Chapter 45

When Hajoon arrived at the department store, he immediately activated his Time Stop (SSS) and checked out the area.

On the surface, it appeared to be a regular department store.

But there was no one entering or exiting the building.

It felt as if people were avoiding it.

Hajoon walked into the department store.

It was a large space with a grand fountain at the center of the vast hall.

The interior design was open, and customers were moving about inside the store.

It looked like a typical scene, but Hajoon sensed that something was off about this department store.

The store was eerily quiet.

The only sound came from people's footsteps.

Suddenly, those footsteps stopped.

The people on the first floor turned their attention to Hajoon. Simultaneously, the crowds on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors moved towards the glass railings to look down at him on the first floor.

Everyone in the store turned to stare at Hajoon with wide, vacant eyes.

"You're here," came Zehar's voice soon after.

Hajoon looked towards the source of the voice. Zehar was floating in the center of the department store's hall, looking down on Hajoon with a smug expression. He was using a spell to fly.

"I've been waiting for you."

The people on the first floor then started to surround Hajoon, leaving just enough space for him to move.

Hajoon watched this unfold with a blank expression.

This was entirely different from any episode in the original game.

But Hajoon was calm.

If he had been afraid of the consequences, he wouldn't have attempted to kill Zehar when he first showed up.

He had realized something after the incident in the Dimensional Dungeon: As long as he existed in this game world, the future was destined to change.

'I may not have handled it well, and things got a bit out of control...' Hajoon thought. But he was relaxed. He wasn't tense at all.

At that moment, a woman and a girl began to make their way through the crowd towards Hajoon. It was Jin Ahhan and Dan Yeseul.

"I caught them just in case. Don't do anything rash," Zehar warned.

Hajoon was surprised that Jin Ahhan was captured as well as Dan Yeseul.

But considering everyone here was essentially a hostage, what could they do?

It was likely that after immobilizing the hostages, they were then brainwashed.

Upon inspection, Dan Yeseul appeared to be okay. There was a lack of focus in her eyes, but she seemed physically unharmed.

However, Jin Ahhan was a different story.

Whether the brainwashing process wasn't complete, or she was resisting, her body was bruised and battered.

She kept spitting out blood. It was clear she was still struggling against the mind control.

Then, Hajoon and Jin Ahhan locked eyes.

Jin Ahhan's pupils quivered in surprise. She stared at Hajoon and began to mouth something. By reading her lips, Hajoon was able to discern what she was trying to say.

'Escape.'

Ignoring her plea, Hajoon started scanning the area.

At his movement, Zehar narrowed his eyes and issued a warning.

"Don't move. If not—"

Before Zehar could finish, several people on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors put kitchen knives to their throats.

"All these people will die...?" Zehar's voice took on a chilling tone.

But Hajoon seemed unaffected. He was too busy identifying cloaked figures on the 4th-floor railing. He began counting.

'One, two, three. Just three.'

Had all of Zehar's assistants come?

It was a bit disappointing. He had hoped to confront more of them, even their leaders.

Nonetheless, Hajoon saw this as a win.

'Not bad.'

A satisfied smile spread across his face.

'What the...?'

Upon seeing Hajoon's smile, Zehar's face gradually tightened.

What was Hajoon basing his confidence on? Could it be that he didn't care about the lives at stake?

"You..." Zehar watched Hajoon suspiciously.

Just then, a woman's desperate scream echoed through the quiet department store.

"Run away!"

It was Jin Ahhan's voice.

Coughing up blood, she yelled at Hajoon with all the energy she had left. Her only wish was for Hajoon to escape.

"Please! Hurry!"

She knew if Hajoon stayed, he would get hurt. Even if it meant tearing her body apart, she had to get Hajoon out of there.

Summoning all her strength, Jin Ahhan resisted the brainwashing. She forced her body to move, pushing herself to the limit.

Her muscles felt like they were being torn apart, blood seeped through her skin, but she knew this was her last chance.

Zehar watched, his face tightening in annoyance.

"Tsk- As expected, without enough magical power, it's impossible to control a top-ranked hero completely..."

Her resistance, however, was in vain. The brainwashing remained intact.

"Ugh!" Jin Ahhan grunted in frustration, her head hanging low.

"Don't push yourself too much," Hajoon's calm voice resonated through the room.

Slowly, Jin Ahhan lifted her head to look at Hajoon.

And in that instant, a gleam flickered in Jin Ahhan's eyes.

"Huh...?"

In her gaze, she saw a hammer, brighter than anything else, bathed in a golden light. The hammer was in Hajoon's hand. It was the symbol of the 'Irregular.'

"It'll be over soon anyway."

Hajoon, holding the hammer, slowly turned his gaze towards Zehar, his lips curling slightly upwards.

Zehar's pupils trembled as if hit by an earthquake.

'Could it be?!'

His heart pounded rapidly. The moment Hajoon held the hammer, he understood - the boy wouldn't hesitate, even in a hostage situation.

"Kill him!"

Zehar commanded urgently.

With those words, all the hostages on the first floor began to surge towards Hajoon.

Jin Ahhan watched in horror, her eyes shaking.

Thud- thump- thud- thump-

The people charging at Hajoon started to collapse as if they had suddenly fainted.

"··········Huh?"

Taken aback by the unbelievable scene, Jin Ahhan's expression went blank.

Then, she heard Hajoon's voice right beside her.

"Just take a little nap."

Those were the last words she heard before everything went black.

Thud-

Dorje, one of Zehar's officials, was at a loss.

"I don't understand. All of this for a mere boy."

No matter how one looked at it, wasn't he just a boy?

The so-called 'Irregular'?

Yes, the boy possessed an unusual strength, but even so, this was an extreme response.

"I just don't understand. What is it about this boy that His Majesty fears so much?"

"We don't need to understand, Dorje. His Majesty must have his reasons."

The one who responded was Roel, another of Zehar's officials.

Dorje chuckled, his words a mild rebuke.

"This event could reveal our temple's existence to the world. I simply can't understand why we're making such a fuss over something we could easily handle, Roel."

Roel didn't reply.

Because he half agreed with Dorje's words.

'Hmm...'

Roel peered over the railing at the boy.

On the surface, the boy didn't appear to be particularly powerful.

"That boy is the Irregular... huh?"

Then, it happened.

For a moment, Roel's eyes met Hajoon's.

And the instant their gazes locked, Hajoon began to smile pleasantly.

An inexplicable chill ran down Roel's spine.

'Huh...'

Roel sensed a shift in the atmosphere.

Just in case, he warned Dorje and another official, Jillian.

"Stay alert, we might need to step in."

At Roel's words, Jillian nodded silently while Dorje stared down at the boy, brushing off Roel's caution with a scoff.

Then it happened.

The boy held the golden hammer.

"Could it be him..."

Roel's eyebrows furrowed while Dorje's lips curled into a smirk.

"Heh heh! Planning to make a move? Surely you're not going to unleash your full power?"

Dorje began to stretch, preparing to spring into action at any moment.

Sensing the urgency, Zehar yelled at Hajoon.

"Kill him!"

Immediately, a horde of people wielding knives rushed towards the boy.

And then, everything happened in an instant.

"?!"

The boy vanished.

Simultaneously.

Thud-thud-thud. Collapse. Collapse. Thump. Collapse.

All those under Zehar's brainwashing suddenly lost consciousness, dropping to the floor like puppets whose strings had been cut.

The first floor, then the second, third, and fourth—all were downed in a moment too brief to be measured.

"This is..."

Roel, quickly grasping the situation, was about to draw his sword when...

Bang!! Crash!!

Dorje, who was standing next to Roel, was abruptly struck by something and hurled into the wall.

Roel and Jillian, too shocked to react, slowly turned their gaze towards Dorje.

"Get up, Dorje."

Roel thought Dorje would be alright. He was, after all, the sturdiest among them.

But Dorje didn't stir.

In the unreal silence that followed, a boy's voice sliced through.

"Roel and Jillian, is it?"

Upon hearing his voice, Roel and Jillian turned towards the source of the sound in surprise.

Roel was about to draw his sword.

But for some reason, his hand couldn't grasp the hilt.

"Are you looking for this?"

The boy was holding Roel's scabbard in his hand.

Upon seeing the scabbard, Roel's face hardened.

"My... my sword..."

"Your sword. I left it with your friend."

Hajoon turned his gaze to Dorje, embedded in the wall.

Roel and Jillian followed Hajoon's gaze to Dorje and terror gripped Roel.

A chill ran down his spine, leaving him paralyzed.

His own sword was lodged in Dorje's chest.

'When did this even happen...?'

His expression hardened further.

"Roel! Jillian! Kill him now!"

Zehar's voice echoed in the air.

But Roel and Jillian couldn't move, not even in response to Zehar's command.

They hadn't been able to keep up with the boy's movements at all.

Even a breeze had not brushed against them.

They realized then.

That if they made even the smallest movement to upset the boy, they would be killed in an instant.

Seeing their paralysis, Hajoon spoke with a disinterested, yet satisfied expression.

"Listen."

His voice reverberated in the quiet expanse of the department store.

Hajoon, standing there untouched, addressed his words to the only three conscious individuals present.

Roel, Jillian, and Zehar.

His warning was simple and aimed at those three.

"Move even an inch, and you're dead."