Infiltrating the Casino (3)
Ever since coming to this world, Sang-min hyung was the only guy I was close to, so we often met up, drank together, played games, and hung out.
One day, he let out a sigh, complaining that one of the bastards under him had betrayed him. I offered to help. The guy managed the casino alongside me—he was in charge of the biggest one. But he'd been siphoning off money behind his back.
We polished off all the remaining booze, and then Sang-min hyung made me an offer. What if I took over running the underworld's top casino? Of course, he'd help out too. The sudden big proposal caught me off guard.
Noticing my hesitation, Sang-min hyung explained further. With his businesses expanding so much, it was getting hard to manage everything, and he could feel his grip slipping lately. But if I—the Overmind—stepped in to manage the casino he'd been overseeing and showed my face to others, it would help a ton.
In the end, I gave in to his persuasion and took over the casino. Naturally, I wiped out every last member of that traitorous bastard's crew.
Once I had the casino under my control, I set up my workshop there. A place to kidnap the women who flowed in and use them as resources.
I wrapped up Black Tree Guild business quickly and headed to the casino. The people enjoying games all greeted me as I passed. I gave a casual wave and was about to head to my office when everything stopped.
Me included. The world turned black and white. My body wouldn't move, like it was blocked by something. But it didn't feel that intense. I could probably break free with Ability Nullification.
But I held off on using my power. Because I started sensing a presence behind me. The owner of that presence was probably the one behind this.
A woman entered my view. A bunny girl. That meant she'd gotten hired here as staff. Finally, an interesting one had shown up. I'd specifically told them to let only women with abilities into the VIP section, and now this cute little thing appears.
She examined the frozen me closely. Thanks to that, I got a good look at her too.
Oh, hime-cut, huh? A rare hime-cut with a cat-like face and monolids as the standout features. But weirdly, her lips were pursed, cheeks puffed out. Looking closer, she was holding her breath. Probably the key to activating and maintaining her ability.
The woman who'd been staring at me walked past and into my office. She glanced around, checked the entrance to my workshop, and stuck something on the floor below. I couldn't see anything, but that was probably part of her ability too.
Reaching her limit, she hurried out of the office. She gave me a quick glance on her way out. Tap, tap. Her footsteps faded, and after a bit, the world started moving again.
The noisy sounds around me returned. I entered the office as naturally as possible. Approaching the spot on the floor where she'd been, I sensed an incredibly subtle flow of mana that no one else would notice.
Using a recent ability I'd acquired to analyze mana, I figured it out—it was related to spatial teleportation.
Should I see how this plays out? I deliberately left it untouched.
First, I needed to check where she'd come from. Using Psychometry, I quickly scanned the staff in the VIP section. All the bunny girl outfits here were made from black particles, thanks to the recent influx of magical girls.
I confirmed two new hires. One was the time-stopper, and the other matched the mana I'd felt on the floor. These two had approached the casino on purpose.
Digging deeper, I realized they were looking for me.
Ah, hunting for the Overmind, huh. Taking out Magical Girl Ai and the others had been a bit hasty. Absorbing them all took time, and I wanted to avoid top-tier magical girls and hunters for now. I'd deliberately halted Overmind activities for a while, but hunters were still sniffing around.
I lounged on the sofa in my office and started monitoring them. They worked diligently. When they passed each other, their hands brushed ever so slightly—probably exchanging notes.
Time passed, and as their shift ended, they headed to the break room and stayed until the other staff left. Once it was just the two of them, they started changing.
As they stripped off the bunny suits, I attached black particles to their bodies without them noticing. Then I cloaked myself with Perception Reduction.
==
"How's it looking?"
"No one's around. Even Hunter Kwon Yong-jin must've left."
One of Min-ji's abilities let her scout around wherever she'd stuck her sticker.
"Good. Then I'm off."
I grabbed Min-ji's outstretched hand and followed the mana flow—it took us right to the spot I'd marked. A mundane office scene surrounded us. Nothing suspicious at first glance.
But the key was that door. Min-ji and I exchanged looks, nodded, and opened it.
Sure enough, stairs led underground.
"Just in case, let's set coordinates here again."
"Obviously. Already done."
"Alright, let's go in."
We descended the stairs into growing darkness. Not from lack of light—the walls, ceiling, and floor were darkening in color.
"This color... no way?"
Min-ji sensed it too.
"Yeah. Extremely similar to the Overmind."
It matched the Overmind's body color from the videos we'd seen. And there was this ominous aura we'd never felt on tape.
Thirty minutes in, the stairs finally ended.
"Ugh~ How deep did they dig this?"
I agreed with Min-ji. What were they hiding to go this far underground?
We followed the straight corridor. Soon, plants appeared—vines first, then more. But all were dyed black, not their natural colors.
"Jae-hee, look over there."
Min-ji pointed to a massive door. Strangely, it was open. Like it was inviting us in. It felt like stepping into the Overmind's gut, but trusting each other, we went for it.
"W-what is this?"
Min-ji's panicked voice drew my eyes. An unspeakable sight unfolded.
A colossal room, like a giant studio apartment. But the wall we faced held countless women pinned by black vines. Eyes blindfolded, mouths and noses sealed by mask-like things. Vines connected to their breasts and genitals too.
"Th-this is..."
One word fit: human ranch.
"Jae-hee... those are the missing hunters...!"
"This is way worse than we thought."
Looking closer, I spotted missing magical girls and hunters among them. This had to be the Overmind's turf.
"Min-ji, we gotta run—now."
"What about them?!"
"Not the time! We need to report this first!"
"Ugh, fine."
We grabbed hands quickly.
"...?"
Min-ji felt no reaction even holding my hand. As seconds dragged, her face twisted.
Why no teleport?
"What's wrong?!"
"J-Jae-hee, my ability won't work..."
Terror crept over Min-ji's features. Her hand trembled visibly in mine. I gripped it tight.
"Calm down. Might just be nerves."
"No way. I can't feel any mana in my body at all."
Thud, thud. Footsteps echoed from deeper in. We ducked behind a machine.
Thud, thud. Closer now. Then a woman's voice rang out.
Women in the Overmind facility? No, there were theories he could create minions.
I needed to check with my power. I held my breath carefully to avoid detection.
Time Stop.
Nothing stopped but me.
What...?
I inhaled again. Whoosh!Time Stop.
No way... The mana I'd felt in my body moments ago was gone.
"Mi-kyung-ah~ Sis is here."
A cheerful woman approached the wall of bound women. Peeking out, I saw her long black hair, arms and legs dyed black. Just like the Overmind.
Is she the Overmind? But no mana from her either. Like us.
No, it's not us—it's this place.
A woman here with no mana? Impossible. She must be affected too. Escaping might be easier then.
As Min-ji and I moved cautiously—
"Oh my, two cockroaches snuck in?"
We froze. Turning, we saw a woman holding a limbless one, staring at us.
The limbless girl looked familiar.
"Magical Girl Ai?!"
"Oh? You know my little sis? What do you think? Cute, right?"
Ai, presumed dead, nestled happily in the woman's arms, lost to the world.
Too late... but she's obsessed with Ai right now!
"Min-ji!"
At my shout, Min-ji charged. She shoved the woman hard; I caught the dropped Ai and bolted for the entrance.
"No!! Give me back my sister!!!"
Her desperate scream echoed, but we ignored it, sprinting full tilt.
"Once we're out, powers should work!"
"Can't believe a place like that exists! Gives me chills!"
The Overmind pulling this in the underworld? How had it stayed quiet?
We had to expose it. We raced through the corridor, up the stairs, into the office—
"Hey there?"
Hunter Kwon Yong-jin grinned wickedly, waiting.