Chapter 52 - Special Prison for Criminals (3)

* * *

He had no idea how long it had been since he last felt an emotion this intense. Hyeonyul would have liked to keep feeling it if he could, but he knew that was dangerous. It was not the path Jeongmin wanted for him, and it would lead him toward becoming the very monster he despised.

"... Ha. Haha! Hahaha!"

The Poison King laughed, clutching his hand. He laughed loudly, as though he had gone mad.

"You think this will make me give up on you? You think I'll let you go because of this?!"

'Now you finally seem human.'

Hyeonyul regarded the Poison King's blatant display of emotion.

"I'll capture you and find out every last thing about you! How you were made! What powers you have...!"

'So it wasn't you, either.'

The Poison King had not been involved in creating him. That was what he had just confirmed.

Then who was it? Who the hell was the bastard who had created him? He had searched so hard, yet never found them.

Hyeonyul emerged from his thoughts and sneered at what the Poison King was doing.

"I didn't realize you were such a good actor, too."

Just as the dripping blood seemed to be thinning, the severed finger was regenerating.

"You can regenerate, too?"

The Poison King flinched at Hyeonyul's remark and concealed his finger more carefully.

"That's no easy feat. Everyone has secrets, but you certainly have a lot of them. It makes me wonder what's inside that head of yours."

Hyeonyul did not probe further. The man would not tell him anyway. He turned away.

"Where are you going? Get back here! I'm not finished talking!"

"It's rather troubling that you get lonely so easily."

"... Ha."

Rage rose into the Poison King's throat, leaving him speechless.

"But don't worry. I'll come again."

Hyeonyul smiled mockingly.

* * *

"... I'm sorry! I'll make sure this negligence never happens again!"

When Hyeonyul came outside, he saw the warden bowing his head to Haeryeon.

"What are you talking about?"

Haeryeon gripped the warden's shoulder, squeezing hard. The force she was applying was visible.

"I'm not letting this slide over some paltry apology. You must have thought I was a pushover."

She pressed down on him so he could not raise his head. Seeing that face would only make her angrier, wouldn't it?

"Or perhaps you thought the Black Eagles were pushovers. Whatever the reason, you'd better prepare to lose your job."

To think he intended to get away with a mere apology. Did he have any idea how serious this was? If they had not come—if they had come just a little later—not only could the Poison King, whom Hyeonyul had captured, have escaped, but every villain here might have been freed.

"... W-wait a moment. You can't do that. Anything but that!"

The warden was horrified, but he could not lift his head. He had no idea how she could be so strong.

"All we expected of you was to properly manage the villains we'd captured. Do you know how many Black Eagles died to catch them? If you can't do even that, why should you keep your position?"

They had no need for a warden who did not understand the significance of the Black Eagles' lives and blood. Haeryeon released him and stared at him as though she wanted to spit right then and there.

"This... This is a clear abuse of authority!"

The warden raised his head, his voice rising.

Hadn't he apologized? Yet even after his apology, she meant to take away his livelihood. She was only a Team Leader in the Black Eagles. How far did she intend to meddle? She couldn't possibly do it in the first place. His position was higher than hers.

"I'll show you whether I'm overstepping my authority."

Haeryeon stepped closer and patted his shoulder as she delivered the warning.

Her icy expression changed the moment she turned to Hyeonyul. A smile settled on her lips.

"You're back?"

"Yes, I'm back."

Hyeonyul answered, looking at the warden.

'The Team Leader can even replace the warden?'

He knew the Black Eagles enjoyed considerable standing, but he wondered whether even that was possible.

'What's going on?'

As his curiosity stirred, Haeryeon passed him and remarked quietly,

"I told you I could cover for you on a lot of things."

'... Was she serious?'

Hyeonyul followed her without a word.

It felt as though a fierce wave had swept through, but he rather liked the quiet settling in afterward. The constant chatter had been getting noisy.

"It seems they've failed to maintain containment."

Hyeonyul brought up the conditions he had just seen around the Poison King.

"How badly?"

Haeryeon handed him protective equipment. It was better to have it, even if only for appearances.

"It looks as though he'll be able to escape in a week."

"... What?"

Haeryeon stopped putting on her equipment and stared at him in shock. The situation was worse than she had thought. Far worse.

Her gaze turned toward the warden. She should have punched him.

'... That crazy bastard.'

She let out a long breath.

"It doesn't seem to be a technical issue. It looks more like they haven't been maintaining it regularly. Did you hear anything about that?"

Hyeonyul asked Haeryeon. She had just been speaking with the warden, after all.

"Apparently, he was too afraid of the Poison King to look inside himself. He just kept listening to reports. That's exactly how he sounded."

"Then something happened, everyone was too frightened, and they ended up abandoning it altogether?"

"That's right. When we said we were coming, they couldn't refuse, so they arranged for us to go in alone. They know better than anyone that this equipment can't handle the Poison King's poison, don't they?"

"It's a good method. Covering up one problem with another would be the most efficient approach. Still, I find it strange that they thought someone at Team Leader level would die so easily."

"The crisis staring them in the face drove them out of their minds. People are like that. They do things that make you wonder, 'Would anyone really do that?' Even without me, this is serious enough that they'd lose their jobs if it came to light. Everyone could have died."

Haeryeon grinned, then put on her equipment.

"Can this be brought under control?"

As a precaution, he had threatened the Poison King to keep him from escaping. He did not know whether the man would comply, but he thought it better than doing nothing.

"Brought under control?"

Haeryeon reacted as though she did not understand, then smiled. Was Hyeonyul treating this as an extension of their duties?

"This isn't our job, Hyeonyul. You need to draw clear boundaries between responsibilities."

"I don't want the Poison King getting outside."

He thought of the Poison King as a trophy. A splendid ornament that gleamed whenever he dropped by to look at it.

"Neither do I, but they're rather full of themselves here. Part of me wonders why we should help them, but we also have to stop the Poison King from escaping. It's complicated."

Haeryeon fiddled with her hair. They had already slighted her once—no, several times.

"Is that so?"

"What do you think, Hyeonyul?"

"I think I'd better not say. You might find it upsetting."

His answer left Haeryeon feeling awkward.

'Is his answer... to kill them?'

She asked no further questions.

As she moved forward, her expression slowly hardened. One by one, signs of melting came into view. Even the questions she had meant to ask Hyeonyul vanished in the face of the scene before her.

'... This is the Poison King's power?'

Several major criminals had been brought here before, but none had caused anything like this. Unreliable as they seemed now, the guards had all been selected for their strength.

'This...'

Haeryeon stared blankly. Half the specially built facility had melted from the poison. The farther inside she went, the worse the damage became.

Even the glass walls, designed to stop bullets and block all manner of abilities, had almost entirely melted, barely retaining their shape. The poison in the air was so thick that it seemed a miracle the tank was still intact.

Heat rose inside her, along with anger.

'They left it like this...?'

She could almost see the fury he would unleash if he escaped. It would be the most horrific event in history.

["Honestly, sometimes I wonder whether the Poison King was going easy on us. With that power, he could easily wipe out this entire area."]

Juhyeon's voice came back to her, and she could only agree.

Haeryeon slowly turned to Hyeonyul. Now she, too, felt in her bones exactly what he had captured—what he had accomplished.

"Team Leader. Are you all right?"

At Hyeonyul's quiet voice, Haeryeon could only renew her resolve. Never. Hyeonyul must never become a villain again.

"Has the poison affected you?"

Hyeonyul approached, and Haeryeon shook her head.

"No. The poison is strong, but I can bear it."

"I'll ask the questions for you. It doesn't affect me at all."

"... Ha."

A hollow laugh reached them. It was the Poison King's voice. Unlike his ruined face, it was rather melodious.

"... Unbelievable."

The Poison King stared at Hyeonyul.

["But don't worry. I'll come again."]

He really had come back. What was he supposed to make of this?

'What a fucking headache.'

It was difficult to predict him when there was no telling what he would do next.

"Are you pleased to see me again?"

Haeryeon looked at Hyeonyul in surprise. His normally stiff manner of speaking had changed. There was a hint of sly playfulness in it.

"Would it make you happy if I said yes?"

"No."

"You were mocking me earlier. What is it this time?"

Conscious of Haeryeon, the Poison King was careful with his words. She was one of the Black Eagles' Team Leaders. Why reveal his intentions unnecessarily?

"I came to work earlier, and I've come to work now."

The answer was vague, but the Poison King read Haeryeon's expression. She seemed unaware of what had happened earlier. Seeing Hyeonyul concealing things just as he was made him smile for no particular reason.

'Of course. Cutting off a finger isn't something a Black Eagle would do.'

Looking more relaxed than before, the Poison King spoke.

"Go on, then."

"He seems willing to answer. Please ask whatever you want to know, Team Leader."

Hyeonyul pointed at the Poison King. He himself had already obtained most of what he wanted, both in information and otherwise, during their earlier conversation.

"Did something happen earlier?"

Haeryeon lowered her voice.

"Yes, it did."

"What happened?"

"He urged me to become a villain, just like last time."

No sooner had Hyeonyul spoken than Haeryeon shot the Poison King a murderous glare. His eyebrows twitched at the blatant betrayal.

"... This could make things difficult for you, you know?"

"He threatened me like this earlier, too."

Hyeonyul spoke without batting an eye. It was neither incorrect nor a lie. He had merely left out several things.

He looked at the Poison King. The Poison King was the one who wanted him. The Poison King was the one who needed to make a good impression. He was also curious how far the man would go for him.

"Apparently, once wasn't enough for you?"

The Poison King let Haeryeon's warning go in one ear and out the other, gazing at Hyeonyul. The more he saw, the more he wanted him.

"When something fantastic is right before your eyes, it would be stupid to reach for it only once."

"You can still say that, even in the state you're in?"

"Listen. You seem to have misunderstood something. Once a villain, always a villain, until the day you die. Changing appearances doesn't change anything else."

The Poison King sneered at Haeryeon. What an idiot. Seeing her lost in hope made the anger he had suppressed rise again.

"You think he'll change? Don't delude yourself. Cloth dyed black doesn't turn pure white."

"Even as a metaphor, that's quite a leap. Shut up and tell me who's behind you."

"I don't see why I should tell you that."

The corners of the Poison King's eyes lifted. He had not expected her to ask so brazenly. Just how stupid was she?

He had been about to mock her mercilessly, but instead considered things slowly, stroking his chin with a finger.

"... Ah. There is something I should tell you."

"Don't try anything."

Haeryeon surveyed her surroundings, running through several calculations in her head. She could stop this situation. The question was how far to go, and how much force was appropriate.

"Come now, trying something? You have no idea how hurt I am to hear that."

"Are you acting so relaxed because you think no one can stop you?"

"Not at all. It's just that there's a new weapon I used to maintain regularly, and several weeks have already gone by."

A vibration at her wrist made Haeryeon lower her gaze. It was an emergency mission. The timing was absolutely shitty.

"What do you suppose would happen to it, then?"

The Poison King's eyes gently closed.

Watching him, Haeryeon operated her smartwatch. The emergency appeared in text.

<Poison is currently spreading outward from Area T—11 in the metropolitan region. Analysis of the detected poison suggests it is the 'new weapon' recently acquired.>

New weapon. Haeryeon's eyes wavered at those words.

'... Then the person Jihwan saw, the one Nayun saw, is the Poison King's subordinate?'

Haeryeon pressed her lips tightly together. At least fourteen new weapons had disappeared. Had all of it been deliberate?

"Oh dear. It seems it's already happened."

As Haeryeon's expression stiffened, the Poison King's smile widened.

They might have that test subject, but he was only one person. What could they do? One person could not possibly stop so much poison. The test subject was welcome, but they would pay dearly for crossing him.

"How many will die, I wonder? A few million, perhaps? If you let me go, that number could drop dramatically. Not a bad offer, wouldn't you say?"

The Poison King thought he had gained the upper hand. It was poison he had created. They would not even have been able to neutralize it yet. What would they do now?

The Poison King glanced sideways at Hyeonyul. He was sneering at him. Quite openly.