Chapter 98 |
The front entrance of a cabin with a wooden sign reading [Haeyeong Intermediary].
"Well, well?"
A middle-aged man spotted a sturdy old woman and spread both arms wide with an amiable smile.
"Our Master came all the way out to greet me~? Come here, let me give you a hug. Here we go."
"Would you kindly let go?"
"Aw, come on, it's been ages. Don't be so cold."
"I anticipated your visit and prepared this."
"Ooh...."
The man accepted the documents and looked at the old woman.
"For someone who says he trusts me...."
She rolled her eyes toward the gun muzzle pressed against her temple.
"You're rather prickly."
At that, the man made a deeply wronged expression.
"Do I not look like I have reason to be prickly? I trusted our Master and sent the kid out to the water's edge, and he fell into the river."
"You neglected him so badly I assumed you didn't care. Why would you leave something precious near the water's edge?"
"Well, it's not like I've ever raised a kid before~...."
He holstered the gun, scratching his head with the muzzle.
"With Artists, you've got to taste it to tell if it's shit or soybean paste."
"And you let him eat it."
"How was I supposed to know a little tasting would get him disappeared?"
"If you're going to raise a child in The Gaps, I'd suggest putting in more effort."
"Oh my, what generous advice today."
BANG!!
THWACK—!!
"I'd feel bad taking the full penalty fee...."
The man narrowed his eyes into a smile.
"So I'll just take an arm, yeah?"
"......"
Crack, snap....
The old woman looked at the arm now missing from a single bullet.
"I expected you'd take half."
"You came all the way to the front door with documents ready—a man shouldn't be ungrateful when shown that kind of sincerity~"
"Then please take your time with the contents."
The old woman dipped her head.
"I've documented the movements just prior to his disappearance and the labyrinth trends over the past five years."
"Hm? That's pretty thin for something like that."
"I prioritized readability by focusing on the most relevant data. If you'd prefer, I can grant you viewing access to the full ten-year records. One-month access, of course."
"Aw, look at you being all strict. Stretch it out a little more~"
"In consideration of the one-arm discount, I'll extend it to three months."
"Huh? You're really doing it? Are you feeling alright?"
"We've done business for a long time, Teacher."
"That we have."
The man shrugged.
"By the way, specifically five years—you must see something there to draw the line that precisely. How are things lately?"
"I've confirmed that an investigator was dispatched from the Cultural Sensitivity Bureau."
"Oh boy, so it's serious. How did our precious nephew end up...."
"Will you be searching yourself, Teacher?"
"You think I came all this way just to have a nice chat with our Master?"
"I wouldn't recommend it."
Rustle—
Pages turned in the thin wind.
"Here,"
Tap.
The old woman pointed to a spot.
"Do you see?"
"Good grief, why are there so many Dokkaebi in this tiny country?"
"It's believed there's a fundamental cause that hasn't yet been identified, but... please turn the page."
"Let's see~"
The man rolled his eyes.
"Ah."
"That's right."
The old woman nodded.
"It has been confirmed that The Devil has become involved in Korean supernatural affairs."
"The Devil? The Devil as in, you know, starts with 'Lu' and ends with 'fer'... from a storied religious order... that, what's it called—ah, damn, you can't even say the name, it's so frustrating."
The man continued.
"Anyway, the one who's currently traveling around the Western world making a living singing."
"The most famous devil on Earth, fallen angel, and active vocalist—that would be correct."
"The guy's busier than busy, so why would he turn his attention to Korea, halfway around the globe?"
"Strictly speaking, it's roughly a third of the way around, but...."
"Is that really what matters right now, Master??"
He scratched his head with the gun muzzle.
"It's got to be deliberate, right? Religious Dokkaebi always plan for the distant future~...."
"The mind of a Dokkaebi is never fully knowable, but the Sensitivity Bureau has assessed the approach as courteous. Above all, a concert tour to Korea within the year has been confirmed."
"Oh dear."
The man said.
"Please tell me it isn't."
"The timing of your nephew's disappearance and the timing of the starts-with-'Lu'-ends-with-'fer' Devil's involvement in supernatural affairs happen to coincide."
"I asked you to tell me it isn't, you heartless woman.... You couldn't let me have even one?"
The man's expression turned deeply morose.
"At this rate, I'm not sure I'll even get the gun back that I gave the kid."
If a Dokkaebi really had gotten ahold of him, the chances of recovering even personal effects were slim.
"What could our kid possibly have that's worth all this fuss~"
"Bad luck, most likely."
"I'm telling you, the men of this family need to sit down for an exorcism."
"Shall I provide a referral?"
"Forget it, forget it. My brother absolutely loathes that sort of thing."
"I thought you'd say that."
Artists were creatures that resisted socialization.
If the family had the means, perhaps it was manageable, but Artists born into households lacking in temperament or finances typically had poor family relations. They could become excessively sensitive to 'superstition' in particular.
The 'Teacher' before her had lived in similar circumstances.
"......"
...Although, statistically, the fact that Artists tended to be born with broken temperaments played a large part too.
"If you'd like, I can guide you as far as the route to Baby's Breath Cathedral."
"I know full well our Master's a busy person, I couldn't ask that. I'll find it myself."
"However, given that a religious Dokkaebi's supernatural influence is involved, the likelihood of him being in that labyrinth is low."
"Yeah, figures~ I haven't the foggiest where to start looking. The road ahead is pitch black~."
Clink....
The man rested his chin on the gun muzzle, his face going blank as he sank into thought.
"......"
Contacting a devil managed by national governments was beyond his means.
'Even if I could, the odds of things going my way are nil.'
And aimlessly wandering around on his own wouldn't solve anything either. If the kid really had been dragged into a labyrinth and was still alive, he had to be pulled out before he was consumed as an offering.
'Even with the best of luck, he'd last a day or two.'
As a teacher gauging his disciple's, and as an uncle gauging his nephew's mental fortitude—um....
"......"
He didn't have much faith.
"Hmmmm...."
Couldn't be helped.
"Maybe I should do some legwork~?"
"Do you have something in mind?"
"That thing, you know, that."
At times like this, what you needed was connections.
"A missing persons report should go to the police, right?"
Remarkably, The Gaps had an approximate equivalent of such an organization.
"This sort of thing really should be left to the professionals."
"Any requests before you go?"
"Nah, this is plenty. You've done more than enough looking into it."
He fanned the documents idly.
"By the way, what the hell is wrong with this tiny country?"
"I've heard the Sensitivity Bureau is investigating at full speed, but...."
"So even with a full deployment of personnel they still don't know—oh man. I'm going to die."
"Something may have emerged that's provoking the Dokkaebi."
"...Something that's provoking them...?"
And it had gone unidentified for five years?
"Hmm, well, I haven't heard anything interesting."
"There are rumors that Baeksan is censoring the information."
"Our Master sure knows how to do business."
She'd sell related intel once it surfaced, no doubt. And this kind of information was the sort where someone had to tell you it was a thing before you could see it for yourself.
A shop with good business always has something special, even under new management.
"Let me see, let me see~"
Still resting the gun muzzle against his chin, he murmured.
"Baeksan, Baeksan... that's way too big a player for a freelancer like me."
"For a labyrinth under a corporate umbrella, their approach is passive. An investigation alone won't cause you trouble."
"It's just that things are getting too big~ I'm getting scared, old friend."
"Both labyrinths and corporations and agencies have only started moving in the past few months."
"And the origin of that movement is being traced back to something that started five years ago?"
Then....
"Either a rare entity,"
"Or a labyrinth."
"......"
"Hmm...."
The man lifted the gun from his chin and slowly tilted his head.
"...I have to say, that's intriguing."
For that moment, all thoughts of his nephew vanished. He was an Artist himself, so it couldn't be helped.
'It does make you curious.'
If it was a rare entity, what kind? If a labyrinth, what sort? Did it have a name? How old? Did it possess intelligence? If so, the possibility of it being a Dokkaebi couldn't be ruled out.
If the very byword for devil, Lu○fer—L◀cif■◇—was involved, all the more....
"Oh boy."
"Did it reach you?"
"It's piqued my interest alright. What am I going to do?"
The man grimaced at the hymn reverberating not in his ears but in his brain.
"What on earth has our nephew gotten mixed up in...?"
At least it gave him hope that his useless disciple might still be alive. But if this was how things stood, being alive might not mean being in one piece.
"Good grief, when I told him if it looks like you're going down just die while you've got the chance, he went and dug his heels in again. Never listens to his elders. The sprout was rotten yellow from the start."
"You care quite a bit."
"I never expected another Artist to come out of this family."
"And...."
The old woman rolled her eyes and added.
"This is a courtesy for a long-term client."
"Nice, courtesy. I like that sort of thing."
"The whereabouts of the 'Witch' are unknown."
"Oh? The Witch?"
The man asked, puzzled.
"You mean the White Crow from across the sea?"
"You've understood correctly, Teacher."
"That hopeless romantic? The one who likes pretty stages and...."
"Frequently appears in labyrinths related to flowers and fire."
"Ooh, I didn't study up because I heard it was into women."
"It tears apart men just fine, too."
"I know that much, at least~?"
Her primary stage had been Germany.
"Whereabouts or whatever—that's Europe's problem to handle. Did her tastes change? Or did she declare war on the East? No matter how powerful a labyrinth, they don't usually leave their homeland."
Labyrinths—even Dokkaebi that had evolved further within them—didn't stray far from the region where they were first born. No matter how old they grew. Because they avoided crossing large rivers or seas.
Deep water where the bottom couldn't be seen was something even the most formidable ghosts shunned.
"Above all, Europe is bounded by sea on three sides...."
"Our tracking estimates the disappearance at approximately four years ago."
"Oh...."
Five years and four years—not far apart. He scrubbed his face as though washing it.
"Don't tell me that one's come to Korea too...?"
"I wished to convey that the possibility is not zero."
"I'm absolutely hopeless with the psychic-type~"
"I never expected otherwise."
"Oof, harsh."
A fallen angel, and now a classical labyrinth had joined the fray. At this rate, the difficulty of seeing his nephew's face one more time before his own head got blown off was absurdly high.
"Honestly, every single one of them."
"I'd recommend not acting alone."
"I'll keep that in mind, but they're not all bunched up in one place, are they?"
"What an absurd joke...."
"Why? It's funny."
It would certainly be a catastrophe, though.
"Impossible in the first place."
A Dokkaebi was, after all, a 'labyrinth' with a 'self.'
They could never gather in one place. It was the same principle as saying that if two or more star systems physically overlapped, a universe-wide disaster would ensue.
Perhaps the Dokkaebi knew this. And labyrinths without selves sensed it instinctively as well, which was why they kept their distance by nature. All but the most belligerent labyrinths understood the advantage.
"......"
"Well, anyway...."
He tucked the gun into his coat and smiled affably.
"Take care of yourself, Master."
For a single visit, the results had been quite satisfactory.
Whether he was included in this devil's hymn or not, the fact that his head hadn't been blown off on the spot suggested a wait-and-see approach. With luck, he might at least exchange a greeting with his nephew.
Shambling along the fog-laden street... he couldn't help but wonder.
"......"
What the hell was this thing, really?
'If word's reached even a small-time intermediary like this, something must've definitely happened while I was off the grid. And on top of that, a storied devil and the megacorp Baeksan are involved.'
What, did someone discover a catnip forest that drives Dokkaebi insane?
'Now that would be thrilling.'
Oh, this was going to be fun.
The man laughed to himself, alone.
Given all the whispering going on behind closed doors, it seemed a superstar had been born—one who drove both fans and haters mad. Whatever it turned out to be, if it was an entity he could talk to, he'd be absolutely delighted.
The man tilted his head with a cigarette in his mouth, grinning.
"Couldn't be, though~?"
The thing rare entities and labyrinths had in common was that you couldn't reason with them.
***
The old woman, left alone.
"......"
"miserere...."
"...illumina...."
Her lips hummed a brief phrase, and then—
"...illumina mortuos."
SPLAT—
Her head exploded.
"......"
All that remained was a corpse, standing before the front entrance of [Haeyeong Intermediary].
***
"......"
She really doesn't listen.
Lee Yeon-woo looked dryly down at The Drenched One, who had abruptly clamped down on his shoulder.
"...Ha...."
Was it because the behavior was funny? A laugh escaped. He glanced at his shoulder where the blade had gone in, and with amusement not yet fully reined in, continued.
"What a vigorous greeting, friend."
"......"
"On this auspicious day... I didn't know it was your custom to start by planting a knife instead of candles on the cake. If you're going to wave a blade around, at the very least you should have made a show of booking a proper venue. Not in front of our young guests, with such an unseemly display."
"......"
"For instance, a secluded, private room with no one around. That would've put my mind at ease. It's a real shame it turned out this way. Keep this up and you'll drag my hotel's reputation down with yours."
"......"
"Acting your age would be nice...."
At the end of his politely delivered rebuke, Lee Yeon-woo lowered his eyes with fatigue and added.
"How rude."
The conclusion came quickly.
'Just needless spite.'
Lee Yeon-woo smiled with his eyes. The usual.
The Drenched One was indeed childish. An adult only in stature, perhaps. The behavior was savage, but strip it to its essence and the creature was genuinely naive.
"......!"
"Yes, I'm listening."
Tap-tap-tap.
The Drenched One stabbed repeatedly in protest.
"...! ......!!"
"I haven't found a way out yet."
"......!!"
"I'll make you macarons."
"......!!!"
"Dying for you right this instant would be difficult."
When is this going to end? I won't stand for it. I'll kill you. Throwing a full tantrum and stabbing his back in a fury—a spiteful seven-year-old couldn't compare.
'Of course, an actual seven-year-old wouldn't swing a blade like this.'
Coco, having become the coat, was getting stabbed along with him. There didn't seem to be any actual damage, but he still felt bad. Why was he the one feeling guilty when someone else was doing the stabbing?
After a short while.
"Just two days. Give me two more days."
Covered in blood in the blink of an eye, Lee Yeon-woo attempted negotiations with an impassive face.
"I know you've been remarkably patient for your standards, but I've got quite a backlog of work too. That temper of yours is more than I can absorb given my recent condition."
He'd graduated from water to perhaps acorn jelly by now. But without special measures, staying only in the Hunting Grounds still left Lee Yeon-woo far too frail. There were limits to what the system could supplement.
"......"
"Even if I revive instantly, there's a brief gap. And if I die here, I'd wake up in the hotel—the elevator ride back alone would take considerable time."
"......"
"What a thing to say.... You know perfectly well what you'd do with me gone."
Dying was no concern. Getting stabbed a few times or bitten as an outlet for anger was the same. Now that he'd improved the system's convenience, he could ensure he felt neither pain nor discomfort.
His only worry was the lost souls who'd have to bear The Drenched One's temper if he disappeared.
"I'll make you a crepe cake."
"......"
"With candles on top, if you'd like."
"......!!"
"Oh my—with the way you were throwing a tantrum, I mistook you for a neighborhood seven-year-old. My mistake."
"...! ...!!"
"If only you'd conducted yourself with a bit more maturity."
Protesting after being the one to act like a child first was pointless.
'She'll eat everything I make anyway, no matter what she says.'
In any case, Lee Yeon-woo reached an agreement to treat The Drenched One to dessert upon his return.
But how much longer this would extend The Drenched One's patience was uncertain. As a Monster Guest Common to Both Versions, The Drenched One was rather shameless—capable of charging at him with a blade at any moment.
"......"
...Above all, he couldn't be certain The Drenched One didn't have ulterior motives.
'...There's a wrongness to her reactions.'
Perhaps 'excessively consistent' was the right phrase.
'It feels closer to someone whose anger has already dissipated but is pressing demands because there's something she wants.'
He chose not to acknowledge that he'd noticed. Whatever her game, all she ultimately did was throw tantrums at Lee Yeon-woo and act half her age.
Whatever her true intentions, Lee Yeon-woo was effectively at no loss.
'I don't know what she wants, but as long as she doesn't attack innocent people, it shouldn't matter.'
Separate from the fact that they needed to leave as quickly as possible, that is.
Because The Drenched One's scheme would certainly involve those students. She was a Water Wraith who drew fulfillment from the suffering and anguish of the living.
But for now....
"......?"
"Yes, I'm listening."
Wasn't it probably fine?
'It's not as though getting hurt would make those students deeply empathize with the pain of someone they've barely met.'
He'd been maintaining distance precisely because of this concern. From what he'd seen, they still seemed afraid of him. On this front, he wasn't too worried.
'My body can just be restored to the state imprinted in the system. Unlike with The Guest Without Taste, shedding some blood won't cause permanent problems anymore.'
If that could offset the greatest ordeal and hardship facing those students, he was more than willing to offer it up.
'Then there's no cheaper expenditure than this.'
[Eee?]
'This is a perfectly rational calculation.'
[Eeee?]
'This does make the familiarity strategy even harder, but at this point.'
Trying to rein in The Drenched One now would fall on deaf ears.
'If anything, it would only backfire....'
Lee Yeon-woo looked down at The Drenched One with an exasperated gaze.
"......"
"......?!"
"Do you really need to ask?"
Did she really want to do this to kids, at her age?
'No real damage is done, so I'll let this one slide.'
Lee Yeon-woo brushed off his coat with his hands.
Following his touch, the marks left by the stabbings disappeared. Coco had sustained no real damage to begin with; the blood had been absorbed; the shirt was restored by the hotel's power.
"So it's confirmed that they'll be going up to the hotel after all."
[Yes!]
"You rotten cat."
Lee Yeon-woo stared out at the sea, blurred beneath its veil of mist, and muttered through gritted teeth.
"Nothing goes right."
***
...Though he hadn't expected things to go this wrong.
"......woo,"
"......"
With a blade lodged in his neck, Lee Yeon-woo narrowed his brow. Rather than pressing a hand to his bleeding nape, he shoved the students' backs. With his mouth alone, he formed the words.
[Go up.]
I have things to discuss with this overgrown brat.
Forcing the elevator doors closed, Lee Yeon-woo looked at the 'overgrown brat.'
Naturally, it was The Drenched One.