Chapter 93

Episode 93. Re-exploration of Yulje-myeon (1)

****

[Humanoid Supernatural Phenomenon, Hasti Recording No. 1]

[Author: Dr. An]

[Dr. An: When you first came to our world, you introduced yourself as the Lord of the Dark Tower. Could you explain that?]

[Hasti: It’s exactly as I said. In my original world, I was the master of the Black Tower.]

[Dr. An: There must be a reason you used the term “Darkness.” Have you ever encountered literature or art related to the term “King of Darkness”?]

[Hasti: King of Darkness?]

[Dr. An: Yes.]

[Hasti: The King of Darkness… He is a being often dealt with in my tower. A god of the dark abyss. One of the gods of madness. There was a similar play. A twisted god of art, but I don’t know the details.]

[Dr. An: It seems some things are shared across multiple worlds. In a way, that’s a relief.]

[Hasti: What good does knowing do?]

****

[Hasti Recording No. 1. Commentary.]

[Author: Dr. An]

[Let’s get straight to the point.]

[The King of Darkness is a kind of plague that exists across multiple dimensions. Hasti and her companions seem to be his followers.]

[The King of Darkness is a god of art among the outer gods.]

[The King of Darkness creates terrifying art that drives humans to madness, showing them things they should never see.]

[I oppose the idea of sending Hasti back. I believe it would only contribute to the spread of this plague.]

[Additionally, given the high likelihood of it being related to cognitive disasters, I believe the number of reports produced about Hasti should be limited.]

[In our world, they are associated with anomalous artists and the Church of Darkness. They must be thoroughly researched.]

[Separately, I’m not sure if Hasti herself is dangerous.]

****

As soon as I returned to Facility 82, the Foundation’s doctors swarmed me. I explained that I was perfectly fine, but no one listened.

Leading the pack of doctors was Dr. An, a psychiatrist and probably one of the most eloquent people in Korea.

“I’m sorry, but the Director needs to undergo a thorough examination right now.”

“No, I’m fine, really.”

“Director. Are you a doctor? Director. We just saw you jump out of a hovercraft going 100 kilometers per hour. How is that fine?”

I shook my head.

“That was because of magic—”

“And didn’t you kill about a hundred people on Jeju Island? No, you killed a hundred people. Are you really mentally stable?”

“……”

I thought for a moment.

“Dr. An, step aside. Honestly, I’m not injured, and it’s very unpleasant to have the Humanoid Research Department and researchers mixed in like this.”

Dr. An is a researcher at the Humanoid Supernatural Phenomenon Research Building. Sure, he’s a doctor, but that’s secondary. Dr. An glanced around for a moment.

“I’m sorry.”

“The Humanoid Research Department will not be involved in my treatment.”

“Understood. I’ll take care of it.”

I gestured to shoo Dr. An and his team away.

“I’ll go to the medical department later.”

****

Medical Department Head Shin Seung-yeon.

A grandfatherly doctor with white hair.

“Welcome back, Director.”

“Hello.”

“We’ll run every test we can. We have no idea what curses, toxins, or weapons the Jeju Island Branch used.”

“Ah…”

“First, we’ll do X-rays, a full-body CT, and an MRI. Then we’ll run the Foundation’s standard toxin tests, cognitive disaster tests, and infectious disease tests as much as possible.”

“Ah… Will it take long?”

“Yes.”

I checked my schedule.

“Can we spread the tests over a week? My schedule is already packed from the business trip. Doing all these tests at once would be too disruptive.”

“Hmm, of course, it’s best to do them as quickly as possible. But it doesn’t seem like a big problem.”

I nodded.

****

There were more than a few items on my schedule.

First, I had to meet with the humanoid supernatural phenomena. Then there was a conference with the officers of Facility 82 about what happened on Jeju Island.

There were also numerous small research tasks and work to attend to. Even excluding field work.

“Ah, Director.”

It was Paper. I turned my head.

“What’s up?”

“As you instructed, the re-exploration of Yulje-myeon is currently moving. You’re needed in the command center right now.”

“Now?”

“The specific plan for this operation was made while you were on Jeju Island.”

Re-exploration of Yulje-myeon. I did say someone should do it, but with the chaos on Jeju Island, I didn’t even know such a plan existed.

“Got it, I’ll be there.”

I entered the small meeting room in the corner of the Director’s Office. Inside, Advisor An, the Recovery Department Head, and a few others were waiting.

“Director. We’ve been waiting for you.”

I nodded.

“Who’s on-site?”

“The Research Department Head and two teams from Recovery Team 1 are waiting on-site.”

I checked my notebook. It was indeed decided that the Recovery Department would handle the Yulje-myeon exploration.

“Personnel confirmed. Proceed with the operation.”

The on-site team seemed to be near Yulje-myeon. I sat in the center of the command center, looked at the screen, and grabbed the mic.

“On-site commander, report the operation’s readiness. Are you prepared to enter Yulje-myeon?”

Static. Mumbling could be heard over the mic. Three people were connected: two team leaders and the Research Department Head.

[This is Recovery Team 1. Alpha Team Leader.]

[This is Recovery Team 1. Beta Team Leader.]

[……]

“This is the command center. Director Kim speaking. The operation will proceed as planned. The objective is the recovery or elimination of all anomalous entities within Yulje-myeon.”

[This is the Research Department Head accompanying Recovery Team 1.]

“Research Department Head, report your observations.”

[We’re approaching Yulje-myeon. The fog hasn’t lifted yet, but the anti-memetic effect seems to be fading. Visibility is decreasing.]

Click. The two team leaders disconnected.

[By the way, do I really need to be here? You could’ve sent the Mobile Command Center or the Science Vessel.]

The Science Vessel is a magic unit from some game. My helicopter isn’t a Science Vessel. It doesn’t even have radioactive material.

“It’s not a Science Vessel, it’s a research helicopter. And it costs 30 million won just to launch a large helicopter with a research lab.”

[No. Director Kim, you took that thing to the Samsung Service Center to fix your laptop. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?]

“That was to assert dominance.”

[On Jeju Island, you used a thousand pigs in one hour of fighting. Why are you being stingy now?]

I sighed.

“Report the situation again.”

[……]

“Not going to?”

[Director. I get that you’re angry, but at least tell me what I did wrong this time.]

“Shut up.”

Lee Se-ah thought for a moment this time.

[I’m not like you or your aide, going all Rambo. I’m not saying, ‘Ah, with this one gun, I can take down Tamna Kingdom in half a day!’]

The command center staff chuckled.

The Research Department Head isn’t alive for no reason. If she weren’t trapped in the Foundation, what would she be doing? A politician? A cult leader?

“When are you disembarking?”

[About 20 minutes left.]

“Okay.”

[Director. During the Yulje-myeon incident, when the Foundation’s aircraft carrier approached the Korean Peninsula, the hostile groups were still defiant.]

[But after you took down Jeju Island in a day and visited the 8th Administrator, they all quieted down. It’s almost like Korea is a world without magic now. It’ll last about a week.]

“That’ll reduce the workload.”

[Director. Sorry to say this, but why do I have to go to the field this time?]

“To work, right?”

A moment later. Lee Se-ah sighed over the radio. Complaining is just complaining, and banter is just banter. What can you do?

[Fine, I messed up.]

“You’ve got so much to think about, you can’t even figure out what to apologize for, right? You’re staying in the field until you’ve made up for everything.”

[Sigh, understood.]

“Get ready to disembark. What weapons did you bring?”

[Uh, since I don’t know what we’ll be fighting. I brought an energy shield and a Soviet-made laser gun.]

“Call for support if you need it.”

****

Lee Se-ah sighed. Director Kim would keep nagging for a while. We had a bit of an argument earlier, but I’ll have to play along.

Especially since she’s probably on edge after the assassination attempt on Jeju Island. If Lee Se-ah causes real trouble instead of just banter, who knows what might happen.

The field… It’s been a while.

Lee Se-ah looked at the external screen of the infantry fighting vehicle. Ahead, Yulje-myeon was shrouded in a thick wall of fog.