Chapter 42: Bombs Are Not Art (4)
"Instead, we need to divide the work."
Since there were still magic bombs I hadn't managed to inspect, I added a condition.
There wasn't enough ti to handle it alone.
Soone other than had to defuse the existing magic bombs.
"How do you defuse the bombs?"
I asked, looking at the Bomb Disposal Team.
That team had already failed.
Support had co from the police as well, but they had failed.
Was the thod wrong?
"Since we can't enter from the outside, we've fixed caras onto the magic bombs and are receiving the shared screen feed on a tablet."
"What do you do after receiving the shared feed?"
"Hmm…. We put our heads together and examine the magic formula. We need to remove the 'explodes' part of the formula."
As expected of experts, the thod wasn't wrong.
However, it seed they failed because they couldn't read the formula correctly.
Just as handwriting could be bad or excellent, each magician wrote formulas differently.
"Understood. If you show it to , I will mark it."
At my words, soone from the Bomb Disposal Team imdiately ran off.
‘…They believe this easily?’
I watched warily.
I had just been thinking about how I should persuade them.
"Asking whether you can or can't do it is too childish, isn't it? Since you can, the Black Eagle sent support, and you, the Team 3 mber, ca to provide that support, right?"
The man from the Bomb Disposal Team spoke up.
He was the one who had quieted the Bomb Disposal Team earlier.
“We have to believe you.”
The man handed over the tablet his colleague brought.
Seeing his grinning face, I found it rather amusing.
Did that make any sense?
They were just going to use anyway.
Hadn't I been stabbed in the back once or twice?
I felt all the arrows pointing towards .
—…If the mission fails? Hmm, it's hard to imagine that happening to you, Hyeon-yul, but I suppose there would be so impact…? But honestly, I've never seen such a case. It just can't happen.
Hae-ryeon seed to be glossing over sothing, but I knew the price of failure was substantial.
I took the tablet without saying anything.
The stage was set; all I had to do was show my abilities.
"With this, just draw on the screen which part needs to be erased."
The man explained as he handed over the pen.
"Thank you."
Holding the pen, I looked at the screen.
A magic formula existed on the desk.
It seed cramd in tightly, the formula filling the entire desk.
There were useless formulas included as deception, but among the various formulas, I precisely circled the part that ant 'explodes'.
"Please confirm."
As I spoke, the man called out.
"Check it."
A hand appeared on the screen.
Seeing the power gathered at the fingertip, it seed like magic.
It precisely erased the part I had circled.
As the core formula was removed, it hardened and lost its light.
It was defused.
I looked at the man, and hearing the words coming through his wireless earphone, the corners of his mouth lifted.
"It's defused!"
Following the excited shout, countless cheers were heard in that short mont.
I gently furrowed my brow.
It was so loud it felt like my ears would burst.
"We did it! It's really defused!"
The man rejoiced greatly, looking as if he might hug at any mont.
"Yes. Please give the next one."
I held out my hand.
Since they saw I succeeded, they would give the next one.
"...Ah."
The man closed his mouth.
It seed he only then realized he had gotten too excited.
He reached out his finger and swiped the screen.
"You can swipe like this."
"Understood."
After replying, I moved my hand.
I found the relevant formulas, circled them, and swiped, leaving marks on all the magic bombs they had found.
I imdiately stood up from my spot.
"I will find and defuse the magic bombs that haven't been discovered yet."
I had to quickly repeat the process of finding and erasing the traces.
Being alone was more comfortable.
"...Pardon?"
"I'll be going."
"Just a mont! Together......"
"There might be an attack like the one earlier, so tell them to scout the surroundings more thoroughly."
I turned away.
There was nothing more to hear.
As I disappeared, the man fiddled with his hair unnecessarily.
There were so many rumors about the Team 3 newbie.
The recently growing rumors had quieted down, but various stories from before were still circulating, enough to make one's ears ache.
‘Is he running away like that because of the rumors?’
It was understandable.
Rumors that villains intentionally infiltrated him, or that he was actually a high-profile villain, were quite malicious.
The man stopped gripping the tablet and raised the corners of his eyes.
‘…Blood?’
Blood had dripped below the tablet.
Only then did the man jump in surprise.
I appeared on the outskirts, outside the view of the CCTV.
Wiping the blood from the corner of my mouth, I took out dicine and a syringe from the shadows.
Once blood started flowing, it rarely stopped easily.
I knew I had to use the dicine quickly, but I didn't want to use the syringe in front of everyone.
Even though they would obviously know, the feeling of revealing a weakness wasn't pleasant.
While I was injecting the syringe into my abdon, one of my eyes collapsed.
Only blackness could be seen there.
Even while injecting the dicine, I had to search.
More than 8 minutes had already passed.
I roughly stuffed the dicine into my mouth and chewed.
Crunch.
My other eye also lted into the darkness, swimming through the university building's interior.
I didn't forget to move through the shadows to avoid being caught by CCTV.
As soon as I found one, I avoided the CCTV and swallowed the formula.
Like that, one by one, the count gradually increased.
I didn't forget to check the ti intermittently.
18 minutes.
13 minutes.
6 minutes.
As ti dwindled, I discovered students.
‘…Why are they over there?’
Could it be they hadn't heard about the bombs?
No way.
I moved my eyes.
There was an entrance in the direction the students were moving.
—A condition is created where the bomb explodes if soone inside goes outside.
Since the condition existed, they must have been warned, but were they ignoring it?
3 minutes.
‘Any further delay is unacceptable.’
There wasn't much ti left.
However, the principle that student safety ca first existed.
—Not all students in the building have evacuated. Student safety cos first.
Beings I had never cared about in my life were holding back.
What should I do in such a case?
What should be prioritized?
In a situation where I couldn't make a judgnt, I felt confused.
My thoughts couldn't keep up.
Would others also be unable to judge properly in this situation?
Or was it just ?
"...Found you!"
Hearing the voice seep into my ears, I felt a chill.
I hadn't heard footsteps until they were this close.
"Why in such a secluded place......"
The man who gave the tablet earlier swallowed his words and ran faster.
My complexion was bad.
He didn't even know where I was bleeding from.
"Are you okay?"
Hearing the man's words again, I quickly regained my composure.
"Students are trying to go outside."
"Which building are they in?"
"Over there."
As I pointed with my hand, the man snapped his head around.
As soon as he saw the building, he touched his smartwatch.
In the anti, I covered my eye and quickly found the location of the magic bomb.
Traces of mana were clearly visible in that building.
"......Ha. Thank goodness. We have a team mber here. I'll tell them to stop them right away......"
"2nd floor, Engineering Lab 3, there's a magic bomb on the beam projector."
"Just a mont!"
The man stopped fiddling with things and glanced at .
"You must have been in quite a predicant?"
I didn't retort.
What idle talk was he trying to make amidst all this?
Ti was passing.
"Students first, or bomb defusal first. This is really difficult, and you were already anxious on top of that, weren't you? You endured well."
The man praised .
I was a newbie.
It was a ti when both timing and experience were still immature to face such a situation.
"There's no ti for that now. I haven't found all the magic bombs yet."
"They say they've found additional bombs. I ca to inform you of that fact."
"That might not be all of them."
"They said there were 50 in total, and the one you just ntioned is exactly the 50th."
"Who said there were 50?"
"The person who fainted woke up and said so. He heard there were 50 magic bombs in total. He probably heard it from the bomber."
‘…Does that guy think this is a ga?’
My neck tensed up.
If I hadn't saved the Team 5 man, wouldn't this hint have been lost?
‘But is it really true?’
Just as I was doubting, the man held out the tablet and pen.
"Finish it off. You have the right to."
I looked at the shaking screen.
No sound was captured.
The ceiling was visible, and soon the beam projector ca into view.
I moved the pen.
As if following instructions, the hand erased the part I had circled.
Clap clap clap clap.
As if prepared, the sound of clapping hands ca from various speakers.
It was such an innocent sound.
"......"
My gaze darkened.
‘......Art?’
My head grew cold.
My livelihood depended on this.
Only by becoming a Black Eagle could I receive dical support and get a new ho.
Despite that, the remaining debt was substantial, and the interest was still burdenso.
I could finally breathe, I could finally stop starving, and yet he talks about art.
"...Don't take the sound you just heard to heart."
The man said with an awkward smile.
"Is he always like that?"
"Not always, but sotis he does things like that. It seems he finds it fun to play with us. Still, the fortunate thing is, unlike other villains, he tells us the number or the type. In so ways, he's better than other guys sotis."
Listening to him, I quietly raised the corners of my mouth.
‘......Ah. If he dies, he won't be able to play gas like this anymore, huh?’
The only good villain was a dead villain.
Both the Crimson Witch and the bomber would beco good villains if they died.
"Anyway, you went through a lot."
The man bowed his head to .
Not only did he co for support, but didn't he find more than half of the 50 magic bombs alone?
He was so perfect it was hard to believe he was a newbie.
Where had he been before coming here now?
If he had known it would be like this, he thought he should have pestered the team leader to scout him.
"We'll clean up the rest, so please head back first."
The man smiled brightly.
"Ah, don't forget to stop by the doctor's."
No major injuries were visible on the outside, but who knew?
He had been caught in an explosion.
"I'll take you......"
"I have sothing I want to ask."
I cut the man off and spoke.
"Go ahead."
"How complex is a situation like the one just now?"
When both are important, which one should be prioritized?
"It's quite complex. Even for , approaching my 4th year, it's difficult. And I always regret it. There's no right answer. We just have to believe it was the right choice."
"Is that so...?"
Only then did I let out a breath.
It was difficult even for ordinary people.
Perhaps it was natural that I couldn't make a choice.
"I am Pyo Yu-jin from the Bomb Disposal Team."
"Seo Hyeon-yul from Team 3."
"I look forward to working with you again next ti."
Yu-jin bowed deeply and then hurriedly ran off sowhere else.
From that spot, I operated my smartwatch.
The mission was over.
I had to call the eagle.
"Do you have sothing to say?"
I lifted my head and looked forward.
It was the Team 5 man.
Had he followed that person nad Pyo Yu-jin to pick a fight again?
I didn't want to deal with him now either.
My insides throbbed.
"......I'm sorry."
"......?"
I was startled by the sudden apology.
Did I mishear?
"I... did sothing crazy. Not only did I interfere with the mission, but I also did sothing I shouldn't have. I will go back and accept disciplinary action."
"What are you doing?"
What kind of trick was this?
I glanced around.
It was just us here.
The conditions weren't right for swaying public opinion either.
"I resented you, thinking that we were ruined because you revealed the fact that our forr team leader was an informant. Instead of thanking you, I just spewed nonsense. Please don't be hurt by my words."
The man continued to apologize.
"...And thank you for saving my life."
When he regained consciousness, he heard that the newbie had saved him.
If he had just left him alone, he could have killed him.
"Yes. You worked hard."
I didn't retort otherwise.
I didn't know what to say, and I just didn't want to exchange words.
I turned my head.
The summoned eagle arrived.
Caught by the eagle, I left the place just like that.
The Team 5 man watched .
That newbie alone received far more criticism and harsh words than they themselves had.
And yet, after receiving such treatnt for just a few days, he had lost his mind.
He felt ashad.
"...Didn't I tell you not to eat just anything?"
Jeong-min slapped my forearm.
Slap.
Despite the sound, I just stared blankly at Jeong-min.
It didn't hurt at all.
"It wasn't just anything. When the bomb exploded, I absorbed it. If I hadn't......"
"That is eating just anything!"
Jeong-min's voice rose.
I observed Jeong-min's expression.
"Don't look at my face, lie down quickly."
"I've lain down."
"Arm."
At Jeong-min's word, I rolled up my sleeve.
"I'm going crazy. Really going crazy."
My body was abnormal.
There were many aspects difficult to explain with dicine.
Simply put, an unknown power was mimicking limbs, organs, etc.
What helped maintain it were the dicine I constantly took, the injections I needed, and the IV drips.
I also absorbed things with that unknown power.
For instance, if it was right before a bomb exploded, it was fine.
However, after the bomb exploded, there was damage.
A subtle difference existed.
I thought I would handle it well on my own, but at least not today.
I needed to be scolded.
Knock knock.
At the sound of the knock, Jeong-min let out a sigh.
"Who is it?"
Jeong-min briefly stood up.
Opening the door revealed a woman with wavy, dark purple hair standing there.
"Hello. I'm Ye Ju-hyeon, Team Leader of Team 7. Is there soone from Team 3 here receiving treatnt?"
Ju-hyeon lowered the cellphone in her hand and looked at Jeong-min.
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