Chapter 574 – The Bureau is an Elephant (4)
—
– Cha Jinchul
The intense vibrations and noises were so overwhelming that it was hard to maintain my posture, and grotesque rock giants rose from all around!
I anticipated there would be some fighting, but I didn’t expect it to escalate to this level.
What did we, the Bureau, miss?
We didn’t know the full extent of Jang Seojin’s abilities.
We were aware he could create living sculptures, but the range of those ‘sculptures’ was beyond imagination.
“Wait! Is sticking together rocks considered sculpture?”
“Newbie, what’s the plan here?”
“Let’s throw some insults!”
“Wouldn’t that just be useless? We don’t have enough grenades to smash all of them!”
We were completely surrounded by the rock sculptures brought to life.
Kim Ji-ho’s stockpile of grenade launcher ammo was running low.
And there was no way my fists could handle this!
…
If I used a star fragment from the outer realm, I could sweep this situation in an instant.
Star fragments could disregard the solid surface of those rocks and kill the ‘core’ inside.
However, with my identity disguised as a newbie agent, I couldn’t help but worry about Ji-ho’s gaze.
Then, Ji-ho looked at me with a determined expression.
“Newbie, just use it.”
“What do you mean—”
“You’re a hotel participant, right?”
“…”
“Use your heritage. You felt something pressing against your skin inside that rocky hand.”
Honestly, I was a bit taken aback.
Was my acting so flimsy that Ji-ho caught on?
Well, I’m not exactly a pro like Elena or a former cult leader like Han Kain.
The opponent might be a tad incompetent, but he’s still an agent.
Moreover, having been through various missions with him, I unwittingly wielded a fair bit of power.
Since I had already been exposed, there’s no need to stall any longer.
“Step back! My heritage can’t differentiate between you!”
At that moment, a wave of energy swept over everything.
The rocks animated by magic quickly returned to being lifeless matter.
*
— Thud!
That was the sound of a ‘star fragment from the outer realm’ colliding with the largest rock giant’s head.
Physically impacting while using my heritage wasn’t necessary, but I’d come to use star fragments like a makeshift punching axe.
It was my attempt to concentrate the explosive power of the star fragments, which would normally spiral out into waste, on a single point.
The moment the last chunk of stone shattered, Jang Seojin’s face displayed shock for the first time.
“… I never knew such a thing existed in this world.”
“Now do you get it? Your resistance was futile from the start.”
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, Kim Ji-ho asked exasperatedly.
“Hey, can I ask something? Why the fuss?”
“…”
“We’re not here to kill you; we have plans to use you! So why this uproar?”
That was something I was curious about too.
I had already informed Tae-seong Group that we intended to take him instead of killing him from the get-go.
The chairman might have been half-crazed in anxiety, imagining his son tortured like a lab rat at the institute.
But why was Jang Seojin himself causing such a scene when he seemed to have his wits about him?
Was he genuinely worried about being subjected to some biolabs by the Bureau?
At that moment, the pale youth muttered,
“… You know nothing.”
His expression was SERIOUS with a capital S.
“What do you mean we know nothing? Just tell me, I’m curious!”
“Do you have any idea what ultimate art requires?!”
“Yeah, okay, so tell me, what is this ‘ultimate art’?”
“Uh, uh….”
“Don’t start crying.”
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Suddenly, Jang Seojin flailed around as if going insane, heading towards the shattered rock giant’s head.
“Ha ha ha! You fools, look with your own eyes!”
— Crunch!
The split head cracked open, and a red liquid burst out.
“Look! An ancient sage once said humans are the most precious beings!”
“…”
“To create the finest sculpture, the finest materials are required. I learned this painful truth while witnessing lightning strike from the heavens!”
“…”
“So, ultimate art MUST involve human ingredients! Can you handle this—”
“… pfft!”
His heavy, somber words hardly matched the dramatic tone.
Hearing it made me involuntarily chuckle, and finally, Kim Ji-ho couldn’t hold back his laughter.
“Hey, Seojin. So the ‘ultimate art’ you’re talking about boils down to this? With human fingers mixed into the stone hand, and materials with brains and spinal cords?”
“…”
“So, this is why the hullabaloo? Because it’s made by killing people, the Bureau would never allow that?”
“…”
So this was why Jang Mincheol and Jang Seojin had been so hell-bent on pushing against us?
They thought the Bureau would kill them once they uncovered the ‘secret’ of using humans as materials.
“Are you really that clueless? We’ve analyzed your sculptures and know they contain human components!”
For the first time, Jang Seojin’s face turned pale.
The fool finally realized that the Bureau had been aware of the necessity of murder in his ‘art’ from the start.
“Oh, you know?! This, this dye—”
“Contains blood.”
“… This aggregate—”
“Is mixed with real human bones and spinal cords. You’re aware of that, right?”
The conversation had unfolded from the car.
The Bureau needs living humans, yet Jang Seojin’s creations can’t replace humans like drones can.
It means that the sculptures somehow possess some mysterious essence like a spirit… but…
Could Jang Seojin truly have created a soul?
If that were the case, we’d be dealing with a true god.
My allies and I know what kind of organization the Bureau is as we traverse through the hotel.
To put it metaphorically, it’s a group that wouldn’t hesitate to carve off part of a whole loaf of bread to safeguard the rest.
Yet, what about the average citizen’s perception?
Jang Seojin’s current state demonstrates exactly that.
“Why…?”
“…”
“Wh-why are you doing this? You, you shouldn’t be doing this…”
Just moments ago, he was acting like a dark sorcerer who had unearthed the world’s secrets alone, and in an instant, he transformed into a frightened child.
“What’s wrong?”
“I, I am insane, and my father has gone mad because of me… but you shouldn’t be like this!”
“…”
His voice was rambling.
What terrified Jang Seojin wasn’t the Bureau’s unmatchable power; it was probably the horrific truth he saw as the “elephant’s part” for the first time.
Kim Ji-ho shook his head and looked at me.
“Newbie.”
“…”
“You really were a hotel participant, weren’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Hey, you think this is the first time I’ve trained a newbie? No matter how much you’ve looped, you’re not your average rookie.”
“…”
“So when you see a ghost or a monster, you scream and run away in fear!”
You’re too casual about it.
Should I really scream whenever I see a monster?
“I thought it was strange when Kim Ahri kept looking out for you like that.”
Not long ago, Ahri had interfered during the workload distribution.
Han Kain sent me to the company where he played cult leader, and I see it looked suspicious from an outsider’s perspective.
“I was certain when you escaped from that rocky hand earlier. So, you really are a participant?”
“Correct.”
Our gazes connected, and Ji-ho asked inquisitively.
“That rich kid with middle school syndrome over there; how do you think the HQ would evaluate him?”
“Probably see him as useful.”
That’s why they wanted him to bring him in.
“Why? Is it meaningful to kill people to make substitutes?”
“Many sacrifices like death row inmates are hard to control, but those sculptures follow Jang Seojin’s instructions. Isn’t that valuable?”
That makes sense.
The Bureau found value in Jang Seojin not because he could reduce casualties, but because he could transform unmanageable human sacrifices into ‘compliant’ human ‘sculpture’ sacrifices.
So, it’s very useful.
Kim Ji-ho chuckled.
“Alright. Newbie, looks like you’ve learned quite a bit.”
And then—
— Bang!
A single gunshot rang out, and the head of the Tae-seong Group chairman, Jang Mincheol, exploded.
“Wow~! Tomorrow’s news will be crazy! ‘Chairman found dead!’ on the front page of the Korea Herald!”
“…”
At the moment his father’s head blew up, Jang Seojin’s expression paled.
Although he mercilessly killed the bodyguards, the reason he spared ‘Jang Mincheol’ was that he was a hostage to control Seojin.
Now that they had ruthlessly killed Jang Mincheol, what did that signify?
“Cough! I-it’s my fault! I’ll do as I’m told—”
— Bang!
And then, Jang Seojin’s head exploded.
Left in the ruins of the road were only two remaining individuals.
“…”
“…”
“Is this really okay?”
“What? Think the HQ will punish me or something? I’ll just write a letter of apology for this.”
The Bureau had lusted after a psychic and a conglomerate chairman; one letter of apology would suffice.
That’s the life of an agent.
“Just say he was too rebellious and less useful than expected.”
“… Thank you.”
The reason Ji-ho had killed those two was obvious, but it wasn’t for the sake of creating sculptures.
I had kept my identity as a hotel participant hidden from the Bureau, yet they had witnessed my heritage.
We had no method of cleanly erasing Jang Mincheol and Jang Seojin’s memories.
So, killing them was the only way to silence them.
“Nothing to be grateful for. But seriously!”
“…”
“If I’d known you were a participant, I wouldn’t have acted so cool!”
Would you seriously worry about that amidst all this?
“Let’s head back.”
“Right. The car’s busted, so it’ll take a while to walk…”
“I called another one, dummy.”
“Haha, you really are thorough.”
And just like that, another mission was wrapped up.
While it might seem like a hollow conclusion to the Bureau, for me…
It wasn’t too bad.
I was gaining a deeper understanding of the Bureau and its agents.
“Newbie, I have no idea why you’re hiding that you’re a participant, but I won’t report it, so do what you gotta do. And get yourself another mentor. Just don’t let that fool find out.”
“…”
*
– Kim Ari
— Squeak!
Finally, the door leading to the higher-ups of the Bureau, the Silent Ones, swung open.
The first thing I noticed was the thick darkness and an overwhelming mist obscuring my vision.
As I pushed through the heavy gloom, I spotted a glowing tablet emitting a gentle light.
“We are the inheritors of this star, standing at the beginning and the end of all things.”
“…”
Just then, I heard a voice from behind.
“Read it aloud.”
“We are the inheritors of this star, standing at the beginning and the end of all things.”
“Isn’t there more to the back?”
“Therefore, only we have the right to know all mysteries.”
“Therefore, only we have the right to know all mysteries.”
“I swear that I will never permit mysteries to be exposed to those who are unworthy.”
“… I swear that I will never permit mysteries to be exposed to those who are unworthy.”
The moment I read those three sentences, I felt an incomprehensible pressure bearing down on my mind.
“…”
From now on, the secrets I acquire must not be revealed to ‘the unworthy.’
I too had become a ‘Silent One.’
“From now on, be careful.”
“…”
“Responsibilities come with duties. Exposing mysteries carelessly to the outside world will lead to punishment from the tablet.”
“… What kind of punishment?”
“Ha! You’re already showing a wicked intent from the beginning. You’d rather inform ‘your fellow’ than face punishment, huh?”
“…”
This person is a bit intimidating.
Having endured more loops than I had and knowing all about the hotel, they could read my emotions far too easily.
“Go ahead. Congratulations again.”
I continued walking down the dark hallway.
At the very end of the passage stood those who had walked this route before me.
“…”
The information Han Kain had shared in Room 207.
He learned it deep within the maze of the mind, which would correspond with the facts revealed by the past maze.
Many among the Silent Ones were not human.
But that was, in truth, “a trivial detail.”
“I’ve learned a lot.”
I also learned the most gruesome secret held by the Bureau and this world.
Moreover, I learned the sins committed by every inhabitant of this star.
‘We’ must remain silent, unable to disclose the sins all had collectively committed against the world.
“…”
I think back to the days long ago, when I first became a member of the agency after escaping into reality.
I reflect on the shock I felt when I discovered I was a returnee and that the world was locked in a continuous loop.
“…”
Why did I never question anything until now?
If the world repeats itself, there should’ve been things that HAD to arise.
This was the root of every problem, yet I’d never stopped to think.
*
– Han Kain
I woke, sensing someone’s touch.
As I instinctively checked my status window…
“…”
…it didn’t look right.
Instead, I saw a familiar face across the way.
“Ah…! Is this a dream?”
“…”
“Is that why my status window looks strange? Ari?”
“…”
Oddly enough, Ahri remained silent.
Instead, she beckoned me to follow.
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