Chapter 25
Chapter 25
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Why Isn't It Working?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“…Would you maybe like to come back later and get an IV drip before you go?”
Maeve glanced at him in surprise at the sudden fatigue etched on Seonal’s face.
His complexion was so poor that she wondered if he shouldn’t get some kind of treatment.
“More than that, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
Seonal hadn’t forgotten.
Even during the twin vampire incident, there had been a werewolf swallowed by the power of enchantment.
Given that Toon and this case were connected, he couldn’t rule out the possibility of another link.
Unwilling to let this chance slip by, he made the request to Maeve.
Praying desperately that it wouldn’t be the case.
“Please, tell me. I’ll help.”
Maeve steeled her gaze.
* * *
After reporting to Edinal, Seonal headed to find the detective in charge of the case upon hearing that an officer had arrived at the hospital.
He could ask the police now, but it’d be better to get more precise info straight from the lead.
“…It’s the Complaints Department.”
When they tried to block him, Seonal flashed his ID badge hanging from his neck.
The police had requested collaboration first, and since he had investigative authority, he could get information from them anytime.
“Who’s the perp?”
At Seonal’s question, the lead glanced at the police under his command before turning back.
The rather menacing aura made the lead lick his lips and hesitate for a moment.
Seonal snorted at the cops’ wary expressions.
A strange tension hung in the air.
“You’re not telling me to back off here, are you?”
He’d handed them the spoon on a platter—hell, the whole damn table—and now this? It was infuriating.
“I have no intention of stepping back.”
He was already looking at overtime, and now they wanted him to let the perp slip away too?
The angrier he got thinking about it, the more tempted he was to flip the table if they tried to shove him out.
“W-Well…”
“Ha Seonal.”
Seonal shook his ID big and bold for the lead to see properly.
“From the Special Division for Resolving Interspecies Complaints, the ones you requested cooperation from.”
He emphasized ‘cooperation’ hard, laying bare his irritation at the situation.
“So, Mr. Ha Seonal, it’s not about pulling you from the case.”
The lead glanced around, scratching his head.
His four centaur legs fidgeted in tandem.
“It’s dangerous with the enchantment power involved, isn’t it? Not that we don’t trust the Complaints Division, but given the circumstances…”
Seonal quietly brushed back his hair as he eyed the lead trying to dissuade him.
It was ridiculous.
Who was worrying about whom here?
“Better now?”
His red earring gleamed into view.
The message was simple.
He was a mage.
A mage more useful than eight or ten skilled non-humans.
The lead shut his mouth upon realizing he was a mage, then gave Seonal a slightly odd look.
The ‘Why’s a mage working as a civil servant?’ vibe made Seonal weary all over again.
What business was it of theirs what he did?
“So, who is it?”
Seonal just wanted the perp’s info.
The hospital might still hold traces of the perp’s enchantment power, and even if not, all non-humans registered their powers at birth, making backtracking possible.
Like fingerprinting.
“No, let’s talk on the way.”
No point dragging it out here.
They could cover this intel en route to the perp.
Before the lead could speak, Seonal nailed it down.
“What ride we taking? Something smooth if possible, please.”
Seonal twisted his lips into a smirk at the lead and the cops.
Annoying bastards.
Not just mooching a bite—they were trying to steal the whole feast?
* * *
‘…What kinda luck is this?’
Seonal grumbled.
He glanced down.
From the sixth floor, it was dizzyingly high.
But Seonal leaned casually on the railing, peering below.
The comfy police cruiser ride hadn’t quelled his irritation; he’d chewed out the lead detective the whole way.
Once they knew he was a mage, the lead’s attitude flipped—cooperating fully, taking all his gripes, even spilling his own worries. Seonal had wanted to slap the shameless prick.
In short, the lead had come equipped against enchantment but was fretting if it’d hold, so Seonal had agreed to go in first in exchange for solid backup and discreet intel later.
‘Such a pain. Stay home quietly—would it kill ya?’
Per the cops, the perp wasn’t home.
Nor anywhere nearby.
‘No. Probably lurking close to home.’
Familiar spots were best for hiding. With enchantment, turning anywhere into a lair was easy.
[Search.]
One eye flushed red.
He pulled a vial of the perp’s blood from his bag. Infusing a touch of his mana, the enchantment within quivered to life.
With the mana clear now, Seonal traced runes in the air, casting.
[Mark.]
Marking the mana turned the world grayscale, like before.
Then Seonal prepared to become the hound.
[Track the marked mana.]
A refined spell for pinpoint pursuit.
Seonal gazed leisurely at the mana trail snaking away.
Sunset always mesmerized. If only it were quitting time.
‘Damn it.’
The trail stopped, igniting fury in Seonal’s drowsy eyes.
He knew where the perp was.
Seonal stepped onto the railing.
[Become the wind.]
The spell he finger-wrote clung to his shoes, and he bolted along the rail.
His movements were truly windlike—fluid, swift.
Leaping building to building in single strides, he dove downward toward the target.
Thud.
From seven stories up, just a faint sound and a whisper of breeze.
Seonal became a ferocious hound on the hunt, weaving through crowds into the perp’s building.
A few phone-wielding onlookers noted his sleek, elegant form, but Seonal pulsed a signal, jamming camera apps nearby for a moment.
Last thing he needed was getting filmed.
He halted at the mana trail’s end.
‘Wow. Must be eating good, huh? While someone’s out here with a gut ache.’
Seonal fiddled with his tousled hair, peering through the shop window.
No one around—had she taken over the whole block? No guards either.
Just lounging like a king, savoring luxury meals brought by thralls, pampered to the hilt.
Seonal’s stomach twisted again.
It burned him up.
Slam!
Seonal shoved the door open hard. The wafting enchantment hit like molten summer candy—cloyingly sweet.
Without prep, brains would’ve melted.
‘Crazy. Totally insane.’
He’d seen beastly acts from enchantment before, but this was the most virulent yet.
Dozens grinned dopily like junkies, and amid them, she—the queen—locked eyes with him.
Disgust flashed in hers instantly.
“Who’s that? Who let ’em in?”
“Hello.”
Seonal glared at the succubus behind this mess, stone-faced.
Who was pissed now?
Throb.
Whose fault was the gut pain?
“No, wait—actually, I like the look. Sleek. My type. …Ha. I’m done for. Few drinks and my memory’s shot already. I called you over, right?”
“Ha Seonal, from the Interspecies Complaints Resolution Special Division.”
Her face hardened at his bold intro.
“I must’ve misheard. You, a civil servant? No way, right?”
She shot him a warning glare, face sharpening as she stared. The scent thickened, but Seonal didn’t flinch.
Her eyes widened.
“You heard right. Our investigation into recent enchantment-related incidents confirmed your power as the source. We’re here in cooperation with the police.”
Seonal pulled out and activated the meter as he spoke.
Beep.
Beeep.
451.
Nine times the legal limit of under 50.
At this level, she could puppet a whole apartment building.
“As you see, your enchantment exceeds regs, so cooperate, Ms. Nella.”
The plea rang with lethal menace from Seonal.
Killing intent surged like a desert storm—no one could speak.
“Hmm. I really hate folks who don’t listen, though.”
But Nella just laughed lightly.
She swirled her glass, then poured it on the floor.
The puddle drew them all like elixir, tongues lapping desperately. More pathetic than jackals over scraps—Seonal’s stomach churned.
“Wanna be my dog? I’ll treat you special.”
Seonal messaged the lead instead.
[Here, but still dangerous. Come arrest on my signal.]
Nella smirked, dropping her glass.
Texting right in front of her? Cute.
“Ms. Nella.”
“Yeees?”
She beamed.
“Ms. Nella. I know the sensation from using your power right now feels impossibly good. But you’re in an abnormal state. Your mana’s out of control. Whether you’re holding it back on purpose or not, we’ll help in any case.”
“Aw, you’re worried about me?”
Her smile lit the room like sunshine—but not for Seonal.
She was a bomber gripping everyone’s lives.
“You know the horrific fallout when enchantment breaks. For them. For you.”
Unlike the enthralled, Nella was aware. She could judge right and wrong at least minimally—meaning she’d taken them all hostage deliberately.
One ridiculous ‘die’ from her, and they’d drop like flies.
For that damned love.
Why he had to tread so carefully.
“Good point.”
Her voice was velvet.
“But why should I care?”
She smiled angelically, as if it were obvious.
Her breezy words nearly shook Seonal hard.
He wanted to wreck the place.
‘Hold it.’
He had to.
No matter how much they’d spent, sold homes, ditched families, quit jobs for her—she didn’t care. But he did.
Seonal gripped his ID tight.
“…Please consider their sacrifices and stop here.”
“Sacrifices? No. That’s love.”
Utter conviction laced her words. She grinned wide.
Her twisted logic drew a smile from Seonal too.
Mana pulsed.
“Everyone. Will you listen to me?”
She clapped lightly.
The shop erupted in frenzy.
“Anything you want!”
“Please, just say it! I’ll give everything! Anything!”
“Smile this way, lovely Nella…! Just smile!”
Clowns in madness, fools handing over all for her grin and words.
‘Figures things never go smooth.’
Seonal cooled his rage, going lax as he prepped the next move.
See?
Fingers dancing over his clothes, he inscribed spells, ignoring Nella’s smug smile.
[Barrier.]
[Repel.]
Ancient words from before humans stirred deeper power.
At mana cost, but necessary now.
[Those swayed by the marked mana.]
Tracking her mana via mark, Seonal wove the engraving.
Crackle.
Lightning burst from his hand, wide and vanishing.
He’d bind all the marked mana.
The broad range made his hand tremble after ages, circulation racing, chest throbbing hard.
Not one or two—dozens.
Others would call it suicidal, but he could do it.
Oblivious, Nella casually pointed at him.
“I don’t like that guy.”
Her word sent the pack lunging like knights for their queen.