Chapter 123.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I feel dizzy.
Everything’s too loud.
The tinnitus ringing in my ears hasn’t stopped since earlier.
In this state where I can’t even grasp what I was doing until just now.
My consciousness was gradually settling back into place.
As faint light seeped through my pupils, slowly forming an image before my retinas.
Flicker-
Flicker-
The first thing that came into view was.
Sting-!
The sensation of an awl digging into flesh and the numbness in my arm.
The trail of red blood flowing down my left arm and muscle pain throughout my entire body.
‘…Mr. Noise. Just you wait.’
If I made it back, I planned to go through every single detail point by point.
Without missing a single thing.
Taking my time to…give Noise a proper piece of my mind.
Assuming, of course, I could return alive from this place.
“The atmosphere has changed.”
“……”
At the unfamiliar male voice brushing my ears, my body instinctively froze.
Following the oppressive feeling that seemed to constrict my breath from just that deep voice alone, my gaze landed on.
A perfectly intact appearance…no, objectively handsome features and natural height.
A man in black suit with distinctive golden hair flowing stood in my view.
Even though I thought I’d absorbed most of the information about <Ghost Story Record Storage>
This was someone I’d never seen before.
Yes, definitely someone new.
Though it was clearly my first time seeing him, when I took in the golden-haired man and the six other silhouettes standing around him.
I instantly realized what kind of being Noise had been fighting.
The group known as GRA Agency’s elite Team A.
Team A’s six silhouettes matched information I already knew. And now that Team A was before my eyes.
‘Then…the one standing dead center must be.’
That being called Adam spoke to me again.
“…Adam.”
“Let me ask again. Where did ‘that thing’ disappear to?”
No question about it.
The one in the center was definitely the ‘Adam’ I’d heard about from Eve.
There was no way I could be a match for them.
Bzzt-
!
‘Damn it!’
The static that had been covering my face thanks to Noise was now starting to fade.
This can’t happen.
If this continues, my face will be exposed to them.
I immediately pulled out glasses from my employee id, simultaneously retrieving a mass-produced hero device.
Watching me from afar, Adam’s expression seemed to twist despite the considerable distance.
An extremely unpleasant sense of dissonance.
“Seems words don’t work on you.”
Before I knew it, Adam threw the dagger in his hand toward me at high speed.
Whoosh-!
It was definitely fast.
But not so fast that it couldn’t be dodged.
Especially not while wearing the mass-produced hero gear.
it didn’t seem impossible to catch.
That’s how it should have been…
Swish-!
“…Tch.”
Thunk-!
I didn’t catch the blade Adam threw.
Pure instinct told me I shouldn’t try to grab that dagger.
The dagger I dodged embedded itself in the ground and immediately began emitting.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Subtle low-frequency vibrations. Specifically, the blade embedded in the ground was vibrating faintly.
Seeing that barely trembling dagger stuck in the ground.
If I had tried to catch it barehanded…
“Would have pierced right through your hand while shattering it.”
With that simple explanation, Adam kept his gaze fixed on me while I continued watching them.
I absolutely had to escape Team A’s notice somehow.
Every movement.
Every word.
Had to be careful, deliberate.
No way a shoddy Little Noise act would work on Adam.
I adjusted my posture.
Steadied my breathing.
Minimized trembling.
While ensuring.
Not to reveal any clumsiness.
Whoosh-
Proceeding with conversation while carefully avoiding provoking Adam or the other Team A members behind him.
“My apologies for not introducing myself sooner. I’m an ’employee’ assisting Noise with his work.”
“…Noise? Don’t tell me…you gave ‘The Primordial Ghost Story’ a name?…How absurd.”
Adam showed clear displeasure at my answer.
Just because…
I referred to ‘The Primordial Ghost Story’ as ‘Noise’?
Though my encounter with Adam hadn’t been long, one thing was clear.
‘This guy’s just as difficult as Eve.’
Adam here.
Was exactly that type.
The kind whose displeasure shows plainly when things don’t go his way.
Precisely the type I dislike most.
With personalities like this, the longer the conversation goes, the worse it gets for me.
Prolonged dialogue would only add fuel to his irritation.
I needed to change the subject.
Now was the time to steer the topic elsewhere.
I resolved to avoid using the word ‘Noise’ as much as possible around Adam.
“Regarding this incident, allow me to apologize on his behalf. It seems there was a temporary misunderstanding.”
“…Does your definition of ‘misunderstanding’ include the disappeared people as well?”
“…Huh?”
Disappeared people?
Adam’s suddenly meaningful words carried a cold glint as he began laying out facts that would work against me.
“Our agency has recorded approximately 419 disappearances so far. With numerous reports about a man covered in static being responsible.”
“……”
“If someone who calls killing people a ‘misunderstanding’ appears…I’ll personally eliminate that monster wearing human skin.”
“……”
‘Noise, you!!’
Just what atrocities have you been committing with my body while I was wrestling with Eve in the dream world!
The current atmosphere made it clear this wasn’t something easily resolved.
Thud-
!
Adam began stepping forward.
Though I knew I shouldn’t show agitation at his approach, my heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
“A misunderstanding…let’s handle it this way.”
“…I’m listening.”
Thud-
As Adam’s steps drew closer.
Until suddenly he was near enough to reach out and.
Tap-
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
“If you can return the disappeared people here…I’ll withdraw for today.”
“……”
“You called it a misunderstanding. So you should be able to handle the cleanup process…right, ‘Employee’?”
Amid that cold voice, Adam turned his back and slowly walked away.
Watching Adam retreat while hearing his demand to clean up Noise’s mess.
My body stiffened completely.
As my gaze fell to my left hand, when I called out to the departing Adam.
-Snap your fingers.-
With that thought flashing through my mind.
My pounding heart calmed, and a faint smile touched my lips.
“I trust you’re a man who keeps his promises, Adam.”
“…What?”
Click-
The sound of snapping fingers echoed through the area.
In response, dozens of static masses revealed themselves around the space before Adam.
Flinch-!
Some Team A members watching from a distance moved as if to rush to Adam’s side but.
Whoosh-
Adam raised his right arm, stopping the others from intervening.
At that single gesture, Team A could only stand and watch.
Adam too simply stood observing the scene silently.
Then.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
With extreme static scraping against my ears.
Thud-
“…Ha.”
When Adam saw figures casually walking out from within the static.
A hollow laugh escaped first.
“…A-alive?”
“We’re alive…alive! We’re alive!!”
“Oppa, we’re alive!!”
“Mommyyyyyy-!”
“Th-this man has black flames on his head!!”
The people emerging from the static I summoned were the civilians Adam had called ‘disappeared’.
Instantly the area was filled with hundreds of civilians weeping with joy.
The only ones not smiling in that space were the six Team A members watching from afar, and amidst all those civilians.
Whoosh-
Not the static, but me with black flames wreathing my face as Adam stared coldly at me.
An inexplicable silence stretched between us.
The one who spoke first was…
“Now I believe it’s your turn to keep your promise.”
“…You resemble him. That thing I know…you resemble him.”
Swish-
Adam turned his back on me.
Approaching Team A to issue orders.
“All units return.”
“…Understood.”
Not a single member questioned Adam’s command to withdraw.
Their willingness to turn their backs on my presence meant.
They were that confident.
That if I tried anything foolish, they could cut me down instantly.
‘…Time for me to return too.’
The numbness in my left arm had worsened since earlier.
The battle with Adam and Team A had left too many injuries.
Of course.
Not that I’d contributed at all to those wounds.
Again I lightly snapped my fingers in the air.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
‘…It really works.’
Facing the static wormhole that appeared before me, I casually stepped through.
And naturally, my destination was.
The library where our troublemaker Noise resided.
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