Six individuals with as many stories as the Seeker in the Box might desire are here.
Which of them shall be thrown into the pain of a slow, terrible death, inescapable for an average of 27 years?
Such an absurd choice is now before us….
"Noruya."
I lowered my head.
Deputy Manager Eun Haje, in the form of a grandmother, was tapping near my shoulder.
"Get down a bit. Even though I look like this, I'm not a true elderly person, am I?"
But.
"Let me spit out marbles and regain some mobility. The way things are going doesn't look good."
....
I let Deputy Manager Eun Haje down. The Deputy Manager spat out glass marbles and began to return to her original form.
Agent Bronze's expression changed.
"You are…."
"Well now, it's been a while. Old Man."
Deputy Manager Eun Haje grinned.
Coincidentally, the two had met in this Jisan Village before, and now they met again in a similar place.
"Oh. Hello, Deputy Manager! Have you been well since you quit?"
"Yes, yes."
Agent Bronze, who had been looking back and forth between Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae, who was greeting Deputy Manager Eun Haje, and Ho Yuwon, flinched.
As if realizing some entity had been using Deputy Manager Eun Haje's body.
"Are you perhaps being threatened or subjected to undue pressure by a supernatural entity?"
"It's similar, but my situation isn't that urgent for now, so let's move past it."
Tap, tap.
The Deputy Manager nudged me.
"Noru, you seem to know a lot about that strange Darkness. Let's explain first. Without knowing, we don't know what danger button we might press."
....
The Nameless Brilliant Cult's Dangerous Box
: The Seeker in the Box
I explained to everyone as quickly as possible.
The danger of this box, the peculiarity of this place, and the fact that we were running away from this cult, all plainly stated.
Finally, even the most basic countermeasure.
Victims denoted by capacity
Current Capacity: 2
A brief silence fell among the veterans of ghost stories, who read the characters I drew with smoke.
"So, if you put two people in, they suffer torture for decades before dying, and the rest pass through unharmed. Is that it?"
That's correct.
"If one Dream Weave is extracted at B-rank, the company would be thrilled."
Assumption: If one does not enter the box, Dream Weave extraction is impossible.
"Ah, I see. It'll just be counted as evading the Darkness without entering it."
Deputy Manager Eun Haje muttered, looking at Ho Yuwon, as if it were a relief.
At any rate, then.
Request: Do not move.
Do not provoke it unnecessarily.
Reason
▶ Possibility of being identified as a suitable target if you move.
▶ Little possibility of escaping from inside the box.
(Item usability cannot be confirmed.)
The Seeker in the Box will continue to follow as long as it spots a suitable target to fill its capacity.
That period lasts….
Eternally, until the box closes completely once its capacity is filled.
As long as the Seeker in the Box has empty slots in its capacity, it will never give up trying to fill them with suitable individuals.
For that is its faith.
As time passes, the box appears closer to the sacrificial lamb, beckoning them to join with its two hands, and eventually, it appears directly before the sacrificial lamb whenever they turn their head.
At this point, if the sacrificial lamb tries to move, they will inevitably touch the box.
▶ If identified as a suitable target, you cannot escape until the box closes.
Anyone among them could end up in that state….
If my salivary glands and esophagus were in their proper places, my mouth would be parched.
'I have to confirm.'
Whether the box is currently moving based on one of them. Exactly who among the six it is getting closer to.
'Or….'
I could provoke the box first.
'It would be easier to deal with if it were chasing me.'
If necessary, I might even be able to 'read' the box and erase its settings before it swallows me.
…Though the thought of what fatal side effects might occur, and for how long, was chilling, it was better than suffering for decades, being displayed inside that box….
"Wait, Grape-ie."
....
"...You said not to move. That includes you."
Agent Choi, after confirming I had stopped moving, looked around.
"Alright, everyone heard that, right? Is anyone here dying to go to the bathroom? No? Well, that's a small blessing, isn't it?"
Agent Bronze next to me clutched his forehead.
"Let's take just a little bit of time! It seems we have a little leeway now."
Agent Choi, sweating cold sweat but smiling, spoke calmly and lowered himself.
"It's not right in front of us yet."
His eyes remained fixed on the strange hands within the box.
"For now, let's all sit down and think of a countermeasure without provoking the box… Is that okay, Grape-ie?"
....
I slowly nodded.
However.
Recommendation: Everyone keep checking the box's position.
As time passes, it will only get closer.
Thus, the six people sat down, separated by the entrance to the Nameless Brilliant Cult's underground bunker.
Three inside.
Three outside.
And… the black box with its hands outstretched, placed close to the entrance.
Slightly closer.
'...The position has been readjusted.'
The guillotine's blade is drawing nearer.
Already another half-step closer.
"Agent Grape."
I turned my head with difficulty. The moment I sat down, Agent Bronze naturally threw something at me.
"This is your issued item that you left behind. Please take it."
Only after catching it reflexively did I realize what it was.
...My agent jacket.
'…Why.'
I couldn't wear it now anyway. Or rather, why would they be looking for an industrial spy who had even submitted their resignation?
My stomach felt like it was churning. Not knowing what to do with the jacket, I just touched it.
'For now… I'll put it in my tattoo.'
So, to fold it, I reached for the bottom of the jacket….
There was something in the pocket.
I sent Black Smoke to carefully feel inside, and realized what it was.
Colorful threads.
It was the Five Cardinal Colors Shoelace.
[Oh, isn't that an escape item?]
That's right.
It's an item normally issued one per field agent, allowing for emergency escape from supernatural disasters, bypassing the clear procedure.
It was also an item I desperately needed, the kind I had just asked Ho Yuwon about earlier. But….
'…Why on earth would they give me this?'
At this urgent moment?
I looked back at Agent Bronze, but his mosaicked face avoided my gaze and was engaged in some conversation with Agent Choi.
As if wanting to gloss over whatever was inside the jacket.
Could it be….
'Are they telling me to use it now?'
If I used this, I would be sent to the escape location designated by the Disaster Management Bureau, and my identity would naturally be transferred there.
But what about the others remaining here?
What was the intention behind giving it to me? Was it Agent Bronze's solo action?
"Then, let's begin."
And it was at the moment Agent Choi was about to proceed quickly, regardless of my confusion.
"First, the condition for the box to count someone as capacity is an intelligent being…"
"Excuse me!"
Flash.
Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae was the first to raise her hand.
"There is! The fastest and simplest method!"
Her employee-like remark came out.
"You said this was a cult, right? We just need to find the two most wicked people and put them in!"
"...."
"Yes?"
"We can get ahead of it. It doesn't necessarily have to be one of us."
Yes.
Agent Choi had proceeded logically. 'Let's brainstorm various methods within the time limit.'
But there was a problem.
With this group, I had a feeling I knew how the story would end.
'With the blade at my throat, this isn't a situation where we can afford to waste time deliberating…!'
For now, Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae was determined to find wicked individuals from this base and send them in.
She was someone who wouldn't care even if her own subordinates died. With the cult background, she would be unstoppable.
"Ah, that's a good suggestion. Coincidentally, the box has already swallowed one cult executive. Another cult executive is behind us, unconscious."
"Ooh, nice! It'll be even easier to put them in."
Lee Seong-hae smiled brightly, and Ho Yuwon smiled too.
But, you see.
"Cheongdong, I think I might be going deaf. I think I just heard someone suggesting they'd put a civilian into a supernatural disaster in front of a government agent."
There was someone here who couldn't tolerate that.
Agent Choi, though speaking as if joking, finally sighed and opened his mouth.
"Ugh, of course, I understand how you feel! But that's something we should only consider as a last resort…."
"Hey, we don't have time. Why should good people risk themselves trying new things and getting scared?"
"...!"
Hoo.
"I'm not saying we should just put in any random follower. I think it's actually better for society if a cult executive dies! They don't even get severely punished if they're arrested…"
Lee Seong-hae rested her chin on her hand and nodded seriously.
"It's a good opportunity for retribution!"
A short silence followed.
"...That's a rather personal judgment?"
"I won't ask the agents to choose. I'll pick the other one myself, so wait for me! If the box follows, it'll be nearby, so I'll dodge it and slip them in!"
"No…."
"Please wait a moment."
Agent Bronze spoke.
Perhaps one might think this agent was also joining in to stop Lee Seong-hae.
But….
"We will select them."
"…!!"
Today's Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau is an organization that can say, 'If someone has to die, let it be that person.'
They select wicked individuals through the scales of evil and send them to their deaths to prevent greater sacrifices.
The agent who served as a living testament to this, having played the role of a murderer at a mountain lodge, spoke.
Gesturing towards the box, which had moved another half-step closer, he said anxiously.
"Is there anyone here who has directly witnessed this cult's executive causing numerous casualties?"
"Well, I saw it."
The Deputy Manager opened her mouth.
Deputy Manager Eun Haje was a realist, and she could accept a reasonably gentle option given the circumstances.
"To make liquor, they must have killed at least dozens of people."
"Confirmed."
"Cheongdong."
"Agent."
Agent Bronze interrupted the senior agent.
"Rules are rules."
·An agent's life is always paramount.
And if there is a confirmed villain, it is right for them to die.
"Continuing to discuss based on speculation when a verified method exists only makes it harder to decide."
…It was rational.
"And as time passes, we might not be able to choose the verified option even if we want to."
Either the cult executive wakes up in the meantime.
…Or the box gets too close.
"We must attempt it while we have the leeway."
Even Agent Choi was silent for a moment at those words.
The public opinion had already shifted to a majority.
[Hmm. It's surprisingly well-organized. Sacrificing a third party. They managed to escape skillfully.]
[The sinful twins will suffer long torture until death inside the box. Replacing extras holds no real significance.]
Brown's voice, sounding deflated, could be heard.
Agent Choi closed his mouth, and I saw Ho Yuwon watching the others talk and the situation resolve itself with a smile.
And I fell silent.
'…Is this really okay?'
The truth of the Happy Ending Cult complicated my thoughts.
In a situation where I couldn't suppress these people, who were bound to act impulsively, and force them to listen to me, even if I could, there wasn't a more special alternative. But….
'I think I could buy some time for other attempts by drawing the box's aggro….'
"Grape-ie."
I turned my head.
Agent Choi, who had been staring blankly at the floor, then back at the box, repeatedly lost in thought. He seemed to be calculating something, and….
He had picked up the Goblin Lantern he had placed on the floor.
"...You originally intended to lure the box by moving yourself, didn't you? So that everyone else could leave safely."
…!
"You're still the same. Wow, I guessed it again."
A laugh.
"But that's not something the youngest should do. It's about seniority."
Just a moment.
Agent Choi looked at me and grinned.
Eyes of someone who had made a decision.
"Still, as an agent, I should try something I can do. …Thank you."
Hey!
Agent Choi stood up and moved. At his impulsive action, Agent Bronze belatedly rose from his seat, but it was too late. The box sensed the agent with many stories and moved to follow him….
"That's a rather less hypocritical agent. Not like the Disaster Management Bureau. Don't you think so, Mr. Noru?"
Get lost!
"So I'm going to select one too, Mr. Noru."
Thump.
"The one more like the Disaster Management Bureau."
Agent Bronze was pushed by Ho Yuwon's hand.
His body collided with the box.
Thump.
[ Two
One
Agent Bronze.
Disappeared.
'....'
I saw Agent Choi's eyes widen. Ho Yuwon's smile, Deputy Manager Lee Seong-hae's blinking eyes, Deputy Manager Eun Haje's frown, the predictions flashing through my mind…. 'No.'
Request: Wait.
I shot myself towards the box using smoke.
And disappeared.
Into it.]