Chapter 18

If there was a most important place within the Collector building, it was Bi Sabeol's gallery.

Since only dangerous and sensitive items were gathered there, accidents and incidents were frequent. Not to mention the people who targeted such rare artworks. Thus, to prevent any casualties, guards patrolled the inside of the building no matter how late it was.

That day was just another ordinary day patrolling the building at dawn.

"Huh?"

Pure white walls.

Pure white lighting.

A pitch-black man standing alone in the long, clean hallway.

"..."

He was draped in a black cloak from head to toe.

His face could not be seen.

"..."

The only thing noticeable was that he was wearing a black suit beneath the open front of the cloak.

"Who are you?"

"..."

"Excuse me, but please identify yourself."

There was a total of eight people on the dawn patrol squad within the building, and the 1st through 10th floors were his responsibility. No other guard was assigned to the same floor.

Therefore, that black cloak meant he was either an employee who stopped by the guild for a moment due to some business at dawn, or an unidentified outsider.

However, something felt strange.

"... Please identify yourself."

It was truly strange.

And yet, he could not explain exactly what was so strange.

"..."

"..."

Bizarre goosebumps rose on his skin.

'... What is this?'

The guild's building always had bright lights turned on for patrolling guards or employees working overtime. The hallways were frequently cleaned and spotless, and the pure white marble walls were elegant and beautiful, matching Guild Master Bi Sabeol's tastes.

So there was nothing to fear. Beneath the lighting that was as bright as day, there were no shadows anywhere, yet that remarkably conspicuous pitch-black entity...

"... Who are you?"

It felt as if it shouldn't exist.

"If you are an outsider, please show your pass."

"..."

"Why have you come here at this hour? I received no notice from the first floor about another client arriving. Trespassing into the guild without authorization is treated as a serious felony, and..."

"..."

"... It will be used against you in trial... You may experience difficulties in hiring a lawyer, and you may be subdued by force without further procedure, so please keep this in mind and answer my question... if you please."

Wasn't it strange? The eeriness that had been very small at first was gradually growing.

The longer he observed it, the more he saw, and the greater the sense of incongruity he felt. Soon, the guard realized.

'Why?'

'Why did I think that thing shouldn't exist?'

'No, why in the first place.'

'Why am I thinking of it as "that thing" when looking at an entity in the shape of a human?'

The thought that something was wrong wouldn't leave his mind, and confusion clung to his entire body, turning his thoughts into a mess.

A desolate sense of alienation brushed up his spine and slowly tickled his heart. It was at a very slow and natural pace, like breathing in one's sleep.

"..."

"..."

Beneath the hood of the pitch-black cloak. Beneath the dreadfully pitch-black cloth where it seemed right for nothing to exist, the voice of something flowed out.

"Hello."

"..."

"My name is Seo Jio."

A clear voice that seemed to embed itself in his brain, and an upright pronunciation that was impossible not to understand. Before he even had a chance to resist, he thought it was a good voice.

It asked politely.

"What is your name?"

"..."

"I am curious about your name."

He simply could not bring himself to answer that good voice.

"Will you speak with me?"

He could tell.

"... I."

This was not a human.

"... I, I..."

It wasn't a monster, nor an item, nor a hallucination.

'... What should I do?'

His breathing was heavily blocked, as if his windpipe had never existed in the first place.

It was the Collector guild where countless accidents and incidents occurred, and he was an experienced guard, yet he had never faced such an entity until now. Some massive, non-human thing was wearing a human's skin and imitating a human.

It would have been better if that imitation was clumsy. Like the ball-jointed dolls with grotesque movements he had seen before, or monsters spouting absolute nonsense with an exceptionally poor level of understanding.

"..."

"Sir."

"..."

"What is your name?"

But that thing.

Was perfect.

"My name is Seo Jio."

It looked like a perfect human.

And yet, though it was contradictory,

He knew it could never be human.

'What kind of bullshit is this...'

To be certain that the other party was not human even when they looked like a truly complete human. Without any basis, he was defining the other party as neither human, nor monster, nor item, nor hallucination.

Then what the hell was it?

"Can you not hear me?"

"... Why are you asking for my name?"

"Exchanging names is basic courtesy when having a conversation."

"..."

"I am merely maintaining courtesy."

Courtesy?

He couldn't fathom what on earth was imitating human courtesy.

"... Park..."

"..."

"I am Park Na-gil."

He spat out his name as if possessed, but he didn't feel the sensation of his soul being stolen. However, the black cloak looked satisfied.

That fact was more terrifying than anything else, but he didn't even have the energy to show it. His breath kept catching.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Seo Jio."

"..."

Did that guy realize how many times he had just called himself 'Seo Jio'?

'As if emphasizing that he is a human like the rest of us...'

Soon after, the black cloak took out an unexpected item.

"I have a pass."

"... This is... a client pass."

"I received permission to tour this place from Guild Master Bi Sabeol."

"... Is that so."

At the very least, the Guild Master knew of this thing's existence.

'And he's tolerating its actions.'

Why on earth?

The guard raised his head and looked at the black cloak again.

"..."

"Was this a sufficient answer?"

"... Of course."

It was a remarkably business-like voice.

The voice, carrying a formal cadence, seemed to have a moderate pitch, yet as he listened closely, it felt as if it was fluctuating between high and low tones.

'No matter if they have a pass, I should at least figure out their basic personal details...'

He was clearly listening to a male's voice, but as time passed, guessing its age and gender became ambiguous.

Even with it right in front of him, he could not comprehend it. All he could see was a pitch-black cloak and a figure with a build that was neither thick nor thin.

"..."

Was there truly something in the shape of a person inside the shadows of that black cloak?

"Mr. Park Na-gil."

"... Yes."

"May I walk around this place?"

"..."

The Guild Master had permitted it.

So he, a mere guard, was also supposed to spit out a word of affirmation, yet his mouth would not easily open. It was due to an ominous sensation, as if he were granting a demon the promise that it could cause a disaster.

In front of the gloomy, heavy, or rather chilling figure, the guard nodded with difficulty.

"... Of... course."

"Thank you."

"If the Guild Master permitted it, there is no problem with you touring as much as you'd like."

"I see."

"... How long do you plan to stay?"

The black cloak answered two seconds later.

"Until the sun rises."

It was a terrifying answer.

"..."

"... I see."

He felt like throwing up.

He could not understand why he felt so terrified, what exactly he found so grotesque, or where this indescribable stillness was coming from even though they were having a conversation.

The sensation of his cognitive abilities breaking down and his judgment being buried in a fog swayed him as if inducing motion sickness. He felt as if he were facing something he could not handle.

'No, I actually can't handle it.'

It was overwhelming, as if he were interacting with 'something' he should not perceive.

"..."

"Mr. Park Na-gil."

Every time it called his name, his spine shivered.

How could he explain that sensation of his body temperature dropping one degree at a time, that sensation of all the blood vessels in his body being gripped by someone's hand?

"Y-Yes."

"Thank you for responding so kindly."

"... It was my duty."

"You have a strong sense of responsibility."

"..."

"I believe it is something worthy of praise."

It was a strange thing.

When the black cloak spoke highly of him, he felt overjoyed, as if he could fly, despite the nauseating fear.

'Have I gone crazy? Or did that thing make me crazy?'

Even though it was a situation where he shouldn't feel that way at all, he was touched and felt proud of himself. He couldn't even explain to himself why he felt this way.

Seeing him like that, the black cloak held out a hand.

"A gift."

"..."

"Please take it."

The black cloak handed over a small bag, beautifully wrapped in paper.

It smelled ecstatically sweet.

"It is yours."

That bizarrely business-like voice oddly felt favorable.

"I apologize for the intrusion."

"N-No."

"Then, I will see you next time."

Was it leaving?

The moment he lifted his head from that intuition, their eyes.

"..."

"..."

Their eyes met.

Those eyes.

Eyes.

Pupils.

The irises, the pupils, that round sphere. Inside it. That thing. That round thing. That. It was. Black and white colors.

That pitch-black thing, that pure white thing. Was it black? Is it white? Whether it was dark or bright. Whether it was shadow or light. Whether it was death or life. Whether it was fate or destiny.

The inside was too deep. Too deep. Too deep. Because it was deep, it was scary, but the inside was too deep. Deep. He felt a sensation of falling. Plummeting. Could he get out? It was impossible. It wouldn't work. Those were not eyes. Not pupils. Not irises and not pupils.

No, it's not, it can't be. It shouldn't be. It definitely wasn't. It's not. No. No, no.

But it wasn't.

"Mr. Park Na-gil."

The moment he heard that dreadfully business-like voice.

"Keep up the good work."

"..."

... He was pulled out.

"..."

He stood there for a long time.

Even as the pitch-black cloak moved, not a single swooshing sound could be heard, and the bare feet without shoes did not even make a sound touching the smooth floor.

Only a faint rustling like that of an insignificant creature could be heard, which was strange. That black entity could hardly be called insignificant, yet...

Soon after, the sound faded away.

"..."

There was only silence.

"... Where..."

Where did he go.

The guard moved his feet.

He followed the hallway where the black cloak had moved, heading to the place where the sound had cut off. It was not long before he reached that 'place where the sound had cut off'.

In the hallway hung a portrait he had never seen before.

"Ah."

With a peaceful cabin in a forest as the background, it was a painting of a man with a tranquil face, as if he had fallen asleep.

His stomach churned.

"..."

He ran away with slow steps.

It was exactly the same speed as usual.

He didn't have the courage to touch it. If he were to fulfill his duty as a guard, he definitely had to report the unidentified artwork and deal with it, but that thought didn't even cross his mind. The guard just left the spot as if possessed.

And the next day, the portrait was not in that same spot.

* * *

"Did you hear?"

The Collector guild was originally a place with many ghost stories.

It was all because of Guild Master Bi Sabeol's hoarding habit; he picked up so many strange items that various accidents and incidents occurred.

Because of that, the employees who had worked at Collector for over two years were not very surprised by these ghost stories.

"The black cloak?"

"Yes, rumors have been going around lately."

"It's probably just another one of the Guild Master's artworks causing trouble."

"I figured as much."

It was a world where most ghost stories could be explained by monsters or items.

In an era where fellow humans were more frightening than ghost stories, the rumors about the 'black cloak' were just an entertaining topic to pass the time.

"I heard he's so handsome. I'd like to catch a glimpse of him."

"I heard you can't really see his face because of the cloak, though?"

"For an artwork the Guild Master brought in, he's quite shy."

"We should be glad he isn't causing accidents. No one got hurt, right?"

However, as time passed, that light atmosphere gradually grew heavy.

"..."

"I heard the recent witness took a leave of absence too."

"... Is it that scary..."

"Apparently, he originally wanted to resign, but the Guild Master coaxed and soothed him into just taking a leave."

"If it's at the point where even the Guild Master had to step in, isn't the situation more serious than we thought?"

Usually, these types of 'ghost stories' were mostly resolved within a week.

That was because the true identities of such ghost stories were usually monsters or items that popped out of Bi Sabeol's artworks, or mental skills triggered by them. It would be strange if it couldn't be resolved within a guild swarming with Hunters.

But right now, that 'strange thing' was happening.

"No, why is this monster so hard to subdue? What are the Curators doing?"

"There's talk that it's a monster even they can't handle."

"Then wouldn't it be better to just dump it outside the guild..."

"..."

"... I just said something stupid."

The Collector guild operated a special gallery that could absolutely never be replaced by anywhere else.

Dangerous items, restricted enough that the government strictly regulated those who entered, gathered here from all over the world. Where on earth could they dump an item that Collector couldn't handle? It would undoubtedly cause another disaster.

Until now, all accidents and incidents had stopped at the level of a 'ghost story' before becoming such a disaster.

"But for it to remain unsubdued like this..."

"I've also heard that they aren't even trying to subdue it in the first place."

"Why is that? Wouldn't it be better to destroy or seal it?"

"Since they know they won't succeed anyway, they decided it would be better not to provoke it..."

"It can be provoked? That means it has that level of intelligence... Then does it have an ego too?"

"The rumor that it's a humanoid monster is accepted as the most credible, so wouldn't it at least have an ego?"

"Wow, this is driving me crazy. Of all things, he had to drag in a humanoid monster."

"When was the last humanoid monster sighted? A few years ago, right?"

Not once had Bi Sabeol ever neglected a 'ghost story' to this extent. He was someone who knew full well how much efficiency increased when the employees felt a sense of stability.

And yet, this situation had come to pass.

"They say no one got hurt?"

"Not particularly..."

And as this situation continued.

"..."

"..."

"... Then isn't it fine?"

The employees began to accept it on their own.

"No injured, no dead. Then why on earth is it a ghost story?"

"Fundamentally, a ghost story means a bizarre tale... If it's truly just a tale, then it makes sense."

"Was it just a tale? Seeing as there are witnesses, it seems to actually exist, which is really fascinating."

"Exactly."

This place was the guild 'Collector'. All the guild's employees were collectibles personally gathered by the Collector, Bi Sabeol.

The realistic and cynical employees who suited his tastes gradually calmed down on their own.

"Ah, must've been bullshit."

"I heard there are people who saw it though?"

"Then it's a hallucination skill."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, they said it's not dangerous, right?"

"Maybe the Guild Master brought in an employee without us knowing."

"True, it's not like we know every single employee. Didn't something similar happen before?"

"They were just a quiet employee, but a rumor went around that they were a ghost. Looking at that, it's a probable story."

"It'd be nice if they announced these things in advance. Right?"

"You know the Guild Master's personality is quite eccentric. Let's just all understand."

"That's true. I wonder when he'll introduce this new recruit..."

Guild Master Bi Sabeol was someone who cherished his employees terribly. If it was a 'ghost story' to the point that someone like him would leave it alone, it was clearly an entity that wasn't that dangerous.

Whether it existed or not, or whatever its true identity was. The employees trusted Bi Sabeol.

"..."

"..."

Bi Sabeol himself knew that as well.

"... Did you expect this?"

"Who knows?"

Collector regained its peace once again.

Even though nothing had been resolved.