Chapter 140: The Face That Wasn’t Mine

Anyway, it’s true that Song Jihan ended up being the biggest contributor to my confession.

Whether he intended it or not.

After that, we both focused on our respective partners, so direct clashes became far less frequent.

Surprisingly, we also worked well together in combat, so we managed to maintain a tolerable relationship.

I thought I’d confess properly to my brother again and finally live the life I’d always dreamed of.

But it seems that kind of happiness doesn’t come easily to me after all.

“Focus.
If you keep searching so recklessly like that, it could take days.”

“So what’s your plan, then?”

The place Song Jihan brought me to had Park Bomyeong, Yueden, and Team Leader Oh Seonggyu gathered together.

It was help I hadn’t even expected.

In the meantime, Yueden laid out the plan he’d come up with.

“First, there’s a clear connection between Jin Sehyun’s kidnapping and the monster attacks.
When Jin Sehyun was taken, monsters attacked at the same time, and now monsters are rampaging all over the world, almost like they’re trying to draw our attention elsewhere.”

Since my brother’s abduction, an abnormal number of monsters had been on the move.

It was as if they were trying to end the world itself, swarming every place where humans gathered.

“There’s someone we know who can control monsters like this, right?”

“…Th-that, X Mask?”

Yueden nodded.

“So you’re saying that bastard kidnapped Jin Sehyun?
Why?”

“I don’t know that yet… but there’s something more important right now.”

He was right.

If X Mask really was the same person who kidnapped my brother… then we had a serious problem.

“What kind of problem…?”

“That X Mask looks exactly like Seon Jaeyul.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to me.

As if they were waiting for an answer I didn’t even have.

“Be honest.
It’s really not you?
You’re telling me someone with the same face and abilities as you exists?”

It sounded ridiculous, yet even I couldn’t explain how it was possible.

“Maybe that’s exactly what he’s aiming for.
Disguising himself as Seon Jaeyul wouldn’t actually be that hard, right?
He might be borrowing your face to massacre humans on purpose.
That way, Seon Jaeyul becomes the enemy of everyone.”

That hypothesis made the most sense.

The situation was already bad enough, but assuming the opponent was X Mask made my anxiety grow even stronger.

His abilities were identical to mine, so if he wanted to harm my brother, he absolutely could.

I don’t care what he does with my face.

I just hope he doesn’t lay a hand on my brother.

“But even if we know that, how do we find Jin Sehyun?
It’s not like we know where X Mask is.”

“Team Leader, do you really think I’d be holding us here without a plan?
Take a look at this map.”

In response to Oh Seonggyu’s question, Yueden pulled up a map of Seoul on his tablet.

Several red dots were marked across the city.

“You all know that an unusually high number of light bombs have gone off in Seoul, right?”

“Yeah.
Way more frequently than overseas.”

“I marked those locations like this.
Now, if we draw a 15-kilometer radius…”

“H-huh…?”

There was a specific area where the circles overlapped far too much to be coincidence.

Too many lines converged at the same point.

“Here, and here.
There’s a high chance X has bases in these two locations.”

No one objected to Yueden’s assessment.

It was a plausible theory, and in our current situation, there wasn’t a better option.

“Then let’s split up and search.
No matter what happens, don’t engage first.
If you find anything, regroup before moving.
If it really is X Mask, he won’t be an easy opponent.”

I felt more tense than in any battle I’d ever fought.

Because my brother’s life was on the line.

No matter what, I would find him.

No matter who was holding him.

“Don’t worry about anything anymore.”

Exhausted, his fragile voice was the one comforting me instead.

“This time, I’ll protect you.”

Someone who didn’t even look capable of protecting himself said he’d protect me.

It was nonsense with no foundation, yet it shook my heart.

It comforted me.

It soothed me.

That voice had the power to suppress my anxiety with its overwhelming resonance.

Then that voice spoke again.

“And… I like you.
A lot.”

He said he liked me.

That he liked me.

My brother whispered it into my ear while I was delirious from rut.

I was definitely not in my right mind back then.

Yet that voice stayed etched into my memory, as if branded there.

I like you, a lot.

I like you, a lot.

Tragically enough, his confession sounded unbearably sweet.

I always replayed that memory in my mind, but today, I missed that voice more than ever.

I wanted to hear it again in his voice.

Those words saying he liked me.

“Grrr.”

I forced myself to let go of my brother’s memory at the growl of a massive monster.

This had been a residential area, but it was completely empty now, as if monsters had wiped everything out.

I let Poppi roam around in her main body form.

That would help more in finding my brother.

After scouting ahead, Poppi tugged on my clothes with her teeth.

“Say something.
That way?”

“Woong.
Wo—woong.”

“W-what exactly is this esteemed being trying to say right now?”

Team Leader Oh Seonggyu, who was paired with me, was visibly intimidated by a mere monster.

Poppi, now fully grown instead of her frail puppy form, was admittedly a bit intimidating.

But still, she was just a dog.

“I think she’s saying you should go that way, Team Leader.
I’m not really sure, though.”

“O-oh?
R-right… I’ll go take a look.
Call me, okay?”

There was no way I could actually understand Poppi.

That was just an excuse to separate from Oh Seonggyu.

If Poppi was pulling me, it meant she’d found something in that direction.

If the one wearing X Mask really was there, I couldn’t guarantee Oh Seonggyu’s safety.

Protecting him while fighting might put both my brother’s life and mine at risk.

It was better to move alone.

“Let’s go.
Hurry.”

“Wo—woong… woong….”

What on earth was she saying?

Poppi moved sluggishly, as if she hadn’t understood me at all, making strange noises as she walked.

If she was reacting like this, maybe she hadn’t found my brother after all.

“Aren’t you worried about him too?
Why are you being so lazy?”

She was walking so leisurely that I nearly smacked the back of her head.

If she weren’t so sensitive, I really would have.

Once she sulks, she never recovers easily, so I held back and coaxed her gently.

“Let’s hurry, okay?
Just walk a little faster.”

Bang.

Poppi, who’d been moving in slow motion, suddenly transformed into a tiny puppy and plopped down on the floor.

I wondered if this bastard had finally lost her mind, but I swallowed my temper and picked her up.

I was the one who needed her right now.

If she didn’t have a good reason for this, I wouldn’t forgive her.

“Yap.
Yap.”

“Here… is it?”

The place Poppi led me to was a building that looked completely intact, unlike the surrounding ruins.

A building well over ten stories tall stood like a tower amidst the devastation.

It looked unnatural.

There was no way a building like this should have survived a monster assault.

“But is it really here?
I don’t feel anything at all.”

I couldn’t sense my brother’s presence.

Or anyone else’s, for that matter.

If it were X Mask, I wouldn’t be unable to read his mana.

And my brother’s mana was so familiar that it should’ve been well within my sensing range.

That made it even stranger.

“Yap.
Yaaap.”

Trusting her confident nod, I started climbing the stairs.

With the power out, the interior was dark, but once my eyes adjusted, I picked up the pace.

The building seemed endlessly tall.

No matter how much I climbed, there was no end in sight.

The thought that I’d been tricked by Poppi grew stronger with every step.

There wasn’t even the faintest sign of life.

I moved without making a sound, suppressing my presence just in case, but I wasn’t sure it even mattered.

Just as I reached my limit and was about to demand answers from Poppi, a familiar voice slipped into my ear.

“You… today…… did…?”

Thump.

My heart pounded harder than it ever had while running.

Because the voice I heard belonged to my brother.

The very voice I’d been waiting for.

And it sounded unbelievably normal.

I couldn’t make out the exact words, but I could tell he wasn’t in immediate danger.

It seemed my worst fears hadn’t come true.

Thank goodness.

The office the voice came from had its door open.

Under the moonlight pouring in through the wide windows, I saw my brother’s face.

As I moved toward him, relieved, my eyes caught another figure.

“That’s not strange at all.
I’ve always been like this.
You just didn’t know.”

Standing there, facing my brother…

…was me.

Not someone who merely looked like me.

Me.

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