Falling Into A Trap? Who? (2)

When I slightly turned my head and met the eyes of the two people who came running in a huff, I asked.

“What about the ones you captured?”

“They all committed suicide…. I’m sorry.”

I clicked my tongue at Go Yu-jin’s words.

I had expected it to some extent. Because I thought problems might arise just by them being captured, I had used Hold instead of simply using Paralyze.

It literally made their entire bodies unable to move, so I surmised that there was either some way for them to die, or a binding was placed on them that caused death the moment they were suppressed.

‘They go to great lengths. What a troublesome group.’

“How will you handle the situation?”

Even if they were Cultists of Ruin, they were still deceased. It was not right to just leave them there.

Furthermore, this matter could become a problem later. Was that why?

“I already contacted them. The police will come. However, we have to clearly relay the reason we came here and the circumstances, but the problem is that the contact information for the person who introduced himself as a government official has disappeared.”

“Does it say it’s a non-existent number?”

Go Yu-jin nodded her head. In any case, it wasn’t a problem to find evidence sooner or later if the police investigated. However, I didn’t have time to be tied down here right now.

He could notice and dispel the magic at any time, and if that timing coincided with when he entered his nest, there was a risk he would surely move his base.

I quickly explained the situation, and after hearing my story, Go Yu-jin asked seriously.

“Can you handle it alone?”

“It’s enough. I only let him go on purpose.”

I didn’t know how many strong people among the Cultists of Ruin in Seoul could handle me, but I was certain there were none, except for perhaps one or two.

It was a confidence I could have because I understood my own skills objectively.

“Don’t get hurt…. You must return safely, okay?”

I felt her sincere worry for me. I forced a smile for Go Yu-jin, and seeing that, Go Yu-jin and An So-mi were surprised.

Among them, An So-mi’s voice pierced my ears.

“Wow, he uses that face like that?”

After hearing An So-mi’s words, Go Yu-jin chuckled and then lightly nudged An So-mi with her elbow to stop her.

‘Was I that strange?’

“You’re busy. Go on. We’ll handle the rest somehow.”

“I’m sorry. I shall be on my way.”

I activated the magic to search for the marking and pursued him while maintaining a constant distance. And after moving for about an hour, I could see the guy stop at a certain place, and upon realizing that he started moving again a while later, it seemed he had not yet noticed that I had marked him.

Consequently, the tracking continued smoothly, and after moving with the feeling of circling Seoul once, I saw him abruptly turn and move toward Yeouido.

‘Yeouido….’

Yeouido has now become a place where much power was concentrated.

At the time of the Great Cataclysm, it could be fortified with various defensive facilities along with the wide river width of the Han River, and in fact, the government still utilizes those defensive facilities to serve as shelters in line with emergency situations.

Gates often broke, and because Emergency Explosion-type Gates—which actually appeared and exploded in less than an hour—formed with relatively high frequency, it was a product of war and had a grim appearance that was not good for the city’s aesthetics, but it survived and endured conveniently.

‘Facilities in Yeouido don’t have many civilian forms like before. It has long since transformed into an area mostly managed by the state; did he settle in such a place?’

There were those who maintained their land with some immense power, and currently, most of them were in politics or otherwise enjoying power by colluding with Awakeners who possessed formidable strength.

Among them, a significant number of religious figures were also included, so perhaps some of those religious figures were colluding with the Cultists of Ruin.

‘That’s why it wouldn’t have been easy to find. If not that, they couldn’t easily be touched even if known….’

However, because he attacked me, it was self-defense.

After the Great Cataclysm, self-defense has been utilized as a very important legal means.

Because people with powerful strength appeared one after another, there were many situations that could not be easily handled by other social legal nets.

So, the first banner the current government put forward upon taking office was a clause that said problems arising from self-defense would not be prosecuted.

At first, there was much talk about how this part could be revealed as self-defense, but as Awakeners who could delve into the mind and find out the truth appeared, all problems were easily solved.

Thanks to that, the logic of power did not become justice in society, but even so, it was inevitable that innocent victims would occur.

This was because cases where Awakeners, who should only speak the truth in collusion with power, became corrupt occurred quite often.

In such cases, there was another method, which was the part where one requested a black mage.

In a way, the logic was that since a being who should speak the truth deceived the victim by telling lies, that person also became a victim.

It was a situation where one thing led to another, but it could be a truly unfair matter, and there were many cases where black mages intervened and resolved the situation, so now most Awakeners do not tell lies.

It was the point that if a mistake was made, the price must be paid.

Even if they were those called heroes, if they were in a situation where they committed a wrong, they could not avoid the judgment handed down by the victim.

And I was currently in a situation where I was going to judge the Cultist of Ruin as a ‘victim.’

‘That’s why I spoke as if they shouldn’t touch them, but if only Go Yu-jin or An So-mi had come to the scene for a low-level request, it’s uncertain what kind of thing they would have suffered.’

In fact, it was just that we had a conversation because everyone was together.

In the end, since they acted according to the situation that suited their tastes, I would also act according to my tastes.

‘Found him.’

He was moving to one place and acting secretly.

Unlike how he had wandered greatly, he was moving indoors, and after taking out my phone to check the map and identifying the place where the Cultist of Ruin had hidden, I clicked my tongue.

‘Is it a religious facility?’

He had entered the primary religious facility that had enjoyed great prosperity before the Great Cataclysm.

It was a place where many politicians had colluded, and in fact, it was a religious group that still functioned as a facility that looked after the interests of the establishment, or where the establishment looked after them.

‘I didn’t know this place and the Cultists of Ruin were related…. I’ll need to delve into this thoroughly.’

Since it wouldn’t end with just one or two people if I simply touched them, I eventually took out a newly learned magic to grasp the situation first.

‘Mega Polymorph’ magic, I secretly released mana to use it, and after shaping the form, I drew it into the interior of my body and began engraving it from the inside of my physical form.

A pain like being pricked by needles began, and after a little while, an immense pressure was felt along with a sensation as if my whole body was being twisted.

But was it because I was used to it?

While calmly enduring it, I completed the magic and secretly began to transform my body.

‘Unless one is a black mage, they cannot detect a soul state.’

Furthermore, even for a black mage, it was a situation where they had to be a high-level black mage, so I eventually changed my body into a soul state and moved to the place where the enemy had hidden.

‘Would it feel like this if I died?’

The situation of floating freely in the air felt strange for some reason.

Moreover, unlike an existing soul, I was in a state of maintaining my power intact, so even if a black mage discovered me, it seemed there would be no way for me to be dominated or provoked by him.

If a truly powerful black mage existed as a mastermind to the point where I couldn’t help it, it would be right to definitely undo this state, but that didn’t seem likely to happen.

Afterward, I sneaked into the facility where the Cultist of Ruin lurked, and upon entering the interior, I got the feeling of a sanctuary for a group that had accumulated enormous wealth at a glance with all sorts of colorful decorations.

‘It’s plastered with Artifacts. Hundreds of billions wouldn’t even be enough to do this much.’

A massive amount of Artifacts was on display to the point where the word “brilliant” paled in comparison. On top of that, some items treated as national treasures were also seen; in such cases, they should be in a museum or used by a hero, but in case they might be fakes, I approached secretly and checked, but the problem was that all of them were real.

But the peculiar part was that although there were items I knew, I could tell they were different items by confirming that there were no characteristics left on those items.

‘All the items in this place are such items?’

It was an incomprehensible situation, and if this was truly the case, the world might have to think differently about the meaning of these Cultists of Ruin.

I felt the need to uncover first by what method they had obtained this many items, but first, after acquiring information, I planned to clean up this place and think about the future later.

It was just then when I approached the place where the Cultist of Ruin was expected to be.

Boom! With a sound, a scream echoed out.

Following that, someone’s scolding followed, and the voice was familiar.

“You damn bastard. You couldn’t handle that one thing and caused this mess?”

“I apologize.”

“Now the police are barging in and it’s a mess with them searching the place. On top of that, you killed every single kid you took and came back alive alone?”

“…Because that man used his power suddenly…. There was no way to respond.”

I leisurely sneaked into the place where the voices were heard, and after confirming the fact that no black mage existed inside, I scanned the faces of those sitting around the round table.

‘They’re all famous people. And this person who is spouting off…. He’s the manager of this facility.’

To be precise, he was practically a cult leader who preached that he was God himself under the misnomer of ‘Shepherd.’ I couldn’t help but be too surprised that such a human was included in the leadership of the Cultist of Ruin group, and in fact, checking the rest of the people, an exclamation almost flowed out spontaneously.

‘To think that a large number of influential figures from the political and business worlds would be included. Had they been rooted this deeply?’

It was a point that made it understandable why the seeds of the Cultists of Ruin did not dry up in this land.

But just then, the man who was sitting in the most senior seat opened his mouth.

“Let’s stop there. That friend seems to have worked hard, and isn’t a case like a natural disaster something there’s no way to avoid?”

“Ugh, damn it, of all things, why did we have to form a bad relationship with a mere black mage?”

“Wasn’t it something that couldn’t be helped given the circumstances at the time?”

“The profit is only good when we work inside the Gate.”

They were words that made me curious about what they were saying.

‘Profit, what kind of work is that for?’

Since they were words filled with questions, I thought the answer would come if I watched this meeting. And as the conversation progressed, I came to judge the life or death of these individuals extremely.