The Pursuit of Laden
Chapter 105: The Wanted Criminal 'Laden'. The culprit who brutally murdered an elderly couple in the Irumu Barony and fled. He was believed to have once operated in the underworld. One of the vicious criminals Jeon despised most—those who stole others’s happiness. "Yes, it’s Laden."
The Insight Artifact that pierced through the Recognition-Hindering Artifact. A tool standardly issued to police officers. Constable Bin compared the information on his smartphone while confirming the truth behind Jeon’s words. Upon verifying that the target was indeed the wanted criminal Laden, he immediately reported to headquarters. Was this his first time discovering a wanted individual? His hand trembled as he made the call.
"Ah, is that so? Yes, I understand. I’ll proceed accordingly."
Yet Bin soon let out a sigh of relief, as though he had received good news from the other end. Ending the call, he turned to the two following him.
"Professor Evergreen, who gave the special lecture yesterday, will be deploying personally."
She must have been at the police branch at the time. Hearing that the target had a history of underworld activity, she had apparently decided to respond. If she was taking action, there was nothing to worry about. For the Special Investigation Unit, which routinely handled far more dangerous cases, this was practically child’s play.
"I will tail the suspect from now on to ensure we don’t lose him. Please return to the police branch as you are."
The target was a murderer who had taken a life. Someone who had crossed the final line any human would hesitate to cross. In terms of danger alone, he was more threatening than high-ranking ability users. Naturally, there was no way Bin would bring children along to pursue such a dangerous individual. Though Jeon wanted to insist, he couldn’t bring himself to argue against Bin’s position. Thus, while Togun nodded, Jeon unexpectedly pressed his lips together and stared at him with clear dissatisfaction.
"We’ll help too."
Perhaps it was surprising to see the usually mature Jeon throw such a tantrum-like fit. Togun turned to him in shock. Then he remembered.
‘Come to think of it, this guy said he used the Mana Up app without telling the professor because he wanted to catch a dark mage.’
Normally blunt and mature, Jeon became stubborn and unreasonable the moment anything involving criminals arose. Realizing this belatedly, Togun stared blankly at Jeon’s retreating back.
"You can’t."
Bin reached out to stop him, but Jeon elegantly dodged the hand and instead took off after Laden first.
"Ah, seriously, you can’t……"
Bin’s expression instantly turned miserable. Shoulders slumping as he imagined the certain reprimand awaiting him later. But seeing the criminal already far ahead, there was no time to argue.
"I’m sorry, Officer."
Togun apologized in Jeon’s stead. Bin pressed his lips shut and let out a resigned sigh.
"You’re really just tailing him, right?"
Right now it might end with a scolding, but if the boys got involved and were injured, no ordinary punishment would suffice. Swallowing his tears, Bin quickened his pace and overtook Jeon.
"And please don’t come out from behind me if possible."
This was the minimum consideration. If they couldn’t even follow this, he would shake them off no matter what, even if it meant losing the criminal. Jeon nodded at Bin, who glared at them with that thought in mind.
"Yes, I understand."
Well, at least they agreed to this much. Whatever initial goodwill he’d felt had vanished; Bin’s face was now filled with nothing but negative emotions as he looked at Jeon.
"Hoo."
Bin let out another deep sigh and checked the magazine of his mana gun just in case. The three of them then began tailing Laden at a distance.
"Don’t stare so obviously."
Tailing had to look as natural as possible. If they moved suspiciously, passersby would notice, and then the criminal would inevitably realize they were being followed.
"The street CCTV will capture the suspect’s movements anyway. All we need to do is confirm whether he enters places without CCTV, like back alleys."
The most important thing here was preventing the criminal from taking hostages if he noticed them. Losing his trail was preferable to a hostage situation—that was the absolute worst outcome. Especially when pursuing a murderer.
"……"
Jeon listened carefully to Bin’s words while fixing a sharp gaze on Laden walking ahead. Laden was currently passing through Melody Street and heading toward Ariaadna Square. To others, he appeared as an ordinary man walking forward, but in reality, he was a man staggering along while clutching a picture frame to his chest. His eyes were rolled back so far that only the whites showed, staring straight ahead with an unsettling intensity. His face was even more haggard than Professor Karlsen’s, as though he hadn’t slept in days. Occasionally bumping into people coming from the opposite direction, he continued forward without a single word of apology.
"Layla Ruby!"
They arrived at Ariaadna Square while following the man. That was when an unexpected complication arose in their tailing.
A sudden wave of people surged from one side, pushing them along like a tide.
"Ah!"
Jeon let out an involuntary cry of surprise. Separated from the other two by the crowd, he frantically looked around while pushing against the flow of people.
"Layla Ruby’s surprise busking performance is about to begin!"
A woman’s voice rang out from the clock tower in the center of Ariaadna Square.
‘Why now of all times……!’
Layla Ruby. Even Jeon knew of the famous singer. But why was she busking here right now? The timing couldn’t have been worse. Biting his lower lip, Jeon desperately scanned the surroundings for the criminal.
"Ooh!!!"
"……"
Unable to find the criminal, Jeon instead spotted Professor Karlsen enthusiastically waving at the singer on the makeshift stage. His brows furrowed sharply.
‘What is that guy doing over there?’
In this crowded place, people had cleared a space only around him. That made his bizarre movements all the more visible. Was he cheering, dancing, or causing a ruckus? His passionate flailing with bony limbs resembled a skeleton suddenly appearing in the dead of night to attack people.
"Ah."
Then Jeon spotted Arina beside him, eyes tightly shut and head bowed. In that moment, Jeon perfectly understood how Arina felt. Honestly, as students of the Academy, none of them wanted to see their professor acting like that.
Enjoying a hobby was fine, but one should at least do so without drawing strange looks from others.
"……!"
Just as he turned his head away like Arina, Jeon flinched. There he was. The criminal, staring back at him with eyes wider than before, clearly startled. Their gazes met unexpectedly, and Jeon couldn’t hide his hostility. Sensing something ominous from Jeon’s unyielding stare, Laden clutched the picture frame and bolted forward. Straight toward Professor Karlsen, who was still performing his flamboyant dance, and Arina, whose eyes remained shut beside him.
‘Oh no!’
Jeon also broke into a desperate run. But no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t reach them faster than Laden, who had been right beside them. A rough hand stretched toward Arina. Just as the worst possible future flashed before Jeon’s eyes—
"Well, well."
Jeon’s vision was suddenly painted red. Dense mana of the negative dimension spread in all directions. The crimson sky was a sight symbolic of the Inner World manifested by dark mages.
"To think you’d try to harm a student I’m teaching right in front of me."
Just like Jeon, Laden sat on the ground in confusion at the sudden change in surroundings, looking around frantically. A man slowly walked out in front of him.
"So I was having quite a bit of fun, and now what’s all this commotion? Student Jeon."
In both hands, Karlsen held a banner that read [♡I LOVE Layla Ruby♡]. Wiping the sweat from his forehead beneath a matching headband, Professor Karlsen pouted with clear displeasure. At the same time, Jeon realized what had happened. The moment Laden tried to attack Arina, Karlsen had deployed his Inner World and isolated the two in a separate space.
"Hoo."
Realizing this, Jeon let out a sigh of relief as the tension drained from him.
‘So the Inner World can do something like this too?’
For a 5-star mage who had only recently begun constructing their own Inner World, it would have been impossible. But for someone like Karlsen, whose theories were nearly complete and whose concepts were taking form, it was possible to limit the targets and bring only specific individuals into the Inner World.
"Thank you, Professor Karlsen."
Moments ago, this man had been the most embarrassing person imaginable, but now Jeon was grateful he had been beside Arina. With that thought, Jeon bowed his head to Professor Karlsen, who was quietly tucking away his Layla Ruby merchandise, then slowly approached Laden, who had collapsed on the floor.
"……Who are you people?"
Laden seemed to have grasped his situation. Having already given up on escaping, he showed none of his earlier rebellious attitude. Lifting his head weakly, he looked up at the two of them.
"I thought you were police. If you’re dark mages, does that mean you’re from the underworld?"
"That’s a prejudice. Assuming every dark mage must be from the underworld."
Of course, he had dipped his toes in briefly in the past, but he could say with certainty that he had never done anything harmful to others. When Professor Karlsen puffed out his cheeks in displeasure while looking at him, Laden meekly lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"I’m sorry. Then are you police officers?"
"No. We’re Academy professors."
"……"
Academy professors? Why would they be after him? As he thought this, something the man had said earlier flashed through his mind. Come to think of it, he had mentioned trying to harm his student.
"I’m sorry. I was so flustered I nearly did something I shouldn’t have."
He had been greatly startled by the police insignia on Jeon’s name tag—more precisely, on the one Jeon was wearing.
"Thank you so much for stopping me."
He was far too reasonable to be a murderer. Just as Jeon tilted his head while watching him thank Professor Karlsen—
Shrrrk.
A thin line was drawn across the red sky that covered the heavens. An unknown passage opened, slicing through the Inner World of a 7-star dark mage.
"Jeon hyung! Are you okay?!"
Through the gap charged Togun Masao, wielding the sword of the Masao family that cut through all mana, his expression urgent. Following behind him, a woman stepped into the Inner World.
"Huh?"
Togun, who had been rushing over, stopped in surprise upon seeing Professor Karlsen.
‘Why is the professor here?’
When the woman said that the criminal and Jeon had suddenly disappeared and she sensed negative-dimensional mana, he had frantically cut through the space with his sword. But the source of that mana was Professor Karlsen?
"Hmm."
In contrast, the woman who didn’t know who Karlsen was looked around at the situation and nodded.
"So a dark mage got involved."
Staring coldly at both the wanted criminal and Professor Karlsen, the woman—Julia Evergreen—pulled out her police notebook and held it out in front of them.
"Special Investigation Unit, Julia Evergreen. Don’t resist and surrender quietly, dark mage."
"Yes?"
Leaving the obvious criminal aside and clearly targeting him instead, Professor Karlsen scratched his cheek with an awkward expression at Julia Evergreen’s words.