Lime and Jelly entered the building, and not long after, the large hole that had appeared in the mansion vanished without a trace, as though the wound had healed.
The difference from a wound was that it healed too cleanly, without even a scab remaining. Despite the mansion having crumbled from the bomb, there wasn’t a single scar left, suggesting the process was closer to regeneration than mere healing.
Soon after, as if to replace it, raindrops began to fall from the sky, like a cry, drip by drip. The people who had planted the bomb were already long gone, leaving the mansion and the vehicle beneath the falling rain.
Inside the vehicle, while watching the pouring rain and the mansion, Hwang Bo-yul quietly turned to the man beside her and spoke.
“…Have leaks been happening this often lately?”
Though it was an unexpected question, the man chuckled faintly and nodded. To them, it wasn’t an abrupt inquiry. Even while Lime hesitated to wake up, their conversation had revolved around this topic.
Hwang Bo-yul sighed and brought up the issue again: the leaks from the Singularity.
“…Though, can we even call this a leak?”
She had accepted the fact that there were leakages from the Singularity. It was something she couldn’t imagine, but life-and-death situations tend to happen no matter where you go.
Especially when remembering the people who had set a trap to briefly kidnap Lime not too long ago… It seemed far-fetched to claim that all Singularities were under the control of ‘The Foundation.’
Thus, the existence of leaks was understandable. But what Lime overheard in bed was confusing her.
The Singularity had been appearing so frequently that it was becoming harder to “secure” them in time.
Upon reflection, the term “special” wasn’t exactly fitting for these Singularities. Their sudden and frequent appearances weren’t particularly odd.
However, no one could consider this a normal occurrence.
Sudden torrential rains, unexpected visits from directors, and heart-stopping earthquakes all seemed to be anomalies. But every strange event had a reason behind it when examined closely. A raincloud didn’t form within seconds, the director had something on their mind, and earthquakes had been signaling their approach in areas undetectable by humans.
This meant the frequent appearance of Singularities also had an underlying cause.
Of course, this was more of a hypothesis, so uncovering the cause… was, at best, extremely difficult. One might even call it impossible.
When they couldn’t even define what the Singularity truly was, attempting to understand why it was appearing suddenly was akin to asking a baby who hasn’t yet learned to crawl to start running.
In any case.
The problem was that there had been more instances where they couldn’t secure Singularities in time, leading to more hasty recoveries.
Sometimes they managed to recover them later, other times they found traces of catastrophic events. And in some instances, they failed to find the Singularities altogether.
The domestic situation was relatively under control, but it was reported that overseas, Singularities were gradually being exposed due to ineffective containment.
This was what Lime had seen on the news.
Reflecting on this, Hwang Bo-yul narrowed her eyebrows.
As much as she replayed the thoughts, the omens didn’t seem positive. But with no immediate action to take, all she could do was sigh. The only action within their reach was to travel with Lime to neutralize these dangerous Singularities.
“…How powerless we feel.”
“Hm? What did you say?”
“It’s nothing.”
Hwang Bo-yul watched the thundering mansion through the rain, deep in thought.
Could it be such an overbearing attitude just to think that humans could secure, isolate, and handle Singularities? She felt an indescribable sense of discomfort and fear.
Calling this the “eve of the storm” felt inappropriate since strange signs were already appearing everywhere.
Perhaps they were already in the storm.
What came to her mind amidst these thoughts…
Was Lime, who had entered the mansion.
After entering the mansion, an unusual sound reached her ears. Observing her surroundings, she saw rain falling outside the windows(?).
Despite the other circumstances, it was an undeniably picturesque scene.
An aged mansion, subtle lights, and the sound of raindrops.
It painted a vision of sitting by a warmly blazing fireplace, rocking gently in an old chair, with a grandmother bringing a freshly baked pie over.
Of course, I never had that experience, but that was the vibe.
However, when considering everything around her, things took a sharp turn.
When the rain started pouring, the stuffy, heavy atmosphere began seeping in almost immediately. Though even that felt quicker than it should have, I suspected it was due to my overly sensitive condition.
But more unsettling than that was… the mansion itself.
I was long accustomed to my knowledge repository failing to make sense of things, so I wasn’t disappointed. But what I wasn’t used to was the mansion’s parts throbbing like human organs—beating, pulsing, eerie and grotesque.
Even though I had often sought mysterious things, these gory and unsettling sensations weren’t particularly welcome. Testing my surroundings out of concern, I tapped the floor with some Jelly. The structure seemed intact enough(?).
So, to describe it in words, the mansion appeared to be slowly being eroded by something. Given the mansion’s ability to recover(?) from its damaged state, it only reinforced the impression.
What had likely replaced those recovered portions? What was this?
While stroking my chin, lost in thought, I let out a soft burp of Jelly.
If I don’t even know what I am, how could I comprehend something else?
Still, since I’d overcome such hurdles many times before, I thought I could make it through this one, too.
Alright, then.
…Where should we go now?
To be honest, this was quite a predicament.
The mansion was far larger than it appeared from the car. Sure, buildings look bigger when you approach them, but this place was just colossal. It’s no wonder only part of it collapsed from the massive explosion.
It was like someone had been stabbed with a nail.
No, that nail seemed too small; a stake might be more fitting.
Stake reminded me of vampires—piercing silver stakes into their hearts to kill them, and the same could work for humans, I pondered.
I wondered if real vampires existed somewhere in this world. If beings like me exist, wasn’t a vampire plausible?
…What a random train of thought.
Am I unconsciously trying to escape reality?
Shaking off the random Jelly burp, I decided to focus on what I could do.
Looking at the Jelly army that followed me, I transmitted my command.
The objective: ‘Singularity’—saying that out loud might make me jump for joy, so I needed a more specific goal, right?
Hmm… how can I phrase a command that will circulate with a good reputation?
But I didn’t know what to look for, which made it impossible to issue a specific order.
Watching the Jelly wobble around, I pondered.
Would the Jellies be able to find something that could neutralize this Singularity if I ordered them to?
The more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed they could accomplish such a task.
This suggested I needed a relatively simple yet brilliant command that could help navigate this predicament.
…In the end, the only order I could give was this:
If you find something suspicious or unusual, alert me.
That’s the limit, I guess.
I thought bringing Daesik or Sosik would’ve been much easier. The Jelly army is fine, but if you must categorize them by intelligence, Daesik or Sosik would rank much higher.
Jung-sik…?
Hmm… giving tasks to your pet feels weird.
Honestly, Jung-sik was more like a pickle. He wasn’t suited for working together; if he didn’t like something, he’d charge in and start spraying Jelly. How could you work with that?
I think he’s best suited for being adored at home.
Isn’t he a bit like a cat?
While dogs can be police dogs, drug-sniffing dogs, or military dogs, we don’t really have police cats, drug-sniffing cats, or military cats, do we?
…There’s that tiger, but he’s more of a totem rather than someone with a specific purpose.
Jung-sik, too, was cute to watch but, strictly speaking, reminded me more of a cat.
Anyway.
After clearing my thoughts, the Jelly army received my command. Thinking the order mentally made me feel like some kind of broadcasting tower emitting short-wave signals.
Regardless, the Jelly army reacted well to my command, bouncing up and down before scattering off in various directions with a squishy sound.
When I remembered the Jelly toads that were responding to my attacks, I began to think they might do just fine.
Having sent them off, I stepped into the mansion.
…Now that I think about it, the mansion seemed to be alive.
What powers those lights?
I had an ominous feeling about that. My intuition was proven right as if it were answering my unease.
Before I even took a few steps, one Jelly that had scattered off returned and bounced in front of me.
I followed it with an odd sense of foreboding.
…And encountered a situation I hadn’t anticipated.
