* * *

“Not a ton, but you get them occasionally. Actually, now that you mention it, why are you pretending to be a Black Eagle? I nearly killed you.”

The man frowned, holding his vape.

That statement effectively proved that someone had been impersonating a Black Eagle.

'I don't know who it is, but this is going to make things worse.'

A group of former Black Eagles had emerged, but there was no proof that they were necessarily responsible.

Hyeonyul pointed at the Black Eagles emblem.

“Yeah, that. Looks damn real. I almost attacked you.”

The villain glanced around, then pulled several items from his pocket and held them out.

“For now, take one of each and try them yourself or inject someone else. They work fucking great. How much do you need?”

“How much can you produce?”

Hyeonyul accepted the drugs.

“Not much. The ingredients are a bit hard to get. Same place next time?”

“So you do produce them there?”

Hyeonyul was certain now. This was it.

'They must be just one part of the drug production.'

The real people behind it had no reason to behave like this. But catching even these lowlifes would bring him closer to them.

“What?”

“I am curious how much other places charge.”

“No need to know. We're the cheapest. Fuck off if you don't believe me.”

“So there are several places.”

Hyeonyul raised his dagger and approached.

“Hey. Put that down. I'll knock another ten percent off. Seven of my men are dead because of you.”

The villain extended his hand, pointing at the dagger and flicking his fingers. A smile hung on his lips.

“You seem to be mistaken about something, so allow me to correct you.”

The blade of Hyeonyul's dagger went toward the villain's wrist.

SHICK.

He sliced straight through it and kindly explained,

“I am a Black Eagle.”

“...!”

The villain stared at Hyeonyul for a long moment, unable to register what had happened. Then he screamed and looked at his severed arm, his voice rising into a howl.

“You crazy fuck! I said I'd give you a discount...! What the fuck is your problem? It costs a fucking fortune to reattach a wrist!”

“Let me repeat myself. I am a Black Eagle.”

Despite Hyeonyul's words, the villain didn't believe him at all. Sharp, blade-like things extended from his body. He looked like a hedgehog.

“You crazy bastard! Cut the bullshit! You think I'll give you drugs if you do this?”

The villain came straight at him. Those blades looked not only sharp but hard; their very existence made them weapons.

'Weapons, if they can touch me.'

Hyeonyul smoothly evaded the villain's swinging fist. Whenever the man thought he'd stabbed him, Hyeonyul was no longer there. He simply dodged toward the severed-arm side, exploiting it ruthlessly. The comparatively short reach made dodging quite easy.

'Good thing I cut it off.'

Hyeonyul spotted a momentary opening. As the man swung his intact arm, black power coated the dagger, and Hyeonyul drove it upward.

“Aaaaagh!”

The villain's arm rose with Hyeonyul's dagger. Making a show of it, Hyeonyul drew another dagger and aimed it at the man's shoulder.

“Can't you see the eagle emblem? For someone who calls himself a villain, should you really be telling me all these things?”

“... Fuuuck! How the hell are you a Black Eagle? Stop spouting bullshit! You crazy fuck! I can't give you drugs!”

“Must I cut off more before you believe me? I suppose I have no choice.”

When Hyeonyul moved his hand, the villain opened his mouth.

“I-I believe you! I believe you, you bastard...!”

His eyes contradicted his words. He still doubted Hyeonyul.

“What organization is it? Where is it located?”

Hyeonyul kept watching him as he asked. The man was looking for a chance to escape.

In that case, he should help him.

Hyeonyul deliberately lowered the dagger he had aimed at him and took out the phone-like radio.

“Please wait a moment.”

The moment Hyeonyul lowered his gaze, the man lifted his hand. Regardless of the blood spraying out, he drove his opposite fist at Hyeonyul.

THUD!

Hyeonyul deliberately ducked, taking the punch on his helmet, and moved backward.

“Puhahaha! You think I'd tell you that? Die! Die, you bastard!”

The man ran, and Hyeonyul waited. He would head there on his own.

After watching him go, Hyeonyul removed his helmet. He'd wondered why the man had said that; he'd pierced the helmet. Hyeonyul wiped away the blood running down.

'I thought the helmet would stop it, but his power was harder than I expected.'

Thinking that Jeongmin would give him an earful, Hyeonyul took out a syringe and first injected his shoulder. He took a bandage from the first-aid kit and applied it to his head. Then he used the combined phone and radio.

“Hello.”

<Yes. Go ahead.>

“I caught two. One escaped.”

Hyeonyul gave a brief report.

<... Pardon?>

“I'll give you their locations.”

He got to his feet.

“Oh, as for where I am... can you see my location?”

<No. It isn't showing up.>

Relieved to hear that, Hyeonyul looked around.

“Please wait a moment. I'll let you know shortly.”

He started melting into darkness from his legs up, then hesitated. His fingers were melting of their own accord.

'... The Doctor is really going to scold me.'

* * *

SMACK.

Haeryeon jumped when Jeongmin struck Hyeonyul's back. He'd actually hit him.

“... Um, Doctor?”

“It's barely been any time since you hurt your palm, and you're back with another injury? I told you to take it easy when I change your medication, didn't I?”

“It was unavoidable.”

At Hyeonyul's nonchalant reply, Haeryeon glanced at Jeongmin. His expression practically showed his blood pressure rising.

“Unavoidable, my ass. You think I don't know you? What is it this time? What happened?”

“I thought the helmet would be sturdy.”

“The helmet? You blocked it with your helmet...? How sturdy do you think that thing is, to block an attack with it?”

“... It is made of sturdy material,” Haeryeon murmured.

But looking at the helmet Hyeonyul had brought back, it seemed to have stopped the attack by the narrowest margin.

“Why not just say your helmet can stop every attack in the world?”

When the fuming Jeongmin turned sarcastic, Hyeonyul stared at him.

“Doctor. A helmet cannot stop every attack in the world. Don't you know that?”

“You think I don't know? That's why I'm asking why you did it.”

“I didn't know that attack would pierce the helmet. After weighing several factors, I concluded that a penetrating wound to my body would prevent me from completing the mission. It was an unavoidable choice to block the impact.”

“And this?”

When Jeongmin pointed at Hyeonyul's face, Hyeonyul looked at Haeryeon.

“It's not a penetrating wound. It's merely a scratch.”

“... Whaat?”

Startled, Haeryeon took a deep breath. He'd got her. That was exactly what came to mind.

[“Scratches. I'll do my best to tolerate that much, and no more. Nothing that pierces you.”]

She had said that, but only now did she understand why he'd agreed so readily back then.

'I didn't expect him to exploit the wording itself.'

Haeryeon felt the sting of being stabbed in the back.

“See, Team Leader Haeryeon? Do you understand why I hit him? Doesn't he turn your insides upside down?”

“He certainly does. He's better at it than I expected.”

Haeryeon watched him with wonder.

“Your insides can't be turned upsi— Oh, they can.”

At Hyeonyul's reply, Jeongmin took off his glasses and dragged a hand down his face. He'd heard countless accounts of Hyeonyul's insides actually being turned upside down.

“Enough. Lie down now. I told you not to overdo it today, didn't I?”

“I haven't overdone anything. My hand merely melted after I used my power a few times.”

“That was my fault.”

When Haeryeon interjected, Jeongmin shook his head.

“You think I don't know Hyeonyul? You did nothing wrong, Team Leader Haeryeon. You couldn't push hard for leave because of his attending physician's recommendation.”

“As for leave...”

When Hyeonyul opened his mouth, Jeongmin slapped it. Hyeonyul's eyes tightened slightly, but he didn't speak again. He'd already expected a scolding from Jeongmin. He just hadn't expected Haeryeon to be here.

“You have your work cut out for you, Team Leader Haeryeon. Hyeonyul looks so obedient, but he isn't, is he?”

“He does have a slightly contrary streak. He looked like a model student, too.”

“He did? I'm glad he at least looks that way on the outside.”

Jeongmin looked delighted, as if he'd never been angry. Whatever else might be true, he felt he'd done a good job educating Hyeonyul.

As Haeryeon laughed, Jeongmin caught himself. This wasn't the point. There was another reason he'd been called in urgently.

“This does happen occasionally when his medication changes. It doesn't interfere with his work, though, so you needn't worry too much.”

He spoke as if offering an explanation. Haeryeon had come here because of Hyeonyul's injury, but that didn't seem to be what she wanted to hear about. Perhaps she wanted to discuss the side effects of the medication change, which he'd reported to her today as well.

“No, I mean the medication Hyeonyul takes. May I have a look? I'm a licensed pharmacist, so you needn't worry.”

“... One moment. Let me get his IV in first.”

Looking troubled, Jeongmin inserted the IV into Hyeonyul's arm, then rose and walked to the office inside the room. His steps were strangely slow.

“Team Leader.”

Hyeonyul whispered quietly.

'He's doing this because Doctor Jeongmin just told him not to speak, isn't he?'

Feeling a laugh threatening to escape for some reason, Haeryeon covered her mouth and nodded.

“I received drugs from the villain who escaped. May I examine them before giving them to you?”

Hyeonyul pulled the drugs from inside his clothing and showed her.

“These... where did you get them?”

“They were given to me.”

“Given to you? By whom? The villain...?”

Surely not. That was how she felt as she asked.

“Yes. The villain gave them to me.”

“...?”

Haeryeon stared at him wide-eyed, doubting her ears. Why would a villain give Hyeonyul drugs? The very idea made no sense.

“He gave them to me because he thought I wasn't a Black Eagle.”

“Even though you were wearing the uniform...?”

Even Haeryeon was dumbfounded by her ever-growing list of questions. But what could someone possibly do to make a man think he wasn't a Black Eagle despite wearing their uniform?

As she considered the possibilities, her face quickly hardened.

“... Someone has been impersonating Black Eagles?”

“Yes. He thought I was doing that.”

“All sorts of pests really are running wild.”

Haeryeon suppressed her mounting anger. It wasn't as though this had never happened before. When the Black Eagles first appeared, there had been many impostors. She'd thought they'd already cleaned them out once, yet here they were swarming again.

'... It's the former Black Eagles.'

She immediately thought of the culprits. No one could imitate a uniform better than those who had worn it.

“Something... seems to be in motion.”

Hyeonyul spoke on the basis of an uncertain hypothesis. He didn't know what it was, but he could see the world he'd once belonged to changing little by little. It was a method they would never have used before. They'd hated even the word “Black” in “Black Eagles.”

He seemed to see it more clearly since learning that someone stood behind the Poison King.

“It would be easier to think of it as desperate flailing, wouldn't it?”

“Perhaps.”

“For now, I can predict what sort of attack is coming.”

“They may deliberately lure the Black Eagles in, then approach them pretending to be fellow Black Eag—”

Hyeonyul stopped speaking and closed his mouth. He heard the door open.

“Hyeonyul.”

At Jeongmin's voice, Hyeonyul shut both eyes. It was absurd. Jeongmin had already heard every whispered word.

“I don't know what Hyeonyul asked for, but you needn't agree to it.”

Hyeonyul opened his eyes at Jeongmin's words, filling them with a sense of injustice.

“No, he was only telling me what happened today.”

At Haeryeon's whispered explanation, Jeongmin finally said, “Oh,” and smiled sheepishly. He'd thought Hyeonyul was coaxing Haeryeon into letting him get up to something again.

“Here it is. It would be a problem if this leaked, so, um, could you read it here and give it back to me?”

What Jeongmin handed Haeryeon was a sheet of paper.

“I need to dispose of it quickly.”

He tried to hide it, but his gaze remained anxious.

This information was as vital as Hyeonyul's heart. Hyeonyul was resistant to countless drugs. Jeongmin had barely found this combination after eliminating one drug after another that he'd been injected with. He kept changing the medication, but that still offered no certainty.

If someone learned the ingredients of the medication he prescribed and administered a drug that neutralized it, there was no knowing what would happen. Could Hyeonyul endure it again? That was pure conjecture.

Jeongmin's hand trembled as he held it out to Haeryeon.

“Doctor.”

Haeryeon reached out, placed her hand on his arm, and patted it.

“I know what this means. That's why I couldn't bring it up lightly either.”

Trust me. This wasn't something that simple. A life was at stake.

“I've lost so many team members. I've felt helpless countless times. There is only one thing I want to protect, both then and now.”

Her team members. As a Team Leader, she wanted to protect them. That resolve would never change.

“I've already given Hyeonyul my head.”

If she failed to honor the contract, he could cut it off. That was what Haeryeon had told him.

“In truth, this was work we should have done. We delayed, and we failed to do it, leaving you to shoulder everything.”

Haeryeon bowed her head.

“Let me be the first to apologize.”

It had been decided that all the Team Leaders would soon apologize to Jeongmin. And it wouldn't be only the Team Leaders coming. The division chief above them was scheduled to come as well. That was only right.

“...”

Jeongmin was briefly speechless. Her words made him doubt his ears. Was this really happening?

Even when he'd worked at a large hospital, he'd lived under constant pressure to produce results. He'd been criticized countless times for clinging to meaningless work. Hyeonyul was the only living test subject, and the threat of an attack at any moment had prevented him from making that officially known.

“This is my personal wish, but it's also for those who underwent experimentation and may still be alive. May I join you?”

Haeryeon asked cautiously. The work did need to be done quickly, but Jeongmin needed time too. Time to adjust. Time to learn what this place was like. Time to watch her and see what sort of person she was.

Having fought alone all this time, Jeongmin needed all of that.

Jeongmin looked at Hyeonyul.

“... Hyeonyul. What do you think?”

Everything depended on Hyeonyul's choice.

Hyeonyul looked at Haeryeon. She seemed intensely desperate and earnest. So much so that he felt that was surely the right way to read her.

'She's really doing it.'

That part fascinated him too.

What could she possibly gain? Did she simply want to make good use of him? He wondered whether he'd understand even if she explained her reasons.

“Team Leader.”

Instead of answering his call aloud, Haeryeon nodded.

“Frankly, you'll face profound disappointment and despair. You would do well to abandon hope too. We don't even know how long this miracle will keep working. I wouldn't particularly recommend it.”

Whatever level of skill Haeryeon possessed, Hyeonyul had witnessed Jeongmin's despair and disappointment at the closest possible range. It was agonizing. He'd seen enough to understand that feeling.

“Will you still do it?”

Hyeonyul asked as though he were talking about someone else.