AAGULT Ch 136

Chapter 136

Everyone instinctively shifted into combat stance. What hid behind the streetlamp looked unmistakably human and even harmless at first glance, yet those who had already faced multiple humanoid monsters inside this gate swallowed nervously without lowering their guard.

“Uh, um…”

Surprisingly—no, astonishingly—

“Um…”

The monster spoke.

The monster hiding behind the streetlamp stepped out hesitantly and then began to approach them with timid, slow steps. In this narrow space, barely wide enough for people to walk in single file, the sight of a presumed monster edging closer caused the group to subconsciously step back a few paces in unison.

Its outward appearance bore a strong resemblance to a human, yet there were undeniable traits that confirmed it as a monster. Its light-purple curly hair scattered at the ends like mist, sparkling faintly. Its irises resembled liquid infused with pastel glitter, rippling gently while constantly shifting and blending colors in real time. In truth, its appearance was closer to that of a fairy than a terrifying creature.

The hem of the creature’s skirt moved gracefully like the bell of a jellyfish, with long, slender filaments cascading down in layered tendrils akin to jellyfish tentacles. With every movement, those filaments scattered like luminescent mist, swirling in the air as if dancing. From certain angles, even the texture seemed to change, radiating an ethereal glow as it transitioned softly between lavender, teal, and silver hues. Each fragment of fabric floated independently, untethered from gravity.

“I… I’m hungry.”

“…Hungry?”

The monster muttered something more, words too unclear to decipher. What did it mean? Was it implying, I’m hungry, so I’ll devour you all? Lowering its head, it mumbled again in an incomprehensible language before slowly lifting its face. Seen up close, the monster’s face, despite the vibrant colors surrounding it, was disarmingly ordinary—almost plain enough to be encountered on any city street. Its features were neat, slightly delicate even, but not so striking as to enchant on sight.

“I lost my candy…”

“…”

“Could you help me find it? If I eat all of it, I think I’ll finally feel full enough to sleep…”

“…”

No one attacked. No one moved. All waited in tense silence for instructions. The team leader furrowed his brow, appearing deep in thought, then cautiously attempted to communicate.

“What is this ‘candy’ you’re talking about?”

“Candy is… candy. Oh, like that one…”

The monster timidly pointed upward. A few people followed the gesture with their gaze. Far above, difficult to make out clearly due to distance, something glittered around the third floor of a modern high-rise building. It did not resemble candy; rather, it looked like a cluster of strange, shimmering mist condensed into an orb. Its glow scattered light in all directions, making its location discernible even from afar.

“That… thing…”

“What is that?”

The moment everyone’s eyes landed on it, a massive screen materialized above it in midair. Instantly, it began broadcasting someone’s memory.

[Mother, please don’t go…! Hic, sob… sob…]

[…Patient Kim Ok-soon, time of death confirmed at 18:23.]

The voice reverberated throughout the area, booming as though played in an open-air cinema.

“Wait—that’s Esper Choi Ihyeon’s mother, isn’t it?”

“No way…”

People whispered in shock.

“Esper Choi Ihyeon isn’t even here. He got injured… Did he encounter this monster somewhere else? What’s the trigger for this?”

“…Was only Esper Choi Ihyeon’s memory extracted like that? Is everyone else’s memory intact?”

When the short clip ended, it looped back to the beginning and repeated endlessly. Watching someone’s moment of losing their mother play on repeat was excruciating; everyone’s expressions twisted with discomfort.

“…Esper Choi Miae, can you retrieve that? Be careful not to touch it with bare hands.”

“Okay…”

Finally, the team leader, still eyeing the candy-craving monster with suspicion, gave the order. Esper Choi Miae obediently advanced toward the building. As expected of a battle-type esper with immense strength, she leapt powerfully and clung to the exterior wall, reaching for the orb of mist.

“Be careful!”

“Got it!”

Some remained focused on monitoring the monster, while others watched anxiously as Choi Miae climbed. Her gloved hand finally grasped the orb. Though it looked like it might dissolve at any second, surprisingly, it remained solid in her grasp.

“Got it!”

“Phew…”

A collective sigh of relief swept through the group. The instant the orb touched her hand, the massive screen vanished, and the echoing voice ceased as well. All that remained was the orb itself. As she descended carefully with it, the team leader frowned slightly and addressed the monster again.

“Do you… eat this? And if you do, what happens to Esper Choi Ihyeon?”

“…What should happen?”

“Would his memory disappear?”

“No, no, it won’t disappear. I only copy the most shocking moment of a person’s life and eat it… W-well, I did temporarily take the memory just now, but that’s just part of the copying process… Once I eat it, the memory will return to the person… S-sorry. But it’s tasty and sweet…”

The creature’s blissful tone made everyone grimace faintly.

“…”

It didn’t take long for Esper Choi Miae to return. As soon as she landed, the drooling monster reached eagerly for the orb, but Choi Miae quickly lifted it high, keeping it out of reach.

“Gimme, gimmeee…”

“Team leader, do we give this to it or not?”

“…”

The team leader hesitated, clearly debating whether the creature’s words were trustworthy. Before he could decide, another voice cut in.

“Give it.”

“…What?”

It was Baek Beomwoo. The team leader scowled at him.

“You’re saying this monster is telling the truth? Do you know something?”

“I don’t.”

“…”

Beomwoo’s reply was dismissive. Tilting his head slightly, he elaborated:

“If I remember correctly, Esper Choi Ihyeon has already suffered irreversible psychological damage. He’s not even able to leave with us right now.”

“…”

“In that case, isn’t it worth testing?”

Only then did Jaeha recall who Choi Ihyeon was—the esper who had clung to him after being attacked during the monster subjugation, right before he met Aiden. Jaeha let out a faint hum.

“In that case, no.”

The team leader’s decision came swiftly. Regardless of whether the team member was lost in confusion and unable to even recognize themselves, that memory held their last farewell with someone precious. To use it as an experiment was unacceptable.

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

“Then I guess there’s no choice.”

Baek Beomwoo turned toward Esper Choi Miae, who held the orb, and without warning, swung his leg. His solid kick struck her unguarded wrist with a sickening crack. The orb flew into the air.

“Ugh…!”

“Baek Beomwoo!”

Choi Miae cried out, clutching her fractured wrist. The misty orb, now airborne, was effortlessly caught by Baek Beomwoo, who promptly extended it toward the monster.

“Sorry, but I need to clear this gate as quickly as possible.”

“Baek Beomwoo!”

“Heheh… Thanks…”

The monster accepted it without hesitation. As soon as it brought the orb to its mouth, the mist dissolved, flowing into it like vapor. At the same time, threads similar to those that had risen from everyone’s heads earlier shot out and zipped rapidly toward the building where Esper Choi Ihyeon was confined.

“…”

“So the monster was telling the truth, huh.”

“Hehehe… Delicious.”

“Haa…”

Everyone stared at the blissfully smiling creature with mixed expressions. Judging by appearances, its claim—that it merely copied memories and returned them afterward—seemed plausible. Still, uncertainty lingered: Was this aiding their subjugation, or unwittingly assisting the monster?

“But hey, are you guys playing a game right now?”

“A… ‘game’?”

“That.”

The monster pointed skyward at the giant scoreboard. Several faces immediately twisted with visible irritation.

“…Is that what this is to you? A game?”

Naturally, to the humans who had already lost over thirty comrades, calling this slaughter a “game” was offensive beyond words. The team leader’s growling retort made the monster yelp in fright and curl into itself timidly.

“N-no… ◼◼◼ called it a game… Said they worked really hard on it… That they finally became the boss…”

“…Who? The boss?”

“◼◼◼…”

An unpronounceable name—something not of this world—spilled into the air, more like a piercing ringing in the ears than language, leaving their hearing numb.

“Anyway… if you help me find all the candy, my number up there will disappear. I-I’m the second strongest here after ◼◼◼… Um, yeah… I think I could wipe out around twenty monsters.”

Twenty monsters? Wipe them out? Was it saying it would attack the monster team itself? Everyone turned their gaze upward to confirm the scoreboard.

< Past Team: 27/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 26/101 >

Whatever that meant, if this monster truly eliminated “twenty,” their subjugation would accelerate tremendously. And assuming its claim of being second only to the boss was true, this creature was effectively a mini-boss.

“…Are you serious about that?”

“Yeah!”

“And why should we believe you?”

Not only the team leader but everyone looked doubtful. Amid the hushed murmurs, one esper spoke up loudly from the back.

“Team leader, let’s just take it down. The fact that it can’t even fetch the orbs itself and wants us to do it tells us everything we need to know.”

“Eek…! N-not orbs, candy…! I-it’s just, they taste sweeter when touched by humans…”

Frightened, the monster shrank further into itself. Its body turned seMitransparent, half-dissolving into mist—obviously impervious to normal physical attacks. Tricky and troublesome.

“…Fine.”

“Team leader? Are you really trusting it?”

“On one condition.”

The team leader lifted his head toward the scoreboard.

[ 2 days 6 hours 09 minutes 02 seconds ]

< Past Team: 27/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 26/101 >

“If you eliminate seven monsters by the time the timer hits 2 days 6 hours 00 minutes, we’ll believe you. If you’re second only to the boss, that should be nothing.”

“Really? Okay! Yay!”

The monster didn’t even wait to hear the rest and instantly vanished—dissolving into mist and dispersing in an instant. As soon as it disappeared, several espers protested to the team leader.

“Team leader! How can you trust a monster that easily—!”

“—Like I said earlier, saving time is our priority.”

The team leader’s tone was calm yet firm, his gaze fixed on where the monster had vanished.

“How are we supposed to find all these orbs? You know how vast this gate is!”

“Better than fighting that mini-boss head-on. We need to conserve strength for the real boss fight. If twenty monsters are gone, only five will remain besides the boss. We’ll gather orbs and subjugate simultaneously.”

“…”

The supposed mini-boss was clearly intelligent enough to communicate and cunning enough to be dangerous. Though it appeared docile now, who knew how it might behave if hostilities arose?

“And those thread-like things—since they were pulled from everyone, we’ll need to recover all of them anyway. Esper Choi Ihyeon’s memory is agonizing to watch, but it’s also the kind that must never be forgotten.”

“…”

The monster had claimed it was merely “copying” and that memories would return after consumption. Jaeha recalled its hesitant explanation with difficulty.

“Everyone, be ready.”

All eyes lifted to the sky.

[ 2 days 6 hours 05 minutes 54 seconds ]

< Past Team: 27/52 │ Future Team: 44/49 │ Monster Team: 22/101 >

“Let’s find those orbs fast, clear this gate, and get home.”