Chapter 100: Cosmetics Made of Blood (4)
As if flung straight out, Hyeon-yul stood firm on the ground.
Looking around, it was the rooftop of a different building.
<I see you, Hyeon-yul.>
Na-yoon’s message popped up.
<Be careful.>
<Understood. I will send the signal.>
After sending the message, Hyeon-yul immediately burrowed downwards.
People were stationed right below the rooftop.
All the lights were off, but they were confirming each other through the faint glow of flashlights.
He recognized who they were by their movements, their gazes, and the scent emanating from their bodies.
Hyeon-yul waited for a moment.
‘Hostages might be at the location of the bombs, but hostages might also be at locations without bombs.’
Hostages.
They were a truly troublesome entanglement.
If there were no hostages, the work would be incredibly fast.
Hyeon-yul closed his eyes, considering numerous possibilities.
There was no time.
He had to rely on the power of darkness.
Though already in darkness, Hyeon-yul reached out and grasped that darkness.
He felt his body flow deeper downwards.
Even though his body was clearly here, he was seeing and feeling everything: crossing buildings, following sidewalks, crossing roads, passing under trees, and the swaying tail of a passing cat.
Hyeon-yul felt himself splitting.
Not just one, but he was watching and listening to all the nearby buildings.
Among the myriad sounds, Hyeon-yul focused on the sound of the timers in the bombs moving.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
‘How many buildings have bombs?’
As if in answer to that question, a current of darkness washed over him.
Eight.
‘Location?’
As if answering, his eyes split into eight, and the respective locations were pinpointed in his mind.
There, Hyeon-yul didn't forget to mark them.
Though he felt his body melting further into the darkness, Hyeon-yul once again focused on the sounds and sights.
The sound of quiet sobs, the sound of sweat dripping, the sound of hearts pounding loudly with despair.
His gaze followed those sounds.
He saw those who were captured and bound.
It was them.
‘Location of the hostages?’
Once again, the locations were etched into his mind like blades.
Just as his breath hitched and his heart pounded wildly, Hyeon-yul ascended.
Barely reaching the ceiling, parts of Hyeon-yul’s body dripped off as if he had emerged from water.
It was as if water were falling.
“……Heok, heok.”
Hyeon-yul, with trembling hands, quickly took out a syringe and jabbed it into his stomach.
The more he saw and heard through the power of darkness, the more he was sucked into it, feeling himself disappear.
Lying with his back against the floor, he didn't wait for his breathing to stop but quickly marked the locations first.
<…Hyeon-yul? Are you okay?>
<Your body seems strange, doesn’t it?>
Na-yoon sent a message.
<No. I’m fine.>
Hyeon-yul let out a long breath and then sat up.
He shared the things he had marked a moment ago.
<There are a total of 8 buildings we need to focus on.>
<8 buildings…?>
Ji-hwan sent a message.
<Yes. I will inform you as we proceed further.>
Hyeon-yul wiggled his fingers again, tensed them, and then relaxed them.
Hoo.
After taking a deep breath, Hyeon-yul burrowed downwards again.
He had accurately grasped the locations of the bombs and hostages.
Now it was time to move.
Hyeon-yul, gripping his daggers, headed to the floor just below the top where the bombs were located.
Though villains patrolled the dark corridor with the lights off, Hyeon-yul paid them no mind.
He quietly moved along the wall and entered a room.
Desks and computers had all been pushed aside, and bombs were placed in one spot.
It seemed they intended to build a mountain of bombs; there were more than expected.
Around it, three people stood in a triangular formation, holding flashlights and staring only at the bombs.
Hyeon-yul appeared behind one, covered his mouth, and quietly slit his throat.
He smiled, holding the flashlight the man had been carrying.
Even though one had died, no one knew.
From behind the two men, thick darkness emerged like tails.
As soon as the corners of Hyeon-yul’s lips elongated, the darkness simultaneously pierced their necks.
Covering their mouths so no sound could escape, he quietly laid them all on the ground.
Swallowing the bombs that were left alone, Hyeon-yul descended.
Confirming the places with many villains, he opened a window in a suitable spot for Na-yoon.
Feeling the wind flutter past him, he moved towards the location of the hostages.
He had to hurry.
“…Ah, this is boring.”
A villain, with one foot on a desk, sat in a chair, rocking his body back.
In the beam of the flashlight on the desk, people with gagged mouths and bound hands and feet trembled.
“I’m tired of watching those guys tremble now. When are they going to detonate the bombs?”
At the word "bomb," a whimpering sound flowed out.
“I don’t know, do I?”
His colleague answered perfunctorily while playing a game on his phone.
Then, he irritably put down his phone and shouted at the people.
“Ah, stop fucking crying. It makes me want to fucking kill you!”
At those trivial words, the people trembled and cried silently.
“Hey. I’m a bit hungry, got anything?”
Another villain asked, rocking his chair.
“Go find it yourself.”
The villain who had shouted sat down again and continued his game, gripping his phone.
As the game sounds echoed quietly in the room, something fell.
Dorereuk.
Tak.
The villain holding the phone glanced sideways and then said nonchalantly.
“Hey, the flashlight fell.”
But there was no answer.
“Hey.”
He called again, but when there was no answer, the man lowered his phone.
“You pig bastard. Going to eat without even a flashlight……”
A sticky feeling on his leg made his heart drop.
He urgently turned his gaze.
The moment their eyes met, something glittered and shot out.
It pierced his head.
Pook.
With the sound of something being pierced, the flashlight flew far away.
Hyeon-yul quietly walked over and looked at the dead men.
‘I should clean this up, right?’
Hyeon-yul looked at the people, then carried the corpses into the darkness, piled them in front of the door, and also moved a nearby desk.
No sound was made until all the work was finished.
He considered cleaning up the blood as well, but since blood existed in places other than where he had made it, he left it.
Hyeon-yul walked over to the people and looked at them.
Without exception, they all looked at Hyeon-yul with fear and terror.
It was the gaze he was most familiar with.
Even though he was wearing the Black Eagle uniform, it seemed a single helmet made him look different.
He held out his phone to them, who were once again subdued by fear.
「This is Black Eagle.」
At those mere words, everyone burst into tears.
Some even immediately slumped down and buried their faces in the floor.
「Shhh.」
But at Hyeon-yul’s subsequent message, everyone fell silent and nodded.
「I’ll untie you, so please be quiet and stay here.」
He’s leaving.
At that single message, they looked at Hyeon-yul as if they held all the misfortune in the world.
Hyeon-yul, despite seeing their expressions, turned away.
Weren't they grown adults?
There was no instruction that he had to comfort them during a rescue.
Hyeon-yul put down the flashlight and went straight through the wall.
As he jumped down and touched the floor, he burrowed into the shadows.
There were many places to go.
“Can you see Hyeon-yul?”
Shin-woo discreetly asked Na-yoon, who was looking around with the scope attached to her gun.
“No. I can’t see him now. I don’t know where he went. His location is all jumbled too.”
Na-yoon, overwhelmed by anxiety, took several deep breaths repeatedly.
His body was definitely flowing like water.
That image kept replaying in her mind.
“Calm down. Would Hyeon-yul go somewhere and get beaten up?”
“That’s not it.”
Ji-hwan chuckled at Shin-woo’s words.
If anything, he would be the one doing the beating; he was definitely not someone who would get beaten up.
“So, you calm down too and just put that gun down for a moment……”
The smartwatch flickered, and the map Shin-woo had been constantly looking at updated.
The location was transmitted.
‘……He’s here!’
Shin-woo’s expression changed completely.
“Both of you, get ready.”
Shin-woo spoke to Na-yoon and Ji-hwan and then surveyed the eight locations.
His power required distance and direction.
In a situation like this, he could at least hold them on that floor, or the ones above and below.
Shin-woo lightly snapped his fingers.
Tak.
A gentle breeze swept around Shin-woo.
He felt his power manifest in all eight locations.
At that moment, the lights turned on.
Na-yoon didn't miss that instant.
The window was open.
‘Here.’
With the gun loaded, she pulled the trigger.
A strong force, as if compressed in the muzzle, glittered and then shot out.
As soon as it accurately followed its trajectory and pierced the wall, Ji-hwan activated his magic.
Like a drain, the small space Ji-hwan created absorbed the heat of the area, freezing everything above and below.
The building’s lights turned on again.
Na-yoon immediately turned her gun.
She shot towards the open window.
Taang!
They might have reacted from elsewhere, but they couldn't do anything.
Shin-woo, watching all of it, felt a strange thrill.
The sight of the lights turning on in sequence, Na-yoon shooting without a hint of wavering, and Ji-hwan’s magic spreading along the bullets Na-yoon fired.
It all seemed like a lie.
Did this even make sense?
Because the distance was too great and it wasn't clearly visible, the range of the magic spreading was different for each.
Was there some intention?
Cheok.
Na-yoon reloaded and pulled the trigger towards the last window.
After seeing the last place freeze over, only then did she re-examine the first place.
When the first building came into the edge of her vision, Na-yoon’s lips trembled.
The gun moved quickly to other places, checking them one by one.
As Na-yoon lowered her gun, a smile spread across her face.
Shin-woo, who had been constantly observing the situation, and Ji-hwan, who had last used magic, both observed Na-yoon’s expression.
“Everyone’s safe!”
“Really…? Really?”
“…Brother… Brother Hyeon-yul thought of that too?”
Shin-woo and Ji-hwan asked with flustered yet happy faces.
Their expressions showed they were wondering what all this was about.
“Yes.”
As the answer suddenly came, Shin-woo and Ji-hwan were startled.
When had he arrived?
Hyeon-yul removed his helmet.
He straightened his disheveled hair and spoke.
“Now we can call the White Sparrows.”
Hyeon-yul spoke, looking down.
“Did you take care of it?”
At Hyeon-yul’s question, Shin-woo answered by making a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
“Of course.”
“The hostages here are….”
“…is what I’d like to say, but not yet. I got distracted.”
There were only four of them.
They were still amazed and fascinated by the fact that they had touched so many buildings with that number.
So, we can do it like this.
He even felt admiration for Hyeon-yul’s boldness, an emotion he couldn't quite describe.
“It’s alright. They’ll be flustered over there too. Timing-wise, it’s good. We can go straight to the hostages.”
Hyeon-yul looked at Na-yoon and then spoke first.
“Sister Chu Na-yoon. I’m fine.”
“…You took my line.”
“I’m ready.”
Ji-hwan chuckled at Na-yoon, who looked embarrassed, and created a door on the wall.
“Baek Shin-woo. You know as soon as we go, right?”
When Na-yoon asked, Shin-woo rolled his shoulders and went inside.
“Of course, I know!”
As Shin-woo answered and took a step forward, he raised his hand.
Tak.
As the power spread, the sound of footsteps that had been audible completely disappeared.
‘Good timing.’
Shin-woo thought, looking at the people.
Their hands and feet were untied, and they were huddled in a corner, holding their breath.
Seeing their eyes filled with fear, unsure of what was happening again, Shin-woo’s heart grew heavy.
How terrified they must have been.
For them, Shin-woo spoke with all the courage he could muster.
“This is Black Eagle.”
With those words, gazes filled with elation poured out.
Seeing Hyeon-yul enter next, they acted as if they would cheer at any moment.
It didn't end there; when Na-yoon and Ji-hwan also entered, they even felt as if saviors were approaching.
It was a moment where one minute felt like an hour.
They wanted to say something immediately.
“This way!”
As Ji-hwan extended his hand and waved, the people finally shouted.
It was close to elation.
Their faces showed the hope of finally escaping this hell.
“I will go and check.”
Hyeon-yul, glancing at their gazes, walked forward, leaving the elation behind.
It was enough for them to hear the cheers.
As Hyeon-yul went ahead, Shin-woo gripped his shoulder.
“Let’s go together.”
“You will see unpleasant sights.”
“I know.”
At Shin-woo’s answer, Hyeon-yul looked at Na-yoon and Ji-hwan and then turned around.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw enemies with swords wrapped around their necks and enemies who were already dead, alternating.
The gazes pouring in held a vastly different, greater emotion than the people from a moment ago.
Denial.
Confusion.
And despair.
Hyeon-yul felt the urge to wipe them out immediately but suppressed it.
There were still those who hadn't been caught by Shin-woo’s power.
They were holding their breath.
Hyeon-yul strode forward and confronted the villain at the very end, where Shin-woo’s power reached.
Pushing the man, he took out daggers in both hands.
He slashed through the dance of crimson flames rushing in from both sides.
Stepping on the corpse of the villain whose neck was also slit and fell, he moved forward.
The villain where Hyeon-yul was looking had a bewildered look in his eyes.
How did he know?
Hyeon-yul, as if ignoring that gaze, swung both hands inwards, slitting the villain’s neck.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
As heads rolled and rolled, the sounds of several swallowed groans were heard at the end.
“Do you know why the operation failed?”
Hyeon-yul disappeared from that spot and reappeared where the sound had come from.
Black smoke billowed.
“Because I stopped it.”
Hyeon-yul’s tone, as if savoring the words, and his gaze, which couldn't be hidden even by magic disguise, were like those of a demon.
The villains lost their fighting spirit even before they fought.
They were terrified.
Their bodies even trembled from the instinctively felt fear.
As Hyeon-yul took a step forward, the enemies continuously retreated.
They were in a state where they couldn't even recognize that they were the majority.
“I… killed your leader.”
Hyeon-yul smiled joyfully and wrapped darkness around the daggers he held in both hands.
This was the faction of the one who had made him like this.
He wished for the annihilation of this place.
Whether sooner or later, its disappearance was already a confirmed fact.
Countless streams of blood soaked the ground along the black lines Hyeon-yul drew.
By the time the tips of his daggers pointed downwards, there was no one left with their necks attached.
Hyeon-yul turned his head and looked out the window.
The moon was up.
Bathing in the moonlight, he quietly closed his eyes.
‘One.’
Now, there was one.