Chapter 167

Chapter 167.

Late dawn, Gangwon Province Sensitivity Bureau conference room.

"So, what do we do with this?"

"Ignore it."

"I'll give it positive consideration."

The Director nodded, waving the invitation at the secretary's initial response.

"But we can't just leave this thing alone. If Number 15, that wretched bastard, really did resurrect by riding some innocent kid's body... it won't end at just The Gaps flipping over."

One of the three gathered in the conference room, Section Chief Min, asked incredulously.

"You're calling me to a meeting like this?"

"Did I or did I not tell you to carry a brain in that skull?"

"My brain yielded its seat to my muscles."

"For God's sake, of all things to yield, the brain?"

"But...."

Section Chief Min shrugged.

"You know I'm no good at thinking. I don't have that kind of talent. I'm confident in physical work, but The Foundation and the Devil are not information I can process."

It was too big an incident for a mere provincial bureau to handle.

"Why not report up to headquarters? The main bureau's got plenty of manpower."

"No."

The Director's secretary shook her head.

"This kind of information leaks no matter how careful you are. The main bureau has too many people to control. If an incident breaks, it'll break big."

"If it's going to break anyway, why not just let it? More importantly, Gapyeong isn't even in Gangwon Province. This isn't our jurisdiction to begin with."

"The invitation was explicitly addressed to the Director."

The secretary continued.

"The implication is clear: the hotel-shaped labyrinth is feeling its way into the outside world. Something that was conceived, hatched, and had stayed in its nest all this time."

The Director backed the secretary.

"That thing is a young Dokkaebi. Whether the previous 'Devil's' ego is still alive in there, I don't know, but there are multiple scenarios."

"Simply put, we could be poking a docile beehive."

The secretary added.

"But if we report to headquarters, it'll inevitably be interpreted as an official subjugation request. Even if the Director doesn't send the communique with that intent, with so many people, the ship goes to the mountain, and if the hardliners add their two cents, all hell breaks loose."

Section Chief Min slowly tilted his head.

"Uh... we're not subjugating it?"

"The cost would be too high."

'Cost' was putting it mildly; it would effectively be another war.

"Of course, if this is a yellow sprout, we should pull it while it's young."

"Isn't that the more likely scenario?"

"The problem is the Dokkaebi movements across nations. Something's off."

The Director narrowed her brow, stroking her chin.

"'Count Dracula,' who briefly surfaced in his home territory, has gone dark again. High probability he's become part of this newborn labyrinth's narrative, or at minimum he's showing attachment."

"A Dokkaebi's attachment--now that's frightening."

Section Chief Min shrugged.

"So to summarize: if we rashly send a subjugation force after one infant labyrinth, we might get our collective necks bitten by those seasoned old-timers from across the sea?"

"You think it's just that Count?"

The Director tapped the invitation on the desk.

"There are indications the White Crow is attached there too."

"True."

"That those old, cunning classical labyrinths are latching on like they're nesting means that hotel is either prey worth that much, or a sanctuary so safe no lesser spirits dare approach."

"A safe sanctuary...."

Section Chief Min raised an eyebrow.

"Do Dokkaebi need something like that?"

"At minimum, the ones we call 'Dokkaebi'--the labyrinths."

"They're not human and have no human heart."

"A word from an old woman about to die...."

The Director shrugged.

"Dokkaebi born from human stories are human. Surprisingly."

Section Chief Min was silent, then answered.

"That's an unusual thing to say."

"Too human, driven so mad they've outgrown their roots--that's why they look like monsters."

"I thought... you hated Dokkaebi."

"I do. Separate from that, I'm telling you what I've observed, as an 'old woman.'"

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You don't have to."

The Director clicked her tongue.

"Short of an incident this big, when would I ever ponder a Dokkaebi's roots? Who'd wonder about a villain's circumstances when everyone they meet is just collateral damage?"

"Fair point."

"It's just that this case is particularly unusual."

The secretary, who had been listening, picked up the thread.

"If the main bureau's hardliners label it 'the Devil's return' and rush in, they'll stir up every classical labyrinth nested inside all at once."

"And if all the unaccounted-for Dokkaebi are really in there...."

"Cleaning up the fragments from the Foundation incident five years ago burned through half the Sensitivity Bureau's manpower. If we repeat that, the Korean Peninsula's Gaps will be hell overnight."

"Ah, that exceeds even my forearm muscles' coverage."

Section Chief Min's brow furrowed with genuine concern.

"Then what do we do? You said ignore it earlier. We just sit on our hands and watch?"

"Ignoring it only works if the sender is a completely unhinged natural disaster. Look at what this bastard sent, Min."

The Director tapped the black envelope on the table.

"Gaps or not, a Dokkaebi goes to the trouble of sending a polite piece of paper to a government agency director? Officially? And it says Grand Banquet Hall Opening Gala?"

"Isn't that a textbook labyrinth trap to lure people? The Devil's records show he could easily pull a stunt like this."

Section Chief Min made a peculiar face.

"We still don't know what state that baby Dokkaebi's in. Number 15 was supposedly a sharp bastard, so caution can't hurt."

"It could be a trap. But what did our Tarot friend say?"

The Chief Secretary answered immediately.

"The nuance was that it's maintaining control of the system with an almost deformedly high level of reason."

"Right, that's the crux."

The Director straightened from her lean.

"This invitation is clearly leaving room for dialogue. It's signaling to our Sensitivity Bureau that it's not some mindless man-eating beast."

"Oh."

Section Chief Min punched his palm.

"So instead of bashing heads first, we talk first--is that what you're saying?"

"I thought your head was all muscle, but you summarize the key points well."

"But honestly, it could still be a trap, right? All our IQs combined probably don't add up to that thing's. I always figured I'd die someday, but not like this?"

"I can die."

The Director wiped the humor from her face.

"Even if it kills me, I need to find out whether this bastard is a devil or a human."

"......"

Section Chief Min's face hardened too. He looked slightly rattled.

"...You weren't calling me along to go together?"

"I need someone who can throw fists if it comes to it. You stay here and come when called."

"No, what, you're going into a labyrinth that looks like The Foundation's spawn, alone?"

"There are already three people inside. I don't know how much help that Contentment-in-Poverty fellow will be, but the Tarot friend will side with me. That's who he is."

"You'd walk in there trusting one Arcana Member? That doesn't seem right."

"I'm already marked by Mr. Lu-[redacted] anyway."

The hymn's sound had lingered in her ears, again and again. Ever since Section Chief Hong's death.

"Why do you think?"

The devil was beckoning her.

"Lately, the signs suggest Mr. Lu-[redacted] wants me to join that side. Once I decided to go, see how the hymns have quieted."

"What kind of thug tactics are these?"

"If I'm dead either way, maybe going gives me a chance. Even if I die soon after, I'll at least serve as an Envoy. So don't worry."

"You think that's what I'm worried about?"

Section Chief Min added.

"...Actually, now that I think about it, that is a worry!"

"This dimwit, honest even at a time like this. A paragon of loyalty between lord and vassal."

"Then take me with you at least. Trust my muscles!"

"God, this is why I can't stand meatheads."

The Director pointed at Section Chief Min and looked at the secretary.

"How did that kid end up like this when he's even a Resonance System?"

"Honestly, Director, I think you're the one who raised him as a meathead."

"My, I should do a personnel shuffle soon."

The secretary calmly objected.

"You'll need to come back alive to do a shuffle."

"I'm a Total System, for what it's worth. I'll manage."

The secretary, swallowing a sigh, spoke again.

"If the main bureau's ignorant plan goes through and they topple that hotel, the vicious labyrinths and Dokkaebi housed inside will lose their leash and spill across the entire Korean Peninsula."

"Fuck, just imagining it is horrifying."

"Which is why we need to beat the main bureau to the punch, is what you're saying, Director."

Then the Director picked up the invitation.

"I'm going to see for myself. Whether this Lee Yeon-woo is a monster consumed by the Devil's malice, or a genuine lunatic controlling that hellhole with full faculty."

"And if it's the latter?"

"Then we've hit the jackpot."

The Director grinned.

"Think about it. Dokkaebi from around the world are so captivated by that one labyrinth that they crawl in of their own accord and play nice as 'guests.' What does that mean?"

The secretary elaborated.

"Even those fearsome classical labyrinths are following the rules of a hotel-shaped, newborn labyrinth. The implication is clear."

"That baby labyrinth is effectively serving as a massive containment device, gathering planet-scale Dokkaebi in one place and housing them."

Section Chief Min's expression turned deeply serious.

"Wh-why's his face like that again?"

"No, it's just... that's guilt-inducing in its own way."

He asked sincerely.

"At that point, wouldn't killing it be the merciful thing?"

"Whether that's even possible aside, if we succeed, we all die anyway, Min."

"If we can at least extract the three already inside, that gives us something to say to headquarters."

"And most importantly, in that case--official registration becomes possible."

In the Korean Sensitivity Bureau's official database.

"Let's get our assessment in before headquarters froths at the mouth."

"Sometimes you look downright ruthless."

"Thanks for the compliment, you dimwit."

"But, Director."

Section Chief Min asked.

"If this happens, headquarters won't be the only ones frothing."

"Fuck, the vigilante corps...."

The Director sighed as if to say 'you think I don't know that.'

"What can we do? We'll just have to trust the Tarot fellow."

***

"......"
"......"

Hyeon Si-gyeong was the first to break the tense silence.

"...'The Hanged Man's' role is not that of a judge."

From between lips holding the silver whistle, a flat voice emerged.

"Seeing the world upside-down, hanging there, standing still for a greater value--that is my role."

"Hmm?"

"Whether he bears the Devil's karma or is The Foundation's remnant. What is currently suppressing and sealing this enormous hell is nothing but his paper-thin humanity and reason. Destroying that balance would only unleash greater calamity upon the outside world."

Hyeon Si-gyeong rolled his eyes and added.

"Therefore, there is no reason to subjugate."

"The 'General Manager' must be more skilled than I thought."

Do-hyeon bared his teeth in a crooked grin.

"Already winning an Arcana Member's heart, and so quickly."

Gyeong-yeon, who'd been listening with an anxious expression, asked.

"So, the, the subjugation or whatever... we don't have to worry about it?"

"Don't trust that too much. Arcana Members have very wide vision, and the moment that friend's standards are crossed, he'll intervene immediately."

"What standards...?"

"A better world, I suppose."

Hyeon Si-gyeong offered no response to Do-hyeon's remark, simply putting the whistle back in his mouth. He returned to staring at the blank wall, apparently sinking back into his own contemplation.

Seung-jae, watching the scene, tapped his shoulder with the gun barrel and shrugged.

"How would you even subjugate that fellow in the first place? You'd need a feasibility assessment before you could even try."

"Personally, I also think stirring up labyrinths is nothing but a headache."

Do-hyeon, indirectly agreeing with Seung-jae, continued.

"Well then, info sharing's done."

"What now?"

"Rest?"

"What?"

"Let's rest."

He shrugged.

"So."

"So?"