Chapter 76

Chapter 76. Ha Mina (2)

Kang Yujin doubted his own eyes for a moment.

But there was no mistake.

[Please. Take me away from here.]

Those words were clearly written on Ha Mina's note.

Kang Yujin remained silent.

Ha Mina showed him another note.

[The Church has imprisoned me and is using me.]

[They are using my name to carry out all kinds of schemes.]

[Please help me escape this place so I can reveal the truth.]

[This is our only chance.]

The contents were undeniably shocking.

Ha Mina was an SS-rank Contractor, one of the Eight Guardians who ruled the Capital Region, and the founder and leader of the Church of the Morning Star.

And yet...

She was claiming that the Church had imprisoned and manipulated her.

She wanted Kang Yujin to take her away from here?

"..."

But Kang Yujin didn't panic.

As Ha Mina hid the note again...

He calmly tried to analyze the situation.

Can I trust her?

The contents of her notes were certainly shocking.

If everything written there was true...

He wanted to help her.

But could Ha Mina really be trusted?

Thinking about Lee Hyeonje's attitude earlier...

He hadn't said it directly...

But Lee Hyeonje seemed to want to believe Ha Mina was a good person.

That was probably why he had considered the possibility that Ha Mina had nothing to do with the human experiments.

If all those experiments had been carried out independently by Church executives rather than by Ha Mina...

Then just as Lee Hyeonje said...

Ha Mina would be innocent.

Of course, as the leader of the Church, she couldn't be completely free of responsibility.

But at the very least...

She wouldn't be someone Kang Yujin needed to hate.

Then it would be better to take Ha Mina outside and let her reveal the truth.

If Ha Mina escaped and exposed everything...

Lee Hyeonje and the other Eight Guardians would condemn and attack the Church.

That would be the surest way to punish the Church for all the evil it had committed.

But...

What if Ha Mina is lying?

At first glance...

She was a physically weak woman desperately asking for help.

Naturally...

Kang Yujin wanted to help her.

But she could also be trying to deceive him.

If Ha Mina was luring him into a trap for some unknown purpose...

Then this was the worst possible place for it.

There were no reliable allies nearby.

He could end up in serious trouble.

It's hard to tell.

The problem was...

He couldn't interrogate Ha Mina here either.

If she truly was in danger...

Then wasting time would be a mistake.

She had said everything in this room was being monitored.

He couldn't ask for a detailed explanation.

And he couldn't leave to discuss it with Lee Hyeonje either.

I'm trapped either way.

Still...

He couldn't simply do nothing.

In the end...

Kang Yujin waited until Ha Mina was properly sitting upright.

Then he slowly opened his mouth.

"There's one thing I want to ask."

"..."

Ha Mina looked slightly tense.

Perhaps she was afraid he might say something careless while they were being monitored.

"I defeated Bishop Baek Yunho at the Central Sanctuary in Cheonan."

"And I exposed the human experiments he was conducting."

"Yes."

"We're aware of that."

"Did you know Baek Yunho was doing those things?"

Ha Mina hesitated for a moment.

Then she answered carefully.

"The Church headquarters was unaware that such things were being carried out."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"We conducted an internal investigation."

"The headquarters was not involved."

Then...

Ha Mina added one brief sentence.

"That is the Church's official position."

"..."

Those final words.

They sounded as though she was saying...

That was merely the official story.

Reality was different.

Then...

Kang Yujin fell into thought.

He analyzed the situation...

Weighing the gains and risks.

"..."

Then he met Ha Mina's eyes...

And gave a small nod.

Ha Mina flinched in surprise.

Then she pretended to stagger...

And showed him another note.

It contained an escape route from the building...

Starting through the only window in the room.

"Careful."

Kang Yujin nodded while pretending to support her.

"I'm not used to this kind of thing."

"It's all right."

"Thank you..."

Ha Mina lowered her head.

A single tear rolled from the corner of her eye.

A dark back alley.

Hearing distant sirens...

Kang Yujin caught his breath.

"You okay?"

"Yes..."

"More or less."

Ha Mina sat against a rusty outdoor air-conditioning unit.

Her voice sounded exhausted.

"It was my escape plan..."

"But I can't believe we really succeeded."

"Honestly, I thought we'd have to force our way out by brute strength."

"But that was relatively clean."

"You planned it well."

The instant they broke through the window...

The alarm rang.

Chaos broke out.

But following Ha Mina's directions...

They moved through blind spots and avoided people's sight.

It reminded Kang Yujin of an old prison-break drama he had vaguely watched on cable TV as a child.

"I remember the map and personnel placement."

"It wasn't one hundred percent perfect..."

"But I thought your strength could cover any missing parts."

They had encountered physical resistance several times on the way.

But even with Ha Mina on his back...

The opponents weren't difficult to deal with.

In the end...

They successfully escaped far away from headquarters.

"Let's rest for ten minutes before moving again."

"I'm fine, but you're exhausted."

"I'm sorry."

"My body is weak..."

"That's not something you need to apologize for."

"Yes."

"Thank you."

Ha Mina lowered her head.

A moment later...

She looked up at Kang Yujin again.

"Um..."

"Kang Yujin."

"What?"

"Why..."

"Why did you help me?"

Ha Mina asked carefully.

"We had never even met before."

"And yet you helped me this much because of a few notes."

"Honestly..."

"I don't understand."

"If you think that way, why did you ask me?"

"I received a revelation."

"A revelation?"

"Yes."

"A revelation that Kang Yujin would be able to resolve everything."

"..."

The sudden religious answer left him slightly uncomfortable.

"Kang Yujin."

"Didn't you consider that I might be lying?"

Kang Yujin shook his head.

"Of course I did."

"Then why..."

"I decided it didn't really matter."

"What?"

"Even if you're lying..."

"I decided it wouldn't matter much."

Ha Mina's eyes widened.

"Is that..."

"Because you pity me?"

"Pity?"

"No."

"Then why..."

"Well..."

Kang Yujin recalled what he had been thinking earlier.

"After hearing Lee Hyeonje..."

"The Church headquarters sounded impregnable."

"Impregnable...?"

"Lee Hyeonje said he'd find evidence and do this and that."

"But honestly..."

"It didn't sound possible."

"If they haven't made meaningful progress until now..."

"Then your headquarters must be extremely thorough about security."

The Church headquarters had perfectly maintained its image as a benevolent organization.

They probably had a system designed to cut off responsibility whenever necessary.

"I figured that no matter how long everyone waited..."

"The headquarters would never expose its tail."

"..."

"But taking you away changes that."

"..."

"If you're telling the truth..."

"We can expose the true nature of the Church through you."

The mere fact that the Church had imprisoned and manipulated its own leader...

One of the Eight Guardians...

Would put the headquarters in a desperate position.

And if its involvement in various atrocities was also exposed...

It would completely lose the people's support.

"But I could have deceived you."

"I could have been leading you into a trap."

"That's possible."

"Then why..."

"If that is true..."

Kang Yujin looked up at the dark sky.

"At least I can be certain that you're the villain."

"...!"

"After that..."

"I won't hesitate to fight you and the Church."

"No matter what anyone else says..."

"I'll know for certain who my enemy is."

Having a clear enemy mattered.

If there was someone he absolutely had to defeat...

It was easier to become motivated.

And easier to make plans.

"If you're telling the truth..."

"I only need to make the Church headquarters my enemy."

"..."

"If you're lying..."

"Then I make both you and the Church headquarters my enemy."

If he had ignored Ha Mina's request...

Everything would have remained vague.

But now that he had accepted her request and helped her escape...

An answer would inevitably emerge in the near future.

"Either way, I benefit."

"Kang Yujin..."

"What kind of person are you...?"

Ha Mina stared at him...

Stumbling over her words.

"Didn't you consider that I might trap you and put you in danger?"

"I did."

"I just decided not to worry about it."

"..."

If this was Ha Mina's trap...

He simply had to break through it.

That was all.

"You really..."

"Have a very unusual way of thinking."

"My companions tell me that sometimes."

"I'm suddenly starting to wonder if asking you for help was the right decision..."

Ha Mina sighed.

But her expression had become slightly brighter.

"There's one more benefit for me."

"What?"

"The human experiments Baek Yunho was conducting."

There were many things Kang Yujin wanted to ask...

But he wanted to confirm this first.

"The headquarters was actually involved, right?"

"Yes..."

"What was the purpose?"

"Baek Yunho seemed obsessed with simply strengthening the human body."

"Archbishop Moon Gihwan was handling that project in secret..."

"So even I don't know everything."

Ha Mina spoke carefully.

"But from what I understand..."

"The purpose was to create a Vessel."

"A Vessel?"

"I believe it means a body that serves as a foundation."

"They're trying to create one perfected Vessel."

"What are they planning to do with it?"

"I'm certain it isn't simply meant for combat."

"I don't know the details..."

"But they seem to have another purpose."

"So when they modified me..."

"There was some other reason too?"

What could it possibly be?

"What exactly is the Church headquarters trying to do?"

"They keep talking about a new age."

"What are they actually planning?"

"The Church of the Morning Star has already changed greatly from what it originally was."

Ha Mina's expression darkened.

"Over the last few years..."

"My physical condition became much worse."

"I began spending more and more time confined to bed."

"And during that time..."

"I lost control."

"To whom?"

"Archbishop Moon Gihwan."

"The man I mentioned earlier."

"Moon Gihwan..."

Then perhaps...

Their first objective should be to capture and beat the truth out of him.

"I tried asking the other Eight Guardians for help."

"But that was impossible."

"They tightly controlled my ability to contact anyone directly."

"They even fabricated statements in my name and sent them outside."

"But this time you invited me through Lee Hyeonje."

"That's because..."

"Archbishop Moon Gihwan knows that right now, I don't trust the other Eight Guardians either."

Kang Yujin remembered the note.

It had said something similar.

"Two years ago..."

"The Daji who was sealed during the Scenario was recently released."

"One of the Eight Guardians was involved."

"What?"

"And recently..."

"I received another revelation."

Ha Mina looked tense.

"One of the Eight Guardians..."

"Is secretly moving to turn the Capital Region into a sea of fire."

That was why she couldn't trust the Eight Guardians.

The reason went far beyond anything Kang Yujin had imagined.

"Priest Kim Munyeong!"

"Yes, Archbishop Moon Gihwan!"

Kim Munyeong flinched at the furious shout from above.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"How could you let the Church Leader escape?!"

Moon Gihwan...

Kim Munyeong's superior...

Glared at him with terrifying eyes.

"I'm sorry!"

"We've already sent people out to search!"

"We'll find her soon!"

"This is a major disaster!"

"It's completely different from what happened at the Central Sanctuary in Cheonan!"

Until recently...

Kim Munyeong had worked together with Bishop Baek Yunho at the Central Sanctuary.

But while Baek Yunho confronted Kang Yujin...

Kim Munyeong had gathered important documents and escaped.

He managed to return safely to the Church headquarters.

Still...

For a while...

He couldn't openly show himself.

So recently...

He had mostly been assigned to monitoring Church Leader Ha Mina.

And ironically...

That same Kang Yujin had appeared again...

Taken Ha Mina...

And escaped from the headquarters.

"Find her no matter what!"

"If she falls into someone else's hands..."

"This is quite noisy."

At that moment...

Someone pushed past the nearby executives and approached.

It was Lee Hyeonje...

One of the Eight Guardians.

"L-Lee Hyeonje!"

Moon Gihwan's face changed.

He looked around sharply...

As though blaming his men for failing to stop Lee Hyeonje from entering.

But soon...

He looked back toward him with a forced smile.

"This is unfortunate."

"Lee Hyeonje..."

"I'm sorry you got dragged into such a strange incident."

"I'm the one who should apologize."

Lee Hyeonje answered coldly.

"The person who caused this..."

"Was someone I brought here."

"I was shocked to hear Kang Yujin kidnapped Church Leader Ha Mina."

"Y-Yes."

"Exactly."

"We're also so shocked that we don't know what to do."

"It's unfortunate."

"I met the Church Leader for the first time in quite a while..."

"And this happened."

Moon Gihwan bit his lip.

He wanted Lee Hyeonje gone as quickly as possible.

"We're using all available resources to search."

"So Lee Hyeonje..."

"You don't need to worry."

"You may return."

"I'll help."

"No..."

"There's no need..."

"Kang Yujin is strong."

"I'm sure everyone here knows that."

"..."

Everyone fell silent.

They all knew...

Kang Yujin was a modified human created through Baek Yunho's experiments.

"The Church's Contractors may have difficulty handling him."

"So I'll help."

"Lee Hyeonje..."

"And one more thing."

Lee Hyeonje's voice became cold.

"I want to ask them directly whether this really was a kidnapping."

"I can't simply leave."

"...!"

Moon Gihwan's expression froze.

Ignoring him...

Lee Hyeonje looked toward Kim Munyeong.

"Are you the person in charge?"

"Ah..."

"Yes."

"Give me all the information you've currently gathered."

"After that..."

"I'll move independently."

Then...

Lee Hyeonje added in a cold voice.

"Even if a battle with Kang Yujin breaks out..."

"I'll make sure no residents are harmed."

"So you don't need to worry."