The abandoned factory I just bought blazes in front of me, flames dancing in the bright noon sunlight. I immediately teleport to Rachel after reading her urgent text about the factory. Frantically, I scan the area for her.
"Rachel!!" I call out, my eyes searching the vicinity. Spotting her, I rush over. "How are you doing? What happened?"
Rachel, still in disguise but with a new look—pink hair, camouflage trousers, a body-fit white t-shirt, and a camo cap—turns to face me. She walks over, standing beside me as we watch the firefighters battling the roaring inferno.
"It's Lancaster," she says, her voice tense. "For the first time in a long time, he appeared before me." We both focus on the burning factory, the flames casting eerie shadows on her disguised features.
"What's his purpose? Did he come for you?" I ask urgently, my mind racing to understand the unfolding situation.
Rachel, her face tense, shakes her head. "No, he definitely came for your Interdimensional Router." She raises her hands, casting a sound barrier with her wind elementalism to shield our conversation from prying ears. "He ignored me rather straightforwardly and went for it. I'm sorry, Hyon, I couldn't stop him. He caught me off-guard, and that's not an excuse." Her frustration is palpable, anger evident in her voice.
"You weren't simply caught off-guard," I retort, a mixture of concern and guilt weighing on me. "He anticipated this. I should have been there with you." I stare at the burning factory, a pit forming in my stomach.
"What about the fire? Did he do it?" I press, seeking answers in the chaos that Lancaster has unleashed.
"Lancaster did it," Rachel confirms, her gaze fixed on the inferno. "He was the one who spread the fire. I had planned to destroy the Interdimensional Router at least, but Lancaster was one step ahead."
Rachel crosses her arms, her brows furrowed in frustration. "Lancaster came prepared. The people you hired to renovate the place came at me and attacked me. They were used as cannon fodder, and they have very strong suicidal tendencies... They exploded very violently as if a bomb had been transplanted into them. I deduce it might be an effect of a Gift."
I clench my fists, anger bubbling beneath the surface. "Yeah, it could only be an influence of a Gift." I take a deep breath, trying to maintain composure. "I thoroughly scan the people I hire. I am fairly certain there are no djinns among the people I hired. Not to mention, someone who blatantly brought a bomb to work."
"Is it possible for another person to have the same capability as you, to cloak the Djinn presence of an individual?" Rachel inquires, her eyes narrowing in contemplation.
I consider her question for a moment. "I will need to check up on the bodies of those who exploded. I may be able to find something if I can do some forensic."
Rachel's expression darkens. "That will be futile. They are incinerated until they are ash."
"That's extreme," I reply, a mixture of disbelief and concern coloring my tone.
"Any leads?" I ask, desperate for a shred of information that could lead us to Lancaster.
Rachel rubs her chin, deep in thought. "Hmmm... How about you? Did you at least put a tracker on your router?"
"I did," I reply with frustration evident in my voice, "but it got found out quickly, destroyed!" Glancing at my smartwatch, I add, "It got destroyed as quickly as Lancaster escaped if I am to believe the last timestamp when the tracker's signal was alive. The Interdimensional Router is very complicated tech, and it's even immensely difficult for me to perfectly hide a tracker in it." The setback weighs heavily on my shoulders as we grapple with the realization that Lancaster seems to be steps ahead at every turn.
"And that is what makes it suspicious," Rachel asserts, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What?" I inquire, my anxiety growing with each passing revelation.
"His timing is too good, and the speed he dismantled your tracker is too fast," Rachel explains. "Is there any way that he has an information advantage over us?"
"Fuck," I mutter, my mind racing to comprehend the implications. "Now, you are scaring me. If it is another Bleeding of Time, or something as insane as Yi Yeonjun having information of the future/s, then I might as well kill myself."
"I don't think it is the Bleeding of Time. The Interdimensional Router is a technology outside of Lancaster's perspective. If Lancaster has a subordinate who has experienced the Bleeding of Time and has somehow learned of the Interdimensional Router, I don't think they will also know, very specifically, how to perfectly dismantle a tracker that you put in it," Rachel analyzes, her mind working through the possibilities.
"And it is also 'statistically' unlikely that they have information on the level of Yi Yeonjun unless Lancaster is a probability-defying god," I add, a sense of incredulity in my voice. "What do you think about Lancaster possessing an item at the same level as the Orb of Solomon?"
"Possible, but there is a more likely scenario," Rachel suggests, her expression serious.
I take a deep breath, preparing for the unsettling revelation. "A spy..." i mutter, already having suspicions, but feeling otherwise to accept the truth.
"Right," Rachel confirms, the word hanging in the air, heavy with implications.
"Any wild guess on your part?" Rachel asks, her eyes probing for any inkling of insight.
"Chae Joochul," I reply without hesitation.
Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you are not being biased?"
"The old man is an emotionless monster," I explain, my tone firm. "And as long as it will benefit him, and it won't go against his creed, he will most likely go for it, wherever that decision stands on the morality scale." The weight of suspicion hangs in the air, and the unsettling possibility of betrayal by someone we considered an ally lingers between us.
"How about you? Any wild guess?" I inquire, curious about Rachel's perspective.
"Shin Jonghak," she responds without hesitation the same way I drop Chae Joochul's name in the mud.
I narrow my eyes, a chill running down my spine. "It's a very objective assumption… but he has been missing for half a year. He also took that memory-forgetting pill, swearing off any betrayal."
Rachel leans in, her voice dropping to a hushed tone. "What if he got turned into a Djinn? Because of so much inferiority, he finally falls to the 'dark side,' as you like to put it."
Silence hangs in the air, the unsettling possibility of Shin Jonghak succumbing to a sinister transformation sinking in.
"Just me double-checking… Are you sure you're not being biased?" I ask, trying to clarify the gravity of our decisions.
"Hmmm…" Rachel pauses, her brow furrowing in deep thought. "You're right, we might be projecting here. Our words lack a solid foundation. We're just digging rabbit holes…"
"We need to confront this Hero Association problem with utmost seriousness," I emphasize. "Lancaster's appearance only confirms the dangerous collaboration between the Association and the Djinn's factions."
"I agree," Rachel nods in solemn agreement. "Let's bring this up with Nayun. We have to take more aggressive steps against the Hero Association."
"What's your plan?" I inquire, eager to hear her strategy.
"Let's hit them head-on," Rachel suggests with a savage grin. "Storm their front gates and blast through their backyard."
"I love the sound of that," I reply, a surge of determination coursing through me.
Alfir I just want to ask, because I am suddenly feeling a bout of guilt... What is worse? Shin Jonghak's bullying, or Jin Sahyuk's bullying from the original novel... I just realized now, I just made Kim Hajin a very big bully, huh?
The abandoned factory I just bought blazes in front of me, flames dancing in the bright noon sunlight. I immediately teleport to Rachel after reading her urgent text about the factory. Frantically, I scan the area for her.
"Rachel!!" I call out, my eyes searching the vicinity. Spotting her, I rush over. "How are you doing? What happened?"
Rachel, still in disguise but with a new look—pink hair, camouflage trousers, a body-fit white t-shirt, and a camo cap—turns to face me. She walks over, standing beside me as we watch the firefighters battling the roaring inferno.
"It's Lancaster," she says, her voice tense. "For the first time in a long time, he appeared before me." We both focus on the burning factory, the flames casting eerie shadows on her disguised features.
"What's his purpose? Did he come for you?" I ask urgently, my mind racing to understand the unfolding situation.
Rachel, her face tense, shakes her head. "No, he definitely came for your Interdimensional Router." She raises her hands, casting a sound barrier with her wind elementalism to shield our conversation from prying ears. "He ignored me rather straightforwardly and went for it. I'm sorry, Hyon, I couldn't stop him. He caught me off-guard, and that's not an excuse." Her frustration is palpable, anger evident in her voice.
"You weren't simply caught off-guard," I retort, a mixture of concern and guilt weighing on me. "He anticipated this. I should have been there with you." I stare at the burning factory, a pit forming in my stomach.
"What about the fire? Did he do it?" I press, seeking answers in the chaos that Lancaster has unleashed.
"Lancaster did it," Rachel confirms, her gaze fixed on the inferno. "He was the one who spread the fire. I had planned to destroy the Interdimensional Router at least, but Lancaster was one step ahead."
Rachel crosses her arms, her brows furrowed in frustration. "Lancaster came prepared. The people you hired to renovate the place came at me and attacked me. They were used as cannon fodder, and they have very strong suicidal tendencies... They exploded very violently as if a bomb had been transplanted into them. I deduce it might be an effect of a Gift."
I clench my fists, anger bubbling beneath the surface. "Yeah, it could only be an influence of a Gift." I take a deep breath, trying to maintain composure. "I thoroughly scan the people I hire. I am fairly certain there are no djinns among the people I hired. Not to mention, someone who blatantly brought a bomb to work."
"Is it possible for another person to have the same capability as you, to cloak the Djinn presence of an individual?" Rachel inquires, her eyes narrowing in contemplation.
I consider her question for a moment. "I will need to check up on the bodies of those who exploded. I may be able to find something if I can do some forensic."
Rachel's expression darkens. "That will be futile. They are incinerated until they are ash."
"That's extreme," I reply, a mixture of disbelief and concern coloring my tone.
"Any leads?" I ask, desperate for a shred of information that could lead us to Lancaster.
Rachel rubs her chin, deep in thought. "Hmmm... How about you? Did you at least put a tracker on your router?"
"I did," I reply with frustration evident in my voice, "but it got found out quickly, destroyed!" Glancing at my smartwatch, I add, "It got destroyed as quickly as Lancaster escaped if I am to believe the last timestamp when the tracker's signal was alive. The Interdimensional Router is very complicated tech, and it's even immensely difficult for me to perfectly hide a tracker in it." The setback weighs heavily on my shoulders as we grapple with the realization that Lancaster seems to be steps ahead at every turn.
"And that is what makes it suspicious," Rachel asserts, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What?" I inquire, my anxiety growing with each passing revelation.
"His timing is too good, and the speed he dismantled your tracker is too fast," Rachel explains. "Is there any way that he has an information advantage over us?"
"Fuck," I mutter, my mind racing to comprehend the implications. "Now, you are scaring me. If it is another Bleeding of Time, or something as insane as Yi Yeonjun having information of the future/s, then I might as well kill myself."
"I don't think it is the Bleeding of Time. The Interdimensional Router is a technology outside of Lancaster's perspective. If Lancaster has a subordinate who has experienced the Bleeding of Time and has somehow learned of the Interdimensional Router, I don't think they will also know, very specifically, how to perfectly dismantle a tracker that you put in it," Rachel analyzes, her mind working through the possibilities.
"And it is also 'statistically' unlikely that they have information on the level of Yi Yeonjun unless Lancaster is a probability-defying god," I add, a sense of incredulity in my voice. "What do you think about Lancaster possessing an item at the same level as the Orb of Solomon?"
"Possible, but there is a more likely scenario," Rachel suggests, her expression serious.
I take a deep breath, preparing for the unsettling revelation. "A spy..." i mutter, already having suspicions, but feeling otherwise to accept the truth.
"Right," Rachel confirms, the word hanging in the air, heavy with implications.
"Any wild guess on your part?" Rachel asks, her eyes probing for any inkling of insight.
"Chae Joochul," I reply without hesitation.
Rachel raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you are not being biased?"
"The old man is an emotionless monster," I explain, my tone firm. "And as long as it will benefit him, and it won't go against his creed, he will most likely go for it, wherever that decision stands on the morality scale." The weight of suspicion hangs in the air, and the unsettling possibility of betrayal by someone we considered an ally lingers between us.
"How about you? Any wild guess?" I inquire, curious about Rachel's perspective.
"Shin Jonghak," she responds without hesitation the same way I drop Chae Joochul's name in the mud.
I narrow my eyes, a chill running down my spine. "It's a very objective assumption… but he has been missing for half a year. He also took that memory-forgetting pill, swearing off any betrayal."
Rachel leans in, her voice dropping to a hushed tone. "What if he got turned into a Djinn? Because of so much inferiority, he finally falls to the 'dark side,' as you like to put it."
Silence hangs in the air, the unsettling possibility of Shin Jonghak succumbing to a sinister transformation sinking in.
"Just me double-checking… Are you sure you're not being biased?" I ask, trying to clarify the gravity of our decisions.
"Hmmm…" Rachel pauses, her brow furrowing in deep thought. "You're right, we might be projecting here. Our words lack a solid foundation. We're just digging rabbit holes…"
"We need to confront this Hero Association problem with utmost seriousness," I emphasize. "Lancaster's appearance only confirms the dangerous collaboration between the Association and the Djinn's factions."
"I agree," Rachel nods in solemn agreement. "Let's bring this up with Nayun. We have to take more aggressive steps against the Hero Association."
"What's your plan?" I inquire, eager to hear her strategy.
"Let's hit them head-on," Rachel suggests with a savage grin. "Storm their front gates and blast through their backyard."
"I love the sound of that," I reply, a surge of determination coursing through me.
Alfir I just want to ask, because I am suddenly feeling a bout of guilt... What is worse? Shin Jonghak's bullying, or Jin Sahyuk's bullying from the original novel... I just realized now, I just made Kim Hajin a very big bully, huh?
