Chapter 65: Did You Think I Wouldn’t Know? (3)
“As you know, many Morning Stars with aching hearts often co here.”
The man wore an apologetic expression.
“Among them, there are so who enjoy observing others. Since they cannot step forward themselves, I will apologize on their behalf.”
He even bowed his head following that.
There was a listening device.
If he confessed this, the expected reaction was obvious.
Are you crazy?
Naturally, no other reaction should occur.
“I was surprised, but things like that can happen.”
Ji-hwan uttered the most unnatural words.
Hallucinogens were dissolved in the air freshener placed in the room they stayed in, in the water for washing, and even in the drinking water.
They had desperately dispersed the drugs; if they weren't affected by it, that would be the more unnatural situation.
Ji-hwan now smiled, gripping the gold that finally looked like trash in his hand.
It was truly laughable how anxious he had been looking at this earlier.
“Mr. Dong-hoon. Why did you do that? Why pick a fight needlessly and make him apologize?”
Na-yoon instead reproached Ji-hwan.
“…Ah, right. It was my fault. So many strange things kept happening, maybe that’s why I beca edgy.”
Ji-hwan lowered his head and gripped the knife placed before him.
“…My money vanished overnight. Who could have taken it?”
“Morning Star. I fully understand how you feel. However, don’t you think gripping that is dangerous? How about we think things through slowly together?”
As the man spoke, Ji-hwan reacted as if he would burst into tears any second.
“Will you… do that for ?”
“Of course.”
At that answer, Ji-hwan put down the knife.
“……Perhaps, you won't look after my brother just because I picked a fight earlier, right?”
Shin-woo asked subtly, looking anxiously at Hyeon-yul.
“Morning Star. That will absolutely never happen. Isn’t this rather sothing that occurred because we failed to properly care for you Morning Stars?”
After finishing his words, the man suddenly knelt.
“Ah, no, no. Don’t do this.”
Shin-woo jumped up in surprise as well.
Thud.
As the man banged his head, Shin-woo imdiately ran over and stopped him.
“I, I was wrong for picking a fight. Please don’t do that.”
Despite the obviously strange situation, those praying hadn't stopped moving their lips until now.
Hyeon-yul stared blankly at this situation.
I had seen situations like this before, but faith was truly fascinating.
Even without using drugs, there were so many people who beca brainwashed like this.
Why did it happen like this?
I was curious about that.
“Morning Star. Your brother will definitely get better. The Saint is coming now.”
As soon as the man’s words ended, countless cries of ‘Ooh’ and ecstasy poured out.
Saint.
They said this person's identity was so undisclosed internally that even the infiltrating White Sparrows didn't know it.
Originally, the situation required observing for several more days, but now that the internal betrayal was known, everything had changed.
Everything had to move swiftly.
Opinions were divided between those who wanted to act before seeing the Saint before dinner and those who wanted to act after seeing him.
The forr prioritized speed.
The latter prioritized caution.
—They might put up a fake. If we act without confirming, a situation where the real one has already escaped might occur.
This small argunt concluded with Hyeon-yul's assertion that ‘We must act after seeing the Saint’.
What was important in this mission, besides protecting the people, was capturing the ringleader behind this incident.
White Sparrows had made countless efforts just for this one mission—finding the branch, uncovering it, moving to other branches, etc.
It couldn't be left in vain.
That was everyone's thought.
“Is that really true? Is the Saint really coming?”
Shin-woo asked joyfully.
It looked like he might grab the man’s hand any second.
“Yes. Upon hearing all the Morning Stars' stories, he said he was rushing out barefoot in sorrow.”
The man laughed along.
It was truly a snake-like laugh.
“Morning Star. Please sit over there quickly. Today is a day for you. Don’t you see the nurous flowers over there?”
Where the man pointed with his hand, only people praying were visible.
But Shin-woo’s lips curled up as he reacted with awe, as if seeing sothing beautiful.
“When were the flowers there? They are truly beautiful among all I’ve seen.”
“We prepared them for you, Morning Stars.”
The man helped Shin-woo up, sneering inwardly.
“Please return to your seat, Morning Star.”
“I will. I’ll return quickly.”
As Shin-woo returned to his seat, the man walked forward and looked at Hyeon-yul.
A shadow fell.
Hyeon-yul wanted to twist the neck of that man looking down at him right then and there.
“Morning Star. How long have you suffered? So say silence is the way to atone for sins, but I don’t think so.”
The man slowly offered sweet words to Hyeon-yul.
Hyeon-yul felt the power spreading from that person and simultaneously caught a strange scent.
“You must have struggled in agony that lasted for five long years; if this were the way to atone for sins, how terrible would that be? How is that different from saying the Morning Star’s sins have piled up unimaginably high.”
The more that man opened his mouth.
“It’s alright. Everything is alright now. We can help you regain your lost voice. So you don’t need to worry.”
The closer he ca.
The scent beca clearer.
‘…Wait.’
Hyeon-yul raised the corners of his lips, convinced.
Holding his breath, he hid his claws.
‘This one is not the prey.’
The real one wasn't this guy.
He was just soone injected with the drug that turned non-Awakened into Awakened.
I finally understood the source of the heavy blood scent I had detected.
Among the countless people injected with the drug, that man was soone who had regained consciousness in a pit of corpses.
It might have been bloodstains from back then.
Not even knowing he would die soon, he was moving here and there like a puppet hanging on strings.
[Thank you.]
[I don’t know what to say.]
Hyeon-yul showed his phone and waited for the Saint.
They knew our identities anyway.
In this situation, it wouldn't be strange if the al prepared was our last supper.
How joyfully would they greet this situation too.
If things went well, they could get their hands on a Black Eagle.
‘……Wait a mont.’
Hyeon-yul paused his thoughts.
On a previous mission requested by Na-yoon, I had seen absurd docunts stating ‘Turn Black Eagles into Experint Subjects’.
I encountered an unknown entity in a secret location there.
‘Could they be connected…?’
Hyeon-yul thought quietly.
“…He is coming.”
Just then, words uttered from behind changed the entire atmosphere in an instant.
As if by agreent, everyone looked towards the entrance.
“……I see, light.”
Na-yoon spoke.
‘Light?’
Hyeon-yul couldn't see anything.
While the man turned towards the entrance, Hyeon-yul glanced sideways at both sides.
Shin-woo and Ji-hwan were also staring as if seeing sothing.
‘They are really seeing sothing.’
But no scent, no sensation was felt.
Hyeon-yul didn't like that silence.
Because it felt like sothing was about to happen.
Tinkle.
Just then, the sound of a small bell was heard.
Only then did I feel the air seem to vibrate.
‘That’s it.’
Power was intertwined there.
It was shaking the sound, plunging others into a state of hallucination.
People suddenly burst into tears.
“O Saint!”
“Aaaah! Aaaah, our Saint!”
“O light of all, O being of all things, praise the Saint!”
“Tread the path of light! Lead us all to the bright path!”
Sounds close to screams spread from all directions, making Hyeon-yul feel sothing close to pain.
‘Is this what they call going crazy?’
Aside from the noise, Hyeon-yul watched with interest.
To understand a word, seeing it firsthand was indeed important.
Today, I properly established the aning of ‘crazy’.
‘Do I have to act like that too?’
Hyeon-yul was unsure.
First, I was confused whether the Saint's power had reached , and I didn't know how far I should express it.
Second, I had no feeling whether that Saint was the real one.
Was it the real ringleader?
What were the other team mbers doing?
Questions flooded in, one after another.
I didn't worry like this when I was a villain.
Back then, just killing everyone was enough; I realized how easy it was then.
Was this the difference between a place doing good and a place doing evil?
Tinkle.
The bell sound was heard again.
Beyond it, a person dressed in white walked over.
Wrapped in sothing like a veil, they created a mystical atmosphere.
So might see that appearance and think of an immortal descended from heaven, but Hyeon-yul rely felt doubt.
‘Sothing’s strange?’
Nothing was felt.
It was to the point where I wondered if they were just an ordinary person.
Hyeon-yul heightened his senses.
Since the rest of the team seed to be in bad shape, I had to find the key figure orchestrating this myself.
The Saint approached Hyeon-yul directly.
Hyeon-yul looked at the Saint as well.
The distance grew closer.
“……O wandering one.”
A woman’s voice flowed out.
It was a clear sound.
“Are you grieving over what you have lost?”
She lifted the veil and looked at Hyeon-yul.
Her eyes were strange, like a distant sky.
“Are you wandering because you don’t know what you have lost?”
The Saint asked.
“Or are you wandering because you seek soone but cannot find them?”
As if reading his mind, the Saint was talking about him.
“I can help you find who you are looking for. I can tell you what you have lost.”
Soone might trust those words.
It was natural to think there was sothing more when a stranger ntioned things only you knew.
But Hyeon-yul felt displeasure.
So much displeasure that I wanted to put a blade to her throat imdiately.
‘…Ah.’
Hyeon-yul, suppressing his killing intent, finally saw the situation clearly.
At the end of his shifting gaze, a man ca into view.
‘Found you.’
“Please take my hand.”
The Saint extended her hand, and Hyeon-yul extended his hand as well.
Just as they were about to touch, what Hyeon-yul grabbed was the bell.
As he pulled it down into darkness through his palm, all sound stopped.
“……”
Only then did everyone who had been swayed by the bell sound inhale sharply.
“Get a grip.”
Shaking all three mbers of Team 3 with darkness, Hyeon-yul shot forward.
The man using ntal powers reached out to grab Hyeon-yul, but Hyeon-yul’s body just swirled like black smoke and vanished.
Hyeon-yul grabbed the head of the ringleader who had been playing gas amidst the people.
He t startled eyes, but Hyeon-yul didn’t stop.
He started pulling him into the shadow, then stopped his hand.
‘…Switched.’
Whether the body switched, or this person was also a fake from the start, he pulled him out of the shadow and turned his head towards soone else.
Where could he be?
Where did he hide?
“……”
Everyone froze due to the sudden turn of events.
As they were assessing the situation, the sound of soone collapsing was heard.
The person called the Saint collapsed like a doll whose strings had been cut.
“……S-Saint.”
“The Saint… has collapsed!”
“We must save the Saint!”
Along with people's clamor, everyone stood up.
Their expressions seed to embody chaos itself.
Pang!
Just then, a sound like sothing exploding was heard, and everyone looked that way.
Confetti scattered like a birthday popper exploding.
Everyone stared blankly.
“Now, now, everyone calm down.”
Ji-hwan smiled and pulled out what he had hidden all along.
The black Civil Servant ID representing the Black Eagle.
“We are the Black Eagle.”
Along with Ji-hwan's words, Na-yoon kicked off the desk and dashed out.
Hyeon-yul had disappeared.
To be precise, it was correct to say he went outside.
Na-yoon pulled out a small gun from her grasp.
Before people noticed, she aid precisely and fired.
There was almost no sound.
Sothing sparkled above the heads of 3 people.
A little while ago, while circling this place with the White Sparrow, she had accurately morized who the villains were.
“You can catch them, right?”
Na-yoon looked at Ji-hwan while running forward.
“Of course.”
Ji-hwan snapped his fingers.
Exactly 3 people slamd their heads onto the ground as if crushed by gravity.
Thump.
Startled by the sound, people backed away, and several people entered from inside.
Each raised their Civil Servant ID.
White Sparrow.
Seeing that, Shin-woo also dashed out, making Ji-hwan feel rushed as well.
But he had to wait.
That wasn't his role.
Whether willingly or unwillingly, people who lost their ntal anchor fell into chaos and turned violent.
Before greater chaos ensued, he had to release sedatives here and seal it off.
The White Sparrows swiftly slung the collapsed people over their shoulders.
“……What are you doing right now?”
Soone asked hesitantly.
“Saving them.”
A White Sparrow answered thus.
It was quite an ambiguous answer, but people strangely cald down.
Everyone’s gaze turned towards the Saint.
Ah.
They’re saving the Saint.
That's what they were thinking.
Na-yoon and Shin-woo rushed past the White Sparrows.
“Stay in contact.”
Before leaving, Shin-woo urged the White Sparrows.
‘……The hallucinogen didn’t work?’
Impossible.
How much had they sprayed upon hearing the Black Eagles were coming.
There was no way it wouldn't work.
‘Then was the internal betrayal a lie?’
Impossible.
That didn’t make sense either.
No matter how strong the ntal power, covering it with sothing stronger was enough.
They had done it countless tis.
But this ti was strange.
‘……How did he see ?’
How did he know.
How could he have possibly known.
I could control people.
I had switched bodies countless tis, pretending to be myself.
The man ran and ran, filled with questions.
He had never imagined running like this through this place he could navigate with his eyes closed.
Triring.
He called his subordinates, made calls, but it was strangely quiet.
“Isn’t it strange?”
Just as the voice was heard, soone tripped him, causing his body to lift briefly into the air before grinding his face against the ground.
“Agh.”
Crying out in pain, the man turned his head.
Soone was standing there.
Just as the shadow deepened, a hand reached out.
Grip.
Hyeon-yul grabbed the man’s throat.
“…Keoheok!”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know you were playing puppet master?”
It was him.
This guy was the mastermind of this incident.
Reviews
All reviews (0)