Chapter 77: Deeply (2)
Hyeon-yul didn't get swept away by the atmosphere and quickly assessed the situation.
The stabbed area wasn't that deep.
Looking down, he saw three fingers that had pierced his glove.
It was a glove reinforced enough to be okay even if a bomb exploded.
The fact that it was pierced showed that the strength of those fingernails was immense.
‘About half a finger joint?’
It seemed to be an ability like ‘fingernails become sharp,’ but there was no smell of drugs.
How did it pierce the glove?
Even if he didn't know the reason now, the fact that it was pierced was important.
Hyeon-yul looked at the student rushing towards him and hid behind the wall.
‘Ah.’
Kwaang!
Seeing them indiscriminately hitting the wall, Hyeon-yul finally understood everything.
‘They were trying to use the students to kill Black Eagle.’
Students.
In other words, they were targets to be protected.
With students taken hostage now, who would think of them as villains as a matter of course?
They seemed to think he would let his guard down because of that.
It was a very good method.
If it hadn't been for that ominous feeling, he might have let his guard down too.
No, if he hadn't heard the sound of the wind, he might have already exposed his back.
Because they were students, the parts he could touch were also limited.
How was this different from fighting with his hands tied?
“Should we just break the wall?”
The student was laughing.
Kkalkkalkkal.
The laughter didn't stop.
“Should we?”
“Let’s do it!”
“Yeah, great! Let’s do it!”
“Let’s break it. Let’s smash it. We’re breaking it!”
They seemed to be filled with madness.
Was it brainwashing?
But something was different.
It wasn't drugs, nor was it power.
If it was none of those, then what on earth was this?
The emotion dwelling in their eyes was very intense.
It was like vengefulness.
Hyeon-yul watched them mercilessly strike the wall and, for now, moved towards where Ji-hwan was.
It was something he hadn't experienced before.
Normally, he would just take them all into the darkness, but now he was wearing the Black Eagle uniform.
Hyeon-yul quietly appeared next to Ji-hwan.
Blood dripped.
Hyeon-yul took off his glove and immediately took out a syringe and injected himself.
This wouldn't stop the bleeding immediately, but it was better than doing nothing.
“There are no students. There are only villains there.”
“…….”
Ji-hwan froze, looking at Hyeon-yul’s hand.
“I don’t know if I should call it brainwashing. Something, it’s clear they’re reacting to a specific word. It’s strange.”
“…Bro, Brother.”
“Yes.”
“Are you… okay? What, what is all this about?”
Hyeon-yul’s palm was strange.
“I was stabbed by a student. Looking at this part……”
“Manager!”
Ji-hwan called the White Sparrows.
Hyeon-yul immediately spoke, seeing Ji-hwan’s deathly pale face.
“I’m fine.”
“…You’re not fine.”
Ji-hwan desperately suppressed his rising voice.
―Everyone, there’s something you need to hear. It’s about Mr. Hyeon-yul’s physical condition.
When Hyeon-yul was having his theory class, Hae-ryeon had gathered everyone and brought up the topic.
―They say that due to the side effects of the experiment, his blood doesn’t clot well, so even small wounds are dangerous. So, if Mr. Hyeon-yul bleeds, I want you to immediately remove him from the mission.
Did this make any sense?
Ji-hwan had thought so even back then.
If one underwent an experiment, blood transfusions were essential.
They would surely change the body to heal wounds well, so the fact that blood didn't stop was quite contradictory.
Hyeon-yul had many scars on his body.
He didn't even know how much they had messed him up.
“I’ve administered first aid.”
Hyeon-yul looked at his own palm and slightly furrowed his eyebrows.
“That’s not what’s important, Brother. Blood is still dripping.”
Ji-hwan hastily took out medicine from the first aid kit he received from White Sparrow, applied it, and quickly wrapped a bandage.
“It’s always like this.”
Hyeon-yul answered nonchalantly.
The bleeding wouldn't stop until the wound was completely healed.
His wounds didn't heal persistently.
They just healed all at once randomly, so he himself didn't know when that time was.
It was easier to assume that most urgent wounds would heal almost completely within a day.
“Brother. There’s no such thing as ‘always’.”
“This isn’t important right now……”
“It is important! It’s very important!”
Ji-hwan’s voice finally rose.
He even put force into his eyes.
“Brother. Your body is more important. Nothing can be exchanged for your life, Brother. So, step away from the mission. Manager, Please take Brother to the Nest.”
Hyeon-yul’s expression quickly hardened.
Mission exclusion.
It was a phrase he hated to hear more than anything.
How was it different from being told he was useless?
“I can’t do that.”
“Brother! The blood is still flowing, I tell you!”
It hadn't been long since he wrapped it, but the entire bandage was stained red.
He was worried he might go into shock at this rate.
“This is not a problem at all. Doing this itself is a waste of time. I clearly stated earlier that my body has no problems carrying out the mission.”
“That’s not it, Brother. I’m trying to protect and defend you.”
“I don’t need it.”
Hyeon-yul looked at Ji-hwan coldly.
Once excluded, it became very easy from the second time onwards.
He couldn't tolerate that.
“I will increase speed to resolve the mission.”
At Hyeon-yul’s firm words, Ji-hwan felt like a long sigh would escape.
Why was he so on edge about being told to take care of his body?
No matter what he said, those were not eyes that would quit the mission.
Ji-hwan, wondering what to do, let out his dissatisfaction.
“…Brother, you’re stubborn.”
“Am I?”
“It’s not like that, it’s just that you are.”
“While we’re bickering like this, the internal situation will be changing. There’s a very high possibility that all those judged as hostages have become villains.”
“Brother. If you proceed with the mission like this, Teacher Jeong-min will scold you.”
“…He probably will.”
Hyeon-yul answered hesitantly.
His palm was pierced.
Blood was still flowing.
Jeong-min might hit his own forehead upon seeing this.
“That may be so, but the mission must continue. This is why I am here.”
To earn his salary and enjoy what he currently had, he had to prove how useful he was.
Being excluded from a mission because of just this one hand was like announcing he was useless, wasn't it?
“Isn’t everyone here for that reason?”
Despite his appeal, Ji-hwan’s expression remained stiff.
What on earth was he imagining?
Hyeon-yul couldn't read Ji-hwan’s thoughts.
He had no choice but to remove the bandage.
Seeing the blood flow with his own eyes, the wrinkles on Ji-hwan’s brow deepened.
Hyeon-yul took out his own first aid kit.
He familiarly applied a large bandage and then wrapped it with a new bandage.
“This is my dedicated bandage. Do you see? The blood no longer seeps through.”
Hyeon-yul extended his bandaged hand and waved it around.
If it was long, 15 minutes, this much blood wouldn't seep out.
“Now, have you calmed down?”
Hyeon-yul, in turn, asked Ji-hwan.
It was a big wound for him, but not for an ordinary person.
He should recognize it as a wound that would heal if he went to the hospital.
‘……Ah, the team leader must have told him.’
Hyeon-yul finally grasped the situation and looked around.
Everyone had strange expressions.
It looked very unfamiliar to him, so it was difficult to recognize what kind of expression it was.
“I will explain the situation inside again.”
What Hyeon-yul could do now was to help them grasp the unfolding situation.
“Just as I was trying to escape after releasing the students I thought were hostages, one student stabbed my palm.”
“……By any chance, did you not perceive it?”
A White Sparrow asked cautiously.
The opponent was a student.
Abilities usually matured in adulthood, so they were relatively weaker than adults.
Even if exceptions existed, that man was Black Eagle, so he couldn't help but have doubts.
“That’s correct. No drugs were used, nor did any power act upon them. They just suddenly changed. It was a situation where anyone could have let their guard down, like the way they approached smiling and stabbed.”
“Brainwashing?”
Ji-hwan’s expression was still not good.
But it was a story he had to hear, so he felt complicated emotions.
“I don’t know. It felt different from ordinary brainwashing. Vengefulness. I saw that emotion in the eyes of those students.”
“Vengefulness…?”
Ji-hwan wondered what all this meant.
Why would they harbor vengefulness towards Black Eagle?
“The important thing is that the students are no longer hostages. They can turn and attack at any time. However, it is also true that they are hostile to the faction that took the students hostage.”
At Hyeon-yul’s words, the police and White Sparrow were aghast.
What kind of strange relationship was this?
“To summarize this further, the students and Black Eagle are in a hostile relationship. Those villains and the students are also in a hostile relationship. The villains are also in a hostile relationship with Black Eagle.”
Students Vs Black Eagle.
Villains Vs Students.
Villains Vs Black Eagle.
A strange three-way battle had erupted.
Hyeon-yul looked at Ji-hwan.
“Villains can kill students as hostages at any time. But Black Eagle must save the students. At the same time, it’s a situation where they can be attacked by students.”
“…This is tricky, isn’t it?”
Ji-hwan barely managed to speak.
They had to save the students, but they could be attacked by the students.
“In this case, should we consider the students who attacked Black Eagle as villains?”
Hyeon-yul mentioned the most important thing.
Considering they had attacked Black Eagle, the students could no longer be protected.
“It’s too early to say for sure yet. So, killing them is not an option.”
Ji-hwan quickly assessed the situation and came to a conclusion.
“Understood. First, I will retrieve the bombs the students have and then deal with the villains.”
Hyeon-yul also answered quickly.
The priority hadn't changed.
However, the order had changed.
“Let’s go in together, Brother.”
Ji-hwan thought speed was important.
For that, they needed close cooperation, not acting like before.
“Alright. First, it seems we need to subdue the students on the 1st floor. Is there a way?”
Putting students in his darkness was dangerous.
Or should he just knock them out at once?
“Don’t worry, Brother. Just follow me.”
Ji-hwan smiled as if showing off and led Hyeon-yul away.
As they disappeared, the White Sparrows looked at each other.
Black Eagle and White Sparrow exist for missions.
Hyeon-yul’s remarks a moment ago strangely tickled their hearts.
Because of what White Sparrow had done, their relationship with Team 3 couldn't be good, but to say such things despite that was like an admission, wasn't it?
The way they looked at Team 3 was changing.
Ji-hwan opened the door, and Hyeon-yul entered.
As soon as the door closed, the door on the wall disappeared.
The place Ji-hwan had connected that door to was the floor.
“Is your mana okay?”
“…….”
“Mr. Ye Ji-hwan?”
“……Yes?”
Ji-hwan, who had been spacing out, was startled and opened his mouth.
“Mana, is it okay?”
“It’s okay. Thanks for worrying.”
Ji-hwan smiled brightly.
This much was fine.
“I heard it’s very painful when mana runs out.”
“It hurts, but I have a lot of mana. What I’m most afraid of isn’t mana running out, but the sudden blankness that comes. It shows a gap in an instant, right?”
“Is it only when you use magic?”
“That’s when it happens most often.”
“…Ah, just a moment.”
Hyeon-yul checked the time and then took out a syringe and medicine.
“Take your time, Brother.”
Ji-hwan spread his palm and showed the 3D map.
With his other hand, he drew a square line around the place where the students were gathered.
“I knew this would happen, so I learned this kind of magic. No one will be able to get out.”
Ji-hwan didn't stop there.
That space was now his space.
He took away the air.
People often fainted when oxygen suddenly became scarce.
Hyeon-yul, while injecting himself in the stomach, heard the sound of someone collapsing.
That sound was unusual.
“That’s right. It’s me, Brother.”
Ji-hwan’s smile widened.
“I didn’t lay a finger on them. This way, it’ll be okay even if complaints come from the parents’ side.”
“Do complaints come?”
“They do. We’re civil servants, after all. We have to at least pretend to listen to the citizens’ voices.”
“That’s not it, do complaints come even in a situation like this?”
He had saved students who were about to die.
To put it differently, he had saved their children’s lives.
“They do come. But they don’t come to us.”
“Why is that?”
“It was a very long time ago, but there was a Black Eagle who committed suicide after receiving harsh complaints and reprimands from citizens. So they don’t come to us.”
“So it’s literally just pretending?”
“That’s right. Anyway, I don’t like people who complain. They don’t complain about obvious things. It’s something they could think about just once before complaining, but I don’t know why they don’t do it. Their own child isn’t the only one, right?”
“Isn’t that usually called being a ‘jinsang’? I’ve seen it in videos.”
“Our side is even worse. They really try to kill us, as if we’re some kind of enemy. For example, if a company run by a villain disappears, they blame us for it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I sometimes feel that way too. The one who should really be blamed is the villain, isn’t it?”
Ji-hwan chuckled in agreement with Hyeon-yul’s words.
Wasn't it because they were easy targets, and the villains were scary?
“Then, I’ll go to the 2nd floor and retrieve the bombs first.”
“I’ll wait for a moment.”
Ji-hwan decided to stay on the 1st floor until Hyeon-yul had marked everything.
If they were caught loitering together on the 2nd floor for no reason, it would be a big problem, wouldn't it?
“Ah, I talked with the villain earlier, but they said they’re not villains. Looking at the data the managers gave, anyone would see them as villains, though.”
"Hyeon-yul mulled over those words for a moment, but no answer came."
“I’ll look into it.”
Hyeon-yul said that and seeped into the wall.
‘…How is he going to look into it?’
Ji-hwan thought, looking at the wall where Hyeon-yul had disappeared.
2nd floor.
Hyeon-yul confirmed that students were also carrying bombs.
He wondered what was different from the 1st floor.
As soon as he informed Ji-hwan of the villain’s location, he felt magic being used.
A formula was written on the wall, and suddenly a door opened.
“Everyone, freeze.”
Ji-hwan stole the heat from the villains Hyeon-yul had marked.
Saaaaa.
A chill started from the villains’ feet and quickly spread throughout their bodies.
As he watched them harden, he was smiling when he saw one of them rushing towards him.
“……!”
Before Ji-hwan used his magic, a loud sound was heard.
Kwaang!
Hyeon-yul grabbed the villain by the scruff of his neck and slammed him against the wall.
“I didn’t mark him on purpose.”
“Yes?”
“Shouldn’t we ask? We needed one.”
Hyeon-yul replied, then lifted the man and slammed his head against the wall again.
Kwang!
After grabbing the scruff of the neck of the man who had slid down, Hyeon-yul asked simply.
“Why do you claim you’re not a villain? Speak simply.”
“…!”
Ji-hwan’s eyes widened.