Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 94: Dominic (6)

The central control room of Seoul Dino Park was bathed in a cold blue glow.

Dozens of holographic screens floated in midair, each streaming different streams of information. Amber and Scarlett moved busily between them.

“A, where the hell did you go this time...”

Amber clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath.

She and Scarlett had split their roles. In a situation this broad and lacking in leads, dividing tasks was far more efficient.

Scarlett was combing through rooftop CCTV footage and nearby network records, tracking A’s physical movement step-by-step.

Amber, on the other hand, was approaching the situation from a completely different angle.

She was reverse-tracing the massive information shockwave that had just rippled across the AI frame network throughout all of Babel.

Her objective: pinpoint the precise location of the blast, the bomb’s ground zero.

At first glance, it didn’t seem directly connected to locating A. But Amber knew A’s tendencies better than anyone.

Wherever something happened, A would be there. And wherever A was, something would happen.

Statistically speaking, the odds of A being near the epicenter were significantly high.

Who knew how much time had passed.

Amber’s fingers finally froze in midair.

On the 3D map of Babel City hovering before her, a single set of coordinates began blinking red.

“...Found it.”

The coordinates pointed to the heart of a disused industrial zone near Babel’s city center.

When she zoomed in, the footage clearly showed a massive black sphere consuming everything around it like an ink drop bleeding through water.

But Amber’s expression didn’t brighten.

No matter how thoroughly she scanned the footage, A was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the only person caught on video was a man—staggering, dazed, circling the sphere’s edge.

“Dominic Krilov? What the hell is Titan Tech’s Head of Development doing in a place like that?”

Her voice was tinged with confusion and unease.

A top executive of Titan Tech, standing in the middle of a disaster zone without so much as a single guard? It made no logical sense.

“And...”

Her eyes narrowed.

As strange as it was that Dominic was near the epicenter, the surrounding scene was even more bizarre.

That black sphere—clearly a Corrosion Bomb—should’ve detonated long ago, scattering its fragments in every direction.

Yet it still lingered, violently unstable but holding its shape—as if time had stopped. As if someone was holding the detonation back by force.

“...A new Corrosion Bomb variant? Something Titan Tech modified?”

Amber reached out, trying to access Titan Tech’s internal network for more data.

BOOOOM.

Another violent tremor shook the entire AI frame network.

At the same time, the black sphere on the holographic screen began collapsing inward at blinding speed.

In an instant, it condensed into a single tiny point.

Then—just as suddenly—it exploded outward again.

But this time, it wasn’t the same sphere.

It had become a towering, pitch-black pillar, soaring into the sky.

A spire of dread, like a tower leading straight to the abyss, radiating ominous energy as it reached endlessly toward space.

“!!!”

Amber was struck speechless by the sudden transformation.

But what shook her even more came in the blink of an eye—

During the exact moment the black sphere had reached its limit and contracted—

She thought she saw A.

A, reaching toward the sky from the very core of the sphere, her outline barely visible.

Hands trembling, Amber rewound the recorded footage from the Dino Park observation system.

Frame by frame, she combed through the video.

And there it was.

Exactly one frame.

For the briefest instant, A had undeniably been at the center of the Corrosion Bomb.

“Scarlett! I found A! She’s where the Corrosion Bomb detonated!”

Amber shot to her feet, shouting.

Without hesitation, she grabbed her equipment bag from the side of the control room.

She had no idea what she could possibly do in a situation like this—

—but there was no way she could just stand here and watch.

At that moment, the control room door slid open without a sound.

Aria stepped inside, her face pale.

A child sat on her shoulder, worry etched into its expression.

Unlike her usual self, Aria was fully armed for combat.

Lightweight tactical suit. Side-holstered automatic pistol. Specialized hacking gear strapped across her back.

She looked like she had been waiting for this moment.

“I’m going too.”

Her voice was low, calm—but ironclad with conviction.

****

Dominic Krilov stared coldly at the grotesque beings surrounding him.

The chilling voice echoed from all directions—layered, overlapping, unplaceable.

The space was filled with uncountable fragments of human-shaped figures.

But Dominic recognized what he was seeing.

The cause of the Great War. The enemy of Babel.

Phantoms.

They had returned—right before his eyes.

He was surrounded.

And yet, somehow, they felt like one.

He saw many—but it felt like one.

Like reality was fractured, bent—Corrosion Domain-style.

The very wrongness of it only confirmed what he already knew.

These were Phantoms—wielding that eerie power stolen straight from the Corrosion Domain.

Their presence had left a permanent scar on every megacorp in Babel.

Dominic summoned the shadow into his body.

Pure blackness wrapped around him, hardening into armor as if it were alive.

Titan Tech’s ultimate technology—born from studying the shadows of the Corrosion Domain.

With this, he could fight a Phantom.

This isn’t the Great War anymore. We’ve developed power that rivals theirs.

He made up his mind once more—to trust in himself, and in Titan Tech’s research.

This wasn’t just about survival.

It was a proving ground—a trial by combat to measure Titan Tech’s new shadow tech against the Phantoms’ corrupted power.

And Dominic would be the first to strike.

Wreathed in shadow, he launched himself like a black meteor toward the nearest Phantom.

His fist carried enough force to crush reinforced alloy plating like paper.

The Phantom still didn’t move. It simply watched Dominic charge.

[Truly foolish.]

[Reckless—almost pitifully so.]

[Pointless.]

Its voice, like before, held no trace of emotion. Cold. Lifeless.

Dominic’s fist slammed into the Phantom’s form.

But the expected impact... never came.

Tsszzzz.

As if he’d punched a hologram, his fist passed straight through the Phantom’s body without resistance.

“!”

Dominic’s eyes widened in shock.

At that moment, the Phantom began to move.

Countless afterimages spilled from its body—each one darting off in a different direction like autonomous ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) entities.

It was impossible to tell which was real and which were illusions.

Through the chaos of those flickering shadows, a razor-sharp knifehand sliced forward.

The blow came from what should’ve been an illusion—yet struck with undeniable force.

With a burst of static noise, the Phantom’s hand pierced right through Dominic’s shadow armor and drove into his side.

“Guh...!”

A groan of pain escaped his lips.

Crimson blood spilled from the torn shadows.

He staggered back, trying to create distance—but the Phantom didn’t let up.

Attacks came from every direction.

The armor of shadows was shredded with ease. Wounds bloomed across Dominic’s body faster than he could count.

The longer the battle dragged on, the bleaker it became.

The Phantom remained untouched—exactly as it had been when it appeared. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Dominic, meanwhile, was already soaked in blood, gasping for breath.

His vision blurred from blood loss. His mind drifted.

At this rate...

THOOM.

A heavy rifle crack split the air—and a bullet from somewhere struck the Phantom in the chest, blasting a gaping hole through it.

The sudden hit froze the Phantom mid-motion.

[!!!!!]

A scream erupted—unintelligible, alien, incomprehensible.

The Phantom reeled back, spewing a wave of afterimages so dense they filled the open space behind it.

Dominic turned toward the source of the shot—and saw three figures standing atop a building.

Two adult women. One hulking man.

Their skin was pale—porcelain white, like ceramic dolls.

****

[Mercenary A. Did our warning not feel like a warning?]

The cold, arrogant voice of the blue-eyed figure sliced through the eerie silence of the Corrosion Domain.

I watched as the kids scattered in panic, shouting “Noooo!” as they fled in all directions.

And then I smiled—just a little—raising the corners of my lips.

MK Corporation. The vanished Korea. The twisted events behind it all.

Whoever this thing was—it might be tied to everything.

And now it had come to me.

“At last.”

My whisper held a strange cocktail of relief and anticipation.

Maybe today I’d finally uncover a piece of lost Korea. Maybe I’d find clues about MK.

That this moment came from Amber’s absurd “Pizza Demon Summon” plan... honestly blew my mind.

I hadn’t signed off on it expecting anything like this.

I just wanted free pizza.

And now, I felt a little guilty for not giving Amber more credit.

Next time I see her, I owe her a slice.

Heehee.

Even as I was thinking that, the shadows beneath my feet began to ripple.

Darkness spread from under me—swelling, writhing—and began to call forth massive shapes from its depths.

The Seoul Dino Park Shadow Dinosaur Army.

Triceratops. Mosasaurs. Stegosaurs. And even swarms of pterosaurs darkening the sky.

Enormous shadow beasts emerged one by one, radiating overwhelming pressure through sheer size and number.

“Attack.”

At my command, the ground rumbled with their powerful march.

The shadow Triceratops led the charge, thundering toward the blue-eyed being. The Mosasaur followed, trailing a wave of darkness.

Above, pterosaurs circled, claws gleaming, ready to dive.

It should’ve been a glorious stampede.

But—

It ended... far too easily.

“Noooo!”

Without even lifting a hand, the blue-eyed figure summoned a rain of crimson beams from the sky.

They looked like Circle energy—but were far more potent, precise, and terrifying.

The red light speared through the shadow dinosaurs like paper.

Screaming, perforated, they dissolved back into shadow one by one.

Even the brave Triceratops charging to the very end couldn’t escape. It collapsed in a heap, pierced through by a hundred crimson shafts.

As they faded away, its sorrowful gaze met mine—like it was apologizing for not being strong enough.

The nostalgic streets of Incheon—the ones I’d just rediscovered—were shattering into rubble.

[Waaah!]

[Nooo!]

Even the kids who’d been peeking at me from building corners got struck, flung like popcorn by the red beams.

The blue-eyed figure stood still, expression unchanged, looking down at me with empty, detached eyes.

Drunk on its own superiority—as if no matter how I struggled, it knew I could never reach it.

It pissed me off.

Losing my Triceratops hat.

Summoning the dinos too soon.

Watching that memory-lane street get obliterated.

Seeing the kids scattered like confetti.

Watching the cute dinosaurs get torn apart.

All of it—

It pissed me off.

I raised my right hand toward the sky, overflowing with rage.

Responding to my will, the blue ring coiled around my heart began spinning wildly, drawing in massive energy.

My right hand lit up with blinding blue light. The shadow beneath me boiled and churned like molten lava.

Circle energy and shadows spiraled together in my palm.

The raw destructive power of the Circle. The shapeless, matter-warping force of shadows. The fusion I’d stolen from Agent Jinlong.

All of it condensed in the center of my hand—fierce, violent, overwhelming.

Like when I forcibly compressed the Corrosion Domain back then—I gripped it tight.

Snap.

Like a spring coiled to its breaking point—

Unstable, seething power bucked inside my palm.

A force that could erase anything