By Zephyria 
Potato, stuck to my head, shook his head as he watched the news on the electronic billboard.
[It might not be a coincidence. A relatively short time passed after entering to attack the Dungeon, and then a Dungeon Break occurred. Something is strange. Someone might have been involved. I can’t say for sure, though.]
‘That means….’
[You must have something in mind too.]
The death of a famous Hunter led to a thorough investigation by the police and the Management Bureau.
However, no suspicious traces were found in the closed Dungeon.
They couldn’t even find the body of the deceased Jin Eu-tteum.
‘But it is strange.’
Since the police and the Management Bureau couldn’t find Jin Eu-tteum’s body, they presumed he was eaten by monsters during the attack.
‘Eaten? I don’t think so?’
The Balrogs said this as soon as they emerged from the Dungeon.
-It’s been a long time since we’ve tasted such a delicacy.
-How much we missed the taste of human flesh!
If the Balrogs had eaten Jin Eu-tteum, they wouldn’t have said that. There’s no reason for monsters to lie to humans.
There were also suspicious points in speculating that another monster was responsible. Jin Eu-tteum wasn’t just any Esper. Only the Balrogs could kill Jin Eu-tteum in that Dungeon.
So, it had to be assumed that Jin Eu-tteum was killed by something other than a monster inside the Dungeon.
Even if he was killed by a monster, someone must have stolen his body.
Who would dare to secretly hide an Esper’s body?
Wouldn’t it be possible for the criminal X, who has the extraordinary ability to kill me and steal my powers?
If X is still alive, and if he hasn’t broken his habit of killing Ability Users and stealing their abilities.
‘Could it be X?’
[That’s what I think.]
The sight of the bereaved family wailing in the news was shown.
Some people said that Jin Eu-tteum might still be alive since his body hadn’t been found.
The sight of people suddenly losing their loved ones and grieving.
It hurt to keep watching it.
‘I have to tell Jae-ha about this.’
I tried not to send texts if possible, but I felt I had to let him know, so I quickly typed.
[That Dungeon Break incident that happened in the park last time, it’s strange. I think it needs to be investigated. The disappearance of Jin Eu-tteum’s body, who went to attack the Dungeon, it looks like X’s work to me.]
Ra Ho-yeon suddenly poked his face out when I had typed this far.
“What are you doing.”
“Ahhh!”
I was startled. I almost dropped my phone. The send button was pressed, so the message should be safely delivered to Jae-ha.
As I quickly put my phone in my pocket, Ra Ho-yeon’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s suspicious. What is it? Why are you hiding your phone?”
“None, none of your business. It’s my privacy!”
Ra Ho-yeon flinched at the word privacy and took a step back.
“I wasn’t trying to push you.”
“Hmm?”
“You looked so serious, I thought the stock you invested in had failed.”
“I’m not a rich man like Seo Yun-chae. I don’t have any stocks invested in.”
“I know. That’s why I was curious and asked. You had such a fierce expression, like you met an enemy.”
It was true that I was chasing an enemy. It was tiring that I was chasing him secretly.
I pointed to the electronic billboard showing the news in response to Ra Ho-yeon’s question.
That would be a suitable excuse.
“Because of that.”
“The Jin Eu-tteum disappearance case?”
That day, which was a stepping stone for Secreety, but a day of sadness for Jin Eu-tteum’s family and those who loved him.
Ra Ho-yeon also frowned as he watched the news, as if recalling that hectic day.
“I was looking into that case. Why, when we went to the Ability Measurement Center last time, we asked for the authority to track down the criminal who screwed us over, right?”
“You were really trying to find him?”
I was taken aback by Ra Ho-yeon’s surprised reaction.
“…Did you think I wasn’t?”
“I thought you made it up on the spot to mess with those Management Bureau employees. Logically speaking, the Management Bureau employees would be better at catching the criminal than we would.”
He really had the same perspective as an ordinary person….
As I looked at Ra Ho-yeon with a look of disappointment, he sighed.
“…Could you please not look at me so pathetically?”
“Did I? I guess my true feelings came out.”
“How? You’re not even an Esper, you’re a Guide.”
“You guys are my Espers now. We have to chase that criminal together.”
I was so disgusted when I was chased by that creepy cockroach monster back then.
But Ra Ho-yeon was cold. He urged me to go back to practice again.
“We have to prepare for our comeback. We’re busy. We don’t have time.”
“Hey. This might be more important! The criminal who attacked us and the criminal in the Jin Eu-tteum disappearance case might be the same person!”
“Even so, this comeback is more important to us right now. President said it, if we fail this time, we’re all doomed.”
“No….”
“You can only get rid of the pressure of the penalty if this comeback goes well.”
“Ugh.”
It seemed like I couldn’t communicate with Ra Ho-yeon anymore.
“Okay. Let’s go. Let’s go. Sigh.”
My mind was on my phone the whole time as I headed back to the practice room.
‘I wish Jae-ha would read the text and reply or come to me.’
Is he very busy?
The phone remained silent for a long time after I sent the text.
Hyeon Jae-ha and his colleagues were searching for a person presumed to be X.
An unidentified Ability User wearing red earrings.
The troublesome thing was that nothing could be confirmed except for the red earrings, which seemed to be the core of the abilities stolen from the deceased Ability Users.
He presented Samoa, a member with Tracking ability, with the clues gathered about the criminal so far, but only received the answer that it would be difficult.
“It’s too vague to track with this, Captain.”
“Why?”
“Other clues besides the red earrings are too easy to cover up.”
Someone from the political and business circles with deep ties to the government. Someone who is at least twenty years old, someone disguised as an Ability User.
“If it was someone in a position to access confidential documents about stealing abilities, they would have undergone identity laundering. If I were the criminal, I would have done that. I would never reveal that I’m a Multiple Ability User to the outside world, and I would usually only show one ability and live like an ordinary Ability User. I wouldn’t have registered as a high-ranking Esper either.”
“…So it would be difficult for us to track them?”
“That’s right. If they knew that the Captain was looking for them with his eyes wide open, they would have definitely prepared for safety.”
Gender, age, body type, nothing could be inferred.
“If that bastard X stole abilities related to disguise or body modification, things get even more complicated. The Captain said that the guy he saw was a man in his late 20s, right?”
“Yeah. His voice was male.”
“Now, on the contrary, they may be living as a woman with a different age. Once they’ve laundered their identity once, it’ll be easier the second and third time. It’s hard to track because I can’t be sure of anything.”
“I wish I could have picked up a strand of hair with that bastard’s DNA.”
“Ah, of course, if we had something with genetic information, we could track it down immediately… The Management Bureau isn’t stupid, and if there were any traces left, they would have tracked it down and caught him right away.”
He was a criminal that even the psychometry in the Management Bureau, who reads memories, couldn’t catch.
No one in this place ever thought that he could be easily caught.
Hyeon Jae-ha clicked his tongue and said.
“In the end, do we have to search through all the existing Ability Users one by one?”
The number of newly appearing Ability Users has decreased, but the total number of domestic Ability Users accumulated over 20 years was staggering.
Even excluding the Ability Users who had been determined not to be the criminals so far.
Information collector Geum Na-ro shuddered.
“Ugh. It’s impossible to investigate all those Ability Users. Even if we investigate, we can’t be sure if they’re the criminal. Even if the Captain meets them in person, it’s uncertain if he’ll be able to tell.”
“…It’s certain that he’s an Esper. He couldn’t have acted as a Guide.”
“That’s right. There’s no ability in this world to lower Corruption Level like a Guide.”
“That means that thief might not need a Guide.”
“Well… There’s nothing we can be sure of. There are no cases where stolen abilities can be used, and even if only Esper’s abilities are stolen and used, it’s hard to imagine that there would be no aftereffects.”
At that moment, Hyeon Jae-ha felt his phone vibrate.
“Just a moment.”
“What is it?”
“Did someone just contact the Captain?”
“Everyone’s gathered here at the hideout, who would bother to do such a troublesome thing?”
Silence fell.
Ha Ri-ra whispered in disbelief.
“That means… the person who contacted the Captain now is….”
They could tell without saying it.
That satisfied look like a well-fed beast that was clearly spreading across the Captain’s face.
It must be that Guide who already had an owner.