There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

And several more days passed.

Apparently, the Unstable Fugitive wanted a rematch, because the next day, he escaped again as soon as we arrived at work, but this time Assistant Manager Son subdued him in barely three seconds.

“Hyaa!!”

And with a single direct blow from his head.

While I wondered whether that should be considered a punch or a headbutt, Supervisor Shik dragged the unconscious Fugitive away while growling.

Since then, he has done nothing but remain curled up in a corner of the containment room.

‘Seeing him like that, I almost feel a little sorry for him.’

Besides Lamb and Omniscient Incompetent, the number of Dimensional Entities I personally handled had increased considerably.

The Blind Guide’s Lamp, the String Heart, the Taxidermied Fragment of Autumn, the Lying Savior, the Skeleton Clown……

Of course, since Area C was much larger than Area D, there were still plenty of Dimensional Entities I hadn’t encountered yet, but since Assistant Manager Son and Supervisor Shik handled the more complicated ones, it wasn’t much of a problem.

“Maybe I’ll finally try the Laughter Cutter today.”

As I watched the [Rainbow Jellyfish], which put a toy in its mouth and began chewing on it after playing with it, I started to feel hungry.

This was also a fairly easy Dimensional Entity to manage. As long as we played with it and fed it on time, it produced energy on its own.

Although, if we didn’t play with it properly, it sprayed poison in every direction.

“Haeil! When you’re done with that, let’s go eat!”

“Yes, understood!”

I answered cheerfully to Assistant Manager Son, who was giving me a thumbs-up with his head, and just as I was finishing up the work so I could leave the containment room.

“Pant, pant, pant.”

At that familiar sound, I turned my head.

This time, I saw a white and chubby ball of fur.

Since he appeared so often, I had decided to simply call him Furball.

“What are you doing here again? Where’s Chief Hong?”

I had no idea how a D-Class Dimensional Entity managed to make it all the way to Area C, but he didn’t cause any trouble, and neither Assistant Manager Son nor Supervisor Shik said anything, so I assumed it was fine.

After confirming that the extractor’s energy was increasing normally, I immediately stepped outside and went to greet him. Chubby Furball clumsily rose onto his hind legs and placed his front paws on my shoulders.

Hmm, heavy.

“You should go on a diet. I think you’re getting heavier every time I see you.”

“Ueng.”

He tilted his head curiously and immediately swung a paw.

Wham!

“Ugh……”

If it hadn’t been for Shadow Shell, I definitely would have broken something.

Although, judging by the way he purred while licking my face over and over again, it seemed like he was only playing.

“I brought him. Don’t worry.”

A familiar voice, although not one I usually heard in the Extraction Room.

I raised my head and saw Manager Myeon standing some distance away, displaying seven different expressions.

“Ah, Manager. What brings you to Area C?”

“I had an urgent matter to inform you about. Where are Assistant Manager Son and Supervisor Shik?”

“Assistant Manager Son just left ahead of me, and Supervisor Shik should still be working.”

Hmm.

The face on the far right of Manager Myeon took on a disappointed expression.

“I see. For now, Employee Jeong, you should go to the office as well. I’ll bring Supervisor Shik.”

“May I ask what happened?”

I had a strange bad feeling.

Unless he had some reason to visit Area A, Manager Myeon practically never left the office.

Why had he personally come all the way to Area C?

“Extraction Team 3 has returned. They returned, but a somewhat unusual situation has arisen.”

“Ah, if you mean Extraction Team 3, I heard they had been dispatched to the Fairy-Tale Land Project. Did something happen……?”

“Only one person returned. We’ll have to hear the details now.”

Ah, shit.

My bad feelings were never wrong.

***

When I arrived at the Extraction Team 1 office, Deputy Manager Mok, Manager Batori, and Assistant Manager Son were already there. Judging by their expressions, it seemed the three superiors had also heard the news, and they weren’t exactly in a good mood.

Well, Deputy Manager Mok and Assistant Manager Son didn’t even have anything that could really be called facial features, but since Manager Myeon had enough to share among every member of the team, let’s leave it at that.

Not long afterward, Manager Myeon and Supervisor Shik arrived, and we immediately headed to the Extraction Team 3 office, which wasn’t too far away.

“Seulbi! What the hell is the meaning of this?!”

When the door to the Team 3 office burst open, several figures were the first things I saw.

Manager Sa and Chief Hong Nagyeom, from Extraction Team 2.

Executive Director Gu.

And, in addition, an enormous mantis dressed in a suit.

“The one over there is Chief Rang. He may look somewhat clumsy, but he usually carries out his work diligently.”

It wasn’t exactly the moment when I wanted to be introduced to someone, but I nodded anyway in thanks to Manager Batori, who had whispered the explanation into my ear.

“Ah, you’re here, you’re here. Good. No, it’s not good. It’s not good at all. First, let’s hear what happened, all right? Let’s hear it, Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi. Hmm? Tell us.”

When Executive Director Gu confirmed that we had arrived, he turned his body, and I could see the person who had been hidden behind his enormous figure until then.

Completely white skin.

Messy bangs and short purple hair cut in such a straight line that it looked as though someone had used a ruler.

And deep blood-red eyes, identical to Manager Batori’s.

She was a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties.

She looked to be somewhere in the 160-centimeter range.

She wore a black suit with a red tie, although that didn’t seem particularly important considering her entire body, including her hair, was covered in blood.

‘She’s human.’

Of course, I wasn’t expecting anything anymore.

They say three times is enough to learn your lesson.

Any hope I might have had of sharing some sense of camaraderie with other human employees had completely disappeared after meeting Manager Go Gyeol, Manager Moon Ara, and Chief Hong Nagyeom.

‘So she’s Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi.’

I had already heard about her through Omniscient Incompetent.

The human from Extraction Team 3 who had participated in the Fairy-Tale Land Project led by the Strategic Planning Office.

And the fact that she had returned alone meant……

“They all died.”

Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi answered in a cold, hoarse voice.

“Deputy Manager Mo and Chief Ma were killed by Dimensional Entities. The others died at the hands of the Church of the Coming Feast.”

Church of the Coming Feast?

That familiar and ominous name emerged from the depths of my memories.

The kind explanation Manager Moon Ara had given me during tea time with Executive Director Gu.

A group of fanatics who worshiped a horrific Dimensional Entity known as the Locust King and were preparing for his second coming with the goal of bringing about the end of this world.

‘Are they strong enough to have wiped out Extraction Team 3?’

It seemed I wasn’t the only one shocked.

All seven of Manager Myeon’s faces had completely hardened, Deputy Manager Mok’s green eyes darted frantically within the holes in his body, and Manager Batori’s eyes gleamed with a more sinister intensity than ever.

Assistant Manager Son also remained silent, arms crossed as he clenched and unclenched the fingers on his head, while Supervisor Shik growled under his breath and scratched at his chains with his claws.

Manager Sa violently rubbed his scales together, Chief Hong Nagyeom let out a sigh, and Chief Rang simply tilted his head while moving his antennae.

And as for Executive Director Gu.

Grrrrrrr.

A grotesque sound rumbled from his belly, and from it came a voice more terrifying than ever.

“What…… did you just say? Who? The Church of the Coming Feast? Those cockroaches? Those cockroach-like sons of bitches?”

“To be precise, they’re more like grasshopper-like sons of bitches.”

I think I could already get a sense of what Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi was like.

She’s crazy.

As humans in this company usually are.

“Yes. Those grasshopper-like sons of bitches. Cockroaches, grasshoppers, whatever! Those damn insects dared to lay their hands on our company’s assets? They did? Hmm? Are you listening to me? I’m asking if you’re listening, Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi!”

“I can hear you perfectly well.”

Executive Director Gu’s enormous body began trembling with rage. His usual jovial tone vanished completely, and a shrill roar struck the office ceiling.

“It’s a project we’ve invested an enormous amount in! An enormous amount of effort! Until now, we could regard their actions as simple provocations, but those damn fanatics dare stick their noses into this! This is a declaration of war! A declaration of war, I tell you! They dared put their hands on Limited Company Where the Dead End Up with Ghosts’ plate!”

Thud! Thud!

Every time Executive Director Gu stomped the floor, the entire office shook as though an earthquake were occurring.

However, Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi still replied with an exhausted expression.

“They had already established themselves inside Fantasia Island. It doesn’t look like they simply intend to interfere. I think they want to use it as an altar for the Locust King.”

The moment she finished speaking, Executive Director Gu slammed the desk.

“Manager Myeon! Contact the Order Control Office immediately! Yes, immediately! No, I’ll go see Executive Director Seol myself! This is no longer simply a problem for the Extraction Teams! They’ve touched the very foundations of the company! The foundations!”

At Executive Director Gu’s furious roar, Manager Myeon replied in a low voice.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Why?!”

“Because they’ve already arrived.”

When I turned my head, the person who appeared before my eyes was neither Executive Director Seol nor Manager Moon Ara.

A flashy purple suit.

A long tail.

And four hands growing from his temples, covering both his eyes and ears.

Director Won.

Aside from that terrifying dream, this was the first time I had seen him in person.

And another person appeared behind Director Won.

A beige suit with a blue tie.

Tanned skin and icy blue eyes like sapphires.

Dark brown hair half tied back and an ostentatious appearance, adorned with an expensive wristwatch, rings, and earrings.

Even being conservative, he was over 190 centimeters tall.

Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be around the same age as Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi and me.

“Well~ Why are there so many people here?”

A carefree voice.

Deeply tanned skin.

My gaze immediately shifted toward the immaculate employee ID hanging around his neck.

Strategic Planning Office — Future Business Team Leader

Deputy Manager Baek Jaeryeong

“I thought I’d come to a banquet. Fuck, turns out it’s a funeral table.”

Strategic Planning Office.

And Director Won.

It seemed no one there was particularly pleased by the appearance of those two.

“……Yes, a funeral table. A funeral table, indeed.”

Executive Director Gu strode toward Deputy Manager Baek Jaeryeong and bent down to bring himself level with him.

Although, of course, Executive Director Gu had no eyes.

“Do you want to die? Do you want to die, Deputy Manager Baek?”

Even in the face of that murderous question, Deputy Manager Baek Jaeryeong didn’t so much as blink. He simply widened the mocking smile already on his lips.

“Wow, Executive Director Gu. Why’re you throwing around so much bloodlust? You’re gonna scare me to death, seriously.”

He pretended to shrink back in fear and let out a low chuckle.

“But what are we gonna do? If you kill me, our Executive Director Ahn will be so sad he won’t even be able to sleep, don’t you think? If I walk out of here with so much as a scratch…… how exactly do you plan to deal with what comes afterward?”

Tap, tap.

Deputy Manager Baek Jaeryeong patted Executive Director Gu on the shoulder a couple of times.

“Let it go, let it go. It’s sad enough that they’ve prepared a funeral table for me. You really want me to have to take care of your death anniversary too?”

He’s crazy.

He’s completely insane.

So insane that he made every human employee I had met until now look normal, including Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi, whom I had only just met.

Grrrrrrrr.

A sound more threatening than ever emerged from Executive Director Gu’s belly.

His body had already swollen to nearly twice its usual size when he raised one hand.

Ding.

A notification sounded from several of those present, though not all of them.

Executive Director Gu, Director Won, Manager Myeon, Manager Sa, and Deputy Manager Baek Jaeryeong pulled out their phones at the same time.

“It’s Executive Director Ahn. He has summoned all Team Leaders and above.”

Director Won spoke as the corners of his lips curled into a sinister smile.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi as well. For now, why don’t you come with us?”

I have a bad feeling.

A very bad one.

And considering these kinds of feelings were rarely wrong.

It was a terribly bad feeling.