“Uwah! Is this for me!?”
The baby chicken asked after receiving a shopping bag from Bom.
“What is it?”
“Try opening it.”
“Nn! Thank you unni…!”
Her small hands carefully opened the bag and took out a box. Inside the box was a black wallet made from crocodile skin. Feeling its lumpy texture that resembled a chocolate, the baby chicken gasped, “Uwah,” with sparkling eyes and cautiously observed the wallet.
Meanwhile, Gyeoul also received a new teddy bear from Yu Jitae.
“…”
The teddy bear in her arms had its colour faintly faded. It was because Gyeoul continued washing it with her elemental water magic, whenever it became dirty.
With the buttons on the eyes worn out, the blue teddy bear also had its two arms in tatters.
Gyeoul looked back and forth between Yu Jitae and the new teddy bear before carefully receiving the new bear. Then, she stared at the new teddy bear for a long time.
“Do you like it.”
Her small head moved up and down, and her eyes gazing up at Yu Jitae were brighter than ever.
“Give me the old one.”
But that was when the smile disappeared from her face. With a tense expression, Gyeoul shook her head.
Feeling somewhat strange, Yu Jitae grabbed the old teddy bear but Gyeoul put power into her grip and resisted.
“Are you going to keep it? Why.”
“…”
“It’s worn out.”
Shake, shake.
“Not going to throw it away?”
Nod.
She became stubborn. This was the first time Gyeoul was opposing Yu Jitae’s decision so he therefore decided to let go of the teddy bear.
It didn’t really matter, so he decided to let it be.
In the end, Gyeoul ended up hugging both teddy bears with her two arms.
“Uh? Unni.”
“Un?”
It was then that Kaeul asked with a startled voice. Her finger was pointing at a handcuff and a whip.
“Who is that for?”
“Ah, it’s for Yeorum. Is she back yet?”
Kaeul’s face blanched as the baby chicken went through a simulation in her head.
Yu Yeorum – that violent red dragon gets its hands on a handcuff and a whip. Was there someone who she would use that to inside the dormitory?
“Y, you can’t give this to Yeorum-unni…!”
“Un? Why?”
“I’ll be dead…!”
Right when Kaeul was about to dash in and take Yeorum’s gifts,
Kwang!
Someone opened the door as if they wanted to break it.
It was Yeorum.
Her entire body was bathed in sweat as if she had been going through an arduous training and she was short of breath.
“Huh? What’s that. You got something good hey?”
After immediately walking into the living room, Yeorum snatched the wallet from Kaeul’s hand. The baby chicken was tense, because Yeorum’s gifts were in her other hand.
“It’s pretty. Can I lick it?”
“N, nn… go ahead.”
When the reply came rather easily, Yeorum tilted her head. Yeorum observed Kaeul’s posture – her somewhat awkward expression and gesture, as well as the hand that was behind her back…
“Yu Kaeul. You, did you hide something?”
“W, w, what would I hide?”
“Pass it.”
“…”
Imagining what would happen after a minute with her brain’s simulation, the baby chicken made a teary expression. In that volatile situation, Kaeul opened her lips.
“Ahjussi…”
“Uh?”
“If I die… please bring a bunch of chrysanthemum flowers for my funeral…”
You, dying?
“I can’t allow that.”
“So mean…!”
Soon after, Kaeul was captured by Yeorum with her hands handcuffed, and was whipped on her butt.
“Uang–!”
3am, dusk.
Northern regions of Moscow, Russia, inside Sokolniki Park.
In a corner of this park which had a beautiful scenery was an underground facility which had been sealed with a police line for years. It was a place which had been used by Russia’s Eastern Orthodox Church as an underground place of worship.
From there escaped a woman, gasping for breath.
“Huu… huu…”
Within the darkness, her eyes flickered in a red light. Her eyes were trembling in anxiety.
‘Damn it… damn it damn it damn it… Damn it! Where did a monster like that come out from…!’
While grumbling, the woman observed the surroundings with an uneasy gaze. The woman was a member of the demon organisation, undetectables, and was at the same time the head director of a research group of a ‘transcendent demon’ experiment which was being carried out in secret.
Going a step further from accepting the mana from the abyss, and being able to synchronise with the abyss itself – the strongest and the worst living weapon. That was what a transcendent demon meant.
From its planning stages to the manufacturing stages, it took roughly five years and their research had succeeded in creating prototypes.
That was when an unidentifiable man appeared from nowhere and attacked the underground test area.
‘What in the world is he? Is he from the Central Association?’
In an instant, the woman got rid of all the doubts floating inside her head, and focused on the main question.
‘Should I escape?’
No matter what, it seemed impossible. Every staff member that had been working in dozens of rooms were all killed, despite them being rather strong demons individually. Right now, the prototypes were active and would buy some time but…
‘Or shit, do I need to kill myself?’
That would be better than having the data stolen. After coming to a decision, the woman lowered her hand to her waist and grabbed the handle of her dagger.
Or rather, she tried to.
Her hand felt empty. There was no dagger inside the sheathe.
The woman felt her body slowly turning stiff.
Behind her, from the stairs leading down to the underground research facility – from within that darkness with all the lights turned off escaped a large hand as it enveloped her neck. Soon, she could feel a blade touching her neck.
It was her own dagger.
“Kuk… Y, you’re already here…”
As the moonlight illuminated the darkness, a man’s head appeared next to the woman’s head.
“…”
Her mouth could not open as the man’s breath touched her ears. Fear, which she had never felt ever since becoming a demon, oppressed her entire body.
“One of the prototypes was gone.”
A voice resembling a stiff broomstick dusting the ground flowed out from the man’s mouth.
“I, I have no idea what you are…”
“I mean Type X. The commander-type transcendent demon.”
The woman widened her eyes into circles. This was a top secret amongst secrets and even the researchers didn’t know much about it. A project which was independently carried out by herself the director of the research – that was what the man was talking about.
“D, do you think I’ll tell you? Even if you kill me…”
“That’s what I was planning to. But, I won’t make it too painful.”
“…!”
“There’s something I felt after killing several of you demons. You guys are unexpectedly human-like. When you’re about to die, your true nature attempts to pop out but it would subside when it’s too painful. It’s funny. The flailing struggle resembles a doll with its strings cut.”
The man’s words one by one dirtied her ears like a drop of sticky poison. He asked at her earlobes.
“Do you want to dance under the moon as well?”
*
The woman opened her mouth.
“Type X was already transported to the headquarters of undetectables as a test product.”
[Shallows of the Abyss (S)]
When Yu Jitae withdrew into the inner world, hands extended out and welcomed him. He replied,
“Delete up to number 34.”
A line was drawn on top of number 34 of the checklist.
“And you.”
“Your command, my lord.”
This time, his clone appeared from within the darkness of the alternate dimension.
“Stop the police job and prepare for [Mimicry (AA)].”
“Is there a recipient who you have in mind?”
[Mimicry (AA)]
It was a skill possessed by the clone, and was a skill that allowed one to possess a dead existence.
“Vera.”
Yu Jitae mentioned the name of the female head director that had just been killed and the clone who shared his memories understood what his command meant. Yu Jitae was planning on sending a spy into the demon organisation, undetectables.
“My loyalty to my lord.”
After the clone disappeared from the alternate dimension, Yu Jitae too woke up from the inner world.
He wasn’t in a good mood at all.
‘Prototype X’ had been killed by him in every round of regression. This ‘commanding-type transcendent demon’ had a unique ability that could connect the minds of countless demons into one. The longer it survived, the more demon minds it would connect into one, and it would gradually grow into a more dangerous existence.
Originally, he knew about the identity of ‘Prototype X’. He was a Russian male in all the previous regressions but that seemed to have changed in this iteration. According to the words of the dead head director, this time, X was a female prototype.
[The authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] reads the hostility sent from the other side of the Horizon of Providence.]
[The authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] observes an existence that has escaped the boundaries of time.]
[The authority, [Vintage Clock (EX)] is currently searching for…]
As expected, Vintage Clock started moving. The change in the identity of X was likewise a ‘change in the seventh iteration’, and it required detailed research.
“I have finished the preparations, my lord.”
That was when a soft voice of a woman entered his ears. Turning around, Yu Jitae could see the previously dead head researcher, ‘Vera’, standing up and staring at himself.
“Go, and find out who X is.”
“My loyalty to my lord.”
The clone then vanished.
***
Early morning.
The sun was yet to rise, but the sky was starting to turn bright.
Yu Jitae returned to the dormitory.
Click.
“Welcome back, sir.”
“Yeah.”
It was still early and the children were still sleeping. The protector, who had been silently standing in the corner of the living room, welcomed him. In the past, he had been worried whether it would be able to adapt properly, but the protector was now an existence that they couldn’t live without.
Because cleaning was a tedious task.
“Is there any command in particular today?”
“No. Just look after Gyeoul as usual.”
“Yes sir.”
“I’ll probably be back in three days. Take good care of her.”
“Sorry? In three days?”
Yu Jitae gave a nod.
For three days from now, there was an ‘anti-demon war simulation’ lesson planned for Yeorum. It was a type of test that was carried out in a virtual dungeon for two nights and three days.
It was compulsory for guardians to attend.
“Hmm…”
The protector threw a glance at him.
In truth, the protector had a lot of worries these days because of Yu Gyeoul. Taking care of a baby was way too difficult, and that was more so with a grumpy child like her. No matter what it did, Gyeoul remained apathetic and would sometimes appear offended and whenever the protector saw that, it would feel hurt.
“Why.”
“…It’s nothing. I’ll do my best to follow the command.”
But if there were three available days, that was a golden opportunity for it to get closer with Gyeoul…
Thinking that, the protector gave a bow.
***
Anti-demon war simulation.
Three cadets would form a group and the guardian would suggest the directions to head for from nearby. This was called ‘operating’, and a position called an operator existed in a group of superhumans when fighting monsters. In here, the guardian would be acting as the operator.
And after finding a demon inside the dungeon, the cadets would hunt it while the guardian was not allowed to intervene, but giving advice was okay because that was under the role of an operator.
Since everyone was required to wear a few artifacts which recorded the actions and words of the wearer, a guardian’s direct intervention would be listed and was thus impossible.
There was no way that demons truly existed in a mock battle, and therefore the discovered ‘demons’ were all normal cadets. They would think of each other as demons during the simulation.
The simulation continued as long as the battery of the armour core lasted and it was highly unlikely for anyone to get hurt.
Therefore, the most important question was who Yeorum’s teammates were. Yeorum’s response was simple.
“Who’s in my team? Who knows?”
He was lost for words.
“You don’t know anything?”
“Like, hmm… when they were all forming teams and stuff, I was standing still yeah?”
“And.”
“Maybe that’s why, but the remaining guys ended up in my team after all the other teams were decided. So I got some damned leftovers.”
She ran her fingers up her short shoulder-length hair and behind the red hair appeared a white ear. While doing that, she seemed to have remembered something, as she opened her eyes wide and exclaimed, “Ah–”.
“By the way, they looked a bit like those.”
Those?
“That, you know. Bastard? No, that wasn’t it.”
?
“Like, you know, the cadets that don’t have a guardian.”
Ah, bachelor cadets, huh.
Among the cadets of Lair, there were those who entered alone without any guardians following them. They would be in a disadvantageous position throughout the life at Lair and they tend to be from a small household that couldn’t afford to find a guardian, or a child belonging to a small organisation.
When they waited a little more at the designated spot, Yeorum’s cadet colleagues arrived.
“H, hello.”
A boy with a body frozen stiff in nervousness, timidly lowered his head. He had a short height, but the overall build including his shoulder width was decent. However, judging from his bent neck, it was made evident that he lacked confidence.
“Right, and your name?”
Although it was on the nametag, he still asked. The boy lowered his head again and added.
“Uh, that. I’m… called Hisaki Soujiro. Please call me Soujiro…”
He was a Japanese.
“I, I’ll try my best…”
After giving a nod, Yu Jitae looked to the side. The girl who came with him was wearing glasses. Though she didn’t appear to be lacking confidence, there was a look of melancholy on her face.
“… I’m Kim Ji-in. Pleased to meet you.”
He gave a nod.
Whatever the case, they had to take the anti-demon war simulation lesson with Yeorum for the next three days. It was when Yu Jitae was about to open his mouth regarding that.
“Haigo, fuck’s sake.”
Seeing the two, Yeorum mumbled.
“A team with some retards.”
In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.