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“Everyone, let’s walk a bit faster!”

“Hey, it’s not as easy as you say!”

Every time her feet sunk into the ground, Song Ah Rin frowned.

“We never know when they’ll catch up…”

“Can we win if we fight?”

“Once is possible.”

“Then it’s still manageable.”

I hurriedly glanced around at Song Ah Rin’s words.

[Critical: 1]

Since I could use Critical once, maybe I could try something.

But,

“Honestly, I’d like to save it a bit more.”

I instinctively felt it was something I shouldn’t use on mere guides.

“…Those things, they won’t be affected by mental attacks, right?”

“Well, what about that person we just saw?”

“More than people, I mean.”

Song Ah Rin muttered, narrowing her eyes.

“There are already many people here.”

“…You mean there are people?”

“Inside these walls, beneath the floor, above the ceiling, some consciousnesses are writhing together.”

“Are you saying people are alive?”

“Can’t really say they’re alive. Even if their bodies are warped and their minds are broken, as long as consciousness exists, I can vaguely feel their presence.”

With her eyes closed, Song Ah Rin fell into thought and then looked at me.

“Shall we connect…?”

Connect, she says?

“…I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Or… we could try Aestheticism.”

Now she was spouting even more nonsense than before.

“Is that even possible?”

“When you encounter it, just connect with me.”

That really sounds dangerous.

“I oppose that. For now… let’s connect when it’s a bit riskier.”

The method is a golden opportunity to think beyond human perspective. Conversely, this means that the ones executing the method will temporarily possess non-human thoughts.

If Song Ah Rin was exposed to them for long, any side effects could be unpredictable, so it’s best to be as cautious as possible.

“…Are you worried about me?”

“Shouldn’t I be?”

At my words, Song Ah Rin turned her eyes away and coughed a few times while covering her mouth.

“W-well… I appreciate your concern, but… I can manage just fine.”

“Either way, you can’t just act on your own. Just take more care of yourself.”

“Ahem, alright, I get it.”

Yu Da On, Jang Chae Yeon, and Song Ah Rin, how can they all have such little will to preserve themselves?

Is it one of the conditions to join the Management Agency?

I constantly checked behind me, making sure nothing was following.

The ground, which had been soft, was now firmer and walkable.

“Ugh…”

Yu Da On, walking ahead, pinched her nose and grimaced.

“What on earth is that smell…?”

“I know, right?”

I joined her in pinching my nose, unable to help but grumble.

It was a strange smell that couldn’t be accurately described. It was both fishy and nauseating, truly horrific.

As I, Yu Da On, and Song Ah Rin looked around while pinching our noses, only one person was silently scanning the area with a serious expression.

“I recognize this smell.”

“Chae Yeon?”

Jang Chae Yeon mumbled as she composed herself.

“Everyone, get ready—”

-Click, click.

The sound of someone walking in sharp heels. And then—

“What is art?”

A low female voice echoed.

A sharp pain stabbed at my temples.

“Ugh…!”

I held my head, looking urgently at Song Ah Rin, who immediately sensed my intentions and glanced at Yu Da On.

“Ah! My body’s moving on its own…!”

Yu Da On, with a bewildered expression, pulled out a needle from her pocket and pricked her palm.

-Swish!

“Ugh…!”

Blood splattered as she let out a pained groan, yet her gaze remained steady, focused ahead.

“Ugh…!”

Song Ah Rin also clenched her fists and struck the wound that Jang Chae Yeon had held down, letting out a scream of agony.

Jang Chae Yeon—

“…”

She merely stared ahead without saying a word.

-Drop.

Blood spilled from her mouth, and with a sputter, she spit blood onto the ground.

“Seems like the Management Agency is keeping a close eye on the deities lately.”

With a mix of laughter, a figure emerged from afar.

The white mannequin, stained all over with blood, looked like a red mannequin, and the only thing left on its inorganic body was a human face.

The face I had seen on the plane.

“…Aestheticism.”

“I don’t particularly like that name.”

Every time she spoke, my headache intensified.

“And using pain to regain consciousness is a good method, but—”

-Thud,

“True beauty is when I become the very art itself, and that means sacrificing my arms to the art—”

Suddenly, Song Ah Rin knelt beside me and began to mutter.

And next to her, Yu Da On was joyfully mutilating her own hand with the needle.

“Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.”

Blood splattered everywhere.

“What if pain also becomes art?”

Aestheticism mumbled gleefully.

-Tap,

Someone tapped my shoulder with a finger.

Jang Chae Yeon was looking at me.

She mumbled.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

-Splurt!

Then, with her hand raised and swung, immense power snapped her body in two, and she collapsed unconscious to the ground.

“Very clever too.”

The mannequin looked on in delight, locking eyes with me.

“How amazing. Very few humans can communicate with me while in their right mind. Even if I were lenient, I’d still need to bring the Isolation Team leader or maybe a Branch Chief.”

“…”

“What exactly are you?”

Through the brain-splitting headache, I gnashed my teeth and scanned around.

The blood flowing from Yu Da On was already painting her surroundings red, while Song Ah Rin was nursing her broken arm, moaning in pain.

“If you want to know, then stop doing what you’re doing right now and talk to me.”

“How bold of you? Are you trying to negotiate with me?”

First, I needed to handle the situation.

The manual had said so.

If we could talk about art and inspire each other, we might find a way out.

I still hadn’t found the mask.

There was no escaping now. So I had to try my luck here.

Aestheticism locked eyes with me as the mannequin’s shoulder shrugged.

“Well, sure. I like you particularly.”

She kept her gaze on me, moving only her finger.

“Art is like a statue. I must remain still like a statue.”

“…”

The two of them froze like sculptures.

“I especially like your eyes.”

“I’ve often heard my eyes are special.”

“Oh, not that trivial stuff.”

She waved her hand dismissively.

“Usually, humans would either close their eyes, go insane, or beg for their lives in a situation like this.”

“…”

“But.”

The mannequin’s finger traced my eyelid.

“Ugh…!”

If someone were to say this is what it feels like to have your head sawed, it must feel like this.

A crushing headache made it hard to even breathe.

It locked eyes with me.

Freckled eyes traced a line through the air.

“I like that gaze. The one that, even while knowing you can’t protect your own life with your meager strength, fiercely seeks answers without losing hope.”

“Ugh… Ah…!”

“And someday realizing that struggle is in vain is also art, and becoming a better person by finding the answer until the end is art as well.”

I mentally noted that I preferred the former, as it moved away from my eyes.

It withdrew its finger, enough for my headache to ease, allowing me to begin speaking again.

“Haah… Haah…”

“Okay, now shall we talk about art?”

“…”

“My art is.”

She extended her hand toward the ground.

The man who had previously yelled at us rose as if from the floor.

“Human.”

“…What?”

“I’m nothing without you. It is because of you that my art can continue.”

-Boom!

The man swelled up and burst like a balloon.

No blood splattered.

“So, to me, you are art.”

-Swish!

The manual unfurled, and before I could react, Aestheticism waved her hand, making the manual drop helplessly to the floor.

“Shh. You’re talking too much.”

Aestheticism picked up the manual, muttering, and then politely handed it to me.

“…”

I accepted the manual from her and gazed at the translucent window hovering above my head.

[Name: Aestheticism]

[Age: – ]

[Specialty: Art]

[Talent: Art]

[Background: Do you find this entertaining?]

[Weakness: Can’t we just talk?]

“What?”

As I stared in shock at the text hovering above my head, it spoke again.

“Now, tell me about the art you envision.”

“…”

Art.

Honestly, I had never truly thought about art. The music I listened to was just the same music everyone else heard, and when it came to paintings, I only knew famous ones that everyone recognized.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“The art I think of is…”

“Yes, and art is?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know much about art.”

“Aha. That is understandable. Especially kids these days likely have no grasp on art.”

“But, I could create the art you want.”

“Oh, really?”

The way to awaken one’s consciousness.

[Method: 1->0]

A violet thread sprouted from Song Ah Rin’s head, connecting it to Jang Chae Yeon.

Song Ah Rin’s body twitched, and her eyes regained their sharpness.

“Song Ah Rin! Let’s wake Chae Yeon and Da On in order!”

I kicked the mannequin in front of me and drew my gun.

[Critical: 1->0]

The world slowed down, and the mannequin’s solar plexus glowed.

-Bang!

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew at its solar plexus as if being sucked in.

-Ping!

It hit the solar plexus and bounced off as if nothing had happened.

“What a curious trick, huh?”

As it muttered, Song Ah Rin was sweating in pain as she looked at Jang Chae Yeon.

Jang Chae Yeon’s hand stirred, and she reached out ahead.

A world made of graph paper unfolded before me.

[Coordinate Tear: 3->2]

[Coordinate Tear: 2->1]

[Coordinate Tear: 1->0]

Three consecutive rips through the space of that existence were performed with immense force.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my.”

It laughed joyfully as the mannequin shattered.

Soon, the mannequins scattered and burst into massive flesh blobs that poured out.

[Chronos’ Shield: 10 seconds]

The falling flesh was stopped by an invisible transparent barrier.

“You all are quite fun, aren’t you?”

“Everyone, let’s run!”

I shouted urgently, and all three of us began to dash forward past Aestheticism.

“Aha! Fun kids!”

It laughed like a child, and we had no choice but to run.

Hoping that its interest and curiosity would become our method of escape.