episode_0115

“What is this?”

Isabel, who had been silently observing Alex and his group, suddenly realized that they were trapped within a barrier due to the unexpected individuals. She blinked her eyes rapidly.

What kind of situation is this?

Who are they exactly?

Why did they attack Alex and his group?

Could they be bounty hunters? A clan? Association? Police?

She pondered deeply, but couldn’t figure it out.

Isabel tried to use her observation ability to see through the barrier, then turned her head towards Yudahee.

“Ugh~ It’s so hot~.”

Yudahee was sprawled out, feeling the heat of Busan to the fullest. She lazily fanned herself while munching on ice cream.

“Yudahee, Alex and his group were attacked by someone. It seems like they were dragged into the barrier.”

“Huh? Really?”

Just moments ago, she seemed half asleep and weak.

Upon hearing the unexpected news(?), Yudahee perked up with lively eyes and turned her head sharply.

“Multiple unidentified individuals. It seems like they deliberately attacked us.”

“Oh, I see.”

Deliberately attacked?

Does that mean it was a premeditated assault?

“Oh, I nullified John’s doppelganger ability. It seems like they knew his weakness. The doppelganger disperses when exposed to light.”

“I thought it was a bogus ability, but it seems there was a weakness after all.”

The revelation that John’s extraordinary ability was exposed was both good news and bad news.

Because identifying John’s weakness without anyone knowing meant that the other party truly possessed abilities like precognition or deception, which also meant there was a high likelihood of no traitor among our members.

“I saw Aisha Illeos among them. I confirmed she was at the church until yesterday.”

“Did she attack from the church again? Ugh. This woman, how did she know and secretly send reinforcements?”

This Aisha, we can’t just leave her alone.

“They even took Alex’s pocket dimension. This could be dangerous.”

Isabel thought as she saw through the barrier.

The fact that the other party immediately exposed John’s weakness and even took the pocket dimension proved that they had meticulously prepared to face Alex and his group.

It also meant that they had overwhelmingly more information than we did.

On the other hand, what do we have?

We knew very little about the other party.

Their abilities, tools, weaknesses, strengths, compatibility, etc. Facing them in this situation was not a good choice.

But if it’s Yudahee…

“So, what are we going to do?”

“Huh?”

“Are we going to rescue them or not?”

“Well, of course we are. Why even ask?”

Yudahee chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.

“Of course, we have to go and have a showdown.”

“A showdown…”

Anyway, this woman, Yudahee, is really hard to stop.

What’s the point of willingly risking danger?

Isabel looked at Yudahee, who was smiling mischievously, and shook her head helplessly.

“Sigh… Yudahee, you know, this situation itself could be a trap…”

“…A trap to lure me in?”

If the other party truly had the ability to foresee the future, there was a high possibility that they already knew Yudahee, the leader of the Rebellion, would enter the barrier. This also meant they had prepared countermeasures against Yudahee.

“Hmm. I wonder how it will turn out.”

Is there really a precognitive individual?

If so, how far can they foresee the future?

Could they even anticipate and prepare for ‘this’?

“Alright, let’s test how prepared these guys really are.”

“Yudahee.”

“So, shall we put in some effort after a long time to help Alex out with his debt?”

“Yudahee.”

“Oh, don’t worry too much. It’s not like I’m alone, right, Ryan?”

Eventually, she turned her head to look at Ryan.

“Will you help, sir?”

“Mm.”

Ryan nodded silently.

“So, don’t worry about me, Isabelle. Be careful yourself while we’re away, as anything could happen in our absence.”

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’m confident in my ability to escape.”

“Oh, you’re quite confident.”

Yudahee chuckled as she inserted a wireless earpiece into one ear.

“Then, I’ll ask for your assistance.”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

“Alright, then… How about we try a little ambush?”

***

“If you surrender peacefully, I won’t treat you harshly. How about it?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at Alex’s stern rejection of my kind offer.

Alex, too, must be well aware of how dire the situation is.

Their forces have been reduced to just Alex, who had his pocket dimension stolen, and John, whose supernatural abilities have been exposed.

In other words, they’re operating at half strength.

Of course, that alone is not to be underestimated.

Alex has reached the top rank, and John is at least at the upper rank.

But they are still far from enough to face us.

Because I have hired skilled individuals, including Aisha and Soyeon, who are at least in the middle to upper ranks, paying them handsomely.

And powerful clan members under Yuseolhyun’s command have also joined in.

Even though Yuseolhyun may be the lady of Gaon Nuri Clan, she doesn’t have absolute power.

However, due to various achievements she has shown since entering the academy, many clan members have started to support her.

Yuseolhyun has demonstrated many feats as a mere trainee.

From subduing monsters appearing in the academy, rescuing heroes trapped in dungeons, confronting villains attacking the Union, to subjugating dungeons, villains, and monsters during the summer break.

With such accomplishments in just one semester, what will she show in the next semester?

Many now believe she has more potential than other Yoo siblings.

There are also many who think she could be the future successor of Gaon Nuri.

As a result, there were quite a few clan members entering Yuseolhyun’s faction.

With increased power, I could now ask for various favors.

…Well, I did pay them a lot of money too.

“This guy!”

Alex furrowed his brows and used his ability.

His ability is hypnosis.

He can hypnotize someone he makes eye contact with from a certain distance.

It is quite useful as it can be used in various ways, such as showing illusions or temporarily altering perception.

It’s quite annoying since he can easily hypnotize anyone he makes eye contact with.

If the other person doesn’t know about Alex’s ability, they are defenseless.

Even if they know about his ability, fighting without making eye contact is extremely difficult.

Isn’t it hard to fight without looking at each other’s faces?

But hey.

As long as you wear these sunglasses, you’re fine, right, Alex?

Why have you been wearing these sunglasses all this time, Alex?

Of course, it’s because of your ability.

“Sorry, Alex, your ability won’t work.”

“What?”

“These sunglasses are resistant to hypnosis.”

“Did they already anticipate my ability as well?”

It seems that Alex had some expectations that his own ability would be exposed.

Well, that could happen.

Having fallen into the trap as if waiting for it, and seeing through John’s weakness that no one else knew about, it’s natural for him to think that he already knows the extent of his abilities.

“All of your abilities have been exposed, and yet you continue to fight? Do you think we are far superior in terms of power, tools, and numbers?”

“Damn, seriously. I thought things would go smoothly today.”

Alex spat out curses and glared fiercely at me.

It seems like he has no intention of surrendering.

Well, that’s fine.

Creating a stage where no one can interfere is not just to arrest Alex and his group.

It is also to give Soyeon practical experience in fighting against strong opponents.

Soyeon grows faster the more she fights like a protagonist.

And she grows even faster in real combat situations.

Especially if the opponent is strong.

“Soyeon.”

“Yes!”

Soyeon answered with a strong voice, her messy hair fluttering.

Perhaps because she thought those villains might have had an influence on our parents’ deaths, Soyeon’s face was extremely serious.

“Everyone, get ready.”

“Yes.”

“Is this going to end in a fight after all?”

“It seems like it. Aisha, I’ll leave Alex’s marking to you.”

“I’ll do my best with what I’ve been given, so don’t worry too much.”

I fiddled with my wireless earphones.

“Soyeon, I’ll leave John to you.”

“Don’t worry, leave it to me.”

My role is the command tower.

“The rest of you, please do as you were told earlier.”

“Yes.”

Being the eyes and brains of the group to lead the situation in a favorable direction.

“John!”

“Yes, I know.”

“Um, I’m not good at fighting….”

With Sooyoung’s muttering, everyone finished their battle preparations.

“Then where… shall we see the skills of the famous Korean gangster?”

As Aisha rushed forward, the fight began.

***

There is a law called Lancaster’s Law.

When the power between two parties is similar, the majority can easily defeat the minority with much less damage.

So, what do you think?

What would be the result if the side with more power also had more numbers?

Of course, you would win overwhelmingly without any significant damage.

Just like this.

“Ugh, damn it.”

“Haa~. Huh, you’re a bit tougher than I thought? It’s true that you can’t win one-on-one. But~ there’s no business in beating a dead horse, right?”

Alex panted heavily and glared at Aisha and the members of the Gaon Clan.

But he seemed to have no more strength to resist.

Blocking the blood flowing down his side with one hand, all Alex could do now was to glare at Aisha and her group.

Indeed, one of the best tactics of humanity, the gang-up.

No matter what they say, gang-up is the best.

“Ugh, ugh!”

“Haa, haa, haa… Phew.”

“What, what are you! How can you have this level of skill at your age.”

It seems that Soyeon and John’s fight is also coming to an end.

John, whose ability has already been exposed, was no longer a threat.

Of course, John had quite a remarkable skill among the superior villains, but Soyeon, who was receiving my assistance, was not his match.

Not only that, but I also placed a barrier ability user and a light particle condensation ability user alongside Soyeon.

In this situation, it was impossible for John to win.

“I surrender! I lost!”

So Yoo-young raised both hands high in the air, waving the white flag.

Well, So Yoo-young was never meant to be a combatant in the first place.

It seemed like Alex and John thought there was no other way once they were incapacitated.

“Is it all over just like that?”

It ended a bit anticlimactically, but it was the expected outcome.

With Alex and John’s abilities neutralized, and our side having superior forces and information, it was a situation where they couldn’t possibly win.

Should I say it was a situation where they were doomed to lose?

‘In that case, it’s time to slowly…’

I glanced over, signaling Aisha discreetly.

She seemed to have caught my gaze and nodded slowly.

There was only one thing I had asked Aisha to do in advance.

To thoroughly destroy Alex and John’s magic mechanisms, making sure they couldn’t be repaired.

There was never any intention to arrest them unharmed.

Since those two were quite powerful, it was better to render them irreparably incapacitated in case they tried to escape or seek revenge.

Cutting off a dangerous bud when you have the chance is the right choice.

When we arrested Han Ji-hyo, Joo Jung-seon, David, etc., Roksan came to the scene in person, and there were too many church members to act recklessly, but not this time.

The only person we need to watch out for is So-yeon at most?

Considering So-yeon’s personality, she would never approve of such thoughts.

So, inflicting a major injury under the guise of a mistake should suffice, that’s it.

“Are you going to resist till the end? Well, even if you get seriously hurt, I don’t care, you know?”

Aisha laughed sadistically, gripping her dual blades tightly.

She seemed to take pleasure in hurting others, as if she were a sadistic.

“Then let’s try to block it once~. Of course, with that body of yours, it’s impossible.”

Aisha quickly drew her sword.

As the shining blade came down, Alex tried to resist by biting it, but it was futile.

With his body already injured and broken, he couldn’t move properly.

“You’re too slow.”

“Ugh!”

The moment Aisha’s blade reached right in front of his face.

– Clang!

With the sound of the barrier breaking, a woman grabbed Aisha’s sword.

As the woman exerted force, Aisha’s sword was deflected, and she was taken aback, stepping back. The woman flicked her hand.

Truly impeccable timing.

Judging by how she broke the barrier at such a perfect timing, it seemed like she had been observing us all along.

Our abilities, forces, equipment, and so on.

“Phew, that was close, right?”

“Cough, cough, how are you?”

“Ugh. I told you to be careful. But what’s with this situation?”

“Damn it, how could I have known… cough!”

“Ugh, clean up the blood and take a break for a moment.”

The beautiful girl with white hair raised the corners of her mouth gently and spoke.

“Well… shall we call this the appearance of the villain?”

Yoo Da-hee just chuckled calmly.