Chapter 64.1

Chapter 64 – Rule 24. The Leader Pursues to the End (1)

The injured were urgently transported to the hospital.

I was among them. What Park Minhyuk provided was only first aid. I needed professional treatment quickly.

Soon, Vice Leader Oh Baek-seo arrived at the scene. The moment she saw me, her face turned pale. It seemed she had a hard time hiding her emotions, unlike usual.

I left Ha Yesong in charge of cleaning up the scene and instructed Baek-seo to pursue Moon Chae-won. I was taken to the hospital with Minhyuk as my guardian. There was no need to worry about the guidance. Although the penalty of my unique ability caused severe dry eyes and made me act foolishly, I always hid in a safe place during those times. By the way, because of that, I had never seen Doha act foolishly.

Anyway, the disciplinary committee split into two teams. Baek-seo led the pursuit team to find the villain Moon Chae-won, and the other team handled the cleanup and investigation of the scene.

And time passed.

I received a report that we had completely lost Moon Chae-won.

Ultimately, the pursuit ended.

…

I was told it would take at least two weeks to fully recover, considering my recovery ability.

The stronger a person’s magic power, the faster they recover.

However, I also heard a terrifying remark that if it hadn’t been for the first aid, I might have died or taken a long time to heal.

I didn’t even want to imagine what would have happened if I had faced Chae-won alone without thinking.

More than that…

“……”

“……”

How should I handle this awkward atmosphere…

In a private hospital room.
Baek-seo was silently peeling fruit while sitting in the guardian seat.

It wasn’t that I did anything wrong.

It was just that Baek-seo seemed to have a lot on her mind, making it difficult to start a conversation.

Moreover.

‘We lost the Six Criminals…’

It wasn’t something to show off….

“I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Baek-seo spoke up.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I should have arrived earlier. If I had at least been there with you, you wouldn’t be in this condition, right?”

“…Don’t say things like that.”

“Huh?”

‘It makes me look like an incompetent guy who can’t catch villains without you….’

The dignity of the leader was at stake.

I couldn’t rely on the Vice leader.

Failing to capture Chae-won with the forces on the scene was purely my own shortcoming.

“You were far away, right? What could you have done?”

Apparently, while I was at the shopping mall, Baek-seo was quite far away.

Baek-seo could move very quickly, but the distance was limited. Ultimately, she had to run over a considerable distance.

Considering that, she arrived very quickly.

It seemed she didn’t want to tell me where she had been, probably because it was related to her personal life.

“What matters is from now on.”

I tried to move my upper body, but a sharp pain in my abdominal muscles stopped me.

It felt like I was going to die from the pain.

I didn’t show it and lay back comfortably, staring at the hospital ceiling.

“The Six Criminals targeted me for some reason, and we’re bound to meet again. We must prepare.”

If I meet Chae-won again and lose her, it would be a disgrace to the disciplinary committee leader….

Not only would my authority be undermined, but my future would also be at risk.

I had to catch Chae-won no matter what.

‘Why does nothing go as planned….’

My life.

I worked hard, but could things go as planned just once…?

There was no one to blame.

‘The only consolation is that I can now fight Moon Chae-won to some extent.’

I wouldn’t have even imagined it in the past.

Now, I could fight on equal terms with Moon Chae-won. It was because I had become stronger than I expected.

However, there was a problem.

Chae-won hadn’t shown her full strength yet.

‘In the second round, the Chimera will definitely appear….’

It was clear that Chae-won would use her combat weapon, the Chimera, in the future.

A definite countermeasure seemed necessary.

Considering the worst-case scenario.

‘It would be nice if we could find out her hideout.’

I didn’t know where Chae-won’s hideout was.

In the game, you could only meet the Six Criminals during specific events.

But I couldn’t just sit around and wait. I had to go on a search operation.

“Leader.”

“Yeah?”

Suddenly, Baek-seo leaned in.

Her shadow fell over me, a gentle smile spreading across her face.

“Rest comfortably for now. Don’t think about anything. You’re a patient, right?”

It was a soothing voice that calmed my heart.

I appreciated the concern, but I couldn’t just rest thoughtlessly.

“I’m not in a position to do that, am I?”

“Rest.”

“…….”

It was a kind voice, but somehow it felt coercive.

…

I calmed my breathing and focused on the circulation of magic power within my body. Like meditating.

When I closed my eyes, a vivid scene, like a movie screen, unfolded in the darkness. It was the cityscape where I fought Moon Chae-won.

‘If only I had set the coordinates properly.’

When Chae-won dropped the aircraft, if I could have caused a precise fracture at the exact location.

‘If I could have caused a large fracture at once.’

If I could have made one large fracture.

I could have prevented the damage from the explosion and Chae-won’s escape.

Setting the coordinates correctly and creating a wide-ranging fracture at once was still difficult.

There was also a method of bombarding the aircraft with Spatial Thunderstrike to destroy it.
However, that method carried a lot of risk.

If the aircraft was destroyed, debris would rain down like rain.

Blocking each piece of debris would require a tremendous level of skill in coordinate setting. It was a level I couldn’t even imagine right now.

So, I prioritized running away.

…The more I thought about it, the more intensely I felt the regret of not having mastered my unique ability.

‘If only I could have prevented it.’

In my imagination.

Moon Chae-won thrust her hand toward the falling aircraft.

She envisioned causing a fracture to send the aircraft off-course, continuously replaying the image in her mind without rest.

In response to my desire, my magic power surged. My entire body was drenched in sweat.

Clear situational settings, fluctuating emotions, and the honed senses from countless training sessions guided me towards a unified world.

The pain from the wound inflicted by Chae-won intensified, but I could endure it.

‘Just a bit more.’

Relying on my senses, I repeatedly drew the image in my imagination.

Eventually, my stamina would deplete, and I’d lose consciousness.