Chapter 28: The Black Wasp

Bbyak suddenly burst out from the pocket.

It swiftly flew toward the shelf behind Dohyun.

Spreading its wings wide, it slammed into the large shelf, causing it to wobble.

At that moment.

A woman dressed in black appeared.

“Tch.”

Like a ninja from a manga, the woman clad in attire that covered her entire body clicked her tongue and drew a short sword.

Her target was Bbyak.

Bbyak!

But Bbyak was no ordinary bird.

It was none other than the legendary beast, the Phoenix.

Though it couldn’t use its full power inside the Tower or the Gate, it was still a Death God Beast.

How dare a mere human think they could match it.

The woman moved like the wind, but to Bbyak, she was merely a shadow.

Is this what it means for every movement to be read?

She threw the short sword and a hidden small net, but all were useless.

Instead, Bbyak prepared to counterattack.

Bbyak Bbyak!

At lightning speed, Bbyak slashed at the mysterious woman’s abdomen.

She emitted a small gasp and stepped back.

“This is serious.”

Her expression darkened as her critical strike missed and she was counterattacked.

Who would have thought a beast would be here?

Had the Association’s secret beast cultivation program already advanced this far?

They had been too careless.

They hadn’t prepared for the worst.

It was strange that there was no secret agent from the Association to move a magic stone weighing over 1,000 tons.

Now, there was no other choice.

She had to use the last method.

If she bit down on the explosives clenched between her teeth, this whole area would be reduced to ashes.

If she was going to die anyway, she would take everyone down with her.

A sly smile curled at the last moment.

That instant.

A red bird came flying at high speed again.

It was too late to defend.

If this was how it would end, she’d at least break her neck.

If she didn’t die from the first strike, biting down on the explosives would send them all to hell together.

However.

Saskk.

This time, it wasn’t an attack.

Bbyak scattered white powder in the air.

Sleepiness washed over.

The mind dulled, and vision blurred.

Could this be a sleeping agent?

Damn, she’d been tricked.

Hurry, even now…

In the blink of an eye.

The black-masked woman immediately fell asleep.

***

The woman collapsed before their eyes.

Could she have been a ninja?

But that wasn’t the important part.

She had definitely been holding a sword.

She had been hiding behind the shelf, watching them.

Goosebumps prickled all over.

“I- I’m sorry. For such a mistake.”

Dohyun, stunned by the sudden turn of events, was no different.

After finally grasping the situation, he bowed his head apologetically to me.

“No, it’s fine. Nobody got hurt, so it’s a relief.”

“I should have been more careful.”

It wasn’t Dohyun’s fault.

That woman was the culprit.

What era did she think this was, trying to assassinate someone?

And in South Korea, no less.

“Let’s first confirm who she is.”

Thankfully, she was completely unconscious.

At the last moment, sensing something strange, Bbyak had thrown the giant room’s sleeping powder.

Its effect was immediate.

Truly an item obtained from the Tower.

“Th- This person is—”

When the mask was removed, Dohyun stammered, looking flustered.

Her cold expression and black hair.

It was Mitsuru, recently hired as a secretary in the intelligence department.

She had supposedly been dispatched directly from Japan for the Global Association branch, so why was she here?

Countless thoughts tangled in his mind, but he quickly shook his head.

That wasn’t important right now.

The priority was to fully restrain her.

Using cable ties and tape found in the warehouse, they bound her hands and feet tightly.

They searched thoroughly for hidden short swords or gloves.

“She might have something in her mouth.”

Her mouth.

This wasn’t an impossible suggestion.

Upon hearing Woo min’s words, he cautiously checked.

It was true.

Something was there.

A small, round black object stuck behind her molars.

It was an explosive.

Unlike the poison used for suicide in martial arts novels, this explosive wasn’t meant to prevent secret leaks.

It was intended to blow up everything around.

The more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine.

If the assassination failed, she planned to die by detonating the explosives.

If not for Bbyak—

They all would have died here.

“Thanks to Woo min and Bbyak, we’re alive.”

Dohyun said sincerely, wiping the dirt from his mouth.

Then he revealed her identity.

“This woman is from the Association.”

“What?”

The reaction was quite surprised.

It was inevitable.

They knew rumors of corporate spies inside the Association, but not that one would appear so blatantly.

“A few days ago, a secretary was newly assigned to the intelligence department.”

“A secretary?”

“Yes, a new recruit sent from Japan for the Global Association branch. But why here…?”

His thoughts became tangled.

He wanted to interrogate her to learn who was backing her, but this was South Korea.

Even if they captured her for the Association, they probably wouldn’t find anything.

Maybe she’d just be sent back to Japan, and that would be the end.

If so, they had to act now.

Dohyun picked up the short sword that had fallen on the ground.

He swallowed his dry saliva.

Interrogation.

He had learned about it at the Player Academy.

Of course, it was a method to endure interrogation, but he didn’t know how to conduct one himself.

Why not just reverse the method?

One of the body parts with many nerves was under the fingernails.

Dohyun tightly closed his eyes.

Then.

“W- wait a moment.”

Woo min stopped Dohyun.

“You’re planning to interrogate her now?”

“If we return to the Association in this state, we’ll gain nothing. Even if we interrogate her here, we need to find out who’s behind this.”

They were facing a treasonous enemy who dared to target an SSS-rank player.

Interrogation?

If needed, worse things could be done.

But Woo min hurriedly stopped Dohyun.

Interrogation was too horrifying.

They were still human.

There had to be a better way.

“I have another method.”

“W-what? An item, maybe?”

“No, not that.”

Woo min dragged out his words as he looked at Bbyak.

A pure beast, the Phoenix.

Bbyak’s flames contained a mysterious power that purified evil energy.

Taejin had experienced it too.

He had become a completely different person through Bbyak’s flames.

Though the outcome hadn’t been ideal, the situation now was different, wasn’t it?

“Bbyak, please.”

Bbyak!

Bbyak nodded in response.

Then, standing before Mitsuru, it flared its beak.

Hwaruk—

Golden flames rose.

The fire wrapped around Mitsuru’s entire body.

Soon, she closed her eyes.

“As expected, I’ll do this myself!”

Seeing that, Dohyun gripped the short sword again.

But what he feared did not happen.

Mitsuru opened her eyes, bowed her head, and began to vomit.

A black, sticky liquid oozed out.

“Th- that is…”

Bbyak!

Like a tiny parasitic life form.

Bbyak quickly stomped and crushed it.

Then Mitsuru started mumbling something.

“Blue Dragon…”

“Beast…”

“Death God Beast…”

“Father…”

“Master of the new world…”

Then she suddenly shook her head violently.

Coughing and sputtering, she regained consciousness.

“Co-cough, where am I?”

With a clueless expression, Mitsuru looked around.

She appeared like a naive young student who knew nothing.

“Don’t lower your guard yet. It could be a ploy by the enemy.”

Dohyun remained suspicious of Mitsuru until the end.

He was right.

It could be a trick.

Suddenly changing attitudes, holding her neck as if to strangle, and turning it into a hostage situation.

They had seen it many times in movies.

Bbyak!

But Bbyak shook its head.

As if telling them not to worry.

“Is it really okay?”

Bbyak.

Hmm.

If Bbyak was saying that, it must be fine.

Still, they shouldn’t let their guard down.

Humans could change in unexpected ways.

“More importantly, who are you all? Where is this? I was definitely on my way to school.”

Tears welled in Mitsuru’s eyes, still not grasping the situation.

She looked like she might break down any moment.

Calm down. If you tell us the truth, nothing will happen.

I met her gaze.

Maybe it was from taming beasts, but I could somewhat read what a person was thinking just by looking into their eyes.

No falsehood in her gaze.

Just pure, terrified black pupils.

We would only look like kidnappers or traffickers to her.

“Let us go.”

“What? But—”

Even if tied up like this, they couldn’t get any information.

At times like this, they had to approach her as kindly as possible.

I knew what Dohyun was worried about.

If she suddenly went wild, it would be a big problem.

The enemy was an assassin sent from Japan.

Mitsuru could even be a fake name.

But I was certain.

Nothing would happen.

Was it because Bbyak was confident?

No.

It was the instinct of a beast, Woo min.

Right now, Mitsuru was closer to a victim.

I turned on the translator app on my phone and asked her.

“Do you really have no memories?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know what year it is now?”

“I know that. It’s 2015.”

“The Tower?”

“Th-the Tower? I know about it. It suddenly appeared three years ago.”

Exactly ten years of memories were missing.

Probably because of that black wasp.

Then who implanted that black wasp in Mitsuru?

Something felt ominous.

A dark force was lurking.

Things were only getting more complicated.

Then Dohyun stepped forward.

“From now on, I will handle this. I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

“Team Leader, it’s not your fault.”

“No, the truth is, I don’t trust the Association. This incident could be their doing, or there might be another backer. Either way, no more danger can be allowed.”

Dohyun worried as he put Mitsuru into the car.

Danger.

The opponent was an unknown, massive backer.

Was it really right for me to get involved?

I’d lived my life as a safety expert.

If I closed my eyes this time, it would be over.

I could just leave it all to Dohyun.

But.

Bbyak.

Bbiee.

Pachi pachi.

Looking at the three little brothers in my pocket, my conscience pricked me.

Their eyes looked at me with hopeful anticipation.

Yeah, there was no choice.

This wasn’t just for me.

It was for our trio, our families, and our acquaintances.

Having such a powerful backer capable of infiltrating the Association so close was already dangerous enough.

Since it had come to this, I’d help Dohyun.

I’d said it before—the Association wasn’t to be trusted.

So what?

I’m here.

An SSS-rank player.

“I’ll help too!”

“B-but—”

“Even though I look like this, I’m rank 555. Not to brag, but thanks to Bbyak, my physical abilities are far better than an average person.”

I had already gained semi-transcendent-level reflexes and athletic ability after fighting Taejin.

No need to worry about a normal opponent.

With Bbyak’s protection and the Slime King’s shield, I was the safest of all.

Besides, hadn’t I heard something mysterious?

Blue Dragon.

Beast.

Death God Beast.

I felt some strong attraction.

Looks like a new final boss was about to appear.

And it’s a Death God Beast of rank SSS—named Blue Dragon!