When heading down to the Management Bureau’s underground warehouse, they took the elevator, just like before.
Gim Iseo skillfully manipulated the buttons, activating the descent route. As if a mirage were lifting, buttons bloomed across the previously empty wall; pressing them, she turned to look at the two.
“It might shake for a moment. If you hold the handrails, you should be fine.”
Swish.
Gim Iseo carefully gripped the handle attached to the wall. Ian also stretched out his empty hand and opened his mouth.
“What kind of person is the Branch Chief?”
“Her name is Gim Bom, and she’s an esper with a hypnosis ability close to brainwashing.”
“…Hmm.”
“Personality-wise… she’s gentle and rather kind. But once she gets angry, she flies off the handle quite severely. That’s why she even has a dedicated suppression team.”
“…Is she that bad?”
“I’ve never seen the Branch Chief angry either, so I don’t really know. But the rumors are rather frightening.”
Clunk!
The elevator shook violently. Gim Iseo paused for a moment, then began speaking again once the vibrations died down.
“That she made people her allies through hypnosis and picked a fight with another Management Bureau branch; that she stormed a military base and turned the unit into a kindergarten because the government refused to cooperate; that another branch chief kept picking fights, so she made him forget how to fight and then beat him with a baseball bat… there are all sorts of strange rumors.”
“…”
“Ah, the last one wasn’t a rumor—it really happened. I was the one tasked with holding the Branch Chief back at the scene.”
“By any chance, is the Branch Chief here about elementary school age?”
“She does tend to become a bit more innocent when she gets angry.”
Even as they conversed, the elevator descended rapidly. Gim Yul bit into a candy, leaning her body against the wall.
Then, the elevator lights went dark for an instant. Ian reflexively summoned his grimoire, and Gim Yul spat on the floor, creating a small puddle.
A clear defensive stance. However, Gim Iseo—the actual Management Bureau agent—wore an extremely calm expression. She waved her hand at the two to signal them to calm down while firmly pressing the elevator’s emergency power button.
“I apologize for the lack of explanation. The elevator is designed so that the lights turn off once you begin entering the warehouse proper. It’s to avoid unnecessarily stimulating aberrations sensitive to light.”
“…You should’ve explained that from the start.”
“It was my oversight. I apologize.”
Gim Iseo bowed her head deeply without the slightest hesitation. Ian let out a long breath and put away his grimoire, while Gim Yul clung to his arm and let out a shriek.
“I’m scared! Hug me!”
“Stop spewing bullshit and wipe up the spit on the floor. Why the hell did you spit, disgusting?”
“It’s faster than pulling a water bottle from my pocket. And my spit isn’t dirty. It’s basically water now, so it doesn’t even smell. It’s just a bit sticky, that’s all.”
Bleh.
She stuck her tongue out sharply. A droplet of saliva pooling at the tip fell unresisted to the floor. The droplet didn’t even foam; it burst with a pop and scattered. Gim Yul stepped on the fallen spit with her foot, then hugged Ian’s arm tightly and smiled brightly.
“I’m sure it’ll feel good….”
“My mood is getting worse in real time right now. Let go.”
Ian pressed down on Gim Yul’s head firmly with his palm. At the same time, the Abyssal Records tucked inside his coat also vibrated violently.
Roughly interpreted, it would be something like, ‘Get the hell away from my husband, you insect bastard!’ There was no need to even think about who those words were directed at.
Of course, he couldn’t properly understand the language the grimoire spoke, but the time they had spent living together until now was not to be ignored. Though not exact, he could roughly guess to some extent.
If left alone, the Abyssal Records would probably get sulky or fly into a rage and try to kill Gim Yul.
It was a grimoire with far stronger jealousy and possessiveness than the others. For Gim Yul’s sake as well, pushing her away here was the right thing to do.
“Mmm….”
Fortunately, Gim Yul didn’t resist much and stepped back. Ian let out a deep sigh, smoothing out his crumpled coat, and calmed the Abyssal Records.
As he did so, the elevator stopped with a clunking sound. The three of them automatically turned their gazes toward the door, and the door, as if feeling shy under their attention, slowly slid open to the side.
“…”
Beyond the open door lay pitch-black darkness illuminated by red LED lights. Filament bulbs hanging from the ceiling scattered faint light, securing minimal visibility.
The walls were far from ordinary, too. Iron bars were densely packed as if reminiscent of a prison. From inside them, something like a beast’s howl could be heard blatantly.
“What the hell. Is this a containment room instead of a warehouse? Did we come to the wrong place?”
Gim Yul said. Gim Iseo answered without hesitation.
“You’ve come to the right place. Please just follow me. Curiosity is fine, but please refrain from putting your hands inside the bars.”
“Why?”
“Because you may be considered an intruder and torn apart.”
“You say such brutal things so casually. As expected of a Management Bureau agent.”
Gim Yul clicked her tongue. Regardless, Gim Iseo slightly bowed her head and began walking down the corridor in the lead. Gim Yul stuck close behind, and Ian also walked after the two with his hand in his coat pocket.
Grrrrr….
Even though they had only taken a few steps, the howling from beyond the bars grew much closer. Ian turned his head toward the source of the sound with an expressionless face. So their eyes met.
A giant white tiger’s head. Its blood-red, gleaming pupils flickered ominously, and its foreleg, nothing but bone, stopped right in front of the bars.
It was literally a foreleg with nothing but bone left. Skin and muscle were nowhere to be seen; white bone wrapped only in blood vessels revealed itself under the red light hanging from the ceiling.
It wasn’t just the leg. Its entire body except for the head was composed only of bone and blood vessels. Its organs trailed along the floor, and its throbbing heart was embedded in the wall, beating while fixed as if already fused with it.
No matter how one looked at it, it was a bastard aberration. Ian stared intently at the thing baring its teeth at him, then turned his head away without lingering and continued walking.
“What is that?”
“You can think of it as a gatekeeper watching over the warehouse. All necessary parts have already been harvested, so it’s being used like this for now.”
“Even though its skin and muscles are gone like that….”
“Yes, they were all used as research materials or processing ingredients. We couldn’t sever the organs and bones, but fortunately, we could obtain everything else. It’s a shame it’s an individual without regenerative abilities, though.”
“…Pretty cruel.”
“Sentiments like sympathy or compassion for aberrations are luxuries.”
That was indeed a valid point, so Ian nodded and lost interest in the aberration. The aberration stared at his retreating figure for a long while before hiding its body back into the darkness. It did not reveal itself again after that.
Shortly after, a thick iron door appeared before the group.
A terminal for card key recognition was installed beside the door. Gim Iseo pulled a white card from her suit’s breast pocket and held it up to the terminal.
[Authentication complete. Welcome, Agent Gim Iseo.]
With a menacing mechanical voice, the door opened automatically. The interior landscape thus revealed looked much closer to a research laboratory than a warehouse.
“Check the vitals properly. Check whether the artificial heart obtained last time can be transplanted after modification, too.”
“The ghost map is scrap. It’s usable for a week, but past that, the map gets corroded and becomes unusable.”
Researchers wearing white lab coats scurried about busily.
Unlike the corridor, the place was brightly lit. The silver-stained ceiling, walls, and floor reflected light to the point of hurting one’s eyes.
Bizarre things were contained within flasks everywhere. Most were aberration body parts or tools made from them.
Most items produced by the Management Bureau were made in this manner. It was about obtaining weapons to counter the mysterious not through magic or faith, but solely through science and aberrations.
It was a characteristic befitting the only group that used science in a place associated with the mysterious.
“The Branch Chief is waiting inside. Would you like to look around briefly, or shall we go straight there?”
Gim Iseo asked, taking off her suit jacket as if she were a bit warm. Ian answered immediately.
“Let’s go straight.”
“I’ll look around. You guys go meet her first.”
Gim Yul clasped her hands behind her back and took a step back.
“That’s okay, right, Agent?”
“It should be fine.”
“Got it~.”
Gim Yul pulled out another lollipop and began to stroll around the lab. Ian gazed at her retreating figure, then entered the inner lounge with Gim Iseo.
With a ziiing sound, the door opened. Ian identified the massive round table installed smack in the center of the lounge and the woman sitting in one of its seats, narrowing his eyes. The woman who had been quietly sipping coffee also spotted him and made a surprised expression.
It lasted only a moment. She smiled brightly and set down the cup she was holding.
“You’ve come. It’s a pleasure, Sin Ian.”
“The Branch Chief?”
“That’s right. It’s the first time we’ve talked face to face. Come, come, sit. Let’s talk comfortably.”
Gim Bom smoothly pulled out the chair next to her. Instead of sitting there, Ian carefully sat one seat away. Gim Bom smiled bitterly.
“You seem more cautious than I thought. Well, it’s not a bad trait for a cooperative relationship.”
“What’s the reason you wanted to meet face to face? The purpose of calling me and Gim Yul separately?”
Without bothering with small talk, Ian got straight to the point. Gim Bom didn’t seem to mind, answering while running her finger along her cup.
“If you mean Namgung Minhyeok and Mika, they came by yesterday. Both of them spoke with me like this. If it’s hard to believe, feel free to contact them yourself.”
“Alright, then wait a moment.”
Ian didn’t bother refusing her offer and sent texts to Mika and Namgung Minhyeok right there.
The replies came quickly. Fortunately, Gim Bom’s words were true.
“Good, I’ve checked. You’re not lying.”
“…You’re really thorough. I didn’t think you’d actually send the messages.”
“So, what’s the reason you arranged this meeting?”
“It’s nothing much. I simply wanted to see the magician cooperating with us in person. The higher your position, the harder it is to know the situation on the ground.”
“…”
“And I must express my gratitude.”
Having said that, Gim Bom made a serious expression and bowed her head deeply.
“We are truly grateful for you rescuing our agents at the general hospital. Without your help, everyone would have died there.”
“I won’t deny it.”
At his answer devoid of humility, Gim Bom smiled vaguely.
“I heard you also played a very active role at the art museum this time. I heard you rode around on some huge whale; is that true?”
“I was lucky.”
“Hehe, if it’s difficult to say, you don’t have to. This isn’t an interrogation. What kind of magic you use, the identity of the being you summoned there—those aren’t questions to be asked here and now.”
“…”
“We’ve chatted long enough. Let me get to the main point.”
Swish.
Gim Bom rummaged through the bag she had brought and took out three items. A fountain pen, a syringe, and a music box.
“This is the additional reward. You may choose one of these.”
“…They’re all tools made by the Management Bureau. What are their effects?”
“Then I’ll explain starting with the fountain pen.”
Gim Bom picked up the small fountain pen.
“This can be used anywhere, and words written with it can never be erased no matter how much time passes. But if you stab a person with it, their blood turns into ink and they die. Afterward, it turns into a red pen and kills the user.”
“…”
“This syringe can be inserted with any medicine and activate its effects immediately. It drastically reduces the time it takes for the medicine to take effect. However, the medicine drawn after the fourth use unconditionally turns its contents into poison.”
“Every single one has severe risks….”
“They’re made by processing the mysterious. It can’t be helped.”
Gim Bom finally took out the music box and continued.
“If you place this music box on a specific target or object and wind it up, you can dream about things related to it. For example, if you place it on an apple and wind it up, you’ll dream of apples. This one doesn’t have severe risks. Aside from being usable on the same target exactly twice and taking two weeks before it can be reused, it’s all fine.”
“If it’s a specific target… is it possible to use it on a grimoire?”
Ian showed interest for the first time. Gim Bom smiled and nodded.
“It should be possible. There’s been no target the music box couldn’t capture except for air. It could even be used on humans or aberrations. So a grimoire should be possible too.”
“And if it doesn’t work?”
“Contact me. I’ll exchange it for something else right away.”
A refreshing answer. Ian grinned and picked up the music box.
“I’ll go with this, then.”
Ian had met a total of two Outer Gods so far. Since one more had been added after that, wasn’t it common sense that she too should meet him once?
Of course, he didn’t think that using the music box on the grimoire would make an Outer God appear saying, ‘Hello? I’m an Outer God.’ The other two might, but the Shackles of the Recluse had as much of a shut-in nature as its name implied.
But it was a no-loss bet. If it couldn’t be used, he could just exchange it.
From the start, aside from the music box, the rest were all useless. Thus, choosing the music box with at least some potential use was the better option.
Thinking so, he tapped the Contract document he had placed in his bag.
[Uueeeeng…!]
The blue grimoire vibrated violently.