*
In front of the warehouse used by the pop-up store staff.
When one of his subordinates opened the warehouse door, Yamaoka Shun stepped inside.
He asked the person who had been waiting for him.
[“The target?”]
[“Confirmed.”]
The subordinate, dressed in the pop-up store’s staff uniform, answered.
[“Release the fog.”]
[“Yes, sir.”]
The subordinates standing behind him took specially treated gas masks from inside their clothes and put them on.
Yamaoka Shun accepted a gas mask from them and put it on as well.
[‘Casting “Magical Smoke Screen.”’]
As soon as he used the item, fog began to seep out from beneath his feet and spread into the department store.
Ordinary people shouldn’t be able to see it.
The greater the amount of mana one possessed, the denser the fog appeared.
Yamaoka Shun pushed his way through the crowd in the pop-up store.
Since most of the Hunters had been drawn to the special exhibition, the people here were mostly ordinary civilians.
The reason they had deliberately placed Inoue Haruna at the forefront of the joint Korea-Japan special exhibition was to divert the Hunters’ attention.
After returning to Japan, Yamaoka Shun had constantly replayed the moment he had been forced to submit.
With Kagehira’s (S+) power, he probably could have taken Amakusa Kazuki to Japan.
No—in the end, Kazuki had tried to board the helicopter of his own accord.
But everything had been ruined because of one small child standing beside him.
‘A child….’
It was absurd. That a single display of a child’s power could destroy a helicopter.
From that moment on, Yamaoka Shun had begun investigating Hyeonak.
A member of Hyeonak, yet an existence who had remained hidden….
Jjapso.
Piece by piece, the puzzle was coming together.
Jjapso was not an adult who manipulated dolls.
It was a child wearing a doll-shaped suit in order to conceal its identity.
Having faced it directly, he was certain.
A child connected to Hyeonak, possessing enough power to destroy a helicopter.
He would take what Korea treasured most in exchange for his failure and downfall.
Soon, the target’s figure came into view.
Fortunately, it appeared to be separated from its guardians.
‘It’ll be easier to take the child than I thought.’
Yamaoka Shun seized the slender wrist of the child with the round bird perched on its head.
At the sight of the bewildered child’s eyes, he curled up the corners of his mouth.
Perhaps the child could not see well because of the fog. Its eyes darted about, unable to find his face.
Proof that, despite being a child, it possessed an enormous amount of mana.
‘Got you, Jjapso.’
He tore the scroll he had been holding in one hand for the teleportation.
Whoosh!
Yamaoka Shun and the child’s figures vanished in an instant.
“……?”
*
After teleporting to the safe house he had prepared in advance, Yamaoka Shun burst into a refreshing laugh.
[“Hahaha! At last! Hahahahaha!”]
“…….”
Yamaoka Shun grabbed the shoulders of the tight-lipped child and shook them.
[“I found it. I found that Jjapso!”]
“…….”
[“I know everything. I know that you’re Jjapso….
Do you have any idea how many days I wasted searching for you?
Every single day, I investigated everyone entering and leaving Hyeonak’s headquarters, without exception—ordinary people and Hunters alike.
But strangely, I could never see you anywhere.
Then one day, I saw you coming out of the building side by side with Hyeonak’s princess, and I became certain that my deduction was correct.
Normally, you take the form of a young child. When you’re a Hunter, you become Jjapso, wearing that bizarre teddy-bear suit.
That must be why On Joorim assigned you to guard Hyeonak’s princess.”]
Beilak and Mephisto, who was sitting atop his head, tilted their heads in exactly the same manner.
“……?”
“Pip?”
What the hell was this guy talking about?
*
What remained in the empty spot where they had disappeared was….
Gru, standing there with his mouth hanging open while clutching a trembling baby rabbit.
“Eeeeh?!”
“Kkyu…….”
After hearing Haruna warn her to be careful, Gru had been on her way to bring Beilak along after turning him into a human.
But then some man had strode over, grabbed Beilak by the wrist, torn a scroll, and vanished together with him.
This was bad.
‘The fog is too thick!’
Gru moved hesitantly, following the voices of Gidan and Serhi calling for her.
There were too many people, making it difficult to move freely.
At that moment, Ruksifer waved its sprout.
The hazy view before her began to clear, as though a window were being wiped clean.
“Oh!”
“Kkyu!”
“Thank you, Fer.”
After patting Ruksifer on the head, Gru ran over to Gidan and Serhi, who were looking around as though searching for her.
“Oppa!”
“Gru, are you all right?”
“Look, look.”
Gidan lifted Gru into his arms, while Serhi examined her from head to toe.
After confirming that nothing had happened to Gru, Serhi spoke in a much-relieved tone.
“Let’s return to the company for now. This fog is artificial. It’s dangerous.”
“N-no. Mephi and Bei got kidnapped!”
“What?”
Gidan and Serhi asked again, dumbfounded.
Come to think of it, it was strange that the child who had said she would bring Beilak out was alone.
But why would Mephi and Beilak have been kidnapped instead of Gru?
Gru then clearly explained what had happened.
“Some strange mister grabbed Bei’s wrist and dragged him away! Then the three of them went poof and disappeared!”
After hearing Gru’s explanation, what Gidan pictured was an adult male dragging away a toddler who looked no older than five, taking advantage of the confusion.
Covering his mouth with one hand, Gidan muttered pale-faced,
“What kind of insane pervert would…….”
Haruna, who had been cautiously surveying the situation, continued with a startled expression after looking at her translation app.
“Hentai….”
“Pe-pervert……?”
Gru repeated Haruna’s word, falling into shock.
Apparently, a man named Hentai had kidnapped Beilak.
The name sounded Japanese. Was he working with Yamaoka Shun?
While Gru was lost in that misunderstanding, Serhi, who had grasped what had happened, let out a low groan beside her.
“Hmm…….”
Whether the opponent was a pervert or not, he wasn’t particularly worried considering who had been kidnapped….
He looked at Gru, who was clutching the trembling rabbit and fidgeting anxiously.
Since Gru was worried, he would have to at least pretend to search, or she would become a nuisance.
Leaving an SSS-rank alone in a place without its master could even lead to something worse.
If it suddenly regained its power and opened a dungeon, it would be recorded as one of the few SSS-rank mega-dungeons in the world.
“Don’t worry too much. We’ll look for them later.”
“Huung……. Aren’t we finding Mephi and Bei now?”
Gru looked up at Serhi with tearful eyes. She seemed to be asking why they had to look for Beilak later.
“Yeah, we need to deal with the fog first.”
Rather than worry about the safety of an SSS-rank, dealing with Yamaoka Shun would have to take priority.
Gru nodded dejectedly, as though she understood.
Serhi, who had been lost in thought, popped his bubble gum and spoke to Gidan, who was jumping around shouting, ‘Beilak got taken by a pervert!’
“Hey, Gidan. You’ve been bragging everywhere that you have extrasensory perception. Try using it. I think we should find Yamaoka Shun before we go after that pervert.”
“……Ah.”
Only then did Gidan activate his extrasensory perception.
His senses expanded outward in a large circle centered on him. Various sensations flowed into him.
“This fog is coming from the warehouse.”
After wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Gidan headed toward the place where the fog item had been used, and the others followed him.
They had concluded that Yamaoka Shun was probably there.
Gru placed Ruksifer on her head and hurriedly sent a text message to Joorim.
*
Brrr—
Meanwhile, in a sitting room prepared inside the special exhibition venue.
Joorim sat with his legs crossed, his gaze fixed on his phone as he faced CEO Jeon Byeongho, who had organized Inoue Haruna’s ‘joint Korea-Japan special exhibition.’
The message was from Gru.
Gru
Dad! Bei got kidnapped by a hentai!
A question mark rose above his head as he read the message.
“……?”
Joorim narrowed his eyes and read the message again, as though the contents might change if he did so.
Even as Kazuki and Jeon Byeongho looked at him curiously, he remained frozen, staring at the phone screen for a long while.