Midnight Plastic Surgery - 'For You, Whom God Left Unfinished' (4)
Jeju Island, Seogwipo City. S Hotel Royal Suite.
Mercenary leader Ri Wei swirled his wine glass while staring at the holographic screen. The display showed raid data for the "Succubus Dungeon."
"What caused the last raid to fail?"
At Ri Wei's question, Chen flipped through his tablet and reported.
"Fascination. The boss used wide-area mental magic, causing the vanguard of 30 men to slaughter each other until they were wiped out."
"Total annihilation."
Even after hearing that 30 lives had been lost, he indifferently downed his wine.
"The success fee was post-paid, right?"
"Yes. We contracted it on the condition of mission completion."
"Saved on the budget, then."
He stared at the photo on the screen of a woman in a red dress.
'The succubus princess, was it? Indeed, her beauty lives up to the rumors.'
Ri Wei recalled the monster client he'd encountered in the dungeon three weeks ago.
-Torment her as much as possible. Crush her hopes when she starts to have them, crush her again and again until she collapses on her own. Ah, and don't kill the princess—capture her alive, no matter what.
The deal with the incubus named Jeon had been sealed through a "Magical Contract." An unbreakable binding force.
To fulfill those terms, Ri Wei had steadily dispatched external mercenaries over the past three weeks. Thanks to that, the succubus dungeon's damage had gradually mounted. Troops dwindled, traps were depleted, and relentless invasions would have pushed the succubus princess's stress to its peak.
This was more than enough to satisfy the contract's stipulation of "sufficient torment."
"Time to wrap this up."
Ri Wei set his empty glass down on the table.
"Remember this, Chen. The key to this raid is 'capture.' No killing, and don't let her take her own life."
"Yes, sir! I'll keep it in mind."
Chen bowed at a perfect ninety degrees in polite response.
Ri Wei sank deeper into the sofa and asked, "How long until we're ready?"
"We can go anytime."
"We leave in two days."
"Yes, Team Leader!"
I spent my time shuttling between the library and the bedroom. I wanted some peace and quiet, but reality was anything but serene.
"Oh my, guest. Isn't reading books all day boring?"
"Play with us. We can make it real fun for you..."
Every time I passed through the halls, I faced the relentless seduction of the succubi. I broke out in a cold sweat fending off their advances with ironclad defenses.
Then, around two days later—
Bang!
The library door flew open as Serria burst in, looking quite urgent.
"Hunters have invaded."
They're here.
I closed my book and asked calmly, "Have all the minions adapted to the ghost story?"
"Perfectly integrated."
"Good."
I set the book down with a thud and stared into empty space.
'Boss, pop up a screen for me.'
A rectangular screen materialized before my eyes.
The screen filled with the view of a hospital corridor.
"Wh-what is this...?"
Serria's eyes widened like a rabbit's as she stared at the screen. A live broadcast suddenly appearing in midair had clearly startled her.
I casually invited her. "Princess, care to watch together?"
"...Pardon?"
"See for yourself how far the ghost story holds up. Consider it a performance test."
Serria pondered my suggestion for a moment before replying.
"...Alright. But if it gets dangerous, we'll switch to anomaly mode immediately. I can't just sit by if my subordinates are in peril."
"Wise decision."
I turned my gaze back to the screen. The tablet-sized display felt a bit cramped for two viewers.
'Boss, can you make the screen bigger?'
[What a pain.]
Contrary to the curt reply, the screen expanded refreshingly just as I'd hoped.
'...Wonder what horror flick we'll get this time.'
I crossed my arms and focused on the screen. Then I glanced sideways at Serria standing beside me.
She stared intently at the screen, swallowing dryly with a tense expression.
'At least having someone to watch with makes it less scary.'
Of course, it was just self-consolation. Scary was scary, whether alone or together.
No matter that I'd sold it myself—the things looked way too grotesque.
But what could I do? Business was business.
'Showtime.'
Let's test it. Just how much destructive power a ghost story fused with monsters as a Heteromorph anomaly packs.
Jeju Island, Seogwipo City, near the cliffside gate.
Ten men had gathered. All Chinese mercenaries, every one B-rank.
"Preparations complete?"
Chen bowed his head briefly at Ri Wei's question.
"Yes. Everyone's on standby."
Ri Wei nodded.
"You've all memorized the operation data, right?"
"Yes, sir! Fully committed to memory!"
"Good. One goal this time: break through the succubi's defenses and capture the boss princess alive. If she resists, feel free to lop off a limb or two."
Ri Wei grinned confidently and pointed at the gate.
"Let's go. Time to earn some cash."
The ten hunters plunged into the gate's blue barrier in perfect unison.
Ri Wei and the mercenaries naturally expected an opulent palace with glittering chandeliers and red carpets.
But...
"...?"
What unfolded before them was something entirely different.
A pungent disinfectant smell assaulted their noses. Flickering fluorescent lights lit a long corridor. The floor was eerily spotless, without a speck of dust, but the ceiling was another story.
Like freshly extracted entrails, red mucous membranes blanketed the entire ceiling, writhing stickily.
"What... the hell is this?"
This was a dissonant "Hospital."
"Team Leader, did we enter the wrong place?"
"This is definitely the succubus dungeon..."
Then.
Something slithering moved at the far end of the corridor. All eyes snapped toward it.
And they were left speechless.
"Groooaaah..."
Monsters in patient gowns and nurse uniforms prowled the halls. Their faces were mashed like roadkill on asphalt, features unrecognizable. Red tentacles sprouted in bundles from their heads, twitching.
Disgust beyond the grotesque. Even these veteran hunters recoiled on instinct.
Ri Wei grabbed Chen by the collar.
"Chen. What the hell is going on?"
"I-I don't know. Up to last week's data, it was fine."
Chen stammered in panic.
Ri Wei shoved him away with a curse.
"Useless bastard."
The situation had gone sideways. An environment unlike the intel, unidentified monsters. As confusion mounted—
Screeech—
A patient room door opened, and vibrant figures appeared, utterly out of place in the dingy corridor.
Beauties in pink nurse outfits that clung to their curves, accented by black garter belts. Succubi.
"Oh dear, coming in without a reservation is such a hassle."
"Keep this up, and big sis nurse will have to punish you with a thick needle♥"
The succubi winked brazenly at the hunters, then giggled and turned back down the corridor.
In that instant, the succubi's signature thick, alluring scent wafted to the hunters' noses.
A dangerously sweet smell that made their heads spin.
"Th-those bitches!"
"Stop right there!"
A few hunters lost their reason and lunged forward, entranced.
Grab!
"Snap out of it, you idiots!"
"Gah?!"
Those unaffected yanked them back by the scruff. Shaking them roughly restored focus to their glazed eyes.
"Out of the way!"
Then, anxious Chen stepped forward. Obsessed with scoring points with Ri Wei.
"Team Leader! I'll clear the path!"
Chen hefted his massive two-handed axe and glared at a shambling patient ahead.
"You filthy thing!"
The axe blade sank deep into the patient's shoulder.
Boom!
The patient's body burst, spewing thick green liquid. "Acidic pus" packed inside.
Sizzle—!
"Gaaaaah?!"
Chen's scream echoed down the corridor. His armor melted instantly under the pus, billowing white smoke.
"Hot! It's hot!! I can't get the armor off!!"
Chen thrashed desperately, trying to rip off the dissolving armor. As he writhed on the floor in agony, a shadow fell over him.
A patient with half its face melted off. It shoved its mashed visage close to the suffering Chen, twisting its torn mouth grotesquely.
"Am... I pretty...? Surgery... went well... right?"
The foul pus stench and warped voice up close snapped Chen's sanity.
"Ah, shut up! Your mushy face is disgusting—get lost! Don't stick to me, you jinx!"
Chen kicked the patient away viciously, yelling.
In that moment, the patient's unfocused eyes gleamed.
"...Not pretty? I'm not pretty?"
"What?"
"Not pretty? Not pretty? Not pretty?"
The eerie mutter spread like a contagion. Other prowling patients turned toward Chen in unison.
"Not pretty?"
"Not pretty?"
"I'm pretty. The doctor said so."
"Liars... rip their mouths."
"Y-you crazy fuckers!"
Chen backed away in panic, but it was too late. The patients swarmed like a pack of dogs, seizing his limbs.
"Let go! Get off me?!"
Chen erupted with mana, swinging his arms. A shock that would've flung normal monsters away.
But the patients clung like leeches, even as arms bent and shoulders dislocated.
"Gaaah! Hey! Zhang! Help! Get these off me!"
Chen desperately called to his comrades. But the other hunters were faring no better, ensnared by swarming nurse monsters.
Meanwhile, the patient who'd questioned him crawled up his thigh. Insect-like, grotesque movement.
"Stay back! Get away!"
Chen swung his free hand, but the patient's grip was inhuman. It mounted his chest in an instant and grinned with its torn mouth.
"Smile. Pretty. Like me."
"Mmph?! Mmmph?!"
The patient's fingers jammed roughly into Chen's mouth. Dirty nails scraped the roof, crushed his tongue.
Chen thrashed his head in pain, but the patient ignored him, bearing down with both hands.
Riiip—!
"Grrraaah!!!!"
Chen's mouth tore from ear to ear. Cheek muscles burst, red flesh spraying. A Joker-like horrific visage.
"Kahak! Gurk! Blech!"
Only then did Ri Wei and the others break through, rushing in.
"Chen!"
"You monster bastards!"
As the hunters charged, the patients holding Chen surprisingly let go.
Collapsed on the floor, Chen clutched his dangling cheek flesh, foaming blood.
"Hngh... haaah..."
"Damn it! Chen! Pull yourself together!"
Ri Wei gaped in horror at Chen's wretched state. A B-rank hunter taken down without a chance to react.
'What the hell is this dungeon?'
As chills ran down his spine at the illogical scene—
Drag, drag.
Something crawled across the ceiling.
All eyes turned upward.
A raspy, dull voice leaked out.
"Don't... bully... patients..."
Thud!
The massive form dangling from the ceiling crashed to the floor. Heavy vibrations shook the corridor.
"Wh-what the hell is that...!"
A muscular body swollen to bursting, bloodstained nurse uniform. Face flattened like roadkill, clutching a head-sized syringe. The head nurse, chief of the nurses.
"Treatment time...!"
The head nurse lunged at the injured Chen.
"G-get off!"
Chen reflexively raised his weapon to resist. But her hand was faster.
She seized his head in one hand and slammed it into the floor.
Bam!
"Kehuk!"
"Patient, no fussing."
Crack.
"Aaaagh!"
The head nurse casually twisted Chen's resisting arm backward. Bones protruded in agony as he screamed, but she indifferently raised the syringe.
"Anesthetic incoming."
Plunge!
The massive needle pierced Chen's nape. Green liquid flooded his veins.
Chen convulsed violently, eyes rolling back as he went limp.
"...!"
It happened so fast the surrounding hunters had no time to intervene.
The silence broke with Zhang, the spearman like a sworn brother to Chen.
"You monster bitch! Let Chen go!"
Zhang roared in fury and charged. Blue sword aura gathered at his spear tip.
A full-power strike from a B-rank hunter.
"Die!"
Shwoom!
The spear tore through air, impaling the head nurse's skull dead center.
Plunge!
The spear embedded in her flat face's middle, blood and brains erupting from the back of her head.
Stagger.
Her massive body wobbled powerlessly before crashing down with a thud.
"Hmph."
Zhang leisurely withdrew his spear, smirking.
"What? That all? Big body, but paper-thin defense!"
His comrades, frozen until then, cheered.
"As expected of Zhang! One-shot!"
"Scared me for a sec. We can just brute-force 'em!"
Color returned to the hunters' faces. They'd only panicked briefly at the weirdness; physical force still killed them, confirmed.
But realizing that was a mistake didn't take long.