Chapter 40. Bombs are Not Art (2)
As the cool gaze poured onto Yu-jong, he swallowed dryly.
“Th-That is.”
“You just need to answer.”
If the villain who came to take over the Poison King's place after his death was indeed Asan, he intended to show them.
How great the price was for making him work on his day off.
Didn't he decide to eliminate villains and join the Black Eagle anyway?
If one big shot was erased, the Black Eagle would benefit too.
All that would fill the void left by the vanished big shots were small fry.
He thought that as the small fry, who didn't know how to fight while hiding, slashed at each other, the Black Eagle would eventually notice.
“…Couldn't you give me just a little more time?”
Yu-jong asked hesitantly.
“Will you find it then?”
“Yes…! Yes! Of course.”
Yu-jong nodded his head several times.
“Also find out where the Poison King obtained my information.”
“Wouldn't that be Shin Dae-ho's… doing?”
“It could be.”
After killing Shin Dae-ho, he erased all information related to himself.
But there might have been people who had information related to him from before.
“I’m asking you to tell me who leaked my information. I’ll kill that guy too, so don’t worry about retaliation.”
“I wasn’t… worried.”
Yu-jong mumbled.
Who would worry about whom?
Right now, his own neck was more worrisome.
“Are you washing your hands of this industry?”
“Of course! However, it will… just take some time.”
“I can wait, but the one giving you time now isn’t me, but the Black Eagle, isn’t it?”
As Hyeon-yul smiled coolly, Yu-jong bit his lip.
There was no way the Black Eagles wouldn't raid this place.
“I told you in advance, didn’t I? Didn’t you handle it yourself? By any chance, did you get caught stupidly?”
At Hyeon-yul’s tossed words, Yu-jong lowered his gaze and shook his head.
“I saved you. Be grateful.”
Although the mad dog spouted nonsense, it was true.
If he hadn't told him about the Black Eagle, he would have already been dragged away by those guys.
The money received under the pretext of being an information broker was in other borrowed-name accounts, and this entertainment company was run relatively cleanly.
Nevertheless, he would still be under the Black Eagle's gaze, yet that mad dog was coming and going freely as if it were his own house.
‘Catch that guy instead of me. Catch that bastard, you eagle bastards!’
Yu-jong suppressed his boiling heart and raised his head.
His eyes met Hyeon-yul’s.
Seeing Hyeon-yul’s eyes, which showed no light whatsoever, gave him goosebumps.
“Why haven’t you released the people who were drugged and forced to sign contracts?”
“……Yes?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t know about that either?”
The tricks used to lure people were all similar.
There was a villain right in front of him, why wouldn't he think of that?
“Don’t get caught later unnecessarily, release them cleanly. If you don’t want to, may I destroy this place?”
“N-N-No. I’ll release them! I will!”
“Then, work hard. I’ll visit soon.”
Hyeon-yul opened the window and jumped out.
Yu-jong belatedly looked out the window, but Hyeon-yul was gone.
‘……Crazy bastard.’
Yu-jong gripped his hair.
He thought he had finally escaped that guy, but he couldn't escape.
‘Die! Just die!’
Yu-jong internally cursed words he couldn't dare utter aloud.
There was nothing he could do.
The moment he found out he was even slightly involved, he would kill him in the most painful way.
‘Eagle, take him away, I tell you? Please…!’
All that was left now was to beg the hateful, hated Black Eagle.
***
“Hello……”
“Mr. Hyeon-yul!”
Hae-ryeon said urgently.
“……Yes.”
Hyeon-yul stepped back.
He didn't know why she was in such a hurry.
“You came just in time!”
“…Yes?”
“We need to go disarm a bomb right now.”
“Did a bomber appear?”
The mole incident started when he stole a White Sparrow's phone.
The owner of the phone died that same day, and he thought the cause was magic, but it turned out to be the work of a bomber.
Meaning, the bomber knew how to make magic bombs too.
“That’s right. It’s a magic bomb… can you disarm this too?”
At Hae-ryeon’s expression, which seemed to be barely suppressing the urge to rush him, Hyeon-yul answered without hesitation.
“I can disarm it. Magic bombs are also not significantly different internally from conventional bombs.”
Bombs were a villain's virtue.
Hyeon-yul confirmed this point once again.
He wondered where he could use this skill after learning it, but to think he would use it like this.
He had to be useful.
That was the only way to prove his worth.
“Should I depart now?”
“There will be other team members there, but just remove the bomb and come back. Just the bomb.”
“Understood.”
“Even if that team asks you to do anything, don’t do it, just remove the bomb.”
Not content with emphasizing it again, Hae-ryeon mentioned the same words once more.
‘It doesn’t seem like a difficult task……’
Why was she emphasizing it so much?
Hyeon-yul looked blankly at Hae-ryeon.
Since becoming a Black Eagle, there hadn't been any difficult tasks at all.
There was no need to stay awake for days, unable to eat properly, staking out to kill the leader of a rival villain group, nor was there the danger of being ambushed and killed due to leaked information.
That being said, it couldn't be said that the Black Eagle was lax compared to villains.
It was just slightly easier because all the miscellaneous tasks were thrown to the White Sparrows, as if focused solely on defeating villains.
“If they happen to pick a fight, ignore them and tell me.”
Hae-ryeon took a step closer, and Hyeon-yul hesitated.
‘…I shouldn’t kill them, right?’
Killing was cleaner than ignoring.
The part about having to go around a very simple task in a roundabout way was always something he couldn't get used to.
“You don’t have to be scared. No matter what happens, I will protect Mr. Hyeon-yul.”
At Hae-ryeon’s tossed words, Hyeon-yul suddenly didn't ignore the thought crossing his mind.
“…Was it you, Team Leader?”
“What was?”
“I know the Empire wouldn’t welcome me.”
‘…Ah. So that’s why he asked that earlier.’
Hae-ryeon recalled the words Hyeon-yul had uttered moments ago.
―Does that protect me too?
If nothing else, she knew Hyeon-yul always spoke of himself as if talking about someone else.
It was the same back then too.
Hyeon-yul was definitely a Black Eagle too, yet he spoke excluding only himself.
‘I thought he was adapting well, but perhaps not yet?’
Hae-ryeon felt impatient.
The line Hyeon-yul drew seemed particularly thick today.
She wondered what she should do about that line.
In her view, Hyeon-yul seemed to stand in the middle, between villains and the Black Eagle.
If things went slightly wrong, wouldn't he return to being a villain anytime?
If the blade Hyeon-yul harbored turned towards the Black Eagle, they might face the worst enemy.
She didn't want such an ending.
Now that she finally got to know the person Seo Hyeon-yul was.
“Mr. Hyeon-yul. I was the one who accepted Mr. Hyeon-yul. I was the one who asked you to come to our team. So whatever anyone says, I’m on Mr. Hyeon-yul’s side.”
Hae-ryeon stated the facts so Hyeon-yul could feel reassured.
She could say it several times.
Everyone had parts that couldn't be understood, and Hyeon-yul just had a bit more of those.
“Even if, Mr. Hyeon-yul, you cease to be a Black Eagle, I intend to do so.”
Hae-ryeon smiled faintly, and Hyeon-yul’s eyes slowly widened.
He hadn't expected such an answer, nor did he anticipate it.
It was an extremely unfamiliar word.
Extremely.
“And Mr. Hyeon-yul. It seems there’s a misunderstanding, but when accepting Mr. Hyeon-yul, the higher-ups didn’t say anything.”
“Why is that?”
“I also thought they might take issue with this part. I prepared for it too. But the answer was ‘It doesn’t matter’ and ‘Welcome the new Black Eagle’.”
‘The Empire… said that?’
Hyeon-yul didn't readily accept those words.
If the Empire truly welcomed experimental subjects gladly, Jeong-min wouldn't have been harassed for performance at his original hospital, and he himself wouldn't have wandered the night streets looking for a doctor to help his collapsing body.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“Not at all. Ask if you have any questions. I’ll answer as much as I can.”
“Yes. Then I will be on standby.”
Hyeon-yul bowed politely and moved to board the eagle.
‘As expected… we should have a welcome party, right? That would make him feel reassured, right?’
If they had a welcome party, he might feel a sense of belonging.
Hae-ryeon contemplated, and contemplated again.
***
‘……I can’t get used to this.’
Hyeon-yul quickly swallowed medicine due to the queasy feeling.
The eagle was fine in all aspects, but the queasiness alone made him want to just dive directly into the darkness.
After taking several long breaths, he examined the mission.
「Incident Start
―해당 Location is an art university. A student reported ‘hearing a sound somewhere’, and upon investigation by the school's internal security guard, it was confirmed to be a bomb.
Incident Progress
―Black Eagle affiliated Bomb Disposal Team was dispatched for bomb disposal.
―After bomb disposal, a new magic bomb appeared along with the words ‘You disarmed this?’.
―The range of the new magic bomb became the entire university building.
―A condition emerged where it explodes if anyone inside comes out.
―A condition also emerged where it explodes if impact is applied from outside to inside.
―Police affiliated Bomb Disposal Team was dispatched, but bomb disposal failed.
Points to Note
―Not all students in the building have evacuated outside. Student safety comes first.
―Negative thoughts about being unable to disarm the bomb must not reach the students.
―The building must not be touched from outside to inside.
―The bomb must not explode.」
***
‘…So, this is a university, right?’
Hyeon-yul looked at the building as he moved his feet.
No wonder it seemed big.
Looking only at the exterior walls of the building, he couldn't find anything particularly strange.
Magic wasn't flowing either.
‘Will it really explode if touched?’
Hyeon-yul felt curious.
―A condition emerged where it explodes if anyone inside comes out.
―A condition also emerged where it explodes if impact is applied from outside to inside.
These two conditions.
Were they really true?
The opponent was a villain.
‘The case of coming out from inside, let’s assume that’s true, but what about the impact, to what extent?’
From the moment his eyes ceased to be human eyes, he could see through magic.
He also knew the real faces of the Black Eagles disguised by magic.
Hyeon-yul stealthily moved the darkness and poked into the building.
Quiet.
Even shaking it with a bit more force, it remained quiet.
‘……Aha. Clever wordplay.’
He clearly understood what had happened.
The mouth might speak lies, but magic couldn't speak lies.
It meant that the impact applied from outside to inside was only possible if it was literally at the level of ‘impact’.
‘Regardless of the extent of this impact, the Black Eagle cannot verify it.’
The Black Eagle, who prioritized human lives above all else, would think the act of verifying itself was wrong.
Hyeon-yul didn't stop walking and covered one eye.
‘Then, there’s no harm in checking the location of the magic bomb.’
The location of the magic bomb was already shared and floated on the map, but it might not be perfect.
Above all, he didn't want to provide any pretext to those who were always trying to bite him.
Even though the mole incident was over, the gazes towards him were still not favorable.
They were just keeping their mouths shut, afraid of disciplinary action.
Hyeon-yul looked at the map and moved his eyes.
The magic bomb didn't look special.
Embedding magic into commonly used objects turned them into bombs.
He didn't know how the formula was embedded since he couldn't use magic, but he vaguely heard that making magic bombs made creating 100 times more conventional bombs easier.
Accordingly, only a few people could make them.
Identifying the locations and examining them revealed numerous items like flower pots, picture frames, desks, chairs, etc.
Just looking at them, they were easily recognizable because, unlike other things, they were filled with strange patterns.
‘…As expected, there were more.’
Hyeon-yul discovered other bombs not on the map.
There were 5 more in this building alone.
Since the university had multiple areas, there was a possibility they existed elsewhere too.
How many more could there be?
This time, several conditions existed.
He shouldn't do anything foolish inside.
‘Will they really believe my words that there are more magic bombs?’
Hyeon-yul didn't hold expectations.
Wouldn't it be better to just quietly handle the rest?
The method to disarm magic bombs was simpler than conventional bombs.
Deleting the part of the formula interpreted as ‘explodes’ was enough.
The problem, he heard, was that even magicians couldn't see that formula.
‘Even if they could see it, did they say it was confusing due to things like handwriting…….’
Whatever, it didn't matter.
Before Hyeon-yul brought out the darkness, he turned his head.
Someone was standing there.
“I thought there might be a rat. If you’ve arrived, you should at least acknowledge it.”
A man belonging to Team 5 spoke, sneering.
The Team 5 leader was a mole.
The team members inevitably became suspects too, and after a thorough investigation, it was officially announced they weren't moles.
Seeing that the Black Eagle he killed wasn't from Team 5, he thought they used their heads well.
―From now on, Team 5 will take on dangerous missions. This was done voluntarily, and they participated knowing it was to regain trust.
He heard it from Hae-ryeon, but just thought it was a foolish act.
Seeing the haggard appearance of that man who hadn't slept properly for days, that thought still hadn't changed.
“There was no instruction to acknowledge someone who treats me like a rat.”
Hyeon-yul spoke, looking blankly at the man.
They themselves made the foolish choice to volunteer for work, giving up their leave, so why were they looking at him disagreeably?
The man snorted.
“If my words were harsh because the mission isn’t going as planned, I apologize.”
“Yes. You seem to have suffered greatly proving you weren’t a mole.”
Hyeon-yul opened his mouth without a single change in expression.
The corners of the man’s mouth trembled violently.
He barely swallowed his anger.
“Why are you angry? I merely said you seem to have suffered greatly. Or is there something bothering your conscience?”
Hyeon-yul smiled lightly.
That guy was the one who struck first.