It didn't take long until I could walk again.
"Thank you."
"I'm the one who should be grateful."
I pulled away from Yoo Daon, who was supporting me, signaling that I was fine.
"Oh, are you sure you're okay? You could lean on me a bit longer."
"I'm fine, no need to hold me up."
"Hmm."
She rolled her eyes around before nodding.
"That place you mentioned earlier... it was looking for the containment room, right? Butterfly's Dream?"
"Yes."
"But how did you know the name?"
"Ah, that..."
I started explaining what had happened to Yoo Daon while checking each nameplate on the containment rooms.
I had formed a few hypotheses, and as my understanding increased, I could see more information, which allowed me to save Yoo Daon too.
Yoo Daon listened to my story while examining each nameplate, then spoke in wonder.
"Your abilities are evolving. I've heard there are people who can develop their abilities sometimes."
"If that's the case, why didn't it evolve sooner."
At my grumbling complaint, Yoo Daon murmured regretfully.
"I wish I had some better ability too."
"Isn't immortality good enough?"
"What good does that do? Being unkillable doesn't let me do much. I couldn't kill that monster you took down earlier even if I threw my life at it a hundred times."
Yoo Daon looked at me apologetically, then, perhaps thinking the mood had soured unnecessarily, put on a cheerful expression again.
"Well, saying stuff like this won't change anything. Shall we get looking?"
"Yeah, sure. Let's do that."
This could get frustrating.
At first, I thought, immortality? That's totally OP. But that's only for normal people living normal lives. In a hellhole like this where one misstep means death, it's just an infinite retry ticket.
...That makes it sound kinda cheat-like?
No, I can think useless thoughts like that later.
Let's think about the adult form.
"Daon-ssi."
"...Just Yoo Daon or Daon is fine."
"Yes, Daon. Um, when you were parasitized, what did it feel like?"
"Feel like?"
Yoo Daon put her hand to her chin and pondered at my question.
"It felt like something was tickling the inside of my head. But not like an itchy scalp... more like literally inside my skull..."
Tap, tap.
Yoo Daon balled her fist and lightly knocked on her own head.
"It was hard to think straight... words wouldn't come out right."
"Hmm..."
"And there was this incredibly sweet smell... I should've remembered it better. Sorry."
"No, no need to apologize. But a sweet smell?"
"Yeah. Like... candy... ...wait, I smell it now...?"
Yoo Daon trailed off mid-sentence and closed her eyes, sniffing the air.
"This smell...? Can't you smell it?"
"Smell?"
I sniffed like Yoo Daon, but I couldn't detect anything.
"I don't smell a thing."
"Really...?"
It wasn't there for me, but it was for Yoo Daon?
"Can you tell the direction of the smell?"
"Yeah, hold on..."
Yoo Daon closed her eyes like a drug-sniffing dog and started sniffing as she took the lead.
"This way... I think..."
Did something change?
I glanced above Yoo Daon's head.
[Name: Yoo Daon]
[Age: 23]
[Trait: Immortality]
[Talent: -]
[Background: She was parasitized by something horrific, but unbeknownst to her, that experience will now allow her to fully utilize her abilities.]
[Weakness: She has begun to trust you. At this point, she wouldn't even resist if you stabbed her in the back. Of course, she'd come back to life.]
What kind of weakness advice is this? Ridiculous.
I looked away from the useless weakness section and examined the background more closely.
Utilizing that experience.
What did that mean exactly?
"The smell is strongest here..."
Lost in thought, I looked up at Yoo Daon's words and saw what was ahead.
A half-crumpled iron door, a pitch-black interior that screamed "you won't die easy if you go in," and the sound of something dripping steadily.
Please no, I checked the containment room name.
[Containment Room CA137 - Butterfly's Life / Dream]
Ah.
"This is the place..."
...
Yoo Daon wore an expression screaming she really didn't want to go in. Don't make that face. I don't want to go in either.
"...We have to, right?"
"...You take the lead."
".....I was going to anyway."
She shot me a slight glare and started walking ahead. But what could I do? If something pierced my head the moment we entered, I'd be done for.
Fortunately, the moment we went in, nothing exploded Yoo Daon's head or body parts.
"...I can't see a thing."
Yoo Daon muttered as she took a step forward, and I followed her into the room.
She was right. The room was shrouded in total darkness, like a power outage, with nothing visible.
"...Did the lights go out completely?"
"Seems like it. Let's wait a bit."
I considered pulling out my smartphone for the light, but fearing it might trigger something, I just stood there letting my eyes adjust to the dark.
"...Do you hear something?"
Yoo Daon tapped my arm lightly, her voice barely a whisper.
Sound?
I strained my ears, eyes wide.
-Thump, thump.
It was some kind of pulsing. Too big and slow for a heartbeat.
"What about the smell?"
"...It's stronger. Like the whole room's been coated in honey."
Yoo Daon murmured.
As my eyes adjusted somewhat to the darkness, the surroundings came into faint view.
Plain walls, no windows at all, and not a single decoration inside.
A room purely for containment.
Except for one thing.
-Thump, thump.
In the center of the room sat a massive cocoon.
Yellowish threads anchored it to the walls here and there, and the silkworm-pod-sized thing—big enough for two people—pulsed steadily.
"...What the hell is that."
I quickly examined the cocoon.
[Name: Butterfly's Life - Pupa (Adult)]
[Age: ???]
[Trait: ???]
[Talent: ???]
[Background: Hindered from maturing by the Management Bureau for a long time, it has finally escaped their interference and gathered enough nutrients to become an adult.]
[Weakness: It is not yet an adult. But the time given to you doesn't look long. At least, interrupting its sleep seems like your best shot at victory.]
...
Is that the adult?
"What... is that thing?"
"The culprit making our lives hell."
"...I was hoping it wasn't."
Yoo Daon sighed.
"Got any good ideas?"
"Shall we start by shooting it?"
Yoo Daon looked at me after hearing my suggestion, then shook her head.
"That doesn't seem like a great idea."
"But I can't think of anything better right now."
"I think I have one."
Yoo Daon continued uncertainly, trailing off.
"Probably... when that monster entered and left my body earlier, something happened."
"Something?"
"Hmm... ...how do I explain. ...Right now, that monster feels... familiar to me."
Yoo Daon stared fixedly at the cocoon.
"Like seeing someone you've known forever."
...
Was she under mental control?
If so, I couldn't see a way out of this.
I clenched my fist in tension, and noticing my mood, Yoo Daon hurriedly continued.
"But it's not like I feel any familial affection or anything. More like... I think I can use it somehow..."
"How?"
"I think I can wake it. If I'm right, it should feel something similar toward me."
...
I stared silently at Yoo Daon.
"Sounds dangerous."
"It would be, right? Unless it's an idiot, it'll wake up midway, see me, and realize I'm human."
...
"But it's okay."
As if telling me not to worry, Yoo Daon briefly took my hand in the darkness before letting go.
"Not just to resolve this, but if it's the easiest way, I have to. And I'm grateful. Honestly, if you'd ditched me, this would've been solved way easier, but you thought of me."
"...You remember?"
"Bits and pieces."
I couldn't see well in the dark, but I knew she was smiling.
"It's funny to say, but you risked your life for me."
Yoo Daon spoke softly, then began walking forward.
-Step, step.
"So now I'll risk mine for you, Jaeheon-ssi."
[Your understanding of Yoo Daon increases.]
[Yoo Daon's ability blooms under your influence.]
Yoo Daon placed her hand on the cocoon.
Soon after, the cocoon unraveled, and something slowly descended from midair.
A butterfly.
No, too grotesque to call it that.
It had butterfly wings, but where a face should be, there were no eyes, nose, or mouth.
Freakishly long arms dangled, and in place of legs was a butterfly's body.
The butterfly turned its face toward Yoo Daon.
[Name: Butterfly's Life – Incomplete Adult]
[Age: ???]
[Trait: Parasite Creation]
[Talent: ???]
[Background: This entity was on the verge of great evolution, but was hindered by a mere insect.]
[Weakness: A butterfly that fails to emerge from its pupa on its own power is doomed to die without spreading its wings.]
It shuddered its wings and swung its arms.
Yoo Daon's lower body tore away.
Blood sprayed everywhere as she was bisected.
Yet she didn't move from the spot.
Instead, she reached out and grabbed both of the adult's arms.
A translucent window appeared above her head.
[Name: Yoo Daon]
[Age: 23]
[Trait: Immortality]
[Talent: Regeneration (Undefined)]
[Background: Rejecting death, she gets caught in bizarre incidents from her first day on the job. But unlike the many who used her just because she wouldn't die, she meets someone different and decides to risk her life once more.]
[Weakness: -]
Time around her began rewinding.
As if she'd never died, her severed body rejoined her seamlessly.
Yoo Daon, fully intact, gripped the monster's arms and smiled at me.
"How's this?"
Seeing it, I gave her a thumbs up.
"Badass as hell."