The news that the entire leadership of Apophis—no less than five people—had been captured spread quickly through the military and the Center.
Moreover, the main figure was none other than Han Raon, who was also serving a disciplinary measure with his pair Esper.
People couldn’t hide their excitement over a story as cinematic as the return of a scorned hero.
“I heard that Esper Yoon Siwoo also intentionally got a disciplinary measure.”
“What? Why?”
“The military and the Center set up the whole thing. To intentionally make them drop their guard.”
Rumors, including the outlandish one that it was a sort of undercover operation, spread widely later on.
Raon shook his head at this.
‘No, even I didn’t know it would turn out this well.’
It was true that I took a break while Siwoo was serving his disciplinary measure, but I didn’t accept it intentionally to catch Apophis.
Undercover operation?
I never planned any operation with the military or the Center, so what were they talking about?
‘Well, it’s true that I received help from Team Leader Inho and the Intelligence Department Team Leader.’
It wasn’t just the Intelligence Department Espers who blocked Apophis’s terror initially.
I heard that Team Leader Inho’s Espers were also deployed and are currently helping to track down the remaining members.
The Intelligence Department Team Leader gave active input after Dasom was kidnapped and captured two Named members alone, so his contribution was significant.
But since only my name was circulating wildly as the main figure in the rumors, the others might feel quite wronged.
‘Well, Team Leader Jeongwon, in particular, said he didn’t want to become famous.’
As a person who was responsible for intelligence and infiltration missions, becoming famous would be troublesome for him.
That’s why he seemed to be hiding behind me as a shield.
What a shrewd person.
Since my name was already widely known, becoming even more famous didn’t matter.
It would actually be a good thing if the increased fame helped me regain command.
Raon, thinking lightly, visited the Center.
Inside the Center, Raon’s name was already being talked about extensively.
The gazes directed at me on the way to the Center Chief’s office were filled with surprise and respect.
It was a more intense reaction than when I suppressed the Irregular Gate.
‘I guess suppressing a gate is a routine task, and catching humans who commit crimes is another domain.’
Fighting monsters inside the gate was, after all, the job of the Espers.
Of course, in the past, when gates weren’t suppressed in the early stages, monsters poured out from inside the gates, and ordinary citizens suffered great damage.
But such incidents rarely happened now.
Ironically, it was other humans who harassed citizens after the country became stable.
In particular, deserters who were not respected in the military due to their mediocre abilities and grades, and unregistered ability users who hid their powers because they didn’t trust the country.
Citizens were more exposed to and suffered greater damage from the crimes these people committed.
Apophis was a target of close watch even before, as it was a criminal organization that caused terror and had many high-grade ability users.
Especially the stories of the so-called Named members, who wore bizarre animal masks, were a big topic on the internet.
It was natural that they would receive attention since such people were all captured.
Raon tried to calm himself as he entered the Center Chief’s office.
“I’m here, Center Chief.”
“You came.”
Seokhyun, with a serious face, stood up and approached Raon.
Raon was inwardly curious about what he would say.
He might scold me for doing something dangerous as a Guide, or, although the possibility was low, he might praise me for increasing the Center’s achievement.
Raon watched Seokhyun’s actions, feeling inwardly tense.
“Are you uninjured?”
“Pardon?”
“I heard you were almost brainwashed by a psychic Esper named K.”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
“Good, that’s a relief.”
“…”
Contrary to expectations, Seokhyun first worried about Raon’s well-being.
It was surprising, even though he would have already received a report that there were no problems after the checkup at the Center hospital at Jeongwon’s recommendation.
Raon looked at Seokhyun, who was showing relief, with a strange look.
“Aren’t you going to scold me?”
“Hmm.”
Only then did Seokhyun look at Raon with somewhat sharp eyes.
However, it was subtly different from the look he gave me in the past when I was scolded for imitating the real Han Raon’s behavior.
“You deserve to be scolded. Why did you do such a thing? Without even consulting me.”
“If I had told you, you wouldn’t have allowed it.”
“Of course not!”
“Haha.”
Raon laughed, seeing Seokhyun finally erupt in anger.
Although laughing in front of the extremely serious Seokhyun might get me scolded more, I couldn’t help it.
“Is this a laughing matter? What were you thinking, doing such a reckless thing!”
“But didn’t it yield good results?”
“Phew.”
When Raon said this with a brazen look, Seokhyun let out a long sigh, as if suppressing his anger.
Capturing the leadership of Apophis was something that didn’t happen even in the original novel.
This incident caused even more differences from the original.
The repercussions might be greater than suppressing an Irregular Gate.
‘What would happen if I messed up the original novel so much that even the System couldn’t fix it if it returned?’
Raon’s eyes narrowed momentarily.
K, the leader of Apophis, suggested getting rid of the System and returning to our original world, but now Raon’s thoughts had changed.
The original novel where I had to pretend to be the real Han Raon no longer existed.
The world where I lived freely, showing my true self as ‘Min Raon’ rather than the real Han Raon, was vastly different from the original.
Hamin, the main sub, reawakened as an Esper instead of a Guide, and the main male lead, instead of helping with gate suppression, was losing the trust of his colleagues and wandering due to his self-righteous personality.
Furthermore, since the leadership of Apophis, who caused terror in the original novel, was captured, I doubted whether the System could turn the original plot back even if it returned in this situation.
‘Still, I shouldn’t let my guard down.’
Raon deliberately suppressed the confidence that had surged momentarily.
Before the regression, I had to be swayed by the System’s orders for a long five years.
That memory remained as a trauma, instantly burying Raon’s triumphant thoughts in the mud.
Even while thinking about confronting the System this time, Raon hesitated.
Even the fiercest beast becomes a little docile if a leash is forcibly put on it and it is tamed. It’s hard for a ferocious beast to fully regain its wild nature with just a brief moment of freedom.
Raon secretly clenched his fist.
“In any case, the Center is not going to overlook this achievement. The military seems intent on giving more credit to Esper Yoon Siwoo and the Intelligence Department Team Leader…”
“I don’t mind. It’s true that their help was significant.”
“But it was Team Leader Raon who resisted K’s brainwashing and drew their attention, wasn’t it?”
“Just promise me one thing with this incident.”
“What is that?”
Raon slowly exhaled.
And he looked directly at Seokhyun and said.
“The command authority for the next Irregular Gate. I want to take back what was taken by Team Leader Seo Dojin.”
What Seo Dojin said after meeting the Commander-in-Chief kept coming to mind.
The problem wasn’t just the System anymore.
The higher-ups had already singled out Seo Dojin as their successor, and they were people who would mercilessly eliminate anyone who stood in his way.
Even if the Black Gate, which was a huge threat in the original novel, was safely suppressed, it would be useless if I couldn’t do anything about them.
‘I need more power.’
Raon’s eyes flashed.
I would no longer wait patiently until the System returned.
The series of incidents had instead awakened the fierce hostility I had forgotten.
It was the chilling hostility I had felt toward the M&K Chairman even with my original body.
‘Do you think I’ll let things go according to your plans?’
Getting rid of those who threaten Siwoo was something I absolutely had to do.
Even if System intervention meant I could no longer be a pair with Siwoo, it was necessary to dismantle Seo Dojin and his forces for Siwoo’s future.
Raon thought that and nodded to himself.
“Hoo, I don’t know if that’s possible. The military won’t give it up easily.”
“Please try your best somehow.”
“I will try.”
Seokhyun nodded with a stern face.
Raon bowed to him and walked out.
“Hyung, is your talk over?”
“Yeah.”
Raon looked up at Siwoo, who had approached him.
His eyes were endlessly gentle when he looked at me, but they weren’t when he was choking K in the warehouse.
Raon, suddenly recalling that moment, stared intently at Siwoo.
“Why?”
“Hmm, it’s nothing.”
I answered nonchalantly and turned my head.
Up until now, Raon had only seen Siwoo as cute.
While others treated him as a terrifying S-class Esper despite his young age, he was only ever gentle to me.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen Siwoo acting mercilessly toward other Espers.
And each time, he felt a little frightening.
But now it was a little different.
‘He was kind of, sexy.’
The sight of him angry and soaked in water somehow felt quite alluring this time.
‘I must be crazy, truly.’
Raon grit his teeth and chastised himself.
Acting like this in a serious situation was an illness.
Raon suppressed a sigh and turned his head.
