Chapter 162
Chapter 162. Caught (2)
Park Jae-kyung’s eyes widened in shock.
People from Another World, rumored to be hiding behind IUPC.
One of them, who had plunged Korea into chaos, was hiding among ordinary citizens.
“Is that information reliable?”
“It’s certain.”
“What if he’s not from another world?”
“Then we should give him an implant and get rid of that hero.”
“…….”
Park Jae-kyung couldn’t help but look dumbfounded at his cool response.
But…….
‘It’s not totally out of the question.’
Since People from Another World are still humans, it’s hard to distinguish them just by physical traits.
The assumption that he had disguised himself as a citizen to dive into a scene of a well-prepared plan was completely plausible.
The only thing bothering Park Jae-kyung was how easily the fallen man had succumbed.
He fainted with just one punch, indicating he had physical conditions not much different from an ordinary person.
‘He really looks just like a Korean.’
Yoo Ji-han gazed down at the man lying on the floor.
He bore a face indistinguishable from a local Korean and was someone completely unfamiliar to him.
Yet he was convinced the man was from another world because, upon peering into Mumu’s memory through a magic stone, he possessed the same alien magical power.
‘Is it just me who senses this?’
Although the magic power felt very faint, as if it were intentionally hidden,
Yoo Ji-han did not miss it.
“Let’s take him inside.”
“Come this way. The others should clean up here.”
Yoo Ji-han hoisted the unconscious man’s body over his shoulder.
While the others tidied up the commotion, Park Jae-kyung moved with Yoo Ji-han and a few other heroes into the staff room inside the store.
Click!
To prevent any unexpected situations, magical cuffs were placed on the man’s wrists.
In the staff room, secured from outside interference, the man’s body was tightly bound to a chair.
“Aqua. Wake him up.”
—Okay!
Splish!
A deluge of water summoned by the spirit poured over the man’s head.
“Ugh!”
The man, soaked from head to toe, regained consciousness.
Instead of panicking immediately after opening his eyes, he calmly surveyed his surroundings, which was quite surprising.
His gaze soon landed on Yoo Ji-han, who had just knocked him out.
“W-what! Why are you doing this to me?!”
The man’s face quickly filled with dread as he asked the question.
It was a look of disbelief that the hero he thought would protect him was now attacking him.
If this were acting, he’d surely have a promising career ahead!
Yoo Ji-han momentarily felt like applauding the man’s performance.
“…….”
Park Jae-kyung, who had been silent, signaled Yoo Ji-han with a nod.
Since you started this mess, you should handle the interrogation yourself.
Yoo Ji-han stepped forward in response and spoke.
“What’s your name?”
“P-Park Soo-taek.”
“No, your real name.”
“What do you mean real name…?”
“Not your Korean name; your real name.”
“Park Soo-taek is my real name!”
“I already know you’re from another world.”
The mention of another world made the man’s brow furrow deeply.
“Another world? What does that mean?”
“It’s a term referring to scum like you.”
“N-no, I don’t know such people!”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes! I don’t know!”
The man shouted, seeming incredibly frustrated.
Yoo Ji-han leaned closely next to the man.
He placed one hand on his shoulder and said,
“Not long ago, your leader got hurt, right?”
“……!”
“Even your ‘leader’ seems to have had a hard time facing Rank 1 Heroes. He was bleeding from the mouth, so it doesn’t seem like a minor injury.”
Yoo Ji-han mentioned a person he suspected to be the leader among the People from Another World he had glimpsed in past memories.
At the mention of his leader’s injury, the man’s body quivered slightly.
This was information that nobody but an elite handful should know.
‘So there’s a reaction.’
Feeling the man’s trembling as he tightly gripped his shoulder, Yoo Ji-han continued with a sly smile.
“You probably didn’t expect me to find out this too.”
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Your acting is really convincing. I wonder if there are actors in another world? I’d love it if you could fill me in.”
“P-please, clear up this misunderstanding. Waaaah…!”
The man appeared quite flustered, but he didn’t show any agitation externally.
He merely sobbed and pretended to be the clueless citizen Park Soo-taek.
Without any visible evidence, some of the people who entered the staff room felt pity for him being accused as a person from another world.
‘He doesn’t seem likely to spill anything easily.’
Yoo Ji-han coldly looked down at the man whose tears flowed freely.
Could he extract information by torturing this man, inflicting pain on him?
Of course, he could attempt it, but Yoo Ji-han believed that wouldn’t work.
However, he had another approach.
A way to unearth information without needing to pry it from someone’s mouth.
“Si-hoo.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“Extract some magic power from this guy.”
“Uh?”
“You know the low-grade magic stones being sold at the mart? Pull his magic power and put it in there.”
“Got it.”
Kim Si-hoo dashed outside and returned with several low-grade magic stones from the large mart.
He then took hold of the bound man’s wrist and slowly began the extraction process.
“Huh? This guy really has magic power.”
Kim Si-hoo, who initially felt uncertain since the man hadn’t shown any outer signs of possessing magic power, was now shocked to find out he indeed had it.
“Ahhhh!”
Feeling his magic power slowly being drained, the man writhed and struggled, but it was futile.
His physical capabilities were on par with that of an ordinary citizen.
“How does his power compare to typical magic?”
“It definitely feels different. It’s not necessarily superior….”
Kim Si-hoo focused on grasping the differences through directly interacting with the man’s magic.
Soon enough, five tiny magic stones contained the man’s magic.
Extracting magic power from someone else’s body is a very inefficient act since the magic consumed is significantly greater than what is extracted.
Yet Yoo Ji-han was satisfied with that.
“Sylph.”
The Sylph floating in the air descended beside Yoo Ji-han.
Yoo Ji-han placed his palm atop the Sylph’s head and spoke.
“Can you do it?”
Hmm!
Feeling confident, the Sylph charged toward the magic stones.
As the stones got absorbed into the Sylph’s body, Yoo Ji-han’s vision was engulfed in darkness.
‘I can see!’
A moment later, he spotted the man’s face from which the magic had been extracted.
Running down the passage alongside him were several people with extremely anxious expressions.
He had succeeded in activating the sampling!
‘This feels odd.’
Yoo Ji-han was floating above the ground, merely looking down at the people, yet somehow his body was moving in sync with the running man.
‘Why are they running?’
Among the companions running with the man was one of the People from Another World Yoo Ji-han had seen in Mumu’s memory.
It seemed they were in a large building or an underground structure… but he couldn’t fathom why they were panting and running for their lives.
Eventually, the group reached the end of the passage and began to ascend short stairs, arriving at a large, sturdy-looking door.
—L-Let’s open it!
The visibly tense man pressed a button on the wall, and the large sliding door opened automatically.
Upon glimpsing the scenery beyond the revealed door…….
Yoo Ji-han couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
—KUUUUGUUGUUNG!
—KUUUUGUUGUUGUUNG!
Countless meteors were falling from the sky, covering half the wide expanse above.
*
“…….”
“What’s going on right now?”
While the interrogation was underway, Yoo Ji-han sat on the floor, casually resting on his bottom.
He even closed his eyes as if he were meditating.
People who entered the staff room were whispering, struggling to understand his incomprehensible behavior.
“Ah, please let me go!!”
Clunk! Clunk!
The man, bound to the chair, shook his whole body and desperately resisted.
As the resistance intensified, some heroes glanced at Park Jae-kyung.
They could only release the man with her permission.
But Park Jae-kyung merely waited with her arms crossed, observing Yoo Ji-han seated on the floor.
‘Just like last time, he’s planning to do something like that.’
When the Sylph consumed the magic stone filled with Mumu’s magic…
Yoo Ji-han had provided information that Yoon Do-ha was still alive somewhere.
He was likely planning to employ that ability once again.
Park Jae-kyung decided to place her hopes in Yoo Ji-han once more.
Knock knock.
At that moment, someone knocked on the staff room door.
Upon receiving permission to enter, a person came through the door, standing in front of it.
“Vice Guild Master. Someone claiming to be an acquaintance of the man we just brought in has come looking for him.”
“Acquaintance? Is that so?”
Park Jae-kyung’s eyes narrowed with curiosity.
Who on earth could claim to be an acquaintance of a Person from Another World?
“They said they had been working together for over a year. They sounded very angry after hearing about their colleague getting beaten…”
“Ji-hye? It must be Ji-hye, right?!”
Upon hearing that a co-worker had arrived, the bound man cried out in excitement.
But Park Jae-kyung shook her head calmly side to side.
“Tell them to wait outside briefly. Make sure they can’t escape.”
“Understood.”
“Ji-hye! Ji-hye, help me!”
After the message bearer left the room,
whispers escalated among the heroes.
“Hey, can we trust your party leader?”
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
Knowing Yoo Ji-han’s abilities, Kim Si-hoo stepped forward to calm the surrounding heroes.
Since he had been active multiple times down to Suncheon, there was a trustful atmosphere at the moment.
And after about five minutes had passed.
“Do you think I will just sit here quietly? I’m going to sue every last one of you heroes!”
“Just stay calm.”
“Do you think I’m a joke? If you don’t let me go right now, you will definitely regret it!”
The man bound to the chair raised his voice, changing his demeanor.
His statements about having connections with the press and government officials intensified the whispering among the onlookers.
Finally, Yoo Ji-han slowly opened his eyes.
“Hyung! Are you okay?”
“Step out for a moment.”
Rising from his seat, Yoo Ji-han approached the bound man.
The startled man looked up at him.
“W-what! What are you going to do this time?”
“We need to talk.”
“Hah! It’s no use to ask for forgiveness at this point. I’ll never forgive you!”
“The one who should be asking for forgiveness is you. Paras.”
“Gah!”
Upon hearing the name “Paras,” the man gasped in shock.
Following that, Yoo Ji-han said,
“Real name, Paras. Age 34. A human from Ajesia, not Earth, with a strong talent for illusion magic.”
“……!”
“For the past two years, you’ve been working under a hidden identity, right? It must have been tough due to the mismatch with your talents. It looks like you didn’t even want to take on this spying assignment.”
“Wh-what are you?”
“It’s unfortunate that Ajesia has been utterly destroyed.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Paras’ face flushed red as his true identity was suddenly exposed.
He hastily tried to muster his magic power, but the cuffs on his wrists restrained his control.
Although the nature of magic may vary between Earthlings and other beings, fundamentally, the source of magic was the same.
“Seriously, you’re from another world?”
“Looks like it.”
“That guy just pulled off another stunt.”
The man, who had been adamant about denying being from another world while mentioning lawsuits, had become highly agitated after just a few exchanges of dialogue.
The heroes raised their caution upon seeing the man, who was effectively categorized as a Person from Another World.
The cause of death for their comrades unfolded right before their eyes.
In contrast, Paras, who couldn’t stop his agitation, glared at Yoo Ji-han and said, “What the hell are you?!”
“You don’t need to wonder about that.”
“Kuh!”
“Thanks to you, I’ve learned something useful.”
The ones they regarded as the most hindering were the top-tier heroes of Rank 2 and above.
However, caught off-guard by an unexpected individual, Paras clenched his teeth tightly, seething with rage.
