Somewhere in the East Sea.
On the sea that rippled with blue light.
Several helicopters could be seen heading somewhere, emitting heavy sounds.
Soon, a dark dot began to appear from the direction they were heading.
The silhouette was too strange to be called an island.
As if answering the question, the silhouette of the dark dot became clearer as they approached.
The true identity of the thing that looked like a dark dot was a colossal whale perilously perched on the island.
Slap, whoosh…
The whale, which remained motionless against the waves, gave no sense of warmth.
However, it didn’t feel strange.
Perhaps because the whale’s body, when seen up close, was covered with wounds of varying sizes.
Those who had followed after the whale while it fled through the sky wondered how it could move with such injuries.
But they soon dismissed their doubts.
After all, expecting common sense from a Singularity would be an odd thing indeed.
Soon, as Han Seori disembarked from the helicopter with the support of Kim Cheon-soo, those who had been observing the whale with curiosity began to unload something from the helicopter.
What they unloaded from the helicopter were protective suits and equipment for disassembling the whale.
Seeing the menacing equipment, one might feel sympathy for the whale, yet the faces of those donning the suits and preparing the equipment remained utterly calm.
Perhaps they had already become numb from experiencing similar situations numerous times.
…It might seem a bit cruel, but to them, it was merely a necessary task.
Since it was certain the Singularity was already dead, it couldn’t just be left alone.
Carrying something this massive whole was such an inefficient task that they might not be considered heartless after all.
It was unavoidable.
If it had been alive, things could have been different…
In this way, while Han Seori watched from a distance, the whale dissection operation began.
“Hm?”
However, they immediately ran into a slightly difficult situation at the start.
The whale, which had supposedly died not too long ago according to the data, was strangely withered.
It wasn’t a reduction in volume; instead, the substances that should have come from a recently living creature were absent.
Now that they thought about it, the beach that should have been stained red with blood from the wounds was still radiantly blue.
Even if it was a Singularity, for something with a living structure, this was indeed an odd occurrence.
After all, that was also why they had prepared the protective suits.
A man involved in the dissection operation approached Han Seori after removing his protective mask and inquired.
“Something seems off… Should we continue?”
In response to his question, Han Seori, who appeared to have a headache, pressed her temples while contemplating.
But soon, her somewhat brightened face decided to resume the operation.
Although the man felt a bit skeptical, since it was something that had to be done anyway, he silently turned back to the dissection site.
After all, as long as the safety procedures were followed, whatever mishap occurred wouldn’t necessarily be his fault.
Vroom! Gak!
The dissection operation, briefly halted, resumed.
Thud!
A piece of skin and a chunk of meat fell to the ground.
The chunk of meat rolling on the beach had no trace of blood.
It was as if someone had drained all the blood from the whale.
“Gulp.”
At this bizarre scene, the man who had previously asked Han Seori about the progress felt a hint of unease.
Somehow, it seemed that something else might be inside, not just the dead whale.
While observing his team, who continued the dissection operation, he glanced at Han Seori, who was being supported by Kim Cheon-soo.
‘Considering she came here in person…’
Although he found her bothersome, she didn’t seem like a bad person.
Looking at the two from the Capital District branch and remembering the so-called ‘doctors’ from his own division, he silently sighed.
Gak!
Thud!
Meanwhile, the dissection operation proceeded smoothly.
It looked like the work progressed much like ants devouring their prey.
Fortunately, the things the man had worried about didn’t seem to be happening.
…However.
The man and others were soon astonished for another reason.
As they dug deeper, what appeared to be traces left by humans piled out one after another.
Steel beams used to support something.
A rust-covered iron gate.
…Even canned goods assumed to have been left halfway through being eaten.
The people disassembling the whale furrowed their brows as they saw these traces, intuitively sensing what had happened to the whale.
Their common thought was that those who did this were clearly not in their right minds.
Under an atmosphere that grew a little heavier, the dissection continued.
Unnatural, resonant sounds that shouldn’t have originated from an organic body kept echoing repeatedly.
“This appears to be the stomach, though.”
“In case of any anomalies, get the containers ready.”
In the somber mood, as the dissection continued…
Gak!
When one of the men reached deepest inside, something unusual caught his eye.
“Huh?”
“What… in the world?”
In contrast to the withered whale, a space soaked in blood emerged. Although this was understandable up to this point, the strange silhouette inside startled him greatly.
As he tried to grasp the situation with a flashlight, the figure of a blood-soaked doll was revealed.
“What on earth is this!?”
The presumed blonde doll’s hair, now covered with dark red blood, had its original color almost indiscernible.
Naturally, the doll’s entire body was soaked in blood, making it resemble more of a clump of blood than a doll.
The workers, who saw the doll suddenly move as if it had sensed their presence, instinctively took a big step back, realizing this might be something akin to a Singularity.
“There’s something inside!”
“What?”
The man overseeing the whole operation reproached himself for assuming everything was going smoothly and cautiously entered further in.
Since no one had died immediately, he decided to first find out what it was before reporting to Han Seori.
The man, who reached where the other workers had retreated, furrowed his brow at the heavy scent of blood wafting through the air.
‘So that’s where all the blood went to.’
It must’ve gathered here.
One question was answered, but due to a new mystery appearing, the situation couldn’t be called completely positive.
When the man shone his flashlight inside,
A blood-soaked doll appeared.
It moved awkwardly, as though unable to handle the blood that had soaked its body.
And beside it…
A small, jelly-like girl lay sprawled out, appearing completely disinterested in everything.
Her face half-submerged in the puddled blood suggested complete exhaustion.
The only sign of life was the faint beating sound emanating from her tiny body.
After recognizing those as the entities Han Seori described as the Singularities,
The man realized they were indeed alive, despite the uncertainty of life mentioned earlier.
Since the possibility seemed low, he hadn’t given it much thought, but now the unlikely scenario right in front of him made him let out a slightly exasperated laugh while carefully examining further inside.
‘They were supposed to be human-friendly Singularities, right?’
Then it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to worry about.
“Are you going in?”
“It should be safe. Please inform the doctor over there that we’ve found what they were looking for.”
“Uh… yes!”
Saying this, the man went through the gap and entered further inside.
The putrid odors that occasionally wafted from other places were now thickly pervasive here as if it were the norm.
‘There were supposed to be three, right?’
Let’s see… So there should be one more.
Where is it?
Passing the blood-soaked doll and the puddle-covered gelatinous girl, the man noticed a space that seemed to have once contained something enormous.
And at its center…
There stood a tall girl made of jelly, similar but larger than the small girl he had passed earlier.
Seeing this tall girl comprised of jelly, the man felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
Unlike the previous two, there was a strange feeling of unease emanating from her.
From the large girl drenched in blood.
A directionless anger and incomprehensible emotion could be sensed.
Her expression, devoid of emotion, invoked more fear than beauty.
The man felt his breath become rough and bit his lip.
“They said it should be safe…”
Isn’t she about to kill me?
He could feel cold sweat trickling down his spine as he slowly took steps backward.
The thought of leaving immediately filled his mind.
But.
Did the emotions of the tall girl react somehow?
The previously docile doll and small girl were now wading through the blood with splashing sounds, approaching the man.
Plop.
Plop.
The tall girl was approaching in front of him.
The slippery floor.
The man, while retreating, slipped and fell into the puddle of blood with a thud.
The blood splashed everywhere, soaking the entities approaching him.
Just as the increasingly ominous atmosphere made the man prepare for death,
Plop. Plop.
A sound came from the open entrance, and the tall girl stopped her approach.
The girl who had been trembling momentarily collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, and the sound that approached from the entrance, accompanied by violent movements, reached her.
The sound’s identity was Han Seori in a protective suit.
With a face filled with mixed emotions including relief, Han Seori picked the girl up and, handing her over to the late-arriving Kim Cheon-soo, took care of the doll and the small girl.
Without a word, Han Seori exited, softly saying,
“…The dissection should be all that’s left, I guess. Thank you for your hard work.”
“Uh… yes.”
The man weakly responded, his face pale as if possessed by a ghost.
Maybe I should quit this job…
The man sighed deeply as he contemplated his retirement.
