Chapter 54: Perspectives Change (2)
“…Block it! We have to stop the poison from spreading further!”
“Anyone whose filter is used up, go back and change it quickly!”
“If you feel even slightly unwell, step back and get treatment!”
Hyeon-yul wanted to cover his ears from the overwhelming noise.
Just because of poison, it was sheer pandemonium.
But the city was quiet, following the night.
Inside the magically created barriers, the bodies of people lay lined up, faintly visible.
They couldn't even cry out for help.
The city simply stopped.
Among the Black Eagles, some were shedding tears and using magic, perhaps having family members there.
Everyone strained their nerves, desperately trying to block the poison.
However, to Hyeon-yul, all of this was just noise.
The most unpleasant thing was the fact that this was just one of many locations.
‘I need to get rid of it quickly and leave.’
His senses were far more developed than others', making him inevitably sensitive to such resonant sounds.
Hyeon-yul followed Ji-hwan, and as if it wasn't just his imagination, the murmuring grew louder.
Ji-hwan felt extremely uncomfortable under the chilling gazes of the Black Eagles.
‘Just how long are they going to milk this incident that’s already over?’
Hyeon-yul seemed unfazed, but how could this be something to be unfazed about?
He revealed the insider, and caught the Poison King.
It was insane for a newbie, and insane even if he wasn't a newbie.
How many among the Black Eagles had accomplished such a feat?
“You can’t go past here.”
A Black Eagle blocked Ji-hwan’s path.
“We came to eliminate the poison. Please step aside.”
As soon as Ji-hwan spoke, an expression of disbelief immediately appeared.
“That, was it real…?”
“Do you think we’d all be joking around in this situation?”
Ji-hwan was certain he couldn't smile like usual.
You are doing that?
That exact kind of gaze poured down on him.
It was incredibly annoying.
“But I heard he’s a newbie?”
“What does that have to do with anything? Becoming a Black Eagle in the first place means his skills were acknowledged, what more needs to be confirmed?”
“That’s not it……”
“You mean you’re doubtful? Yes, I understand perfectly. Then just watch and cheer for us.”
Ji-hwan smoothly brushed it off and gently pushed the man aside.
“Let’s go, Hyung.”
Ji-hwan briefly smiled at the sight of Hyeon-yul holding the staff.
As he mentioned earlier, he already had several in his locker, things he held onto just for show.
‘Ji-hwan, focus.’
Ji-hwan stopped his thoughts, strode forward briskly, approached a magician Black Eagle, and requested.
“Please open a gap for a moment.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Don’t you know we’ll all die if we open a gap now? If you came to erase the poison, figure it out yourself!”
Ji-hwan calmly responded to the sharp reaction.
It was understandable to be scared.
He had been too.
“We’re all working this hard to protect people from that poison, right? Check the mission details now. It says we must cooperate in eliminating the poison. For that, you need to step aside for just a moment.”
“That’s exactly what’s difficult. Countless amounts of poison will flow out through a small gap.”
“I can handle that.”
Ji-hwan pointed to himself.
He could do it with magic anytime.
He could go that far.
“It’s alright.”
Hyeon-yul stepped forward, holding the staff.
“Everyone, you can stay as you are.”
“…Hyung?”
“What was just said isn’t wrong either. Poison could come out through the gap.”
The Black Eagles hadn't finished analyzing the poison yet.
Hyeon-yul held out the staff.
“I’ll eliminate it like this.”
With that one statement from Hyeon-yul, the surroundings instantly fell silent.
Is that possible?
Just as everyone harbored doubts, Hyeon-yul walked towards the poisoned area and held the staff out in front of the magic-enclosed barrier.
Simultaneously, Hyeon-yul sensed all the shadows within that barrier.
What was this foreign substance spread throughout that place?
Through the shadows, sound, smell, even taste were transmitted.
He could distinguish what the densely spread poison was.
‘Devour it.’
The sound of something rushing excitedly reached Hyeon-yul’s ears.
But it was stunningly quiet.
The poison was disappearing like this, yet no one noticed.
Immediately after all the poison vanished, Hyeon-yul moved the darkness right in front of the staff.
He knew the inside wasn't clearly visible because of the barrier.
He slowly moved the darkness and placed it in front of the staff.
He had to convey the feeling of absorption, even if it was just a facade.
Hyeon-yul exhaled the air existing within his shadow and inhaled the air inside the barrier, creating a strong gust of wind.
As everyone watched the reaction occurring inside, someone shouted.
“The poison… it’s gone!”
“……!”
“What did you say?”
Everyone turned their heads at those words.
As if by agreement, they wore expressions of disbelief.
“The poison is gone! It’s, it’s all gone!”
Hearing those words, Hyeon-yul lowered the staff.
‘I didn’t even need to worry about how to explain it.’
Hyeon-yul immediately turned around.
There were still other places left.
The faster, the better.
“I’ll go ahead……”
“We have to go together, Hyung.”
Ji-hwan grabbed Hyeon-yul.
After observing Hyeon-yul's bewildered expression, Ji-hwan opened his mouth towards the surroundings.
“Alright, everyone. Only a few needed to clean up here should remain, shouldn’t we hurry to the next location to help?”
Ji-hwan believed they would definitely respond to these words.
Hadn't Hyeon-yul shown them?
How.
In what way.
That wasn't important right now.
He had erased the most troublesome poison.
“Everyone, move aside!”
Just then, a woman shouted.
Perhaps because her voice was quite loud, people moved back, centering around her.
Just as she seemed to wave her hand, clouds rushed in.
The clouds gathered and formed the shape of a car.
“Get in!”
The woman was from Team 2.
“Team 3 members, hurry and get in!”
Perhaps worried her voice hadn't reached, she mentioned it specifically.
Ji-hwan grinned at those words.
As expected, he knew someone would act.
“Thank you!”
He quickly got in.
Ji-hwan waved at the dazed Hyeon-yul.
“Hyung, hurry up.”
“…Is it okay to get in?”
“Today, you’re the protagonist, Hyung. You did something no one else could, right?”
Regardless of Ji-hwan's words, Hyeon-yul looked around.
The gazes were still piercing.
But they had softened compared to before.
‘…How ridiculous.’
Hyeon-yul wanted to snort seeing the changed gazes.
What was this all about?
Hyeon-yul climbed in next to Ji-hwan and held the staff.
“We’re leaving right away!”
The woman sitting in the driver’s seat shouted loudly.
“Is this magic?”
“That’s right. It’s magic. I… specialize in creation!”
At Hyeon-yul’s question, the Team 2 woman gave a slight nod and moved.
He thought it would drive like a real car, but it flew, floating in the air.
Watching them disappear in an instant, the remaining Black Eagles couldn't unfreeze their expressions.
He really did it.
This easily?
All sorts of questions swirled.
What about the fact that he was a villain?
What about the claim that a villain intentionally planted him?
“……What the. They said he was such trash? Who the hell was spouting that crap?”
A man with red hair from Team 1 voiced out.
A little while ago, when word came that the Team 3 newbie was coming to eliminate the poison, countless sneers and mockery-filled remarks had emerged.
It was sickening to listen to.
He didn't understand why they'd act like that towards a fellow Black Eagle.
He supposedly caught the Poison King too, wasn't that amazing?
“Shh. Be quiet. Read the room.”
A Team 1 woman stopped the red-haired man.
“Ah, whatever. I don’t know which idiot started the rumor, but it’s really ridiculous. What kind of stupid villain helps people?”
The Team 1 man sneered heartily, then laughed loudly.
“Starting today, anyone badmouthing that Team 3 newbie is the stupid bastard.”
As the Team 1 man raised the corners of his mouth high, the Team 1 woman wearing glasses next to him shook her head.
“Do you know how crude it is to say that out loud?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t you going?”
“We have to go.”
The woman adjusted her glasses and looked disgusted at the guys who had been badmouthing the Team 3 newbie until just moments ago.
“Because I don’t want to be around trash like that.”
She turned away without hesitation.
‘…I want to do it all at once.’
Even before arriving at the third location, Hyeon-yul kept thinking.
This was a waste of time.
Knowing that, yet having to follow.
Hyeon-yul felt dissatisfied as he got out of the cloud-shaped car.
“Hyung.”
Ji-hwan, also looking serious, called Hyeon-yul.
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“I can pull the spaces together, want to give it a try?”
“…Is that possible?”
Hyeon-yul doubted his ears.
Space manipulation magic?
“Yes. I, I can manipulate space.”
Ji-hwan smiled gently.
He too had been captured as an experiment subject.
Which batch was he?
That part wasn't clear in his memory, but among those captured as experiment subjects, he was the most hopeful and lucky case.
Perhaps because of the drug administered back then, his mind had cleared, allowing him to use such magic.
He didn't know if he should be happy about this.
“However, I’ll be a bit dazed after using the magic, so don’t be surprised.”
“Understood.”
“I’m starting.”
After replying, Ji-hwan gathered his mana into one point.
Along with the mana spreading from his chest, a magic circle appeared beneath his feet.
He closed his eyes.
As mana spread throughout his body, he spread his hands, and it felt as if a map was being drawn before his blacked-out vision.
He marked points where the mana flow was strong.
When Ji-hwan opened his eyes, countless spatial coordinates were drawn.
If anyone else had seen it, they might have retched at the overwhelming information, but it was familiar to Ji-hwan.
His hands were surrounded by dense numbers, as if made of coordinates.
‘Come forth.’
As he clapped his hands, a small map appeared.
It was the range of space he could manipulate.
It included the space where he had just marked the points.
Ji-hwan grabbed and pulled the spaces as if playing with clay.
Mana drained fiercely with each movement of his hand, but Ji-hwan intertwined them like braiding single strands of hair.
He connected all the spaces, but the space visible before him didn't change.
The spaces were just connected invisibly.
Ji-hwan felt various sensations welling up and couldn't speak.
He looked at Hyeon-yul.
You can do it now.
Perhaps understanding the unspoken words, Hyeon-yul ran forward holding the staff.
It looked like he would shatter the magic barrier at any moment.
Everyone tried to grab Hyeon-yul, but he wasn't caught.
Just as he held the staff out in front of the barrier, he was exquisitely touching the barrier slightly.
The moment he stirred the darkness within the barrier, he knew that multiple spaces had merged, like the world within the shadows.
‘…Amazing.’
Hyeon-yul marveled and created wind just like before.
Then, Hyeon-yul sucked the poison from the numerous shadows.
It was quite heavy, but not impossible to consume.
It could have been confusing since the spaces were merged, but the world within the shadows was always like that.
It was a world where countless spaces were tangled.
It wasn't unfamiliar.
Hyeon-yul didn't allow even a single speck of poison.
For a brief moment, the world before his eyes was dyed black.
For an instant, it felt like a blackout, and the murmuring grew louder.
Hyeon-yul removed the staff.
It was over.
Realizing this, Ji-hwan released the magic and slumped down right there.
Hyeon-yul walked past the Black Eagles and stood in front of Ji-hwan.
“Are you alright?”
When Hyeon-yul looked at Ji-hwan, he was in a daze, as if his soul had departed.
‘It seems it wasn’t easy magic.’
Hyeon-yul stood next to Ji-hwan and looked at the other Black Eagles.
He saw their eyes widened round.
Hyeon-yul wasn't curious about what emotions they held.
He asked the Team 2 Black Eagle who had come with them earlier.
“What should I do now?”
He had never done a mission like this before.
He had eliminated the poison for now, but he didn't even know who to report to.
“……So, did you, erase it all?”
“Yes.”
“Really…?”
“You can check.”
At Hyeon-yul’s words, the Team 2 Black Eagle raised her voice.
“Someone check if the poison exists!”
Her voice still seemed booming.
Even at the Team 2 Black Eagle's words, the other Black Eagles didn't seem to understand the current situation.
Some still looked angry about his sudden appearance and actions.
“He came to erase the poison! Since the poison is erased, please check quickly!”
The Team 2 Black Eagle shouted more, then looked up at the sky.
Creating fluffy clouds, she wrote letters in the sky.
A flash of light emanated from the clouds.
Poison Gone
This way, not only the Black Eagles but also civilians would see it.
Feeling proud, the Team 2 Black Eagle beamed.
“You see? It’s not a joke, please check.”
The Team 2 Black Eagle stared intensely at the people.
Why were they so sluggish?
If her Team Leader, Do-jin, were here, he'd have a fit at how slow they were.
“……I-It’s gone!”
At that one voice, everyone fell silent, and the Team 2 Black Eagle grinned widely.
“Hold it up high!”
At her words, someone held up a tablet high so everyone could see.
Contamination level 11.
“It’s within the normal range! It’s gone!”
The Black Eagle who had shouted just moments ago spoke again, sounding overwhelmed.
Just the poison spreading raised the levels to a base of 400.
But 11 meant it was normal, excluding the basic air pollution levels.
Vzzzzzzt.
Everyone’s smartwatch vibrated.
「T-11_04-34 has returned to the normal range.」
One.
「T-11_12-44 has also returned to the normal range.」
Two.
Messages kept popping up.
The simultaneous vibrations rising in unison were quite heavy.
「T-11. All areas have returned to normal.」
And after a short pause, seeing the message that appeared again, everyone looked at each other.
Normal.
It meant the situation was over.
「White Sparrow is currently being dispatched. Everyone, please confirm casualties and return to base.」
Return to base.
This indicated the final message.
One by one, all eyes turned to Hyeon-yul.
What had he done for all the poison to be erased?
They finally understood he was from Team 3.
Various expressions flickered.
The strongest among them were confusion and curiosity.
Team 3, wasn't that the recently famous team?
Who was he?
An arm suddenly shot out, blocking the gazes directed at Hyeon-yul.
“…?”
Hyeon-yul blinked.
“Is this a spectacle? Stop staring.”
Na-yoon scowled, almost growling.
She had rushed over as soon as she saw Hyeon-yul and Ji-hwan.
“Kids, Nuna’s here.”
It was fortunate she wasn't late.
“Will that really cover him?”
Another arm popped out from above Na-yoon’s shielding hand.
“Shut up. You, wipe your sweat.”
“I just finished a mission. Why don’t you wipe yours?”
“One drop dripped down, one drop.”
“Kids, Hyung is here too.”
Shin-woo ignored Na-yoon’s words, grinned, and looked at Hyeon-yul and Ji-hwan.
He didn't know how proud he felt.
Na-yoon and Shin-woo glared fiercely, as if they’d bite if anyone came closer.
“What? It’s already over?”
The Team 1 redhead approached without hesitation despite Na-yoon and Shin-woo’s glares.
He looked at Hyeon-yul and grinned.
“I’m Team 1, Kang Hui-jun. You were awesome earlier?”
The woman who ran up immediately pressed down on Hui-jun’s head.
“I’m sorry. He doesn’t act his age and lacks tact.”
When she shook her head apologizing, the woman’s glasses slipped down.
“Ah, come on! I was just saying hi, just hi.”
Hui-jun grumbled, his head still pressed down.
He quickly pointed a finger at the woman.
“This is Chae Su-jeong. Let’s see each other often during future collaborations.”
He extended his hand.
Hyeon-yul stared blankly at the hand.
He had to be wary of friendly approaches, but in the current situation, it wasn't necessarily bad.
As Hyeon-yul stepped forward, Na-yoon and Shin-woo made way, and Su-jeong finally released her hand.
“Team 3 newbie.”
Newbie.
At those words, everyone looked at Hyeon-yul differently.
Na-yoon and Shin-woo saw those gazes and raised the corners of their mouths.
The fact that the rumored newbie saved everyone was a truth that would never change.
Look.
This is our newbie.
Na-yoon and Shin-woo felt like boasting.
“My name is Seo Hyeon-yul.”
Hyeon-yul smiled lightly.