NOVEL NEXT Chapter 22
22nd Episode
To me, the Critical is the last bastion.
It can also be viewed as a golden ticket that’s hard to regain after using just one.
It’s a different feeling compared to Yu Da On, who possesses infinite tickets.
As soon as I raised my gun and aimed—
“!”
Before I could even react, it jumped at me, and Yu Da On first responded, hooking her right arm around its arm to deflect it, then blocking the blade that was thrusting toward her with her left arm.
“Ugh…!”
Blood spurted from her arm, and in the meantime, Jang Chae Yeon, having also reacted, reached out, sending its body flying backward from the powerful impact.
Can we win this fight?
“…Something’s strange.”
Jang Chae Yeon muttered as she looked at her hand.
“There’s no sense of impact.”
“…And it’s fast.”
Yu Da On stroked her arm as she spoke. By now, there were no injuries on her arm.
“I can’t keep blocking indefinitely.”
“I’ll shield you then.”
“…But even that can’t go on forever.”
I wish we could stop fighting.
I gaze at it.
“Deceive me. Deceive me. Deceive me. Deceive me.”
It kept shaking its head while repeating the same words over and over.
Should I shoot?
If I use the Critical, I can definitely end this.
But the phrase I saw earlier floats to the mind.
[Understanding of ??? has increased.]
[Name: Basement]
[Age: -]
[Traits: Repetition Type]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Why do lunatics attempting to pursue art as humans always exist everywhere? Those who blame their lack of aesthetic sense on the material will never achieve greatness in life, yet they set up workshops to prove their stubbornness.]
[Weakness: This space will vanish along with its master.]
[Critical: 0->1]
The information I read about the basement bothers me.
It feels as if something bad will happen if I use it now at a crucial moment.
Should I save it?
Unconsciously, my expression grows serious.
Then, Yu Da On, seemingly misunderstanding my expression, goes “Huh!” and pulls out a hair tie from her pocket to tie back her hair.
Her black hair was tied into a perfect ponytail.
“It’s okay! I can handle it alone! Don’t worry!”
“…I can do it too.”
Jang Chae Yeon also nodded slowly while looking at me.
“If you just stand there counting the stains on the ceiling, it’ll all be over!”
Is this the right thing to say at this moment?
Yu Da On confidently replied and dashed forward.
-Whack!
As she charged, it thrust the blade into her arm again, and a spray of blood erupted.
Yet, without flinching, she pushed forward, tilting her head back before smashing her forehead into it.
-Smash!
With a sound of something breaking, it staggered back a few steps, and in that opening, Jang Chae Yeon widened her eyes and reached out to grab it.
-Boom!
Once again, it was pushed back.
“…This is definitely strange.”
She frowned.
“The sense of impact is faint.”
“Isn’t it?”
Yu Da On answered calmly as she returned to our side.
Once again, her clothes were tattered.
It seems like the Management Agency really needs to provide her with new clothes.
“Something feels… hmm. Like it’s hitting somewhere else.”
“…”
Hitting somewhere else?
Elsewhere.
Seeing Jang Chae Yeon also look at me with the same thought, we made eye contact.
“Are we thinking the same thing right now?”
“I think so.”
“…Is this another case of you both having a secret conversation without me?”
Yu Da On whined at our exchange.
“Sorry, Da On. I really apologize, but can you fight that thing one-on-one for a moment?”
“…It’s not too difficult.”
“When I give the signal, just lie down right away.”
“…Okay.”
Yu Da On responded with a pout and stepped forward.
“What should we do?”
Soon, Yu Da On charged at it, and with a sound that resembled something tearing, Jang Chae Yeon looked at me calmly and asked.
“Could you maybe use my coordinates to scratch and tear it?”
“Got it.”
She nodded, as if she understood what I meant.
Honestly, is scratching even the right thing? I’m not sure if saying it out loud is correct either. Let’s just follow the saying that as long as we head to Seoul, it won’t matter how.
I draw my gun.
“Now!”
As soon as Yu Da On heard me, she lay down.
[Coordinate Scratching: 1->0]
[Coordinate Scratching: 0]
[Time left for Coordinate Scratching recovery: 24:00:00]
Fortunately, this will recover with time.
Soon, squares started appearing in the world.
This time, the target won’t be pinpoint.
A broader area.
Yet something that shouldn’t normally be captured.
New grid paper layered over the one already existing.
If what I’ve been looking at so far was space, what I’m seeing now is something beyond that space.
Jang Chae Yeon seemed to understand my gaze as she squinted and reached toward where I was looking.
Soon, that area was neatly excised, revealing a monster with a startled expression.
“How—”
Quickly drawing my gun, I fired a few shots.
Flames erupted from the handgun, and it jerked its body.
Normal weapons really don’t do a thing.
But the person with me is anything but normal.
Yu Da On widened her eyes and leaped at it, hugging its waist tightly.
“Now!”
And Jang Chae Yeon, without hesitation, looked toward that area, clenched her fist, and twisted it the other way.
-Crack!
Its waist grotesquely bent, with a snapping sound, it was severed.
Even Yu Da On’s arm, holding onto it, grotesquely twisted from her shoulder, creating a horrific sound.
“Ugh…!”
Without even a scream, it perished while Yu Da On writhed in pain with her lips pressed tight.
“Da On!”
I rushed over to her quickly.
“…I’m f-fine…”
Yu Da On answered haltingly, breathing heavily.
Soon, her arm began to revert to its original state.
“Are you okay?”
“…It hurts.”
Yu Da On groaned, now touching her arm, which had returned to normal.
“That one really hurt just now.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I was planning to catch it anyway.”
Jang Chae Yeon bowed her head again, and Yu Da On stared at her for a moment before sighing and shaking her head again.
“…More than that.”
Yu Da On, possibly having recovered from her injury, glared at me with narrowed eyes.
“It’s time to explain how you two became so close. And! About that… cube incident from last time… that… uh… whatever that was!”
She seemed to be talking about the joint incident.
“…”
“You wouldn’t just leave it hanging after tearing up a person like this, right?”
“…”
In the end, Jang Chae Yeon slowly nodded, as if having some conscience, and turned her gaze to me.
“…It’s not hard, right?”
Ultimately, I briefly explained to Yu Da On about the cube incident, which made her pout as she heard it, lips shifting back and forth in indignation.
“Where is the fairness in that…! I want something like that too—something we can use together! Make it for me!”
“Am I supposed to make it?”
Even if telekinesis and vision match a bit, how do I match my eyes with immortality?
No matter how much I rack my brain, I can’t come up with any idea.
“…Let’s just go for now.”
Anyway, that’s not for me to decide.
When the time comes, my eyes will decide it for me; otherwise, there might not be anything. I feel bad for Yu Da On but…
I step forward, moving on.
When words seem insufficient, the usual answer is to run away.
As I opened the door, once more, the same corridor appeared,
and stairs.
“…Has it ended?”
Yu Da On let out a sigh of relief, and Jang Chae Yeon also seemed to have a lighter expression, as if her heart had eased a bit.
“Should we head up then?”
Yu Da On said lightly, heading up the stairs.
-Swish!
She gets her neck sliced by something and falls.
“C-Camptify.”
Once again, like déjà vu, she holds her neck.
Her neck returns to its original state.
“…Huh? Are we not leaving?”
Yu Da On looks at me in confusion while rubbing her neck.
I felt the same way.
Why can’t we get out?
Did something go wrong?
Cold sweat trickles down.
“…Oh, don’t tell me.”
Jang Chae Yeon’s face turns pale.
“…Did you have any thoughts?”
Seeing her expression, an ominous premonition wells up.
“…I’m sorry.”
She bows her head.
“…Maybe I made a mistake.”
“Mistake? Ah—”
A phrase suddenly comes to mind.
[4. If you have carefully reviewed the manual, please nod your head.]
I recall when Yu Da On was holding my cheeks.
Did Jang Chae Yeon nod back then?
That’s right.
-Crackling sound.
The manual unfolds.
[Manual for those who violated the manual]
1. Finding this manual means you have strayed onto the wrong path, descending to the basement.
2. Please act according to this manual. Not following the manual may have a significant negative impact on your body or mind, and the Management Agency will not take responsibility for this.
3. Open the door in front of you and go in, but never respond if anything speaks to you.
4. If something speaks to you and you do respond, close your eyes and squat down, waiting until it passes.
5. Please refer to the wall posters you see after passing through the room for subsequent manuals.
6. Never go up the stairs against their direction.
“…I’m sorry.”
With Jang Chae Yeon’s apology, silence descends.
Something has definitely gone wrong.
And it’s a serious one.