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Chapter 34: Temporary Employees (1)
â Taat!
Chasing down those who fly while I remain on the ground.
It's difficult but not impossible.
At least, not for me.
"Accelerate!"
Increasing my speed with acceleration, I cleared the obstacles blocking my way using petrification and blade winds as I pursued them.
Finally, I arrived at my destination.
'The Namsan Tower?'
I was back again.
Not for a mission or a safe zone this time, but because of those bowl-cut twins.
And then.
'They disappeared!'
I looked around, thinking they might have gone inside the tower.
â Thud!
They suddenly dropped right in front of me.
[Can you see us?]
"!!"
The abrupt appearance of the bowl-cut twins filled my vision.
My startled reaction answered their question for them.
Thud!
When the two of them stomped their feet simultaneouslyâ
Crash!
A massive coldness surged up from the ground.
My entire body froze in an instant.
'I... must... stay conscious...'
My vision darkened.
* * *
'Ugh...'
My teeth chattered from the cold, and my head throbbed.
My whole body felt soaked, as if I had been drenched in rain.
'How much time has passed?'
I tried moving my limbs, but they wouldnât budge.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed I was tied up with rope.
I could guess whose handiwork this was.
[...Zone.]
[Summary... Ordinary.]
[Suspicious...]
[Needs investigation.]
I could hear their voices faintly from a distance.
Those carefree little ones didnât seem to think Iâd woken upâor could even wake up at all.
By the way, where am I?
'An office?'
High ceilings.
Bookshelves lined up like dividers.
A variety of books, all differing in thickness and height, packed densely together.
Yet, what made me think this was an office rather than a library wasâ
[District 13. Where's the investigation report?]
[Over there.]
Each desk was piled high with various file folders.
A space that seemed unnatural for two small kids, barely tall enough to reach the desk, to be using.
'Hmm? Wait a second.'
One of the kids was rummaging through desks and drawers as if searching for something.
They moved against the backdrop of sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows that stretched to the ceiling.
'Windows...'
Beyond the windows, I could see a panoramic view of Seoul.
Tourist stickers adorned the glass.
A souvenir display stand was shoved into a corner, half-hidden by the bookshelves.
This place...
'An observatory?'
It seemed these kids had set up an office inside one of Seoulâs landmarks.
So thatâs why the tower was encased in a dome-like structure.
'The important thing is figuring out who they are, what theyâre doing here, and why they attacked me.'
I could roughly guess who they were.
[Excessive creature generation. Why?]
Due to my auto-hunting plan, monsters had been generated in greater numbers than expected, and they were here to find out why.
[Strange. Needs a separate report.]
[Weâll get scolded. Letâs identify it first.]
They didnât seem to be the ones in charge, though.
They were trying to understand the situation and report it to someone.
By the way, 'District 13 investigation report'...
[Found it.]
'Iâd like to take a look at that, too.'
[Target: Lee Eunho. Ordinary human.]
[Ordinary? But how can they see us?]
[I donât know.]
The bowl-cut twins chattered back and forth, oblivious to the fact that the "ordinary human" they were discussing could hear every word.
'Is that the report?'
A black file folder holding dozens of A4 sheets.
The two of them leaned their heads together as they flipped through the pages.
Rustle!
After a while, when they couldnât find what they were looking for, they alternated flipping forward and backward through the report.
Eventually, they smacked their foreheads and spoke simultaneously.
[Thereâs nothing special.]
[Why?]
[How?]
Hmm.
They seemed quite flustered about not being able to figure out my identity.
[This is a first.]
[What do we do?]
[What should we do?]
They looked so helpless, like innocent kids stomping their feet in frustration.
However.
'Even the manager, who had the appearance of a child, once split someone in half with just a finger.'
I knew from experience that just because they looked like children didnât mean they were innocent.
Even so, for some reason, they didnât seem all that threatening.
Maybe it was because...
'Their presence feels weak.'
[We canât even identify the anomaly.]
[The report. We canât finish it.]
[But the target. They even noticed us.]
[Concealment failed.]
[Sigh...]
Or perhaps they genuinely seemed more like timid kids.
[The investigator will be mad.]
[Weâre going to get scolded.]
[Weâre doomed.]
'Investigator?'
[Sigh...]
I followed the gaze of the kid who sighed at the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar term.
A large panoramic window stretched along the curved wall.
In front of it, two bowl-cut kids were sighing.
"Hm?"
...Wait a second.
[First, that suspicious guy.]
[Investigate him. Take care of him.]
These guysâ¦
Why arenât they reflected in the window?
"No wayâ¦"
I widened my eyes and observed them closely, but the only reflection in the glass was mine.
No matter how hard I looked, I couldnât spot the bowl-cut kids in white clothing.
[This is bad.]
[?]
âThose guys⦠they donât even cast shadows.â
My head throbbed, and I closed my eyes.
Then, a moment later, I heard voices from a little closer.
[Heâs awake?]
Haah.
This damn systemâ¦
âGhosts? Really, now?â
* * *
Right. Now I remember.
[You have defeated 19 demons that do not belong to this land.]
[You have earned the title of âDemon Slayer.â]
The title I earned after completing that mission.
Demon Slayer.
The abilities of that title were clear:
[Immune to the abilities of low-tier demons.]
[20% attack increase when fighting mid-tier demons.]
[Resist intimidation from high-tier demons.]
Immune to low-tier demons abilities.
Demons.
Ghosts.
Soâ¦
âDemon-ghosts like these kids.â
[Heâs already awake.]
[By himself? How?]
Now it made sense.
It seemed their ability was to hide themselves and freeze their target, but thanks to the Demon Slayer title, it didnât work on me.
Even earlier, when I was frozen, it wasnât because they directly froze meâit was because the cold transmitted through the ground got me.
In that caseâ¦
âIf Iâd been directly hit, Iâd be in real trouble.â
[Heâs suspicious.]
[Letâs just kill him.]
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The two bowl-cut ghosts put down the documents they were holding and approached me.
They grabbed a wooden mallet that had been leaning nearby.
"â¦Youâre planning to hit me?"
A nod.
At the same time, the bowl-cut twins nodded and approached, their shiny bowl cuts swaying.
âShould I fight? Or persuade them?â
If I used up all the remaining mission rewards, I could recover from the injuries Iâd taken earlier.
But if I managed to get out of here safely, Sola could heal me instead.
Hmm⦠In that case.
"Wait, stop."
[?]
[?]
I straightened my posture and spoke boldly.
Though I was tied up and lying on the floor, I tried my best to appear as confident as possible.
"Attacking someone right off the bat? Who taught you such manners?"
Flinch!
As I said this in a low, scolding tone, the twins flinched and stopped in their tracks.
They rolled their eyes, clearly caught off guard.
"Haah."
I let out a sharp, exaggerated sigh to prevent them from making eye contact with each other.
"Bring your boss out here."
[?]
[?]
I shouted it out.
Something Iâd heard countless times during my various part-time jobs.
âI never thought Iâd use this on ghosts.â
It felt absurd, but as it turned out, ghost neighborhoods werenât so different from human ones.
The response was immediate.
[The boss?]
[Why?]
The twins frowned deeply at each other, nervously fiddling with the hems of their robes.
âDid it work?â
Since theyâd been talking about getting scolded or killed earlier, I decided to try pushing my luck.
"Go call your boss already!"
Fully channeling the demeanor of an angry customer.
Gulp.
I secretly swallowed my nerves but kept my head held high and stiff.
Thenâ¦
One of the bowl-cut twins, whoâd been fumbling around, finally spoke.
[The investigator? Do you know him?]
Gotcha.
"You donât need to know that. Just hurry and bring them here. Iâm going to file a complaint about how poorly youâre being managed."
Flinch!
The twins shivered again.
Then, suddenly, they waved their hands toward empty space and began whispering to each other.
[âSetaniâ has activated âSilence.â]
[Due to the title âDemon Slayer,â you are unaffected by the skill.]
Oh-ho.
So they want to talk in secret?
[The investigator? Is he a friend?]
[If itâs a lie?]
[Weâll get in trouble.]
[Scary.]
In that caseâ¦
"Petrification."
I whispered almost silently and fumbled with the ropes tying my hands.
And thenâ¦
âSnap.
I cautiously glanced up to make sure they didnât notice.
Luckily, they were too absorbed in their heated discussion.
[What if we erase his memory?]
[He wonât notice.]
[We wonât get scolded.]
I managed to cut the ropes without a hitch, then slowly worked on freeing my ankles.
By the time I was done, they seemed to have reached an agreement and began approaching me.
[Erase his memory.]
âErase my memory?â
Sorry, but thatâs probablyâ¦
"Not gonna work, either."
[?]
Ta-at-!
I sprang to my feet, shoved them aside, and bolted out of the room.
The wide-eyed, dumbfounded faces of the kids began to twist with shock and fury whenâ
Smack!
I swiftly ran over and snatched up the report theyâd been reviewing.
[!!]
[Thatâs!]
[No way!]
ãDistrict 13 Investigation Report and Restructuring Efficiency (Draft)ã
I barely managed to read the title amidst their screams before stuffing it into my inventory.
Fearing they might try something reckless, I turned to flee, but a chilling killing intent froze me in my tracks.
And thenâ
Boomâ! Craaack!
They stomped the ground with all their might.
From beneath their feet, the floor began to freeze in two streaks.
And at the end of the lightning-fast ice pathâ
Crack-crack-crack-crunch!
A wall of ice sealed the exit completely.
So, this was their power.
[Right now!!]
[Hand it over!!]
Blocking my escape, the two spirits lunged at me like cannonballs.
Swoosh!
[He dodged!!!]
[Youâre dead!!!]
With their arms glued to their sides, they fueled their rage into propulsion, hurtling toward me at a terrifying speed.
I barely dodged by rolling on the ground, causing their heads to smash into the wall instead of me.
Boom! Thud-thud!
The sound was like a cannon hitting the ground.
The walls, ceiling, and floor all trembled.
[You little rat!]
[Youâre not getting out!]
[Youâll die here!]
The exit was frozen solid, emanating a biting cold.
What now?
I could try acceleration or petrification, but no way would they sit idly by while I attempted it.
Smack!
Before I realized it, I was already far from the exit, my back pressed against the cold glass of a window.
[Hand over the report. Then die!]
[Or die and hand it over!]
Thinking theyâd won, the two bowl-cut cannonballs gleefully launched themselves at me.
Apparently, their charge attack had no cooldown.
Unlike my acceleration skill.
âIf I face them head-on, Iâm at a disadvantage.â
In that caseâ
Swoosh!
They were coming.
One aimed for my head, the other for my stomach.
Like missiles.
I wanted to dodge immediately, butâ
âWait for itâ¦â
Now!
"Acceleration!"
I waited until I locked eyes with them, reflected in their pupils, before activating my skill.
Then I quickly slipped awayâ
Tick-tockâ!
I could hear the ticking of a clock near my ear.
Boom! Crashâ!
Their thick skulls smashed into the glass window behind me instead of hitting me.
Crack!
The impact sent fine cracks spidering out from their rounded heads.
Cra-crack-crack-crunchâ!
The entire pane shattered.
So did their heads.
[Arghhh!!]
[Ahhhh!!]
Drip!
[Blood, blood?!]
[You...!!!]
[Youâre dead!!!]
Enraged, they charged at me again.
But theyâd used their headsâliterallyâto create a brand-new exit.
"Later. Petrification!"
Leaving was the logical next step.
Ta-atâ!
I cleared the broken glass and leapt out.
From the Namsan Tower observatory.
[Heâs... suicide?!]
[The worst!!!]
The two bowl-cuts were aghast.
But honestlyâ
"Suicide?"
âWhooosh!
"Like Iâd ever do that."
[?!]
[Idiot?!]
[How many floors is this?!]
[I donât know!]
No idea how high or how many meters, but falling from here would definitely crush my skull in one blow.
If I fell, that is.
âFwaaah!
Certain death.
Absolutely.
In that case...
"Then I just wonât fall!"
"Summon!"
A small green card appeared in my palm.
"Activate!"
A faint shiver ran through me as energy drained from my fingertips.
Maybe it was the fierce wind or the card in my hand, but regardlessâ
Clickâ!
A cold doorknob suddenly appeared in midair.
Defying gravity, I grabbed onto it.
Then the metallic door clicked open.
âGuess Iâll be seeing that bastard again.â
Back to the academy already.
Who wouldâve thought?
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