Chapter 109

Since Je Hyun-oh had entered as a ‘Creature Inmate,’ I expected Won Taebeom to be inside Cell-X as well.

However, I hadn’t anticipated him taking on the role of a cleric.

The odds of being assigned that role weren’t particularly high.

Even as my jaw dropped in surprise, I couldn’t help but think the clerical collar suited him well.

When I reached out, he hoisted me up effortlessly—as if pulling a radish from the ground—and set me down on solid earth.

“Thank you.”

I offered a quick greeting, but Won Taebeom didn’t even glance my way.

Instead, he helped Kwak Hanmuk climb up.

Kwak Hanmuk scrambled up with ease and dusted off his clothes.

“Oh man, solid ground.”

I followed suit, dusting off my own clothes while wondering:

Where is CEO Cha?

There was no way he had entered later than Je Hyun-oh; he certainly would have come into Cell-X at the same time.

As I mentally ran through the remaining roles, I suddenly felt a gaze upon me.

Won Taebeom’s stare made me conscious of my attire.

I was wearing the standard-issue prison guard gear I’d received at the rookie training center.

“Ah, Lieutenant Won. My role is the Medic.”

I clarified my role, but his gaze remained fixed on me.

Just as I was wondering why he was looking at me like that, it dawned on me.

I had completely forgotten about the vines wrapped tightly around my forearm.

I surreptitiously retrieved the flashlight I’d tucked in there and offered an excuse.

“I needed it for the True Ending…”

I could sense Kwak Hanmuk stifling a laugh, but I pretended not to notice.

Fortunately, Won Taebeom didn’t press the issue. He simply asked in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

“What needs to be done now? I’ve finished my duties as a cleric.”

He meant that since his own mission was complete, he would fully support me in clearing mine.

I spoke somewhat sheepishly.

“I haven’t finished today’s mission yet.”

I had visited the new guard training center, but that had merely been a side quest.

As a medic, failing to complete the day’s assigned tasks meant paying a price for that failure.

‘I’d probably get the daylights beaten out of me by the guards.’

I intended to avoid that at all costs, but the remaining mission was a bit tricky, which worried me.

“I still have a mission to conduct rounds in Zone X, dealing with the creatures there.”

Medics aren’t issued access passes for Zone X, so I couldn’t enter or leave at will on my own.

As soon as I said that, Kwak Hanmuk asked Won Taebeom.

“Lieutenant Won. You have clearance for Zone X, right?”

“Yes. I have free access in my capacity as a cleric.”

“Okay. There’s a general assembly for the guards right now. Apparently, the warden summoned everyone out of the blue…”

Kwak Hanmuk grumbled about what a total old-school tyrant the warden was, complaining about a general assembly when everyone was swamped with work.

It was rare for the warden to summon the guards; usually, that was the Chief of Security’s job.

The warden played almost no significant role in Cell-X.

I wondered if this was another extension of the anomaly.

“Anyway, since security will be absent, Lieutenant Won, take Chestnut and head to Zone X. Chestnut, take this.”

Kwak Hanmuk pulled an item from his inventory and handed it to me.

It was a keycard that allowed free access to the prison cells. With this single item, I could freely make rounds to check on the creature patients.

Having secured the most essential item, I looked at him with eyes full of awe.

“Captain Kwak… how did you get this?”

It was a prison guard’s item, yet difficult to obtain in the early stages of the game.

To think he had already farmed an item meant for the mid-game.

Kwak Hanmuk gave a simple reply to my look of admiration.

“I borrowed it for a bit.”

He stole it, then.

Kwak Hanmuk chuckled as he saw me marveling at his impressive sleight of hand.

Then, he draped his arm over my shoulder.

“Lieutenant Won. I have to get going now, so I’m leaving Chestnut in your care. Give my regards to Lieutenant Colonel Je. If he complains about the prison food, get some outside meals sent in for him.”

Won Taebeom snapped a salute.

“Yes, Captain.”

Witnessing that respectful attitude, I was once again reminded of just how insolent a trainee I had been.

After all, a captain is normally a figure of such towering authority.

I hesitated, wondering if I should salute him right then, but Kwak Hanmuk dragged me along with his arm still around my shoulder.

“Chestnut. Just walk me as far as the prayer room over there.”

I was practically dragged out to the prayer room.

As soon as we stepped into the hallway and were alone, Kwak Hanmuk called out to me.

“Goyo.”

“Yes?”

“I know it’s hard to control, but you really shouldn’t let your eye color change in front of Lieutenant Won.”

“Yes…”

“Is it really that hard to hold back?”

“It’s not easy to suppress… but I’ll be careful.”

“Lieutenant Won would help with anything if told it’s necessary for the True Ending. But he reports everything up to the Director, so be careful about that, too.”

It seemed that Won Taebeom’s arrival wasn’t solely due to Mo Haein’s hospitalization.

The Special Mission Team had kept a lot of information about me under wraps until now.

Since Director Jang Seokyun was surely aware of this, I suspected he might have sent Won Taebeom in to gather more information.

After seeing Kwak Hanmuk off, I returned to the prayer room.

Won Taebeom turned to look at me.

“…….”

We stared at each other in silence for a moment.

Won Taebeom looked at the vine wrapped around my forearm as if he couldn’t comprehend it at all.

He seemed like he wanted to rip it off and throw it away immediately.

That look—as if he were staring at a madman—was so familiar that it reminded me of Captain Mo.

‘Captain Mo… I should go visit her.’

I wanted to visit her if she was still hospitalized after the closure of Cell-X.

Pushing thoughts of Mo Haein aside, I spoke first.

“Thank you for your help last time, Lieutenant Won.”

Thanks to him risking his life to stand up to the directors of Paseong, I had managed to avoid signing the slave contract and successfully set the stage for negotiations with Director Jang Seokyun.

I offered a polite, formal bow of gratitude, albeit belatedly.

Only then did it occur to me that perhaps I should have saluted.

There was a vast gap in rank not only between a trainee and a captain but also between a trainee and a lieutenant.

‘I wouldn’t salute every time, though. When exactly do you do it?’

It seemed I would need to learn proper military greetings once I officially enlisted.

Won Taebeom, who had been staring intently at me, replied after a brief pause.

“…It’s nothing. For now, please prioritize the closure of the Trial, Trainee Han.”

It meant I shouldn’t waste time on idle pleasantries.

There was something I needed to check before heading to Zone X with him.

Since we happened to be in the prayer room, I decided to ask right away.

“Lieutenant Won. Was there anything unusual?”

Having played the role of a cleric in Cell-X, I was well aware of the duties involved.

What I wanted to know now was whether there had been any other anomalies, similar to the emergence of the creature designated as Creature No. 13.

Sure enough, as soon as he heard the question, Won Taebeom gave me the answer I was looking for.

“It adopts the forms of Catholicism, but the deity worshipped here is a different entity.”

Won Taebeom glanced toward a specific spot.

I followed his gaze.

The prayer room lacked the cross one would typically find in a cathedral or church.

Instead, a strangely shaped wooden carving hung on the wall.

It depicted tentacles—resembling octopus legs—wrapping around a large central eye.

I examined the wooden carving closely.

I could feel the pudding slime atop my head squirming as it, too, inspected the carving.

‘In the game, there was just an ordinary cross hanging there…’

In the prison cells of Cell-X, there was always an old black-and-white TV.

The only thing that played on those TVs was religious programming.

Even when playing the game, I had thought the content of those broadcasts was a bit odd.

That eyeball wrapped in octopus tentacles seemed to fit the bizarre broadcasts I had seen back then much better.

Since I didn’t know much about religion, I ventured a guess of my own.

“Is it something like devil worship?”

“No.”

His decisive answer surprised me. Given Won Taebeom’s personality, I didn’t think he would have spoken so confidently if there were even the slightest uncertainty.

I found myself glancing at him.

Noticing my gaze, Won Taebeom answered calmly.

“I used to be an exorcist.”

He shifted his gaze back to the piece of wood and continued speaking without looking at me.

“I enlisted in the Trial Response Agency after being infected by the BT virus. It’s not exactly a secret; most people know about it.”

His attitude suggested it was nothing special—nothing worth being surprised over.

A chill ran through me.

I hadn’t known about Won Taebeom’s past, but I was familiar with the Trial virus that had infected him.

The BT-DFH virus was a Trial set in a hellish landscape.

To think an exorcist had been infected by a Trial virus teeming with demons…

Of all things…

Yet, unlike me, Won Taebeom wore an indifferent expression.

His tone was so detached, it was as if he were discussing someone else’s affairs.

“It is presumed that a specific deity exists within this Trial world. Aside from that, there are no notable details. Let’s move to Zone X.”

I watched Won Taebeom’s back as he walked ahead.

His broad back, clad in a priest’s cassock, looked upright and steady.

Swallowing a bitter feeling, I followed him toward Zone X.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

As I walked along, feeling a bit drained, Dominic—perched above my head—called out to me.

“Please let me know if you find any more items similar to that piece of wood. There is no rush.”

At his polite request, I gave a small nod, careful not to let Won Taebeom see.

I had a feeling that if I revisited the places where I’d seen crosses in the game, I might find more of those octopus-like tentacles. Still, I wondered why Dominic was interested in such a thing.

It might have symbolized a deity, but ultimately, it was nothing more than a fictional god established within the lore of the Trial.

It was puzzling that Dominic showed interest in it, given that it lacked a tangible physical presence—unlike Infernum.

‘Does he perhaps believe it’s a real god?’

I thought that, lacking his memories, he might simply want to verify it for himself.

Before I knew it, we were drawing close to Zone X.

The vine clinging tightly to my forearm began to writhe frantically, as if it had sensed a familiar atmosphere.

I patted the vine soothingly.

Then, rounding the corner, I reached the iron gate leading into Zone X… but…

“…….”

I thought I was seeing things.

Won Taebeom, who had been walking a couple of steps ahead, had also come to an abrupt halt.

Even without seeing his face, I could sense the bewilderment radiating from his back.

The massive iron gate to Zone X had been torn open in a long, diagonal gash.

It looked as though something made of sharp metal had sliced ​​through the gate and pried the opening wide.

Won Taebeom and I shared the same thought at the same moment.

Without a word to each other, we both rushed into Zone X.

Once inside, we were struck speechless.

Every single special containment cell had been cleanly sliced ​​open.

The iron bars lay scattered across the floor in mangled fragments, and not a single creature remained inside the cells.

At that same moment, a deafening siren began to wail.

It was the alarm signaling a prisoner breakout.

I breathed the culprit’s name, my voice heavy with a groan.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je….”

Je Hyun-oh had set all the creature prisoners free.