Chapter 23. Found You (1)
“What did the Poison King order to be moved, and where?”
Hyeon-yul asked the boss again.
Vvvvvt.
The cell phone vibrated.
Oh Hae-ryeon.
Only then did Hyeon-yul remember that he hadn't submitted the report.
“Ah, please wait just a moment.
It's an urgent call.”
Hyeon-yul asked for understanding and then answered the phone.
An emotion suggesting ‘What kind of stunt is this?’ showed on the boss' face.
“Yes, Mr. Team Leader.”
<Are you taking good care of the children?>
“…That was, indeed, a difficult mission.”
<It is difficult.
I knew it would be, that's why I sent you with Mr. Ji-hwan.
Mr. Ji-hwan really likes children.
You can rest for a bit.>
“Did something happen?”
Hyeon-yul thought she wouldn't call just to tell him to rest.
<It's nothing else, it's about the festival security company.>
As expected.
Hyeon-yul looked at the boss and opened his mouth.
“Yes, please continue speaking.”
<It's been narrowed down to a few.
I thought it would be good for you to remember, just in case.
Is now a good time?>
“Please tell me.”
As Hyeon-yul stretched out his finger, darkness moved and examined the boss' laptop.
The boss' eyes widened as if they would pop out.
What power is that right now?
Something like black smoke writhed and typed on the keyboard.
<SAS Security Company, STS Security Company, DCD Security Company…….>
Hyeon-yul smiled lightly at the company names being mentioned one by one.
STS Security Company.
Coincidentally, there was a proposal right there to send goods to that place.
What did the boss say earlier?
—Hurry up! Do you know how angry the Poison King is? Move all the acquired kids quickly!
The Poison King was waiting for something, and the boss was in the middle of moving it.
Wasn't it a very fitting hypothesis that the something being moved was the kids, and the scheduled destination was STS Security Company?
Perhaps STS Security Company wasn't the Poison King's main base.
But the current situation pointed to one thing.
‘So you’re there right now, Poison King.’
Hyeon-yul looked at the boss.
The boss flinched.
“Mr. Team Leader.”
<Yes?>
“I've found where the Poison King is.”
<…What? Suddenly?>
“STS Security Company.”
As that name came out, the corners of the boss' mouth trembled slightly.
This was it.
“That's the place.”
Hyeon-yul raised the corners of his mouth and slit the boss' throat.
There was no more information to gain.
<Hyeo, Mr. Hyeon-yul. What are you doing right now?
Where are you now? Weren't you at the kindergarten?>
Hae-ryeon’s flustered words followed.
“As per the mission, I pursued the one trying to kidnap the child, and that place was a company run by the Poison King.
And didn't you just tell me the Poison King's location, Mr. Team Leader?”
<Me…? All I did was tell you the narrowed-down festival security companies.
Even narrowed down, there were still 4, weren't there?>
“You narrowed it down by 4.
I just secured a proposal through the boss' laptop.
Of course, it's not explicitly written as 'kidnapped children'.
It's just written like 'goods', though.”
Even villains wrote things like proposals according to format.
Being conscious of external gazes, they often mixed in company jargon as camouflage.
As Hyeon-yul reached for the laptop, a power like black smoke emerged from beneath the laptop and took it away.
“Mr. Team Leader. I will hand over the laptop later.”
Hyeon-yul checked his watch.
Ji-hwan had said he needed 5 minutes to destroy this building.
It was currently the 4th minute.
Hyeon-yul seemed to fall backward, then seeped into the floor.
When he popped out forward again, the location had changed.
It was the underground parking lot.
The vehicle carrying the children hadn't departed yet.
Hyeon-yul found the truck.
“Mr. Team Leader. I will continue the mission.
The kindergarten kidnapping incident is not over yet.”
<Will you be okay? It's practically overtime.>
“Letting him escape now would be quite troublesome.
Besides, this isn't overtime.
Connected incidents aren't classified that way.”
<That's a relief, but the Poison King is a big shot and uses poison too, right?
Do you need support?>
“Yes. The poison is fine, but moving the captured children alone is too much for me.
Support is needed.”
<Mr. Ji-hwan is nearby, right?>
“No. He's a little far away.
I plan to travel together.
Since I'm still on probation.”
Of course, he planned to travel keeping some distance.
Ji-hwan clearly looked like he had no poison resistance.
<That's not it, Mr. Ji-hwan… might struggle because he has no poison resistance.
He can block it with magic, but if there's no antidote, tell him to wait as far away as possible.>
“Understood. Then, may I kill the Poison King?”
<That's not allowed, Mr. Hyeon-yul.
We need to block off everywhere the Poison King has reached.
We have to deal with the distributed money, products, and even the people inside.>
“There might be resistance, so is a state where he can still speak sufficient?”
<…Um, he needs to be able to speak, and be recognizable as the Poison King.>
“If it's that, I'm confident I can do it well.”
Hyeon-yul showed confidence.
Seemingly dubious, Hae-ryeon only let out a long 'um' sound.
“I will depart now.”
Hyeon-yul didn't care what emotions Hae-ryeon harbored.
The only thing he watched was the something that truck was moving.
Because the children would surely be in there.
<I'll send Ms. Na-yoon or Mr. Shin-woo, or both, over there if possible.>
“No, please don't send them.
As long as we don't know what kind of poison it is, having the team members wait is the way to protect them.”
Why else would the Poison King be the Poison King?
Losing the team's combat power over some mere poison had to be prevented.
Even if they came, they wouldn't be helpful because of the poison anyway.
<…Mr. Hyeon-yul, you sometimes say truly baffling things.>
“I apologize.”
<That's not what I meant! You're saying the right thing, but as a team leader, it bothers me… No, I'll explain later.
For now, focus on the mission and depart.>
“Thank you for your permission.”
Hyeon-yul bowed politely and ended the call.
He assessed the number of people around the truck.
‘Eight.’
There was no need to bother attacking them.
Hyeon-yul contacted Ji-hwan via smartwatch and touched his wireless earphone.
[Blow it up.]
The voice message was transmitted as text.
Hyeon-yul seeped beneath the shadow and stopped right under the truck.
He sent numerous hands made of darkness towards the truck, not just grabbing but tightly wrapping around it.
“…What the?”
The villain smoking in front of the truck reacted to the strange power.
He immediately dropped the cigarette he was holding and moved far away.
“What is this!”
“How would I…….”
The words were cut off there.
Kuuuuung!
The sound of something falling onto the building was heard.
‘It’s here.’
Hyeon-yul instantly knew it was magic.
Everyone was startled by the loud noise, loud enough to be heard noisily even in the underground parking lot, and covered their ears.
Buuuuung.
Wind silently rose from below, then quickly turned into intense heat.
Cars began to bubble furiously as if everything would melt instantly upon contact.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
Screams filled the surroundings, but they no longer reached Hyeon-yul.
Seeping into the silent darkness, all sound died away.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking was heard.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
As the strong smell of blood rushed in, the man sitting and smoking a cigarette turned his head.
The man wore a mask that covered only the upper part of his face.
Numerous corpses lay scattered where Hyeon-yul had walked, but ironically, not a drop of blood stained his body.
“Good day.”
Hyeon-yul greeted the Poison King, whom he had finally met.
Should I call it the aura emanating from him?
It was different from the riffraff.
“A Black Eagle?”
“That's correct.”
“Quite something.”
The Poison King looked quite pleased.
Hoo.
Following the long exhale of smoke, a sweet smell filled the surroundings.
Hyeon-yul smelled the scent drifting through his helmet and instantly knew it was poison.
“Thinking it would become bothersome, I killed them all beforehand.
If I had known you'd regret it like this, perhaps I should have left about one alive.”
“No, it's fine.
They would only have been annoying anyway.
What more would they do other than end up dying?”
The Poison King flicked ash into the ashtray and shook his crossed leg.
“So, what business brings you here?”
“What business would bring me here?”
“Couldn't there be various reasons?”
The Poison King asked slyly and smiled.
Hyeon-yul wasn't curious at all about what was inside that head.
“Do you want to kill me?”
“I came to capture you.”
“You could probably kill me, though.”
“I can kill you. I want to kill you, too.”
Hyeon-yul approached and sat down.
How great would it be if I could plunge a knife into that neck right now?
“However, my Mr. Team Leader said that's not allowed.”
“That kind of composure, I quite like it.”
The Poison King couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from lifting, as if he liked Hyeon-yul.
Although a Black Eagle, strangely, the scent of his own kind emanated strongly.
Because at least the Black Eagles he knew didn't act like that.
“Have any thoughts of coming over to this side?”
Hyeon-yul felt like laughing at the Poison King’s offer.
He seemed to extend his hand as if for a handshake, then, along with the mask splitting in half and falling off with a thud, the Poison King’s face was revealed.
A dagger was already gripped in Hyeon-yul’s hand.
‘Ah.’
The moment he saw the Poison King’s face, the corners of Hyeon-yul’s mouth lifted.
Because he had the helmet, he could smile even bigger and brighter.
‘So I did see him.’
He finally confirmed just how well-connected Shin Dae-ho was.
That face, he remembered it clearly.
He didn't know if it was a side effect of poison, but how could he easily forget the sight of boils swelling on the face?
The Poison King’s expression, looking at Hyeon-yul, quickly hardened.
He became savage, as if he would kill Hyeon-yul right away.
“I was curious about what kind of face was beyond that, so I committed a discourtesy.
By the way, why do you hide such a wonderfully villainous face?”
Hyeon-yul smiled, and the Poison King’s fist clenched.
The disappearance of the smile meant he had lost his composure.
“If you find it unpleasant, you can try it too.
If you can, that is.”
Hyeon-yul provoked the Poison King.
He had strong confidence that nothing could reach him.
“You have some insolent tricks.”
Along with the Poison King’s words, the place his hand had touched slowly melted and disappeared.
As dark red poison dripped from his hand, even the hard floor melted away instantly.
‘Such a potent poison.’
Hyeon-yul thought lightly.
Anyone without poison resistance would be busy dying just breathing here, no, even holding their breath, as it seeped through the skin.
It just wasn't him.
“What were you planning to do with the test subjects?”
Hyeon-yul brought up the tedious question.
There was no expectation he would answer.
Nevertheless, Hyeon-yul had to.
He wanted to know everything: who experimented on him, for what purpose, and who he was in the past.
Ah, seems there’s a misunderstanding.
I washed my hands of that side long ago.
No one could withstand the poison anyway.
It's no fun, right?
The Poison King’s eyes curved.
“However, you had a truck full of children, which contradicts your words, doesn't it?”
Opening the rescued truck, as expected, it was full of children asleep from drugs.
The friend Se-rin mentioned might have been there, but it wasn't the time to check.
He left them with Ji-hwan and came here.
The children were protected, and he had to capture the Poison King who kidnapped them.
“Ah, you saw that?”
The Poison King asked as if it were nothing.
“Wouldn't I have come because I saw it?”
“Because it makes money.”
The Poison King laughed loudly.
What could be so amusing?
“How about you become honest too?”
“About what?”
“They say over billions come in per child, so naturally, you have to catch and deliver them, right? Isn't that so?”
“That's why you are being captured today.
We can't let beasts roam the streets, can we?”
“It's an honor. There could be no greater compliment for me than that.”
The Poison King stood up from his seat and looked at Hyeon-yul.
He looked as if pondering how to kill that bastard.
“But it's truly regrettable.
Because the one who complimented me disappears today.”
Hyeon-yul laughed at those words.
Would the howling of a toothless beast really be scary?
The sound of something simmering was heard from below.
Viscous poison flowed like a river from the Poison King’s legs, melting the chair and sofa.
The highly toxic gas rising each time objects melted approached menacingly, but it was merely a potent smell.
The poison couldn't even melt Hyeon-yul’s shoes.
“Is it painful? Can't even speak?”
‘…What is he doing?’
Hyeon-yul narrowed his eyes.
It was an action that normally would have worked, but in Hyeon-yul’s eyes, it was merely like dancing.
To think he rose to the level of a big shot with no strength, relying solely on poison.
‘At this rate, I could become a big-shot villain too.’
Hyeon-yul scoffed.
“It's disappointing.”
No sooner had Hyeon-yul tossed out the words than he appeared in front of the Poison King.
Faint smoke swirled around Hyeon-yul’s body.
He reached out and grabbed the Poison King’s neck.
Squeeeeze.
“……?”
The Poison King couldn't handle the surging force and was pushed back to the wall.
Thump.
Quite a loud sound was heard.
“To think trash like this is a big shot.”
Along with irritation, Hyeon-yul plunged the dagger into the Poison King’s shoulder.
Liquid-like blood flowed out, melting the floor.
“……You, why aren’t you dead?”
The Poison King swallowed the rising scream and asked.
“Why wouldn't I die?”
“You… what are you?”
The Poison King wavered.
His poison could melt people.
The power to kill hundreds of people in 3 seconds with just the smell also existed.
Was that all?
This poison, seemingly coating his entire skin, was a deadly poison that caused death to anything just by touching it.
Not only did he withstand this, but he even grabbed his neck.
The sight surrounding him, dangling precariously in the air, was incredibly humiliating.
“What are you…!”
The Poison King denied reality.
Someone impervious to his poison.
How could such a person exist?
“Were you that greedy for Shin Dae-ho's power base?”
“……”
At Hyeon-yul’s words, the Poison King suddenly stopped resisting and grinned.
“…So it was you.”
“I appreciate the offer, but it seems I cannot join your company.
As I've already found employment.”
Hyeon-yul raised the corners of his mouth.
“You… made the worst choice.”
To think the place you chose after careful consideration is the Empire's dog.
“Whether it's the worst or not is for me to judge.
For now, you just need to quietly pass out.”
As Hyeon-yul tightened his grip on the neck, the Poison King grabbed Hyeon-yul’s hand.
“Do you know why the Black Eagle was created……?”
Before the Poison King could finish his sentence, Hyeon-yul drove the dagger into the back of the man's hand as if stuffing it in.
Stab!
“Where do you think you're grabbing me?
Filthily, at that.”
He was more irritated by the fact that he had touched him than by why the Black Eagle was created.
Didn't he just say with his own mouth that it was a dirty hand that had experience creating test subjects?