Where was the boundary of this space? Just how far did the hospital’s domain extend, and where was the passage leading back to reality?
He could not tell. And because he could not tell, he had no choice but to keep running without rest. Ian ignored the two enormous monsters fighting behind him and checked how much fuel he had left.
‘There’s not much left…….’
There had not been much gas in the bike from the moment he first got on it, but perhaps because he had been gunning the speed like a madman, it was already on the verge of running dry.
Maybe the flow of time in this space was distorted, or maybe the bike’s fuel efficiency was simply terrible.
Whatever the case, the fact that time was short remained the same. Ian no longer even paid attention to the safety of those following him as he raced down the wide-open road.
“Kyaaaak!”
Every now and then, a monster would leap out from the end of the road, but Kim Iseo sniped them all, bursting their heads apart.
Precise marksmanship performed from inside a moving car.
That overwhelming concentration and shooting ability must have been the power that had kept her alive until now.
When she was an ally, it was reassuring; when she was an enemy, it was terrifying. Ian engraved the image of pink hair into his mind and pulled the accelerator to its limit.
Vrooooom!!
A noise like the air itself being torn apart hammered against his ears again and again. The bloody battle unfolding behind them shook the world, and heaven and earth trembled, throwing everything off balance.
He forced himself to endure. Ignoring the blood running down his face, he ran with only one goal in mind: escape. He sped onward, listening to Cecilia moving alongside him and the engine of the Bureau vehicle following from behind.
After quite some time, beyond the open road, the hazy outline of a city began to appear like mist.
Skyscrapers that seemed to pierce the sky. And a forest of buildings.
It was Seoul, the capital of Korea.
Park Huisu shouted as he looked at the city, blurred like a silhouette.
“Ah! There it is! Drive there!”
Screeech!!
Ian turned at once and threw himself onto the road leading into the city. Cecilia followed him, and the Bureau agent followed the two of them with a godlike drift.
“There should be a place where space is broken! Go in there!”
A place where space was broken.
Leaning low, Ian lifted only his head slightly and moved his eyes, searching for a distorted section of space.
Finding a subtle distortion in space while traveling at over 150 kilometers per hour was by no means easy.
But he had to do it if he wanted to survive. Somehow enduring the wind stabbing at his eyes, he scanned his surroundings.
“……!”
After a long while, the sight of empty air shattered like glass finally entered his vision. Instead of speaking, Ian stretched out his hand to indicate the route and turned the front wheel to the right. The two vehicles moved after him.
Kwaaaaang!!
At that moment, the Watcher came flying from somewhere and crashed into the middle of the road. Its whole body crushed, the Watcher lay on the ground for a moment, then discovered Ian and lightly waved a tentacle. The gesture looked so much like a friendly greeting that Ian let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
Crack, crunch……!
Instead of immediately rising, the Watcher made its tentacles into something like a road, guiding the three vehicles toward the passage.
It was a sight where reason took precedence over instinct. Compared to the Messenger, this individual was clearly far more intelligent. He did not know whether intelligence rose along with martial power, or whether the Watcher was exceptionally special, but with this level of intellect, communication would surely be possible.
Perhaps he might even be able to prevent indiscriminate gluttony. He could not try it right now, but if the chance arose later, it did not seem like a bad idea to experiment.
Yes, later.
Right now, escape came first.
Vrooooom!!
He did not bother refusing the road made of tentacles and rode up onto it. Cecilia hesitated for a moment, but soon followed Ian, and though the Bureau agents wore uneasy expressions, they did not refuse either. The three vehicles sped toward the exit, their wheels trampling over tentacles that were slippery yet sharp and solid.
Kwagagagak!
The other tentacles, the ones not forming the road, writhed like harpoons and stabbed madly at something.
The hospital director was probably in that direction.
Judging by the faint sight of blood bursting, he did not seem to be very far away. Ian stared at the Watcher for a moment, then wiped the blood from his face and pulled the accelerator toward the distortion in space.
The bike shot forward, tearing through the wind, and soon touched the broken space. At that moment, along with a clear sound like shattering glass, the distorted space grew even larger. A beautiful, yet grotesque, pure-white landscape covered his vision, and Ian vanished as though being sucked into the shattered space. Cecilia and the Bureau agents followed him.
Even after the entire group disappeared, the distorted space did not recover and remained as it was. But since the monsters had already become part of the space, crossing over was impossible, and all they could do was watch them with lingering regret.
[……Kik.]
The Watcher burst into laughter by itself as it watched the hospital director charge over from afar and shove his head into the space. A moment later, it transformed into a mist of blood and vanished.
Its belly had already been filled long ago. The only reason it had remained until now was simple curiosity.
A human in whom that “Creator” had taken interest. A creature of the pale blue dot whom that person had taken as a companion, and who had made them reveal deep affection, desire, and curiosity.
His individual martial strength was insignificant, but perhaps because of the Creator’s will, he was a type of human the Watcher found rather likable. It could not be certain that the next of its kind to be summoned would be itself, but if the opportunity came, it wanted to see his face again and try communicating.
However…… it hoped that the next thing it ate would not be Mystery.
As expected, clean and pure life, including humans, was the finest delicacy. Even eating roughly a thousand would fill its stomach well enough, so it hoped to be called back into reality again when necessary.
Thinking that, the Watcher completely scattered. Now, only the hospital director remained on the road.
The hospital director, bleeding profusely as he moved on all fours, flailed his arms madly in the empty place where no one remained.
It was an open display of rage, but there was no one there to receive it.
*
The moment he crossed through space, Ian’s eyes flew open as though he had awakened from sleep. He immediately sprang up and looked around.
“……Where is this?”
There was no need to look closely. A small square space. Just by seeing the roll of toilet paper beside him and the phrase “Do not throw toilet paper into the toilet,” he could tell this was a restroom. Ian blankly fiddled with the toilet paper for a moment, then exhaled deeply and leaned back against the seat.
‘Did I come back……?’
His last memory was of riding the bike and crossing through space. He had worried he might abruptly open his eyes back on the road, but fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
“……Phew.”
Ian rubbed his face dry for a moment, then picked up the bag lying on the floor.
After checking the contents, nothing seemed to have disappeared. The two grimoires were still inside, and the other alchemy supplies were still in their places.
‘Don’t tell me I’m still inside the hospital.’
For an instant, a dizzying thought rose in his head, but he soon pushed it aside. Judging by the fact that the smell of blood was not spreading, he must have escaped safely.
Still, just in case.
Sitting on the toilet, Ian calmly loaded his revolver and pulled back the hammer in advance. Then he stepped outside.
Click.
When he opened the stall door, the pure-white restroom distinctive of a hospital came into view. He also saw an ordinary-looking man standing in front of the urinal.
‘I’m back.’
There was no longer any room for doubt.
He lightly washed his hands at the sink and looked into the mirror. Blue and red blood had stuck to his black hair and dried there, but at a glance, it did not look like blood.
Even so, it was unpleasant, so when there were hardly any people in the restroom, Ian poured plenty of water over his hair.
“Dad, that guy’s washing his hair here!”
“Just ignore him…….”
Ignoring the voices he heard, he also cleaned away the bloodstains on his face and neck. There was nothing he could do about the blood on his clothes, but since they were originally black, it did not stand out too much. Still, dirty was dirty, and it felt uncomfortable.
‘……I guess I should go back, shower, and change clothes first.’
He rinsed his mouth once, roughly shook the water out of his hair, and left the restroom. At that moment, Cecilia came into view, standing with her back against the wall and looking like a beggar.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence flowed between the two of them. People whispered as they looked at Cecilia, whose clothes were almost completely torn and soaked with bloodstains, but she paid them no attention and looked up at Ian. Ian looked down at her as well.
“Um…… are you perhaps an emergency patient? Ah, but you don’t seem to have any wounds…….”
The silence ended with the voice of a nurse who had approached cautiously. Cecilia shook her head at the nurse and moved her lips.
“I’m fine. These are clothes I picked up.”
“Ah…… are you perhaps homeless……?”
“……Yes.”
Perhaps unable to think of a proper excuse, she glossed it over like that and seized Ian’s wrist tightly.
“Let’s go. Showering and clothes come first.”
“……Who are you?”
“Do you really think that’s going to work?”
Cecilia let out a hollow laugh and dragged Ian out of the hospital. Since Ian had only said it just in case, he simply followed her.
The two quickly bought only clothes from a nearby clothing store, then entered a motel, showered, and changed.
A man and a woman had washed in the same room and come out, but there was no suggestive atmosphere whatsoever. Rather, there was only an uncomfortable prickling tension as each kept the other in check.
Ian changed clothes at a distance from her and sat down in a chair. Cecilia sat at the edge of the bed and stared at him.
Once again, silence settled between the two. They had conversed and even cooperated inside the hospital, but it would be foolish to believe that relationship would continue now that they had escaped. They might have developed some familiarity, but it was not affection.
For now, they were still not in a relationship where they could trust each other that much. At least, that was what Ian thought. He did not know what Cecilia thought, but she probably was not much different.
“……First.”
After a moment, Cecilia was the first to break the silence. She moved her lips for a moment as though choosing her words, then barely managed to open her mouth and continue.
“The reason I came to Korea was—”
Ding.
Just as she was about to continue, Ian’s phone vibrated. He briefly asked Cecilia for understanding and checked the message.
[Sister: Ian, did you check on Soyeon’s condition? What did they say?]
“Ah.”
After reading the message, he let out a sigh.
Come to think of it, this had been his original reason for going to the hospital.
The situation had been so urgent that he had forgotten.
With an awkward expression, Ian showed Cecilia the message the Sister had sent him. Cecilia also let out an “Ah,” and scratched her cheek.