CTMP 08

Chapter 08

Kang Wol-yeon.

An A-rank Hunter with a bright yellow prosthetic eye embedded in his left socket.

With his overwhelming power and cruel temperament, he committed every kind of atrocity imaginable within the world’s setting.

But the current Kang Wol-yeon was…

“Did you kill him?”

“……”

Trembling.

Just a young boy.

A nineteen-year-old boy.

No prosthetic eye yet, either.

Honestly, considering the scale of crimes this bastard would go on to commit in the future, shooting him dead right here would probably be the right thing to do a hundred times over—

“You wouldn’t believe me no matter what I say, so why even ask? Fuck.”

Kang Wol-yeon snickered.

Before I could even answer, Pi So-won replied from beside me.

“That’s right. No matter what you say, I won’t believe you.”

“……!”

Kang Wol-yeon’s face twisted.

“The classroom door was locked from the inside, according to the homeroom teacher only you and the victim were on this floor, and above all—this weapon.”

Pi So-won lifted a dagger with her white-gloved hand.

The moment she touched it, the dagger unfolded into a screw-like shape and writhed in the air as if it possessed a will of its own.

‘A mana item.’

I stared at the pattern engraved on the blade.

◐◑

A simple geometric design.

But I knew what it was.

And I knew who made that item.

‘…If I play this right, this could work in my favor.’

The calculations clicked into place in my head.

“This is a mana item, and apparently you’re the only awakened person at Jeongmun High School?”

“That’s…!”

Kang Wol-yeon started to say something, then clamped his mouth shut.

Of course he did.

Because there was someone holding his leash.

The son of Jeongmun High School’s chairman.

And that bastard was an unregistered E-rank awakened.

‘Apparently he caused an accident when he was younger, so he’d been hiding his awakening ever since.’

An E-rank wasn’t exactly life-changing for some rich kid anyway.

But Kang Wol-yeon had a serious weakness in the chairman’s hands.

‘There’s no way he could expose him.’

Because of that, Kang Wol-yeon got arrested at this point in the story and, while trying to escape during transport—

‘…He killed an investigator.’

That was when he injured his eye and ended up wearing the prosthetic.

Supposedly his first murder.

After that, he grew into a villain who absolutely loathed investigators.

“Wow. So you’re an investigator? This is fun! Fun!”

Thinking about what this bastard later did to our Ik-seong made it impossible to let him live…

But.

Right now, he was useful to me.

Definitely.

Click.

Pi So-won pulled handcuffs from her pocket.

‘Originally, this is the part where the cuffs are put on incorrectly and Kang Wol-yeon gets injured.’

But this time things were different. Pi So-won was the one cuffing him, so I had no idea whether she’d make the same mistake.

“And just so you know, kid, a quick confession helps reduce your sentence. Though, considering a Hunter murdered a civilian using an item, even with leniency you’re probably getting life imprisonment.”

Kang Wol-yeon’s face turned pale as Pi So-won smiled sweetly.

She roughly yanked him to his feet by the wrist.

I slipped between them and pulled my own handcuffs from my pocket, showing them to Pi So-won.

“Um~! Team leader!”

“…?”

“Would it be okay if I tried?”

I asked with a bright smile.

“You still haven’t gone to throw up?”

Pi So-won sounded genuinely surprised.

This psychopath…!

I cursed inwardly while maintaining my smile.

“Hehe. It’s my first field operation, you know? So I wanted to try it once…”

“You want to try?”

I could see a vein bulging at Pi So-won’s temple.

Fair enough.

She probably wanted to fire this cheerful partner immediately.

But—

Pi So-won glanced around and sighed.

The forensic unit from the Hunter Investigation Department was watching her.

‘She can’t exactly throw a fit here.’

She obediently gestured with her chin.

Trying my best to look excited, I cuffed Kang Wol-yeon’s wrists.

Click.

The moment the cuffs locked shut, I suddenly made an “oops” face and wrapped my jacket around his wrists.

Pi So-won’s face twisted immediately.

“What are you doing?”

“……I saw something like this in a movie once. And… well, he’s still a student, right?”

At my words, Kang Wol-yeon looked at me.

I had no way of seeing his expression, though. I couldn’t turn my head toward him.

‘The smell of blood…!’

The aftermath of the crime scene still seemed to flicker before my eyes.

Just what kind of person was Team Leader Pi, casually walking through that scene without blinking?

Or did working in the Hunter Investigation Department turn people into that?

“You…”

“So, shall we go~?”

Still smiling brightly, I linked arms with Kang Wol-yeon and kicked open the classroom door.

Pi So-won watched us from behind with a crooked expression.

That was when I quietly whispered so only Kang Wol-yeon could hear.

“‘Kang Il-yeon.’”

Very softly.

“I know who I am.”

Kang Wol-yeon’s eyes widened.

He glared at me for a moment, then slowly slipped out of my loose grip and slammed his wrist into me.

Thud!

‘Gah. That hurts.’

Even though I’d expected it, stars exploded across my vision.

Holding my nose, I saw Pi So-won behind me drawing her gun at Kang Wol-yeon.

Should I just… let him die?

A perfectly rational thought crossed my mind for a moment.

Honestly, wasn’t it true this brat would grow up to become a villain anyway?

Kang Wol-yeon’s miserable childhood certainly had some influence, but then again, not everyone with a terrible childhood becomes a criminal.

But my hesitation didn’t even last a second.

My conclusion was this:

I swung a side kick straight into the back of Kang Wol-yeon’s head.

The sound was like a wooden board shattering.

Still, he was an awakened, so he probably wouldn’t die.

Probably…?

I barely managed to grab his body as it pitched forward through the hallway window.

The shattered glass glinted sharply right in front of Kang Wol-yeon’s left eye.

‘This time,’ he wasn’t injured.

“……!”

While he was still stunned, I yanked him back toward the hallway and punched him straight in the face.

Behind me, I heard Pi So-won rushing over in alarm.

Pi So-won stood there holding her gun, looking bewildered.

Wiping the blood streaming from my nose, I smiled weakly at her.

“Ahh… I’m okay.”

“No… not you. Is he okay?”

Pi So-won muttered while staring at the unconscious Kang Wol-yeon.

That was when I tilted my head while looking at the window between the classroom and the hallway.

As if I truly didn’t understand.

“But you know, Team Leader…”

“What now? If you’re about to say you want to read him his Miranda rights or something, I swear…”

“Wouldn’t you normally call something like that a skid mark…?”

As I spoke, I pointed at the footprints beginning near the window and stretching toward the ceiling.

They were so faint you’d miss them unless you looked carefully.

As though someone had climbed through the window and escaped across the ceiling.

And the footprints continued over the ceiling all the way to the outside window Kang Wol-yeon had just smashed through.

The moment Pi So-won saw them, her face hardened.

I pointed outside the broken window and asked:

“Did they go that way?”

At those words, Pi So-won grimaced. She immediately removed the unconscious Kang Wol-yeon’s shoes.

“Skid marks are tire tracks. This is…”

She held Kang Wol-yeon’s shoe against the prints—

‘They don’t match.’

Naturally.

“You’d just call these footprints.”

Pi So-won stared down at Kang Wol-yeon in disbelief.

And the reason I noticed this in the first place was—

‘Dog Nose (A)’

– A special skill that will disappear after one week.

…Thanks to the gift Lulu left behind.

Senior Lulu, thank you!