*
Still in handcuffs, Alex finished off a bowl of gukbap and checked the wall clock beyond the investigator watching him.
[“Is that clock right?”]
Jeon Hyoseung, an investigator from the Awakened Management Bureau, glanced back at the clock, then said coldly,
[“None of your business.”]
[“Judging by your expression, I’d say it is.”]
When Alex smiled in satisfaction, she let out a derisive snort.
[“Look all you want. Soon you’ll be going somewhere you won’t even be able to see a clock.”]
[“So, shall I thank you? Is that what you want?”]
Jeon Hyoseung ignored his provocation, chin propped on her hand.
At that, Alex clicked his tongue as if disappointed.
They were well-trained. At this rate, he was worried whether the plan was going well.
[“Time to go.”]
Jeon Hyoseung gestured to him.
Clank.
As Alex rose and followed her, his handcuffs clashed together. He checked the clock once more and erased his thoughts.
They would soon join up with Jin Siwon.
As far as he knew, Jin Siwon was a mind-reading ability user. If he didn’t want Jin Siwon to catch on, he had to wipe the plan from his mind with other thoughts.
The moment he stepped outside the door, he saw Interpol investigator Daniela fall in behind them and smiled wickedly.
It seemed she had stayed behind to help with the transfer, and there was no better subject than her to clear his mind.
[“We meet again, Daniela. Did you get in touch with Reiji? What did he say? Did he say he didn’t kill your friend?”]
Daniela looked at Alex with eyes gone cold.
[“I did. He said he was on his way to Korea to kill you.”]
Daniela sneered and shoved him toward the lobby.
Now Alex would be moved to the Awakened special detention facility nearby.
‘Where is Jin Siwon?’
When he arrived in the lobby and scanned the area, Jin Siwon was nowhere to be seen.
‘Don’t tell me the plan failed……’
Anxious, Alex was just biting at his fingernail.
Screeeeech!
The sound of car tires scraping against the road rang out.
Everyone in the lobby turned their gaze toward the roadway beyond the building’s glass.
Honk!
Honk, honk!
Horns blared all at once.
A large truck crossed over the lane and turned right without slowing, and the cars crashed into one another, plunging the street into chaos.
“……!”
Daniela’s eyes widened.
The front of the enormous truck that had made the sharp turn was pointed straight at the building.
Bang! Crunch! Craaack!
Vroom! Vroom!
The truck smashed into the police car that was supposed to transport Alex and was coming toward them as if it meant to tear the building apart.
Vroooooom!
Just as the truck was about to smash through the revolving door—
The mascot Honghongi walked toward the entrance with a listless expression.
The air seemed to shift with his movements, and in that instant, their ears rang as though blocked.
The truck had stopped just before breaking through the building’s revolving door.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
The lobby fell silent, as though everyone were holding their breath.
An overwhelming atmosphere, starkly at odds with Honghongi’s indifferent gesture, swallowed the surroundings.
No one knew exactly what he had done, but one thing was clear: he had halted the situation in an instant.
The truck remained stopped.
Right in front of the revolving door, the gigantic mass of metal seemed to hover in the air, unable to advance any farther.
An invisible, formless force was holding the truck back.
Just as the people who grasped the situation belatedly cried out in astonishment—
[“Damn it!”]
Realizing the plan had failed, Alex bolted toward the truck, and Daniela seized him by the scruff of the neck.
[“Let go! Damn it!”]
Alex shrieked, but Daniela paid him no mind.
“Are you all right?”
At that moment, Jin Siwon hurried over to them.
In his arms, he was holding Gru, who had an earpiece in his hand.
“Yes, yes……. I caught him.”
Daniela shrugged and pulled Alex to her side.
Jin Siwon smiled awkwardly and bowed his head to Daniela.
“I’m a little late, aren’t I? I apologize. I heard there was a bomb, so I was trying to get a handle on the situation.”
Daniela, who had been smiling vaguely as if to say it was fine, asked back in surprise,
“A bomb?!”
“Yes. If it hadn’t been for our Gru, it could’ve been dangerous.”
As Jin Siwon smiled gently, Gru and Mephisto proudly rubbed beneath their noses.
Daniela let out a small laugh, apparently finding the child cute, then tightened her grip on Alex and asked,
“Team Leader Jin, then those people……”
At the end of Daniela’s gaze was the truck.
Just then, people wearing cheetah and gorilla masks were getting out of the driver’s seat and passenger seat.
Behind them, masked mercenaries began appearing one by one.
[“What the hell is that crazy mascot bastard?!”]
[“You damned monster!”]
As each of them climbed down and spat curses, the mascot replied indifferently,
[- Watch your language. It’s bad for the kid’s education.]
The moment a man wearing a rabbit mask came out last—
A dozen or so mercenaries began drawing their weapons.
“Those animal masks and the finger tattoos……”
Daniela let out a low groan.
“They’re Obsidian. Be careful.”
Obsidian.
International mercenaries who, once hired, did not hesitate to break the law—each one an elite comparable to A- to S-rank.
In an instant, tension began to fill the lobby.
The Bureau’s security personnel and employees sent the civilians upstairs and aimed their guns.
Watching this, the man in the gorilla mask, Brady, planted his long spear into the floor with a thud and looked around.
The only high-ranking Awakened here were Jin Siwon and Daniela, was that it?
And……
His gaze turned to the mascot Honghongi.
He was wearing an ugly costume, but his skills seemed considerable.
The truck they had brought was an item surrounded by several layers of shields and buff-type magic tools.
The fact that he had stopped it so easily meant……
[“S-rank?”]
[- Why? Scared enough to want to run away?]
At the sarcastic remark, Brady gave a faint laugh.
[“They said Korea had more than one S-rank. Guess they even have an ugly mascot, huh?”]
If one were talking about Korea’s most famous S-rank, it would have to be On Jurim.
But surely On Jurim wouldn’t put on a costume like that and act like a clown.
Feeling a thrilling jolt before the battle, Brady grinned from ear to ear.
[“But if you’re not On Jurim, then I’d say we have a chance, don’t we?”]
- ……!
Honghongi flinched, his shoulders twitching.
When he glanced slightly behind him, Gru had his mouth hanging open.
Jurim let out a relieved sigh at that blank face and turned back to the gorilla mask with composure.
As it seemed a fight was about to break out, Jin Siwon turned Gru in his arms so he couldn’t see and took a step back.
[“Daniela. Too bad, but I guess this is goodbye.”]
Alex, who had been watching the situation, cackled and mocked her.
Now that Obsidian had stepped in, no one in the Bureau would be able to stop them.
But Daniela let out a scoff as though she had just heard something truly amusing.
[“Do you really think so?”]
Alex couldn’t tell where her baseless confidence was coming from.
[“Don’t act tough for nothing. If you don’t want to create any more victims, hand me over to Obsidian.”]
[“Act tough?”]
Daniela snorted and continued,
[“The person inside that ridiculous mascot is none other than—”]
- ……?!
Honghongi quickly turned his gaze toward Daniela, who was about to reveal his identity.
While his attention was diverted for that brief moment, the gorilla mask moved first, gripping his spear.
‘Now!’
At the same time, all the mercenaries fell into attack formation in perfect unison.
Every one of them aimed their weapons as if to pierce Honghongi’s body.
Startled, Daniela stopped speaking for an instant, and Honghongi turned to face forward again.
The tip of the spear had closed in right before his nose—a situation on the brink of explosion.
Just as everyone watched with tense eyes—
[“Stop.”]
Flutter—
Along with someone’s restraining words, a thin black cloth draped itself like a curtain before Obsidian.
The shape of the curtain grew larger and larger, transforming into the form of a massive reaper.
What blocked Obsidian’s view was none other than the reaper’s black cloak.
The reaper’s very existence alone pressed heavily down on the air.
“This is……”
Brady’s voice trembled faintly.
At the overwhelming pressure that made it hard to breathe, all the mercenaries looked upward.
The hollow eyes of the skull, empty as the abyss, looked down at them without emotion.
[“If you don’t wish to die, I suggest you do not move.”]
A man’s low voice echoed through the silent lobby.
But some among Obsidian sensed the danger and moved their feet.
Thud!
At the same time, they collapsed to the floor.
As those who moved fell one by one, the Obsidian mercenaries froze stiffly, at a loss for what to do.
Watching them, the rabbit mask standing at the very back took one step forward.
[“I did tell you not to move. The place where you now stand is the domain of death.”]
He removed the rabbit mask and spoke in a voice tinged with laughter.
“What do you think, On-chan? Was my timing decent?”
If you were here, you should have shown yourself earlier. Jurim sighed and shook his head.
Meanwhile, Daniela, who had confirmed the rabbit mask’s identity, uttered his name like a groan.
“……Reiji?”
Reiji smiled brightly.
“Good to see you, Daniela. I hear you’ve been looking for me quite a lot.”