The outer god cultists... yes, they have been properly secured. We’ll handle the disposal from here."
Even though I had spent a day in Dagon’s world, only a few minutes had passed in reality at most.
For Dagon, who would have wanted to make Gim Yul his apostle and exert influence through the grimoire as quickly as possible, it wasn’t strange that the flow of time had been skewed to an eerie degree. Rather, one could say Dagon had done his absolute best.
But in the end, Dagon had failed, and Ian had succeeded.
The process didn’t matter. There had been no draw; only what had once been Dagon remained, slumbering in Ian’s bag. All that was left was to use it meticulously.
‘Even if it’s a knockoff, an Outer God is still an Outer God. I think I might be able to make something fairly decent.’
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to try using the saliva Leah had gifted him either. It was a small amount, but it was classified as a piece of a Great One’s flesh, so combining it with Dagon’s fragment might not be impossible to craft something quite effective.
“Is there anything you wish to find out, Wizard? If so, I’ll include that in the interrogation as well.”
While he was pondering, Gim I-seo, who had approached without him noticing, spoke to him. Ian stopped his musings and turned toward her.
8:30 AM.
Well past the Management Bureau’s opening hours.
They had received Gim Yul’s call and had come directly to her house.
Most were members of the response team, the rest were from the field disposal unit.
The disposal unit, clad in hazmat suits and armed with flamethrowers, disinfectant, and rifles, sprayed the outer god cultists with disinfectant and washed them away with water. As if they would kill them instantly for any clumsy move, their fingers rested on the triggers of their rifles and flamethrowers.
“Move it, you worthless bastards. Want me to drill a hole in your heads the size of an onahole, huh?”
“Just making a hole isn’t much fun. Let’s just burn them. I love the smell of burning protein.”
The disposal unit cackled beside the cultists. Their speech was too lewd and rough for Management Bureau staff. Ian stared at them and asked.
“Are they mercenaries?”
“No, they’re regular employees. Being crude in many ways is a kind of countermeasure to prevent the enemy from looking down on them. So please don’t think too badly of them.”
“Hmm…”
“I used to belong to that unit too. Not a memory I’m particularly fond of.”
Gim I-seo muttered, the corners of her mouth pulling down slightly. Ian imagined her spewing all sorts of vulgar language, then snorted with laughter and took out a cigarette.
“To answer your earlier question, just find out if those bastards are connected to Laplace. I don’t care about anything else.”
“Understood. I’ll confirm and let you know. We’ll be deploying expert torture technicians and interrogators, so we should find out quickly.”
Gim I-seo stood beside Ian, took out a lollipop, and put it in her mouth. Ian lit his cigarette and tilted his head.
“A lollipop all of a sudden?”
“I’m trying to quit smoking. If you suddenly light up next to me, even I can’t help but feel the urge.”
“Ah, then should I put it out?”
“It’s fine. This candy is an anti-smoking candy made by the Bureau. If I’m sucking on it, I don’t really think about cigarettes.”
Slurp.
She noisily sucked on the candy.
Then she looked over at Gim Yul, who was talking with another Bureau agent in the distance, and spoke.
“You seem quite close with Miss Gim Yul. I never dreamed you’d meet her separately like this to handle things.”
“Well, it just happened.”
Gim Yul had already roughly summarized what had happened here and reported it to the Bureau. Thanks to that, Gim I-seo also knew well why Ian and Gim Yul were at the same house and how they ended up capturing Dagon’s worshippers. It wasn’t something to hide to begin with.
“Mr. Sin Ian, do you happen to remember the name of Dagon’s grimoire?”
“Dagon and the Embrace of the Sea. I think it was something like that.”
“Hmm, wait a moment.”
Gim I-seo took out a terminal from her pocket and operated it. After a moment, her face slightly frowned.
“It’s not a name in the Bureau’s database. It seems to be a newly created grimoire.”
“A new one…”
“Among the famous grimoires related to Lovecraft, there are virtually none directly connected to Dagon. So I suspect Dagon might have newly written this to intervene in reality.”
“Has that kind of thing happened?”
“There has been exactly one case. Though it’s a story from the distant past.”
Gim I-seo turned to Ian.
“Lovecraftian grimoires all contain methods for summoning Outer Gods, so we tend to either seal them or deal with the owner the moment we find them. If Gim Yul had normally become the owner of the grimoire, she would have been eliminated according to procedure as well.”
“…”
“But thanks to you, Mr. Sin Ian, we no longer need to worry about losing precious personnel. On behalf of the Management Bureau, I express my gratitude.”
Gim I-seo said that and bent her waist in a bow. Ian looked down at her cascading pink hair and let out a small laugh.
“It’s fine. I didn’t do it expecting thanks.”
“Nevertheless, it’s true that you helped the Bureau. Therefore, the Branch Director has ordered that if Mr. Sin Ian requests something from the Bureau, we grant it once free of charge.”
“Oh.”
This was an unexpected gain. Ian’s eyes widened slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
“I wasn’t aiming for it though…”
“But you’re not going to refuse, are you?”
“That’s true. I’ll gratefully accept.”
At his jest, Gim I-seo burst out laughing.
At that moment, a disposal unit member in a hazmat suit approached her and saluted respectfully.
“Loyalty. Agent Gim I-seo, all personnel have been isolated inside the transport vehicles. We can proceed with transport as is.”
“Alright, good work.”
“No, ma’am. You, Agent Gim I-seo, have been on an all-nighter for four days. Everyone here knows you’re working much harder than us.”
“I have my reasons. Enough. Get in the car. I’ll be there soon.”
“Understood. Loyalty.”
Clack.
The soldier saluted and returned to the transport vehicle.
Ian tapped his cigarette ash into the ashtray and tilted his head.
“You’ve been pulling all-nighters for four days?”
“Yes. It just ended up that way.”
“…Tsk. But you look pretty fine for someone who has. No dark circles.”
“I’ve been continuously taking stimulants. But today is the last day. If I take them one more day, I’ll be out cold for a week without being able to move.”
“Side effects?”
“Correct. Still, I’ve found everything I was looking for, so I plan to take half a day off and rest well today.”
Gim I-seo smiled dimly and took a step forward. Ian walked alongside her.
“Was there something you were searching for that required pulling all-nighters for three days?”
“A personal grudge. Recently, news came that the Grimm Brothers appeared in Germany, so I did some investigation related to that.”
“…The Grimm Brothers?”
“Hansel and Gretel. They are the names of the anomalies related to that fairy tale. They were also notable figures who actually existed in the past.”
“Ah.”
Hansel and Gretel. The ones who had killed Gim I-seo’s entire family, the targets of her revenge.
Ian remembered hearing the story directly before, so he nodded and slipped the cigarette between his fingers.
“Are you planning to go find them and take revenge?”
“Yes. I’ll definitely kill them. If they resurrect, I’ll kill them again. Until the day I draw my last breath.”
It was an immediate answer. Her grudge was far stronger than he’d thought, and Ian made a sour expression.
“…The pent-up emotions seem quite heavy.”
“There’s a saying that time heals all wounds, but at least it doesn’t apply to me. I still dream of my parents and younger siblings being eaten alive by the witch.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for the comfort.”
Gim I-seo smiled dimly and walked to the driver’s seat of the transport vehicle. Ian didn’t walk any further but stood at the front door of Gim Yul’s house and stubbed out his cigarette butt in a portable ashtray.
She looked back at him and gave a slight bow.
“Then, I’ll see you next time. I hope we can meet again with smiles.”
“Sure. Give me a call if you need help.”
“Thank you for the offer, at least.”
Gim I-seo smiled brightly.
A moment later, the transport vehicle she was driving began to exit the housing complex. Black sedans followed behind it. They were all Bureau vehicles.
Ian quietly watched them disappear and shoved his hands into his coat pockets.
While he was standing there, Gim Yul, who had approached without him noticing, hugged him tightly from behind.
“Hwaa…! Finally over! Ian, Ian, I’m hungry! Let’s go eat!”
She rubbed her face against Ian’s back. Ian gently pushed her away, stretched his stiff body, and turned his head.
“Sure, let’s eat.”
Whoosh!
The sun, hidden behind clouds, revealed itself and scattered light onto the earth. A color similar yet different from the stars he had seen in Dagon’s created world. Ian squinted at the sky for a moment, then smiled and extended his hand to Gim Yul.
“What do you want to eat? Since you’re treating, you choose.”
“Why am I treating… hmm, no! You worked hard, so I’ll treat you! Let’s eat something expensive, expensive!”
“Do expensive places open in the morning?”
“I don’t know! There might be some if we look! Let’s go, let’s go!”
Gim Yul grabbed Ian’s hand tightly and started walking ahead. Ian smiled wryly and followed her.
*
Three days after dealing with Dagon.
Ian was sitting in his workshop chair, looking down at the Hand of Re-creation, and let out a hum.
“Hmm… is this the only thing worth trying…?”
He took a sip of the coffee he had brought earlier and leaned back against the chair.
[Doll for God]
The title of the alchemy written in the grimoire shimmered with a pure white light.