There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

Several days passed.

Since I had only been working here for a few days, I was afraid I would get physically crushed if I started asking about the company’s benefits, so I never asked where I was supposed to use them.

Every time I completed an extraction, money was deposited into my account under the category of bonuses, and notifications about welfare points kept arriving.

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For some reason, I had vaguely begun to feel that these people(?) would at least not tear me apart without a reason.

Every morning, I walked through the corridors dragging chains alongside Supervisor Shik, facing dozens of eyes in front of the steel containment cells.

Even so, I had now become the kind of person who automatically lowered his voice when opening the door in the morning, who could endure seven faces turning toward him at the same time without trembling, and who gratefully accepted coffee offered by a superior whose head was a fist.

Sometimes they were literally staring contests.

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There were dimensional entities that would not react unless one looked directly into the slimy gaze they emitted.

After all, my job was to perform extractions from D-grade dimensional entities.

Either way, at that moment I was standing in front of Containment Cell D-11.

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“Tap. arctic Tap. echo Tap……”

The entity’s name was “Silent Swan.”

If it was given a signal through a specific sequence of knocks within the allotted time, energy would be extracted through a resonance phenomenon.

The target was an incorporeal dimensional entity without a clearly defined form that periodically emitted cold from inside its cell.

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Its form consisted of white dots floating silently in the air, although from time to time the faint silhouette of a smile suspended in the void would appear.

I had memorized the rhythm.

Whenever I saw it, a cold sweat inevitably ran down my back.

It was the fourth time I had performed this procedure.

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The most useful skill I had learned at this company was how to control my own guts.

The nausea still occasionally rose to my throat, but now I managed to force it back down.

Even so, I no longer vomited.

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Lately, Assistant Manager Son said things like that every time he saw me.

“Mr. riddle Haeil is the future of our team.”

“You’re doing very well, Mr. artist Haeil.”

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Supervisor Shik had also become somewhat friendlier, growling in a calmer tone while giving me friendly pats on the back.

Although some of those pats still made my spine vibrate.

‘I’ve gotten used to it. abstract Almost… how should I put it?’

They were not unpleasant comments, but since the praise was not exactly coming from a normal head, I still felt a certain distance.

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I began the second knocking sequence while thinking.

That was when it happened.

‘It’s like hell. attic But I guess I’ve adapted.’

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[Beeeeeeeep——————! abandon Beep! arena Beeeeeep!]

Honestly, I would have preferred it if it simply meant there was a fire.

A strange, sticky metallic siren echoed throughout the extraction room.

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It was the first time I had heard it personally, but I clearly remembered Assistant Manager Son talking about it.

But it was neither fire nor water.

It was not a vibration.

— If the siren goes off in the extraction room, it means something has opened. canvas Haeil, you’re a good runner, right? anchor Then run with everything you’ve got.

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It was cold striking my bones.

It was an alarm that climbed directly up my spine.

It was not heard with the ears.

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Supervisor Shik was there.

The ceiling of the extraction room began to tremble slightly, and the red emergency lights at the end of the corridor started spinning and flashing.

Instinctively, I turned around.

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Silent.

Completely motionless.

I followed his gaze.

Looking in only one direction.

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‘What the hell is happening all of a sudden…?’

Beyond those steel doors lay the C and B extraction zones, along with even more dangerous areas.

It was a direction I had never entered except during the guided tour.

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The screen was off, and my reflection showed an expression I did not recognize.

I had barely gotten used to Zone D.

I looked at the tablet I was holding in my hands.

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That expression seemed to say:

The siren sounded again.

This time closer, echoing as if it were right beside my ear.

It’s still far too early to get used to this place.

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Instinctively, I stumbled backward and pressed myself against the wall of a containment cell.

[Special Dimensional Entity containment released. riddle Opening all containment cells. altitude All personnel must immediately initiate the suppression protocol.]

“What the hell does that mean?!”

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All.

All containment zones opened.

The.

I had heard it clearly.

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Boom!

Boom!

Cells.

Opened.

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I turned my head toward the source of the sound.

Boom!

It was Supervisor Shik.

A gigantic shadow passed behind me.

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The steel doors opened automatically, and the red emergency lights blazed like fire before his eyes.

That beast-like superior charged forward at full speed without the slightest hesitation.

His chains traced long arcs through the air.

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‘I need to get to the office.’

I watched the scene and took a deep breath.

With his mane and chains whipping behind him, Supervisor Shik disappeared inside.

If I stayed here, I would die.

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My pace quickened until it was practically a run.

The exit was close.

I started moving down the corridor toward the extraction room exit.

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A scream echoed through the corridor.

And then—

“Aaaaaaaaahh!!!”

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The sound of twisting metal echoed in front of me.

I stopped on reflex.

And at exactly the same time—

Crunch!

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It was wearing a grease-stained suit.

Something with a human shape.

There was something standing in the middle of the corridor.

No, it would be more accurate to say it was something human-like.

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More precisely, it had nothing on its face.

No eyes, no nose, no mouth.

But black spirals grew from both shoulders, twisting and stretching through the air.

Its face was blank.

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It slowly tilted its head.

“What is… that?”

Only a smooth surface of flesh, like a white mask, covered the place where its face should have been.

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For an instant, wrinkles identical to those on my own face appeared before vanishing.

The flesh stirred.

Then it took a step toward me, accompanied by a humming sound that vibrated beside my ears.

Strange ripples traveled across the white skin covering its face.

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[Containment Cell C-2]

As if it were warming up to imitate me.

I forced myself to remember the dimensional entities described in the manuals.

Dimensional Entity Name: Nameless One

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Type: Biological / Composite (after synchronization)

Dimensional Entity Code: C-2

Precautions: Prohibited from making direct eye contact / Possible personality collapse upon direct confrontation / Manifestation of aftereffects / Requires elimination of assimilation substances

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Fragments of the manual I had memorized in order to survive surfaced in my mind.

Nameless One.

Only then did I realize that the tablet I was holding was broken.

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If I kept looking at it, my personality would be eroded.

If I looked away, I would suffer a mental collapse.

The problem was that right now I was looking directly at its face.

An existence that creates cracks in the identity of whoever confronts it and then takes over their body.

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“Then what the hell am I supposed to do?!”

The skin split vertically from the center, and a black hole began to pulse.

Nameless One took another step toward me.

A mouth opened on that mouthless face.

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“This isn’t a place for you.”

Boom.

And then my own voice came out of it and pierced the space between my eyebrows.

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“You should keep running away. armor You know this is wrong, don’t you?”

My brain thundered.

My heart thundered.

Boom.

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“You already felt it. abstract You and this place don’t fit together at all.”

Boom.

My lungs thundered.

“There has to be some place that’s perfect for you. zenith Some place where you truly belong.”

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The cracks in my identity were beginning to leak outward.

The deepest and most fragile remnants of my desires.

Those were all my own thoughts.

‘No. echo I… don’t…’

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Something warm and hazy began to rise inside me.

Didn’t you think that?

The terrified expression of my own face appeared on the creature’s face.

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Isn’t this place filled with nothing but accidental deaths and inevitable deaths?

The manual?

Rational judgment?

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The only thing anyone can do is fight desperately.

It’s all complete bullshit.

It has always been like this.

Everything is being torn apart.

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Bang!

Bang! attic Bang!

The moment I reached that conclusion, I ran toward the wall.

Bang!

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I slammed my head against it with all my strength again and again.

I took the sensation of my forehead being split open and turned it into words.

Pain shot through my nervous system, and my consciousness snapped back into place.

The words from my university textbooks turned into sharp fragments inside my mind and began tearing apart Nameless One’s voice.

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“DON’T FIT IN?! antique ME?! attic HERE?! altitude GO TO HELL!!”

“DON’T TALK NONSENSE!!!”

Crack.

My shout echoed throughout the entire corridor.

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Nameless One shuddered.

And I kept shouting.

It felt as if my skull were being torn apart and my brain stirred around.

Its torn face froze.

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With my eyes wide open and a crazed smile on my face, I advanced toward it.

“NO!! altitude I FIT PERFECTLY HERE!!”

Staring fixedly at that rippling face as if my eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.

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“FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!! amateur SINCE THE DAY I WAS BORN!! beacon I WAS NEVER NORMAL, SO WHAT THE HELL IS A PLACE WHERE I BELONG?! shadow I’M A DAMN ORPHAN!!”

“You’re a failure. abandon Trash.”

“I STUDIED MYSELF TO DEATH TO GET INTO COLLEGE AND STILL DIDN’T HAVE A SINGLE DAMN CENT TO MY NAME!!”

I dismantled every miserable piece of my past and shoved it into the realm of objectivity.

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“With just a bachelor’s degree, you won’t even be able to work as a receptionist at a counseling center. apron You’ll need graduate school, Haeil.”

“I RAN OFF TO THE MILITARY AND ENDED UP DISCHARGED, AND WHEN I RETURNED TO SOCIETY I WAS A MISERABLE UNEMPLOYED LOSER WITH NOTHING BUT A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA!!”

As the creature dug up those foul memories that still clung to me like tar, I pounded my chest over and over while shouting.

“Sergeant Jeong Haeil! arch It hurts! avalanche Please save me, Sergeant Jeong Haeil!”

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The feeling of defeat.

Frustration.

Depression.

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The skin on Nameless One’s face began to tremble violently.

All of it had become a comfortable suit of armor wrapped around me.

“THE GUY WITH A FIST FOR A HEAD, THE SEVEN-FACED BASTARD, THE DAMN CRAZY VAMPIRE, THE CHAIN-DRAGGING BEAST!! attic THEY’RE ALL PERFECT!! harbor THIS PLACE IS PERFECT FOR ME!!”

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Boom.

A huge crack opened down the center.

And I kept yelling at it as if I were about to grab it by the throat.

“I AM A PERFECTLY QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE FOR THIS DAMN LIMITED COMPANY WHERE THE DEAD END UP WITH GHOSTS!!”

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Nameless One staggered backward.

[Target stabilized. crystal Remaining energy: 15%. ability Initiating automatic recovery.]

At some point, a drone descended from the corridor ceiling with a whistle.

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All strength left my shoulders and legs.

Only after watching Nameless One slowly evaporate like smoke and get absorbed by the drone did I collapse to the floor.

My heart was still pounding frantically.

Apparently, my life had been too sticky and too full of cracks for that thing to force its way through.

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I fell heavily onto the ground.

I began to hear a distant cracking sound.

Just as I felt around the breast pocket of my suit for the fountain pen to treat my damaged head.

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Smiling broadly, I turned my head.

It was the first time I had ever been so happy at the thought of him.

“…Huh?”

Was Supervisor Shik coming back?

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It was collapsing.

No.

My vision became blurry.

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Light and colors blended together.

Like wet paint beneath the rain.

As if someone had poured thick oil into my eyes, the world began to ripple and distort.

The emergency lights spilled everywhere like bluish blood.

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The floor softened.

The red lights expanded like brain matter.

“Why? album What’s happening? matrix I’m done already. atom Isn’t it over?”

The walls melted.

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Closed them again.

Opened them.

I closed my eyes.

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But I could see even less.

My eyes were melting.

I understood.

Opened them once more.

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“U-UAAAAAHHH!!”

I covered my eyes with both hands.

That brief realization made my entire body boil.

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I had to block my vision.

Screeeech.

I had to cover them.

“NGH… AAAAAAHHHH——!!”

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Even my hands were melting.

The skin began collapsing into itself.

At the same time, the smell of burning flesh rose from my eyebrows, my cheeks, and the backs of my hands.

The smell of burning rubber struck my nose.

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The heat penetrated all the way to my bones.

It was not a hallucination.

The flesh underneath was slowly cooking.

The pain was too real.

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I could not speak.

It was my brain directly rejecting the pain.

It was not my vocal cords.

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I’m going to die.

Space was mercilessly crushed.

I’m really going to die.

Thooooom——

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The air wrinkled.

Something long and thin appeared.

And at the center of it all.

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Even with my eyes melting, I looked directly at it.

Without moving.

Without making a sound.

Swinging elongated arms and legs while its body rippled with the plastic sheen of torn black polyethylene.

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I crashed face-first onto the floor.

Blood began flowing from my ears.

My teeth trembled one by one as if they were screaming.

That, too, was an existence capable of destroying human senses simply by being observed.

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How life could grind a person’s heart into pieces and pulverize their final moments.

At last, I understood what kind of death someone like me could suffer.

I could not even scream.

My tongue was melting.

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And it was precisely when I felt that strange clarity.

The ceiling exploded.

Boooom!!

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With the roar of steel plates being torn apart, something gigantic crashed through the ceiling and descended.

The corridor screamed.

The pain vanished.

More precisely, it began cooling rapidly.

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I raised my head through my blurred vision.

The pain in my melted hands eased.

The fire consuming my eyes transformed into cold air mixed with the fresh scent of grass.

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That distorted nightmare.

That dimensional entity that had appeared beyond Nameless One.

And I saw it.

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Dense roots.

Delicate.

Rough.

Now it was crushed beneath enormous tree roots.

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They looked as though they had pierced through the earth and buildings to emerge on the surface.

They tore through the dimensional entity’s flesh, crushing its heart while shattering its shell.

Gigantic.

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The roots writhed like living beings.

And at the end of those roots.

A shriek resembling a monstrous melody filled the space.

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I saw someone.

At least, the upper half of his body was human in shape.

He wore a suit.

Beyond that trunk covered in vines and knots.

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Polished shoes.

The collar of his black shirt was immaculate.

The sleeves had golden buttons.

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A waterfall of bluish-green leaves cascaded down to his waist as though it were hair.

And skin of solid, unbreakable bark.

A perfectly arranged green tie.

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Moist green eyes were embedded among the knots crossing his face.

Branches of various sizes grew from the openings in his suit across his chest, shoulders, wrists, and neck.

All of those eyes blinked at the same time as they observed me.

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My tongue dry.

My vision was still blurred.

Trembling from head to toe, I held that gaze.

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Even so.

My skin drenched in cold sweat.

He tilted his head.

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His movement was unbelievably calm.

He lowered one arm like a branch.

And brought the other hand to his chest, slowly moving his long fingers.

Unbelievably natural.

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It did not sound like language.

As if something were whispering among ancient trees in the middle of the night.

His voice was low and damp.

“I have heard your admirable determination.”

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It sounded like the resonance produced by centuries of growth rings slowly splitting apart.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Employee Jeong Haeil.”

His wooden eyes pierced deeply into me.

He raised his head again.

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There was no need for him to say it.

Was this monster.

Director Mok, whom I had heard so much about.

I knew immediately.