Seoul Cyberpunk Story-Chapter 97: Dominic (9)

Within the ominous red fog—

My gaze was fixed on the massive shape barely visible beyond the mist.

A grotesque mass of flesh, stitched together from human bodies.

But that horrific hunk of meat wasn’t what truly caught my eye.

It was the enormous mask set atop it.

A mask carved from blood-red jade, bearing a twisted expression.

‘Looks solid...’

I hadn’t struck it directly, but I could tell just from the aura it radiated.

It didn’t look like ordinary physical force would even leave a scratch.

Even with my shadow abilities or Circle Energy, I wasn’t sure I could break it.

Then suddenly, I remembered the earlier fight.

The white shadow punch that had defeated the blue-eyed figure.

If I used that power, I felt like I could bleach that mask white and turn it to dust.

But there was a problem.

Using that technique had consumed far too much power—I wasn’t in a state where I could use it again right now.

‘How the hell am I supposed to break that thing...?’

Even as I wrestled with that question, the red fog whispered to me without pause.

[You cannot leave this place.]

It was a firm declaration—but it almost sounded like an invitation to rest, rather than continue fighting.

[Give up.]

With those words, I felt the strength drain from my body.

A strange urge to truly give up began to rise inside me.

[Stay here. I will give you everything you desire.]

The red mist thickened by the second.

The landscape that had once been faintly visible vanished completely.

Now it was just me, the massive lump of flesh, and the red mask—nothing else existed in this space.

The aura radiating from the mask grew steadily stronger.

If this continued, I really would fall for the temptation.

I had to find a solution—and fast.

But strangely, [N O V E L I G H T] every time I tried to think of a way, my head throbbed in pain, making it impossible to focus.

As I struggled against the headache, trying desperately to come up with an answer—

My gaze suddenly dropped downward.

At my feet, a child was looking up at me.

Their bright blue eyes still sparkled with that usual innocence, but their face held a faintly puzzled expression.

As if to say, “Why are you just standing there?” the child tilted their head.

Then, without hesitation, the child began walking toward the grotesque lump of meat like it was nothing.

Pat, pat.

The soft sound of their small footsteps echoed strangely clearly.

And just like that, the child stepped into the horrific mass without a trace of fear.

A moment later—

Smack, smack.

I heard a slapping sound.

At first, I didn’t understand what it was.

Then I realized—it was the sound of small hands smacking soft, plump cheeks.

“!”

In that instant, I realized something was wrong.

This reality. This red fog. The way the child was behaving.

And even the fact that I hadn’t thought to question any of it until now.

That realization broke something loose in my mind—and the headache that had been tormenting me vanished like a lie.

“This is... an illusion.”

The moment I muttered those words, the red fog began to tremble.

I moved forward, slowly—but with growing certainty—toward the mass of flesh.

Then, standing before it, I raised my hand.

The mass began to transform.

In the blink of an eye, it became a green caterpillar covered in fine hairs.

Then it shifted into something lined with rows of tiny mouths—utterly repulsive.

It kept changing.

Rotting meat. Tentacles covered in thousands of eyes. Hands oozing blood, riddled with wounds.

Every transformation had a single purpose—

To make me recoil. To make me never want to touch it.

At the same time, the voice of temptation grew louder.

[Don’t you want to go where the Triceratops are?] [Don’t you want Seoul back?] [Don’t you want to return to Korea?] [Don’t you want to know MK Corporation’s secrets?] [Don’t you want to see your lost comrades again?] [Don’t you want to witness the plains where dinosaurs roam free?] [Don’t you want to eat delicious pizza forever?]

The voice pressed into my mind, whispering directly to my desires.

Triceratops. Seoul. Korea. MK Corporation. Comrades. Incheon. AI...

But I didn’t stop.

If anything, I reached out with even more certainty.

“It’s not real.”

With those words, I rejected every illusion, every temptation—and shoved my hand straight into the meat.

In that instant, it felt like the world stopped.

And then, the next moment—

Everything collapsed.

The massive lump of flesh crumbled like a sandcastle.

The mask of red jade turned to powder and scattered in the wind.

The sticky red fog vanished.

The many masks floating through the mist faded one by one—until they left no trace behind.

As if there had never been anything there to begin with.

[Are you hurt?]

A clear voice called out.

With the illusion gone, what remained was astonishingly simple.

One child, collapsed on the ground.

And another child, worriedly smacking that child’s cheek with little “slap-slap” motions.

[Can’t get up?]

The slapping child asked again.

Their voice was full of genuine concern.

Like they just couldn’t understand why their friend wouldn’t get up.

I slowly stepped forward and lifted the collapsed child from the ground.

This one... this child seemed to be the core of the Corrosion Domain.

They had their eyes closed, unconscious—and their appearance had changed slightly.

Their pale white skin was stained black in patches, and in several places, twisted shell-like structures had sprouted.

“This looks like a manifestation...”

Judging by the color and the shape, it was extremely similar to the manifestations that appeared within Corrosion Domains.

[Ah! My hand turned black!]

The child who’d been doing the slapping suddenly held up their palm with a startled cry.

Their small hand had indeed turned pitch black.

‘So the moment a Corrosion Domain manifests, the core child inside doesn’t immediately twist... huh.’

As that thought passed through my mind, I slowly lifted my head and looked up at the sky.

There, the strange, multicolored cosmos still stretched endlessly.

A chaotic mix of purple and orange, green and red.

Not at all like the black expanse of a normal universe—this was an eerie, beautiful spectacle of color.

The cause of all this must lie within that colored cosmos.

I drew Circle Energy from deep within my heart.

A blue light bloomed in my chest and flowed down through my fingertips.

And then, I gently, cautiously directed that energy into the blackened children.

At first, nothing happened.

But as time passed, changes began to appear.

The blackness slowly started to fade.

Like paint washing off in water, it peeled away gradually—but surely.

[Huh? My hand’s white again!]

The child who had been doing the slapping exclaimed, fascinated, turning their hand this way and that.

The dark patches on the collapsed child’s body also began to disappear, one by one.

The twisted shell-like growths crumbled and flaked off.

And finally, the moment all the black had completely vanished—

Rrrrmmmble...

The Corrosion Domain began to collapse.

The sky of swirling colors quickly faded.

The twisted space around us returned to normal.

And before I knew it, I was standing in a familiar place again.

Right where Dominic had nearly been caught in the Corrosion Bomb—the open clearing in the ruined industrial zone.

****

It had been one week since the mission to rescue Dominic was completed.

Dino Park was now swarming with children.

The usual stillness and silence of Dino Park were nowhere to be found.

Instead, dozens—no, hundreds—of children were running around every corner of the station.

It had become like a giant playground, filled with laughter and footsteps.

The original trio of Dino Park’s resident kids each took on the role of a group leader, guiding the others.

The first group was gathered near the kitchen.

Under Luna’s guidance, they were absorbed in making pizzas.

With small hands, they kneaded dough, laid out toppings, and shuffled in and out of the oven with surprising focus.

Even when they messed up, they just laughed together and enjoyed it.

The second group was in the garden zone, hanging out with the Kiwis.

“Kiwikiwi!”

The children took turns riding on the Kiwis’ backs, and the Kiwis dashed wildly, giving the kids a thrilling ride.

The third group was gathered in my resting lounge.

These were the kids playing with the Angler.

[So high!]

[Heehee.]

“Gyuhinghing.”

The massive Angler was floating near the ceiling, and dozens of children were hanging off it.

“What are you doing?”

Still lying on the bed, I muttered under my breath, and the kids replied with smug expressions.

[Helium!]

[Angler balloon!]

They had pumped the Angler full of helium and turned it into a giant balloon.

The Angler, puffed up like a bloated blimp, floated slowly through the air while the children enjoyed riding it like an amusement park ride.

‘That’s... genius.’

It really was a brilliant idea.

Who had even thought to turn the Angler into a balloon?

I occasionally watched the kids while I rolled around lazily on my bed.

To one side of my vision, an AR interface was floating.

The interface displayed materials Amber had sent me a while back.

‘The blue-eyed figure... the red fog...’

After everything that happened today, I figured it was finally time to sit down and properly read through it.

But as I scrolled, something caught my attention.

“Huh?”

There was no mention of Rina Cortez in the files.

I distinctly remembered there being data on her when I first received the files.

Now, that section was completely gone.

‘What? Did I remember it wrong...?’

I shot up from the bed.

Leaving the sound of the children’s laughter behind me, I made my way quickly to the central control room.

Inside, Scarlett was alone, standing before the hologram console.

Amber, Victor, and Aria had been so busy working with Dominic that they rarely came back to Dino Park these days.

I asked Scarlett about Rina Cortez.

But the reaction I got from her was completely unexpected.

“Rina Cortez? Is that a corporate employee name? Which company?”