STG 18

Chapter 18

Early dawn.

Even for the Foundation, which operated around the clock regardless of day or night, this was the hour when most people had fallen into a deep sleep.

The door to the containment cell of 【The Story-Devouring Grimoire】 unlocked, and Han Seong-jun stepped out.

Rustle, rustle.

Moving with each step accompanied by a sound like the turning of a book’s pages, Han Seong-jun walked at a leisurely pace.

Leaving Sector 5, where his containment cell was located, Han Seong-jun headed toward Sector 4.

Along the way, he crossed paths with several Foundation researchers and agents, but not a single one of them attempted to stop him.

Han Seong-jun had already woven a slight revision into the Foundation’s narrative.

To the researchers, agents, and staff members he encountered in the corridors, Han Seong-jun was already no different from a fellow researcher, agent, or employee belonging to the same Foundation.

Arriving at Sector 4 without a single obstruction, Han Seong-jun smiled faintly.

“Collecting a new story is always such a thrilling affair.”

A faint smile graced his lips at the thought of harvesting the stories of the anomalies contained within Sector 4.

To Han Seong-jun, anomalies were endlessly fascinating entities.

With no duplicates to be found, if there were ten anomalies, he could harvest ten entirely new stories.

That did not mean Han Seong-jun went around collecting stories recklessly.

Doing something like that risked triggering unintended chaos that could damage other stories.

Therefore, the accurate way to describe it was that he harvested a story while leaving behind a copy that was indistinguishable from the original in every single way.

This was the Foundation.

An organization that captured, collected, contained, and researched countless anomalies.

Despite appearing somewhat lax in their management at a glance, digging into the reality revealed that they managed anomalies through security and procedures that bordered on sheer madness.

Han Seong-jun knew all too well that the moment even a single anomaly vanished amidst that ironclad management, a considerable amount of troublesome paperwork and fallout would ensue.

Cleaning up the aftermath of such an event versus simply leaving a copy behind—

It was abundantly clear which of the two was less bothersome.

And so, Han Seong-jun moved about disguised as a researcher of Research Institute No. 4, which Sector 4 belonged to.

Passing by staff members wandering the administrative sector despite the late hour, or agents rushing to execute specific time-sensitive containment procedures for certain anomalies, he walked for a short while before stopping in front of a heavily bolted iron door.

As if refusing to allow even the tiniest microscopic crack.

Though it took the shape of a door, it was a heavy iron door far removed from the ordinary function of a doorway; inscribed upon its surface was the name of what was contained beyond.

What was locked away behind the door that was a door, yet not a door, was—

“【The Bodiless Hound】.”

Han Seong-jun murmured the name of the anomaly contained beyond the iron door.

Beneath the name, a brief description of the anomaly was appended, which could be summarized as follows:

True to its name, this anomaly behind the iron door possessed no physical body.

It was merely a shimmering shadow taking the form of a hound.

The containment procedure was simple as well.

All one had to do was flood the interior of the containment cell with bright light so that no other shadows could form.

Then, 【The Bodiless Hound】 would settle into the center of the brightly lit room, as if falling into a dormant state, showing absolutely no reaction whatsoever.

However, the moment even the tiniest shadow was cast, 【The Bodiless Hound】 would ride along that shadow and slip out of the containment cell. Hence, as a precaution against contingencies, the door to its cell was sealed tight without a single microscopic gap.

All to fundamentally blockade anyone from accidentally entering and casting a shadow.

However, such matters were entirely irrelevant to Han Seong-jun.

Han Seong-jun had simply developed a desire to collect the story of 【The Bodiless Hound】.

And therefore, not an ounce of hesitation existed in his intent to step inside the containment cell where 【The Bodiless Hound】 was locked away.

That is, unless someone had chosen to interrupt him.

“What do you think you’re doing there?”

At the voice echoing from behind him, Han Seong-jun, who was about to slip past the sealed iron door into the cell, paused.

Slowly turning his head, Han Seong-jun looked back in the direction from which the voice had called out.

Reflected in Han Seong-jun’s eyes was—

“Jin Tae-seok, the Director of the Central Research Institute.”

It was a name that existed within Han Seong-jun’s memory.

It was a name frequently mentioned not only in pre-existing stories, but also in newly appended ones.

The greatest brain in the South Korean Foundation, unmatched by anyone else.

The man who had reportedly figured out the containment procedures for five Level 1 anomalies, twelve Level 2 anomalies, and dozens more ranging from Level 3 to Level 5.

Jin Tae-seok was a figure often hailed as a genius incomparable to anyone else, not just within the Korean Foundation, but across the entire world.

Now, that very Jin Tae-seok looked at Han Seong-jun with heavily sunken, unreadable eyes and asked again:

“I asked what you think you’re doing there.”

….

To Jin Tae-seok’s question, Han Seong-jun simply remained silent.

There was no real need to answer a question like ‘What are you doing?’

Understandably so, because Jin Tae-seok before his eyes had already seen straight through the fact that Han Seong-jun was neither a researcher nor an employee—let alone an agent—belonging to the South Korean Foundation.

‘Fascinating.’

Observing Jin Tae-seok looking back at him, Han Seong-jun thought to himself.

From head to toe.

Jin Tae-seok was undoubtedly human through and through.

With a single exception.

Except for his right eye.

On the surface, it looked no different from an ordinary human eye, but its true nature was clearly visible to Han Seong-jun.

That thing was an anomaly.

And not a pseudo-anomaly or an item forged by utilizing an anomaly, but a 100% pure anomaly in its own right.

If there was anything special about it, perhaps it was that this anomaly had taken root deep within Jin Tae-seok’s soul and thoroughly intermingled with it long ago.

Thanks to that ‘eye,’ Jin Tae-seok had likely realized that he was neither a researcher, an employee, nor an agent.

However—

‘He didn’t manage to pierce straight through my true identity, though.’

Jin Tae-seok had merely used the power of his eye to deduce that Han Seong-jun was not an ordinary person.

He hadn’t even realized the fact that he was an anomaly.

He had simply noticed that Han Seong-jun was not a person belonging to the Foundation.

That must be why he was casually striking up a conversation like this.

Meanwhile, Jin Tae-seok furrowed his brow slightly at Han Seong-jun, who persisted in maintaining absolute silence despite his question.

“What is your affiliation, rank, and name?”

….

To the repeated question, Han Seong-jun still offered only silence.

“I’ll ask one last time. State your affiliation, rank, and name.”

As Jin Tae-seok spoke once more, his right hand crept subtly behind his back.

Was he calling the security team?

Or was he reaching for a separate suppression tool he kept on hand?

Well, whatever it might be—

“It sounds like it holds a rather interesting story.”

Han Seong-jun said, staring intently into Jin Tae-seok’s right eye.

He was curious.

That right eye.

What kind of story was harbored within that entity, which had already taken root inside the soul of a human named Jin Tae-seok and blended completely with it?

He wanted to collect it. He wanted to possess it.

Would it be fine to create a copy after collecting the eye’s story?

No, that was impossible.

At least for his ‘present’ self, he could not harvest the story of an anomaly that had already taken root and blended into a human soul without causing issues.

He could harvest it if he forced the issue, but if he did, Jin Tae-seok’s human story would be collected all jumbled up with it, rendering the resulting story unreadable.

To Han Seong-jun, that was a source of profound disappointment.

Perhaps catching a glimpse of Han Seong-jun’s madness-driven urge for collection—

Jin Tae-seok flinched, took a step back, and said:

“As I thought… you don’t belong to the Foundation.”

Along with those words, a small taser suddenly appeared in Jin Tae-seok’s right hand.

In Jin Tae-seok’s eyes, as he drew the taser, unhideable confusion flickered.

Just as an uncomfortable standoff began to form—with Jin Tae-seok remaining on guard against Han Seong-jun, and Han Seong-jun displaying raw interest and an overwhelming desire to collect directed at Jin Tae-seok—

Tadadat—!

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed faintly from far down the hall.

Had Jin Tae-seok called the Foundation’s security team before drawing his taser?

Or had an employee monitoring through CCTV cameras contacted security?

There was no need to figure out that far.

He had neither the desire nor the slightest bit of interest in knowing.

Han Seong-jun simply—

“How regrettable.”

Leaving behind a deep sense of regret over his inability to collect Jin Tae-seok’s right eye—not a mere item, but a pure, unadulterated anomaly in its own right—Han Seong-jun raised his hand.

In an instant, an antique book was gripped in Han Seong-jun’s right hand.

The moment that book opened—

Flap-flap—!

The pages of the book flipped wildly, as if driven by a violent wind.

Simultaneously, tens and hundreds of pages erupted from beneath Han Seong-jun’s feet like scattering confetti, swirling violently around him as their center.

Han Seong-jun’s figure gradually vanished behind the whirlwind of countless fluttering pages.

Startled by the sight, which looked as though he were escaping using some unknown item or anomaly, Jin Tae-seok hastily raised his taser and fired at Han Seong-jun—but it was useless.

Han Seong-jun, who had been standing behind the swirling tempest of hundreds of pages, was already long gone.

The two electrode needles shot from the taser in Jin Tae-seok’s hand futilely sliced through empty air and clattered uselessly onto the floor.

Simultaneously, the security team arrived.

Armed with various tactical gear such as suppression batons, handguns, and rifles, they reached the reported location only to panic at the sight of Jin Tae-seok standing there all alone.

“Director, are you alright?” “Where is the intruder…?” “Hey! Just where on earth is the intruder supposed to be?!”

Some worried about Jin Tae-seok. Some questioned the current situation. Others asked where the intruder was through their radios.

Amidst the security team’s diverse actions and reactions, Jin Tae-seok gave not a single shred of attention.

Instead—

“Just what was that…?”

He merely stared blankly at the spot where Han Seong-jun—who had now vanished—had been standing until just moments ago: right in front of the containment cell door of 【The Bodiless Hound】.

What was that just now?

An item? Or an anomaly?

He couldn’t tell.

He absolutely could not figure it out.

Even with the power of his right eye, he could not comprehend what on earth the book the stranger had pulled out when disappearing really was.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t read the information, the way the strange man had done.

It was something beyond that.

It was as if his right eye was refusing to see the book held in the stranger’s right hand.

Or a bizarre sensation as if it were refusing to recognize it.

His left eye’s vision was clearly looking right at the book held in the stranger’s hand, recognizing it perfectly.

Yet, in stark contrast, within his right eye’s field of view, that very book was as if wiped away by an eraser—making it impossible not only to view, but even to recognize.

The discordant dissonance arising from the difference between the perception through his left eye’s vision and the perception through his right eye’s vision.

If that thing were merely an item, it wouldn’t matter.

But if that thing was an anomaly—

“Should I have captured him, no matter what…?”

Leaving the bustling security team moving busily around him behind, Jin Tae-seok muttered, still gazing fixedly at the spot where Han Seong-jun had stood.

Meanwhile, Han Seong-jun, having vanished from right in front of Jin Tae-seok, reappeared inside the library.

“Well, beggars can’t be choosers. I couldn’t collect the story of the ‘eye,’ but since I managed to get this instead—”

With that murmur, a faint smile hovered on Han Seong-jun’s lips as he held the story of 【The Bodiless Hound】 securely in his hand.