Chapter 598

There is always a reason behind things described as special.

The special detention center where Go Se-won was being held was no exception.

“Stop. We need to verify your identities.”

The soldier’s voice was stiff, his sharp eyes visible behind dark sunglasses. He wore a bulletproof vest and carried an automatic rifle.

The Blue House¹ security officer in the driver’s seat held out a thin card.

“The warden should have received a call already.”

“I’m sorry, but everyone goes through the same procedure here.”

The soldier didn’t budge. Only after checking us with a magic detector to make sure no one was disguised did he raise the barrier. A little later, I got my first glimpse of the detention center I’d heard so much about.

Around a hundred soldiers stood guard, armed to the teeth. Hunters disguised as soldiers were hidden among them.

As if that weren’t enough, heavy weapons were positioned throughout the facility, along with concealed magic traps.

Most people wouldn’t be able to walk out of here in one piece.

This place held people who hadn’t yet received a verdict. Even so, security was far tighter than at a prison reserved for serious criminals.

One look at the warden waiting outside the main building told me why.

“Ho-ho. I’ve been waiting for you.”

He had the warm, genial face of an old man from a fried-chicken restaurant. The energy he gave off was anything but warm.

A former A-rank Hunter with an impressive record, the warden greeted me with a friendly attitude.

“When I first heard the news about you, I felt so relieved. This isn’t something I should say as the warden, but… honestly, every time I see the bastards in here, I feel like smashing their heads in with a mace. Isn’t that why I’ve gone bald from holding myself back?”

“…Oh. I see.”

His confession caught me so off guard that I could only give an awkward reply. Then I looked at his gleaming head and muttered, “You must have held back a lot.”

“What else could I do? Though when I really can’t stand it, I do give one of them a beating now and then. Only the worst ones, of course.”

“Pardon?”

“Give them a cup of potion and plenty of healing, and they’re good as new. What are they going to do? There’s no evidence. None.”

“…”

“Criminal bastards need a beating. Especially the ones in here.”

The Blue House¹ security officers wore expressions that seemed to ask whether they should report this to the President, and I began to worry about whether one particular person was still alive.

“Is Go Se-won still alive?”

“Ah, that fellow.”

The warden laughed heartily.

“Of course. He’s perfectly fine. On his first day, I thought he might cause a major incident, but… he does as he’s told, and from what I hear from the prosecutors’ office, he’s been giving his statement without any trouble. I had the visitation room cleared out for you. Follow me.”

The security officers and I followed him inside.

The corridors were dark and cold. Alloy doors stood in rows like cages where iron bars would normally have been. Small hologram projectors outside each door showed every movement and expression of the people inside.

I’d heard about this place, but I’d never seen it for myself.

What made the special detention center special was that everyone held here was Awakened.

If an Awakened person committed a crime, they were brought here immediately, regardless of the charge. They might not have been convicted yet, but that didn’t spare them the tight security or constant surveillance.

They’re Awakened, after all.

Even an F-grade Awakened could easily subdue two or three grown men.

If they were higher-ranked and had obtained a Hunter license through formal training, that went without saying.

“They’re awaiting verdicts, sure, but most of them are obviously guilty. You never know what they might try. We get two or three escape attempts every year without fail. Once they’re convicted and transferred to a special prison, they won’t have another chance. That place is hell.”

As he explained while crossing the corridor, the warden pointed toward three or four metal doors that looked particularly thick and sturdy.

“We’re watching the bastards who came in this time particularly closely. They’ve got nothing left to lose, and they’ve been pretty rough.”

I checked the holograms to see who he meant. They were the Ares Guild executives I’d briefly glimpsed on the top floor. Go Se-won and the other Ares Guild members must have subdued them and sent them here.

They lay wrapped in mana suppressors from head to toe like mummies. I studied them, then made a heartfelt request.

“Please beat the shit out of them—good and proper.”

“I was planning to. I’ve already greased up the mace I used back in my active days.”

“You really do have everything planned, Warden.”

The warden smiled, pleased by my compliment, then asked, “Ah, but what’s going to happen to you, Hunter Jin Taekyung? I hope things work out for you, but the law is a complicated thing.”

“Who knows? I still have no idea.”

“It would be nice if you came here. I’d take good care of you.”

“…Oh. Right.”

Why was I suddenly picturing a mace glistening with grease?

While that unpleasant image occupied my mind, the long, twisting corridor came to an end at a large door.

Once we had finished every procedure at the security checkpoint, the warden explained, “You’ll meet with him alone, Mr. Jin Taekyung. By special request from above, there won’t be a guard in the room or a time limit. But everything inside will be recorded on audio and video, so please bear that in mind.”

Given Go Se-won’s situation, that much was only natural. I nodded, and the door opened.

Click.

Cold air met me as it swung inward. The room looked like one of the prosecutors’ interrogation rooms I’d seen in movies, and a familiar face was waiting inside.

“You came. Sooner than I expected.”

Go Se-won.

He looked noticeably more haggard than he had two days ago. Once the door closed, he pointed to a chair.

“Don’t just stand there. Sit down. My neck hurts from looking up at you.”

Clank.

Heavy metal rattled whenever he moved. He noticed me looking at the chains linking his neck, arms, and legs, and shrugged.

“Mana suppressor. It’s uncomfortable, but all things considered, they’re treating me well.”

I pulled out a chair and sat.

“I suppose so. On the way here, I saw your friends looking about ready to move into a pyramid.”

“Who? Executive Director Park? Managing Director Lee? Or…”

“Probably both. I couldn’t tell you which was which.”

“Fair enough. Neither of them is my friend anyway.”

Even now, he was as calm as ever. I watched him for a moment, then asked, “Should I thank you?”

The question came out of nowhere, but Go Se-won knew what I meant. He gave a quiet laugh.

“I’d been thinking about doing it for a long time. I just needed a reason.”

“Any regrets?”

“Not a single one.”

His face was haggard, but his eyes were clearer than ever. Maybe that was why I’d spared him.

When everyone else in Ares Guild had looked at me with anger and fear, he’d kept that clear, steady gaze. Even when death was right in front of him.

“You must have lost a lot over this.”

“I lost as much as I gained. I’ve only gone back to the way I was then—a war orphan who had nothing. More importantly, I protected my precious family. I should be satisfied with that.”

Everyone gets a chance to change. For Go Se-won, his family had probably been the reason. Maybe that last phone call, arriving when death was almost upon him, had led him to this choice.

“I saw the photo on your phone. Your son’s cute. Looks like a tough kid, too. He’s already got a solid build. He’d be perfect as a tank when he grows up.”

“She’s my daughter.”

“Ah…”

They do say the eldest daughter takes after her father.

When I fell silent after accidentally assigning someone’s daughter to the tank class, Go Se-won let out a small sigh.

“I called you because I thought you might be able to help me, but you make me lose the desire to ask.”

“…”

“Well, never mind. In any case, the fact that you came to see me means you’ve already heard about it, right?”

Relieved that he’d changed the subject, I nodded.

“What did they tell you?”

“That you had a debt to repay me. I didn’t hear anything more specific.”

“Then you heard right. Passing it along through someone else didn’t sit right with me, so I kept quiet.”

Didn’t sit right with him?

Go Se-won was cooperating with every investigation and interrogation. He was laying out even his own wrongdoings without holding anything back, almost like a confession.

Yet there was something he hadn’t told them.

I knew there was more to it.

Just as I sensed that something serious was coming, he began fiddling with his earlobe.

It wasn’t a signal we’d agreed on, but I had no trouble understanding it.

Fwoosh.

Internal energy rose from my dantian and surrounded the visitation room. Sound was cut off in an instant.

Go Se-won noticed despite the mana suppressor. He pretended to rub the corner of his mouth and whispered, “Area A isn’t the only secret area hidden in the Guild headquarters.”

“What?”

“Search Area A carefully. There’s another secret area inside it.”

Another hidden space.

I blinked at him, then hurriedly asked, “Where? What’s the exact location?”

But contrary to my expectations, the answer that came back was low and brief.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“If I knew, I’d tell you. But only Vice Guild Master Lee Jungryong and Go Jun could enter. I don’t know where it is or how to get in. I only learned it existed shortly after I became Head of Security.”

Go Se-won had once been counted among Go Jun’s closest aides. Even he knew only that the second secret area existed, and nothing more.

“Then maybe…”

“Of course, I don’t know what’s inside or what they do there. That’s all I know.”

He cut me off sharply, then continued.

“The government investigation team must be searching Area A from top to bottom by now, but they probably haven’t noticed it yet.”

“Why?”

“If they had, they would have asked me about it before anything else.”

“…!”

“So, Jin Taekyung. Find it. I don’t know what secrets it holds, but…”

I was about to ask another question when the heavy door opened with a metallic clang. The warden and the Blue House¹ security officers looked at us suspiciously.

“We couldn’t hear anything. Is there a problem?”

Go Se-won answered calmly.

“The visit is over.”