Chapter 10 - A Familiar Face (2)

* * *

He had come to sell Shin Daeho something.

["This really is an excellent item."]

Hyeonyul couldn't see what it was from where he stood. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed to be a new kind of weapon.

'... He's not with the Poison King.'

He hadn't heard any mention of the Poison King. Rather, the man had been connected to someone else.

'What was it again?'

["... The Witch said she wished to distribute it discreetly."]

'The Witch.'

He had been on his way out, so the first part had been indistinct, but he'd heard "the Witch" clearly. Given that the man was still alive, he seemed to be good at the business side of things.

Hyeonyul covered his ears as well and concentrated on their conversation.

"Have you checked that everyone nearby is dead?"

The man speaking so arrogantly was his target.

"Who could still be alive with the poison spread everywhere?"

"Check anyway. It'll be a pain if those Eagle bastards get their hands on anything. And clean up the poison you spread properly."

"Yes. I've ordered them to retrieve all of it."

"Then how long until you finish hacking the company's internal data?"

'Hacking...?'

Hyeonyul shifted his eyes.

Hacking usually meant one of two things. First, stealing a company's internal data. Second, bringing the company down.

As if those bastards cared about appearances. They had learned that crippling a company outright and taking its information—or whatever else they wanted—was faster than sending in corporate spies.

Whichever it was, Hyeonyul didn't overthink it. Capturing the target would be enough.

"... I'll finish within an hour."

"An hour? You fucking bastard! Those Eagles are due any minute! Finish in twenty!"

The man turned away in a temper.

Behind his gas mask, Hyeonyul narrowed his eyes. They had split into two groups. More precisely, one group was hacking, while the man apparently intended to go elsewhere and rest.

'Perfect.'

This should make things considerably easier.

DING.

Just as Hyeonyul was about to move, a notification suddenly sounded in his ear, and text appeared before his eyes.

<I can see something like a barrier. What could it be?>

It really was a notification. The magic converted sound into text, using the wireless earbud in his ear as its medium. Nayun had repeatedly stressed that it was essential.

Still, he hadn't expected a message right now.

Hyeonyul touched the wireless earbud and spoke.

<You can see it from there?>

His words were transmitted as text rather than sound.

<Of course. My eyes are a little special. Mere fog can't stop them. I saw you get startled by that message just now. Heehee.>

Apparently, it even transmitted laughter.

<Does that barrier look magical to you?>

<For now, yes. Shall I break it?>

<No.>

Hyeonyul quickly stopped her.

<What? You won't be able to see inside unless I break it. Can you actually see through it?>

<Yes, I can.>

<You can...? How? Do you have good eyesight? Or are you using magic?>

How many question marks was that?

As the questions multiplied, Hyeonyul cut straight to the point.

<They're hacking the company inside.>

<Hacking? Are they insane?>

<If you break the barrier, they'll flee immediately. I'll slip inside—>

Hyeonyul abruptly stopped speaking.

Just as he thought he heard footsteps, a strong rush of air swept past.

WHOOSH.

There was a faint sound. As Hyeonyul turned his head, he made out someone's foot a short distance away.

<Did you take a shot?> Hyeonyul asked.

<Of course. There was a patrol making the rounds, so I shot them. Didn't startle you, did I?>

<No.>

<They're carrying something. Hyeonyul, could you check what it is?>

<One moment.>

Black power spread rapidly around him, then vanished. No one else was nearby.

He walked over leisurely to examine the bodies.

'There were two?'

They lay overlapping, as though the shot had passed through both. It had struck them squarely in the head.

'Such a precise shot from that far away.'

After silently admiring her skill, he inspected the objects Nayun had mentioned.

The object was slightly larger than his palm.

'What's this?'

When he opened it, he found an empty test tube inside. A little liquid still remained.

["And clean up the poison you spread properly."]

'Is this the poison they were talking about?'

Hyeonyul removed his gas mask and tasted a drop of the remaining liquid.

'... It's poison.'

The tingling taste convinced him. It was the same poison used here.

<It's poison. They apparently still have people spreading it.>

<What on earth is in that company—oh, one moment. I requested information on the company while you went to check, and they've replied.>

Hyeonyul waited briefly for Nayun's response.

<It's just an ordinary liquor company. I don't see any reason to spread poison like this.>

<Then it may not be an ordinary liquor company. I'll have to go inside and check.>

Now he had all the more reason to enter. He would have to see for himself to know what kind of company it was.

<While you're inside, I'll start by wiping out the bastards spreading poison. I'll contact you again once I've dealt with them all.>

<Understood.>

Just as he was about to end the call, another message from Nayun appeared.

<Oh, don't do anything dangerous. You're on probation, so leave the rest to me. Avoid combat and just look around as though you're taking a relaxing stroll. All right?>

<... I understand.>

Hyeonyul answered and disconnected.

Both Sinu and Nayun kept saying things he couldn't understand. He was constantly faced with an environment utterly unlike the villain-run companies.

His conviction that he needed to prove his usefulness before he was fired was starting to fade.

'Get a grip.'

He had to look after his health, no matter what. Doing that required money and time, which made finding a job that let him allocate both properly essential.

So he had to adapt, whatever happened.

'I'll have to reread that book when I get home.'

101 Ways to Make Your Work Life Run Smoothly.

He needed it.

'Right now, though, I need to clock out.'

Today was his hospital day.

Hyeonyul drew the daggers at his waist, one in each hand. After moving somewhere outside Nayun's line of sight, he vanished.

* * *

Hyeonyul moved to the floor he had observed earlier. There were plenty of people here, but he had no reason to wipe them all out. Targeting only the key figures was more efficient.

'First, the ones in the corridor.'

He stepped back and sank into the wall.

People who had died fleeing the poison lay strewn across the floor. Some had died while using their phones. He could see a message that stopped at "Mo." They had probably been trying to type "Mom."

Every body had a hole somewhere.

'They died from gunshots, not poison.'

Hyeonyul shifted his gaze. Two people were walking down the corridor, apparently a patrol.

From within the wall, he threw a dagger.

WHOOSH!

It pierced the neck of the man closest to him.

"What was th—"

Startled by the unfamiliar sound, the other man began to speak, then stopped. Someone in a gas mask had suddenly approached him. The instant the outstretched hand reached him, blood spilled from his neck.

"... Ghurk."

"Shh."

Holding a hand over the man's mouth, Hyeonyul placed a finger against the back of that hand.

The darkness writhing from his body engulfed both men and the bloodstains. Once it had silently carried everything into the dark, nothing remained.

Hyeonyul, too, sank into the shadows as he walked.

A door opened on the left side of the corridor.

"... Huh?"

The man looked around.

"Where did the guys go?"

"... Good question, sir."

"I told you to keep your men in line, didn't I? I—"

The irritated voice stopped short. A blade protruded from his throat.

"I'm sorry! I'll keep a closer eye on them fro—T-Team Leader!"

His superior toppled forward. The subordinate instinctively reached to catch him, then met Hyeonyul's gaze.

Sparks flashed in the subordinate's eyes.

CLINK!

The blade deflected, pushing Hyeonyul's hand back with it. He felt a distinct sting.

'... Ha.'

Hyeonyul found himself laughing. He hadn't expected to meet someone with psychic powers. But the man's control was clumsy, as though he had only just activated his ability.

Hyeonyul's hand melted away, and a blade emerged behind the subordinate's neck. He slashed it sideways, and the man collapsed beside his dead superior.

Hyeonyul examined the hand that had collided with the psychic power.

'These gloves are reinforced enough to survive a bomb blast.'

The man must have had fairly impressive psychic strength.

'He's dead, though.'

Hyeonyul immediately removed his glove and checked his hand. It was lightly scraped.

'... Ha.'

Irritation rose within him. The drugs injected into him as a test subject made it difficult for his blood to clot.

He reached out with his other hand, and a first-aid kit emerged from the shadows. He applied a special adhesive bandage.

His body was such a wreck that he couldn't dismiss even a minor wound. If it became infected, there was no telling how far the effects might spread.

Holding a dagger in one hand, Hyeonyul covered his eyes with the bandaged one and inspected the target's location.

Two people were guarding him.

'Security's pretty lax. Is he swaggering around because he trusts the poison?'

That was good news for Hyeonyul. It meant he could handle this easily.

His hand melted away. It reappeared beside one of the target's guards. Emerging from thin air, it slit the guard's throat swiftly and silently.

"...?"

A hand floated in midair. What was that hand?

The man died wondering.

Before the body hit the floor, Hyeonyul slit the other guard's throat as well.

Only when both guards dropped to their knees, dark blood pouring from their necks, did the target lower his phone.

"... Wh-what the hell!"

His eyes darted wildly.

"What do you think?"

Someone suddenly appeared in front of him. The billowing darkness made it look as though living evil itself had arrived.

The man caught his breath. Before taking action, Hyeonyul asked, just in case.

"Is anyone still alive?"

The man's head moved very slightly from side to side. That meant no.

Hyeonyul didn't believe him.

He lifted a foot and set it down gently. Power resembling black smoke rippled around it, then penetrated the building and traveled downward. Thin, long strands spread up and down like branches.

Soon, Hyeonyul smiled.

"There are survivors. This is why I can't trust anything you people say."

There were three of them. It was remarkable that they had survived at all.

Hyeonyul used his wireless earbud. To think he would be saying these words.

After a brief exhale, he spoke.

<I've found hostages. I'll rescue them.>

Both while he spoke and afterward, he had the strange sensation that his fingers were curling inward with embarrassment.

<I'm nearly done, too!>

<Then please get ready to smash the barrier from there.>

<The barrier...? You said not to earlier.>

<I've found the ringleader.>

<Didn't you say there were survivors?>

<I'll protect both the ringleader and the survivors.>

<That's good enough, then. You want to wipe out all the villains inside, right?>

<Correct.>

<Great! Give me the signal, Hyeonyul.>

After ending the call, Hyeonyul grabbed the man by his hair and said,

"Close your eyes and hold your breath."

"W-wait! Hup!"

Watching the man inhale, Hyeonyul melted into the shadows.

* * *

The survivors were in the basement. He didn't know whether they had been trapped in the storage warehouse, but they had managed to avoid the poison.

"... Bleurgh."

The man retched, but Hyeonyul ignored him as though he weren't there.

"I'm with the Black Eagles. Here, put on a gas mask. You, too."

He took gas masks from his bag and handed them to the survivors.

"... Th-the Black Eagles?"

The survivors looked at him differently. Their expressions suddenly brightened—so radiantly that he could immediately recognize the emotion called hope.

Hyeonyul wasn't used to being looked at that way.

'... What? He's a Black Eagle?'

Only then did the man realize who Hyeonyul was. All he had seen was some gas mask.

"I'll ask why you came to this company later, so think about what you're going to tell me."

Hyeonyul gave him his instructions. He knew the man would lie, so he intended to search the place anyway.

But right now, something else mattered more: executing every villain stationed here.

After confirming that everyone had their gas masks on, he contacted Nayun.

<Please destroy the barrier.>

<Here it comes! Here we go!>

Nayun answered without hesitation.

Wondering what she intended to do, Hyeonyul covered one eye and observed the situation outside.

A light seemed to flash in the distance, and something poured forth. It moved too fast for him to make out what it was. The successive streaks of light looked like a single unbroken line, aligned without the slightest deviation.

'Those are bullets?'

The moment they struck the barrier, a deafening sound reached even the basement.

BOOOOM!

The building shook violently.

<It's gone!!!>

Nayun's message appeared.

Now that the barrier was gone, the poison outside would begin circulating everywhere.

"If you remove your gas masks, the poison will kill you. You must keep them on."

Hyeonyul made that clear to the survivors. Safety was directly linked to health, so he had to be firm.

"Now, stay here."

"W-wait. Where are you going?"

"It's safe here."

"But..."

"I have something to discuss privately with this villain. Would you like to watch how I do it?"

Hyeonyul pointed at the villain.

"... No."

"Stay put. Someone will come to rescue you soon."

He hadn't received any instruction on the theory yet, so he improvised.

After looking at the still-anxious survivors, he gripped the man's hair and vanished.

* * *

"Hah. Hah."

The man's breathing quickened. The poison must have spread everywhere; all his subordinates who had been attempting the hack lay dead. Seeing their skin stained pitch-black made his heart race like mad.

'... This is a Black Eagle?'

Did he know how many of the man's subordinates were in this building? A Black Eagle, killing them so cruelly?

'That's the sort of shit we do!'

He wanted to sink his teeth into Hyeonyul right then and there. His desire to avenge his subordinates seethed within him.

"Now, I'll ask my questions."

Hyeonyul spoke as he surveyed the surroundings.

Watching for an opening, the man reached toward him, grabbed his gas mask, and tore it off.

"Die like my men, you—"

He began speaking with a smile, then stopped.

Hyeonyul calmly exhaled.

"Oh, are you saying you want to die?"

Asking nonchalantly, he grabbed the man's gas mask.

"W-w-wait! Wait!"

"Do you know Shin Daeho?"

The unexpected name made him flinch instinctively.

'Why is he bringing up Shin Daeho...?'

"Oh, I should have asked whether you worked for the Poison King first. My mistake."

Hyeonyul smoothly changed tack.

"But this works out nicely. You aren't one of the Poison King's subordinates, and you do know Shin Daeho, just as I thought."

At those words, the man's eyes darted wildly.

'... What? Just what does he know?'