51
Chapter 51
Parang trudged over and flopped down onto a chair.
Crossing her arms and legs while flashing a creepy smirk she picked up from somewhere, the signature Yoo Parang style intimidation was complete.
The Government bitch in front of her was maintaining a steadfast expression that clearly stated she would not speak a single word.
The way she glared at Parang was like looking at a lifelong mortal enemy.
Without even batting an eye, Parang unfolded the Document given to her by Cylo.
The Document was printed on both sides; the front contained the personal information of the Government bitch, and the back listed her Skill details, excluding her Personal Skill.
Parang opened it with exaggerated flair, holding it so the Government bitch could read the other side while she slowly began to read it herself.
It was a gesture meant to show that the composure, the information, and the control of the situation were all on her side.
Sure enough, upon seeing the list of Skills printed on the reverse side of the personal information Parang was reading, the expression of the Government bitch contorted slightly.
Setting the mood just like this.
Parang focused and began to read through the Document.
Hwang Dahye, thirty-five years old. Birthplace and current residence, both South Korea.
East Asia Department under the World Government... yada yada.
Parang roughly skimmed over the rest. It was one of the flaws of those World Government bastards.
Being a government agency that had to manage the entire World, they had an insane number of affiliated organizations and departments.
Because of that, their job titles were also ridiculously long.
Parang selectively picked out only the core details from that lengthy title.
Summary. In charge of the dirty work the Government committed on the Korean Peninsula.
On the Document, she was listed as the Manager of Special Operations Division 3 or whatever.
It was obvious. Was she not the bitch who tried to capture and torture Parang?
It was painfully clear what kind of work the Special Operations Department did with a bitch like her as its Manager.
Thinking about it put her in a bad mood. It meant that luring Parang in to torture her in the mountains was considered a special operation.
Parang continued to read down the information.
Both parents died in an accident ten years ago, no siblings.
Currently single. She had a fiance, but he died after getting caught up in a murder case five years ago...
She skipped the rest since she had no particular interest in things like her home address or contact number.
Next up, the Skill list.
[Shockwave(S)], [Thunderbolt(S)], [Lone Struggle(S)], [Spark Pulse(A)]...
As expected, she was an electric-type ability user. The only Skill worth noting was Lone Struggle.
It was a simple Skill that significantly boosted her stats if there were no allies nearby.
Was this the reason she dragged Parang into the Torture Room all by herself?
Parang finished reading through the Skill information and discreetly observed Hwang Dahye's eyes.
The stubborn will of Resistance evident on her face seemed to have slightly subsided.
It was probably because she saw her own personal information printed on the back while Parang was reading her Skill details.
Parang tossed the Document onto the desk and crossed her arms again. Then, she tapped her foot.
Judging by the look in her eyes, she didn't seem possessed by anything.
Brainwashing, Hypnosis, Charm... things like that.
In the Hunter industry, being inflicted with such a Status Effect was referred to as being bewitched.
And since this bewitchment was like a disease, knowing exactly what possessed them was incredibly important.
Because if you didn't know what possessed them, there was no other answer than completely destroying and wiping out their mind.
Usually, it could be figured out through behavior, but she wasn't showing any strange actions. Nothing wrong with her eyes, either.
Next was her reaction to a stimulus.
This time, Parang quickly scribbled a drawing with a Pencil on a piece of Paper prepared for notes.
A Painter in her past life, Parang still consistently drew as a hobby in her current one. A rough yet splendid drawing quickly appeared.
What Parang drew was a Monster Fish called Crino. It was a Monster Fish resulting from a Mutation of a species called the Feather Star.
She waved it gently back and forth in front of Hwang Dahye.
"Well, do you feel anything?"
"I will not speak."
Her reason was still intact. She wasn't possessed by the Crino either.
Then that meant she had pulled that bullshit while completely sober-minded.
If that was the case, she had no choice but to dig deeper.
"...Do you have anything to say to me?"
"Do I look like I would."
"You should. You tried to kidnap and torture an innocent person."
"An innocent person? Hah..."
The Government bitch, Hwang Dahye, laughed dejectedly. As if she found it utterly absurd.
However, Parang found it just as ridiculous.
"Stop wasting time and speak. Why do you hold such a deep grudge against me, and what is your goal? Spit it all out. Everything you know."
"You were just happily looking at my personal information, and you still haven't figured it out? Or are you pretending not to know on purpose?"
Fuck, she really didn't know.
Profanities filled with resentment rose to Parang's throat before she swallowed them back down.
If it were up to her, she wanted to smash the Evidence right into this bitch's head immediately.
It was a shame it wasn't fully repaired yet.
Fortunately, the Government bitch in front of her didn't seem to have any intention of inflicting eternal Pain on Parang, as she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"Are you planning to deceive me until the very end? Was the Document you were looking at earlier just for show? You Serial Killer bitch."
And for a moment, Parang's mind went completely blank.
A Serial Killer? Excuse me? Me? I am?
"What kind of bullshit is that, a Serial Killer?"
"Are you going to pretend you don't know until the end?! Fine, if you're going to be like that, I'll carve it into your brain word by word with my own mouth. The Serial Killer who appeared three years ago. Murdered fifteen people in two weeks and fled. Missing ever since."
Parang felt dizzy. What the hell was this crazy bitch talking about, no, hah.
"And yet you brazenly reappear in the World like that, and do what?! Internet broadcasting?! Stopping the dives?! You dog-like bitch!! The heavens truly are indifferent. The chance to finally catch and kill you with my own hands had finally come!!!!"
The Government bitch suddenly screamed, seemingly overwhelmed by her own emotions while speaking to herself.
Parang barely held onto her fading consciousness and tried to organize the situation.
So, this crazy bitch in front of her currently thought Parang was the Serial Killer who appeared five years ago, and given the circumstances, her fiance who died three years ago was killed by that Serial Killer.
It was pure, one hundred percent bullshit. Parang knew that Serial Killer too. Because they appeared in the Original Work.
The part about murdering fifteen people over two weeks was true. However, they were caught at the scene of the crime by the Hunter Han Siwoo and instantly executed.
In the first place, was it even possible for a murderer to escape in a World like this? There were eyes and ears all over the World.
Parang was someone who had even watched that Serial Killer stand trial on the news.
And there was only one conclusion Parang could come to.
There was no way this crazy bitch wouldn't know that the culprit who murdered her fiance had been caught red-handed.
There was only one remaining possibility.
'Her memories have been manipulated.'
It was highly unlikely that something at the bottom of the sea had performed such a detailed and human-like Brainwashing to convince her that Yoo Parang was the culprit of the murder case from three years ago.
So the culprit was highly likely, no, absolutely a Human.
Parang let out a deep sigh and stepped outside. It was to take a short break.
Upon going outside, a man from Cylo dressed in a suit approached and asked.
"How does it look?"
"Her memories were manipulated. It's not the work of a Monster Fish, but by a person."
"Memory manipulation by a Human... Ah, if that's the case, I have a rough idea."
"What is it?"
"The Department Head of the superior department to the Special Operations Department is a mental-type ability user. It would be most reasonable to assume she was subjected to his Brainwashing."
"Who is that?"
If it was a mental-type ability user, Parang also needed to know that information.
"It is a person named Zhao Yang."
Zhao Yang. Zhao Yang... It sounded familiar.
"By any chance, what is his Personal Skill?"
"From what we've gathered, it is a Skill called Obscuring the Heavens with a Palm. We don't know what the penalty is yet, but its ability greatly boosts the modifiers for Brainwashing-based Mental Attacks."
'Zhao Yang of Obscuring the Heavens with a Palm!!'
Only then did Parang recall the figure named Zhao Yang.
A person Parang already knew, and someone who could absolutely never hold a high-ranking position in the World Government.
Zhao Yang of Obscuring the Heavens with a Palm was a Chinese Cult Leader who appeared in the Original Work. The one killed by Han Siwoo.
Just like how Parang called Hwang Dahye a Government bitch, she had forgotten his name because he was constantly referred to as the Cult Leader, a Cult, and so on throughout the story.
The scene where he made around thirty thousand people kneel in the Main Auditorium and cast a mass Brainwashing on them was quite memorable.
"As Hunter Yoo Parang said, he lived as a Cult Leader until two years ago. After that, he suddenly disappeared, and unexpectedly showed up about a year ago to start working on the World Government's side."
Two years ago. That coincided with the exact time Hunter Han Siwoo defeated Zhao in the Original Work.
In the Original Work, he met his end by falling victim to a Mental Attack in reverse, completely turning into a crippled wreck. It seemed that wasn't the case here.
Having already confirmed that the Original Work had changed once before, Parang silently nodded her head.
Fortunately, the Original Work clearly explained how to break Zhao's Brainwashing.
Regardless of the type, if a Mental Attack stronger than the Brainwashing Zhao cast was inflicted, the two would neatly cancel each other out and the Brainwashing would be broken.
Usually, if Brainwashings overlapped, the brain wouldn't be able to handle it and the mind would completely collapse, but Zhao's Brainwashing was an exception.
For a method to dispel a Brainwashing-type Status Effect, this was extremely simple.
Parang relayed the information she knew about Zhao, including this, to Cylo.
The Cylo Researcher pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"However, Zhao's Brainwashing is incredibly strong. There is no way he would cast a weak Brainwashing on someone like the Manager of the Special Ops Dept. It will take quite a lot of time for our side to dispel it as well."
That was definitely true, to the extent that only the members of the Slayers succeeded in dispelling the Brainwashing in the story.
The Slayers from two years ago were already at the point where they stood tall among the absolute strongest in the World.
Therefore, Parang made a decision.
Putting Hwang Dahye into a Submersible with a glass window and sending her into the sea.
"Absolutely do not watch or observe."
"Ah, understood."
Completely blocking Cylo from witnessing it. For Parang's sake, and for theirs as well.
And then.
"Kraken."
Just barely at the edge of the glass window, the Kraken's Tentacle revealed itself.
The Government bitch fainted right then and there, and two hours later, she was able to converse with Parang with her Brainwashing completely broken.