Chapter 92.2

Chapter 92 (Continued)

 

This was a space isolated from the outside. There was no hesitation in mentioning the Head Principal.

“Haha! You already knew? Did Oh Baek-seo spill the beans? She must trust you a lot.”

It was as good as a confirmation.

I crossed my arms and continued questioning.

“So, there’s a top-secret under your hideout that must never come to light?”

Chae-won nodded.

“It’s a top-secret of Neo Seoul. The Federal Council is aware of it. I ended up knowing because I was in charge of an important mission there.”

“…….”

“Anyone trying to leak this information faces the highest level of ‘sanction.’ I don’t even know what those measures are, so think of that as you will.”

Chae-won continued.

“But the thing below my hideout is connected to that top-secret, and the Head Principal created it personally. It could serve as proof of my link with her.”

“So, the Federal Council doesn’t know what’s beneath your hideout?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me what it is.”

“Go see it for yourself. It’s not dangerous. I’m telling you this so you can verify it first. For all I know, it might already have been dealt with.”

I narrowed my eyes, staring at Chae-won.

I needed to verify this quickly.

“…How do I access the underground beneath your hideout?”

Chae-won smirked and explained how to access the underground area. I used the Disciplinary Committee’s internal network, the only system connected to this place.

“Vice Leader. Sorry to bother you this late, but this is important. I’ll send you a message. Take the team and check out what’s down there.”

— Sure, as you command.

Oh Baek-seo’s prompt response came through.

I turned back to Chae-won. It seemed best to continue this conversation after receiving Baek-seo’s report.

“Next question.”

“Sure.”

“What is the Head Principal’s goal?”

“I don’t know that either. People like me are just cards she can discard at any time. All I know is… the Head Principal is doing all of this for ‘1215.’”

“1215?”

No matter how much I dug through my knowledge of the original story, I couldn’t guess the meaning behind those numbers.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know. I just happened to see it as a sender once. I have no clue. But they seemed really important to the Head Principal. Not quite someone above her, but… she acted subservient to them. I don’t get it.”

1215, 1215…

It could have been a lock combination or a bank account password, but why would the sender’s name be ‘1215’?

‘If they’re an important person, it makes sense to hide their identity, but….’

Why a number sequence?

… I didn’t know. I would have to dig further.

Since Chae-won didn’t seem to know either, it was time to change the direction of my questions.

“Next question then. Why does the Head Principal control you and the other Sinners? It’s not for Goliath, but the five of you, including you, are under her command, right?”

“We’re just chess pieces that can be used and discarded at any time. That’s who we are.”

“What?”

Chae-won turned her head, staring at the pristine wall, her expression lost in thought.

“Let me ask you something, Leader. Don’t take it the wrong way; it’s to answer your question.”

“…Go ahead.”

Chae-won’s eyes shifted back toward me.

“If someone tried to expose your secret hard drive, or kill you, or overthrow the Disciplinary Committee of Ahsung High School, what would you do?”

I nearly reacted to the mention of my secret hard drive but managed to hold back.

“I’d apprehend and neutralize them. So what you’re saying is….”

If it’s the same logic, then the Head Principal’s motives became clear.

Chae-won smiled and turned her head fully toward me.

“What if someone’s aiming for the Head Principal’s position? What if someone wants to overthrow Neo Seoul? What if there’s a coup being plotted? Or there’s some conspiracy? Or what if they’re trying to damage the system of Neo Seoul for some other reasons?”

“You’re saying you were….”

“Yeah. We were weapons of violence. Disregarding the law, breaking everything down.”

So that was the purpose of all the terror attacks they’d committed.

To prevent the target’s plans or ideologies from leaking, they’d cut off information, making the terror’s purpose unclear and turning them into monstrous criminals—the Six Sinners.

“There are always limits to how discreetly someone like Spartoi can operate. And sometimes, they can’t even decide if they should catch someone or not. That’s where we come in, to eliminate any variables.”

Chae-won continued.

“That’s why we have to be strong. Because the scumbags with these messed-up motives are usually tough to handle.”

I understood why the Head Principal employed the Six Sinners.

The law and order were cumbersome obstacles.

To bypass these lengthy procedures, to surpass Spartoi’s operational limits, and to freely engage in illegal activities—Chae-won and others like her became violent enforcement tools.
Their methods were entirely at the Head Principal’s discretion.

Thus, the expression Chae-won used—”chess pieces that can be used and discarded anywhere, anytime”—fit all too well.

“There are plenty of impure people in this city. More are being churned out even now. Honestly, this city’s system is garbage, isn’t it? The people at the top are busy lining their pockets. They don’t care if the citizens turn into pathetic, miserable scraps.”

“…….”

“You can’t stop the birth or spread of ideologies. So you crush them. Don’t you agree? That’s why people like me, wielded freely under the Head Principal, were created. How can anyone go to such lengths just to hold onto their position?”

It seemed Chae-won didn’t know why the Head Principal was doing all this.

Was it because she desperately wanted to keep her position?

Or because she wanted to protect this city?

Or was it… related to 1215?

I had no answers.

“Then, how did you all become something like the Six Sinners?”

Goliath was originally a lawless being, impossible to understand, so I’ll pass on him.

But the remaining five—Goblin, Necromancer, Technomancer, and the Gluttonous Twins —how did they end up as disposable pawns?

Chae-won began to tell her story.

***

The interrogation had dragged on, so I decided to take a break and stepped out of the detention center.

I still had many questions to ask, such as how Oh Baek-seo nearly lost her unique ability and what exactly they had been doing under the Head Principal.

I judged that it was best to give Chae-won some time to breathe.

The night air was chilly. The crunch of fallen leaves underfoot signaled that autumn was in full swing.

“Haa.”

I took a deep breath of the outside air.

Turning my head, I gazed at Neo Seoul’s Central Tower in the distance. I couldn’t help but furrow my brows.

— ‘In the Zero Zone, it was all just a series of horrible things.’

What I had heard from Chae-won was shocking.

Children born with exceptional magic were segregated and raised in the Zero Zone. Horrific things happened there.

During what was called the Golden Time, children were subjected to repeated indirect magic training. Only those who survived were used as tools by the Head Principal.

Kim Dalbi, Oh Baek-seo…

Chae-won said they all went through the same ordeal.

Many children were discarded in the process.

It was utterly inhumane.

The project had paused recently because they had enough members.

But now that I was capturing the Six Sinners, the Head Principal might be preparing to restart the project.

Chae-won had told me as much.

‘This is insane….’

I pressed my fingers against my forehead.

In the original story, the Head Principal had committed suicide, so there was no further production of the Six Sinners.

But now, with Baek-seo’s plan having failed, I had to consider the possibility that the Head Principal would continue to live.

Meaning, the mass production and tragedies involving figures like the Six Sinners might repeat.

And there were many other issues to consider.

‘The Zero Zone….’

The Zero Zone.

I knew where it was.

In the original story, you could force your way in.

As a player, I went there for the first time, expecting something interesting in the eerie location. But when I explored, I found nothing and was disappointed.

It was so clean that it felt like an unfinished map.

Looking back now, I couldn’t shake the feeling that “someone had cleaned it up thoroughly.”

‘So Dalbi and Baek-seo went through that hell there, too?’

Thanks to Chae-won’s testimony, it felt like some of the fog clouding my mind had cleared.
Though many questions remained, this was a significant breakthrough.

I still didn’t know the Head Principal’s ultimate goal.

But I had more than enough reasons to bring her down.

That meant I just had to fight.

***

“Ahsung High’s Disciplinary Committee Leader?”

— He’s inside Ahsung High right now.

“At this hour? What a model student~.”

In the darkness, Hong Kyu, one of the Six Sinners, slicked his bangs back and grinned.

— It’s because of Moon Chae-won. She’s detected as awake now.

“Oh, she’s awake? That pathetic bitch didn’t die after all. Then we’ll crush her too. But let’s start with the Leader first.”

Following the Head Principal’s orders, everything was ready.

“Let’s begin, little sister.”

— Yes, oppa.

Hong Kyu formed a hand seal.

“Tonight’s going to be fun…!”

Then, something massive began to rise and undulate around Hong Kyu.