Boy Monster Chapter 84

But even as unexpected circumstances arose, they were also core figures of the military clique, and there was sufficient time to prepare.

Jae Eunho quickly lifted the tatami mat and opened the door to the secret floor safe. He took out several volumes of world literature. These were data sets disguised as thick foreign novels, books where he had compiled and organized information on the Japanese cabinet and military cliques gathered over several years.

Every bit of it was information Jae Eunho had handwritten. His eyes and hands moved rapidly over the script. After flipping through the pages, the desired information caught his eye.

Inspector General of the Army Aviation Inspectorate… background… major battles… relationship with the Emperor… decision-making tendencies. Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet… background… date of appointment… evaluation… recently attended meetings. Most of their personal details and trends were written densely. A sigh of relief escaped Jae Eunho.

“Phew…. It really can’t be emphasized enough that he who acts first controls others.”

The information he had gathered while hiding in the shadows for a long time served as a great support. Still, once at the site, he would have to pay the closest attention to the four Japanese military generals. He had to ensure they could never make a phone call to the Minister of the Navy who remained in Japan.

It can be done. Jae Eunho closed his eyes and sat in meditation until the night deepened, completing all preparations. The spiritual energy, now released from restraint, circulated powerfully through his body.

Rain dripped in droplets from the edge of the eaves before fading away completely. From within the darkness that had pushed aside the clouds, a light so bright it made the eyes ache shone through. The moonlight reflected in the puddles allowed an even more transparent light to permeate Jae Eunho’s face.

Before departing, he smoked a Western cigarette. Beside the rising smoke, a fleeting illusion passed of Jang Hwonwoo leaning limply and biting a cigarette. By now, he would be frantic overseeing the deployment of military forces and security within the palace.

When the cigarette was half-finished, the car arrived. One of the shaman’s spirit daughters had packed several bundles of ritual tools and conical hats from the shrine and sent them along. There were so many necessary belongings that a separate car had to be called. Jae Eunho took the dejected shaman in the seat beside him and headed toward Changdeokgung Palace. The shaman, who seemed ready to trade her life for her only son’s safety, was generally submissive, but she could not hold back her complaints regarding the facial scribbles that hadn’t been erased.

“Look here, Sa Yeonri! Oh my goodness…! What on earth is this mess on my face? What will the high-ranking gentlemen say?”

“Tell them your mischievous son played a little prank last night.”

“Oh boy, Sa Yeonri, you have absolutely no talent for calligraphy or painting. If you were going to draw, you should have drawn well; you’ve made me look exactly like a red-faced goblin ghost.”

“The General you serve will probably like it better.”

“What did you say!”

A little over an hour remained until midnight. A blue moonlight settled on the streets visible outside the car window. Even on that day when Jang Hwonwoo and Jae Eunho stood on the edge of a blade with their lives at stake, the daily life of Gyeongseong was the same as usual. The alleys, where the lights of every house were extinguished, were fallen into a quiet sleep.

The car, having passed Gyeongbokgung Palace, soon arrived at Donhwamun Gate of Changdeokgung Palace. Even as they passed Injeongmun Gate, soldiers in a state of strict vigilance were seen everywhere. Because it was a matter being conducted in top secrecy as a state secret, only a few people were permitted entry. Excluding the security forces, the palace grounds submerged in black darkness were extremely sparse of people.

Torches flared from the incense burners atop the distant stone terrace. Upon entering the courtyard of Injeongjeon Hall, four Four Heavenly Kings flags erected on the left and right of the terrace steps were visible. Jang Hwonwoo was standing in the middle of the flags. Wearing his rank insignia and armband, Lieutenant Hiroshi looked straight ahead while resting his hands on a long rifle.

Standing in the center of the stairs, Lieutenant Hiroshi conducted the inspections personally. Having searched the shaman’s body, the lieutenant approached Jae Eunho. A familiar body scent came from him as he patted down every corner of Jae Eunho’s body, who stood with both arms raised.

“Spread your legs.”

“…….”

“I said spread them. More.”

The lieutenant, having issued a command he hadn’t given to anyone else, stared at Jae Eunho with an intense gaze. Jae Eunho’s heart tightened chillingly. He boldly grabbed and searched the crotch of Eunho, who was wearing a white robe over a thin hanbok. The gaze and smile coming from beneath the military cap overwhelmed the tension. Eunho barely held back the smile creeping onto his cheeks. Once the tension had eased to some extent in Jae Eunho’s body, the lieutenant straightened up.

“Pass. Please take your seat.”

A presence that felt somewhat distant cast several emotions upon him simultaneously. A sense of trust, a sense of stability, the feeling of being under protection. And a racing heart, a violent throbbing. Finally, even a sense of pride. As soon as the uprising is over, I must quickly theorize these unresolved emotions, quickly… Jae Eunho promised himself.

Jae Eunho and the shaman climbed the stairs and headed toward the bamboo mat prepared on the left side of the stone terrace. In the very center of the terrace, a folding screen of the Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks was spread out, and the former head of the family lay on a couch in front of the screen.

The Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks screen of Injeongjeon Hall is a spiritual object that has assisted the power of the Sa Hwelju for hundreds of years. Most recently, because the Sa Hwelju lineage had not appeared since the passing of Emperor Sunjong, it had been sealed within the folding screen. Having been passed down through the royal family for many years, the Sun, Moon, and Five Peaks screen had been kept at the residence of a Government-General official after falling into Japanese hands. During that time, a newly manufactured screen had guarded the back of the throne, so the original screen had been transported to the palace tonight.

Walking toward the spot next to the screen where the Sa Hwelju dwelled, Jae Eunho glanced at the experimental table. The tips of his fingers turned cold and trembled.

The ten fingers and toes of the former head, who was tied to the experimental table, were missing.

Eunho’s gaze shifted to the back of Jang Hwonwoo’s head, who stood guarding the middle of the terrace steps. Torchlight flickered against Jang Hwonwoo’s dark back. Jae Eunho only repeated the same words. No matter what you do, I will not abandon you.

The shaman, her blue-tinged lips trembling, flopped facedown onto the bamboo mat.

“What kind of thing is that… oh my… I’m dying… please save my son, please save him….”

“Shut your mouth and sit up straight. If you just do your job properly, you’ll avoid a fate like that. You should be grateful for the leniency of mere scribbles.”

“Oh, I am grateful indeed.”

“Polite speech.”

“Your grace is truly… infinite!”

As the bickering between the shaman and Jae Eunho came to an end, Lieutenant Hiroshi’s shout shook Injeongjeon Hall like thunder.

“Attention! Everyone, salute!”

Jae Eunho and the shaman knelt and pressed their foreheads to the mat. Black Chrysler cars entered the palace one by one.

Behind a disciplined procession of soldiers carrying rifles and swords, Japanese military officials accompanied by a minimum of security personnel entered through Injeongmun Gate. There were the Minister of the Army, the Minister of the Air Force, and two other generals who had entered the country secretly via military reconnaissance planes at Yeouido Airfield. Totaling four. Prince Uichin’s urgent intelligence was accurate.

Following them, royal family representatives Prince Uichin and Empress Sunjeong passed along the stone path surrounded by guards. They passed the stone terrace and sat in chairs prepared in front of the throne of Injeongjeon Hall. Finally, Dr. Gallia and an assistant passed through the eastern entrance of Injeongmun Gate. As the scientist walked toward the terrace while peering around at the rank-designating stones, the Minister of the Army raised his voice.

“Tsk, in front of whom are you wearing a hat?”

It was a remark pointing out the fedora the assistant wore on his head. Dr. Gallia and the assistant bowed repeatedly, not knowing what to do. It was because they had no choice but to cover an injury sustained during the experiment.

Dr. Gallia, who had traveled a long way by train, gave the impression of a wildcat whose life had been forcibly extended. His poor health was clearly revealed by his purple-tinged lips, but the venom flashing in his eyes was vivid.

Is there truly only a paper-thin difference between a madman and a genius? Jae Eunho frowned inwardly. The gray-haired scientist’s distracted behavior and eyes flashing here and there were more bone-chilling than the authority of the military ministers.

The shaman, wearing ritual robes and a high conical hat, clicked her tongue and gripped her blade.

“Look, look at that! Look at that impression. I guarantee you, his insides are as messy as snakeskin and will smell of sulfur.”

“Why have you been talking so much since earlier? It’s distracting.”

“Unsticking the sealing talisman, sticking it back, unsticking and sticking, and leading the descent ritual, my task is no ordinary feat. It’s different from Sa Yeonri, who just has to stay still! I’m doing this to ease the tension, so please understand!”

There were as many as three suitcases brought by Dr. Gallia. While the assistant spread the bags open and explained, Lieutenant Hiroshi stood firm beside them and personally checked the contents of the bags.

“This is an injection that acts to restrain the metabolism of a living organism, which will be helpful when the burden is transferred to the subject’s body. This isn’t just a larva, it’s a parasite sample… and this is a compound that inhibits cell proliferation and division… no, rather than a compound, it’s a kind of fungus….”

“I cannot permit the bringing in of bags. Submit them.”

“……But…. Uh… Doctor?”

“The person responsible for the experiment is not the doctor, but me. Submit the bags and take your seats.”

The doctor scanned the faces of the military ministers sitting inside Injeongjeon Hall. Seeing the atmosphere, it was clear that the full authority of the site lay with Lieutenant Hiroshi. The doctor shook his head and stopped his assistant.

“Hand them over.”

Lieutenant Hiroshi immediately signaled with a tilt of his head to a soldier who was at the bottom of the steps. The soldier moved the suitcases outside Injeongmun Gate and lined them up against the pillars of the pavilion.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gallia scouted the surroundings. The folding screen said to contain the power of ‘Sa Hwelju,’ the subject lying before it, and a man and a shaman kneeling upright in their seats.

Ah…! That man is Sa Yeonri.

The doctor swallowed his sticky saliva. Dr. Gallia’s gaze would not pull away from Sa Yeonri, who wore a white robe and kept his eyes on the floor in front of him.

‘I thought he would be a thin and frail beauty like a woman, but not at all. He is a very tall and striking man. A man by any standard, a flawless XY chromosome. But he is peculiar…. A precious one. He is a precious one.’

A human body that controls the Sa Hwelju. The man whom the former head and the current head had kept tightly hidden in the mansion, cutting off all contact with the outside.

The doctor’s desire and curiosity, chasing twisted pleasure, burned hotly. Is there not a single pederast among the powerful men of the country and the families? Has a secret I don’t know about occurred in this family? Like an act of rape that covets and desires that body. For example, the head and his son simultaneously violating his mouth and lower parts… hehe….

The doctor was momentarily captivated by the imagination of destroying a man. A greasy glint shimmered in his eyes, reflecting his filthy desire. Perhaps sensing Dr. Gallia’s gaze, Sa Yeonri turned his head.

Sa Yeonri was skilled at hiding his emotions. His inner thoughts could not be read at all.

Ah…! A precious existence. A precious existence…

Dr. Gallia’s desire sought an even higher pleasure.

I want to dismantle that entirely and look inside. What color the organs would have if the stomach were cut open… what kind of squelching sound it would make if I put my hand inside the sliced skin and kneaded it… no one would have tried cutting open that person’s skull and cerebral dura mater…!

The doctor, who was moistening his lower lip, suddenly lifted his head at a cold energy piercing his skull. Lieutenant Hiroshi, the head of the family, was looking down at him.

…Since when on earth has he been reading my expression?

The doctor calmed his terrified heart. The lieutenant spoke with an expressionless face that was even more unreadable than Sa Yeonri’s.

“Doctor. It’s a pleasure to meet you. You are working hard on human improvement experiments from afar, aren’t you.”

The doctor was bewildered. Even though the lieutenant wasn’t saying anything in particular, the doctor couldn’t look him straight in the eyes. A chill ran sharply down his spine.