༺ Black Butterfly: Epilogue (2) ༻
Om nom nom-!
As I munched on the fruit, my thoughts began to wonder.
There was nothing fun about the recent Black Butterfly adventure.
I had hoped to be the one to smash the black mirror, but nope, it was Watson who did it.
I never felt like I was lacking in terms of abilities, so I wasn’t interested in collecting more of them.
Even if I were to get the ability, it would only be an inferior copy of it. So, wouldn’t the skill I would have gotten from the Black Mirror only be at the level of summoning a bunch of Mini-Reapers?
I had also been secretly tailing Watson, who was extremely harmful to humans, in hopes of beating it. But the guy was quite difficult to destroy.
[Destruction of the main body.]
A simple yet troublesome condition.
Lately, I had been encountering Objects like that quite often. Should I go to the Seoul Forest to find an ability to locate the main body?
The depths of Seoul Forest harbored many unusual Objects, so it was quite possible that such an ability existed.
But I didn’t really want to go to the Seoul Forest.
So, I returned to Sehee Research Institute, pretending that I had been away to just get some fresh air.
Upon my return, I couldn’t help but notice the attitude of the people at the institute was strange.
Om nom nom-!
People were strangely friendly to me. No, their friendliness bordered on excessive.
Other employees started doing things Yerin did before, such as leaving snacks for me or playing with me.
Though, It was nice to have more people to play with, I felt uneasy because I didn’t know the cause for the sudden friendliness.
Even now, a group of four female employees who seemed to be friends came to visit me. They even gave me massages while stuffing snacks and fruits into my mouth.
They kneaded me like dough.
Each person was in charge of massaging a different limb. Perhaps due to the memories of my life as a human, I felt like my body was gradually relaxing, even though my body was not particularly prone to muscle pain.
Slowly but surely, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
***
As we gently massaged its supple arms and legs, the relaxed-looking Reaper closed its droopy eyes, succumbing to slumber.
“Looks like the Reaper has fallen asleep.”
Even though we hadn’t agreed on it beforehand, we still lowered our voices and quietly rose from our seats.
Before leaving the containment room, we did not forget to tuck the Reaper under a cozy blanket.
These days, at Sehee Research Institute, the number of people taking care of the Gray Reaper had significantly increased in recent times.
The Gray Reaper had always been popular, but its popularity soared even higher as of late.
This surge in attention wasn’t due to any directive from the research institute, but rather due to a report that had been published about the recent incident, as well as the photos of the terrible incident that had been circulating.
That very report had been purposefully placed in the institute’s hallway, ensuring that it could be read at any time.
The report was issued by the Temporary Object Management Organization, and its contents carried significant weight.
According to the report, the Reaper possessed the ability to repel the butterflies with just a light touch.
Thanks to this information, the researchers couldn’t help but remember the Reaper’s cute behavior. How it stood in front of the main gate and kept patting everyone.
Little did we know, the Reaper didn’t do it to cheer people up, but to remove the butterflies that were clinging to them.
‘It’s all thanks to the Reaper that our institute, located closest to the sinkhole in Songpa-gu, remained free of any infected people. ‘
It didn’t take long for this conclusion to appear in everyone’s mind.
As a result the Reaper, who had already been popular for its cuteness, became even more popular.
After all, while infected people with horrendous appearances continued to emerge, nothing happened in our research institute.
***
The containment room which was always crowded with employees, grew quieter as the night wore on.
With a sleeping cat nestled in my arms, I switched on the TV. It showed a breathtaking view of the recently completed Ghost Wall in the United States.
To think that a wall made of wood could be so majestic… I couldn’t help but wonder how far humanity could go if we could fully harness the potential of Objects.
Yet, as a human turned Object, I felt that Objects could never be understood with human rationality.
Illogical as it may be, I felt like a completely different system of study aside from science was needed.
Perhaps, more occult-like disciplines such as alchemy or magic.
In the United States, the embargo on certain Objects was lifted and widespread broadcasting began once they completed that huge wall.
It was a story about a ghost that sucked out people’s brains.
If Korea had Objects that ate people from within and assumed their identities, the United States had a monster that approached people in a ghostly state and sucked out their brains.
While Korea solved the problem by eliminating the source, the United States tackled it by building a huge wall that blocked all ghostly objects.
Korea’s solution was neat, but it still didn’t have the technology to create a barrier like the states.
If the detective and I hadn’t destroyed the black mirror, the destruction brought by the butterflies would have been unimaginable.
Even if it were to begin just now, a safety technology like that wall was undeniably crucial.
However, with the disappearance of the Central Research Institute, I couldn’t be certain if it was still attainable.
***
Following the introduction of America’s majestic wall, the familiar face of the Daily Object’s director appeared on the news.
Feeling utterly fed up by him, I just switched off the TV.
These days, the news had become so boring, constantly rehashing the same stories.
The Butterfly Incident, Daily Object, and whatnot.
I hope that news related to Daily Object in particular would only appear again when it was to announce the closure of their business.
To relieve my boredom, I gently put the sleeping ghost cat down and walked out of the containment room. As soon as I stepped outside, I sensed a distinct change in the atmosphere.
The number of people was too little compared to usual.
Come to think of it, Yerin, who used to come to work every day, had been absent more frequently as of late.
Though, it wasn’t so noticeable because other employees came to fill her spot.
It seemed like an Object requiring the attention of a large number of employees had been brought in from somewhere.
As I wandered through the unusually quiet laboratory, I stumbled upon a very, very, veeeeeeeeery familiar facility.
Inside the research institute stood a large, quiet, and well-decorated park.
It should have been a traumatic sight, but instead, it brought a smile to my face.
Could it be that the reason that the Institute feels empty these days is because of this!?!?!?
With a wicked grin, I explored all the containment rooms.
Oh, where could you be~!
To turn the future I dreamed of into reality, I set out to find the ‘Cute Puppy’.
It didn’t take long before I finally stumbled upon it—a huge golden kennel, identical to the one I had seen before.
As I stood inside the containment room, face to face with the huge and magnificent golden kennel, I smiled meaningfully and proceeded to “kidnap” the ‘Cute Puppy’.
As for the containment room’s door? All I had to do was to destroy it!
Though I had gone to see it in person, I had no intention of taking revenge upon the ‘Cute Puppy’.
However, that also didn’t mean that I wanted to see it in my front yard.
Hehe, are you ready to receive retribution for the resentment I harbored during my five years at the Seoul Research Institute?
Upon reaching the fake park built in the lab’s courtyard, I woke the Cute Puppy up.
Waking up and realizing it had been kidnapped, the puppy started to grow in size, attempting to intimidate me.
Its unique look of exasperation was a bonus.
Truthfully, I had no intention of killing the ‘Cute Puppy’.
It was not for the so-called capitalist motive of ‘making money,’ but because ‘Cute Puppy’ helped humanity to survive.
Of course, that was only valid if it didn’t attack me.
I checked the death conditions for the ‘Cute Puppy’.
[Physical destruction of the heart.]
Easy. It was way too eaaasyyyy.
As I finished checking, the ’Cute Puppy’, perhaps sensing something, jumped back like a frightened cat.
Woof-!
The Cute Puppy’s pitiful bark seemed to ask why I was bothering it.
Realizing that it stood no chance against me, the puppy quickly shrunk in size.
It was much smaller than its usual size.
If it’s this small, should we start calling it Cute Mouse?
With a satisfied smile, I hopped towards the puppy.
***
In one corner of the park, where the grass was nice and green, a dog struggled to move painstakingly limping around with only two of its legs…
Each time it let out a labored growl, laughter erupted from those nearby. Even the passersby couldn’t help but smile at the sight.
It looked like a scene that came straight out of a painting.
The gentle warmth of the sunlight above bathed the leaves with just the perfect intensity, while I relaxed in the shade below, listening to the chirping of the cicadas.
Feeling my throat dry up as I looked around the park, I reached for a thermos and poured cold water down my throat.
I relaxed, casually stretching my arms and legs.
Meanwhile, the puppy continued to scurry around the park, its wobbling legs threatening to give away at any moment.
At first glance, it might look like a typical, happy part of everyday life, but beneath this blissful facade, the dog struggled to maintain its balance, forced to run through the park on two legs.
In fact, everything about this rest area was a lie—a fake space created inside a building. Even the passersby walking around the fake park were nothing but employees acting their parts.
They wore a carefree demeanor, and it was only a matter of course.
After all, the one who could not afford to make a mistake was the ‘Cute Puppy’.
The puppy limped through the park with great difficulty, and the staff watched the puppy’s struggle with happy eyes.
This genuinely happy situation would not come to an end anytime soon.
For, until I was satisfied, the lights in this park would never go out, even if the dog were to collapse from exhaustion.
