There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

They were the prison guards.

Grotesquely twisted faces.

Deformed guard uniforms.

Two arms warped into the shape of weapons of war and legs as rigid as if steel pillars had been embedded within them.

There were four of them.

They saw us and moved.

At a terrifying speed.

“They’re coming. Run!”

“Run!”

We ran without thinking.

We were outnumbered on open ground. The only available cover was the ruined metal structures.

“Don’t get separated from me!”

It seemed Lee Seong-hoon didn’t even have the energy to answer. He grabbed the edge of my clothes as if he were going to tear them off and started running.

Min Do-hyeon took the lead with light movements, while Bae Hyeon-yu adjusted her expandable baton and matched her pace to Lee Seong-hoon, who was the slowest.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

There was no need to look back.

The heavy vibrations coming from behind traveled through the ground and reached the soles of my feet.

Those things bent their legs at angles impossible for human joints as they kicked up clouds of dust throughout the courtyard.

The beads of the rosary around my wrist grew so hot they felt capable of burning my skin.

The heavy sensation at my collarbone.

And my vision was already completely dyed in blazing red.

“Where are we going, hyung?!”

At Lee Seong-hoon’s desperate shout, I pointed toward the metal structure in front of us.

“There! That way!”

Wasting time in the middle of a completely open courtyard was suicide.

Then, one of the guards running ahead of the others planted one of its abnormally long arms on the ground and launched its body forward like a thrown spear.

──GRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!

Accompanied by a shriek that seemed capable of tearing space itself apart, the monster descended upon our heads.

Its target was Lee Seong-hoon, the one who looked weakest.

“Move!”

With a roar worthy of a wild beast, Bae Hyeon-yu grabbed Lee Seong-hoon by the back of the neck and hurled him aside.

At the same time, the expandable baton in her hand carved a huge arc through the air.

Clang!

That did not sound like striking rubber.

It was the crash of two masses of metal colliding head-on.

The guard’s head twisted at a grotesque angle before smashing into the ground.

But Bae Hyeon-yu’s attack did not end there.

She leaped several meters into the air and stomped on the monster’s back as it lay embedded in the ground.

With a dull explosion, the guard’s spine shattered into pieces.

“Don’t stop! There are still three left!”

Bae Hyeon-yu shouted as she exhaled heavily.

The muscles in her arms trembled from the effort.

While continuing to run, I glanced at the Erosion Extractor attached to my chest.

‘40%…’

Even amid that absolute chaos, the extractor continued absorbing the courtyard’s energy, its indicator slowly rising.

Humans fighting to survive.

And a machine silently feeding on the suffering emanating from that battlefield.

I clenched my teeth.

“Agent Jeong! To your left!”

Min Do-hyeon’s urgent shout made me turn my head.

Without realizing it, two guards had already slipped into my blind spots.

The shadow beneath my feet stretched out.

Just as one of those shadows was about to engulf my ankles, I twisted my body violently.

The tips of its fingers brushed against my clothes as they sliced through the air.

The disgusting sensation ran down my spine.

Instinctively, I gripped the white bone pen in my pocket.

‘It’s not even a real weapon…!’

Then, accompanied by a shout, something traced a sharp arc above my head.

“Agent Jeong! Catch!”

Min Do-hyeon’s voice.

What he had thrown was a short but heavy knife.

The silver blade reflected the blood-red sky as it cut through the air.

I reached out by reflex.

Clack!

The moment I caught the handle, I felt the cold tremor of metal run through my palm.

Without hesitation, I adjusted my grip and turned toward one of the guards charging at me.

Stab!

It did not feel like piercing a solid skull.

It felt more like sinking a blade into wet mud.

The knife drove deep between the bars of the small metal cage embedded in the top of the guard’s head.

Graaahhh! Grrraaaaaahhh!!

The monster’s scream made my eardrums vibrate.

A cold vibration traveled up the blade and into my wrist.

I twisted my arm with all my strength and dragged the knife down toward its neck.

A black, tar-like liquid burst out violently as the reddish light flickering inside the cage went out without resistance.

“Get away from me, you piece-of-shit monster!”

I kicked the guard in the chest while pulling the knife free.

Behind the body as it staggered backward weakly, another guard was already lunging at me, raising a trident-shaped punishment device.

“Hyung!”

Lee Seong-hoon’s shout cut through my back.

Just as the trident was about to pierce my shoulder, a massive shadow stepped in front of me.

Clang—!

Bae Hyeon-yu swung her expandable baton and violently deflected the trident’s prongs, producing a shrill metallic screech.

The impact twisted her wrist, but she did not even flinch. She kicked the monster in the chest and shouted,

“Don’t just stand there!”

Her shout snapped me back to my senses.

I tightened my grip on the knife and surveyed the area.

The prison guards that had fallen were beginning to stand again, their joints emitting grotesque noises as they bent.

Even on the far side of the courtyard, more black shadows were starting to turn toward us.

“Agent Jeong! Over there! The stairs leading to the rooftop of that building!”

Min Do-hyeon pointed toward a corner of the courtyard.

An old administrative building stood there, its structure twisted unnaturally.

A metal staircase hung precariously from the exterior.

It was the only available escape route.

The guards’ encirclement was tightening.

The punishment instruments in their hands gleamed ominously beneath the blood-red sky.

Feeling the cold knife in my hand, I shoved Lee Seong-hoon by the shoulder.

“Now! Hurry!”

At the same time, I ran with all my strength.

We sprinted toward the nearest building, where the twisted metal staircase hung from the side.

To shake off the guards pursuing us, I climbed the stairs three at a time.

I threw open the metal door.

I waited until I confirmed that Bae Hyeon-yu, Min Do-hyeon, and finally Lee Seong-hoon had entered.

Then I slammed the door shut with all my strength.

BANG!

The chaos vanished instantly.

Only our breathing remained.

Leaning against the closed door, we all inhaled deeply at the same time.

There was more dust and the stench of blood than oxygen.

Every breath made my throat burn.

“Still alive?”

Min Do-hyeon was the first to speak, wearing an exhausted smile.

“For now.”

Bae Hyeon-yu replied while keeping watch on the surroundings.

I caught my breath as well and looked around the interior.

The administrative building was a warped labyrinth.

An indescribable brown liquid dripped from twisted pipes.

The fluorescent lamps hanging from the ceiling trembled like dying animals, repeating a sickly flicker.

‘What a disgusting place. It’s revolting.’

With Bae Hyeon-yu leading the way, we crossed the hallway in silence and entered a small office.

Collapsed desks.

Documents reduced to pulp by stagnant water.

Amid that oppressive silence, I sharpened all my senses.

Clack.

“Wait.”

I hadn’t even finished warning them.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

A heavy vibration echoed from behind the wall.

“…Again?”

Bae Hyeon-yu had just readjusted her grip on her baton when the door in front of us burst open with a shriek.

What appeared was a prison guard far larger and more monstrous than the previous ones.

Its face had melted until it hung down over its chest.

And one of its arms had completely transformed into a massive scythe.

The monster opened its mouth.

“Get back!”

It was faster than the warning itself.

Its target was Min Do-hyeon, who was examining a pile of documents with his guard down.

“Min Do-hyeon!”

Bae Hyeon-yu’s shout exploded through the room.

But the distance was too short.

Something drove my muscles before I could even think.

I suppose I still wanted to pretend I was a decent adult.

I slammed my shoulder into Min Do-hyeon and shoved him away.

And at the same time, an impact so heavy that it numbed my senses struck my side.

Thrust.

A cold sweat cascaded down my back.

“…Khk.”

“Hyung!”

Lee Seong-hoon’s scream pierced my eardrums.

It hadn’t been a mere graze.

The tip of the guard’s scythe-arm had clearly pierced my side.

The sensation of that monstrous body, black and rusted like corroded metal, penetrating my flesh stimulated my brain with terrifying clarity.

Wham!

Bae Hyeon-yu’s baton struck one of the monster’s legs, causing it to stagger.

Seizing the opportunity, Min Do-hyeon kicked the creature in the head and shouted,

“Now!”

At his shout, I clutched my bleeding side with one hand and grabbed the handle of the metal door on the opposite side with the other.

BANG!

I threw the door open.

The other three practically dragged me out of the room.

Lee Seong-hoon was sobbing.

Min Do-hyeon was supporting me.

And Bae Hyeon-yu was searching for a route while watching our rear.

“There’s a door on the other side of the stairs! Over there!”

We rushed down a grotesque spiral staircase as though the center of the building had collapsed.

We passed overturned service windows and caved-in ceilings.

I gritted my teeth and ran toward the final door.

Once again.

To survive.

When we pushed it open—

A completely different place awaited us on the other side.

“Ugh… ah…”

The moment we closed the door, I collapsed onto the floor.

My vision flickered violently.

The blood pouring from my side soaked the cold ground.

The wound, which had previously burned, transformed into a horrifying coldness that spread throughout my entire body.

“Agent Jeong! Stay conscious! Hyeon-yu, the hemostatic agent! Hurry!”

Min Do-hyeon’s urgent voice sounded distant.

Bae Hyeon-yu emptied her backpack and scattered the contents of an emergency medical kit.

Gauze and compression bandages covered my torn shirt.

It was useless.

The hole carved by the scythe was far too severe to close with simple bandages.

The gauze was instantly soaked with dark blood.

The pool beneath my body kept growing larger.

“No… he’s losing too much blood.”

Bae Hyeon-yu’s voice trembled.

The desperate eyes of all three were fixed on me.

Beside me, Lee Seong-hoon covered his mouth while trying to suppress his sobs.

The necklace on my chest and the rosary around my wrist vibrated violently, as though trying to replace the increasingly weak beats of my heart.

‘…I have no choice. I’ll have to use it. It’s my first time. I guess I’ll have to sacrifice at least one bone.’

Inside my clothes, my fingers touched a hard, unfamiliar surface.

The white fountain pen made from bone fragments.

The welcome gift Manager Myeon had given me when I joined the company.

Mercy of the Holy Mother.

— For immediate emergency treatment, there is nothing better. If the wound can be directly pierced, it also works on puncture wounds and lacerations.

With trembling hands, I pulled out Mercy of the Holy Mother.

“H-Hyung… what is that? What are you trying to do…?”

I didn’t even have the strength to answer Lee Seong-hoon.

I removed the cap.

The sharp bone tip was revealed.

I clenched my teeth.

Then I drove the tip deep into the bleeding hole in my side.

“Hhhngh!”

I couldn’t even scream properly.

It was like pouring boiling oil into the wound while a drill ground my bones from the inside.

Crack! Craaack—!

A grotesque sound of breaking echoed inside my body.

The bones around the wound began to deform unnaturally, compressing my body by force.

After an overwhelming sensation of hunger, as though every last drop of bone marrow was being squeezed out, the torn organs and muscles began weaving together like threads to close the hole.

“What… what the hell is this…?”

Min Do-hyeon and Bae Hyeon-yu recoiled in horror.

Fine bone fragments emerged from my side, sewing flesh together like needles.

The blood-covered skin trembled as it forcibly adhered itself together.

The entire process took only seconds.

When the hellish pain receded like a tide, it was replaced by an overwhelming sense of weakness.

“Haa… haa…”

Dizziness struck me.

The fountain pen fell to the floor.

The wound had healed.

Or rather, it had been repaired in a monstrous fashion.

The stitch marks protruded like thick scars.

And in exchange, every bone in my body trembled.

I had the horrible certainty that a single blow could break something.

I placed a trembling hand against the floor.

The wound was gone.

But a part of me had clearly been consumed.

“Agent Jeong… are you alright? What exactly was that just now…?”

Min Do-hyeon looked at me with fear in his eyes.

‘Good thing I carry treats for White and Chubby Furball.’

Instead of answering, I searched my pocket.

I pulled out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and put it into my mouth.

The sugar gave me a little energy.

But the anemia still made my head spin.

“…I’m fine. I’ll explain later.”

I staggered to my feet.

The wound was closed, but my body creaked like an old machine.

Even so, we didn’t have time to rest.

We looked at the space surrounding us.

Beyond the path obtained in exchange for sacrificing a portion of my life force, an even deeper darkness of Gangsol Prison opened its jaws before us.