There were times when a sharp feeling was spot on.
Raon was particularly intuitive.
Even though he had only glimpsed the driver’s face, he remembered it clearly because it hadn’t been long since he saw him.
The man driving now was definitely not the driver who had taken Raon to the hotel.
“But, you’re a different person from the driver who drove earlier, aren’t you?”
Raon asked calmly.
And he placed one hand on his watch.
That was the moment.
Screech!
“Ugh!”
The car, which was going straight, suddenly changed direction and turned off to the side.
Horns of protest from other cars blared due to the reckless driving.
However, the driver stepped on the accelerator as if nothing had happened.
“What are you doing right now?”
This was clearly a different direction from the way home.
Raon asked, flustered.
He was so surprised that he couldn’t press the call button, and because of that, a light was blinking on his watch.
“Hello, Team Leader Raon.”
“…!”
Just then, an unfamiliar voice was heard right next to him.
As soon as Raon turned his head in surprise, someone covered his mouth.
“Hup!”
As soon as he took a breath, he felt dizzy, and his vision blurred.
A glimpse of a pink, rabbit-shaped mask appeared in his sight.
Raon slowly closed his eyes just like that.
*
“Uhm.”
Raon frowned.
His head was throbbing and aching.
Moreover, his whole body ached as if he had been beaten.
He always felt this sore after spending the night with Siwoo… but the feeling was different.
Raon thought with his eyes closed, then suddenly recalled the moment he lost consciousness.
“…!”
‘Ugh,’ a groan naturally escaped through his teeth.
As he tried to get up unconsciously, he only felt pain because of the rope tightly binding his body.
Raon gritted his teeth and sat back down in his spot.
‘Where is this?’
Raon was sitting in a chair.
Around him, only the black chair he was sitting on was placed sparsely, and it was just dark and desolate, without any sign of people.
He continued to scan his surroundings with eyes that were not yet accustomed to the darkness.
It seemed like a warehouse, as ropes and industrial objects were scattered on the floor and in various places.
The outskirts of Sector 1, in particular, had many abandoned warehouses from construction sites before the Gates appeared.
‘It seems I was kidnapped.’
Raon quickly grasped the situation and rolled his eyes.
To be kidnapped so absurdly.
Raon’s worth, as the Guide Team Leader who had suppressed the Irregular Gate twice, was currently skyrocketing.
Furthermore, Mikhail, who realized that Raon’s Guiding ability was extraordinary, had informed the Union of that fact, and they were sending all sorts of scouting offers, making other countries also pay attention to Raon.
Even in a situation where he was staying indoors due to Siwoo’s disciplinary action, the media continuously mentioned Raon, worrying about the next Irregular Gate.
Even now, if you went online, it would be entirely plastered with stories about Raon.
It was obvious that most criminal organizations wouldn’t dare to kidnap Raon, given the public attention he received.
Moreover, even if he was taking a break from Guide work, Raon was under military protection.
Even now, the Center and the military must be in chaos, realizing his absence.
Only one group came to mind that would disregard this and even resort to kidnapping.
Raon’s eyes narrowed.
Screak.
“…!”
Just then, the warehouse door opened with an unpleasant sound.
Raon’s head turned towards it.
A dazzling light instantly poured into the dark warehouse.
Raon unconsciously frowned.
Then, several people slowly walked into the warehouse.
“You’re awake, Team Leader Han Raon.”
“Ah.”
The person who walked in first strode in front of Raon and stopped.
Raon stared blankly up at him.
‘Goat…?’
The man was wearing a mask.
It was a snow-white goat mask with large black horns.
It was something that would be used as a prop in an occult movie.
Perhaps because of this, even the bold Raon couldn’t hide his bewilderment the moment he saw the goat mask.
Then, information from the original novel suddenly came to mind.
‘Alphabet Named, animal masks.’
These were all things symbolizing Apophis.
They called each other by the alphabet, and the Named members all wore masks to hide their identities.
Just like the animal mask right in front of him.
Raon regained his composure and finally opened his mouth.
“Are you K?”
“Oh dear.”
The man in the goat mask burst into laughter, as if amused.
His voice was considerably soft.
Soon, the man spoke again.
“You really know a lot about us.”
“Well. I don’t think it’s anything to boast about.”
Raon answered vaguely and scanned K’s appearance.
Wearing a white coat over a maniacal goat mask, he exuded the feeling of a cult leader.
In a way, Raon’s assessment wasn’t wrong.
K was an Esper who reigned at the apex of Apophis with astonishing intelligence and the ability to look into the future.
The Named members following them revered him like a god.
So, it was no wonder he gave off the feeling of a cult leader.
“The time the Intelligence Division interfered at the multiplex terror attack.”
“…”
“That was you, Team Leader Raon, wasn’t it?”
K asked in his characteristic soft voice. Raon stared at him in silence.
K was already convinced that Raon had mobilized the Intelligence Division.
However, there was no way he could know that.
He had only met Jeongwon, the Intelligence Division Team Leader, briefly outside under the guise of coincidence, and since then, they had exchanged encrypted messages via the Center’s terminal, which was impossible to hack.
Even if there was a spy for Apophis in the Center or the military, it wouldn’t be easy to find out the point of contact between himself and Jeongwon.
Unless the guards who usually protected him were the spies.
Raon’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
“I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about.”
“Oh my. Trying to pretend you don’t know.”
K muttered sadly. Raon also scanned the other Named members standing guard on either side of him.
On the right stood a man wearing a yellow tiger mask, and on the left stood a woman wearing a pink rabbit mask.
The rabbit mask he had briefly seen in the car came to mind.
‘This woman is M, the Esper with the teleportation ability.’
M was the most famous Esper among the Named members, excluding K.
She would appear whenever the Named members were in trouble during a terror attack and instantly whisk them away.
She must be the most troublesome individual for the Intelligence Division.
Seeing her proudly occupying the spot next to K, ahead of the other Named Espers, she seemed to be greatly trusted by the leader.
“It’s no use pretending to be oblivious. I already knew for a long time that Team Leader Raon was a special person.”
“…?”
A special person?
Of course, he was being praised by countless people for suppressing the Irregular Gate without casualties, but the nuance of what K was saying was slightly strange.
He looked like a cult leader no matter how he looked at him.
Raon glared at K with a feeling of unease. Then K asked in a soft voice.
“You’re a Transmigrator, aren’t you?”
“…!”
Raon was startled, and his eyes widened.
How did K know about Transmigrators?
Or did he mean it in a different way?
Raon felt momentary confusion, but he quickly gritted his teeth.
“What are you talking about? A Transmigrator?”
“Are you going to keep pretending you don’t know?”
K lowered his hand and stroked his chin.
Since the animal mask didn’t cover his entire face, his lips were slightly visible.
His beautifully curled lips were particularly noticeable.
“Min Raon.”
“…!”
“Can you still ignore me?”
Surprisingly, K knew Raon’s name before transmigration.
It was nearly impossible to guess that by chance.
K really did know that Raon was a Transmigrator.
He probably knew that this was the world inside a book, too.
‘How much does he know? What about the System?’
Raon felt anxious because of this.
Before the regression, no one had found out that Raon was a Transmigrator.
Only he could see the System.
But Raon before the regression had never encountered Apophis.
This direct confrontation was the first since his regression.
Before this, he only knew what he had read in the novel and the information circulating in the Center.
“Who are you? How did you find that out?”
Raon asked in a trembling voice.
At this point, all he could do was helplessly seek answers from K.
Then K curled the corners of his mouth upwards, as if satisfied.
“I thought it was strange. How did they know about the multiplex terror attack when we decided on it spontaneously?”
“…”
“So, Team Leader Raon was the only answer. Because it was information that couldn’t be known unless you were a Transmigrator.”
K smiled warmly and took off his mask. Then his bare face was revealed.
White skin and jet-black hair.
It was a pretty face for a man.
Raon’s eyes widened as he watched K suddenly reveal his face.
“And we are also Transmigrators.”
“…What did you say?”
Raon, hearing an even more surprising statement, doubted his ears.
In the meantime, the other Named members also began to take off their masks.
They were all Transmigrators too?
Raon stared at them blankly.
K wore a satisfied smile, looking at Raon.
Wow that an insane plot twist