Chapter 18

If there was a most important place within the Collectors building, it was Bisabeol's gallery.

Since it was a collection of only dangerous and sensitive items, incidents and accidents were frequent.

On top of that, there were people who targeted such rare works.

Therefore, to prepare for casualties, guards would patrol the inside of the building no matter how late the hour.

That day too was just an ordinary day of patrolling the building at dawn.

“Huh?”

A pure white wall.

Pure white lights.

A pitch-black man standing alone in the long, clean hallway.

“…….”

He was cloaked in a black cape from head to toe.

His face was not visible.

“…….”

One could only tell that he was wearing a black suit beyond the open front of the cape.

“Who are you?”

“…….”

“Excuse me, but please identify yourself.”

There were a total of eight members in the dawn patrol team within the building and he was in charge of the 1st to 10th floors.

No other guard was assigned to the same floor.

Therefore, that black cape was either an employee who had stopped by the guild for some business at dawn, or an unidentified outsider.

But the feeling was strange.

“…Please identify yourself.”

Truly, it was strange.

And yet, he couldn't explain exactly what was strange about it.

“…….”

“…….”

A bizarre shiver ran down his spine.

‘…What is this?’

The guild building’s lights were always on brightly for the patrolling guards or the employees working overtime.

The hallway was cleaned frequently and was spotless, and the pure white marble walls were elegant and beautiful, just as Guild Master Bisabeol liked them.

So there was nothing to be afraid of.

There were no shadows anywhere under the bright lights, which were like broad daylight, but that uniquely conspicuous pitch-black being….

“…Who are you?”

It felt as if it shouldn't exist.

“If you are an outsider, please show me your access card.”

“…….”

“Why have you come here at this hour? I was not informed that another client would be visiting from the 1st floor. Trespassing within the guild is treated as a serious felony….”

“…….”

“…It may be applied unfavorably in a trial… you may experience difficulties in appointing a lawyer, and you may be subdued by force without a separate process, so please be mindful of this and answer the question… I ask you.”

Isn't it strange?

The strangeness that was very small at first gradually grew.

The longer he observed, the more he saw, the greater the sense of unease he felt.

The guard soon realized.

‘Why?’

Why did I think that it shouldn't exist?

‘No, in the first place, why.’

Why am I thinking ‘that thing’ while looking at a being in human form?

The thought that something was wrong did not leave his brain, and confusion clung to his whole body, muddling his mind.

A desolate sense of dissonance brushed up his spine and slowly tickled his heart.

It was at a very slow and natural pace, like breathing in one’s sleep.

“…….”

“…….”

Under the hood of the pitch-black cape.

From under the dreadfully black cloth, as if it was right that there should be nothing there, a voice flowed out.

“Hello.”

“…….”

“My name is Seo Jio.”

A distinct voice that seemed to embed itself in the brain and an upright pronunciation that was impossible to misunderstand.

Without a moment to resist, he thought it was a nice voice.

It asked politely.

“What is your name?”

“…….”

“I am curious about your name.”

He couldn't bring himself to answer that nice voice.

“Will you speak with me?”

He could tell.

“…I am.”

This is not human.

“…I, I’m….”

It was not a monster, an item, or a hallucination.

‘…What should I do?’

His breath caught heavily, as if he never had the ability to breathe in the first place.

It was the Collectors guild where numerous incidents and accidents occurred, and he was an experienced guard, but even so, he had never encountered such a being before.

A non-human, immense something was wearing human skin and mimicking a human.

It would have been better if that mimicry had been clumsy.

Like the ball-jointed dolls with bizarre movements he had seen so far, or the monsters that spouted nonsense with a remarkably low level of mimicry.

“…….”

“Sir.”

“…….”

“What is your name?”

But that thing.

It was perfect.

“My name is Seo Jio.”

It looked just like a perfect human.

And yet, paradoxically,

He knew it could never be human.

‘What nonsense is this….’

To be convinced that the other party was not human even though it looked like a completely whole human.

Without any basis, he was defining the other party as neither human, nor monster, nor item, nor hallucination.

Then what on earth was that thing?

“Can you not hear me?”

“…Why are you asking for my name?”

“The basic etiquette when conversing is to exchange names.”

“…….”

“I am simply observing etiquette.”

Etiquette?

He couldn't tell what on earth was mimicking human etiquette.

“…Park….”

“…….”

“It is Park Na-gil.”

He had spat out the name as if possessed, but he didn't feel his soul being snatched away. However, the black cape seemed satisfied.

That point, more than anything, was creepy, but he didn't even have the energy to show it.

His breath was catching in his throat.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Seo Jio.”

“…….”

Did this person know that he had just said he was ‘Seo Jio’ several times?

‘As if to emphasize that he is a human just like you….’

Soon after, the black cape took out an unexpected item.

“I have an access card.”

“…This is… a client access card.”

“I have been permitted a tour by the Guild Master Bisabeol of this place.”

“…Is that so.”

At the very least, the Guild Master knew about the existence of this thing.

‘And he is condoning its actions.’

Why on earth?

The guard lifted his head and looked at the black cape again.

“…….”

“Is this a sufficient answer?”

“…Of course.”

It was an extremely business-like voice.

The voice, with its formal cadence, seemed to have a moderate pitch, but if you listened closely, it also seemed to fluctuate between high and low tones.

‘Even if he has an access card, I need to identify the basic personal details….’

What he was hearing was clearly a man's voice, but as time passed, it became ambiguous to guess its age and gender.

He couldn't perceive it even though it was right in front of him.

All he could see was a pitch-black cape and a form with a neither thick nor thin build.

“…….”

Inside the shadow of that black cape, was there really something in the shape of a person?

“Mr. Park Na-gil.”

“…Yes.”

“May I look around this place?”

“…….”

The Guild Master had permitted it.

So he, a mere guard, also had to utter words of affirmation, but the words did not come out easily.

It was because of an ominous feeling, as if he were accepting a promise from a demon to cause a disaster.

In front of the gloomy and heavy, or perhaps cool, form, the guard nodded his head with difficulty.

“…Of course… you may.”

“Thank you.”

“If the Guild Master has permitted it, there is no problem with you touring as much as you like.”

“I see.”

“…How long do you plan to be here?”

The black cape answered after 2 seconds.

“Until the sun rises.”

It was a chilling answer.

“…….”

“…I see.”

He felt like throwing up.

He couldn't understand why he was getting the chills, what exactly he found bizarre, and where this indescribable silence was coming from even though they were conversing.

The sensation of his cognitive abilities breaking down and his judgment being buried in a fog swayed as if inducing motion sickness.

It felt like he was facing something he couldn't handle.

‘No, I am actually failing to handle it.’

It was overwhelming, as if he were interacting with something that ‘should not’ be perceived.

“…….”

“Mr. Park Na-gil.”

Every time it called his name, his spine trembled.

How should he describe that sensation of his body temperature dropping by one degree, that sensation of all the blood vessels in his body being squeezed by someone's hand?

“Yes, yes.”

“Thank you for your kind response.”

“…It was my job.”

“You are very responsible.”

“…….”

“I believe it is something worthy of praise.”

It was a strange thing.

When the black cape praised him, despite the nauseating fear, he was so happy he could fly.

‘Am I going crazy? Or did that thing make me go crazy?’

He felt moved and proud of himself even though it was a situation where he absolutely shouldn't.

He couldn't even interpret why he was feeling this way.

Watching him, the black cape held out its hand.

“It is a gift.”

“…….”

“Please take it.”

The black cape handed him a small pouch, neatly wrapped in paper.

It had a scent so sweet it was enchanting.

“It is yours.”

The bizarrely business-like voice strangely felt friendly.

“I apologize for the trouble.”

“Ah, no.”

“Then I will see you next time.”

Is it leaving?

The moment that premonition struck and he lifted his head, their eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

Their eyes met.

That eye.

The eye.

The pupil.

The iris, the pupil, that round sphere.

Inside it. It. That round thing. That. That is. Black and white color.

The pitch-black thing, the pure white thing.

Was it black? Was it white?

Was it dark or bright? A shadow or light?

Death or life? A connection or fate?

The inside was too deep.

Too deep. Too deep.

It was so deep, it was scary, the inside was so deep.

Deep. I feel like I'm falling. I'm plummeting.

Can I get out? Impossible. It won't be possible.

That's not an eye. It's not a pupil. It's not an iris and it's not a pupil.

No, it's not, it probably isn't. It has to not be.

It was clearly not. It's not. No. No, no.

But it's not.

“Mr. Park Na-gil.”

The moment he heard the dreadfully business-like voice.

“Please continue your hard work.”

“…….”

…He was pulled out.

“…….”

For a long while, he stood on the spot.

Even as the pitch-black cape moved, not a single sound of rustling was heard and the bare feet without shoes did not even make a sound on the smooth floor.

Only the rustling sound of a tiny creature is heard, but how strange.

That black thing could not be called a tiny creature….

Soon, the sound fades away.

“…….”

There is only silence.

“…Where to….”

Where did it go?

The guard moved his feet.

He follows the hallway where the black cape had moved, towards the place where the sound had cut off.

It wasn't long before he could reach that ‘place where the sound had cut off’.

There was a portrait hanging in the hallway that he hadn't seen before.

“Ah.”

It was a painting of a man with a serene face as if he were asleep, against the backdrop of a forest depicting a peaceful cabin, but.

His stomach churned.

“…….”

He fled with slow steps.

It was just his usual pace.

He didn't have the confidence to touch it.

If he were to fulfill his duty as a guard, he should definitely report the unidentified work and deal with it, but he didn't even think that far.

As if possessed, the guard simply left the place.

And the next day, the portrait was not in the same place.

***

“Did you hear?”

The guild Collectors was a place that had many ghost stories to begin with.

It was all because of Guild Master Bisabeol's collecting habit; because he kept picking up strange items, various incidents and accidents would occur.

Because of that, employees who had worked at the Collectors for over two years were not very surprised by such ghost stories.

“The black cape?”

“Yes, there's a rumor going around lately.”

“It's probably just one of the Guild Master’s works causing trouble again.”

“I thought so too.”

It was a world where most ghost stories could be explained away as monsters or items.

In an age where fellow humans were more frightening than ghost stories, the rumor about the ‘black cape’ was just a story to be enjoyed for fun.

“I’d like to see it, they say it’s so handsome.”

“Didn't they say you can't see the face well because of the cape?”

“For a work brought in by the Guild Master, it's quite embarrassing.”

“At least it's not causing any trouble. No one’s been hurt, right?”

But as time passed, even that light atmosphere gradually became heavier.

“…….”

“I heard this witness took a leave of absence too.”

“…Is it that scary….”

“I heard they were originally going to quit, but the Guild Master coaxed them into taking a leave instead.”

“If it’s serious enough for the Guild Master to step in, isn't the situation more serious than we think?”

Usually, this kind of ‘ghost story’ was resolved within a week.

That's because the identity of such ghost stories was usually a monster or item that had popped out of Bisabeol’s works, or a mental-type skill activated by it.

It would be strange if it wasn't resolved within a guild teeming with Hunters.

But now that ‘strange thing’ was happening.

“No, why is this monster so hard to subdue? What are the curators doing?”

“There’s a story that it’s a monster that they can’t handle either.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better to just throw it outside the guild….”

“…….”

“…I just said something stupid.”

The Collectors guild operated a special gallery that could never be replaced by any other.

Dangerous items from all over the world, to the point where the government directly regulated who could enter, were gathered there.

Where on earth could they discard an item that the Collectors couldn't handle? Another disaster would surely occur.

Until now, before it became such a disaster, all incidents and accidents had stopped at the level of a ‘ghost story’.

“But for it to be this difficult to subdue….”

“There’s also talk that they aren’t even trying to subdue it in the first place.”

“Why is that? Wouldn’t it be better to destroy or seal it?”

“They know they won't succeed anyway, so they’re thinking it's better not to get on its bad side….”

“Can it get its feelings hurt? That means it has that much intelligence… So does that mean it has a consciousness too?”

“The rumor that it’s a human-type monster is being accepted as the most credible, so wouldn't it have a consciousness?”

“Wow, this is crazy. To bring in a human-type monster of all things.”

“How many years ago was the last time a human-type monster was witnessed?”

Not once had Bisabeol ever neglected a ‘ghost story’ to this extent.

He was a man who knew well how much efficiency increased when his employees felt secure.

And yet, this was the situation.

“Has anyone been hurt?”

“Not really….”

And as this situation continued.

“…….”

“…….”

“…Then isn’t there no problem?”

The employees began to accept it on their own.

“No injuries, no deaths. Then why on earth is it a ghost story?”

“Essentially, a ghost story means a bizarre story… so if it’s really just a story, then that makes sense.”

“It was just a story? It seems to exist since there are witnesses, but it’s really strange.”

“I know, right.”

This was the guild ‘Collectors’.

All employees of the guild were collectibles that the collector Bisabeol had personally gathered.

The realistic and cynical employees who suited his taste gradually calmed down on their own.

“Eh, it must have been a lie.”

“But they said there were people who saw it?”

“Then it’s a hallucination skill.”

“I guess so.”

“Anyway, it’s not dangerous, right?”

“Maybe the Guild Master hired an employee without telling us.”

“True, it’s not like we know all the employees. Wasn’t there a similar incident before?”

“There was a rumor that a quiet employee was a ghost. Looking at it that way, it’s a plausible story.”

“It would be nice if they gave us a notice about these things in advance. Don't you think?”

“The Guild Master’s personality is so unique, isn’t it? Let’s all just understand.”

“That’s true. I wonder when he’ll introduce the new recruit….”

The Guild Master, Bisabeol, was a person who cared terribly for his employees.

If it was a ‘ghost story’ that such a person would leave alone, it was surely not a very dangerous existence.

Whether it existed or not, whatever its identity may be.

The employees trusted Bisabeol.

“…….”

“…….”

Bisabeol himself knew that.

“…Did you expect this?”

“What do you think?”

The Collectors had regained their peace.

Even though nothing had been resolved.

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