At the same time—
“Are they all morons or what?”
Jin Nasol twitched her temple as she looked at the Daydream employees clinging to the escape pod like moths.
Even if they got inside, how exactly did they plan to get out?
The path for the escape pod’s launch was completely blocked by that filthy biological disaster mass.
They were acting like clueless punks blinded by rewards instead of reading the room.
“Ooh! Is there like, a spot on the escape pod where we can shoot a laser beam or something??”
Ignoring the money-obsessed rookie’s nonsense, Jin Nasol assessed the situation.
‘…Why the hell am I the one stuck doing this?’
‘That flesh lump started going berserk the moment the mer-children were brought near.’
Hmm.
As a test, she grabbed one mer-child by the scruff of the neck and prepared to toss it toward the biomass—
Smack.
“You’re out of your mind.”
“Excuse me?”
The sharp glare of a furious government agent stopped her.
Agent Bronze.
Having completed a quick emergency ritual under Agent Choi’s protection, he had shed his child form through the dokkaebi trick and returned to his adult self.
A necessary decision, as the situation was escalating fast.
Clenching his teeth, he growled at the employee in the butterfly mask like he was spitting poison.
“You saw him as a real child, didn’t you!”
“If he can’t use the conch, he’s just an infected freak, isn’t he?”
“Even without it! If he just cuts off the tail, he can board the pod. So stop—”
“Hey.”
Jin Nasol interrupted, barely suppressing her irritation.
“Even if you board, then what? You think you can pry that thing off the launch gate?”
“……”
“So, do you have bombs stashed in your pocket or what? No? Yeah, I figured.”
Of course not.
And it wasn’t even certain whether human firepower would work, whether it was a biological disaster or a ghost.
“Let’s just throw a few of them outside and scatter the focus, then make a run for it. Take whoever’s left if you want.”
“But Assistant Manager! The cat told us to take all of them! If we leave any behind, we’ll get cursed or lose our reward… There’s even that saying, ‘a cat always returns a favor’— Ugh!”
“We’re about to die and you’re worried about a curse? Go cry about it when you’re outside, yeah?”
That cat hadn’t shown itself again.
Chances were, it was a one-off irregular phenomenon.
“So forget the cat or whatever—”
“Please cooperate with the civilian rescue.”
The capture cable sprang out from Agent Bronze’s hand.
Jin Nasol scoffed and grabbed her own special equipment.
‘No time left.’
He had to incapacitate her fast.
Agent Bronze gritted his teeth, glancing toward Agent Choi’s flames. The infected hive’s call was beginning to pierce through the warped space and infiltrate the illusion of fire.
Come here.
The mesmerizing golden light began to take hold of the children once again.
Somehow, please, just hurry. No, even if they cut every child’s tail, it was becoming impossible to see how they could all escape from this place…
Did they… have to make selections?
With grim eyes, Agent Bronze reached out his hand—
F O U N D Y O U
A malevolent gaze slammed into the space.
A description of a terrible, overwhelming being filled the room like a divine descent.
Yes. It was descending.
Descending!
“Lord Cat!”
A voice soaked in rapturous madness burst from behind the pony mask.
All the humans froze.
Bells, voices, laughter, deception. ThecalltoabeautifulGermaniclandtoeternalrotdecayandmindlessservitude!
B E H O L D
The children once enthralled by the biological disaster staggered, lowering their heads.
Their collective psychic disarray shook the infected hive, and even the towering image of the Mermaid Princess began to tremble.
Then came telepathy.
C U T I T
A forceful command.
C U T I T
The children began tearing off their own tails.
With faces twisted in madness and terror, they screamed toward the sky. Then, sobbing, they ripped their own tails off.
Blood and mucus sprayed in all directions. It was a hellish sight.
“…!”
The anomaly was devouring the anomaly…!
Ryu Jaekwan struggled to his feet and began stopping the bleeding of several children. But his mind had begun to comprehend the language of a different dimension. Wouldn’t you like to know the horrific truth of this world? Madness shall set you free. It shook his thoughts.
……
What?
So this world is actually…
“Bronze-ah!”
Ryu Jaekwan jerked his head up.
The sound of that malevolent scripture had vanished without him realizing.
All that remained were the children standing stiff from mental shock, bleeding from the spots where their tails had been—
Kyarararara—!
—and the giant tumorous mass, writhing violently.
The creature, now severed from every single host, shrieked in rage. Or perhaps, in instinctive panic at the threat to its survival.
Agent Choi’s Dokkaebi House was starting to collapse…
‘No.’
Priorities.
Agent Bronze quickly scanned the group. That’s right. First, the agents—
But Grapes was missing.
“…!”
Where had he gone?
He looked through the children, but the agent was truly gone.
‘No, it can’t be…’
At that moment—
He heard the sound of someone running from the far end.
From the opposite side of the escape pod, the corridor leading out, a Daydream Inc. employee was sprinting toward them.
Black goat mask.
“…!”
And slung on his back, covered in blood with his tail completely torn off… was Kim Soleum, limp and unconscious.
Dripping blood, the employee shouted.
“MOVE!”
What?
“MOVE, YOU FUCKERS!”
Fwick—
Something glittering arced through the air from the goat-masked employee’s hand.
Ryu Jaekwan turned his head.
The glass bottle struck the tumor mass of the biological disaster. From the mouth of the bottle, a thick, purplish-pink liquid began pouring out.
Surprise Syrup for Kids
(Grapefruit flavor)
★★★★
It was the potion Kim Soleum had picked, based on the security chief’s advice.
If you converted it into Daydream Inc. terms, its effect would be…
Expose Potion
: Target temporarily loses reason and, while incapacitated, reveals their most emotional and honest secrets.
Incapacitation.
Kyarararara—!
The Mermaid Princess’s figure, now doused in syrup, began to collapse.
Twisting violently, it slumped to the floor.
Dozens of tumor tendrils writhed inside the ulcers, calling to the children, but the connection was already severed.
However, that potion had been made for humans.
Which meant…
“That stuff doesn’t last long!”
Just a very short opening.
“RUN!”