The photo showed Dasom’s figure.
Raon’s eyes widened at the sight.
“What in the…”
I muttered unconsciously, looking down at the terminal screen.
Siwoo approached, looking confused.
“What’s wrong?”
“That is…”
“…!”
Siwoo’s eyes also widened as he saw Dasom’s photo displayed on the screen.
Raon briefly suspected it might be a composite photo, but unfortunately, the program used to check for synthesis found no traces.
The person in the photo was clearly Dasom.
Dasom was tied to a chair.
The chair looked very similar to the one I had been tied to when I was kidnapped recently.
Unlike me, Dasom was wearing something similar to handcuffs on her wrists.
It was probably an ability suppressor.
Beep.
Following the photo, a message arrived.
Only one sentence appeared on the screen.
[Come to that location alone.]
“…!”
It was clearly a message sent by Apophis.
Then, kidnapping Dasom was indeed their doing.
Raon bit his lip, alternating his gaze between the photo and the message.
“No, you can’t.”
“…Siwoo.”
“You shouldn’t go.”
Siwoo spoke in a firm voice.
Raon sighed.
“There’s no time. If I don’t go today, I don’t know what will happen to Esper Dasom.”
Dasom’s ability was certainly rare, but her healing ability was more useful to the Gate Suppression Team.
For those who use M’s warp ability to cause terrorism here and there, a Healer Esper, who is physically weaker than other Espers besides their healing ability, would not be of much help.
Therefore, taking Esper Dasom hostage was very advantageous for them.
Dasom, who had no combat ability, would easily submit to the ability suppressor despite being a high-grade Esper, and she would be easier to handle.
‘It’s obvious that if I notify the military or the Center, they won’t try to help.’
They would take the same stance as Siwoo.
No matter how important a high-grade Healer Esper was, they would not send Raon, the only S-class Guide in the country and an excellent commander, in her place.
“What are you talking about? I said you shouldn’t go!”
Siwoo’s face fiercely contorted.
He shouted in an agitated tone, glaring at the anxious Raon.
Beep.
“…!”
At that moment, another message came.
This time, too, it was a brief one.
[One hour from now. We will cut off a part of her body every hour that passes.]
“Damn it.”
Raon frowned at the explicit message.
It really seemed like they had no intention of leaving Dasom alone.
“Even if I notify the military, the bastards will just use M’s warp ability to escape if Espers come. Then Esper Dasom won’t be safe.”
“Hyung…”
Siwoo, who also saw the message, wore a troubled expression.
He would know well what would happen to Dasom.
“You and I have to save Esper Dasom.”
“Just the two of us?”
At Raon’s words, Siwoo’s expression clouded over, as if he was feeling uneasy.
Siwoo, who had almost gone into a rampage from using his ability excessively in the double gate, received an unexpected diagnosis in the examination room.
Thanks to using up all his abilities, most of the side effect symptoms caused by drug guiding had disappeared.
As a result, the speed at which his numerical value was charged through guiding had become faster than before, and he could use his ability without side effects.
His ability had even become stronger than before.
[Yoon Siwoo Contamination Level: Medium (59%)]
Perhaps because he had rested and received plenty of guiding, Siwoo’s contamination level was also improving steadily.
However, I couldn’t be sure if we could handle all of Apophis’s named members with just this.
Excluding M, who has the warp ability, all of Apophis’s named members were high-grade ability users of A-class or higher.
Furthermore, the exact abilities of a few, including K, were unknown.
Raon’s expression also gradually clouded over as he realized this point.
Beep.
“…!”
When the terminal rang again, Raon flinched.
It was clearly another message threatening with Dasom, so Raon swallowed nervously without realizing it.
“This is…”
However, the message this time did not come from Apophis.
Raon’s eyes widened as he saw the message sent by an unexpected person.
The abandoned construction site still gave off a desolate atmosphere.
Raon roughly parked the car he drove near the construction site.
Then he slowly got out of the car.
Clunk.
As soon as he got out of the car, Raon checked the time.
Fortunately, the one hour mentioned by them had not yet passed.
Raon let out a sigh of relief.
When Yeojun contacted me, it was already quite late, and the threatening messages also started coming around the same time.
So, even though it was evening, the surroundings were not yet dark, perhaps because it was midsummer.
Raon slowly walked towards the container warehouse where he had been trapped not long ago.
Apophis said they would be waiting at the same location, so this must be the place.
‘They must have done even more strange things than before.’
M’s warp ability was excellent, but it didn’t seem like Apophis was only relying on that.
It seemed like they had created a barrier to prevent Siwoo, the pair Esper, from finding me.
‘Moreover, I didn’t expect them to boldly use a location that had been exposed again.’
That seemed to imply that they were confident.
I wondered if there were functions unfavorable to high-grade Espers besides the un-locatable barrier.
‘It seems that items made from dungeon byproducts have spread quite a bit through the black market.’
Unfortunately, the country could not monopolize the items made from dungeon byproducts.
They say human greed is endless.
The former government secretly collaborated with corporations and sold the items made from dungeon byproducts.
That corporation was, of course, Hanmyung.
The items distributed back then are still circulating in the black market, and newly developed ones are also being secretly stolen and sold by individuals.
So, even terrorist organizations like Apophis can easily obtain such items now.
Squeak.
Raon nervously opened the door.
The rusty warehouse door opened with an unpleasant sound.
“You came, as expected.”
“…K.”
As soon as I opened the door, K’s figure was visible.
This time, all the named members were properly wearing their masks.
When Raon walked forward, the door closed.
The inside became dark again.
Although it was still bright outside, the container warehouse, which had no windows, was very dark.
Raon unnecessarily scanned the unseen corners out of the corner of his eye.
“Where is Esper Dasom?”
“You don’t have to worry. We haven’t touched even a single finger yet.”
“I want to see for myself.”
“Haha, you are very suspicious.”
Raon momentarily felt a surge of anger at K’s tone, which was still like bantering with a close friend.
However, slowly suppressing his anger, he barely managed to speak to K.
“How can I not be suspicious of you?”
“Hmm, that’s true too.”
K smiled faintly and nodded.
He then led Raon toward the back of the warehouse.
“Over here. She’s still asleep. I used a strong drug since she’s an S-class Esper, so she seems to be fast asleep.”
“Whew.”
Tied to the chair, Dasom was dozing off.
At her innocent appearance, Raon felt half-dumbfounded and half-relieved.
“If you take me, you’ll release Esper Dasom, right?”
“That will depend on what you do going forward, Team Leader.”
“You’re not planning to hold me until the Black Gate appears, are you?”
“Of course not.”
K burst into laughter when Raon showed suspicion.
We can’t be sure when the Black Gate will open yet, but since it will appear almost immediately after suppressing the Dark Blue Gate, there shouldn’t be much time left.
So, I thought they might hold me and threaten me until then, but K didn’t seem to have that intention.
‘Then what exactly is his plan?’
Raon looked at the laughing K with suspicious eyes.
He still seemed very relaxed.
“What if I refuse to cooperate until the very end?”
“Well, that won’t happen.”
“…?”
What was the reason for this overwhelming confidence?
Raon now even felt displeased.
I had met countless arrogant people, but K was slightly different from them.
He was confident, but I didn’t think he was arrogant.
He just seemed very sure that everything would turn out exactly as he wanted.
But whether it was arrogance or confidence, it should only be possible if one had the ability to back it up.
Raon, with a tense face, scanned K, who was wearing a goat mask.
Then, K stepped a little closer to Raon.
“Aren’t you curious about my ability?”
“…I am curious.”
So, he was planning to use his ability after all.
Raon swallowed as he looked at the approaching K.
“I am a psychic Esper.”
“…As expected.”
I knew why he was so confident; he seemed to be a psychic Esper with an ability similar to Taegon’s.
In that case, he would surely try to brainwash me or manipulate my memories.
That was the specialty of psychic Espers.
If so, it was actually a good thing.
Although I was a Guide, I had high mental strength, probably because I was an S-class Guide.
Then perhaps I could stall for more time.
Raon thought that and tightly clenched his fist.
