Chapter 39
I was shivering at Spandall's grotesque imagination when the elevator arrived. Just seeing an elevator made me think of Cheongakmeri Hospital. I boarded with a bit of tension.
"If kids saw that, they'd go crazy. They'd never grow up into normal adults."
A child who had wandered in and out of a bizarre zoo like it was their own house since childhood could never become a new worker for a new nation. That innocence would be saturated with evil, and before long they'd become a devil child.
"Then they'd become an agent."
Spandall said that and smiled slyly.
Soon the elevator reached the basement. When the doors opened, there was a dark corridor with not a single light on. At a glance, it was a dangerous, sinister-looking place.
An atmosphere perfect for locking up aberrations.
"Anyway. So there are monster-like things captured by the Bureau in this basement, right? For what reason did you capture them? I think it would be better to eliminate them than keep them locked up."
"There are several reasons."
I followed Spandall and listened to the explanation.
"Odd phenomena. Aberrations. Materials you can obtain from such monsters."
"Materials?"
"They're very unusual things. Some hold power to fight aberrant phenomena. Others are needed to keep the Bureau running."
"So you lock them up because they're useful, and then do something like extraction?"
"That's right."
"How do you extract them?"
"Torture."
A sinister smile,
"Pardon?"
"Locking them up and squeezing out what you need is pretty close to torture... don't you think?"
It sounded like a line delivered in high spirits, but on reflection, it didn't seem wrong.
Locking monsters up in this basement and extracting what they need from them. I don't really know the details, but it did seem close to torture. Humans are terrifying after all. From an aberration's point of view, humans are the aberrations.
"There are also cases where they can't be eliminated. Or if they die, they reappear somewhere else, so we quarantine them."
"Hmm... the former sounds like the kind that regenerates endlessly. The latter is the kind that respawns somewhere the Bureau doesn't know about if you kill it? So you'd rather just keep it contained?"
"Huh?"
Spandall seemed impressed by my sharp insight and stopped to look back at me.
"You're smart. I was surprised. Then do you want to try interacting with an unknown entity without your senior's help?"
"What? Wait!"
ㅡVwoom.
The wall opened. It slid aside with a vwoom, like the door of a sci-fi spaceship. In the blink of an eye, Spandall shoved me forward, and the door closed.
"Hey! Open the door! You fucking bitch!"
Bang bang bang!
It won't open!
ㅡVwoom!
The other door opened. It was another dark room, with not a single light on. I had just been threatened by Spandall a moment ago, so fear washed over me, but I shook my head once and turned around.
Right, this is a test, isn't it?
No matter the era, the way to get back at a senior with a rotten personality is, of course, to show ability far beyond their imagination.
"At first glance, I should be able to see everything that happens in here, so I'll narrate as I go. I'm going into that room now."
Saying that, I stepped into the room.
It was hard to see since the lights weren't on, but the room was roughly about ten pyeong in size. In the center of the room sat something extremely grotesque.
A pillar as thick as a massive tree trunk.
All over the surface of that thick pillar, countless human molars had sprouted in dense clusters!
"Aaagh...!"
A horrifyingly disgusting sight!
"What the hell is this!"
That wasn't all.
ㅡSquirm.
The teeth felt as if they were constantly growing. I didn't know the mechanism, but maybe teeth were sprouting endlessly from that pillar-like thing?
As I watched that horrifying scene, I realized it was time to test my new ability.
I had a detection ability.
Ah.
Looking at it, a small window had already popped up in the corner of my vision. I guess the visual of those teeth was so shocking that I hadn't noticed.
[You have encountered 'Gums That Keep Sprouting Teeth']
...
That's it?
There's no other information?
"Oh my goodness!"
Was a 3,000-point ability really only worth this?!
The shock was so great I almost foamed at the mouth and was on the verge of awakening as some kind of foam-spewing ability user, but knowing its name at least gave me something to cling to, and I came to my senses.
Gums That Keep Sprouting Teeth. It lived up to its name. That looked like the gums of some bizarre creature, with the trait of endlessly growing teeth.
Then what should I do?
"It looks like the teeth just keep growing... If they keep growing, won't they eventually fill this whole room? I think we should remove the teeth before that happens."
The moment I said that.
ㅡVwoom.
The door opened, and Spandall walked in.
"Good eyes, huh? You're already observing it?"
"Ah, Senior Spandall! You scared me! You just shoved me in here by myself!"
"Because it's safe... really. You don't understand your senior's feelings. It was sudden, so it was good experience for you too."
I couldn't care less about experience right now; I felt like using Muscle Destruction Technique on Spandall right this instant.
"And I feel like I heard something pretty harsh."
"Pardon? What are you talking about?"
"It definitely sounded like some kind of insult..."
"Senior Spandall! That's not important right now! What is that thing? Just like I said, is it something that keeps growing teeth?"
"Yep. That's right."
Got it!
I completely diverted her attention!
"Correct. This is called a tooth tree, and as you can see, the teeth keep growing. Cool, right?"
"Not cool at all. So what use is it that you have to quarantine this thing?"
"Guess."
"Hmm."
Does it have some use?
I don't know.
"I don't know."
"Ufufu, I guess I'll have to teach my junior the truth of the world."
"The truth...?"
What truth?
"We collect these teeth, make dentures or gums, and supply them to dentists. That's how we secure the Bureau's funding. You could call it a kind of creative economy, I suppose?"
"Aaaaaaaah!"
As the price for glimpsing the world's secret, I went completely insane. My mind was consumed by terrible madness, and I never again wanted to think about going to the dentist.
"N-no, wait! You're lying, right!"
"I'm serious."
"I'll ask Senior Jamtree about it!"
"Go ahead and ask."
Spandall really was lying without changing expression at all.
"Grr... Fine. I'll ask. Anyway, how do you remove this?"
"Simple."
Spandall raised a hand.
And then.
ㅡShhk!
Several sharp thorns sprouted from her hand.
"Whoa!"
So this was a thorn ability user?!
ㅡSwish.
Spandall stretched the thorns even longer and stabbed them between the teeth. She scraped them back and forth, then expertly pulled the molars out.
ㅡClatter.
Several molars fell to the ground. It was an utterly disgusting and unpleasant sight.
"The molars... seeing them fall like that doesn't give you ominous thoughts?"
"W-what are you trying to say this time?"
"You know how in serial murder dramas, the killer gathers the victims' teeth."
"Senior Spandall, you're from the fake Bureau, aren't you!"
"Rude. You shouldn't say things like that. Now, there's a tool over there. Pull out the teeth and fill the box. This is usually the Bureau's quarantine team's job, but today you're doing it."
"Ah, yes."
"For reference, this is one of the easiest jobs in the quarantine team. Don't tell me you'll struggle with it?"
"Understood. This is easy enough."
I opened the cabinet in the corner and took out the tool as Spandall told me. It was a tool for quickly pulling out the densely packed mass of teeth, literally.
ㅡCrack!
I quickly pulled out the creepy teeth. The holes left behind where the teeth had been felt especially disgusting. Looking at them, it seemed like new teeth were slowly growing inside the holes.
Ignoring the blood streaming out from inside, I put the teeth into the box.
It wasn't quite such an easy task.
Spandall had done it so easily with her thorns... just how strong were those thorns? Spandall was stroking the thorns as if filing her nails.
Spandall grooming the thorns in the dark matched that gloomy impression so well that Spandall looked like some kind of witch.
"What are you looking at?"
"Those thorns. They're incredibly strong, right? Like Senior Gorgodio or Senior Kuras."
"Ufufu, I'll show you someday."
"Senior Spandall, do you fight too?"
"Often. I'm a combat agent, surprisingly."
Does she jab people with those thin thorns like a Zealot? Then I hope she'd shout "For Aiur!" before taking my life. And when I go down, I'd say "Orololololo."
"Phew, I'm done."
I had removed all the teeth from the tooth tree.
"So what do we do with this? And don't give me another gums story."
"Sigh. You really don't trust your senior."
"Please tell me the other use quickly."
"We grind them finely and sell them for use in empty urns. Surprisingly, sometimes cremation leaves no ash behind, so we use these to fill them."
Please stop lying already!
Is this person camped out on the world politics board or something?
"If you're done, carry it and follow me. There's more work to do."
"So that was the real reason."
I let her lies go in one ear and out the other and followed Spandall.
We arrived in front of another room.
ㅡVwoom.
The door opened. This time I went in with Spandall. Inside, protective suits or something similar were hanging on the wall.
"Put on a protective suit. Be careful. Before you put it on, make sure you read the rule sheet next to it."
"Yes."
A rule sheet was posted on the wall.
----------------
[Tooth Fairy Handling Rules]
1. Supply teeth regularly.
2. Never expose bare skin.
3. Never open your mouth.
ㄴ3-1. For the above reasons, conversation during work should be conducted in sign language.
4. Do not show your fingernails or toenails.
5. Cover your entire body with protective gear.
6. Make sure the Tooth Fairy cannot leave the room.
7. After it finishes its meal, the Tooth Fairy gives a neatly wrapped gift box. It is unknown where or how it takes it out from. If you want to find out, obtain permission from the quarantine team's research lab.
8. Since the contents of the acquired gift box are often unidentifiable, place them in a box, seal it, and bring it to the quarantine team's research lab.
9. Do not mistake the Tooth Fairy's gift for an expression of 'gratitude,' and do not feel attachment or intimacy toward it. If you think you have become close with the Tooth Fairy, report immediately to the Bureau's mental health team.
10. If you have ever worked as a dentist, absolutely do not enter.
----------------
"That's simple. I've memorized it all. It looks like these teeth are fed to monsters called Tooth Fairies."
"Give it a try."
"Yes."
I immediately put on the protective suit and signaled that I was ready with a rough hand gesture. Spandall opened the door, and I entered the room where the Tooth Fairy was confined.
[You have encountered 'Tooth Fairy']
ㅡFlap-flap-flap!
Like lampreys.
Worm-like monstrosities about the size of a forearm, with those bizarre lamprey-like heads, were flying around flapping dragonfly-like wings. They were insanely disgusting. Even more disgusting was the fact that two thin human-like arms were attached to the upper part of their worm-like bodies.
The box I was carrying was full of the teeth I had just pulled out. I scattered the molars around as if feeding pigeons.
ㅡSplat!
ㅡFlap-flap-flap!
The Tooth Fairies went into a frenzy and started gnawing at the scattered teeth.
Damn... does the quarantine team live by breeding monsters like this? I don't know what they do exactly, but they definitely aren't normal. Probably a bunch of screwballs like Senior Spandall.
I miss Gorgodio and Kuras.
ㅡCrunch.
All the teeth had been used up.
ㅡWhoosh.
The largest Tooth Fairy flew up in front of me. At some point, it was holding a pink box larger than its own body. It was neatly wrapped with a green ribbon.
ㅡFrrrt!
It buzzed around me wildly, moving like it was clamoring for me to accept the gift. I almost felt a bit of goodwill toward the thing... but then I remembered the rule sheet.
[9. Do not mistake the Tooth Fairy's gift for an expression of 'gratitude,' and do not feel attachment or intimacy toward it. If you think you have become close with the Tooth Fairy, report immediately to the Bureau's mental health team.]
[3. Never open your mouth.]
If I opened my mouth to say thank you, I'd be fucked.
I accepted the gift without a word.
Was there a basketball or something inside?
It was about that size and weight.
I quickly got out before the Tooth Fairies could follow me.
After confirming the door had closed, I took off the protective suit and came outside.
"Clap clap clap. Good job. Congratulations on completing the two safest tasks in the Bureau's quarantine team."
"It was simple."
"They're low-risk containment entities anyone could handle. Still, I was worried you'd end up thanking them."
So that was it after all.
"Of course I wouldn't. A careless idiot like that wouldn't qualify as an agent. They said not to show my teeth, so why would I greet it?"
"..."
Why are you staring at me like that?
"There are dangerous ones besides things like this, right?"
"Yes. Even seasoned quarantine team members work on those while risking their lives. That's the quarantine team's mission."
"..."
The quarantine team really is dangerous.
"Anyway. Senior Spandall. Here's the gift the Tooth Fairy gave me."
"Cute. I want to open it right away."
"You can't."
"If you take that to the quarantine lab, today's quarantine work experience is over."
"It was an educational time."
Today's conclusion.
Never go to the quarantine team.
"If you go to the quarantine team, I'll be lonely."
"I'm not going."
"You're really not going?"
"What?"
"Really, really, really, really?"
Huh?
"What the...?"
"What if I just open this right now?"
ㅡWhoosh!
Suddenly Spandall snatched the box away. Then she removed the ribbon with her thorn and opened the box.
What was inside the box was not a basketball.
"Huh?"
It was Spandall's head.
A severed head.
Eyeballs were embedded all over the head, staring straight at me.
"Senior?"
I looked up.
There stood a woman in a suit with no head.
And then.
"My h-head fell o-off! AAAAAAAH!!!"
The severed head screamed.
The headless body staggered over and grabbed my face.
ㅡCrack!
.
.
.
[You were killed after having your head ripped off.]
[Death count: 11 -> 12]
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.
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[Restarting.]