Chapter 156. A Horrible Obsession
“...What the hell...?”
I had been enjoying myself after meeting Flying Fish when an emergency message suddenly came directly through my device, forcing me to log out into reality.
Normally, that function was only used when Aien nagged me to come out and eat.
But for some reason, this time it had activated for someone other than Aien.
[Emergency! -Lee Chang-]
“Chang?”
I frowned.
“What is this?”
I was confused.
But unease quickly spread through my chest.
That bastard would never send me a message like this....
He said he had an outside schedule, right?
Knowing him, he had probably gone off to fight the Chairman’s people.
Did something serious happen?
‘...But why is he sending this to me?’
Chang had learned Annihilation inside the game and had been delighted when he discovered he could use it in reality too.
He had been so excited, saying he would show me how much stronger and different he had become.
Had he gotten himself into something he couldn’t handle?
“...Tsk.”
I really didn’t want to get dragged into these people’s nonsense.
Not long ago, Dorfin suddenly attacked the Chairman too.
Everything they did was way too flashy.
If I was going to become enemies with the Chairman anyway, maybe it would be better to join hands with these people too....
But honestly, they were really not my type.
...
Still.
Should I go?
“...No choice.”
I roughly got dressed and left the house.
The message only said Emergency, so I had to figure out for myself where, what, and how everything had gone wrong.
Usually, the places where these guys caused trouble had...
How should I put it?
A strange flow of energy?
Something like that.
So finding them wasn’t particularly difficult.
Not difficult....
Not difficult, huh....
I really had become a proper member of the fantasy world now.
Hahaha.
If possible, I would’ve preferred to be an overpowered protagonist.
“Before I go....”
I checked my fingers and chains.
Then I made sure Modak was awake.
Thanks to the summoned old man, playing the game had become much easier lately.
Both these black arms and my chains had considerable attack power now, so fighting had become much more enjoyable.
...
It just didn’t stand out because, for some bizarre reason, only ridiculously strong enemies kept appearing in front of me.
“Want me to carry you?”
“It’s daytime.”
“There’s no need to hide my face.”
My black claws popped out when I applied strength, like a cat extending its claws.
The chains still gave me a strange feeling whenever I summoned them.
And fluffy Modak was here too.
Everything checked.
Preparations complete.
I quickly ran in the direction where I suspected Chang would be.
“...What if I run into Dorfin?”
“It’d be really awkward if I met her right now.”
“That lady doesn’t seem like the type to care about that.”
“Yeah. That’s why I’d be the awkward one.”
As for fighting...
I wasn’t too worried.
Dorfin herself had practically stamped me with a—
Most people probably can’t beat him.
Seal of approval.
But the thought that I might run into a different Dorfin there...
That was chilling.
Since the incident back then, we hadn’t had any meaningful contact.
So all those complicated feelings from that day had never really been resolved.
They were just sitting there.
“Do you think the Dorfin in the game will eventually become like that too?”
“They say a person’s environment matters.”
“There’s no way she’ll become exactly the same.”
I leaped from roof to roof like a character in a comic and arrived at the destination in no time.
It was...
A complete disaster.
The smell of gunpowder.
Burning.
And thick clouds of dust like something you’d smell near a construction site.
Honestly...
In reality, I didn’t want to be in a place like this.
I still hated pain.
“But... if I just stay home, I’ll worry about Chang....”
“That idiot Chang should’ve just stayed quietly inside the game!”
“Exactly!”
Whoosh!
BOOM!
I tried landing at the scene like a superhero.
...
This pose was much worse for the knees than I expected.
I brushed the dirt from my knees and stood up.
I might have looked relaxed...
But my heart was pounding right now.
I prepared myself to redirect any attack that came toward me and slowly looked around.
Whoosh!
A man suddenly jumped out of the darkness.
He was holding a strangely curved weapon.
I could clearly see the flow of his attack, so dodging was easy.
Still...
I hadn’t expected to be attacked the instant I arrived.
“Well, look who decided to show up!”
“Why am I so famous?”
THUD!
I drove my knee into the stomach of the man who kept charging at me.
Once he went quiet, I continued toward the noisier area deeper inside.
“....”
“Hey.”
I glanced at Modak.
“Control your drool.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no! I am!”
Modak grinned.
“Hehe. But next time, can I do it?”
“You’re planning to gobble someone up and pretend it was an accident, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely not.”
He had already secretly taken several bites during the previous operation against the Chairman.
Did he seriously think I would trust him?
I lightly flicked Modak on the forehead and kept walking.
If I didn’t make things clear here, he might secretly turn somebody into firewood again.
I needed to keep an eye on him.
“...Good grief.”
“What a mess.”
Inside the building...
The metallic smell that had drifted all the way outside became overwhelming.
People were lying everywhere, wounded and collapsed.
It was so gruesome that I found myself wondering whether a place like this should even exist in the reality I lived in.
This had already been happening for months.
If it had started when the game launched, then nearly a year.
And if it had begun before then....
How many years had things like this been happening without anyone knowing?
...
Would any of this have happened if Dorfin and Jin had never opposed the Chairman?
“Make sure you properly distinguish friend from foe, brat.”
“...Ah, you startled me.”
“You don’t look very startled.”
Jin was crouched on the railing above, looking down at me.
It was my first time seeing him in reality.
He looked exactly the same.
Did this Jin also think of me differently, like the Dorfin in reality did?
Maybe he disliked me because I had beaten up his disciple.
That blond delinquent bastard.
“What’s going on here?”
“...Brat.”
Jin jumped down lightly.
Tap.
Then he slowly approached me.
Hmm.
As expected.
Jin was small, but his presence was no joke.
I wished he would show me a little consideration like Dorfin did.
“Let us make one thing clear.”
“Do you intend to help us?”
“No?”
I answered immediately.
Why the hell would I help the group that included Dorfin, who wanted to pickle me in alcohol and eat me?
Did I look like that much of a pushover?
“I’m not here to help your kids, Jin.”
“I came to help my kid.”
“Your kid?”
Jin tilted his head.
“Where is one of your people here?”
“Chang.”
“We’ve been together for quite a while.”
“It’d feel wrong to pretend I don’t know him.”
BOOM!!
Maybe the universe disliked the fact that only the two of us were standing quietly in the middle of all this noise.
An explosion erupted nearby, sending fragments flying everywhere.
For a moment, I thought I saw Chang through the debris and dust.
He looked fine for now.
I’d leave him alone for the moment.
“Damn.”
The Jin in reality didn’t know me.
So I had no reason to protect him.
Not that he needed protection anyway.
But instinctively...
I moved in front of him and shielded him from the fragments exploding toward us.
I had literally just coldly declared that I was only here to help Chang.
Now my actions completely contradicted my words.
...
Awkward.
Jin looked up at my embarrassed expression and smirked.
“If you do this, do I also become one of those ‘my kids’ you were talking about?”
“Don’t joke around.”
“I will accept the kindness graciously.”
I brushed the debris from my clothes and walked toward the explosion.
I kept Modak right beside me so I could fight immediately.
Then I extended my claws.
As I drew out my power, the black chain tattoos spread farther up my arms.
The sensation made my spirits rise.
And the instant I finished preparing—
Something flew straight at me!
Without a sound!
THUD!
“Ugh!”
I managed to knock it aside.
But the heavy impact made the hand I blocked it with ache.
The last time we attacked the Chairman, there hadn’t been a single person here capable of doing this much damage to me.
Did he really use me to clear out the weak ones and replace them?
“What a shame.”
“...I recognize that voice.”
I shook out my tingling hand.
From within the dust, an unfamiliar-yet-familiar voice approached along with heavy thudding sounds.
But something about the way it spoke was different.
WHOOSH!
I blew the dust away.
Since another attack could come at any moment, I had already fused with Modak and was about to charge forward—
Then I froze.
“What the hell...?”
“Secretary Lee?”
“Such a... shame....”
Secretary Lee lay weakly on top of a vehicle fitted with multiple sharp, white spider-like legs.
She lazily waved a thin wand in one hand.
I was confused.
Very confused.
Why?
Out of nowhere?
Was there some foreshadowing I had completely missed?
“I had intended to bring you and Secretary Lee together.”
“Slowly.”
“As slowly as possible.”
“...What?”
No way....
Was the Chairman inside her?
Seriously?
All of a sudden?
Why?
Why the hell?
“This child, like you, accepted that world and remained sane.”
“I thought the two of you would make quite a suitable pair.”
