Beacon of Light in the Dark Sea - Chapter 92

Soon, the elevator submerged on the 1st floor will be revealed. People gradually began gathering near the stairs on the 2nd floor closest to the elevator. The elevator would be right there once you went down the stairs.

When we came down to the 2nd floor, there was an unfamiliar woman. She seemed to have been located on the 4th floor or above, or had been hiding and came out after seeing the water drain. The woman completely ignored our presence. And for some reason, as soon as Benjamin saw my face, he cursed at me.

“You parking XXXX.”

I discovered a new feature of the translator earpiece I was wearing – the translation didn’t seem to work properly for curse words depending on the pronunciation. When I looked at him with a pathetic gaze, Benjamin tried to lunge at me even though Carter was pulling his hood from behind.

At that moment, someone walked over from the end of the corridor, making splashing sounds. As the splashing sounds were loud, everyone turned their heads in that direction. The man, who was limping slightly and holding a fire axe in one hand, had blood splattered all over his face, and the axe was also covered in blood. Everyone in the corridor stared at the man. The man, who had walked over with a towel wrapped around his seemingly injured calf, spoke to the frozen people in a hoarse voice.

“…… I’m taking the elevator. If you interfere, I’ll kill you.”

The man said, waving the axe blade towards us. A simple and straightforward way of talking. Everyone fell silent at the man’s appearance, and I was also at a loss for words. The curses that had been pouring out of Benjamin’s mouth towards me had suddenly ceased. Everyone looked away from the red color of the axe.

Hmm. …… This is crazy. I thought it would be much more comfortable to talk to Benjamin first than that person. An unfounded sense of intimacy, even if only as small as a fingernail, emerged.

I have to take the elevator with these people. I remembered how Yoo Geum-yi and I hugged each other in fear and cried in the elevator in my dream. What if this elevator loses power again? I unknowingly let out a sigh. The water level was steadily decreasing. The water that had been lapping at my ankles was now tickling my toes.

Yoo Geum-yi was whispering something in Kim Ga-young’s ear, and Jihyun glanced at the faces of the newly arrived people one by one, sighed, and focused on the pad. I asked Benjamin, keeping a distance of about 3m. I needed enough distance to dodge or back away if he lunged at me like before.

“Why did you do that?”

“Do what?!”

“Why did you throw the cat?”

Benjamin smirked and said.

“Ah! So what! It’s not like I threw you! It’s not like you got hurt anyway! Why should I fall into the water over just one cat! You fucking bastard!”

“Hey…… Don’t you have anything else to say to me besides that?”

Apology. Regret. Does this bastard not have any sense of guilt in his head at all? Benjamin looked at Yoo Geum-yi, Jihyun, and Kim Ga-young, then at me and asked.

“Why are you pretending to be so nice? Do you want to look good to the women that much?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand what the other person was saying. And in my tangled mind, countless responses were desperately trying to pour out simultaneously. From “when did I ever do that” to “what’s wrong with you that you have such thoughts in your head,” there were too many things I wanted to say that I wanted to write them down on paper or a pad and say them. How would I know how those three people judge me? And why would I throw myself into the air to look good to anyone? The cat I picked up today that already has an owner? With a sigh, I asked what I was most curious about.

“Why do you act so badly?”

“You hypocrite bastard!”

“…… You should at least pretend to be nice too. Even if you’re not nice, at least pretend to be nice!”

At that moment, the man holding the axe walked over and scratched the floor with the tip of the axe blade. Since the water was draining, it didn’t make as much noise as before when walking, so I didn’t know he was approaching, but the man was much closer to the people than his previous position.

Benjamin looked in that direction, his eyes widened, and he stopped cursing at me and backed away. The man seemed to want to sit next to the stairs closest to the elevator located on the 1st floor. He easily walked through the corridor between Benjamin and me, stopped at the point where the corridor and stairs met, and sat down. Then he stroked the axe handle with his hand and watched us.

While I turned my gaze to the other person’s calf, a loud yawn without tension was heard. As Kanu, who had been watching the draining 1st floor, let out a big yawn, Benjamin saw it and started to get annoyed.

“When people were dying, you didn’t care the slightest bit. Why are you interfering and making a fuss now?!”

“Are you talking to me? That’s my choice. Is people dying the same as a cat dying? Don’t worry. If you’re dying, I won’t care the slightest bit either.”

Kanu said kindly in a low voice with a smile. Benjamin seemed to be furious, but when Sam and James laughed and said things like “Come here~ Let’s swim one more time~ The water level is just right,” he got annoyed and distanced himself from people.

The woman leaning against the wall looked at Kim Ga-young’s face and didn’t seem very close, as they only exchanged a word each, “You were alive.” “You too.”

How much more does the water need to drain for the elevator to work? I approached Jihyun, who was leaning her whole body against any chair rolling around on the 2nd floor. Jihyun looked like she was barely holding onto her consciousness, trying not to fall asleep.

“Jihyun, do you have a moment to talk?”

“My pathetic body is already with God.”

“Then let me borrow just your head from God for a bit. …… I’m worried about the Infinity Church believers who might be on the ground level (0th floor) if we escape by taking the elevator. The people here don’t have the means to counter armed personnel with rifles. Should we have weapons?”

Jihyun’s eyes followed the man sitting on the floor and then looked at the axe.

“Well, there’s one for now.”

“…… Besides that. Is there no way to persuade the gun-wielding fanatics non-violently?”

I had been thinking about it continuously while walking ever since I woke up, but no matter how much I thought, no good ideas came to mind. Moreover, even if we try to confront them with the same kind of force, it’s far-fetched to obtain guns.

I’m someone who can’t even properly snatch a pen from someone else’s hand, so how can I take a gun hanging from their shoulder? It’s the same for the people here. Even when Benjamin and Carter attacked together, they couldn’t take a single backpack I was carrying from someone like me.

What are the chances that the people here can snatch the guns from the cult members and fight back in a place where they are gathered?

…… I don’t believe in religion at all, so maybe that’s why I can’t come up with any good ideas. What do religious people think? Jihyun said while stretching.

“I want to say that everything can be solved with the love of the Lord, but I suddenly remember the saying that conversation and persuasion are the lot of the weak. Oh. …… Moohyun. If all those dreams are true.”

Jihyun spoke softly, moving her lips barely. There might be a few among the people here. I blankly listened to Jihyun’s words and lightly nodded, agreeing with her.

“Oh. That’s true. …… Should we ask what religion the people here believe in?”

Jihyun smiled at me with just the corners of her mouth and replied.

“Will people answer honestly?”

“I don’t think so either, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right?”

“That’s true.”

“Is there anything else we should prepare or bring before taking the elevator?”

When I thought of weapons, the corpses I had seen on the 3rd floor came to mind. Things like scissors, axes, penknives, fountain pens, and ballpoint pens were stuck all over people’s bodies. No matter how much we needed things to survive, I didn’t want to go into a room where people had died like that and pull out those things from their bodies. Jihyun thought for a moment and then said to me softly.

“What I’m more worried about than the cult members is.”

As her voice lowered, I brought my ear close to her mouth.

“Yes.”

“I’m not worried about before fixing the elevator. It’s after fixing it. Until now, I was the only engineer who could fix the elevator here, so people didn’t oppose me, helped me, or left me alone. If there was one more engineer, well. Would these people have even listened to me? Will my existence be of any use to these people once the elevator is fixed? …… First of all, I don’t have the stamina to fight.”

If we really have to discuss the usefulness of people, in today’s world where resources are scarce, everyone should not have been born. If it weren’t for Jihyun, wouldn’t I have already died in the main control room?

“We need you, Jihyun. Among the people here, you’ve worked the hardest to escape and tried to protect those around you. I’ll stay by your side, though I may be lacking.”

I don’t know how much help I can be. Jihyun looked around at the people nearby and spoke softly.

“I don’t trust those people.”

“What about that person named James? Don’t you know him?”

“I’ve seen him for about 2 years. At prayer meetings. …… Trusting people of the same religion is the most dangerous thing.”

“Why?”

“Because you let your guard down to some extent. I’ve been believing for 28 years because my family has been Christian since birth, and I’ve been harmed more by people of the same religion than by people of other religions. I came to the undersea base to run away from home. They kept telling me to marry a man who goes to the same church.”

I had to ask out of genuine curiosity. Is she telling me this because she trusts me?

“Then what about me?”

“Moohyun. Do you believe in a cult?”

“No. I’m an atheist.”

“Whether you’re a cult member or not, even if Infinity Church itself is a complete lie. I want to believe in the dedication you’ve shown so far, Moohyun. And believing in God and believing in people are quite different.”

“…… In my dreams, Shin Hae-ryang, Baek Ae-young, and Seo Ji-hyuk showed unique skills. Like using knives or guns like action movie protagonists. Do you have any such skills, Jihyun?”

Jihyun laughed softly at my question.

“I was trying to stay as far away from home as possible, and somehow ended up coming to the undersea base. I heard some of our team members were discharged from the military, got hired here, and received such offers. I’m just a tired office worker in life.”

“That’s the same as me.”