Three large vans had been prepared in the parking lot. The personnel participating in the raid divided into the Special Detachment and the others, then boarded the vans.
A person Ian was seeing for the first time gripped the steering wheel of the van he climbed aboard. A woman with ashen hair tied tightly back. Wearing a hearing aid in her ear, she gazed at the mages seated in the back and waved her hand.
‘So this is the Venus Bak Mina mentioned.’
He had suspected as much from the moment he heard the name didn't sound Korean, and indeed, she appeared to be a foreigner. Her appearance itself was far removed from that of an East Asian.
If he had to specify, she was Slavic. Russian, probably.
He didn't know why a Russian had come to Korea and joined the Korean Management Bureau, but frankly, he couldn't care less. Whatever her circumstances were, they were none of Ian's business.
He gave Venus's greeting a cursory acknowledgment, sat in his seat, and reclined the backrest sharply.
With a screech, Ian's body reclined. He closed his eyes, pulled out the earphones attached to the bottom of the issued terminal, and plugged them into his ears. At the same time, he connected to the communications server for the operation.
["Ah, can everyone hear me?"]
Bak Mina, seated in the van's passenger seat, brought the microphone to her mouth and spoke. The agents' replies came through the earphones, and she nodded while operating her terminal.
["Very well. Then I shall continue the briefing. We'll begin while on the move, so everyone, start moving."]
Vroom.
Venus began driving at the head. The other vans followed behind her like a tail. Ian focused on the briefing while lying down, calmly turning things over in his mind. He lightly ignored Gim Yul's mischievous gesture.
["First, I will speak of the underground facility. Unlike the first or second floors, which mainly display only paintings, the basement currently houses mysteries such as dolls, statues, and blueprints coexisting alongside the paintings. Unlike the paintings, which can simply be ignored, these may attack directly, so please be careful."]
["What happens if they get us?"]
["Most will simply cause physical death, but several entities stuff their victims alive like specimens or transform them into beings similar to themselves. To date, two entities have committed such acts: the blade of the knife used by Jack the Ripper, and Pygmalion."]
["...Did you say Pygmalion?"]
["It's nothing to be surprised about. Pygmalion is a monster whose original still exists. Just because it was isolated in a containment chamber doesn't mean it was successfully subdued. Naturally, there are bound to be other specimens."]
At Bak Mina's sound argument, another team's leader fell silent. Ian let out a low hum and mulled things over.
‘If Pygmalion is here, this'll be tricky.’
Pygmalion's ability was simple.
The creation of statues. However, those statues possessed appearances identical to humans and could move according to Pygmalion's settings. Thus, there was ample possibility of causing chaos during survivor rescue operations.
Even excluding this, the statues' inherent combat ability surpassed that of an average human. If overwhelmed by a war of attrition, even the Management Bureau would have a hard time. Rock-like monsters surging out endlessly. Wasn't it disgusting just to imagine?
But whatever the case, the Management Bureau was an organization that had spent a long time isolating and researching Pygmalion. Naturally, they had to know the method to raid it.
["If you encounter Pygmalion, you must leave the area as quickly as possible. Cover your face completely, and female agents must not so much as glance at Pygmalion's feet. However, you must not use your other senses either. Remember that this art museum is called the Visual Museum."]
["Other senses..."]
["This is the most important warning. Except for the safe zones inside the museum, never use any senses other than sight. Touching something to check its identity, smelling it, listening closely, tasting it—all such acts are forbidden."]
"So what, are you telling us not to breathe?"
Namgung Minhyeok, who had been listening quietly to the briefing, spat out. Bak Mina answered immediately.
["Fortunately, the act of breathing itself does not fall under the concept of 'smelling.' So you should be fine."]
"Really? Then that's a relief."
["If you break the rules, your body will begin to transform before you can even respond. I'm referring to the 'eyeball monsters' written on the notes left by survivors. The name we've given them is Watcher. They were originally victims summoned to the museum, but from the moment they become Watchers, their reason is as good as castrated. They simply move according to their design."]
"Devoid of reason, huh..."
Ian burst into a snicker at her words.
Devoid of reason.
It was one of the most delectable traits for Ian. He fiddled with the gun tucked inside his clothes and checked the magic affixed to his coat.
Perhaps it might not be as difficult as he thought.
*
The briefing continued until just before they arrived at the art museum. Thanks to that, Bak Mina had to keep talking without rest.
Conversely, Gim Yul, seated in the very back row, had dozed off at some point with her earphones removed. Namgung Minhyeok and Mika had also tossed their earphones aside and were doing their own thing.
Not a single person was focused. Ian was the only mage properly wearing his earphones. It was a telling moment that explained why Gim Iseo treated only him with relative friendliness.
"Hah..."
Ian let out a deep sigh and adjusted the position of his earphones. Then he took out his grimoire.
A grimoire with an impressive black cover and red letters. A book born from the sea of the outer universe, its temperament more vivacious than any other grimoire Ian possessed.
Abyssal Expedition Log.
If the Hand of Recreation boasted excellent effects in various fields, and the Blue Shackles and the Book of Contracts were specialized in utility and defense, then the Abyssal Expedition Log was a grimoire that invested all its performance solely into offense. Most of its magic was concentrated solely on killing enemies.
Of course, it wasn't completely devoid of other magic. Wasn't magic that absorbed and neutralized impacts, and magic that vanished from the sight of reasonless beings, both written in the Abyssal Expedition Log?
However, it was true that magic unrelated to offense was drastically fewer compared to other grimoires.
Regardless of performance, if you kept using only one type of magic, you would eventually be countered. Irregularity was not a choice but a necessity.
But for now, there was no particular need to use irregular tactics.
It was merely an art museum. It might be a difficult place for Management Bureau agents and others, but not for Ian. A place where mental attacks and monsters that had lost their reason coexisted could not harm him in the slightest. It was practically a perfect counter.
But since this was the world of mysteries, where letting your guard down could get you killed in an instant, he had no intention of relaxing completely. As always, he planned to do his best.
["Then I will conclude the briefing with this. Everyone will arrive shortly. Please take up your pre-selected positions and return safely. Closing communications. Team leaders, please move your team members to the designated communication channels."]
Before he knew it, the long, long briefing had finally ended. Bak Mina exhaled deeply and wiped her sweat, while Gim Iseo organized her firearms and sent a faint smile her way.
"Good work, Mina."
"No... hoo, it's a task I've been trusted with, so I have to work hard. More importantly, Iseo, you memorized the channel number, right? Can you connect in advance and check?"
"I already finished that a while ago. Communications are in good condition, and the electronic barrier prepared against monster infiltration is operating smoothly as well."
"Ah, that's a relief. Then..."
Bak Mina trailed off and gazed at the mages. Mika tapping on her smartphone with a sullen expression, and Namgung Minhyeok reading his grimoire seriously. Gim Yul sleeping with an adorable expression, and Ian, reclined in his seat with a grimoire in hand.
They were all such distinct personalities that it felt suffocating just to look at them. But their skills were as certain as their personalities, so she had no choice but to trust them and proceed. To focus their attention, Bak Mina let out a dry cough and tapped her terminal.
"Now then, everyone. It's time to commence the operation. If you enter the code written on your terminal into the communication channel input field, a chat room and voice room exclusively for us will appear. So please enter it."
"Ah, right. It's finally starting."
Namgung Minhyeok was the first to respond. He closed his [Shanhaijing], took out his terminal, and operated it skillfully. Mika didn't answer, but she quickly finished operating her terminal before focusing on her smartphone again.
Ian also slowly took out his terminal and entered the code. With a ding, he connected to the channel. The chat room and voice room for seven users revealed themselves. The UI was quite similar to the program he used when playing games with friends, so he adapted to the controls quickly. He entered the voice room first, then woke the sleeping Gim Yul.
"Hey, wake up. We're here."
"...Mmh...? *slurp* ...Mnn..."
Gim Yul slowly opened her eyes and sucked in the saliva trailing from her mouth. Then she looked up at Ian blankly and broke into a beaming smile.
"A good morning greeting? Are we already at that kind of relationship?"
"If you have time to talk nonsense, then mess with your terminal. I trust you know how."
"Ugh, so cold."
She pouted her lips, stretched, then skillfully operated her terminal to connect to the communication channel.
[Gim Yul: hi]
As soon as Gim Yul left a message, a reply came immediately.
[Venus: Nice to meet you, Ms. Gim Yul ^^]
It was a reply from Venus, who hadn't said a word until now. Gim Yul operated her terminal with an expressionless face and swung her legs.
[Gim Yul: Yeah. Hey, Venus. Still can't hear, I see? Can't talk either.]
[Venus: That's right. It's congenital.]
[Gim Yul: lol]
Ian watched their conversation and pursed his lips.
He had wondered because of the hearing aid, and indeed, she seemed to be disabled.
‘The fact that she was deployed on an operation despite her disability means she must have something trustworthy about her.’
He skillfully manipulated his terminal with one hand, gazed at Venus driving one-handed, and tapped his leg.
Not long after, the vehicle stopped in front of a certain museum.
A pure white museum without a single visitor. Though all the interior lights were on, no signs of people could be felt. For a museum of its scale, it was an extremely alien sight.
Even on a closing day, the museum's manager or staff did not leave the museum. Museums were places where a minimum number of personnel busily scurried about to ensure a normal opening the next day. It was rare for a day to be completely neglected.
Moreover, the museum before their eyes wasn't even closed. The door was properly open, and the machines in the main hall were operating fiercely.
And yet, there were no people. Things that should have been in places where they were indispensable had vanished.
It was an anomalous phenomenon that left no room for deliberation. Ian loosened his stiff wrist and stared at the museum with cold eyes.
"We're getting off."
Gim Iseo spoke while taking a storage case full of firearms. With a clack, she opened the door and stepped out of the car first. The others followed in sequence.
"Krrgh...! It's been a while since I've been outside. Feels like we were in the car for almost two hours."
Namgung Minhyeok muttered while stretching. Gim Iseo answered as she pocketed her handgun in a holster.
"We came quite a distance. This was the only place we could definitively enter, so it couldn't be helped."
"I'm not faulting you, so don't be so submissive. Makes me want to kill you."
"Understood. Then we shall commence the operation shortly."
Gim Iseo brushed off Namgung Minhyeok's words lightly, took out a shotgun, and looked around at everyone.
"Unlike the other teams, our Special Detachment does not enter simultaneously or communicate between team leaders. We judge independently and act independently. That is our team's character."
"Sounds good? I like it."
Mika smiled vaguely and put her hand in her pocket. She was chewing gum loudly, having put on a hooded jacket from heaven knew when.
"So are we going in right away? This looks like the back entrance, if you ask me."
"Yes. We will enter immediately. If anyone has questions before that, please speak."
No one opened their mouth despite her words. Gim Iseo nodded.
"Very well. Then we will enter. I will be giving the orders, so please follow my lead."
She didn't wait for an answer. She immediately turned around, loaded a shell into the shotgun in her hand, and strode toward the museum.
Venus followed her while securing two combat hatchets at her waist, and Bak Mina moved while gripping her terminal tightly. Ian and Gim Yul followed behind them. Namgung Minhyeok and Mika took the rear guard.
They had never discussed formations beforehand, but following the naturally formed line, they entered the museum's interior. As they opened the glass door and went inside, a thick smell of blood crept up.
One step.
A strange sensation was felt at the tips of his feet stepping beyond the open door.
It was a sensation like stepping in sticky paint.
Two steps.
His vision distorted slightly. The shapes of the paintings hanging on the walls changed, and something appeared from the empty air.
"Close one eye."
Three steps.
Before the transformed painting.
Watchers that had suddenly appeared before the clock painting made from human materials moved their single eyeball—also their head—and stared fixedly at Ian's party. Then, after confirming that the party had closed one eye each, they began focusing on the painting again.
Four steps.
Screech, slam!
With a huge roar, the door they had entered through closed. In its place, a painting was carved. A painting of a devil stabbing a human who seemed to be fleeing hell. Bak Mina gulped and her hands trembled, while Namgung Minhyeok curled his lips up as if amused.
Five steps.
The scenery changed completely. The museum's white walls were painted in blood, and space distorted as they entered a new world.
A world of monsters, not Earth. The Reverse Side, or the place called the Other Side.
They had now set foot in earnest into the monsters' art museum, which had devoured the concept of 'museum' piece by piece.
"......."
Ian tilted the grimoire in his hand and stared intently at the Watchers, who didn't so much as spare him a glance. Then, without the others noticing, he fully opened the eye he had kept closed.
[.......]
[.......]
Even so, not a single Watcher paid attention to him. They merely emitted strange scraping sounds and raked his flesh with sharp optic nerves.
At their reaction, Ian twisted up the corner of his mouth.
The Art Museum Raid begins.