Chapter 147

The moment I saw Je Hyun-oh, only one thought came to mind.

My subordinate!

I wasn’t at all curious about how on earth he had managed to enter a trial with a limited number of participants.

He must have wanted to see me.

So much so to not be able to wait even a moment.

Quite a bit of time had passed inside the trial, but outside, it must have been just a split second.

Since he couldn’t even wait that long and came looking for his master, I found myself smiling without realizing it.

I smiled as I looked at my subordinate.

He approached me with slow steps.

Blood-stained boot marks were imprinted on the ground.

Leaving a trail of red, he stopped right in front of me and studied me.

I could feel his gaze sweeping over me.

I loved the moments when my subordinate’s mind was occupied solely with thoughts of me.

And as expected…

His original form is best.

The form he took to mimic a human wasn’t the true essence of my subordinate.

I liked the strong and fast metal wings, the metal hands that could cleave through anything, and the golden pupils embedded in the center of his eyes.

My subordinate, who had been staring intently at me as I smiled, soon turned his gaze away.

At the sudden appearance of my subordinate, CEO Cha froze, holding his sword.

Even for him, this must have been the first time he had experienced something like this.

He had forcibly breached the Trial’s system.

It was an act that defied standard parameters, shaking the very foundations of order and law.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je… You possess a talent I was unaware of.”

My subordinate showed no reaction to CEO Cha’s words.

He simply kept his gaze fixed, hidden behind his darkened goggles, on CEO Cha.

BANG!

He immediately struck him with his metal hand.

The white sword and the black metal clashed.

The scrape of metal against metal rang out, and Je Hyun-oh swung his metal wings.

CEO Cha stepped back, but the sharp blade had already grazed his skin.

Blood splattered, staining his test subject clothes.

Je Hyun-oh chased after the retreating CEO Cha, swinging his metal hand.

As he tried to dodge the metal hand, his upper body lurched forward momentarily.

Je Hyun-oh seized the opportunity created by the loss of balance and delivered a kick to CEO Cha’s solar plexus.

CEO Cha’s body slammed straight into the wall. The wall warped around him like a meteorite crater.

As Je Hyun-oh approached the man buried in the wall, his metallic hand emitted a constant, grinding sound.

CEO Cha briefly lifted the lower part of his mask and spat out the blood.

Adjusting his mask, he silently grasped his sword and stood up.

Just as they were about to clash again…

I was battling the system window that was rising and obscuring my vision, and the psyche of a social misfit.

‘I need to stop this quickly…!’

Je Hyun-oh looked ready to sever at least one of CEO Cha’s arms.

But my subordinate needs a toy to vent his anger on.

That… has some truth to it, though.

Since CEO Cha snatched me away right before his eyes, Je Hyun-oh wouldn’t calm down easily.

I could stop him by using an ability, but that would only last a few seconds.

I could picture him immediately pouncing again.

How about I let him play for just 80 seconds?

80 seconds?

I examined the rising system window.

Although a system window popped up saying I had made a name for myself, my recognition had only increased by 0.001% since clearing Cell-X.

It was such a minuscule increase that I was grateful they even displayed it.

Meanwhile, Black Block-ssi seemed to have watched this without missing a beat.

It was to the point where I suspected he was staring at me 24 hours a day.

Next, I checked the system window and was shocked.

Although the text was strangely distorted, a notification stating that it was being closed appeared.

It was a True Ending clear. However, perhaps due to an abnormal clear, there were no items to take with me.

As I looked at the system window, which appeared to be malfunctioning, a new video suddenly appeared on the floor.

Large text appeared on the screen.

It was the name of the trial.

I looked at the floor for a moment, then shifted my gaze to Je Hyun-oh and CEO Cha.

The white sword was barely holding back the onslaught of the metal hand and metal wings.

The feathers that failed to block were tearing CEO Cha’s clothes and skin to shreds.

Fun.

I watched my subordinate run wild with satisfaction.

The dazzling exchange of light was entertaining.

Screeeech.

The metal hand scraped a long line across the white blade. The metal hand, sliding up the sword, aimed at the mask.

As CEO Cha tilted his head back to dodge, the fingertips grazed the underside of his chin, leaving a long, shallow cut.

In an instant, a red line formed, and blood flowed down.

Before his collar could even be stained red, the next attack followed.

Blue veins bulged on the back of CEO Cha’s hand as he gripped the sword.

He slashed the Daeil Yeorae horizontally, unleashing a burst of white sword energy.

Pushed back by the energy, Je Hyun-oh slashed the ground with his metallic hand.

As Je Hyun-oh slowed down to avoid hitting the wall, CEO Cha immediately counterattacked.

Just before he swung the Daeil Yeorae…

For a brief moment, our eyes met.

In that very short instant, the tip of the sword trembled slightly.

At the same time, Je Hyun-oh spread the six wings on his back with a rustling sound.

The moment a chilling metallic sound rang out, the wings disintegrated into feathers and poured down toward CEO Cha.

In that confined space, there was nowhere to hide.

“…!”

Eventually, a black metal feather became embedded in CEO Cha’s thigh.

The metal feather moved on its own as if possessing a will of its own, digging into the flesh and scraping against the bone.

CEO Cha’s body staggered violently.

Following this, feathers became embedded in his other thigh, and then in both arms as well.

The thick smell of blood brought me back to my senses.

It was truly time to stop him.

Why? Let’s play a little longer.

The moment I was about use my ability, ignoring the thoughts of a social misfit…

The world distorted and flowed down in a kaleidoscope of colors.

It was time to leave.

And just before emerging from the Trial…

I saw the text displayed on the floor change.

The word "Press" densely filled the floor.

Suddenly, all the letters vanished, and a single sentence was displayed.

I left the trial without seeing the last sentence that appeared.

To think I found it amusing to watch Je Hyun-oh and CEO Cha fight each other.

The mindset of a social misfit was not just crazy; it was insane.

I had a feeling that the two of them would continue to fight even after coming outside.

As soon as I regained consciousness, I opened my eyes in a hurry.

“…?”

Prayer beads were tangled all around.

“I knew this would happen, I knew it would happen.”

Kwak Hanmuk stood in the middle of the ruined CEO’s office with his arms crossed.

The beads extending from him held me, Je Hyun-oh, and CEO Cha tightly bound in mid-air.

For some reason, Je Hyun-oh was tied up quietly. He seemed to have calmed down a little.

CEO Cha was bleeding heavily.

As blood gushed from every limb where the feathers had been embedded, the pool of blood pooling at his feet was growing larger and larger.

Beside him, Mo Haein pointed her Black Moon Blade at him with a cold expression.

“CEO Cha, you are truly something else.”

Kwak Hanmuk glared at CEO Cha, his eyes squinting.

“Where did you learn the etiquette of throwing a visitor into a trial?”

“…….”

CEO Cha said nothing.

Then, Mo Haein spoke in a low voice, still aiming her Black Moon Blade at him.

“CEO Cha. The TRA is fully capable of using force.”

She cast her gaze to the side.

“The liability is clear, so please handle the subsequent response decisively.”

Mok Saehwa and Seo Moonchan stood by the entrance to the CEO’s office.

They wore expressions that conveyed the inevitable had finally arrived.

It was as if I had anticipated this would happen ever since I had planned this hospital visit.

Seo Moonchan stepped forward with a warm smile.

“I am truly sorry, Captains.”

He apologized immediately without making excuses and made a polite request.

“Paseong will compensate you separately for this matter. If you don’t mind, could you please return the CEO?”

Kwak Hanmuk moved his prayer beads as if annoyed and flicked CEO Cha over.

Mok Saehwa and Seo Moonchan immediately caught CEO Cha.

CEO Cha, having waved off the directors who tried to assist him, looked at me.

He quietly gazed into my eyes, which had now returned to an ordinary color rather than gold.

“CEO Cha.”

I called out to him first, then spoke calmly.

“I hope there won’t be a repeat of this in the future.”

As if the moment I had revealed my raw, vulnerable self to him during the trial had never happened.

CEO Cha let out a short laugh.

That was the end. In the end, he didn’t give any answer.

Under Kwak Hanmuk’s arrangements, I was sent back to the TRA.

Je Hyun-oh was loaded into a container that Kwak Hanmuk had prepared in advance.

To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, Mo Haein decided to board the container with Je Hyun-oh.

And before boarding the container, Je Hyun-oh beckoned a metal hand toward me.

I quickly approached him and whispered what I had wanted to say for a while.

“I’m sorry for making you wait…”

At that, Je Hyun-oh took off his goggles and pushed them up over his head.

The man, revealing his golden pupils once again, stared intently at me.

“Goyo.”

He smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“Aren’t you curious how I got in?”

“If I ask, will you answer?”

“No.”

“…….”

“Still, keep wondering.”

“Huh…?”

Je Hyun-oh put his goggles back on and went inside the container.

While I was talking to Je Hyun-oh, Mo Haein signaled to Kwak Hanmuk.

After exchanging silent words with Kwak Hanmuk through their eyes, she closed the container door.

And so, I ended up returning in the military vehicle that Kwak Hanmuk had brought.

It was the same type of sedan as the one Je Hyun-oh had driven, but the ride quality was worlds apart.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I silently praised Kwak Hanmuk’s driving skills and glanced at the back seat.

It was loaded with desserts from the cafe I had planned to buy.

There seemed to be no end to the paper bags and cake boxes bearing the cafe’s logo.

‘So this is what he meant by going to buy them himself.’

It seemed he had already planned to come to Paseong from that moment on.

"I brought some coffee for Chestnut-ie, so drink up."

Kwak Hanmuk gestured with his chin toward the iced Americano stuck in the cup holder and turned the steering wheel.

Next to the coffee sat another chilled drink that looked like a refreshing fruit smoothie..

I drank my coffee while looking at the system window in front of me.

By closing Cell-X and PTB, I now filled two out of seven slots.

However, I felt that PTB was definitely not enough.

Just looking at the timid rise in recognition, it was clear.

I felt a bit dazed.

From Je Hyun-oh tearing through the trial to enter, to him getting angry at CEO Cha while even speaking informally to him.

Everything just felt unreal, like a dream.

‘How on earth did Je Hyun-oh get in?’

Forcing his way into a Trial that had strict entry limits…

The image of the metal hand that seemed to cleave through space was vivid.

It didn’t even seem like he was doing something like this for the first time.

‘But he said he wasn’t infected…’

I tried to think it over while cooling my burning head with coffee, but there was no way I could find an answer.

It felt like there were too many things I didn’t know. I struggled to shake off the temptation to look into Je Hyun-oh and shifted my thoughts.

Still, thanks to Je Hyun-oh entering PTB, I came to my senses a little.

Until then, I had been acting completely irrationally.

I couldn’t control my emotions for a moment and yelled at CEO Cha.

Even if he had pushed me to the very edge, it was an excessive reaction.

I felt a little regret, but even if I went back to that moment, I still wouldn’t be able to hold back.

Still, one thing became certain.

Both CEO Cha and I have things we are hiding from each other, but neither of us intends to be the first to reveal them.

In a situation where trust was absent, even if I were to reveal everything to CEO Cha first…

He wouldn’t reveal anything of his own.

For now, there was only one way to get something out of him, considering he had the Nonbeliever trait.

‘He’ll probably only open up if I sign the slave contract.’

Setting that impossible method aside, I continued my thoughts slowly.

That wasn’t the only irrational action I had taken.

As a young god, I looked into the paranoid researcher.

Because I scrutinized him without knowing the proper limits, the NPC completely lost his mind.

Yet, I felt no particular emotion.

On the contrary, since he was already broken, I only thought about digging deeper into his mind.

‘What if I did the same thing to Lieutenant Colonel Je or the Captains?’

That was my biggest worry.

I was afraid I might do something terrible in a moment where I lost control.

The Captains don’t even clearly know what a god is to begin with…

When I was listlessly sipping my coffee amidst a chaotic jumble of worries and thoughts…

“Goyo.”

“Yes.”

“You okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Kwak Hanmuk glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and let out a sigh for some reason.

“The kid who said he was going to visit someone in the hospital ended up going into and coming out of some trial.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, CEO Cha is the crazy one. Captain Mo and I were shocked.”

He examined my face again and spoke.

“Tell me what happened.”

I told him what had happened at Paseong as briefly as possible.

Although it was likely shared with Samra via my cell phone anyway, I also confessed about Geumcheon and Reporter Sa Gongyeon.

And as for the story about CEO Cha and the trial… I glossed over some details.

Kwak Hanmuk just nodded briefly while listening attentively.

Only after I finished speaking did he speak in a low tone.

“About the dispatch contract. If it’s a burden, I’ll try to resolve it.”

However, the dispatch contract with Paseong was also for my own good. When I told him once again that I was fine, Kwak Hanmuk fell silent for a moment.

He squinted slightly and tapped the steering wheel with his fingers.

“Captain Kwak.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you for coming today. I survived thanks to you captains.”

“Ah. I was planning to come anyway.”

He had been waiting nearby, but Samra had detected the entry into the Trial and sent Kwak Hanmuk up to the CEO’s office.

After finishing a brief explanation of the situation to me, Kwak Hanmuk drove in silence for a while.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he spoke.

“You have to move your unit tomorrow. Pack your bags tonight.”

Since I had been told by Samra beforehand, I immediately replied, “Understood.”

“Where am I going?”

“You’re moving to an official TRA residence, Chestnut hyung-nim.”

…Is that really okay?

They hadn’t kept me in the quarantine facility for nothing.

Even if it served no practical purpose, it was necessary to create the appearance of confinement for the sake of public perception.

I naturally assumed the new place I was moving to would be something similar to a quarantine room.

Perhaps sensing my puzzled gaze, Kwak Hanmuk smirked and called out a six-digit number.

“The door code.”

I memorized the number immediately and asked back.

“By the way, Captain Kwak. Is it okay if I stay in the regular unit?”

“No.”

“Then…”

“I’ve decided to be in charge of young chestnut.”

He spoke while keeping his gaze fixed forward.

“It’s a three-room unit, so it shouldn’t be too cramped even if the two of us share it… I have nothing in the house except a bed. Just let me know if you need anything.”

“…Am I sharing the same unit as you, Captain Kwak?”

“Yeah. I’m planning to tie you up with prayer beads if you cause trouble.”

I was so shocked that I opened my eyes wide, and Kwak Hanmuk let out a smirk.

“Suck up any complaints you have. Otherwise, you’re back in the quarantine room.”

“Ah, no, I have no complaints.”

I really didn’t have a single complaint. That made me even more worried.

“I’m fine with it, but I’m worried you might be uncomfortable, Captain Kwak…”

For him, having lived comfortably alone, it was bound to be uncomfortable to have someone he had to monitor brought in.

I fretted and tried to gauge his reaction, but GKwak Hanmuk just smiled.

When the car stopped at a traffic light, he leaned over the steering wheel and looked at me.

Then he said jokingly.

“I’m going to boss you around like hell, so be prepared.”

“Yes. I’ll handle the cleaning and everything.”

After that, I talked with Kwak Hanmuk about moving.

We chatted about various things, like how a certain Captain lived in the same building and we should have late-night snacks together sometimes, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the TRA.

I returned to my room with a heart full of anticipation, having agreed to move out tomorrow morning when Kwak Hanmuk came to pick me up.

Just as I closed the door and was about to set down my duffel bag…

“…….”

The strength drained from my hand.

Thud, the bag fell to the floor.

“Roasted Chestnut?”

I heard a surprised voice.

The figure bent over, leaned his face close, and examined me.

I trembled, unable to say a word.

Then, he let out a short laugh and crumbled his form.

The 3-meter man shed his human appearance and transformed into a grotesque shape.

Countless eyes of different colors looked at me, and then slowly shrank.

And finally…

He returned to the form I knew.

A small, blue slime sat on the table, its squishy body beckoning to me.

“Here, Roasted Chestnut. It’s alright now.”

“…….”

“See how small I am? I couldn’t inflict any harm on Roasted Chestnut.”

“…….”

“Roasted Chestnut.”

I took a heavy step forward, and I slowly approached him.

As I looked at the small slime, my heart began to calm down little by little.

As I got closer, Dominic looked up at me and said:

“I just went to look around Roasted Chestnut’s planet for a while. I’m sorry I disappeared without telling you.”

He smiled as he softly apologized.

I tried to greet him and ask if he had a good trip, but the words wouldn’t come easily.

Just as I was struggling to move my lips…

…the person, shining like a star in the infinite cosmos, whispered to me.

“I see that Roasted Chestnut has something that belongs to me.”

I immediately thought of the signet ring I had received from Clean3’s butlers.

And I heard a gentle, low voice, one that seemed to be carefully modulated so as not to scare me.

“Will you return it to me now?”

is this yaoi