By Zephyria 351
At the same time Lee Sa-young failed, in the original world.
“Police! Everyone down! Don’t resist! Stop praying!”
Personnel in police uniforms poured into the hall. They pinned down the Prometheus’s followers, who were praying in white robes, and handcuffed them. Clang, clang, sounds of struggling and shouting erupted from all directions. Taking advantage of the chaos, Honeybee and Gyu-Gyu stealthily headed for the back exit. She cautiously closed the door, looking at Gyu-Gyu with suspicious eyes.
“How did you know the police were going to raid, crazy brat?”
“Hmm~? Obvious. If Awakened subdue civilians, they’ll get hammered by the media later. Director and Jung-bin would definitely carry out a joint operation with the police. He’s from the police, after all.”
Gyu-Gyu swept back his disheveled hair and laughed. They stood in a long corridor. Gyu-Gyu tossed a caramel into his mouth.
“Good…. Shall we split up here~? You’re going to see Matthew, right? He’s probably on the top floor. I recommend finishing it before Jung-bin arrives.”
“Where are you going?”
“Well~ I’m going to see if there’s anything worth finding.”
He shrugged. He was smiling, but there was no playful air about him.
“Some of my mercenary colleagues are addicted to drugs~ There must be a cure for them here. Seeing as Song Jo-heon is fine even after taking the drug.”
Gyu-Gyu muttered, rubbing his chin.
“J brought a kid out last time. There must be a research facility somewhere here….”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just wait for Doctor to research it and commercialize it?”
“Oh, Honeybee, the thoughts of bad guys are beyond imagination~”
Gyu-Gyu shook his head. He tossed a die into the air and caught it, saying.
“What if they hold a grudge and burn all the research records? What if they break all the cures? There’s no time to wait for them to be developed again. They might die before that.”
“……”
“So I have to step in~ To prevent the bad guys from destroying the evidence.”
“Aren’t you thinking of asking that Min-gi Seo or whatever for help?”
“He’s tightly held by the Director. He’ll be used by the Bureau of Rift Management for a while. Poor guy.”
Gyu-Gyu headed for the right door. And he pointed to the stairs with his finger for Honeybee.
“Okay, go up without getting caught. Deposit the guide fee into my account separately~”
He waved his hand and followed into the darkness. Honeybee watched his back, then started climbing the stairs. There were many things she wanted to say to Matthew, many things she wanted to ask. Things she wanted to argue about, things she wanted to get angry about, things she wanted to be grateful for. All sorts of thoughts swirled in her head.
No one stopped her until she reached the top floor. She strode towards the large, firmly closed door. There was no time to hesitate. Honeybee threw the door open. The heavy door opened smoothly as if it had been waiting.
“……”
A man in a silver suit stood in front of the window. It was the back of the man she once thought was reliable, the man she thought she could have a good Hunter life with. Honeybee opened her mouth in a low, subdued voice.
“Mok Taeo.”
“You’ve come.”
Mok Taeo, Matthew, turned around to face her. Honeybee aimed her Rapier without hesitation.
“Since when?”
“……”
“Since when have you been doing this kind of thing?”
“……”
“Answer me, Mok Taeo!”
Her roar echoed through the room. Matthew looked down at her with an indifferent face. A cold voice asked.
“What meaning is there in that?”
“…What?”
“Just as you and I were of the same mind, Prometheus and I were also of the same mind. Honeybee.”
He walked slowly. Step by step, the sound of his shoes echoed loudly.
“Do you think I betrayed you?”
His face was the same as usual. The indifferent but slightly embarrassed look he had whenever Honeybee barged into the Guild Leader’s office.
“Two people who hated Awakened gathered to form a Guild and worked together. I helped you love yourself as an Awakened. I never betrayed you.”
“But…!”
“You changed your mind. You came to love Honeybee, the Hunter. I couldn’t change. I still hate myself. That’s the only difference.”
He moved slowly. His steps were quiet, not befitting his large frame.
“In this world, Awakened must disappear. The order of the world was broken when Awakened appeared. Those without abilities are weeded out, and those with abilities are not treated well.”
“…It was like that even before the Awakened appeared.”
“Yes. But that was an invisible class. Now everyone is ranked with letters. Those who are not Awakened are further pushed out and alienated.”
“……”
“Do you know how many Awakened-only, Awakened-preferred, and Awakened-priority services there are recently? The difference in the amount of information that Awakened and non-Awakened can access? Non-Awakened are not even fair in information.”
“It’s all sophistry.”
Matthew stopped walking. He replied indifferently.
“Yes, everything I’ve said so far is just sweet talk for Prometheus to entice people. Quite a few people are drawn to such simple words.”
Matthew slowly approached Honeybee. His shadow covered Honeybee. The eyes behind his glasses were empty.
“Prometheus hates Awakened. They want to eliminate all Awakened. And after much research, they came to a conclusion. It is impossible to eliminate all Awakened. Unless the world is destroyed. So, let’s destroy the world.”
“……”
“That’s where we agreed. I had a diary written by my sister. My sister’s son remembered the Destroyed world. I don’t know if he had a special ability or if he just unfortunately remembered it. Every night, he would get feverish and talk about the scenery of that world.”
Matthew’s eyes darkened.
“My sister thought it was a kind of mental illness and wrote down everything her son said in a diary to show it to a doctor. And on the day I Awakened, she called me in for counseling.”
Honeybee bit her lip. On the day he Awakened, he lost control of his ability and burned down his sister’s apartment. The only survivor was Mok Taeo, the one who started the fire. That fact was quietly buried.
“All I had left was the diary. And Prometheus desperately wanted the diary. That record with information about Doomsday. I made a deal. That record was used to create false Seer.”
“Why….”
Blood pooled on her bitten lip. Honeybee murmured with torn lips.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re the only one who can hear these words.”
A faint smile appeared on his face. Matthew grabbed the tip of the Rapier with his hand and brought it to his neck. A stream of blood flowed down from his neck, pierced by the sharp blade.
Mok Taeo whispered.
“Kill me, Yoo Chae-hyun.”
Honeybee’s shoulders trembled at being called by her real name. Empty eyes held Honeybee.
“My intentions, my purpose, all the information. You tell Jung-bin. Because I told you to.”
The hand holding the Rapier trembled. She asked in a trembling voice.
“Why… did you talk to me that day?”
“……”
“Why didn’t you let me break and talked to me? Why did you ask me to be a Hunter together?”
Honeybee shouted like a scream.
“Why!”
Mok Taeo closed his eyes. A low voice answered.
“It’s just a whim. There was no great meaning.”
“……”
“An act with no meaning. That’s all.”
Honeybee pulled the Rapier out of her clenched fist. Her vision kept blurring. She caught her breath and gripped the Rapier again. What’s important in fencing is composure and reaction speed. She didn’t forget. She had never forgotten.
The thin sword sharply cut through the air.
Thud, thud, hurried footsteps echoed. Jung-bin burst into the open door. The first thing he saw was a figure slumped on the floor. Disheveled blonde hair and a leather jacket, it was Honeybee. A pool of red blood was visible around her. Jung-bin signaled the subordinates following him to stop, then approached her.
“Honeybee…”
“……”
In front of her was Matthew, lying with his arms outstretched. His glasses were askew, and there was a deep stab wound in his right chest. The pool of blood was his.
Honeybee staggered to her feet. She murmured in a cracked voice.
“I stabbed him to avoid the vitals. I also sprinkled Elixir.”
Whack, a strong grip seized Jung-bin’s shoulder. Honeybee’s eyes flashed sharply.
“Don’t ever kill that crazy brat. Make him survive to the end, stubbornly, pathetically.”
“……”
“Promise me.”
When Jung-bin was silent, Honeybee pushed his shoulder and shouted.
“Promise me!”
“…I understand, Honeybee.”
Thud, she released Jung-bin’s shoulder. And she passed the Hunters with staggering steps. An agent gestured to Jung-bin, but Jung-bin shook his head. It meant not to follow.
Jung-bin knelt on one knee on the floor and adjusted Matthew’s glasses.
“…So that’s what it is. Matthew.”
His chest heaved shallowly. Jung-bin smiled as if he was sorry.
“Since I’ve made a promise…. I will follow Honeybee’s instructions.”
Black Chain bound Matthew’s wrists. Matthew did not resist. He simply closed his eyes and accepted everything.