By Zephyria 340
Mok Taeo watched the people gathered in a circle beyond the glass window. They were all dressed in white, kneeling and muttering unintelligible words. Was it a newly created prayer? Ivan approached him from behind.
“Th-they’re all gathering. It won’t be long now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, b-but… the cure development… without Ga-young, it’s… it’s stopped as it is.”
“It’s bait. Is there any need to keep developing it? It seems we’ve drawn in enough people.”
“Y-yes. That’s a relief, then.”
A cold gaze swept over the people. They were all praying desperately. For their mutated families, for the end of Doomsday. He, too, had once prayed fervently. But prayer was utterly useless.
Ivan stood beside Mok Taeo.
“Now, really… huff, heh heh. The Doomsday will come….”
“……”
“The world will end…. This wretched world…!”
Ivan fidgeted with his hands, looking anxious. His glittering eyes were glazed with madness. Mok Taeo observed his own reflection in the glass. Did his face look like that too? He couldn’t tell. Where had he gone wrong? He couldn’t even tell that.
There were many chances to stop.
If he had paid the price he deserved, would he not have come this far?
Questions that couldn’t be answered quickly subsided. Mok Taeo closed his eyes and fled from himself in the glass. The sound of low murmuring prayers clung to his ears like a curse.
It had always been a question. Could a powerhouse strong enough to be counted on one hand be forcibly addicted to drugs? Most of those addicted to drugs were Hunters up to B-rank, and even Song Jo-heon had injected the drugs himself. But she didn’t think about it any further. Because she wanted Matthew to be safe? No.
Because she didn’t want to face the possibility.
Ga-young sighed, looking at the ceiling.
“Haa…. Stopping Doomsday with human power…. The words are so grand. But how can we stop Doomsday that even great heroes couldn’t stop?”
“……”
“But really, people like those stories. Everyone watches too many comics and movies~”
She couldn’t take it anymore. Honeybee grabbed the bars and pulled them apart with a snap. With a stride, she went in and grabbed Ga-young by the collar.
“Hey, cut the crap…. Why did you do the experiments, then?”
The corners of Ga-young’s lips turned up. Honeybee raised her voice.
“If you knew you couldn’t stop Doomsday, why did you do the experiments!”
The sharp voice echoed throughout the room. Ga-young tilted her head. It was no longer a human face. It was a monster devoid of humanity.
“To get revenge.”
“What?”
“I want all the Awakened to die.”
A little strength drained from the hand gripping her collar. Ga-young chanted slowly.
“You might feel wronged…. You might say, ‘We saved your life, so what nonsense are you talking about?’ But I lost my only family.”
Honeybee released the collar she had been holding. Ga-young giggled, a mess.
“Yeah… because of you. Because of those great Awakened! That’s why we gathered. People with grudges against the Awakened gathered, and it grew this big.”
“…That’s all?”
A cold voice cut her off. An intense pressure poured down. Bright brown eyes shone fiercely. Honeybee gripped the back of the chair Ga-young was sitting on.
“For that petty reason, you kidnap people, experiment on them, and brainwash and threaten desperate people?”
“……”
“Okay, you might hate the Awakened. Then just target the Awakened…. Why did you touch the civilians?”
“Aah….”
Ga-young let out a small exclamation, as if bored.
“Originally, the goal was to perfectly replace you. With the Awakened I created. But it didn’t work~ Even the one who showed the most promise failed, yeah.”
“What….”
“So I changed the direction a bit. Let’s make the Awakened a little useless. Let’s destroy trust. And….”
Ga-young, who had been giggling with her head down, glared up. Her eyes flashed.
“If we can’t eliminate the Awakened, and we can’t replace them…. Let’s just go with Doomsday!”
“……”
“AHAHAHAHA! You’re too late this time too! It’s all over! For you, for me!”
Clang, clang, the chains binding her body shook wildly. A sharp laugh tore at her ears.
“This damn world, let it perish!”
Honeybee gritted her teeth. The thing sitting in the chair was no longer human. It was nothing more than a monster full of malice. The monster opened its mouth wide and laughed. Honeybee clenched her fist. And, she lashed out.
Whoosh—the sound of a fist cutting through the air was heard. But there was no impact.
“What!”
Because someone had wrapped an arm around Honeybee’s shoulder and pulled her back. Honeybee turned around with a murderous look on her face. A black mask that revealed nothing. It was J. Honeybee let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha…, why did someone who was lying in a hospital bed come all the way down here?”
“Someone, somewhere, told me.”
A black head popped out from the corner J gestured to. A slick face wearing sunglasses bowed. That damn Min-gi Seo, she thought he was out there throwing up. Then, Jung-bin approached from behind.
“You’ve taken a confession in place of our agent. Thank you, Honeybee.”
Jung-bin grabbed the fist floating in the air and smiled gently. It was unspoken pressure. He would turn a blind eye to the attempted assault, so let’s agree on this. Honeybee hesitated for a long time before finally lowering her arm. A smile that seemed to praise her returned. Jung-bin put his hands behind his back and stood in front of Ga-young.
“It was difficult because you wouldn’t open your mouth for a long time…. Finally, we can communicate a little. Isn’t that right?”
The smile had disappeared from Ga-young’s face. A perfect blank expression. Jung-bin turned to Honeybee and J with a gentle face.
“I’ll take it from here. Honeybee, would you escort J to his hospital room?”
“…I will.”
At her nod, the arm that had been pressing against her upper body was released. Honeybee rotated her stiff shoulder and stepped out of the bars. J followed her a step behind.
No one spoke during the long walk down the hallway. Only the sound of footsteps following behind her told her of J’s presence. When they reached the stairs, Honeybee asked first.
“From where did you hear?”
“…From the part where Matthew hates the Awakened.”
“Ha, you heard everything from the beginning. But you stayed still?”
“……”
“Ah, right.”
The black mask quietly nodded up and down. Honeybee frowned. For some reason, that mask was annoying her today. She turned around and approached J.
She knew. That it was an outburst.
But she was curious about the expression behind the mask. As she reached out her hand to the mask, J took a step back. Honeybee crossed her arms.
“Hey, J. What’s my expression like right now?”
“……”
“Totally awful, right?”
The hesitating mask nodded again. He was unnecessarily honest. Honeybee roughly rubbed her eyes. Her vision, blurred by tears, finally cleared. She tucked her hair behind her ear and snapped.
“I bet your face is just as bad as mine.”
The sound of breathing that could be heard right next to her when she was being subdued. J was just as agitated as she was. With anger.
“It’s unfair if only I show you this face. You show me too.”
She knew he wouldn’t take off the mask. There was no way he would listen to such unreasonable demands. She was just being spiteful. However.
A hand that had been hesitating for a long time reached for the mask.
And.
Click,
He took off the mask.
“……”
“……”
The young man’s face was revealed. Honeybee’s eyes widened. It was a face she was very familiar with. A cool and handsome impression. The Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer. But the indifferent expression he always wore was nowhere to be found.
“You….”
There stood not the hero J, nor the Hanover Soup Restaurant part-timer, but a person who was utterly exhausted. Reddened eyes and dry lips with blood droplets from how much he had been biting them. A pale face. He was holding something back. Probably the same emotions as Honeybee.
Honeybee carefully pulled on the arm holding the mask.
“…We held it in well, both of us.”
A faint smile appeared on the young man’s face. Honeybee held back the tears that welled up. The young man moved his lips, but couldn’t say anything and lowered his head. Honeybee patted his arm. It was a comfort that people who knew loss could offer.
How long had it been? Just as the tears that had welled up in Honeybee’s eyes had dried,
BEEEEEE—
A loud alarm echoed throughout the building. And, the emotionless voice of a boy echoed in succession.
—Hunters within the Guild are requested to gather at the Guild Hall immediately….
Their eyes met. The tired young man’s face was hidden behind the black mask. The two began to run up the stairs.