#36 Betrayal (3)
I fiddled with my mask, roughly shaping it into the face of some other young man. Just as Yuseonje had said, Team Leader Lee Hyewon was locked inside the prison cell.
—What a horrific sight.
As Ray said, she didn't look good at all. Her wounds hadn't been properly treated and were still fresh, and the blood oozing from them had soaked her clothes and face, turning everything bloodstained.
As I examined her injuries, I clicked my tongue. According to Yuseonje, Han Seohyun was the one who had beaten her into this state.
Even so, to push someone like her that far.
No, maybe I should praise him instead.
—Praise?
'Attacking someone he knew without mercy—that's impressive, right? Most people couldn't do that.'
—If you told that kid that, he'd be thrilled.
Hmm, I got the sarcasm.
I approached the iron bars and spoke to Team Leader Lee Hyewon.
"Team Leader, can you hear me?"
Just as Yuseonje had described, the Lee Hyewon inside the bars was in a state where no words could get through to her.
I clicked my tongue again as I stared at her yellow-glowing pupils.
—How did that bastard give the order from so far away?
'He pre-programmed an algorithm. "When the clear gets close, exploit Yuseonje's opening and strike."'
First, use the Tower villains to kill off all the hunters here and lower the clear chances. Taking away escape routes to crush their spirits was a bonus. And if they somehow pushed toward clearing the gate anyway, use Lee Hyewon to target Yuseonje.
It was a perfect plan.
The command implanted in Team Leader Lee Hyewon was probably "Eliminate Yuseonje".
'She'll stay like this until Yuseonje is dead.'
What made Seol Rokjin's brainwashing terrifying was that once the trigger was pulled, the person lost themselves completely until it finished executing.
They became Seol Rokjin's puppet outright.
"Let's get closer for now."
—You sure that's safe?
"She's only after Yuseonje. That makes it safer for everyone else."
If Seol Rokjin had ordered self-protection, maybe not—but he wouldn't have.
As expected, Team Leader Lee Hyewon showed no reaction even as I stepped inside the bars.
She couldn't even think of breaking out to go after Yuseonje.
Her condition was deteriorating. Even if freed from Seol Rokjin's brainwashing, many ended up as vegetables.
I'd heard main targets fared a bit better, but with the trigger pulled like this, who knew if she'd come out intact. Maybe it was already too late.
I approached her and grimaced at the sight.
Blood was still dripping steadily from wounds that hadn't clotted.
"Damn."
I pulled a potion from my pocket and sprinkled it on her injuries. Fortunately, she just stood there, unresponsive to my approach.
—You're treating her wounds even though you might have to kill her?
If I couldn't break the brainwashing, I'd have to kill her. She couldn't report what she'd seen and heard here to Seol Rokjin.
Just like I'd done before, I might have to do the same to her. But unlike back then, I had a reliable ally now.
'What do you think? Can you see it?'
—Hmm, nasty stuff. That guy's mana is wrapped around her brain like a parasite. Still... it's not impossible.
'You can remove it?'
—Yeah.
My heart pounded at that.
"For real?"
—Not easy. But possible. His hold seems weaker here.
Slowly, my mana flowed into Team Leader Lee Hyewon's body. Ray meticulously scanned her, rooting out the foreign mana Seol Rokjin had planted and burning it away.
It was delicate mana control I could never mimic. I'd thought I'd gotten pretty good at it myself, but in front of Ray, I was like a grub trying to compete with an elephant.
How much time passed as we incinerated Seol Rokjin's golden mana? Team Leader Lee Hyewon slowly opened her eyes. Her clear pupils looked at me.
"Wh-what... is this...?"
"You're awake?"
I explained everything to the disoriented Team Leader Lee Hyewon: clearing the gate, and how she'd gone berserk at that moment. She was shocked at my claim that someone had brainwashed her.
"Me? I did that? Brainwashing? Who the hell...?"
She didn't even remember? Well, Seol Rokjin's brainwashing happened in an instant. She'd probably crossed paths with him somewhere, anytime.
"No idea."
I lied smoothly. Not just Yuseonje—I had no intention of revealing Seol Rokjin's identity to Lee Hyewon either.
As I said, half-assing an enemy like him would end badly. Better if she stayed ignorant.
"So, Team Leader Lee Hyewon, it might be best if you stay 'dead' for a while."
"Pardon?"
Seol Rokjin's brainwashing had always been omnipotent so far. No cases of freeing someone unless repelled by relic-grade artifacts.
'Inside a gate' was a condition, but freeing Lee Hyewon was huge.
And I had zero plans to let that slip.
Exposing a hidden card like this was for idiots. So, best to hide her away as a "dead" person somewhere safe...
"Well, what I did was pretty bad, so..."
"Huh?"
Misunderstanding my intent, Team Leader Lee Hyewon calmly offered her neck.
"Make it quick, please."
"No! That's not what I meant!"
I flailed my arms in panic.
Slowly, I explained my plan again. Her pale face finally regained color.
"So, fake my death."
"Yes, exactly."
"But once we're out, where do I...?"
"Ah, don't worry about that."
She bowed deeply at my promise to handle everything once outside.
After hiding Team Leader Lee Hyewon in a suitable spot, I headed straight to the support team.
I couldn't kill everyone who'd seen my face, so a decent lie was in order.
"Hey there."
Lee Jae-eun greeted my hello with a startled face.
"Wh-whoa! You're awake? Huh? And a different face again."
"Not the same as before," Oh Hyo-jun noted, and I nodded.
"This is my 'real' face."
Lee Jae-eun fussed excitedly.
"You can change your face like that?"
"Is that a power too?"
I nodded. Erasing memories of Kang Ishin's face they'd already seen was tough. Especially if they knew the "murder suspect" Kang Ishin. But how many would clearly remember the face of a wanted criminal from months ago?
Yuseonje recognized me because he already knew me; these folks probably hadn't paid close attention.
Replacing that memory with another face was easy enough.
One more issue: Han Seohyun's voice. I lied about that too, effortlessly.
Like a famous soccer player, David X Beckham. A voice complex, so I kept it hidden.
They nodded as I wove in celebrity references.
And one last thing to say.
"Team Leader Lee Hyewon..."
I continued with a sorrowful tone.
I framed her as succumbing to the curse here. We tried purging the poison, but without proper healers or cure potions, she didn't make it.
The support team was shocked, but this lie landed better than any other. Proof their last glimpse of her was dire.
With the final lie done, I caught my breath.
Cover-up successful, more or less.
I layered extra lies just in case—no leaks from here. Even if, they'd spin in circles within my fabrications.
Now, time to exit the gate.
With preparations complete, standing before the escape portal, Yuseonje approached.
"Come to think of it, I never asked. What exactly is your power? And how'd you get it?"
I shrugged at Yuseonje's question.
"Just luck. Bunch of miscellaneous stuff—not worth your worry."
He was getting overly interested, but I brushed him off with a "no time" excuse.
"When can we meet again?"
I gave a vague nod to his question.
"Sure, we'll cross paths someday if we keep living."
I'd only said that much—no real intent to meet.
Yuseonje's fate, as I knew it, ended here. I'd saved him once—that was enough. No plans to clean up after that unlucky bastard anymore.
At the gate, I told Yuseonje,
"Watch your back."
No saving you again. He replied curtly to my gruff words.
"You too."
I blinked at the unexpected response.
And with that, the gate swallowed Yuseonje.
"Sheesh."
—Wasn't that guy smiling just now?
'What creepy nonsense. You saw wrong.'
A smiling Yuseonje? Scary enough for nightmares.
I turned back. Han Seohyun, who'd been hiding well, peeked out.
"Let's get out of here too."
Reporters waiting for raid news were camped at the gate entrance again today. Mostly rookies without much tenure.
"Damn, three weeks now? Why's it taking so long?"
"They won't fail, right?"
"What kinda nonsense is that?"
No one thought the Sirius raid team would fail the gate. They just questioned the unprecedented delay.
"Maybe the scenery inside's so nice they're taking their time enjoying it before clearing. Didn't someone from Mutbyeol Guild say that last time?"
As they killed time with idle chatter, the gate ahead rippled.
Reporters whipped around. Sirius hunters, long-awaited, emerged one by one.
"Woooah!"
"The raid team!"
But before proper photos, a black sandstorm engulfed the area.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Reporters who'd stuck around for the scoop screamed. When the sandstorm cleared, the gate had closed.
"W-wait!"
Like night behind storm clouds, they hurriedly switched on nearby lights.
And discovered a raid team not even a third of the entry size.
"N-no way!"
"Where's everyone else?"
"D-did the raid succeed?"
"Gate closed, so yeah! Who asks stupid questions like that?"
Chaos reigned.
Yuseonje, who should answer, spoke with an exhausted face.
"Press conference tomorrow. Step aside."
"Just one word!"
"Tomorrow. Press conference."
Seeing his pupils distort, they hurriedly backed away.