Chapter 224:
Chapter 224:
Chapter 224
I stormed into the room, filled with rage, and slammed the door open.
Bang!
Demiarios!
My red hair was still blazing like a volcano, showing that my anger had not subsided at all.
I glared at Demiarios, who was sitting by the window, leisurely reading a book.
Demiarios closed the book with a loud thud and greeted me without any sign of surprise.
Utata, Chief Inspector. What a rude intrusion into someone elses residence. Whats the matter? Its very impolite of you. Even if you and I are both chiefs, we belong to different branches. You should at least show some courtesy to your fellow workers from another branch.
Courtesy? Did you just spout the word courtesy from that hole in your face?
Then, what should I say?
I felt an urge to twist off his damned octopus head right away at his brazen response.
The only reason I didnt do that was because I had seen and experienced a lot of things while climbing up to this position, and gained some wisdom.
He was provoking me on purpose, so I cooled down instead.
My hair color faded a bit.
But it didnt turn completely white, because there was still a spark of fury inside me, ready to flare up again.
Yeah. Demiarios, Chief. I have something to ask you.
Oh? Well, Im in a very good mood right now, so Im willing to answer anything as long as its reasonable.
Shamat, former manager. Do you know what happened to him?
He replied nonchalantly, even though I mentioned Shamats name bluntly.
What happened to him? Didnt he get locked up in the disposal chamber? I dont know anything after that.
Dont play dumb. You think I dont know that you attacked our department staff and freed Shamat?
This seems like a misunderstanding. So, to summarize your words, Shamat, the former manager, escaped from the disposal chamber, and Im accused of being his accomplice?
Who else would do such a thing if not you?
My voice was sharp.
If Demiarios showed even a slight hint of suspicion at this moment, my condensed anger would turn into a blade and pierce his heart.
You were in a hurry, werent you? Did you think you would be safe after doing such a thing?
But what Demiarios showed me was far beyond my expectation.
Check it out.
What?
Check it out. Heres the record of where I was today.
He handed me the data that showed his whereabouts and activities for today.
I checked it quickly with doubt.
According to the Genesis systems record, Demiarios had stayed in his residence all day without going anywhere else.
Theres no lie in that data. As you know, the data engraved by the system is impossible to manipulate. Dont you know everything that you should know as Utata?
I couldnt argue with that.
Demiarios had brought out an undeniable axiom.
The Genesis system never makes mistakes.
The only ones who can change it are those who are related to the Foundation.
That was an absolute truth that never had an exception since this universe, this hybrid system was born.
Thats amazing, Demiarios.
What is?
Its as if you knew it would happen today. You have data that can prove your innocent whereabouts on such a day. Didnt you usually hide where and when you went?
Hmm. Well. I just wanted to do something like that because I felt like changing my mood. Dont you know? We, who have risen to the position of chief, have lived too long and need new stimulation in our daily lives.
Utata silently glared at Demiarios.
He had a strong suspicion, but he had no evidence to prove Demiarios crime. As a result, Demiarios was off the hook as a suspect.
He killed two of my subordinates. The only one who can kill Teller, who is under protection, is another Teller who is under the same system of protection. And if he can overcome that gap and kill him, he must be at least a chief.
He had the power of a chief, he was a Teller, and he had a strong possibility of releasing Shamat, the criminal.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no one else but Demiarios who could be the culprit.
However, pointing him out as the culprit was tantamount to distrusting Genesis.
Could there be another accomplice? A chief who can do that?
As far as he knew, there was no chief who maintained a close relationship with Demiarios.
Utata reversed his thinking and put other chiefs who were hostile to him on the suspect list, but he couldnt be sure of that either.
His unknown intuition screamed that Demiarios in front of him was the culprit, but his reason told him not to jump to conclusions.
Utata was more inclined to trust his rationality than his emotions and instincts.
Demiarios smiled with a low voice, as if he knew or didnt know his inner conflict.
Well, it seems that your investigation has hit a snag.
Then, what are you doing here?
Im watching.
Watching? What exactly?
The sight of a world shedding one layer of its shell.
On the window of the Genesis network that Demiarios opened, the image of the earth was clearly captured.
The sight of the changing world, and the sight of those who resist or accept the change within it.
Utata thought that his smile was really disgusting.
Its very enjoyable.
***
The runaway situation of the world of thoughts that occurred in Luoyang, Henan Province, China.
Emergency warnings rang out everywhere, and citizens ran away while collectors took up their weapons and fought.
Such things did not only happen in Luoyang.
All over the world, in the capitals or major cities of each country, all the worlds of thoughts that had been left unattended for a long time without clearing began to run wild.
It was almost simultaneous disasters, except for a slight time difference.
The governments of each country were in a state of emergency. Korea was no exception.
The damage is increasing exponentially everywhere!
The land around the entrance of the world of thoughts is mutating! The buildings nearby are collapsing quickly!
Call all the collectors! Its an emergency!
Beep!!!
A disaster warning text message was sent to all citizens.
The field manager who was monitoring wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead without even thinking about it and stared at the monitor with bloodshot eyes.
They had done almost everything they could do right away. Now all that was left was to hold hands and hope that the damage would not be too great.
Oh God. Please, let the collectors stop this situation safely.
While calling for collectors and looking for Gods name in an ironic situation where God did not answer their earnest prayers.
They were just watching.
***
At the same time, Yu-hyun received a phone call from Jia.
Hello.
[Oh. Are you available now?]
Yes. Jia? Did you arrive safely in Europe? Its daytime there, right?
[Yeah.]
Yu-hyun felt relieved that she had arrived safely, but at the same time, he felt a bit sorry for what he was about to say.
She just took a long flight to get there, and Im telling her to come back as soon as possible without doing anything.
Unfortunately, he had no choice. Jia thought that regaining her memory was important for the future, but Yu-hyun thought that it might cause more problems if she did.
Jia. I know its ridiculous to say this after youve gone all the way there, but please listen to me.
[Whats going on? Is there any problem?]
Not right now, but there might be if we think about the future
Beeeeep!!!
Suddenly, a loud alarm sounded, interrupting Yu-hyuns speech.
He felt a sense of crisis and his expression hardened in an instant.
Celine. Check whats going on.
-Senior. I just checked. As of now, the worlds of thought in various places around the world are running wild.
The worlds of thought? What exactly is happening? Dont tell me the changes we predicted are starting now?
-Yes. It seems so. At the same time as the worlds of thought are running wild, the fantasy entities are causing trouble. And its happening all over the world.
Thats bad. I got it. You keep monitoring the situation.
Yu-hyun ended his communication with Celine and resumed his call with Jia.
It seems like something has happened here. I dont think we have time to talk leisurely right now. So Ill just tell you this one thing. Jia. Please come back to Korea as soon as possible. Forget about finding the hidden piece to regain your memory for now.
That was all Yu-hyun could say at the moment.
He wanted to explain to Jia why he said that, but the situation seemed too serious to ignore.
[What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
I dont have time to explain right now, but I have a reason to say this. Ill tell you everything when you come back, so please just think about coming back first.
[Okay.]
Jia didnt argue with Yu-hyuns words.
Yu-hyun felt grateful for that and hung up the phone.
At the same time, Kang Hye-rim burst into the room.
She had a sword in her hand and she was sweating profusely.
She must have been training until a moment ago.
She ran over in a hurry because she also heard the news.
Yu-hyun! Did you see the news?
Yes. I did.
Yu-hyun quickly got ready to go out.
He didnt have much to prepare anyway.
He was always ready to jump into battle.
Lets go, Hye-rim. Lets sweep up all the rampaging fantasy entities.
Yes!
Yu-hyun and Kang Hye-rim grabbed their weapons and headed outside.
Hmm.
Kwon Jia, who had just finished a phone call with Yu Hyun, couldnt help but sigh with mixed feelings.
She had come all the way to Greece, but as soon as she contacted him, he told her to return.
If it were her usual personality, she would have snapped back at him and moved on with her original purpose, but this time she didnt. Kwon Jia must have felt something in Yu Hyuns voice.
He seemed to know something that I couldnt just ignore.
She didnt hear the details of what happened in Korea because of the sudden incident, but Kwon Jia knew that Yu Hyun wasnt the type of person to say such things lightly.
He must have judged that there was some reason that she hadnt realized yet.
She didnt hesitate for long.
She had learned bitterly from several experiences that being greedy and messing things up was foolish.
Kwon Jia reluctantly decided to go back to Korea.
What is this?
She finished the check-in at the airport and came out to check the flight schedule, but she felt the chaotic situation outside.
Ordinary people might not know the changed atmosphere itself, but Kwon Jia could tell through her instinct that was forged by hundreds of deaths.
That something was happening in this vicinity.
Ah! Everyone run!
As if to prove it, from far away, a man ran toward the entrance of the airport screaming.
His pale face and rough breath. The red blood that flowed from the wound on his arm.
The man was desperately running away from something.
The people who were near the airport also noticed him and widened their eyes.
Whats going on? Whats happening?
Look over there! Someones hurt!
What is this? Is there a fight or something?
It didnt take long for the peoples questions to be answered.
Behind the man who ran toward this side, several shadows appeared one by one.
They were all soldiers armed with identical weapons.
And the forces that approached this way with their weapons clenched, there was no one in this place who thought they were ordinary people.
Fa, fantasy creatures?! Why are they here?!
Where are the collectors? What are the collectors doing?
The citizens screamed and tried to run away.
Screams erupted everywhere, and the people who were watching and running away got tangled up and caused confusion in the area.
Kwon Jia frowned as she watched them.
This wasnt a problem that could be solved by simply avoiding it. If she left this place empty, many people would die.
To begin with, if she couldnt sort out this situation, she wouldnt be able to get back to the airport properly.
Kwon Jia immediately drew her sword. The straight blade of Myeongdo shone brightly in the sunlight.
Im sorry for breaking my promise to come back right away.
There was no way for her to avoid a fight now that things had come this far.
Kwon Jia held her sword and ran past the citizens toward the fantasy creatures.
Around her body, a purple haze transformed into a giant beast.