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Chapter 250

And if paladins pursued her, she would tear the muffler and throw it on the ground.

The instructions were simple and clear. Nevertheless, she continued to reaffirm Sun-Woo\'s words because she judged that although the instructions were simple, it was still important not to forget them.

Sun-Woo promised that if she successfully completed this mission, he would provide the members of Yuk Eun-Hyung’s mercenary corps with a place to stay and a location where they could train.

It was not an exaggeration to say that the future of the mercenary corps depended on her. That was why she engraved his instructions into her mind by repeating them several times.

"Protect the child. If the Cult Leader appears, leave the child and run away immediately. If pursued, tear the muffler—"

Boom—!

The building shook from the explosion, and as the building trembled, dust particles fell from the ceiling.

The windows shattered, and glass rained down. Initially, she thought this was also part of the Cult Leader\'s plan.

However, the aftermath of the explosion had set the building on fire, and it was slowly getting hotter as a result. Only then did the member belatedly realize that an accident had occurred. She once again recalled Sun-Woo\'s instructions.

"..."

She had to protect the child.

The child that Sun-Woo had left in her care was sound asleep by her side. From what she remembered, her name was Yoon-Ah. After recalling the child\'s name, the mercenary assessed the fire\'s severity. The situation wasn’t too dire at the moment. Even if she didn’t move locations right away, she could easily escape by herself.

But the child was the problem. The child was asleep as if she had passed out, and she wouldn’t wake up no matter what she did. If they didn\'t move right away, the child could be in danger.

However, Sun-Woo had instructed the mercenary to take the child to the designated location and wait for him without moving until he arrived.

She was confused about whether she was supposed to prioritize protecting the child or waiting for the Cult Leader. Both were the Cult Leader\'s orders.

"Protect."

The mercenary finally made a decision. She had to prioritize protecting the child. The basis of this decision was the order in which Sun-Woo had given her the instructions. Sun-Woo had first ordered her to protect the child, then instructed her to wait for him. The mercenary judged that the order that she had received first was more important.

She lifted the sleeping Yoon-Ah onto her shoulders. Yoon-Ah was small in stature and light in weight, so there was no difficulty in carrying her while running.

"Protect, protect..."

The mercenary wandered around the building and muttered Sun-Woo\'s instructions while carrying Yoon-Ah.

***

"East.... No, this is the Paladin Order. We are searching for a long-term missing person. By any chance, have you seen the person in these photos...."

"Sigh, I haven\'t seen it. I haven\'t seen it."

"Please, just take a quick look."

"I said I haven\'t seen it!"

Oh Hee-Jin sighed deeply after watching a citizen leave in annoyance without even properly looking at the missing person\'s photo.

Asking citizens for help by showing photos or sketches yielded nothing. Most of them not only refused to cooperate but also expressed annoyance.

However, rather than getting angry or complaining about the citizens’ attitudes, Oh Hee-Jin couldn’t help but think that it couldn’t be helped.

In missing person cases, there was something called the \'golden time,\' where the missing person was to be identified within twenty-four hours if possible, and within forty-eight hours at the latest. To not miss the golden time, the Paladin Order mobilized methods such as sending text alerts about missing people, but if they still failed to find the missing person after tracing their route, it would be practically impossible to find the missing person.

"Sun-Woo happened to choose to search for long-term missing persons, of all things...”

Moreover, a \'long-term missing person\' referred to a person who had been missing for at least a month. At this point, rather than being missing, it was more appropriate to believe that they had run away and settled elsewhere. Thus, the search for long-term missing people was merely a task done as a show for the families of the missing individuals.

Paladins also tended to avoid this type of task the most, as it was obvious that they wouldn\'t be able to achieve any results. Even if they tried to encourage participation by saying that they would gain great rewards if they found a long-term missing person, no one wanted to do it because they wouldn’t be able to find anyone anyway.

Nevertheless, among the numerous tasks, Sun-Woo specifically chose the search for a long-term missing person. Oh Hee-Jin understood why he was doing this. Because of his kind-hearted nature, he was choosing tasks that would benefit the public, such as finding missing people, rather than focusing on achieving results.

If one had ambition, one also had to know how to be cunning, but Sun-Woo was completely lacking in that aspect.

“Well, that\'s probably why the director likes him—”

Oh Hee-Jin muttered to himself out of boredom, but a fire truck passed by noisily.

Whoop─!

Following that, an ambulance making the same sound also passed by. The cars on the road made way for the fire truck and ambulance. Oh Hee-Jin watched the fire truck and ambulance without much thought but then suddenly found himself engulfed in a wave of anxiety.

"..."

The direction the fire truck and ambulance were heading was the area Sun-Woo had decided to search.

In the distance, thick black smoke was rising into the sky. It seemed like a fire had broken out. Oh Hee-Jin quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Apprentice Paladin Sun-Woo, answer me. It seems like there\'s a fire nearby. Do not go in and just stay outside. If there\'s a dispute with the Northern Paladin Order over jurisdiction, it will be a headache!" Oh Hee-Jin shouted into the walkie-talkie.

He recalled the time when there was a fire at the Basar Market. It was the day when Han Dae-Ho and Sun-Woo rescued all the citizens inside the market. At that time, Sun-Woo was not even an apprentice paladin yet—he was just a regular student.

Despite this, Sun-Woo jumped into the flames and rescued people as if he did not value his own life.

There was a possibility that he would once again enter the building on his own. The Sun-Woo that Oh Hee-Jin knew was someone whose body moved before he even thought. That was why he had to stop him before his body moved.

"Apprentice Paladin Sun-Woo! I repeat, do not go in. I demand an answer. Answer me! Damn it, Sun-Woo!"

However, no matter how many times he shouted over the radio, Sun-Woo did not respond.

"Answer me, you crazy bastard! I told you not to get involved with the Northern Order!"

Oh Hee-Jin continued to call Sun-Woo on the radio, running in the same direction as the fire trucks and ambulances. His voice grew louder, his breathing became more rapid, and his heartbeat accelerated.

A mix of anxious and impatient feelings urged his feet forward.

***

My heart raced. I struggled to breathe, and my vision narrowed. My entire body throbbed and felt hot. I couldn’t tell if it was because I was using Bossou\'s power or because I was anxious.

I just entered the building while absorbed in the task of rescuing Yoon-Ah as soon as possible. I felt regret as well. Instead of wasting time, what if I had rescued Yoon-Ah in the morning? If I had done that, Jun-Hyuk wouldn’t have been able to interfere, and everything would have been resolved according to plan.

However, it was foolish to regret the past. Doing so would only slow down my train of thought.

As I entered the building, stairs appeared in front of me. However, I didn\'t have the time to leisurely take the stairs at the moment. Time was of the essence.

The location that I told the mercenary to bring Yoon-Ah to was the top of the building, which was the fifth floor. To be more specific, it was a room located in the corner of the fifth floor.

"Bade!" I called out.

A strong wind rushed in through the open doors and through the windows that had been shattered in the aftermath of the explosion. My steps were pushed along with the help of the wind. Adding Bossou’s power further enhanced my steps, making them lighter.

Whoosh!

My body floated up with a gust of wind. Controlling the wind, I was able to instantly fly to the fifth floor. I bumped into the staircase railing on the way. It seemed like I had gotten slightly injured, but it was fine because it didn’t hurt.

The fifth floor was filled with thick smoke. I cleared the smoke and increased my range of vision with Bade\'s wind. Then, I entered the room where Yoon-Ah was supposed to be.

According to the plan, it was supposed to be the room where the mercenary and Yoon-Ah were supposed to be waiting for me.

"..."

However, there was no one in the room. It would have been somewhat reassuring if at least Yoon-Ah or the mercenary were there. Both of them were missing, and I didn\'t feel a single presence. The room was just filled with thick black smoke.

My heart pounded. I felt out of breath. My vision narrowed. My body throbbed and felt hot all over. It wasn\'t because of Bossou\'s power. It was because I was losing my composure.

‘Where could Yoon-Ah and the mercenary have gone?’

Did the mercenary judge that they had to take Yoon-Ah and move to a different location to avoid the fire that had broken out due to the aftermath of the explosion?

If so, where did they move to? Due to the explosion and the fire, no place in this building could be considered safe. So, were they already outside the building? I had no idea. Rational judgment was impossible. I ran with Bossou\'s power and Bade\'s wind, clearing the smoke while searching every room on the fifth floor.

However, I didn’t see the mercenary or Yoon-Ah anywhere.

"Damballa... Ah, the staff!"

I was about to call Damballa to ask her for help in finding the mercenary and Yoon-Ah. But I belatedly realized that I didn\'t have the staff in my hand.

It was because I had decided that I wouldn\'t need the staff and had left it behind.

Shaaaaaa...

I went down to the fourth floor via the stairs. If I didn\'t have Damballa, I had no choice but to search the entire building by myself. Right now, that was the only way to find Yoon-Ah and the mercenary.

If I had brought the staff, I could have extinguished the fire using various powers without necessarily needing Damballa. Then, I wouldn’t be feeling so anxious right now. I once again regretted not bringing my staff.

But there was no time to regret it. I tried to summon Bade’s wind to clear the thick smoke on the fourth floor.

However, beyond the smoke, I saw a group of figures approaching me, and I withdrew my power. The people behind the smoke also noticed me and started to approach me.

Among the five paladins who appeared after clearing the smoke, the man standing at the forefront said, "Who are you?! Are you the arsonist?"

His voice was deep and menacing. I scanned the faces of the five paladins. They were unfamiliar. At the very least, I could tell that they were not affiliated with the Eastern Paladin Order.

- \'I didn\'t mention it earlier, but don\'t get involved with the Northern Paladin Order.\'

Suddenly, Oh Hee-Jin\'s words came to mind. At the same time, I realized that they were paladins from the Northern Paladin Order. The paladins from the northern branch were openly wary of me.

I knew they were paladins, but they didn\'t know I was an apprentice paladin. To avoid any misunderstandings, I had to reveal my identity to them first. I managed to calm my agitated heart and lowered my head as I said, "I am Sun-Woo, an apprentice paladin from the Eastern Paladin Order. I am here to assist with the rescue."

"What? Why is someone from the Eastern Paladin Order here? And why is an apprentice here?"

"During a long-term missing person search mission, it seemed like there was a terrorist incident, so I came here on my own..."

The paladin standing at the front yelled, "Enough with the excuses. Get the fuck out now!"

They even cursed. I was angry, but I held it in. I just needed to persuade them. I managed my expression and calmly said, "There might be people who were unable to evacuate the building, so I suggest we conduct a rescue..."

“There’s no one. Why would there be people in an abandoned building? It’s just a matter of suppressing the fire so we can prevent it from spreading."

"But just in case, I wanted to confirm..."

The paladin interrupted me. "Hey."

He was glaring at me with eyes that were so threateningly sharp that they looked like they contained killing intent.

"Ha, this guy... What? Did you say you were Sun-Woo? You bastard, don’t have any respect for your superiors?" he said.

"..."

"Didn\'t you hear me order you to leave? Don’t you know that I’m the director of the Northern Paladin Order? Hey. Never mind, just kick this guy out."

It seemed that the arrogant guy I had been talking to was the director of the Northern Paladin Order.

The paladins approached me, trying to grab my arms. They were going to kick me out of the building forcefully.

Smack!

I resisted their attempts to grab me. The two paladins trying to grab my arms couldn\'t withstand Bossou\'s power and collapsed onto the ground. I approached the director and said, "I just want to check if there is anyone on the rooftop."

"What? Look at this guy."

"I only want to check the rooftop. Is that so difficult?"

"Try taking one step closer. You have disobeyed orders, obstructed official duties, and assaulted paladins. I will use all available means to take you down."

"..."

However, I did not listen to the director\'s orders and continued to approach him. The director hesitated and took a step back. The confident look from his aggressive gaze softened slightly.

A hint of fear peeked through beyond his pupils.

As I approached the director, I pondered for a moment. Should I overpower the director with force here, or should I obediently follow his orders?

Thinking about the long-term, it was right to comply with his orders. It was right to give up on finding the mercenary and Yoon-Ah and endure it all.

Smack!

However, I didn\'t want to endure it. In the end, I punched the director in the face. The paladins standing by the director’s side were shocked and could only stare at me helplessly.

The director grabbed his nose, kneeled down hesitantly, and looked up at me with tears in his eyes.

"Urgh, uh...! What are you doing?"

"I don\'t feel like taking orders from someone like you at the moment," I said.

Thwack!

I kicked the director\'s stomach. My heart was pounding. I was out of breath. I couldn\'t tell if it was because of Bossou\'s power or just pure exhilaration.

Leaving behind the Northern Paladin Order members blankly blinking their eyes in confusion, and the director who was convulsing like a fish out of water, I headed toward the stairs leading to the rooftop.