Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Sky Opens
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According to Nia, the ecosystem was changing rapidly, and the world would be turned upside down as a result.
I felt my head spinning.
Even so, society had been running smoothly up until now, but from here on out, Paradise's lifeforms dangerous to humans would appear, right?
And it wouldn't end there. The Third Mutation was coming soon.
My family—Seo-ah, my parents—might get swept up in the mutation.
Mutations weren't necessarily bad right now... but who knew?
There were always exceptions.
I was uneasy at the thought that my family might suddenly mutate and lose themselves, but at the same time, I vaguely felt it wasn't something to take too seriously.
After all, I could do a lot about it.
I had the ability to instill calm in people's minds right away, and absurd powers like Dragon Tongue... so I could prevent my family from losing themselves to a mutation.
Thinking that way eased my mind considerably.
As I returned to the Management Bureau, I kept pondering how to cope with the upcoming changes and the best way to move forward.
...I needed to create clear guidelines and seek cooperation from mutants across the country.
Just as Nia warned, bizarre lifeforms could attack humans at any moment.
The Paradise I'd seen in the dragon's memories was certainly a place where countless lives coexisted.
But it was also a place with monsters even Paradise's mutants couldn't handle.
It might be more dangerous than expected, but knowing about these changes in advance was fortunate.
If those lifeforms appeared without warning, chaos would engulf society... but if we knew, we could respond.
Especially with my position and abilities, I had to prevent harm to civilians as much as possible.
I also needed to look into changes in vegetation.
The silver lining was that Nia knew all about Paradise's lifeforms.
I'd agreed to maintain regular contact with Nia for the time being. Sia too.
But I had no intention of limiting this to Korea alone.
Disaster-like lifeforms originating from other countries would cause chaos one way or another... and I planned to stop that too.
It looked like I'd be extremely busy for a while.
...When the hell was I going to reenroll?
* * *
I informed those around me of these facts.
Tae-hoon and Han-gyeol, of course, and just in case, Seo-ah and others close to me too.
The world might change soon, so be as careful as possible, and come to me first if anything happens.
I also told Yeon-hwa unnie and Ha-rin.
That the world was about to change drastically.
So we needed to deliver important information to people through the Management Bureau's channels.
Not stopping there, I reported it to the Deputy Director and had the matter passed on to key government agencies.
The changes could happen as soon as tomorrow.
Of course, if they didn't happen quickly, it would waste administrative resources... but it was better to waste them and raise awareness among people.
Fortunately, the current government had experience with the mutation crisis, so creating guidelines didn't take long.
Once the guidelines were complete, I made one decision.
It had been a while, but it was time for a national address and press conference.
* * *
Before the press conference, there were a few things to prepare.
First, securing a large number of mutant agents for the Management Bureau.
Fortunately, the Bureau didn't treat mutants coercively, and when we said the conditions weren't bad, more mutants wanted to join than expected.
Even though mutant perceptions had improved society-wide, regular workplaces weren't keen on hiring them.
You couldn't harass them recklessly, and if you did and they held a grudge, your life was literally at risk.
That's why mutants' options for making money were limited to internet streaming or grueling jobs requiring immense power.
Of course, graduate students or educators with credentials were different, but even they faced their own issues.
So, more mutants than anticipated wanted to work at the Bureau, making staffing up easy.
In other words, we'd secured the minimum personnel to fight Paradise's monstrous lifeforms in an emergency.
I gathered them all and spoke.
“There’s a reason I suddenly recruited so many Management Bureau agents.”
Questions flew at me.
What was going on?
“The world is going to change. Earth’s environment will shift rapidly, and monstrous lifeforms will appear. Those lifeforms will pose a fatal threat to humanity.”
Half the room didn't believe me, half did.
Some asked where this information came from.
“I assume you all know about the mutants’ city.”
-Yes!
“The entity managing the mutants’ city—Paradise—the World Tree, is not originally from this Earth. It came from another world. And this is the warning from that World Tree. Another world is fusing with Earth, drastically altering the planet’s environment, and the Third Mutation will occur.”
The room buzzed instantly. Even these mutants seemed scared preemptively by the coming changes.
-When exactly?
“I don’t know the precise date. But it’ll happen soon. Changes might already be starting in places humans can’t see. Responding after it happens will be too late. You all know that.”
The mutants nodded at my words.
“I gathered you because I need your strength. No matter how strong I am alone, I can’t handle everything.”
-Isn’t it dangerous?
“Of course it could be. But... Ha Yeon-hwa will always support your operations. And this isn’t coercive. Agents without strong combat skills will get other tasks.”
-....
Still, talk of life-threatening risks made the mutants uneasy.
“And for contingencies, I’m preparing various measures, so don’t worry too much. If a sudden monster is overwhelming? Pull back immediately. We—Ha Yeon-hwa and I—will personally ensure your safety, so no one will lose their life.”
-Life insurance?
“Of course? For facing unknown dangers, compensation will be generous. The government’s redirecting leaky budgets here.”
-Ooh....
“We’ll use Maintenance Bureau funds too, and if it’s truly dangerous missions, I’ll cover shortages from my own pocket. This is approved by the higher-ups, so no worries about promised rewards falling through.”
The mutants’ uneasy faces relaxed.
With safety measures and huge compensation including life insurance, it was worth trying.
Having secured their active cooperation, I immediately requested a national address from the government.
* * *
An So-young, the reporter who first covered Seo-hyun, wondered at the sudden Management Bureau national address announcement.
“...What’s going on? A national address out of nowhere. From the Bureau, no less.”
“How should I know?”
Curious, An So-young headed to the address venue. Seeing Seo-hyun on the podium, she sensed something major was afoot.
Otherwise, the Mutant Management Bureau Director wouldn’t show up.
Hearing Seo-hyun’s opening words at the national address, she gaped.
-The world will change. Earth’s vegetation will shift, monstrous lifeforms will appear. They might threaten humanity’s survival.
The mic-amplified voice made So-young’s surroundings erupt in frenzy.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“...No idea. The world changing...?”
-I’m here to minimize the resulting chaos. I can’t give an exact date, but changes will come relatively soon.
Everyone there felt something ominous brewing.
“Where’s this information from?”
At the shout, Seo-hyun answered.
-Paradise, the mutant city in California, USA. And its rooted World Tree—you all know it. The source is the World Tree, Ermenia.
No one there didn’t know the World Tree.
-Ermenia told me: The mutation waves sweeping Earth are just the beginning. Greater changes are coming. And they’ll engulf Earth soon.
“Th-then what happens to us?”
To the pale reporter’s question, Seo-hyun smiled faintly.
-Didn’t I just say? Don’t worry. The Mutant Management Bureau prioritizes citizens’ safety.
At that moment.
Screams rang out from outside.
-Kyaaack!
-Wh-what is that...?
Seo-hyun heard and asked an agent waiting outside.
“What’s happening?”
-...The sky.
“The sky?”
-The sky has opened.
Hearing that, Seo-hyun bolted from the venue.
Outside, she confirmed the agent was spot on.
A rift had torn in the sky. And something enormous emerged from it.
In that instant, Seo-hyun realized.
The changes had begun.