#28 The Ostrich with Its Head in the Sand (1)
It was an enormous bolt of lightning.
The entire world flashed white. When the light that had painted everything in stark brilliance finally faded, every electronic device nearby went dead in an instant.
The helicopter hovering in the air rocked violently side to side. Some managed emergency landings, but others plummeted to the ground.
“Aaaagh!”
Debris scattered everywhere, sending the gathered onlookers screaming in terror.
It was total chaos.
Do Chae-hee ducked to avoid the explosion. When she finally regained her senses and scanned the scene again, those bastards were already gone.
“What!”
As Do Chae-hee lifted her head and swept her eagle-sharp gaze across the area, the crowd around her erupted into noisy chatter.
“What the hell was that lightning?”
“Wasn't Beltsmets' leader a water ability user? Was it someone else?”
“Maybe!”
“But still... to summon lightning like that...”
“Doesn't that take at least a 7-star rank?”
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and everyone snapped their mouths shut with a collective gasp. Silence fell in an instant.
Do Chae-hee swallowed hard too.
“Hah.”
She'd been so fixated on the idea that Beltsmets had vanished that she hadn't considered it, but no ordinary person could summon lightning like that.
The moment an ice spear pierced the Butcher's body and his head rolled across the ground, mist billowed out.
And before the mist even cleared, that colossal lightning struck the scene.
Lightning.
Beltsmets' leader wasn't a lightning user. He definitely wielded water, right?
Han Seohyun, and that burly physical enhancer type...
Out of the three who were there, who the hell had unleashed that lightning?
Her mind reeled.
But she couldn't afford to zone out like this. Snapping back to reality, Do Chae-hee shouted into her radio.
“Secure the Butcher's body and pursue Beltsmets immediately!”
[P-Pursue them, ma'am?]
“What, you want us to just let them go? Start with a sweep of the back hills!”
[Yes, ma'am!]
She dispatched a pursuit team, but honestly, Do Chae-hee didn't expect them to actually catch Beltsmets. It was probably better if they didn't even cross paths.
The pursuit team would be nothing more than a snack to those monsters who'd just taken down the Butcher.
“And if you spot them, do not approach under any circumstances!”
Just in case, she added the warning. Then Do Chae-hee hurriedly pushed through the crowd and rushed to the scene. The air reeked of blood and something charred.
Covering her nose and mouth with her forearm, Do Chae-hee glared at the site.
Beltsmets, who had been right there moments ago, had vanished without a trace.
They were right here.
It had been two months since she'd last faced them in person—back at the auction. Just two months, but in that time, Beltsmets' status had skyrocketed to another level.
Who would've thought they'd actually take down the Butcher.
Seeing the corpse, Do Chae-hee squeezed her eyes shut. It was gruesome. Ice spears jutted from all over, the head flung far away. The lightning-scorched remains were too horrific to look at directly.
She wanted to head to the back hills and hunt down Beltsmets herself, but duty bound her to secure the scene first.
“Where's the scene cleanup team?”
[They're almost here! Traffic's backed up ahead...]
“And request cooperation from the filming crews on site—grab anything they captured. Battle footage of Beltsmets and the Butcher, whatever you've got.”
The clash between Beltsmets and the Butcher had been broadcast to the public almost live. They couldn't get too close with all the ice spears and dark-red mana flying, but even from afar, the spectacle had been dazzling entertainment.
Ice spears relentlessly slamming into the ground amid black-red demonic energy. And that final lightning strike to cap it off.
Had there ever been a fight that spread so much info about Beltsmets? They'd always hidden their full power before. This time didn't seem like their all-out either, but the fact that it was all captured on video was key.
Proper analysis of that footage could peel back the veil on Beltsmets.
Then, an ominous voice reached Do Chae-hee's ear.
“Argh! All the data's fried!”
“The footage is gone? What—mine too?!”
Do Chae-hee bolted toward the cameramen. All the footage gone?
“Who—wait, you're...”
“What do you mean the data's gone?”
“Well, that last lightning knocked out all the gear, so we had a bad feeling...”
The data storage devices had been completely wiped.
“It was like an EMP effect from the lightning.”
Makes sense—that bolt was strong enough to crash helicopters.
Analog might've survived, but those cameras went extinct ages ago. Zero chance of recovery here.
“Th-the live broadcast footage should be fine, right? Someone must've recorded it!”
Someone replied to Do Chae-hee's desperate plea.
“But the live feed was contaminated by ambient mana—quality's trash.”
“R-Really?”
Better than nothing. Do Chae-hee ordered her team to secure any live recordings.
That was their only haul that day.
The Eachbeom team deploys but lets the villains slip away. Eachbeom fails to nab the villain right in front of them. Headlines like that would flood the evening news.
The thought of the backlash weighing on her made her shoulders sag.
But she couldn't wallow.
“I have to catch them.”
Do Chae-hee barricaded herself in her office with every scrap of data she'd gathered and dove into analysis.
Beltsmets' leader had mainly handled the Butcher.
Why bring three people just to fight one mostly solo? Park Cheol-wan called it “pride,” but he'd gotten backup at key moments.
Anyway, the leader in the mask—alias “Lee Seung-jun” in Australia—had primarily used ice spears.
Everyone saw him conjure dozens and wield them freely. Water alone lacks punch, so ice spears made sense, but the summoning speed was insane.
If it's a water affinity, freezing it and shaping into spears takes time.
His spears emerged pre-frozen. How insane was his affinity to transform that fast?
Judging by mana quality and output, at least 6-star, maybe even 7-star.
8-star? No way. Only three in Korea, two active. No chance he's on their level.
Then the other two—or one person and a skeleton?
Beltsmets' brute was the face from Australia, alias “Choi Se-jin.” Difference: he'd hacked off his long hair and masked up this time.
He'd carried out the kids. Parents witnessed it—cooperation would yield sketches soon.
Do Chae-hee pegged him as the lab berserker who'd punched heads clean off.
Fists then, sword now. Probably the guild raid ringleader.
And finally.
Han Seohyun, alias “Oh Hye-seong.”
He barely appeared on scene.
Necromancer talent—raises the dead.
The skeleton freeing hostages, the beast chomping the Butcher's leg at the end.
Definitely Han Seohyun.
Do Chae-hee closed her eyes.
Who cast that attention-grabbing lightning at the climax?
The water-affinity leader?
The fist who only showed physicals?
Or...
No, not Han Seohyun.
Whoever it was, the power was 7-star level, no question.
Using it sooner could've ended the Butcher faster.
They hid their power.
Everyone thought so.
Had the strength to finish him from the start but dragged it out on purpose.
Reasons varied, but tied to rescuing the kids.
Beltsmets stalled to buy time for a clean hostage extraction.
Ridiculous.
Villains are villains.
Saving hostages was appreciated, but Beltsmets were mass murderers.
They hadn't harmed kids. Or maybe not—ten missing from the lab were still unaccounted for.
“Bastards.”
Do Chae-hee still saw Beltsmets as vile monsters.
Acting like “We're different, good villains”? Disgusting.
With that power, all they did was theft, murder, kidnapping. And that was just the known crimes.
Knock knock.
Do Chae-hee called out at the sound from outside.
“Come in.”
“Figured you'd be holed up like this.”
Park Cheol-wan entered, looking utterly drained. Probably grilled hard again today. Do Chae-hee gave a wry smile and greeted him. He flopped onto the sofa uninvited.
“So close. We could've nabbed the whole lot. Right?”
“How? All hunter support requests got shot down from above.”
“Yeah. 'Can't borrow from guilds like some corporation—ruins our government's cred.'”
“Who was coming, anyway?”
“That guy from Red Dog Guild... Jeong Hosan?”
The familiar name startled Do Chae-hee.
“Knew you'd remember. Sounded familiar to me too—checked it up. Witness in the Kang Ishin case, right?”
“Yes. And he offered help anytime for his friend's investigation before.”
“Yeah, righteous type. Speaking of, that Kang Ishin guy...”
“No clue where he's holed up.”
No signs of life at all.
“At this point, probably bounced from Korea altogether.”
“Yeah. Tch.”
She'd forgotten him amid Beltsmets obsession. Reading her face, Park Cheol-wan quickly added,
“You've got plenty of maniacs hogging your brain lately. Natural.”
“Mm.”
“Oh, right. Brass is finally taking Beltsmets seriously. Leader might have compound talents.”
“Really compound?”
“Maybe not, but if so, headache. Prep early.”
At least 6-star water, plus probable 7-star lightning.
If true, a game-changer for Korea.
But a villain?
She cursed under her breath.
To her scowling face, Park Cheol-wan asked,
“So, how long you planning to keep it secret?”
“Pardon?”
“Han Seohyun.”
Her heart dropped.
“You knew?”
“Yeah. Hoped you'd come clean, but no dice. You know it's impossible to hide him now, right?”
Skeleton in plain view. Even saving hostages, he was Beltsmets.
Do Chae-hee nodded.
And so, the Awakener Crime Division publicly issued a warrant for “Han Seohyun.”