Chapter 174

Chapter 174.

The Fox Den.

Estimated to have originated in the late 1990s in the remote forests of Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, it had since grown massive enough to encircle all of Gapyeong.

"Those who are lost must return to God."

"......"

"Under that cultish pretext, forced confinement, human trafficking, and murder were carried out at this slaughter site of a criminal organization. The resentment of victims and the horror of wild foxes feeding on abandoned corpses coalesced into the labyrinth known as the 'Fox Den'...."

A staff member from the Gyeonggi Northern Bureau spoke.

"That's our assessment."

"Wasn't there a whole mess about ties to The Foundation back in the day?"

At the Gangwon Province Director's question, the staff member nodded.

"Ah, yes, during the war."

"What does the Fox Den feed on?"

"As you'd roughly know, it feeds on 'paths.' Direction, order--those kinds of concepts are its staple. When it becomes active, space and cognition collapse."

The staff member shrugged.

"Which is why a lot of Northern Bureau personnel were lost trying to enter during the war."

"Oh? Haven't been posted long?"

"I transferred from the Seoul Bureau for manpower after the war ended. But the Fox Den is my assignment--if I don't know, nobody here does."

"Is this a civil service bureau or a pirate crew? I wish this damn seat-of-the-pants administration would improve. So primitive."

"People are people everywhere...."

"Then?"

The Director sipped the instant coffee she'd been offered and asked.

"There must be villages nearby. What are they up to these days?"

"Honestly, they're hard to track."

"That's a bit too honest."

"Better to be upfront among family. We're getting hit from all sides--I'm not going to hide things and get a distinguished senior killed on the job."

"My time's about up anyway."

"Please don't say that."

The staff member said with a bitter tone.

"The Fox Den's grown stronger since the war. Above all, it's gotten bigger. It's wrapped around every last Gap in Gapyeong."

"There are people making a living in Gapyeong's Gaps, I recall?"

"The more densely populated areas are manageable. You can push through. With even one Artist, pathfinding isn't terribly hard."

"And the small villages?"

"Those are truly hopeless."

He shook his head.

"They treat the peace and abundance during the labyrinth's dormant periods as divine grace and settle in. When the labyrinth wakes and warps terrain and concepts, they perform regular Offerings to pacify it."

"Basically a cult."

"They were leaning that way already, but after the war pushed the Fox Den to evolve, it's even more apparent. The Fox Den's gotten shrewd. It only tends to villages that obey and tithe properly."

"At that level...."

The Director bit down, leaving teeth marks on the paper cup.

"Isn't that practically Dokkaebi territory?"

"Our division's assessment is that it may be imminent."

A Dokkaebi--a Recognition Species--was broadly classified two ways. A single personality commanding multiple concepts, or multiple concepts forming into a single personality.

The Fox Den would be the latter.

"To make excuses, our division deploys manpower regularly. But no matter how good the equipment, preventing personnel losses is difficult."

"I thought the Northern Bureau got decent support."

"It does. And still."

The staff member shrugged.

"It's especially lethal to Artists. It categorizes Artists as 'path-makers.'"

"The better the ability, the easier to be Offered?"

"There was talk of deploying mages instead, but that was scrapped shortly after trial."

"Mages too?"

"Anyone who enters with a 'purpose' is basically incompatible. They all get devoured."

"Christ."

The Director clicked her tongue hard.

"This is far worse than what I roughly knew. What does headquarters say? No subjugation plans?"

"Standing orders: contain the spread."

"Is that feasible?"

"Yes. After many attempts, we secured byways."

A Gaps concept: paths naturally formed by frequent human traffic.

In fluid Gaps like oceans or space, such 'byways' were essential for Gaps residents. There were even professional 'pathfinders'--mages and Artists hired to create byways.

The staff member continued.

"The Fox Den doesn't extend into those."

"Then there's no choice but heavy human traffic. Encouraging migration or settlement."

"Correct. The Fox Den avoids places where people wander purposelessly, as if just strolling, or where communities are gathered."

"Because the movement is unpredictable?"

"That seems likely...."

"What's the probability of escalation to high-risk?"

"Not low, at minimum."

A silence passed. The Director asked.

"Any other news recently?"

"Other news... hmm. A few villages abandoned by the Fox Den, withering away?"

"Are the mystical fluctuations stable?"

"I'm not sure 'stable labyrinth' is something to celebrate, but yes, no major changes recently. It may have entered dormancy--it's been quiet."

"Dormancy."

At that word, the Director asked.

"Since roughly when?"

"Quite recently. Right around the start of this summer."

"This summer."

"Nothing special, in our division's view. The Fox Den has historically alternated between activity and dormancy like this."

"I see."

The Director rolled her eyes.

"Right, that was helpful. Thanks."

Well, would you look at that?

***

"I've been thinking."

"......"

"If I carry this invitation, I'd have a 'purpose,' which should get me eaten by the Fox Den. But wouldn't you know it, the Fox Den cut off even the villages' Offerings and went dormant starting this summer?"

"......"

"Aha, so whoever sent this invitation knows Gapyeong's ecosystem inside out. They've silenced the fox and secured the routes so guests can arrive at the hotel uneaten."

Therefore, the sender was not a labyrinth's blind instinct but a highly rational, meticulous intelligence capable of orchestrating an ecosystem and engineering guest safety.

"But here's the second thing."

"......"

"What if the invitation itself wasn't delivered in a way that would provoke the Fox Den? What if it wasn't rational and purpose-driven at all?"

If it had been delivered as purposeless, meaningless play--like a stroll.

"So I'm asking: who sent this?"

The Director waved the black invitation before Hyeon Si-gyeong's face.

"How each person entered, why, by what method."

"......"

"Our Tarot friend's been watching the whole time. Does this require a consultation fee too?"

At last, Hyeon Si-gyeong spoke.

"No."

Of course not.

The Hanged Man smiled dryly.

***

"Seome and Rawi were brought in by the religious classical labyrinth and fallen angel, 'the Tongueless Hymn.' His cursed hymn bewitched their ears, stripping direction and causality, erasing their 'purpose' to slip past the Fox Den's eyes and strand them in the underground levels."

He had laid the board first. The Hanged Man had merely walked onto it of his own accord.

"No one called me."

Baek Mu-jin had opened a closed door and carved a byway himself.

"No one."

In the end, the three filmmakers hadn't been called by the General Manager either. Nor by Lee Yeon-woo. They'd been invited under the Guest Without Taste's name.

And they'd entered through the byway the Hanged Man had prepared.

"And your invitation, Director, was delivered by me."

"......"

"It's a forged invitation, so you'll be treated as an 'illegal resident' in this hotel. The same situation as Mr. Kwon Do-heon. However, since you also lack any personal connection to 'Lee Yeon-woo,' even that isn't certain."

"......"

"Arcana Member Number 12, 'the Hanged Man,' formally requests of Gangwon Province Sensitivity Bureau Director 'Dan-cheong.'"

The Hanged Man asked.

"Do you consent to being Offered?"

"This is why Arcana Members--"

Dan-cheong let out a wry laugh.

"--can never be let off guard."

They see the world in such macro terms.

***

> [SYSTEM] Entered the boiler room interior.

"...! Oh, that...!"

"Hooeng."

A drenched Do-heon staggered toward the far corner of the boiler room. The white owl circled before a large, cracked mirror.

"A full-length mirror?"

"This is kind of similar to the first vanity, no?"

"Is the similarity the issue right now? How do we carry something this big?"

"Even if we could, it'd shatter on the way~...."

"Is this even the right item?"

He looked at the owl for confirmation. Perched atop the mirror, the owl watched him in silence.

"......"

"What's it saying?"

"How would I know?"

"You two seemed to get along just fine without me."

"How old are you to be this petty...."

The instant Do-heon reached for the mirror--

"Nephew."

"Yeah?"

KRAAKOOOM--!!!!

"?! Aagh, wh--"

"HOOENG!!"

> [SYSTEM] [The Lover of Dawn] forcibly intervenes.
> The boiler room's air freezes as if in zero gravity.
> [SYSTEM] Map-wide [Instant-Kill Pattern] activated.

"What? What? Fuck, what?"

"Explain so I can know too."

"Instant kill? For real?"

> [SYSTEM] Evasion and defense impossible.
> The Witch's true form emerges amidst blood-red mist.

"You've got to be--!!"

"■■■■■■■■--!!!"

The upper body of a woman draped in white burial robes; the lower body resembling an enormous bird's. A grotesque form bristling with tens of thousands of feathered wings seized his gaze.

"...! Wh, huh?"

GRAB!!

"Huh?!!"

Dozens of arms erupted from the mirror and coiled around Do-heon's neck and chest like a noose. His upper body was dragged into the mirror's empty abyss.

"Oh?"

"HAAAH, HELP!! FUCK, HELP!!"

"Easy now, nephew?"

Seung-jae loaded a wedge-type round with bloodshot eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Click, BANG--!!

His bullet struck not the mirror but the Lover of Dawn's feathers, drilling in with rotary force.

"How about closing your eyes?"

"Urk...!!"

KA-BOOM--!! BANG!!

The bullet that had burrowed under the skin detonated in a chain like firecrackers. Hide tore and putrid blood sprayed everywhere.

"Ah...!"

"Better now?"

"L-loosened up!"

"Then get out, quick!"

"That's easier said than--!"

But then,

"■■■■■--...!!!"

"Oh dear."

"What now?"

"Doesn't look like it worked."

As Seung-jae clicked his tongue, the Lover of Dawn's torn mouth twisted grotesquely.

"This isn't going to work."

"Is that something to say in front of your nephew?"

"Guns are pretty painless these days~ Want me to do it for you?"

"IS THAT SOMETHING TO SAY?!"

"Better than dying dragged into a mirror?"

"I'M GOING INSANE FOR REAL!!"

The hands refused to let go no matter how much flesh tore and bone shattered. The damaged body regenerated instantly, tightening its grip on Do-heon's throat.

"Gkhk, cough...!!"

> [SYSTEM] All damage is nullified during the Lover of Dawn's instant-kill cast.
> [HP: 20 -> 10 -> 5...]
> Eternal assimilation into ■■'s world beg...

"--HOOENG!!"

"GKHAAK!!"

The owl's talons severed the gripping hands. The instant Do-heon's airway cleared--

> System updating...
> System update complete
> [SYSTEM] 'The Owner's Friend' authority forces a script change!
> [SYSTEM] Genre changed from [Horror] to [Disaster Blockbuster].

***

"How is this possible? A Game-Type Labyrinth using instant kills?"

"Mr. Cha, please calm down first."

"Playing this dirty? Ms. Hong, write. Genre change from horror to disaster blockbuster. Main ceiling pipe support durability set to '0.'"

"Is this even allowed--"

"COUGH--!!"

"AAHH INSANE!! INSANE!! CALL AN AMBULANCE!!"

"Tell them to GET DOWN!! GET DOWN!!"

***

KRAKOOOOOM--!!!

Above the white-haired figure in burial robes, the ten-ton main steam pipe support that should never have failed snapped like a lie and plummeted toward the Lover of Dawn's body.

Do-heon, still half-buried in the mirror, shrieked.

"FUUUCK!!"

"Not sure this is okay...."

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE TOO, YOU INSANE ADULTS!!"

"Nah."

Seung-jae, wearing a rare grimace, looked at the collapsing ceiling.

"Angle's wrong. It won't reach us."

The system's invincibility was crushed like tissue paper beneath overwhelming physical mass. Seizing the error's gap, the white owl dove at the Lover of Dawn.

"Hooeng."

"Sunbae? S-Sunbae! Where are you going!"

"HOO--!!"

"SUNBAE, SERIOUSLY!!"

The owl's talons gouged the scarlet poppies around its eyes.

"Aah, aaahhh...! AAAAAHHH...!!"

"Oh hell--"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH--!!!"

"Hrrghh...."

> [SYSTEM] System error!
> Enemy instant-kill binding pattern canceled.
> Now! Break free of the restraint!

"...! I need to get out...!"

"GIVE ME YOUR HAND!!"

"AAGH MY ARM! MY ARM'S COMING OFF!!"

"BETTER JUST THE ARM!!"

Do-heon wrenched free of the Lover of Dawn's arms and hurled himself forward. Seung-jae hauled his nephew's body out.

CRACKLE--!!

"I'M OUT! I'M OUT!"

"Grab your bag!!"

"WHY IS EVERYTHING SO CHAOTIC?!"

With a sickening tear, one last arm of the Lover of Dawn--stretched impossibly from the mirror--snapped off and rolled across the floor.

Her scream echoed as the remaining arms dissolved like smoke. Do-heon and Seung-jae scrambled away from the mirror, gasping.

"Haahk, hkh...!"

"Bag, the bag."

"Bag's here, but the item."

"You're holding it!"

"Huh? Huh??"

In Do-heon's convulsing hand was the target hand mirror and, clinging to it, a pale, gelatinous lump of flesh torn from the Lover of Dawn's phantom.

"...! ...!!"

"Words, use words."

"AAGH, AAAHH! FUCK IT'S DISGUSTING!!"

"Uncle's dying here, Do-heon~"

> [Item acquired!]
> [Cracked Antique Hand Mirror]
> Despite its age, it gleams as though someone polished it daily. Unpleasant resentment lingers on the cracked glass.
> [SYSTEM] [Memento] acquired (2/4)

"N-no, this isn't the time, we need to run--!"

"Now the gears are turning."

Seung-jae peeled his nephew's grip off his collar and fixed his eyes on the massive 'bird,' dripping blood and staring at them.

"Go. Now."

He racked the cylinder--click--and aimed at the Lover of Dawn again.

"Can't both run."

"Wh--"

"Go."

He was about to pull the trigger.

***

No--was about to.

"When the Way does not stand in all the realm and human bonds crumble, it is truly the fault of the sovereign's lack of virtue; yet to stand by while one who has shaken the nation's discipline goes unpunished is to defy the will of Heaven."

A figure leapt from the collapsed ceiling and stood atop the White Crow.

"As the moon waxes and wanes by natural law, and as the blade follows when sins overflow, I now render a stern judgment for the peace of the state."

A gaunt frame seizing dominance in an instant, a crimson court robe billowing like wind from those shoulders, and golden characters blazing on the sword in that hand.

"On this day at the hour of the Horse, the high-risk classical labyrinth 'White Crow,' who has deceived the ancestral shrine and exploited the lifeblood of the people, is hereby banished from my realm, demoted to a mere beast, and immediately brought before me for execution by beheading."

"I love you?"

"Let his head be displayed for all the people to see, so that the end of one who has forsaken righteousness is proclaimed to the world. This is not personal sentiment but an act to restore the broken laws of the realm."

"Lov--"

WHOOSH-- He hurled the sword into the air.

《Death Sentence》

Slice.

The White Crow's head fell.

***

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

The boiler room, still dim but stripped of every trace of the Lover of Dawn.

"Uh...."

"Well well, you're here?"

Seung-jae smiled at the old woman in a suit with a crimson court robe draped over her shoulder.

"I didn't think you'd come in person, had my heart in my throat~"

"Bullshit, as if I came because I like looking at your pretty face."

"Ooh, you're so cool when you use Word Spirit, but the moment you open your mouth...."

"I don't want to hear that from someone who skins people alive."

"Oh please, go easy on me."

Seung-jae, all shamelessness, asked.

"Is it dead?"

"You think one beheading kills a classical labyrinth? Not a chance. Just knocked it out."

"Aw, got my hopes up."

"Nothing but greed. You wretched thing."

The old woman in a suit--Gangwon Province Sensitivity Bureau Director Dan-cheong--leapt down toward them.

"Hands up if you're dead."

"......"

"What?"

Dan-cheong shouldered her sword.

"Nobody, right?"

***

Half a day later.

They had successfully collected every 'memento.'

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

The General Manager stared at the monitor in silence.

Again and again, hour after hour, without moving an inch.

Just like that.