Ch.95Hypnos 5

“Siho!”

Jisoo shouted as she saw the collapsed bartender.

She made a gesture to immediately get off the ice.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Because Assemblyman Park, whom Siho had knocked unconscious, had awakened.

Not only him, but the rest of the rankers followed from the stairs.

All the prominent rankers in Korea looked up at her sister, who was merely an experimental subject.

Jisoo’s fists trembled, overwhelmed by their gazes.

“Damn it…”

She desperately tried to think of a clever solution.

Suddenly, her eyes fell on the note Siho had given her along with the potion.

She hurriedly read the paper.

“If I get caught, run away immediately. And go to Momento in Sindorim.”

Momento…

Why did it feel so familiar, even though she had never been there before?

Like it was her own hideout.

But even so, how could she leave behind the woman who had saved her?

Jisoo’s amber eyes glanced down at the fallen Siho.

Soon, the rankers of Counters gathered around her.

Their leader, Park Shinae, looked up at Jisoo standing on the ice.

Then, with a resolute expression, she pointed her finger.

“Capture her.”

Following her command, 04 and 06 stepped forward.

Faced with their intimidating pursuit, Jisoo finally had to turn away from Siho.

And she hurriedly escaped from the resort.

Thanks to Siho’s potion, Jisoo’s running speed had indeed increased.

In contrast, 04 and 06 moved slower due to the Hypnos.

Because of this, she managed to escape from the mountain safely without the distance between them closing.

The two rankers could only helplessly watch the B-rank hunter’s retreating figure.

They had no choice but to trudge back to the resort.

Meanwhile, Misha and 09 were tending to the unconscious Siho.

Shinae watched the scene with composure.

“We apologize… we lost her.”

04 and 06 bowed their heads deeply, looking ashamed.

But Shinae didn’t show any anger at the rankers’ failure.

Instead, she smiled and encouraged them.

“It’s alright. Everyone’s not in good condition right now.”

“Yes… because of that damn kid’s alcohol…”

06 glared at Siho with eyes full of hatred.

The assemblyman patted the man’s sturdy shoulder, telling him not to worry.

“It’s fine, we can always replace such cheap prey.”

“Instead… we’ve gained something much more valuable, haven’t we?”

The assemblyman gently gripped Siho’s chin.

And lifted it slightly to examine her face.

“I’ll make an antidote after I extract your ability. Just bear with it until then.”

The Counters’ rankers returned to the dark underground.

Taking the small bartender with them.

Misha, who had been following at the back, turned her head slightly to look at the window through which Jisoo had escaped.

She stretched her hand toward it.

Then, the second-floor shutters, which they thought weren’t there, came down.

The shutters soon completely blocked out the sky.

“—.”

My head hurts so much.

I feel lethargic, as if I’ve been sleeping all day.

I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids.

The first thing I saw was the backs of two women standing at a workbench.

I know them.

03 and 09.

They were handling flasks, transferring drugs into syringes.

The two rankers raised their heads, sensing my presence.

The door opened, and Assemblyman Park Shinae entered the laboratory.

She examined my condition leisurely, with her hands behind her back.

“Is the laboratory chair sturdy?”

“Yes, it’s the same product we used at the facility.”

Unlike the arrogant demeanor she had shown until now, 09 was respectfully polite in front of the assemblyman.

That sight made my whole body tense up.

“You should always buy the most expensive ones for these things. The Incheon research center was destroyed because they bought cheap ones.”

“Yes…”

To think she could make even that crazy woman act so politely…

As I was barely swallowing the saliva pooled in my mouth, our eyes met.

The assemblyman smiled broadly and greeted me.

“Oh, Siho. You’re awake?”

“…”

I didn’t give her any answer.

I just kept my mouth shut and lowered my head.

I noticed my arms and legs firmly secured to the chair.

It seemed impossible to break free with my meager strength.

“Your plan was quite good. It almost succeeded.”

She personally removed the hair stuck to my lips.

Shinae’s floral scent tickled my nose.

“But you didn’t know about my ability. Just as I didn’t know about yours when I was caught off guard.”

The assemblyman smiled slyly and placed her hand on her shirt.

Soon, she began to unbutton the tightly fastened buttons one by one.

This revealed a tattoo that read ’01’ just below her collarbone.

It glimmered red as if it had just been branded with fire.

“My ability is Family.”

She gently spread open my palm.

And softly caressed the mark that had somehow been engraved there.

“When someone weaker than me shakes my hand, they become part of my family.”

Shinae tickled the mark engraved on my palm.

It throbbed painfully as if branded with a hot iron.

“You’ve now become part of my family. The 10th member, no less!”

01 stroked my head.

As if encouraging a child.

“Ah, but if I take away your ability, you’ll become an ordinary person. Then, you’d be too weak to be considered family…”

Shinae placed her hand on her lips, looking troubled.

Then, as if struck by a good idea, she rubbed her finger against the mark engraved on my palm.

The mark that had been binding me disappeared like dust.

Instead, she twirled around and approached me from behind.

“My family members need to be very strong individually. Since you’re weak…”

“A pet would be better than family.”

Suddenly, I felt pain on the nape of my neck.

She began writing something with her finger.

It was agonizing even with just her fingerprint touching my skin.

Like being branded with fire.

The pain was so intense that I couldn’t make a sound.

And so, a number was engraved on the back of my neck.

“10.”

“Now you can never escape from me.”

The assemblyman wiped her finger after finishing the tattoo.

She kissed my cheek and whispered softly.

“No matter where you run, I’ll know your location.”

The assemblyman no longer spoke to me formally.

Like family.

“Of course, you won’t be able to escape anyway.”

With a refreshed expression, the assemblyman called for Misha.

She asked her daughter with a gentle voice.

“Misha, please take care of the next step.”

“Yes, Mother…”

Misha muttered with a gloomy face.

Satisfied with the answer, the assemblyman gracefully left the laboratory.

The sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.

Only after that sound completely disappeared did Misha speak again.

“Unnie… why did you do it?”

The girl looked down at me with a bitter expression.

Her hand holding the syringe trembled.

“After all I did for you…”

“You people could never understand.”

I glared at her with a haggard face.

“When I think about what you did to us, I can never forgive you!”

My voice was terribly cracked.

But I somehow squeezed it out and kept shouting.

My saliva fell on 09’s arm.

She wiped it off with a disgusted look and asked.

“You’ve been saying strange things.”

09 approached me leisurely.

And raised the left arm that was once part of my body.

“Did we kill someone in your family?”

“I wonder. There must have been an incident we don’t remember.”

09 rolled up her left sleeve.

The part where my arm was sewn to her body was revealed.

“I should find out.”

As she finished speaking, the laboratory began to brighten.

My eyes flashed at this unexpected miracle.

A soft and familiar radiance emanated from 09’s arm.

And I knew that radiance all too well.

“How…”

“What, did you think only you could use Angelic Hand?”

09 already knew the name of my ability.

Her light gradually moved closer to my body.

“You must have been peeking into others’ memories all this time?”

“Now it’s your turn to be read.”

No…

Don’t read.

The thought of having all my memories read by an enemy…

Anxiety overwhelmed me at the idea of all my vulnerabilities being exposed.

I twisted my body frantically.

But the chair that had held Anna didn’t move an inch.

I shook my head violently.

But the pain from the tattoo on my nape only intensified, and nothing changed.

Soon, 09’s hand gripped my wrist.

And at that moment.

As if time had stopped, I ceased all movement.

I tried to resist using Angelic Hand.

But every time I did, pain shot from the tattoo on the back of my neck.

That pain prevented me from using my ability.

As a result, I was left in a semi-unconscious state.

I could hear the rankers marveling as they read my memories.

The first to react was 09.

She looked down at me with an incredulous laugh.

“You… you were that bug from Sindorim? What a coincidence…”

Finding it hilarious, 09 burst into laughter.

In contrast, Misha’s face remained pale.

“Unnie… you were a man?”

Misha’s eyes reddened.

She looked down at me with pity.

“My God… then all those corpses you brought in were like unnie…”

Soon, Misha glared at 09 as if she wanted to kill her.

The red-eyed woman waved her hands defensively.

“Hey, it was all Mother’s orders. We just followed her commands!”

Misha shook her head in disbelief at the reality.

So much had happened—being killed by rankers from her own faction, possessing a body, going through all sorts of hardships, and finally meeting her…

There had been too many events.

Only after 30 minutes did 09’s memory reading finally end.

Thanks to that, I could start to move a little.

My voice also began to return gradually.

“No wonder you resent us.”

09 looked at me with a smirk.

She whispered to Misha while putting an arm around her shoulder.

“Misha, if we leave someone like this, they’ll surely betray us again.”

09 pulled out a dagger she had hidden in her bosom.

And slowly pointed it at me.

“Let’s extract the ability and kill her. To avoid future trouble.”

The red dagger gradually moved closer to my neck.

I pressed myself against the chair as much as possible to avoid the blade.

“No… how could you kill such a pitiful unnie!”

Misha cried out loudly with tears in her eyes.

09 gave her an incredulous look.

“What unnie? The contents are a smelly man!”

Misha shook her head at the unbelievable reality.

And then looked at me with a very calm face.

“Then, why don’t we erase the memories of being a man?”

Only silence filled the laboratory after the girl’s words.

Terrified by her statement, I instinctively asked.

“W-what did you say…?”

“Until now, unnie’s life has been nothing but painful memories.”

“You must have lived with resentment and anger towards us all your life.”

“Even that Jisoo person who saved you doesn’t remember you.”

Misha opened a syringe.

And began filling it with a green liquid.

That color seemed somehow familiar.

“Rather than living like this, it would be better to forget everything.”

She removed the syringe cover.

The girl pressed it slightly to expel some liquid, checking if the needle worked properly.

“From now on, be my pet fox and live happily.”

“Since you’ve experienced it before, you’ll adapt even faster, right?”

The girl’s shadow gradually drew closer.

The nightmare from Chinatown suddenly came flooding back, overwhelming my body.

“No…”

“Here, this is the Hypnos you made. I’ll place it right on your neck.”

“No…!!”

I shook my head frantically.

But the girl firmly gripped my neck.

I choked under her surprisingly strong grip, contrary to her appearance.

“Sleep well, unnie.”

A hot needle pierced my neck.

And through that gap, the ice-cold Hypnos was injected.

That liquid spread throughout my body from my neck.

As the coldness extended to my head, I gradually became unable to think.

“Someone help me… please…”

As I was losing my sanity.

Suddenly, the faces of two people appeared.

“I don’t want to forget…”

Anna and Jeoksa.

Their faces gradually became blurry.