Chapter 8….
Kang Wolyeon.
An A-rank hunter with a bright yellow artificial eye in his left socket.
He roamed the world committing every kind of evil deed with his overwhelming power and cruel personality.
But the Kang Wolyeon in front of us now…
“Did you kill him?”
“……”
…was trembling.
He was just a young boy.
A nineteen-year-old kid.
No artificial eye.
Honestly, considering the scale of crimes this brat will commit when he grows up, it’d be a hundred times better to just shoot him dead right here, but—
“No matter what I say, you won’t believe me anyway. F***.”
Kang Wolyeon chuckled.
Before I could answer, Pi Sowon replied for me.
“You’re right. I won’t believe anything you say.”
“……!”
Kang Wolyeon’s face twisted.
“The classroom door was locked from the inside. The student-supervisor testified that only you and the victim were on this floor. And most of all — this weapon.”
With a white glove on her hand, Pi Sowon lifted the dagger.
The moment she touched it, the dagger unfolded like a spiral drill, wavering in the air as if it were alive.
‘A magic item.’
I looked at the runes engraved on the blade.
◐◑
A simple geometric pattern.
But I knew exactly what it was.
And I knew who made it.
‘If I use this properly… this could be convenient for me.’
The calculation clicked in my head.
“This is a magic item. But as far as I know, you’re the only awakened student in Jeongmun High School?”
“T-that’s…!”
Kang Wolyeon tried to speak but quickly shut his mouth.
Of course he did.
Because someone was holding his leash.
The chairman’s son of Jeongmun High School.
And that bastard is an unregistered E-rank awakened.
‘He caused an incident when he was young, so they hid the fact that he awakened.’
E-rank wasn’t strong enough to change his life drastically even if he awakened, especially for a rich family’s son.
But Kang Wolyeon…
He was completely caught by that chairman’s weakness.
‘So there’s no way he can snitch.’
For that reason, he gets arrested here, and during transport—
‘He tries to escape and kills a detective.’
He injures his eye during that incident and ends up with an artificial one.
That becomes his first murder.
After that, he grows up into a villain who trembles in rage every time he sees a detective.
“Wow. You’re a detective? Hilarious! Hilarious!”
Thinking about what he did to our Ikseong later… I really shouldn’t let this kid live.
But right now, he’s useful to me.
Definitely.
Clack.
Pi Sowon took out a set of handcuffs from her pocket.
‘Originally, the handcuffs malfunction here, and Kang Wolyeon gets injured.’
But this time the one cuffing him is Pi Sowon. I can’t be sure she’ll make the same mistake.
“Oh, by the way, a quick confession will help reduce your sentence, kid. Well—” she smirked, “—a hunter murdered a civilian, with an item no less. Even with a reduction, it’ll probably be life in prison.”
At her sweet smile, Kang Wolyeon’s face turned pale.
She yanked his wrist up harshly to put the cuffs on.
I stepped between them and pulled out the handcuffs in my pocket, showing them to her.
“Um~! Team Leader!”
“……?”
“Can I try?”
With a bright smile, I asked Pi Sowon.
“You didn’t go vomit yet?”
She sounded genuinely baffled.
This psychopath…!
I swore silently but kept smiling.
“Hehe. This is my first field mission, you know? So I wanted to…”
“You want to try?”
The veins in Pi Sowon’s forehead twitched.
She probably wanted to fire her overly cheerful partner on the spot.
But—
She looked around.
The forensics team from the Hunter Investigation Unit was staring at her.
‘She can’t get mad in front of them.’
Sighing, she jerked her chin toward Kang Wolyeon.
I put the cuffs on with the most excited expression possible.
Click.
The moment the cuffs snapped shut, I made an “oops” face and removed my jacket, wrapping it around Kang Wolyeon’s wrists.
Pi Sowon’s face twisted.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I thought… I saw something like this in a movie? And… I mean, he’s still a student, right?”
At my words, Kang Wolyeon looked at me.
I couldn’t see his expression — I didn’t dare look back.
‘The smell of blood…!’
The scene of the murder flashed vividly in my head.
How could Pi Sowon walk around here so casually? What kind of person was she?
Or does working in the Hunter Investigation Unit turn people into monsters?
“You…”
“Then shall we go~?”
I cheerfully linked arms with Kang Wolyeon and kicked open the classroom door.
Pi Sowon stared at us with a crooked expression.
At that moment, I leaned toward Kang Wolyeon’s ear and whispered quietly—just for him.
“Kang Il-yeon.”
Very softly.
“I know who you are.”
His eyes widened.
He glared at me, then suddenly slipped out of my grip and struck me with his cuffed hands.
Thud!
‘Ow. That hurts.’
Even though I expected it, stars burst in my vision.
I saw Pi Sowon behind me, frantically raising her gun.
Should I… let him die?
The thought crossed my mind for about a second.
Yes, this kid grows into a villain.
Yes, his childhood was rough, but lots of people with rough childhoods don’t become murderers.
But the answer came instantly.
I spun and landed a side kick to the back of his head.
It sounded like a wooden board snapping.
But he wouldn’t die — he was awakened.
Probably… right?
His body lurched forward, crashing into the hallway window — I barely grabbed him before he went through.
Shards of broken glass glittered right in front of his left eye.
‘This time,’ he didn’t get hurt.
“……!”
While he was stunned, I dragged him back inside and punched him in the face.
I heard Pi Sowon’s footsteps rushing toward us.
Gun in hand, a shocked expression.
Blood dripped from my nose, and I wiped it away with a smile.
“A-ah… I’m okay.”
“No— I meant him. Is he okay?”
Pi Sowon muttered, staring at the unconscious boy.
I glanced at the window between the classroom and hallway and tilted my head.
Totally innocent expression.
“But, team leader?”
“What. Now what. If you say you want to read him his Miranda rights, I swear—”
“Isn’t that called… a skid mark?”
I pointed.
Faint footprints were visible, starting at the window frame and leading up toward the ceiling.
As if someone climbed out through the window, up the wall, and across the ceiling.
Then the prints continued — to the broken outer window that Kang Wolyeon almost fell through.
Pi Sowon’s face hardened.
I pointed outside.
“Did they go that way?”
Her expression soured. She took off Kang Wolyeon’s shoes.
“A skid mark is for car tires. This is…”
She held his shoe against the footprint.
It didn’t match.
Obviously.
“So I guess we just call them… footprints.”
She stared down at him in disbelief.
How did I know?
Easy.
[Dog Nose (A)]
– Temporary special skill. Disappears in one week.
…It was a gift from Ruru.
Thanks, senior Ruru!
