Chapter 7

“Hah—!” Lying on the cold steel floor, Imari gasped and sat up abruptly.

Dazed, she looked around her until her eyes landed on a corpse. It was a body withered and dried up like a mummy. The clothing worn by the corpse resembled the white coats typically donned by the Foundation’s researchers.

Carefully examining the body, Imari muttered, “The Sector 3 Research Director…?” The owner of the corpse was a fellow research director—specifically, the director of Sector 3, where the anomaly named 【The Singing Grimoire】 was housed.

Why? Why on earth was the Sector 3 Research Director’s corpse lying around in this horrific state inside the containment cell? And more importantly, Han Seong-jun— “Where did he go?” Imari whispered, her voice trembling.

Facing a corpse didn’t frighten her. She had seen countless dead bodies of people who had died in far more gruesome conditions. What truly confused her wasn’t the corpse, but her own memories.

Although her memories were a jumbled, chaotic mess, she could still recall a few prominent fragments. For instance, the vast ocean she had stepped into for a moment. Or the entity that had risen from the abyssal depths…

“Wait, what was that again?” Imari tilted her head instinctively. She clearly remembered seeing ■■. Yet, the harder she tried to recall it, the more her memories seemed shrouded in thick fog, preventing her from remembering anything clearly. This only added to her already chaotic state of mind.

Struggling to calm the turmoil within her, Imari soon arrived at a single thought.Could all of this be… “Han Seong-jun. No, was it the work of 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】?”

Had she already been charmed by that anomaly, saddled with false memories? Now that she thought about it, she was currently inside the containment cell of 【The Singing Grimoire】. Why on earth was she here? Why was the Sector 3 Research Director’s corpse sprawled in the corner? And where had 【The Singing Grimoire】, which should have been secured inside this very cell, disappeared to?

Could it be…? The moment an ominous thought sent a shiver down her spine— Bang—! The door to the containment cell was flung open violently, and a group rushed inside. It was Suppression Team 3. Imari stared blankly at them as they swarmed in, fully armed with various firearms and protective gear.

Sector 3’s Suppression Team—deployed belatedly upon realizing there was a problem with 【The Singing Grimoire】—could not hide their utter bewilderment. Instead of the anomaly, they found the Sector 5 Research Director staring blankly at them, alongside the mummified corpse of the Sector 3 Research Director strewn across the corner of the cell.

However, they quickly reined in their confusion and got to work. They investigated whether any lingering anomalous influence remained and scurried around to figure out where 【The Singing Grimoire】 had vanished.

As the sole survivor found inside the cell where the grimoire had been kept, Imari sat in a stark white room, explaining the events up to that point to the man behind the reinforced glass.

She knew this man well. His name was Jin Taeseok. Regarded as the finest intellect in the Korean Foundation, he was the Director of the Central Research Institute. Having devoted his entire life to researching anomalies, Taeseok had built a legendary career formulating containment procedures for five Danger Level 1 anomalies, twelve Danger Level 2 anomalies, and dozens of Level 3 to Level 5 anomalies.

Though they were both research directors, under normal circumstances he was someone so far out of her league that she wouldn’t even dare greet him, let alone cross paths with him. Though separated by a wall of reinforced glass, Imari couldn’t help a fleeting sense of awe at being able to face Jin Taeseok directly.

However, that joy was short-lived.Why am I here?Why is Jin Taeseok carving time out of his busy schedule to converse with me? Belatedly, the grim realization hit her.

[So, to sum it up,] Taeseok’s voice flowed from a speaker mounted in the corner of Imari’s white room. [Are you saying you established some form of cooperative relationship with the Sector 5 anomaly, 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】?] “Yes,” Imari replied. [Hmm—. That’s strange.] “What’s strange about it?” Imari shot back, her tone sharp.

There was nothing particularly absurd about her explanation. She had met 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】 and formed an alliance; she had followed him to Sector 3; she had arrived at the ocean alongside him. And when it was all over, she had woken up inside 【The Singing Grimoire】’s containment cell alongside the corpse of the Sector 3 Research Director.

Surely, a simple review of the CCTV footage would prove that everything she said was the truth. Given the Foundation’s nature, CCTV cameras were installed everywhere, leaving no blind spots.

Yet, looking through the reinforced glass, Jin Taeseok wore an expression of undisguised skepticism. It was the look and gaze one directed at a person harboring wild, delusional fantasies.

After a long, heavy silence wasted in meaningless time, Taeseok let out a sigh and said, [First of all, let me ask: Han Seong-jun, was it? The name of the human skin worn by 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】?] “Yes.” [Regrettably, no entity you call ‘Han Seong-jun’ was ever captured on the CCTV footage.] “What does that mean?!” Imari cried out in shock.

Han Seong-jun wasn’t captured on CCTV? No, wait. It was possible. Perhaps 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】 simply willed it so, preventing itself from being recorded. But— “There are researchers who saw me go to Sector 3 with Han Seong-jun… with 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】!”

Yes. Even if the cameras missed him, numerous people had witnessed her and Seong-jun heading toward Sector 3. All they had to do was ask them— [We have already finished questioning every single researcher and agent who crossed paths with the Sector 5 Research Director. However, not a single one of them remembers any human named ‘Han Seong-jun’ whom you keep mentioning.] “What…?”

Taeseok’s words caused Imari’s pupils to tremble violently. Not captured on CCTV? And out of all the people along the path from Sector 5 to Sector 3, no one remembered Han Seong-jun? It was impossible. It shouldn’t have been possible. And yet— “It’s… true.”

The unwavering stillness in Jin Taeseok’s eyes, the tone of his voice through the speaker—everything made Imari realize that what he was saying on the other side of the glass was the absolute truth. She dragged a hand down her face and muttered, “Ha—, seriously.”

It felt as though she had been cursed by a ghost. Were all these events nothing more than a delusion? Were all the conversations she had experienced and shared just a figment of her imagination—! “Ah—.” Imari let out a low gasp. Come to think of life, there was one thing. CCTV footage featuring Han Seong-jun did exist. Remembering this belatedly, Imari blurted out, “A few days ago, an incident occurred in the Sector 5 administrative building that I oversee!” [I am aware. A Level 5 agent failed to follow containment protocols, causing 【The Blood-Drinking Beheading Sword】 to go on a rampage, did they not?] “Yes. And the recording of that situation clearly shows Han Seong-jun!”

Taeseok’s brow furrowed at her words. At the same time, Imari had the distinct impression that Jin Taeseok, sitting beyond the glass, was looking at her as if to say, Are we still on about this?

Despite that look, Imari was certain. That footage would prove her claims and explain Han Seong-jun to them. However— [I have reviewed that footage myself. But—] But…? As Taeseok paused to catch his breath, anxiety welled up in Imari’s eyes. [What is captured in that footage is merely 【The Blood-Drinking Beheading Sword】 running amok on its own before returning to its original containment cell.] “No way—!” Imari shouted involuntarily.

The Blood-Drinking Beheading Sword had gone wild and returned to its cell on its own? What kind of absolute nonsense was that! Hadn’t the higher-ups of the Foundation all verified the presence of Han Seong-jun in that very footage? That was why they had given her that damn order to research whether 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】 could be used to control other anomalies!

[Admittedly, that footage is an exceptional case. For a rampaging anomaly to return to its cell on its own due to a protocol failure—it is unusual. However, of this I can be certain:] There was no anomaly in human form named ‘Han Seong-jun’ present in that footage. There was no such thing as 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】. Furthermore— [The Foundation has issued no such orders concerning 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】.]

“Ha, haha—.” Imari let out a hollow laugh. There was nothing else she could do. It felt as though she were being swallowed alive by a deep, dark quagmire. If this was true, then who on earth was Han Seong-jun—the entity she had seen, felt, and conversed with this entire time? Were all those experiences truly nothing more than a mid-day delusion? Or— Has my mind been contaminated?

The moment that chilling thought crossed her mind, Taeseok continued: [Furthermore, upon reviewing the footage, you spent a suspicious amount of time standing directly in front of the containment cell of 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】.]

Taeseok said no more. But Imari understood exactly what he meant. No matter how minor her influence within the Foundation—effectively running a backwater post like Sector 5—she was still a Research Director. She didn’t need it spelled out for her to grasp the subtext. In short, Jin Taeseok was telling her:Your mind has already been contaminated by 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】.Therefore, we will place you under containment in accordance with protocol.

The door to the white room swung open, and agents swarmed in. Imari didn’t resist even once as the agents restrained her and dragged her away. In truth, she no longer had the will to fight back. She could no longer distinguish what was real from what was false.

If that was the case, perhaps it was better to be locked away in a Foundation containment cell. If her mind truly was contaminated, the consequences could unleash a horrific catastrophe.

Meanwhile, having revised the part of the story where he appeared within the narrative of the ‘Foundation’— Rustle—. Rustle—. Han Seong-jun sat in his rocking chair as always, quietly and silently reading his story amid the profound stillness.