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Chapter 08
Do We Really Have to Fight That Thing?
After the lengthy introduction with Chief Sik had finally ended,
I spent some time digging through the company computer system in an effort to survive under supervisors who handed out summarized manuals instead of proper documentation.
Once a period of relative peace had passed, Manager Myeon was the first to rise from his seat.
“Looks like it’s time to clock out. Everyone, wrap things up. Employee Jeong? Tomorrow you’ll be inspecting Sector B. Chief Sik will take you around and show you the area at a reasonable pace.”
At Manager Myeon’s remark, Chief Sik let out a low growl.
The vibration traveled straight through my bones. It was heavy enough that I could practically estimate how much of breakfast had already been digested.
Of course, Manager Myeon simply nodded calmly at the sound, and Assistant Manager Son readily agreed as well.
“Sounds good. Sector B has been pretty stable lately. If not now, when’s Employee Jeong ever going to get in there? Anyway, Manager, I’ll be heading home first. See you tomorrow, Haeil.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
“Take care on your way home. Employee Jeong, you should head out too. Good work today.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be leaving as well.”
Forcing a smile at the voices behind me, I stepped out of the office.
I opened a door I liked, and beyond it was my room.
Just as always.
Half-dried laundry.
Dim lighting.
Boxes stacked in the corner.
A dress shirt tossed carelessly onto the bed.
The clock on the wall read 6:42 PM.
“…At least they let us get off work early.”
I muttered to myself.
The only positive thing I could confidently say about this company.
I tossed my bag aside and turned on the shower.
The moment the water touched me, it felt as though every muscle in my body melted away.
For someone who had fainted in the morning, spent an entire day with monsters, recited poetry to inhuman entities, and attempted conversation with a giant beast wrapped in chains, even warm water felt like a blessing.
After showering, I roughly dried my hair with a towel and collapsed onto the bed.
The blanket was still damp.
The room was unpleasantly humid.
But I didn’t care.
I slowly reviewed everything that had happened today.
“By the way, Haeil, what was your major?”
Assistant Manager Son.
The fact that his head was literally a hand was still difficult to accept, but among all the people(?) I’d met so far, he was the most ordinary.
At least I could talk to him.
Communication was possible.
Though life-threatening practical jokes were certainly a problem.
“I shall remember you. Since you have become one of my bloodline, I hope you survive for a long time.”
Manager Batori.
She looked like the culmination of all human beauty.
Of course, all of it was a lie wrapped around a dazzling shell.
Splitting cheeks.
A gaping mouth.
Eyes rippling like blood.
And that gaze that seemed to savor something from me little by little.
“You are looking at me. I am looking at you. We are becoming alike.”
D-7.
Anemone’s Soliloquy.
The sight of three enormous anemones blooming from the eye sockets and mouth of a severed head.
The sentences that resonated from the deepest parts of my unconscious, sentences that weren’t in the manual.
Thank goodness I hadn’t repeated them.
More accurately, thank goodness I was able to resist repeating them.
And finally—
“Grrrrrr…”
Chief Sik.
Not something pretending to be a beast.
A beast desperately trying to imitate a person.
A giant predator dragging chains behind it.
I’m supposed to work alongside them from now on?
Unfortunately, that was my daily life now.
I pulled the blanket up to my chin.
Batori’s drink.
Chief Sik’s chains.
Assistant Manager Son’s movements.
And finally, my first extraction operation.
The fragments of those memories drifted through my head.
“……”
Silence.
The refrigerator in my apartment clicked softly and went quiet.
That sound alone felt normal in this world.
The next morning, going to work was still swift and cruel.
The moment I opened the office door, familiar—or rather, things I should never become familiar with—came into view.
Manager Myeon, whose seven faces all turned toward me simultaneously.
Assistant Manager Son, waving his fist-head.
Manager Batori, sitting silently with crimson eyes glimmering.
And in one corner of the office, Chief Sik, shaking out his rag-like cloak while rolling his shoulders.
“Good morning.”
I maintained a calm expression and greeted them politely.
Social life in this place was directly tied to survival.
Manager Myeon smiled kindly.
“Indeed, Employee Jeong. Another wonderful day awaits us.”
One of his mouths yawned.
Another remained open, smiling silently.
“That’s right. Morning greetings are the most important thing.”
Assistant Manager Son cheerfully clenched and opened his fist in greeting.
Manager Batori merely shifted her gaze.
Her elegant neck tilted slightly, revealing a mouth attached near her protruding collarbone.
“Fufu… You still have good color today.”
I couldn’t tell whether that was polite conversation or a request for a future blood donation.
Then there was Chief Sik.
Chains rattled from his back as he rose from his seat.
Even hunched beneath the ceiling, his 2.5-meter frame barely fit.
He turned toward me.
Golden eyes blinked between the black fur covering his body.
“Grrrrrrr— grrrr, hrrrmmm.”
I froze again.
That wasn’t speech.
Not a curse.
Not a cry.
It sounded like the sigh of some dead god.
The biggest problem was—
What… what is he saying?
Was it a greeting?
Was he asking if I was ready?
Was he asking if I was late?
Surely he wasn’t asking if I was hungry?
A dozen thoughts flashed through my mind.
I decided to gamble.
If I hesitated, I felt like this monster’s breathing alone might devour me.
“Yes! I’m ready!”
Chief Sik paused.
Every eye in the office suddenly turned toward me.
…Was that wrong?
Did I answer incorrectly?
How was I supposed to know?
Was I about to be eaten alive?
Just as I mentally prepared my farewell to the world—
Chief Sik slowly nodded.
“Grrrrrrr…”
A satisfied growl.
Assistant Manager Son chuckled beside me.
“Wow, everyone’s energetic today. Keep that up until quitting time, alright?”
Chief Sik growled low at him and started walking first.
His massive body bumped against the office doorway as he passed through.
The giant figure wrapped in tattered cloth.
The dragging chains.
The scraping sound of his mane against the ceiling.
“Hearing Employee Jeong’s voice makes me think I might survive today.”
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you following him?”
I was briefly stunned by Manager Myeon’s bizarre comment before Manager Batori’s voice snapped me back to reality.
Straightening my back, I immediately hurried after Chief Sik.
The hallway was dark and quiet.
Well—quiet except for Chief Sik’s enormous shadow covering most of the walls.
He walked ahead, dragging chains behind him.
A workplace where my mentor couldn’t communicate at all, while every other monster communicated far too well.
I’ll survive until next week. Probably. Please.
At that moment, Chief Sik slowly turned his head.
I reflexively straightened my face and forced a smile.
At the end of the hallway, the doors to the Extraction Zone automatically opened the moment they recognized Chief Sik.
The sound of the locks disengaging resembled steel plates groaning in pain.
Chief Sik glanced back.
I immediately analyzed his breathing, the tension in his fur, and the look in his eyes before blurting out:
“Ah, understood!”
“Grrrr.”
Chief Sik snorted with apparent satisfaction.
I had absolutely no idea what I’d supposedly understood, but apparently I’d responded correctly.
His massive shadow grew even larger as he stepped into the corridor ahead of me.
The space beyond was far too enormous to simply be called a containment facility.
Steel pillars lined the high-ceilinged structure.
Hundreds of pipes and injection systems stretched across the ceiling.
Each containment chamber bore bright red warning labels and identification numbers.
Behind blackened glass, incomprehensible shapes writhed in the darkness.
“Tomorrow you’ll be inspecting Sector B. Chief Sik will take Employee Jeong around.”
Manager Myeon’s words from yesterday resurfaced, along with the orientation documents I’d read on my first day.
D-Class entities were considered standard-grade entities that anyone could extract from if they followed procedures.
C-Class entities were dangerous-grade, frequently capable of physical and psychological harm.
B-Class entities were high-risk, with fatalities being almost inevitable unless handled by veterans or management-level personnel.
A-Class entities were special hazards capable of bringing down the company itself.
And then there were the mysterious ■-Class entities.
So this is where they keep the most dangerous entities ordinary employees are ever expected to encounter.
Maybe I wouldn’t survive until next week after all.
Each step Chief Sik took sent heavy vibrations through the metal flooring.
Panels displaying containment codes lined the steel doors.
B-3, B-4, B-5…
Eventually, we stopped.
[Containment Chamber B-6]
Entity Name: Bell of Emptiness
Entity Code: B-6
Type: Object-Type
Details: Periodic Vocalization / Temporal Perception Distortion / Sound Exposure Prohibited During Extraction
Sound exposure prohibited?
While I was reading the information posted beside the chamber door, Chief Sik extended a furry arm and tapped the control panel.
The sealed chamber slowly opened.
Inside stood an enormous ancient bell.
It was rusted, yet its metal surface trembled faintly as though it possessed a heartbeat.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.
Except for the fact that it floated in midair despite being attached to nothing.
And the interior of the bell appeared to contain a darkness so absolute that it couldn’t be seen through.
Then—
DONG.
My head rang.
I couldn’t tell whether it was vibration or hallucination.
A deep metallic resonance echoed from somewhere beneath reality itself.
My vision swam.
The hallway lights flickered.
The walls seemed to tilt.
“GRRRRRR!”
Chief Sik lunged forward.
One massive arm shoved me backward while the other slammed the emergency isolation controls.
The soundproof barriers immediately sealed shut.
“Gah—! Hah…!”
I stumbled backward, gasping.
Something felt wrong inside my head.
As though I had momentarily forgotten time itself.
I couldn’t clearly remember what I’d been doing only seconds earlier.
Chief Sik turned toward me.
“Grrr… grrrk?”
“…Huh? Ah… yes. I didn’t hear anything. Completely silent. No problems at all.”
“Grrrr.”
He nodded with apparent satisfaction.
Still dazed, I returned to his side.
Cold sweat soaked my body.
But Chief Sik was already moving toward the next chamber.
His chains clattered across the corridor floor.
What was that? What just happened?
Forcing those thoughts aside, I followed him carefully.
We stopped at the next chamber.
Large crimson letters were engraved into the wall.
Sharp enough to make my forehead ache just from looking at them.
[Containment Chamber B-8]
Entity Name: The Butcher’s Backside
Entity Code: B-8
Type: Biological-Type
Details: Sensitive to Light / Auditory Stimuli Prohibited / Physical Suppression Effective
My eyes stopped on the final line.
I slowly turned toward Chief Sik.
Physical suppression?
At the same moment, Chief Sik’s massive body shifted.
His tusk-like fangs nearly touched the floor.
When he pressed a giant hand against the control panel, the chamber door slowly opened.
The interior was nearly pitch-black.
Only a dim red emergency light illuminated the darkness.
Something moved inside.
The sound of flesh-like matter crawling scratched against my bones.
The moment Chief Sik entered, the chamber door automatically locked behind him.
Holding my breath, I stared through the observation glass.
Within the darkness, Chief Sik’s silhouette moved faintly.
Then I saw it.
Something emerged from behind a wall.
A grotesque insect-like shape with elongated limbs.
Its entire body appeared covered in finger-sized tongues.
It turned its head toward me.
Then Chief Sik moved.
His massive body blurred like a shadow.
The steel walls trembled.
Monster against monster.
“GRRRRRRRR—!!”
Chief Sik roared.
Moving with impossible speed for his size, he slammed one enormous arm into the entity’s torso and hooked its neck with gigantic claws.
The horrifying sound of flesh tearing filled the chamber.
Chunks of the tongue-covered creature ripped away in his grasp.
“——————!!”
The entity screamed.
Or rather, it produced something that could be called a scream.
Its mouthless face convulsed as vibrations erupted outward.
Chief Sik’s massive hand sliced through the air again.
BOOM!
The containment chamber shook.
His claws tore through the creature’s shoulder and pinned it to the floor.
Tongues that had crawled across its body scattered everywhere alongside chunks of flesh.
“GAAAAAARRRRRRR—!!!”
The entity twisted violently.
Bundles of tongues shot from its back and wrapped around Chief Sik’s arm.
They tightened.
For some reason, I could imagine exactly how they felt.
Soft.
Wet.
Hideously moist.
Chief Sik didn’t seem concerned.
He simply flexed his arm.
Crack. Snap.
The tongues constricting him burst apart under the pressure of his muscles.
Slime and dark crimson bodily fluids sprayed everywhere.
Blood splattered across his face, teeth, and fur.
Chief Sik raised his other hand.
No weapon.
No tool.
Just a body armed with dagger-sized claws.
He tore open the entity’s chest.
Flesh split apart.
Sticky organs spilled onto the floor.
Tongue-covered entrails wriggled like living creatures.
Chief Sik stepped on them.
Then he exhaled softly.
Almost like a sigh.
Chains scraped against the floor as he slowly stood.
Dark blood soaked his ragged cloak and dripped to the ground.
Then he looked at me and casually turned a nearby control dial with his tail.
Seeing that strange golden glow, I instinctively stepped backward.
How am I supposed to do that?
My chest tightened.
The chamber temperature dropped rapidly.
The entity curled inward like a wilting plant.
Then, suddenly, it stopped moving.
A mechanical voice echoed from above.
[Energy extraction complete. Target stabilized.]
Chief Sik slowly stood upright.
Shaking dark blood from his body, he wore something resembling a faint smile.
Then the chamber door opened.
My knees nearly gave out again.
“…Was that… a B-Class extraction procedure?”
“Grrrk.”
Chief Sik calmly walked back out.
Chains rattled as he stopped in the middle of the corridor.
My mind felt completely blank.
The extraction procedure I was supposed to observe and learn consisted of beating the entity unconscious through brute force and then lowering the temperature.
No amount of memorizing procedures or clutching magical pens could accomplish that.
There were things here that went far beyond such methods.
How am I supposed to replicate this? What exactly do they expect from a human?
Staring weakly at the tablet, I thought seriously about the matter.
Five simple words were written on the screen:
Physical Suppression.
There were no detailed instructions.
No step-by-step procedures.
After careful consideration, I arrived at a conclusion.
This company was completely insane.
