Chapter 62: The Uninvited Guests

It truly is remarkable.

Even Sa-yoon, who had reached the pinnacle as a specialized ability user, couldn’t help but acknowledge it. Han Do-hoon’s unique ability was optimized for combat.

Sa-yoon’s power could have eliminated the Rain as well. Crushing the Rain gathered underground would resolve the situation.

However, even then, there was a high probability that some individuals would escape.

‘But it wouldn’t have been this decisive or effortless.’

‘Is this the limit of inherent talent? There’s truly no overcoming what one is born with.’

Mutters of his own futility escaped Sa-yoon’s lips as he stretched, a wide yawn escaping him. The heat that had warmed his soles gradually subsided.

In a way, considering the alarm raised about the Rain’s invasion, the cleanup had been rather anticlimactic.

Recalling the tense days spent scouring Daejeon left him feeling utterly drained. Still, if it was resolved safely, then it was a success.

Sa-yoon opened his closed eyes. With no more verdant presences felt from underground, it was time to return to headquarters and report.

Faint orange light pushed back the darkness, rising from the distant horizon. It was already time for the sun to rise.

Filled with a sense of pride, Sa-yoon stretched his arms wide. The newly illuminated city sparkled, looking just as it had yesterday.

Despite the various hardships, he had successfully protected the city without any civilian casualties. Daejeon had met a future entirely different from the ruined landscape foretold in the prophecy.

Rubbing his eyes, blurred from staring at coordinates for too long, he rose to his feet. His body, having rolled around underground, felt stiff and weary, yet his spirits were high.

The director had promised to exempt him from cleanup duty, so now all he wanted was rest. The hot springs he’d visited yesterday had been wonderful; perhaps he should go again.

As he pondered these idle thoughts and moved to step forward, a siren blared in Sa-yoon’s mind. It was strange. All the Rain underground had been dealt with, so why was his body seizing up?

Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he felt as if he’d just sensed a verdant presence moving behind him.

“Huh?”

The ground tilted.

The quiet earth beneath his feet suddenly rushed into view, and only after his cheek met the hard ground did Sa-yoon realize he had fallen.

“……”

His mouth gaped, but no sound emerged. Why? What had happened?

There were no remaining enemies. Sa-yoon had been alone during his final sweep. There had been no sign of anyone approaching him.

“Sa-yoon. Sa-yoon.”

A voice called his name from behind him, where moments ago there had been no one. At that sound, Sa-yoon’s neck stiffened like plaster. His entire body felt as heavy as stone.

He wasn’t asleep. This couldn’t be a dream. So why was he hearing Myeong-ah’s voice?

“Myeong… ah…?”

The rough texture of the dirt against his palm screamed reality. He wanted to turn his head. He wanted to lift his face and confirm if the person behind him was Myeong-ah. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even twitch a finger.

Though not a dream, the dream-like situation made Sa-yoon clench his teeth.

“You’ve suffered much alone, Sa-yoon. Let us go together.”

Someone lifted Sa-yoon’s body. His considerable weight was picked up with ease, and as his body was flipped, his vision blurred. He couldn’t afford to lose consciousness now. He needed to understand what was happening.

As Sa-yoon struggled, the person holding him stumbled. Through his hazy vision, Sa-yoon grabbed the assailant’s wrist. It was thick and rough-skinned, belonging to a man. He twisted the wrist with force, and the man cried out, letting go of Sa-yoon.

The impact of landing on his backside jolted his clouded mind back to clarity. Sa-yoon rubbed his dull eyes roughly. He glared at the opponent who had tried to move him. It wasn’t Myeong-ah.

“Who are you?”

The man, who appeared to be at least in his forties, had his face obscured by a thick hood. A glimpse of his jaw and neck revealed numerous old scars.

Behind him, several other figures wearing identical hoods watched Sa-yoon warily.

“See? I told you we should just knock him out and take him.”

“What if we treat him roughly and ruin our image? They clearly said this brainwave would work on S-ranks. They said it would call out to the target using the voice of the person they liked most.”

“I think our image is already ruined beyond repair.”

“Should we just knock him out now?”

One of the men chattering behind him pointed at Sa-yoon. The man who had tried to abduct Sa-yoon saw him glaring menacingly at the group and slumped his shoulders. He cleared his throat and approached Sa-yoon.

“It’s rather shameless to say this, but we didn’t come here to harm you.”

It was a completely different voice. A gruff, low voice, so distinct it was laughable he’d mistaken it for Myeong-ah’s.

Sa-yoon hit his head a few times to clear the muffled ringing, and slowly, his senses returned. His sluggish hands and feet moved according to his will.

Pushing himself up from the ground, Sa-yoon manipulated the surrounding terrain. Piles of earth formed hills, encircling Sa-yoon and his would-be abductors.

“Look. Let’s talk. We’ll apologize, so won’t you calm down?”

“Let’s talk in jail first, Mr. Attempted Kidnapper. And if you want to talk, you shouldn’t strike first.”

And they had hit him where it hurt most. The heart rate that had spiked upon hearing Myeong-ah’s voice a moment ago refused to come down.

At Sa-yoon’s command, the earthen mounds rose to shoulder height. The criminals looked around, their faces etched with unease, at the man standing at the front. The man who had tried to abduct Sa-yoon. The apparent leader of the group removed his hood.

Even though the man was a stranger, there was something oddly familiar about his presence. He felt like someone Sa-yoon had seen somewhere before, but not someone he knew. Sa-yoon pondered who he could be to seem so familiar.

The elderly man bowed respectfully to Sa-yoon.

“I apologize. We are not your enemies. We merely wished to create an opportunity for dialogue, and I admit our method was a bit aggressive.”

From Sa-yoon’s perspective, having been raised with Korean respect for elders, it would be difficult to forcefully apprehend an adult who acted this way… *What nonsense.*

Sa-yoon seized the bowed man by the collar. He slammed him against the hard earth wall and bound his arms behind his back.

The man, face pressed into the wall, cried out.

“Ah, wait a moment. We are pacifists. No violence. Let’s take it easy. Easy.”

“If you want to talk, do it in this position.”

“Th-then… very well.”

‘I didn’t want to introduce myself like this,’ the man, half-buried face-first in the earthen wall, muttered self-deprecatingly. Having steeled himself, the man mumbled in a slurred voice,

“Pleased to meet you. We are Air Rain.”

“What?”

The man’s colleague added an explanation.

“Th-that’s right, the organization classified as a terrorist group by national agencies.”

Only then did Sa-yoon recall where he had seen the man’s face. The undisputed number one on the bounty board, having remained at the very top for years: Kang Tae-han, the action leader of Air Rain.

Was it true that people became speechless when utterly dumbfounded?

Air Rain.

The world was overflowing with criminal organizations causing havoc. From nameless small fry to groups with considerable notoriety, countless criminal organizations existed.

And at their forefront was Air Rain.

Number one in bounties for decades. Number one target of vigilance. Number one in crime damage. They were a major terrorist organization that used the monstrous creatures known as Rain to terrorize the world, and they were also the main culprits behind the recent Daejeon terror incident.

“Oh…”

Sa-yoon, barely managing to utter an exclamation, pressed Kang Tae-han, Air Rain’s action leader, harder against the wall. Since an executive of a terrorist organization would naturally be an Esper, he applied force without any pangs of conscience.

“Ouch. I’m dying here.”

Even though he had pressed hard enough to break a normal person’s ribs, Kang Tae-han merely feigned pain, as expected. Sa-yoon gripped his terminal. Seeing his readiness to call headquarters immediately, Kang Tae-han urgently twisted his head.

“I’ll just say hello today and leave. It seems dialogue is out of the question anyway, and I’ll depart quietly, so please let go of me.”

“You, a hidden infiltrator here to commit terror, expect to walk away unharmed?”

“We didn’t do that terror! Ah, seriously, that’s unfair!”

Kang Tae-han’s cry was full of indignation. His colleagues, watching the situation from behind, nodded. One of the party, who had been standing silently regardless of Kang Tae-han being slammed into the wall, stepped forward.

When he spoke, a gruff voice, like metal scraping, emerged.

“That’s not an excuse. We have never instigated terror. Nor do we have any reason to sacrifice such a large number of Rain.”

“Oh, really? But how did you know the schedule of a terror attack you didn’t cause and wait for me here? What kind of ridiculous story is this?”

Kang Tae-han’s colleague denied it, his veins bulging.

“No, it’s not. Our prophet said we could meet you if we came here today, so we just came. We had no idea something like this would happen.”

Another one talking about prophecy. Sa-yoon sighed, barely listening to his opponent. From the military unit to the terrorist organization, everyone was in an uproar. At this rate, he wondered if the occult was taking over the world.

“Your innocence will be proven at headquarters.”

If they put them in a Brain Shaker and shook them thoroughly, the machine would determine the truth. They seemed to be Air Rain’s elite, given they were operating in such a small group. Even if he apprehended just one of them properly, a stream of significant information was likely to pour out.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Heemin’s One-Sided Love

AdultBoys LoveDrama

Read Now →
Not interested