One rookie throwing a tantrum.
Two supervisors on the verge of tears.
All three are eight years old.
The situation was deteriorating beautifully.
'Damn it!'
This wasn't a discussion, it was just an expression of overwhelming emotion…!
I finally tried to explain the reason behind my 'No! We gotta keep looking!' with the intention of biting my tongue if necessary, but both of them were already getting swept up by the mood.
Tears spread quickly among children…!
"W-We still have time left, and you said we're only doing two days because of the rules. So I thought that meant we still have time to explore safely without getting contaminated…"
"…That's true."
"Then I'd like to keep looking, sir. Just one kid. Maybe they're here, and we just didn't find them!"
Child Agent Choi sniffled.
"Th-then maybe just… two more days…"
"Agent!"
Agent Bronze, eyes red at the corners, stepped in and sharply glared at Agent Choi before turning to me with a firm voice.
"No."
I wanted to say, 'Why not?!'
And I did.
"Why not?!"
I'm going crazy.
Agent Bronze shouted back.
"Because it's dangerous! An agent's life always comes first. If we push past the rules…!"
His voice caught in his throat.
"I've seen agents die from that. So many sunbaes never made it back."
"..."
"That's why… we should never start something like this. Following the rules is the right way."
'...Huu.'
He's not wrong either.
Then, Agent Bronze glanced at my arm.
"Don't forget that arm of yours needs to be recharged every three days."
"I brought a charger for it! Th-then how about this? Just one more night. Just a single night."
Choi raised one finger.
"If by tomorrow afternoon we're not sure we can rescue anyone, we'll just leave. Okay? Delaying the mission by half a day is… it's something you just mention in a single line of the report."
"..."
Both of us instinctively looked at Agent Bronze.
"Jaekwan-ah…"
"Agent, um…"
"Do whatever you want."
And then Agent Bronze shut his mouth.
Leaving only those words.
"I never agreed to it."
It certainly seemed that way.
His face was flushed red, unable to hide his frustration and bitterness.
Still, it was also an unspoken signal that he wouldn't protest further, so Agent Choi wrapped it up right away.
"All right. Then just one more day!"
So, the three of us children promised this: if we still found nothing, we'd give up and leave right away.
And so we each returned to the sleeping quarters of the children in our assigned areas.
Agent Choi took the area near the palace, Agent Bronze stayed near the central fountain, and I… headed toward the town entrance.
The annoying part was that our paths overlapped, so I ended up walking with Agent Bronze.
"..."
"..."
"Um, I'm sorry…"
"…It's fine."
Agent Bronze let out a sigh and spoke.
"Compared to other cases of people affected by dokkaebi tricks… this was a pretty rational outcome."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. Some agents ended up bawling and wrestling with each other."
O-Oh, I see.
"…That's why we need rules. In supernatural situations like this, even if it doesn't make sense in the moment, following protocol is important. You'll eventually realize it was the right call."
Agent Bronze took a deeper breath.
"Of course, you aren't at fault, Agent Grapes. Every rookie goes through something like this at least once. But the person in charge failed to explain things properly and went along with it, so…!"
"..."
You're really skilled at shutting up the rookie who just successfully negotiated for one more day thanks to that very person in charge…
Anyway, although Agent Bronze still didn't look happy, the mood recovered enough that he gave me advice as we split up.
"All the kids will fall asleep before midnight anyway. Agent Grapes, don't waste your strength. Get some rest too."
"…Yes."
In Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace, day and night are determined by the chimes of the town clock tower.
When night falls, a drowsiness appropriate to children's sleep cycles sets in. Everyone falls asleep before midnight, and cheerful music plays at sunrise to wake them.
It was a distinctly supernatural structure, fitting for a ghost story.
I walked past the dazzling reddish-gold hues of the palace district, into the softly glowing navy and white-lit part of town, and entered the lodging I was assigned.
A sign at the entrance read:
Dreamland Beds
for Children
Inside was a huge, whimsically decorated room fitting for young kids, with a dozen or so fluffy canopy beds.
…All the children in the room were already fast asleep.
Because I had spent every last possible moment searching for a child I could still rescue, I had pushed time to its limit.
Sleepiness washed over me too.
"Huu."
I picked one of the empty beds at random and lay down. The absurdly soft and warm bedding gently wrapped around my head and body.
Then, briefly, the disgrace I just showed flashed through my mind… Wow.
I threw a tantrum? Me?
'I don't think I ever even acted like that even as an actual kid.'
And judging by their personalities, Agent Choi and Agent Bronze probably felt the same way about themselves.
Maybe because dokkaebi tricks aren't true rejuvenation but more like deception, there's this strange sense that we've been turned into the 'concept' of children.
So what matters now is staying calm and not being swayed by the exaggerated traits of this child's body.
The goal hasn't changed, after all.
With a hazy mind, I made a slow vow.
'…Let's get up early and start searching right away.'
Maybe one.
Just one… maybe I could bring back at least one child.
...
...
[Grapes.]
(T/N: Spoken affectionately; Podo-ya)
…Hm?
[Grapes. I think you'll make a fine agent. Your arm thinks so too.]
A voice, warm and familiar, drifted in.
No, listening again, it sounded reliable and strong.
What is this?
[It's your dream.]
I see.
Come to think of it, I had fallen asleep.
Before my closed eyes, sparkling light shimmered like a warm flame.
[And in dreams, thoughts that don't come to you in reality often rise up. Because you're free from the constraints of the real world.]
...
Things you can't think of in reality.
That's true. Now that I was running a rescue mission as a child due to the entry requirements, there were things I had most likely overlooked.
-x-X-x-
In this dream, I could calmly review those.
As an adult.
For example…
'Why do more than half the children we meet change every time agents come in?'
If all the children were different, I could logically assume, 'Ah, there are multiple similar places like this due to the nature of the supernatural phenomenon.'
But if more than half change… that's something else entirely.
That means more than half of them have disappeared.
At the very least, disappeared in a way that prevents them from meeting the agents.
And then…
'Why aren't the agents questioning that?'
Two eerie but simple and clear possibilities flashed through my mind.
Either they themselves are being influenced by this ghost story.
...Or there are truths they're deliberately hiding from me, the rookie.
Maybe both.
'If that's the case…'
…Then don't I have something perfect for this kind of situation?
Something that could support my insight.
Something I don't need to ask the others for.
[Indeed! Clever boy. Grapes, a wise idea is a treasure for all time.]
[Don't forget what you've learned in this dream when you wake up tomorrow.]
It felt like a wrinkled hand gently stroked my head in encouragement.
Ah, thank you, Elder.
...
...
"Ah."
Kyararararara…
Laughter and the sound of chimes.
A new golden morning had begun.
"Let's go see the Mermaid Princess!"
"I wanna play tag!"
Children chattered cheerfully as they woke up and began leaving the bedroom.
Normally, I'd immediately follow to gather information, but my mind was already focused on one clear idea.
Something I'd concluded during the dream.
"..."
I reached inside the thick coat I wore and carefully pulled out what I had packed to avoid breaking it—
Detective Syrup for Kids.
The syrup I'd made by pressing one of the emoji buttons in the Dream Incubator.
At Daydream Inc., it was officially called this.
Detection Potion
: When consumed, it brightens your vision to reveal what you need most at the moment.
If I drank the detective syrup, I'd see which child could be rescued.
Because right now, my mission—and what I most need—is to rescue a child.
'Alright.'
Normally I'd have weighed this or that option, but…
Come on, this is about saving a kid. Being too calculating about it just makes me feel like scum.
'Besides, I needed to test its effect anyway.'
I opened the sealed cap of the syrup and drank it in one go.
Just as the label described, the syrup had an artificial cherry scent and sweetness that slid down my throat.
"…Huu."
I pocketed the empty bottle.
There was no dazzling, dramatic change like you'd expect from a healing potion, but I felt my heartbeat steady and my mind grow calm.
'Now, let's check.'
I turned my eyes to the children still in the common area, then to the kids running outside through the window.
Looking for the one who would 'catch my eye'.
But…
"..."
Why can't I see anything?
The kids running off, the ones laughing by the fountain in the distance.
They're just kids. None of them stand out in any way.
For a moment, I started to feel a chill. Was there truly not a single viable target to rescue?
But then.
'…Huh?'
I felt a presence elsewhere.
Something distinct and bright registered at the edge of my vision.
"..."
I turned my head to check what it was.
My coat's opposite pocket.
The one holding the item I'd bought at the faceless market in the manhole.
'Why is this…'
I reached in and pulled it out.
It was a sheet printed with four vintage stamps.
They looked like cheap fundraising seals or promotional stickers, each showing an old Korean street scene.
And if you looked closer, you could see things in the background that weren't human.
Pigeons, rats, stray cats, sparrows, cockroaches.
Creatures that coexisted with people on the streets.
Street Stamp
: A strange stamp that allows the user to disguise themselves as one of the animals commonly seen on the streets of Yeongdeungpo-gu, Korea, during the 20th century.
Crafted by the Today's Artifacts Dealership.
…I'd picked it up just in case I needed to run or hide while spying. I'd even broken into a cold sweat when Agent Choi suggested it himself.
And sweated more sorting through non–Daydream Inc. items to trade for it.
Anyway, the core ability of this item is exactly that.
'I can transform into a non-human street animal.'
Sounds useful?
Of course, there's a fatal side effect.
If the stamp's effect lasts more than 2 hours continuously, the user's body may begin to mutate into something from the stamp.
Not simply becoming an animal, but rather having their body infected with features from that animal.
Like something out of a bio-horror game.
Imagine growing a pigeon's beak out of your jaw, or sparrow eyes on your forehead.
'Ugh.'
Just thinking about it made my skin crawl. I vowed again never to exceed the time limit.
But… transforming into an animal in a ghost story that requires the form of a child to enter… was that really 'what I need most' at this very moment?
I felt uneasy.
But also something colder. A gut feeling told me I needed to check.
'Daydream Inc. never scams people with their potions, even if they lie about other stuff.'
Their effects are always spot-on. There's no need to fake it.
'Alright.'
If something feels off, I'll spit out the stamp immediately and return to my child form.
I took a deep breath and peeled off one of the stamps. Then placed it in my mouth.
"…!!"
My field of view dropped.
Even lower than when I'd turned into a child.
My back hunched, and I stood on all fours.
I felt fur. My ears rose. Whiskers twitched.
'A cat, huh.'
I lifted my head.
It might've been more useful to be a pigeon, at least I could've flown. But at least I didn't turn into a cockroach or a rat, which was comforting enough…
...
'Oh.'
The golden city collapsed.
The blissful blue ocean, the fairytale-like brick houses and wide boulevards, the beautiful banners all lost their color and decayed.
And in their place, horrifying sights appeared. Rusty metal pipes. Flickering, broken streetlamps. Half-collapsed buildings. Scribbles of blood and filth. Grotesque, bulging, ulcer-like masses filled the cracks in the bricks and lampposts, pulsating and oozing. The whole space is infected! It's wrong! It's wrong! It's everywhere! I'm contamin—
Spit it out!
I had to spit out the stamp. Something's wrong—
...
No.
'That's… not it.'
This was the shock of falling from paradise into a nightmare.
I wasn't contaminated.
"Hhu."
I caught my breath.
The panic faded as I adjusted to my environment. Then, shivering, I looked around with a cold, adult mind.
A grotesquely collapsed civilization. Flesh-like infected masses embedded across a ruined cityscape.
I recognized this.
Yes. 'Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace' wasn't a ghost story I didn't know, nor was it an unrecorded one left out of the
It simply didn't look the way I remembered.
The one I knew was…
…a horrifying ghost story from Daydream Inc.
——————–
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[Mermaid Grave]
: A ghost story featured in
: Daydream Inc. identification code – Qterw-C-1642
A story of wandering a strange city submerged deep into the sea.
Victims are chased by swarms of grotesque lifeforms and, when caught, have all blood and mucus drained from them to death.
——————–
That one.
The city is already in a ruined state, and remaining records suggest that it fell due to infection from a biological disaster.
Traces of what was once a beautiful city now contrast starkly with the current apocalyptic state brought on by a tragic and horrific biological outbreak.
As the records within the city refer to the biological disaster as 'merfolk', the site has been registered in the database under the designation 'Mermaid Grave'.
So… the children of Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace—
At the city's heart lies a grotesque mass, the central cluster of infection for the 'biohazard-merfolk', from which infected fluids endlessly pursue any explorer.
If caught, one becomes infected. A host of the merfolk.
I staggered forward on all fours, walking along a shattered street.
Scattered throughout the dark deep-sea city, I saw bodies frozen in strange positions—half-alive, half-dead—drawn along by ulcer-like lumps.
They moved stiffly, like dolls, swaying as they walked.
'Those decorative figurines on the fountains.'
Children,
Please take your honey!
Those colorful soldier figurines, elephant-shaped ones too.
'They were once human.'
People infected after being drawn into this cursed ghost story.
Then the faucet sticking out of their stomachs that spewed honey…
That was actually blood, extracted from the bellies of those people by those ulcerous growths.
'…Ugh.'
I ran.
Kicking off with four legs, I sprinted through the sunken ruins of this once-seaside city, now crawling with twitching, corrupted biomechanical filth.
And finally, I reached the heart of the city.
…What had once looked like a beautiful Ocean Palace—
Was a mass of festering ulcerous clusters.
Thump, thump.
The pulsing of the vile mass could be felt even here. A sprawling, pus-colored flesh conglomerate, in dirty red, green, and pale pink hues, clung to crumbled buildings like some grotesque art installation.
And at the forefront, an oozing sac, covered in tentacles, like a deformed egg nest.
To anyone who's seen it before, its silhouette is unmistakable.
It resembles the statue of the Mermaid Princess.
The infectious fluids extract the blood and mucous membranes of explorers who have become hosts, delivering them to the central cluster at the heart of the city. The cluster then expels infectious mucus and residue.
Residue has been identified as indigestible materials such as fibrous matter and plastic.
Right.
…The toys, clothes, picture books that were gifted to children when they offered 'honey' to the statue at 'Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace'.
They were the worn belongings of those who had gone missing here.
It only appeared beautiful to the children, a seductive illusion.
That's what this ghost story does.
And it was infecting the children. Those horrific infected fluids, called 'mer-children' in the
In the end…
"..."
No.
'This is… this is…'
I have to leave. I can't make contact with the children like this. I turned around, staggering.
But at that moment.
Wrrggghhhgh!
With a repulsive sound, one of the ulcerous growths on the floor shot mucus at me.
"…!"
Contagious fluid.
If that sticks, I'll end up with a faucet on my belly too…!
'Damn it.'
Thank god cats can run fast.
Moving on instinct, I dashed between rusted alleyways and rotting ruins, fully adapted now to this feline body. Maybe this was why Agent Choi had recommended it after all.
'Anyway!'
So the question is.
What the hell do I do about this?
Should I report this to the other agents? And if I do, how much do I say?
How do we even rescue the children now? Should the agents even remain in child form in this situation?
Is being in a child's body… really safe anymore?
Is it really better to let these kids keep 'living' here rather than turning into bubbles?
"This area's clear. No mer-children."
…!
"Let's move on."
"Yes, Assistant Manager!"
I froze.
Three figures had entered the alley.
Calm voices. Phrases I recognized from the
…Daydream Inc.
'So a squad of the Field Investigation Team really was dispatched…!'
Of course. Most of the long entries in the Dark Exploration Records had been written by employees of the company. So it only made sense I'd run into them here.
…Which meant.
Maybe I could use this.
'If they're Daydream Inc. employees, they've gotta have at least one or two special equipment, right?'
Something that could help resolve this. Even just an idea…!
Even if not, it was better to have more cards to play.
'Let's go.'
I held my breath and crept toward the alley the masks and suits had passed through.
"…is what I heard."
"Oh. This thing here."
Their conversation filtered through my sensitive feline ears.
And when I rounded the corner, finally seeing the three figures clearly—
...
Familiar masks.
"…Hmm. Doesn't look useful."
"Huh? Looks valuable to me. I'm taking it."
Goat, Baek Saheon. Pony, Kang Yihak.
And.
"Pipe down."
Butterfly, Assistant Manager Jin Nasol of the A-squad.
"..."
'Goddamn.'
An absolute nightmare lineup.
-x-X-x-
The members of Daydream Inc.'s Field Exploration Team were people who literally staked their lives on the job because they had a single, desperate wish they wanted fulfilled.
In other words, most of them are perfectly willing to use anyone—coworkers, civilians, even deranged ghost stories—to achieve their own goals!
They only care about the welfare points they need for their own wish.
Three prime examples of that kind of person stood right in front of me.
Of course, it's not just the wishes that made them… who they were.
"Assistant Manager, what about those who lagged behind when we first met the mer-child…?"
"Don't care."
"Ms. Pony, it's tragic that some people were taken, but… that was their fate, right? Should we press on? We have to find our item…"
"Right, right. But maybe they dropped some equipment when they were taken, so I'll just check real quick… Hahaha!"
"..."
They really never change…
'Telling those people that the 'mer-children' were actual children…'
…wouldn't make a dent. Rather, they're the kind of people who'd just find a way to exploit this situation. Having a familiar face among them was useless.
No, to begin with, my current form couldn't intervene directly anyway, so knowing them only goes so far.
Hiding in the black shadow cast by a collapsed streetlamp, in my street-animal guise, I watched the Daydream Inc. employees scouring the alley.
Then…
"Quiet."
Jin Nasol stopped and crouched low.
"Merfolk."
"..."
"A fledgling at that."
All three held their breath and pressed against the alley wall.
Kyararara…
A sound like a child's laughter drifted through.
'Hah.'
My whole body froze, but I had to confirm.
Cautiously, I contracted my four legs and silently climbed onto the wall, peeking over the alley's edge.
And there, at last, I saw the 'mer-children'.
Kyarararara…
It was bizarre.
Small, humanoid bodies, emulating people, walking the broken avenues of this infected city.
Some were unnervingly precise—mimicking human expressions with a grin—but others had faces so swollen with ulcers they pulsed grotesquely.
Beneath each face, raw mucous throbbed, leaking air with each pulse, making a sound eerily like a child's laughter.
Clumps of pink ulceration, greenish flesh, and contaminated masses dripped from their limbs like tails.
They wore discarded belongings and scraps of clothing, haphazardly draped, as if desperately trying to mimic humans.
Even knowing they were innocent children…
"..."
My spine and whiskers bristled in a cold sweat.
My instincts screamed just one thing.
Run.
Upon encounter with infectious fluid:
Avoid detection and evacuate the area immediately, increasing distance as much as possible. In the event of failure, no manual is available. Rescue attempts for personnel who have failed to evade are not recommended.
The infected fluids marched down the avenue like a grotesque parade. Everyone in the alley, Daydream employees and I, held our breath.
Then someone burst out of another alley.
A person, running straight into the infected mass.
"...!"
But they were already covered in the viscous infection, their joints engulfed by ulcerous growths, forced along like a puppet.
It was hopeless.
The infected person was no longer of sound mind, but they could still scream.
The infection hadn't removed their mouth.
"Ahh!! Aaaah! AAAHHH!"
The infected fluids laughed as they surged forward.
Tentacle-like ulcer clusters lunged at the victim.
The growth on the victim's belly split open, spewing blood, mucus, and indescribable horrors.
"Ahh, haaah, huuuh..."
They were having their 'honey' collected, over and over…
I huddled in place, enduring the spectacle.
Finally, the screams stopped.
"..."
The victim lay dead.
The infected fluids, bellies bulging with blood and mucous, resumed their march.
Toward the mermaid statue.
A tumor of infection, a swarm of biohazard.
Kyarararara…
"..."
Only after the sound fully faded did the three employees move again.
"…If you get caught by that tail, it's over instantly, right?"
"Yes."
That was why we had to run.
The tail of the infectious fluid secretes mucus that induces severe paralysis. A single puncture is sufficient to cause immediate and permanent loss of muscle function.
Anyone infected in that state was already as good as dead.
At this point you'd wonder how this ghost story ever earned a Grade C rating.
'Because there's a rock‑solid way to clear it.'
And, like two sides of the same coin, the way to clear it actually lies with those mutated creatures.
Thunk, tututung…
A strange sound echoed again on the boulevard.
But this time, it wasn't the infected fluids.
It was full‑grown, human‑like forms.
Their size had grown so large that the fine details had all but blurred away. These wobbling things had no faces left.
The ulcer‑laced 'tails' had transformed into vein‑like cords, interconnecting and stretching high above the avenue… directly linked to the central cluster.
They'd nearly shed any human appearance, looking more like bait the cluster used to lure in prey.
…This must be the final mutated form of the infected fluid.
General infected entities appear to be fully absorbed into the central cluster and function similarly to nerve endings.
They are considered extensions of the cluster rather than independent organisms.
Assistant Manager Butterfly's eyes brightened slightly.
"They're out."
Therefore, if the encountered threat is identified as a general infected entity rather than an infectious fluid—
"Shoot them."
Terminate the entity and collect evidence material.
The three employees stepped out, luring the creature into the open and firing.
Ordinary infected bodies, once their tendril‑cord is severed from the cluster, wither and die almost instantly.
"..."
Upon presentation of the collected evidence, access to the remaining escape vessel within the city will be granted, allowing for successful clearance of the associated Darkness.
So… the children.
Once they're fully infected, their bodies overrun by those ulcerous growths, they lose their humanity and transform into those bio‑horror lifeforms.
That's why every time agents visit, the children vanish.
They die, become part of the grotesque cluster, and are absorbed…
'…Damn it.'
I clenched my forepaws against the urge to swear.
Even though I'd read about this in the
"Evidence collected!"
"Shut up."
"Y‑Yes, ma'am."
At last, the three employees succeeded in hunting down the 'merfolk' and retrieving a sensory organ from its tail as proof.
The sight—so reminiscent of the mer-children extracting blood and mucus from victims—was strangely overlapping.
With that proof, they could now escape this place.
But instead of heading straight for the boat, they continued scouring alleyways, pushing forward.
'…Because they have a second objective.'
Anyone familiar with Daydream Inc. employees would realize immediately.
'An item.'
That's why this Darkness, despite being only C-grade, was still under the Research Division instead of handed over to general teams.
They judged, 'Given its scale and clues, a greater secret must be hidden here.'
They always recruited volunteers for these missions, and there was never a lack for applicants.
'There's a reason.'
Because the very 'clue' they seeked was an item found only here. A remnant of a wondrous, lost civilization in this ruined city.
Namely…
'Angel's Sigh.'
* * *
"Aargh, there is no 'sigh' or anything here!"
"Quiet."
A Daydream Inc. employee, wearing a suit and a bizarre mask, grumbled in a side alley.
They weren't here just for points. They knew rumors of a hidden, ancient technology beneath the ruined streets,
And this squad was composed of volunteers more interested in loot than glory.
The Angel's Sigh.
It was a conch‑shaped artifact sometimes found inside or outside the city's ruined homes.
Its true power would be revealed when you press it to your ear.
A beautiful hum emanates from inside the shell, calming the mind, healing wounds, and restoring vigor.
A healing item.
It was one of the few that Daydream Inc. would purchase, so employees scour every ruin looking for it with bright, eager eyes.
But they had searched these streets dozens of times already. Finding it was no easy task.
They would have to venture deeper into danger or uncover secret chambers overlooked by all others.
And, just like now, many end up infected by the creatures before they find it.
"Argh!"
'Idiot.'
Hearing a scream from the alley they'd passed, Baek Saheon allowed himself a brief moment of satisfaction with the companions he'd chosen.
'Good thing I shoved them and came first.'
These people were crazy, but at least they weren't short‑sighted fools who'd do something that dumb just for an item.
He discreetly touched the 'ticket' to the escape launch he'd cut from a tail and let one corner of his mouth twitch.
'All preparations for a clear are also done.'
Now he could go and look for items. If anything were to happen, he'd just toss the others to the merfolk and…Wait a sec.
Just now.
Something went by?
'…Huh?'
Baek Saheon blinked.
He could have sworn something darted out of the street‑lamp shadow and slipped around the corner, right at the edge of his vision.
He checked his companions, but neither reacted.
'Did I imagine it?'
Baek Saheon had always trusted only his own senses, so he couldn't accept that.
Yet he had no wish to tell the A‑squad assistant manager.
…More than anything, that woman was the least likely person to get lured into taking action.
– Hey. If you're going to talk about some new monster coming out of a Darkness that's only produced merfolk for seven whole years, at least try and describe it properly.
– Get in my way again and I'm leaving you behind.
'And she actually would, that prick.'
Ah, fuck. No time to spare, not even for items.
Grinding his teeth, Baek Saheon kept his eyes on the corner of the alley.
Then, at that moment.
Swish.
A shadow flitted across the lamp.
It was the same black thing that he had seen earlier.
Triangular ears, sleek body, four legs.
…Huu, what the hell.
A familiar thing.
'It's just a kitten.'
Baek Saheon let out a sigh of relief, laced with irritation. That was just one of the common, cumbersome stray animals often seen on the roads.
That's what he thought…
'...Huh?'
In that instant, a cold shiver ran down Baek Saheon's back.
In the darkness where no life forms had ever been found aside from the biohazard-merfolk…
There was no reason for a stray cat to be there.
"…!"
Baek Saheon's mind went through many different calculations.
And quietly, so the other employees wouldn't notice, Baek Saheon gently lifted his eye patch… to check for danger using the violet inverse eye hidden beneath it.
And then.
He saw danger.
"…!"
A terrible crimson halo surged beyond the corner of the alley.
Even in its shadow, it was visible. Rats, cockroaches, wings, teeth—a writhing mass that resembled a swarm of all the vile, harmful vermin one might encounter on the streets.
No.
It wasn't a cat!
That wasn't a four-legged animal. Something's wrong! It's the merfolk! No, something even more dangerous than merfolk. That particular shape of the halo… he had seen it somewhere before…
'...Kim Soleum?'
Baek Saheon suddenly lifted his head.
"What are you doing?"
"N-Nothing."
With a stiff neck, he looked again toward the corner of the alley…
The shadow was gone.
The crimson halo beyond the corner had vanished as if it had never been there.
"..."
Feigning a search, he moved toward the corner with rigid steps.
His heart pounded.
And the moment he turned the corner, he saw it.
…On the ground, a phrase had been carved as if with sharp claws slicing through the dust.
Prepare for death.
"...!!"
Phew.
'Atmosphere setup complete.'
With this, I've laid the groundwork to potentially guide the Daydream Inc. employees, if needed.
I ran through the alley, holding back a sigh.
'As expected, Baek Saheon's eye works well.'
The eye-shaped equipment I gave him is proving effective. Honestly, it almost feels like a loss compared to the brainwashing fountain pen I received in exchange.
'I never even used it because I was afraid people would suspect me of being a spy…'
Now that the item has become valuable, I'm thinking all kinds of things.
In any case, I saw the situation firsthand with my own eyes. …A living hell, where children and adults slaughter each other in a place overrun with infected entities.
Hell itself.
'…I feel like I'm going to throw up.'
The bigger problem is… it's not enough.
Time, information, strength.
All of it.
'…How the hell am I supposed to save the kids in here?'
As the shock faded, reality set in.
There was no answer.
'If I tell the agents, they might seriously suggest it's more humane to just kill everyone…'
It already looked like I'd barely be able to protect myself.
Besides, once the sun would set today, I'd be leaving this supernatural disaster with the agents.
I already knew.
Just because I had learned the horrific truth doesn't mean I was responsible for saving anyone. And honestly, it's easier on my conscience to ignore it. My own situation was dire enough.
Laying low and waiting out the day until extraction seemed like the best plan.
But…
'…I have a bad feeling.'
I had already seen both sides of this.
Still, could I really escape safely using the Disaster Management Bureau's protocol, especially when I was being treated as a child…?
'…There's a good chance I won't make it.'
It seemed smarter to dig a little deeper and come up with countermeasures.
And if I could save even one more child in the process… all the better.
Besides, this ghost story was packed with meaningful details. If I were to investigate further, I might stumble upon items or unexpected information that could help me survive in the future.
'…Alright.'
Let's do what we can.
At least until the promised afternoon rendezvous, Black Tortoise Team 1's agents wouldn't come looking for me even if I didn't show up.
It wouldn't feel awkward either, since the children were scattered across this wide area and we wouldn't run into each other.
'A method… something usable…'
I began combing through my hazy memories of the
Even if it's not directly about the Mermaid Grave, looking into similar stories might remind me of a viable countermeasure…
Wait, hold on.
"…!"
Ah.
'That's right.'
There was another exploration log that mentioned the Mermaid Grave…!
And that particular Darkness… was one that I had already experienced.
'…Alright.'
I'll give it a try.
Once more, I began to move forward on all fours.
I ran.
Though danger lurked throughout the city ruined by infection from monstrous creatures, it was somewhat easier thanks to the nimbleness of my quadruped body.
'Being small makes it easier to dodge.'
My destination, as I avoided the mucus and ulcers, was clear.
'The western outskirts.'
Far from the infected cluster.
And among them, especially… was a place with fewer ulcer masses, which felt relatively safe.
However, since it's not in the residential area where items were located, no Daydream Inc. employees ever came here.
Even the mer-children… weren't here.
That's why exploration in this area was slow.
'Somewhere around here… Right.'
Found it.
Amidst the half-collapsed and old buildings, I saw the door of a small brick house, now a semi-basement due to ground collapse…
And if one were to look closely at the corner of that door, it's possible to make out its inscription.
Moonlight Tattoo Shop
"…!"
Written in a more ornate script than the one I'd seen before, delicately carved into the edge of the door.
"..."
I found it.
The back door of Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
A connected door was discovered within Qterw-C-1642 (Mermaid Grave), marked with a sign reading 'By appointment only'.
The door appears to be a sealed rear entrance rather than a main entry point.
All attempts to open the door and gain entry have resulted in signal failure.
This was one of many sightings related to Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
However, in most of those sightings, the door remained closed, preventing entry.
Daydream Inc. had no confirmed visit records, aside from the one time I used the 'It Is Empty' method.
Even now, the door's small glass window—meant to allow visibility from inside—was entirely covered with a note.
Currently accepting appointment-only clients.
That one.
'…I don't have an appointment, but still.'
Knock, knock.
I politely knocked on the door with my front paw, then slid a prepared note under it.
It had been difficult to write with a paw.
– Hello. I'm the person who received a tattoo cover-up last time. I've come by with some related questions.
"..."
And then, a few seconds later.
I heard it.
Click.
The sound of the back door's lock disengaging.
"…!!"
It worked.
I leapt up with my hind legs, grabbed the door handle, opened it, and quickly slipped inside before the door could close.
Into the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
-x-X-x-
The Moonlight Tattoo Shop I returned to was darker than before.
It felt warm here before, but unlike last time, it felt somewhat eerie.
Maybe it was because I slipped in through the back door? Or…
'Because the moonlight is too weak?'
The round beam of light, coming down to the massive procedure machine in the center of the room, cast a crescent shape today.
'…I don't think it's business hours.'
...I'd never read a record about that.
I crept forward, one careful step at a time… and locked eyes with the dark counter.
"…!"
The curly‑haired tattooist, neck covered in dense Hangul tattoos, stood behind it.
The shop's owner.
She looked at me with even darker eyes than before, then lifted a single notice.
[Guests with fur are requested to don a gown before entering.]
Oh.
I quickly spat out the stamp I'd been holding in my mouth. As my body grew, I shifted back into human form, albeit that of a child. As soon as my mouth returned to human shape, I hurriedly spoke.
"Um, I'm sorry for entering through the back door—"
My face was grabbed.
"…!!"
The tattooist, wearing black gloves, clenched my face in one hand and stared at me from every angle. Front, back, left, right.
Her black eyes drilled into me.
Dilated pupils. Black. So jet‑black that it felt wrong. Humans usually had visible whites of the eyes, right? Why couldn't I see any white?
The tattooist towered over me. Growing larger by the second. Her deep‑green curls lengthened, filling the air like seaweed.
The small, cozy, professional interior I'd remembered felt alien now, an unfamiliar space of incomprehensible techniques and styles.
'What? What is this?'
My mind spun with confusion and blaring alarm bells as I realized I was trapped in the ghost story itself…
No.
"Um."
I forced my mouth to move.
"Could I… be in my cat form?"
...
Thud.
The tattooist released my face. I shoved the stamp back into my mouth without even pausing to process the disgust, and my body shrank, returning me to feline form.
"...Meow."
Everything returned to normal. I was once again in a small, cozy, professional tattoo shop, facing a kind, characterful tattooist.
"Is this… okay?"
And I spoke in a child's voice.
"…!"
No, I really spoke in a human voice.
"Uh… yes."
The tattooist rifled through the counter and pointed to another notice.
[Comfortable communication guaranteed]
"..."
Now that I think about it…
'The Moonlight Tattoo Shop owner never speaks a word.'
And the sign I'd seen before coming in…
'…It wasn't written in Hangul.'
Yet I'd read it perfectly. I mean, if not for this disquieting feeling, I'd have assumed it was in Korean all along.
Even the tattoos I'd thought were Hangul on her neck might not be…
"..."
Indeed. A strange, ghost‑story twist.
'Stay on guard.'
The owner's lack of malice applies only to tattooing—nothing more. I've got to remember that.
But her reaction just now confirmed something.
"…You inspected me because I came in as a child through the back door, right? …Children are more vulnerable once infected."
!
The tattooist lifted her head.
Of course.
'This shop accepts only sea‑related items as payment.'
And there's the Mermaid Grave connection. Eyewitnesses even mentioned a back door.
A back door is usually 'staff‑only', after all…
"…Ms. Owner."
I very carefully extended a forepaw.
"…I found this back door in the ruined underwater city."
The tattooist's eyes swirled.
"Um… Was this shop here originally?"
Silence.
"Are you from that city?"
Silence.
"Why did it end up like that? Children are being deceived and dying…"
Sadness filled the tattooist's eyes. Instead of the usual swirl, they shimmered with moisture.
I wet my parched muzzle and spoke,
"There are still children there now. Is there any way those children could leave through this shop's front door…?"
Thunk.
The wall vibrated as the tattooist slammed her pen down. Thick pen strokes trembled, carving out enormous letters in earnest.
N O
"I see. I understand."
My heart felt like it would burst, but my lips moved smoothly.
"…Because they're infected, it won't work? If so, perhaps…"
Please.
"About the source of infection, the strange clusters of flesh… could you tell me about them?"
...
The tattooist picked up her pen again.
With a trembling hand, she tore a memo pad's sheet from the counter and began to write.
Tiny characters pressed firmly onto the paper.
Two strokes. I could see the pen's movement carving each line.
Finally, she flipped the note around and showed me the completed word.
■■
"..."
Huh?
I didn't understand its meaning, but I could still pronounce it.
So… then…
"■■!"
"Cough—"
Blood burst forth. Not just from my mouth, but my nose and eyes, from every mucous‑lined orifice. The shock made them bleed.
The tattooist gasped and hurriedly poured a lemon drink into a bowl, offering it to me. I didn't know if cats could even drink it, but I drank deeply.
Focusing on the taste of the sour, bloody lemonade on my tongue, I forced the images from my mind…
Bitter as it was, inspiration struck.
'Just now.'
An explosion of meaning lay buried in those two symbols.
Was that the true language of the Mermaid Grave? I wasn't sure I'd fully understood. If I could, I wouldn't be human.
But one thing I knew for certain.
'The tattooist originally came from the Mermaid Grave ghost story.'
And for some reason…
'The conch.'
That Angel's Sigh item was deeply tied to this crisis…
Strangely, two utterly opposite images were fused in that conch.
'Healing and death.'
It was spine‑tingling.
…If seen through a child's eyes, what would the conch look like?
"…Tattooist-nim."
I swallowed the sour, bloody taste.
"Could you tell me… what you thought of the conch‑shaped object you remembered?"
The tattooist's lips moved, revealing only the shape of the word. I read it.
Filth.
Disgust. A sense of uncleanliness and unease. Even knowing it posed no rational threat, the horrific imagery left a powerful, repellent after‑image.
The space around the tattooist shimmered again…
"I see. Understood. …Thank you."
Was that it?
Having calmed her, I began to piece together all the clues I'd gathered so far.
"..."
My vague grand plan finally began snapping into place with these finer puzzle pieces.
Even if it was my own hypothesis…
'If this is right.'
By pushing things to the very limit, there was something worthwhile to attempt.
'Good.'
My mind cleared.
What I needed now were the conditions to support this plan, and the abilities to satisfy them.
And, by a stroke of luck, I had just entered the very shop where I might purchase those abilities.
"I'd like to talk about tattoos now, if that's all right…"
The tattooist nodded in understanding and quickly held up another notice.
[Procedures on underage individuals require a guardian's consent.]
"…Yes. I'm not planning to get a tattoo right this second."
Given the insane power of the Tomato Tree tattoo stickers, I'd need to be extremely cautious about any permanent ink here…
Even if the artist had only the best intentions, everyone's standards were subjective, and irreversible results could happen.
So, instead of a permanent tattoo, I asked again for a temporary effect.
"…Do you have stickers for, you know, simpler designs like this?"
The tattooist tilted her head and began reaching for the booklet of designs. The same 'Royal Special Premium #1 (Customizable)' I'd chosen last time…
No!
"That's fine. Just the basic style, please."
At last, a plain booklet appeared. Whew.
'Because I don't have the money to pay for fancier work…'
I'm such a beggar…
I don't even have enough for pearls. I'd thought about scavenging something from Mermaid Grave, but judging by her reaction, I'm glad I didn't.
I nodded at the very simple design she indicated.
"Great. Let's go with that."
Then came the real question. I forced out the words.
"So, about the cost—"
Tap, tap.
The tattooist knocked on another notice.
[Write a review and receive three free tattoo stickers (basic designs only)]
...!
...
"So… Where should I write it?"
And so I had the odd experience of tapping out a review with my forepaw: 'The owner is kind and highly professional.'
Where that review ends up… well, let's not think about that right now.
What mattered was this.
'Escape safely from this crazy ghost story with the largest group possible.'
And I had just acquired the ability to do it.
In my quadruped form, I bowed politely and concluded my second visit to the Moonlight Tattoo Shop.
The agreed‑upon time with the agents was fast approaching.
* * *
"Agent Bronze."
Ryu Jaekwan turned his head.
His senior, who'd been playing with the kids and just waved goodbye, was approaching.
"Agent Choi."
The moment the children disappeared from view, Agent Choi's smile faded.
"There's none left."
"..."
"I guess we really have no choice this time, Bronze-ah."
"I…"
Jaekwan clenched his teeth.
"I told you we should leave yesterday…!"
"..."
"Breaking the rules, giving false hope…"
"I know."
Agent Choi habitually mimed putting a cigarette to his lips, then caught himself and laughed softly.
"But at least we tried our best. No regrets that way."
"..."
"That's what I think."
Ryu Jaekwan quietly clenched his fist.
"And besides, we didn't break the one truly critical rule… not revealing the truth about this place."
"..."
That was right.
The Bureau already knew.
Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace is a hallucination induced by hypnosis.
Many agents had confirmed this during missions.
And while they all tried rescuing the children in adult form, each attempt ended in utter failure.
If an infected child is forced onto the escape boat, they undergo acute molting and develop ulcers all over, losing all vital signs.
Never attempt this.
The children transformed into ordinary infected creatures and their bodies would burst, killing them.
After such missions, agents suffered severe trauma and nightmares, often never returning to duty. Since then, the Bureau stopped telling new agents the truth upfront.
"Grapes still doesn't know."
"..."
"Let's keep it from him. Got it?"
Ryu Jaekwan nodded.
At that moment.
Whoosh.
A small shadow flickered near the alley entrance.
The two agents who'd been watching immediately turned to a defensive stance.
Ryu Jaekwan frowned.
"Just now… I thought I saw a cat's shadow…"
"A cat?"
Agent Choi let out a nervous laugh.
"Aigoo, you mean something that just looked like a cat… probably nothing."
"..."
That's right. You can't trust appearances here.
Though this place would dazzle you with the innocence of children, they had already seen what lay beneath.
Ryu Jaekwan slowly crouched and peered around the alley corner.
And… he saw the unexpected.
Life‑sized clockwork animal figurines walking down the alley.
"…Daydream Inc."
"…!"
The Field Exploration Team of Daydream Inc.
Perhaps due to those eerie animal masks, they always appeared in the bizarre form of a 'cute animal-themed drinking fountain', making them stand out even to a child's eyes.
This time was no different.
One had a beautiful butterfly perched on it, another was shaped like a cute pony, and the last resembled a friendly-looking goat.
To a child's eyes, they were simply adorable decorations.
But.
"Hm."
Approaching silently, Agent Choi pulled out something that glittered like wings.
It was a suncatcher made of glass.
'Suncatcher'.
It looked crude, like something made by a child, yet emitted an uncanny light even though there was no sunlight. When raised to the eye…
The truth would become visible.
"…It's them. Damn, these guys are good. They look totally normal, too."
Ryu Jaekwan likewise raised his Suncatcher and checked them.
Three people in suits. Animal masks. Butterfly, pony, and…
Goat.
"..."
That one.
Ryu Jaekwan gripped the glass tightly, blood running cold.
He recognized that guy.
'Kim Soleum's coworker…!'
It was the man in the black goat mask he had seen at Sekwang Technical High School.
Recalling the conversation with the one in the buffalo mask at the time, it was clear this man knew Kim Soleum fairly well.
'If that's the case.'
If, by some chance, someone recognized Kim Soleum's features hidden beneath a child's appearance.
If they started asking questions.
'No.'
He couldn't allow that damn company to track down someone who had barely managed to get out and rebuild his life.
Ryu Jaejwan's mouth opened on its own.
"Agent."
"Mmh?"
"Wouldn't it be better to subdue them and drive them out now?"
"Oh."
Agent Choi shrugged his shoulders.
"Bronze-ah. We've got only one day left. Why stir up trouble now?"
Of course, the Disaster Management Bureau already knew that the damn company was sneaking into this place using some private route only they were aware of.
But they hadn't acted on it. Fighting them might only lead to civilian casualties.
Resources were best used to save more people, to end the supernatural disaster more effectively.
"Let's just keep an eye on the kids instead, just in case."
"..."
"…Is what I should say!"
A twisted smile spread across Agent Choi's face.
He looked at one of the staff.
The one wearing the butterfly mask, stamped with a gold emblem.
"…An elite team member is here."
A dangerous glint flashed in Agent Choi's eyes.
"If we toss them into a glass cell for obstructing official duties, I bet we'd get some prime intel."
"...!"
"Let's go."
The agents began to move.
* * *
"A-Assistant Manager!"
Jin Nasol clutched her throbbing head and looked toward the dumb brat sprinting toward her.
"Over there, over there…!"
And behind him, there were mer-children chasing after him.
Only, they had no tails.
"Special variant, huh."
Jin Nasol's index and thumb extended unnaturally, revealing a sharp, chilling thread of silvery wire between her nails.
"…What a drag."
Jin Nasol looked up.
Something peered around the corner of the alley, staring right at her.
A tail‑less mer-child.
It hurled something at her.
Whoosh.
The projectile glittered in the dim light.
Without hesitation, Jin Nasol reached out, grabbed the fleeing employee by the scruff and stopped the attack.
"Hicc!"
The moment glass shards struck the employee, bubble‑like shards erupted across his body, encasing head and hands in a crystalline cage.
Then, over it all, a geometric, traditional seal appeared, as if stamped in midair.
'…The Bureau!'
[Warning. You are currently obstructing a rescue operation in a supernatural disaster.]
[Cease obstruction of official duty and surrender. Surrender. Surrender…]
The seal emitted a recorded warning.
It was mandatory whenever a civilian obstructs a Disaster Bureau operation. At the same time, it functioned as an item. Hearing that broadcast drains aggression and compels compliance.
Well, that is, for ordinary people.
'Nuisance.'
A vein pulsed in Jin Nasol's temple beneath the golden mask of the elite team.
Those weren't merfolk fledglings but agent punks in disguise.
"How irritating."
"Ugh…"
Jin Nasol kicked the bound employee aside, then, as if by magic, donned her monocle to identify the agents.
Two agents stood beyond the corner.
'Should I pursue them?'
No, no. The priority was finishing the mission quickly and racking up points. Maximal effect for minimal effort. That meant ditching tedious item searches and boarding the escape vessel to clear the Darkness.
But…
"What a fucking drag."
A severed nail soared like a projectile, embedding itself in the far wall.
"…!"
Her irritation boiled over into action. Nails screeched as they gouged the wall, catching on the corner.
Along with a few of Agent Choi's cut bangs.
"Agent!"
"Uck, what a piece of work."
But these were Black Tortoise Team 1 veterans, adept at one‑on‑one combat. Even in a child's form, Agent Choi dodged with practiced ease.
"When you reel in the wire, pursue."
He moved…
Then Assistant Manager Butterfly seized the wire and fired it back, aiming at the mer-child behind the agent.
The two Disaster Bureau agents rolled aside and returned fire.
Shattered glass shards flew.
"Argh!"
Jin Nasol pulled the bound employee toward her using the wire on her forefinger, blocking the shot.
The Daydream Inc. employee was hit by a Bureau restraint round and screamed,
"Ahh! A mer-child! Merfolk!!"
The fool cried as if a Bureau bullet would kill them, though they weren't even scratched.
And they still saw only a mer-child—clearly his brain was completely gone…
...Hmm.
Jin Nasol peered through her monocle again.
Behind the two agents, there was one more.
A mer-child.
...!
At that moment, one of the unusual 'agent' entities—slightly larger—shifted its position to better hide the mer-child.
"Aha."
A-squad's Assistant Manager Butterfly narrowed her eyes. She tossed the bound employee at the agent, then sprang the wire nail again.
This time, toward the mer-child behind the agent.
"…!"
Ping.
The nail clicked off the wall and flew true.
The Bureau agent moved again.
"Ha."
Jin Nasol seized the opening, sliding backward out of the standoff.
For a brief moment, her headache vanished in a rush of exhilaration. Because if the Bureau agents had truly committed to defending that point… there was only one possibility left.
'Is a mer-child considered a civilian?'
This meant…
—Critical intel for a manual revision!
Huge points.
Jin Nasol's eyes shone fiercely.
Anger aside, she had to board that escape vessel immediately. A clear priority had emerged.
'If all else fails, take the mer-child hostage.'
Jin Nasol casually snapped off the part attached to her nail and hurled it forward.
A smoke screen billowed up.
Using the gap in the obscured view, she slipped back through the alley by a hair's breadth.
Her mind had conceived the simplest, most violent solution, yet her relentless focus on points demanded a smarter plan, and the words tumbled out…
"Hey."
Jin Nasol used her wire to eavesdrop, then yanked in the other rookie employee who'd been plotting an escape route in the meantime.
The woman wearing the pony mask.
"Yes, yes?"
"Draw their attention to you."
"Me?"
Kang Yihak, the pony‑masked rookie, pointed at herself in surprise, eyes wide.
"You'll at most be detained, thrown in a cell, then released. You're still a rookie—no obstruction record, no grounds to lock you up."
"Oh…"
Kang Yihak glanced back, then beamed.
"Brilliant plan, Assistant Manager! Then let's have Mr. Goat do it. Look at him, he's pretending to be a dead rat anyway…"
"One gold piece per day of detention."
"I respectfully volunteer."
The unrelenting gold‑worshipper grinned and gave an immediate thumbs‑up.
"Just one thing, Assistant Manager. If you're lying, I'll squeal your personal info to the Bureau, then take out a long‑term secured loan in your name on the way out."
"Go right ahead."
Leaving the rookie as a decoy, Jin Nasol stepped back and began to run for a quick escape…
Khiiiiiiing—
Blades rained down.
"…!!"
Bell‑tipped guillotines poured out all around, blocking her path and embedding in Jin Nasol's legs.
'…!'
A wave of excruciating pain shot up her limbs, paralyzing them.
Most of the Bureau's anti‑human gear is designed to kill marked villains when minimal deaths are required in a supernatural disaster.
They were tools for subduing and killing as needed.
"Oh, come on!"
One agent in the form of a tailless mer-child laughed, shoved Kang Yihak aside, and charged toward her.
'That goddamn bastard.'
It was targeting the elite team.
Occasionally a veteran agent would behave like this.
Field records and testimonies from the elite team were prime intel.
And besides, anyone who rose to that level at Daydream Inc. was assumed villainous.
Locked up, you could squeeze them for anything.
'Should I just kill this fucker?'
Whoever it was, he's been obstructing her at every turn.
Crawling on her belly, Jin Nasol reached into her suit and drew out a lethal weapo
B O W D O W N
A t r e m e n d o u s w i l l
slammed into the entire alley.
Everything froze.
Contextless violence.
The fleeing employees of Daydream Inc., the goat mask with his head bowed, the mer-children, the agents from the Disaster Management Bureau, and even the pony mask mid-gesture.
All of them could only move their eyeballs, looking upward.
A massive eye was watching.
No. It was language.
■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■
A sinister string of words was being spoken aloud, and the very sound became a gaze directed at humankind. Words that couldn't be described—language from beyond, fundamentally unknowable, conceptually ungraspable—came crashing down from another dimension.
Be grateful that you can't understand it! The moment you do, it's irreversible!
One of Daydream Inc. Corporation's employees, collapsed on the ground, began frothing at the mouth, convulsed, and ended up strangling themselves.
S p e a k
The mer-children who had been laughing suddenly collapsed.
B o w d o w n
Kang Yihak gaped up at the sky, vacant, then slammed her forehead into the ground.
A muttering voice.
S p e a k
It wasn't even saying that in the first place! But when filtered through human comprehension, that's what it sounded like. Oh, the whispers of the abyss. Deep. So deepSoalluringWemustescapeButwecannotescape??????Soalluringandsoprofane?????Wemustworshipit????
"D-Death…"
One person said so. Muttered.
"That guy said we're all gonna die. Told us to prepare for death, uh…"
"What are you talking about?"
Jin Nasol barely managed to grab someone by the collar—not just anyone, but the rookie in the goat mask.
"That guy told us to prepare for death! Death! The cat! That monster, Kim Sol…!"
A mouth appeared above the alley.
A massive shadow of an open mouth, as if to swallow everything.
It began to speak.
It's still reading something! It's reading—no, no…!
Damn it.
"Agent Choi loaded the strongest mental defense round he had into the glass handgun, feeling an overwhelming urge to bite down on his own tongue. There were only three rounds—prioritization was crucial."
What? Wait.
The narration and thoughts were starting to merge.
"Even the thoughts and words of Daydream Inc.'s employees are now being understood. Agent Bronze swallowed hard. …The supernatural structure of the ghost story, which normally only presents hallucinations to children, is being ignored."
Hold on.
"A chilling sense of crisis crawled up the scar on his neck."
This phenomenon that's appearing right now, this is…
"Annihilation-sanctioned?"
"What do you want?! What do you want from us?! Why are we dying?! I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I'll do anything—I don't even know what I'm supposed to do, but I'll do it! Please, just go awa—
"..."
"..."
It vanished.
Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace and Mermaid Grave returned to view.
Thud—
They collapsed to the ground, eyes vacant. The indescribably vast ■■■ had disappeared, and the void slowly filled…
And then, a grim premonition.
"Just now you said you'd do anything…"
All eyes turned to the black goat mask-wearing Baek Saheon.
"If I go away, you'll do anything, you said…"
As Baek Saheon's face went ashen—
Jingle.
"…!"
Something emerged silently from the darkness at the alley's end.
"That…"
It was a black cat.
The red‑eyed quadruped stared blankly at the humans.
A symbol of misfortune, a history of fear and persecution, a familiar street animal passing through everyday life.
The protagonist of the most famous short horror tale.
The cat stepped forward.
"…!"
A crackling sound accompanied its shifting form.
Tension rippled through the crowd. They halted their complex rivalries and conflicts to watch the moving creature.
Before the black‑goat mask, it opened its mouth.
[This way]
"…!"
A will was spoken.
[This way]
The cat's gaze was directed towards that side.
Baek Saheon staggered to his feet, glared at the cat with a pale face, then began to move.
The black quadruped walked alongside him. Humans and mer-children alike staggered along…
'It's working, it's working.'
Even if inside he was Kim Soleum swallowing cold sweat and tears!
– Do you have a sticker for tattoos that reads aloud anything I input, like an app? …Ah! You can print it on the spot?
Yes, that's right.
At Moonlight Tattoo Shop, Kim Soleum had purchased a music‑note tattoo sticker that 'transmits thoughts as spoken words' and applied it to his paw-pad.
He moved on all fours, desperately projecting composed authority.
In any case, he was relieved that events were unfolding as intended.
'I thought I'd actually go crazy!'
* * *
A few hours earlier.
'Huu.'
Emerging from Moonlight Tattoo Shop, Kim Soleum shed his cat guise and returned to being a child.
He surveyed the surroundings—once again a blissful paradise—and stifled a shudder.
The old stamp was now tattered. One more use and it'd be spent…. But this absolutely deed had to be done in human form.
"I finally have the chance to try it."
He retrieved the item he had been saving.
Deep within the inventory tattoo on his skin, he at last drew out the object he'd bought long ago at the Space Shopping Mall.
'Huu.'
Right then…
It was a strange tome. Its cover was bound in human skin, finished with dark red wax, bearing human faces mid‑scream.
Necronomicon
The Book of Death.
Kim Soleum stared at the ancient grimoire, its red‑wax seal seeming to hold back unspeakable secrets.
'…Braun recognized it.'
But there's one thing about it.
– This is not the Necronomicon you're thinking of.
It's exactly as he said back then.
Kim Soleum reverted to cat form and shifted his forepaws. To reduce suspicion.
By carefully feeling beneath the wax with his paws… he could find it.
There, at the edge, was a tiny hinge.
Of course. This thing…
'This grim tome was really just a bookcase.'
When he opened it—
Click.
He saw a wireless‑bound softcover with neat, standard fonts and cover.
네크로노미콘
Easy Korean Revised Edition Now Available!
A slick yet tacky modern publication.
"..."
At this point you're probably thinking, '????' but just bear it a bit more.
He flipped the cover. Beyond the table of contents, the text began.
Wijah e'i wijah e'i enkuru ga zakayip hirigeubu someruka bua-teu ni— allat hotelp peurigibeu winiwi-keu zaiche-ruleuge
…Did you catch that?
Alien words written in approximated phonetics.
Right. This book was a (different kind of) horrific mistranslation…!
According to researchers in the
A botched edition that clumsily mimicked the pronunciation of some old‑version Necronomicon!
'In cosmic horror, fictional tongues are nearly impossible to fully pronounce or understand, so this was truly pointless.'
Needless to say, it couldn't summon the madness or cosmic dread of the real thing. Its true nature was…
A ghost story mocking crowdfunding scams.
Mm-hmm, right. That sort of item.
Yet in every ghost story, there's always at least one gruesome side effect.
And this corrupted edition had exactly one—appropriate to its scam theme.
Exactly what's expected… A psychological effect.
When this book is read aloud, the reader falls into a state of delusion, experiencing madness and fear as if a colossal entity has truly descended.
It is also estimated that all individuals within a 10-meter radius who hear the reader's voice are subject to similar effects.
The more deeply the reader is immersed in horror media or possesses a high level of suggestibility, the more vivid and pronounced the effects become.
At the very least, it provides the reader with an immersive experience– making it, relatively speaking, a more 'honest' form of deception.
—Assistant Manager Lee Yeonhwa of Research Team 1
In short, a bluff item for intimidation!
And a little embarrassing…
The more deeply the reader is immersed in horror media or possesses a high level of suggestibility, the more vivid and pronounced the effects become.
…Which meant, Kim Soleum judged, it was an item made for him.
'Keuugh.'
Of course, he nearly lost his mind reading it.
Without the lemonade from Moonlight Tattoo Shop, he might have bled from every pore.
Anyway.
'I can't do that anymore.'
He couldn't read another line. He'd go mad mid‑reading. And if he stayed in cat form and was caught reading it, the plan would be ruined.
But that terrifying psychological effect only triggered when reading the Necronomicon.
So, disguised as a cat now, Kim Soleum's abilities were no different from any other street animal…
'Could I… fool them?'
But he had to try.
[This way]
And so Kim Soleum resolutely led the Daydream Inc. employees and the Disaster Bureau agents as if he were an extraordinary creature.
'Please, I implore you, just help me escape.'
Their destination…
The place where the Angel's Sigh still remained.
Kim Soleum thought to himself.
If he'd had his 'Good Friend' with him in this absurd situation, he could almost guess what he'd say.
– Oh! Deception, yes. An effective tool of governance since ancient times. I can't wait to see how the crowd will be guided. This is getting exciting…
Something like that.
'Come to think of it, there's no room to carry a stuffed bunny when you're on all fours.'
Kim Soleum zoned out on that thought, desperately distracting himself.
Because the stares from behind were too intense…
'Gaaah!'
Behind him, the Daydream Inc. employees and Disaster Bureau agents followed as if entranced.
Even the mer-children—rather, the children—were trailing after him.
'This far?'
It felt like he was about to break out in cold sweat.
He'd deliberately steered the two factions into witnessing each other, heightening chaos so the fake Necronomicon's psych effect would hit harder!
But he never expected it to work this well, with no one breaking away and everyone actually following him.
'If they find out, I'm massively screwed…'
He could only imagine what those veterans would do if they realized the truth. His paws felt damp with dread.
Yet astonishingly, Kim Soleum managed not to betray any of it.
His survivor's instinct from his rookie days at the ghost‑story company kicked in.
As a result, they took him for the avatar of that cosmic‑horror entity behind the horrific phenomenon they'd just experienced.
Even that guy who'd suspected this cat's true identity!
"Um…"
Baek Saheon.
The goat‑masked employee walking next to the cat finally found his voice after what felt like an eternity of hell.
"What on earth…"
The cat stared.
It halted, and with red‑glowing eyes, silently beheld the black‑goat mask.
"..."
"..."
"...Ugh."
At last, Baek Saheon covered his mouth, sweat beading on his spinning eyes, and started walking again…
'He's not killing me.'
'He's definitely not going to kill me.'
'He definitely has a purpose.'
Just as rational thought began to resurface in everyone's heads, the massive terror in cat form spoke again.
In a different tongue.
[10]
…A countdown.
"…!"
[9]
And the cat's paws quickened.
[8]
It began shrinking away, toward the far side of town.
If you didn't follow right away, who knew what would happen…
[7]
With cold sweat dripping down their napes, everyone fell silent and followed the cat's resumed stride.
A rare scene even for seasoned ghost‑story investigators.
Because they all knew this unwritten rule.
—In a ghost story, if you scream blindly and run, you usually die.
Thus the logic of the tale protected Kim Soleum!
Moreover, with a bizarre entity planted between these two hostile factions, they now kept each other in check, unable to act rashly.
'Thanks, Baek Saheon…!'
Thanks to him, despite his sweaty paws, Kim Soleum was able to cultivate real fear and pressure as he guided them.
The ominous black cat pressed on, its paws carrying it at lightning speed deeper into the city.
The employees dodged patches of ulcerous slime along the way, and the agents hoisted children whose legs ached onto their backs. They all hurried along.
Eventually, past the city streets, a strange building appeared…
"Huh?"
"It looks like… a cathedral?"
It was a stained‑glass structure at the eastern edge—though its windows were shattered and its symbols destroyed.
The cat silently entered that ruined building and moved beyond a collapsed beam into a strangely concealed space.
Amazingly, there lay a small annex.
"…!"
"I've never been here before."
Hidden by the collapsed structure, this annex was a place the Daydream Inc. employees had never noticed. Or rather, didn't even know existed.
Through the eyes of children bewitched by Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace, it must have looked like a fully intact, beautiful building…
"This is the spot we searched last time, right?"
"Yes. No anomalies were found."
So, one side entered warily, the other with puzzled suspicion—both following the black cat inside.
[This way]
The cat stopped only once it reached the annex, in front of the left interior wall.
Directly beneath a small, torn painting.
Baek Saheon hesitated.
"…What am I supposed to do with this?"
[This way]
Shit.
Baek Saheon broke into a cold sweat as he examined the damaged painting, then spun around and smiled.
"Um, Ms. Pony."
Despite how Kang Yihak pretended not to hear, Baek Saheon pressed on.
"I'm not great at art… Could you take a look? I feel like there's a safe hidden behind this painting…"
"A safe?"
"Yes."
In an instant, Kang Yihak stepped forward. She studied the painting intently, then…
"Aha."
She reached out confidently and pulled it aside.
Behind it was, sure enough, a rusty iron locking mechanism.
"…!"
It was supposed to be a bluff, so why was it actually there?!
Baek Saheon nearly grabbed her by the collar.
'If only I'd done this myself…'
Kang Yihak sprang into action.
"Cat-nim."
She knelt before the cat. Kim Soleum nearly toppled backward, but held his form with practiced composure.
Kang Yihak's eyes glittered.
"The safe key! Where could it be?"
Good grief.
"Haha, you said to bow earlier, so I gave it a try. A hint about how valuable what's inside might be would be… nice."
[This way]
The cat remained (unwillingly) resolute!
Meanwhile, Baek Saheon quietly reached out, gripped the safe door, and wrenched it open.
Creeeeak.
"Oh—it just unlocked…!"
Everyone from Daydream Inc. froze. One, two, three… twelve.
Inside the safe were twelve beautiful, white conch shells, each tied with a golden cord.
These were rare treasures once scattered across the city, now nearly impossible to find.
"T‑The Angel's Sigh!"
Thirteen 'Angel's Sigh' items discovered in the safe of the annex beside the ruined cathedral at the city's eastern edge. Due to the building's significance, these were likely professional stockpiles.
This was what the cat had wanted to show them.
The cat watched, red eyes gleaming, as the employees beamed with joy.
If this had been a post‑exploration find, they could've quietly led everyone on to another site, but this was the place it had to be.
There was a reason.
But the promised side effects were unavoidable.
'Item!'
Greed flickered in the Daydream Inc. employees' eyes.
'How many points is that worth?'
'I've got to take them all.'
Yet they still hesitated, under the lingering fear summoned by the fake Necronomicon.
They seemed certain the cat's true, immense malice would trigger some terrible condition if they acted rashly.
And so…
[This way]
The cat moved on again.
A suffocating silence followed.
Then… it sat before the children—the agents of the Disaster Management Bureau.
"…!"
"It's a cat doll! Cute!"
"No! You can't, Jiji-ya!"
Agent Choi barred the mer-child from pouncing on the cat.
Ryu Jaekwan broke into a cold sweat.
In any case, having glimpsed the otherworld, the cat could detect the agents' voices as they were still disguised as 'children'.
And it urged them, again.
[This way]
"…It looks like it wants us to look inside that safe."
"..."
They calmed the mer-children, then approached the safe with caution.
The Daydream Inc. employees' hands itched in greed, but they stayed silent.
Finally, the agents peered in…
"..."
"…Bronze-ah, can you see it?"
"No."
"I see."
Agent Choi wiped cold sweat from his brow and forced a grin.
"…There's nothing here."
That's right.
To the agents in child form, the gleaming ivory interior of the safe appeared completely empty.
"But actually, there is something here, right?"
Agent Choi raised his suncatcher again and peered at the spot where the Daydream Inc. employees had been gushing.
He finally confirmed it.
"…!"
There really were twelve conch shells.
Agent Choi hurriedly asked one of the mer-children,
"Hey, kid, can you see that?"
"What? See what? What's there?"
"I—"
"I see a cat," the children answered with innocent cheer.
The agents realized.
This item is invisible only to children.
More precisely… they simply cannot perceive it.
'Wait…'
Agent Bronze felt a chill run down his spine.
'So… there was a critical item the Bureau never identified until now...'
They had always infiltrated the ghost story in child form. In that guise, they could not even sense the conch shells. Only by forced searching might they barely find them.
But at this moment, the Disaster Management Bureau agents had learned of the shells' existence…
Agent Choi whipped his head toward the cat, but the cat calmly looked back and once again conveyed its will.
[This way]
"Agent—"
"Ah, no no, it's fine."
Agent Choi answered the call.
He reached into the safe to touch where the shells lay…
But he couldn't.
"..."
He wasn't allowed to.
The hallucination that underpins Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace—the root of this ghost story and its infection—was rejecting any attempt to touch the shells.
"Then…"
[This way]
"..."
Agent Choi fell silent.
As if its turn concluded, the cat moved on, its steps heading straight for Baek Saheon.
'Why me again?!'
Baek Saheon yelped inwardly, yet in the next instant he realized.
"Oh… Shall I gather these conch shells, sir?"
Exactly.
'It's telling me to collect the items!'
Filled with a sudden thrill at obeying the cat's command for the first time, Baek Saheon thrust his hand into the safe and grabbed the shells.
[10]
Even in his joy, his mind spun with calculations
'How do I scoop up all twelve in this situation?'
Had the cat spoken only to him, he could've grabbed them all at once. But now, he'd have to hand a few to my nasty boss and money‑obsessed coworker to keep them satisfied.
'Fuck.'
[9]
It must have assembled everyone here to create a more dramatic, sensational scene. That cat is that psychopathic bastard Kim Soleum…
'Wait a minute…'
Baek Saheon paused.
That insane, strange, grotesque pressure he'd just felt—this presence—was beyond what any mere human psychopath could muster, right?
The red halo around Kim Soleum felt different, too.
Though Baek Saheon had seen danger halos on humans before, this one was… something else entirely.
[8]
It felt more like the anomalous phenomena described in ghost stories…
A sense of the uncanny.
'No way.'
No way his old roommate was simply an inhuman psychopath…
[7]
'He was never really human…'
A shiver ran down his spine.
But the boat had sailed. He had to gather the items.
'Doesn't matter.'
[6]
The countdown neared its end.
Baek Saheon gritted his teeth and swiftly collected the golden‑corded conch shells, ignoring Kang Yihak's peeks and the intense gazes of his boss and the agents.
When he'd swept all twelve into his bag…
"Huh?"
He found one more shell hidden at the very bottom.
It lacked a golden cord, but it was indeed an Angel's Sigh.
'Bonus.'
As he wondered how to pocket it secretly and reached out—
[This way]
Something sprang out from inside.
"…!"
Baek Saheon almost tripped over the cat and fell.
The slimy infection spurting from inside the conch shell flew through the air but lost its target.
"Argh!"
Baek Saheon quickly threw the shell he'd been holding.
Agent Bronze, watching with the suncatcher in hand, dashed forward and struck the slime‑shooting shell with his glass handgun.
Bang! With a short crack, the shell shattered, and the tick‑like chunk of flesh twitched and crawled out like a bug, only to be hit by another round and flung against the floor.
Crunch.
Jin Nasol's shoe crushed it into the ground.
"..."
In the bone‑chilling silence, everyone turned to look at the cat.
The ghost‑story entity that had forcibly guided them here.
* * *
Phew.
I did my best to avert my gaze from the others, feeling as though I'd break out in a cold sweat.
It wasn't hard in a cat's body.
'I just wanted to verify this.'
That's why I'd chosen this spot among all the places I could farm Angel's Sigh shells.
The moment you grab the shell hidden at the very bottom of the safe, infective slime will spurt out.
That was the trap, the unique danger of this place.
Like a mimic, the biohazard had parasitized an apparently useful item, hiding within in a classic, creepy horror twist.
But when you combine that trope with what I learned from the tattooist…
'It becomes an even clearer hint.'
A hint at the conch shells' true nature.
■■.
From the tattooist's overwhelming sensory insight at Moonlight Tattoo Shop, the shells—Angel's Sigh—were tied to dark, catastrophic events.
Likely the insane infection and the city's ruin.
Yet at the same time, the shells bore the opposite image of solace and healing.
Add the tattooist's words—'Even knowing rationally it's not a threat, its very image feels filthy and horrific'—and reassemble the clues…
—Originally a cure, the conch shells triggered a catastrophic event, though that wasn't their intended function.
…You arrive at this deduction.
So who contaminated the shells?
'A very obvious suspect.'
—A biohazard ulcer burrowed into the shells, posing as Angel's Sigh.
The biohazard‑merfolk's tactic of creating the Twinkle Twinkle Ocean Palace hallucination to ensnare child hosts is identical.
'It first hid in the shells, spreading infection.'
Thus the children became infected, this madness raced unchecked, and the city's civilization distrusted the shells so much that they prevented timely treatment…
'Everything fits.'
Kim Soleum had driven everyone here so he could convey this hint directly, without suspicion.
And…
"Aha."
Here was someone who'd grasped the hint exactly.
"..."
As Agent Choi picked up a shard of the broken shell, goosebumps ran up his hand.
Almost a thrill.
The sharp and experienced spot clues quickly, drawing them closer to the answer.
"A cure?"
He looked back at the cat.
"This is a cure?"
"…!!"
"So you blocked the kids from seeing or touching the shells, mixed in blanks to mislead them—to keep them from being cured."
The cat offered no reply, but Agent Choi was already certain.
In a voice so calm it hardly seemed directed at the presence that moments ago had exuded pure terror, he declared,
"Yes. This… is a cure."
"..."
Tension began to thicken the air.
'What…?'
To the Daydream Inc. employees, his words sounded only like mer-child giggles.
Unintelligible, yet the uncanny atmosphere prickled their instincts.
"But here's the thing…"
Agent Choi glanced at the bag Baek Saheon clutched.
Baek Saheon's hand tightened on the strap.
"There are twenty‑eight children out there."
And they were all too infected to escape.
"But only twelve shells… and look whose hands they're in."
Agent Choi raised his hand, then readied his glass handgun…
[10]
"..."
[9]
The cat…
Before anyone knew it, it was now seated somewhere else.
[8]
At Jin Nasol's shoes.
"What."
[7]
"I don't know what you want me to do."
[6]
"'Do what you were going to do,' is that it?"
[5]
"Fine, go ahead then."
[4]
And so Jin Nasol did as planned.
[3]
The Daydream Inc. elite team assistant manager flicked her attack wire from her nail…
Not at an agent, but at a mer-child.