novelraw Chapter 92 : Chapter 92
Chapter 92 : Chapter 92
Chapter 92: Freak (2)
The dimly lit Security Room of Hero Land.
On the monitors filling one wall, chaotic scenes were displayed.
Monsters rampaged, and Heroes fought cutting through them.
Places on the screen flashed red here and there.
“Yaaawn~.”
And facing that, a security staff let out a yawn.
Staff buried in chairs were calmly watching the screens and chatting.
“Sometimes I wish there were incidents, you know? There’s just too little work.”
“Just relax. Who would do anything stupid in Hero Land anyway? The customers are Heroes! This place is truly a paradise made of honey, isn't it?”
“You’re right. Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing here. Although the money comes in regularly.”
Chuckling lightly, they drank beverages from their mugs.
A languid atmosphere lingered in the Security Room.
However, right next to them, two heterogeneous figures were positioned.
A huge man whose face was made of a black ox head.
And a man with white hair and narrow eyes.
But the staff, as if completely unaware of their existence, yawned and continued their drowsy duty.
Amidst that, the ox-headed man quietly raised his hand.
Something was pinched in his thick fingertips.
He lifted a bottle with his thumb and index finger and held it against the light.
Silver metal capsule.
On its surface, the letters ‘CID-4’ were engraved in small text.
“CID-4.”
White steam covered the bottle surface due to his rough breath.
“Are you saying this was supplied by smearing it on the packaging?”
The low and thick voice of the ox-headed man, Chief, rang in the air.
Snort spewed out with a swish—sound.
From the opposite side, Edward nodded.
Narrow eyes and curved corners of the mouth created a subtle atmosphere.
“That is correct. We tested various conditions by varying the amount and exposure level. Like making perfume.”
“I heard the addiction rate was lower than expected.”
Chief slowly turned the bottle.
Fine powder inside floated and shimmered silver.
“That is correct. There was a little happening.”
“I heard.”
Chief answered briefly.
“You said some strange post came up on the internet? I still don't understand what that is. Internet, online, those things always—.”
Pausing for a moment, he spat out as if fed up.
“Make things happen that are unimaginable.”
“Huhu, because nothing ever goes as expected.”
“So how was it? The effect of the drug.”
Chief broke the bottle cap with a ‘tok’.
Glass shards scattered and whitish powder flowed onto the table.
He lightly swept the powder with his fingertips.
“Milky Way Grass, quite an interesting item.”
As Chief muttered as if talking to himself, Edward lightly flipped the tablet screen.
“Although the supply amount was lower than planned, we secured several subjects who showed clear addiction symptoms. It was sufficiently effective even on those with strong magic power.”
Various biological graphs and data popped up on the screen.
Edward pointed to the screen with his fingertip and added.
“Of course, there is also a case where the subject identified the symptoms and immediately detoxified by adjusting magic power himself.”
A sharp light flashed briefly in the eyes of the smiling Edward.
“Since this is too exceptional a case.”
With those words, a silhouette of a man appeared on the tablet screen.
Tanned skin and rugged muscles.
The expression looking rough yet wearing a faint smile indicated the man had quite a pleasant personality.
Next to it, a name appeared.
[Kang Mooseong]
“Ho-oh.”
Chief snorted briefly.
“Seems someone who’s been through hell and high water was here.”
“Something like that.”
Edward nodded while maintaining his smile.
“Anyway, data has been sufficiently secured. Opportunities to experiment will come again later. ‘That side’ will probably be quite satisfied too.”
“Then it doesn't matter.”
Muttering lowly, Chief picked up a handful of powder on the table and rubbed it with his thick fingers.
The moment it touched his rough skin, the powder melted smoothly.
“Transdermal poison, huh.”
Chief's eyes narrowed.
Hot energy spreading from his fingertips.
Toxic energy seeping under the skin began to boil reacting to magic power.
Veins on the back of his hand bulged and minute steam rose.
“Seem like you’ve been excessively exposed?”
Edward spoke looking at the steam rising like haze.
Chief raised a finger slightly without even lifting his head, signaling to be quiet.
Short snort leaked out.
Then the texture of magic power flowing to his fingertips changed.
The heat fluctuating under the skin changed direction in an instant.
Boiling magic power gathered at one point, then quickly flowed out through Chief's palm.
Separating and discharging only the overactive magic power.
The principle was simple, but the process was never simple.
Because even a slight mistake would collapse the entire flow.
And finally, the silvery-white powder covering Chief's palm began to turn black slowly.
Fine smoke rose as if scorched by fire.
“Certainly, the reaction is fast and strong. This version would be worth feeding to Hero bastards.”
Chief muttered lowly while shaking off his palm.
“Oh my, the exceptional cases increased to two.”
Edward opened his mouth smiling brightly.
Swish—
Snort leaked from Chief's nose tip.
“Including you, it would be three.”
“Oh, it’s troublesome if you include me.”
“Sly fellow.”
After Chief shook his head, he asked Edward.
“How is the material procurement team doing?”
Edward moved his finger to switch the screen.
Field records of several figures passed by quickly, then one signal blinked red.
“Most are performing their roles well. However, there is one dangerous person.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s Gonta.”
The bio-log on the screen fluctuated.
Blood flow patterns twisted, and waveforms where signals cut off and reconnected were repeating.
Although he couldn't see the video directly, the scene was vividly drawn just by data.
Extreme stimulation.
It was a precursor to ‘Berserk’.
“Location?”
“East corner, Train Parade Zone.”
“Understood.”
Chief moved his steps slowly.
“Are you going?”
“Yes. Berserk is troublesome in many ways. Also, to check who pushed Gonta like that.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Edward smiled brightly and leaned back in the chair, then sat casually on the lap of a Security Room staff.
The staff's face was pressed against his back, but he was looking into the empty air with a blank expression as if nothing happened.
“The one facing Gonta is…… Ryu Jinwoo.”
Edward muttered as if chewing on the name on the screen.
Faint excitement spread on his lips.
At this rate, will Chief and Ryu Jinwoo encounter each other?
“As expected, you make me look forward to it.”
Edward's gaze stopped on the blinking red signal.
***
“Euaaaaaaa--!”
Bang! Baang! Tatatang—!
A man wearing a hat and holding a pistol pulled the trigger madly.
In front of him was an indescribable ‘lump of flesh’.
Blood clots and flesh entangled, repeatedly swelling and deflating like an egg, vomiting sticky green fluid.
If there was an alien egg, it would look exactly like this.
‘……They saw the face.’
Watching that scene, I realized.
I let Gonta go obediently, but unfortunately, he encountered other Awakened.
Awakened would naturally have been wary of Gonta as a dangerous figure and probably tried to suppress him.
Since there were three Awakened, they must have thought they could sufficiently subdue him even if something happened.
But they didn't know the situation properly.
Who they were dealing with.
[Gonta]
[Status: Complete Encroachment]
[Starting Berserk.]
Red text appeared overlaid on the Eye of Deception.
Chillingly cold phrases.
The disaster I thought I sent away stretched itself again right before my eyes.
“Da, damn it!”
The man among the group ran away immediately.
But that was only one step.
Pyuuk—!
“Uh, uh uh!”
A ‘tentacle’ popped out from the wriggling lump of flesh.
It snatched the man's ankle immediately and dragged him roughly across the floor.
“F, Fuck! Let go! Let go I say!”
[Single Flash]
A single straight line was drawn down in the empty air.
The tentacle binding the man was cut off at once.
“Heoke……. Th, thank you, student!”
He expressed gratitude to me as if relieved.
But that was momentary.
He began to make an astonished expression again.
“Hiek, skin is……!”
A startled scream burst out.
Green mucus mixed with blood, the part the man touched was melting.
As he touched the green fluid, his hand also sizzled—steam began to rise.
Skin melted down as if burning.
What that identity was obvious. Digestive juice.
That guy was currently spewing digestive juice all over his body while reconstructing his body.
“Protect with magic power!”
“I was, already doing it. But this is……!”
At my shout, he muttered dumbfoundedly.
The power of the digestive juice seemed beyond imagination.
Following that, another scream popped out.
“Save me……!”
This time it was the man who approached Gonta holding handcuffs.
His lower body was already wrapped in the ‘lump of flesh’.
His waist was crushed and dragged into the flesh.
His arms flailed in the empty air.
“Eu, euaaaaaak!”
And soon, that scream cut off.
Nothing remained in the spot where he was.
Only the lump of flesh that was ‘Gonta’ was repeatedly swelling and deflating while increasing its volume.
The guy was absorbing surrounding creatures as if ‘digesting’ them.
“Fuck! Don't come!”
Bang! Baang!
The man wearing a hat fired the gun wildly once again.
Frost fell where bullets touched, and sometimes electric shocks, low-firepower flames rose.
Bullets exploding with various attributes.
But the expected result didn't come out.
Ice melted as soon as it covered the skin, and current flowed meaninglessly.
Flames slowed regeneration for a moment, but the lump of flesh spat out the burnt parts as if cutting them off and started regenerating again.
New flesh surged and filled the empty spots.
‘He is growing his body.’
Bizarre lump of flesh swelling like dough.
Soon change began.
This was the true form Gonta was hiding.
‘Flesh Freak.’
Dduduk— Ddudeuduk—
Rough sounds like bones fitting together passed once.
Flesh fluctuated willfully and began to shape a form.
It was a human shape.
But its size far exceeded human.
Height that would easily reach 5m.
Swollen muscles, skin hardened like stone, and blurry grey pupils.
‘Troll?’
The appearance was a Troll, but the size was enough to remind of a Giant Ogre.
It rose slowly scattering fluid.
As the spine bent like crawling straightened, the form of a giant Troll was completed.
A bizarre giant mixed with blood, flesh, and magic power.
At that moment, the air in the Parade Zone turned upside down.
Kwaaaang—!
Waves of storm-like magic power burst, and glass windows of surrounding buildings shattered all at once.
“…….”
In the silence, the monster raised its head.