TRPM 438

chapter 438

For reference, the interrogator never actually drilled a hole in the man’s head or carried out any such act.

However, sensitive psychic abilities like psychometry tend to yield less information when the target’s mind is intact, so all he did was threaten as if he were actually going to drill a hole.

“The reason the man being psychically searched while unconscious remained so composed was that he had absolute confidence that the organization he belonged to would definitely come to rescue him.”

It’s difficult to break that conviction without knowing what organization he belonged to.

But what if we instilled the thought that he would continue to feel pain until he was rescued—even if he is rescued, the suffering would persist until then?

Naturally, a gap would form.

Right now, the psychometry user is exploiting that gap to read the man’s memories.

“…He doesn’t even know the name of the organization behind him,” said the psychometry user while reading his memories, causing many of the awakened in the auditorium to click their tongues.

Without that information, the man’s memories might be worthless.

However, the situation slightly changed with what the psychometry user said next.

“However, he does know why he’s doing this. It’s to buy time to find the leader of his missing organization.”

“A missing leader?”

“…No way.”

Some of the awakened in the auditorium seemed unaware, but more than half were able to roughly guess the organization behind the man after hearing that.

“Oracle?”

“Oracle? Do you mean the organization with its headquarters on Mars? But why would its leader—”

“Oh, this is confidential, but it seems the leader turned their back on the organization and left.”

Those awakened with knowledge about Oracle shared what they knew with others who didn’t, as this wasn’t the type of information one could monopolize for personal advantage. Everyone shared it willingly.

“But why would they buy time in Korea?”

“Could Oracle actually be in Korea?”

“……”

I shook my head internally at that speculation. Oracle’s current location is in China, the base of Cheonma.

“But the fact that the organization acted in Korea… means they judged Oracle to be in Korea.”

There must have been solid reasoning for that. And I had a guess.

“A few months ago, the organization performed a spell across the entire Earth to locate someone.”

It was a spell that disregarded secrecy; almost everyone on Earth noticed the effect of the spell.

If that spell had been intended to locate Oracle…

“At that time, Oracle had disguised herself as a servant of Cheonma and entered Korea.”

So it’s not unreasonable to assume Oracle’s hiding place was in Korea.

“The reason he could quickly rise to a fairly high position in the Association… seems to have been due to help from the organization. They manipulated his records via hacking and suggested favorable impressions to superiors to gain high evaluations.”

“…That’s an Association security issue. An internal audit might be necessary just in case.”

Other details emerged through psychometry, like how the man contacted his organization and the faces of his contacts, but I didn’t need to concern myself with that. The awakened from the criminal-specialist guild were meticulously taking notes.

“At the very least, I should contact Chairman Richard.”

Given the increasing likelihood of a connection between Oracle and the Martian organization, this was no longer just a Korean matter. After all, they are a globally active criminal organization. It would be wise for me to notify the Association as well.

“Phew… Finally won.”

“Ugh… as expected, someone who’s been a guild master for a long time is different. I thought I was stronger overall, but to think he would counter like that…”

As I thought this, Ji Hyung-man and Scott entered the auditorium, appearing tired as if they had gone out to spar. It seemed Hyung-man had won.

“In terms of talent and skill, Scott might be above, but Hyung-man’s experience would have been hard to surpass.”

It wasn’t that Scott lacked experience. He was from Chicago, which experienced the zombie incident caused by the organization months ago. He had gained experience fighting zombies there.

“Wait, now that I think about it, did Scott join my cultist site because I had saved his city from that zombie incident?”

Possibly… after all, I had saved his hometown.

“I also noticed signs of that when we first met.”

When Scott first met me…

[(Oh… oh…!)]

[(I never thought I’d see the Artist’s face in my lifetime…!)]

[(Huff…! Ha…! Huff…! Ha…! Calm down, calm…!)]

He couldn’t hide his excitement at seeing me. Since then, he frequently met me to learn sword techniques, so now that look no longer appears.

“Hmm? Looks like the interrogation was almost finished while we were sparring. Was there anything important?”

“…It was revealed that the organization behind this is likely the Martian one.”

I stopped thinking about Scott and answered Hyung-man’s question. Realizing something significant had emerged in his absence, he listened attentively.

“I see. So the organization was behind the events of the past month…”

Back at home, I found Sophia nursing Yeon Mirae, who hadn’t fully woken yet, and recounted what the Association had reported.

“Although it’s likely the organization, we can’t guarantee it was definitely them.”

“No, I think it was definitely them. Consider how confident the man was, even though he committed crimes while being captured.”

Sophia’s words reminded me of the strangely confident man.

“That’s a common trait for someone being used by an organization. Ordinary criminals don’t know the role they play and are often threatened, so they can’t appear confident.”

Exceptions exist, though…

“In the case of the Martian organization, when recruiting people, they first show how large the organization is and persuade them that the ultimate goal is to save humanity. I probably experienced this when I joined as a spy. I’ve forgotten the details of how they intended to save humanity…”

So Sophia didn’t know Oracle’s original purpose or her methods.

“Those recruited often take pride in the crimes they commit. They see themselves as heroes fighting for humanity, like countless martyrs in history, even if they don’t know how humanity is actually saved.”

…But that man didn’t show such an expression.

“Or they might justify their crimes in that way.”

“Ah, so that man was like that.”

I understood.

“Also, they often mistakenly believe the organization will definitely come to save them, thinking they are martyrs serving humanity, unaware they are expendable to the organization.”

Exactly the case for the man captured by the Association.

“So what do you think the organization will do next?”

“They’ll probably give up, since Oracle isn’t in Korea. After a month of investigation yielding nothing, they likely left Korea secretly.”

“Seems reasonable…”

If their goal was to find Oracle, that makes sense.

“However…”

But Sophia still seemed troubled.

“The fact that there were heretics at the meeting where the fight happened is concerning.”

“The Baekryun Sect Leader and candidates for the next leader of the Myung Sect?”

“Yes. That they came claiming to respect the Artist’s strength at this time… I understand they wanted to find your weakness, but it doesn’t fully make sense.”

Sophia had observed the store from afar through a telescope and heard my conversation with the Baekryun Sect Leader through the bug on my clothes. His words evidently troubled her.

“His claim that he came to find my weakness is probably true. He didn’t seem like a liar.”

“It’s hard to be certain from ‘didn’t seem’… but since it’s the Artist saying it, there must be some basis, right?”

“Yes.”

My instinct told me she was right. That’s why I cast a spell on the Baekryun Sect Leader.

“Of course, even if he wasn’t lying, there could be another hidden purpose.”

Then…

“I think that purpose is somewhat related to this incident.”

“Agreed.”

Following this hypothesis, it’s not hard to guess the purpose the Baekryun Sect Leader was hiding.

“They’re probably deceiving people into thinking Oracle’s hiding place is in Korea.”

“They won’t look through resident registration records. They know Oracle won’t openly use her real name, so they have to find her directly… The organization has a device suited for this.”

Oracle’s aura… since she’s a psychic, they use equipment to detect her mental energy.

“It’s large enough to be difficult for an individual to carry, and the effective range isn’t that wide, but it can be placed in the back seat of a car and is sufficient to locate a specific person.”

“And Oracle knows about this equipment?”

“Of course. It existed before I left the organization, so Oracle, who left after me, would know it well.”

At the same time Han Geon-woo and Sophia learned the Baekryun Sect Leader’s purpose:

“(Shouldn’t we start leaving Korea soon?)”

“(Our stay isn’t over yet. Leaving now would arouse suspicion, so not yet.)”

“(Ugh… why did that idiot get captured…?)”

Elite awakened from the Martian organization, known as the absolute best, discussed this in the car. Their mission: patrol in the car and report when the device reacts.

Beep…!

“(? Hey, did it activate?)”

“(Wait.)”

Reacting to the device in the back seat, they stopped the car to check it.

“(…It worked.)”

“(So Oracle must be nearby?)”

“(The range is about 100 meters, so yes.)”

They glanced at each other and sighed.

“(No… I didn’t expect such a remote location…)”

“(I assumed she’d be where people gather.)”

They were in a sparsely populated area.

“(Send it?)”

“(Yes. Then we’ll return to the Moon next month to enjoy ourselves at the hotel.)”

They intended to return to the Moon, where subordinates would obey any order, but their wish wasn’t fulfilled.

“(Uh….)”

“(Gulp…!)”

Right after they transmitted the data to the organization, a blade pierced both their necks.

“(…So being elite doesn’t matter?)”

“(This is the ‘absolute best’? They didn’t even sense us until they died?)”

The Myung Sect leader candidates who killed them looked at the Baekryun Sect Leader in puzzlement.

“(Even if they’re elite, they weren’t the ones operating in the field properly.)”

In the Baekryun Sect Leader’s hand was a metal shard stained with Oracle’s blood.