NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
“You’ve caused quite a ruckus in such a short time, haven’t you?”
“Not on purpose, I just got caught up in it.”
Song Ah Rin, who had been listening to my story one by one, said teasingly.
Who would want to get tangled up voluntarily? There was a time when I was happily working overtime and commuting home.
A life where I left the office at 11 PM and came back at 8 AM. I often worked on weekends too.
Looking back now, I don’t miss it at all.
In that sense, getting off work on time now seems to balance things out, doesn’t it?
“But it’s strange. At some point, I suddenly started encountering containment objects so often…”
Is there a higher chance of encountering them the more I see them?
At my words, Song Ah Rin chuckled softly and replied.
“That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
“This is ‘everyday life.'”
What a frightening statement.
Turning around, Song Ah Rin looked at me as she walked.
Her hair shone in the sunlight.
“How many containment objects do you think there are in this world?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“Exactly. Most people live without realizing what containment objects are. If you were an ordinary person, you’d probably look at butane gas and think, ‘Oh, it can produce an infinite flame, and if shaken wrong, the fire goes upside down.’ Right?”
“…No, I wouldn’t.”
“Exactly. So saying you frequently encounter them is incorrect.”
She looked at me as she replied.
“You just didn’t know until now.”
“…”
So, does it mean I’ve been obliviously living all along?
“But that doesn’t change the fact that my eyes have been seeing strange things more often than before.”
If that were the case, I would have seen them long ago.
At that, Song Ah Rin sighed and responded.
“You’re a special case.”
“Huh?”
“I heard that your eye capabilities drastically improved during the Dream of the Butterfly incident.”
“…”
She probably never told me that before, did she?
Noticing my expression had turned serious, Song Ah Rin waved her hands playfully.
“Don’t worry. Those who don’t know, don’t know. Only those who do know.”
That worries me even more.
“Anyway.”
With a clap of her hands, Song Ah Rin turned back to face forward.
Before I knew it, we were standing under a moonlit desert instead of the wilderness.
“Anyway, it’s impressive. It’s not easy to remove a level three containment object and subdue a level two one for recontainment.”
“Level three? Level two?”
This is something I’m hearing for the first time.
“…I didn’t tell you. It’s not in the manual?”
“It wasn’t.”
“Well, it should be now. Check it out.”
Following her words, I opened the manual to read.
[Manual for Office Staff]
L – Classification of Containment Objects
1. There are five classifications for containment objects, as follows:
[Level 1] – Passive containment objects, primarily limited to objects or harmless organisms. Nothing out of the ordinary usually happens with them.
[Level 2] – Passive, but can cause significant damage if misused. Exercise caution when handling.
[Level 3] – Active, and failure to contain can result in damage to a small town or, at most, an entire city. Requires special care.
[Level 4] – Failure to contain can devastate a city or even a country. Handle with caution and always accompany a containment team.
[Level 5] – Can wipe out a country or even a continent. Requires urgent response and communication is essential among management agencies.
[Level 6] – The survival of humanity is at stake. Use everything you have to stop it.
“…This isn’t a level five.”
“What do you mean?”
“No, it lists six classifications here.”
I showed the manual to Song Ah Rin.
She looked at the manual and tilted her head.
“What are you talking about? There are five classifications.”
“Excuse me? Can you not see this?”
I pointed out the section labeled [Level 6], but she frowned at me.
“Logically, where is there a level six? Don’t tease the senior.”
As if it’s obvious that there isn’t a level six, she replied and turned her head sharply.
“…”
What exactly are you hiding from me?
I glanced at the manual again, but the book gave me no answer.
But then, is the cube only a level two containment object?
“Is the cube only a level two?”
“The one who took it was the issue; honestly, if it had just been kept inside, there wouldn’t have been any problems.”
I recalled Yu Da On, whose head was pierced by a laser.
That doesn’t seem right.
“Anyway, this situation… probably fits around level three.”
“This is level three? Not level four?”
While people are dying left and right, and even the presidential office is mentioning this stage show?
“If you look at it that way, it could be mistaken as level four, but we also have to think about the actual range of damage. It’s highly likely the presidential office just talked about it like an idol performance.”
“Oh.”
“So, the real range… would be a city.”
She spoke as if a city were not a big deal.
“Anyway, we need to resolve this quickly. If it grows any larger, it’ll hit level four, and the damage around it will be far too great.”
That this was merely a level three is astonishing.
I have to do my best to avoid encountering any level four or level five containment objects.
As I steeled my resolve, the background began to change again.
This time, we were in a dense jungle with a rich forest.
The sounds of bugs and animals echoed.
Is that footsteps I hear?
I strained my ears, but no sounds came through.
Under the circumstances, it wouldn’t be weird if something appeared soon.
I confirmed again with Song Ah Rin.
“Song Ah Rin, do you remember anything about the Red Lady?”
“None.”
Song Ah Rin shook her head.
“I have a memory of looking at it, but everything after that vanished. All I recall is feeling pain.”
I can’t get any clearer than that.
What do I need to do to defeat such a being?
I recalled Song Ah Rin’s words.
‘As if it were designed so you couldn’t win.’
Why does that statement weigh on my mind?
“A-Rin.”
“Huh?”
“What would you say is the genre of this musical?”
“Why that out of the blue?”
Song Ah Rin stared at me blankly.
“If this musical is about ordinary civilians being indiscriminately murdered by a murderous ghost, wouldn’t it be impossible to defeat the ghost?”
“I’m listening.”
“So this is a ghost musical, is it?”
“That’s kind of the point.”
“Alright then, assuming it’s a ghost musical, what do we do?”
“So—”
The surroundings shifted.
We were in a shopping mall.
People walked past us, showing no interest in either me or Song Ah Rin.
Squish, squish.
Song Ah Rin’s body went stiff.
“Ah, damn.”
Her legs began to tremble.
“Looks like you’re really scared.”
“Let’s hurry.”
We started walking cautiously, then quickly broke into a run.
“What are we going to do?”
As she ran, Song Ah Rin looked at me.
“What if the place keeps changing, and we can’t escape?”
“That’s something to worry about later. So hurry up and talk more.”
“Pfft, seriously.”
I led the way, glancing back occasionally as we ran.
This time, I made sure not to look directly in front of me. I didn’t want to risk having my eyes burst out again.
“So, keep talking.”
Song Ah Rin continued as she ran.
“What I mean is that it’s not a being designed to be defeated.”
In games, there are always foes that you can’t possibly win against.
Designated failure events where you can’t actually win.
What if that ‘Red Lady’ is one of those beings?
-Boom! Boom! Boom!
There was a sound of something exploding behind us.
Just like the sounds in the theater.
I didn’t dare look back again.
“So, we’re just supposed to keep running?”
Song Ah Rin clamped her lips shut.
“No.”
She replied confidently while running.
There are basically two methods.
“Finding the answer to this musical.”
Acting out the conclusion of this musical.
But that’s not easy. Acting out an ending in a musical without a script? At least I can’t do that.
So, I must rely on the next option.
“Or changing the genre.”
“What does that even mean?”
The setting changed.
We dashed through a dark, empty basement.
What’s the quickest way to change genres?
If this is a horror genre—
“Over there!”
At Song Ah Rin’s urgent shout, I looked ahead.
A door was floating in midair.
It was explicitly clear that it was an exit.
Song Ah Rin, who had been leaping ahead, grabbed the doorknob.
“Hurry up!”
Song Ah Rin darted inside,
“Hey, why are you—”
The door began to vanish, and Song Ah Rin looked back at me in confusion.
Both she and the door were disappearing like a mirage.
But the process was much slower than I expected.
I quickly reached for the doorknob, but an unseen force pushed my body back.
It seemed we wouldn’t both be able to go through together.
Originally, if Song Ah Rin had planned to go in alone, no wonder that such a thing happened when we attempted to enter together.
“Wait, is it supposed to be one person only—!”
Song Ah Rin cried out as she stretched her arm toward me.
From behind, the Red Lady was approaching, and the door in front was disappearing way too slowly.
What happens if the Red Lady catches Song Ah Rin?
I rapidly spun around and stood in front of the door to guard it.
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
Song Ah Rin struggled to come out into the door frame, but she could only squirm without managing to escape.
Someone had to stall for time.
“-Hey, you!”
Did I read her mind? Song Ah Rin’s face turned pale.
Her eyes functioned improperly, and there was no critical chance.
We can’t win.
Not right now.
Squish, squish.
The ‘Red Lady’ appeared.
I took the manual out of my pocket.
Why was that manual only with me?
I still can’t tell, but I at least understood the purpose I had received it for.
The pages of the manual inexplicably opened up.
“Starting now, I will record our containment object, ‘Red Lady.'”
Words began to etch themselves into the manual.
[Manual for Office Staff]
[PRV – Containment Object ‘Red Lady’ – Record by Human Resources Team Kim Jae Heon]
Soon, a woman emerged from the shadows.
Slightly taller than me; her body adorned in a red dress. The area around her mouth was obscured as if covered by a mosaic.
The only confirmation was that she was smiling.
Once more, blood flowed from my eyes, and a burning pain coursed through me.
“Hang in there. I’m always watching closely.”
For some reason, a child’s voice echoed in my mind.
“Run away!”
Song Ah Rin screamed.
“This entity is one of the characters in the musical ‘Red Lady,’ and cannot be dispelled through regular means.”
[This entity is one of the characters in the musical ‘Red Lady,’ and cannot be dispelled through regular means.]
“But this is a characteristic of the musical, and the Red Lady can be neutralized by changing the genre.”
[But this is a characteristic of the musical, and the Red Lady can be neutralized by changing the genre.]
The mouth of the Red Lady peeled open grotesquely.
If I got eaten, that would be the end of me.
[Your understanding of the musical ‘Red Lady’ increases.]
[Critical: 0 -> 1]
Finally, in my fading vision, I saw the sentence I had long awaited.
“Please—”
The voice of Song Ah Rin grew distant.
Could I have escaped?
Amidst the red-tinged vision, I tilted my head up to see a translucent panel glowing before me.
Something was looking at me, its mouth grotesquely agape.
It wasn’t clearly visible, but one thing was sure: it was smiling.
I smiled back at it.
Laugh as much as you want.
“Next time, it’s really the finale.”
-Crack!
With a sensation of having my throat severed and in a brief moment of pain, I died once again.