Chapter 349

Come to think of it, all I'd ever heard from that Earthling was that they'd "used an errand agency." There had never been any actual evidence that someone had hired a subordinate.

Which meant a new possibility had suddenly emerged.

If what Andy had just revealed was true, then the true identity of Youth might actually be none other than a certain S-rank Hunter.

'For a bunch of nonsense, that's pretty interesting.'

Oliver seemed to think the same thing, because he continued his explanation with surprising conviction. From his perspective, it was genuinely difficult to understand how the existence of this bunker had been exposed to the outside world.

"This is undoubtedly the result of a comrade's betrayal. But everyone residing in this bunker is bound by confidentiality oaths similar to Enzo's. That leaves only one possible culprit—an outsider!"

"So what you're saying is... you believe my informant is actually backing the Youth Guild?"

"T-that's right. More precisely—"

"But then, what about the people in that chatroom? Didn't you make them swear that so-called oath among themselves?"

"Yes?"

"Didn't you prepare for the possibility of things going wrong? Especially with guys like Spectrum?"

"Ah..."

"If what you're saying is true, then that Youth Guild member should've been silenced with an item too, shouldn't they?"

The American in front of me struggled to answer.

"That part is... well, it's a little embarrassing to admit in front of everyone, but..."

His pitifully hesitant explanation soon lent weight to what he'd said earlier.

"Actually, only fifty percent of our group signed the non-disclosure agreement."

Half of four.

So only two of them had actually been bound by the oath.

"Before I revealed any information about the 'anti-aging drug,' I made sure to secure that kind of promise. If anyone ever revealed our connection to an outsider, they would die immediately..."

Perhaps because things hadn't gone according to plan, PIXY's proudly developed new translator made a slight error in the middle of the conversation.

"Ah, of course—since I occasionally needed to mention the 'anti-aging drug' in order to recruit more people into the group..."

"So you yourself weren't bound by the confidentiality clause in the first place."

"I was the one who first obtained the scroll, so compared to the others, I was able to earn their trust with fewer formalities."

Fortunately, the translator's difficulties didn't last long.

"But that person from the Youth Guild... it's almost as though they have some kind of phobia of the [Knight's Oath]."

The default AI voice converting English into Korean echoed through the air.

"He said he absolutely refused to use an item that could make his head explode because of a single mistake. Later, he proposed a separate deal instead."

But the atmosphere changed the moment he continued.

"...In exchange, I received a certain technology from that person."

"Technology?"

"Yes. In return for that technology, I exempted only the Youth Guild member from the confidentiality oath. That's why that person is now under suspicion."

If I accepted that premise, then at least from an arcanological standpoint, there were no contradictions.

'Oho.'

So Kang Changho had actually been working with them all along.

After the operation targeting South Korea ended in failure, and the resulting fallout threatened the very existence of the coalition, he'd quickly pulled out.

Then, in front of a certain S-rank Awakened, he'd played dumb and pretended he had nothing to do with the leak?

Who would've imagined a theory like this would emerge?

'Now that I hear it, it actually makes sense!'

Well, that much was true.

When a group falls into crisis, it isn't particularly unusual for one of its members to betray the organization they'd belonged to.

So I didn't think the other man's theory was completely ridiculous.

The problem was the person presenting it.

"I'm feeling a slight urge for revenge right now."

"You mean toward that person from the Youth Guild."

"Of course. I know I committed a serious crime. But even so, having my safety threatened because someone who shared in that wrongdoing tattled on me is... shamelessly unpleasant."

"Hmm."

"Besides, now that we're talking about this—tell me. Is the Awakened who came here with you Kang Changho of South Korea?"

"Did it look that way?"

"There are surveillance facilities throughout this bunker. So if that person really is Kang Changho, I have to say... I find him suspicious too."

"_ _"

"Just so you know, Kang Changho managed to break through a trap our organization had prepared. It was supposed to be nearly impossible to escape from... yet he got out almost as if he'd known about it beforehand."

A mammal.

A coward who'd tucked its tail between its legs in the face of a flood.

And now that very man was desperately rambling in front of me.

But really, what reason did I have to take seriously the final thrashing of someone half-paralyzed by fear?

"Anyway, for now, it's all just speculation. But honestly, if someone around you really is using the codename 'Youth,' I almost hope they go down with me."

After thinking about it for a while, I had to admit there were a few strange points.

Even so, it still seemed unlikely that Kang Changho had been on their side.

'For one thing, he has absolutely no aversion to the [Knight's Oath]...'

Alright.

That part, at least, was something I'd personally witnessed, so there was no need to analyze it any further.

It was true.

'The fact that he escaped that trap in India so easily is certainly suspicious. But what's more important is what Kang Changho did afterward. He rushed back to Korea in an incredible hurry.'

The disguised blue triple pupils rolled upward.

Without letting anything show on my face, I simply followed the chain of thought.

'Even if he'd taken a private jet, the speed with which he traveled from India to Korea makes no sense. I'm certain that Kang Changho used the same [Teleportation] item back then.'

With my doubts about Kang Changho somewhat settled, it was time to wrap up this conversation with our international friend.

"Hmm."

I returned the [Screaming Stake] in my hand to my item box.

Then I called out to him.

"Oliver."

"Yes?"

For the record, the reason I'd put the weapon away was so I could clench my fist more comfortably.

"I've been thinking over everything you've said."

"Yes, yes."

"But that information you mentioned earlier... the one the Youth side supposedly handed over in exchange for being exempted from the oath."

"Yes."

"Was it, by any chance, a method for accelerating someone's awakening?"

I'd been pointing it out ever since the moment we entered this bunker.

Andy Oliver had far too many Awakened people around him.

If his staff had consisted only of low-tier psychics, somewhere between F and E rank, that would've been one thing.

But the followers living alongside him in this bunker?

The weakest among them was B-class.

"...Y-yes."

The answer came almost immediately.

"Th-that's right. Some of our staff members are artificially Awakened."

The moment I heard that, I punched Andy Oliver.

"Aack!"

This was an age in which supernatural powers once seen only in movies had become reality.

Naturally, attempts to acquire those powers through scientific means hadn't suddenly begun today.

Earth had already conducted research into artificially triggering awakenings.

[Seonhan Daily Headline]

[We Live in an Age of Artificial Insemination... So Why Not Artificial Awakening?]

[Article Excerpt... The research team attempted to induce physical changes in the human body by deliberately applying stress in a high-magic environment. However, with current VR technology, it remains difficult to recreate real-life crises with sufficient realism... (omitted) ...Meanwhile, a 55-year-old foreign national was arrested at an illegal gambling establishment operated by __ after inflicting serious injuries on a debtor.

All of them had attempted some form of artificial awakening.

But while awakenings often occurred during moments of extreme crisis, activation of the sympathetic nervous system wasn't a guaranteed prerequisite.

Based on such findings, the Human Rights Commission issued a stern corrective recommendation, citing both the high failure rate and the inevitable violations of human dignity involved in forced-awakening experiments.

In response, the Chinese government also expressed strong intent to enact related legislation. Full implementation is expected to begin in November.]

A headline from a newspaper I'd once encountered while idly browsing the internet flashed through my mind.

To put it simply, this was nothing more than the desperate conclusion reached by people too impatient to wait.

"These mammals are barely different from toddlers who've only just learned how to walk when it comes to magic. Trying to force evolution in such a short period of time... of course it's going to backfire..."

Honestly, if someone has the talent for it, magic is something they awaken to naturally, even without doing much.

Especially when it comes to turning a person with no proper foundation into a mage.

That has never been easy.

Whether you cut them with blades or lock them inside a prison full of monsters, methods like those inevitably leave behind severe aftereffects.

That remains true whether the experiment succeeds or fails.

"All the Awakened people in this bunker... they must have been torture victims!"

So that was why there were so many superpowered individuals here.

If I opened the doors to each room, I'd probably find the devices they'd used to stimulate awakenings without much trouble.

But Andy Oliver...

Had he really dragged those poor workers here from who-knows-where, shoved them underground, and bound them all with so-called confidentiality agreements?

"Those bodyguards I just knocked out—are you sure they actually chose to work for you? Come on. No matter how much money you offer, who in their right mind would willingly sign up for something this dangerous?"

"_ _"

"Oh, wow. Look at you. You can't even answer. Now I get it—you were already doing shady business from the recruitment stage, weren't you? Don't even breathe. You're wasting magic power, punk!"

I struck him again.

It felt like a waste to spend even the smallest amount of magic on a creature like this.

Every time I used a spell, I found myself worrying that Earth's beautiful mana might become polluted merely by touching him.

"Seriously, it's because of b*stards like you that I can't bring myself to burn that notebook."

"W-what? N-notebook?"

But really, what was the point of continuing to vent my anger like this?

I quickly regained my composure.

"Anyway, you're absolutely right about one thing, Andy. We're going to need to revise the contents of the [Knight's Oath] quite a bit."

As for the victims who would die because of those contracts...

Unfortunately, it was already too late to save them completely.

Still, at the very least, this kind of irrational system had to be dismantled.

No matter how wealthy Andy Oliver was, there was no chance he'd used rare covenant items individually on every single employee.

"From now on, hire people fairly and pay them properly."

The employment contracts here inevitably relied heavily on [Fairy's Promise].

And so I gave the mammal in front of me an order.

Within one month, he was to remove all of those item effects.

Whether that meant using top-tier potions or overriding the existing conditions with higher-level contracts, I didn't care.

If anyone had been brought into this bunker against their will, they were to be released.

"Hmm, wait a second. But if we do that, won't there be too few people left to handle surveillance in the future? And if another terrorist attack happens, wouldn't all the people bound to them by death contracts be in danger too?"

At that point, a somewhat troublesome question occurred to me.

So I casually asked the other man about it.

Whether the answer was a good thing or not, I couldn't really say.

"More people volunteered to work here than you might expect. Among ordinary people, there are plenty who are willing to pay any price if it means becoming Awakened."

"Aha."

"Even if we comply with all of your demands, the reduction in personnel should only be around thirty percent. We will do our best to honor our promises to the remaining staff, so please spare our lives. P-please stop looking at me while saying strange things about vegetables or whatever."

"Are you crying?"

"But, by any chance, Kim Gyeo... are you really a secret agent of the Korean government, like the rumors say? Is that why you're so knowledgeable about torture techniques...?"

Anyway.

That more or less settled the matter.