༺ Ice Throne (1) ༻
On a serene afternoon, I was enjoying a picnic, basking in the sunlight at the courtyard of Sehee Research Institute.
I relaxed in the shade of a tree while sipping a cold drink.
Slurp Slurp-!
However, my peaceful snack time, courtesy of Yerin, was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected event.
The ‘Cute Puppy’, exhausted and lying down from exhaustion, suddenly started barking like crazy.
If it had been any other action, I would have tilted my head and wondered, ‘What’s wrong with it?’ or ‘Has it gone mad?’ It was an unexpected behavior. However, its sudden outburst was something I had seen when I was human. It was called the seizure of the ‘Cute Puppy.’
Yerin, who was lying down next to me, immediately shifted her expression. She took out a small notebook and began jotting something down.
That outburst was the reason why people raised the ‘Cute Puppy’ and catered to all its unreasonable demands.
It was also the reason why the ‘Cute Puppy’ made a lot of money.
You see, the Cute Puppy had the ability to sense things related to Objects happening around it.
Whenever the puppy sensed something, it would bark like that, providing us with information about the direction and angle of the occurrence.
But why did such a simple ability bring in money?
Well, when someone discovered an Object and contained it, the government would pay them.
People could also earn money by simply finding an Object and reporting it.
Since most Objects didn’t coexist well with humans, it was only natural that the sooner they were discovered or contained, the less damage the city would suffer.
To incentivize research institutes to take action, generous bounties were placed on activities such as Object discovery.
These bounties were put in place in order to protect the city and human life.
Therefore, many institutes had multiple investigation teams under their wing, aiming to preemptively discover or capture Objects.
Even though the information provided by the Cute Puppy wasn’t always 100% correct, its value was still high since the puppy could easily carry out such manpower-intensive investigations, all while sitting on the floor of the research institute.
Moreover, the speed and accuracy of the Cute Puppy surpassed those of individuals who patrolled in-person. It was in a league of its own. This made it an indispensable Object to enhance Seoul’s safety, even if only by a small margin.
Even at the Seoul Research Institute, whenever the ’Cute Puppy’ suddenly started barking like that, the staff responsible for managing it would all stop working and wait for the researcher to interpret its barks.
It was said that the Cute Puppy communicated through several barking patterns, and it was believed that these could be quickly learned with proper study.
However, when I had tried to learn these patterns in hopes of increasing my salary back when I was still a human, I found out that the curve was extremely steep.
The level of difficulty was far beyond the grasp of an ordinary person who didn’t study diligently.
Glancing over Yerin’s shoulder, I saw her writing gibberish in her notebook. Even now, I still don’t get it at all!
“I need to go.”
Finishing her calculations, Yerin got up wearing a slightly urgent expression. With quick steps, she made her way towards the institute’s building.
***
So busy!
I hurriedly made my way to the office, clutching the paper containing my interpretation.
The results were quite significant—Numerous Object-related phenomena were occurring near Dobong-gu.
The problem was that Dobong-gu was currently considered the most dangerous area in Seoul.
Upon reaching the office, I handed over the interpretation sheet to Senior Kim Jung-rwi.
As he read through it, his expression hardened, and he immediately made a phone call.
“What do you mean? How does that make any sense?! Are you suggesting we take on such responsibilities even though we are only temporarily in charge of the ‘Cute Puppy’?”
The conversation, initially quiet, escalated into an argument, with both parties yelling and exchanging heated words as the phone call continued.
“What can I even do here? How do you expect me to act on your sudden request when I wasn’t given any information about it in advance?”
From what I gathered, it seemed that there was no specific department to carry out work related to the ‘Cute Puppy’ since the Central Research Institute had been completely destroyed.
Furthermore, the government was currently implementing a plan to dismantle all national research institutes and transfer all authority to the private ones. As a result, it looked like they were demanding the Sehee Research Institute to conduct an investigation and create a report.
We were suddenly burdened with full responsibility regarding the ‘Cute Puppy,’ when we had only expected to house it temporarily.
It was an unfair demand that far exceeded our initial agreement, but research institutes were obliged to follow government directives.
After all, research institutes couldn’t operate without government subsidies.
It might be different for the research institute in the United States, though. As they manufactured and sold equipment that could deal with Objects.
Hmm, I can smell the strong scent of extra work that I absolutely do not want to do.
Sure enough, as soon as Kim Jung-rwi sunbae slammed the phone down, he asked everyone in the office to gather around him.
Naturally, I tried to sneak away, but as expected, slipping away right under his nose was simply impossible; I was caught.
“Oh Ye-rin, you should head to that area and conduct an investigation. It’s near Dobong-gu, so be prepared.”
The map he handed me contained detailed information about the route I needed to take and the tasks I had to perform,
Sigh… I don’t wanna go…
I gave up and stopped by the supply room to pick up the things I needed for my business trip to Dobong-gu.
However, as I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the unavoidable reality of having to go, a bright yellow beam of light suddenly illuminated my face from the side.
The Reaper was staring at me with an expression full of curiosity.
“Do you want to come along?” I asked, extending my hand towards the Reaper, who eagerly grasped it.
For some reason, I felt that this business trip would be fun.
***
We arrived at our destination in a car driven by Yerin.
As we reached the boundary of Dobong-gu, our intended goal, I saw a towering concrete barrier encircling the entirety of Dobong-gu.
It was the massive wall that separated Dobong-gu from Gangbuk-gu.
It was my first time seeing it in person.
Perhaps because it was a wall built as a defense against Objects, the wall felt both practical and majestic at the same time.
There were rumors that the other side of the wall was an icy hell, with temperatures plummeting to minus 100 degrees Celsius. It almost felt as if I could sense the cold seeping through, even on this side of the wall.
Yerin parked the car, took out a camera, roughly set it to face the wall, and returned.
“Now, let’s start our picnic part 2!”
Yerin spread out a mat on a suitable spot and patted the spot next to her repeatedly.
‘…’
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t help but think that Yerin’s behavior would get her fired someday.
***
Om Nom Nom-!
While we were busy eating snacks, Yerin’s phone abruptly rang.
She furrowed her brow as she glanced at the screen before answering the call.
“This is Oh Yerin.”
As soon as Yerin answered, a barrage of complaints began pouring out from the other end of the line.
[Are you with the Gray Reaper right now? You should report it properly. Just what on earth were you thinking…]
However, the nagging was short-lived.
While Yerin was still on the call, something strange happened.
Bang-!
A tremendous shock reverberated through the ground.
The shock was so tremendous that I, who was sitting on the mat, was blown up into the air.
Yerin, startled by the sudden impact, sprang up to her feet.
Perhaps due to the shock wave, the call seemed to have already been disconnected.
Bang-!
Another resounding impact followed, causing the distant wall to crumble into a cloud of concrete debris.
Through the gap in the broken wall, a colossal fist emerged.
The fist swung again, shattering the wall once more.
These were the so-called soldiers of the Ice Throne, ruthlessly destroying the wall with their indiscriminate blows.
The soldiers of the Ice Throne were mechanical soldiers, their transparent body was made of ice and was operated by gears and mechanisms.
A frigid blue aura emanated from their entire bodies.
Beyond the fallen wall, an endless army of Ice Throne soldiers came into view.
They were soldiers clad in armor crafted out of ice.
Though nearby residents fled in panic, the ice soldiers paid no heed to the fleeing crowd, focusing solely on smashing the buildings and walls.
Just like what they did during the invasion of Dobong-gu ten years ago.
Seeing the destruction, Yerin tightly grasped my hand, quickly putting me in the car, and drove off in a frenzy.
The robots moved very slowly, but there was a reason for us to hurry.
“Ha… Ha…”
A white breath leaked from Yerin’s mouth, even though it was summer.
The temperature felt as though it had plummeted to -10 degrees.
Monsters that had never come out of Dobong-gu, finally began their advance.
Fortunately, because a lot of people didn’t want to live near the Dobong-gu wall, there were only a few cars on the road.
Racing along the national highway, Yerin’s phone buzzed.
The text message that appeared on the screen was brief:
[Other investigation teams have started fleeing. You should escape quickly as well.]
The message held little use for Yerin, as we were already running away.
***
Yerin’s face was pale.
Even at a glance, it was clear that she was not well.
Meanwhile, despite it being summer, a snowstorm raged outside of the car window.
The temperature in the center of Dobong-gu was said to be around -100 degrees. Had the temperature here dropped to that point as well?
It was undoubtedly difficult for Yerin, who was wearing only thin clothes, to endure the biting cold.
To make matters worse, the car made a strange unfamiliar noise before coming to a complete halt.
Yerin curled her body, sighing in discomfort.
With a shiver, she slowly turned her gaze towards me, her lips pursed in an attempt to speak. However, no words escaped her mouth.
She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but the words eluded her as she closed her eyes.
***
Groggy, I woke up to a faint sensation of warmth.
Hmm, I lost consciousness from the cold. I really thought I was going to die!!
Did I survive?
Or is this the afterlife?
Given that extraordinary beings like Objects were running around on earth, it wouldn’t be surprising for an afterlife to exist too.
However, the intense heat I felt against my skin assured me that this was reality.
As I slowly blinked my eyes open.
I found myself face-to-face with the sleeping Reaper.
The flames burning within it were so intense that its gray skin appeared yellow, driving away the bitter cold surrounding us.
The Reaper had nestled into my clothes, leaving only its head and neck exposed.
Raising my hand, I gently stroked the Reaper’s head and whispered softly.
“Thank you.”
I held onto the Reaper tightly, cherishing its comforting warmth.
