Chapter 116

It felt as though time had come to a standstill.

My mind was in shambles, much like a distant wave shattering into pieces against a pier. On the other hand, the voice over the receiver remained tranquil. Her steady breathing carried no traces of anger, betrayal, or even disappointment.

“H-H-H-How……?!”

—How could I not know? I was the very first person to see you wearing that mask.

“What?!”

She saw me wearing the mask? Since when?

The first time Patel officially revealed his identity was right after Flauros was summoned in the Sea of Decay. Ha Yeri had been there, but it should have been impossible for her to realize I was behind the mask. I had sent a clone created with the Tentacle of Mimicry while I was standing normally behind Moon Ah-rin.

—No, not then. It was much earlier.

“Much earlier?”

—Hmm, chronologically speaking, it was shortly after you finished your first mission. Still no clue?

After my first mission with No Yeon-hwa? What happened back then?

I pulled out every tentacle except for Digestion and put our heads together, tracing my memories back into the past.

‘Ha, what a joke. Two Mid-Level Awakened went in, and the response was this poor? This is why you can’t trust the media.’

‘I’m not a Mid-Level, though.’

‘Shut it. If I say you are, you are. Don’t talk back to me. Hiding your realm? This is why I can’t trust gloomy mages like you.’

Defeating Patel at Ground Zero, obtaining the mask. Receiving a five-star peer review from No Yeon-hwa, whose mouth was much fouler back then.

‘Wh-what are you trying to smell?! Give it here!’

‘Ah…’

‘Pervert. A total pervert.’

Then, after completing a few more missions brilliantly and licking Yoo Se-byeol’s feet… Lest I lose the very first Star Scar I obtained after returning to Earth, I hurried back to the dormitory to offer it to Mala-nim.

‘You wanted it too, didn’t you, Mala-nim? The top-tier pet beast cat?’

‘Kkkkkk—!’

Since I couldn’t just leave Mala-nim, who had transformed into an Avatar, in the dorms, I decided I had to head back out. And the moment I donned Patel’s mask—the one I had scavenged from the basement of the Prayer House of Revelation—to leave the room…

‘Hmm? Awakened Sae Hayan? And the one next to you is…’

‘I don’t know anyone like that!’

“Ah…!!”

—Finally remembered? You really are slow.

I clutched my head and slumped to the floor. I had run into Ha Yeri in the dormitory hallway while wearing Patel’s mask. I was caught red-handed coming out of my own room, so there was no point in denying it.

Wait, then that means she knew I was Patel from the very beginning? In the Sea of Decay, and in Daegu too?

Chills ran down my spine. This wasn’t a problem that could be brushed off as just having my identity revealed. It was impossible to overwrite her memory with the Tentacle of Suggestion, either. Ha Yeri was currently somewhere in Seoul, not Busan. Since she was certain I was Patel, she might even be taking refuge in a safe house instead of her office.

—I can hear your brain whirring from here. In all my life, I never expected to see Hayan this quiet.

“…”

—Say something. You’re making me feel embarrassed.

The only saving grace was that even the brilliant Ha Yeri hadn’t deduced the full equation: Sae Hayan = Patel = Apostle of the Outer God. If she had discovered that, everything I had built since returning to Earth would have crumbled.

After a long silence, I managed to open my mouth. I felt like a child caught committing a crime in front of their mother.

“I’m sorry…”

—So you do know you did wrong.

“Are you going to kick me out? Or take me down to the basement…”

—I can’t give you an answer to that here. It’s better to discuss this face-to-face.

“…”

—You said the Demon Council meets in three days? I’ll settle my urgent business and head down there within three days.

Don’t even think about running away. She didn’t say it explicitly, but her tone made the meaning crystal clear.

“Professor, I went for a walk with my tentacle yesterday.”

Albireo was a bright student. At the young age of 15, he was a boy of such exceptional magical talent that he had received recruitment offers from every Magic Tower—Blue, Yellow, Red, and White—simultaneously. It was highly unusual for someone who wasn’t even an official mage yet to attend this summer session, but everyone recognized his genius.

“It was gross at first, but after raising it, I’ve grown quite fond of it. I think it’s pretty good. Above all, I like that I don’t have to be alone at night.”

However, in contrast to his innate talent, his life had been unfortunate since childhood. His mother died of an illness long ago, and his father, who taught him magic, was killed by a monster. Furthermore, around the age of ten, the stepmother his father had brought along with a secret child also passed away after his father was gone.

As the time for him to enter a Tower approached, the only kin Albireo had left was his older sister—the child his stepmother had left behind.

“Sometimes I tell my tentacle about my mother. Even though she dated my father behind her ex-husband’s back and cheated twice after that, she was a truly kind person.”

Perhaps that was why.

Among all the students taking the Magical Creature Ecology class, he was the one who bonded with his tentacle the fastest. It might have been because his only sister, the family member he relied on most, had gone missing.

His sister, who had been a graduate student under a mage named Esma Miller in the Blue Tower, had stopped returning to their hometown at some point. He had visited her studio apartment, but the door was only plastered with notices demanding overdue rent.

What was her name again… Terraria? Bacteria?

I couldn’t recall exactly, but she seemed to be an acquaintance of Lee Sohyun, Yoo Se-byeol’s friend.

“But we’re not really going to eat it when the class ends, right? The syllabus says so. ‘An exciting barbecue party for everyone to enjoy together’…”

“Oh… don’t worry, Albireo. That won’t happen.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth. That for a tentacle that has grown close to a human, the only end is becoming sliced octopus sashimi.

Just as I, who entered the Special Unit against the many objections of Mala-nim, was now heading toward my own end. I stroked his head kindly and spoke.

“Because when you all fully understand my teachings one day, you will harbor the hope that humans and tentacles can coexist.”

“What does that mean, Professor? You sound like we’ll never see you again…”

“Farewell, Albireo. My brilliant student!”

“Professor! Professor Hayan!!”

I swallowed back my tears and sprinted down the hallway. I heard Albireo calling out urgently behind me, but I never looked back.

If I were to be branded a traitor to humanity and confined to the Bureau’s basement… If I couldn’t teach the students for the remaining 27 days, then the ‘tentacles to be eaten in 30 days’ would not become barbecue ingredients and would live happily ever after.

I ran until my breath burned in my throat, finally arriving at Busan Station. The train pulled in exactly at noon. When those doors opened, the agents from the Counter-Intelligence Division would likely emerge to arrest me. Today would be the last time I saw the brilliant sunlight. I would be locked in a dungeon, subjected to harsh torture, and then sent to the gallows.

I had no regrets.

The Mage of Light, Sae Hayan.

And the Dark Mage of the Shadows, Patel.

Whichever life I lived, I had dedicated myself solely to humanity. Having completed my mental preparations, I waited for the doors to open.

A moment later, instead of Special Unit agents, ordinary passengers poured out like a school of sardines.

“Huh?”

『Fear not?』

Contrary to my expectations, not a single person came rushing to arrest me. Instead, a conductor ran out from the front of the train holding something in his hands. It was a three-step folding platform. As he laid it down in front of the compartment after the passengers had cleared, Ha Yeri revealed herself.

“I see you didn’t run away during these three days.”

“How could I have the face to run away?”

I had already given up on life. I had even transferred all my assets to a hacker. I had requested that if I died, he should leak the photos I found in Commander Ha Yeri’s private quarters—the wooden pillar where she had marked her height for years—to the Special Unit Bamboo Forest.

So now, with the heart of a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, I could only wait for my sentence.

“Um, Commander Ha Yeri…”

“Follow me. There are too many eyes here.”

She led me to the Station Master’s office. Perhaps she had made arrangements beforehand, as the office was empty.

“I came here without notifying others as much as possible. There are many people in Busan who find my presence bothersome.”

“Who are they?”

“Local influential figures who went through the Seoul Incident. Even Mayor Park Mak-rye, who lost her husband, only made choices for the greater good; fundamentally, she is not friendly toward the leaders in Seoul.”

As the head of the Bureau who currently held sway over Seoul, it seemed it was difficult for Ha Yeri to visit Busan lightly. The fact that she came in person meant this matter was that important to her.

It was the first time I hadn’t been offered even a warm cup of tea while in a private meeting with her. As I sat there fidgeting, she stared at me silently before suddenly letting out a chuckle and pulling a thermos from her bundle.

“It seems you’ve done some reflecting, at least.”

“M-Mom…!”

“Who is your mother? If you keep that up, I’m leaving.”

Only after she poured the tea did my mind find peace. I cautiously asked the question I’d intended to ask earlier.

“Since you knew I was Patel, why did you leave me be?”

“Where should I begin…? Well, technically, it was for purely pragmatic reasons.”

She calmly recounted Patel’s track record that she had observed. The great evil threatening humanity, the last scion of the Black Tower whom even the demons feared. However, if one looked closely, the things he was known to have done were few and far between.

“From what I’ve monitored, the damage humanity suffered because of Patel wasn’t that great. In fact, compared to that massive infamy, it was ridiculously small.”

“Didn’t I resurrect the Archduke in the Sea of Decay? And the attack on Division 3 in Daegu…”

“Who among the personnel attacked back then died or was seriously injured? On the contrary, the demons retreated and Flauros vanished.”

Ha Yeri suspected that Patel was involved in the background of the Fire Archduke’s death at the hands of the Apostle of the Outer God. I was more than just ‘involved’—I was the one—but excluding that fact, her reasoning was largely correct.

“You never attacked civilians, and you never committed murder while wearing the mask. Well, I did receive several reports about a commotion on weekends where you’d gather people at a shopping mall, shout ‘Log out!’, and vanish.”

That was my hobby. I felt embarrassed that my hobby had been discovered.

“In short, I left Hayan alone because by turning eyes toward an external enemy, I could actually strengthen internal unity.”

“Isn’t that too soft? That doesn’t sound like the Commander Ha Yeri I know.”

“Do you not find my decision convincing?”

“No.”

The existence of Patel was more harmless than thought, and from a macro perspective, his actions were beneficial to humanity. But that didn’t mean a Special Unit agent wearing a mask and active on the demon side wasn’t a dangerous individual. Taking on the only human capable of speaking at the Demon Council would be a heavy burden even for Ha Yeri. If the fact that she knew my identity and condoned it ever came out, her position would undoubtedly be jeopardized.

Ha Yeri took a sip of tea and contemplated for a moment before baring her inner thoughts. She seemed to hesitate, as if wondering if she should say this. When we first met, her emotions seemed almost dead, but at some point, her human side had begun to stand out. Perhaps that was why the reason she watched over me was also a deeply human one.

“Because I believe the answer you gave me when you first came here.”

The three questions asked during the interview.

Do you wish to build wealth and fame as an Awakened?

Does your purpose for fighting align even slightly with the interests of those on this land who haven’t lost hope?

And are you a person who places more emphasis on your reason for living than on your own life?

After hearing those answers, Ha Yeri had already finished her evaluation of me and decided to trust me.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Just don’t cause me any more headaches.”

“I will take full responsibility for making sure Commander Ha Yeri’s Guinness World Record for the shortest height is broken and lowered.”

“I knew that was Hayan’s doing!”

Whoosh!

The refreshing sound of wind-splitting cut through the air above my head. Only then did I feel truly relieved. Ha Yeri must have felt the same; when I nimbly dodged her attack, she immediately stopped the pursuit and sat back down.

“So, regarding what comes next…”

“I will destroy this mask immediately! Truthfully, with my fragile heart, this double life was far too difficult to bear!”

“No, keep wearing it. I didn’t say this during the interview, but the reason I let you join the Special Unit wasn’t to condone you enjoying your hobby while wearing a mask.”

Ha Yeri touched the mask I had pulled out and handed it back.

“Hayan has reached it for the first time: the very heart of the group known as the demons.”

And then, she revealed her true objective, one she had never told anyone except her closest confidants until now.

“From now on, it is time for our counterattack.”