Rattle.
I opened the door and looked around.
"Condition good. Let's go."
"..."
Yoo Daon followed behind me with a tense expression.
I walked along with my four directions on high alert, recalling our earlier conversation.
"Your eyesight being a bit good isn't enough. What if you mess up at a critical moment?"
"That's my ability."
"...You have superpowers?"
"I don't know what you're imagining, but no red lasers shoot from my eyes to burn enemies."
She looked disappointed right away.
"But at least I can tell for sure if someone's human or not. No chance of error."
"...You put it that way, so I guess I can trust you."
She replied with a slightly relieved expression, then hesitated.
"...Um, I..."
"...?"
"I... have super... powers too."
"Yeah, I know."
"...You know? How?"
"I told you my eyes are good?"
I casually pointed to my eyes, and hers widened.
"Th-then... do you know... what it is...?"
Her voice trailed off weakly, and she looked up at me with big eyes.
I'd interacted with many people using this ability and built up my social skills talking to them. One thing I could tell.
She didn't want her ability revealed.
But I understood.
Being different from others must have caused her a lot of mental strain.
Especially if it was something physical.
"...No, I don't know that much."
I shook my head lightly in denial.
"Oh, okay."
Her expression finally relaxed a bit.
"Sorry somehow... I asked about your eyes... but didn't tell you mine."
"Yeah, whatever. It's fine."
It wasn't that I didn't know. I did.
[Trait: Immortality]
Probably means she doesn't die.
I answered nonchalantly as if it didn't matter and pulled out the manual to lighten the mood.
"Any specific info on the containment object you got?"
"...None."
She had her manual out too, reading it.
[Field Manual]
Different title. Probably different contents.
My thoughts wandered for a moment, but I flipped through my manual again. Let's see, containment procedures...
[Office Manual]
[G Containment Procedures]
1. Containment procedures may only be carried out by experienced Containment Team staff.
1-1. In emergencies, untrained staff or non-Containment Team personnel may also perform containment procedures.
1-2. If untrained staff assume temporary containment authority, they automatically gain Containment Team pass privileges. The temporary authority holder gains the right to decide on secret passages and necessary personnel elimination.
"...Elimination?"
Really extreme.
I kept reading.
[Office Manual]
1-3. If all branch personnel are eliminated, per Management Bureau Regulation 387, mass memory erasure is mandatory for related parties, with all costs borne by the Management Bureau.
*If anyone escapes memory erasure, they are not ordinary humans. Please report immediately to the Management Bureau Risk Management Department.
Thud. I closed the manual with a snap. They had a talent for slipping disturbing crap into otherwise useless text.
"You see the procedures?"
Yoo Daon looked at me.
Her big eyes blinked up at me, and before I knew it, I was scanning her face again.
Long black hair straight down to her back, big eyes, and a cute button nose to mouth. But she wasn't that tall. The kind of girl you'd call pretty from any angle.
I always checked people's info first, so sometimes I ended up noticing appearances later like this.
"Yeah, but it's the office manual, so only post-procedure and emergency response stuff. What about yours, Agent Yoo Daon?"
"...Daon the employee is fine. I haven't reached agent level yet. For someone like me, it says internal lockdown then exterminate the containment object."
"Exterminate?"
"Yeah. Shoot them all with guns... or something."
"..."
If it were that easy, I'd be on Containment Team. I'd have joined after getting shooting awards in the army.
"...Anyway, let's go. We have to start with internal lockdown."
She nodded at my words.
The Management Bureau existed to contain anomalous objects and phenomena in secret from civilians. In a situation like this, the top priority was preventing leaks of objects or info to the outside.
"It should still be fine. I don't know why, but it seems like they were trying to fully take over our branch first... Otherwise, why kill off all those Security Team guys..."
"..."
I watched her darkening expression, then stood up with a grunt.
"Let's go. It's still a race against time."
"...Okay."
Back at the door.
As I kept watch on all sides, Yoo Daon strode forward.
"...I'll take the lead."
"Huh? But you don't know who's the monster."
"I don't. ...But I'm confident I won't get taken down."
"How?"
"Th-that's..."
Was she trusting her immortality? If she got possessed, it'd be the worst-case for me—an undying enemy.
"...Anyway, I am."
She mumbled and stepped ahead of me.
"...Ah."
Come to think of it, before entering, someone got off the elevator.
I told her that, and her round eyes sharpened as she drew her gun.
"...We need to be careful. You got a weapon?"
"Nope."
What weapon does an office worker have?
She nodded and started walking, gun pointed forward.
"We're heading to the containment rooms now. Manual says we can do internal containment procedures there."
"Yeah, lead on."
My manual didn't have details on internal procedures. Just authority stuff.
We walked slowly down the empty hallway.
Both of us, senses on high alert, scanned around.
Soon, footsteps approached from ahead.
Thud, thud.
Yoo Daon and I stared tensely ahead, and soon someone appeared at the edge of our vision.
"Cease fire! Friendlies!"
A big guy in sunglasses appeared, hands raised above his head.
He acted totally harmless. But there was an easier way to tell.
I quickly checked above his head.
[Name: ? ? ?]
[Age: ? ? ?]
[Trait: Mimicry]
[Talent: Acting]
[Background: This one wears human skin turned inside out.]
"Fake."
Bang!
Before I finished, Yoo Daon drew and aimed at him. Flame spat from the barrel, piercing his forehead before he could react.
He—no, it—collapsed with a heavy thud.
Yoo Daon took a deep breath, then finally turned to me, worried.
".....Not human, right?"
"Yeah."
"...I'll trust you."
She approached it slowly, confirming again. I followed to check it out.
"...Looks human like this."
A hole gaped in the center of his crown, blood pooling around.
"Any other way to tell?"
I recalled the message I'd seen at her mutter.
[Background: This one wears human skin turned inside out.]
Human skin.
"Daon employee. Ever worn a full-body zentai?"
"Would I?"
She stared like I was crazy.
Fair enough.
One idea hit me.
This definitely wasn't from my experience.
Wandering the internet, you see all kinds of... experiences. Full-body zentai was one.
Usually, you unzip from head to back, slip in. Legs easiest that way.
I quickly pressed my finger to the crown of his head.
Rough, lumpy feel at my fingertip.
Thanks. Internet wanderers, for sharing your tastes so generously.
I stripped off the man's clothes fast.
"Wh-what are you doing!?"
Ignoring Yoo Daon, I yanked off his shirt.
After some grunting effort, his bare back appeared.
From crown to tailbone, a straight line of surgical stitches, like someone sewn him up.
"...My god."
Yoo Daon covered her mouth.
"So that's how it gets in."
Literally wearing human skin inside out.
Then—
Slash!
His back split open, something sharp lunging at my face.
"Wh—"
Was this what slow motion felt like?
I realized the approaching thing was hideous teeth, but my body wouldn't move despite knowing.
Something shoved my shoulder hard,
Crunch!
Yoo Daon was bisected.
Too fast for eyes to track.
Her limbs scattered with wet thuds, bloody stench hitting my nose.
Did she save me? Why?
She collapsed—no, shattered was more like it.
Blood spray and Yoo / Da / On turned into chunks, the one who'd pushed me suddenly a corpse.
Even then, immortality flashed in my mind. But would she sacrifice herself like this for someone she just met?
Then, eye contact with what chopped her.
Egg-shaped face with only teeth.
Then, new text appeared.
[You have reached a new realm.]
[Name: ? ? ?]
[Age: ? ? ?]
[Trait: Mimicry]
[Talent: Mimicry]
[Background: Having lost its skin, it seeks a new host to survive.]
[Weakness: The moment they emerge from a host, they are more aggressive than any, but equally weak.]
"Weakness."
Groping behind, my fingers felt something cold and heavy.
Yoo Daon's dropped gun.
I gripped it reflexively and aimed at the monster.
Then, the world turned black and white, the monster's movements slowing to a crawl.
Now I saw it clearly.
Human-like, but no eyes or nose where they should be. Limbs and torso normal, but unnaturally long arms and claws.
Like a grotesque alien from an old movie, dialed up.
Then, new info in my eyes.
In the monochrome world, one spot glowed bright.
Something on its side glowed unnaturally, and my gun barrel swung there naturally.
Bang!
"Kieeeek!"
No hesitation, I fired. The bullet sank into its side, and it collapsed screeching.
It twitched a few times, then stilled.
"..."
What was that just now?
Before I could dwell, more text.
[Name: Kim Jaeheon]
[Age: 27]
[Trait: Truth]
[Talent: Insight]
[Background: His stopped time begins to move again.]
[Currently available Critical: 1->0]
"...What."
I'd lived with these eyes nearly 10 years.
Finally, they were changing.