Chapter 99 – Masquerade Party (13)

Gyosu picked up the small shoe out of the box.

A blue and white sneaker. From the robot design and small smudges to the worn-out parts of the sneaker, everything was replicated just like the one that the young boy in the memory had been wearing.

“This is really well made.”

“Well, it was supposed to be the last resort against the monster when it showed up in the middle of the Dome. We logged in the members who saw their last memories into GG, then used magic scrolls that projected memories and recorded them as videos. It’s the key to the guy who’s somewhat considered a strategic weapon, so it’s natural that we put a lot of effort into it.”

[Guuurhh…. uuuhhhh….. aahhhhh……]

Its physical form, covered in various different scales of shoes, melted down, and the hidden true form of Old Picture made its appearance. The form of a man with horrifying burns, just like the final memories of the monster.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that. I think it’s the first time since the last play that I’ve seen its true form.”

“Kind of hard to say that this is the true form. In a way, all three of its forms were based on its memories.”

The cluster of shoes carrying around the three dolls. The massive top half of a giant when on a rampage. And the current form it was in—the horrifying last moments of Dojin Kim. There were many Type 3 mutants that changed their forms depending on their abilities, but none changed as drastically as this one. The last moments of the host—the form that the host saw themselves in during the moment of their death—couldn’t be that drastic after all.

There was one reason why Old Picture became a Type 3 mutant with such various, unstable forms.

“It could be called a sort of…. dissociation. In the last moments, Mr. Dojin Kim’s memories were divided.”

He confirmed the truth with his own eyes. The deaths of his wife and son.

Dojin Kim’s mind shattered into separate pieces from the shock. As a result, it separated into a mind that was denying reality, a mind that escaped from reality and wished to live in an illusion, and a mind that stopped that day when he cried out of despair while hugging the hand and ankle of his son.

Three memories existed in one moment. That was why Old Picture was in such an unstable state. Even then, the reason why they all managed to stay as one being was that although each mind interpreted the situation in different ways, what they all strove for and what they all wanted were completely the same.

Tss, tsssk—

Hahhhh—

Within the bitter silence, the sound of Ian’s lighter quietly rang out into the air.

“This is why I don’t like talking about the old days. Nine out of ten old stories in the Wastelands are either sad or violent.”

Ian spoke as he looked at Old Picture, Dojin Kim’s third form, trying its best to raise its body up from the concrete ground with its deformed body.

“Thought it was a monster, but it was just a dad that went crazy. Just like the ones you see in refugee camps.”

“Right. That’s the reason why it settled down here and let out those same psychowaves for years.”

[Ahhh, ahhhh…. auhhh….uuuunn…..uuuuunnnn…….aaauuuummm….]

Even as weakened as it was, the memories still managed to make it into their minds. A small boy smiling brightly as he held onto his father’s hand and the extensive emphasis on the child’s shoes that came with the static.

[Euuuuhhhh….. eeeeeehhhh…… uhh…..s…..seeeeuuuuu….u…..hhhhh…..]

With blisters and pus oozing out of his body, Old Picture crawled all the way to the group and raised up the shoe that he had been holding preciously in his arms.

“Hepburn. Is that…?”

“Yeah. It’s that. ‘Please, help me find my son. He looks like this, he’s about this tall, and he’s wearing the same blue shoes as this one. Please help me.’ The last memories of Mr. Kim Dojin. Even if he denies it over and over, when he arrives at the spot where he died, the critical point, this memory suddenly takes over and shoves him out of his happy dream and into the cold reality.”

For several years, the psychowaves of the monster that rang out throughout Area 47 were neither hostile nor friendly, but merely the desperate cries of a voiceless father that was looking for their son.

“Mister. That was the plan all along for Old Picture, wasn’t it? The street wasn’t made to calm it down, but….”

“……Yes. It was to make it think that its delusions—the ones of the monster that searched for the child’s shoe—were the reality. Before they made the model garden, Old Picture spent most of its time as the massive giant. The original plan for the Executive Department was obviously to eliminate the thing, but after looking at the memories of the thing, someone who was part of the operation and is currently the Director thought otherwise. Its objective had been clear. Apparently, they thought that, based on its odd behavior of collecting old shoes and its lack of interest in attacking, separate from how strong it was, they would be able to control Old Picture somehow.”

“I knew it. So if they really left it alone, it would have….”

“At some point, we accepted one side as reality. If that was the state it had first been in, most likely, the reality was that his son died. But since that state was highly dependent on the traumas of its reality, the Dome decided to strengthen the side with false illusions. Well, the results can be proved by the peace Area 47 has had up until now. They made the street and showed it to people from the Old Times, who walked around as if nothing happened, and they handed it three mannequins that looked just like the family it wanted so much to see. Why? What’s with those expressions?”

“Manager Mon, that….. sounds a little s—ty.”

“Exactly. It’s rotten to the core. You saw a poor father going around asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’ and instead of telling him the truth, went ‘He should be here around somewhere~’ to give him false hope. What else would you expect from Dome bastards?”

Ian and Ezel must have felt slightly personal about the current situation, looking at the way they emotionally responded to it. But unlike them, Gyosu could somewhat understand the Investigation Bureau’s perspective as well.

“They had no other choice. I don’t like the Dome, but I do agree that the choice to trick Old Picture did result in saving a lot more people. A dead man that’s become a monster or the safety of Area 47. Looking at it from the perspective of someone higher up, it’s clear which one was more important.”

It was so-called ‘for the greater good’. A sacrifice for greater peace. It was definitely a great choice for the current reality…

‘But it sure is a s—ty great choice.’

Gyosu never liked those sorts of honorary quotes. The ones that shot poison into his mother’s body would have been making those same excuses as well.

‘If the Dome puts a dog leash on that thing and kills more enemies, it’s saving that many more people who depend on the Dome’s peace to survive, so it’s the right thing to do….’

What kind of bull is that? It’s already hard to tell good from bad in this world as is, and if everyone made an excuse like that for what they did, everyone would be on the good side.

Doing something that causes another person pain is bad. Even if they don’t feel guilty, they should at least be aware that what they’re doing is wrong. That was Gyosu’s principle.

And when he looked at it from that perspective, what the Dome did to Old Picture was ultimately a bad thing. Until now, he just let it be because he also benefited from it….

“Let’s let him go now. This guy, he’s worked for Area 47 tirelessly for the past few years.”

But he still felt a little pang in his heart when he passed by him sometimes.

In the hands of the melting man, a shoe identical to the one in his other hand—the other side of the pair—was placed in it.

[…..]

There was no cheer, no cry, no sound. The continuous moans that slipped out of his mouth merely stopped, and like the eyes of a blind man who saw the world for the first time, he looked at the blue sneakers, which at last became one complete pair.

Old Picture, Dojin Kim, held the shoes of his son preciously in his arms and slowly, but surely, walked towards the mannequins sprawled on the ground.

Onto the mannequin of the boy they recreated just like the memories the man slipped on the sneaker he held onto so dearly, along with the new one he received.

And finally, the scene he had wanted to see so much was completed. Old Picture took hold of the hands of his wife and his son, who had regained his shoes, and took one step forward.

The mannequins of the wife and son collapsed helplessly. And as if flesh melting down could have an expression, the sad, yet satisfied, yet bittersweet expression of Old Picture also collapsed down slowly.

Clack!
Clatter!

Splsh!

As if by plan, the three figures fell down as they faced the setting sun.

Like ash that drifted away with the wind, the melted parts of Old Picture’s body broke down into smaller pieces and started to disappear. Together, the mannequins of his son and wife were with him.

Their situation was as urgent as ever, but not a single one of them could take their eyes off the solemn yet hollowing sight.

“……Happy Blind in Area 38, those religion people don’t call the Type 3 mutants mutants.”

“Ahem, hm! Then what do they call it?”

“Lingering spirits.”

“That… sure is the right word to call them.”

Dojin Kim and the mannequins he was hugging, the giant that cried out in desperation and grief, and the flesh connected to the countless shoes and illusions all disappeared as dust in the breeze.

What was left in the spot after the winds blew past were the remaining shoes and the male mannequin, who had acted as Dojin Kim.

“Type 3 mutants are beings that live to finish the last memory of their host as they want it to end. Maybe when the image that Old Picture, Dojin Kim, wanted so much to see was completed, everything that had been built from that memory disappeared with it.”

“That’s probably because this guy was an odd one. The other Type 3 mutants create their bodies off of completed memories. According to the Administrative Branch, because Old Picture’s body was created off of unstable memories, when the memories, or goals, are completed like that, the viruses who now lost their goal are going to leave to find a new host. Old Picture created its body off of just memories of the past; it didn’t manage to create a consciousness. I think maybe that’s why he disappeared, like that.”

“Aw, mister. He didn’t disappear completely. Look, there he goes over there.”

“Huh? Where? I don’t see anything.”

“A manager from the Dome must not have lived kindly, so you can’t see it. Even I can see it. Over there. The three of them are walking back home together.”

“Ahem! Hm! Damn it, bloody hell! The ash… ash must have gotten into my eyes. It’s just the dust, that’s why….. sniff!”

“Ewuhuahhhhhhhhh! Goodbye, goodbye! Father! Live a better…. happier life now!”

Gyosu’s group, Ezel, and Ralph all took a moment of silence to pray that Old Picture has a safe trip. As a person living in the Wastelands, they never knew when the form of that sad man would become themselves. It wasn’t just an unrealistic fairytale to them.

“….Alright! The end! Let’s get moving, everyone!”

“Yes. We don’t have time to stay emotional. We let Old Picture free in order to keep our backs safe in the first place, so all of this becomes pointless if we’re late to the battle.”

Being sad was being sad, and being busy was being busy. If they were late for sniffling around, then there were going to be even more things to be sad about in the future.

“Euahhhhhh, does… does anyone have tissues?”

“Just blow your nose into your hands and wipe it off. We don’t have any time to waste like this.”

Phhhhhhmp!

“Gyosu Park, you heartless bastard….”

“You’re the one who’s too emotional, Ezel.”

After slapping his old online friend’s head in the back, Gyosu turned his eyes to the rest of the group.

“Someone give me some water. I, the dust that got into my eye is—sniff!—making me tear….”

My, my. It’s even worse here. Is there a faucet turned on inside of his tear ducts?“

“Ian, you too, you bastard. You cry a lot more compared to how you look….. is this some kind of male menopause?”

“Argh, you try and get married and have kids! You can’t help but cry looking at something like that once you’ve had kids of your own! It feels personal!”

Ian shouted aloud as he aggressively rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his uniform. Just as Gyosu paused at the somehow meaningful words…

“Had…? Jaw, did you…?”

“Hey, Vex!”

“….Oh, right!”

Vex insensitively asked the question to Ian.

Thankfully, Ian must have dulled out the feeling over time or accepted those feelings, as he responded with a calm voice.

“No, it’s fine. It’s all in the past anyway. I had a daughter and a wife. They’re all dead now. Let’s talk about it later. For now, take these, you two.”

Whish—

Clack!

“This is…”

“AK-47. It’s one of the few that survived when the truck exploded. They each have just one magazine loaded, so use it for emergencies until we go get more.”

Waving off his story as if it were no big deal, Ian threw Gyosu and Vex guns with slight scorch marks on them. Looking at that, the IB manager, Ralph Monclair, looked at the group with a stunned expression.

“Wait. So you’re telling me that you’re participating in the war against the Raptors? With just a single assault rifle that’s basically broken?”

“Why state the obvious? Mr. Mon, then, are you planning on leaving us here?”

“No, it’s just, why bother? Old Picture’s been dealt with, and the city’s defense systems are running normally, so unless the entire nest comes to attack, we’re more than capable of handling the situation. BDSM has already done its job. Even if you don’t participate, the Dome will still compensate you accordingly….”

“You can quit the BS now. We don’t have all day here. And what do you mean by accordingly? Do you think we’re some sort of accordion? Everyone knows that the Dome can defend against a dozen troops of the Raptors under normal circumstances. Of course, if a Swarm Alpha-level guy comes with their bodyguards—”

“Cough! Aghack!”

“—it may be a different story, but they’re too big of a deal to come in with a surprise attack like this. Ian, what’s wrong this time?”

“N-nothing, just got something stuck in my throat. Don’t worry about me.”

“……That’s weird. Anyway, it’s safe to say that the Raptor buddies that are blazing their way here are as good as defeated already.”

“Hm, so what you’re saying right now, Gyosu Park….. is that because they’re already dead meat, so you want in on the goods?”

“Wouldn’t you say that the achievements of the BDSM caravan are more than enough to get a share? If it weren’t for us, the Investigation Bureau people would have been risking their lives fighting Old Picture, and wouldn’t have known that the Executive Department was planning something fishy and get completely obliterated. Getting a share of the rewards is obvious. What I’m requesting is that you agree to let us keep the spoils we gain during battle.”

Vwooom— clunk!

The Exosuits that held a total of five people raised their bodies.

“Gyosu, you bastard…. where’d that depressed ace killer go? All that I see now is a businessman.”

“And you’ve become a politician, mister. Don’t try and leave yourself out.”

“It’s not like that! I’m actually concerned that your people are going to get hurt! It would be our pleasure if able-bodied people like you guys helped us out!”

Vwwwiiiim—!

As the batteries in the Exosuit provided power, the transparent blue shields went up, and the machine vibrated with energy.

“Fine, alright then! I’m the idiot for worrying about the guys that won against a Type 3 mutant with a single truck. I’ll open the armory of the Executive Department, so get what you need and come out to the field. We’ll let you budge in.”

“Ooohhh! Mr. Mon! You promised! ‘Anything’ we take from there is for us to keep!”

“……I ask you to keep it at a reasonable level. I already have a skyscraper of reports to right just with Old Picture alone.”

Gyosu barely listened to the rest of what he said. They gained permission. Not from a lower official like Ezel but from the Investigation Bureau’s manager to ‘have permission to take loot while battling against the Raptor Society’. Of course! They risked their lives and neutralized a Type 3 mutant for them and basically saved their entire city; they should get at least this much!

“Heheheh. Hey, Ian. You heard that? We now have official permission to take the Raptor’s cars.”

“Keheheh. I heard it loud and clear. The Dome’s weaponry storage and the Raptor’s vehicles….. Yeah. I invested my number one possession into this. That should about balance out the costs.”

“Keehee! The Dome! The biggest compilation of the Old Time’s culture and valuables! It’s every Scavenger’s dream to loot the place at least once in their life! A war, you say…. There’s nothing as chaotic and confusing as a war…. No one would notice if one or two valuables disappeared…. kehee!”

Clunk, clunk, clunk, clunk!

“Uh… hey, Manager Mon? Are you sure this is okay?”

“What is?”

“It’s just….”

Looking at Gyosu and his group grinning mischievously behind him, Ezel couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Gyosu had swept the Reedflow Mage Tower clean and laughed joyously, buried under the loot he gained inside the game. For some reason, that scene continued to play over and over in Ezel’s mind.

“Reasonable….. a reasonable level, you say… of course, mister. Reasonable is nice… heheheheh!”

‘I think he made the wrong decision….’

Trying to think of what could be considered reasonable for the people who obliterated Old Picture with just one truck and three people, Ezel let out a deep sigh.