Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Number of the Dead
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The terrorist’s sharp mana bullet had shattered Haon’s construct in a single blow, and it was now disintegrating into blue mana particles.
“Do you think this is the first time I've dismantled one of your attacks?”
Anger laced Haon's voice.
The terrorists’ attacks weren’t like Haon’s mana bullets, which simply struck and were done. Theirs were cruel, leaving the skin untouched while shredding the organs within, inflicting excruciating pain and terror.
A faint sigh echoed from the darkness.
Haon thrust her phone forward again.
“You were only scary when you were all together. But now, you're all alone. I'm not scared of you one bit!”
“...?”
Juyeol, who was standing behind her, narrowed his eyes and stared into the darkness.
Something was off. The way that unidentified man was acting toward Eun Haon...
CRUNCH!
Suddenly, the rusted door was torn off its hinges, and car headlights flooded into the abandoned factory.
“Halo. We have a lot to talk about, don't we?”
It was Hunter who appeared, accompanied by several other Heroes.
“We certainly do. First, why don't you take your loose cannon with you?”
Halo smirked and sheathed her longsword.
Juyeol frowned at the sight of the Heroes suddenly rushing in.
Hunter glanced over the mercenaries scattered on the floor and sighed.
“I can't deny that Ghost is our loose cannon. But…”
Then, she tossed the sack she was holding onto the floor, and empty vials came spilling out.
“I'm not here for Ghost. I'm here for you.”
“…I didn’t realize you went around snooping through people’s homes like a rat.”
“Isn't that what a hunter does? You said you had nothing to do with the Potions, but it looks like this conversation is going to be a long one.”
“Hmm.”
Halo whispered something to the man hidden in the shadows, then met Haon's eyes.
“I don't need this anymore, so I'll give it back.”
As she spoke with a relaxed smile, the man in the shadows tossed the phone through the air.
Just as Haon reached for it with wide eyes.
BOOM!
‘Eun Haon’s’ phone exploded into smithereens.
“No!”
Another explosion drowned out Haon's despairing cry, blowing a large hole in the wall. It was the terrorist's doing.
“If you survive, let's meet again. ‘Fake’.”
“...!”
Fake? I'm not a fake—
Before Haon could even react, Halo slipped through the hole with the terrorist.
“Halo! Stop right there!”
The moment Juyeol reflexively ran after Halo, a chain shot out from Hunter's grappling gun and wrapped around his leg.
“...!”
He supported his falling body with one hand, flipping into a handstand, and without hesitation, fired his gun at his ankle.
The motion of shattering the chain and landing back on his feet was perfectly fluid.
“What do you think you're doing, interfering at every turn?”
The glare he shot at Hunter was menacing, but she paid him no mind and gave orders to the other Heroes.
“Chaser, Finder. Track them. Just get me their location.”
The two shot off the instant the order was given and began to swiftly pursue Halo.
Juyeol's anger, which had briefly cooled amid the chaotic turn of events, now surged back with a vengeance.
He knew he couldn't kill Halo on his own with Sniper around.
He also knew it wouldn't be a death in battle against Halo, but a meaningless one that would only give them an excuse to pressure Hero Headquarters.
“Ghost. That was too reckless.”
But he didn't want to hear that from her, of all people.
While the other Heroes were surveying the scene, Hunter approached with River.
Juyeol, who was glaring at Hunter with a hardened face, ground his teeth and asked.
“You knew from the beginning, didn't you? Who the culprit was.”
“…”
“Was that the information stored in the First Archive?”
“Your return date is only a few days away.”
“So you're going to play dumb until the very end?”
Juyeol's temper flared at Hunter's out-of-the-blue response.
“It would have been easier to kill Halo as a Villain than a Hero. I wouldn't have to listen to nonsense about how trash like them are still human lives. If this was how it was going to be, why did you tell me to become a Hero in the first place!”
“Do you really think you know everything?”
“What?”
The one-sided nature of the conversation caused his head to cool, strangely enough.
Hunter glanced at Haon and continued.
“You still don't seem to have come to your senses, but a promise is a promise. I'll open the First Archive for you soon, so be ready.”
“...!”
What on earth was the information stored in there that she'd hidden it until now, only offering to show him after he'd gone after Halo?
Even after working under Hunter for several years, Juyeol still found her inscrutable and difficult to understand.
He glanced at Bell, wondering if there was some Headquarters secret he was out of the loop on, but she looked just as curious about the conversation.
Juyeol glanced down at the ogre emblem on his chest.
He'd said he was quitting time and time again, but to catch Halo…
Just as he was thinking it might be time to return to Hero Headquarters, Haon held out a USB drive.
He still couldn't meet Haon's eyes, his expression hardening.
He didn't know how to act around Haon; even breathing and blinking felt self-conscious.
“What.”
“I told you I could prove I'm a different person. The proof is in here.”
Juyeol recalled the somewhat strange conversation between Halo and Haon as he took it in his hand.
He knew it was ridiculous, but if there was even the slightest possibility…
“Hunter. You can check Dr. Eun's number right now, can't you?”
At his words, Hunter's eyes widened in surprise before she took off her glove.
“It's best to be sure. It's about time to check her number anyway.”
Then she held out a heavily scarred hand to Haon.
“The last time I checked, her number was 11. Let's see if it's still the same.”
“What is this?”
As Haon looked on in confusion, Juyeol answered, rolling the USB drive in his hand.
“Hunter's ability can tell us whether you're really a different person or not.”
Haon's eyes widened.
She didn't know what the number Hunter was talking about was, but if Juyeol was right, it seemed she could see a different number for each person.
‘Finally, I can prove that I'm a different Eun Haon!’
Haon's eyes sparkled as she grasped Hunter's hand.
Then, a bright red number slowly materialized on the back of her hand.
56.
‘It worked!’
Haon's heart swelled with anticipation, thinking that since the number on her hand wasn't 11, she had proven she wasn't ‘Eun Haon’.
But the sudden chill in the air left her bewildered, and she looked around.
Juyeol was also staring at Haon with eyes full of disbelief.
The atmosphere was tense, so Haon asked cautiously.
“This number… what is it?”
Hunter roughly shook off Haon's hand and answered coldly.
“What is it? It's the number of people who have died because of you.”
“...!”
Haon felt as if her heart had frozen over and was plummeting.
‘The people who died because of me. I see. Hunter's ability is…’
The roar of the collapsing bridge and horrific screams echoed in her ears.
“Are you going to deny it this time, too? Until we find out who you killed?”
“Th-that's…”
Pale as a sheet, Haon couldn't deny it and trembled.
“Or are you going to say they deserved to die again?”
“Those people… never…”
Feeling suffocated, she instinctively turned her head, searching for a safe harbor.
“Juyeol. I…”
But he had already turned his back and was now some distance away.
Haon clutched the hem of her clothes tightly.
The hope that his ‘for a while’ might have only meant a day, that fighting alongside him against Halo might have been a chance to get along again—it all came crashing down.
She plummeted into a endlessly repeating nightmare.
* * *
A few days later.
Haon was looking at a 3D map when a wave of dizziness and nausea hit her, making her realize she hadn't eaten in far too long.
‘Even in a situation like this, I still get hungry.’
Even as she nibbled on a rice ball, her eyes were fixed on her phone.
On the day Juyeol left, she had holed up in a corner of the lab and cried all day, but nothing had changed.
That made it all the more frustrating and sorrowful. She couldn't bear it without immersing herself in her research on Dimension Gates.
Loneliness and nightmares lurked all around her like vipers, ready to tear her apart the moment she let her guard down.
The moment she closed her eyes, nightmares would choke her. She couldn't sleep properly, so she drank coffee like water.
She had chosen not to sleep at all.
‘Seeing as he still hasn't contacted me, he probably didn't even open the USB drive.’
The USB she had given Juyeol contained records from her home world.
Videos from the orphanage, photos taken with ‘Juyeol’. And the horrors of a war that hadn't happened here.
Haon massaged the throbbing nape of her neck as she thought.
‘Or maybe he looked at it and thought it was fabricated… or he just doesn't care that I'm a different Eun Haon.’
A wave of depression washed over her, and she listlessly crumpled the empty rice ball wrapper.
‘It can't be helped. Because I…’
Haon stared blankly at the back of her hand, where the number had appeared thanks to Hunter's ability.
It felt like a heavy weight was tied to her feet, dragging her down into some unknown, silent, dark place.
Just then, Blue gently spread its wings.
[Haon! Nova is here!]
…Nova?
Haon slowly lifted her bowed head.
‘That's right. If it's Nova…’
She shot to her feet and hurried down to the first floor.