novelraw Chapter 175 : Mission 11: Come Back to Busan Port (1)
Chapter 175 : Mission 11: Come Back to Busan Port (1)
“Team leader: Boy. Team members: Rose Princess, Crying-X, and the Flying Tentacle God.”
Hae-eun finished listing the members of the new Monster Unit and gestured behind her.
“And, since this is the first time we’re deploying a unit like this, we’ve taken the potential risks into account… and assigned a capable advisor.”
Where she gestured, Ghost stood with a sullen expression.
“None other than your beloved master! Our very own Ghost will be there to slice and dice any problems that come your way, you see?”
Ghost let out a long sigh, saying nothing.
Hae-eun ignored her, her enthusiasm unchecked. “And so, with two humans and three monsters, the first Monster Unit in human history is complete!”
She then handed Jae-hee a key, saying, “Alright, Boy. From now on, you’re in charge of managing this section, too.”
“Huh?” A flustered Jae-hee flapped his arms. “But I don’t know what I’m doing. What if something goes wrong while I’m in charge?”
“It’s fine. It won’t be hard. I’ve already recorded a log of all the accidents that have happened while managing these things… I mean, a manual of precautions.”
Sure enough, on the central desk lay a booklet titled Precautions for Handling Monster Convicts, which was, for some reason, spattered with dried blood.
Jae-hee broke out in a cold sweat as he picked it up, but Hae-eun just waved a dismissive hand and headed out of the Monster Unit headquarters.
“Well then, this commander knows when to take a hint and get out of your hair. You all play nice now~”
“Huh? Wait, just a second, Commander!”
Hae-eun scurried away with a speed that belied her use of a cane.
Jae-hee stared blankly at the empty space she’d left, then turned to look at the monsters behind the bars.
“Wah? Waah?”
The lion-shaped teddy bear tilted its head, letting out its signature cry.
“Cult Leader, Cult Leader, Cult Leader, Cult Leader, Cult Leader!”
The tentacled monster called out to him like a machine gun, the tips of its tendrils wiggling.
“Ugh, krrruuuh…”
And finally, the vampire, contorting her joints at bizarre angles.
Having just barely finished regenerating the top of her head, Rose Princess opened her mouth, revealing pointed fangs, and mumbled softly.
“…Hungwy.”
Then she turned toward Jae-hee and licked her lips.
Jae-hee shrank back, his shoulders trembling, and turned to Ghost with a tearful expression.
“W-w-what do I do, Master? I’m honestly terrified…”
“…Then why did you come back? You should have stayed in the sane world outside instead of this absurd prison.”
Ghost pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache coming on, and heaved another long sigh.
“God, what a fucking mess to deal with at the end of the year…”
***
Jae-hee spent the rest of the afternoon in the Monster Unit headquarters, getting acquainted with the monsters.
Whatever the job, it was in his nature to see it through.
“This, too, is the path of a hero…”
“You’ve really got it bad.”
Ignoring Ghost’s jab, he did his best to build rapport with the three monsters, feeding them as if he were taming wild animals.
He gave nothing to Rose Princess, however.
“Bloood…”
The vampire hadn’t consumed blood in a long time and looked genuinely starved. In fact, every time he got close to her cell, a loud rumbling sound echoed from within.
But she didn’t eat normal food; the only thing she could consume was blood. And if she drank it, there was a chance the barely suppressed monster would regain her strength and go on another rampage.
Crying-X and the Flying Tentacle God were powerful monsters, but Rose Princess was the daughter of one of the Four Demon Lords. She was in a different league entirely. All contact with her was forbidden.
So, while he distributed meals to Cryx (who ate sugar cubes) and the Flying Tentacle God (who ate raw chicken), Rose Princess received nothing.
Jae-hee did his best to ignore the heated stare Rose Princess was boring into him as he gave the others their food and observed them eating.
Cryx crunched diligently on a sugar cube with its plush, cloth teeth.
For some reason, the Flying Tentacle God seemed shy about being watched and hid the raw chicken between its bundle of tentacles to swallow it.
The sound of chicken bones crunching echoed out.
This is… actually kinda fun, like I’m observing an ecosystem…
As he was lost in this dazed thought, a sound came from behind him.
Grumble.
“…”
Grrrrumble.
“…”
GRRRRUMBLE!
The sound of Rose Princess’s empty stomach echoed, almost like a drumbeat.
Unable to stand the noise, which was clearly meant for him to hear, Jae-hee finally gave in and glanced back.
Rose Princess was staring right at him with her distinctive golden eyes.
Her slender throat worked as she swallowed.
Meeting his gaze, she gave a bashful little smile, then held up her index finger.
“Just one bite!”
…A bite of what?
Wondering if she meant the food, Jae-hee held up a sugar cube and the raw chicken.
Rose Princess let out a fluid giggle and pressed herself against the bars, her long tongue darting out.
Then, sending a heated gaze directly at the nape of Jae-hee’s neck, she said, “Bloood!”
“Eek!”
Jae-hee frantically covered his neck and scrambled backward.
Rose Princess cackled as if she found this hilarious.
Realizing she was just messing with him, Jae-hee let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, laugh all you want. This, too, is a trial a hero must walk…”
“He’s serious, isn’t he…”
Ghost broke into a cold sweat at Jae-hee’s hero talk.
Regardless, she was already getting to work. She expertly sprayed water on the floor, which was filthy with some unidentifiable dark red liquid, and wiped it clean.
In a flash, the cleanup was done.
Jae-hee watched in awe. “You seem pretty used to this.”
“I’ve worked part-time on a farm, looking after cows.”
Is this job really any different?
Jae-hee thought about it and soon realized it wasn’t. These were just a lot more ferocious than cows.
Ghost brought over some hay-stuffed cushions for the cells and slid them through the bars.
“Here. Sleep on these.”
“Wah wah!”
“It’s fluffy! So fluffy!”
Cryx and the Flying Tentacle God were delighted.
Rose Princess, however, seemed afraid of Ghost; she flinched and backed away but still accepted the cushion, hugging it tightly.
Jae-hee watched the surprisingly relaxed Ghost with admiration.
She just shrugged. “Well, if a problem comes up, I can just slit their throats.”
“Ah, so that’s the mindset.”
Jae-hee decided to follow his master’s example. Just as she’d said, thinking of it as a part-time job at a barn did a lot to calm his nerves.
“I’ll be back later, so don’t cause any trouble. Be good~”
Leaving the now-clean Monster Unit headquarters behind, Jae-hee waved and walked out.
As he did, Ghost asked him a question out of the blue.
“By the way, when did you say your birthday was?”
“Huh? My birthday?” Jae-hee stroked his chin for a moment, thinking, then shook his head. “I don’t really know.”
“You don’t know? Your own birthday?”
“Nope. I know roughly what year I was born, so I know my age… but not the day.”
Ghost’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve never celebrated it?”
“Never.”
“Hmm, I see…”
As Ghost fell into thought, Jae-hee asked her, “What about you, Master? When’s your birthday?”
Instead of answering directly, she just grinned. “When do you think I was born?”
“Uh…” Jae-hee thought for a second, then said the first season that came to mind. “Winter, for sure?”
“Is that the kind of image I have?”
Jae-hee nodded furiously.
Ghost shrugged. “You’re more or less right.”
“I knew it!” Jae-hee clapped his hands and asked with a bright smile, “What’s the exact date? I’ll get you an amazing gift!”
“Don’t bother.” Ghost waved a dismissive hand and cleared her throat. “Anyway, I get it. You don’t know your birthday…”
Jae-hee tilted his head.
Why the sudden talk about birthdays, anyway?
***
In the waters near Busan.
“The weather’s shit. Did we really have to come out?”
The early winter sea was biting. The harsh sea wind alone felt like it could tear the skin from their faces.
The captain shot a glare at his partner, who was grumbling as he let out the nets.
“We gotta catch something if we want to eat tomorrow.”
“Shit, what did the president say? The world’s ending in ten years anyway… Let’s just take it easy.”
“You think I don’t know that? I’d rather just die now. But we still gotta put food on the table for the next ten years.”
“Tch, whatever…”
Catching a few fish with this tiny boat was nowhere near enough to feed their whole families. They knew that, but in a world like this, it was the only way to make a living.
“There’s nothing here.”
After reaching their target location, the two fishermen cast their nets, but they came up empty. It looked like other boats had already scraped the area clean.
The world may have gone to hell and the human population dwindled, but nature had flourished.
The problem was that humans flocked to the government-sanctioned safe fishing zones, plundering the fish. There was nothing left to catch.
Frustrated with the lack of results, the captain jutted his chin toward the open sea.
“Tsk, should we go out a little farther?”
“Farther? Where?”
“Over there.”
His partner followed the captain’s gesture, and his eyes went wide.
“Into the waters off Busan? That’s a forbidden zone.”
“Fuck, the city itself flew up into the sky, but the sea is still there. The fish will be, too.”
The captain turned the boat, steering it toward Busan… or more accurately, toward the empty, dark sea where the city of Busan used to be.
“Let’s go. There won’t be any other boats there, so there’ll be plenty of fish.”
“Ah, screw it, I don’t care anymore…”
There were plenty of scary rumors about people who’d disappeared while fishing in the forbidden zone, not to mention the fines they’d have to pay if the police caught them.
But none of that was as scary as tomorrow’s hunger. The boat crossed into the forbidden zone and reached the waters off Busan.
And there…
“…”
It was, quite literally, half fish, half water.
“Whoa, this place is incredible.”
“What’d I tell you? This place is a treasure trove.”
Elated, the two men hurriedly cast their nets and began hauling in fish.
They must have been at it for hours.
Smiles spread across their faces as they watched the nets come up, filled to the brim with fish.
Vwoooooo…
“Hm?”
Suddenly, a strange sound reached their ears.
“What was that?”
“What’s that noise?”
Vwoooooooo—
It was a cry.
A deep, resonant cry, like one let out by a massive beast.
“Is that… a whale?”
“No, what whale would be in these waters? And even if there was, how could a sound that loud be heard above the…”
As he spoke, the captain belatedly realized the sound wasn’t coming from below the water.
It was coming from the sky.
He hesitantly tilted his head back and looked up. His eyes flew wide open.
“…Holy shit.”
His partner looked up as well and froze in terror.
“W-w-what the hell is that?!”