AAGULT Ch 98

Chapter 98

“Tsk. Still, it’s going to be hard to use this as evidence. It looks like it’s encrypted.”

As if to interrupt the distressing thoughts, his light voice cut in. The mind that had been about to be swallowed by dark musings suddenly snapped back to reality. Right, this wasn’t the time to get lost in thought.

“Seems like they already took all the important files.”

Indeed, even though the documents were soaked in liquid and difficult to decipher, they hadn’t used any blatant terminology like “espers” or “ability types.” While seated on one knee and flipping through a few more pages of the file, Aiden tossed it aside without hesitation and stood up.

“We’ll need to keep looking. Judging by the state of the equipment, and the fact that there’s a ventilation system and internal temperature control, this place must be pretty spacious.”

“Think there’s a lab or a storage room for drugs…? If we could find a server room, it’d make locating data a lot easier.”

Why wasn’t Eunyul showing up? With no sense of when some sort of barrier might drop to trap the intruders, Jaeha motioned lightly to Aiden. If everyone inside had already evacuated or hidden the evidence, then the two of them would be the ones to end up quarantined.

“Let’s hurry and check the rest.”

“Speaking of which…”

“Yes?”

Aiden turned on the spot. Even with the urgency of their situation, he seemed relaxed. Though it was their first time doing an operation like this together, was this what experience looked like? Jaeha suddenly felt like he was worrying needlessly and tried to ease his own tension by following Aiden’s lead.

“Jaeha, you go ahead first.”

“…What?”

Of course, that attempt to relax didn’t last more than three seconds. The unexpected suggestion startled Jaeha. He rushed toward Aiden and gave him a once-over.

“Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Are—Are you okay?”

“Nope, just fine.”

Aiden chuckled at Jaeha’s voice, which was full of urgency. He really did seem fine. It made sense—just earlier, he’d overpowered an esper using only his civilian-level strength, pressing him into the ground.

“I’ll check out this side, so could you look around the other areas? It’d be more efficient if we split up.”

True enough, quite some time had passed and they still hadn’t heard from the Association. Was Eunyul refusing to cooperate? Or maybe they were having trouble tracking their location? This island looked like an ordinary private villa, so maybe it was equipped with devices that blocked tracing. There were many possibilities, but with them already deep inside enemy territory, their options were limited.

“Aiden, this place is an illegal facility. If a lockdown begins—”

“Are you worried about leaving me alone?”

“…Honestly, yeah. I’m really worried.”

When Jaeha replied candidly, Aiden let out a small laugh.

“Me too. I’m scared, so I’m sending you ahead as my human shield.”

“This isn’t something to joke about…”

It didn’t fit his personality, and in this situation, it only left Jaeha bewildered. But knowing Aiden wasn’t injured, all Jaeha could do was let out a helpless sigh.

Aiden casually hopped up onto a table that resembled an operating station. Swinging his legs cheerfully, he looked like someone out on a picnic.

“Time’s ticking while we’re chatting like this.”

“Aiden…”

It seemed like no matter what he said, Aiden wasn’t going to listen. Still, Jaeha couldn’t shake off how unsettling his attitude felt. Aiden was speaking lightly, but there was a subtle emotional distance, as if he were drawing a line with his tone and demeanor.

Jaeha had thought this before—Aiden had a strange kind of stubbornness. He wasn’t sure it could be called “stubbornness,” but since it always seemed to steer things in the right direction, it was oddly frustrating.

Eventually, Jaeha gave up trying to argue. Instead, he earnestly reminded Aiden:

“No matter what happens, you need to stay here. If you move around on your own… it’ll be really, really dangerous.”

“Okay~”

Aiden raised both palms and nodded obediently. He even smiled playfully.

“I’ll just sit here, wander nearby a little, and chill until the Association gets here. I won’t move around enough to be suspicious.”

“…Seriously?”

“Seriously, seriously.”

Why did he feel so uneasy? It wasn’t like Jaeha could protect Aiden while investigating the underground area anyway, but leaving him here alone felt incredibly nerve-racking.

“…Then I’ll see you later.”

In the end, Jaeha nodded, still unable to shake off the unease. As Aiden clung to him, showering him in kisses and promising to wait patiently, Jaeha groaned and finally began walking slowly down the stark white corridor. Just as Aiden had said—there was no time, so it was a decision made in haste.

Even as he moved away, Jaeha kept glancing back. With a loaded gun in hand and heavy suspicion and worry clinging to his chest, he proceeded.

“……”

Like that, Jaeha disappeared down the corridor. His glances over his shoulder gradually ceased as he turned the corner and vanished from view. The corridor, bathed in a pale, hazy light, returned to silence without a single footstep.

Aiden, who had been watching from behind, let out a quiet laugh. Resting one hand on the operating table, he slowly tilted his head back. Though the corners of his mouth were lifted in amusement, his eyes held no trace of a smile.

The man who had smiled languidly now opened his mouth in a quiet voice.

“Baek Beomwoo. Come out.”

The anxiety of leaving Aiden behind and the pressure of limited time naturally quickened Jaeha’s pace. The gun in his hand felt slippery with sweat, but the tension in his grip allowed him to hold it steadily.

The corridor was long and silent. At one point, the blinking overhead lights had switched to emergency lighting—he almost screamed in fright when it happened. The space was quite large, with many rooms. Jaeha didn’t hesitate to force open the tightly shut doors. Normally, he would’ve been careful about making noise, but there was no time for that now.

“Haa…”

Most of the rooms he checked were filled only with empty storage cabinets. With a sigh, Jaeha trudged back out into the hallway. He continued searching the facility. While a few doors were already open, most led to meaningless spaces—abandoned workrooms, record rooms with papers scattered about. He peeked into the record room, wondering if there might be notes on the research process or results, but there was nothing usable. In hindsight, finding the room that held Eridoke’s blood had been a miracle.

“Why is there nothing here…?”

Strangely, the space felt inefficiently vast. Relative to the number and size of rooms, there was a suspicious lack of work traces. Unlike the few rooms that bore signs of a hasty evacuation, others seemed to have never been used at all—untouched, as if nothing had ever been there.

“……”

Ultimately, to increase the efficiency of his search, Jaeha began to use his ability while moving.

[…]

He couldn’t hear anything. But silence didn’t necessarily mean there was nothing. Even if his urgency wouldn’t make him move faster, he clung to the hope that he might find something and endured the pounding headache that came with using his power.

“Huh?”

It was then that he spotted a double door at the end of a corridor. Its design was different from the others. It had an installed door lock, an electronic pad, and a manual handle. But something seemed off—the lock was sparking as if broken. A faint light leaked from beneath the door.

“……”

He readjusted his grip on the gun, now warm from being held so tightly, and approached cautiously, running his hand along the wall beside the door. The electrical wiring was exposed, and the cover that should have secured it had been ripped off roughly. It looked like he could open it by hand.

[Where are they……]

And there was someone inside. One person. He couldn’t tell who they were or what kind of ability they had. But he had to be prepared, so Jaeha immediately deactivated his ability. Standing carefully beside the door, he slowly pushed it open with the hand holding the gun.

The door opened inch by inch. Fortunately, the person inside didn’t seem to have sensed him yet. A draft of air flowed out. It didn’t feel like a typical workroom. The interior was cold, with a faint chemical odor lingering.

“……”

He didn’t open the door completely, but peered inside through the gap. He was certain—this was the place.

The room was smaller than expected, about 15 pyeong in size. One wall was lined with medium-sized cooling units. Made of metal and glass, they emitted a faint blue glow as they steadily circulated the air. The sound of the cooling fans whirred gently through the space.

On the opposite wall were neatly organized shelves—three rows high, each compartment filled with transparent sealed containers of deep blue liquid. There wasn’t a single label, but the color alone was enough for Jaeha to recognize it.

There was still movement inside. He hesitated, wondering when to strike, and turned his head slightly to try to see from another angle. At the far end of the room was a rounded glass chamber. He couldn’t see it well due to the angle, but a faint white mist seemed to be swirling inside.

And if his eyes weren’t deceiving him… there appeared to be a human figure within.

No. He had to go in now. There was no guarantee the person inside would wait around until the Association arrived.

“Hoo…”

He took a deep breath. Just as he was about to throw the door open and storm in—

Thud.

Something lightly tapped the back of Jaeha’s head.

“…!”

His body froze before his brain could react. He instinctively sucked in a breath, but the tension rising in his chest caught halfway through his lungs, blocking oxygen from reaching his brain. His heart pounded violently.

It was a gun.