Chapter 93: Yulje-myeon Re-Exploration (１)

****

[Humanoid Anomaly, Hasti Transcript No. 1]

[Filed by: Dr. Ahn]

[Dr. Ahn: When you first crossed over to our world, you identified yourself as the Master of the Pitch-Black Tower. Could you elaborate on that?]

[Hasti: I said what I meant. In my original world, I was the master of the black tower.]

[Dr. Ahn: Surely there’s a reason you chose the phrase “pitch-black.” Have you ever encountered any literary or artistic works related to the Pitch-Black King?]

[Hasti: The Pitch-Black King?]

[Dr. Ahn: Yes.]

[Hasti: The Pitch-Black King… An entity frequently dealt with in my tower. A god of the black another world. One of the gods of madness. There was a similar play. A god of twisted art, but I don’t know the details myself.]

[Dr. Ahn: So there are things shared across multiple worlds. In a way, I’d call that fortunate.]

[Hasti: What’s the point of knowing?]

****

[Hasti Transcript No. 1. Commentary.]

[Filed by: Dr. Ahn]

[Let me get to the point.]

[The Pitch-Black King is a kind of plague that exists across multiple dimensions. Miss Hasti and her companions appear to be its followers.]

[The Pitch-Black King is, among the Outer Gods, the god of art.]

[The Pitch-Black King is a god of art who creates terrible art that drives humans to madness, art that shows humans things they should never see.]

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

[Furthermore, given the high likelihood of cognitohazard involvement, I believe the number of reports produced regarding Miss Hasti should be restricted.]

[In our world, they are anomalous artists, and those associated with the Church of the Pitch-Black. I believe they must be studied thoroughly.]

[Separately, I am uncertain whether Miss Hasti is dangerous in and of herself.]

****

The moment 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. Ahn. A psychiatrist, and probably one of the most articulate people in Korea.

“I apologize, Director, but you need to undergo a full examination right now.”

“No, I’m telling you, I’m fine.”

“Director. Are you a doctor, Director? We watched you jump off a hovercraft going a hundred kilometers an hour, Director, so what exactly is fine about that?”

I shook my head.

“That was because I had magic—”

“And also. Didn’t you kill a hundred people on Jeju Island? No, wait—you killed a hundred people, and you’re claiming you’re mentally stable?”

“…”

I thought for a moment.

“Dr. Ahn, step aside. Honestly, I have no external injuries, and you bringing the Humanoid Division researchers along like this is extremely unpleasant.”

Dr. Ahn was a researcher at the Humanoid Anomaly Research Wing. A doctor, yes, but that was secondary. Dr. Ahn glanced around briefly.

“I apologize.”

“Keep the Humanoid Division out of my treatment.”

“Understood. I’ll take care of it.”

I waved Dr. Ahn’s group away with a gesture.

“I’ll come to the Medical Department later.”

****

Head of Medical, Shin Seungyeon.

A doctor old enough to be a grandfather, with a full head of white hair.

“Welcome back, Director.”

“Hello.”

“We’ll run every test we can, to start. We have no idea what curses those Jeju Branch bastards used, what toxins they used, or what weapons they employed.”

“Ah…”

“First we’ll do X-rays, a full-body CT, and an MRI. After that, the Foundation standard toxin panel, a cognitohazard screening, and as much of the Foundation standard infectious disease panel as we can manage.”

“Ah… Will it take long?”

“Yes.”

I checked my schedule for a moment.

“It’s fine to spread the tests out over a week, right? My schedule’s already backed up from the business trip, and running all these tests at once would be too disruptive.”

“Hmm, of course it’d be best to run them as quickly as possible. But I don’t see any problem with it.”

I nodded.

****

There wasn’t just one or two items on the schedule.

First, I needed to meet with the humanoid anomalies. And I had to hold a conference with Facility 82’s officer corps about what happened in Jeju.

There were also no small number of research tasks and administrative duties to review. Even setting aside field work.

“Ah, Director.”

It was Paper. I turned my head.

“What is it?”

“The Yulje-myeon re-exploration that was being prepared as you ordered is now moving out. They’re asking you to come to the command room right away.”

“Right now?”

“The detailed plan for this operation was drawn up while you were in Jeju, Director.”

Yulje-myeon re-exploration. I did recall saying something about someone doing that, but I’d made such a mess in Jeju that I didn’t even remember such a plan existed.

“Understood, I’ll head over now.”

I entered the operations conference room in the corner of the Director’s Office. Inside, Aide An, the Recovery Section Chief, and a few others were waiting.

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

I nodded.

“Who’s on site?”

“The Head of Research, and two teams from Recovery Section 1 are waiting in the field.”

I checked my notebook. It was correct that the Recovery Section had been assigned to conduct the Yulje-myeon exploration.

“Personnel confirmed. Continue the operation.”

The field team seemed to be near Yulje-myeon. I sat at the center of the command room, then picked up the microphone while looking at the screen.

“Field commander, report operation readiness. Are you prepared to enter Yulje-myeon?”

*Crackle.* A muttering sound came through the microphone. Three people were connected to the reply line. Two team leaders, and the Head of Research.

[This is Recovery Section 1. Alpha Team leader.]

[This is Recovery Section 1. Beta Team leader.]

[…]

“This is the command room. Director Geum speaking. The operation proceeds as planned. Objective: recovery or neutralize of all instances within Yulje-myeon.”

[This is the Head of Research, accompanying Recovery Section 1.]

“Head of Research. Report your observation results.”

[Approaching Yulje-myeon. The fog still hasn’t lifted, but the antimemetic effect appears to be dissipating. Visibility is decreasing.]

*Pop.* The two team leaders cut their communications.

[But, do you actually need me here? You could’ve just sent a Science Vessel or a Mobile Command Center.]

A Science Vessel is a magic unit from some game. My helicopter is not a Science Vessel. It doesn’t even have radioactive material on it.

“It’s not a Science Vessel, it’s a research helicopter. And launching one of those large helicopters with a lab attached costs thirty million won per flight.”

[No, but Director Geum, you flew that thing to the Samsung service center to get your laptop repaired. Isn’t that a bit too hypocritical?]

“That was for psychological dominance.”

[You spent a thousand pigs on one hour of fighting in Jeju, Director. I mean, what’s the reason for pinching pennies in the strangest places?]

I let out a sigh.

“Report the battle situation again.”

[…]

“Are you not going to?”

[Director. I can accept that you’re angry, but at least let me know what I’m being scolded for. What did I do wrong this time?]

“Shut your mouth.”

This time, Lee Seah thought a bit longer.

[I can’t do Rambo stuff like you or the Adjutant. I’m not like you, Director — ‘Ah, with just this one rifle, Tamna Kingdom is a half-day job!’ That’s what I mean.]

The people in the command room snickered.

It made sense the Head of Research was still alive after all this time. If she hadn’t been locked up in the Foundation, what would she have been doing? A politician? A cult leader?

“When are you getting off?”

[About 20 minutes left.]

“Okay.”

[Director. You know those Groups of Interest that were sticking their heads up when the Foundation’s aircraft carrier approached the Korean Peninsula during the Yulje-myeon Incident?]

[After they saw you pacify Jeju in a single day and then pay a visit to Overseer 8, they all went quiet. Korea’s practically at a no-magic world level right now. I’d give it a week, maybe.]

“Work should lighten up, then.”

[Director. Sorry to ask, but what exactly is the reason I need to be at this site?]

“You’ll be working, won’t you?”

A moment later, Lee Seah sighed from the other end of the radio. In the end, a complaint was just a complaint, and a joke was just a joke. What was she going to do about it.

[No, I was out of line.]

“You’ve got so much on your mind you can’t even figure out what to apologize for, right? You’re on field duty until all your screw-ups are settled.”

[Haah, understood.]

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

[Well, I didn’t know what we’d be fighting. I brought an energy shield and a Soviet-made laser rifle.]

“Say the word if you need support.”

****

Lee Seah let out a sigh. Director Geum would keep pecking at her for a while. They’d had a bit of an argument earlier, but she’d have to play along for now.

Besides, she had to be on edge after that assassination attempt on Jeju. If Lee Seah caused real trouble instead of just trading barbs, who knew what might happen.

Field work… it really had been a while.

Lee Seah looked at the exterior monitor of the infantry fighting vehicle. Yulje-myeon, visible ahead, was shrouded in a fog that stretched out like a massive wall.