Chapter 99: Cosmetics Made of Blood (3)
A brief silence flowed.
To think that the situation unfolding beneath their feet was also happening elsewhere.
“Be specific. Are there hostages too?”
Shin-woo asked Na-yoon.
“Half of the buildings I saw had hostages, and half didn’t seem to have any. If dozens of people are scattered in each building, then the part Hyeon-yul suspected about the numbers being low is resolved.”
“If the bombs aren’t dealt with, we won’t be able to call the White Sparrows.”
“…Damn it.”
Shin-woo’s face contorted.
As Hyeon-yul said, they couldn't call the White Sparrows.
It could potentially become a detonator for the buildings.
‘How do we….’
Shin-woo, who was continuing his thoughts, stopped and ran towards the staggering Ji-hwan.
As if the magic had been dispelled, Ji-hwan looked dazed, his eyes losing focus.
‘Oh dear.’
Shin-woo carefully helped Ji-hwan sit down.
“May I speak?”
Hyeon-yul looked at Ji-hwan and then calmly asked.
He had anticipated this much when he heard the internal numbers were low.
“You can say anything you want. Do as much as you want.”
Na-yoon nodded.
Any opinion was needed right now.
When Hyeon-yul turned his head to look at Shin-woo, he gave an awkward smile and pointed to his own head.
“Honestly, my head’s a bit frozen right now. The incident escalated more than I thought.”
“The incident may seem complicated, but it’s actually simple. In fact, we can inflict even greater despair on them.”
If they were going to wipe out the villains anyway, it was right to thoroughly mock them and then wipe them out.
“Simple…?”
Shin-woo asked with doubt.
How could this be simple?
“We just need to remove the bombs and rescue the hostages. Fortunately, we don’t have to do the most troublesome task of picking out the villains who have infiltrated the building.”
The task of distinguishing between civilians and villains was the hardest.
What couldn't they do when they were announcing themselves as villains like that?
“Removing bombs and rescuing hostages. Hyeon-yul, you’re not saying you’ll do all of that, are you? Right?”
Na-yoon asked, wondering if it was true.
What would it mean for Hyeon-yul to say those words in this situation?
It meant Hyeon-yul would take on everything.
“First, I will take care of removing the bombs. If I can rescue the hostages, I will try.”
“That itself is dangerous, Hyeon-yul.”
“No. It’s not dangerous. It’ll be over sooner than you think.”
Hyeon-yul slightly raised his head.
It was night.
Today was also the last day before the weekend.
Now that darkness had fallen, he could do more than usual.
“More than anything, we have to do it now.”
As Hyeon-yul put force into his voice, Na-yoon hesitated.
That wasn't wrong.
“The other villains might be waiting for a signal from here to destroy the buildings simultaneously right now.”
“…So you’re saying those guys, without knowing anything, were planning to blow up all the other buildings except this one the moment we approached?”
Shin-woo asked if he understood correctly.
“Yes. That’s correct.”
When Hyeon-yul answered, Shin-woo let out a long sigh.
‘…We’ve always done it like this, but I didn’t know this position would hold us back.’
Since he couldn't see beyond the villains directly beneath his feet, and since there was no information from the White Sparrows related to other buildings, he hadn't even considered other possibilities.
Shin-woo couldn't easily relax his hardened expression.
“It’s not strange that you didn’t notice the bombs.”
“But……”
“They will blow up this building too. The bombs are likely for that purpose. Dividing them above and below the 5th floor is to allow them to escape from either direction while detonating the bombs.”
Hyeon-yul continued his explanation.
It was a strategy to sacrifice one side, either above or below, to escape and detonate.
That's what he saw.
“…Ha. I knew those guys weren’t in their right minds, but this is way over the line. They’re doing it even though they themselves might die? Aren’t they truly crazy?”
Na-yoon clenched her clothes in frustration.
The fact that she couldn't properly see the situation with her own eyes felt like it was tightening the noose around her neck even more.
“They are crazy.”
Hyeon-yul answered calmly.
If they asked for a reason, he had nothing to say.
That place was where they ordered new recruits to take their colleagues' lives from the very beginning of their employment.
How should he explain it?
“Anyway, Hyeon-yul. You’re saying you’ll take on the most dangerous part, right?”
Na-yoon asked with a hardened expression, just like Shin-woo.
“No. Don’t we have to rescue the hostages? We also have to capture the villains scattered throughout that building. I said it was a small number, but it’s dozens.”
Killing all of them wasn't impossible.
He had done it many times before, but Hyeon-yul didn't bother to say it out loud.
“How much worse would those other buildings be? We don’t even know how many hostages are mixed in other buildings. I’m merely preventing the worst.”
Hyeon-yul said his last words while looking at Shin-woo.
Honestly, if he just knew the villains' locations with Ji-hwan's power, he could kill them all at once, no matter how many there were.
Shin-woo wouldn't kill them, but the ability to capture enemies regardless of number was itself a tremendous power.
It was a waste not to use it.
‘The biggest variable is the bombs.’
If Na-yoon could see them with her naked eye, it meant there were quite a lot.
Even if they called for reinforcements, they would have to deal with that much.
‘Without disarming the bombs, the mission will only be half successful.’
He couldn't allow that.
Seeing them already burning their last embers, it once again signaled that this was the end of that villain faction.
It was a faction created by one of those bastards who had made him like this.
Shouldn't they somehow taste despair?
“I will do what I can. Then, I will remove the bombs below and depart.”
“Wait a moment, Hyeon-yul.”
Shin-woo reached out to Hyeon-yul, and he reflexively stepped back.
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Is this okay? Is this really okay?”
No matter how many times he thought about it, Hyeon-yul’s side was dangerous.
That fact bothered Shin-woo.
“Isn’t the biggest burden on Ye Ji-hwan-ssi, not me?”
There was a lot that had to be done with magic.
He might have already had to do more.
“Ah, Sister Chu Na-yoon.”
“Yes.”
“Can you see inside those buildings right now?”
“I can see except for the parts covered by blinds. I’ll see better with a scope.”
Na-yoon put down the bag she was carrying on her back.
“What if the lights are turned on?”
“Perfect.”
The corners of Na-yoon’s lips turned up.
Hyeon-yul, having heard the answer, looked at Shin-woo.
“Big Brother Baek Shin-woo, what do you need?”
“I just need to know the location. The power I have requires more distance control than you think. If it’s a distance I can see with my eyes, I can roughly estimate, but that distance is too far, isn’t it? I can’t borrow her eyes either.”
Hearing the two of them speak, Ji-hwan’s presence felt even more crucial.
They had to lessen the burden in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Hyeon-yul approached Ji-hwan and lightly shook his shoulder.
“Ye Ji-hwan-ssi. Please come to your senses.”
“……Yes, yes!”
Ji-hwan belatedly blinked his eyes.
“I understand well that widening the range of the space is burdensome. In that case, can you limit the space magic to the size of a bullet?”
At Hyeon-yul’s question, Ji-hwan blinked his eyes for a moment.
“Are you asking if I can reduce my magic to the size of a bullet?”
“Yes.”
“I can reduce it.”
“Is the burden less?”
“Much less.”
“In that case, can you change that power into magic like an explosion?”
Ji-hwan’s magic was related to space.
Wouldn't he also be able to make something explode in that space?
Ji-hwan thought for a moment, and then his eyes widened.
He understood why Hyeon-yul was saying this.
“You mean to make the bullet my space itself, right? Since moving space with magic increases the burden, it’s a method of spreading my magic there by borrowing Noona’s power.”
The more Ji-hwan spoke, the more his eyes sparkled.
He hadn't thought of this method.
“That’s right. But the prerequisite for that is Big Brother Baek Shin-woo’s power.”
“Me…?”
Shin-woo pointed at himself with surprised eyes.
“You must bind as many as you can. Personally, I think killing them is better. Fear is best used appropriately.”
It was truly an assault itself.
All hell would break loose.
Hyeon-yul, watching Shin-woo swallow and slightly move his head, continued.
“But Big Brother Baek Shin-woo won’t do it. That’s why we need to at least tie their feet with fear.”
“What… kind of fear would that be?”
Shin-woo asked cautiously.
“The fear that I could end up like that too. People, by nature, feel fear when they are directly endangered.”
“Ah, that fear?”
“Yes. Big Brother Baek Shin-woo, I will share the location with you. I will also open the windows so that Sister Chu Na-yoon’s actions aren’t detected.”
“If you do that, I’d be very grateful, you know? The sound of windows breaking is really loud.”
Na-yoon said while assembling her gun.
“And there’s another fear.”
“What kind of fear would that be?”
Shin-woo looked at Hyeon-yul again and asked.
“Even if an attack occurs, they won’t be able to contact one place after another. What greater fear could there be than this?”
Hyeon-yul, having finished speaking, smiled slightly.
The fear that one's turn was gradually approaching was greater than the fear of direct contact.
“……You have the air of an expert, don’t you?”
Ji-hwan said, licking his lips.
It seemed like this wasn't the first or second time he had done something like this.
“First, I will deal with the bombs below.”
Hyeon-yul melted into the darkness and descended.
After he disappeared, the three of them looked at each other.
They felt an inexplicable sense of reassurance.
“Learning something new, this is quite joyful, isn’t it?”
Ji-hwan spoke first.
He had shown them a way to lessen the burden.
“This must be why you need to bring in good people.”
Shin-woo operated his smartwatch and brought up a map.
Since their locations were shared among team members, he prepared to check immediately.
“Let’s get ready.”
Na-yoon, holding her gun, adjusted the scope’s position and then handed a bullet to Ji-hwan.
“Yes!”
Ji-hwan answered forcefully and gripped the bullet.
He immediately used magic.
Hyeon-yul, who had entered below, descended without hesitation.
By the time he reached the 6th floor, Hyeon-yul encountered those guarding the place.
They weren't in the hallway but were in a room, ready to rush out at any moment.
Their faces, resigned to a final death, were sincere no matter how you looked at them.
‘Are they getting paid for this work?’
Rather than immediate derision, such thoughts swirled in his mind.
If he were still a villain, he could have been in that position.
Feeling that his circumstances had changed, he went down to the 5th floor.
He hid in the wall and searched for the hostages.
Usually, several guards would be stationed in front to protect the hostages, but there were only two.
‘Definitely bait.’
Whether they came down from the rooftop or up from the 1st floor, if they encountered villains, a battle was inevitable.
They would be tired, so it was natural for their rational judgment to be clouded.
At that moment, if they saw a room that seemed to contain hostages, they would instinctively search it.
What emotion would they want them to feel when they had dealt with them and opened the door?
‘Despair, I suppose.’
Villains would want Black Eagle to die suffering eternally.
Hyeon-yul passed through the wall and entered the room.
Not only were their hands and feet bound, but their eyes and mouths were also covered.
Bombs were on their bodies and the walls, and traps were meticulously prepared in front of the door.
‘The setup is quite good.’
The moment they opened the door to rescue the hostages, they would end up killing everyone.
It was perfect for instilling despair in Black Eagle.
Hyeon-yul slightly extended his hand.
Claws emerged from their shadows.
He swallowed the bombs as if chewing meat and turned around.
As Hyeon-yul’s gaze turned to the wall, a black wave crashed against it, leaving nothing in its wake.
Hyeon-yul wrote something on his phone and then removed the cloth covering the eyes of the woman closest to him.
「This is Black Eagle.」
Black Eagle.
The moment she saw those words, tears welled up in the woman’s eyes.
Saved.
Such an emotion surged.
As an emotion she had rarely experienced in her life was about to approach, Hyeon-yul slightly pulled his neck back and looked at his phone.
His thumb moved urgently.
「I will untie you, so I would appreciate it if you remained quiet.」
「If you understand, please nod your head.」
The woman nodded her head.
Hyeon-yul cut the ropes binding their hands and feet and the gag in their mouths with darkness, then approached another person.
He similarly removed the cloth covering their eyes and then took out his phone.
Even though he wrote the same words, the reactions were mostly similar.
Saved.
Thank goodness.
I can live.
Such numerous emotions were visible.
These were emotions he couldn't even face when he was a villain.
Hyeon-yul didn't fully accept their emotions.
It was only because of this uniform that they saw him that way.
He merely did what he had to do silently.
「Please wait quietly for a moment.」
「Do not move.」
After untying about half of them, Hyeon-yul informed them.
He thought the rest could untie themselves.
「I will return.」
Hyeon-yul left those words and then quietly disappeared.
He climbed up the wall.
“The bombs have been cleared……”
As a gun was aimed at Hyeon-yul, he raised both hands.
Na-yoon quickly lowered her gun and asked urgently.
“A-are you okay?”
“You didn’t shoot.”
Since he was so close, it was questionable whether he could have dodged properly if she had shot.
Hyeon-yul continued to speak.
“Anyway, to continue, the bombs have been cleared. I removed the bindings on the hostages’ hands, feet, eyes, and mouths, and then ordered them to wait. When I go over there, I will turn on the lights. Please take that as a signal.”
“……That’s incredibly fast, isn’t it?”
Shin-woo was impressed by Hyeon-yul’s machine-like delivery.
It really hadn't taken long at all.
“Thank you.”
As Hyeon-yul bowed, Shin-woo smiled lightly.
“Brother. I’ll open a path for you over there.”
Ji-hwan pointed to a distant place.
“Yes, please.”
Hyeon-yul readily complied.
Ji-hwan could be faster than him.
As a door was created on the floor, Hyeon-yul opened it and said nonchalantly.
“I’m going.”
He entered the door without hesitation.