FLIA 141

“They are severely corrupted, yet they keep searching only for purifiers, it’s just like…”

Ju Hoyoung trailed off, but everyone knew what came to mind. It was the Flood that had relentlessly chased Yohan through the Abyss to eliminate him.

As the mood grew heavier, Lee Hyunmook spoke in a calm voice.

“Since things have come to this, we need to interrogate those who attacked the ceremony. But there are too many eyes and ears here for us to handle it on site.”

The corrupted, stripped of their parasites, were stored in Yoon Seungryong’s “pocket.” According to Yoon Seungryong, it was fine since he periodically supplied air, but they weren’t vegetables or fruit seeds, and it wasn’t good for living people to remain locked away for long.

Handling it within the Taeyang Guild would be difficult too. Taking out corrupted people for purification would cause a commotion, and problems would follow even after they were purified. These days everyone carried body cams or recorded with phones.

Security watched CCTV with audio every minute. How could they explain sudden outsiders appearing in the guild? And it wasn’t feasible to put purified people back into the “pocket” for transport. On top of that, if Lee Chanha’s ability was discovered, it would cause serious trouble. Especially now that government surveillance had tightened enough to use thermal cameras.

Lee Hyunmook continued.

“But it just so happens that we now have the perfect place for this.”

At those words, Yohan’s worried face brightened.

“Ah! You mean the treatment facility for corrupted people!”

“That’s right, Yohan-ah. There, you can purify as many corrupted people as you want.”

Perhaps because of the instinct of a purifier, Yohan had been itching to purify every corrupted person he saw since returning. Hearing he could do so as much as he wanted already made him excited.

“Let’s depart right away. This isn’t something that will benefit from dragging on.”

All the team members agreed to Lee Hyunmook’s order. Since Yohan was currently assigned to the Little Lamb Team, he boldly took leave. That team had been formed under the assumption that Yohan would not be included anyway, so his absence didn’t cause a major problem for rift exploration.

So the entire Taeyang Team set off for the corrupted treatment facility.

***

Treatment facilities for corrupted people, also called isolation centers, were usually built on islands. This was to minimize civilian casualties in case any corrupted person escaped.

The ones built by the government or the Taeyang Guild were the same. That morning was filled with boarding ships and moving across the sea. With Lee Chanha’s illusions concealing his presence, Yohan secretly boarded the ship. No one noticed.

“It really feels like I’m sneaking aboard.”

Yohan whispered with sparkling eyes. In truth it was sneaking aboard, since they were avoiding the Special Suppression Unit’s surveillance. Finding his young lover cute, Lee Hyunmook ruffled his hair.

After the rift disasters, frequent raids across land and sea had reduced international trade worldwide. Because of that, many ships were sold off cheaply. The Taeyang Guild had bought one of them to use for transporting severely corrupted people.

With Lee Chanha’s help hiding him, Yohan observed from the captain’s cabin. While members of the Special Suppression Unit cast wary looks, large container boxes were steadily moved onto the ship. From inside them came thumping, scratching, wailing, and sobbing sounds. Just hearing them made Yohan pity the people inside.

“In fact, the government must have been secretly glad about our guild’s proposal. Imprisoning corrupted people costs far more than one would expect. So the conditions would have been terrible… If they died while in isolation, they probably welcomed it and neglected them. I don’t even need to see it to know.”

Hearing Lee Chanha explain beside him, Yohan sighed. In these times, not only was it dangerous, but the treatment of severely corrupted people, who only consumed resources in confinement, was unspeakably poor.

The Taeyang Guild had offered Eternal Stones, which could heal corruption, in exchange for severely corrupted people. The government had little reason to oppose. But because they also feared the guild’s power rising if awakeners were treated, most of those handed over this time were civilians.

The containers packed with hundreds of corrupted people were finally fully loaded. Members of the Special Suppression Unit accompanied them to the island where the Taeyang Guild’s treatment facility was located. After inspecting the facilities, which were enough for hundreds to eat and sleep, one member spoke in a flat voice.

“No matter what you do, it won’t matter. To those who’ve gone mad, all this is just a luxury.”

Hidden under Lee Chanha’s illusion, Yohan bristled at those words. But when he saw his teammates accepting them with nods, he quickly wilted. It only reminded him of his older brother. Shut away in the basement, nailed to the floor, refusing even to touch food.

“Then we’ll begin unloading the containers soon.”

“No, I’ll take care of it. Fuel is expensive these days, so there’s no need to waste heavy machinery, is there?”

Seo Yakrin answered casually and stepped forward. Soon her hair floated lightly as if gravity were gone. Golden waves flowed from her body, gripped the containers stacked on the ship, and began lowering them one by one with precision.

A member of the Special Suppression Unit watching showed clear admiration. Standing beside him, Lee Hyunmook asked quietly.

“How is Captain Jeong Siyoung these days?”

The agent hesitated, then tapped the recorder clipped to his chest to switch it off. He lowered his voice.

“…Not good. Even the purifier didn’t help much. The Captain pushed herself too far. But now that Awakener Lee Hyunmook has returned, it’s a relief. Even if the Captain can’t continue her work, even if the worst happens, there will be a way to handle it.”

His voice sounded bitter. It seemed Captain Jeong Siyoung had earned trust within the Special Suppression Unit.

While the two spoke, all the containers were unloaded onto the island. Seo Yakrin used her telekinesis to unfasten the locks and swing open the doors. A heavy stench came out of the containers. But everyone present was long accustomed to the smell of corruption and paid little attention.

Half-dead corrupted people were carried out by telekinesis. All of them were in terrible shape, which made it easy to confine them to their isolation cells. Now and then a corrupted person still had strength, but Seo Yakrin easily subdued them.

Once every person had been completely confined and even proof footage was recorded, the Special Suppression Unit boarded the helicopter that had brought them and departed.

Waving with a smile as the helicopter lifted, Ju Hoyoung said,

“I saw earlier, they planted wiretaps and micro-cameras all over here.”

“Really? Then let’s erase them all at once.”

Lee Hyunmook knelt and placed his hand on the ground. Crack! Sparks flashed, and faint current spread across the floor.

The wave of electricity, harmless to people but fatal to electronics, swept through the entire building. Bugs and micro-cameras were all destroyed instantly. It was a power enviable no matter how many times one saw it. After confirming there were no helicopters, drones, or other aircraft nearby, Lee Chanha brought Yohan over from the ship.

Yohan jumped down, ran up quickly, and asked right away,

“Then, can I spread the purification field now?”

Lee Hyunmook caught his eager lover lightly and answered with a smile but firmly.

“Of course not.”

“Not…? But it looks like the Special Unit has already left…”

Yohan looked up at him in disappointment, and the surrounding teammates tousled his hair a few times. As his lover, thoroughly puzzled yet spoiled, soaked in their affection, Lee Hyunmook lifted his eyes to the sky.

“If you spread a purification field, satellites will definitely pick it up.”

“Satellites…?”

Yohan, who had never once thought about satellite surveillance, stared blankly at the sky with him. In the eyes of a high-level awakener like him, there was only the blue sky. Lee Hyunmook smiled and suggested the plan he had in mind.

“But purifying them one by one takes too long when there are hundreds of corrupted. Then how about this instead?”

“What?”

***

Scratch scratch scratch scratch.

■Han■ scratched her arms madly. It itched. Since she ended up like this, the itch never stopped. No matter how much she scratched and scratched and scratched and scratched, the itch never stopped.

She rubbed her body against the walls and floor, mumbling.

“Mo-om is worried. I need to go home. My head hurts. It itches. But. But. But. No. Hot. Cold. It hurts. It hurts.”

It was already far too late to get off work. But ■Han■ knew she could never leave. On her way home something terrifying, horrible, miserable had happened, and she had done something bad, so she was locked in prison. A place always hungry, cold, hot. Even if she cried out that she wanted to see her mom, no one listened. Only half-rotten food came. She gagged. She was hungry. She was sad. She was itchy.

“It itches, it itches, it itches.”

Unable to bear the itch, she had scratched the skin of fellow inmates all over. What happened after that? Everything was blurry, hazy, distant past. Only that it was terrible, she knew. She had been unbearably sleepy, and then… Why was she here again?

“I need to leave work. It itches. I need to leave work. Mo-o-om is worried.”

Scraping her skin raw, writhing in pain from the endless itching, she suddenly heard a bold voice from outside.