Chapter 29
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Strange Phenomenon (2)
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The mission I'd been assigned was originally judged to be something an E-rank or D-rank could handle.
They'd planned to casually dispatch a hero to take care of it, but for some reason, every hero sent out for the mission vanished without a trace.
The Hero Association wasn't staffed by idiots, so right after the first D-rank hero's team—led by their team leader—disappeared, they immediately upped the rank and sent in a B-rank hero.
But even that B-rank hero went missing.
"So that's why you decided to team up with me..."
"Yeah, yeah. Is this the first time we're meeting like this?"
It really was the first time.
"As you probably know, I'm the A-rank hero Isis. My real name's Yoo Seol-hwa. I'm friends with Kinesis, so I've heard a lot about you."
She spoke with a soft chuckle. Her hero name was Isis.
She mainly handled ice, but in truth, she was one of the strongest superpowered individuals who could manipulate heat as well.
I'd heard stories about her a few times before.
When it came to the most popular heroes online, there were several contenders. If Kinesis was famous for her diligence, what was Isis known for...?
Maybe like an idol? Would that describe it?
She was the daughter of a chaebol from the Yuseong Group, one of the nation's top conglomerates, personally working as a hero. How could she not be popular?
In modern terms, she perfectly embodied noblesse oblige.
Though she herself seemed to just enjoy it.
That said...
"You've heard a lot about me?"
It was surprising that she'd heard so much about me.
Had Seo-yul talked about me that much?
It felt a bit odd.
Lately, it seemed like she was avoiding me.
'Both of them have been dodging me lately...'
I could understand Seo-yul, but Yu-ah avoiding me too was strange.
Of course, it didn't feel like they disliked me... More like they found it hard to face me. Something like that.
"How's Kinesis been lately?"
"What, you're asking me? Why not ask her directly?"
"That's true, but... it's different hearing it from a friend than asking her myself."
"Fair point. She got badly hurt last time, but after getting treated with her superpower, she's physically fine now. Mentally? Who knows."
"Mentally...?"
I started to ask what that meant, then caught myself.
Come to think of it, back then, if I hadn't saved her, she might have been killed by that villain.
She survived, but the memories wouldn't just vanish, so she might be suffering from PTSD.
"I didn't consider that... Is she struggling a lot?"
"Hmm. That's not quite what I meant~"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. Anyway... she's always been like that. I think she'll pull through on her own."
"Hmm..."
Maybe I shouldn't bring it up if I went to see her.
Asking if she was okay as the person who'd saved her might come off wrong.
"More importantly, I'm your senior as a hero, but you don't have to use formal speech with me. I'm probably younger than you anyway, right?"
"Yeah... Should I switch to casual then?"
"Yep, that's it. Then I'll call you Do-yoon since you don't have a hero name. You can call me Isis or Seol-hwa."
Isis grinned, looking pleased.
She had the vibe of an ice princess straight out of a fantasy tale, but with such a straightforward personality.
"So... you've already heard the full briefing on this mission?"
"Yeah, the operator filled me in."
That said, I hadn't gotten much info.
With all the investigating heroes vanishing, it was weird if they had solid intel.
There had to be a good reason for deploying two of Korea's precious few A-rank heroes.
"Since we're both A-rank, we can handle most things, but who knows what might happen inside. I've got more experience, so if anything comes up, tell me right away."
"Got it."
"Alright, let's head out! Don't worry too much. The two of us can definitely pull this off."
She was so upbeat.
Of course, it wasn't just blind optimism—she had confidence in her abilities. And with two A-ranks dispatched instead of just a B-rank, she had every reason for that absolute self-assurance.
Whatever. It was nice to see.
I nodded back at her smiling face.
"Here we are."
We arrived at the abandoned building at Isis's words.
"People who entered this abandoned building went missing, so they sent heroes, but even those heroes vanished the moment they stepped inside. No idea what's in there. Stay sharp."
I nodded at her warning.
"Radios and gear all check out... Okay, let's go in. Don't stray from me, got it?"
With that, she held out her hand to me.
"Hold on. Just in case."
"Ah... Uh, sure..."
I wondered if we really needed to hold hands, but her expression was dead serious, so I took her hand almost reflexively.
Hand in hand, we stepped into the abandoned building.
Screeech...
...
...
...
...
Thud!
"...The inside doesn't look much different from the outside...?"
What greeted us inside was a perfectly ordinary abandoned building.
Just as she said, it looked like your typical rundown structure.
'How do people go missing here...?'
I'd figured there'd be some powerful entity or hidden villain inside, but apparently not.
Still, I had to remember a B-rank hero had been sent and never returned.
'This place isn't normal...'
Better safe than sorry.
That's when it happened.
As Isis tapped the building walls while looking around, she suddenly turned to me with a puzzled expression.
"Hey... Do-yoon? Did we... close the door when we came in...?"
"...No?"
I remembered just pushing it open and walking in.
"Then why's the door closed?"
"Huh?"
Sure enough, when I turned around, the door was shut.
'When did it close?'
Had it shut right after we entered?
"Open... open the door!"
At her shout, I pulled the door open.
"What...?"
Beyond it was, naturally, the path we'd taken to get here.
'Nothing wrong...?'
Couldn't we just leave?
I turned back to Isis with that thought, but she wore a shocked look.
"I don't see anything... There should be the path we came from, right? Why does it look like the way's been cut off?"
Huh?
"What are you talking about? It's the exact path we came in on."
"...Going out that way doesn't seem like it'll help. For now, let's head deeper in, Do-yoon."
"No, I mean, we can just go out this way."
Despite my words, she grabbed my hand like she hadn't heard and pulled me further into the building.
Vmmm!
'...?'
I felt the space ripple faintly as we naturally moved deeper into the abandoned building.
The interior was just another ordinary rundown structure.
"What the heck...? It was definitely an abandoned building, so why is there suddenly a hallway...?"
She muttered with a grave expression.
Well, it was a hallway, sure.
An abandoned building would have paths to wander, so technically, this worn-out corridor was part of it.
But her reaction was off.
She let go of my hand, walked ahead, and started rubbing at empty space, mumbling "it's real."
'What the hell is this shit.'
Something was wrong.
"Hey, Seol-hwa? Snap out of it."
"Huh? What's up?"
I tapped her shoulder, and she turned with a questioning look.
"Why are you touching a blank wall?"
"Huh? What do you mean blank? There's a drawer right here."
She pointed like I was talking nonsense.
Of course, I saw nothing of the sort.
This was an empty abandoned building to begin with.
"No, really, there's nothing there. It looks perfectly fine to me."
"......Be careful. This place is weird...!"
...?
"Hey... why'd you suddenly change the subject?"
"...What? When did I change the subject?"
"Ah..."
'Hidden camera... nah, that doesn't make sense. So this must be...'
A strange phenomenon.
Some unidentified something in this place was causing it, no doubt.
"I think I get why the heroes went missing... This is pretty dangerous. The hallway stretches straight ahead, so we'll have to go this way for now. Better mark the walls to track where we're going."
She said that and left a mark on the wall.
'A few similar marks in places like this...'
Maybe from previous heroes who'd entered?
"You see any other marks there?"
"No, just the one I made. Why? See something weird?"
"There are more marks."
"...Anyway, I'll keep marking as we go, so remember them."
Again, that subtle dodge in her words...
...This.
'No way it's mental manipulation?'
That kind of strange phenomenon?
'Then me being fine... is because of the stat cheat?'
Among the stats boosted by the stat cheat, there had to be mental resistance or something.
That would explain it.
Even so...
"Don't let your guard down, Do-yoon."
"Haa..."
What am I supposed to do about this?