Chapter 36: Damseol Pavilion
Was this stage set up just so they could see with their own eyes who the one person was that had dealt with a ghost by their own power.
One question had been answered, but another quickly surged up.
‘Why is the Witch of the Electrosphere interested in ghosts?’
As far as Diesel knew, there was a considerable gap in time between the incident where ghosts appeared in the real world and the discovery of the Electrosphere.
That meant the witch born as a thought-form had not experienced the ghost incident firsthand.
‘And yet, the reason she’s investigating ghosts is…….’
It could simply be idle curiosity.
But if this witch also knew about the impending destruction drawing near.
‘Then…….’
There was only one thing that mattered.
Enemy, or ally.
Soon, the witch continued with her question.
“If the world were to be destroyed.”
And that resolved the curiosity that had just arisen.
“Would you step forward to stop it?”
The witch asked as she gazed steadily at Diesel.
“Even if the price were your life.”
A question that was perhaps an answer at the same time.
“…….”
A certain expression crossed the witch’s face, which was identical to his younger sister’s.
Just once.
In his life, Diesel had seen his younger sister make that expression exactly once.
‘So that’s how it is.’
Diesel answered the answer itself.
“I don’t want to.”
“…….”
“I won’t save it.”
At that response, the lake began to churn again.
“You…….”
The movement of the water’s surface was far more violent than before.
This time, bubbles were rising as if the water were boiling.
Then, for the first time, the witch showed a faint smile.
“You broke the rules.”
“Does it matter?”
“Ha……!”
Along with laughter bursting from the witch.
A carp the size of a dump truck leapt out of the lake.
At a glance, it was ICE of an overwhelming grade.
The carp-shaped thing gaped its enormous mouth, trying to swallow Diesel.
If he were caught in those jaws, just as the witch said, he would be sunk to the depths of the lake.
But.
“Just like they say, you can’t fool blood.”
Before that could happen, the witch moved.
“You look exactly like that woman.”
She plunged her hand deep into the matrix space and pulled something out.
“Especially that unpleasantly overbearing arrogance of yours.”
“…….”
What the witch held in her hand was an elegant, sword-shaped Ice Breaker.
The movement was so fast and concise that he almost failed to register what had happened.
‘She made it herself on the spot.’
The witch swung the sword toward the carp charging at Diesel.
Then the high-grade ICE, which even top-tier hackers would struggle against, was split apart with absurd ease.
“Looks like I’ve taken a liking to you.”
“Who knows.”
The carp, split in half by the witch’s attack, slammed into a pavilion pillar with a bang! and then plunged back into the lake.
With a splash, lake water mixed with the carp’s blood sprayed in all directions.
“Didn’t you say earlier you were strict about the rules?”
“I did.”
“Then is it really okay to dismantle ICE so recklessly?”
“No. It’s not.”
Suddenly, another violent disturbance erupted.
This time, not just the lake, but the entire matrix space.
“This is the price.”
Everything around them collapsed and crumbled away.
Judging by the witch’s reaction, it seemed to be a powerful law that not even the designer could stop.
‘Is this the final security measure.’
To think that the matrix itself was designed to collapse if ICE were damaged.
For a hacker, it was the worst possible ending.
If buried within the matrix, the mind would fall into a state where it could never return to the body.
“It’s a shame, but we’ll have to end today’s Damseol here.”
“…….”
“We’ll meet again.”
His vision blurred amid the torrents of pouring data.
Diesel, among the remnants of that Electrosphere,
caught the final word the witch spat out.
“Seed.”
“—! —zel! Diesel! You bastard……! Are you okay?”
When Diesel opened his eyes, he saw the high ceiling of the server room.
Seeing that, Nachal burst into laughter.
“Haha! He’s awake. Seriel! This bastard’s awake!”
Diesel lifted his upper body, still aching, and looked around.
Seriel, the angel who had been praying to the sky, looked toward Diesel and murmured.
“You’re awake.”
She said as she scanned Diesel’s body while treating him.
“You…… what on earth happened to you? Kaztikan too, and those marks on your body…….”
She seemed to have read the aftermath of miracles while examining Diesel’s body.
But when no answer came back, Raksha shook his head and said.
“We’ll talk about that later, so hurry up and heal him properly! The other angel bitches fixed people up in no time—why are you so damn slow?”
“I’m from the Order of Steel, you ignorant fool. We’re not a healing-specialist order.”
“Steel or wood or desert, whatever. Just hurry it up.”
Nachal waited a bit for Diesel to recover, then asked.
“Think you can walk, at least?”
“Yeah.”
Diesel rose from his seat, and Seriel stopped the hand that had been healing him.
“We failed to capture the Witch of the Electrosphere.”
“That kind of thing doesn’t matter anymore!”
Raksha followed Diesel, letting out an “ugh,” as he pushed himself upright.
“What matters is that we’re alive, right? Let’s just get out of here first.”
At Nachal’s words, the angel nodded.
“Yes. We need to leave before the Electrosphere is restored.”
As Diesel exited the server room, he glanced sideways at the server that had housed the witch.
‘A thought-form left behind by the Archmage…….’
Just walking through the Electrosphere had left behind such tremendous traces.
What in the world had Lee Hayun been doing.
‘And the last word the witch said to me…….’
Seed.
He didn’t know what it was.
But it was certain that he had uncovered an extremely important keyword.
Seoul Sector 1.
A gukbap restaurant in an alley next to a shopping district that had once been called ‘Paradise’.
Diesel entered the empty shop and sat down.
[It has already been a full week since Podvig’s lighthouse located on the moon was attacked. And yet, the culprit behind the incident still hasn’t been identified.]
On the old television mounted to the wall, someone who looked like an expert was offering their opinion on the incident that had occurred at the Moon Base.
[If it were an attack by another corporation, there would have been a formal declaration of war, so that’s unlikely. And if it were the work of a terrorist organization, they would have released a statement claiming responsibility, but that’s not the case either. Therefore, this can only be seen as the work of the Witch of the Electrosphere.]
‘Hmm…….’
Finding the topic interesting, Diesel glanced up at the television.
On the screen, an orangutan beastman professor adjusted his glasses.
Beside him, a handsome elf anchor gestured with his hands as he posed a question.
[But Professor, if this was truly the work of the Witch of the Electrosphere, wouldn’t she have left behind some kind of trace? Like the terror incidents that were previously revealed to be her doing.]
[I believe that Podvig is hiding that very part.]
[Hiding it? This is a witch with a track record of terrorizing even the headquarters of the Gale Consortium. Do you really think it’s possible for Podvig to hide something from such a witch?]
[It’s not impossible. The site of the terror was the moon, a closed environment to begin with, and at the time, the connection to the Electrosphere was completely severed, making it an ideal situation for controlling information.]
[Then what do you ultimately believe the conclusion to be, Professor?]
[When you take into account everything—the date of the terror, the target, the environment—my claim fits perfectly: that the witch caused this incident in order to issue orders to devil worshippers. I even predicted a situation like this in my book published last month, and if I were to quote just one sentence from it…….]
‘Why the hell does the conclusion jump to that?’
After that, Diesel completely lost interest in the television.
An obvious book advertisement followed.
Just then, the bell on the shop door jingled as it opened.
“What, you were already here?”
Raksha, wearing a loose hoodie, strode over and sat down next to Diesel.
Perhaps the aftereffects of the previous battle still lingered, as the black aura surrounding Nachal lacked the sharpness it once had.
Soon after, the bell jingled once more.
This time, an angel with ash-gray wings entered the shop.
“Hurry it up a little, you angel bitch.”
“What? You literally just got here yourself—seriously, this is ridiculous.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“I saw everything from behind, you evil spirit bitch.”
As Seriel spat harsh words and sat down next to Diesel, Raksha grumbled.
“You’re covering them with cloth, so why are your eyes still that good.”
“Is everyone here? Good.”
Lastly, the Little Sister’s voice came from inside the shop.
Wearing rubber gloves on her hands, she appeared from the kitchen.
“What’ll you have?”
Diesel was the first to answer Sis’s question.
“Gukbap.”
Then the angel glanced at the menu board hanging on the wall and said,
“I’ll have the vegan salad.”
“Tsk, what kind of salad do you order at a gukbap joint.”
At Raksha’s scolding, Seriel raised a finger and pointed at the menu board.
There, the words 「Vegan Salad, Celestial Topping」 caught the eye.
“What kind of insane menu is that?”
“What about you, Raksha?”
When Sis asked, Nachal hesitated briefly before choosing.
“I’ll have the same.”
“Gukbap?”
“No……. Salad.”
“……?”
When the angel looked at Nachal at that answer, Raksha snapped irritably.
“What? I eat vegetarian too, you know?”
“Bullshit.”
“At least I’m trying.”
Ignoring Raksha’s reply, Seriel asked,
“Diesel, are you feeling any better?”
“Thanks to you.”
“That’s a relief. How was the clinic I told you about?”
“It was fine. Aside from them constantly trying to proselytize me.”
“That’s how the Wood Order kids are. Their faith runs deep. Still, they’re not bad people.”
“Yeah. They fit the angel image perfectly.”
“Unlike someone else, you mean?”
At Diesel’s words, Raksha snickered.
Before long, Sis came over carrying an armful of dishes and set them down on the table.
“Here you go! One gukbap, two salads, as ordered.”
“Oh……. That was faster than I expected.”
“I prepared them in advance. Let me know if you need more cubed radish kimchi or kimchi.”
“Aren’t you eating, Sis?”
“I already ate earlier.”
Once the Little Sister sat at the table as well, the Ghostcatchers began their meal.
“Mmm, as expected, Sis is great at cooking.”
“Thank you, Seriel.”
A stretch of silence passed as they focused on eating.
During that time, Sis looked up at the television mounted on the wall.
[It is certain. Soon, unmistakable signs of irreversible destruction will appear. If we do not prepare for it, the world will once again head entirely toward the path of annihilation…….]
“Isn’t it ridiculous? That beastman professor. His book-selling tactics are way too obvious.”
“Destruction, annihilation……. If you believed doomsayers, the world would’ve already ended hundreds of times over.”
Seriel said as she put a crisp piece of lettuce into her mouth.
‘It’s not entirely wrong. It’s something that will happen someday.’
The end was definitely approaching this world.
Even if the picture was a little different from what that orangutan professor was talking about.
“Hey, Diesel.”
Suddenly, Raksha stared intently at the gukbap Diesel was eating and asked,
“What.”
“Let me have just a bit.”
“Didn’t you say you were vegetarian?”
“No, it’s just that…….”
“I can give you some, but this is beef gukbap.”
“What? Beef?”
“Yeah. That’s beef.”
When Sis confirmed it from the side, Raksha grimaced.
“Why the hell do people eat cows anyway? You barbarians.”
“You’ve eaten humans yourself.”
“Are humans and cows the same thing?”
At Seriel’s remark, Nachal snorted and dumped the rest of his salad into his mouth.
“Anyway. Let’s get to the main point now.”
Raksha chewed on a piece of leafy greens with a grin and looked at Diesel.
“What exactly happened that day?”