Monster Contract: My Pets Will Bring the Apocalypse

Unreadable

The landing pad wasn't a helicopter. It didn't even hover.

It stared.

Seojin flinched as the hulking beast lowered itself from the clouds, wings spanning the length of a department store, the platform bolted to its back shifting slightly with every breath it took. Sleek and plated like a manta ray, but with eagle talons and long iron horns curled backward. It landed without a sound, its four eyes pulsing once in red and going dim.

"Skygraver," Orbit Seo Rami said, stepping forward first. "Class-A carrier beast. Don't touch the tail. It's sensitive."

Fenrir growled low. He didn't like it. Every hair on his small wolf body seemed to bristle at the presence of something that obeyed orders from people in suits.

Juno turned to Seojin and clapped his hands once. "All aboard, mystery kid. You and the puppy ride with us."

Fenrir snapped, "Do not call me a—" but Seojin patted his head fast, muttering under his breath.

"Not now. Just… pick your battles."

The wolf snarled, then muttered, "I picked the wrong idiot."

They ascended the platform stairs, the beast below them not moving once. It was breathing, yes, but perfectly still — like it had been trained not just to serve, but to become infrastructure.

There were straps and rails across the deck, polished and marked by use. The five legends sat like it was routine. Yiha leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, sunglasses hiding her eyes. Rami was already tapping at a panel in the air, pulling up some floating interface. Juno adjusted his headphones. Baek Woon hadn't said a word.

Seojin sat cross-legged near the center, holding Fenrir in his lap like a nervous intern gripping a bomb.

"You good?" Juno asked, glancing at him.

"Fine," Seojin said, then after a beat, "I think."

The beast platform lurched once — a deep, resonating hum vibrating up through the floor — and they lifted off.

The city shrank beneath them.

From above, Seoul wasn't just streets and towers. There were scars. Circular craters that had been paved over. Cracked bridges reinforced with silver-steel. Towers built like shields, with glowing nodes at their peaks pulsing faintly every few seconds. Along the rooftops of the oldest districts, Seojin could see the shapes of creatures lounging, patrolling, even sleeping.

Giant owls perched on comm towers. Broad-backed tiger-beasts carrying workers on scaffolds. Birds with tails of light weaving between glass buildings.

It was beautiful and terrifying all at once.

"This world," Fenrir muttered low, curling tighter in his lap. "They use them like tools."

"They bond with them," Seojin said in his head.

"They shackle them. Different chains, same gods. Only prettier lies."

Seojin didn't answer. What could he say? Even he knew Fenrir wasn't entirely wrong.

One of the transport guards stepped up with a metal rod shaped like a baton.

"Beast containment required before HQ landing," the man said flatly.

Seojin blinked. "What does that mean?"

"Store him."

Fenrir bared his teeth.

"I will not be shoved into some damp hole."

"It's not a hole," Seojin whispered. "It's… it's the System's storage. In my Core."

"Worse."

The guard gave him a look. Seojin sighed.

"Can't argue," he told Fenrir, "but if you don't, they're not gonna let us land. Probably just drop us from here."

"You think I can't land on my feet?"

"I know I can't."

That finally got a growling huff from the wolf. With a low grumble, Fenrir shimmered — his body glowed faintly, particles scattering upward — and vanished into a faint ring of light that sank into Seojin's chest.

The air felt colder.

"Ugh," Fenrir's voice rang faintly in Seojin's mind. "This place is so cramped. Smells like your fear."

"You're lucky I don't have mental mute," Seojin muttered.

The guard nodded, satisfied, and stepped away. Yiha smirked faintly.

Headquarters came into view — a tower that wasn't just tall but anchored. The base was embedded into a crater of black stone, surrounded by walls that rippled slightly, like heat waves in sunlight. Dozens of beasts circled it in patrols. Some looked like gargoyles with molten eyes. Others were lean and panther-like, perched along the ridges.

It wasn't just a building. It was alive.

They touched down on a mid-level platform and disembarked without ceremony. The Five moved smoothly, like they'd done this a thousand times. As they passed a security checkpoint, Seojin saw something odd.

Juno's gauntlets shimmered — then morphed.

The metal curled inward, folding like paper, glowing red-hot before peeling back into the shape of a large canine — broad-shouldered, muscular, with coals for eyes. The beast looked up at him briefly, then nudged Juno's hand.

"I know I know," Juno muttered, smiling. "You hate staying in combat form too long. You can rest up for the day."

The wolf-beast growled affectionately.

"Fine. I get it."

He placed a hand on its head, whispered something Seojin couldn't hear, and the creature dissolved into his Core like smoke through cracks.

Seojin stared.

"You can turn your pet into weapons?"

"Some of us can," Rami said. "Not many do. Most beasts hate it."

 "He'd never allow it." Seojin thought to himself.

Juno chuckled.

Inside the testing wing, Seojin was led into a glass chamber with a metal floor and a dome overhead covered in sensors. A technician guided him to the center and waved at him to stand still.

"System scan initiated," a voice echoed through the intercom.

A blue grid spread across the floor beneath him. Data flickered through the dome. Dozens of panels lit up around the room as scientists and analysts murmured.

Seojin looked up, nervous.

"Do I… do I do anything?"

"Just don't sneeze," someone muttered.

Ten seconds passed. Then thirty.

Then the murmurs got quieter.

"What is this?"

"Try rerunning through Echo-Layer."

"No good."

"Name field's null. Core signature fluctuating. Partner profile corrupted."

"Try relinking—"

"It's not unlinked. The bond's there. The system just… refuses to identify it."

One of the lead researchers stepped up to a side console. He was older, lean, with glasses that didn't sit straight on his nose and a pen he kept tapping against his palm. He stared at the results, then looked at Seojin.

"You feel anything when you bonded it?"

"Pain," Seojin said. "And… something like a command. Like it made me accept it."

"Hm."

The man scratched at his jaw.

"There's no entry for the creature in any registry. No scan signature. It's not just invisible, it's unreadable. Either your Core is corrupted, or you've bonded with something that doesn't belong here."

A pause.

"Again."

He hit a command. The scan started over. More lights. More flickering data.

Then, more silence.

Baek Woon appeared behind the glass. He watched without comment.

Finally, the scientist exhaled.

"It's official. You're a ghost. The System recognizes you — but it refuses to share you. I've seen anomalies before, but not like this."

"Anomalies?"

Seojin stepped forward. "How many others like me?"

The scientist glanced at the glass. Woon nodded once.

The man turned back to him.

"That's not your concern."

They gave him a plain black visitor badge and a folder with warnings inside.

Unauthorized system use: criminal charge.

Unsanctioned rift entrance: criminal charge.

Use of bonded entity in public zones without registry: criminal charge.

"You're lucky we're not charging you now," Yiha said. "But the moment you try some reckless stuff like that again, we will haul you in."

"Thanks," Seojin muttered.

"You want to go legit?" she continued. "Join a guild. Get trained. Get licensed. Until then — no flashy stunts."

He nodded. Quiet. Heavy in the chest.

He was about to leave when Juno came jogging out from the side hall.

"Hey, kid."

Seojin turned.

Juno held up a folded slip of paper. Seojin took it.

"A check?"

"Standard sweep team payout for rift clearance. Since we didn't do jack, figured it should go to the guy who did."

Seojin blinked. "I… I don't know what to say."

"Say thank you and go home. We'll be watching."

Juno gave him a wink, then turned and disappeared back into the corridor.

Seojin stared at the paper, then at the giant doors ahead.

Outside.

Free.

Sort of.

In his chest, Fenrir's voice rumbled faintly.

"Told you. Tools. All of them."

Seojin exhaled, then stepped forward.

Toward whatever came next.