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Petrification,

To put it simply, it refers to the act of fixing a living being in a certain state.

There are chemical treatments and, to elaborate further, the details are endless, but that’s not what’s important right now.

“…”

I gaze at the monster in front of me, Yu Da On.

She stands still, her mouth smeared with blood.

“…Jae Heon?”

“What’s… happening?”

Yu Da On murmurs, looking around.

“It seems like it’s frozen in time. To be precise, just that one…?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Calmly muttering, I survey my surroundings.

[Fixing the opponent on the time axis.]

What could that possibly mean?

It didn’t take long to grasp its significance.

“…Huh?”

Yu Da On, puzzled, pokes my arm.

“Jae Heon.”

“Yes?”

“I think I see something. Is my vision weird right now?”

“…No. I see it clearly too.”

Following Yu Da On’s gaze, I turn my eyes.

A translucent hour hand was embedded right in the middle of its body.

It was about the length of two of me standing side by side, a sharply defined hour hand.

“…Heh.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

I instinctively understood what this ability was.

An inviolable domain.

Literally, it completely stops the target’s time, fixing just that entity in this world, separating it.

But conversely, it creates an invulnerable state where we cannot intervene either.

The problem was realizing that this doesn’t last indefinitely.

This is a finisher’s technique, but it’s not one that can kill.

A horrifying sound echoed from afar, and another deafening noise rang out.

Yet, the monster Yu Da On didn’t budge.

“…”

I stared at the frozen monster Yu Da On.

“…”

“…”

What more could I do here?

I still couldn’t find a way to kill her.

On the contrary, it was as if Yu Da On had realized something and began walking slowly toward the monster Yu Da On.

“Jae Heon.”

“…Yes?”

“I think I understand.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t die easily.”

“Um…”

“The butterfly within my body, though, you can kill it.”

“Uh…”

“Right now, the time we’ve stopped is ‘Yu Da On’s’ time.”

Yu Da On turned her body to face me.

“Isn’t that right?”

“…Ah.”

I realized.

I recalled the first time Yu Da On was paralyzed.

There was a wound at the back of her neck then too. If my memory serves me, at that time, she was said to be becoming a perfect host.

Host.

A title that can only be attached if there’s a parasitic entity.

Looking back at the past, it meant that Yu Da On was, in a sense, in a parasitic state now.

“Let’s check your neck.”

I rushed over to look at the back of the frozen Yu Da On’s neck.

Naturally, there were no scars, but my eyes missed nothing.

[Name: Dream of the Butterfly – Imago]

[Age: 1 year]

[Special Skill: Parasitism]

[Talent: Parasitism]

[Background: This imago has finally entered a stabilization phase and is searching for a host to become complete.]

[Weakness: This parasitic entity, having hosted for a long time, is not as strong as one would think.]

“Let’s split her back.”

“Sure.”

The question is, how to split her back?

In times like this, we need to refer to the manual.

I pulled the manual from my pocket.

[Manual for Office Staff]

“…”

The manual had nothing written in it.

It seemed to be facing somewhere else, as if to show it to someone other than me, and suddenly I turned around at the chilling sensation coming from behind.

A black mist floated in the air, split in half.

“…What the hell.”

Just as I quickly turned around to guard against it,

-Crack!

It whizzed past me and Yu Da On, skimming the back of the monster Yu Da On, and simultaneously,

-Bang!

Something protruded from her back as it wriggled.

A faceless creature possessing butterfly-like wings and long claws.

It felt distinctly different from the imago I had seen, yet my eyes confirmed that this was indeed an imago.

And as if it had expended all its strength, the black mist that passed by it exploded into nothingness.

“It’s just us now.”

“It’s just like before.”

Yet, I had already devised a plan to take it down.

“Da On.”

“Yes?”

“We’re pushing it toward the wall.”

“Um… so we just need to push it against the wall?”

“Exactly.”

“Got it.”

As if she understood, Yu Da On nodded and slipped on black gloves.

I readied myself for battle, holding a gun in one hand and a butane gas can in the other.

Yu Da On charged toward the imago first, and I followed suit.

-Bang!

The sound of gunfire echoed as I hit its forehead.

Its head jerked back, but just like that, it began to return to its original position, and Yu Da On received it with her shoulder.

With a thud, she staggered backward, cutting her neck slightly.

“Choke…!”

A red line appeared on her neck, and as she gasped, she managed to collect her breath and grasp its waist, beginning to run.

Its claws relentlessly slashed at Yu Da On, and before that, Yu Da On dove in, grabbing it and began to push.

Whenever it reached for Yu Da On’s arm or neck, I shot at its claws, deflecting them, and even as blood spilled from her entire body, Yu Da On was pushing it away.

Reloading the magazine, I ran after Yu Da On.

“Da On!”

“Don’t hesitate, shoot!”

Yu Da On screamed, shoving it back, while I continued to pump bullets into it, disrupting its advance.

The relentless back-and-forth continued.

By the time I was reloading the third magazine, Yu Da On’s body was already drenched in her own blood, so red that it was hard to tell whether she was a person or a monster.

But she acted as if she didn’t care, pushing its face with her bloodied hand.

Her blood left a palm print on its face, and at that moment, she gritted her teeth and shouted,

“Burn it!”

“No—”

“Hurry!”

“…!”

My hesitation was momentary.

Dashing forward, I rapidly shook the butane gas can from my pocket and opened the cap.

-Fwoosh!

Flames leaped out, igniting both Yu Da On and the imago, and even as the imago thrashed in the flames, Yu Da On kept pushing it.

-Fwoosh!

Surrounded by flames, Yu Da On shoved it against the wall, and only then did she release her body.

Her back bore hideous burn marks that soon faded, and she looked at me.

“I pushed it!”

“That’s enough!”

[Chronos’ Shield: 10 seconds]

A translucent window appeared before me.

Time was extended?

But that’s not important right now.

Let’s think about this shield.

[After you fix XX with your eyes, Yu Da On will bend it to block all damage.]

I didn’t even know what XX was yet. It still hadn’t clicked for me.

But one thing was certain.

This was not just a shield. So far, it had blocked every attack, and in terms of defense or sturdiness, it was the strongest.

What that meant was,

As Yu Da On reached out, a translucent barrier spread between her and the wall, starting to crush it.

-Crunch!

The sounds of carapace cracking resonated from the body squeezed between the isolation room’s wall and Chronos’ shield.

It twisted its body repeatedly, attempting to escape, but,

-Crush…!

Yu Da On merely pushed it with emotionless eyes.

-Boom!

And at that moment, it exploded, splattering green blood everywhere.

[Chronos’ Shield: 0 seconds]

At the same time, the time for the shield expired, and the translucent barrier vanished like a mirage.

“Huff… Huff…”

“…”

I panted heavily as I inhaled, while Yu Da On, face expressionless, stared at the corpse sprawled against the wall.

Simultaneously, the hour hand that had kept the monster Yu Da On pinned was pulled out.

“…”

Scales fell from the body of the monster Yu Da On.

With a thud, she stood up and looked at me.

[Name: Yu Da On]

[Age: 24]

[Special Skill: X]

[Talent: X]

[Background: After enduring long hardships and deaths, she has finally been granted peace.]

[Weakness: -]

“…Thank you.”

“Da On—”

Just saying that, she collapsed to the floor—

And crumbled to sand like dust.

“…Huh?”

I couldn’t help but voice my confusion like a fool.

Is she dead? That Yu Da On?

“Wait, no. Da On…”

“…This is it.”

As I mumbled to myself, Yu Da On approached her now sandy form, kneeling down, and gently smiled while brushing her sandy remains with her fingers.

“I have to be pushed to this extent to die, huh?”

“…”

I had no idea what to say.

At that moment, a black spiral formed above our heads.

Is it going to turn?

“…Da On.”

“Yes?”

Yu Da On looked at me with her knees up.

“It’s… alright.”

“…Huh, what’s alright?”

She stared at me, bewildered as if she didn’t understand what I was sincerely trying to say.

“…Well…”

For those who can’t die, perhaps life is just suffering. But should I speak such words so carelessly?

As I hesitated, Yu Da On smiled brightly and said,

“I’m happy.”

“…What?”

“I know exactly how much I have to go through to die, so until then, I can afford to suffer as much as I want.”

Still holding her smile, she continued,

“If that helps you, Jae Heon, I could die many times over.”

“…”

What on earth has made her this way?

“Shall we go?”

She softly took my hand, which had lost its words.

The darkness enveloped us,

“…Hey!”

“…Wake up…!”

I couldn’t help but wake up to the noisy voices of Song Ah Rin and Jang Chae Yeon.

*

Honestly, I couldn’t tell how things concluded afterward.

They said the wedge was closed, but I had no idea what I had seen within it meant, nor how the remaining wedges were sealed.

I heard that the northern wedge was closed solo by the urgent deployment of the Branch Chief, the western wedge was closed by the Management Team, and the southern wedge was sealed by members of another Isolation Team dispatched in a hurry.

However, many points remained concerning.

What exactly is a wedge, and why do they think it’s something that must be done without question, and what were the phrases written in the logs?

And what on earth did the scene I witnessed mean?

I wanted to talk to the Branch Chief about this incident, but she always replied with her usual smile, “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”

The man in black sunglasses who usually calls me after usual matters didn’t summon me this time either.

As if nothing had happened, we returned to our routines. Completely unrelated to our will.

I had countless questions weighing on me like a mountain, but no one brought me answers.

Neither Song Ah Rin nor Jang Chae Yeon acted as if the Management Agency’s attitude was anything unusual.

And my relationship with Yu Da On had grown somewhat awkward.

To be precise, it was Yu Da On who seemed uncomfortable in my presence.

What she had shown weighed heavily on my heart.

Sitting in my chair, I tapped on the keyboard while gazing out the window.

Was it called the rainy season?

Thanks to it, coming here was quite a hassle.

The rain continued to pour, and no one entered the office.

The Team Leader was on a business trip. And the remaining three should be here, but why aren’t they?

-Clatter!

The door opened, and I heard waterlogged footsteps.

“Damn… why’s the rain so heavy? My hair’s totally frizzy…”

A voice filled with irritation rang out, and with a screeching sound, Song Ah Rin plopped down in the chair behind me.

Her clothes soaked from the rain, we locked eyes through her completely frizzed hair.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…Are you staring? Is this your first time seeing a girl’s chest?”

She mumbled, her face flushing, and I couldn’t help but turn around quickly.

“Sorry.”

“…It’s fine.”

Song Ah Rin grumbled and sat back down with the screeching sound of her chair.

“…”

Now that I think about it, I could ask Song Ah Rin about Yu Da On’s situation.

Fixing my gaze on the monitor, I called out to Song Ah Rin.

“Song Ah Rin.”

“…Uh.”

“I want to ask you something important. Do you have a moment?”

“…Huh?”

Her voice sounded oddly strained.

“Well, it’s just the two of us right now. I thought it’d be a good time to ask.”

It’s not often that it’s just me and Song Ah Rin. Jang Chae Yeon is usually around, and it feels a bit wrong to bring up Yu Da On in front of her.

“I mean, what are you… going to ask?”

“It’s a bit hard to discuss it here…”

What do I know about when the others will return?

“…”

I could hear her gulping.

With a screeching sound, she placed her hand on my shoulder.

“…Okay.”

Turning to look at her, I noticed she was gazing at me with a serious expression.

“I’m ready.”

Ready for what?