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Chapter 92




Chapter 7 Masked Ball (8)
***
“No, no! No!!!”
Clang!
Vex, covered in blood, emerged from the alley. Seemingly weak in the legs, he was dragging himself along, leaning on the short greatsword he held. Upon seeing Ian and the professor on his back, he crawled over, wailing like a madman, and clung to Ian’s pants.
“I thought I was seeing things, that it had to be a hallucination from my mental illness! Hap, Hap!!!”
‘This kid isn’t completely out of it, but he’s still half-hallucinating.’
Ian immediately recognized Vex’s condition. The monster’s scream triggers trauma in people. For Ian, it brought back memories of his lost wife and child, and for Vex...
‘He must have seen the professor die.’
First, he needed to snap the kid out of it. In such an alley, Vex, who was skilled in close combat, would be more useful than Ian, who was better at firepower.
“You lost him again. Just like that! Just like 6 years ago!!!”
Slap!
“Huh?!”
“Sorry, but I’m in a hurry. Vex, give me a hand.”
Ian slapped Vex’s cheek and pulled his hand, placing it under the professor’s nose.
Whoosh. Huff.
The light breath that touched his blood-crusted hand.
“How is he? Breathing, right?”
“Wh-what?”
A tangible proof of life, more effective than a thousand words, brought clarity back to Vex’s dazed eyes. It must have been easier for him, a simple soul, compared to someone who had to endure nagging from a long-dead wife.
“He’s alive. Just knocked out by the shockwave.”
“Alive... alive?”
“Yeah, man. I’m a bit hurt that in your hallucination, the professor dies, but I don’t. Why are you only looking for the professor when you wake up?”
“Wh-what? He was run over by the tank...”
Rumble!
Ian, fearing an endless argument, started the engine. The alley outside, which had been the stage of the battle, was eerily peaceful. There was no blood, no gunpowder, no bodies, no people—just an empty street from the old days. They crossed it, leaving behind red boot prints, and safely reached their armed truck.
“What if the professor doesn’t wake up?”
“We go to the shelter, take a week’s worth of food, and leave. We’ll head to Sector 45. The area around the underground bunker is crowded, but the nearby regions will be less so, with fewer scavengers. You lived there, right? You know the area, so it’s up to you.”
“What if he doesn’t wake up even after we run away? I saw the monster’s hallucination too. It shows... the worst memories. Losing consciousness means he couldn’t handle it. Maybe the professor will never come back...”
“Damn it! Hey! Are you trying to jinx us? If the professor never wakes up, are you saying we should just leave him behind?!”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that!!”
“...”
Crash!
Ian, suddenly overwhelmed, grabbed Vex by the collar, then let go, surprised by his own action.
‘I can’t keep my cool.’
The excitement of battle, the mental shock from the Old Picture, and the exposed emotions. Their situation, without a plan, in a moment of urgency. The professor’s plan to trigger the monster before the Executioners’ plan was complete must have had a strategy to deal with the monster. But the professor was unconscious, and Ian, despite trying to act calm, was just as anxious as Vex, unsure of what to do next.
“...”
“Damn it. I’m a merchant and a fighter, not a strategist. I know if we run, we’ll take the blame for this whole incident, but how to deal with that monster, the Dome, and the Raptors...”
“Hey!”
“What? Why are you calling me...?”
Ian, irritated by the continuous calls, turned his head, then paused.
‘Wait. Vex is right in front of me. Then... who?’
Ian’s face turned to the back seat.
Vex, who now looked like Mary witnessing Jesus’ resurrection, had a face that suddenly turned pale. He had instinctively sensed it.
The person in front of them wasn’t the professor.
“W-who are you?”
“Who knows? Questions are for finding out what you don’t know. From your expression... it doesn’t seem like you’re asking a question.”
“Damn... What happened to the professor?”
“Your call cannot be connected as the customer is not available. Please leave a message after the beep... for Hyde!”
Hyde, sticking his finger up and leaning between the two, was grinning as if he couldn’t contain his joy.
“Beep!”
.
.
.
.
“You... damn...!”
Ian’s forehead veins bulged at Hyde’s playful demeanor.
***
Crash!
Ian wrapped his arm around Hyde’s, or rather the professor’s, neck and squeezed tightly.
“Gag! Ugh, is this aggressive physical contact, ‘play,’ between bonded entities? Quite... shocking... cough! Hey, let go. Let go. Choke!”
Thump thump thump thump!
“Ugh, in memories, hitting the arm... tapping the shoulder... is the rule to let go...”
“Is that it? The mental parasite in the professor’s head.”
“Gag, let go, let go! I’ll die...”
Ian thought harder, applying more force to his arm. If the professor had lost consciousness and this parasite had emerged, maybe knocking out the parasite’s consciousness would bring the professor back.
Suddenly, Hyde, who had been making stifled sounds, started to chuckle.
“Choke, hehe... Metal Joe, I understand what you’re thinking... but if I lose consciousness, the shell will really die?”
“...Damn it.”
In the end, Ian had no choice but to release him. He couldn’t risk the professor’s life, even if Hyde’s words might be a lie.
“Cough, cough! Oh, my neck. Choking... it’s different from what I thought... the shell seemed to really enjoy this... no, wait. Didn’t he hate water at first? Maybe I’ll get used to it too? Hey, Metal Joe. Want to do it again?”
“Stop talking nonsense and finish what you were saying. What happened to the professor? If you lose consciousness, he dies? What does that mean?”
Hyde, despite the hostile glares from Vex and Ian, was enjoying himself immensely. They clearly hated him, but that hatred stemmed from their affection for the shell. In a way, Hyde was receiving both their love and their anger.
‘Ah, so enjoyable! Feeling both negative and positive emotions at the same time! Hey, shell! Preparing such a situation for me! This is too luxurious!’
“Really, I can’t hate you...”
“What?”
“I’ll help. I was asked by the shell, and if life outside gets harder, there’ll be fewer fun things. Come on, driver! Let’s go!”
“Go? Sorry, but we have no reason to follow you, parasite.”
“Haha!”
“Laughing?”
Hyde, waving his hands, replied to Ian’s growling words.
“No, sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you, but it’s funny how you’re so confident and yet will end up following me... Sorry, I guess I was laughing.”
“Speak. Clearly. If you don’t, I’ll torture you until the professor comes back. There are more ways to torture someone without causing major physical harm than you think.”
Vex, who had moved closer, pressed his thumbnail firmly under Hyde’s fingernail. His icy expression made it clear that if he said anything more annoying, his thumbnail would be driven into Hyde’s flesh. Would it hurt? Yes, it would. Vex seemed like an expert in such matters.
“Tsk tsk tsk. This is the problem with outsiders. You all act before thinking. The shell thinks and acts multiple times in an instant. Hmm, I chose well.”
Ignoring Vex’s threat, Hyde finally decided to give the answer they wanted.
Click click.
Hyde’s finger pointed to the Old Picture, visible between the distant buildings.
“The shell and I share memories. I saw the ‘next’ plan he thought of before losing consciousness.”
“The next... plan?”
“Yes. The plan to put that big crybaby to sleep and block the Executioners, who will go berserk when they realize things have gone wrong, and the Raptors, who will come racing here with their tires worn out. So,”
Bang bang!
“Alright! Friends. We don’t have much time!”
Hyde’s cheerful pat on their backs only made Ian and Vex’s expressions more grim.
“Damn. What a mess...”
“Hahaha! I’m a born troublemaker, so all the things I get involved in are like this!”
“...”
“Cheer up, little friend! I promise to return him in good condition! I can’t hold on forever! When the shell wakes up, there will be a natural handover!”
Rumble!
In the end, Ian had no choice but to follow Hyde’s direction, gripping the steering wheel again. They were heading back to the Old Picture, from which they had just desperately escaped.
Unlike Vex’s anxious expression and Ian’s full of complaints,
“What a day! What a lovely day!!!”
Hyde’s face was brimming with happiness, as if everything was just perfect.
***