Chapter 58
Dawn.
Sowhere in the 4th Scholastic District.
Lee Eunho, Do Minyeong, and Gwon Chihun were moving stealthily, searching for an executive committee lounge.
“Damn it, what did that bastard eat to spout such nonsense.”
Gwon Chihun grumbled, seemingly displeased with Ji Seokhyeon’s attitude from earlier.
“Talking to that Ji Seokhyeon bastard sotis makes feel like I’m going to break out in hives.”
“…”
Gwon Chihun’s incessant grumbling continued.
However, Lee Eunho and Do Minyeong offered no refutation or agreent.
That was because Gwon Chihun was secretly expressing his regret that Ji Seokhyeon wasn’t moving with them.
Any cadets who had been involved with Gwon Chihun in the two months since enrollnt knew that his sarcastic remarks didn’t always align with his true intentions.
So, in this case, he was worrying about Ji Seokhyeon in his own way.
To add another reason, he was desperately trying to endure the awkward silence between the two who hadn’t said a word since a while ago.
“Damn, this is also a bust? Aren’t there only a few places left now?”
As Gwon Chihun clicked his tongue, looking at the lounge they had just arrived at, Do Minyeong imdiately added.
“Not just a few places left, this is the last one.”
“Wh-what?”
Gwon Chihun showed a flustered face and picked up a Spring Scholastic War guidebook lying on a nearby table, unfolding it.
“It’s true. In that case, are there more places that provided additional spaces…?”
“Don’t you know that better? You’re an executive committee mber.”
“I-I am an executive committee mber, but I haven’t been moving around as one… More importantly, wasn’t that Ji Seokhyeon bastard’s deduction wrong? The missing person’s whereabouts weren’t the lounge after all.”
Lee Eunho shook his head from side to side.
“No, it’s true they were using the lounge as a hideout. …Look at this.”
Lee Eunho pointed to a box in the corner of the lounge area.
Inside were several articles of clothing, clearly the clothes the missing persons had changed into while moving during the day.
“There’s no way civilian clothes would be prepared in an executive committee lounge. Moreover, general students wear uniforms, athletic wear, or attire suitable for their matches.”
“So they were in this place, then…”
“More precisely, they were here until yesterday.”
“What? What do you an?”
The answer to the question ca from Do Minyeong.
“Are you saying the missing person hasn’t returned to the lounge yet?”
Lee Eunho nodded.
“Yes, the problem is why. The missing person wouldn’t have a mission like the thief, and if it was just to get so fresh air… No, they wouldn’t go outside after having been moving around all day.”
Do Minyeong looked back at Gwon Chihun and said.
“Gwon Chihun, is there any new information about Shin Ujae and Jeong Soyun on Incry?”
“Huh? Uh… J-just a mont.”
Gwon Chihun, after fiddling with his smartphone for a while, sighed as if he had found nothing useful.
“Aside from the post about Shin Ujae disappearing earlier, it’s all just unreliable rumors. Just that a few students are moving at this hour to chase the thief… And there’s no ntion of Jeong Soyun at all.”
“No ntion at all?”
Lee Eunho’s eyes sparkled.
“There’s absolutely no ntion of Jeong Soyun?”
“Uh, why is that?”
“Think about it carefully. As soon as Shin Ujae disappeared, it spread on SNS, but the lack of any ntion of Jeong Soyun, who made Shin Ujae disappear, makes no sense. Thief Jeong Soyun would have to go outside the academy to do anything.”
Do Minyeong interjected.
“Then that ans Jeong Soyun made Shin Ujae disappear without leaving the academy.”
Lee Eunho nodded again.
At the sa ti, Gwon Chihun tilted his head.
“But isn’t that a bit strange? Why did they change the rules and do that?”
At that question, Lee Eunho montarily parted his lips.
But he soon bit his lower lip, falling silent.
His face clearly showed an atmosphere of knowing sothing.
Do Minyeong, as if rushing him, brought the topic back.
“Alright, the important thing is to go to General Ability Academy. Whatever the reason, it’s enough if we apprehend the thief.”
Words that couldn’t be denied.
Lee Eunho and Gwon Chihun nodded simultaneously.
“Then let’s hurry.”
General Ability Academy wasn’t far.
The problem was how to get past the main gate guarded by Guards.
However, Gwon Chihun confidently stepped forward on this point.
“I talked to those guys from General Ability Academy a few days ago, right? They said there was a secret passage for coming and going after curfew. It’s dangerous to just climb over the low fence. A signal will imdiately go to the Guards.”
An expert in this field, Gwon Chihun.
The two followed Gwon Chihun with skeptical minds, and soon discovered a knee-high hole.
“See, I told you so, didn’t I?”
“It’s true… As expected, the Investigation Division is the Investigation Division.”
“…”
Lee Eunho and Do Minyeong easily entered the premises, following the conceited Gwon Chihun, and diligently explored the quite spacious academy grounds.
It was a ti when the property managers were also scarce.
They walked around the academy grounds, which had a completely different atmosphere from Hero Prep, for a long ti. At the end of their search, the three ca across an old, disused building.
Do Minyeong, looking at a signboard leaning as if abandoned beside the entrance, said.
“Was it used as a cathedral? This building seems a bit suspicious…”
Then Lee Eunho replied blandly.
“Yes, General Ability Academy is a foreign academy.”
“I feel a subtle, eerie mana emanating from it.”
“Yes, because there’s definitely soone inside.”
Do Minyeong subtly glared at Lee Eunho.
It wasn’t a reaction to his bland reply, but because she felt Lee Eunho was hiding sothing.
Do Minyeong urged him on, saying.
“Let’s go in. If soone’s there, we just need to go in and check, right?”
“…”
Lee Eunho stood motionless, as if his ankles were bound by chains.
But as if pushed by Do Minyeong’s gaze, he took a heavy step.
“…Yes, let’s go in.”
CREAK—
Lee Eunho opened the old iron door.
The interior was a typical religious facility.
However, trash discarded by academy students was left abandoned, an indescribably eerie atmosphere perated the air, and dust that looked like sand covered everything.
To exaggerate, it was a graveyard of souls.
A place where only the desires of those who once participated in religious rituals lingered.
“It’s spooky…”
Gwon Chihun was the last to step inside.
He rubbed his arms as he moved, and as soon as he fully entered, the entrance door closed by itself.
CREAK—.
BANG!
Do Minyeong was startled.
“Wh-what? Did you close it?”
“No! I didn’t even touch it with my fingertips!”
Gwon Chihun, as if proving his innocence, turned and pushed the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Huh? Why isn’t it opening…?”
“What?”
Just as Do Minyeong approached the door, Lee Eunho’s calm voice flowed out.
“Everyone calm down. Soone’s here.”
“...?”
Gwon Chihun, who was frantically looking around, pointed a finger at one spot.
“Wait! Aren’t those the missing persons?”
Although they couldn't distinguish them accurately due to the lack of light, students were indeed lying cruelly on the ground, just as Gwon Chihun said.
All of them were bound by sothing and unconscious.
At that mont, soone’s voice was heard from the darkness.
“Hehehe… It’s true. My efforts weren’t in vain. To be able to see you again like this…”
An unfamiliar voice.
However, it wasn’t completely unrecognizable.
Lee Eunho half-believed, half-doubted, and spoke.
“You are…”
Simultaneously with those words, the owner of the voice appeared closer.
A figure sowhat familiar to Lee Eunho.
“Park… Oseok…?”
It was the forr dical instructor, Park Oseok, who had used the Shard of the Mirror of Greed at the entrance ceremony.
But he was mutated even more ferociously than before.
His appearance showed an undeniable strength at a glance.
“…Why are you here, when you should be in Muspel?”
“Did you, by any chance, forget what happened last ti? If so, that’s disappointing…”
“Did you… send the letter?”
“Yes, if you had examined the contents well, we could have t sooner. Well, anyway, it’s good. My condition is at its peak, after all…!”
Suddenly, Park Oseok’s words echoed and scattered within the cathedral.
Along with that, his figure disappeared, and an unpleasant mana rushed towards Lee Eunho.
It couldn’t be confird with the naked eye, but it was a direct movent relying on explosive speed.
“Damn it!”
Gwon Chihun quickly grabbed his gun, calculated Park Oseok’s movent, and pulled the trigger.
“Eat this and die!”
BANG! BANG! BANG—!
But the bullets all missed, despite the close range. Instead, as if provoked, Park Oseok’s unpleasant mana moved towards Gwon Chihun, not Lee Eunho.
ZAP!
“...!”
In the blink of an eye.
Without ti to react, Park Oseok’s brutish fist struck Gwon Chihun’s chest, and…
THUD—.
Gwon Chihun fell backwards against the wall, without even a groan.
“Gwon Chihun!”
“...!”
Gwon Chihun continuously vomited blood, then eventually lost consciousness.
No need for a closer look; he was nearly dead.
Bloodstains mixed with thick dust.
Subsequently, Do Minyeong gripped her sword and charged forward.
It was a situation where fear was stained with anger.
But she couldn’t match Park Oseok’s speed, and she was rcilessly kicked in the back.
“Gah!”
Do Minyeong flew almost in a straight line and landed in a corner.
Judging by her personality and the fact that she wasn't moving again, she was, like Gwon Chihun, on the verge of death.
“Keu-ha! Khahaha!”
Park Oseok let out a laugh as if he had lost his mind.
As if intoxicated by his own strength.
As if overco with gratitude for the opportunity given.
Lee Eunho watched Park Oseok and gauged his strength.
It was clear that he had amplified his power in the sa way as last ti, but strangely, the volu of his mana felt much greater.
Had he completely absorbed the Shard of the Mirror of Greed?
No, if he had the skill to do that, he wouldn’t have used the shard in the first place.
It was simply thanks to a more dangerous individual backing him this ti.
Reaching that conclusion, Lee Eunho glared at his opponent and said.
“You weren’t the one who wrote the letter.”
“What does that matter? We’ve reunited like this.”
“It matters a lot. …Because now I can fight without hesitation.”
“Khu-huhu! Those are very welco words.”
With those words, Park Oseok vanished from his spot.
He was aiming for Lee Eunho’s opening.
His explosive physical ability instantly got him behind Lee Eunho, and without any carelessness, he punched him in the back.
“Kah! Take this!”
It was impossible to evade an attack when his opponent’s speed couldn’t be matched.
But Park Oseok’s attack unnaturally stopped right in front of him.
As if his body had been paralyzed.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
Lee Eunho looked back at the fist, thicker than his face, and said.
“It’s nothing special. I’m just controlling the electricity flowing around here. In this case, of course, your bioelectricity.”
“What?”
“As long as you’re stepping on the ground near , you won’t be able to attack. The more you struggle, the more your muscles will be overloaded, and you won’t even be able to stand properly.”
Park Oseok struggled and twisted his body, but it only resulted in grotesque flailing, without any effect.
A clearly different level compared to their previous battle.
“This bastard…!”
He felt jealousy towards the cadet in front of him.
To use an ability so freely within half a year of entering Hero Prep was a realm he could never approach, no matter how hard he tried.
Simply put, a talent gap.
And the fundantal reason why Park Oseok had touched desire.
“This will sting.”
CRACKLE!
Lee Eunho discharged thick electricity towards Park Oseok, who weakly fell back against a nearby wall.
THUD—.
The wall didn’t budge despite the strong impact.
Park Oseok leaned against the wall and got up.
“People like you really need to die…”
“…”
At that mont, Lee Eunho felt a change occurring in Park Oseok.
Although not discernible by the naked eye, a flow of mana began to gather around him.
As Park Oseok took a step on the ground, Lee Eunho quickly shot electricity as a sign of caution.
However, the electricity failed to penetrate Park Oseok’s broad shoulders and harmlessly vanished.
“...!”
That wasn't all.
Even though they were sufficiently close, he couldn't interfere with his bioelectricity like before.
As if he had beco an insulator in an instant.
“My attacks suddenly aren’t working…?”
Park Oseok disappeared from sight.
Lee Eunho accelerated the current flowing through his body, increasing his sensitivity to the extre, and detected Park Oseok’s rushing movent.
But that was all.
“This will sting!”
Without ti to react, Park Oseok’s thick fist struck Lee Eunho’s chest.
“...!”
It wasn't over.
Before Lee Eunho could even fall, another attack ca, precisely kicking Lee Eunho’s face.
“Ugh!”
Apparently not satisfied, he punched him in the face once more.
Then he slamd his elbow into the back of his head, twisted his knee in the opposite direction, and only after trampling his head with his foot did Park Oseok’s attack stop.
“…”
“Tch, already fainted?”
It was a one-sided battle, almost unbelievable considering he was an opponent who had once suffered defeat.
As Lee Eunho finally lost consciousness, Park Oseok kicked him away as if he were a rag.
Then, an unfamiliar voice suddenly broke through.
“Oh? You’re not killing him? Are you perhaps waiting for soone’s instructions?”
“...!”
Park Oseok quickly turned his head, his face horrified.
The voice ca from the window, which had been boarded up with wooden planks.
A strange man, who knows how long he had been there, stood there.
“Honestly, I was enjoying watching.”
Wearing a pitch-black Cloak, revealing a sword blade contrasting with the void, the uninvited guest leisurely began to stroll through the cathedral…
He didn’t know who he was, but he knew what he was.
“You, you are…!”
Because he looked exactly like the Phantom Thief, whom every Seoul citizen knew.
“Let’s skip the introductions.”
Finally, the Phantom Thief stopped in the center of the cathedral and drew his sword horizontally.
“After all, I didn’t co with good intentions.”
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