"First, tell them both to show their faces."

They couldn't hear the audio from the CCTV feed. After the men from the Union on the screen said something, the two men who had entered nodded and took off their hats and masks.

'…No.'

She trembled with despair. It really was Yusin and Seojin. Bonggyu lowered his walkie-talkie and looked at Bora.

"I didn't think he'd actually come in person. It seems Mr. Kim cares for you a great deal."

Just then, Yusin, who had revealed his face, put his mask back on and seemed to say something. The staticky voice of a member came through the walkie-talkie.

"They're demanding we confirm the hostage is safe."

"…Hmm."

Bonggyu turned back to Bora and said, "Gag her."

The middle-aged man approached and stuffed the cloth back into her mouth. She whimpered and struggled, but it was useless.

"Show them."

The CCTV camera on the ceiling whirred to life. Simultaneously, the screen on Yusin's side turned on.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Seeing her tied to the chair, the two men flinched. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but both of them began to protest vehemently.

"Turn off the feed," Bonggyu ordered.

Bora's image vanished from their screen. The two men could be seen shouting. The middle-aged man approached again, slightly loosened her gag, and whispered, "How does it feel, Bora? Putting your friends in danger?"

Bora just bit her lip hard.

"Stall them by relaying the negotiation terms. Teams A through D, move to the warehouse."

"Copy."

"Move in on my signal. Subdue them without leaving any room for error. If resistance is heavy, you have permission to kill."

The Healer's Union players, who had been holding back to stay outside Yusin's mana detection range, began to move in unison. From the third floor, the basement, and outside the building, they closed in, completely surrounding the warehouse.

'No! It's a trap. Please, run away!'

Bora squeezed her eyes shut. She had to tell them. Somehow, she had to let them know she wasn't there so they could escape. But how?

As she desperately racked her brain, a fact she had completely forgotten surfaced.

Her legs trembled with fear, but she hardened her resolve. She knew it was suicide, but there was no other way. She opened her mouth, her face resolute.

"Please, stop! I get it. I've lost!"

As Bora suddenly shouted, everyone's attention snapped to her.

"I'll tell you everything."

"…What?" Bonggyu asked.

"About Alchemia, about Yusin. And all of our secrets."

She felt the mana in her body tense. The Magic Tower's crest on her forearm glowed with a blue light, a silent warning. 'Stop.' But she steeled herself and spoke.

"Our hideout has a homunculus. Her name is Ea. She coordinates all its functions."

The mana in her body began to boil. It was the same alien sensation she'd felt when Yusin first engraved the crest on her arm.

"Each floor has a different function. You wanted to know about the potion specialist and how we make them, right? That's on the first floor! We use the cauldron on the first floor!"

"What is she suddenly talking about?"

Her mana began to flow in reverse. Her limbs trembled as if she were having a seizure. She was terrified, but that fear only made her shout louder.

"And it's not just potions! The second floor is the Great Library! The third is the Golem Workshop!"

'Cough!'

She finally coughed up blood. The pain was like having her internal organs boiled. Her body was breaking down as her mana surged backward. But this was the only way. Like Socrates drinking hemlock, she spat out the Magic Tower's secrets.

"Wh-what's wrong with her? Did she go crazy?"

"She's coughing up blood! If the hostage dies…!"

As everyone stood stunned, Bonggyu shot forward like the wind and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Interesting," he said with a laugh. "Hunters fight the abnormal. That's why people with good intuition and rich imaginations survive longer than those with rigid, realistic mindsets."

"Mmph! Mmph!"

Bonggyu grabbed her jaw and squeezed. Bora's head was forced back, her face brutally crushed in his grip.

"Yes. Imagination. That's what's most important. So let me share my hypothesis. Perhaps you're under some kind of curse where you die if you say certain keywords or reveal your organization's secrets?"

"That's quite a scary organization you've got there. But it would be troublesome if you died now. To be honest, now that I have Kim Yusin in my grasp, the hostage doesn't matter much, but…"

Bonggyu brought his face right up to hers and grinned.

"Even if you die, you have to die begging 'me' to kill you, right? Huh? Huh?"

"…Mmmph!"

"You can't just deviate from the script. You shouldn't do that."

At Bonggyu's gesture, a Union employee approached, taking a syringe from his bag.

"Just sleep for a little while. When you open your eyes, everything will be over, and a world you've never seen before will unfold."

"Mmmph! Mmph!"

The sinister needle approached her neck. Tears streamed down her face as despair washed over her. The helpless reality of being captured, unable to do anything, was infuriating.

"Sleep well."

Just as Bora was sinking into endless despair, one of the concrete walls exploded with a ferocious boom.

"Ugh!"

"Gah!"

A tremendous shockwave blasted through the room. The man with the syringe was sent flying, and even Bonggyu was pushed back, bracing himself on the floor. Bora was thrown, chair and all, against a nearby wall.

"An explosion?"

"What was that!"

'Whoooooosh!' After the shockwave passed, someone walked calmly through the shattered outer wall. Dressed in a black hooded jacket with his hands in his pockets, his right eye was a swirling vortex of blue mana, burning like a flame.

"…Ah."

Bora could only let her tears flow. She wanted to call his name, but her throat was choked with emotion.

"Well, this is unexpected," Bonggyu said, lifting his head. "In that case, what is that?"

On the screen, the body of Yusin, whom they had been watching, suddenly dissolved into water. Standing in his place was not Yusin, but a certified hunter from Garam Management. Realizing the truth, Bonggyu clicked his tongue with a bitter smile.

"…Finally found you, you rats," Yusin snarled, his mouth splitting into a demonic grin.

* * *

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