novelraw Chapter 35 : Chapter 35
Chapter 35 : Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Misunderstanding
Blackish-red entryway.
A woman lay fallen on the floor.
Submerged in blood, with a face that closed its eyes.
“……Mom?”
The voice calling softly trembled.
The smell of blood brushed past the nose.
Above her, a man with a distorted face raised his head.
Eyes smudged black and an unnaturally bent arm.
A bizarre aura covered the entire house.
“Hayu……na…….”
It was a familiar voice.
But the face was not one known.
The moment she instinctively stepped back, rough footsteps were heard.
Soon a woman with red hair revealed herself.
A face stiff with shock.
“…….”
“Grandma……. Mom, isn't moving…….”
“Hayun-ah, close your eyes.”
Following those words, she closed her eyes.
“Hayu……na! Hayun-ah……!”
Familiar voices mixed with screams.
‘It's not Dad.’
Hayun repeated.
The smell of blood disappeared, and a smell like meat cooking spread.
It's not Dad.
Hayun repeated again.
“……!”
With breath bursting out roughly, Seol Hayun opened her eyes.
A white hospital room ceiling filled her vision.
It was a dream.
But her fingertips were still trembling.
Her heart was beating fast.
“Miss Hayun? Are you okay? Your breathing was unstable.”
The nurse's worried voice was heard.
As she placed a small scanner on her wrist, breathing and pulse figures floated in the air.
“……Yes, I’m okay.”
Exhaling sharply, Seol Hayun muttered lowly.
***
“Ha really, that's a relief. Glad you're safe. Both of you.”
On a leisurely afternoon, Seol Hayun and I were admitted to the hospital.
Because we were caught up in the incident at the Mystery Hall.
If there's a difference from when I first woke up, it's that I was moved to the same hospital room as Seol Hayun.
It was the nurse's consideration to make visitation easier.
Since Seol Hayun and I proceeded with the hearing representing the events at the Mystery Hall.
In front of us, Do Haru put down the snacks she was holding and let out a sigh of relief.
As if she already knew everyone's taste, she quickly sorted the snacks in the bag.
“Here, spicy flavor for Jinwoo. Original for Hayun. A bit bland is better, right?”
Even while distributing snacks, Do Haru's hands moved ceaselessly.
Sorting the bag, filling the water cup next to the bed, and even pulling back the curtain slightly.
Movements natural like flowing water.
Having finished a round of organizing, she sat down and started her mouth again.
“Do you know the article was huge? They say the Villain Alliance terrorized the Demonic Beast Expo. Something about aiming for an item there.”
While I lost consciousness, the incident had already plastered the news headlines.
That big of an event.
The rampage at the Mystery Hall I experienced was also just a part of the whole incident.
The real full-scale clash happened at the main building and the Ecology Hall.
Thinking about it anew, I was quite bold to deliberately enter the middle of it.
‘Though I went trusting the original work.’
The problem is that things proceeded differently from the original work.
“They say most of the villains were missed. Ugh, somewhat frustrating. Are they really crazy? If they want to steal, just sneak in at night and steal! Where are crazy bastards who cause terror?”
Do Haru poured out words like a tsunami hitting.
“They judged that way was more advantageous.”
Seol Hayun opened her mouth calmly.
“If terror is committed simultaneously, they can hide exactly what target they are aiming for. In that process, they can secure hostages too. Actually, most villains escaping was thanks to staging a hostage situation.”
She slightly twisted the corner of her mouth and continued explaining point by point.
Seol Hayun was always a type who prioritized analysis and logic.
But now a strangely stiff look reflected on her face.
The structure itself she was explaining didn't seem to please her much.
“What is that! Cowardly. They totally do whatever they want.”
“Right. That's why they are villains.”
As Do Haru huffed, Seol Hayun added cynically.
It was obvious and correct words.
They act as they please, so they are villains.
Pointing fingers calling them cowardly doesn't make criminals reflect.
Maybe they become villains addicted to that irresponsible pleasure of ‘doing as one pleases’.
The problem is that it's not someone else's business.
As the story progresses, I will get tirelessly involved with various villains.
Even this incident right now was an episode where villains and Seol Hayun were intertwined.
If I hadn't intervened, Seol Hayun's breakdown would have occurred, becoming a fatal problem for the story flow and the academy's safety.
‘Anyway, I passed the first crisis well.’
There were unexpected accidents in between, but I learned the nature of my ability-pain and Mimic-, and consequently stopped Balzac too.
‘If not for this strange eye, I could have said it worked out perfectly.’
Right now I am hiding an eyeball inside my palm wrapped in bandages.
An eye with a bizarre ability to tell the emotional state when looking at a person.
Even the source of the ability was none other than Balzac.
Since I definitely saw the message that I obtained it by digesting Balzac.
The ability itself was useful. Definitely so.
The problem is that it's out visually.
I tried all sorts of efforts to remove or erase it, but this guy didn't disappear.
Wrapping it with bandages or wearing gloves was the best.
Just as I was about to check the bandage once more lest Do Haru or Seol Hayun see it.
Ttok ttok-
An organized knock sound was heard.
“Government Recovery Management Support Bureau, Recovery Team 1 Team Leader Kim Jeonghyeon. May I come in?”
A polite voice introduced itself.
“Eh? Should I leave?”
“It should be fine. We aren't particularly talking about secrets.”
When Do Haru asked in surprise, Seol Hayun shook her head and answered.
At this, Do Haru shrugged once and opened the door, a tall middle-aged man wearing horn-rimmed glasses stepped inside.
Perhaps due to running around here and there, his sweat-soaked dress shirt stood out noticeably.
“Oh my, it's hot. Hm? Who is the student?”
“Me? I’m Do Haru.”
“Ah, Do Haru is it?”
Team Leader Kim Jeonghyeon looked toward Seol Hayun and me with eyes seeking explanation.
“She's a friend.”
“Pretend she's not here.”
At Seol Hayun and my words popping out almost simultaneously.
“Ah, understood.”
Team Leader Kim nodded lightly.
“What? Feels somewhat bad.”
Do Haru shot a look at us with an absurd expression.
Having entered, Team Leader Kim loosened his tie as if hot and fanned himself with his hand.
An appearance looking leisurely.
But there's no way a team leader of a government agency visited simply without reason.
‘Wasn't the hearing all finished last time? Why did he come again?’
Just yesterday, Team Leader Kim visited personally and asked about what happened in the Mystery Hall.
The purpose was a simple situation summary.
Seol Hayun stated neatly what happened there, and I also went along responding appropriately.
Thanks to citizens testifying together, Seol Hayun and my credit for fighting while confronting Balzac could be recognized.
However, no one knows what happened after Balzac's ‘illusion’ was cast except me.
Everyone lost consciousness, and data like CCTV were all erased by the villain side in the first place.
For now, I also made an excuse that I was caught in the illusion together and remember nothing.
That way would be the least likely to be caught.
Because of that, what happened in the Mystery Hall remained a mystery, but at least it was good for me.
I didn't have to be investigated tirelessly, and above all, I could prevent my ability from being exposed by receiving unnecessary attention.
Amidst that, Team Leader Kim visiting again was unexpected.
‘Did some new evidence come out?’
If the fact that Balzac and I engaged in full-scale battle is discovered, it becomes a bit troublesome.
Balzac is a villain officially designated by the Hero Association.
Moreover, an existence close to ‘impossible to grasp’, not just a simple ‘dangerous figure’.
If they find out an academy cadet fought and won against such a person alone, full-scale questioning is bound to begin.
If that happens, I have to talk about my ability which even I can't explain properly yet, and above all, the possibility of getting caught with the ‘eye’ on my palm is high.
In such a situation, if there is someone who knows about Balzac's ‘Third Eye’?
In the worst case, I might be mistaken for Balzac and arrested.
So I must hide this damn right hand's eyeball.
“The reason I visited again is none other than…….”
I waited for Team Leader Kim's words without relaxing my tension.
“Because we roughly figured out Balzac's whereabouts.”
And what came out of his mouth was a bombshell declaration.
‘……Was I caught?’
If it's Balzac's whereabouts, I know better than anyone.
[Named Villain ‘Balzac’ digestion complete.]
[Acquire ‘Deceiving Soul’.]
Because it was completely stuffed in the system message.
But they figured out Balzac's whereabouts?
Then, they noticed my ability…….
“Look at this.”
Before worries and concerns that burst out explosively ate away at my mind, Team Leader Kim held out something.
It was a photo.
A neat sports cut and a naive impression, a face that looked young rather than youthful.
Dressed in a suit with a receiver in his ear, he looked like someone doing bodyguard work.
“Who is this?”
When I asked immediately, Team Leader Kim took out a tablet from his briefcase, operated it, and held it out in front of me.
“A person named Kim Hanyoung. A guard who was also at the scene of this expo terror incident.”
An unexpected development.
The person named ‘Kim Hanyoung’ Team Leader Kim mentioned was someone I didn't know at all.
What relation does this person have with Balzac's whereabouts.
“What relation does this person have with Balzac……?”
When I asked carefully, Team Leader Kim turned the tablet screen and started explaining.
What he showed first was a photo of a naturally split barrier.
“When we investigated the barrier after charging into the scene, there were traces of escape from the inside already. Specifically, traces that the one who installed the barrier escaped on their own. Because they didn't break it by force.”
After swiping through the screen, he stopped at a page and tapped the screen- tok.
Like a scrapped person file, the name Kim Hanyoung and related information were organized in the center.
“Security Team 2 Guard Kim Hanyoung. A person assigned to the internal support team of the expo hall for this event.”
The following screen was shocking.
A photo of a face skin peeled off elaborately.
The eye holes and mouth area were empty, and almost no blood was on it.
At a glance it looked like a mask, but the vivid skin texture told the fact that it was a real human face.
“In the additional search, this ‘face skin’ was found. Result of DNA analysis, it was Agent Kim Hanyoung's. He is currently missing.”
“Ugh……. Goosebumps.”
Do Haru who was listening together shuddered looking at the face skin photo.
Keuheum- clearing his throat, Team Leader Kim started explaining again.
“According to colleagues' statements, the place Agent Kim Hanyoung headed last was the Mystery Hall. Presuming based on the circumstances secured until the current time-.”
Team Leader Kim put the tablet down on his knees, clasped his hands, and continued.
“It seems Balzac escaped making Agent Kim Hanyoung a scapegoat. We don't know exactly what spell was used, but he has a record of escaping prison by seizing a guard's body in the past too. Above all…….”
He tapped the edge of the tablet with his finger.
On the screen, Kim Hanyoung's last radio reception record was displayed.
The location where reception occurred was right next to the Mystery Hall entrance.
“This record. And the time point Balzac is presumed to have fled. The two time zones match exactly.”
“……Then, it means Balzac is still roaming outside.”
When Seol Hayun said lowly, Team Leader Kim nodded shortly.
“We should see it that way. He's a meticulous guy.”
Team Leader Kim took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his sweat, and said.
“It's not good news, but I came personally thinking it would be better to inform you two.”
Team Leader Kim said smiling bitterly.
Looking at that appearance, I thought.
‘Wrong.’
Team Leader Kim and the investigation team are thinking completely wrong.
At least Balzac's ability is not the kind that activates by dismantling face skin.
Rather an ability close to parasitic.
Even if Balzac seized the body of the guard named Kim Hanyoung, there was no reason to leave the face skin.
Rather, another person comes to mind with the circumstances Team Leader Kim conveyed.
‘Edward.’
Pure white hair. Eyes narrowed like threads.
And the touch peeling off a human face while laughing quietly.
The notorious cutscene anyone who plays the game sees.
That scene came to mind immediately.
But looking at Team Leader Kim's explanation, it seemed the government is misunderstanding that ability as Balzac's.
Eventually, my knowing Balzac's ability clearly is also because I played the original game.
So there was only one choice I could choose right now.
It was silence.
Even if I say ‘That is a guy named Edward's ability, Balzac's ability is different!’ here, would it be solved.
Rather, it would be fortunate if I don't receive suspicious glances asking how you know that.
Even at this moment, maybe it's just a feeling, but it seems Team Leader Kim is looking at my right hand.
Just the uninvited guest settled on my right hand makes me crazy with worry.
Just when I felt suffocated feeling like I was lying somehow.
Kkiik—
The door opened slowly, and someone revealed themselves.