* * *

* * *

After taking a sedative to settle the nausea from the eagle ride, Hyeonyul reviewed the mission.

「*Incident Origin

—While inspecting a villain-run company, an item suspected to be a drug was discovered.

*Progress

—A rapid composition test confirmed it to be an unidentified drug.

—The company was inspected and surrounded to ensure swift recovery.

—While villains are being separated from civilians, determining whether additional drugs exist is essential.

*Precautions

—Establish conclusively whether additional drugs are present.

—Wear protective equipment against the drugs.

—Villains may launch an attack.」

Hyeonyul turned his gaze to the company building. With its five-story building, the company was nearly midsized. He checked its logo.

'This is one of the places I circled as villain-run, isn't it?'

Using the companies the Black Eagles had investigated as suspicious, he had checked their logos and any emblems found inside their premises. It felt as though he had done that only recently; he hadn't expected things to move this quickly. He couldn't even guess how thoroughly they had already investigated these places.

'If they're this fast, they must know Asan is dead too.'

Why weren't they telling the other Black Eagles? Along with his curiosity came a little more confidence in the Black Eagles' power.

Hadn't he confirmed something yesterday at that place pretending to be a religious cult? Besides brainwashing its followers, it had used a drug that transformed powerless people into people with powers. That drug had been discarded for its severe side effects back when he was being experimented on. The confession of the villain who ran the place had led him to transaction records on the computer, but that was all.

Judging by their current speed, couldn't the Black Eagles track it down with nothing more than transaction records? Just in case, he planned to visit Yujong today—the Night Rat and information broker.

Hyeonyul walked forward. The closer he came to the building, the more people there were. In addition to the cordon around the area, he sensed a power surrounding the building's interior.

'... Magic?'

It wasn't quite right for magic. In that case, it was more likely a psychic power.

"Are you a Black Eagle?"

Someone came running up, out of breath, and presented a civil-service ID first. It was a White Sparrow.

"Yes."

Hyeonyul answered briefly and likewise held out his black civil-service ID.

"Good to meet you. We haven't yet separated the villains from the civilians inside. A power-suppression device is currently operating."

"Then we can't use our powers inside?"

"No. Black Eagles can use theirs after going through the exemption procedure. Would you follow me?"

The White Sparrow was polite, even though he could surely see that Hyeonyul belonged to Team Three.

"There's something I'd like to ask, just to be sure. Would that be all right?"

This was Hyeonyul's first time in such a situation, so he had to ask.

"Please, ask anything you like."

"How can we be exempted?"

What kind of power was it? How did it flow?

"The uniform you're wearing has a built-in exemption from that power. Besides, this time a Black Eagle with psychic powers is controlling it directly, so adjustments are smoother than before."

Listening, Hyeonyul looked down at his uniform. The more he saw of it, the more useful it proved.

"Thank you for explaining."

"Not at all. This way."

The White Sparrow led the way, and Hyeonyul followed.

There were many people around.

'Are they all White Sparrows? This many?'

Unlike the Black Eagles, they didn't normally wear uniforms, making it look like a crowd of civilians. He had never seen this many on other missions, so he kept looking.

They, too, kept stealing glances at him as they worked. Their looks weren't as sharp as before. Had stopping the Poison King's poison attack really been such a big deal?

'I don't understand.'

Hyeonyul simply accepted it.

"... I'm sorry."

Stopping before a door, the White Sparrow leading him spoke with an awkward air. Hyeonyul looked at him silently.

"I made assumptions based solely on rumors. This is just my personal opinion. But if I ever met you, I really, really wanted to apologize."

The White Sparrow bowed and opened the door for him. Hyeonyul watched him for a moment. Frankly, whether they apologized or not didn't matter much. It wasn't the first time someone had disliked him, and he thought proving himself through his abilities would be enough anyway. Still, this attitude did make things easier.

What was he supposed to say at a time like this? After a moment's thought, Hyeonyul smiled more brightly.

"Thank you for saying that."

He couldn't tell whether the man was lying or merely trying to ease his own conscience. All he had to do was answer a lie with a lie. Hyeonyul went inside, and only then did the White Sparrow rub his chest in relief.

'... He wasn't as frightening as I expected.'

Even allowing for the heavy atmosphere peculiar to the Black Eagles, he had experienced firsthand just how false the rumors were. It was they, the White Sparrows, who had been the most vocal about refusing to accept Team Three's new recruit. Knowing that a single piece of information could determine whether a Black Eagle lived or died, they had still committed the enormous mistake of withholding information from that recruit alone.

Something serious had happened on their side during yesterday's cult incident. Yet he had heard that, despite all these things, Team Three's new recruit had spoken up in their defense. He might have been a villain in the past, but it was only right to recognize that he wasn't one now, at least.

'I should at least reflect on what I've done.'

The White Sparrow nodded.

* * *

"... Oh!"

A woman with her hair casually half tied back spotted Hyeonyul and ran over, her eyes widening in surprise. Her voice was as powerful as ever.

"Are you the person I met back then, the, um, hmmm..."

"Seo Hyeonyul."

"That's right, Mr. Seo Hyeonyul! No, I mean, the gentleman from Team Three. Do you remember me?"

"Didn't you use cloud powers?"

"That's right. How did you know? I'm Im Taerin from Team Two, and I'm good at making all sorts of things."

Taerin smiled and offered her hand. When Hyeonyul extended his, she shook it vigorously.

"You were absolutely outstanding last time."

She gave him a thumbs-up. Hyeonyul leaned his upper body back a little as he replied.

"Thank you."

"Our Team Leader—I mean, Team Leader Dojin—said they'd bring us some outstanding support. Is that you, by any chance?"

"I don't know about outstanding, but I am here to help."

"That's our Team Leader for you! They brought someone outstanding right away."

Hyeonyul hesitated, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with Taerin's stream of praise.

'Did she make some sort of arrangement with Team Leader Dojin?'

Dojin wanted him to join Team Two. In that case, it was only natural that the rest of Team Two would try to sweet-talk him too. He wasn't sure whether to view this in that light.

"Oh! This isn't what I should be doing. Follow me. I'd like to introduce the other Team Two members too, but they're probably swamped separating civilians from villains right now."

"That raises a question. May I ask?"

"Of course. I'm ready to answer anything."

He didn't understand how everyone could approach him so readily. Avoiding Taerin's sparkling eyes, he asked,

"How do you usually distinguish villains from civilians?"

Whatever else there was, that was what he most wanted to know right now. Did their eyes see differently from his? Did they have something that could identify villains?

"... Hmm, the answer probably won't be what you're expecting."

Some of the energy faded from Taerin's voice and steps. She hesitated over whether to tell him before speaking.

"First, we examine their assets. Villains often show sudden increases in wealth out of proportion to their salaries. Second, for safety, we divide people into high-risk and low-risk groups based on their powers. Lastly, we examine the flow of their powers through their brain waves to determine whether they use them frequently."

"You're saying you distinguish them using statistics?"

"That's right. Aside from that, there's only confessions or people turning themselves in, and those aren't easy to get, are they? So for now, that's our only method."

"Thank you for explaining."

"... Are you a little disappointed?"

"No. I thought it had a reasonable basis."

Hyeonyul genuinely thought so. It was true that the more villainous acts someone committed, the more their wealth grew. He hadn't touched anything beyond what was related to his unpaid wages, but the others apparently helped themselves to the assets of the people they killed too. Dividing people into high-risk and low-risk groups according to their powers also made sense. The better someone's powers, the more likely villains were to recruit them. He also knew that brain waves could reveal how frequently someone used their powers, since he had undergone that test so often during the experiments.

"I just didn't realize you could access their asset records immediately too."

"Honestly, that is a little frightening. It sounds as though we can do absolutely anything."

Taerin lowered her voice to a whisper. She wasn't wrong. For now, it was directed only at villains, but aimed elsewhere, it would become a formidable weapon.

After finishing her answer, Taerin hurried along, only occasionally speaking to him. The office was full of signs that everyone had left in the middle of work, showing how urgently the mission had begun. Hyeonyul set a beeping telephone receiver back in place.

"Ah. That's it."

Rather than enter the office, Taerin pointed to an object visible in the distance. Something sat on the desk farthest from the entrance. When Hyeonyul tried to approach it, she stopped him and pointed immediately to the right.

"You need to put on the equipment. When we checked earlier, the contamination reading went up. That's why we left it far over there."

"Understood."

Though he didn't particularly need it, Hyeonyul put on the equipment. Taerin put hers on as well. When he looked at her, she answered confidently.

"In Team Two, we're taught to take the initiative once we've accepted a mission!"

Her voice boomed.

"Understood. I'll examine it, then."

Hyeonyul walked toward the drugs, hearing footsteps follow him. He examined the drug held inside a case shaped like a bag. It was clear.

"I'll open it briefly."

It was tightly sealed, so no smell escaped. Hyeonyul opened the lid and briefly lifted the protective equipment covering his face. The moment the smell reached his nose, he nearly let out a disbelieving laugh.

'... I find it just like this?'

It was the same drug he had identified yesterday.

'Do they just distribute it here? Or do they manufacture more here?'

After a moment's thought, Hyeonyul looked at Taerin.

"I've identified the drug."

"... Already?"

"I'll check for additional drugs. Would you inform them that this is the same drug discovered during Team Three's mission yesterday? Oh, have the computers and other electronics in the president's office been confiscated?"

"I believe they have. I'll go let them know first."

Taerin nodded and ran off. Since she didn't know what that mission had involved, she was visibly hurrying.

'The surveillance camera is over there.'

Hyeonyul left the camera alone and simply stood with his back to it.

He had reported that this place was villain-run, but he didn't know exactly what it did. Its owner was merely one of the villains who had come to sweet-talk Shin Daeho. There had been plenty of those. Shin Daeho himself had been terribly weak; what had they all hoped to get out of him?

Hyeonyul's eyes melted away. First, he examined the company as a whole, moving his eyes through every part from the top floor to the basement.

'There's nothing here.'

Was that all of it?

'Really...?'

Thinking it over and over, Hyeonyul looked at the case. Where had it come from? He sniffed the scent clinging to it. There was a smell of oil.

'... A car.'

Returning just one eye to its original place, Hyeonyul headed out.

"I passed on the mes—"

"Go to the basement immediately and block off every car."

Lights came on, as though a car's engine had started.

"W-wait a moment!"

Ignoring Taerin, Hyeonyul ran. Even someone with powers would be helpless if a moving car hit them head-on. Mindful of the corridor's surveillance cameras, he vanished the instant he rounded the corner. He reappeared in the underground parking garage. One car—no, four—was preparing to leave.

Hyeonyul surveyed the situation. White Sparrows were coming down, but they weren't in a position to stop the cars. He pulled every wheel of the moving vehicles into the shadows. The cars tried to move, but their wheels merely spun. After confirming that, he returned to the original corridor and pretended to be running quickly.

"Why are you so fast...?"

Taerin spoke as she followed him. He had seemed to disappear along the way—had she imagined it?

"Have you heard back?"

"Oh! One moment."

Taerin touched her wireless earpiece. Walking ahead, she moved her lips as she spoke. After a brief conversation, her eyes widened.

"They found it!"

"They found it?"

"Yes. Apparently, the cars wouldn't move for some strange reason. Their wheels looked like they'd...sunk into something."

Hearing that, Hyeonyul withdrew his power.

"They just need to check inside."

"But how did you know?"

"It was close to a hunch. I deduced where this case had come from."

Hyeonyul offered the most plausible explanation.

"True, a car would be the most useful thing for transporting a case, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly. Oh, may I help you identify the villains?"

Hyeonyul changed the subject before Taerin could probe further.

"... Really? Could you do that?"

"Yes. I'll help before I leave."

It was a matter of distinguishing villains from civilians. If it helped catch villains, why wouldn't he do it?

'... Oh, so that's why our Team Leader wanted Mr. Seo Hyeonyul. He's such a kind person.'

As that thought drifted through Taerin's mind, another question arose.

'But why were the rumors so bad?'

She couldn't understand it.

* * *

"... Is your investigation going well?"

At the chilling voice, Yujong didn't merely rise from his seat—he jumped.

'... Fuuuck!'

He swallowed the curse rising inside him. Things had been quiet for a while; he didn't know why this shit was suddenly starting again.

"Were you that pleased to see me?"

At Hyeonyul's question, Yujong bowed deeply.

'Would you be pleased, you fucking bastard?'

His true feelings were another matter.