27. White Night (10)

“…No. Never heard of her?”

Just as I thought.

It matches my expectations exactly.

Pira-hyeon, this is the moment the suspicion that she’s carrying out large-scale mental manipulation is confirmed as fact.

The evidence was that not only Sanya, but also I, Ha-yul, and others were showing similar symptoms.

I don’t know how, but she, like me, possesses the ability to manipulate other people’s minds. The scope of her ability is much wider than mine, as a bonus.

“Don’t panic, and just listen for now. Principal-seonsaengnim’s body was just taken over by an Awakened being presumed to be the cause of this situation until just now, and she just got it back. And that culprit’s name is Pira-hyeon, a friend who was a student in our class.”

“You’re… telling me to believe that?”

Yeah. It’s natural not to believe it.

Who would dare to take over the body of an Awakened being who is among the strongest in the world, so that the person doesn’t even notice?

But it was true. What can I do when that’s the truth? The frustrating situation continued.

Meanwhile, Sanya’s hand is digging deeper into my chest.

Her slender fingers tapped at my skin as if they would pierce my fragile flesh any moment.

If she stabs me right there, it’s a spot where I could suffer a fatal wound.

“…If you can’t believe it, there’s nothing I can do. But what if it’s true? What if she invades Sanya’s mind in the middle of a battle, or if she strangely kneads Sanya’s brain and turns her into a minion of the Demon King, what will you do then?”

Of course, that won’t happen.

Ironically, I trust Pira-hyeon.

I believe that her words, ‘I will not interfere,’ will be kept at least until this war is over.

Sanya, who seemed to be quite troubled by my resolute statement, gradually released the strength in her hand clutching my chest.

Just when I thought this was working, she put her arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear.

“So?”

“…Pardon?”

“Ji-hoo-gun, blackmail only works when you have a card in your hand. When you’re in a state where you have nothing, like you are now, it doesn’t work at all.”

She was right.

I couldn’t say anything and just kept my mouth shut.

“Pira-hyeon… so there’s definitely something there… Okay, if that’s really the case, what should we do now?”

Sanya suddenly asks me a question.

Thinking that this might be my last chance, I stammered an answer.

“Right now… Joo-ha and Sia-na are in the same space, Pira-hyeon said. And if I want them back, she said to come and take them, that she won’t interfere… and then she left Sanya’s body.”

“Those are all ambiguous pieces of information.”

“……”

She finds fault with every one of my answers.

But I couldn’t argue. After all, I was just listening to her words helplessly without being able to do anything.

To know something more, I should have coaxed her or gently probed her, but I was so caught up in momentary revenge that I couldn’t do anything.

“…That’s right. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe you. Only…”

Sanya released her arm from my shoulder.

Then, she reached into her bosom and took out a rolled-up hologram paper and unfolded it.

The flickering hologram soon turned into a sophisticated map, with flashing red dots in various places on the 3D map.

“It’s just that there’s hope that Sia-na might be in a place we have to attack anyway.”

The locations indicated by the red dots were a total of three places.

They are scattered throughout the city, making it ambiguous to attack by dispersing our forces, and if we concentrate all our forces and attack only one place, we will be concerned about the remaining two places.

It was proof that the enemy was using their heads as well.

And at the center of that operation is probably Pira-hyeon.

“I’m sorry, Ji-hoo-gun.”

While I was making my own guesses while looking at the map in her hand, Sanya suddenly apologized to me quietly.

…What is it? Hidden camera, or something?

“Actually, I’ve realized since a while ago that there’s no way you could have colluded with the Demon King. I sincerely apologize for testing you in a bad mood. I’m sorry once again.”

“Uh… so…”

“I haven’t said it before, have I? I’m also a Cloaker-infected, like Joo-ha. I can find out the location of the Demon King or the remaining demonic energy in less than a second. When you were talking about Sia-na, I was suspicious at first, but I believed you not long after.”

Huh? What…? Sanya is… a Cloaker-infected?

My brain can’t handle the information coming in through my ears.

After chewing on it for a long time, I was barely able to escape from the shock.

So… Sanya is also half-human, half-demon like Joo-ha… Aha, so it was easier for Pira-hyeon to invade. I wondered why. Haha.

“Then… why were you threatening me like that? I, I was really worried…”

“Thinking about the possibility that you might have been contaminated by the Demon King.”

I see. I understand her position.

She didn’t say a word, but I mentioned Sia-na first, even making a specific statement that she was kidnapped, so how could she not consider all the possibilities?

My chest area is still numb and aching, but I decided to understand her with a generous heart.

Actually, nothing will change even if I complain here.

“It’s about time Ha-yul and the others arrive. Go and greet them first.”

“Yes… you’ve suddenly become very affectionate again.”

“Women are originally fickle.”

I trudged towards the entrance to greet Ha-yul.

For some reason, I already felt tired.

* * *

“Ji-hoo-ya! It’s Ji-hoo, right? I missed you…!”

“…I missed you, Ji-hoo-ya.”

Ha-yul and Seol-ah-seonbae, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, looked like they had gone through a lot of hardship, their whole bodies covered in dust and wounds in various places.

And behind them, Rei and Ye-won follow.

Ye-won-ssi acts smart and capable, so it’s okay, but I was worried about Rei a lot, but she seems to have followed the group well.

It’s only been a few hours since we met, but it feels new.

Because the situation is what it is, I think I’m worried even if we’re apart for a little while.

It wasn’t just me who felt that way, we gathered together and hugged each other for a long time.

Ha-yul is already making sniffling sounds as if she’s about to cry, and Seol-ah-seonbae, who doesn’t express her emotions well, buries her face in my chest with a look like she’s about to cry.

“You both had a hard time.”

“I was scared… Heueuk.”

“Rei and Ye-won-ssi, you worked hard too.”

“Ha-yul-ssi and Seol-ah-seonbae did everything. I just… followed them around.”

“Hey, you must have had a hard time too.”

A heartwarming atmosphere that I felt in a long time.

We enjoyed this moment a little more, as we didn’t know when we would be able to have it again after today.

Time flew by like an arrow, and it was already night.

Actually, even though it’s night, the sun doesn’t set, so it’s not completely dark yet, but it’s time to go to sleep soon for tomorrow.

Before going to sleep, Sanya briefly explained the future plans to the students.

From the hopeful news that the government’s support unit will arrive soon, to the somewhat depressing news that if Arvadellin is captured before that, the Demon King’s power will be unstoppable, so it is necessary to reduce their power through pre-emptive battles.

In fact, we expected that a considerable number of battles would take place from the time we came here, so we were able to accept it surprisingly calmly.

“Then everyone, sleep well. Wake up is tomorrow at 6:30, got it?”

“Sanya, good night.”

I squeezed myself into the sleeping bag that had been prepared in advance.

Whether Sanya had taken care of it in advance, I couldn’t hear even the sound of breathing that people around me might make.

A very quiet room. I forced myself to close my eyes and count sheep, but it seemed like it would take a long time for me to fall asleep.

…However, every minute and every second was too precious to waste.

How did this happen?

A situation where we are facing an unavoidable war with the Demon King.

The fact that part of the city has been occupied by the Demon King has a significant meaning.

The reason why they couldn’t stop the invasion was that humans were also partly responsible for causing it.

The ‘Demon King Response Committee’, whose name even makes me feel hatred. If those bastards hadn’t done such bullshit, the relationship between humans and the Demon King wouldn’t have formed such a steep confrontational structure.

In fact, there is also the problem of people who are swept away by such a social atmosphere.

People who act according to the leading atmosphere without being able to assert their own opinions. The so-called vigilantes caused people to scatter here and there without being able to prepare for the upcoming invasion.

And, finally, the absence of a commander.

In fact, this was a problem that only came to the fore now, to the point where I wondered, ‘Why hasn’t there been one until now?’ On the surface, there are many active Awakened people in Arvadellin, and it seems like they can quickly form a counterattack structure from the Demon King’s invasion.

But the reality was not like that.

I don’t know what happened while I was away from the city… but at least one thing was certain.

The city’s forces were just a disorganized rabble.

No matter how excellent an Awakened is, if there is no commander to lead them, they cannot be used in the right place at the right time.

The fact that the Demon King suddenly increased their power and attacked while Sanya was away was truly a surprise attack.

No, even that was all planned and executed by Pira-hyeon.

Pira-hyeon.

As of now, she is the leader of Pantagruel, and an Awakened being who is estimated to be equal to or greater than Sanya.

What is her purpose?

What is her true identity… is she even a god?

Are we just being consumed like pieces in a dice game in her palm?

“It’s late at night, so I’m having all sorts of thoughts…”

Is this what they call dawn sensibility?

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. No matter how sleepless I am, I have to hurry and fall asleep.

…And the next morning.

When I opened my eyes.

“Ji-hoo-ya…! Sa, Sanya is…”

After leaving only one letter, Sanya had disappeared.