047 – The Great Showman #2
Everyone has something they fear.
Even a man with no fears, like me, Hanamjin, has a couple of things that actually scare him.
One of them is the Permian extinction, known as the “Great Mass Extinction.”
During this time, 96% of marine life and over 80% of terrestrial vertebrates went extinct! It’s said that Earth was almost turned into a planet like Venus or Mercury, where no life exists.
I didn’t express my fear to maintain my manliness, but I was indeed afraid of this “Permian extinction.”
Secondly, I was also scared of the “Fifth Mass Extinction,” where all the dinosaurs died out.
However, compared to the previously mentioned Permian extinction, the Fifth Mass Extinction seemed less frightening.
This is the point.
When two terrifying things clash, one will inevitably become less terrifying.
Perhaps both could end up becoming non-frightening.
Movies like “Alien vs. Predator” or “Freddy vs. Jason” proved that.
“Fight fire with fire! When it comes to fear, we combat it with fear!”
I showed explicit materials to Yu Yeo-reum, who was in panic due to the demon beasts, allowing her to overcome her fear with another fear.
You could say it was a counter-operation.
Whether my plan actually worked, the crazed look in Yu Yeo-reum’s eyes, which had turned red like a mad bull, sparkled with a colorful prism light.
“Ugh…”
Yu Yeo-reum sat down, wrapping her head with her hands.
Soon, a deep heat ray shot from her eyes, melting the demon beasts.
Zzzzzz-!
Indeed.
Yu Yeo-reum had the ability to sh**t beams from her eyes when she got excited. The recent heat ray could be interpreted as s*xual excitement triumphing over the fear of d*ath.
“Jin-ah, what did you just show me? I’m so surprised that my mind is clear now.”
Yu Yeo-reum covered her face with her palm.
The light seeping through her fingers shone like stage lights.
Once she became the protagonist of this scene, Pinocchio shouted from inside the orphanage building.
“p*rn? Did you just control Yu Yeo-reum by playing p*rn? What the hell─ I never heard about that! But, well, it’s fine. I still have plenty of ‘cards’ left.”
That was the end of his words.
He would probably start a full-blown protest inside the orphanage.
Ugh…
I endured the throbbing in my arm that had blocked Yu Yeo-reum’s fist and surveyed the corpses of the demon beasts nearby.
Emotionally assessing, this one is a “Rock” ogre, this one is a “Leaf” dog, and this one is a “Sand” cat.
Thanks to that, I acquired the concept stones of Rock, Leaf, and Sand!
Not a bad haul.
Now all that remained was to enter the orphanage, thoroughly beat “Pinocchio,” and obtain the remaining address from him to rescue Shortcut girl Kim Mari and her friends.
With that thought in mind, I limped toward the orphanage when Yu Yeo-reum grabbed my shoulder.
“Jin-ah, you’re hurt.”
“I know. But it’s manageable.”
“Why are you going so far? You’re putting yourself in danger. Aren’t you scared of anything?”
“I’m like a steam locomotive.”
“…A locomotive?”
“There’s nothing I can do besides running while someone throws in coal and puffs out steam. I just keep running until the hot steam cools down.”
“Is that how it is? I think I understand. I’m like you. I’m a hot train too.”
Yu Yeo-reum nodded as if she understood my words, but honestly, I didn’t know what I was saying.
It just seemed like the right moment to say something cool, so I spoke in a way that sounded impressive; it was a completely meaningless conversation.
“Jin-ah, I’ll take the lead. I still have two shots left to fire.”
Yu Yeo-reum’s remaining two shots.
That should be enough.
# # #
The inside of the orphanage was particularly dark.
It was the very essence of a starless world.
“Yeo-reum, stop.”
I carefully removed the tripwires set around my ankles.
Click-!
“This b*stard, making this annoying setup.”
Seeing the hastily made explosives placed here and there reminded me of the century’s end robbery gang’s hideout I visited a few months ago.
This place was incredibly dangerous.
Pinocchio, being a graduate of the first class of Projection School, seemed to have learned “How to Make Explosives” from the instructors.
Why would they teach such things to a minor?
Were they planning to create a superhuman special unit and send them to infiltrate North Korea?
“Jin-ah, who taught you this?”
Seeing me methodically disabling the traps with my cell phone’s light, Yu Yeo-reum admired me greatly.
Her eyes sparkled slightly pink, as if touched by my actions.
Who did I learn this from?
“Hunger.”
“You learned from the experiences of Hunger and Pain, huh?”
No, I meant to say that a person’s name was ‘Hunger.’
He was an old man I met while collecting scrap.
But that’s not what mattered right now.
“Yeo-reum, based on my experience, guys like Pinocchio try to confuse us with sinister words. So we have to take him down before he says anything.”
“Got it.”
After advancing for a while, we reached the basement.
There were no particular traps in the basement.
Instead, there were several documents that could be called profiles stuck on the walls.
What is this?
Flip-.
“Name: Kim Nuri”
“Age: 8 years”
“Remarks – Signs of awakening are subtly appearing. Need to increase the intensity of deprivation.”
“Name: Lee Haon”
“Age: 9 years”
“Remarks – Early stage of awakening. Exhibits emotional instability and requires attention and care.”
These were the personal details of children.
Just when I was wondering what this was, someone stepped out of the darkness.
It was Pinocchio with woolly hair.
“Familiar faces, aren’t they? These faces belong to─.”
“Yeo-reum, now!”
Zzzzzzzzz-!
Yu Yeo-reum immediately shot a laser at my command.
That heat ray was sure to hit the woolly-haired creature directly, turning him into a donut!
We won! Episode end!
However, instead of turning Pinocchio into a donut, the heat ray skimmed past my side.
“Huh?”
Chiiiik-.
As I looked at my singed side in puzzlement, Pinocchio was holding a round hand mirror and laughing softly.
Hot smoke was billowing from the mirror in his hand.
“A mirror reflects light.”
“No, wait—.”
Did Yu Yeo-reum’s heat ray have such a weakness? It felt like an obvious yet forced explanation, and I got slightly angry.
Did Yu Yeo-reum know about this?
When I looked at her, Yu Yeo-reum said,
“…There’s no need to announce the countermeasures of my abilities out loud. That would be troublesome if the enemies found out.”
But that ‘enemy’ already knew.
Anyway, what mattered was that Pinocchio had defended against Yu Yeo-reum’s laser with the mirror.
And it made one of my legs useless for jumping.
Still, we had Yu Yeo-reum with us.
She was like a tank in the form of a high school girl.
Normally, three high school girls would be needed to take down a state-of-the-art tank, but Yu Yeo-reum was a super high school girl, so she was enough on her own.
“Go, Yu Yeo-reum!”
I decided to deploy Yu Yeo-reum.
However, Pinocchio detached a nearby paper and thrust it toward Yu Yeo-reum.
“Wait, wait, wait! Take a good look at the faces in this document. Don’t they seem familiar? They are the friends who went missing since that night. They are the missing children. Aren’t you curious about what happened to them?”
“What did you do to my friends?!”
“It wasn’t me. It was you, wasn’t it? The friends who went missing from the orphanage that night. Were they truly missing? If someone who was terrified of the demons hit them with a punch, they might have died.”
“What?”
Yu Yeo-reum killed her friends?
That was news to me as well.
It was time to assess whether the recent story was true or false with “Emotion.”
“Yeo-reum, no, Yeo-reum. You are a murderer. Just like us. Do you think wearing a splendid cloak and shooting beams from your eyes makes you a heroic champion? Is that truly how it works?”
“I…with these hands….”
Yu Yeo-reum’s breath began to quicken.
Indeed, it seemed that Pinocchio specialized in mesmerizing people with his tongue.
He was not a manly man.
A man should show through actions, not words!
“What’s wrong with that?”
I questioned back.
“Who established such a rule? Are you the president or something?”
“Are you serious about this?”
“Name: Noh Gi-ho
Possession: View More ☜
《Persuasion Lv.3》 – Possesses rhetoric on the level of a religious leader. Anyone who hears his charming speech becomes a captive.
Status: 《Dumbfounded》 – Stunned by the bizarre logic.”
I could continue this debate, but I was a man who proved his worth through action.
Hoo.
I lightly inhaled and leaped quickly!
Crash-!
My injured leg felt like it was going to snap, but I didn’t care.
“Hanajin, kiiiick!!!!!”
I clenched my fist and punched Pinocchio hard in the face.
As Pinocchio, struck by my attack, flew away and rolled on the ground, his hand mirror shattered with a loud crash.
What a beautiful sight.
“Kuhuhuhuh. A kick and a punch to the face? Kuhuhuh….”
Perhaps my strike was too powerful, as Pinocchio lay on the ground laughing.
Has he lost his mind?
Ssssss, suaaaaah-.
At that moment, a strange wind began to swirl in this basement without windows.
Soon, Pinocchio’s body started to float into the air.
“Levitation, is it?”
What’s happening?
As I felt confused, I saw the bloodshot eyes of Pinocchio looking up.
That’s a symptom of having consumed the unrefined concept stone, just like “Yeomra.”
“Indeed, you two need to exit here. This feeling of overflowing power is exhilarating. If I had such strength, I wouldn’t need to bother persuading and lying!”
Has Pinocchio turned into a demon?
Prepared for d*ath?
At this point, I became curious.
“Hey, why are you going so far? Aren’t you scared of d*ath?”
“We are—.”
Just as Pinocchio was about to say something, Zzzzzzz-!
A heat ray shot from right beside me and pierced through Pinocchio’s groin.
Chiiiiik-!
“Ah….”
Pinocchio, who had floated into the air, fell to the ground like the moths that fought against me, collapsing. Could it be dead? I need to ask for coordinates.
When I turned my head, Yu Yeo-reum, with lost light in her eyes, plopped down heavily.
“I told you… to finish it before talking. I’m out of power… no more… I can’t….”
She began to wheeze like a smartphone running out of battery.
Soon, someone shouted from my smartwatch.
━ Hanamjin! We rescued the kids! I did it! Murunghu─Huh!
━ I didn’t know Yeo-reum had such talent!
━ It seems that bad luck allowed this to happen….
It seemed that the hostages Pinocchio had held were also rescued at the perfect timing.
Luck was with us in various ways.
# # #
I brought Yu Yeo-reum up to the surface.
“Jin-ah….”
Yu Yeo-reum, who was supposed to be “Invincible,” was slumped over.
However, it seemed like she had a lot to say, her lips twitching.
“Is what Pinocchio said true? That the missing children from the orphanage actually….”
“That’s a lie. That guy is ‘Pinocchio,’ right? A liar. I have ‘Emotion,’ so I can see through lies of that level.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, I swear on my cool underwear.”
Yu Yeo-reum’s expression, which seemed to be deep in thought, eased a little.
Limping, I supported Yu Yeo-reum as we exited the orphanage.
“Yeo-reum, I’m hurt and can’t walk alone.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt completely drained… Getting sunlight will help. I’m sorry. I can’t even move a finger.”
It was 11 PM now.
Unfortunately, there was still quite a wait until dawn.
I guided Yu Yeo-reum into a dark alley.
“Jin-ah, I’m glad you transferred here. If I were alone, I surely would have messed everything up. I tend to break things easily. It was the same back then…. If I hadn’t suggested raising a cat….”
Yu Yeo-reum began to cry, crumpling her face and letting tears fall.
Is it true that a beautiful person looks lovely even when crying?
“…How nice it would have been if Jin was by my side back then?”
“Yeo-reum, we can always be together from now on.”
“You’re not confessing, are you?”
“No, I’m sorry, but I have Seugal in my heart.”
Puff-.
Yu Yeo-reum eventually laughed, unable to hold it back.
After laughing for a while, Yu Yeo-reum said with a hint of sadness.
“…I’m envious of Autumn.”
“You don’t need to be envious. I’ll be together with Autumn too from now on.”
“Wait, what did you just say?”
With a creak, I opened the basement door and pushed Yu Yeo-reum inside.
Seugal, who was bound with chains, rounded her eyes when she saw Yu Yeo-reum.
“Oh.”
“…Huh?”
Yu Yeo-reum blinked her eyes as if she couldn’t understand the situation.
To Yu Yeo-reum, Seugal said,
“Yu Yeo-reum, it seems you don’t understand the situation, so I’ll tell you plainly. Hanamjin is the criminal who kidnapped me and locked me here. He’s a crazy psychopath! A total pervert!”
“No….”
Yu Yeo-reum’s gaze turned toward me.
Those eyes, which had just held warmth, were now shining with bewilderment, betrayal, and a mix of emotions as if they were reflecting a strange light.
Literally, they were like prism eyes.
In this situation, wouldn’t saying this be just right?
“The criminal is a limping man!”
