practice faster than the other teams."
"I'm fine with that."
"One of them is actually supposed to come sign this afternoon. Do you want to stick around and see?"
He mentioned the new teammate and asked if I wanted to see him in person. There was no reason to refuse, so I stayed in the office and waited.
The most important thing I always carried with me was my phone.