There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

“Yes, I’ll be under your care.”

Manager Batory observed me with interest for a moment, then smiled broadly, tearing her lips beneath the corners of her eyes.

I moved my frozen knees and barely managed to straighten my posture as I spoke.

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Although it still wasn’t clear whether that was a welcome or a greeting before eating.

“Uh… thank you.”

“Hehe… Your skin tone is quite clear. apple The faces of those who remain here for a long time usually become dull very quickly. admire I hope you preserve that initial brightness for a long time.”

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Seeing me drag out the end of the sentence, Manager Batory covered her lips and smiled softly with her eyes.

I felt that I should answer something, so I opened my mouth, but in the end I couldn’t find the proper words.

Her movements were so elegant that they seemed unnatural.

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“Director Mok will be returning from vacation soon, and he’ll probably see Supervisor Shik before leaving tonight.”

Her neck, waist, shoulders, and even the tips of her fingers.

She looked like a brushstroke drawn in the air with movements lighter than the wind itself.

“…Well then, Assistant Manager Son. action Have you already shown him the other relatives?”

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It was like refined ice gently brushing against skin until it finally cut it.

Beneath her long eyelashes, those dark blood-colored eyes shone even more intensely.

After hearing Assistant Manager Son’s reply, she took a sip of that unknown drink resting on the railing of the isolation chamber and then slowly nodded.

Her soft and cold voice slid into my ears.

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If I hadn’t just seen her tearing apart her own skin while her body grotesquely deformed, she probably would have been the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my life.

“Good, later we should sit down, have a cup of tea, and talk.”

She slowly lifted the tablet she was holding to the height of her face.

Even the slightest movement of her wrist was elegant.

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Beyond the enormous isolation chamber, what she was observing was a grayish mass writhing like a heart.

She turned around.

“Then, I’m busy… you two continue.”

As though her words, footsteps, and movements were lighter than air.

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The moment my gaze tried to follow hers and recognize that thing—

While countless eyes, holes, emotions, or diseases impossible to identify writhed grotesquely, she gazed at it as though it were a work of art.

That pulsating thing had a shape, but it was impossible to interpret.

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“Well then, Mr. matrix Haeil.”

“Ah, yes, Assistant Manager Son.”

Beside me, Assistant Manager Son slightly moved his fist-head while speaking.

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I slowly nodded.

Assistant Manager Son’s hand, no, the fist on his head, no, his head… I don’t even know anymore.

“Let’s begin the first practice. aluminum Since the director also gave instructions, it’s better not to start with something too complicated. arctic Let’s first try the tamest among the dimensional entities.”

In any case, that thing made a heavy Tap! as it snapped its fingers once.

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It wasn’t a smell that struck directly at the nose, but one that crawled along the spine like a snake.

“Follow me.”

We began walking down the extraction room corridor.

The hallway was even quieter than before, and the air was filled with machine oil, a faint smell of disinfectant, and something resembling flesh mixed with dust.

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“Really? wizard It’s an honor.”

“By the way, from how I saw things earlier, it seems Manager Batory became quite interested in you, Mr. aluminum Haeil.”

As we walked down the hallway together, Assistant Manager Son took advantage of a brief moment of silence to make a comment.

Instinctively, I showed an awkward smile.

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Even though inwardly I felt like burying that “honor” underground.

And then the face opening, the eyes peering out from inside, and that gigantic mouth tearing open.

The radiant skin, the elegant hands, the calm voice.

The image of that woman’s beautiful face appeared in my mind.

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“The manager doesn’t usually speak to just anyone like that.”

Assistant Manager Son slightly tilted his head as he continued.

‘…Interested in me? audit Is he serious? absorb Isn’t it more like an appetizer before eating?’

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“When you get used to the way she talks and the atmosphere she creates, she’s actually a good superior. apple How should I put it she takes pretty good care of her team. atomic Though sometimes she really does seem like a bloodsucking mosquito.”

I tried hard to maintain my smile.

‘It’s not that she seems like one, she was literally drinking something that looked like blood…….’

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I followed Assistant Manager Son while taking one step after another.

That’s what I said, but inside me the image of her face opening while that enormous mouth appeared and her red eyes seemed to devour me kept replaying.

“That’s reassuring to hear. arch I’ll work even harder from now on.”

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My stomach felt unsettled, but I didn’t let the faint smile disappear.

“To start with, D-7 will be appropriate. artist D-7 is the dimensional entity’s code. crystal Its name is Monologue of the Anemone.”

As soon as I heard it, the image of an anemone flower appeared in my mind, and it didn’t fit this grotesque place at all.

Being kind and polite was indispensable for survival.

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Procedure.

“Yes. riddle It’s docile, calm, and responds clearly. arena As long as you follow the procedure correctly, it’s very efficient.”

That was a word I had already heard many times.

“Is that… alright?”

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The fact that even in this incomprehensible place there were clearly established rules gave me back a little calm.

Phrases, poems, rituals.

“By the way, this dimensional entity reacts when you recite exactly a specific phrase recorded in the documents. august It’s a kind of ritual. adjust Well, think of it like going to recite a poem.”

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“Don’t worry. alpha Just follow the manual. timber The manual.”

Words even less appropriate for this place.

When my mind locked up from confusion, Assistant Manager Son lightly waved that hand-head.

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That sensation pricked at my skin.

We arrived in front of isolation chamber D-7.

There was a thick glass window in the door, but the interior was covered in dense fog, so it was difficult to see anything.

Even so, I felt as though something behind that door was waiting for me.

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“Ah, before going in, read this.”

I slowly inhaled.

Assistant Manager Son handed me a sheet that had been sitting on the desk in front of the isolation chamber.

Beyond that door awaited the first dimensional entity I would face.

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==========

Dimensional Entity Name: Monologue of the Anemone

I tilted my head slightly and lowered my gaze to the paper.

[Dimensional Entity Management Profile: D-7]

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[Details]

Dimensional Entity Code: D-7

Danger Level: Class D (includes risk of cognitive contamination and unconscious mimicry)

Type: Composite (biological/conceptual)

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Cognitive Parasitism

This entity only manifests reactions when it enters a state of cognitive connection through a “ritual” in which specific phrases are repeatedly recited.

Ritual-Based Interaction

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[Extraction Mechanism]

While in a state of cognitive connection, this entity transmits signals directly to the administrator’s cerebral cortex without using vocal organs.

During this process, it tends to synchronize the administrator’s thoughts with certain specific patterns, eventually culminating in complete parasitism.

Immediately after forming a state of cognitive connection through the designated ritual fragment, the energy generated at the instant the entity’s signal resonates with the administrator’s brainwaves is absorbed and extracted.

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The isolation chamber must be constructed with reinforced glass at least 20 cm thick and maintain a one-way structure that allows observation of the interior only from the outside.

During management, minimize visual and physical contact with the entity.

[Management and Extraction Manual]

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During extraction, any signal outside the “ritual” will be considered “environmental noise,” and any unconscious mimicry is prohibited.

The instant an attempt at cognitive contamination by the entity is detected, immediately suspend extraction and evacuate the isolation chamber.

[Special Recommendations]

Time spent inside the chamber must be strictly limited to 2 minutes.

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If signs of synchronization with the entity are observed (auditory hallucinations, mental confusion, etc.), immediately remove the individual from their duties and conduct a psychological evaluation.

I swallowed hard in front of the door.

During extraction conducted by novice administrators, additionally assign a second administrator capable of maintaining linguistic coherence as a preventive measure against cognitive contamination.

==========

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Assistant Manager Son added an explanation.

“Did you already read the entire manual? avalanche This one is classified as the safest dimensional entity on our team. august Though its reaction rules are a bit delicate. afford You have to recite the established phrases exactly.”

“Here.”

“What are those phrases?”

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I do not see you.

The post-it he handed me had three simple lines written repeatedly.

You cannot see me.

We do not resemble one another.

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Once again, I suppressed the doubt of how it was possible for him to produce sound without vocal organs, cleared my throat, and repeated his phrases.

“You just have to repeat that three times. silence The tone matters too, so try repeating it after me.”

However, the way Manager Batory spoke, like a whisper breathing beside my ears, still trembled faintly in my voice.

Assistant Manager Son tilted his head, or more precisely the hand acting as his head, and began reciting slowly in a monotone, mechanical voice.

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I could only nod, tense from the fact that I was truly about to perform an extraction.

“Go in. abandon Don’t stay inside for more than two minutes. beacon The moment I open the door, you come out immediately.”

Shortly afterward, the isolation chamber door slowly opened.

The instant I stood before the door, I felt cold sweat sliding down the back of my neck.

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When I entered, my vision distorted for an instant.

And I became certain that something was waiting for me inside.

As though it had been waiting for the arrival of anyone except me.

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Every surface was hazy and undefined.

The ceiling, the walls, the floor, even my own shadow seemed to float.

The isolation chamber resembled the inside of a glass sphere where the light had been warped.

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But what sprouted from it was not pain or screams.

A severed human head rested atop a metal stand.

And then, in front of me, there was a head.

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They were flowers.

They had the shape of anemones, but the petals were thinner and longer, and each one was speckled with blood-colored stains.

Although there was no wind inside the sealed chamber, the flowers swayed.

From the eye sockets and from the mouth grew three enormous flowers resembling anemones.

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I tightly gripped the tablet Assistant Manager Son had handed me and began reciting the phrases as calmly as possible.

“I do not see you.”

“You cannot see me.”

The moment the door closed behind me, all the petals turned toward me simultaneously.

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My voice nearly broke, but I managed to repeat the three lines three times.

“We do not resemble one another.”

When I finished the third repetition, a faint “click” echoed from one of the chamber walls.

“Fuuu….”

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Then, suddenly, the air inside the chamber changed.

Since the chamber glass only allowed the interior to be seen from outside, I couldn’t know what reaction Assistant Manager Son was having.

But the isolation door did not open.

I sighed in relief and looked toward the door.

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No, there was no voice.

There was no sound.

⋯⋯⋯⋯.

But the three anemones atop the head began twisting simultaneously.

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It was not thought.

It was a vibration.

They were not words.

The petals trembled violently, and that face without lips or vocal cords whispered something.

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There was a phrase.

It was sensation.

As though something were slowly piercing up from the deepest part of my subconscious.

You are seeing me.

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I am seeing you.

I definitely knew it too.

It was a familiar phrase.

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We resemble one another.

But my instincts sealed my mouth shut.

That was part of the ritual.

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It was definitely trying to “implant” the repetition of those phrases into me.

That warning struck my mind like a hammer.

“Unconscious mimicry is prohibited.”

I became certain that I must not repeat it.

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“I…… do not see you.”

I gritted my teeth and mechanically forced out the phrases.

“No… you cannot…… see me.”

I consciously raised a mental wall against the whisper of that flower.

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I could no longer be sure that the words coming from my mouth were truly mine.

I am seeing you.

“……We do not resemble one another.”

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Not from my brain, but from my organs.

And then, the anemones stopped.

It felt as though they came from something far deeper.

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I could feel the atmosphere inside the chamber gradually calming down again.

The clustered stamens inside the blossoms stopped writhing like tongues.

The blood-colored stains on the petals watched me like eyes before slowly closing.

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The entire tubes trembled as though a heart had just contracted violently, and the liquid began flowing much faster, filling the inside of the glass tubes with a dazzling glow.

Inside the countless tubes connected to the walls, the reddish liquids began glowing intensely with a blue light.

A mechanical hum echoed throughout the chamber.

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With the sound of air pressure releasing, the door burst open and I immediately ran out.

[Energy extraction completed. afford Isolation status maintained.]

And then an artificial voice came from the ceiling speakers.

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“Oh, for your first time, you did very well.”

I felt the back of my neck burning, but I didn’t look behind me.

As soon as the door opened, Assistant Manager Son’s fist-head opened wide while speaking.

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The tips of my fingers trembled and my stomach churned.

Then he let out a chuckle and added.

He lightly opened and closed the fist of his head while nodding.

I remained outside breathing heavily.

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“……Huh?”

“Sometimes that little buddy tends to get troublesome.”

I was still gasping for breath.

“In the summary manual I made, it only appears in simplified form, but in the original version there are notes and examples explaining what it means when it alters phrases or distorts the administrator’s linguistic patterns.”

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So the A4 sheet he showed me wasn’t the original manual?

“They’re attempts to induce unconscious mimicry. acquire Let’s call it a little prank.”

Assistant Manager Son raised the thumb of his fist-head while speaking.

He made it himself?

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Within that absurd gesture of praise seemed to mix a strange satisfaction.

Assistant Manager Son slowly approached and patted me on the shoulder.

More precisely, he seemed amused that even in a situation like that I had followed the manual to the very end.

“Good job, Mr. artist Haeil.”

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“Lately rookies have quite a bit of common sense and usually manage on their own. shadow So I figured there was no need to give you the complete, heavy manual. abandon I knew I could trust you!”

With his right hand.

Not with the hand-head.

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The fist-head once again lightly opened and closed the fist while speaking.

What would have happened if I failed?

‘…This son of a bitch.’

Behind that absurd praise was unmistakable malice.

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“You handled it very well. album You seem like a veteran.”

I was starting to wonder whether inside that fist-head there was also a skull and a brain.

The fear toward that irrationality was now beginning to mix with anger.

I suppose that meant I was gradually beginning to adapt to this environment of madness.

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My head was burning and cold sweat ran down my back while beside me a monstrous superior praised my mental fortitude.

“Congratulations. alert Truthfully, it was only a small test, but with this everyone will recognize you immediately.”

“Ah, yes, thank you.”

A boss whose head was literally a hand.

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“Thank you for your words, Assistant Manager Son.”

I closed my dry lips and lowered my head.

And I muttered inwardly.

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But I also don’t want to see that Human Resources baby monster again.

I want to quit.

Quit.

I tried hard to maintain a smile and nodded.

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Ah.

“It’s thanks to you, Assistant Manager Son. august I’ll work even harder.”

Miss Lee Jihyun… are you happy wherever you are?

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Because honestly, there doesn’t seem to be much happiness here.