GSGW c244
Chapter 244
The Segwang Special City urban legend.
An unprecedented incident designated by the Disaster Management Bureau as an Extinction-Class Supernatural Disaster—an entire special city erased from people’s memories and isolated so that no one could recognize it again.
And yet I woke up right in the middle of Segwang Special City. At Segwang Station, no less.
In a human body.
"......"
What… is this?
Sitting blankly on the dark platform floor, the first thing that came to mind was the one being I always spoke to—
the one who could carry on ordinary conversation even in the most insane situations.
'…Braun?'
……
……
No response.
'No.'
The dread and anxiety I had been suppressing began to seep back into my mind.
If even that Braun couldn’t follow me here, then what exactly was my situation right now
[Oh, a friend calls for me!]
“…Ha.”
I almost collapsed on the spot.
Thank goodness. Seriously.
[My, Mr. Roe Deer. It seems the sudden change of environment startled you quite a bit. To be clear, even this Braun found the situation somewhat bewildering. Traveling through a well, of all things! How should I put it… rather rustic.]
Still just as biting, I see…
[But, oh—congratulations.]
Huh?
[It may not be a particularly splendid transformation technique, but isn’t this the appearance you wanted?]
That… was true.
'I’m back in a human form.'
But I didn’t understand why.
Why?
'Was entering Se-gwang Special City the trigger?'
Maybe it still hadn’t sunk in yet, because the sense of bewilderment was overwhelming. But when I saw my reflection in the glass window, when I felt the texture of my bare hands, I couldn’t deny the relief that washed over me.
'And my clothes… a suit.'
It was the familiar outfit I used to wear to work. I swallowed and touched my face several times, calming my racing heart.
It was me.
…The familiar me.
A surge of emotion threatened to burst out.
I took a breath and barely swallowed it down.
And just as I started to stand—
Grab.
“...!”
Someone grabbed my arm.
Turning my head, I saw that the person who had been lying unconscious on the floor had reflexively reached out when I moved.
Then their eyes opened.
"......"
"......”
“…Grapes?”
“Agent.”
Agent Choi’s eyes widened.
He hurriedly pulled himself up and grabbed my shoulders, turning me this way and that.
'Ugh.'
As if checking for mutations or abnormalities. He even tried to raise the goblin lantern, but soon realized it wasn’t in his hand and froze.
'We left it in the well.'
But he didn’t stop there. He even used the contamination-detection rod to check my condition however he could.
I asked nervously,
“Am I okay?”
"......"
Agent Choi gripped my shoulders tightly.
“You’re fine, Grapes…”
"......"
I held my breath.
“No—did that well suddenly gain some kind of healing function? Or… ha.”
Confusion, suspicion, and joy all mixed across Agent Choi’s face.
Seeing him genuinely happy about the recovery of a teammate who had turned out to be a spy made me feel both grateful and guilty. But that feeling didn’t last long.
Because of the situation.
“So where are we?”
"......"
“It looks like we were sent to another city. A subway station? Let’s see…”
Segwang Transportation Corporation
Segwang Station
"......"
The smile vanished from Agent Choi’s face.
Segwang.
“Have you ever heard of it?”
“No.”
A city and station name we had never heard in ordinary life.
Which meant the conclusion was obvious.
We were inside a supernatural phenomenon.
“Grapes. Wake everyone. Now.”
Agent Choi and I immediately crouched down and began waking people up.
Agent Bronze, who tried to slap his own cheeks when he saw me—so I quickly stopped him. Assistant Manager Lee Songhae, who stood up smiling brightly with astonishing calm. And finally—
Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
“…I definitely put her in.”
I hear Agent Choi mutter.
'Did he imprison her in a temporary glass containment cell?'
But if the confinement had been released when we were transported here, that was not a good sign.
I personally woke Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
“…Wait. Roe Deer?”
“Assistant Manager.”
I urgently asked her as she sat up.
“Can you contact Director Ho?”
“…Just a moment.”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Eun Haje quietly checked the bead she was holding.
Then her eyes sharpened.
“No. It’s not working.”
"......"
That felt even worse— No. Actually, it might be better.
It meant I could obscure the source of my information.
“Everyone.”
Looking at the people who had woken up, I spoke quickly.
“I think this is the place Director Ho Yuwon was searching for.”
"......"
“Excuse me?”
I pointed at the sign reading Segwang Station.
“This entire city—Segwang Special City—is the Extinction-Class Disaster he was looking for.”
"...!!"
Assistant Manager Lee Songhae raised her hand.
“If we compare it to Daydream Inc., would that make it Abyss-Class?”
“The classification systems are different… but it might be.”
“Ooooh.”
But Lee Songhae was the only one impressed. Everyone else’s faces had stiffened.
Only Eun Haje—perhaps because she had worked on Director Ho’s project and knew some of the circumstances—slowly scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes.
“Roe Deer. Then could you returning to a human form also be because of this darkness?”
“…Possibly.”
“Hmm. Seems plausible. Look at this.”
".....!"
Eun Haje raised her hand.
The hand that had disappeared in the Hangman… was perfectly restored.
“Assistant Manager, your hand—”
“Yeah. It grew back.”
Eun Haje grinned and waved her hand, though she didn’t actually look very happy.
“There must be some kind of condition here. But still… it’s too nice. Is this really a top-tier darkness? If it were, it should be a complete hellhole humans can’t endure.”
That was…
“For now, what I know is this: something terrible happened in Segwang Special City, and because of that the entire city was completely sealed off. The Disaster Management Bureau went so far as to erase the city’s existence…”
“Wait.”
Both agents’ faces hardened.
“The Bureau did what?”
“Yes.”
I swallowed and carefully explained what I knew.
“As far as I understand, the situation became impossible to control, so they eventually placed a powerful binding curse over the city. So that no one could perceive Segwang Special City.”
“Whoa… Is that even possible?”
"......"
Agent Bronze opened his mouth.
“It is possible…”
“Hoh.”
Agent Choi grabbed his head. It seemed the two of them were already thinking of a few very specific “rituals” that could theoretically make something like this possible…
“As far as I know, there’s no record of anything like that. Of course…”
“Right. If they’d actually done it, they would’ve wiped the agents’ memories afterward anyway. So, Roe Deer. Keep explaining.”
“…Yes.”
Agent Bronze opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again when Agent Choi stopped him.
Watching that exchange, I continued.
“And even though this is such a terrifying situation, the environment here is relatively decent… probably because this is a subway station.”
I pointed toward the screen door glass on the platform where I had checked my reflection earlier.
“…Would you look at that?”
Beyond the darkness.
There was the structure known as an opposing platform—two platforms facing each other across the tracks, each serving trains going in opposite directions.
We could see the tracks of this platform, the tracks for trains going the other way… and beyond that, the opposite platform itself.
And that place—
“It’s completely collapsed.”
Everything was shattered, the steel framework exposed. Concrete had poured down from the broken staircase.
The difference was so stark it felt unreal.
Compared to this clean platform.
And on the half-collapsed platform’s screen door glass…
Please save us
SOS
Please
Mom, I love you
The glass was covered with countless messages.
Plea after plea for rescue, dying messages written with blood, dust, and filth.
Words written from the other side—reversed from our perspective.
“…!!”
My body froze at the overwhelming traces of the disaster that had swept through the city.
'Ha.'
And I remembered.
The document that recorded the process of Segwang Special City being sealed as an Extinction-Class Disaster.
The first day.
“A large number of residents fled into the subway stations, but the entrances collapsed and they are trapped there. Something terrible is happening outside.” The call log recorded this, but the on-site situation could not be confirmed.
“Since it’s a subway, they might survive a few more days. We should start search operations immediately!”
—Field agent’s recommendation (rejected)
“…I heard that one of the last places rescue requests were sent from during the disaster in Segwang Special City was a subway station.”
Compared to outside, it would have had a higher chance of being relatively safe.
It wasn’t confirmed that the station described was Segwang Station, but still— It was better than suddenly dropping into the middle of an Extinction-Class disaster with a group of people.
'Though the odds are still terrible…'
Phew.
Just thinking about the wiki made my mouth go dry. Hunger and thirst seemed to return at once.
“So…”
Wait.
“Agent?”
“Okay.”
Agent Choi, who had been sighing a moment ago, was now calmly trying to open the screen door.
“Agent?”
“I’ll go take a quick look.”
“Oh. Should I check the other side?”
“Wait—please, just wait a moment!”
Both of you, please!
“I told you this entire city was completely destroyed and sealed as an Extinction-Class Disaster!”
I hurried over and blocked their path.
“People clearly fled down here. It would probably be safer not to go to the half-collapsed side… it might connect to the outside.”
Most likely, Agent Choi and Assistant Manager Lee Songhae were thinking the same thing.
'If we don’t have information, we have to try something.'
But still…
“And if it comes to it… I’ll go. I know more about this place than anyone here—”
“Grapes.”
Agent Choi reached out. And then—
Flick.
He flicked my forehead.
“...!"
Aaagh!
“Do I look like someone with a death wish to you, Grapes? Of course I was only planning to check carefully and come right back.”
Even though he was smiling, Agent Choi looked pretty pissed…
But after a moment he took a breath, the anger fading into relief.
“You, on the other hand—don’t make any sudden moves here. Please.”
"......"
“And you too, Bronze!”
“Honestly, Agent, you’re the one more prone to sudden actions than Agent Bronze or me—”
“Hey.”
Smack.
I quickly dodged another incoming forehead flick and stepped back.
I shot Agent Bronze a sympathetic look, but he returned it with a face that clearly said he had a lot to say to me too.
“......"
“Once we move somewhere safe, I’d like to have a talk.”
Please spare me.
Holding back a sigh, I rubbed my forehead.
…It had been a while since I’d felt pain like this.
“So, since we’re all experienced, let’s move together for now and check everyone’s condition.”
“Yes, yes.”
Anyway, we decided to gather everything we could and check what we could on this relatively “stable-feeling” platform before heading up the stairs.
While everyone was checking themselves—
“Employee!”
Supervisor Lee Songhae—no, Assistant Manager—called out to me.
But…
“Employee…?”
“Oh, should I call you Supervisor Roe Deer?”
“Ah. No. Roe Deer is fine.”
“Then instead of Assistant Manager, you can just call me Dolphin, Roe Deer!”
Smiling brightly, Lee Songhae pulled several things from her pocket and checked them one by one: a small glow-in-the-dark star sticker, a tube of effervescent vitamins, and what looked like a tail comb.
“Hmm. Some of my equipment and items aren’t working.”
“Same here. Looks like items that borrow power from somewhere else aren’t functioning.”
“Oh, nice deduction, Assistant Manager!”
Everyone was coolly checking their gear.
And then—
“Roe Deer-nim, do you have any items?”
"......"
No.
I’m broke.
'My items…'
I’d handed them all over to Section Chief Lee Jaheon to dispose of, so the only thing left would be—
[Oh. You still have my merchandise, friend!]
Right.
That’s true.
Even if it’s a knockoff instead of the real kind one. Ugh.
[Just place it in your front pocket. Ah, excellent.]
I took out the rabbit doll and, as Braun requested, placed it in the front pocket of my suit.
For some reason, Assistant Manager Lee Songhae gave me a thumbs-up. Um. Thank you…
'I wonder if Section Chief Lee Jaheon is doing well.'
Come to think of it, now that I’m human again, VIP personal shopping at the Space Shopping Mall might be possible again.
I could use the “VIP cells” implanted under my tongue.
'Or maybe that counts as borrowing power from somewhere else too…'
Either way, falling into an Extinction-Class disaster with five people and no equipment meant I couldn’t use it right now, so I pushed the thought aside.
I sighed and absentmindedly checked my pockets again like everyone else.
'…Huh?'
There was a smartphone.
“...!!"
I quickly pulled it out. A black rectangle with a pop socket attached.
The same one I used to carry when I worked at Daydream Inc.
'What…?'
I hurriedly turned it on. Surprisingly, it powered up.
Of course there was no signal, and the Wi-Fi was dead. But…
The most important thing appeared.
Darkness Exploration Records
The wiki page. I could read it, just like before.
"......."
“Oh, phones don’t get signal here!”
“…Yes. That’s true.”
My heart nearly dropped out of my chest.
Trying to act natural, I responded to Assistant Manager Lee Songhae and moved to turn off the screen—and then I realized something.
'Can’t she see it?'
“Um… could you read this page for me?”
After some hesitation, I carefully held the phone—showing only the words Darkness Exploration Records—in front of Assistant Manager Lee Songhae.
But she tilted her head.
“There’s nothing to read though? Oh, if you want my impression, I’ve got one. The default wallpaper is kinda boring!”
“…Thank you.”
She couldn’t see it.
'So I’m the only one who can read it.'
My ears hurt from the pounding of my own heartbeat.
'I don’t know why, but this actually makes checking things much easier'
Struggling to keep my composure, I pretended to fiddle with my smartphone.
And then I noticed something else.
The pop socket looked different
'The crack is gone.'
Had it finally been repaired?
And the center of the pop socket—where there had been an “X” mark before—was no longer finished in gold. It was red.
“...?"
What did that mean?
I also had no idea where this smartphone with the pop socket had been all this time…
[You truly don’t know, Mr. Roe Deer?]
[Let us try a bit of deduction. A place unknown to you… yet one that is always with you.]
“......."
Ah.
'No way'
A rather chilling possibility finished forming in my mind.
Inside my body…the pop socket had been lodged in my melted body, clumped together with the uniform.
All this time, I had been fused with it.
'Then…'
That strange editing function I’d been able to use—that ability—
'Did it originate… from this?'
My head throbbed from the shock. Fear crept in that my body might melt again. And my mind scrambled to recall what state I had been in just before—
Bzzz.
“...!”
The phone vibrated.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I reflexively turned on the screen.
And there—
Newly registered page
(1) Segwang Subway Line Map
A notification appeared on the Darkness Exploration Records wiki announcing a new page.
It was a familiar kind of page. But…
'This shouldn’t be possible.'
This wiki was made from my memories. Something like this shouldn’t appear.
Still confused, I tapped the screen.
Segwang Subway Line Map
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
"......”
I had a strange feeling.
'Is this… a new function of the repaired grip-tok?'
During the six months I worked in the Special Department after melting…what exactly had this pop socket become?
“Everyone finished checking? We’ll move out.”
“Yes!”
Leaving the still-empty page as it was, I began moving with the others.
'Be careful.'
Returning to a human body felt wonderful. But at the same time, it was only natural to feel a little regret about losing the strange abilities I’d had before.
The five of us, all veterans, moved quietly—no sudden actions—slowly securing our field of view as we climbed the platform stairs.
Step. Step.
Only the calm vibrations of our footsteps echoed.
And soon, the top of the stairs came into view—
A forest spread out before us.
“...!!"
There was a vast forest shrouded in dim light and thick fog.
The structures of the subway station—fire hydrants, tactile paving, escalators, signboards, mirrors, even the lit ceiling—were still there. But they were strangely oversized, repeating like a maze.
And between them, trees, soil, and fog filled every space.
The gloom and mist made visibility terrible.
"......"
“…Wait.”
Agent Choi inhaled a bit of the fog and frowned.
“Doesn’t seem toxic for now, but cover your breathing just in case. If anyone feels anything strange, we head straight back to the platform.”
“Yes.”
“We should start by checking something like an information board. Supernatural disasters with defined territories often follow rule-based ghost stories.”
“Good idea. Volunteers for the advance party? …No, really, you’re all very enthusiastic. All of you would be perfect recruits.”
That’s what happens when a bunch of veterans fully equipped for defense move together.
In the end, we all started walking toward where an information board might be.
I stepped between the trees.
Crunch.
Dry leaves cracked beneath my feet. Somewhere, an eerie sound echoed.
Soon we didn’t find an information board—but we did find a massive sign.
“Ah.”
Covered in vines and trees along the wall, it was a station name board.
Similar to the one we’d seen on the platform—but there was a difference.
“They even display advertisements.”
“Advertisements?”
“Yeah. You know how subway stations sometimes have hospitals or companies listed next to the real station name? The subway corporation sells those for profit.”
That was true.
Most of those listings were advertising.
But the station name displayed here was—
Segwang Transportation Corporation
Segwang Station (Forest of Final Moments)
"......"
"......"
Everyone understood instantly.
This was definitely not a normal advertising station name.
At that moment—
Bzzz.
'...!'
I hurriedly looked down at my phone. And saw it.
The wiki had updated.
Segwang Subway Line Map
-Segwang Station (Forest of Final Moments)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
-(Unregistered)
'Segwang Station.'
I tapped it without even breathing.
Segwang Station (Forest of Final Moments)
A subway station in Segwang Special City known as the Forest of Hanging Trees.
Because an estimated seven thousand people fled to this station on the day of the disaster, it became a base for the evacuees.
'Forest of Hanging Trees…?'
The moment I finished reading that—
Tap. Something touched my head.
“......”
I looked up.
While moving earlier, I had tried not to get too close to the trees. But I had gotten distracted by my phone and leaned slightly—brushing against what I thought was a tree.
But now…
Slowly, very slowly, I looked again at the thing I had assumed was a tree.
It was a human foot.
"......"
“Grapes… wait.”
“Oh, there’s a corpse here. Right above Roe Deer-nim’s head.”
I realized something.
The forest hadn’t been made of alternating thin and thick trees.
The thin trees—
Each one had a hanged corpse dangling from a thick branch. Emaciated bodies swaying gently.
“They’re all bodies.”
“Looks like they were hanged.”
And then I realized something else.
Since I was human again—I could feel fear again. Which meant I could get scared of things like this again.
Which meant… I had become a coward again.
'I’m screwed.'
“Should we check around us too?”
“Good idea. Roe Deer—look at the one above your head. Oh, barefoot.”
“…Yes.”
AAAAAAAAH!!
/tn. lmao, our coward's back XD
Ohh i miss u coward deer
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