"...If you wanna become a top-tier combatant, you better know how to work with a team."
Yu-Han had gathered his small handful of employees together and was once again going off on one of his long lectures.
When he pulled up some bizarre code on the hologram screen, Yi Rang frowned.
"What the hell is this now?"
"...How do you not know this? It's the Mana Team Protocol. MTP. What the hell were you even doing at your last job?"
"T-Those bastards just used me for muscle! And they were Kim Je-Hyeon's brainwashed lapdogs from the start, remember!?"
While Yi Rang protested, Alice quietly analyzed the circuitry and quickly grasped its purpose.
"Is this some sort of program? One that allows allies to exchange buffs or mana more efficiently..."
"As expected of our Director. Though I suppose that's only natural for an AI."
Everyone possessed different levels of magical aptitude, but nearly anyone could release mana to some degree.
Using that principle, universal mana programming had been developed—treating mana release as a "1" and inactivity as a "0."
"Everybody's got mana resistance. If it's too high, you can't properly receive support magic from allies. Too low, and enemy magic tears right through you.
That's why this exists.
Now then, if you've all installed the app, I'll explain how to use it."
Alice downloaded the application from the official app store. Just to be safe, she even ran a virus scan herself, but nothing suspicious came up.
For the first time in a while, Alice felt grateful to have a reliable tool!
"...Oh, and for the record, enemies hacking these things mid-combat happens all the time, so don't rely on it too much."
That gratitude vanished instantly.
Yi Rang was already struggling to keep her heavy eyelids open during Yu-Han's lecture.
Kim Ga-Eun... had been unusually quiet all day.
Right then, the doorbell rang.
"Dammit. Please don't tell me Lee Sang-Deok came over to play poker again."
"No, Yu-Han. It's the K&R people."
Connected directly to the building system, Alice checked the CCTV feed and answered.
Yu-Han narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah? Director. What's your call?"
"...Verify their identities. If they don't have a legitimate reason, we do not open the door."
"Correct answer. Nicely done."
Alice connected to the front intercom.
A familiar voice immediately blasted through the speaker.
[Hey, tin-can bitch and rat-faced Yu-Han. Open the damn door before I blow it off the hinges.]
"Goddammit, Alice! Just open it already!"
At that moment, Alice learned an important lesson:
In the face of immediate violence, principles become completely meaningless.
As the door opened, Jeong Gu-Han and Yi Gyu-Chan walked in first.
Behind them followed a slick-haired man in glasses none of them had seen before.
"Been a while, GC-1659..."
At first, Alice didn't know who he was addressing.
But Kim Ga-Eun's reaction made it obvious immediately.
Her fangs were bared as a vicious growl rumbled out of her throat.
"You... why the fuck are you showing your face here again?"
"Why so hostile? I am your creator, after all.
Though I doubt you'd ever call me that, so perhaps 'Father' would be more appropriate?"
"Shut the fuck up!!"
Kim Ga-Eun instantly lost control and lunged at him, trying to tear his throat apart.
But her body suddenly froze in midair, restrained by something invisible.
"I increased the viscosity of the surrounding air molecules to the maximum.
I brought two bodyguards because I knew you'd pull this, so give it up."
Knowing exactly how dangerous those two bodyguards were, Kim Ga-Eun had no choice but to back down and glare murderously at him.
Only then did Alice finally speak.
"I already know those two... but who are you?"
"Ah, my apologies. My name is Hwang Young-Seok. I'm currently a researcher affiliated with K&R, Director Alice.
I'm here today to discuss retrieving that violent subject."
The moment he said that, Yu-Han stepped forward.
"Hey. I told you I'd take responsibility and socialize her.
This is way beyond what we agreed on."
"That agreement was rather forced to begin with.
Still, I thought perhaps you might've changed your mind by now.
That thing originally belonged to us, after all."
"Belonged to you!? You can't call a person property!" Alice snapped.
"Director. Don't be deceived by that innocent-looking face. That thing has no human heart. What it did to the research staff back then was..."
"That's enough. Don't push it any further."
Alice couldn't tell who Yu-Han was referring to. Kim Ga-Eun... or himself?
Hwang Young-Seok let out a sigh and stepped back.
"It seems your position hasn't changed.
Part of why I came here was to warn your ignorant colleagues... and to deliver this."
He tossed Yu-Han a black ring-like device alongside a USB drive.
"It's a restraint device. I'd strongly recommend fastening it around her neck."
"I'll decide that myself."
"Yeah. Sure you will."
Without another word, Hwang Young-Seok turned and walked away.
Jeong Gu-Han casually said they should meet again sometime if the opportunity came up, while Yi Gyu-Chan looked utterly uninterested in the entire situation.
"Goddammit... that fucking bastard... showing up outta nowhere...!!"
Kim Ga-Eun muttered furiously.
After hesitating for a moment, Yi Rang approached her.
"That asshole seriously pisses me off. Our Ga-Eun's sweet as hell, so what's this crap about 'having no heart'?"
At those words, Kim Ga-Eun's expression softened instantly.
She looked at Yi Rang with genuine emotion in her eyes.
"Yi Rang C... I knew my family would understand me.
So, Yu-Han C. Let's destroy that creepy thing."
"No. I'm keeping it in case something happens."
The atmosphere inside the center instantly turned ice cold.
"Yu-Han C... that's a really mean joke.
Putting something like that around someone's neck by force... what kind of weird play is that?"
"You think I'm playing? Go home."
Kim Ga-Eun bit down hard on her lip before storming out of the center without looking back.
***
About thirty minutes later, Kim Ga-Eun appeared somewhere deep in the sewers of Old Seoul.
Still in human form, she was brutally massacring the monsters living underground.
"Fuck... treatin' people like goddamn animals...!"
Anyone could tell she was venting her anger.
Then one of the monsters she was beating to death suddenly spoke.
"Why are you killing us... we only wish to live here peacefully."
Kim Ga-Eun froze for a brief moment at the monster suddenly speaking.
But she quickly answered back.
"Because monsters are supposed to die. That's just how the world works!"
Just as she was about to finish it off, footsteps echoed through the sewer.
A young man she'd never seen before walked toward her.
"And you're saying that while being a monster yourself?"
Kim Ga-Eun whipped her head toward him.
Her eyes overflowed with killing intent.
"Who the fuck are you calling a monster? Are you blind!?
I'm totally HUMAN!!"
Very few outsiders knew Kim Ga-Eun was actually a chimera.
Even if someone witnessed her monster form, they'd usually just assume it was some bizarre magic.
But this young man spoke with absolute certainty.
"Looks like Lee Nam-Yong C was right.
He said there was a monster hiding its filthy, ugly true nature inside the Cheong-Am Center."
"...You motherfucker."
Kim Ga-Eun instantly crossed the distance and grabbed him by the collar.
"You better watch your mouth.
You think I can't kill you just because you're human?"
"So you really have no intention of hiding your true nature."
The young man vanished from her grasp instantly.
When he reappeared, he was directly behind her.
'Teleportation magic...!?'
Kim Ga-Eun clicked her tongue.
Teleportation was an absurdly rare magical aptitude.
The young man casually rested an aluminum bat on his shoulder.
"There's an old Korean saying :
'The best medicine for a mad dog is a good beating'."
The bat, heavily reinforced with mana, smashed into the back of her head.
Even Kim Ga-Eun felt a sharp sting from the blow.
"You little...!"
Just as Kim Ga-Eun widened her eyes and prepared to charge him, another figure approached.
It was Yu-Han.
"That's enough."
The moment she saw him, Kim Ga-Eun brightened immediately.
"Yu-Han C, perfect timing! Let's crush this annoying little pest togethe—"
Before she could finish speaking, Yu-Han smacked her across the face.
Naturally, a slap like that didn't even hurt a monster like her.
But the shock definitely did.
"I told you to go home. When did I ever tell you to run around picking fights?"
"I-I'm sorry."
"...Take the day off and cool your head."
Yu-Han's gaze shifted toward the young man.
"Don't recognize you. Who are you?"
"My name is Kim Ga-Ram.
I'm a recently produced N.O.B.I., so it makes sense you wouldn't know me."
"What's your relationship with Lee Nam-Yong?"
"After stealing me from the factory, he told me to decide whether I'd join Thanatics or not.
I haven't given him an answer yet."
"Why are you associating with monsters?"
"...These creatures have hearts too.
At the very least, they're more human than that girl over there."
At Kim Ga-Ram's words, Kim Ga-Eun immediately protested to Yu-Han.
"Yu-Han C, see!? I knew this bastard was suspicious! Let's get rid of him!"
Yu-Han immediately rapped the top of her head.
"If you go around killing everyone you don't like, that makes you a serial killer, not a sanctioner. Got it?"
"...Got it."
"Kim Ga-Ram, was it? Sorry for trespassing on your turf.
But don't get in my way.
If you do, I'll have no choice but to kill you."
"..."
Yu-Han led Kim Ga-Eun out of the sewers.
"And you expect me to trust you when you keep pulling shit like this?"
"I'm sorry, Yu-Han C... my instincts just..."
"Again with the instincts excuse?
Or maybe you just enjoy it?
Whatever. If you lose control like the old days again, I'll have no choice but to use that restraint device."
"...Yes."
Kim Ga-Eun looked completely deflated after hearing that.
Watching her sulk, Yu-Han spoke in a resigned tone.
"Wanna go get some meat? Been a while."
"I'd love to! Should we invite Alice C and Yi Rang C too—"
"Nah. This time, let's keep it just between us."
At Yu-Han's suggestion, Kim Ga-Eun's eyes widened before she broke into a radiant smile.
"Yu-Han C, I love you!"
"Don't love me. It's creepy."
Legend says an entire barbecue restaurant sold out of meat that day...