“Oh, just one thing to be careful about. If anyone other than the summoner uses it, something terrible will happen. It’s the same if there are any other Awakened Ones around during the conversation.”
‘… Does that mean I have to use it alone? I can’t possibly be included in the other Awakened Ones, right?’
I stared blankly at the item called ‘Whistle’.
The flow of magical power was incredibly complicated, which definitely meant it was not an ordinary item.
What’s puzzling is, when on earth did they record Yeon-hee’s aura to create something like this?
Creating an item that only applies to a specific person isn’t easy, after all.
This meant they had a craftsman who could make such an item in just a day.
‘But are they really expecting us to use this? Based on what?’
What a ridiculous suggestion.
However, the fact that a power holder with foresight did something like this without thinking is something that can’t be shrugged off.
‘… Should I just go into my space and smash it?’
Somehow, I had a gut feeling that nothing bad would happen to Yeon-hee if I did anything inside that space.
‘… For now, I’ll just put it away.’
I signaled to Yeon-hee that I would store the item in my space by pointing at it and promptly shoved it away.
“… What the hell are you guys up to?”
Kang Yeon-su asked the goblin with a serious tone, showing no hint of lightness. After all, they revealed themselves because of Yeon-hee. I bet even Yeon-su didn’t see that coming.
“We do not hide our goals. We merely do what we must as guardians of humanity.”
“You disgusting bastards! You’re enjoying your nice meals and all the fun while good people are suffering and dying? You’re real pieces of work. Soon enough, I’ll skin you alive and feed you to the kobolds!”
“Cough, cough – Just as I heard, your spirit is impressive. I’d like to face you, who made Eom Sang-wook into a blood pudding, but it seems my time is up and I must promise to meet again.”
As the Old Man in Goblin Mask finished speaking, his eyes suddenly sparkled, and then he dispersed into smoke.
The reason we were listening to that old man’s nonsense wasn’t for another reason.
“When I landed, the main body had already vanished. It seems to be an illusion type…”
Yeon-su’s expression wasn’t great.
Illusion types are the nemesis of physical enhancement types.
For Yeon-su, they’re an opponent that would be burdensome to face.
‘If they’d sent that old man instead of the bulky guy from yesterday, it would’ve been much easier to catch Yeon-su, right? Hm… Was there something else going on yesterday?’
Such questions came to mind, but it was hard to grasp the exact motives.
The sudden appearance and disappearance of the old man made us sigh heavily for a while.
Especially Yeon-su seemed to be deep in thought.
Yeon-hee, seeing her sister like that, hesitantly spoke up.
“Th-This is really chaotic, isn’t it, Unnie…”
“Right. Things have gotten bizarre all of a sudden.”
Yeon-su patted Yeon-hee’s head a few times before continuing.
“Whatever they say, in the end, they’re just fulfilling their own greed. This nonsense about having a great mission for humanity? It’s just drivel. If that’s the case, I’ll be damned.”
“Exactly. But what should we do with that item…”
“Oh, I’m keeping it safe. It’d be better if Il-wol holds onto it. And that old man said it should only be used when there are no people around, but there’s definitely a way to circumvent that. Just because there can’t be any Awakened Ones nearby doesn’t mean there aren’t distance limitations.”
“Okay…”
“If you’re curious, don’t go and use it when I’m not around. Those guys have a style of hitting from behind. From what I’ve experienced, it’s often the case. They might have set up something undetectable like yesterday.”
“Um… I won’t use it at all.”
With that firm warning, Yeon-hee glanced at the factory where we were and then greeted Yeon-su.
Kang Yeon-su exchanged greetings with Yeon-hee and before joining the support team, glanced back at me and threw a wink.
Though she seemed to be just joking, a chill ran down my spine, and I walked away without looking back.
Not long after, we returned to the city.
A while later, I received a text from Kang Yeon-su that the victims were safely transported to the treatment room and were being taken care of.
“Hehe – Thank goodness.”
Upon receiving the text, Yeon-hee broke into a bright smile, expressing her joy with her whole being.
Feeling a bit lighter in heart, we headed straight to Helen’s shop.
Helen, unable to hide her astonishment at clearing the request in just half a day, broke down and sobbed on the floor at hearing that Song Jin-kyeong and Ji-woo were safe.
‘Even if she pretends to be strong, she’s surprisingly fragile.’
“In a few days, we should be able to visit them in the hospital. It seems we only have to wait a little longer.”
“Really, thank you, Yeon-hee…”
Helen took a moment to gather her emotions, then gave Yeon-hee an address and said.
“I didn’t expect you to bring all three of them back alive. Just how much have your skills improved during this time?”
“W-Well, I was just lucky.”
“Huhuh – Is it really luck? Anyway, this address was left by someone who said they’d give a bonus if you brought them back alive. Now that the missing people are back, I wonder if it’ll be needed. Just in case, let’s go there first. They asked to meet at six.”
“Okay, got it.”
“Check your reward too. I’ve already sent all 1.5 billion.”
“Ah… Yes, yes.”
We moved directly to the neighborhood indicated by Helen, and at a nearby café, we rested until the appointed time while checking the deposited money.
“Wow… How much is this… one, two, three······.”
Yeon-hee counted the amount deposited, something she had never seen before, and continued to count several times, looking quite adorable.
This was something she could only observe now that Jin-kyeong and Ji-woo were safe.
‘In this rotten world, how long can I protect Yeon-hee…’
I began to understand a little of what parents hope for— that their children grow up bright and untainted.
After we rested enough, we moved to the address together at the time set by the requester.
The three trash bags we had thrown into the car were dragged along the ground in a large sack.
No one passing by seemed to give us a second glance, even though we looked rather abnormal.
The place we arrived at was an unremarkable, ordinary house, but the doorbell looked newly installed and unused.
Ding ─
– I’ve already received the message. Please come in.
It was a while after the doorbell rang that we heard a voice.
If a voice had color, this one felt like it would be gray; the requester’s voice gave off a chilling feeling.
As we entered and headed down to the slightly open door to the basement, we couldn’t help but be surprised.
“This is…”
A perfectly soundproofed room that disrupted even my sense of atmosphere…
‘It’s a torture chamber. There’s no way they set this up in that short a time. Those ‘do’ guys are ruining people’s lives.’
Various instruments hanging densely on the walls made it hard to understand how they intended to use them.
As we stepped into the basement, a man who had been examining the tools with his back turned let out a hearty laugh.
“I never expected you’d bring all three back alive! I was so delighted.”
He looked like nothing could bring him more joy.
Surprisingly, he didn’t show any shock at seeing my armored form; it seemed like it didn’t matter to him if I was a monster or not.
‘… I’ve seen a few people like him. It’s the laughter of someone who has lost everything.’
That smile should be called despair rather than happiness.
“I told you to stay out of that dungeon, but you still thought it a good place. I raised my youngest daughter with great care. How much could she possibly not listen to me… Hehe. Even if it meant breaking her legs, I should’ve made sure she didn’t go there. It’s all my fault.”
Struggling with a limp leg, he approached and stared intently at the faces of the three Hunters I had thrown on the floor.
His unwavering gaze felt extremely eerie, enough to make Yeon-hee shrink back involuntarily.
“T-These guys… are they for sure?”
“Yes… But, um… we rescued quite a few of the missing people, so…”
Yeon-hee cautiously asked him about it.
As the man’s tightly shut lips twitched down, he waved his hand dismissively, saying it wasn’t important.
“By the way, I just got back from the hospital after hearing the news… It’s almost miraculous, but my daughter is indeed alive…!”
However, the blood vessels around the man’s eyes bulged as he spoke about finding his daughter.
“That… my daughter… my daughter is no longer living a life worth living. Ugh…”
He let out a dry sob that wouldn’t even shed tears, before turning his gaze back towards the men.
“If you don’t mind, could you please get them to wear this?”
‘Magic shackles… How did an ordinary person obtain these?’
Well, given that murder contract work is so common these days, it wasn’t that surprising.
I readily complied with the man’s request and soon managed to shackle the three men to the iron beds placed in the basement. Unless someone came to rescue them, they would never be able to free themselves.
“Hehehe – Apparently, the families of the missing persons are all gathering today… some of them have even changed their minds about coming to find their children. On the contrary, I’m glad. Why did I even ask them to come? I could just bear it all myself… They must have been scared.”
With the man openly revealing his malice, Yeon-hee clenched my hand tighter.
“Ah – I’ve placed the money without any complaints, so please check. Hehe -”
As he spoke, the man waved his hand and effectively issued a summoning command.
Before I knew it, his hand held a nail clipper, nails, a small hammer, and what looked like some kind of electric wire. I didn’t want to know what he intended to do with them.
– Grrrrraaaahhh!!
– Gahhhhgghh-!!
We knew we couldn’t just leave right away, so we waited a moment outside. It wasn’t until we heard the horrific screams coming from inside that we finally moved.
We gently closed the door to the basement and were about to exit when we happened to run into a middle-aged couple entering the house. They flinched at the sight of me in full armor, but didn’t stop walking.
“I-Is this… the right place?”
It was vague with the subject dropped, but it was clear they were checking on something.
“It should be… the client with the surname Han…”
Yeon-hee only needed to say that much, but the middle-aged couple nodded their heads firmly with sealed lips and then stepped back onto the street.
‘The effects of job change can be felt in moments like this. They’re not that surprised to see me.’
They probably thought of me as just an odd person in armor; even when the support team called in by Kang Yeon-su came or the torturer, their reactions were completely different from before.
I turn back to the basement door to guide the couple down and, as the door opened, they briefly stood frozen at the screams echoing from below but held each other’s hands tightly and walked downward again.
Cling-
We shut the door behind us and walked away in silence.
‘What a filthy and unsettling day… I want to wash off.’
I wanted to take a real bath, not just rinse off with water flowing through skulls.
If I could wash away everything while bathing, it would be just perfect.
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