In Ha-young slowly opened her eyes. The surroundings were filled with darkness.
As she cautiously tried to recall what had happened, someone across from her spoke carefully.
“Team leader, are you alright?”
“Na-yoon-ssi? Ugh, my head hurts….”
In Ha-young grimaced at the throbbing pain in her head and spoke.
“Why are you here, Na-yoon-ssi? I told you to wait outside for backup….”
Shin Na-yoon flinched.
Of course, it was because Kang-joon had told her to follow, but she couldn’t admit that, so she quickly came up with an excuse.
“Uh, well… I was just so worried about you, and before I knew it….”
“You disobeyed a superior’s orders over something like that? It’s a good thing we’re still alive, but what if the enemy had been trying to kill us?”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“… Please don’t do that again.”
Shin Na-yoon had the strange feeling that In Ha-young’s voice had softened a bit.
Though her tone was still as sharp as ever.
In Ha-young tried to move her body slightly, but it was impossible. Her arms and legs were tightly bound with cable ties.
On top of that, her vision was spinning, and she had no strength in her limbs. The effects of inhaling a heavy dose of sedative were obvious.
It was a trap meant for me from the start.
When the schoolgirl had suddenly turned and sprayed the sedative, that alone wouldn’t have been a problem.
Her reflexes were on par with those of a veteran soldier or a professional boxer.
Under normal circumstances, she would have easily dodged and subdued the schoolgirl right away.
But the moment she met the girl’s eyes, she saw that the area around her pupils had turned a strange shade of purple.
Strangely enough, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the girl’s eyes at that moment, and that’s why In Ha-young was hit by the sedative and lost consciousness.
The girl had to have some kind of mind control ability. Perhaps something like charm or confusion…
Then this had to be the work of a devil, or perhaps a demon.
Damn it, I let my guard down…
She had been too relaxed, thinking the other party was just a young schoolgirl.
If only her condition hadn’t been at its worst from the aftermath of using the power of the devil.
No, even if the connection with the devil she had contracted hadn’t been severed, none of this would’ve happened.
These are all just excuses.
An experienced agent should act thoroughly, leaving no openings in any situation.
Devils always have a way of exploiting the smallest cracks in a human’s heart.
To make a mistake like that, even after she had become a team leader, made her realize how far she still had to go.
But that was enough self-reflection. What mattered now was what to do next.
As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, she began to faintly make out the objects around her.
The place where they were confined was an old warehouse, and there didn’t seem to be any guards.
There was a CCTV camera installed in the corner of the ceiling, but aside from that, it was just her and Shin Na-yoon in the room.
Shin Na-yoon asked in a nervous voice,
“Te-Team leader, what should we do now?”
“First, tell me the situation. Were you also drugged and brought here?”
“They put a bag over my head… I think it’s because I didn’t resist. I’m sorry.”
“No, you did well. It’s better than being dragged here without knowing anything. Did you properly request backup?”
“Y-Yes! I made sure to report it to the police.”
“The police…?”
Why would a security agent report to the police? She should’ve just requested backup from headquarters.
As that thought crossed her mind, In Ha-young suddenly realized something. Shin Na-yoon was a new agent who had only been on the job for two days.
The team that should have been helping them had disappeared yesterday, and there was no way Shin Na-yoon would know about the direct line to headquarters. That was something her seniors were supposed to teach her.
The situation had been too urgent for her to notice earlier. This wasn’t Shin Na-yoon’s fault; it was hers as the team leader.
Besides, if this had been a regular missing person case, reporting to the police would have been the right move, but this case seemed to involve a devil.
This was clearly a matter for the Security Bureau, so In Ha-young gave up any hope of further support.
“Do you have any idea where we are? Did the kidnappers say anything?”
Shin Na-yoon thought carefully before answering.
“I’m not sure where we are since we walked for quite a while. And they mentioned something about a sacrifice and something about a union… Oh! The kidnappers were all wearing necklaces with the same symbol. Did you see them?”
“I caught a glimpse before I lost consciousness. It had a kind of religious feel to it…”
The symbol felt strangely familiar to In Ha-young. She hadn’t seen it in person before, but she remembered it from some documents.
“I remember now. It’s the symbol of the White Light Cult.”
“The White Light Cult? What’s that?”
“It’s a new religious group that’s been expanding its influence recently. They claim to drive out devils with a divine light. From what I’ve heard, their followers believe that if they bask in the light the cult leader provides, they won’t be harmed by devils.”
“What? That sounds like a complete scam!”
“That’s right. There’s a high chance they’re connected to devils, so the Security Bureau has been keeping a close eye on them. But for them to suddenly act this aggressively… something feels off.”
It clearly wasn’t about demanding a ransom.
Kidnapping a Security Bureau agent? That’s not just bold, it’s downright reckless. There had to be another plan in motion.
“Th-Then what do we do? Are we just going to be dragged in front of that shady cult leader and sacrificed in some bizarre ritual?”
“I won’t let that happen, so don’t worry.”
In Ha-young checked her physical condition. The effects of the sedative had mostly worn off, and she could move if she needed to. Most of her weapons had been confiscated, but the kidnappers hadn’t noticed the tools she had hidden.
“Na-yoon-ssi, do you see the hairpin at the back of my head? Can you take it out for me? Make sure to cover it with your back so the CCTV doesn’t catch it.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Shin Na-yoon answered in a daze and reached out her hand.
“If you press the back and push up, a blade will pop out.”
“Wow! You’re like a real agent. That’s amazing!”
“I’m not like an agent; I am an agent. Na-yoon-ssi, you should go to the equipment department later and pick something that suits your style.”
“Yes!”
With the cutter blade hidden in the hairpin, Shin Na-yoon carefully cut the cable ties binding In Ha-young’s hands and feet. Once she was freed, In Ha-young immediately cut the cable ties on Shin Na-yoon as well.
But that was as far as they could go without being noticed. Any suspicious movement now, and the guards monitoring the CCTV would surely catch them.
Still, they couldn’t expect backup anytime soon, and in this urgent situation, anything could happen at any moment. Even if it was risky, trying to escape on their own was the better option.
In Ha-young thought as she touched her wrist.
If she was going to get caught anyway, she might as well go out in style.
***
The two White Light Cult followers assigned to guard the warehouse were casually chatting by the door.
They didn’t seem to feel much tension about their task and focused more on passing the time than keeping watch.
“Ugh, how much longer do we have to do this? My legs are killing me.”
“Exactly. They’ve got everyone tied up and the inside’s being monitored by CCTV, right? Do we really need to be guarding this place too?”
“Damn it, the other brothers are probably comfortably enjoying themselves inside. When am I ever going to reach that kind of position?”
The two followers grumbled and voiced their dissatisfaction with the surveillance duty.
Inside the White Light Cult, status was strictly determined by one’s level of faith.
The more one could prove their devotion to the leader, the higher they could rise, while those who failed remained at the bottom and were stuck with menial tasks.
For followers like them, it was often hard to endure the cult’s lifestyle without venting their frustrations from time to time.
Even so, the number of White Light Cult followers continued to grow.
No matter how hard the labor or how difficult their lives were, they believed it was better than the non-believers outside who were living day to day while being threatened by the existence of devils.
The followers of the White Light Cult were mostly made up of people who had experienced the threat of devils up close or were family members of those who had been killed by them.
“By the way, did you see them? The ones who were captured as sacrifices today?”
“Oh, I saw. They’re agents from the Security Bureau, right?”
“Does the Security Bureau choose people based on looks? Wow, their bodies… seriously, top-tier, way better than usual.”
“Dream on. Those women are meant for the Leader’s ‘Union’. If you lay a hand on them, we’re both dead.”
“Who said I’d touch them? Can’t a guy just talk? I never thought a business suit could look so sexy until—”
It was at that moment. The door behind them suddenly exploded with a deafening bang.
The sudden explosion knocked them to the ground and they looked around in a daze.
With the smell of gunpowder, dust, and thick smoke in the air, they couldn’t see a thing.
“Wh-What the hell! What’s going on!”
“Could it be an escape—ugh!”
The followers could say no more.
In Ha-young, who emerged through the smoke, had instantly subdued them and knocked them unconscious.
Following behind her, Shin Na-yoon coughed from the smoke and exclaimed in shock.
“My God… who would’ve thought your wristwatch was a bomb with a timer!”
“There’s no time to be surprised. The enemies will swarm in soon. Grab only what you need, and let’s go quickly.”
In Ha-young began searching the unconscious followers’ bodies.
She thought if she could find a phone, she could request backup from headquarters, but no matter how thoroughly she searched, there were no phones.
It seemed the White Light Cult followers were also cut off from the outside world.
Instead, In Ha-young found a gun on one of the followers.
With practiced hands, she pulled the slide to check if it was loaded, then gave Shin Na-yoon a nod.
“Na-yoon-ssi, just follow me. And just in case, make sure you don’t make eye contact with any enemies.”
“Y-Yes!”
Shin Na-yoon nodded with a face flushed with nervousness.
And then she had a thought. That as long as she followed her team leader, she could get through this quietly.
And that she wouldn’t need to use the power she had received from the devil.
But that thought was shattered exactly five minutes later.
Leave a Reply