Chapter 92
But something about the trauma space's scenery was off.
"Huh? What?"
The hellscape in my memory was, quite literally, a bizarre, grotesque place.
The saturation itself had shifted slightly toward gray, but it wasn't much different from reality, and the only thing that had changed was that everyone in the world had their eyes and mouths sewn shut.
But... that scenery had changed.
There were collapsed buildings everywhere.
And they weren't collapsed in any ordinary way.
They were cut cleanly, as if by something.
Those huge buildings had been cut diagonally in half from the middle.
The severed debris was piled around, making them look as though they had simply collapsed.
What the heck?
This wasn't how it used to be.
Why were all the buildings cut apart?
"Team Leader? Was it always like this here? The buildings are all neatly cut apart and collapsed."
The buildings that had originally been rectangular pillars were now cut off diagonally and neatly, like the tip of a sword.
"I don't know."
Jaldi answered curtly.
"This abnormal space wasn't much different from reality to begin with. But now... as you can see, the buildings have been cut."
That's right.
They were cut.
"Doesn't it feel like something swung a giant sword and sliced them apart?"
"N-no way."
Swinging a sword and slicing something apart.
The instant I heard that, someone's face flashed through my mind.
"Director Idohyeong...?"
As I said that, I watched Jaldi's reaction.
"..."
She said nothing.
That was a silent affirmation.
"Crazy! Does that even make sense? No matter how strong he is, he wasn't some total monster! So how did he cut a building!"
Even if I bent over backward, I could accept that he had used a sword to cut a thick tree clean in half.
If it wasn't thicker than the blade itself, a single strike might be enough to sever it.
But this is a building we're talking about!
Something that's not even remotely comparable to the length of a blade!
No matter how monstrous Idohyeong is as a department head, cutting through a building... how is that even possible...!
"There isn't a soul in this world who handles a sword better than Idohyeong. If such a man underwent surgery and became that horrifying aberration... it might be possible."
"No way!"
"There may be other possibilities, but this is all I can think of for now. Besides, the fake Bureau people already said they were going to retrieve Idohyeong."
That's true.
There was already something that had happened, so there was no point in thinking about other possibilities.
"Looks like they plan to grab Idohyeong, who's running wild as an extreme aberration..."
"..."
"This is an even more dangerous situation than I imagined. Idohyeong, who was already powerful to begin with, has become even more monstrous, and if the fake Bureau retrieves him and uses him..."
"That would be truly, truly terrifying."
"Yes."
Jaldi's eyes turned serious.
But.
"..."
Tension.
Fear.
Chills.
My mind, which had been dyed in all of that,
began to clear.
"I think I'm starting to come to."
What I had been afraid of.
The extreme otherworldly space I had feared had collapsed.
And it had been destroyed by Director Idohyeong himself.
That meant he'd smashed the space of my trauma to pieces. Because of that, my fear had ebbed away. There was no need to be afraid of a place that could be smashed to bits, was there?
Even in this bizarre other world, if there was someone like Director Idohyeong, he could destroy it all!
Thinking that way, Director Idohyeong suddenly felt so familiar and reassuring. Yes. Even after becoming an aberration, he was still fighting aberrations—that was what a true agent was.
Surely the surgery had left him in no normal state. Because of the aberrant transformation, he must have lost his human mind.
But the convictions carved into his body!
Would never break!
-Long live the Bureau!
-For humanity!
Even if he's not in his right mind, fighting aberrations is exactly what Director Idohyeong is!
This is as noble as vampire hunters who burned through their lives fighting vampires. An existence comparable to Van Helsing, the greatest of vampire hunters.
"Team Leader. What should we do from here? Please tell me. This is a very serious matter."
With the fear gone, my thinking as an agent returned. This is a very serious matter. Geocaching, parallel worlds, the fake Bureau's true identity. Those are certainly interesting too, but they still don't compare to Director Idohyeong.
We have to find this out.
"Your eyes have sharpened. You're the very Grong I've always held in high esteem."
"Well, this was my trauma space. But it's cooling off a bit. There's no need to be afraid of a place that Idohyeong can smash, is there?"
"Yes, I think that way of thinking is excellent."
Jaldi placed a hand on my head.
A smile appeared on her lips.
"Good. We'll begin the mission now."
"Yes."
"If the fake Bureau agents retrieve the aberrant Idohyeong and use him, we don't know what will happen. We have to prevent that."
Prevent it.
"To stop it, we'll need information."
"Right."
Jaldi stepped forward.
"From here on, we search for the Idohyeong entity. We need to figure out exactly what state he's in right now."
"Understood."
"Follow me."
* * *
All the scenery I had seen before had changed. Back then, everywhere I went, monsters with sewn-shut eyes and mouths were everywhere, and monster faces were reflected in every piece of glass and every window.
Now all I could see were ruins. Not even the shattered windows strewn everywhere showed any monsters anymore.
It's all been stripped bare by Director Idohyeong.
This crazy world doesn't scare me at all anymore.
Especially with Jaldi, practically my mom, here with me. What was there to be afraid of?
"Let's assume Idohyeong's combat power has become incomparably stronger than before."
"He can cut buildings apart."
We have to regard him as a calamity itself.
In my heart, I was praising Director Idohyeong, but that didn't mean he had become an ally. Personal feelings and reality are clearly different things.
"At this level, direct combat is absolutely impossible, and in the first place, it seems we shouldn't even be fighting."
"That's my thought as well. Idohyeong was already an opponent I couldn't beat one-on-one, and if he's become even stronger, there's nothing more to say. Combat will remain only as a last resort."
Come to think of it.
"But I still don't really know your combat ability, Team Leader. What exactly is your superpower?"
"You could call it a kind of destruction specialization, but it's hard to explain in detail. You'll know when you see it."
Destruction specialization, huh.
During the Giant Apocalypse, Jaldi had shown it by climbing the tower alone and setting off explosions all over the place.
I guess that's what it was.
Anyway, Jaldi and I searched the ruins together, looking for anything that might count as information.
In the middle of that.
ㅡShhk.
Jaldi gave a stop signal with her hand.
Ahead of us, I could see the fake Bureau agents who had gone on first. As if there was something they needed to inspect, two of them were on guard while one was doing something.
I silently watched them.
"Any unusual findings?"
"None, sir."
"Then let's take a short break."
A break?
The guys sat down where they were. Then, while eating something like nutrition bars, they started chatting.
"Weren't the shapes of the aberrations sometimes visible in the glass? They're not showing up at all now."
"Maybe the chief took care of them all?"
"Maybe. Still... that's amazing. Director Idohyeong is our Bureau's strongest agent, but he wasn't this abnormal to begin with, was he?"
"Well, doesn't that just mean he's that abnormal?"
I organized the information while eavesdropping.
The aberrations visible in the glass. They're questioning why those disappeared. Did Director Idohyeong really take care of them?
And the fake Bureau is also guessing that the one who cut the building apart was Director Idohyeong.
"Abnormal... If we retrieve that person, will it even go well? I'm uneasy."
"I don't know. But if we just retrieve him, somehow it'll work out. Look. Even after being turned into an aberration, he's still attacking the aberrations. He's a truly excellent agent."
"That's true."
"Besides, it's a waste to stop him now. There are already several dead guys."
Aberrantization...
So that's how they put it.
"Let's move again."
"Yes."
The break was over.
The guys started moving again.
"Useful information, at least. The fake Bureau seems to be planning to somehow retrieve and use the 'aberrantized' Idohyeong."
"Yes."
"But there's something that bothers me a little... the fake Bureau guys never used anything unknown before. But now they're trying to use it."
"Unknown things?"
Jaldi explained.
Unlike our Bureau, which makes use of aberrations, the fake Bureau doesn't really seem to do that.
Come to think of it.
They're the kind of people who prioritize smashing everything to pieces.
"Ah, comms security. Arrived at Sector A18. Reporting no anomalies."
The guys started communicating.
If the real Jamtree had been here, he would've intercepted the signal too. What a shame.
"Ah, loud and clear."
The guy lowered the radio.
"Good. Now we're switching with Team B. They're saying to head back."
"Yes."
They seemed to be conducting the search relay-style.
The guys quickly retreated.
I watched them for a moment.
"They seem to be ahead in the field of searching for Idohyeong. Let's keep tailing them."
"I'm curious where those Team B guys are going. Will they come this way too?"
"I think they'll probably go explore somewhere else. Anyway, trail them carefully, and if need be, eliminate them. Understood?"
"...Of course."
Even though the secret behind the fake Bureau's identity was being uncovered, they're enemies. If need be, we have to fight.
And so we returned to the starting point.
In front of Cheongak Mary Hospital.
The hospital itself couldn't be seen because it was shrouded in fog, but if we went beyond there, the hospital would appear.
The fake Bureau agents moved beyond the fog.
"Those guys went in."
"Right."
As Jaldi said, if they weren't already inside the hospital, then it seemed clear they could come and go like this. We probably wouldn't have to worry about getting out.
After waiting for a bit...
They came out.
Those guys must be Team B.
I quickly scanned the guys' appearances, and what?!
Wait!
"...!"
That's Jinseop?!
Two middle-aged-looking agents, and the other one was Jinseop! Definitely! That bastard was Song Jinseop, all right!
No, is that bastard insane?!
Was it the vampire incident or this Idohyeong search operation—why does he keep getting assigned only the craziest jobs? Does he live like he's throwing his life away?
"Grong?"
"Ah, no. No. It's nothing."
I was briefly shaken, but I didn't show it on my face. Right now, I wasn't just unfamiliar with Jinseop; I was hostile toward him.
There was no way I could just act familiar with him.
"A hellish sight. All right, let's get to work."
The fake Bureau agents moved out. Jinseop followed behind them, submachine gun in hand, keeping watch in all directions.
The route they took was... different from before.
Looks like they're using a different route.
"Let's go too."
"Yes."
Jaldi, who had been keeping watch, moved.
"..."
Was it luck that I ran into Jinseop in this space?
I wanted to keep talking to Jinseop. If I could talk to the guy, I felt like I might learn a little more about the fake Bureau, too.
That was still true now. If things lined up, maybe I could even make contact with him. I'm registered in the Bureau's database, but if it's Jinseop, I felt like I might somehow be able to persuade him.
But right now, both I and that bastard were in far too dangerous a state.
I had to pray we wouldn't die...!
I shook my head once.
Right now, I couldn't afford to get distracted by something else.
Let's focus on tailing them.
* * *
How long had we been moving?
Suddenly.
"Oh, oh! There! It appeared!"
A fake Bureau agent shouted.
I reflexively looked where he was pointing.
Beyond that.
A building cut cleanly at an angle.
At the tip of that sword-sharp point,
A man was standing there.
"Th-that is...!"
"That's Director Idohyeong?!"
"Wait! Nobody told me this!"
The agents' voices rang out in shock.
The man's appearance was horrifying.
For one thing, his eyes and mouth had been sewn shut. That malicious appearance was identical to the ones I had seen at Cheongak Mary Hospital.
But there was one difference.
Half of his body had been split.
A seam was stitched across the middle of his body...!
Split in two and then sewn back together exactly like that, a deranged patchwork-like sight!
That horrifying figure beyond imagination is Director Idohyeong! And also, damn it! What happened to the ponytail he used to tie back? Why the hell is it some weird twintail now?! Does being split in half even apply to hairstyles?!
"Contact! Contact! We've made contact!"
"Director Idohyeong! We're from the Bureau!"
"F-first, let's talk...!"
While the fake Bureau agents were shouting something.
ㅡFwoosh!
Suddenly, Director Idohyeong leaped into the air!