A full ten days after the unprecedented incident where two agents from Team Hyumoo 1, two Daydream employees, and an unidentified supernatural disaster appeared unconscious in the Main Building of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
The parties involved in the incident gathered at a meat restaurant.
The somewhat shabby meat restaurant seemed to be a historic popular spot in the office worker neighborhood, bustling with noise, but a weary silence flowed from the corner seat where they sat….
It was a barely regained fragile calm.
"..."
"..."
Sizzle.
The sound of meat being placed on the grill and cooking could be heard. Three people with haggard faces exchanged pleasantries.
"Please, eat up."
"Yesyes, thank you."
Agent Choi grabbed the meat on the grill and brought it to his mouth with gusto.
It was an attitude unbelievable for someone who had only consumed water and liquid food for a full week, barely recovering, making it impossible to swallow anything.
A similar scene was unfolding with Deputy Manager Eun Haje, who was cracking open a soju bottle.
"Not being able to drink is unbearable."
"Hey, no matter what, we can't serve alcohol in a government agency. But the treatment was free, right?"
"If I bring up taxes here, I'd be a real pain, wouldn't I?"
"You know that well, too?"
This person, having already had their personal information leaked once to the Disaster Management Bureau by an agent she encountered in a ghost story during their rookie days, was identified as a Daydream employee despite wearing a Grandmother costume.
And after days of interrogation and treatment, they were granted an outing on the condition she accompany the agents.
Her equipment had been confiscated by the Disaster Management Bureau, but the gear needed to fill her empty hands was humanely returned. Wearing gloves so there wouldn't be an electric shocks, she picked up the tongs and flipped the meat.
"Come on, Old Man, have some too."
"..."
Agent Bronze, or rather Ryu Jaegwan, the one with the least worn out face among them, received the Korean beef with a complex expression.
It wasn't just about thinking of meal expenses that were just within the legal limits of the anti-graft law. It was more about how utterly clueless he was about how to handle this situation.
That's right.
All of them had died hanging by a noose in Segwang Station, only to wake up and recover just enough to resume daily life from the severe aftereffects.
However, they were still plagued by nightmares and bizarre auditory hallucinations, and were only now properly grasping what kind of situation this was.
It was a situation where discussing Segwang Metropolitan City within the Disaster Management Bureau was difficult.
"…It's been really hard to gather information about 'that area.' Have you agents had any success?"
"If you look too closely, you'll really lose your memory~ The current state of things is probably the best case scenario for now."
"The current state…."
"The Bureau has classified our condition as contamination. …It seems they've officially determined that we were contaminated by an unidentifiable supernatural phenomenon after arbitrarily passing through a well that hadn't undergone safety checks for a long time."
It was a state of ambiguous stability.
It essentially meant that they thought Agent Choi had recklessly taken some action again, resulting in a situation of 'at least we escaped.'….
The fact that even a Daydream employee could remain in this lukewarm, lax state instead of being sent to the Glass Prison was likely influenced by that.
They were seen as being caught up in it.
"Your history of causing trouble there really helped."
"Aw~ It's natural for things like this to happen when you're trying to save citizens. It's too harsh to use such a strong word when 'challenging' is such a good one."
"Yes, yes. Please eat plenty of Korean beef."
And then, Deputy Manager Eun Haje's gaze flickered to one side.
No, not just the Deputy Manager, but everyone's eyes shifted to one spot.
The only being at this table who couldn't eat beef.
"…Next time, let's make sure you get some."
>Conditional affirmation.
That's me.
A shapeless mass of flesh inside a gas mask, a being of supernatural disaster with the codename 130666…. Unable to put a single piece of well-cooked Korean beef into my mouth….
For reference, the reason I can be here is because the Team Leader of Team Hyumoo 1, the elder, is distorting the vision of other customers in this restaurant through a Goblin's Play.
The human body that was recovered from Segwang Metropolitan City is nowhere to be found.
It was a dream, after all.
'Sigh....'
But how was I thinking like a human, you ask?
'They worked me to death to bring me back in line….'
Of course, I was also lucky.
Thanks to the relief i now felt, even missing out on premium beef didn't feel bitter enough to make me cry.
'So… it was about three days after everyone woke up.'
It was around then that Agent Bronze heard about my condition.
Me, who had returned completely devoid of humanity.
–Did you have a good visit?
"…Yes."
Ryu Jaegwan sat in the hospital room, looking at his superior.
Ryu Jaegwan, who showed the fastest recovery, had finally received permission for a visit after a few days and was now seeing people.
Thanks to that, he had just finished visiting Falcon, who had just received emergency treatment, and it was only now that he learned the person's name was Eun Haje.
And that she could eat an LA Galbi lunchbox with one hand.
It was an impressive attitude for someone who was sweating profusely and still felt a phantom sensation of being choked.
Furthermore, his superior, Agent Choi, who was before his eyes, was the same.
"The statements are identical. It seems what we experienced… is indeed being treated as a 'dream'."
- Okay haha
This superior was in a state where verbal communication was impossible due to abnormal contamination symptoms beyond PTSD.
To the point that they even covered his neck with cloth so it couldn't be looked at.
Yet, even while lying in bed under strict rest orders, his eyes gleamed as if his mind was racing with thoughts.
Thanks to that, as soon as they both realized they had experienced this incident as a dream, they managed to track down a certain ghost story.
–Do you remember Segwang Technical High School, Jaegwan?
Who knew that it was a ghost story linked to an even greater Annihilation-class ghost story.
'The entry method was the same too.'
The kind that could only be accessed through a dream.
Of course, both agents had a chilling feeling from the start about Kim Soleum and Eun Haje's statements regarding Segwang Metropolitan City, thinking, 'This feels real.'
However, they had also continuously doubted the probability of it being false, but the problem was that the current circumstances strongly suggested it was true….
Segwang Metropolitan City, where cognition was erased. The existence of that sealed Annihilation-class disaster zone.
…A place where the contamination suffered during death, even though entered through a dream, was at an immense level.
'Sigh.'
But the bigger problem was that the superior before him wasn't even the person in the worst condition.
Even excluding the person in a coma.
…Now, as if hesitating uncharacteristically, the superior asked via writing.
–How's Grapes?
"..."
Ryu Jaegwan's expression clouded slightly.
As if it were a lie that Kim Soleum had appeared in a human form from Segwang Metropolitan City, he….
–It seems this entity needs to be transferred elsewhere.
He was definitively judged as a supernatural disaster.
Attempts at communication by the Disaster Management Bureau officials were going nowhere, and he repeatedly requested a return to Daydream.
He hadn't shown aggression yet, but it was unknown what would happen if the requests to return were delayed. That was the current judgment of the Disaster Management Bureau.
–You did try purification on the basis that he was originally human right?
"…Yes."
Ryu Jaegwan's voice lowered.
"However, only some anxiety symptoms improved; no other progress was made."
"..."
No attempt to free him from contamination and return him to human form, using any purification method implemented at the Bureau's Main Building, had worked.
…For three days, truly nothing.
As Ryu Jaegwan walked down the corridor after visiting Agent Choi, his mind sank with anxiety.
'Then….'
…Perhaps it was time to finally speak.
That the peculiar entity was originally Agent Grapes.
It wasn't just a matter of timing that prevented him from reporting it until now. It was more about considering Kim Soleum's complex circumstances.
That Daydream had turned a former employee, whom they had ordered to infiltrate the bureau as an agent, into a supernatural entity and was still using him as staff.
The moment this was reported, it would inevitably flow to higher authorities.
'Then… who knows how Agent Grapes' treatment would change.'
The Disaster Management Bureau was becoming accustomed to choosing the lesser of two evils.
Like selecting villains.
"..."
But perhaps that was needed now….
A more intense, specialized purification method was required.
'Should I have said it from the beginning?'
Perhaps it would have been the right thing to do for the sake of the Disaster Management Bureau's principles. As Ryu Jaegwan's mind sank, mixed with phantom echoes of the noose….
"Oh, Ryu Jaegwan. Visiting?"
"…!"
A tall, middle-aged woman walking from the end of the corridor waved.
Ryu Jaegwan's eyes widened.
"Agent Haegeum."
The Team Leader of Team Hyumoo 3. The agent, armed with the Four-Sided Divine Sword, looked tired as if she had just finished a mission, but she still smiled brightly with a spirited face.
"I heard about it, actually. You broke the well trying to use it, right?"
"..."
"You must have a lot of trouble because of Mr. Choi. With you,too."
Although this case was a bit different, he couldn't bring himself to say no.
"I heard Daydream employees were also involved. Is that right?"
"…Yes."
"Hmm."
A casual remark.
"Among them, there was a face I recognized."
"Yes?"
"No, perhaps it's strange to say I recognized the face… since they were wearing a gas mask."
"…!!"
"Yes. That one with the horns and smoke coming from the gas mask. They're a Security Team employee. It seems Daydream has finally figured out how to wield supernatural disasters."
How does she know?
Just as Ryu Jaegwan's mind was about to fall into confusion again.
Agent Haegeum turned her shoulder.
"I should go pay them a visit."
"Why…."
"Because I gave them something."
And from this point on, astonishing things happened.
Agent Haegeum's visit.
The entity's identity was stated as an entity within the supernatural disaster named 'Pleasant Theme Park,' also known as 'Golden Flower Mascot.'
She had met the entity during a mission and proposed an item that could improve the entity's condition.
The import of 'Jade Drop' was permitted.
However, this attempt failed miserably.
The Jade Drop was destroyed.
On average, at 182-minute intervals, a total of 5 Jade Drops were corroded and disappeared to the point of losing their form, and no improvement in the subject's condition was observed.
This was repeated for two days.
As failure after failure occurred, Agent Haegeum's words that the destruction itself held meaning gained credibility, leading to the use of more powerful equipment of the same type.
Permission was granted for the use of the Yeongseondae's Grand Jade Bell.
Treatment was carried out by listening to the bell's chime, which rang at Jinshi, leaning against a wooden board.
There was likely also the purpose of preventing the indiscriminate consumption of the drops.
It was almost certain that if this, too, didn't work, other measures would be taken.
However, surprisingly….
A change occurred.
He inquired about the well-being of those who had used the well together.
"…!"
Rational communication became possible.
The entity's communication method (writing with black smoke) remained the same, but interpersonal interaction was smooth.
Afterward, the state was maintained by prescribing drops.
Ryu Jaegwan eventually sought out Agent Haegeum to ask directly.
-How did you do it??
-Let's say there was an error in your basic premise.
And she said no more.
…Afterward, it was heard that the Disaster Management Bureau had reclassified the supernatural disaster as a phenomenon and was exploring the possibility of it being a cooperative supernatural being.
Thus, Ryu Jaegwan, based on certain facts, completed a frightening deduction. That is….
The Jade Drops were not for purifying human contamination.
The Jade Bell was the same.
While they did have some effect on contamination purification, their main effect was simply to calm the mind and help one regain their identity.
Which means....
Didn't Agent Haegeum purify it assuming it wasn't human from the start?
And the fact that it worked meant….
"..."
Ryu Jaegwan quietly swallowed his speculation.
It was just a guess.
'Let's be grateful that Agent Grapes has regained his senses.'
He suppressed his speculation and did not report it to Agent Choi.
And then a few more days passed. The well experiencers steadily recovered from their conditions and received safety evaluations from the Disaster Management Bureau….
And thus, the meat restaurant team dinner for tired office workers became conditionally possible.
***
Somehow, I avoided Agent Bronze's gaze, which seemed to alternate between the meat and me.
Please don't misunderstand, I really can't eat it….
"…Did you receive enough drops?"
>Affirmative:
>A total of 7.
"Understood."
Fortunately, after that, the stares lessened. Not just from Agent Bronze, but from others too.
They were well aware of my condition while also ensuring I could participate in the conversation while eating meat. Envy… no, it's good.
It's only natural that the atmosphere softens when alcohol and food are involved.
A similar thing was happening here.
As the restaurant neared closing time and became a bit quieter, the people who had regained some strength were getting to the really important main topic.
That was….
>Subject: Dolphin's whereabouts.
The biggest problem in the current situation.
"Right. Truly… why can't Deputy Lee Seong-hae wake up?"
"..."
"It's already been two weeks."
That's right.
Deputy Lee Seong-hae was still in a coma, sleeping in the Disaster Management Bureau's Protective Custody Room.
Of course, I explained what I had done….
"Then it's even stranger. She should have escaped and cleared it, then woken up. But she can't."
....
My hands clenched.
'I did something I shouldn't have.'
My mouth felt dry, as if I had put Deputy Lee Seong-hae in trouble without properly understanding the situation.
Even though I don't have a mouth.
In fact, even if she had died of dehydration, it would have been long past the time to emerge from the dream. But if the train wasn't the escape method, why couldn't she wake up?
>Concern: Possibility of still being alive in that location.
>Method: Complete contamination state.
"..."
That's right.
Worry that she might have become a resident within the ghost story, completely contaminated by it.
And if rescue is delayed in that state… there are also calamities that can occur because it's Daydream.
>Potential Risk: Dolphin employee's point reset.
"…!!"
"What does 'point reset' mean?"
"If someone is missing for about a month, we treat them as dead and process their resignation. You could call it voluntary resignation."
Deputy Manager Eun Haje made a gesture.
"Then, all the points we worked so hard to collect for Wish Tickets until then will also be reset."
"...!!"
"It'll all be for nothing."
Huu...
"Well, I heard you agents don't believe in Wish Tickets, but still, from our perspective, it's a truly terrible situation."
"..."
Agent Choi did not agree.
However, he stated definitively:
"In any case, it means rescue is needed. That's our specialty."
But.
"Old man. No matter how much you prepare, you don't know what will happen, so don't be too certain."
....
That was also true.
It was a space where most equipment becomes useless, and where you don't know how to counter the noose.
'It's difficult.'
Unless the person themselves is strong enough not to die even when hanging by a noose...….
Wait a minute.
'Then, what if it could be physically torn apart?'
And I knew of one person who could physically smash through nooses or trees.
A physical exorcism agent from the
>Recommended candidate.
"Oh?"
>Recommended candidate:
>Section Chief Lizard from Field Investigation Team D.
"…?!"