This Villain is Soft - Chapter 78



Only Noblemtl

Episode 78

A thin leg came down from the open vent first, struggled, and then fell down.

“eww……!”

Haon, who barely managed to hold back his screams, quickly turned the floor soft with mana.

As I sat up, my heart pounding, a dark and cold atmosphere hung over me.

‘Wow, that’s scary.’

I had always thought of ghosts as a form of energy, but being alone in a dark morgue gave me the creeps.

Haon swallowed dry saliva and started to search for Bae An-jae’s name.

Although I had seen many people seriously injured or dead during the two years of war, this was my first time in a morgue.

Deaths from terrorism usually had clear causes, so Haon had never even imagined a place like this.

A cold space for the dead waiting for their cause to be revealed.

‘Excuse me.’

Bae An-jae’s body was quickly found, as a familiar energy was detected even though he had been dead for some time.

‘The detectives might find that strange.’

The corpse’s fingertips and hair tips were dyed a vivid blue, the same color as the mana that appeared on the cell phone.

‘I can feel the mana… … but I’m not a magician after all.’

He hadn’t sensed any mana when we first met at the rehab center, and he had no idea what was going to happen even before the mana explosion occurred.

‘Then again… … .’

Haon carefully examined the traces of mana remaining on Bae An-jae’s body and was convinced.

‘He died from potion poisoning.’

The muscles were not swollen, but the blood vessels were tightly blocked with hardened mana.

The painful side effects remained, but this was not the same potion as before.

The potion that Bae An-jae ate was a short-term stimulant that could be considered a finished product.

* * *

It took some time, but Hero Headquarters also came to the same conclusion about Bae An-jae’s cause of death.

A large number of empty potion bottles were found in the trunk of his car.

The heroes gathered in the conference room read the report with expressions of concern.

“Halo disappeared for quite some time and we haven’t seen any potions?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know how they got enough to become addictive.”

There were more than one or two strange things about Bae An-jae’s death.

Although Bae An-jae was said to have never drank alcohol or smoked, alcohol and nicotine were detected in his body.

The body was found near an elementary school in a central district with no bars, but the car was parked for two days in the old city’s second district.

Moreover, there were no reports of Bae An-jae drinking the potion and causing any accidents due to the power he had gained.

I couldn’t figure out why she was living an honest life and then suddenly pouring potions on me.

‘What happened?’

Joo-yeol stared at the photo of Bae An-jae in the report with a serious face.

He seemed a little sensitive, but he seemed intelligent and hard-working. He was an ordinary person.

At Haon’s request, the headquarters looked for information on Bae An-jae, but as expected, there was no criminal record at all.

So, the headquarters also couldn’t help but be puzzled by this incident.

But it seemed different to Juyeol.

Although the headquarters had no criminal record regarding Bae An-jae’s information, there was something concerning.

‘Baeanjae was the one who tried to buy the building in Halla where Solmae Yeong-gam used to live. In the end, he ended up buying a different building, but in any case, he bought a building in District 2 that wasn’t meant to be a home.’

Because this is a place where incidents occur frequently, the headquarters is aware of all those who own buildings in the old city.

‘And the building that Bae An-jae bought just so happens to be right next to an underground passage leading to the port?’

Death by mana poisoning and underground passage connecting District 2 to the port.

It occurred to me that perhaps, as Ha-on suspected, Bae An-jae might be someone connected to Halo.

‘I’ll have to contact you after the meeting. Things seem to be going strangely.’

At that moment, River burst open the conference room door and came in with a shocked expression.

“Hunter! News from the old town!”

The hunter opened his mouth, listing in his head the recent reports that had come in from the old town.

“Did the children really get into an accident?”

“No! That’s not it… … Potions are suddenly being released in the old town!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bands wrapped around the heroes’ wrists all started beeping.

The heroes jumped up from their seats with surprised faces.

Potions are back in the old town. That’s what it means.

“Halo is back, I guess.”

The hunter who spoke softly also stood up from his seat.

A black flame appeared in Juyeol’s eyes.

* * *

An hour later, in the small conference room at Hero Headquarters.

“Ghost. You stay out.”

Juyeol’s expression hardened at the hunter’s firm words.

“You want to be alone with him?”

“I don’t know which one you’re worried about.”

Haon was sitting across from Hunter, who answered with a displeased expression, and was timid.

“I, I’m fine. But you called me here to hear what I have to say.”

“Did you hear that? He said it was okay? Go out.”

“… … .”

Joo-yeol had a hard time taking his eyes off Ha-on, who was crying while saying that it was okay.

I reluctantly had to leave the conference room, feeling that nothing I said would make the situation better.

Only Haon and Hunter remained in the small conference room.

When the Hunter heard the news that the potion had been released in the old city, he quickly ended the meeting, deployed the heroes by district, and called the main group separately.

I was worried that he would just turn around and go out looking for Halo, but Juyeol brought up something I never expected.

The hunter, who had been absorbed in his thoughts and eventually called Eunhaon to the headquarters, stared at the suspicious scientist while maintaining his characteristic sense of intimidation.

“I also checked what was on the USB you gave Ghost. It was a file that was analyzed inside headquarters, so it was a natural procedure.”

“… … !”

“I don’t know how you changed your mind, but Ghost really thought you were someone else.”

“It’s not like I used any special tricks─.”

“But I still can’t trust you. Even if you really are someone else, I can’t trust you. Do you understand?”

“……yes.”

Haon muttered sullenly and hid his hands under the table. Then he tried to force his voice as he spoke.

“Then please trust my abilities and information. I also want to find Halo.”

“Come and listen.”

The hunter added, turning on the recorder on the table.

“Ghost thought you might have found out something about Bae An-jae’s death.”

“That’s right, I’ve been tracking Halo with Nova consistently─.”

Haon calmly spoke about the 2nd district, the port, and the terrorist who came from the same dimension as me.

I don’t know how much Hunter will believe it, but Haondo also needed the strength of the heroes.

Nova and I couldn’t control all of Kwon Young-shi.

You said you built an underground passage from Zone 2 to the port, so can you be sure that there isn’t another path leading to it?

“─So I want the heroes to check if there is a passageway in another area.”

The hunter, who had been silently listening to Haon’s words until the end, had an expression of disbelief, but it didn’t seem like he was making fun of the other person.

“If what you said is true, then Bae An-jae was killed by Halo and the terrorist for some unknown reason, is that it?”

“I think I might have become a test subject for an improved potion.”

The hunter, lost in thought, manipulated his wristband to transmit orders to the heroes.

“Check to see if there are any new underground passages that have not been reported to headquarters.”

“… … !”

Haon was very surprised that Hunter listened to him more easily than he thought.

“I tell you again, it’s not because I trust you. It’s because I think it’s necessary… … .”

The hunter flinched and closed his mouth.

Haondo also looked around with a strange expression.

The building seemed to shake slightly. So slightly that I thought it was an illusion.

Then, the moment my eyes met with the hunter’s.

Kugu Palace─.

The entire headquarters building shook.

“Eww!”

Haon covered his head and crawled under the table. It felt like an earthquake had occurred.

“Gyaaaah!”

“Get out now! Get out of the building!”

Even outside the conference room, people’s screams and busy footsteps could be heard frantically.

“What a coincidence. Let’s get out of here first and then talk.”

The hunter looked at Haon suspiciously, then grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him out.

Ha-on, who followed the rough hands into the hallway, was suddenly overcome with a sense of discomfort.

“……uh?”

A hint of foreboding that had been brewing on the front lines of the war for two years pricked my back.

“Why is that?”

As Haon stopped, the hunter looked back with a suspicious expression.

“Something is wrong.”

There was an earthquake so strong that the building shook, and the hallways were crowded with people running down to the first floor.

“Why are the phones so quiet? Are there no disaster texts in this dimension?”

“… … !”

Judging from the hunter’s reaction, it seemed like there was a disaster text here too.

“This is not an earthquake─.”

Haon was unable to continue speaking and turned around in surprise.

In the middle of the chaotic hallway stood someone wearing a hat.

Thud. Thud.

Haon felt his heart beating anxiously as he blocked Hunter’s path.

“You. Who are you?”

The man raised his head at Haon’s question. He was Bae An-jae.