Chapter 52: Countdown (4)

Bang!!!

But no explosion was heard.

Even after Hojoon gave the order, the inside of Ianna’s room remained eerily quiet.

Only the lewd, wet sounds of their bodies entangled, of their tongues entangled, echoed through the room.

Hojoon’s command wasn’t something like detonating the bomb implanted in Han Byeolhwa’s neck.

Ianna’s room was among the more luxurious facilities inside the Bureau. She simply hadn’t realized it.

The floor was decorated with marble, located hundreds of meters underground, filled with cute decorations tailored to Ianna’s tastes, a private spa room, various other amenities, and only the finest furniture.

It wasn’t inferior to the so-called ‘solitary cells’—in fact, it was on par with or better than those high-class facilities.

Of course, the ventilation system was perfectly installed as well.

It was simply hidden in the corners of the ceiling, disguised so as not to irritate Ianna’s eyes.

Hwi-i-iing—

From the concealed vent, sleeping gas began to flow out.

It didn’t even take ten seconds for Ianna to notice the gas that had filled the room.

“Hh, hngh…”

“Ugh…”

Their consciousnesses began to fade.

It was a concentration of gas strong enough to kill an ordinary person instantly.

Han Byeolhwa and Ianna both passed out nearly immediately.

But since Byeolhwa’s body surpassed that of a human, and Ianna’s wasn’t quite human either, they managed to avoid death.

Their vision blurred.

Rationality shut down.

Their eyelids grew heavier and heavier, until finally, they sank into a deep sleep.

And yet, Ianna didn’t let go of Byeolhwa’s hand.

Instead, she pressed her body even closer to Byeolhwa’s, shoving her tongue into Byeolhwa’s mouth for all to see.

In her fading consciousness, the one thing she focused all her strength on—

Her tongue.

Until their mouths were soaked in saliva, until their warmth could be felt clearly, until everything was messily stained with some unknown scent.

Ianna considered the tongue she pushed into Byeolhwa’s mouth a lifeline.

Because the moment their connection was severed, she felt Hojoon would make a decision.

She had no choice but to be desperate.

Unable to make a rational judgment, she could only cling to that kiss.

“Hh, ugh…”

After a groan of unclear origin, the two bodies went limp.

A short while later, agents of the Bureau wearing gas masks entered and separated the two, retrieving only Han Byeolhwa.

***

It could only be seen as a leap in logic, a delusional fantasy, or a childish hallucination.

There was no other conclusion.

What was Ianna even thinking?

Was it really Ianna in the first place?

Everything was in question.

If that thing inside wasn’t Ianna…

Then what was he even here for?

‘…Salvation?’

Such a concept was never meant to be associated with Ianna.

The role she was assigned in his script had no room for such a cumbersome thing.

Her role was to remain still until everything was over, and to absorb the world’s rage.

Her attempts to stray from her predetermined role irritated Hojoon.

Even if she was Ianna—who was once everything to him.

For the sake of his great cause, even the most precious person could be discarded.

Ianna was no exception. Neither he nor Ianna.

Sacrifice for the greater good was the ideal ending.

And yet—

Ianna had realized everything.

What he was planning, how he viewed her—she had figured it all out.

That was something that should never have happened.

Though everything had been moving according to plan, once Ianna—the variable—got involved, things began to veer off course.

‘…Elimination.’

Eliminating Ianna was impossible.

She was essential to the plan.

Everything had been built on the premise that Ianna would remain in the Director’s seat of the Bureau.

Therefore, she couldn’t be eliminated.

But her mind could be destroyed.

He was prepared to abandon even his own daughter.

He had already lost his wife, his colleagues, and everything else on his way here.

He had sharpened his blade of vengeance while drowning in unbearable disgrace.

Vengeance.

What burned in Hojoon’s chest was nothing but vengeance.

Vengeance against everything.

The upper echelon of the Bureau that brutally killed his wife.

The magical girls who, for fun, trampled the innocent people his wife and Ianna had given their lives to protect.

The cult that turned Ianna—who had devoted herself—into something unspeakable.

Those who trampled on human dignity.

Hojoon hated them all. Behind his smiling face lurked seething hatred and vengeance.

“The future of humanity must be entrusted to human hands.”

Even the cause he had clung to was now reduced to a mere tool for revenge.

And now—

All of Hojoon’s rage was directed at Ianna.

That she had deceived him all this time.

That everything he had planned was now unraveling because of her.

It was a fury he could no longer contain.

But—

He did not act impulsively.

Hojoon never moved on emotion.

Having survived through slander, backstabbing, and endless conspiracies, he had learned how to thoroughly kill his feelings.

That’s why, rather than making a rash decision, he focused on gathering more information about Ianna.

Her movements over the past few months, changes in her eating and sleeping habits, alterations in speech patterns, stuttering frequency—every minor detail.

And through that—

He discovered a few facts.

Ianna’s routine began changing around the time her new personal aide arrived.

The Ianna who used to hole herself up in her room sobbing except during work had suddenly started engaging in more indoor activities.

Her appetite had grown.

She had started roaming inside the Bureau.

It could mean only one thing.

‘That’s not Ianna.’

She was behaving in a completely different pattern.

Even her brainwaves were subtly different.

The definitive sign she wasn’t Ianna.

Then who was it?

Not something supernatural like a spirit.

That was definitively ruled out.

Anything paranormal or occult could be safely ignored.

The most plausible hypothesis: split personality.

Post-traumatic stress from torture.

Years of confinement.

Pressure from within the Bureau.

Ianna’s mind had split in two.

But—

That alone didn’t explain how she had vaguely caught onto his plans.

Deep inside Ianna’s thoughts, fragments of his plan were faintly visible.

Then—

‘The aide…’

It meant the aide was a spy.

Ianna’s aide was someone he was certain of.

Her younger sister was being held hostage.

She had been personally trained—an elite among elites.

That such a person would betray him and reveal the truth to Ianna—

Unforgivable.

Once the aide woke up, they’d be moved to the interrogation room.

The truth would be extracted.

No matter what it took.

Some theorized Ianna’s personality split due to an overdose of tranquilizers, but her behavior had changed long before that, so the theory was naturally rejected.

‘…A personality?’

If needed, it could be killed.

Even if it was the personality of the one who had guided him.

But—

[“Hojoon is… a good person… So please… stop thinking like that…”]

Ianna had already realized his plan.

Namely—

“The Final Purge Plan for Magical Girls—whose egos are no longer needed in this era of peace.”

And the true plan hidden beneath it.

Though it had not yet surfaced, Ianna had grasped it, however faintly.

How deeply she knew—he couldn’t say.

‘…’

The plan to purge magical girls, who had become unneeded and were rotting under the guise of justice, was something most would agree with.

But the real plan buried underneath—no one would accept it.

Yet Ianna defended him in front of Byeolhwa.

Even knowing everything.

Even when she was on the verge of being killed by Byeolhwa.

Even then, she shielded him.

‘Why?’

He didn’t think she did it to show him.

Considering Byeolhwa’s unstable mental state, it was a moment where Ianna could’ve died or been violated just as she had been by Heosang.

Moreover, Ianna didn’t know there were dozens of cameras in her room.

The moment Byeolhwa touched Ianna, his hand moved to the detonator.

Even if she was his daughter, letting her be killed or ruined without his permission was unacceptable.

But—

He couldn’t press the button.

Because it was the perfect opportunity to examine Ianna’s thoughts more closely.

“…Vice Director? The final procedure is ready. We can begin as soon as you give the order.”

“Wait. Let’s hold off for just one day.”

“Understood.”

Hojoon had customized the cognitive suppressor for Ianna’s specifications.

A version that would melt the brain in both pleasure and pain.

But this improved suppressor couldn’t simply be administered all at once.

So, he devised a method:

To implant the drug inside her body and allow it to slowly, gradually release.

A minuscule dose would spread through her system over time.

The procedure he prepared was for this.

…But then—

[“I love you both.”]

That single sentence from Ianna—

Made it impossible for him to make the call.

“How should we deal with Byeolhwa?”

“Put her in solitary. Triple-lock the door.”

`“Understood.”

Hojoon himself wasn’t aware of it yet—but his heart had begun to shift.

Curiosity.

Rather than hastily erasing Ianna’s personalities, he turned toward solving the mysteries in his mind.

Therefore—

“When do you think the Director will wake?”

“Probably in about half a day.”

He had decided to speak with Ianna himself.

Just in case—

She had remembered the past.

Just in case—

She had remembered him.

Because he had to know.