Chapter 195: Shock Therapy
Having done this kind of work for a while, I’d experienced a lot.
There were times when darkness itself had swallowed my very existence, times I’d escaped from a hospital that saw people as mere materials, and times I’d fought unwanted battles with sea monsters.
The emotions I felt were always different.
Sometimes I was angry, sometimes filled with determination, and sometimes I was just utterly dumbfounded.
Hopelessness.
Regardless of everything else, when I met Aestheticism, a sense of hopelessness washed over me—the kind that makes you think, "How am I supposed to win against something like this?"
I chewed over its words.
Is it real? What does it mean, 'real'?
I desperately tried to string my thoughts together.
Even its actions are artistic, and it talks like it's delivering a piece of art.
Meaning, it speaks in a way that's hard to understand.
"...Me?"
Jang Chae-yeon pointed at herself and muttered. Aestheticism nodded at her words and smiled.
"Correct. You."
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon raised her hand.
"My, you really don't want to speak, do you?"
"..."
"But your sister says she wants to talk to you."
At its words, Jang Chae-yeon's body flinched. She slowly lifted her head and looked at another mannequin.
-Bzzzt... Bzzzzzt...
Noise emanated from the mannequin.
"...I can't forgive you."
Jang Chae-yeon glared at Aestheticism, her fist clenched tight.
It was an emotional expression I hadn't seen on her in a long time.
"The more I look, the more I understand."
Aestheticism smiled as it looked at Jang Chae-yeon.
"You were the more suitable material."
"..."
"But it seems someone got to you first."
Aestheticism's gaze turned toward me.
"After all, I have an eye for appreciating art."
"Grh...!"
A terrible headache assaulted me with every step Aestheticism took closer.
"My, one child has already become a splendid painting?"
Aestheticism's words echoed in my head. I quickly hugged the frame containing Yu Daon tightly to my chest to prevent it from being taken, drew my gun with my free hand, and pulled the trigger aimed at Aestheticism.
-Bang!
The bullet embedded itself in Aestheticism's body, and the sound of a bullet hitting solid wood reverberated.
Of course, Aestheticism wasn't perturbed in the least.
It smiled and took another step.
"There's no need to be afraid."
It smiled and swung its hand.
"Argh!"
At the same moment, Song A-rin, who had been swinging her arm, grabbed her wrist, let out a scream full of pain, and dropped to her knees.
"Using threads is admirable, but it won't work unless you bring someone of the Troupe Master's caliber."
Aestheticism smiled softly, and Song A-rin's expression immediately went blank.
Simultaneously, she hurriedly bit her own shoulder with her teeth, and blood spurted out.
"Quick on the uptake, aren't you?"
"It's not like I've only fought those damn bastards once or twice."
The smile never left Aestheticism's face. Song A-rin spat blood from her mouth and muttered.
"You're all high and mighty now, smiling like that, but the day will come when you die too."
"So many people have said that, I've lost count."
Aestheticism grinned.
"However, I don't quite like what you're saying."
It flicked its hand.
"Kgh...!"
Song A-rin grabbed her throat, gasping as if she couldn't breathe,
"Ghlk!"
And vomited black paint.
"You're the most useless among these four."
Aestheticism continued speaking with a laugh.
-Bang!
I fired my gun, but the bullet still just lodged into the wood. Aestheticism kept talking.
"You know it too."
"...Ghlk!"
Song A-rin vomited paint and glared at Aestheticism.
"That's why you even copied my painting."
"..."
Song A-rin gritted her teeth.
-Thud!
At the same moment, Aestheticism's body was thrown backward and slammed into the wall.
"Too talkative."
Jang Chae-yeon muttered.
"Ms. A-rin!"
While Jang Chae-yeon was buying time, I hurriedly approached Song A-rin and checked on her.
"Ghlk! Ghlk!"
She kept coughing, black paint flowing from her mouth.
The smell of paint emanated from her entire body.
"I'm fine, ah...!"
After coughing up paint, Song A-rin looked at me.
"I changed my body into paint."
"..."
Is that even possible?
I'd only seen it once, but at least in my memory, Aestheticism didn't have such an ability.
It's unlikely it awakened a new ability without us knowing.
Could it have been hiding its ability all this time?
"Anyway."
Ptooey! Spitting out paint, Song A-rin looked at me.
"To be honest, I'm not confident we can win."
"Me neither."
"..."
Song A-rin and I looked at each other, and Jang Chae-yeon also remained silent.
-Thump... Thump...
I turned my gaze forward.
Something was walking out of the thick dust.
[Name: Aestheticism]
[A body made of XX, a human head, sculpture]
[157cm]
"..."
Wait a second.
Since when could my eyes see such information?
I retraced my memories.
When Yu Daon became a painting, and I picked up her painting, what text did I see?
I recalled the memory.
[Name: A Reunion Not Far Off]
[Canvas, made from a human]
[50 X 50 cm]
"...It's a dream."
"What?"
I only briefly heard Song A-rin muttering in confusion before I quickly drew my pistol, pressed it against my own temple, and pulled the trigger.
-Bang!
The bullet fired, and with the pain of it piercing through my head, I collapsed to the floor.
*
"Gasp!"
I hurriedly sat up.
I saw numerous people.
People who hadn't been there before were still staring blankly at the paintings.
Song A-rin and Jang Chae-yeon were looking at me, who had collapsed, with horrified expressions.
And,
"You really are quick on the uptake, aren't you?"
Aestheticism's voice came from far away.
It was standing in the dust, looking at me.
Jang Chae-yeon's attack had worked on Aestheticism.
Was she not dreaming?
"Did you see that with your eyes too?"
"..."
"Fine. You don't have to talk if you don't want to."
Aestheticism swung its hand,
"Ghlk!"
And Song A-rin vomited paint again.
"Ms. A-rin."
"...Ghlk! Ghlk!"
Song A-rin vomited paint and looked at me.
The paint flowing down below her lips made it look as if she were melting.
I drew my pistol and aimed it at Song A-rin.
"Do you trust me?"
"..."
Covered in paint, she looked at me.
"..."
"...What are you doing?"
Song A-rin wiped the paint with her sleeve and looked at me.
Black paint was smeared on her white sleeve.
"What are you doing."
Song A-rin looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
"Aren't you going to shoot?"
"Thank you."
-Bang!
The bullet pierced Song A-rin's temple, and she collapsed on the spot.
The paint on the floor disappeared like smoke,
"...I feel really pissed off."
She wiped the corner of her mouth and looked at me.
"Was I drooling?"
"Be quiet."
Song A-rin muttered as she got up.
"...Me too?"
Jang Chae-yeon pointed at herself.
"Just a moment."
I couldn't shoot Jang Chae-yeon yet.
Because her attack had worked on Aestheticism.
She probably wasn't dreaming yet.
There was other evidence too, but that wasn't a problem to think about right now.
Something more important.
When did I fall into the dream?
When I first saw the mannequin, my eyes were fine.
It was after Yu Daon became a painting and I looked at the painting that my eyes started malfunctioning.
I turned my gaze to look again at the painting containing Yu Daon.
[Name: A Reunion Not Far Off]
[Age: Created a short while ago]
[Specialty: X]
[Talent: X]
[Background: The future is approaching her moment by moment.]
[Weakness: Destroy the painting neatly.]
Destroy it neatly?
How?
"Should we run for now?"
"I agree."
Song A-rin straightened up and nodded.
"What's the proper way to run away?"
"It seems to be about waking up from this dream-within-a-dream."
"Haven't we already woken up from the dream twice?"
"That's what I'm saying."
-Stomp... Stomp...
The sound of footsteps was heard. Jang Chae-yeon stretched out a hand again, slammed Aestheticism into the wall, and looked at me.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Holding Yu Daon's frame, I started running.
Aestheticism didn't chase us.
I looked back while running.
Aestheticism placed its hand on another mannequin's hand, smiled with a grin that seemed to split its face, and said.
"Don't worry. You will be my masterpiece."
-Brrr...
The mannequin's body shook.
-Bzzzzzt!
At the same time, the noise intensified.
"Crazy bitch."
Song A-rin clicked her tongue.
Other mannequins started chasing us.
-Tap-tap-tap-tap!
Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor as they chased us.
Jang Chae-yeon broke walls and collapsed pillars to block the mannequins, but each time, the mannequins grotesquely twisted their joints and began running toward us blindly.
Finally, I stopped running, turned around, spread both hands toward the ceiling, clenched my fists, and,
-Crash!
With a tremendous sound, the ceiling collapsed, and a pile of rocks blocked the path.
I looked up at the sky.
Above the collapsed ceiling, a golden heat haze was shimmering.
-Throb!
A headache came, and I hurriedly averted my gaze.
"Huff... Huff..."
Jang Chae-yeon knelt, catching her rough breath.
Blood was trickling from her nose.
"...Hey."
Song A-rin looked at Jang Chae-yeon.
"Explain now. Why do you think that thing is your sister?"
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon was silent for a moment, then lifted her head and looked at me and Song A-rin.
"Because she's talking."
"...What?"
Jang Chae-yeon looked at me.
"What did she say to you?"
"...She didn't say anything."
It was just noise.
"You."
"...To me, it was just a meaningless string of words."
Song A-rin answered after hearing Jang Chae-yeon's words.
"To me..."
Jang Chae-yeon closed her eyes.
"She keeps asking me to end her."
"...Just because of that?"
"It's not just because of that."
"..."
Jang Chae-yeon looked at me and Song A-rin with gloomy eyes.
"Because my sister went missing here."
"..."
Song A-rin lowered her gaze to the floor.
"...I'll tentatively accept that as a plausible hypothesis for now."
It might not be true.
"Thank you."
Jang Chae-yeon nodded.
"Alright. Then let's get moving again."
To escape, we had no choice but to go back the way we came.
As I ran, I organized my thoughts.
I had one Critical.
Who should I use this on?
The Critical didn't work in the first place, so where should I use it?
"..."
[Weakness: Destroy the painting neatly.]
"...Ah."
I looked back.
Near the pile of rocks, the sound of something digging could be heard.
I carefully placed the frame against the wall.
"...What are you doing?"
Song A-rin looked at me with a puzzled expression.
"I'm going to bring Daon-ssi back."
"...How?"
"Like this."
I raised my gun.
[Critical: 1 -> 0]
The world turned black and white.
A bright red dot appeared on the painting.
-Bang!
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.
"You crazy bastard!"
Song A-rin shouted.
The painting melted.
The frame melted, the painting melted.
"...Wow!"
Yu Daon appeared before me, perfectly intact.
"...Mr. Jae-heon!"
Yu Daon grinned and looked at me.
"I knew Mr. Jae-heon would always come to find me!"
"...Of course."
I nodded and looked at the others.
"Let's get out."
Now we had to escape from the dream.