ALL NOVEL Chapter 48
It may seem obvious, but if there’s an Isolation Team in the Management Agency, then naturally there must also be a Management Team. The Isolation Team subdues the Containment Objects while the Management Team describes the management methods through coordination with related departments.
Of course, this entire process remains a secret except to the Management Team or the higher-ups.
I gaze at the turntable before me.
The turntable quietly spins with an LP record on it.
It feels like something is going on, judging by the throbbing in my temples.
I focus on the turntable.
[Name: Turntable]
[Age: Produced 3 years ago]
[Specialty: Mental Confusion]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This turntable, resembling the bizarre stubbornness of someone claiming to be an artist, plays horrendous music.]
[Weakness: Burn it.]
Isn’t it just okay to burn this thing?
I click my tongue and circle the turntable.
The LP record has stopped mid-spin.
I open the manual.
[Manual for Office Staff]
[PRV – Object Name: Turntable – Record of Management Team’s Hwang Dong-ryeol]
[This object continuously plays the screams of humans.]
[Prolonged exposure leads to mental confusion and self-harm.]
[The song lasts for about a month, and once the music stops, surrounding area starts to warp, leading to the < censored > phenomenon.]
[An employee with resistance to psychic attacks must rotate the turntable once a month.]
[While the music is playing, the psychic effects become more intense, and hallucinations may occur.]
Now, this manual finally feels like a manual. Until now, I’ve been encountering unfamiliar or almost nonexistent things, often doubting whether any of it was actually useful.
Anyway, I almost let it slip without a thought—what a close call!
I stride forward and press the rewind button.
The LP record begins to spin backward.
—Ah! Aaaaah!
After spinning backwards for quite some time, the music soon starts playing.
But it wasn’t music.
It was the screaming of people.
“Gah…”
My migraine intensifies to the point I can hear ringing in my ears.
If someone recorded the screams of damned souls gathered in hell and played it, it would sound something like this.
I cover my ears with both hands, but the sound continues to echo in my head.
It feels as if the sound resonates not in my eardrums but in my soul.
—Aaaaaah!!! Aaaah!!!
“Ugh!”
I gasp for breath, forcing my eyes open to gather my senses,
“…What is this?”
I found myself inside an art museum.
My head still throbbed and the ringing persisted, but more than that, the sudden sight of the museum completely captivated my attention.
A marble floor, a brightly shining chandelier.
And beside it,
“…Insane.”
Were things that were once human.
A horrifying spectacle that defied verbal description unfolded before my eyes.
In a normal art museum, there would be pictures where the remains of humans or human-like figures should be displayed.
“What kind of lunatic…”
I touch my temples and stagger forward.
“Help me!”
I hear a human scream.
Turning my head toward the direction of the scream, the ground seems to fold as the space gets pulled in.
Someone stood in front of me.
It wasn’t human.
The head was that of a person.
A woman’s face, grinning as if her mouth would tear open.
Her red hair was tangled as if never combed, contrasting with her freckled face that exuded an uncomfortable vibe.
But above all else,
—Clunk!
Where her body should have been, there was the torso of a white female mannequin.
As she opened her mouth, unexpectedly fluent words spilled out.
“You are the one who destroyed my basement.”
“…”
“What did you do?”
A basement, you say…
—Beep!
An ear-splitting ring began to assault my ears.
The headache was so intense that I couldn’t even speak.
I felt as if my head would explode.
“Let’s take a look, shall we?”
She stared intensely into my face, and I did the same at her head.
[Name: Aestheticism]
[Age: -]
[Characteristics: Art]
[Talent: Art]
[Background: If asked to pick one of the most harmful entities to humans, this would undoubtedly feature in the top ten.]
[Weakness: It will cease to exist when everything this creates in the art museum burns away.]
Did she sense my gaze? She beamed a bright smile at me.
“The effort to struggle to live is commendable.”
The mannequin’s hand moved oddly and tapped my forehead.
“Try your best. I shall also grant you a gift.”
“Whoa!”
The art museum flowed past like a panorama.
Countless backgrounds, works, and the screams of people resonated within my eyes and ears,
I found myself back in the Isolation Room.
Something was clutched in my hand.
Looking down, I saw a tiny, antique statue resting there.
It seemed to resemble a poorly carved human.
Soon, information about it etched itself into my mind.
[Name: One Chance]
[Age: Just created a moment ago]
[Characteristics: Life]
[Talent: X]
[Background: This is given by the capricious aestheticist to humans they find appealing. It grants the ability to defy death, but only once.]
[Weakness: If the holder of this statue dies, it gets destroyed.]
Drip, drip,
Blood trickled from my nose.
The music made from people’s screams continued to pound against my ears, yet unlike before, the headache had vanished.
I wiped the blood flowing down my palm and stepped outside, where a man wearing sunglasses approached me with a worried expression.
“Are you alright?”
“No.”
My head was still ringing.
The man handed me a handkerchief, and as we locked eyes, he said apologetically,
“You saw something, didn’t you?”
“Wasn’t it intentional?”
“Not at all.”
“The head of a human female, and a white mannequin.”
The man’s hand froze.
“…Can you explain it?”
I wiped my trickling nose while explaining to him—detailing the museum and the specifics about the entity labeled Aestheticism.
After listening to my explanation, the man looked at me seriously.
“You are one of the few who have survived an encounter with that in the history of the Management Agency.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“It’s a huge compliment. It’s hard to believe you survived just from a nosebleed.”
That’s a compliment, right?
I raised my gaze at the man, and sensing my stare, he raised a hand.
“I will thoroughly protect your safety within the Management Agency.”
“Not as bait, I hope?”
“To be frank, calling you bait is sheer madness.”
“Why’s that?”
“Do you use gold as bait when fishing?”
Tsk, I clicked my tongue and looked at him.
“Please keep that in mind.”
“I stake everything in the Management Agency on that promise.”
“Do you hold a position that grants you that level of authority?”
“Believe it or not, I’m of a slightly higher rank than you think. And besides, the Management Agency is not so flimsy as to crumble under such things.”
Then why can’t we just go out and catch it?
A sigh escapes me.
“But, it seems like you gained something too.”
He looked at my hands, then quickly waved them away after inspecting my expression.
“I have no intention of taking it. That is entirely yours. You acquired it, did you not?”
“Is this trustworthy?”
Considering I could die and then find myself back in that museum.
“As far as I know, there haven’t been any instances of that happening before.”
He clapped his hands, as if to dispel my concerns.
“Then I suppose I need to borrow something now.”
“How much more do you intend to exploit me?”
“It’s nothing like that. Just pure goodwill.”
The man pulled out two items from his pocket.
One was familiar butane gas, and
“…A bead?”
It was a small bead the size of a finger joint.
“This isn’t a containment object, but rather one of the masterpieces made by the research team. Throw it on the ground in a pinch, and it will help you.”
“It’s not a bomb, right?”
“Would a person who survives by throwing bombs on the ground live long enough to survive?”
I don’t refuse gifts.
I tucked the butane gas and bead into my pocket.
Now I have some usable weapons aside from Critical.
“Now then, shall we talk about ‘the Hospital’?”
“…”
“It might take a while, so let’s chat while we go up.”
I walked alongside the man as he began to speak.
“As you know, the Management Agency has a few enemies.”
“Didn’t you say they pose no danger at all?”
“They never directly attack the Management Agency. They know they can’t win.”
“…”
“But regular folks are a different story. Among them, ‘the Hospital’ is quite peculiar.”
“Peculiar?”
“They make diseases and seek to cure them.”
They create and cure diseases.
The vision of Yu Da On in patient’s clothes flashed in my mind.
“To do this, they conduct tests on numerous people.”
“…”
“If someone cannot die no matter how many diseases are transferred or how many surgeries are performed, wouldn’t that person be the ultimate test subject?”
[The one who refused death gets embroiled in bizarre incidents from her first day on the job. However, due to her inability to die, she meets many who used her and others, once again putting her life at stake.]
This was the line I recalled when Yu Da On first began her playback.
“How unfortunate.”
“Indeed. And frankly speaking, I believe you understand how much they desire her to return.”
“…”
“I can’t provide all the necessary support. The Management Agency has its own problems too.”
With a ping sound, the elevator arrived.
“But when that day comes, I can provide you with the equipment you need.”
He winked and pointed at my inner pocket.
“Good luck.”
As the door of the elevator closed with him inside,
“…”
What on earth should I do now?
“Uh, Kim Jae Heon!”
Amid my contemplation, a familiar voice rang out in my ears.
Her long black hair flowed down to her back, a bright smile, and eyes that softly crinkled with kindness.
It was a smile that exuded pure goodwill.
Waving her hand fervently was Yu Da On, wearing that endearing expression.
“Where have you been?”
“…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Da On.”
“Yes?”
“Shall we grab a drink after work?”
“Sure!”
Yu Da On nodded vehemently, still smiling brightly.
Basking in sunlight, her radiant smile shone even brighter.