By Zephyria 
The eyes of the White Tiger Unit members changed.
They reflexively looked for Jae-ha, their leader, first.
“Director, you must get away!”
“Before the Ability Management Bureau employees barge in, hurry…!”
Jae-ha nodded and took care of me first.
“Huh?”
Suddenly held delicately in Jae-ha’s arms in a princess carry, my face flushed red.
“Jae, Jae-ha, the Secrety members and I should stay here and stall the Ability Management Bureau employees…”
I tried to persuade Jae-ha to put me down, but it was no use.
Rather, Jae-ha adjusted his posture so I could be held more comfortably.
“You know that the investigation results show that Ban No-ah is definitely from a political and business family that can directly interfere with the Ability Management Bureau.”
“…That’s right.”
“Then, it might not be a coincidence that the Ability Management Bureau employees found us so quickly.”
“Are you saying that Ban No-ah snitched to the Ability Management Bureau that we’re here?”
“Probably. No, I’m almost one hundred percent sure.”
That was certainly true.
How much time had passed? The Ability Management Bureau had always been chasing Jae-ha and the White Tiger Unit’s tails, only to miss them every time.
‘They even failed to catch Ban No-ah, who had infiltrated as an Ability Management Bureau employee, and were just pathetically manipulated…’
The Ability Management Bureau, which had not been achieving any meaningful results, was now chasing Jae-ha and the White Tiger Unit and rushing over in an instant?
This was impossible unless someone had reported our location to the Ability Management Bureau.
“Jae-ha, you’re right. Ban No-ah must have thought we would be trapped in the mutated Dungeon forever.”
Ban No-ah, that cunning bastard, must have been trying to ensure our deaths.
‘He wanted to block all possibilities of variables from happening.’
He probably hoped we would starve to death in the Dungeon.
But he must have known that I had desperately snatched the red gem, ready to die together, so he cleverly used another method.
Ban No-ah, to get rid of us, who were an eyesore, without lifting a finger.
‘If we were to die from the Ability Management Bureau’s attack, they could just intercept the bodies midway, like they did with me before.’
I couldn’t even guess the extent of Ban No-ah’s influence.
While I was sorting out my thoughts, Jae-ha was diligently raising his telekinesis to the limit to evacuate the other comrades.
“Everyone, gather in one place. It’ll be easier to move you that way.”
At Jae-ha’s command, the White Tiger Unit members moved in an orderly fashion.
They kindly took care of the Secrety members like me and gathered them in one place.
Of course, the fledgling Espers who were suddenly subjected to the princess carry hated this situation.
“…Please put us down. We can walk on our own.”
“I think it would be better if you carried us like sacks of flour.”
“Ugh! What is this! Don’t carry me like this!”
“…Ga-hyeon Hyung. Please tell them not to do this.”
Still, they were A-Class Espers, so they had to protect their pride.
“Let them walk on their own. They’re perfectly fine without any injuries, so you don’t have to try to protect them too much.”
Then Ryu I-ruk became embarrassed.
“Even so, they’re Espers in name only, almost like ordinary people, aren’t they?”
Jae-ha interjected at the right time.
“Let Ga-hyeon do as he wants. The Secrety members are not weak either, so you don’t have to treat them so carefully like civilians.”
“Understood.”
The members let out a sigh of relief when they were released from the protective hands.
“Hoo.”
Seo Yun-chae’s sigh was the loudest among them. He seemed to hate running away in a princess carry, even if he died.
“We have to escape before the Ability Management Bureau employees come… Huh?”
Before I could finish speaking, a semi-transparent spiderweb-like net suddenly covered us.
The White Tiger Unit members and Secrety members, who were about to fly away with Jae-ha’s telekinesis, were helplessly caught in the net and fell to the floor.
“Ugh!”
“What is this?”
“It’s sticky and restricts our bodies, so we can’t move…!”
“Damn it, it’s not easily cut with weapons, whatever item it’s made of!”
Voices of my comrades in distress erupted from everywhere.
Like they said, the giant spiderweb, which seemed to be a binding item, did not easily release the White Tiger Unit members and Secrety members.
Samoa, caught in the trap, struggled to activate his Tracking ability, however weakly.
“…It’s the Ability Management Bureau’s doing. Ban No-ah probably assumed that his plan might fail from the start and leaked information about our location to the Ability Management Bureau in advance.”
“What?”
“Soon… a large number of Ability Management Bureau employees will be swarming here. There are many who possess attack-type abilities as strong as ours. They plan to capture us all.”
I couldn’t understand.
My insides were boiling, and I shouted fiercely.
“Even so, shouldn’t they be dealing with the Dungeon Breaks that have erupted in more than one or two places right now?”
Jae-ha answered my question instead of Samoa.
“There’s no telling what kind of snake-like words Ban No-ah has whispered to the higher-ups. It’s a good thing for Ban No-ah. He can use this chaos as an excuse to carry out a ‘hunt’ disguised as ‘suppression’ and pass it off as casualties from the Dungeon Break.”
“That can’t be…”
Meanwhile, Jae-ha, oblivious to the other comrades’ fluster, cut the net with a blade made of telekinesis and rescued me.
“Thank goodness. If we do this, we can save the other comrades and get out of here-”
However, my words were interrupted by those who intervened.
Bright spotlights turned on from all directions and enveloped us.
“Ugh.”
Squinting at the dazzling light and shielding my eyes with my hand, I felt the sound of loud sirens and the commotion of Ability Management Bureau employees getting off beyond the light.
‘Ah, damn it.’
As I cursed inwardly, someone strode towards Jae-ha and me.
“Are you Hyeon Jae-ha, the deserter we’ve been chasing for 20 years?”
The person who walked over with a gun pointed at us was someone I had met before.
‘Director Shin Yun-hui!’
She had personally led the Ability Management Bureau employees under her command and chased us right to our doorstep.
I tensed up.
‘Could this person also be in cahoots with Ban No-ah?’
If so, was her appearance of being furious about the Ability Management Bureau’s information room being raided all an act?
Had they been deceiving me all along under Ban No-ah’s instructions?
Jae-ha’s low voice cut through the stiff air, filled with confusion and tension.
“…If I am Hyeon Jae-ha, what are you going to do?”
“Of course, we will arrest you and the Ability Users who deserted with you and take you away. What are you asking?”
Director Shin Yun-hui’s words were full of coldness.
‘No way!’
It was obvious without saying that they wouldn’t leave Jae-ha and the White Tiger Unit members alone.
“Jae-ha!”
“Stay still.”
Jae-ha showed a rare, forceful attitude and made me kneel.
“Kuh, what…?”
Jae-ha whispered so that only I could hear.
“You fool. You can’t let them know that you’re my collaborator.”
“Jae-ha… You don’t mean…”
“I came prepared with a solid trap. This time, we can’t avoid a full-scale war with the Ability Management Bureau…”
Jae-ha’s straight, blue eyes captured my face.
As if this was the last time, sadly.
“From now on, you’re going to play the role of a civilian hostage unfairly caught by me. Got it? You’re good at acting.”
No, no, I don’t want to.
My senses as a Guide reacted keenly and shouted.
No matter how strong Jae-ha was, the Ability Management Bureau employees who had set out to hunt down deserters with determination were also composed of a force as strong as him, so they could not be underestimated.
‘It’s dangerous… If these two groups clash, there will be many casualties.’
…Is this what Ban No-ah is aiming for?
Even if Jae-ha and the White Tiger Unit members barely manage to escape, is he planning to finish them off after they’ve exhausted their strength in a life-or-death battle?
‘I can’t let that happen!’
I couldn’t let everyone be swept up as sacrifices in Ban No-ah’s petty and dirty scheme.
I shook off Jae-ha’s hand, which was pressing me down on the floor like a hostage, and ran forward.
“Ga-hyeon!”
Jae-ha shouted, but I didn’t look back and stood in front of Director Shin Yun-hui.
“…What are you doing, Yeon Yu-jin?”
I wasn’t afraid of the gun pointed at me.
I shouted to Director Shin Yun-hui in a resounding voice.
“Director Shin Yun-hui! Whose orders did you receive to come here?”
“Why should I explain that to you…”
“If you are truly an Ability User who cares about the citizens, please listen. Who was the person who gave you the order?”
“That’s… of course, my superior… Huh?”
Director Shin Yun-hui clutched her head and groaned as if she had a headache from my question.
“Who, who was it? I can’t remember his face…”
‘She was caught in Ban No-ah’s trick and came all the way here!’
Director Shin Yun-hui was, in any case, a righteous Ability Management Bureau employee who prioritized the safety of the citizens above all else.
I didn’t think that she would chase Jae-ha and the White Tiger Unit as if she was blinded by the desire to achieve merit in this chaotic situation where Dungeon Breaks were popping up everywhere.
Fortunately, that prediction seemed to be correct.
At this moment, one of the red gems in my pocket sent out a tingling wave of energy.