*
My fight with Dongbaek didn't go all that pleasantly. It wasn't that it was hard or difficult or anything like that—just... how should I put it? It felt disgusting.
To think about the reason a little—
Whoosh—!Clang!
"Kuh..."
The sheer force of Lobotomy Corporation's E.G.O made it hard enough to face head-on, and if one of its attacks merely grazed you, for some reason your mood would sink, ominous thoughts would start creeping in, and your condition would just keep plummeting.
I hadn't really felt it since I was dodging everything and not taking any exchanges that looked like I'd lose, but I could see several of the other Sinners, especially people like Sinclair, going pale.
Whoosh, boom!
"...Tch."
What's more, if E.G.O was providing some kind of protection, then even when an attack landed it didn't feel satisfying at all, and it didn't seem to do much damage either! It wasn't that fighting one-on-one with thirteen people was especially difficult, it was just... yeah, I didn't want to deal with it. That about summed it up.
"....."
Swoosh!Clang!
On top of that, she kept targeting only Mr. Yi Sang throughout the fight, which was distracting enough to make it hard to fight properly. Someone whose face was already dark was visibly getting worse in real time. At this rate, if left alone for even a moment, he looked like he might suddenly collapse.
I felt bad, so I protected him a little... but if I moved like that, inefficient movements were inevitable. I should've just left him alone, but I'd gotten attached for no good reason...
Anyway, things like that happened, but... I didn't make any huge, eye-catching contribution, and there wasn't any crisis like with Guido or Kromer.
Of course. I'd gotten much stronger than back then, and honestly, they were far stronger than Dongbaek anyway, so it made sense. I also basically get a little stronger when I'm in danger.
And it was thirteen against one, after all. Unless you're absurdly strong, it's hard to gain the upper hand with that kind of numbers disadvantage. Usually, for every one hit you land, you take thirteen.
If you were overwhelmingly faster than thirteen people, that would be a different story... but that's beside the point. It's a realm where comparison is meaningless, so let's move on.
Slash!
"Cough... cough..."
Under the Sinners' combined assault, her body was visibly weakening.
"Hemoptysis. A positive sign."
"No matter how many times you repeated training under Qliphoth deterrence, overuse of E.G.O will drive the user's body to its limit."
So that's how it was. Listening to Faust's calm explanation made me realize once again just how easy this battle had been. If this had been a life-or-death bloodbath, Otis wouldn't have had the leisure to brief us so calmly, and Faust wouldn't have had the time to explain things so casually.
"Can you give the [Golden Bough] back now, Dongbaek? We were told we'd hand it over to these guests, and there was something about stamping a bunch of seals on some ridiculously complicated contract, so... we can't just take it back."
"We're still very much on overtime right now, so could you... ahem, take care of us separately?"
"Heh, don't worry. I can handle that much on my end."
Maybe Dongbaek didn't like Dongrang and me casually trading jokes. Even as she looked like she might fall apart at any moment, she kept snapping at Dongrang.
"Ignorance... isn't... something to... brag about... still..."
"And you're weak, still. Even if you're using Lobotomy Corporation's E.G.O, this is below my expectations, Dongbaek. And you still haven't even been introduced to the technology I made. Right? It's been a while—shall we do a technology recital again?"
As Dongrang muttered that, he clicked a button somewhere, and the announcer's mechanical voice echoed through the entire Viewing Room.
...He seemed to be doing something while we were fighting, but honestly... this is unsettling. Why do I feel like that man is about to cause trouble again?
"Today's audiovisual material has been transmitted."
"So, tell me, Dongbaek..."
The dark Viewing Room lit up. That meant the massive muscle-like lump that looked like an eye, and the glass panels orbiting it like satellites, were now visible to everyone.
Ah... so memory incineration is definitely happening. How should I talk my way out of this?
"How far can your despair grow?"
After Dongrang's chilling whisper, images began playing on the glass panels around the eye.
"Kyyaaaah!! Help me!!!"
It was unmistakably a scream. Sure enough, the panels were showing footage from around the time we fought the Abnormality in K Corp's Nest.
It was clearly footage shot by a drone K Corp had deployed on-site, and it was both the answer to the sense of wrongness I'd felt ever since entering K Corp's Nest and proof that all my suspicions had been right.
Just how far did those insane bastards at K Corp go...
"What is this supposed to mean?"
"The video the drone recorded when we fought the Abnormality in the middle of the road..."
While Ishmael and Gregor spoke in confused voices, still unable to grasp the situation, Dongrang calmly kept his eyes on Dongbaek and continued.
"I received your threatening email, Dongbaek. You said that if I didn't tell you about the Singularity, you'd release an Abnormality into the middle of the street. I knew you'd always liked extreme events, but... I didn't think you'd actually go through with it. Of course... the tears spilled out even more. Thanks to you."
At Dongrang's words, I looked back at that eye—no, at the thing "crying in place."
It was... crying. Even though it was clearly not human, it cried while watching people get swept away. Mournfully, as if it were suffering the same thing itself...
The face of Dongrang, smiling with delight while looking at such a being, was enough to make even someone like me, who'd seen plenty, wrinkle my face in disgust... it was pretty damn, no, seriously disgusting.
That woman, Stephanette, wasn't the sort of person who'd allow this kind of bullshit... so did power really pass on after her death? Sure, she was old, and not the type to cling to life forever.
...If the memory lock is being peeled back this much, that's bad. Should I talk to Faust about it? There's no way J Corp's Singularity is defective...
"No... I really wasn't planning to release it..."
"If I reacted there, it would be the same as admitting our lab had been conducting Abnormality experiments on its own. It's a relief our clients happened to be staying near the Nest."
The moment Dongrang ended his sentence there, Ishmael reacted sharply. Right, that line made it sound like we'd been lured there on purpose.
"You're saying it was all part of your plan that we'd meet the Abnormality we escaped from?"
"Plan is a bit much. It was more of an experiment. I'd considered the possibility of failure, but I had grounds to believe that if it was you, you'd be able to pull it off."
"Ah... I did think it was a little strange. So the destruction of N Corp's Kalf Village was connected to K Corp after all. Through some kind of deal with N Corp, you got the footage, and they destroyed the prosthetics..."
"Haha! At this point, I'm curious how much you've figured out. Well, I won't deny it. As you guessed, I've been watching you for a long time. I told you, didn't I? I'm a fan."
Hah... those insane bastards at K Corp. I shouldn't have trusted them. This wasn't the time for casual banter.
...Right, Wings were always like this. I'd just gotten careless thinking about the old K Corp.
That woman should've done a better job educating her successor before she died. Ah... my head hurts.
"No, Sinclair! As always, the one who's holding on is... me..."
"Why is this... I don't want to see that scene..."
듣기만 해도 트라우마가 일렁이는 목소리에 수감자들의 정신이 혼미해보였다. 특히 싱클레어는 저대로 놔두면 곧 졸도하지 않을까 싶을 정도였고.
Even just hearing that voice made trauma ripple through the Sinners' minds. Sinclair in particular looked like he might faint if left like that for much longer.
Even though several of the Sinners were glaring at Dongrang with fierce expressions, he kept that infuriatingly calm voice and continued his explanation.
"Even then, we recorded a record-high tear count. It played quite a role in winning the grand prize, I'd say. It wasn't especially good for conversation, but in any case, thanks to some employees from one of N Corp's departments, we were able to obtain fresh audiovisual material."
I'm glad Samjo didn't see this scene. He probably didn't know this far. I'd just dumped him outside somewhere, so there was no way he could hear this.
Ah... come to think of it, he could be dragged off without a trace and have his brain torn open or something. I'm in no position to worry about others.
I'm getting uneasy all over again. There was a reason I instinctively hated Wings, yeah...
"I think someone said this before. That Youngji-hyung's glass window is innovative, but too vast to handle freely, so people as vulgar as me wouldn't be able to touch it carelessly."
"....."
"Ah, Dongbaek. Was that you?"
"Right now... this is..."
"Tears were always in short supply, no matter how much they were shed. That's only natural—if you look around, there are so many people suffering here. So it cries in our place. Without even the time to close its eyes."
Youngji-hyung. Glass window. Unfamiliar words circled in my head. Were they related to Mr. Yi Sang's old friend? One person. One technology.
Buzzzzz—
Somewhere, I could feel the [Golden Bough] resonating. Was this a resonance? Was that what was happening?
I could already predict what would happen next. In the bright room, darkness would gradually deepen...
And then my vision would go black.