Chapter 246: Not A Hit-and-Run Protester (5)

Chapter 246: Not A Hit-and-Run Protester (5)

After setting up our base camp at a hotel on Pattaya Island, Yun Hye-ra and I made our way to Coral Island.

A sharp sound pierced the silence.

The coast was deserted, with only the echo of our presence.

Despite our nighttime arrival, meant to shield us with darkness, the cold air and the whispering wind lent the island an eerie, abandoned feel.

“Really now. Just a moment. Turn off the engine, and I’ll steer manually.”

“How about we approach along the waves?”

“Let’s assess the situation first.”

Concerned that the boat’s motor might betray our presence, I switched to using a baseball bat as a paddle, steering us manually toward the coast as soon as the succubus island came into view.

“Do you sense any presence around the island?”

“No, nothing at all. That’s what makes it even more unsettling.”

Clutching Yun Hye-ra, we dashed toward the sandy beach.

A bit of sand clinging to our shoes was the least of our worries.

The real concern was the absence of any traces that should have been on the succubus’s island.

“...There are no signs of anyone trying to escape the island.”

“It seems it’s not just here. We’ve scoured the entire island. Nothing anywhere.”

There was nothing.

Absolutely no trace of anything.

Before setting foot on the sandy beach, we had circled Coral Island by boat, inspecting the coast, but found no signs.

“The traces weren’t erased, were they?”

“Yes. It hasn’t been that long since the incident. Of course, two days might be enough time...”

“If it were human intervention, it would have involved large-scale movements that the Secret Society’s surveillance would have caught. And if it were erased with the power of abilities, we would have detected residual magical energy.”

But neither scenario applied.

Thus, we had to investigate for ourselves.

“Let’s head inside.”

Yun Hye-ra and I ventured deeper into the island.

“Do you see anything?”

“No, nothing at all. There’s no sign of anyone, nor any magical reactions, at least not on the surface.”

We needed to scan deeper inside, but at least near the coast where we approached by boat, there was no sign of anyone.

“There could be a being capable of evading our detection, or perhaps something else. But there is something I can feel.”

Yun Hye-ra swept the dirt ground with her hand.

“Brother. Look at this.”

“......It seems we were closer to the answer.”

Beneath a mound of dirt, I sighed at something that seemed wet.

That mark was a red bloodstain.

It was a trace of blood that seemed to have flowed just two days ago, seeping into the soil.

“It doesn’t seem like the blood of an ability user; rather, it looks like regular human blood.”

“That’s even more problematic. We can’t pinpoint whose it is.”

Whose blood could it be?

From the amount of blood, it seemed like a severe injury, but I couldn’t tell.

“Considering their tendencies, they probably already escaped.”

“Yes. Maybe Hyangdan took measures. If not... it seems like the situation was settled simultaneously when we attacked God’s resting place.”

We intended to raid one place and sequentially check others.

Laplace was dead, Hyangdan had fled, and General Jeokrang had committed suicide, so there should have been some leeway.

What could possibly go wrong in just two days?

While we were recovering magic power to deal with the possible appearance of Hyangdan, could anything significant happen?

I naively hoped so.

We were already transformed, except for the masks, and no one had seen our faces.

But what if we were wearing masks?

“There are others inside.”

Boom!

I immediately ran towards the main entrance and kicked the door with my foot.

The thick iron door fell inside along with its hinges in an instant.

The hotel lobby was completely dark and eerie.

It felt like looking at a long-abandoned haunted house, and upon entering, Yun Hye-ra pointed to the central staircase right in front of the main entrance.

“It feels like there’s a barrier magician here, right? Seems like the building is made of a material that blocks magic?”

“Bold ones. Even two S-class had to enter the building to feel how thoroughly they’ve hidden the magic.”

I extended the Goblin Bat forward.

With the tip of the bat down, I grasped the handle upside down and infused the bat with magic power.

“Heavy Gravity Drop.”

Boom!

The bat dropped to the floor as if it weighed tons.

It didn’t just fall and roll sideways; it shattered the marble floor instantly and fell through.

And the bat kept falling.

Down to the basement levels of the hotel lobby.

Rumble.

After a brief vibration.

Crash!

The hotel lobby where Yun Hye-ra and I stood collapsed downwards.

Before it completely fell apart, we both jumped upwards, pushed the dust away with magic, and landed inside lightly.

“Chain Heavy Gravity Drop.”

I stood over the fallen bat, pressing down hard with the magic of my entire body, pushing the embedded bat deeper, shattering the ceiling of the basement level.

“Add one feather.”

“Oh, what are you saying?”

Boom!

As I reached out to Yun Hye-ra and she grabbed my hand, the space below us plunged down almost to the fourth basement level.

And then it appeared.

It was like riding an elevator down, at the end of a corridor ahead, a group of people.

“I’m not sure if it’s fortunate they’re alive.”

They appeared.

The frightened ones.

Women who were more terrified of encountering the Goblin than of being discovered by people.

They all seemed to be in their early twenties.

No one else was visible.

That’s because all here were ‘ability users’.

“...Yes, this is reality.”

A dirty, sordid reality.

Using the desires of those who wanted to patriotically employ ability users, a top-secret patriotism program concocted by the strongest of the Hero Association and the military’s top brass.

The succubus’s island.

Here, ‘succubus’ was a slang for ability users with E-grade or lower magic power.

Female.

...When everyone was told to walk the path of a HERO, those who chose the path of H and ERO were here.