Free Web NovelChapter 45: Chapter 45
On the first night after entering Clean3, the entire Special Task Force — except for Han Goyo — gathered in the basement for a meeting.
To make a choice.
Whether to carry out the Main Quest, "Rescue Han Goyo," or follow the method Goyo had proposed.
Je Hyun-oh summed up Goyo’s condition in one sentence.
"He’s lost it."
Mo Haein, her face still pale, bit her lip hard.
The basement zone she’d been assigned was connected to the entire mansion, making movement easy, but that was its only advantage.
It was a place where the most troublesome creatures constantly respawned.
Unlike the creatures upstairs, which had a certain elegance to their appearance, the ones underground were hideous from the get-go, and just as nasty in temperament.
Still, the Ray Gun Goyo had pulled from the roulette for her made dealing with them manageable.
Mo Haein sat on a damp wooden barrel, fiddling with the gun in her hand for a moment.
Han Goyo is a necessary member of the team.
This is a logical decision.
"I believe we should proceed with the Main Quest."
She recited only the most objective facts, careful not to let her opinion sound like it was driven by personal history.
"The True Ending method the Trainee has proposed currently benefits the mansion. There’s a risk it could be corrupted before it leads to the True Ending."
Kwak Hanmuk, who had been crouched beside a dented bucket, raised one hand.
"I agree with Captain Mo’s assessment."
Han Goyo had asked them to feed the Cleaners to the creatures for the True Ending.
But the mansion grew stronger the more Cleaners it devoured.
If Goyo managed to keep his sanity for the full seven days, fine. But if he became fully assimilated as a butler and turned on them, it was over.
They might not even get the True Ending — they’d just end up making the mansion stronger.
Mo Haein tried to keep her voice dry as she spoke.
"The problem is, I don’t know what kind of action would count as ’rescue’ for the Main Quest."
Click. Click. Click.
Je Hyun-oh moved his metal hand out of habit as he asked.
"What about Plan C?"
There was one more direction the Special Task Force could take.
Abandon Han Goyo and clear the Trial with just the remaining team members.
Even without completing the Main Quest, there had to be a way to clear it. freewebnøvel.com
Mo Haein suppressed the nausea rising in her throat again.
Fortunately, Kwak Hanmuk spoke up in her place.
"Wouldn’t it be better to just rescue Han Goyo than waste time looking for a Plan C? It’s the Main Quest, so it’s probably the surest bet anyway."
After stating the irrefutable logic, he added his personal opinion.
"Besides, Han Goyo has a lot of knowledge about the Trials, and he triggers weird interactions with NPCs and items. If he gets NPC’d... I don’t think that ends well."
He added one more thing. "And Samra probably won’t sit still either."
Je Hyun-oh scraped the wall lightly with his hand.
Screech. An unpleasant sound, but the stone wall didn’t show a single scratch.
He stared at the wall for a moment before speaking.
"I think he’s too valuable to throw away too."
He’d brought up Plan C, but it seemed he didn’t actually want to abandon Goyo either.
If he was going to kill him, he’d probably want to do it himself.
Kwak Hanmuk thought this as he waited for Je Hyun-oh’s decision.
"We’re going with the Main Quest."
Having set the direction, Je Hyun-oh proposed the simplest and most violent method.
"Let’s tear down the mansion."
Solve the problem physically before the infection got worse.
Kwak Hanmuk wondered if this was just Je Hyun-oh’s personal preference for smashing Trials to pieces.
But he couldn’t think of another rescue method, so he had no choice but to agree.
And so, the second night was set as the operation start.
Kwak Hanmuk, tasked with luring Han Goyo out, approached the Guest Room on the third floor.
He hid himself and waited. Soon, Goyo emerged into the hallway, holding a lantern.
Kwak Hanmuk followed silently, staying hidden, and clicked his tongue inwardly.
Leave him alone and he’s fucking doomed.
That was the only thought that came to mind.
It was the perfect example of the saying that the ones you know best are the scariest.
He expertly swung the lantern to draw in the panicking Cleaners, then used the mansion’s creatures to dispose of them. His skill was so refined that if he were an NPC from the start, no one would find it strange.
If an NPC like Han Goyo — one that lured Cleaners — appeared in Clean3, it would be a massive headache.
The Trial’s difficulty would go up at least one tier.
After hearing the ballerina creature outside the door mercilessly twisting Cleaners like pretzels, Kwak Hanmuk finally called out to Goyo.
If he left it any longer, there wouldn’t be any Cleaners left.
Kwak Hanmuk stalled, preventing Goyo from killing the Cleaners, while observing his behavior to check his infection status.
It was absurd watching him play the diligent Apprentice Butler, but at least he wasn’t at the point where they’d have to kill him if they got him out.
After a brief struggle, Kwak Hanmuk successfully subdued Goyo and bound him tightly with the Bead Rosary.
Things weren’t bad up until the point he dragged the struggling, bound bastard out of the mansion.
Je Hyun-oh had moved a bit too early, but Kwak Hanmuk still thought they could manage.
At least, until the enraged butlers burst out.
"YOU WILL NOT DIE A PLEASANT DEATH!"
The shouts of the two spear-wielding butlers rattled his insides.
Kwak Hanmuk coughed up blood, wiped his chin with the back of his hand, and spat out a curse.
He’d expected the butler bastards to be strong, but this was beyond that.
Fuck, this is at least five-star.
They’d never had to fight the butlers in Clean3 before, so he hadn’t known, but they were definitely not four-star.
He decided to leave them to the Lieutenant Colonel and just run with the crazy chestnut. Just as he made that call —
"...Roasted Chestnut?"
Something completely off-script happened.
The butlers, who should have prioritized protecting the mansion above all else, despite the mansion being attacked —
They prioritized Han Goyo.
Confusion and suspicion hit him at the same time.
Does that even make sense?
NPCs prioritizing an Adaptee over the mansion, their very source?
It was as absurd as Je Hyun-oh being nice to the Trial.
But there was no time to analyze it.
Kwak Hanmuk ran.
"Roasted Chestnut!"
Unbelievably, both the Cat Butler and the Rabbit Butler were chasing after Goyo.
BOOM!
The Black Moon Blade blocked the Cat Butler’s sun spear.
The shockwave sent Mo Haein’s short hair whipping wildly.
Her face expressionless as she faced the Cat Butler, she clicked her tongue.
"Kitty. Come here."
Her provocation was highly effective.
The Cat Butler flew into a rage and began attacking her.
Beams shot from all directions as a flurry of dazzling spear techniques engulfed her.
Mo Haein wasn’t tall to begin with, but next to the butler, she looked miniature.
She used her small frame to her advantage, narrowly dodging attacks and countering.
As for the Rabbit Butler, Je Hyun-oh was supposed to —
"FUCK, LIEUTENANT COLONEL!!"
He was doing something else.
Je Hyun-oh landed on the ground, dismantling his metal wings into feather-blades.
"Hold on."
A Captain must obey when the Lieutenant Colonel says jump. So Mo Haein had no choice but to flee from the Rabbit Butler.
The Rabbit Butler aimed his crescent moon spear.
The sight of a massive being wielding an even longer spear was deeply threatening.
His voice shook her brain.
"Roasted Chestnut. I’ll save him."
The crescent moon spear split the night sky.
Beams rained down radially along the arc of the Rabbit Butler’s swing.
They were too fast to dodge while carrying Goyo.
Kwak Hanmuk used the Bead Rosary to create a barrier and block the beams.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The consecutive impacts made his vision swim.
The moment the barrage ended, Kwak Hanmuk swung the Rosary to entangle the Rabbit Butler’s spear.
At the same time, a sharp sensation pricked at his heart.
He expected an immediate follow-up attack, but for some reason, the Rabbit Butler stopped and stared at him.
Kwak Hanmuk didn’t miss the opportunity and yanked the Rosary with all his strength.
CREEEEAAAK!
The Rosary twisted, emitting a sharp noise, but the Rabbit Butler didn’t even flinch as he held onto his spear.
He seemed to observe Kwak Hanmuk for a moment, then spoke again, his voice even more sinister.
"How insolent."
The Rabbit Butler swung his spear violently.
The Rosary, unable to withstand the metal, finally burst apart, scattering its beads.
Just as Kwak Hanmuk was recalling the shattered beads —
The mansion screamed.
AAAAAAHHHH—!
A scream like an abyssal being’s roar. Both the Cat Butler and the Rabbit Butler stopped moving.
Crack. Crunch.
The East Wing of the mansion was warping.
The building crumpled as if crushed by an invisible force, then exploded.
KABOOM!
Debris from the East Wing sprayed in all directions.
Je Hyun-oh stood before the firework-like explosion of the East Wing, leisurely gathering his metal blades back into wings.
The Rabbit Butler and the Cat Butler looked down at the completely destroyed East Wing.
Their eyeless gazes sent an involuntary chill down Kwak Hanmuk’s spine.
What the hell did he do?
He let out a brief, admiring curse, then bolted again.
Both butlers aimed their spears at Je Hyun-oh simultaneously.
Light like a blazing sun and light like a cold moon gathered at the spear tips.
A different attack pattern than before.
The lights swelled, merged into one, and fired a high-energy beam.
Je Hyun-oh launched into the air to dodge, but it was useless.
The beam tracked its target.
So he angled his wings and headed toward the Main Hall.
If he was going to get hit anyway, he might as well take the Main Hall down with him.
But the butlers seemed to have anticipated his intent. They swung their spears again.
A beam fired from a different direction struck Je Hyun-oh from the opposite side, catching him perfectly in the middle.
FLASH!
For an instant, everything turned bright as day.
When the light faded, Je Hyun-oh’s body was falling to the ground.
He flapped his wings just before impact, barely avoiding the crash.
Stumbling, he collapsed to his knees. A crack ran through his goggles, then split in two and fell away.
Je Hyun-oh slowly raised his head.
And Kwak Hanmuk felt the need to run faster.
Not because Je Hyun-oh was a monster for surviving that hit.
But because in his blood-soaked face, his eyes were gleaming with delight.
We’re fucked.
When Je Hyun-oh got to that state, he couldn’t distinguish friend from foe.
If you lingered nearby and got caught up in it, there was no hope.
And on top of that, the butlers’ attack power was abnormally high. This could end in the worst-case scenario — all of them getting wiped out.
He clutched the Bead Rosary anxiously. Then, a faint voice reached him.
"Captain Kwak..."
Kwak Hanmuk was more startled by this than by Je Hyun-oh surviving the dual-direction beam.
The Rosary had moved on its own, without its master’s command, and freed Han Goyo’s mouth.
Han Goyo, his face pale, spoke.
"I’m back to my senses, so please let me go."
Of course, he couldn’t just believe him.
Kwak Hanmuk used a classic verification method.
"The butlers are a cat and a rabbit. Say it."
"The butlers are a cat and a rabbit. Now let me go."
Kwak Hanmuk released the Rosary.
Han Goyo stepped down, rubbing his wrists, and looked at the chaotic scene.
Then he apologized, without preamble.
"I’m sorry, Captain Kwak."
A system window appeared before Kwak Hanmuk’s eyes.
’Han Goyo’ has registered ’Kwak Hanmuk’.
