Chapter 96

As Seo-eun finished sorting the vegetables, the child smiled sweetly.

"Thank you."

Seo-eun stroked the child's head expressionlessly, as if trying not to show any affection.

"Your picky eating is just like Cha Byun-jeong. You’re really good at throwing tantrums over side dishes."

Cha Haya scooped up a spoonful from the bowl of carrots and onions she had set aside and chewed it as if to show that she didn’t pick her food.

"What do you mean, you got your temper from me? Just call him a brat. If Cha Byun-jeong thinks that’s his name, what will we do?"

"Are you two a crazy couple?"

Seo-eun raised her middle finger at Han Don-hee.

The three of them continued their modest breakfast, gathered around the tray. They shared each other's food without much distinction between yours and mine, but Han Don-hee was the first to put down her spoon.

"But the searchers didn’t predict exactly what kind of harm the human mutant would cause, right?"

"Right."

Seo-eun, who was chewing an omelet, answered with her mouth closed.

"Is it really true that he came from another planet? It doesn’t make sense. It’s not like he’s from another dimension."

"Your being the topmost manseong is the least believable."

"Cha Seo-eun, this time, Cha Haya definitely started the trouble, right?"

"Yeah, I heard it too. Cha Haya, stop it."

Cha Haya shrugged her shoulders.

"If what you say is true, then our going to and from the narakga doesn’t make sense either."

Seo-eun’s rebuttal made Han Don-hee nod in agreement.

"Then is that brat really going to destroy the Earth? How, with his destructive cuteness?"

The child, with his pointed upper lip like a baby sparrow, was focused on eating.

"Apparently, if other survivors from other dimensions gather, the destruction will begin, but I don’t know much about it."

"Hey, can the elephant shrew sense the destruction of the Earth with its animal instincts?"

"Animals are known to react most sensitively when natural disasters occur."

Seo-eun had a brazen look on her face.

"The rat is right. Han Don-hee, just eat your food."

Cha Haya, holding her spoon like a knife, chimed in.

Buzz, buzz, Seo-eun’s phone, which was roaming, spun on the table, a little away from the child’s food tray. Seo-eun stretched out her hand to check the caller, and to her surprise, it was Yi Gwan-woong.

Seo-eun looked at the child, who had a mouthful of rice, and then showed her phone to Cha Haya and Han Don-hee.

"What’s with the tension?"

"I’ll take it."

Before Cha Haya could grab the phone, Seo-eun quickly lifted it. Although he had become a deputy guild leader, she didn’t trust him to handle this. Given their already strained alliance, if Cha Haya were to step in, it might only make things worse.

"Should I take it?"

As Han Don-hee held out her palm, Seo-eun pressed the call button. She then placed the phone on the tray and switched it to speaker mode.

"Yes, this is Cha Seo-eun."

[Meet me in the lobby right away.]

Yi Gwan-woong’s voice was unusually urgent.

"May I ask what’s going on?"

[A human mutant has appeared.]

The three of them exchanged glances and then almost simultaneously looked at the child sitting on the sofa.

"A mutant... Where did it appear?"

Seo-eun tried to remain calm, speaking more composedly than usual.

[We’ve taken care of it, so come down and talk.]

Click, Yi Gwan-woong hung up first. What exactly did he mean by "taken care of"? The three of them had the same thought. Before leaving, Seo-eun opened a bottle of water and drank it down.

"I’ll go out and check the situation and come back."

"Cha Seo-eun, I’ll go too."

Cha Haya threw her matara, which was leaning against the wall, to Seo-eun and then picked up her own sword. Han Don-hee was at a crossroads, unsure whether to go or stay and look after the child.

"Han Don-hee."

Cha Haya, for some reason, called Han Don-hee seriously. Suddenly, Cha Haya picked up the child who was eating. When the child, still holding the spoon, whined to be put down, Han Don-hee reluctantly took him.

"What? What, why? What do you want me to do?"

"Please take care of our child."

Cha Haya turned and headed for the door.

"Is this kid really a human mutant?! What did Yi Gwan-woong’s group do? You can’t give birth in a day. Cha Haya, you piece of trash, is this your hidden child in Indonesia?"

"How old does he look?"

Cha Haya sounded disdainful. The child looked about seven or eight, making it unlikely that he was a result of Cha Haya’s recent misdeeds.

"Damn, then what is he?"

Han Don-hee almost swore but held back because of the child.

"Our child?"

Seeing Cha Haya chuckle, Seo-eun shook her head, thinking that’s why they always fight.

"I’ll be back."

Unlike Seo-eun, who said goodbye, Cha Haya just waved.

As the two, armed with swords, left the room, the child looked up at Han Don-hee with expectant purple and green eyes, as if demanding something.

"Child, why are you looking at me like that? Finish your meal."

"Like this, throw it to me. Do it like before."

The child held out his arms wide, still holding the spoon.

Wow, he’s so cute. I want to bite his round nose.

Unable to disappoint the child’s expectations, Han Don-hee threw him up and even pretended to fly him around. If this kind of thing were to attack people like a mutant, could I really kill it? If so, maybe I should train it harshly? Han Don-hee’s thoughts were complicated.

Suddenly, the child, who had been thrown up repeatedly, hugged Han Don-hee tightly. Worried that he might have been scared of being thrown too high, Han Don-hee checked his face. The child was looking at Han Don-hee with eyes full of affection.

"I was told not to say it, but I’m so, so happy, I want to tell you."

The child hugged Han Don-hee even more dearly.

"Uncle Don-hee, I’m so happy to see you again."

When did we meet? Han Don-hee couldn’t help but smile warmly at the term "uncle."

"Shouldn’t I be your older brother? Ah, I guess I’m more like an uncle."

"Please don’t die. Stay with me always."

The child’s hands, hugging Han Don-hee’s neck, were trembling.

"Child, did you have a bad dream? I won’t die. Did you hear? I’m the topmost manseong. I’m really strong, you know."

The child shook his head.

"Yesterday, yesterday, Uncle Don-hee, you died."

Han Don-hee, thinking it was a real nightmare, tried to laugh but stopped. It was strange that the child knew his name. Of course, Cha Haya and Seo-eun had called him by name, but the child seemed to know him intimately from the start.

"Yesterday... Uncle Seo-eun died."

The child’s chin wrinkled, and tears welled up in his eyes, but he held them back and then smiled brightly.

"But Uncle Seo-eun said that if I don’t cry, we can meet again. But how? He said to eat only his energy, but something bad got mixed in."

Huh, the child, who looked half like Cha Haya and half like Seo-eun, made a sad face.

***

When the two arrived at the lobby in the elevator, they sensed something was off. All the doors of the hotel were closed, and there were no hotel staff in sight. On one side of the lobby, there was an artificial pond with water up to the knees, surrounded by manseongs.

The absence of control center staff suggested that something had happened that required civilians to evacuate. Among them, Eom Ji-geun and Namgung Jun were talking and looked flustered when they saw the two. Seo-eun nudged Cha Haya, signaling to move closer.

"Deputy Guild Leader of Tachon is here!"

One of the manseongs spotted Seo-eun and called out. As the crowd around the pond moved aside, Yi Gwan-woong, with his feet in the water, became visible. Why was the water in the pond red?

As Seo-eun moved closer, she saw something lying face down next to Yi Gwan-woong. It was floating in the water, which only reached his knees. That’s... a corpse. Seo-eun was certain of that, but the problem was its unusual shape.

An arm was attached to its back, and another arm was attached to its thigh. The body parts seemed to be sewn together in places where they didn’t fit. Seo-eun involuntarily took a step back, but Cha Haya caught her. He tried to send her behind him, but she didn’t retreat further.

"Deputy Guild Leader Cha Seo-eun."

Yi Gwan-woong, stepping out of the water, approached them. A trail of ominous red water followed his steps.

"…What is that?"

"A human mutant. It came in through the ceiling and attacked a civilian. As a result, two hotel staff members died."

Looking closer, Seo-eun saw that there were not one but three bodies in the pond. One of them had its head completely torn off, and it was wearing a hotel uniform.

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