Chapter 28 - Seeing the Answer First (2)

* * *

Whose experimental facility was this?

Beyond his curiosity, a thrill coursed through his entire body. The corners of his mouth rose.

'... Found it.'

The villain-run companies had never allowed him to take any material concerning test subjects or enter their experimental facilities. Perhaps they had feared he would change his mind or stab them in the back.

Yet no matter how often they barred his way, he would use his power to locate the test subjects.

The outcome was never good. All he ever encountered there were piles of corpses and cleaners sent to clear away the horrific results of the experiments. Neither intact test subjects nor the researchers who had injected them with countless drugs were anywhere to be found.

'This time, too... the outcome won't be good.'

Countless experiences had already given Hyeonyul that instinct. There was a strong possibility that only his own experimental facility—and he himself—had remained intact.

'Still, I can't give up.'

He intended to pursue anyone who had been involved in or participated in the experiments to the bitter end and make their lives a living hell. The same researchers might have moved to other jobs, so he clung to the hope that somewhere, evidence surely remained that his experiment had succeeded.

But once again, Hyeonyul faced a fresh wave of disappointment.

'... It's under construction.'

Building materials lay about, making it clear this was not a completed laboratory. In other words, the experiments had not begun yet. Someone had merely drawn up a plausible plan, and he had discovered it before it could be realized.

That was all.

"... Ha."

Hyeonyul let out a deep breath.

'Feels like I've learned the answer first.'

A lingering hope that there might still be something kept him from leaving just yet, and he walked on. Only when the wallpaper disappeared and he reached a section that had not even been coated with cement did he stop. Beyond it lay nothing but the bare shell of a space.

There was no one there.

'Let's sort this out.'

Hyeonyul did not let the emotions flooding him or the reality before him swallow him up. Instead, he looked only at the facts.

First, he designated the owner of this place Villain A. This person had built it to gather vast amounts of information in order to expand their forces.

["I-it's a sort of monitoring hub for other factions!"]

If this place existed simply to monitor other villain factions, the natural conclusion was that the information on Black Eagles collaborators found here had been seized, stolen, or bought from another faction.

'If they were building this place to turn Black Eagles into test subjects, obtaining information about the collaborators would have come first.'

A building could not be thrown together overnight, which meant they had acquired that information much earlier.

Had they intended to blackmail the Black Eagles who were collaborators? How had they so calmly gone ahead with an idiotic plan to turn Black Eagles into test subjects?

'How shocked must they have been when the Black Eagles showed up while their plan was gradually taking shape?'

Following their arrangements, they had withdrawn temporarily to make way for the Black Eagles, then tried to sneak the key information out.

Until Nayun spotted the watchers.

They had clearly been caught while checking whether the Black Eagles had left.

'Ultimately, the crucial information Villain A wanted to take away must have been this experimental facility itself.'

Hyeonyul clenched his fist. It amused him that so much time and effort had gone into this plan.

'You prepared all this, and I ruined it.'

All that should have remained was blackmailing the collaborating Black Eagles, but he had discovered the collaborators first.

'You must have spent a staggering amount of money.'

Hyeonyul burst out laughing.

How great would the losses be if this place were utterly destroyed? Villain or otherwise, who did not care about money? Watching one of them go under like this was not bad either.

'So Villain A wasn't the one who planted the collaborators.'

If he designated the person who had planted them Villain B, then Villain A and Villain B were different people.

'I'd better look for an emblem before I leave.'

Just as Shin Daeho had stamped wineglass-shaped emblems everywhere to declare his territory, Villain A might have done the same here. Even if there were none, that would not be strange. This could be a new villain organization that had not yet created an emblem of its own.

Hyeonyul briefly licked his lips as he was about to head up.

'... Villain B bothers me a little.'

By now, they must have learned that the Black Eagles had discovered the collaborators. It would be strange for everything to end without them doing anything.

'If it were me, I'd at least plant a bomb in the Nest.'

Wouldn't they blow up the Black Eagles' Nest out of sheer resentment?

* * *

"... Find him."

A red-haired woman sat on a sofa with her legs crossed, glaring at someone.

"W-we'll have information on the Black Eagles soon."

The subordinate sweated profusely under her gaze. He wondered whether she had ever been this irritable before. A glance down revealed his colleague, crushed as flat as paper and dead.

Only a minute ago, they had been standing side by side.

"I said find the bastard who did this to me...!"

The Red Witch shouted, making her displeasure plain. She had left her back exposed.

'His hand wasn't missing. He'd hidden it.'

But how?

Humiliation washed over her.

"Please wait. Just a little longer."

The subordinate spoke almost pleadingly. The Red Witch fixed her gaze on his eyes. She was like a vicious spider.

"... All right. You can find him, can't you?"

She crooked a finger, and an unknown force seized the subordinate by the collar and dragged him toward her. Forced close to the woman, his lower jaw began to tremble.

"You must find him. There's something strange about that power."

It was not magic. Nor was it a psychic power. It was closer to something she had never seen in her life.

Her eyes narrowed.

"... Yes. It was like a test subject."

"... A t-test subject?"

The subordinate wanted to say that was impossible, but held his tongue. He had never heard of a successful test subject existing.

"You think it's impossible, don't you? I was thinking the same thing. But if you saw that power, you'd think as I do."

A power that did not exist in this world was precisely what they had been pursuing.

"Some lunatic created that bastard...!"

The Red Witch's voice rose of its own accord. Merely imagining it nearly drove her mad.

The Empire.

To bring down that hateful Empire, they first had to erase the Black Eagles. Those bastards were its strongest wall. For that—for getting rid of those oh-so-great Eagles—they needed power.

A power that did not exist in this world.

"... Ah, how did they make him? What drugs did they administer? How did he endure the pain of his blood vessels and flesh melting from the inside? How many other test subjects died to create that bastard? Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Perhaps even more?"

After questioning her subordinate, the Red Witch laughed loudly to herself. The corners of her mouth lifted as though she had discovered something tremendously entertaining.

"We must capture him alive. Once we have him, every secret will unravel."

Anyone who saw his power would think the same. She had to capture him before anyone else did. She had let her guard down before, but not this time.

"Ah, what about everything the Poison King and Shin Daeho left behind? You are collecting it properly, aren't you?"

Luckily, she had been the first to hear about the Poison King. His subordinates must be in chaos by now. When else would she be able to swallow them up so easily?

"... Of course. We're doing everything we can to bring it in."

"Really?"

KNOCK, KNOCK.

Just then, a knock sounded.

"Th-they must be here."

That faint sound made the subordinate feel as though he had been freed, but he suppressed his emotions as he spoke.

Please, please.

He looked toward the door with desperate hope. At a signal from the Red Witch's eyes, he hurried over and opened it.

The woman lowered her gaze while she waited for her subordinate to return.

'That confidence that he could kill me whenever he liked.'

Even thinking about it again left her incredulous. Since he had taken on the Poison King, poison did not work on him.

'Drugs won't work either. Subduing him under those conditions...'

What else would not work?

'No, what would he like?'

He was a Black Eagle, but it had seemed as though he were wearing clothes that did not suit him. After all, there were Black Eagles who had become villains. She even had one among her subordinates.

'Should I offer him information about test subjects?'

The more she thought, the more she noticed her thoughts softening. An unbidden laugh escaped her. Being furious was one thing; letting a valuable opportunity go to waste was another.

"... Boss."

The woman lowered her gaze. Her approaching subordinate held nothing in his hands.

"Why are you empty-handed?"

"According to the information we just received... the Black Eagles raided the place we were supposed to get the information from."

He gulped, swallowing hard again and again throughout his report.

"... Ha."

A long breath escaped the Red Witch's lips. Despite the displeasure filling her face, the corners of her mouth rose.

"Did they say there was someone wearing a helmet?"

"That... I don't know."

He would certainly be there. The Red Witch knew it instinctively.

'You really are fucking quick.'

She did not know how he had discovered her business contact, but his speed was no joke.

'What am I supposed to do when you're not only powerful but competent too?'

She looked at the subordinate beside her. Why did he suddenly look so stupid?

'... How irritating.'

She wanted to kill them all, but restrained herself. The blood of the subordinate she had killed earlier had soaked deep into the carpet, and a sickening smell was already beginning to fill the room.

"Ask somewhere else. If you come back empty-handed again, you're the one who dies. Understood?"

"Understood! Thank you!"

The subordinate immediately dropped to his knees and bowed his head. The mere fact that he had escaped death made him happier than he could express.

Whether her subordinate left or not, the woman inspected her long, gemstone-studded nails.

'Come to think of it, Shin Daeho had a subordinate he bragged about. Did that one die?'

She did not know the name. She had never even seen what that subordinate looked like. The thought had simply occurred to her because Shin Daeho had lavished praise on that person whenever they occasionally met.

'The Poison King would know...'

Shin Daeho had been close to several villains, but closest to the Poison King. Perhaps that subordinate was considering a change of employment by now.

'If I can recruit that one, I will.'

They would surely help her capture that Black Eagle.

* * *

'... Is there really something about him?'

Haeryeon gazed steadily at Hyeonyul. She had no idea why villains were so drawn to him. She did not know which villain had been drawn in this time, but how had a simple document-retrieval assignment turned into this?

She had known about the secret base, but had received no report of an experimental facility underneath it. They had also captured the villains watching the base from afar, so all that remained was interrogation.

"Collaborators...?"

Nayun looked from Hyeonyul to Haeryeon in shock.

Traitors.

The word made her chest tighten.

"You didn't know?"

"How would I know...? Nobody told me."

The inner ends of Nayun's eyebrows rose sharply. Indignation and hurt welled up in her.

"That's my fault. I've been... overwhelmed."

Haeryeon immediately stood and approached Nayun, looking troubled.

"Sinu knows, doesn't he? Once again, he's the only one who knows, right?"

"The situation... made it inevitable. Hyeonyul simply said it while Sinu was there."

"Was I supposed to keep it secret?"

Hyeonyul tilted his head slightly. He remembered no mention of secrecy.

"What about Jihwan?"

Nayun pressed her lips together after asking.

"... Ah. I haven't told Jihwan either."

Haeryeon scratched her cheek, as though something had occurred to her.

"Then that's fine."

"It's fine...? Really?"

"Team Leader, it really hurts my feelings if you hide something from me that even Sinu knows. Tell me instead, and keep it from Sinu."

'... So that's what upset you?'

Haeryeon swallowed a laugh.

"I will."

"You promised."

"Yes."

Only then did Haeryeon burst out laughing and pat Nayun's shoulder. Nayun was adorable whenever she saw her.

"Then the reason you gave the documents only to me was because of the collaborators too, wasn't it, Hyeonyul?"

"...?"

Hyeonyul merely widened his eyes at Nayun's question. He had given them to her simply because she was his teammate.

"Fortunately, the Team Six members you worked with today weren't collaborators, Nayun."

"... Whew. That's a real relief."

Nayun sighed in relief, then suddenly opened her eyes wide.

'Wait... So he agreed to help me even though he knew there were collaborators?'

Nayun was genuinely touched. She had thought he might dislike her, but apparently that was not the case.

'He may seem brusque on the outside, but he must be warmhearted inside.'

Perhaps Hyeonyul was exactly that classic sort of person.

As Nayun's eyes sparkled as though she had discovered something, Hyeonyul felt uncomfortable. She really was a difficult person to deal with.

"... Team Leader."

"Yes?"

"Is the remaining person a Team Leader?"

He had handed Haeryeon the villains' list of Black Eagles collaborators, and he wanted to confirm this. He could not tell from a name alone.

"A Team Leader. Team Five's leader."

The very leader who had consistently opposed Hyeonyul. Only now had she learned why.

Haeryeon let out a long breath. Frankly, she had never expected the answer to arrive before the investigation.

'And Hyeonyul found it.'

Haeryeon smiled at him with pride. To think he had dug up such important information.

"Hyeonyul."

"Yes."

"The Poison King is scheduled to be transferred to a special criminal detention facility soon. If there's anything you want to discuss with him, you'd better go now."

Haeryeon's words gave Hyeonyul an inkling.

A transfer.

It was the perfect opportunity to do something. Villain B, who had planted the collaborators, would never let it slip by.

"When is that?"

"In three days."

"And when will the people on the expulsion list be expelled?"

"... In two days, I think? There are some things we need their consent for, even if it's only a formality. It won't take long."

"Thank you for telling me."

Hyeonyul smiled faintly.

A transfer of the Poison King.

He was no mere lackey, but the Poison King himself—the perfect way to draw every eye.

'Something's going to happen.'

Hyeonyul was certain.

"All right. You both worked hard. Go home now."

Haeryeon announced that the work was now completely finished.

"Team Leader."

Nayun hastily called out to Haeryeon.

"Yes?"

"You're going to see Team Five's leader right now, aren't you?"

"That's right. I'm going to fuck them up."

Haeryeon smiled brightly.

She had asked Dojin to detain the leader before they could flee, saying any means would do.

"If it wouldn't be an imposition, may I come with you?"

Hyeonyul raised his hand to ask. He wanted at least to know what Team Five's leader looked like.

"... You're coming along instead of going home?"

"Yes. I'm curious what they look like."

Hyeonyul smiled.

"... You're really coming instead of clocking out?"

"Yes. That's right."

Hearing him say it again, Haeryeon could only stare in astonishment. Wasn't going home what Hyeonyul always wanted so desperately?

'What...? What's happening?'

Haeryeon wondered whether she was dreaming.