Chapter 166 : The Monster

The outskirts of the Battleground.

It was a district lined with the remains of failed corporations, abandoned buildings, and research labs.

And on the top floor of an abandoned building there, the walls were riddled with holes because construction had stopped midway, and the ceiling was not properly finished, so the sky was clearly visible.

A cool wind blew.

Dust and concrete debris flew in with the wind.

Ho-cheol placed his hand on a red, rusty rebar protruding from the wall.

“I found a nice place. In a place like this, we can talk with our hearts wide open.”

He had told Wolf Fang to find a place suitable for a ‘deep and important conversation.’

It was a place that perfectly matched Ho-cheol's request.

Ho-cheol turned his head to one side and asked.

“Isn’t it?”

As if in answer, the wind blew again, and at the same time, a rattling sound was heard.

On the precarious edge of the building Ho-cheol was looking at, a middle-aged man was sitting in a chair.

There was no wall behind him in the chair, and if he were to be pushed back just 10cm more, he would fall dozens of floors down and be turned to pulp.

But he could not get up.

Because his arms and legs were completely tied to the chair.

Ho-cheol tilted his head.

“Yes, yes.”

Wolf Fang approached the Doctor with his sharp claws raised.

The Doctor, pale as a sheet, shook his head quickly, but if he were to move any more violently, the chair might tip over backwards, so he couldn't even resist.

Wolf Fang swung his claws.

Tududuk—

Contrary to the Doctor's expectations, the claws only ended up cutting the gag in his mouth.

“Puhat—!”

The Doctor, who could finally open his mouth, looked at Wolf Fang with anxious eyes.

“L-long time no see, Wolf Fang. And… Boss.”

“Right. You’ve gotten old.”

Ho-cheol dragged over a dusty chair and sat down in front of the Doctor.

He turned the back of the chair to the front and rested his arms on top of it.

“It’s been almost 10 years. Hmm. You must have gone through a lot.”

It looked like he had aged almost 20 years.

The unexpectedly soft atmosphere, Ho-cheol's moderate attitude, made the Doctor feel a strange sense of doubt.

In the old organization, there was no such conversation with a traitor.

They would first beat him up, and when he was half-dead, they would prepare a place to bury him, and just before his last breath, they would barely listen to his will or last words.

He swallowed, nervous.

Was there even a slight chance of survival?

Ho-cheol took out a notebook from his pocket.

“First, let me ask you one thing. Did you betray us after you joined our organization, or did you join as a spy from the beginning?”

“Uh, I. That…”

The Doctor's lips parted.

What was the right answer?

Of course, the truth was the latter, but in a situation where he didn't know which one Ho-cheol would react to more sensitively, he couldn't just say the right answer.

“Good grief. Why are you trying to use your head from the get-go? I was trying to proceed moderately, but you’re already using your head. How disappointing.”

Ho-cheol sighed and spun the pen in his hand.

“It seems you can't talk well because you only have one hole to speak from.”

Muttering, he stood up from his chair.

Then he held the pen in a reverse grip and plunged it into the Doctor's thigh.

Pook—!

“Kkeuhwaaaak!”

“As expected, a hero-style Q&A doesn't suit us. If we do it like the old days, we can proceed quickly.”

“A lawyer! Call a lawyer!”

The Doctor, overcome with pain, shouted.

But it was an instinctive cry, and he was flustered even after saying it himself.

Pale as a sheet, he raised his head and looked at Ho-cheol.

“B-boss. That’s not it!”

“There’s no lawyer. Instead.”

Ho-cheol gestured with his chin, and Wolf Fang went into another room.

Tatatateol—

With a rattling sound, he came out, dragging a large mechanical device.

As an engineer, the Doctor immediately knew what it was.

“We have a transformer.”

Ho-cheol pulled two wires.

When he lightly touched the two exposed wires together, a pachijijik— sound was heard, and a bright red spark flew, making a threatening sound.

“A lawyer and a transformer, they’re the same in essence.”

“What essence, sir?”

At Wolf Fang's question, Ho-cheol chuckled.

“You shouldn't hide anything in front of this.”

It wasn't just a tingling sensation.

A pain worse than death awaited him.

“I-I'll talk!”

“No. I don't want to hear it. First, I want to torture you for about ten minutes, and then I'll ask.”

Ho-cheol shook his head.

“As expected, I can't trust the words that come out when your body and mind are intact. As expected, the truth comes from pain. I have a lot to ask, so try not to faint if possible. If you faint, I'll have to pour water on you, and electric torture after being hit with water is too harsh, isn't it?”

Ho-cheol brought the wire to the wound he had just pierced with his pen.

“Ah, and for your information, don't struggle too much.”

With a final warning, or advice, he zapped the Doctor's thigh.

“I won’t catch you even if you fall backwards.”

Chijijijik—!

Black Oskopf was busy preparing for an unexpected move.

Of course, they weren't moving the entire headquarters.

It was closer to an evacuation in preparation for another earthquake or a terrorist attack.

At the very least, moving to a second, safer research lab was limited to key facilities, equipment, research data, key personnel, and important experimental materials.

The personnel moving now were the heart of Black Oskopf, and with them, they could recover at any time.

That's why the employees who were left behind at the headquarters did not have a good expression, even in empty words.

Although it was not said, they had been judged as consumables that didn't matter if they died or not.

Although they had all moved to the underground, not the ground-floor building that had been tilted by Ho-cheol's final blow, it was natural for them to be anxious as long as the threat of the terrorist remained.

Most importantly, two 1st-class hunters, who were called the strongest in the Battleground, had been defeated.

Of course, unlike the anxious ordinary employees, there were also those who were eagerly awaiting Ho-cheol's appearance.

The entrance of Black Oskopf's second research lab.

While the researchers and workers were busy moving their luggage, a pair of a man and a woman were leisurely resting, leaning against the outer wall of the building.

“Wow. They said those two quit. They even paid the full penalty?”

The woman, who had been fiddling with her phone, her eyes widened in surprise.

The number of people in the 1st-class hunter group chat had dropped by two.

“That’s a shame. They were both pretty interesting characters, so it was fun to torment them.”

She was also a 1st-class hunter from Black Oskopf.

Another 1st-class hunter, in a squatting position, tilted his head to the side.

“I didn't really like them. I could never figure out what they were thinking.”

“That’s what’s fun. But did they get hurt enough to quit being a hunter just because they got hit a few times?”

“Well, it’s understandable to be embarrassed. No matter how much they adjusted their power to avoid vaporizing the building while they fought, it seems the opponent was the same. And most importantly, it was 2 against 1.”

They were on vacation, so they only had their regular weapons; their ‘arsenal’ was left in the Battleground.

Their condition was not good.

All those excuses were meaningless in the face of the overwhelming difference between them.

“But not this time.”

The woman crossed her arms as if it was out of the question.

In terms of numbers, it was the same as before, but it wasn't just because the two who had come this time were stronger than the previous two.

Two 1st-class hunters in their full-power state.

On top of that, 10 of Black Oskopf's high-level monster response weapons were also on standby.

Three of those weapons could produce an output greater than that of a 1st-class hunter, and they had prepared three times that number.

In terms of numbers alone, there were five 1st-class hunters, and a plethora of 2nd-class hunters in combat suits.

This time, even if the terrorist from before showed up, they couldn't lose.

If he was that much of a monster, wouldn't he be able to beat up even the boss of the Battleground?

“So how much is the bounty on that terrorist’s head?”

“30 billion din if captured alive.”

It was a currency that was only used within the Battleground, and its value was minimal.

“Wow, they’re treating him like a top-tier monster. Did the higher-ups’ pride get hurt that much? Ah, won’t he show up in front of me?”

The woman stomped her feet in anticipation.

But contrary to her hopes, what she saw in the distance was not a terrorist.

“What’s that?”

Instead, what appeared were the artificial weapons of The Top.

Although the company logo was erased, everyone who knew, knew.

The woman, who had erased her leisurely attitude from before, narrowed her eyes.

Hundreds of combat robots and tanks.

Judging by their armaments, they hadn't just come to play.

“Don’t tell me that terrorist was also a trick by The Top?”

“There’s a possibility. Conversely, The Top might have moved after seeing the terrorist incident.”

She looked over the robots with some anticipation.

But there was no sign of the terrorist.

I thought he would be there.

“I hate work that doesn’t pay.”

Pouting her lips, the woman grumbled.

Originally, when The Top was to attack the second research lab, Ho-cheol had also planned to piggyback on that attack.

But he had obtained new information while torturing the Doctor and had changed his plan.

As expected, water knew the answer.

Ho-cheol, wearing an invisibility cloak, arrived instead at the now-empty shell of Black Oskopf's headquarters.

He took the elevator and arrived at the deepest part of the basement.

Although there were still several layers of strict security devices here, it was not difficult to pass through thanks to the invisibility cloak, the Doctor's thumbprint, and the security key card.

Transcendence was an inside story known only to a small number of key personnel within Black Oskopf.

It was not something they could show to other ordinary employees, and especially not to hunters who were just in a simple employment relationship.

It was also difficult to move it outside carelessly, as it could attract attention from the outside.

That's why they had hidden all the data and facilities related to transcendence in the basement of the headquarters.

The safest research lab.

This place also served as a bunker that could be the only one to remain intact even if the entire building collapsed due to a stronger earthquake.

Ho-cheol walked through the research lab.

Cold metal walls and floor, and a dry, emotionless light stretched out for a long time.

The characteristic pungent smell of chemicals in the air made him frown.

At first glance, it didn't seem much different from other research labs, but the biggest difference was probably that.

Ho-cheol's gaze turned to the cylindrical capsule set up on the wall.

A capsule large enough to comfortably fit a person, and it was filled with a green culture medium.

Between the floating bubbles, a metal tube swayed up and down.

And inside that capsule was a test subject.

It was closer to a monster than a person, and closer to a person than a monster.

Could it really be called a human?

A black vein protruding from under the skin and a grotesquely enlarged arm.

On its chest, scales like a reptile's surrounded the solar plexus.

A test subject of the monsterification experiment.

And there were well over 100 such capsules.

The form in each capsule was different.

There were some with sharp horns, some with their limb joints bent backwards, and some with their entire bodies covered in scales.

Ho-cheol passed between the capsules and narrowed his eyes.

“Should I consider all of these as people too?”

It was a very complicated feeling.

Ho-cheol turned his gaze away from them again and walked to the innermost part of the laboratory.

And he arrived at the deepest place.

At the end, there was a huge being.

It was on a different level from the capsules he had seen until now.

Its overwhelming size, with a height of over 10 meters.

Occupying the center of the laboratory, the being was asleep in a green culture medium.

Tentacle-like forms wriggled here and there.

They did not have a fixed form.

Sometimes they would stretch out like an arm, and then they would melt like a liquid again.

Its surface, which could not be called skin, was covered in a mucous substance, and it throbbed faintly like a giant heart.

A mass of countless flesh, irregularly formed.

“Crazy bastards.”

Looking at it, Ho-cheol muttered softly.

A monster.

If until now it had been something between a human and a monster, this was clearly a monster.

And most importantly.

“That thing is alive.”

The monster opened its eyes.

Its golden eyes stared at Ho-cheol through the glass wall of the capsule.

It was not a simple test subject.

The eyes, which held an incomprehensible depth and will, were saying so.

All the mechanical sounds in the laboratory grew faint and distant.

Just as Ho-cheol was looking at the monster, the monster was also looking at Ho-cheol.

For a moment, a sharp headache washed over him.

“You’ve seen it too.”

A voice came from behind Ho-cheol.

“Yes. Can you share your impressions, the glory of having witnessed a transcendent being?”

Despite the voice from behind him, Ho-cheol did not turn around.

Instead, he drew the purple sword from his waist.

“A transcendent being? To my eyes, it just looks like a big monster.”

“Blasphemous.”

“Blasphemous? You’re the ones who are out of your minds, bewitched by a monster bastard.”

A mind-controlling monster.

Unfortunately, for Ho-cheol, it only added to his displeasure.

“This is such a letdown. I was expecting some pretty amazing guys, but to think it’s just this.”

Ho-cheol grumbled and drew his sword.

Just as he was about to cut down the monster, culture tube and all, the monster in the culture tube opened an organ that looked like a mouth.

Foolish child.

And it spoke.