Chapter 6 - I'm the New Recruit (3)

* * *

The man looked at Hyeonyul. His eyes were so flat and lifeless that they scarcely seemed to hold any light.

Eyes like those were dangerous. He could tell at once that he had run into someone truly dangerous. Cold sweat poured off him as he stared at Hyeonyul.

"If I tell you, will you... let me live?"

"Are you bargaining with me? You still don't seem to understand your position. Apparently, you need something else."

"W-w-wait!"

The man broke eye contact with Hyeonyul and lowered his gaze. His eyes shook wildly. Holding his breath, he could feel every pounding beat of his heart. Fear seeped into him.

"Just relax and tell me what you know."

As Hyeonyul urged him on, something cold pressed deep into his neck, and he cried out.

"... T-test subjects! They took them to use as test subjects!"

Test subjects.

At those words, Hyeonyul's gaze darkened. Silence fell, and the atmosphere turned so cold it hurt.

'I can reach them... like this?'

The villain-run companies had secret departments dealing with test subjects. No one had ever allowed Hyeonyul, a former test subject himself, into those departments.

They liked experimenting on people, but hated facing retaliation. It felt as though he could see straight into their minds.

'This easily?'

Countless times, he had moved in secret, searching for the facilities where they kept their test subjects. All with one wish in mind.

'... Can I kill those bastards?'

A chilling smile settled on Hyeonyul's lips. Killing every last person who had experimented on him—that was what he wanted.

Unfortunately, he didn't know who had been responsible for him. They had all worn identical clothes, concealed their faces, and even altered their voices and made their builds roughly alike.

Ever since surviving, he had been searching for the people who had experimented on him.

"Where are they?" Hyeonyul asked.

"I only know, um, the first... location."

"Then where is it?"

Hyeonyul knew that test subjects passed through numerous locations during transport. At least four stops, and sometimes even more.

"Th-there's a campground farther up this way. We were supposed to gather there first. They might m-move them to the second location soon."

"A campground?"

"Y-yes! A campground."

"Understood."

Hyeonyul lowered the scissors.

"... Can I go now?"

The man asked the foolish question.

"Do you think you can?"

At Hyeonyul's words, the man looked ready to cry.

"I-I honestly don't even know your face! Even if I wanted to do something, I couldn't! I swear!"

"What are you talking about?"

Hyeonyul reacted as though the answer should have been obvious and raised the scissors again.

"You know I'm with the Black Eagles, don't you?"

He was wearing the Black Eagles' uniform. With the eagle emblem stamped right there on his left arm, there was no way the man could have missed it.

"I-I swear I'll never look for you as long as I live! I'll tell you my name and everything I do, so..."

"Would I believe that?"

Hyeonyul sneered and moved his hand. Along the dark arc of that swift stroke, the man's head fell away, blood gushing out.

Eyes full of resentment stabbed at Hyeonyul. But he removed his helmet and smiled broadly.

"What good will glaring at me do?"

Villains deserved no mercy. Why should he pity the people who had torn through his body countless times?

Hyeonyul looked at the blood splashed onto him and touched it. Wherever his hand passed, the blood vanished without a trace. After wiping the scissors clean, he set them neatly on the table beside his helmet.

He took out his phone and searched for the campground. It seemed to be roughly ten kilometers away. He could simply go there, but he was still on probation.

'If I go charging off on my own, I'll get on their bad side again.'

At his first company, acting without permission had put a target on his back. That hadn't mattered, since he had found out where his tormentor lived and killed him as soon as the bullying began. This time was different. He was a special civil servant, and he needed to behave himself if he didn't want to get fired.

'... What a nuisance.'

Hyeonyul let out a short breath. Through countless job changes, he had risen through the ranks until he was the one giving orders to subordinates. Going from giving orders to taking them was both inconvenient and strange.

'Still, I should ask. His number is...'

He opened his phone's contacts. There was no need to scroll; the only number saved belonged to a doctor. He started to operate his smartwatch, then simply put his phone away and covered one eye.

* * *

CLANG!

The swords floating like an army around Sinu moved on their own, knocking aside the approaching enemies' blades. He charged forward, swinging the back of his sword hard like a club rather than striking with its edge.

His hand moved too fast to see. Had he used the edge, his opponents would already have suffered dozens of stab wounds. Sinu danced, and his enemies fell one after another.

His hand never stopped. As his forward-facing eyes shifted right, his sword moved. Recognizing a familiar face, Sinu belatedly stepped back and clutched his chest.

"... Y-y-you scared me!"

He had nearly attacked.

"How did you know I was here? No, no—I told you to stay put!"

"I thought you would be too absorbed in combat to answer."

"I can still take a call. It's all designed to account for calls coming in during..."

Sinu stopped explaining and slapped his forehead. What an idiot. He hadn't explained that himself. Even counting the mission with Haeryeon, this was only Hyeonyul's second outing. Thinking of him rushing all the way here left Sinu feeling guilty.

"You didn't get hurt on the way, did you?"

"No."

"That's a relief, then."

Sinu smiled brightly.

'Didn't the Team Leader tell him?'

Hyeonyul wondered. No one who knew his past could possibly smile like that. He had thought she had told him everything.

'Should I tell him myself?'

BZZZZ.

Hyeonyul glanced at his phone as it buzzed.

"Ah, just a moment."

It was time for his medicine. When he reached out, a medicine packet and water emerged from his shadow.

"...?"

Sinu's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it even as he watched. He had no idea what sort of power that was. Magic, perhaps?

"Excuse me. It's time to take my medicine."

"Medicine...?"

"I used to be a test subject."

Hyeonyul answered matter-of-factly. He wondered whether that would become another rumor.

Looking around, Hyeonyul walked to a nearby table and laid out several medications from the packet. Sinu stared blankly at them, then belatedly flinched at the sight of a syringe.

"... A t-test subject?"

"I understand. It's hard to believe a test subject could still be alive."

Hyeonyul lifted his shirt and inserted the syringe into his abdomen with practiced ease. Sinu narrowed his eyes. He had only caught a glimpse, but there were far too many deep scars. Hyeonyul must have been slashed to pieces to be left with so many.

"Mr. Baek Sinu... No, big brother. After you left, I followed up on where the hostages had gone."

"I told you it was fine to stay put, didn't I?"

Sinu's eyebrows rose. Was he a workaholic?

"I learned that the hostages were at a campground. A search on my phone confirmed there's one about ten kilometers away."

Hyeonyul spoke as he tore open a medicine packet and poured its contents into his palm. Even at a glance, there were more than ten brightly colored pills.

"I considered going alone, but decided that wouldn't be appropriate, so I came to find you."

Finishing his explanation, he routinely tipped the pills into his mouth. But he didn't stop there. He took out another packet, poured even more pills than before into his palm, and swallowed them.

"What should I do in a situation like this? Pursue them without saying anything?"

"..."

A deep crease formed between Sinu's brows. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Asking whether Hyeonyul was ill would be nothing short of mockery. He had been a test subject—a person whose very survival was a miracle. And he had to take that much medicine simply to stay alive.

This was no time to get swept up in emotion.

'He said the hostages are alive.'

The Black Eagles had to put the hostages first.

"Do you know why they took them there?"

"To use them as test subjects."

At Hyeonyul's answer, Sinu held up his palm.

"One moment."

He operated his smartwatch.

"Team Leader."

<What's wrong?>

"The hostages are alive. Hyeonyul found out where they were taken."

<Really? Where?>

"A nearby campground, he says. They're going to turn them into test subjects."

For a moment, no answer came from Haeryeon.

<... How is Hyeonyul?>

At her question, Sinu looked at Hyeonyul. He seemed completely unbothered. That was terribly strange. How could he react so calmly? Normally, it should have left him with profound trauma, yet he showed no such reaction. The one thing Sinu couldn't explain was why he was covering his eye.

"... He does seem all right."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should hurry. Selection begins at the first location. They'll inject them with drugs there to test their resistance."

Only those who passed the drug-resistance test moved on to the second location. There, too, they were injected with a different drug, and only those with resistance were taken onward. Since they needed to keep administering drugs for a long, long time, it was only natural from those bastards' perspective.

"So if they aren't resistant, they'll be killed on the spot?"

Sinu asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

"Yes. You know your stuff. They'll give them injections like the one I just put into my abdomen, so they won't stay there very long."

Hyeonyul needed to learn at least where the second location was. Only then could he begin narrowing down where the experiments took place. With so much equipment at an experimental facility, moving it wasn't easy. Even if they blew it up, the sheer scale would make it impossible to dispose of discreetly.

"Did you hear that, Team Leader?"

Sinu urged Haeryeon to respond.

<Leave immediately. I'll send another agent to your current location.>

Haeryeon gave the order. Whatever the circumstances, the hostages came first.

<An eagle will be there soon.>

At Haeryeon's words, Sinu's lips curved upward.

"Let's head out."

"Pardon?"

"The eagle's coming."

Sinu spotted a black shape beyond the window and opened it.

"... Don't tell me it's the same magic we rode here?"

Hyeonyul asked in alarm.

"That's right."

Sinu hung from the window.

"Follow me, rookie."

"If that's the case..."

Before hearing his answer, Sinu dropped. Hyeonyul watched the black eagle catch him without a sound and rise into the air.

'... Damn it.'

Hyeonyul hung from the window too. He could travel long distances using his own power. That would be much more comfortable.

Looking weary, he dropped from the window. The moment the black eagle snatched him up, he clapped a hand over his mouth.

'Damn it...'

* * *

"... Breathe."

At Sinu's words, Hyeonyul released the breath he had been holding in a long, forceful exhale. His face had turned pale.

"Are you all right?"

"... Yes. I just need a moment."

"Okay. Take a moment."

Sinu moved forward cautiously.

"... That way."

"Ah. Right, that way."

Sinu turned in the direction Hyeonyul indicated.

As befitted a campground, a forest stretched before them. People moved busily between the trees, ranging from children to adults. This was almost the first time Sinu had seen so many people still alive in a case involving test subjects.

The surge of emotion lasted only a moment before Sinu glanced sideways at Hyeonyul. He had been a test subject himself.

'... Should he really be dealing with this on his first mission?'

Hyeonyul wasn't showing it, but how much must he be suffering inside? Of all the situations they could have encountered, it had to be this one.

"... Won't they notice us, since we arrived on an eagle?"

"Oh, the eagle? They won't."

"They won't notice something that enormous?"

"It works on a similar principle to the maps, mission details, and everything else displayed on this smartwatch. I'm not a mage, so I can't explain it very well, but they can't see you or the eagle. If they could, we'd have been spotted plenty of times on our way to missions, wouldn't we?"

Sinu chuckled. Hyeonyul really was a rookie through and through. To Hyeonyul, it seemed strange that the villains wouldn't notice an eagle arriving—not just some other bird.

"Who on earth is the mage who cast this spell?"

"For security reasons, only the division chief or bureau director above the team leaders knows. In other words, I don't."

"Understood."

Hyeonyul accepted that. If he were a villain, that mage would be the first person he needed to eliminate.

"Big brother Baek Sinu. I've never rescued hostages before, so I'll handle what I'm good at. Could you take care of the rescue, Mr. Baek Sinu?"

"What are you good at?"

"Dealing with villains."

"Honestly, I don't feel great about making you do it, but we need to split up right now. I'm counting on you."

Sinu spoke with an apologetic expression.

"Could you make me a dagger?"

At Hyeonyul's request, Sinu immediately created one and handed it over.

"Use it carefully."

The edge was extremely sharp, so caution was necessary. At Sinu's firm-sounding warning, Hyeonyul stared at the dagger. It seemed to be quite a valuable weapon. He would have to use it without leaving any scratches.

"Yes."

Hyeonyul answered briefly and surveyed the area as he listened to Sinu running away. The only mouth he needed was their leader's. After taking careful note of his target, he examined the others. Some were patrolling, some were near the hostages, and several were in the cars.

'First, cut off their escape.'

Hyeonyul looked toward the cars. Once he had located them, he melted into shadow. The instant he emerged through the shadow into a back seat, he covered the occupant's mouth and swiftly stabbed his neck and heart with the dagger. Not a sound escaped.

There were four cars in all.

One.

THUNK.

Two.

THUNK.

Three.

Every car interior Hyeonyul reached was stained red.

As he finished off the last man, Hyeonyul lowered his gaze. A phone lay there with a game open.

'Playing games at a time like this.'

He clicked his tongue and covered his eye.

While checking the patrol's locations and numbers, he shifted his sight toward Sinu. Patrol members were stationed around the hostages, making an easy approach look difficult. What was the solution at a time like this?

Hyeonyul appeared boldly in front of the patrol.

"... Wh-who are you!"

After hearing the obvious question, Hyeonyul walked up naturally and started by killing one of them. The sudden attack caused an uproar. An uproar could accomplish a great deal, so he briefly covered his eye. Sinu was heading toward the hostages.

'There we go.'

Only then did Hyeonyul lower his hand and look at them.

"What good would knowing do you? You're going to die."

Hyeonyul took a step and vanished without so much as a footfall.

"...!"

Everyone froze. Where had he gone?

"I'm right here."

Hyeonyul seized the nearest man's hair and swept the dagger forcefully across his neck.

'This works well.'

It truly deserved to be called a masterwork blade. He could understand why Sinu had told him not to scratch it.

When Hyeonyul threw the severed head, an enemy nearby screamed.

'Too loud.'

Hyeonyul turned his gaze. As he thrust his hand straight out, he shifted to a position directly in front of that enemy. Darkness rippled around him. Taking another step, he drove the dagger through the man's neck.

THUNK!

Even as the blade sank in with a dull sound, Hyeonyul was already looking elsewhere. One of the men finally seemed to regain his senses and drew a weapon. It was a short baton, gleaming as though electricity coiled around it.

"Die!"

He charged and swung at Hyeonyul. Hyeonyul shifted slightly aside to dodge, grabbed the man's arm, and slammed him into the ground.

THUD!

As soon as the enemy went down, Hyeonyul pulled the dagger from the neck of the man who was now a corpse and lowered his gaze. Terror-filled eyes reflected in his helmet.

"P-please..."

By the time the man had closed and reopened his eyes, the dagger had already cut deep into his neck.

Hyeonyul took the electric baton and waved it about delightedly.

CRACKLE, CRACKLE.

'Nice.'

Hyeonyul looked at his target, feeling the corners of his mouth lift. The target's hair fluttered on its own.

'A mage? A psychic?'

Perhaps he was holding an enchanted object. But so what?

"Appearing without a trace of fear. A Black Eagle indeed, eh?"

The target curled his lips upward and reached for his side. He immediately drew something and aimed it at Hyeonyul.

A gun.

'I was wondering when one of those would turn up.'

Hyeonyul barely swallowed a laugh. The arrogance of thinking a gun would work on him was hilarious.

Just as the outline of Hyeonyul's body seemed to ripple, the gun fired.

BANG!

"...!"

The target's eyes widened. Hyeonyul was gone.

"I'm right here."

Standing behind his target, Hyeonyul thrust the electric baton forward.

ZZZZZAP!

The target flopped like a freshly caught fish.

'I'll take him back like this.'

He pressed the baton firmly against him. There was no need to ask a string of questions here. The man would confess all sorts of things in due course.

Hyeonyul turned his gaze toward Sinu. He must have dealt with the enemies near the hostages; none were roaming around anymore.

"Have you finished dealing with them?"

Hyeonyul approached Sinu calmly, and Sinu looked behind him. He had killed every last enemy. The helmet hid Hyeonyul's face, but the sight of him drenched in blood was profoundly unsettling.

'... And that's our new recruit.'

Sinu gave a little laugh, finding even his own thought absurd.

'He's incredible. Seriously.'

A monster rookie. How else could he describe him?

"The hostages have been rescued, and I've captured the man I believe to be their leader. Is the mission over now? Or is there an additional assignment?"

"We're done here. To go any further, we'd need someone to talk."

At those words, Hyeonyul hurriedly checked his watch.

2:24 p.m.

Even seeing the time, he couldn't believe it.

"... Can I clock out?"

Hyeonyul asked cautiously.

"After we report in."

"Then, once we've reported in, I can clock out?"

"That's right. It won't take long."

At the certainty in Sinu's voice, Hyeonyul trembled.

"Are you hurt?"

"... No. I'm just wondering whether this is a dream."

Hyeonyul removed his helmet, revealing a radiant smile.