Chapter 28: The Hand That Leads to Secrets.

A pickup truck climbed along a mountain road in the outer area.

Seril, who was holding the steering wheel, couldn’t hide her anxious expression and kept increasing her speed.

As her heart grew impatient, a small clicking of the tongue was heard from the side seat at the bumpy ride.

“Tsk-“

At that sound, Seril’s eyes glanced at the passenger sitting in the passenger seat.

Linesha. Seo Jin’s former student.
Now, several tens of minutes had passed since she had been riding in the same vehicle in order to find his whereabouts, where communications had been cut off.

During that time, there had been no conversations between them. Apart from the heavily echoing engine noise, no stories had been told.

She was only looking out the car window with a parallel gaze.

Her expression clearly showed that she was following only against her will since a while ago.

She had an attitude that she didn’t trust Seril’s story that much from the start.

Even so, the reason she had obediently accompanied her without any threats of what if it was a lie was close to a confidence that no matter what misfortune befell them afterwards, no matter what trick it was… she could turn everything over and hold her responsible.

In fact, the capabilities of a special-grade ability user were enough to do that.

Seril knew that fact well, so she didn’t unnecessarily provoke the other person.
However, the only question that she couldn’t resolve was how Seo Jin could say that a woman like this was cute, even if she was a former student… she just couldn’t understand it at all.

The vehicle, which had been speeding up like that, soon arrived at its destination.

The mountain where his last communication had been cut off.

As soon as she opened the car door and got out, the acrid smell of blood wafted out.

The smell of blood that stimulated their noses.
It was a very familiar sign to them, who had experienced the battlefield,
and Linesha’s eyes sank calmly.
The ripples of magic power rose at the slightly pursed fingertips.

Seril also slung the rifle she had leaned against in the vehicle and loaded it.
Because she had sensed that something unusual had happened here, they slowly moved inside the mountain while preparing for any possible danger.

“…..This way.”

The closer they got to the location where Seo Jin’s signal had been cut off, the stickier the blood smell that rose up became as well.

And finally, they reached the place.

The two people who discovered the carnage that unfolded before their eyes lost their words for a while.

The scenery that was revealed beyond the bushes was truly horrific.

Corpses with their heads completely blown off.
Flesh scattered in all directions. Bloodstains.
All of them had been killed in the same way.

“Ugh…..”

The acrid and nauseating smell of blood that filled the air stimulated their nostrils.

Seril frowned, but hurriedly looked around.

‘Please, no…. right?’

Every time she saw pieces of flesh that she couldn’t recognize who they were, she felt her heart sink.

But she barely calmed down after confirming that there was no clothing among them that she could guess was the one she had come to find.

It was easy to distinguish.
Because all the corpses with their heads blown off were wearing armor.

So there was also a question that arose.
The enhanced armor was definitely equipment that was strictly managed for military use. It was never exported to civilians. So, all of those who had died here were also…..

‘These guys, what affiliation are they…?’

Seril directly rummaged through the corpses here and there, but couldn’t find any unit marks or dog tags. There wasn’t any object that could be a clue.

Even so, there was something she vaguely guessed in her head.

A rumor that there was a private soldier organization among the Allied Forces’ hidden formations that was in charge of the secret cleanup of high-ranking generals. It was a story she had heard somewhere before.

Was that rumor true?

Then how far was this matter involved?

Seril let out a deep sigh and shook off all her thoughts.

Because that wasn’t what was important right now.

‘Where on earth is he, Seo Jin….’

The point where the signal had been cut off was definitely here.

But no matter how much she looked, she couldn’t see any traces of him.

Seril calmed her impatient heart and went back over the clues one by one.

First, the corpses were still clean.
Even if she had left them alone for a little while in these mountains, insects or animals would have swarmed them. Looking at the fact that there was still no rotten smell and only the acrid blood smell was wafting, whatever had happened here, it hadn’t been long.

Then it wasn’t too late.
It definitely wouldn’t have been too late.

She rubbed her cold, sweaty hands and repeated that in her heart.

From the memories of losing her precious comrades, she barely suppressed the anxiety that kept rising up. She consciously turned her attention and looked around again.

‘A little more, some kind of clue…..’

But at the end of the turning gaze, something strange caught her eye.

It was the existence of the companion who had been standing blankly since earlier.

She hadn’t moved even one step until now.
In the same posture as when she was examining the corpse that had died with its head blown off. The voice that was muttering something had a clearly bewildered air that was unlike her.

“….. How could…..”

The face of the special-grade ability user, who was capable of even suppressing the horde of thousands of variant species with her own power, was showing bewilderment for the first time.

She looked so strange that even Seril called out to her worriedly.

“Is something the matter?”

Linesha, who belatedly came to her senses and turned around at the calling voice.

Her eyes were shaking frantically.

There was an unconcealable anxiety in her stammering voice as well.

“……Cynthia, it’s her….. It’s dangerous….. If we don’t find Teacher right away-“

Pink blonde hair that flowed down to her waist.
The soft-colored light pink long hair swayed gently according to the movement of her gaze.

The clear, crystal-like eyes contained in that snow-white face stared at Seo Jin.

Pupils that shone mysteriously with various colors, like intricately crafted opals.
It was a characteristic of an ability user who had awakened a unique magic power that was the only one in the world.

Seo Jin knew who she was.
Because they had an uncommon relationship with each other. And he wouldn’t forget the appearance of such a special and beautiful girl by mistake.

“…..Cynthia.”

“Yes~”

The former student, who had answered gently and docilely, just like the old personality he remembered, smiled brightly.

And she strode right up to Seo Jin right in front of his eyes.

Even though it had been several years since they had met again, she was all the same as before.

The habit of suddenly hooking her arm around his, the feeling of clinging to his sleeve tightly and hanging on him. The way she treated him without even a hint of awkwardness gave Seo Jin embarrassment.

At the same time, he felt a strange sense of disconnect.

No matter how close they were,
even if they were blood-related family,
they were bound to be a little awkward if they hadn’t met for a long time.

But the way Cynthia was treating him was just like the attitude of the student who had been particularly fond of him in the past. She approached him without even a hint of hesitation.

Not even any resentment….. was visible.

Just like Linesha had done before, she was just treating him like before, without even the complaints she should have expressed to Seo Jin, who had tricked her and hidden himself.

Seo Jin felt a strange sense of disconnect in that attitude.

Above all, it was a relationship he had never imagined he would encounter in this kind of place, in this way, so he was very confused. There were so many things he wanted to ask. The questions were so mixed up that he couldn’t even say anything.

Leaving him, who was only moving his lips vaguely, Cynthia smiled brightly calmly.

“How was my surprise gift? Tell me your thoughts!”

‘Gift…..?’

At those words, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind.

The unidentified document that had arrived for him a few days ago.
It was the document that had first made him aware of the suspicions related to Arcel’s death.

There, the familiar handwriting that had been written on the envelope containing the data was…

【Present for You】

He had clearly thought that it was a font he had seen somewhere a lot, but could it be-

“…….Cynthia, did you send that to me?”

“You’re right~”

The direct answer that came out coolly.
Thanks to that, Seo Jin momentarily lost his words.

The truth that even Arcel, who was the closest to him, couldn’t know.
The data contained in the documents was definitely the most sensitive secret of the Allied Forces.

But how on earth had Cynthia obtained it,
why had she shown it to him only now,
how had she known that he was alive from the start, and since when….

There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions he wanted to ask.

They were so mixed up that,
Seo Jin was only confused now.

As if guessing that kind of feeling, Cynthia was still smiling calmly and docilely.

“You must have a lot of questions, right? I know.”

After saying that, she flicked her snow-white fingers in the air once.

Ttaak-!

The magic power that stretched out with the sound was shaped into a magic circle, instantly drawing a huge magic circle in the air.
The implemented magic was gradually distorting the space, creating a single passage.

Seo Jin knew the identity of that spell.

Space movement magic.
It was a high-level magic that only Aegises with the best capabilities in the spell field could do, which he had sometimes seen during the time he was with Arcel.

But the current Cynthia had completed it too easily.

It was an amazing growth. Of course, she was an 아이 who had possessed enough potential before, but he had no idea that she had leapt to this extent.

That was because most of the 아이 with whom Seo Jin had a relationship received a lot of attention and spotlight through the mass media as war heroes. Thanks to that, he had often sensed their growth from afar.

But he felt much more unfamiliar with just her, since he had no memory of hearing any news about her….

That’s how long it had been since they had reunited.

Until the two of them met again in this place, what had happened to them,
what were they thinking,
he could no longer see as clearly as before.

It was unfamiliar.
The sight of her completing an incredibly difficult high-level spell so easily, without showing even a hint of hardship… the smile she showed while turning towards Seo Jin, with the dimension door she had implemented leisurely as her background… felt familiar and yet really unfamiliar.

Cynthia said while smiling brightly as always.

“If you follow me with the questions you want to ask, I’ll tell you everything.”

At that moment, Seo Jin sensed that he was being caught up in something he couldn’t control.

He also realized that if he followed her like this, he would probably face a truth he couldn’t undo.

That’s why he hesitated for a moment.

A hand that was stretched out as if to urge on that hesitation.

“Come on-, hurry~”

Seo Jin ended up having no choice but to grab her hand.

Because the truth he had to know to the end no matter what the cost was there.

Following the old relationship, he set foot on a road where he didn’t know the destination.

The space movement magic that had swallowed the two of them like that soon disappeared without a trace.

Now, all that was left there were only the corpses with their heads blown off.