Boy Monster Chapter 16

He was 190cm tall, and the irezumi covering his imposing physique radiated a sinister power. The intensely colored tattoos seemed to depict all sorts of demons from hell. What was unusual, if anything, was that his appearance was generally neat rather than menacing. The aura emanating from his face, staring straight ahead, was relaxed and combative.

The dangerous glint in his eyes stemming from resentment towards society or excessive superiority and hero complex, often seen in criminals, was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the dazed attitude resulting from the pursuit of pleasure that had shut down normal thinking, nor the anxiety typical of drug addicts. A faint smile played on the man’s lips. His gaze, directly at the camera, was polite, as if offering a greeting. He seemed to be simply saying something to the front.

Choi Jungkyung commented on the man in the mugshot, unaware that Eunho’s pupils had fixed on the man on the monitor.

“Strange. It’s like he’s saying, ‘Have you been waiting for me?’”

Eunho, finally tearing his eyes away from the monitor, stepped back. He bumped hard against the desk in his daze. Hyeon Jaewoong, misunderstanding it as due to his uncomfortable leg, immediately rushed over and supported Eunho.

“Captain, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, it’s okay. I’m fine.”

He thought about adding his personal opinion to Choi Jungkyung’s comment, but stopped. Jae Eunho’s personal opinion, which he hadn’t told anyone, or rather couldn’t tell anyone, was that

Except for the eyes, the man’s appearance was strangely similar to a man from a long-held memory. The shock hit him hard in the chest like a punch. This was because, to Eunho, it seemed as if the man was saying something different from what Choi Jungkyung had perceived.

—Then, shall we enter hell together?

As he fiddled with his glasses to hide his frozen expression, the team leader brought up a new topic.

“And… there’s some urgent news that just came in from the hospital…”

The team leader trailed off, looking at Deputy Director Oh Jigeun. Deputy Director Oh Jigeun immediately sent everyone except Monk Chogwang and Jae Eunho out into the hallway. In the situation room, with only the four of them remaining, the team leader relayed the confidential information.

“All eleven in the intensive care unit are in a medically inexplicable state. It’s as if their lives are clinging on in bodies that should be dead…”

“Why? Because of excessive bleeding?”

“They need an unbelievable amount of blood transfusion, they should have gone into shock and died long ago, and above all, excessive bleeding from external injuries isn’t the problem. The blood in their arteries and veins has simply dried up.”

Deputy Director Oh Jigeun tilted his head and frowned. Jae Eunho and Monk Chogwang knew when this medically unexplainable phenomenon was possible.

“And although it’s only been visually confirmed so far, some of them show skin damage presumed to be livor mortis.”

“Livor mortis? That’s found in corpses after death.”

“Yes, so… it’s as if they died and came back to life…”

The team leader, thinking his answer was insufficient, added a supplementary explanation in front of the speechless people.

“The hospital also wants to give a definitive diagnosis, but since everyone is in critical condition, a detailed examination is being delayed. I’ll inform you again after we receive a more definite opinion.”

“Alright. Report as soon as you hear anything, and step out for a moment.”

“Yes.”

After Deputy Director Oh Jigeun sent the team leader out, only three men remained in the situation room. Monk Chogwang, who had remained silent until now, spoke in a confident tone.

“You would know. That it’s possible with the power of the Sa Hwelju.”

It was directed at Eunho. Monk Jikuk’s urgent words echoed in his head.

—The Sa Hwelju is calling you. Moving the entire earth.

Rumble. He had the illusion of a massive force shaking the ground. With the illusion resonating through his whole body, a dull vibration grew in Eunho’s mind.

It felt as if an explosion was about to erupt from his chest, heavy with emotions. At the same time, his eyes grew heavy.

Eunho’s gaze landed with difficulty on the monitor.

On the man who appeared before him now, when he was tired of everything and had decided to find the remains of the Sashimcheon head and lift the curse of reincarnation.

“You heard about the earthquake too, right?”

Jae Eunho slowly nodded. Monk Chogwang continued in a deep voice.

“It’s not normal. Something is moving. If that man intentionally caused the earthquake and sinkhole, and even got caught by the NIS on the smuggling ship on purpose…”

This was a sign marking the end. Jae Eunho was tired and couldn’t wait any longer. Therefore, this matter had to end today. Exhilaration and fear welled up simultaneously.

“Who did he call?”

And Eunho was certain. He shouldn’t ignore this sign sent to him by the world of the six realms of reincarnation. He had to respond somehow.

“Who would be suitable to investigate?”

The heat in his chest didn’t subside easily. After a few deep breaths, Eunho, snapping out of his reverie, raised his head.

“Create a position for me at the Dongbu Detention Center. I can teach Korean history as part of a rehabilitation program for inmates, or something like that.”

The operation Jae Eunho immediately proposed made the S.E.T.U. officials nod in agreement. Monk Chogwang gave his approval with a single nod. Deputy Director Oh Jigeun also made an OK sign with his thumb and forefinger. A solemn silence hung among the three men plotting the confidential operation.

:･⚜️⊹.️

A bright symphony flowed from the underground of a village in eastern Nepal, nestled against the Himalayas. A commotion arose from the desks lined with multiple monitors. “Hacker Jekyll,” who was scanning the Korean police radio network, jumped up.

“The ship’s been caught.”

“Already? That can’t be right?”

“The smuggling ship got caught? How?”

The unlit underground space, equipped only with disco lights and neon signs, had a club-like atmosphere. Information gathered from around the world every second poured in through dozens of computers.

“Scientist Oni,” who came running after hearing the commotion, offered an opinion.

“Look into the Korean Coast Guard as well. See if the military intervened.”

“Is it something the military would get involved in?”

“…Those druggies seem to have done things we didn’t tell them to. They killed 15 people and kidnapped 7.”

“Ugh, those bastards.”

A faint smell of formalin wafted from the hacker’s area into the wide hall. Flanking the ventilation system installed to eliminate the formalin smell and circulate the underground air, firearms and rare stuffed animals filled the brick wall.

Below the firearms were descriptions of the year and battlefield where they were actually used, and the stuffed animals also had detailed explanations of which naturalist collected them and in what year.

An arched doorway led to the hall. In the center of the hall stood a statue of a half-human, half-horse centaur with large wings, reinterpreted as a goddess. Large glass tubes reaching the ceiling and mechanical devices were sparsely installed like pillars around the statue, and the organisms floating inside the transparent glass tubes were all humans.

The number of glass tubes containing people with closed eyes increased as one went further into the hall. A blood-written message hanging in the middle of the central wall was visible from anywhere in the hall. It was a pledge stating, “We follow the Helsinki Declaration (1).” Red handprints filled the frame.

Photos of Nazi human experiments and Japan’s Unit 731 were posted next to the frame with red X’s sprayed over them, symbolizing the vow to never repeat humanity’s horrific history of terror. Right next to them, the classic novels Brave New World, 1984, and The Island of Doctor Moreau were displayed side by side, with graffiti filling the walls and ceiling.

[Project Herophilus (2)]

Large English graffiti was reflected in the glass tubes. A man flung open the curtain at the back of the hall. He was a tall man with white hair. As the man, accompanied by bodyguards, took off his hiking hat and jacket, a suit with the name tag “Doctor Aztec” was revealed.

“It doesn’t matter. Our goal was to spread the bioterrorism agent using the drug cartel’s distribution network. It’s already spread in Korea, right?”

Doctor Aztec, with his white hair, said as he walked out into the hall, wearing special glasses. “Assassin Achilles,” who had come to greet him in the hallway, replied.

“About 20kg has been distributed, centered around clubs.”

“That’s enough. Enough to pressure Korean politicians.”

Doctor Aztec, entering the hall, lifted his chin and closed his eyes to the symphony reaching its climax. The subjects in the glass tubes had their eyes closed peacefully. Amidst the flowing classical music, he read out the Roman numerals hidden within the “Project Herophilus” graffiti, one word at a time.

“Origin of all things, seed of genes, perpetuity of life, happy creations.”

Various historical and literary scenes were depicted in the graffiti that filled the walls and ceiling. A caricature of Francis Galton, who coined the term eugenics, Dolly the cloned sheep, 16th-century Italian prisoners who were victims of poison experiments, Egyptian murals depicting the splitting open of the solar barque to reveal centaurs and sphinxes, and even a sculpture of the Four Heavenly Kings with their half-human, half-animal servants.

Standing in front of the Four Heavenly Kings graffiti, Doctor Aztec fidgeted his ten fingers nervously.

“We’ve dealt with the Korean head executive… everything went well, but an unexpected devil intervened.”

The hacker’s information network reached the police system. Shi Taehyun’s mugshot appeared on numerous monitors.

“Shi Taehyun? A mere drug addict turned murderer… Well, those drug cartel bastards deserved to die anyway.”

The doctor, displaying Jae Eunho’s profile on his tablet screen, brought up the main topic.

“We need to get our hands on Jae Eunho. If we acquire the mental sensing ability of that target, we will… ultimately win.”

A pure passion to change the world lit up the eyes of the “Hackers,” “Scientists,” “Assassins,” and “Doctors.” It was a project that had been secretly carried on for a century, fueled by this innocent passion. Although they were struggling in the Himalayas now, they would soon be remembered by names that would rewrite world history.

“In 1941, we lost both the Sa Hwelju and Sa Yeonri right in front of our eyes… But not now, not us. Now, we can care for Sa Yeonri with our knowledge and abilities.”

The doctor declared in a dreamy voice.