Chapter 23 : IF-684 ‘Dragon’ Part 2

“Hmmm…”

Emily Harper, a researcher affiliated with FPL 017-1 auxiliary base, stood with her arms crossed, staring seriously at a document.

The person who wrote the document was a brown-haired woman who looked clumsy just by glancing at her.

“Why, what’s wrong…? Is it because it’s too bad…?”

As Emily stared at her uncomfortably while working, Kang Hana, who was not typically like this, began to act nervously.

In response, Emily raised her voice and charged at her.

“Why? Do you really not know? Of course, it’s because of that!”

“Ah?!”

As Emily quickly closed the distance, Kang Hana, startled, took a defensive stance.

Then suddenly, Emily embraced Kang Hana tightly and knocked her over.

“Ouch.”

Kang Hana fell to the floor with a thud.

“I’m just so happy, our Hana!!”

Emily smiled brightly, rubbing her face against Kang Hana’s, in a voice full of admiration.

Kang Hana, who was on the receiving end of the gesture, couldn’t process the sudden closeness and felt unsure of how to react.

“Please, don’t do this…!”

Kang Hana didn’t know how to handle it.

Just recently, when they first met during a meeting, Emily had exuded an icy aura, so what on earth had caused her to act like this?

It certainly felt different from when she hugged IF-017, where a warm sensation spread deep inside her, almost making her feel unbearably hot.

But this hug… for some reason, there was no such feeling at all.

Kang Hana was unsure even of where to place her hands.

While Kang Hana was confused, Emily kept praising her.

“How did you do this? I can tell at a glance that this isn’t something a new researcher could do. Didn’t you just turn twenty? You seemed like a fool at first, but turns out you’re a real genius. You’re the real deal.”

There were strange remarks mixed in, but the praise flowed like water.

It wasn’t surprising that Emily had stopped using formal speech after just a few days.

Kang Hana’s face turned as red as a tomato.

“I’ve never heard such things…! I’ve been called trash every day since I came here… constantly being criticized…”

“What? With all this talent? Giselle’s being too harsh. I heard she’s been known for saying things like that. It’s a well-known rumor that if you meet her as a professor, you’d be in big trouble.”

Emily, with no trace of doubt on her face, asked if Giselle really said that.

Kang Hana was completely lost.

She couldn’t understand why Emily saw her this positively, but while struggling with her confusion, Emily randomly grabbed a document Kang Hana had written earlier and began reading.

“Look at this. It’s already the fourth page, and it’s perfect no matter what you touch. The 017-1 team’s condition is strange, and since there’s nothing to do even when you come back, they asked you to stay at the 4th Research Lab and help with your work…”

“I thought I’d just be cleaning up after a newbie, but this is on a level where I can’t even touch it.”

***

After hearing such admiration, Kang Hana also picked up a document she had written hours earlier and started reading it.

It was indeed well written, to the point where one might doubt whether a senior wrote it.

That’s why Kang Hana was even more puzzled.

She had spent the last six months receiving scolding from her seniors, and despite her best efforts, she never came up with anything like this!

“Hana, don’t be so formal. Why don’t you come to the 017-1 auxiliary base with me? You’ll get ten times more than here, and you can go out more often. The work’s tough, but someone like you can definitely handle it. I’m not saying this for no reason, lately the 4th Research Lab seems a bit suspicious…”

Emily, who suddenly leaned in to make the suggestion, caught Kang Hana off guard with the closer distance.

Kang Hana knew exactly how to respond.

“Ah, my heart’s been a bit weak lately, so I can’t go too far…”

She refused.

It sounded like a gentle refusal, but it wasn’t her intention.

Actually, her heart had been hurting often, so it wasn’t just an excuse.

Even inside the base, whenever she moved far, the symptoms worsened, and recently she’d been avoiding the IF-017 isolation room, staying behind the glass wall.

“Ah, I see… Giselle’s been saying she’s been having headaches too. Maybe it’s because you’re a junior. You’re just like her. Working too hard, aren’t you? Go rest, I’ll finish the rest.”

“I’ll finish what I was writing, then I’ll rest. Thank you. I’ll just rest over there.”

When Emily turned to see where Kang Hana was pointing, she sighed.

Where Kang Hana was pointing was a makeshift bed.

“You really are something. Didn’t you sleep there yesterday? You’ll hurt your back…”

“I find it more comfortable there.”

And indeed, it was.

When Kang Hana lay on that bed, the dizziness would disappear, and she’d feel warmth spread through her heart.

‘How long had it been?’

Kang Hana stretched after almost finishing the document, leaving just the last half-page.

She found it strange.

Not long ago, she would’ve dozed off after typing on the keyboard for 30 minutes, but recently, even after working from morning until night, she only felt a light fatigue.

“Come to think of it, it feels like I used to be like this…?”

‘When did it change?’

Kang Hana briefly recalled her past.

[She was number one in her school in elementary school, first in her region in middle school, and competed at a national level in high school.]

[Then, the day her parents passed away… meeting ■… joining FPL…]

“…What was it?” She was so small… so cute. Hmm, it wasn’t IF-017… but… IF-017… damn.”

Kang Hana slapped her forehead.

Once she thought of IF-017, the twisted images she had almost forgotten came rushing back, and everything turned white in her mind.

[Let me know if you need any further help!]

[As if it were a forbidden song that disrupts studying for the college entrance exam.]

[Like an alarm clock that makes you forget a dream in an instant.[

“… Right. IF-017 is the cutest, and the cutest is IF-017. What’s important about not remembering? Hehe…”

The familiar feeling of warmth spread inside her heart, melting the chill.

Kang Hana smiled contentedly and finished typing the last paragraph of her document, pulling it out and heading toward the makeshift bed.

And a little while later.

***

Someone entered with a blanket and gently covered the sleeping Kang Hana.

“Sometimes, she can be a little spacey, like when I first met her, but when she works, she’s more focused than me.”

Emily, sipping the yuja tea Kang Hana had made for her before heading out, began tidying up the area.

Soon, she noticed a document left on the desk.

Unlike the others, this one seemed unfinished, suggesting it was the document Kang Hana had been working on until the end.

“Huh.”

Emily, thinking she would just tidy up the document, soon noticed something strange.

“This is a basic calculation, but the answer’s wrong… and the spelling’s off here. A typo?”

Emily, having seen Kang Hana’s recent work, didn’t think much of it.

She just grabbed a correction pen and corrected the mistakes on the last page.

“I’ve tried everything starting with L and R, but none of them work… So, is the name

‘Lugh’ really correct?”

She nodded.

It was the third time Kang Hana had nodded.

Though slightly annoyed, Emily didn’t want to make a fuss about it.

“Yes. Hello. This is Elena Miller, Beta rank. I heard you’re currently residing in the C-14 area of FPL’s 4th Research Lab. Are you familiar with a child named Lugh?”

“No?”

“Okay.”

“Understood.”

“Yes.”

It seemed like other humans were involved too, based on how she spoke to a black box.

Humans had such a complicated hierarchical culture, and Emily could understand that.

Just remembering her human past made it all clear.

But…

That’s that.

She was too tired.

If this went on, she’d collapse again.

She didn’t know what the janitor was up to, but she wanted to see the end of it before lying down.

“Hey, fat snake. Tell me a funny story.”

She sent this thought.

“Unknown.”

“Lugh.”

“Story.’

“Is it?”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

“What’s this?”

“How dare you call your ancestors by their name?”

Though she wasn’t entirely sure if Lugh was her ancestor, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly, so she sent that thought.

Then, the impudent thought came back.

‘Name.’

‘Confirmed.’

‘No problem.’

It seemed to say that using the name was fine, but Emily found it strange.

‘Why was this creature so confident all of a sudden?’

She had seemed afraid of humans earlier, yet now she was so confident.

“Lugh.”

“Gift.”

“Warmth.”

“Power.”

“Beads.”

“Amazing!”

“Great!”

Ah, she understood now.

The little creature must be acting up because of the “divine fire” she had given it.

Sure, if it had that, it would have no reason to fear humans.

‘But why didn’t she feel afraid?’

She asked herself that question while gently placing the fat snake on the floor, turning her back.

Biiiii?

And the last thing the fat snake saw was probably the back of her head.

‘Surprise.’

‘What!’

‘Denial!’

‘Denial!’

The little snake made a squealing sound.

To the little snake that could only make squealing sounds, Emily sent a thought.

“Keep denying it, and I might get too sad, and my divine fire might just fizzle out.”

‘!!!’

The fat snake’s frantic movements began to slow down, and soon it stopped.

… Affirmative…

Ancestor…

Of course, that was a complete lie.

If the divine fire could really fizzle out from something like that, it would be a huge offense to the heavens.

She couldn’t let that happen.

The fat snake had no right to call its ancestors by name in this ‘Eastern righteous nation.’

“Now, wait! Lugh, don’t mess with the snake… Oh, you’re calm now? Just a second. It’s lying still, but if I touch it now and it bites me… Hmm, the antidote should already be circulating, so…”

Emily had intended to discipline the impudent fat snake, but once she lay down, exhaustion took over.

She could hear the janitor calling something, but she didn’t feel like responding.

“Is the poison and antidote kicking in now? Yes, Lugh. For now, rest well here. Don’t touch that snake… I’m leaving now.”

She couldn’t even wave goodbye because it felt like her arm weighed a ton.

Thankfully, the janitor didn’t seem upset as they left.

***

“Now, it was time to truly rest.”

“Hehe.”

“So comfortable.”

“Kkwa kkwa kwang.”

‘Comfortable… huh?”

“Kkwa kkwa kkwa kwang.”

“What’s that sound?”

“Kkwa kkwa kkwa kkwa kwang kwang!”

“Huh.”

“What kind of chaos is going on?’

The sound was coming from below.

She was too tired to turn her head, so she judged only by the sound.

“… Code Dark… Can you not hear me? This Gamma rank kid…”

“Communication… why isn’t it…”

“… Level 2 ‘Balmung’ can… silence it…”

Kkwa kkwa kkwa-

Hmm, this…

Kraaah!

The balance had already been tense before…

That’s why she had left it be.

“… Not tense at all. The humans are rapidly becoming stars in the lake. At this rate, if they keep dying like this, everyone in this temple-like structure won’t even last a day.”

Despite this, no one was praying to her?

The voice, huge as it was, made even her hear it clearly in her pajamas.

“Ancestor?

Ancestor?!

Fear!

Fear!”

The little snake trembled and squealed.

“Can you hear it…? Water snake, water snake…! Do you hear the burning sound of the creatures that believe in you…?”

And it felt like she could see the gaze too.

It was a pretty big presence coming from below…

… A being with a wild appearance.

‘Wait, is it…?’

“Heheheh.”

“Burn all the creatures here, and my two wings will return. Then, I will fly towards you… It will be soon…”

‘Was she talking to me?’

‘What did she think was supporting her?’

“Gyaaao.”