Chapter 26
“To think you've gone through so many things one after another! It truly saddens me to imagine how difficult it must have been for you, brother!”
Sal-hyung grasped my hand and shook it, his eyes so moist it was almost uncomfortable.
How long had it been since I'd received such warm consolation?
My eyes really were growing moist.
I'll make you cry.
“I wonder how you're even alive. To go through that many things one after another...”
Even I have to agree.
“You've been caught up in an unusually large number of anomalous phenomena.”
“I have been caught up in a rather unusual number of them. Even I find it strange.”
“Well, it is unusual, but it's not unheard of. Anomalies attract anomalies, after all.”
“No way.”
Could that really be true?
“More importantly, are you saying the entity known as Department Head Lee Do-hyung is dead?”
Jaaldi, who had said that, let out a short laugh.
“Ha... If this world were still normal, this would be wonderful news. To think that the entity known as Lee Do-hyung is dead.”
“Is that really so surprising?”
“Hmm?”
“He charged at the doctor and got torn in half in an instant without accomplishing a thing.”
“In an instant? Hah. Was the director of Cheongak Mary Hospital really that much of a monster? So there really was no way to fully clear it.”
He seemed genuinely surprised.
Did the Administration Bureau not know much about the hospital director either?
“Lee Do-hyung is such a powerful entity that even our Administration Bureau has been keeping a close eye on him.”
“What? Really?”
So Lee Do-hyung had been strong?
That entity got wiped out in an instant, though.
“Under normal circumstances, this would have been enough for us to raise Cheongak Mary Hospital's danger rating.”
“It was that dangerous?”
I thought it was just a total pushover because the doctor took the entity out in one hit, but was it actually stronger than I'd thought?
Anyway.
The fact that Jaaldi kept calling Department Head Lee Do-hyung an “entity” had been bothering me for a while. And the fact that the Bureau was keeping a close eye on him? As I continued staring at Jaaldi, Jaaldi spoke.
“So that's why you've been oddly hostile toward me this whole time. Let me introduce myself again. I'm Jaaldi, an agent of the Administration Bureau. And the entity known as Department Head Lee Do-hyung is a derivative entity of the urban legend called the 'Fake Management Bureau.'”
“What?”
What did he just say?
“There is an urban legend like that.”
Jaaldi continued, fiddling with a glove.
“Someone happened to gain the ability to see the future and made a fortune through stocks, cryptocurrency, and the like. Then, not long afterward, he disappeared.”
That's my story.
“Someone else saw the hidden truth of the world. Then men in black suits and sunglasses appeared and took him away. What else? Aliens, perhaps. Someone claims to have seen aliens, then suddenly vanishes without a trace.”
“...”
“That's the urban legend. The one about men in black suddenly appearing.”
An urban legend.
“The ones who chased you weren't agents of the Administration Bureau. They were anomalies born from the urban legend called the Fake Management Bureau, which doesn't exist in reality.”
So that's what it meant.
There was an Administration Bureau.
And there was an urban legend called the Fake Management Bureau.
“In other words, you got caught up in an urban legend.”
“...”
I was so shocked my jaw dropped.
“The Fake Management Bureau...”
Those things had been an urban legend?
“They're entities that imitate our Administration Bureau. An urban legend that kills humans. They're extremely dangerous.”
An urban legend that kills humans.
“Th-then... Cheongak Mary Hospital. What about it?”
“That too is an urban legend. The hospital itself is under the Administration Bureau's surveillance. From what you've told me, it seems the Fake Management Bureau didn't know that.”
“...”
“To be honest, not many people make it back alive from there. That's how dangerous it is. We do keep it under surveillance, but it's impossible to fully control and isolate the place. We had almost no information on the hospital director, either.”
“So was that why the entity known as Department Head Lee Do-hyung was taken down?”
Jaaldi nodded.
“Some monsters wield absolute power in their own domains. Cheongak Mary Hospital is one such place. We knew its director was extremely dangerous, but I never imagined it could kill Lee Do-hyung in one hit.”
“Then, Mr. Jaaldi. What about the handbook and business card?”
“We were the ones who distributed them. We couldn't let people die, so we investigated and experimented as much as we could and put together the handbook. Many agents died in the line of duty.”
I had no choice but to gape.
It was the Fake Management Bureau that had ripped out my brain and tracked me online.
And the entity known as Department Head Lee Do-hyung who had stormed into the hospital had also been born from an urban legend.
...So that's what it was.
Come to think of it.
It hadn't made any sense. Those bastards had left survival rules for the patients? It had always seemed bizarre, but now I knew why.
But I still had questions.
Had the Administration Bureau really created the handbook at the cost of its agents' lives in order to save people? To be honest, my suspicions hadn't been completely dispelled yet. Even so, I had my reasons for believing what I'd believed until now, so I couldn't trust them without hesitation.
“Did you get the medicine prescribed?”
As I was thinking that, Jaaldi asked.
“I did, but... Given the state of the world, I lost it along the way.”
“That couldn't be helped. Well, actually, it may have been better that you lost it. That medicine is extremely dangerous. It isn't something humans are meant to take.”
“Is that why you said you were collecting it?”
“Yes. Isolating dangerous substances like that is part of the Administration Bureau's job.”
Isolation, huh...
“But I took it while I was a patient there. Was that all right?”
“It's all right inside. Outside, it's different. Anyway. Our Administration Bureau has controlled, exterminated, monitored, and isolated things like that. Though now it's all gone to hell.”
Whatever the case, it seemed that not only the Fake Management Bureau but even the real Administration Bureau had been powerless in this incident.
“How capable is the real Administration Bureau? Are you stronger than the Fake Management Bureau?”
“We're at war with the Fake Management Bureau, so I can't say for certain. But judging by the state of things, it seems they couldn't stand up to those giants either.”
“This Giant Apocalypse... how dangerous does it look to the Administration Bureau?”
“If we classify it by rank, I'd say it's an S-rank world-ending incident.”
World-ending level?!
“Under normal circumstances, this would be an urban legend the Administration Bureau could barely stop even by committing all its forces. Even then, failure would be more likely. But it happened so suddenly... Well, I suppose that isn't important now.”
“Wait. Did you say S-rank? Does the Administration Bureau assign ranks to phenomena like that?”
“You're very curious.”
Jaaldi gave a faint smile.
“You've made your way through several urban legends, and you've got the nerve to lead a survivor group like this. If this incident hadn't happened, I might even have recruited you as one of our rookies.”
“A rookie...”
“It doesn't matter now. The diversionary operation. I'm counting on you.”
ㅡTap-tap.
Jaaldi gave my shoulder two encouraging pats, then walked past me.
“...”
A rookie in the Administration Bureau...
“Then let's begin organizing the operation. Originally, I planned to entrust the diversionary operation to you and your survivor group, brother, but...”
Sal-hyung came over and stood beside me.
“I will go with my brother! If I go this way, the diversion will be more certain!”
He's going with me?
“Sal-hyung? Is that really all right? Isn't it already questionable whether even the three of us can break through?”
“That may be so, but if I join the diversion, the enemy's forces will certainly be divided to that extent as well. It is not a bad choice. What say you, infidel? And you, agent?”
At that, the nun answered with her arms crossed.
“Hmm, well. Losing one terrorist shouldn't matter. In fact, that infidel's strength would only get in the way, so this is for the best.”
“That's my line, you detestable infidel.”
The two, who had been trading barbs, turned their gazes toward Jaaldi.
“Understood, Crusader. We'll do that.”
“Good. I will carry out the diversion while watching how things develop, and if it seems feasible, I will try to join you.”
“This is certainly the better arrangement. If the nun and I fail to complete the mission, Crusader, you will take over.”
“I will. Then, brother, gather the survivors. We will be setting out soon, so come once you have finished organizing them.”
“Understood.”
I nodded.
* * *
Too much information had come at me all at once: the Administration Bureau and Islam, the existence of the Holy See, and the truth about the Fake Management Bureau.
Most of all, learning about the real and fake Administration Bureaus had been the biggest takeaway.
Who could have imagined there were two Administration Bureaus in the world? And one of them was an 'urban legend.' The urban legend that agents would come to take people away had spread on places like the World Politics board, and it had been real.
The contact information on the business card I'd picked up when leaving the hospital belonged to the real Administration Bureau. Until now, I'd thought contacting the Administration Bureau was pointless, so I hadn't used it properly. But now I might finally be able to.
“Hyung. What on earth are those people?”
Jinseop came over and asked warily.
“They say one is an agent of the Administration Bureau and the other is a nun from the Holy See. The Arab is apparently a jihadist crusader.”
“What is that? What the hell?”
“What do you mean? There are monsters in this world, after all. So there were secret organizations that fought them, too.”
“Like in the movies?!”
“Yeah. Anyway. Jinseop, gather everyone. We've got work to do. It's very important, so hurry.”
“Ah, yes. Got it, hyung.”
While I waited, Jinseop gathered everyone in our group.
Every one of them looked tense as they watched me. Seeing their faces brought back everything we'd been through together.
A lot had happened.
All those days spent clawing and fighting to survive, losing comrades and weeping as we struggled to stay alive.
“We're about to set out on an extremely dangerous operation. Raise your hand if you're willing to come with me.”
“...”
Silence.
“A dangerous operation? Hyung. You can't just spring that on us when we don't even know what we're doing...”
“We're going to attack the flower.”
“What?!”
Everyone stirred at my words.
“The job is simple. We move toward the flower while drawing their attention. In other words, it's a diversionary operation, but if things go well, we may be able to bring down the giants.”
“What do you mean...!”
“It's dangerous, so only volunteers should step forward. We'll choose a new leader from whoever remains.”
“A new leader? What are you talking about!”
“We're running out of time. We need to choose one quickly, then leave. Jinseop, explain it to them.”
“...”
Jinseop nodded with a grim expression and began explaining it to the others.
I stood there quietly and waited.
The end of this round is approaching. I could feel it strongly. We were going into the very heart of the giants occupying Earth, so there was no way I'd come out of it unscathed.
If I went back, I'd get to see a clear sky, if only briefly.
But.
The guys here.
These guys who had survived alongside me.
They wouldn't get to see that sky.
Because I was the only one who could go back.
All the time we'd spent together. Our bonds. And our memories. They would all disappear.
Why couldn't these guys see that blue sky again? Thinking about it made my fists clench and anger surge up. It had been a long time since my emotions had grown this intense, and I clenched my teeth.
The truth was.
I wanted to see that sky together with every one of you.
“Hyung. We've chosen.”
“...”
Jinseop brought the volunteers.
Tae-ho, Byung-cheol, Geon-hee, Sang-hyeon, Jun-su, Hyeon-ho. They were all guys who had been with me for a long time. I knew what each of them had done to survive and how they thought. Though I never did manage to remember their birthdays.
“Quite a crowd. So, who's the next leader?”
“They say Jong-bin hyung will do it.”
“Jong-bin's kind of a dud.”
Is that really okay?
...I stopped short at that thought.
It felt like I'd been discharged from the military and was worrying about my platoon.
“Jong-bin hyung is kind of a dud. I'm worried too.”
“I'm worried too... More importantly, are you guys all right with this? You could all die.”
“Hyung. Whatever happens, we're going to fight, right? Alongside those unusual agents.”
“Yeah. They said this was our last chance.”
“That's why we're betting on it.”
Jinseop looked at me with resolute eyes.
“It's not like this world has any hope left anyway, does it? If there's a final hope, I want to bet everything on it, even if it means dying. There's no point in living a long life anymore.”
“That's right, boss!”
“I feel the same way, boss!”
“You guys...”
It was a hopeless world.
But we move because there is hope.
“Yeah.”
I will.
I will definitely put an end to this.
I'll make sure you never have to go through this fucking shit again.
“Let's go.”
I'll give you back the blue sky.