“This ability…”
Hitomi felt an odd sense of familiarity.
Her ability, ‘Loss,’ was a specialized skill for direct combat that caused an opponent to completely lose sensation in a part of their body.
Hitomi had entertained the idea that if she raised the skill level, she could make the opponent lose all sensation, rendering them unable to do anything.
The feeling she was currently experiencing was eerily similar to that concept.
“Ugh.”
Hitomi tried to open her mouth to shout at her opponent but couldn’t even bring herself to speak as she couldn’t feel her mouth.
The mysterious figure approached the unconscious Park Hayeon, pulling out a device that looked like a barcode reader.
“I’m not here to harm her. Or, rather, let me correct that, Shaks. I do intend to harm you.”
“Ugh.”
The figure placed the device on Park Hayeon’s chest and turned it on.
Words appeared on the device screen:
「Network communication unavailable: server lost(77)」
「Offline mode」
「Subject D value: 1441」
「Subject not compatible」
The figure didn’t fully understand the device’s principles, only knowing that it could be used if the target had been consumed by a demon.
“Surely, I tested it before coming here. Is it a network issue? Why isn’t it working?”
The cloaked figure, dressed in black, became flustered by the situation, tapping the device repeatedly.
“This is odd… There’s no way this isn’t a demon. I was told at this point, the subject would already be in a state where her mind had been taken.”
He confirmed this again by pulling out a notebook from his pocket.
It was written that at this point demonization had been completed, according to information provided by Shinnoda, who had the most accurate knowledge.
When the figure attempted to use the device on Park Hayeon again, the result was the same.
Then, an overwhelming killing intent from behind made him roll on the ground at the last moment.
A katana sliced through the air where the figure had been standing.
Hitomi retrieved her sword and took a stance.
“How did you break free?”
“After seeing that you were still moving after being affected by my ability, I speculated if there might be a way to counter it.”
In response to the figure’s words, Hitomi replied in Japanese. She had used her ‘Loss’ ability on herself to adjust the sensations that had been reduced to zero.
“Were you always this smart, Hosokawa Hitomi? You seem like a completely different person.”
“Don’t be foolish. I’m Ashikaga Hitomi.”
“What? You don’t even know your own name.”
The masked individual continued to converse, attempting to distract her while covertly positioning himself for a spear attack.
“Who are you…?”
Before Hitomi could finish her sentence, a spear flew toward her.
The figure could have thrown it to directly hit her heart and kill her instantly but intentionally avoided a fatal strike. If Hitomi were to die, so would he.
Hitomi twisted her body to dodge the spear aimed at her side but ended up having the spear hit her backpack instead.
“Next time, I’ll make sure to hit.”
As the figure raised his hand and spoke, the spear moved on its own, returning to his hand.
“Absolutely insane.”
Hitomi muttered.
From her torn backpack, contents spilled out — photographs and textbooks that had become crumpled and torn by the spear.
“That’s…”
The torn photograph caught the man’s eye, and he froze instantly.
The photos from her bag were evidence of memories with friends. They had been shredded due to the spear. Among them were pictures of Shinnoda and Park Hayeon.
The man pulled out a photograph from his pocket. He had been bothered by the fact that, not long ago, Hitomi had mentioned her last name as ‘Hosokawa’ instead of ‘Ashikaga.’
Although the photo was old, it was uncreased and intact.
“This is… Strange. It’s strange.”
The cloaked man shivered with goosebumps all over his body. This was something that shouldn’t happen and shouldn’t even exist.
His limbs trembled, making it impossible to continue the battle.
He then completely erased Hitomi’s senses and abruptly lifted the unconscious Park Hayeon.
“No, no, this can’t be happening.”
Muttering to himself, the figure left.
Because her skill level was still low, it took Hitomi some time to regain her senses. When she finally opened her eyes, no one was around.
“Hyeon has… been kidnapped!”
*
On my way back, I heard shocking news.
Startled, I dropped the spear I was holding. It was a gift from the Red Knight.
“Park Hayeon… was she taken hostage?”
<Yeah! I’ve already informed the police. We need to do something!>
After finishing the call with Hitomi, I headed to the scene of the battle, accompanied by Laura. There were already a few police officers investigating.
“Sigh.”
The blood splattered all over and the presence of the police made it seem as though someone had died.
I felt an intense sense of unease.
After living together for a long time, I had grown quite close to Park Hayeon. She was an incredibly kind and pure-hearted person, and I thought of her like a sibling.
Moreover, without her, I worried how we would handle the upcoming mid-bosses with the necessary damage output.
“You can’t go in there.”
The police officer tried to prevent me from entering, claiming the scene needed to be preserved, but I shoved him aside.
On the pavement and near the streetlights were traces of blood and sword slashes.
“Damn…”
I couldn’t have imagined that Park Hayeon would be kidnapped. There was no such event in the original story, and there was no apparent reason why she would be targeted.
Even if there were any such reasons, she was still in her developmental phase, and it wouldn’t make sense to lock her away.
“So, who was it?”
I asked Hitomi, who had been with her.
“His appearance was similar to the Dark Knight, and he used a spear. His ability… it removes the opponent’s senses. It feels like this.”
Suddenly, I lost my balance as if one of my legs had disappeared.
Looking down, I saw it was still attached, but I had completely lost the sensation in my leg as though it had never been there.
“Is this what that skill does?”
“Yeah… It’s very similar to mine. And he knew Japanese. He also seemed to know my name, although the last name was wrong.”
“Hmm. Are you well-known enough in Japan that anyone would recognize you?”
“If someone follows the news, they probably would. I’ve been criticized quite a bit… Hehe…”
Thanks to Hitomi’s testimony, we had gathered some clues. Using a spear, having an ability similar to Hitomi’s, and mimicking the ‘Dark Knight’ still didn’t give us a clear lead.
However, since he appeared to know her and spoke Japanese, it was safe to assume our opponent was Japanese. The most dangerous organization in Japan, undoubtedly, was the Gospel of Salvation.
“Did the Gospel of Salvation pull some strings? But how could they know that Park Hayeon was the protagonist? There’s no such description in the original work…”
Ding.
My phone rang. I picked up, seeing it was Isiah.
We had asked Isiah to investigate Park Hayeon’s whereabouts before we left.
“Sia-senpai, did you find Hyeon’s location?!”
“Yeah! Luckily, the guy who kidnapped her was captured on several CCTV cameras. I’ll upload the route to your phone; just open the map application, and it will automatically show up.”
Isiah reported the investigation results in her calm yet rapid voice with a mechanical tone from the ‘Gareas’ suit.
“Thank you.”
“By the way, the criminal? Is this Dark Knight someone you know? Did you lend your robe to anyone?”
“Lend the Leather of the Sage? That’s absurd. Besides, the idea of revealing my identity as the Dark Knight is one thing, but the robe is a rare item.”
“Nope. Does he look exactly like the Dark Knight? It isn’t like Yoon Mi-so’s imitation, right?”
“Of course. Do you know who you’re talking to! There’s no Dark Knight footage that hasn’t passed through my hands. I know better than anyone.”
Her confident tone sent a slight chill down my spine.
“That’s very trustworthy. Anyway, thanks. Keep digging for more information.”
“Okay!”
The call ended.
I opened the map app in my main menu, just as Isiah had said, showing a marked path as if I had already set it to search for directions.
“Hitomi, I’ve got a lead. Let’s go!”
“Uhh… Yeah!”
I immediately grabbed Hitomi’s hand and pulled her with me. While following me, she appeared deep in thought, her face uncertain.
“What’s wrong? Did something else come to mind?”
Worried that we might be missing something important in our haste, I slowed down and asked calmly.
“It might not be significant, but the villain seemed shocked when he saw the photos that fell out of my bag. He even took them with him.”
Hitomi responded hesitantly, her eyes darting around and her face wrinkled with doubt.
“Really? Photos… That’s an odd character. Were they the ones taken at the arcade?”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t think of any reason why someone from the Gospel of Salvation would be startled by those.
“For now, let’s go. We’ll figure it out once we get there.”
We’ll just have to face it head-on. We’ve got Laura, so it’ll be fine somehow.
