Chapter 45: Missing (2)

The girl had disappeared.

The Guild Master’s expression turned indescribably cold when he saw Kim Seongyeong return alone.

The atmosphere was so bad that the few customers in the cafe quietly slipped away.

“Explain briefly what happened.”

“Yes…”

Kim Seongyeong, pale and trembling, barely managed to start explaining the situation.

There wasn’t much to summarize; it wasn’t anything extraordinary.

He’d been walking along the main street of the residential area, showing her around and chatting, when they reached the restaurant district.

Then, while he went to buy her a gift, she disappeared.

“How long did it take?”

“…10 minutes? I-I’m not lying, it really was just a few minutes!”

“Haah…”

To think such a problem would happen before they’d even moved.

No one expected a child to disappear in this safe, wealthy area.

“I-I should have stayed with her the whole time…”

Why did everything involving the girl go wrong like this?

Kim Seongyeong shrank, a far cry from his usual cocky self.

He’d be scolded by his parents, of course, but how could he face the Guild Master?

He might really get kicked out of the guild at this rate.

Is the girl okay? Did she just get lost? Such worries flooded his mind non-stop.

His legs trembled like aspen leaves without him realizing.

His eyes darted around, unable to make eye contact, as if the girl might return at any moment.

He looked so anxious that even his parents, who were about to scold him, quietly closed their mouths.

How could he leave a child younger than him alone in an unfamiliar place?

The situation was clearly Kim Seongyeong’s fault, and both he and his parents were watching the Guild Master’s reaction.

After staring at the top of Kim Seongyeong’s head for a moment, the Guild Master spoke quietly.

“You know it’s your fault, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Then what are you doing? Are you planning to save your ability forever?”

Ah!

Kim Seongyeong suddenly handed the snack bag to his parents and said,

“I’ll call if I find her!”

He immediately dashed off using his acceleration ability.

Whoosh-! Kim Seongyeong disappeared in an instant with a tremendous gust of wind, looking like he might circle all of Seoul and come back.

Not that the Guild Master expected him to find the girl.

No matter how fast he could run, it was impossible to search every nook and cranny of countless buildings.

The Guild Master left the cafe, leaving behind Kim Seongyeong’s anxious parents.

Kim Seongyeong was just insurance.

As long as he didn’t do anything reckless out of guilt for losing the girl, it was fine.

There’d be time to scold him for his responsibility in her disappearance after rescuing her.

“…Damn it.”

Besides, Kim Seongyeong wasn’t the only one at fault.

Come to think of it, he’d made a mistake in carelessly sending the girl off too.

Even if he’d wanted her to make friends, he shouldn’t have let them go out alone.

Did she run into those cult bastards?

Or was it a villain?

She couldn’t have gotten caught up in a Gate, could she?

Did she just get lost?

All sorts of worries raced through his mind.

The only fortunate thing was that she hadn’t disappeared in the middle of nowhere.

If she’d vanished from the restaurant district, there should be plenty of CCTV footage, and someone might have seen her.

The Guild Master wasted no time in picking up speed.

He moved at an incredible pace, causing explosive sounds.

It was a level that wouldn’t lose even to Kim Seongyeong’s acceleration ability.

He used a method of reducing air friction and pushing his body with telekinesis.

Unlike in the air where there’s little to collide with, moving at this speed on the ground was practically suicidal.

If he accidentally hit something, his body would shatter into pieces with no time to recover, but.

He was desperate enough to take such a risk.

“Oh my goodness!”

To non-Awakened civilians, the ground suddenly shook and a person appeared out of nowhere.

Normally, he would have apologized and reassured them first, but.

“Have you seen this child?”

The Guild Master immediately showed a candid photo of the girl that the sisters had proudly sent him.

In the photo, the girl was smiling brightly while being held by Han Dayeon.

“Hmm? Ah!”

Fortunately or unfortunately, the girl’s hair color was so eye-catching that he got an immediate response without having to ask many people.

The restaurant owner manning the cash register nodded and gave him a suspicious look.

“I’ve seen her, but may I ask what your relationship is?”

It was a situation that naturally aroused suspicion.

If they were close, leaving such a young child alone made him trash.

If they were strangers, there was no need to search for the child, so he must be a criminal.

“…I’m the child’s guardian.”

At the Guild Master’s quiet answer, the restaurant owner didn’t hide his contemptuous gaze.

Tsk tsk, looking so normal on the outside.

You abandoned that cute child on the street?

The part-time worker wiping tables also shot him an unfriendly look.

But they had no intention of getting further involved in rich people’s business.

It was better to turn a blind eye than get mixed up in it.

The restaurant owner spoke in a curt tone.

“She was standing still right in front of here on the road, then went off alone in that direction. That’s all I know.”

“Thank you.”

The Guild Master immediately started following the girl’s trail in the direction the owner pointed.

The problem was…

The child moved alone?

There’s no way that smart girl would have left the meeting place alone for no reason.

There must have been some reason that ordinary people couldn’t notice.

In that case.

Swish-

The Guild Master took out a broken glass shard he’d been keeping in his inventory.

It was about the size of an adult’s palm and as thick as a finger joint.

[Other World Glass Shard]

It was an investigation item shared among the three major guild masters and some Awakened individuals.

If this worked, it would be good to find the girl’s location easily, but.

It wasn’t entirely positive since it meant an Awakened was involved in this incident.

The Guild Master swallowed dryly and held the glass shard to where the girl was said to have been.

“Hah…”

He could see a long trail following the road.

It was undoubtedly the energy from beyond a Gate.

With things turning out like this, there was no time to waste.

Please, just be safe.

There’s an elixir that can save even someone on the brink of death as long as their brain remains intact.

There are only two of them in Korea, but it wouldn’t be a waste to use it to save the girl.

If she’s just safe, I’ll make sure this never happens again.

The Guild Master gritted his teeth and ran along the trail visible through the glass shard.

The path twisted and turned maliciously, befitting someone who’d taken a child at will.

It wound through alleys, sometimes passing the same road three or four times.

And then.

“Is it here?”

He covered in one step what would have taken the girl’s short legs quite a while to walk, arriving in front of a run-down apartment building.

The energy trail cut off abruptly at the door, so the girl must have gone inside.

After putting the [Other World Glass Shard] back in his inventory.

The Guild Master exerted his telekinesis to the maximum, in case the kidnapper might be holding the girl hostage.

The apartment building was surrounded by a force strong enough to lift and throw an entire apartment complex.

From what he could sense with his telekinesis, no one besides the girl was detected.

It seemed they’d brought her here with clear intent.

The location was underground.

If there’s no kidnapper, now’s the chance to rescue the girl.

Bang-!

The Guild Master immediately smashed through the door and strode down towards the basement.

The lights flickered unsteadily, as if they’d been neglected for a long time.

Rusty safety rails and dusty soil crunched under each step.

His teeth clenched involuntarily at the musty smell, thinking of the girl being held in such a place.

To think there was such a hotbed of crime in the heart of Seoul.

Though plans to eradicate the cult were steadily progressing.

If he’d known it would come to this, he should have moved up the guild meeting.

Even if it meant overthrowing the entire government, they should have rooted out those damn villains and eradicated the cult.

So please… be safe.

He kept shaking his head to dispel the worst scenarios that kept popping into his mind.

He completely crumpled the thick iron door of the basement into a round ball with a crunch-! and stepped into the dark interior.

The inside was a mess, just like the completely neglected exterior.

There was even an unbearable stench, as if rotten food had been left out.

What kind of bastard would kidnap that small child and bring her to a place like this?

Step, step.

As he approached where he’d sensed the girl, another door appeared, perhaps leading to a storage area.

The impatient Guild Master smashed through this door too, and as he stepped underneath,

Unlike the dark outside, a light so bright it dazzled his eyes suddenly shone.

The stuffy air that had been making his chest tight suddenly became as clear as if he’d entered a forest.

“Ah, uwaah! Don’t go there…!”

He heard the urgent cry of the girl he’d been searching for.

Don’t? Don’t what?!

What on earth are they doing to the girl!

“Don’t worry, I’m here!”

The Guild Master, uncharacteristically anxious, turned his head quickly with a whoosh-!

“Th-that won’t make milk come out!”

“Hehe… Milk milk…!”

He witnessed a tiny child clinging to the girl like a cicada, kneading her chest.

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