Resurrection Chapter 109 - I Haven’t Said Anything Yet

I sat in a coffee shop on the outskirts of Sejong City, sipping my coffee and watching Kang Cheoljun out of the corner of my eye.

Out of character for his appearance, he was drinking a hot cocoa filled with large marshmallows. Heesoo hyung, sitting next to him, had just a single glass of water in front of him, as was his way.

Both Heesoo hyung and I had our bare faces exposed without any special measures, so I was quite anxious. But Kang Cheoljun seemed confident in his skill. He said he had erased our presence, and indeed, none of the people passing by on the street paid any attention to us. I could understand it for myself, but there wasn’t a soul who didn’t know Heesoo hyung’s face, yet no one looked at him.

I suspected it was because Heesoo hyung’s hair was getting shaggier by the day. I needed to tell him to get a haircut, but somehow the opportunity never arose. In any case, we’d have to be cooped up somewhere for the time being, so I’d have to cut it for him then. I could probably cut his bangs even without any hairstyling skills.

I tried to immerse myself in trivial thoughts, but I failed to shake off my anxiety. In the end, glaring at Kang Cheoljun who was sipping his hot cocoa, I ended up asking the question I had resolved not to ask.

“Is this really okay? You said we were going to Elysium or whatever, but is it alright to stray to such a completely different place like this?”

At my words, Kang Cheoljun furrowed his brow.

“What happened to saying you wouldn’t go to Elysium or whatever until you found Lævateinn?”

Min Gongchan had advised me to go straight to Elysium, but I didn’t follow his words. It was because I hated the very fact that Kim Piljoong had Lævateinn. The idea that he could summon me at any time using the divine weapon as an excuse was unpleasant, and the fact that it could be taken by Yaksha or someone else also made me anxious.

Having to go to an unknown place empty-handed without a weapon was also uncomfortable. It was because I suspected that while they called it evacuation, they were actually trying to imprison me.

From the Special Operations Unit’s perspective, I was a considerable nuisance. Until they found a proper use for me, it was best to stick me in a safe place, so it was highly likely that my freedom would be restricted once I entered Elysium. As Min Gongchan said, if I was stuck there, I might be safe from Yaksha, but it was clear that my ability to move around if something happened would be limited.

Above all, Min Gongchan was hostile towards Heesoo hyung. He had spoken as if he had no choice but to keep Heesoo hyung by my side because of Yaksha, but his words were not trustworthy enough.

If the Special Operations Unit also believed that Min Gongchan was a regressor, they would be wary of Heesoo hyung. It was highly probable that they would try to separate me from Heesoo hyung in Elysium to prevent him from getting stronger.

In any case, in a situation where the only people I could trust were myself and Heesoo hyung, I couldn’t follow the order to be stuck in an unknown place without a single weapon. I also had to rendezvous with Park Si-kyung, who I had sent to the Grand Temple, so I planned to pretend to follow along for a bit and then run away when I saw an opportunity.

It wouldn’t be easy to shake off the Rose of Sharon, said to be the strongest in the Special Operations Unit, but it didn’t seem impossible. So I was timing it, but unexpectedly, Kang Cheoljun didn’t send me to Elysium and instead smuggled me out. He had sent only his team members on the helicopter and had leisurely returned to Sejong City with me and Heesoo hyung.

Not knowing the reason, I looked at Kang Cheoljun with suspicious eyes and pressed him.

“What are you going to do if you get fired without even getting your pension for acting against orders?”

At my not-so-worried worry, Kang Cheoljun answered brusquely.

“I don’t know if you’re a cat worrying about a mouse, but I’m not acting without authorization. The captain guaranteed my autonomy. My mission is to protect you so you don’t fall into Yaksha’s hands, not to take you to Elysium.”

“So in your judgment, it’s safer to drink coffee in the middle of Sejong City than to go to Elysium?”

“For now, yes. Because the helicopter heading to Elysium was just attacked.”

I was surprised and asked back.

“What?”

At my question, Kang Cheoljun replied without moving a muscle.

“Team Leader Hwang… that is, Hwang Chi-hong, who is now Yaksha’s servant, and his gang went that way instead of to Dungeon 77. Our information was leaked somewhere.”

“I thought the Special Operations Unit’s security was tight, what’s with this?”

“Even our team leader went over to the other side, so security is not to be trusted.”

Kang Cheoljun sighed with a tired face. I realized that he had been driven into the difficult position of having to protect me alone after sending his own team members into a deadly situation.

“If your subordinates went that way, then Yaksha went to Dungeon 77 alone?”

The one who answered my question was not Kang Cheoljun, but Heesoo hyung. He muttered to himself with a blank face.

“He must be confident even on his own.”

Looking at him sitting there silently, I felt quite uncomfortable. What he had said the other day was making my spine tingle.

‘If you don’t want me to, Mr. Yitae, I won’t say anything. But just because I keep my mouth shut doesn’t mean the feelings I have will cease to exist.’

I had a strong urge to ask him about the hidden meaning of what he had said then. I was dying of curiosity about whether he even knew what it was I didn’t want him to say, and what kind of feelings he meant by ‘feelings that won’t cease to exist’. But I knew well that I shouldn’t ask recklessly.

I stared blankly at Heesoo hyung for a moment, then turned my attention back to Kang Cheoljun.

“Do you have any news on what happened with Kim Piljoong’s side?”

“None. I cut off contact with the Special Operations Unit as soon as I heard the news that the helicopter was attacked.”

As Min Gongchan had said, if Kim Piljoong suffered a major defeat, it was highly likely that the Lævateinn he had would also fall into Yaksha’s hands. I couldn’t be sure if Kim Piljoong had hidden it well without letting Yaksha take it.

If I had my way, I wanted to go to Dungeon 77 right away to find Lævateinn, but it was a reckless thing to do. If even Kim Piljoong and the Special Operations Unit couldn’t do anything about Yaksha, it would be the same even if Heesoo hyung and I went. We had to hide for now and find a way to defeat Yaksha before making a move.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Kang Cheoljun continued speaking.

“We’ll be moving from here soon, too.”

“If we move from here, where are we going?”

“I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know?”

“That person over there probably knows.”

Heesoo hyung and I followed Kang Cheoljun’s chin gesture and turned our gazes. Someone was walking towards us through the crowd of people coming and going on the main street.

The person stood out quite a bit in the middle of a city street like this. He was dressed in a relatively ordinary defensive suit modeled after a surcoat, but he couldn’t help but stand out because he was wearing an Imae mask, one of the Hahoe masks. But whether he was using an ability similar to the skill Kang Cheoljun had wrapped around us, none of the passersby paid him any mind.

I quickly recognized the identity of the fellow who was pursuing tradition so unsuitably.

“Imaemangnyang (Goblins and Monsters).”

Opinions were very divided on the ranking of raid parties in South Korea. In fact, no ranking table could be said to be fair, because the number of raid parties itself was large, and their abilities, achievements, assets, and so on were all different.

Usually, the Hunter Ranking was considered the most fair. Imaemangnyang was a very famous raid party that was almost always in the top 10 of the Hunter Ranking. Since Imaemangnyang’s raid leader, Imae, was an S-rank Awakened, it was impossible for them not to be famous.

Their members numbered only ten, and since all of them were mages, they operated while hiding their identities. When they were officially active, they always wore Hahoe masks and covered their faces. It was an established theory that this was a show to hide their identities.

The man approached us sitting at the outdoor table and plopped down in the seat across from us without permission. I opened my mouth blankly, wondering what this situation was. Kang Cheoljun gestured at him with his chin and introduced him.

“This is Imae, the raid leader of the raid party Imaemangnyang.”

As befitting a guy who maintained a mysterious image, Imae sat with his arms crossed arrogantly and gave a nod. Facing a guy wearing a mask in broad daylight was extremely bewildering. I asked Kang Cheoljun as if to demand an explanation.

“I know this guy is Imae even if you don’t tell me. You need to tell me why he’s here.”

“I personally made a request to him.”

“A request?”

“I made a request to Imae personally, not to the raid party Imaemangnyang. It’s difficult for me to take care of you alone in a situation where I can’t get support from the Special Operations Unit. Imae will provide a safe house for you and Seo Heesoo to take refuge in.”

Frowning at the word ‘take care of,’ Heesoo hyung, who had been silently watching Imae, suddenly leaned his head towards him. It was a sudden action, but the person in question, Imae, was not surprised. He nonchalantly let Heesoo hyung sniff him.

It was I, rather, who was surprised. For some reason, a corner of my chest pricked as if it had been stabbed.

Puzzled, I rubbed the spot with my palm. Meanwhile, Heesoo hyung, who had returned to his seat, said in a passing tone.

“You smell good.”

Imae just shrugged his shoulders without answering. He seemed to be playing dumb, but perhaps Heesoo hyung knew Imae’s true identity.

He was one of only seven S-rank Awakeneds in South Korea, and among them, he was a special existence as the only mage. Since Heesoo hyung had been very active as a Holy Knight, it was possible that he had run into Imae somewhere without his mask.

Kang Cheoljun downed his cold cocoa in one shot. Knowing that he was about to leave, I also hurriedly drank the rest of my coffee. Soon, Imae, who had been sitting without a word of greeting, got up from his seat as if to tell us to follow and started walking. We also started moving, following him.