Chapter 102 : Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Lee Eunho woke from the memory.
The surroundings returned to the dark forest, and before him stood Gen’s Ghoul, waiting.
“Did you face what you wanted?”
“…….”
At the Ghoul’s question, Lee Eunho could not answer.
What he had seen and heard within the memory was not something he could accept easily.
As if he had noticed Lee Eunho’s state, the Ghoul continued.
“If you want to get closer to the truth, come to District 11.”
“The truth? Are you saying there is more being hidden?”
“For example, the reason Director-General Baek Dojin destroyed Gangneung.”
“……!”
The reason Baek Dojin destroyed Gangneung.
“Just one thing. If you are going to face the truth, it would be better to come without the cadet uniform. Because it is ridiculous, is it not? Remaining under that man’s influence.”
With those words, the Ghoul’s body dissolved.
Just like the Ghoul Lee Eunho had encountered when he left on the Hunter Association exploration, leaving behind a sticky scream.
“P-Please! Let me out! Save me!”
“…….”
Left alone, Lee Eunho stood rigidly in place and sank into deep thought.
Absentmindedly losing track of time, he rubbed the ring on his index finger again and again.
The reason the current Director-General destroyed Gangneung.
The reason it had to be destroyed.
The reason his family had to be slaughtered so brutally.
The reason he had to be left alone….
No matter what the reason was, one thing would not change.
‘That he took the people I loved away from me.’
Lee Eunho clenched the hand wearing the ring.
An emotion he had never felt before wrapped around his entire body.
The city called Seoul, a breeding ground of lies, began to feel disgusting.
‘A world where people can slaughter countless others and still live as if nothing happened….’
Lee Eunho bit his lower lip as if he could not contain himself.
Then, at that moment, he sensed movement nearby.
Not someone trying to attack, nor someone preparing to defend, but a shadow that revealed itself as if possessed by something.
The appearance was unmistakable.
It was the Phantom Thief he had met in District 27.
‘…The Phantom Thief.’
Lee Eunho released electricity throughout his body, and the lightning struck the Phantom Thief in an instant.
An attack that even an agile awakened being could not easily evade.
In that brief instant, the Phantom Thief seemed about to do something, but the light of the lightning rendered the Phantom Thief’s sinister trick powerless, and the Phantom Thief collapsed unconscious.
Lee Eunho approached cautiously and pulled back the Phantom Thief’s hood.
A familiar face was revealed.
“Ji Seokhyeon….”
He was, like Lee Eunho, a survivor of Gangneung, and an Investigation cadet of the Special Affairs Division, Ji Seokhyeon.
Lee Eunho steadied his bewilderment and brought the hand wearing the ring to Ji Seokhyeon’s face.
When he used the Ring of Illusions like that, his vision was swallowed up once more.
But that was all.
The swallowed darkness did not show even the slightest sign of letting light seep through.
As if he could not peer into Ji Seokhyeon’s memories at all.
Lee Eunho wondered if something was interfering with his connection to Ji Seokhyeon, but he soon curled his lips into a bitter smile.
“In the end, you too… did not know anything….”
Ji Seokhyeon, the bloodline of a Gangneung notable family, someone who may have been wounded more deeply than anyone.
Suddenly, Ji Seokhyeon’s actions up to now began to look different.
Though he was a Social Care Beneficiary, the reason he had fought through countless competitors to enter Hero Prep.
The reason he moved while concealing his identity as the Phantom Thief.
And the reason he joined under the Special Affairs Division Chief, who was known to have a bad relationship with the Director-General.
“……You, too, were trying to face the truth more than anyone.”
Waking from the pitch-dark memory, Lee Eunho looked down at Ji Seokhyeon and hesitated for a moment.
But as if he had made a decision, he reached for the cloak Ji Seokhyeon was wearing.
***
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me.
Judging by the shape of the room, it was a single-person cabin on the cruise.
Soft moonlight seeped through the small window, and whenever the ship swayed, it produced an odd sensation, like sitting in a recliner.
“You are awake.”
A man’s voice came from the cabin door.
If my eyes were not deceiving me, it was School Principal Kim Shinwoo.
It seemed he had boarded a helicopter the moment he received the emergency call, just like in the original story.
There was one more guest in this cabin besides Kim Shinwoo.
Do Minyeong, sleeping face-down, pressed against my bed.
From the looks of it, she must have fallen asleep while tending to me.
I carefully pushed myself upright.
“What happened?”
“For now, you can think of it as the storm having passed. We should arrive at District 17 within the hour.”
“What about Choi Jaejin? And the Demonic Being?”
“Choi Jaejin’s corpse is being transported on this ship. It seems I will need your detailed statement. And the Demonic Being…. Did you kill the Demonic Being with your own hands?”
I shook my head at once.
Kim Shinwoo wore an expression as if he had expected that.
“Given the way the body was burned, I assumed it was Cadet Lee Eunho’s skill.”
Something about his words felt off.
Assumed meant….
“Was he not there?”
“When the instructors found the scene, they could not find anyone but you, Cadet Ji Seokhyeon.”
“Could not? W-Wait. Then where is Lee Eunho right now?”
“His whereabouts are unclear. According to the report I received, he left his smartwatch behind and disappeared.”
“…….”
It was difficult to accept.
I retraced the situation in my mind.
First, I had lost consciousness because of Lee Eunho’s lightning.
I had tried to respond, but the light of the lightning did not allow my shadow, and in the end, I took the strike head-on.
It was my mistake to reveal myself too carelessly before that, but in any case.
Somehow, Lee Eunho had known enough to defeat Demonic Being Allie.
Of course, Lee Eunho alone would not have even known Allie existed.
Demonic Being Gen must have whispered it to him from behind the scenes.
So Lee Eunho vanishing without a trace was likely an extension of that point of contact….
What bothered me was that Lee Eunho had been wearing the Ring of Illusions.
Where in the world had he obtained it?
Had he taken it after defeating Demonic Being Allie?
But in the original story, Allie had no connection to the ring….
As I thought about Lee Eunho, the Phantom Thief’s Cloak I had been wearing suddenly came to mind.
I hurriedly scanned the cabin, but I could not see anything like it.
They said the instructors found me, so Cha Yeri would not have had a chance to retrieve it separately.
Watching Kim Shinwoo’s expression, I asked carefully.
“Was there anything else unusual at the scene?”
“According to the shooting instructor’s report, there was nothing noteworthy.”
“I see….”
Kim Shinwoo was not the type to lie about a matter like this.
If anything, the moment he learned I had been the Phantom Thief, he would try to exploit that weakness.
So it meant Lee Eunho had taken the Phantom Thief’s Cloak….
“…….”
Why had this outcome been produced?
So many changes had occurred that it was hard to believe this episode’s result came from an intervention rate below ten percent.
Because of that, it was difficult to grasp the thread of the unfolding story.
How much of what I knew was fact, and how much had become distorted?
“May I ask one thing?”
“Anything.”
“The clue combination for this tactical evaluation was SIERRA PAPA. It was the military phonetic code for the abbreviation SP, and its original meaning was Start Point. In other words, the treasure’s location was the starting point. It did not move from the starting point. Therefore, the person holding the treasure at the starting point was Shooting Instructor Oh Hyeokmin…. Is that correct?”
“Yes. But I do not understand why you are suddenly saying this.”
“I only wanted to confirm whether what I believed had changed.”
“I see. Then may I ask you something as well.”
Before I could even answer, Kim Shinwoo continued.
“Where did Cadet Lee Eunho go?”
“I would like to know as well.”
“Then when you faced the Demonic Being, was it already dead?”
“Yes. Already.”
“The reason you lost consciousness?”
“……Because I was attacked.”
“By Lee Eunho?”
“Yes.”
“That is sufficient. Then I will tell Dispel that you subdued the Demonic Being.”
What?
I asked in a rush.
“Why? His whereabouts are only unclear. Even if he attacked me….”
“That is not the reason. He is suspected of having come into contact with a Demonic Being.”
“……!”
What was this, now?
“Last Tuesday, there was a missing-person case. A police officer from Dispel’s headquarters vanished.”
“Do you mean the day there was a commendation ceremony because of the exploration team incident? That day, Lee Eunho was there as Hero Prep’s representative….”
“Because you are probationary, were the details not shared with you? The last person the missing individual met that day was Cadet Lee Eunho. A few days ago, the Special Affairs Division Chief contacted me directly, saying he found the habits of a Demonic Being in the disappearance case. You may have heard of it. A Demonic Being named Gen, who freely changes the human mask he wears.”
The Special Affairs Division’s information lines had indeed mentioned the missing person from last Tuesday.
Because only a short core summary had been delivered without context, I had not considered any connection to Lee Eunho at all….
“Until now, it was only suspicion, but this incident makes it certain. Cadet Lee Eunho is involved with a Demonic Being. Otherwise, how could he have hunted the Demonic Being before you, someone with Demonic Eye?”
“Wait. If he is involved with a Demonic Being, it is strange that he would hunt one.”
“Do you truly think so?”
“…….”
I reluctantly shook my head.
It had been a slip of the tongue, spoken only to deny Lee Eunho’s actions.
Demonic Beings were not a unified faction, but entities that acted individually regardless of their kind.
Kim Shinwoo, the hero of the Great Rift, would understand that better than anyone.
If it served their needs, they were the sort to kill each other and take power.
“That is why this incident must be recorded as your achievement. Until his name is cleared completely, we cannot expose Cadet Lee Eunho’s name carelessly.”
“I understand.”
Me taking Lee Eunho’s achievement.
It felt as if our positions had been reversed.
“My business here is finished. You will need time to collect yourself, so I will take my leave.”
As Kim Shinwoo finished speaking and turned to leave the cabin, he suddenly fixed his gaze on Do Minyeong, still asleep with her face buried against my bed.
He spoke again.
“Have you still not given an answer to the condition from back then?”
By back then, he meant the time he pressed me about being of Hyun Yuyeol’s bloodline.
The time he asked me to stay by Do Minyeong’s side and watch over her.
At the time, I had postponed Kim Shinwoo’s request.
I could not guarantee how the story would unfold.
But now, with the episode having diverged by 4,999 coins, my position was different.
If the episodes became harder and harder to predict like this, Do Minyeong’s value would surely increase beyond what I could manage.
“I will accept that request, if you grant me one condition.”
“What is it?”
I shifted my gaze toward Do Minyeong and spoke lightly.
“Please let her transfer divisions.”
Originally, Do Minyeong would place first in the evaluation, and then, for reasons tied to Lee Eunho, she would transfer divisions.
But the incident had occurred before first place in the tactical evaluation was even determined, and even the slightest chance for her to transfer had vanished.
Well, with Lee Eunho’s whereabouts uncertain, what meaning was there in going to the Combat Division anyway?
But having watched her closely for an entire semester, I wanted her efforts to bear fruit.
And it was not contrary to the original story, either.
Kim Shinwoo quickly understood my intent and gave a wry smile.
Then he left a brief remark and quietly stepped out of the cabin.
“That is a nasty request.”
It was an acceptance.
***
A few days later.
The incident during the tactical evaluation left a powerful aftertaste among the cadets.
For an awakened being, there was no better material for a boast than an experience involving a Demonic Being.
But that aftertaste did not last long.
At Hero Prep, the peculiar emptiness of the semester’s end settled in.
Cadets who had devoted themselves to club activities, cadets who had clung to points, and even cadets who had tried to prove themselves to someone.
The efforts they had built over a semester became adornments for the 4th Scholastic District’s Hero Preparatory School, where the blood of countless heroes had been spilled.
So that, in the future, they could stand firm without shame as Hero Prep cadets.
Perhaps because of the end-of-semester atmosphere, the closing ceremony arrived quickly.
So today, the Friday that concluded the semester.
“Before School Principal Kim Shinwoo’s address, we will proceed with the awards ceremony for those with outstanding academic performance….”
Lee Eunho did not appear at the closing ceremony either.
[Sub-character, ‘Ji Seokhyeon,’ has reached a certain threshold of episode influence.]
[The character’s status rises to ‘Main Character.’]
“…….”