The quiet hallway of Hanbit Library.
The Security Chief was silently bowing his head.
His gaze was fixed on his own hands.
As if recalling the moment just before, when he had summoned the black, bizarre, foreleg-shaped Contamination to subdue the Wolf Leader.
…Or, as if reflecting on his own state right before being hit by that attack, when he had bitten off his tongue and partially broken free of his restraints.
"...."
I had become one, accepting everything I had experienced in Hanbit Library as Golden, Grape, and Roe Deer as my own.
If so, then perhaps the Security Chief also….
"Uhm..."
"…!"
The Security Chief's mouth opened.
And….
"So this is what it's like."
A quiet voice.
I called out without thinking.
"Wolf Leader?"
The man lifted his head.
And looking back at me, he opened his mouth again….
"Um… I'd rather… you didn't call me that…. It's confusing..."
Ah.
His limp limbs and listless eyes.
The Security Chief was still the same.
"Haven't the two of you merged back into one?"
"Uhm..."
The Security Chief seemed to be choosing his words.
"In a book… even if you know that page is there…. If you spill ink on it… or crumple it… you can't read it like it was at first..."
"...."
"The one that restored that page… was probably the library's… power…."
…To J3, who already remembered almost nothing about himself before the Contamination, his time as the Wolf Leader was a kind of 'damaged page.'
And a damaged page is still unreadable. But….
"Still, the sensations of being with me today must have carried over."
"...."
"That's why you said, 'So this is what it's like.' Because you felt something different from before."
About his own past.
About before he was contaminated.
Because he had merged with the 'state of knowing without being damaged.'
And….
"Yeah..."
"…!"
Only then did a different emotion appear on the Security Chief's face.
A numb expression.
The kind of stillness that comes over a person who, having grown accustomed and dull to failure and pain, and eventually having lost even that, feels that ache anew.
"I know… again… what it feels like…."
"...."
I don't know.
'Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing?'
What if being reminded of his dulled, forgotten, lost self was, in itself, an overwhelming pain?
'…Perhaps I'll only know after some time has passed.'
What will remain after he digests that pain.
What J3 will regain.
I remember.
The question I had asked him more than half a year ago.
-Mr. Jay, for what wish did you join this company?
…Perhaps I might be able to hear the answer to that.
But for now, instead of asking, I approached the Security Chief and bowed my head.
"You've worked hard."
"...."
"And thank you. Thanks to you, I was saved several times during today's exploration. …Mr. Jay."
"No…"
The Security Chief adjusted his dental mask.
That gesture of his hand was identical to how a certain former Elite Team member, who had been with me until just a moment ago, would fix his mask….
"...."
"…So what is all this about, Noruya."
Ah.
"Assistant manager."
The other team members, who had been standing by quietly given the atmosphere, began to ask me questions, and only then did I start to share what had happened to us.
What I experienced while with the Wolf Leader.
Exploring Sekwang Technical High School, and realizing the true nature of this situation just before becoming a librarian.
And even how we merged back into one.
"Quite an eventful time."
"It was."
For reference, in the case of the former D-Team that was with 'Grape,' things had unfolded in a completely different way from the sides with Golden or Roe Deer….
-Everyone, be on your guard.
-Our newbie, Badger, be careful here.
-Ye-yes, sir…!
The D-Team from a time before I existed had appeared in another corridor…!
The D-Team members, who immediately recognized this from the hairstyles and titles, had moved more quickly to uncover the library's truth.
All while soothing the me who had become Grape, and desperately trying not to run into their own doppelgangers.
"I mean, our leader was even exactly the same. I thought I had split into two."
"Hahaha…."
For reference, the Lizard Section Chief had appeared as two lizard heads that were so completely identical it was impossible to tell them apart….
-L-Leader?
-Yes.
-Yes.
-Shit, he heard me from that distance. Run!
"...."
Come to think of it, didn't they say those alien reptiles are barely affected by Contamination?
The Lizard Section Chief might really be such a similar person at all times that he was the same on every page….
'In any case, I'm glad we all merged safely.'
And what was even more surprising was….
"There it is. The entrance."
My Yarn functioned normally and guided us to the entrance.
As if all the bizarre and strange things that had happened while following the Yarn until now were a lie, we returned to the platform entrance we had come through.
"Didn't this library need a librarian? Wasn't that why it was trying to kidnap us like a Venus Flytrap?"
That's what I thought, too.
Mulling it over, I realized something.
The rules of use.
Gaze into the window
Do not go down to the basement
Once you have obtained one, leave
"Wasn't it… a kind of test?"
"A test?"
"Yes. To see if we were qualified to use the library properly."
"…!"
It was a common trope in myths and legends for a place that stored knowledge to 'check if the visitor is wise enough to possess this knowledge.'
Meaning it wouldn't be strange for it to be applied in an urban legend or ghost story.
"When I gazed into the window and was split into multiple forms existing simultaneously, only those who realized the truth without trying to eliminate or sacrifice the others were qualified to be users."
There's a reason doppelganger ghost stories exist all over the world.
When you face a being identical to yourself, an existential revulsion arises, so it could be seen as a very difficult test.
"So the guys who weren't mentally disciplined enough and eliminated their other selves get to be librarians?"
"Sounds like a labor reformation sentence. Hmm, what Roe Deer is saying sounds plausible."
Supervisor Park Minseong chimed in.
And I recall the last rule of use.
Once you have obtained one, leave
Perhaps this didn't mean to leave once you've obtained a librarian.
It might mean that once you realize what this situation is and obtain your unified self, you can then leave safely.
'Hmm.'
Thinking of it that way, this Hanbit Library feels a little different from the ghost stories I've experienced so far.
It feels almost sacred, in a way. Rather than malice or horror, it makes one feel overwhelmed and fearful due to a grand will that humans cannot comprehend.
'Could it be a characteristic of the 'being one must bow to,' who made the library its sanctuary?'
Of course, this was an impression we could only have because we passed the test.
"Either way, the entrance is in sight, so let's get out. That's okay, right, Leader?"
"Yes."
We agreed to leave Hanbit Library and return to reality.
There was a mountain of things we had confirmed during this exploration that needed to be checked back in reality.
'…I also want to check on the train Yeongeun mentioned.'
My heart was anxious, but thinking about Sekwang Technical High School, I just couldn't postpone it and continue the exploration….
But then.
"Um, should I just stay here?"
"Pardon?"
Supervisor Park Minseong stopped in his tracks.
"Well, since I'm fine here…. I was thinking, what if I stay here and provide backup! I have both hands, and I'm in my right mind."
Ah.
Lee Ja-heon Section Chief's voice declared.
"Not possible."
"...."
"The probability of surviving alone in this Darkness for more than a fortnight is slim, and numerous unconfirmable and uncontrollable variables are presumed. Return."
"Ah…."
Supervisor Park Minseong's voice trailed off.
"Um, since your treatment would have continued in reality, there's a high chance you've recovered from the Contamination more than before."
"That's true. We have to… check, after all…."
"Right, let's go. Badger."
"…Yes."
And so, the situation was settled.
'Hoo.'
[Ah, the ending at last. It was quite an interesting expedition.]
You… Ugh, never mind.
'It's not like this is the first or second time.'
Today had a good ending, so let's just let it slide for now.
We took the Euthanasia Drug as we left Hanbit Library.
"There'll be a lot to do when we wake up."
Thus, this exploration of Segwang Metropolitan City ended for the first time without urgency, and with everyone safe.
A moment before.
Just before everyone took the Euthanasia Pill.
"...."
J3, the one who had lost his name, lifted his head and looked back. At the passage filled with books, at the entrance of the bizarre library and the inside.
And he remembered.
The hidden path.
Himself, walking both bound and binding, down a strange passage beyond the bookshelf.
At the dead end of the black and red passage he had descended to make his companion a librarian and worship the master of this library, the words on the sign.
· ■■■■■■■ Room
→ ■ideo ■■■■■■■
← ■■■■■■■■
↑ ■■■■■■■ Room
The others hadn't noticed.
But this contaminated being, equipped with non-human vision that could see perfectly through the darkness, had noticed.
There wasn't just one sign.
On each bookshelf in the direction the sign pointed, there were small, additional explanatory signs attached.
And the one attached to the right was this.
■ideo ■■■■■■■
: Masterpiece ■■■■■■■Ⅱ ■xhibition ■creening
To re-establish it.
Video Materials Room
: Masterpiece Fairy TalesⅡ Exhibition Screening in Progress
"...."
He remembers.
About the entry method for a certain fairy tale ghost story, similarly lost long ago in a Daydream.
Entry Method:
Viewing a specific video purchased from a used video shop located in an alley of the redevelopment district on the outskirts of ■■ City.
(The viewing method follows a special exhibition screening technique developed by the research team.)
The video in question is a movie, and its title is
He remembers.
'World's Best Masterpiece Fairy Tales'.
"...."
"Mr. Jay. Let's go."
"Okay…."
The exploration was already over, and J3's motivation to act for his own desires and emotions had long since worn away.
So he obediently took the Euthanasia Drug.
At least, this time.
"You're awake."
I opened my eyes.
Before me was the familiar sight of a smiling Ho Yuwon looking down at me.
"What did you experience this time? And what did you find out?"
Obsessive questions rained down like a bombardment, but there was something I had to check first.
Check: Dream Collector
I took out the item I had brought from my pocket. The inside of the item I had brought just in case was….
Rippling with a golden liquid.
"…!"
It had been collected.
Suggestion: Visual Appraisal
Ho Yuwon's eyes narrowed.
"B. Almost… close to an A. No, it might even be an A."
'…!'
The result was better than expected.
'Perhaps if I had met the library's master directly, or at least perceived its presence, it would have resulted in a higher grade.'
But without needing to take such a risk, this alone was a tremendous result.
Research on a Darkness exploration method that allows entry through a dream to extract a high-grade potion with zero casualties?
'This is definitely going to work.'
What's more, we had brought four Dream Collectors.
'Even excluding the one I entrusted to the Security Chief, three should be more than enough to submit to the company as an initial result…!'
But what was more surprising was something we found out after everyone had woken up.
While everyone was checking their Dream Collectors, the Security Chief also took his out….
"Wait, that's…."
"...."
A shimmering golden light.
The Dream Collector that had been given to the Security Chief was also filled with liquid.
'Good heavens.'
The item that had been difficult to entrust to the fully contaminated Supervisor Park Minseong, and was more or less just handed to him, was filled with liquid.
But I understood the situation from Ho Yuwon's comment as he approached.
"Hmm. The purity is a bit lower than the other collectors…."
Ah.
'It must have been processed as being collected when he was in his Wolf Leader state.'
It was surely appraised from when he explored Sekwang Technical High School with me, and when we escaped….
"...."
However, until Ho Yuwon collected it, the Security Chief stared blankly for a few seconds at the Dream Collector that had come from his own pocket.
He clearly seemed to feel some sort of emotion.
'....'
I turned my gaze away from it as politely as possible and asked about the well-being of the other members.
To be precise, about the team member who wasn't in the same room as us.
Question: Badger's condition
"Ah, he has woken up, but… it'll be a bit difficult to have a conversation. He's still in a state of Contamination."
Ah.
"His arms unfortunately haven't regenerated either. But he seems to think they're there, as he keeps making a manual appear out of nowhere and trying to pick it up."
"...."
So that's how it is.
It seemed Supervisor Park Minseong only regained his arms and his sanity while inside Segwang Metropolitan City.
'Still… if he slowly recovers from the Contamination in reality, the regeneration potion will eventually work.'
For now, I had to force myself to think that way. I lowered my Black Smoke and painstakingly turned my thoughts.
"So… can you answer me now?"
Ho Yuwon's eyes gleamed again.
"What did you find out in Segwang Metropolitan City this time?"
....
I moved the smoke, forming words.
Question:
About the Emergency Rescue Squad of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
"Those agents are still contacting us aggressively. They're being threatening, saying it's urgent and to let them know as soon as Mr. Noru wakes up…. It's rude, but they say it's something I'll have to handle. More importantly, what happened in Segwang Metropolitan City…."
....
I added to the question.
More specifically.
Question:
About the Emergency Rescue Squad of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.
Dispatch Rescue Team Blue Dragon
Ho Yuwon stopped moving.
As if he had been stabbed by a spear, as if he had been crushed by a building, a voice came from his frozen body….
"Finally."
A voice filled with ecstasy.
I lifted my head.
"You found out."
A smile filled with elation spread across Ho Yuwon's face.