Chapter 25: External Night Shift

Red.

Dizziness.

Cold.

Blurred vision.

Early dawn.

Concrete ground soaked with dew.

A low ceiling, peeling paint, fluorescent lights that would not turn on.

A gray city.

Blocked-off buildings.

Beyond the shattered windows, grotesquely twisted shadows crawled about.

And then.

“…This is.”

Blood.

Red traces scattered everywhere.

Fresh blood covering marble walls.

And something coagulated bubbling up from beneath a drain.

Bodies lay sprawled across that filth.

Their faces could not be seen.

Because there was nothing left that could be called a face.

Black uniforms stained with blood and dust.

A massive black sledgehammer rolling beside them.

Dried bloodstains clinging to the weapon’s head.

Blood.

Flesh.

Fragments of skull.

“Staff Sergeant Jeong Haeil.”

A strangely viscous voice.

A voice that sounded human.

And at the same time did not.

And then.

Darkness.

The world was dyed black.

“Gasp…!”

I shot upright as I sucked in air.

“…Ha… Haa… Haa…”

Sweat ran down my forehead.

My lips were dry.

My hands trembled.

The feeling of the dream still clung to my entire body.

A bed.

The familiar sight of my small apartment.

It was my room.

The back of my neck turned cold.

‘…Damn it. How long has it been?’

Breathing heavily, I slowly sat up.

My body was burning.

My clothes were completely soaked with cold sweat.

A headache struck me.

Thump.

Thump.

I pressed a hand against my forehead.

Thump.

My fingertips trembled slightly.

My heart pounded hard.

That vivid and familiar nightmare.

‘…I had been fine for a while.’

What did it mean that the nightmare that had tormented me for so long had returned?

Had I simply relaxed because I had adapted to the company?

Or perhaps…

— Reconstruction begins by cutting away the irrational flows that generate negative emotions.

‘Don’t think about it.’

I pressed hard against the back of my neck.

The cold sweat still refused to stop.

Then a notification sounded from the phone on the bedside table.

I stared at it.

7:30 a.m.

The company was still waiting for me today as well.

***

“Huff. Huff. Huff.”

Without looking back, I checked the mask I had stored in one of the lockers in the Extraction Room.

‘Let’s see. This is still here too.’

I had received it, but it was so unsettling that I preferred to store it away unless it looked like I was about to face something truly dangerous.

After confirming that Manager Myeon’s face was still there, I moved on to the next part of my routine.

I slightly raised the tablet in my right hand and reviewed the work details.

Magnetized Entrails

Dimensional Entity Code: D-16

Extraction Method: Specialized Extractor

Estimated Time: 3 minutes 30 seconds

“…It’s still writhing perfectly today as well.”

I tapped the screen once more and slowly stepped out into the hallway.

From behind came the sound of paws running at full speed.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

“Huff huff huff.”

The White and Chubby Furball

At first glance, it was far too large to be called either a dog or a cat.

Round, completely red eyes the size of fists.

Long, white, dense, abundant fur.

The reason this creature was allowed to wander outside its containment chamber dated back only a few days.

Just as I was finishing an extraction and preparing to leave, it grabbed my clothes with its mouth and refused to let me go.

I had been sitting down eating a chocolate bar while organizing observation records.

— Hey, you need to go back inside… Uh, wait.

The White and Chubby Furball looked at me.

It seemed to be crying.

Or perhaps it was trying to say something.

I asked Assistant Manager Son, who happened to be passing by, for help.

— Assistant Manager Son, this thing doesn’t want to go back in.

After staring at me for a few seconds, he waved the hands protruding from his head.

— Oh really? Then just take it with you. Just make sure to return it to its chamber before you leave work.

Even if it was a dimensional entity, that seemed like far too careless a management policy.

But I was an ordinary human.

There was no way I could overpower a lion-sized quadruped by force.

That was how the White and Chubby Furball practically became my pet.

Whenever I was extracting other dimensional entities and something felt strange, it would bark at the top of its lungs to warn me.

Sometimes it would even enter containment chambers and bite things on my behalf.

To be honest, it was quite useful.

“All right. The Magnetized Entrails were extracted without any problems.”

After finishing the job, in a corner of the D-Area extraction corridor.

I dropped down onto the floor and caught my breath while looking at the White and Chubby Furball.

It sat heavily on its rear with a Plop.

Its tongue hung out.

Its red eyes rolled as it watched me.

I reached into my pocket, pulled out a crumpled chocolate wrapper, and quietly opened one.

“Here. Good work today too.”

I tossed it toward its paws.

The White and Chubby Furball immediately began shaking its head frantically as it devoured the chocolate.

Crunch! Crunch! Munch! Munch!

For a moment, it nearly swallowed the paper wrapper too.

Then it spat it out.

Ptui!

As I watched it, an absurd thought crossed my mind.

‘Wasn’t chocolate dangerous for dogs?’

At that moment, the White and Chubby Furball looked at me and stuck out its tongue.

“…Well, it’s not a dog.”

I muttered while picking up the wrapper and putting it back into my pocket.

When I patted its round head, Director Mok walked past us.

He glanced at us from the corner of his eye.

For some reason, he seemed satisfied.

His gaze clearly conveyed a single message.

‘…You’ve gotten used to it.’

I quietly stood up and dusted off my clothes.

The White and Chubby Furball followed after me, gliding along without making a sound.

It wouldn’t be long before walking through the extraction corridors felt completely natural.

“Let’s go.”

I murmured to it.

As though it were the most obvious thing in the world, it started following me.

Only a month had passed since I joined the company.

I had already given up trying to understand it.

And I had reached the point where I had a dimensional entity as a pet.

The desire to quit.

Was still as strong as ever.

***

I quietly opened the familiar office door.

Creak.

The office of Extraction Team 1 appeared before me.

Thud.

I settled onto a sofa in the corner and leaned back.

“Huff. Huff.”

The White and Chubby Furball rested its head on my knees.

Its face was so covered in fur that its red eyes and tongue were barely visible.

A damp breath escaped from within the fur.

“Yeah. Good job.”

I smiled faintly as I rubbed its round, soft head.

Then I remembered how it used to whine in front of the containment chamber.

Clinging to the doorframe with those short legs and desperately refusing to part from me.

‘It’s as adorable as a puppy.’

A small laugh escaped my lips.

There wasn’t much work left to do.

The extraction records and workload logs were automatically uploaded to the server through some unknown method.

Those responsible only had to review them before leaving.

When I turned on the desk monitor, a new notification appeared.

[A-22 The Portrait of a Dismantled God: Updated Extraction Manual]

I clicked it.

The document appeared on a black screen with white letters.

I slowly scrolled through the text.

And stopped.

‘…Just as I thought.’

The image of Manager Myeon appeared in my mind.

His determined steps toward The Portrait of a Dismantled God.

The incomprehensible tongues emerging simultaneously from his seven faces.

The new mouths being born inside other mouths.

Even when the god’s heartbeat made the heart itself tremble.

There had not been the slightest trace of worship or reverence in him.

‘That was not a normal extraction method.’

It was probably something only Manager Myeon could do.

After all, most employees do not have seven mouths.

So they would not be able to speak as much as he could.

“Mr. Jeong.”

The voice that sounded behind me made my spine tense up reflexively.

A long, pale hand rested on my shoulder.

I swallowed a scream.

I forced a smile so natural that my facial muscles almost hurt before turning around.

“Manager Myeon. Did you call me?”

Manager Myeon maintained his smile as he patted my shoulder.

“If you are going to write reports, it is also good to review the extraction manuals.”

One of his smiling faces looked at the document on the screen.

“You do not need to worry. Mr. Jeong will never have to extract an A-rank dimensional entity.”

“Yes. I thought it might help me in the long run.”

“Very good. That is an excellent attitude.”

I swallowed and nodded.

He adjusted his suit again and slowly began walking away.

“And before you leave, make sure to convince the White and Chubby Furball to return to its chamber.”

Upon hearing that, the White and Chubby Furball, which was curled up at my feet, kicked the floor with its hind legs.

Thump!

“Whine…!”

Unlike before, it now genuinely seemed unwilling to go back into the chamber.

I sighed and patted its back.

“You should learn a little about working life too.”

A strange company.

Strange coworkers.

Strange dimensional entities.

And a terribly strange manager.

I took out another chocolate bar and stuffed it into its mouth.

Crunch! Munch! Crunch!

It devoured it instantly.

“Let’s just do what we’re told. Okay?”

Normality was very far away.

There was no way back.

And now I knew that a kind boss could be something truly terrifying.

So…

It was better to work hard.

***

I got off work.

Well, saying that I “got off work” was relative. When quitting time arrived, I simply opened the office door.

I had also recently remembered that during the interview, Manager Myeon had said the company would handle transportation to and from work.

‘I didn’t know this was what he meant.’

My suit was covered in fur after I had practically forced the White and Chubby Furball back into its containment chamber.

After eating the takeout food I had brought from the company cafeteria, I collapsed onto my bed with my body exhausted.

“Ugh… I’m dying…”

Was it because that White and Chubby Furball had uselessly refused to go in and drained all my energy?

As soon as I lay down, my eyelids began to close.

And the moment I shut my eyes, a deep sleep immediately dragged me under.

My consciousness sank.

The sensation of falling somewhere.

“I need to… change clothes… and take a shower…”

That was my last memory.

And after I fell asleep, I don’t know how much time passed.

Drip.

“Ugh.”

Something cold touched my face.

I opened my eyes reflexively.

Cold.

Wet.

And slightly viscous.

“Water?”

What…?

I sat up abruptly and looked around.

“Where is this…?”

It was not my apartment.

The familiar fluorescent lights were gone.

The bed.

The refrigerator.

The washing machine.

The drying rack.

None of them were there.

Nor was it the office.

My superiors were gone.

The desks were gone.

The White and Chubby Furball was gone too.

Black walls.

A ceiling where grease and mold mixed together.

Rusty pipes.

A floor covered in layers of mud.

The smell of rotten dust accumulated over years.

And the metallic stench characteristic of old rusted bloodstains mixed with grime.

‘……’

It was not a dream.

Dreams do not feel this heavy.

My skin itched as if it were tearing apart.

The air tasted bitter.

Iron clung to my tongue.

My eyelids felt heavy.

My lungs contracted.

I raised my right hand and wiped the rusty water soaking my shirt.

“Fuuu…”

First, breathe deeply.

Breathe and organize your thoughts.

This is real.

These sensations are real.

I needed the habits I had acquired in the military and at the company.

Survey the surroundings.

Secure your field of vision.

Confirm the structure.

Smells.

Sounds.

Air currents.

The floor had a slight incline.

On the left wall, a bundle of half-burned cables was exposed.

With all that moisture, it looked as though electricity could run through them at any moment.

When I looked up, I saw rusted pipes hanging from the ceiling like teeth.

‘Looks like the rusty water fell on me from there.’

There was only one certainty.

This place was neither my home nor the company.

Had someone moved me while I was asleep?

But why?

‘When I left the company, I simply opened the office door and appeared at the entrance of my home.’

I had never thought much about it.

What if I wasn’t the only one capable of reaching my home?

‘…That doesn’t change anything for now.’

I had to stay calm.

My body was still half asleep.

My mind, on the other hand, was fully awake.

I could feel my survival instincts, honed through working day after day, sending me warnings.

I slightly raised my heels and lowered my center of gravity.

Damp air.

There was no door through which I could have entered.

Nor was there any exit.

Only a dark concrete corridor stretching out before me.

Something was strange.

‘Too quiet.’

In an abandoned building, there should have been the vibrations of fans, rats scurrying around, or cockroaches moving.

But there was nothing here.

‘This is strange.’

A structure that did not exist within the company’s systems.

Something completely different from anything I had seen until now.

The only thing I knew for certain was that this probably was not an ordinary abandoned building.

And I was inside it.

Thump.

The fountain pen pulsed strongly.

The Relics of the Smiling Martyr on my wrist felt warmer than usual.

As I regained my composure through the feedback from the company’s items…

Clank.

From the deep darkness of the corridor came a sound that had not been there a moment ago.

Clank.

A heavy sound.

Rigid.

Clank.

It came again.

Clank.

There was something there.

I held my breath reflexively and lowered my body.

‘Damn it.’

There was only one conclusion.

Looks like I’m in trouble.

Clank.

Because that strange sound was slowly getting closer and closer.

Clank.

Clank.

Clank.