Chapter 67
I defeated the vampire angel Ghanak.
Rather than overwhelming joy, I felt relief. Because now I finally had something to say to Spangdal. I was on the verge of tears.
So much time had passed since I let that demon go... After finishing something this hard, all I want is to rest. More accurately, I want to be alone.
Those feelings surged up, though.
Ten thousand points was truly astounding.
The points I got when I took down the Singing Star's offspring early last time were 5,000. And now it's double that? Come to think of it, a message window did pop up saying I had stopped it early. But this time it said I had killed it, so is that the difference?
Or maybe Ghanak was an existence even more formidable than the giant.
[Achievement: Won by fighting myself]
Seeing that achievement makes it certain that Ghanak was me.
But what exactly is this achievement thing?
It's so mysterious.
And apparently new mail has arrived... For now, I understand that there are a lot of hidden functions in the status window. I guess they unlock depending on what I do.
I'd like to take my time checking them, but this isn't the time for that.
ㅡFwoosh!
I threw myself into cover.
The vampire commotion is still in full swing.
And we're still in a standoff with the fake Administration.
Since I took down the vampire angel, it looks like I can stop this from escalating. As far as I remember, the fake Administration's goal was to keep us from getting our hands on the vampire angel.
If it's gone, the fake Administration is likely to retreat as well.
I crawled over, grabbed the K2, and moved to a safe zone. I could still hear gunfire, but it seemed to have quieted down a bit.
While I was catching my breath,
"Hey! Are you okay!"
Kuras, whom I'd sent over there earlier, came back.
"Senior Kuras."
"What happened? The firefight? I heard the noise."
He apparently hadn't seen me take down Ghanak.
"A vampire showed up, so I risked my life to kill it. I guess the one I picked up with my hypersenses was that one."
"You took it down by yourself? That was dangerous!"
"Heh heh heh, that's true, but when I see vampires, I just can't hold myself back. Killing them is the very driving force of my life."
"No, what are you even saying."
"Anyway, I took one down."
"You're not normal either, huh. Still, well done. Taking one down is enough. You're really a talent for the suppression team. Anyway, it looks like the fake Administration guys are retreating. Let's head back and hear the plan."
"Yes, sir."
So they really are retreating.
If that's the case, Jinseob should be alive too.
Yeah... that's enough.
After going through hell in the previous run, I finally took down Ghanak and saved Jinseob without any casualties.
I accomplished everything I set out to do.
However, it's a painful loss that the Black Stone was destroyed.
I stuffed the fragments in my pocket, but if I showed them to Salhyeong, he'd immediately start shouting "Allahu Akbar" and go berserk, ranting that I'd smashed Islam's greatest holy relic and beating the hell out of me, right? No, being beaten would be merciful. I might end up appearing in the music video of some weird Islamic terrorist group. I might even be executed in an orange outfit in a desert while Islamic chants echo all around.
No.
If I explain that the Black Stone shone on its own and took down a powerful demon, he might actually like it. Either way, I can't be sure, so meeting Salhyeong is probably going to be difficult.
"..."
But then...
...Sekriem.
What happened to the progenitor?
Just thinking about Sekriem gives me a headache.
I forcibly shoved those thoughts away.
Let's focus on the present for now.
I returned with Kuras to where the others were.
"You're back."
Jaldi!
"Yes. I'm back."
Seeing Jaldi made me ridiculously happy. Because I hadn't made any wish to the demon back then, Jaldi would have died alone here. Meeting him again like this... it feels so warm and familiar.
In the end...
By regressing, I had produced the best possible result.
Is this enough?
"I fought the fake Administration guys together with Kuras. I also took down a vampire along the way."
"Good job. Your marksmanship aside, you really pulled it off. Grong, you're a rookie with a very bright future ahead of you."
"Thank you."
Jaldi gave a faint smile and patted my shoulder.
"I'm glad you're safe, Grong. Nothing dangerous happened?"
Jamtree...!
It's so good to see you again, Jamtree!
"I'll tell you my war stories later."
"Heh, I'll listen to it over coffee."
Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had coffee.
"Jamtree. Turn up the volume a bit."
"Sure, sure."
Jamtree immediately turned up the pad's volume.
-Retreat! Retreat!
-Retreat? Why? What order was given!
-The anomalous reaction has disappeared!
-What?! Don't tell me they got their hands on it!
-No, it literally disappeared! It looks like it vanished!
-What...? Understood! Retreat for now!
It really is an eavesdropping ability.
I can hear fragments of the fake Administration's conversation.
"It's still gibberish to me."
Jaldi said that, but I know the whole story.
That anomalous reaction refers to Ghanak.
Now that it's gone, they're retreating.
"Well, that's how it turned out. The fake Administration guys are retreating. Rather than chasing them down and wiping them out, it would be better to drive them off completely and then carry out our original mission."
"Take out the remaining vampires. Save the civilians. That sort of thing?"
"That's right."
That's a relief.
That's what we're supposed to be doing in the first place.
"That's exactly what an Administration agent should be doing. Isn't saving lives better than a heart-pounding shootout?"
"Heh, no need for separate moral training. All right then. Resume the operation. Drive the fake Administration guys out with gunfire. After that, we start over."
"Yes, sir!"
And so, following the command, we moved while firing warning shots at the retreating fake Administration agents.
As a result, the fake Administration guys retreated even faster.
"I think they've all withdrawn!"
Jamtree announced it, and we resumed our original mission.
ㅡRatatat!
We searched the city and finished off the remaining ghoul remnants. When Ghanak descended, all of them were revived. Now that won't happen anymore.
Ghouls are really a pain in the ass.
H-hyaaagh!
And I also rescued the civilians who were hiding.
From what I heard from the nun... all of these guys were a suspicious cult, right? Because of their faith, a saint appeared, and for some unknown reason Ghanak descended into that saint's body.
It's truly a terrifying cult faith, but this incident needs to be investigated. Sweeping it under the rug and wiping everyone out like the fake Administration did? That's not something humans do.
And so we continued carrying out the mission.
In the end, the progenitor and the other vampires never showed up.
Did they run away?
If I go by the timeline, Ghanak appeared, then while I was running away afterward I ran into Sekriem. Sekriem tried to kill me, but just as he was about to hypnotize me, he noticed something and was struck with fear... It was probably about Ghanak. After that, I met the nun.
At this point in time, I haven't met Sekriem or the nun yet.
Both are definitely alive.
Anyway.
As I was searching,
ㅡRustle.
I sensed a presence behind me.
When I turned around, it was Spangdal.
"Senior Spangdal...!"
Seeing her face brought back her final image.
For an instant tears welled up and I nearly hugged her.
But the Spangdal here was...
the short-haired Spangdal, not the long-haired one.
She wasn't my Spangdal—the one who shared experiences with me as we lived through the ruined world.
"You're doing well, huh?"
"Yes. I'm doing exactly as told."
"Mm."
My chest was starting to tighten.
But I held it in.
"From the looks of it, there's nothing to worry about. To think you'd pull your weight even in a dangerous mission like this."
"It's all because you taught me so well, Senior Spangdal."
"I don't think I taught you all that much... Well, I did indulge you a bit, though. I just thought you were a complete coward, Grong."
"It's all because Senior Spangdal gave me strength. Your warm heart, always thinking of your junior, is what turned me into a more skilled agent."
"Wh-what nonsense are you spouting... Enough. Get back to work."
"Yes."
Still, talking with Spangdal was really enjoyable.
Yeah.
Let's get to work.
I need to clear my mind for now.
* * *
The mission was over.
The vampire forces had been wiped out, and the survivors rescued as well. The survivors were transported to the Administration. Once their interviews there were finished, they'd have their memories erased and return to society. Some might even be offered recruitment as agents.
It was a huge incident, enough to wreck an entire city, but the Administration's memory-erasure and perception-suppression techniques were truly incredible.
The vampire incident was reclassified as a massive fire. Apparently it worked better because the fake Administration bastards had actually set fires all over the place.
We returned to the office I had missed and finished the wrap-up.
"Haah, that's a wrap. That was hard. Really."
Jamtree said, stretching.
"Grong. It was your first proper mission. How was it?"
At Jaldi's words, I nodded and answered.
"It was hard, but I learned very well that this is what an agent does. You meet monsters, you resolve incidents, and then at the end you even do memory erasure and perception suppression. That's Administration through and through."
"Well... in truth, this is a slightly different kind of job from the usual. Normally we deal with anomalous phenomena more often. This was closer to a large-scale battle than a phenomenon."
"Ah, I think I get what you mean."
By anomalous phenomena, I mean something like what happened when I got caught up in Cheongakmeri Hospital. This case was an anomaly too, but its nature was a bit different. It was almost entirely a battle.
"Whatever it is, I'll keep doing my best from here on out."
Even now...
there's so much I don't know.
If I keep slogging away at the Administration, I'll figure it out eventually.
"That's a good mindset. All right, then let's call it a day. Everyone, good work."
"Yes."
Finally, I'll get to rest.
"Grong. Good work."
Spangdal greeted me.
"You worked hard too, Senior Spangdal."
"Mm. Still, just because this job ended safely doesn't mean you'll do well at everything else too. Don't get cocky. Don't assume you'll handle other jobs just as well simply because you fought well this time. Guns aren't a cure-all. There are plenty of weird things they won't work on. So always stay alert and be careful..."
This wasn't a spiteful old-person lecture.
It was kind advice.
"Of course. Situations are always different. Still, if something difficult comes up, I'd like to rely on Senior Spangdal. Would that be all right?"
"...As long as you don't make it troublesome for me."
Talking with Spangdal was enjoyable, but...
it was also painful at the same time.
And so I parted with everyone and clocked out.
* * *
"It's been forever."
I returned to my cherished home and took a hot shower.
Only when I came out naked did it finally hit me that I was alone.
"Haa."
I sat on the sofa and emptied my mind.
...
After blanking out for a moment, I sorted through what had happened.
This incident solved several questions, and brought me corresponding rewards as well, but...
at the same time, it raised questions of equal weight.
"All right, let's sort it out."
This time, I learned about the playthrough mechanics and the endings.
This is my second run.
In the first run, I was bitten by Sekriem, became a vampire, and then became Ghanak. And the Ghanak from that first run has now invaded this second run.
I don't know the principles behind crossing between runs.
But what's certain is that Ghanak came over to steal my existence. For all I know, crossing a run must be an incredible feat.
That means Ghanak is probably a terrifyingly powerful existence.
If I think about why I beat such a guy... there are maybe four reasons.
First.
Even if Ghanak is an incredible being capable of crossing runs, there's no way it can do so freely without any penalty. It likely spent some power in the process.
Second.
It had its true name exposed to me. For beings like these, a name is extremely important. Take the security guard Lee Seungcheol at Cheongakmeri Hospital, for example, and the Administration too. They focus on hiding their true names. Ghanak having its true name exposed to me must have been fatal.
Third.
The power of the Black Stone is immense. The Black Stone is the ultimate holy relic of Islam. Even if it was only a fragment, the power to repel evil itself would be overwhelming. It was only natural for Ghanak to collapse after being hit by that. In fact, it even shattered, as if its power had run out.
Lastly... garlic.
My garlic is the symbol of my faith and conviction in exterminating vampires. I even drove Sekriem off on the subway with it. My garlic is stronger than anything else. Above all, Ghanak is me. It's only right that an existence born from me would fall to my own conviction. Just as I value garlic, Ghanak couldn't be free from garlic either.
Well, it was the combination of these factors that allowed me to bring Ghanak down.
Now then.
Why did Ghanak, having crossed over from another run, try to steal my existence?
"Runs, endings, regression."
I am a regressor.
And endings exist in this world.
When I reach an ending, I move on to the next run.
What meaning do my status window and... this immense regression hold?
For now, the first run was a nonhuman bad ending. By reaching a bad ending, the vampire angel was born, and it crossed over to this run in order to smash the world to pieces.
That means... the more bad endings I reach,
the more screwed up the next run will be, doesn't it?
"Ah."
It felt like something very heavy had lodged in my chest.
I must not reach a bad ending.
Of course, if there's a bad ending, there should be a proper ending too.
Am I supposed to find that proper ending?
Do I have to keep regressing until I find that proper ending, playing through runs where the difficulty keeps going up every time something major and fatal happens and I end up with a bad ending?
This status window...
Is that what this regression ability is demanding of me?
...That's horrifying.
Is that even possible?
In the first place...
What ending will I face in this second run?
What if something goes wrong and I end up becoming an existence like Ghanak?
Then... how am I supposed to distinguish that from myself?
And if a third run begins... where would it start from?
...
No matter what,
I need to figure out the meaning of the endings and the status window. Otherwise, I might end up repeating regressions forever, stuck in countless runs that grow more and more horrifying.
That would be hell.
Hoo.
I exhaled.
For now, I had accumulated a lot of points.
Let's use them.
But before that.
Should I check this thing called a mailbox?
"How do I check it? No, wait—does it even make sense to receive mail through the status window? Mailbox, open up!"
ㅡFwoosh!
[You have
999+
unread messages.]
What?