novelraw Chapter 77 : Chapter 77
Chapter 77 : Chapter 77
Chapter 77: Threat (2)
The hot air dug into my throat as if burning it.
My skin stung like a burn, and my heart pounded like crazy.
Outside, only the workers' pretense of working continued.
Awkward movements of swinging hammers in vain or fiddling with the air.
The salvation I expected was not there.
"......Why, why aren't they saving us!"
Sonic Park sprang up and shouted.
His voice full of anger was extremely cracked, and his pupils were shaking incessantly with rage.
"It's strange! They have no intention of getting us out! Rather...... rather they are treating us as if we don't exist! There's even a guy standing guard! They are waiting for us to die......!"
At those words, I narrowed my eyes.
'......Correct.'
Suggestion.
Meaningless actions of puppets with polluted minds.
Whoever was behind this, it was clear they wanted us dead.
The moment everyone realized that fact.
"Dammit! It's because of you!"
Sonic Park raised his finger abruptly and pointed at Lee Junhyeok.
"They aimed for you! Son of the Sword Emperor, you bastard! There's no reason to aim for me or this loafer! Isn't that right?"
Sonic Park looked at me as if seeking agreement.
'Aimed for Lee Junhyeok?'
It wasn't an absurd statement.
Targeting the child of an influential person disguised as an accident.
Even if it doesn't happen commonly, it is definitely something that happens.
Above all, it has become certain now.
The fact that this is not a simple malfunction or accident, but someone's intentional threat.
"......Maybe so."
At Sonic Park's shout, Lee Junhyeok opened his mouth.
"It certainly doesn't seem like a simple accident. Those employees seem to have been bought off too. They don't look like they intend to save us."
Lee Junhyeok stroked his chin and continued speaking.
"But it's strange. How did they know I would come here? Moreover, the risk of getting caught is much greater with this method. How will they deal with those bought-off employees? To disguise it as an accident, they should have planned more thoroughly in a much more natural place."
At those words, I also nodded.
Such acts usually happen in 'familiar routes, daily spaces'.
But now it's Jeju Island, Grand Hyatt Hotel, and even the super-high heat kiln sauna in the basement sauna.
An ridiculously unique and localized place.
That meant time was very insufficient to prepare a planned terror like this.
If this is possible, there is only one possibility.
That the one threatening is not at an ordinary level.
It meant a person with the confidence and ability not to get caught even if they commit the act 'impromptu'.
Among them, a figure possessing the ability to manipulate consciousness by casting suggestions on others.
Only one person came to my mind.
'......Edward.'
If it's him, it was sufficiently possible.
He is also a guy who would have a clear motive.
Because here in Jeju Island, he is involved in a huge incident that will happen soon.
***
The rooftop of Grand Hyatt Jeju where cold wind brushes past.
The pitch-black night sky where clouds and the moon disappeared covered the world silently.
A man was sitting on the railing, staring at a tablet screen.
Pure white hair was shining solitarily in the darkness.
In the silence, buzz— a radio sounded with static.
Beep- As the signal appeared, the man slowly lifted the receiver.
"What is the matter, Chief."
At his words, a low and heavy voice responded.
-Edward. Where are you right now?
A tone with a hint of discomfort.
Edward sensed that nuance immediately and smiled brightly.
"Preparations are perfect. Do not worry."
-Everyone is gathered for the final check of tomorrow's plan. It would be troublesome if you vacate your seat alone.
"I have already sent someone to replace me though."
-Are you talking about that fool chattering the story you suggested like a parrot?
At Chief's words, Edward scratched his cheek.
An expression genuinely not knowing what the problem was.
"Since I have nothing else particular to say, isn't it fine? 'Ready as scheduled, proceeding as planned.' Simple and clear, so it's neat."
At Edward's words, silence lingered for a moment.
-......As expected, working with you is annoying. If you act willfully like this, I will have to recalculate the commission fee. I will also have to reconsider the relationship between Bremen and the Alliance.
"Hmm, that is troublesome."
-Then come here right now. Because I have no intention of playing along with your damn tongue anymore.
Beep- The radio cut off. Only silence remained on the rooftop.
"Oi, did you get contacted?"
Soon a voice echoed behind Edward.
"Yes, he tells me to come right now. Really such an annoying customer."
"Tsk, you bastard are too relaxed. Stupid jerk."
"Jack's tongue is sharp as always. Thorns are sticking out."
"Better than you insidious bastard. Perverted jerk."
Jack narrowed his brow and lit a cigarette.
Edward shrugged and looked down at the tablet.
Inside the screen, there were three boys with only a single towel around their waists.
The surrounding air dyed red, and the suffocating scenery of the super-high heat kiln sauna.
Naturally, there are no CCTVs inside the sauna.
So Edward cast a suggestion on a worker and had him install a security closed-circuit video device in a position where the inside could be seen.
The boys in the screen were showing different reactions respectively.
The boy named Sonic Park was sitting slumped as if resigned, and Lee Junhyeok, famous as the Sword Emperor's son, had an expression calmly gauging the situation.
And the one remaining boy.
He was constantly shifting his gaze, as if searching for something.
"......He noticed it gradually, Balzac."
Edward stroked his chin as if satisfied.
'There is, a world you do not know.'
Balzac believes there is tremendous potential in that boy named Ryu Jinwoo's body.
Furthermore, Balzac's obsession was wrapping around that boy like flames.
But Edward's thought was different.
Rather than an uncertain card where one doesn't know what might be hidden, isn't a guaranteed card better.
The boy next to him right now is Lee Junhyeok.
As the son of the Sword Emperor, he was thoroughly guaranteed material.
When he found out the fact that Lee Junhyeok entered the super-high heat kiln sauna with 'Ryu Jinwoo', Edward snatched that opportunity immediately.
The situation flowed quickly like a stream upstream.
He captured some employees through suggestion making them puppets, and steadily organized the situation.
Of course, if the three boys had left the kiln sauna early, he would have had no choice but to promise next time.
But he was lucky.
Because they stuck inside as if competing for nearly an hour.
Thanks to that, a perfect opportunity was arranged.
Close the entrance leading to the kiln sauna, and control people's movement paths.
Raise the internal temperature very slightly, but subtly enough to be hard to notice.
And lock the door, adding magic power to seal it firmly.
Now, breaking the door or wall from inside to escape was virtually impossible.
There is the variable called Lee Junhyeok, but he was steadily consuming magic power inside and had no weapon in hand.
Like that, Edward's picture was completed.
'Balzac, abandon Ryu Jinwoo's body and enter Lee Junhyeok's body to live a new life.'
There was terror targeting Lee Junhyeok.
But Lee Junhyeok survives dramatically, and only the two boys who were with him get swept away and die.
The incident would be settled like that.
Moreover, due to the nature of the place called a sauna without CCTVs, there is no chance of the moment Balzac moves bodies being caught.
It meant a perfect board was laid out literally.
Probably Balzac would have noticed Edward's traces gradually too.
Since he deliberately sent workers he didn't even need to send with suggestions cast on them.
One thing remained.
It was just Balzac, who understood Edward's intention, successfully moving bodies.
"Lee Junhyeok...... That child's body is definitely top-tier material. It will become an excellent stepping stone to expand our activity area."
Edward mumbled satisfactorily.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to depart? Tsk."
"I do not want to move. Jack. Please go instead of me. Right now, is an important timing."
"What?"
When Jack, who spat out the gum in his mouth, asked back as if absurd, Edward smiled brightly.
Edward's gaze headed to the tablet again.
To the scene where boys struggle to live in the crisis of death.
***
"I don't want to die in a place like this......."
Sonic Park mumbled with a trembling voice while sitting slumped.
"Dammit....... I hate becoming a corpse while naked. Damn......."
A part I sympathize with.
If the cause of death is 'Died while imprisoned as is while making a bet in a kiln sauna', I won't be able to hold my head up even in front of King Yeomra.
'If Edward is the culprit.'
No, he probably is the culprit.
Since the guy must be in Jeju already for another matter.
'Was the conversation we had last time nothing more than temporary time-buying.......'
At Beetle Comics, I clearly conveyed my opinion to Edward.
That as Balzac, I will prove myself with this boy's body.
But Edward isolated Lee Junhyeok and me together and was forcing a choice.
Probably the guy wants 'Balzac' to switch to Lee Junhyeok's body.
'I can't do it fuck.......'
If I were really Balzac, it would be a situation to welcome with open arms, but unfortunately I am Ryu Jinwoo.
I don't have the ability to switch bodies like changing clothes.
To such me, there is only one option.
Escaping this place alive somehow.
"Lee Junhyeok, can you break it?"
Lee Junhyeok is the only one to rely on.
First of all, Sonic Park is hopeless.
A guy with no ability to break the door in the first place, and his mental state has let go.
I asked Lee Junhyeok hoping for hope.
"Well, I can't be sure."
Lee Junhyeok was not in a very confident state.
"Unless it was a normal state......."
Lee Junhyeok touched the door of the kiln sauna.
"Right now I've consumed quite a bit of strength. No weapon either. And above all, I can feel it. Beyond this."
He narrowed his brow and continued speaking.
"It's sealed with magic power. That will absorb the impact."
Sealed with magic power?
This place basically had solid facilities to prevent heat from escaping.
To think it's even reinforced with magic power on top of that.
'We're fucked.'
It was a moment I had the thought I'd had several times since entering here once more.
"Still, I can't not try. Since we know there won't be salvation from outside."
Lee Junhyeok rose from his seat with a determined expression.
He gathered strength in his fist and stiffened his shoulder.
The will to pour everything at once was contained resolutely.
After pulling his fist back, he struck with full power.
Bang-!
With a violent sound, the fist struck the door.
The shockwave created by that cut through the air and spread inside the sauna.
Rattle- With a sound, the wooden seat shook, and a gust swirled.
However, the door didn't budge.
Rather, that explosive wind made the hot air swirl more violently, and the heat became more intense, searing the skin harder.
"Ugh......!"
The three of us gasped simultaneously.
The impact was not effective, and result-wise, what we obtained was only stronger heat.
Lee Junhyeok let out a bitter laugh.
"This, will be difficult. Haha....... To think I'd become a corpse while naked."
His declaration becoming solemn automatically as the last belief collapsed.
Sonic Park drooped his shoulders with his head bent back.
'Dammit. It can't be like this.'
Becoming a corpse here for real?
So futilely like this?
'Think. Somewhere, something, a way to survive.......'
I started examining the surroundings thoroughly.
Could there be a gap perhaps.
Wouldn't there be a point even slightly weaker than other places.
However, I couldn't see it.
No, accurately, even if I found such a point, there was no way I could penetrate it easily as long as it was sealed with magic power.
Should I try even gambling?
Convert Pain into strength, wrap it around my hand and strike?
However, I can't guarantee if that would have sufficient destructive power.
Even if I succeed in breaking the door, I might die from the aftereffects.
"......If only I had a weapon."
Lee Junhyeok mumbled despondently while sitting on the seat again.
"The saying that a weapon must be with you even in a coffin must have meant this. If I carried even a short dagger."
That word he mumbled bitterly.
And that word, awakened a certain memory sleeping inside me.
There was.
The 'cursed weapon' that appears before my eyes again before I know it the moment I try to escape it.
'I abandon, Black Self.'
The moment I decided so.
My hand became heavy before I knew it.
The sensation of cold and sharp metal dug into my palm more vividly in the burning heat.
An alien thrill passed through my fingertips.
My heart beat loudly as if resonating.
Black Self was grasped in my hand.