* * *

Hyeonyul started to turn at the word Bomber, but stopped at what followed.

"Don't look. Everyone dies."

He exhaled without moving. A major player had come calling.

"I came to have some fun. I happened to be walking around when I spotted you, Mr. Eagle."

The Bomber snickered.

"Is that so?"

"Why aren't you surprised?"

"Should I be?"

As he spoke, Hyeonyul probed the bastard's shadow. He was about to stab straight into their neck when he suddenly sensed power.

"Ah-ah. None of that."

The Bomber spoke as though they had read his power.

BOOOOM!

The sound of something exploding followed. People screamed, huddling down or fleeing outside. Despite the noise piercing his ears, Hyeonyul did not turn. Instead, he heard a new sound, one that hadn't been there moments before.

A bomb. It seemed to be strapped around the person's body.

"I'll really do it, Mr. Eagle."

"Did you read it?"

"No. I'm rather sensitive, you see. The shadow looked strange for a moment. Honestly, I took a guess. Who knew I was right? Dangerous, dangerous. This is... far too dangerous, isn't it?"

Contrary to those words, the voice was increasingly suffused with exhilaration.

Hyeonyul covered one eye. It quietly melted away.

Looking through the shadow, he saw a figure wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask, along with loose clothing that concealed their build. He couldn't readily tell whether they were a woman or a man.

Their appearance wasn't important right now. Their body was trembling along with the sound of the bomb.

In other words, this was a decoy. The real Bomber wasn't here. Wherever they were, Hyeonyul now knew one thing.

'They weren't recognizing my power.'

They simply had good instincts.

'Where could they be?'

His eye, concealed in the shadow, turned toward the shop across the way. While people were coming outside, one figure sat alone on the second floor, dressed just like the person behind him.

That seemed to be the one.

'Should I kill them?'

He didn't know how many bombs they had planted, but wouldn't killing them prevent further harm?

"Oh, since we've met like this, I'll tell you something."

"What are you going to tell me?"

"An experimentation site."

"..."

Hyeonyul's thoughts briefly halted.

'... An experimentation site.'

He quietly weighed the Bomber in the balance. They might be a major player, but they had neither a faction nor a support base. In short, they were alone.

'What should I do about this?'

Killing them now began to seem like a waste.

"You people love this sort of thing, don't you? Curious what you have to do to get it?"

"Are we playing a game?"

"Of course."

The moment he heard that answer, Hyeonyul grasped the knife beside him.

'A game...'

As he absorbed the bomb strapped to the person behind him into darkness, black smoke first enveloped his hand. His hand emerged across the way, holding the knife at the Bomber's throat. Then Hyeonyul calmly appeared there himself.

He looked natural, at ease.

"Do you know something?"

He faced the Bomber.

"Ha."

The bastard laughed. It sounded incredulous.

"Very few things interest me."

"Are you out of your mind? I might blow this place up!"

The voice was distorted.

"You might. But the mention of a game interested me a little."

Hyeonyul smiled.

"Interested you?"

"Yes. I'll come to kill you each time, so do your best to survive."

If the Bomber liked games, he was willing to play along. They were the one who had bared their teeth first.

"A game needs rules, doesn't it? If you want to live, you must give me information. That's the rule."

"Why should I? Are you insane?"

"You shouldn't have bared your teeth at me."

Without hesitation, Hyeonyul drove the knife into the Bomber's hand.

THUNK!

"... You crazy fucking bastard!"

He had actually stabbed them. That crazy bastard had done it.

As the Bomber screamed, they sensed something was wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Weren't people usually supposed to tremble in terror?

They had always been the one in control.

"You don't think I'll blow up other places? How many people will die today?"

The Bomber shouted in a near growl.

"You're welcome to try. No, go ahead."

Hyeonyul held a fork in his hand, leisurely eating the cake the Bomber had ordered.

"... What?"

"I'll focus only on you. I don't know what you look like, but what can you do without a faction?"

He openly sneered. Setting off a bomb at this distance would merely mean dying together. What could someone with no faction possibly do?

"... You're supposed to be afraid of me."

"Why should I be?"

"You people have to defuse the bombs I plant! That's what you're supposed to do!"

"If I'm assigned that mission, I will. And could you lower your voice? Even in a café, you should keep your conversation reasonably quiet. Weren't you taught that?"

The Bomber laughed at his provocation. No one remained here; the bomb they had set off had driven everyone out.

"Fine. You think what I'm saying is a joke?"

"I never said that. Please don't misunderstand."

"Just watch how many people die because of you today."

"Get your facts straight. Did I kill them? You're the one who killed them. Because I failed to stop you? Isn't that ridiculous? No one pushed you into doing this. You did it yourself, so blaming me would be rather unreasonable, wouldn't it? Why do you love blaming others so much?"

Hyeonyul pointed the fork at the Bomber.

Being alone might have made hiding very easy. The Black Eagles had to stop the bombs, and when they failed, the scrutiny and their sense of responsibility might have tormented them.

That must have been fun for the bastard. The Black Eagles hadn't been able to catch them.

"You're the cause of all this, so the blame is yours, and the killings are all your doing."

But they had stupidly come looking for him. Without his even considering it, they had delivered themselves right to him.

"So let me warn you. The moment you kill anyone here, I will kill you immediately."

Hyeonyul judged the Bomber before him to be younger than he had expected. An idiot with little experience of the world, interested only in playing pranks.

"You...? You, an Eagle?"

The Bomber laughed, more out of disbelief than anything else. The person before them was unlike the other Eagles. They didn't know how to describe it, but he felt like one of their own.

"How many bombs do you think I've planted? If I die, they all go off."

"Then wouldn't that be where the damage ends? We'd prevent countless villains from springing up to imitate you, crush that pathetic swagger, and put an end to your little games. Wouldn't that be good?"

Hyeonyul nodded several times in apparent satisfaction. It sounded much better once he said it aloud.

"... What are you?"

"I did forget to bring my jacket, but you already know. Why deny it after calling me that over and over?"

"This makes no sense... How are you a Black Eagle?"

"Everyone says that. Not long ago, I heard these words from you: 'I hope you'll enjoy my art like this next time too, my dear Black Eagles.'"

Not long ago, he had been assigned to defuse magical bombs planted at a university. The culprit then had been the Bomber.

He saw the Bomber's hand clench hard.

"You asked us to enjoy your art, but what you really want is a game, isn't it? Why are you just sitting there? Don't you like games? You enjoyed yourself back then, didn't you?"

"... Ha."

The Bomber let out a breath and drew another in deeply. With their face concealed, it was difficult to tell what they were feeling.

But one thing was certain. They were angry.

"Fine."

The Bomber pulled the knife out of the back of their hand and pointed it straight at Hyeonyul.

"This will be fun. Really fun."

"We start today. If you want to leave, you must give me one piece of information."

The corners of Hyeonyul's mouth rose. He looked ready to break into snickers at any moment.

"Drugs have been circulating lately. I know why."

Hyeonyul nodded for them to continue. Unsure whether the information was genuine, he gave no reaction.

"They're looking for a living test subject."

"A living test subject?"

"Yes. You people should look too."

"Do you have proof? How is the test subject alive?"

"You're demanding, aren't you? I've even put up with you doing this to me."

Even when the Bomber held out their bleeding hand, Hyeonyul didn't bat an eye.

"Can villains even be trusted?"

"I only heard it myself, so I have no proof. But I'll also tell you where I planted bombs. Will that do?"

The Bomber took a sheet of paper from inside their clothes and handed it over. Looking at it, Hyeonyul asked,

"What does that have to do with it?"

"It's a matter of pride. Why?"

"Honestly, do you even have any pride? I find even that difficult to believe."

As the Bomber's face contorted, he continued.

"But very well. Asking a villain to be trustworthy was ridiculous in the first place."

A villain with pride? Even a passing dog would laugh at that. They had nothing but evil in them.

For now, Hyeonyul pretended to let it pass. He could now find out where the Bomber was.

"Leave before I change my mind."

He wiped the knife he had driven into their hand with a tissue. He needed to return it.

"What's your name?"

"I was told not to give it to villains."

"Good. That's what you should do. You wouldn't want to rob me of the pleasure of finding you, would you?"

"You're welcome to do so. If you don't want to die, you'd best have plenty of information ready from now on."

Hyeonyul rose first. After glancing at the Bomber, he went back inside the café where he had originally been sitting.

He looked back. Something came flying over and immediately exploded.

BOOOOM!

The blast sent shattered glass and debris flying in every direction, striking Hyeonyul. The Bomber must have been quite angry.

He smiled at the sight. No one had died. It was merely a warning.

["They're looking for a living test subject."]

He had suspected as much ever since hearing that discarded drugs were suddenly being distributed. So it was true.

'You don't know me, Bomber.'

Judging by all this, at least this person wasn't one of the bastards who had made him this way.

* * *

"... Are you all right?"

Haeryeon rushed over, apparently having waited at the eagle boarding area.

"I'm fine."

Hyeonyul answered matter-of-factly, but the bandages plastered all over his face told a very different story. Nayun, who arrived alongside him, also looked grim.

"... It's my fault. I told him to wait there for a while. Hyeonyul would have followed my instructions."

Whatever else, she knew perfectly well that he listened to them. He had probably stayed right there the whole time.

"No. I should have dodged, but I was watching what they were doing and forgot."

Seeing the Bomber blow up a café in a fit of temper had convinced him they were young. He had wondered how they would escape, only for them to simply disappear. He suspected their power had something to do with teleportation.

"I believe I should be the one admitting fault."

"Why would you be at fault, Hyeonyul?"

"Yes, why would you?"

"The Bomber was being pathetic, so I provoked them. The result was an explosion."

He had known about the first bomb, but not the second. Even if no one had died in the second blast, hadn't people died in the first?

He was wearing a Black Eagles uniform, yet had failed to stop it when he should have. He wasn't sure he could escape responsibility even if he hadn't been on a mission.

"... The Bomber?"

Haeryeon couldn't believe her ears. The report she had received only said explosions had occurred in several places.

"Yes. They approached me. Apparently, they noticed the Black Eagles emblem when they entered the café where I was sitting."

"And it happened to be you?"

"Yes. They apparently intended to propose a game."

"... Oh. That?"

Haeryeon understood at once. Unlike other villains, the Bomber had a different objective. Their focus was simply on playing games with the Black Eagles. Calling them strange would be entirely apt.

"... I can't tolerate this sort of thing."

Hyeonyul lowered his head. An ordinary person might be another matter, but villains were an exception. How dare they bare their teeth? Death was the proper price for that.

"Hyeonyul, no one could have handled this. You don't need to hang your head."

Who could have expected to encounter a major villain just passing by? This wasn't Hyeonyul's fault.

"But I let the Bomber go."

"They must have said they'd detonate all their planted bombs if you killed them. Right?"

Haeryeon examined his injuries as she spoke, then smiled. None were serious.

"How did you know?"

"It's obvious. They probably really would have done it if you'd attacked them. You prevented the worst, Hyeonyul."

Nayun patted his shoulder. He had done well.

"Did I?"

Hyeonyul blinked. Unsure what counted as doing well, he continued his report.

"There were two explosions. Both were the Bomber's doing. They initially sent a decoy, and I handed that person over to the White Sparrows."

He took the paper from his pocket and held it out.

"What's that?"

Haeryeon's eyes widened slightly. She also felt a little uneasy.

"The locations of the bombs the Bomber planted. I received it directly from them..."

Haeryeon immediately snatched the paper. Hyeonyul blinked at her speed.

"Aagh!"

At Nayun's scream, he frowned.

"Why are you screaming?"

"We might... get another emergency assignment. They're very... very dangerous."

"...!"

As his eyes widened, Hyeonyul looked at Haeryeon.

"Yes, it's me. Is the Bomb Disposal Team available? ... They're not? Wait, where did they go?"

As those words began to reach him, his expression turned icy. Haeryeon's gaze settled on him. He knew what she was about to say.

'... That fucking Bomber. Once I've squeezed out every bit of information, I'm killing them. No exceptions.'

He had been thinking about going home, and now they had piled more work onto him. He had already intended to kill them, but this made the reason absolutely clear.