Wearing handcuffs, Alex emptied a bowl of gukbap and glanced past the investigator watching him at the wall clock.
[“That clock working properly?”]
Jeon Hyoseung, the Management Bureau investigator, glanced at the clock and replied curtly.
[“Mind your own business.”]
[“Judging from your expression, it is working.”]
As Alex smirked with satisfaction, she gave a cold little snort.
[“Take a good look while you can. Soon enough, you won’t even be able to see a clock.”]
[“So, should I thank you? Is that what you want?”]
Resting her chin in her hand, Jeon Hyoseung ignored his provocation.
Alex clicked his tongue in boredom.
Well-trained, these people. It made him worry whether the plan was going smoothly.
[“Time to go.”]
Jeon Hyoseung gestured to him.
Clank.
As Alex stood and followed, his cuffs rattled. He glanced once more at the clock and cleared his thoughts.
Soon, he would be meeting Jin Siwon.
From what he knew, Jin Siwon was a mind reader. If he didn’t want his plans exposed, he had to erase them from his thoughts with distractions.
The moment he stepped out the door, he saw INTERPOL investigator Daniela trailing after them, and his lips curled into a sly smile.
So she had stayed behind to assist with the transfer. She would make the perfect distraction to erase his thoughts.
[“We meet again, Daniela. Have you tried reaching out to Reiji? What did he say? Did he claim he didn’t kill your friend?”]
Daniela fixed him with a cold, dead-eyed stare.
[“I did reach out. Said he’s on his way to Korea to kill you.”]
Smirking, Daniela shoved him forward toward the lobby.
Alex was to be transferred to the nearby special detention facility for Awakened.
Where is Jin Siwon?
Reaching the lobby, he scanned the area, but Jin Siwon was nowhere to be seen.
Don’t tell me the plan failed...
Biting at his fingernails with unease—
Screeeech!
The sound of car tires skidding across the road rang out.
Everyone in the lobby turned their eyes toward the roadway beyond the building’s glass walls.
Honk!
Hoooonk!
Horns blared all at once.
A massive truck swerved across the lane into a sharp right turn, cars crashing into each other in chaos.
Daniela’s eyes widened.
The huge truck that had swerved violently was barreling straight toward the building.
Crash! Crack! Crunch!
Vroom! Vroom!
The truck slammed into the police car meant to transport Alex and came roaring toward the building as if to smash it to pieces.
BWAAAAANG!
The moment it was about to plow into the revolving doors—
Mascot Honghong stepped casually in front of them, expression dull.
As he moved, the very air seemed to shift, ears ringing from the pressure.
The truck froze just before shattering the doors.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
The lobby fell into a breathless silence.
The oppressive aura blanketing the surroundings stood in sharp contrast to Honghong’s indifferent gesture.
No one knew exactly what he had done, but clearly, he had halted everything in an instant.
The truck remained suspended, stopped dead.
Right before the revolving doors, the massive hunk of metal looked as if it was floating, unable to advance.
An invisible, formless power was restraining it.
Only then did the onlookers gasp in astonishment.
[“Damn it!”]
Realizing the plan had failed, Alex lunged toward the truck—only for Daniela to seize him by the scruff of the neck.
[“Let go! Fuck!”]
Alex screamed and thrashed, but Daniela paid him no mind.
“Are you all right?”
Just then, Jin Siwon hurried toward them—holding Guru in his arms, the child clutching an earpiece.
“Yes, yes... we’ve got him.”
Daniela gave a shrug, yanking Alex closer at her side.
Smiling sheepishly, Jin Siwon bowed his head slightly.
“I’m a bit late. My apologies. I heard there was a bomb, so I had to check the situation.”
Daniela, who had been smiling faintly, started in surprise.
“A bomb?!”
“Yes. If it weren’t for our Guru, it could’ve been dangerous.”
As Jin Siwon smiled gently, Guru and Mephisto rubbed their noses proudly.
Finding the child cute, Daniela chuckled softly, then tightened her grip on Alex and asked,
“Team Leader Jin, then those people...”
Her gaze shifted toward the truck.
Just then, men in masks—a cheetah and a gorilla—emerged from the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
Behind them, more masked mercenaries began appearing one by one.
[“What the fuck is with that creepy mascot?!”]
[“That goddamn monster bastard!”]
As the men spewed curses, the mascot answered flatly:
[- Watch your language. Bad for the kid’s education.]
Finally, a man in a rabbit mask stepped out.
Around a dozen mercenaries began drawing weapons.
“Those animal masks... and finger tattoos...”
Daniela muttered under her breath.
“They’re Obsidian. Be careful.”
Obsidian.
International mercenaries who never hesitated to break the law for a job—each one the equivalent of an A- to S-Class Awakened.
Tension immediately rippled through the lobby.
Bureau security personnel and staff ushered civilians upstairs while raising their weapons.
Watching, the gorilla-masked man, Brady, slammed a long spear into the floor and scanned the room.
The only high-level Awakened here were Jin Siwon and Daniela.
And...
His gaze landed on mascot Honghong.
Ridiculous outfit, but the skill looked real.
The truck they had brought was layered with multiple shields and enchanted buffs.
For someone to stop it so easily...
[“S-Class?”]
[- Why? Thinking of running away, scared?]
At the mocking words, Brady gave a crooked grin.
[“So Korea really does have S-Ranks all over. Even an ugly mascot.”]
The most famous S-Rank in Korea was, of course, On Jurim.
But no way On Jurim would clown around in a getup like that.
Brady’s lips spread in anticipation of the fight.
[“As long as you’re not On Jurim, I’d say it’s worth a shot.”]
Honghong flinched, shoulders twitching.
A quick glance back revealed Guru, mouth hanging open in a silly grin.
Sighing in relief, Jurim turned calmly back to the gorilla mask.
Sensing battle, Jin Siwon turned Guru away so she wouldn’t see, stepping back a pace.
[“Daniela. Sorry, but this is goodbye.”]
Watching the scene unfold, Alex cackled, mocking her.
With Obsidian involved, no one in the Bureau could possibly stop them.
But Daniela only smirked, as though she’d just heard a joke.
[“Do you really think so?”]
Alex couldn’t fathom where her baseless confidence came from.
[“Don’t be reckless. Don’t make more victims. Hand me over to Obsidian.”]
[“Reckless?”]
Daniela snorted, continuing.
[“That ridiculous mascot is—”]
Honghong snapped his gaze to Daniela before she could reveal his identity.
In that split second, the gorilla mask lunged with his spear.
Now!
At once, the mercenaries moved in unison, weapons aimed to skewer Honghong.
Daniela’s words died mid-breath, shocked, as Honghong turned forward again.
The spearpoint /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ closed in—an instant from piercing him.
Every eye in the room tightened with tension.
[“Cease.”]
Swaaah—
With that interjection, a thin black cloth unfurled before Obsidian like a curtain.
It swelled into the form of a massive reaper.
What blocked their sight was the reaper’s black cloak.
Its mere presence weighed down the air.
“This is...”
Brady’s voice quivered.
The oppressive force suffocated them, forcing all the mercenaries to look up.
The hollow sockets of the skull gazed down, indifferent.
[“If you value your lives, you’d best not move.”]
A low male voice echoed through the silent lobby.
Still, some Obsidian sensed danger and shifted their feet—
Thud!
—only to collapse on the spot.
One after another, every mercenary who moved fell.
The rest froze stiff, paralyzed.
Watching, the rabbit mask at the rear stepped forward.
[“Didn’t I tell you not to move? Where you stand now is death’s domain.”]
He removed his rabbit mask, voice light with humor.
“How was that, On-chan? Was my timing all right?”
If you were here, you should’ve come out sooner.
Sighing, Jurim shook his head.
Meanwhile, Daniela, recognizing the man beneath the rabbit mask, whispered his name like a groan.
“...Reiji?”
Reiji smiled faintly.
“Good to see you, Daniela. I hear you’ve been looking for me quite a lot.”

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