There Are No Humans in the Monster Company

Three figures entered side by side.

Aside from the fact that all three wore ties in shades of blue, as though they had coordinated beforehand, they formed such a strange combination that it was impossible to find a single thing they had in common.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen everyone! Have you all been well?”

A radiant smile.

Light, bouncing steps as her pale pink twin-tails swayed from side to side.

I already knew that in this company there was no point in trying to deduce someone’s age solely from their appearance, but that woman definitely had a ‘youthful’ air about her.

She also had such a young-looking face that if, instead of that gray suit and blue tie, she were dressed in normal casual clothes and dropped onto any university campus, she wouldn’t look out of place at all.

‘At most, she must be in her early twenties.’

Her clear sky-blue eyes and that expression overflowing with vitality gave her a strange appearance and energy that didn’t fit at all with a company infested with monsters.

“Hey, Gil Sarang. You wanna end up falling over? Stop messing around and stay still.”

So that pink-haired girl must be Assistant Manager Gil Sarang.

Behind her appeared Deputy Director Baek Jaeryeong, speaking in his pronounced dialect.

He wore his blazer casually draped over his shoulders and had his hands buried in his trouser pockets, with the attitude of a thug.

“Ha, is he an office worker or a gangster?”

At Assistant Manager Son’s incredulous murmur, I discreetly nodded in agreement.

‘Then that must be Director Cheong Haram.’

Beneath his dark blue hair, completely slicked back, dark green eyes gleamed.

His skin was pale, without the slightest trace of color.

He had a smooth face without a single beard hair or wrinkle, yet even so, he gave off such a peculiar impression that it was impossible to estimate his age.

He wore a perfectly ironed sky-blue shirt and an immaculate navy-blue suit.

And finally, accompanied by the regular, sharp sound of his shoes, Executive Director Ahn crossed the threshold of the conference room.

An indigo suit and vest fitted his body with practically perfect tailoring.

Black gloves and shoes contrasted against an immaculate white shirt.

But even that neat and intimidating attire was reduced to an insignificant detail before the thing that inevitably drew every gaze.

His head.

Where a person’s neck should have been, there was no neck, head, face, or skull.

Above that completely empty space floated nothing but an enormous eyeball, grotesquely suspended in the air, its blue pupil gazing at every living being in the Grand Conference Room as though it intended to devour them.

‘Executive Director Ahn.’

The target of all those warnings I had heard until I was sick of them.

The gigantic eyeball suspended in the air slowly rotated, its blue pupil sweeping across the entire conference room before his footsteps came to a stop at the head seat.

Even Assistant Manager Gil Sarang and Deputy Director Baek Jaeryeong, who had been arguing with each other, immediately shut their mouths.

Then that unnatural voice echoed throughout the Grand Conference Room.

“I assume everyone has heard what happened with the Fairy Tale Land Project.”

Executive Director Ahn lightly waved a hand covered by a black glove, and an enormous hologram emerged from the center of the circular table.

It showed an amusement park with a small, charming castle and a peaceful forest in the background, as though it had come straight out of a fairy tale.

But the image distorted in an instant.

The castle walls transformed into rotting flesh, and the trees in the forest turned inside out, extending sharp thorns.

“Thanks to this project, we managed to acquire two new Class A Dimensional Entities. ‘Silent Sea Foam’ and ‘Ash-Covered Queen.’”

Class A Dimensional Entities.

Just from hearing their names, I could roughly guess which tales had inspired them.

Executive Director Ahn’s eye dilated grotesquely.

“Until now, we have invested a considerable amount of capital, so I thought the time had finally come to recover our investment…….”

New characters appeared over the grotesque hologram.

Church of the Coming Feast

“The Church of the Coming Feast has intervened in this project, and currently, every member of Extraction Team 3 is dead except for Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi.”

With the sound of a chair scraping, Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi rose from her seat.

She looked a little less exhausted than the last time, but she still gave off that sharp, tense atmosphere.

“I was able to escape thanks to the help of my team members. If not for Manager Gyeong’s sacrifice, we all would have died.”

“Question. I have.”

Sentences broken up by the clattering of his bones.

Director Gol had raised a hand.

“Manager Gyeong. Extraction Team 3. Team Leader. Dead. Assistant Manager. Human employee. Survives. Sacrifice. Deliberate. Reason?”

Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi replied without the slightest change in her expression.

“It was Manager Gyeong’s order. However, considering the situation at the time, even if I had tried to buy time for Manager Gyeong to escape, we both would have died. Because Manager Gyeong stayed behind to buy time, I had enough time to escape.”

“Understandable.”

Director Gol nodded, although his jaw continued clattering frantically.

Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi slowly blinked her red eyes before calmly continuing.

“There were two Apostles. ‘Angel’ and ‘Butler.’”

Apostles.

That single word spoken by Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi was enough to immediately send the entire Grand Conference Room into murmurs.

Just from the reactions of my superiors around me, I could tell that this was by no means a minor matter.

Supervisor Shik’s entire body had bristled, and he was growling in a low voice, while Manager Batori’s blood-red eyes gleamed as though, on the contrary, she had just discovered interesting prey.

As for the other three, some had no faces and another had too many, so it was difficult to read their expressions. Better leave it at that.

“Angel and Butler? You’re telling me those Apostle bastards killed them?”

Deputy Director Baek Jaeryeong spoke while reclining sideways in his chair.

“This is the first time I’ve seen those Apostle bastards running around together. Was it really like that?”

“What would I gain by lying?”

“Wow, listen to the way you talk. Now that Manager Gyeong is gone, looks like you don’t know who you’re opening your mouth in front of.”

“Enough.”

An icy voice.

Executive Director Seol spoke with her usual expressionless face.

“If we stop the Fairy Tale Land Project here, how great will our losses be?”

“It is too serious a matter to express solely in accounting figures.”

A low, deep growl.

Executive Director Ho bared his teeth as he spoke.

“We will suffer a blow that will be difficult to withstand in three respects. The total loss of sunk costs, the deterioration of our clients’ trust and our public image, and the loss of our future growth engines.”

“Yes, exactly. Stopping the project at this point would make no sense whatsoever. None at all.”

Executive Director Gu interjected as a bubbling sound emerged from his belly.

“What we need to decide at this meeting is not whether or not we will continue. It is something else. Something else, yes. Who will go? Who?”

A brief but heavy silence fell.

The one who broke that silence was Executive Director Ahn’s low, authoritative voice.

“Naturally, Extraction Team 1.”

‘Shit.’

I forced myself to swallow the curse that was about to escape my mouth.

I had already mentally prepared myself for it, but even so, I felt my insides churn.

However, unlike my own aversion, the atmosphere in the Grand Conference Room remained strangely calm.

Everyone seemed to accept it as though they had already expected it.

Even my superiors from Extraction Team 1.

But Executive Director Ahn wasn’t finished yet.

“However, I understand that Employee Jeong Haeil of Extraction Team 1 lacks sufficient experience performing extraction work in Distortion Zones. Employee Jeong Haeil will be excluded from this project, and instead, we will make up for the manpower shortage with members of the Strategic Planning Office and the Order Control Room.”

Huh?

I flinched slightly and raised my head toward the head seat.

That gigantic eyeball, from which it was impossible to tell what the hell he was thinking, stared down at me.

‘It can’t be simple goodwill.’

What is he thinking?

Is this really nothing more than a decision based on efficiency?

Had I become useless without even realizing it?

At that moment, Executive Director Gu once again emitted a bubbling sound from his belly and openly expressed his dissatisfaction.

“No, that is not the case. Employee Jeong Haeil is also an excellent member of Extraction Team 1. An excellent member, without a doubt.”

Every time his enormous body shifted, his red suit rippled grotesquely.

“Experience is gained in real situations. That is how it is gained. Is it really necessary to exclude him even at the cost of harming teamwork? No, it is not.”

My eyes darted from side to side in confusion.

I never would have imagined that hearing my name, the name of a mere rookie employee, coming from the mouths of the executives who ran the company however they pleased could be so terrifying.

Director Won interjected, grotesquely stretching the corners of his lips.

“I’m not sure it would be appropriate to send an employee who still hasn’t mastered his work into a Class A Distortion Zone. Not only would it reduce efficiency, but it would unnecessarily increase the risk of the project.”

A completely reasonable and professional observation.

But Executive Director Gu showed no intention of backing down and let out a laugh that resonated from his belly.

“Then let’s ask Manager Myeon directly. Let’s ask him. Isn’t everything in Extraction Team 1 decided at the Team Leader’s discretion? Manager Myeon is the Team Leader of Extraction Team 1. He is, isn’t he?”

When Executive Director Gu’s gaze turned toward Manager Myeon, Executive Director Ahn’s gigantic eye contracted grotesquely.

“Rejected. Given the seriousness of this matter, we cannot allow that kind of exception in this project.”

The instant that sharp voice froze the conference room, Executive Director Gu responded as though he had been waiting for those exact words.

“The privileges of Extraction Team 1 are an authority Executive Director Yong received directly from the Representative. A legitimate authority, without a doubt.”

Executive Director Yong?

I flinched slightly at the mention of a name I had never heard before.

Executive Director Gu leaned his enormous body forward and lowered his voice.

“Executive Director Ahn, do you intend to defy the Representative’s will? Is that what you intend?”

Representative.

The moment that word was spoken, every sound in the conference room disappeared.

Executive Director Ahn’s blue eye fixed on Executive Director Gu as though it wanted to pierce straight through him.

“The rules left behind by the Representative must be upheld.”

Executive Director Seol spoke calmly.

“Not even you, Executive Director Ahn, despite being the Acting Representative, are an exception.”

“Everyone is being far too aggressive.”

Director Mong spoke in a soft, pleasant voice.

Although that voice probably sounded completely different to each person as well.

“I think Executive Director Gu is right. After all, whether a single Employee goes or not isn’t going to change much, is it?”

Tap.

Director Mong lightly elbowed Director Yuk in the side. Or, to be precise, the part that appeared to be his side.

Then Director Yuk made a sound for the first time.

“Gurgle, grrk, grrgh.”

How the hell he had managed to become Head of Sales Headquarters with that kind of speaking ability wasn’t important right now.

At the very least, everyone present except me seemed to have understood what he had just said.

“But in exchange, as mentioned earlier, the Order Control Room should provide some support as well. Right? You have Director Go Gyeol and Director Moon Ara. You could spare at least one of them, couldn’t you?”

At Director Mong’s friendly proposal, Executive Director Seol let out a cold sigh and was about to respond when Director Moon Ara whispered something into her ear and raised her hand.

“Will members of the Strategic Planning Office be participating as well?”

“Director Cheong Haram, Deputy Director Baek Jaeryeong, and Assistant Manager Gil Sarang will participate.”

At Executive Director Ahn’s answer, Director Moon Ara’s inverted eyes gleamed subtly.

“For now, Director Go Gyeol will join the team. If, depending on the project’s progress, it is determined that additional personnel are needed, I will provide support as well.”

Director Go Gyeol, who had remained silent all this time, slowly moved his eyes before responding.

“And my opinion?”

“Since when has something like that mattered?”

Director Moon Ara let out a small laugh.

I thought I sensed a certain murderous intent from Director Go Gyeol as he stared fixedly at her profile, but surely that was just my imagination.

“Good.”

Executive Director Ahn rotated the gigantic eye floating where his head should have been.

“All members of Extraction Team 1, Director Go Gyeol, and the Strategic Planning Office.”

His gaze slid toward Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi.

“Assistant Manager Yoo Seulbi will be temporarily assigned to Extraction Team 1 and will participate in the project. Deployment will begin in three days.”

“Opinion. I have.”

Director Gol spoke again between clattering teeth.

“Extraction Team 1. Jeong Haeil. Department of Anomalous Disaster Management. Connection. Exists. Security Team Leader. Moon Ara. Department of Anomalous Disaster Management. Belonged.”

That surprised me for two reasons.

One was that he had mentioned the Department of Anomalous Disaster Management.

The other was that he had also mentioned Director Moon Ara.

From the reaction of that heterochromatic-eyed Team Leader I had met in the Residual Layer, I had already assumed the two of them knew each other from before, but it turned out Director Moon Ara had actually belonged to the Department of Anomalous Disaster Management?

“Fairy Tale Land. Dimensional Entities. Danger. Church of the Coming Feast. Danger. Danger. Factors. Disperse. Propose.”

His words were so fragmented that it took me several seconds to interpret them.

After turning them over in my head, I finally understood.

In other words, Fairy Tale Land was already dangerous enough because of the Dimensional Entities, and now it had become even more dangerous because of the Church of the Coming Feast, so he was proposing that we involve the Department of Anomalous Disaster Management as well and turn the whole thing into an outright free-for-all.

Thanks to that, I finally opened my mouth for the first time.

“……Ha.”

Has that damned pile of bones lost his mind?