Chapter 146
Chapter 146: Disappearance (3)
—Hohoho! Nice to meet you.
A man wearing a fedora greeted Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon.
In the brief silence that followed between them,
Yoo Ji-han, floating in the air, slowly settled down beside them.
‘What on earth is happening?’
Yoo Ji-han looked down at his palm.
The shape of his hand was vaguely visible, but through his translucent hand, the floor shone through.
Not just his hand, but his entire unclothed body was translucent.
‘Calm down, stay calm.’
The two people who were reported missing were right in front of him, and his body had gone transparent.
In this incomprehensible situation, Yoo Ji-han steadied his mind to not lose his composure.
‘The Sylph ate the magic stone, and then…’
Suddenly, the Sylph devoured the magic stone imbued with Mumu’s magic.
Surely, what was happening now was definitely because of that.
It was a thought close to certainty, considering he was the contractor of the Sylph.
‘It seems I’m invisible to others.’
The people gathered in this space completely failed to recognize Yoo Ji-han.
He was treated as if he didn’t exist at all.
And one more thing.
There was something strange.
‘This is a sensory mapping…?’
In a brief moment of using sampling to determine probabilities, a peculiar sensation coursed throughout his body.
Feeling that sensation made Yoo Ji-han mistake it for him using sampling.
‘…No. It’s not an illusion.’
As he suppressed the turmoil in his heart, he soon realized.
He was truly using sampling right now.
And the scene he was seeing was absolutely not an illusion or a falsehood.
This was an event that had actually happened somewhere in this world at some point!
For some reason, sampling was showing it to Yoo Ji-han.
‘Did the Sylph know this would happen and eat the magic stone?’
While contemplating his new questions, Yoo Ji-han kept his eyes wide open to not miss even a single event unfolding right in front of him.
Perhaps he could discover the reason why the heroes had disappeared here.
—You are… not a human from Earth.
Baek Kang-cheon stated this while looking at the man in the fedora, asserting he was not a human from Earth.
Yoo Ji-han, surprised, scrutinized the suspicious man’s appearance.
At first glance, he appeared to be an utterly ordinary human.
The hat wasn’t worn like Kim Si-hu’s to hide something, and there was no physical trait that could identify a specific race.
Which meant…
This man was a human from a world other than Earth.
‘IUPC has made contact with humans from another world.’
Combining the information he already knew with what he was hearing sparked a new suspicion.
Soon, a conversation ensued between Yoon Do-ha and the other man.
—How the hell did you kidnap us?
Yoon Do-ha used the word “kidnap.”
It confirmed that the man in the fedora had indeed created the current situation.
—You’ll have to answer if you want to live. Otherwise, can you handle us by yourself?
—Of course not!
Clap!
As the man clapped his hands, Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon, who were in the same space, vanished somewhere.
Leaving behind only the suspicious man and Yoo Ji-han.
But then…
—Grrk!
The man, who had seemed completely unfazed while talking with two Rank 1 Heroes, suddenly kneeled down on the floor, crumpling.
Red blood streamed from his lips, nostrils, and even his ears.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
—Captain!
—Are you okay?!
—Hohoho…! Indeed, humans from Earth aren’t to be underestimated.
Humans, who had appeared from nowhere in the empty space, hurried to support him.
They looked like part of his entourage.
—Who would have thought the captain would struggle so much just from moving two humans…
—Don’t worry. We finished the most crucial part of the plan! How is the IUPC’s status?
—As planned, we’re continuously increasing the mutant legion.
—Hmm, I’m glad to hear I can communicate well with your head. Now it’s only a matter of time before this precious land falls into our hands!
The man, referred to as Captain, wiped the blood from his mouth with his hand and displayed a refreshing smile.
As they began discussing something else, the things visible to Yoo Ji-han started to fade gradually.
It felt like waking from a dream.
‘Wait a minute.’
But Yoo Ji-han desperately clung to his consciousness and thoroughly examined everyone present.
Their height, appearance, and even the foreign magic power subtly perceived.
‘I remembered your faces clearly.’
In the final gaze directed at the Captain’s face, a quiet fury emerged in Yoo Ji-han’s eyes.
*
Just as Yoo Ji-han’s vision of the world was fading, a familiar woman’s voice reached his ears.
“Ji-han! Yoo Ji-han!”
Park Jae-kyung, clutching Yoo Ji-han’s shoulder and urgently calling his name.
Yoo Ji-han, staring blankly into space, blinked at her.
Noticing his gaze, Park Jae-kyung said.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now.”
“Ah, you suddenly went unresponsive and scared me.”
“…Did I not respond?”
“Yes. For about 5 seconds.”
Park Jae-kyung said Yoo Ji-han hadn’t reacted for about 5 seconds.
But the time he had spent in that space was at least 3 minutes, no matter how short.
There was a significant discrepancy from the actual time that had passed.
Yoo Ji-han gazed at the Sylph floating in the air, lost in thought.
‘What did you just do?’
Whether the Sylph knew his thoughts or not,
it simply swirled in the air, spinning around.
Never had he felt this frustrate at not being able to communicate freely with it.
“Ji-han. Do you happen to have a mental illness?”
Park Jae-kyung’s expression turned serious.
No matter how robust and quick-recovery heroes were,
given their characteristics of constantly facing life-threatening battles throughout their lives, it was quite common for them to be exposed to various types of stress and mental health risks.
If not treated appropriately, it could escalate into a larger issue.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Just in case, I recommend you get some counseling soon.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. …But Jae-kyung, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Yes?”
“…”
Yoo Ji-han sealed his lips before responding.
How on earth could he explain what he had just seen to someone else?
With no way to extract and show the memories in his head,
he feared he might be treated like a lunatic should he speak squandered.
But in order to draw cooperation from the Dice,
he absolutely needed the help of Park Jae-kyung, the vice guild master.
“I believe I’ve found out the reason why Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon disappeared.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
Park Jae-kyung’s eyes changed at Yoo Ji-han’s words.
“The moment the Sylph consumed the magic stone, I saw figures that resemble Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon at the time of their disappearance.”
“Is that really true?!”
“I’m not quite sure what the spirit did specifically. However, since my previous contract was with an Elf, it likely possesses some special ability…”
After clearly stating that what had just happened was related to the Sylph’s actions,
Yoo Ji-han continued to explain based on what he had seen in that cubic space.
“Humans from another world?”
“Yes. It seems the IUPC has made contact with humans from another world.”
“Certainly, the drugs confiscated from that organization surpassed ordinary levels. It’s hard to believe they were possessed by mere citizen groups. The potential of a third party being involved is very conceivable…”
Items that would astonish even the research institutes of states or large guilds.
If these had been handed to the IUPC by beings from another race or humans traversing from another world, it would make some sense.
“The problem is that the enemies possess the capability to kidnap Rank 1 Heroes. Their abilities, while not universal, should make it imperative to notify everyone around them and prepare measures swiftly.”
“But…”
“You probably won’t believe it. If I were in your shoes, I would have reacted similarly. But I’m not insane enough to tell lies or jokes in such a serious situation.”
Yoo Ji-han, speaking rapidly, gazed at Park Jae-kyung with a serious expression.
Park Jae-kyung returned a steady gaze to him.
‘Should I really be believing this?’
To think that such information would come from someone they had called just in case.
After a while, Park Jae-kyung pondered deeply, looking down at the ground.
Then, Yoo Ji-han pressed on, like hammering the last nail.
“If my words are false, I’ll step down as a hero from that day.”
“…!”
“Feel free to write a legally binding memo, or even record a video of my face.”
“Oh, that’s too much…”
“You must believe me.”
The hero at the center of a hot topic recently.
Having much more to lose than before, he offered conditions that could be highly disadvantageous to himself.
That meant his confidence was high.
“Phew…”
After quite a while of contemplation, Park Jae-kyung finally nodded.
“As the acting delegate of the Dice, I will believe you, Yoo Ji-han.”
*
“I’m sorry, but I can’t believe it.”
Upon finishing their conversation, they were met by Yang Ji-cheol in the Hero Department.
However, after briefly receiving prior notice and welcoming them warmly, Yang Ji-cheol shook his head after hearing the general outline.
“I want to believe it; however, to be frank, the credibility of the story is far too low to persuade others.”
This could be viewed as a more common reaction.
The notion of humans from another world crossing over to Earth was indeed hard to believe.
At that moment, Park Jae-kyung spoke.
“Even without the cooperation of the Hero Department, the Dice will act independently with Sweet Fun.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
With Yoon Do-ha absent, the decision-maker of the Dice was Vice Guild Master Park Jae-kyung.
She noted Yang Ji-cheol’s visibly conflicted expression.
Then, Park Jae-kyung calmly continued.
“Given the circumstances, please call him for verification.”
“Who exactly?”
“The one who possesses the unique skill to distinguish truth from falsehood.”
“…!”
Yang Ji-cheol recoiled in surprise.
“How on earth did you know that about Park Jae-kyung?”
“Right now, what’s important is not that.”
“Ugh…”
Yang Ji-cheol nodded after a moment.
She thought it was worth trying her proposed approach.
And a few minutes later.
After returning with someone he had briefly left behind from the reception room, Yang Ji-cheol brought a person with him.
It was someone Yoo Ji-han was quite familiar with.
“Long time no see, brother.”
“Nirochi?”
“Hmm? You two know each other?”
“I spoke briefly with Kazimir, who works here as a researcher.”
Yoo Ji-han looked at Nirochi, whom Yang Ji-cheol had pulled over.
Apparently, she possessed the ability to discern the truthfulness of statements like a lie detector.
It seemed distinct from her ability to empathize with her unique skill.
“Give me your hand.”
“Here.”
“Now, say what you want to say. I’m not sure why I was brought here, but…”
“…Humans from another world have crossed over to Earth.”
“What?”
Nirochi, who had heard no information from Yang Ji-cheol, widened her eyes in shock.
Her expression quickly turned serious.
“This is real.”
“Are you saying that statement is true?”
“At least this brother believes what he said is true.”
“Yoon Do-ha and Baek Kang-cheon were kidnapped by humans from another world.”
“That’s also true.”
“The IUPC contacted humans from another world.”
“That too is true.”
Yoo Ji-han kept revealing the information he knew.
And once all that content was confirmed as the truth by Nirochi,
Yang Ji-cheol was left speechless, her mouth agape.
“This can’t be…”
“Now do you believe me?”
“I’ll report this to the higher-ups right away!”
Nirochi’s ability to discern lies had been confirmed through numerous verifications in the Hero Department.
With a hardened expression, Yang Ji-cheol bowed respectfully towards Yoo Ji-han.
“Ji-han, you’ve truly done something significant.”
“What will happen now?”
“I suspect an emergency summon might be issued for Rank 3 or higher heroes, per crisis response protocol.”
“…War?”
“We’ll need to discuss it further before I can say anything.”
There was a possibility that a war might break out within Korea.
As Yoo Ji-han observed Yang Ji-cheol’s retreating figure, he clenched his fists.
“Brother, let’s talk for a moment.”
Nirochi, who remained behind, grabbed Yoo Ji-han’s sleeve.
She looked like she had something she wanted to say.
