There Are No Humans in the Monster Company
Or perhaps an extremely long silence.
An instant.
Manager Myeon looked at the Portrait of a Dismantled God.
The Portrait of a Dismantled God looked at Manager Myeon.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The air stopped.
And then, it broke it.
In the beginning there was the abyss.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The entire space.
My ears.
No.
No.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The light consumed itself to give birth to darkness, and the darkness devoured its mother to become a god.
I felt as though everything had been sealed inside a silence on the verge of exploding.
My mind.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
No.
It was not something that could be heard with ears.
That was not a voice.
A voice.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
From the deepest part of my brain.
From within.
It came from somewhere.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
You are clay molded by my fingers, my seventh failure.
From some hidden corner of the space called the soul.
No.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
My tongue curled up.
Every capillary in my body trembled.
My eyes dried out.
I could not swallow.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
It was not a sound.
Pain itself flowed into me transformed into meaning.
It was not words.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Your suffering is my curve.
I will tear you apart to complete myself.
Your eyes are my holes.
Crack.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
My knees gave way.
Something sounded inside my head.
An unbearable heat surged behind my forehead.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
And life is the sum of false transactions.
The world split apart.
Therefore, listen.
The world has not yet been born.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Denial.
Denial.
Denial.
Those were not words.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
But through the cracks in my existence.
Each sentence drove itself into me.
It was an infection.
Not through my ears.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
But the god’s sentences were infecting even those numbed nerves.
My fountain pen throbbed.
The Relics of the Smiling Martyr squeezed my wrist so tightly it felt as though they were going to break my bones.
They were trying to forcibly inject calmness into me.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I am the rotten shepherd.
And I distributed their lives as though they were meat.
My sheep were hungry mouths.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“Ugh…”
But it was already too late.
I covered my mouth.
My tongue stopped obeying me.
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My thoughts began to fragment.
My vision blurred.
Meaning disappeared.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
That was not a metaphor.
A black book?
Behold the black book that opens with my breath.
No.
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A beheaded saint transformed into the tip of a pen describing pain.
A hallucination of red flesh flipping over like sheets of paper.
I heard something turning pages.
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Your name is written in the third column, twelfth row, seventh line.
Where?
It is written.
It is.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
What are you saying…?
You have already died.
Until I forget that fact, I will return you to life again and again.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Wh…?
What…?
What…?
What… are you saying…?
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
M… m… mmmmmmmmm…
Images.
Words were being cut apart.
My thoughts began repeating themselves.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The images were melting.
My mind crumbled like sand.
Images.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I am Jeo.
I am.
I am who.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I am Jeong Haeil.
I am Jeong Hae.
I am Jeong.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Jeong Hae.
Jeong Hae.
Jeong.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The sentences piled up in my throat like phlegm.
My jaw trembled.
My tongue could not stick to the roof of my mouth.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Black light.
I am your father.
No.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
That covered my vision.
My sense of touch.
A visual form without color.
My hearing.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I call to you with a mouth without a mouth.
My existence.
Pray through the cracks in my joints.
Can you hear me, my child made of clay?
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
·
Kneel before the glory of my corruption.
Believe through the cavities of my eyes.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
……
……
.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
…to me…
You…
I—––––––––
You…
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■
A structure without meaning.
Inside the light.
The outer wall of the heart.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I am the record of everything I have devoured.
Words.
Words.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Wordswordswordswordswordswords.
Thoughts become fragments.
The bones of a language sunk into my ears.
Words.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The concept of “I am.”
I…
No.
Fragments vomit blood.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
And that light was the fanaticism that sprang from my eyes.
Following a black trajectory.
There was light.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Whatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhatwhat.
JeongJeongHaeJeongHaeJeongJeongJeongJeongJeong.
And the darkness opened its belly.
I swallowed that light.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
And you are the flesh placed upon me.
It is tearing apart.
It is smiling.
It is crawling inside.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Swallow.
Chew.
Be saved.
Meaning disappears.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The subject who understands that I am not I disappears.
Meaning disappears and becomes meaning.
Meaning disappears.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
I dismantled a god following the shape of a man.
A denied womb.
You are my collapsed memories.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
That absence replaces me.
I simply remained.
I was not created.
And that replacement replaces me again—
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
No screams.
No explosions.
Crunch!!!
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Only the sensation of a blade piercing through my eardrums.
I forgot that my tongue was twisting.
I forgot that I was suffocating.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
To the left.
I snapped my eyes open and turned my head.
The very concept of pain brought me back to myself.
Crack!!!
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Cold.
Hot.
A tentacle.
Something extending behind my head was piercing my ear.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
A flesh tentacle.
Slippery.
Sticky.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
As if nothing had happened.
And then I saw Manager Batori.
That thing lodged in my ear began to withdraw slowly.
She was standing there.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Only one hand remained extended directly in front of my face.
Swoosh.
With a faint smile on her pale lips.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Her long white index finger moved toward my eyes.
Shh.
The tip brushed the bridge of my nose.
And then—
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Do not listen.
Remain silent.
Do not become infected by the words.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
My heart was beating.
I opened my eyes.
Little by little, my brain began to function again.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Instinctively, I inhaled.
As the tentacle left my ear, I felt as though something inside my eardrum had been torn apart.
Crack—
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
His tongue was numb, as if it had been paralyzed, and cold sweat ran down his forehead.
He felt as though something deep within his brain had been stirred up, mixing the very surface of his senses.
“…Ngh… haa… haaah… haaah…”
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Sounds crackled like interrupted signals.
Human voices, the vibrations of the floor, breathing, and heartbeats overlapped and then scattered apart.
Colors cut out abruptly and then returned.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
‘…It’s calming down.’
As if his entire body were filled with interference, reality trembled.
The confusion did not last long.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The ringing in his ears diminished.
His vision stabilized.
“Mr. athlete Haeil, are you alright?”
As if a medicine were taking effect, his senses gradually returned.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Perfectly aligned folds.
A red tie.
The fist-head tilted slightly as he asked.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“Grrr… Sniff…”
He heard something inhaling like a beast.
Beside him, Supervisor Shik gently wrapped one of his heavy arms around him.
It was Assistant Manager Son.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
His lips were so dry that they had cracked, but he still nodded firmly.
“Thank you…”
Beyond the glass of the containment chamber.
Supported by his two superiors, he slowly raised his head again.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Or rather, he was slowly walking around it.
‘What’s in there…’
It was something that could not even be compared to the dimensional entities he had seen so far.
And standing before that overwhelming existence was Manager Myeon.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Tracing circles around the Portrait of a Dismantled God, he murmured something with his seven faces.
The exposed flesh.
The cracks in the sculpture.
The viscous eyes.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
‘…Facing something like that and still behaving that way…’
Truly as if nothing were happening.
He observed all of it with absolute calm.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Not only from fear.
It was reverence.
His body trembled.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
‘…With Manager Myeon, I’d better always be extremely respectful.’
And understanding.
Etching that into his heart, he took another deep breath.
He could still feel residual heat somewhere inside his head.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Kneel.
But he was alive.
Once again, the proclamation of the Portrait of a Dismantled God echoed inside his eardrums.
Then Manager Myeon looked up toward the sculpture’s head.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Worship.
Yet Manager Myeon simply continued observing the sculpture.
The Portrait of a Dismantled God spoke again.
It was not an order.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
He did not kneel.
But Manager Myeon continued gazing at the sculpture.
It resonated like an absolute truth that was merely being reaffirmed.
It was not a declaration.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
On the contrary, he uncrossed his arms and took another step closer.
He did not bow his head.
At that instant, something twisted.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
At first, he thought the wrinkles in his suit looked strange.
‘His body…?’
Instinctively, he focused all his attention on Manager Myeon.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
His shoes bent in unnatural ways.
The cuffs of his sleeves began to swell.
The collar of his shirt rose in an impossible direction.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
His shoulder tilted at an impossible angle.
Then came the sound of a bone breaking.
Crack.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
As if every vertebra were rearranging itself in reverse.
His back arched upward.
Creak…
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Twice.
His neck bent once.
Three times.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The smiles remained on the lips of his countless faces.
Strangely.
And yet in a repulsive way.
Smoothly.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
They were smiles pasted onto skin.
Not expressions born from emotions or muscles.
But those curves no longer belonged to a human being.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Only fixed shapes.
Tap.
Predetermined designs.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Something began moving beneath his skin.
Near the abdomen.
Under the suit.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“…Is it moving?”
It was something harder.
It was not flesh.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Manager Myeon’s abdomen began to swell slowly.
As if something were trying to come out from inside.
He muttered.
The buttons of his suit creaked.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
From his shoulders.
From his chest.
The flesh inflated like airbags.
From his back.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Or more precisely.
Something resembling faces.
Something inside it was inflating.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
He could sense them even where he could not see them directly.
‘…It’s coming out from inside.’
Bulging outlines pushed against the outside of the suit.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Like a tactile sensation.
The impression that countless expressions were writhing beneath the flesh in a crowded mass.
Like a presence.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Boom!!
And then—
Bile rose into his throat.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
He inhaled sharply.
“…Hng!”
Inside the containment chamber, Manager Myeon shattered apart.
An explosion.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Blood.
Without any warning.
Without any prior sign.
An explosion so sudden that he did not even perceive the sound.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
‘…Ha… ha… did… did he…?’
Suit.
Flesh.
And a multitude of faces.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Thick red blood splattered across the walls.
They were flung in every direction.
Fragments of the suit rolled across the floor.
The faces fell.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Crawled.
Jumped.
Wrinkled.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
It was the feeling that it could not possibly be real.
Faced with something so absurd, the first thing he felt was not surprise.
He was speechless.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
He muttered it simply because he could not believe it.
“…Manager Myeon…?”
A violent explosion.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Indifference.
Confusion.
Joy.
And afterward, those faces covering everything.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Sadness.
Contempt.
And smiles.
Affection.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“…This…”
But.
He slowly exhaled and turned his head.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“…Why is no one…?”
Why?
Why was no one surprised?
But.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Supervisor Shik was practically lying down in the hallway.
Manager Batori calmly drank blood through a straw.
Director Mok continued taking notes while adjusting his roots.
Assistant Manager Son slightly tilted his fist-head.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
They moved.
Then it happened.
The faces scattered throughout the containment chamber.
Everyone acted completely normal.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
One.
Those things attached to chunks of flesh and stuck to the walls.
Two.
‘…They’re writhing…?’
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Three…
The expressions began moving toward one another.
Thud.
Squirm.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Squish.
The blood.
Splatter.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The skin of the faces.
The flesh.
The fragments of the suit.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Joined together.
Entangled.
All of it.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Embedded.
Contracted.
Unfolded.
Coiled.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Dozens.
No.
Merged.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The flesh.
Hundreds of chunks of flesh mixed around those faces as if trying to devour one another.
The fragments of the suit.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The fluids.
The blood.
The expressions.
All of it formed the shape of a human being.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The form reconstructed itself.
Once again.
It was Manager Myeon.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
The shoes became immaculate.
The wrinkles of the suit settled into place.
The hands regained their smoothness.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
“Ha…”
He exhaled.
And one of those familiar faces, with its eternal gentle smile, opened its eyes before him.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Bewildered.
Manager Myeon was standing before him once again.
Unable to comprehend it.
Horrified.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
In the same soft and orderly voice he had before exploding.
“It seems to have a very clear understanding of what it wants.”
He said.
“I like it.”
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
An existence constructed by combining the materiality of faces with the very concept of expressions.
The seven faces.
Those small faces he had always seen blooming between the openings of his suit.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
He barely managed to cling to his sanity as their gazes met when Manager Myeon turned his head toward the other side of the glass.
It was grotesque.
And now he was standing before him again with the same appearance as always.
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
Calmly.
Manager Myeon spoke as though absolutely nothing had happened.
“We will now proceed with the extraction.”
Content of There Are No Humans in the Monster Company - Chapter 23: A-XX The Portrait of a Dismantled God (2) published by TrungTu Reads.
And… in a terrifying manner.
Composedly.
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