NOVEL NEXT Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Different Species (3)
Yoo Ji-han had closed the distance to the female student to less than 8 meters.
In the straight hallway, 3 enemies remained until he reached his goal.
Yoo Ji-han spoke to the men before him.
“Are you going to keep going?”
“What the hell…!”
Just then.
Bang!
As the door behind him suddenly opened, a long blade descended from inside, aimed at Yoo Ji-han.
Clang!
Yoo Ji-han, having sensed the presence beforehand, blocked it with his sword.
“…?!”
The man, his face covered by a mask, appeared to be flustered as his calculated strike was thwarted.
However, something felt strange…
The sword he had blocked contained magic.
Moreover, it carried a weight different from that of the other attackers present.
This wasn’t the skill of an ordinary amateur.
‘Is he a hero?’
Yoo Ji-han looked at his opponent with cold, piercing eyes.
If a hero was directly involved in matters like this, how could he just stand by?
“Dammit!”
The man swung his sword towards Yoo Ji-han’s neck.
With all his might, Yoo Ji-han countered the attack.
Clang!
“Ugh!”
The man’s sword could not withstand the impact and bounced back.
While it wielded magic, it was only at the level of a Rank 5 Hero at most.
Yoo Ji-han seized the opportunity to deeply cut into the man’s arm.
Slash!
“Ugh!”
With the man collapsing while holding his severed arm, there were now a total of 11 downed individuals in the hallway.
Now, only Yoo Ji-han remained standing.
“Ah….”
“Ugh…!”
No one was attempting to get up from their positions.
He sensed no other presence behind the closed door.
After examining all elements, Yoo Ji-han turned his back.
“Ugh….”
A female student, her mouth and limbs bound, sat in the corner of the hallway.
Fear filled her eyes as she gazed at Yoo Ji-han’s blood-dripping sword.
Yoo Ji-han slowly approached her.
“Stay still.”
Rip!
He peeled the tape off her mouth.
Then, as he untied the knots binding her arms and legs, he asked her,
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“…Sort of.”
“You’re sharp.”
The female student was aware of her situation of being sold.
She had clearly been scared, but luckily they could communicate.
She showed a remarkably calm demeanor for her age.
“Just wait; the police will come. Until then, stick with me.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Ji-han wanted to send her home as quickly as possible, but to explain the chaotic situation, he needed the victim’s testimony.
Turning back, Yoo Ji-han lightly nudged the last man he faced with his foot.
“I know you’re still awake.”
“…!”
While a regular person might have fainted, a hero wouldn’t succumb to injuries of this level.
“I’ve already heard enough. You were trying to sell this girl, right?”
“…….”
“Who are your superiors?”
Naturally, no answer came.
Yoo Ji-han pressed his foot onto the bleeding wound.
“Ugh…!”
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know! I swear I don’t!”
The man writhed in pain but continued to deny knowledge.
Unfortunately, it was highly likely that he was telling the truth.
These lowly thugs operating on the ground often know little of any critical information.
“Why the hell did you do this if you didn’t know?”
“I-It’s just a beast person! What does it matter to you what happens to a different species…!”
“Shut up.”
Even if she was a different species, it was wrong to touch innocent people.
Crush!
“Ugh!”
Yoo Ji-han stomped harder on the already gaping wound.
‘Disgusting bastards.’
He could end the lives of those that lay upon the ground right then, and he was confident he could escape punishment afterward.
However, killing them here would simply be a fit of rage.
Unless he uprooted the root itself, not just the tail of a lizard, such actions would never truly end.
*
The police arrived late at the office hotel.
Yoo Ji-han glared at them as they ascended.
“I reported this earlier; what took you so long?”
“S-sorry!”
The police officer couldn’t bring himself to look up.
Yoo Ji-han sighed internally at the sight.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned she was a different species.’
He had informed them that the victim was of a different race when he reported, as cases involving mixed species were treated differently from regular incidents.
Yet, the police arrived far too late.
He knew that typically, many victims suffered during different species incidents…
It infuriated him that the police only showed up after everything had settled down and he had made a second report.
“I almost killed them all. Hurry and take them away.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The police began to arrest the sprawled-out men one by one.
They would receive treatment but would face severe punishment afterward.
Yoo Ji-han pointed to the last man he had faced.
“That one has magic.”
“What?!”
“I don’t know if he belongs to a guild, but he’s probably a hero.”
“Such…!”
The police arriving on the scene hesitated to arrest the one still conscious.
Yoo Ji-han understood their wariness.
It wasn’t uncommon for heroes to be overpowered during an arrest.
‘Is the police department still at odds with the Hero Department?’
The police and Hero Department had maintained a close yet strangely antagonistic relationship for a long time.
Mainly, it was because the police sought to prevent their roles from being completely overshadowed by heroes.
There had even been plans for heroes to always accompany the police on their missions, but internal conflicts quickly scrapped those plans.
“Give me the handcuffs.”
With no other choice, Yoo Ji-han took the magic restraining cuffs and secured them around the man’s wrists.
These cuffs suppressed magic and were so sturdy that a Rank 5 Hero wouldn’t easily break out of them.
“Ji-han hyung!”
“You made it.”
Kim Si-hu arrived just as Yoo Ji-han stepped outside.
Seeing the criminals being taken away in police and ambulance vehicles, Kim Si-hu commented with regret.
“It looks like everything’s over already.”
“This is still pretty late.”
“But, aren’t those magic handcuffs?”
“Yep.”
“…And the victim is over there?”
“Uh-huh.”
A criminal wearing magic restraints.
And a female student of a different species, looking very pale as she glanced at him.
Kim Si-hu’s eyes sank as he grasped the situation from the surrounding cues.
‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Si-hu make that expression.’
Yoo Ji-han too noticed a cold gaze he had never seen before.
Vroom—
The vehicles carrying all the criminals set off.
Watching the police cars grow distant, Yoo Ji-han approached the remaining officer.
“I don’t think they’ll come back here, but the client is a man named Alpha. Please note that and ensure he receives his due punishment.”
“Y-yes!”
The police officer, standing at attention, glanced at the female student.
“Um… The victim says she has something to say to the hero.”
“To me?”
*
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu accompanied the female student to her home.
She requested that it be them, not the police, who escorted her back.
“That way.”
“…!”
The female student, named Lixis Aurya, pointed to a large building.
But that building was no ordinary house or apartment.
[Sky Shelter]
It was a protection shelter for those of different species who had crossed over from another world to Earth, specifically for the marginalized.
Similar to a welfare facility in Korea, it provided basic living needs for younger individuals among the different species until they came of age.
In front of the Sky Shelter stood a middle-aged human woman wearing a black apron.
Lixis waved her hand and called out.
“Director!”
“Lixis!!”
The woman, startled at Lixis’s greeting, rushed forward and embraced her tightly.
“I’m so sorry, Director.”
“It’s okay! You have nothing to apologize for…!”
They hugged silently for about 30 seconds.
As the heartfelt reunion dragged on a bit longer, Yoo Ji-han awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“…Ah! I’m sorry!”
The woman, releasing Lixis, cleared her throat.
“I am Jung Eun-young, Director of the Sky Shelter, and I believe you are Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu from the Sweet Fun Guild, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I should have thanked you first, but…”
“No, it seems we only got in the way.”
“No, no! That’s not true! I’m really, really grateful for saving Lixis…!”
With tearful eyes, Jung Eun-young bowed repeatedly to thank them.
Kim Si-hu, who hadn’t done much as he arrived late, bowed toward her in return.
“Please come in for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu followed Jung Eun-young inside the shelter.
After passing through a small park-like yard, they entered the building, revealing a large hallway.
“You’re back!”
“Lixis!”
“Lixis—!!”
In the hallway, many people welcomed Lixis by calling her name.
There were sharp-eared elves, short dwarves, and beast people fluttering their wings as they flew down from the air.
Various other unnamed species groups gathered around Lixis.
Jung Eun-young scolded them in a mock-anger voice.
“You all! There are guests right now!”
“I’ll take care of everything!”
Leading her friends and siblings, Lixis headed somewhere.
The hallway of the shelter fell silent again.
Jung Eun-young guided Yoo Ji-han’s party to her office and had them sit on the sofa.
“Director, I brought tea.”
“Thank you.”
The woman who entered the office with tea was a vampire with red-tinged eyes and hair, similar to Kazimir from the Hero Department.
‘So, they’re all different species.’
Just having walked a few steps inside made Yoo Ji-han feel as if he were in a different world, away from Earth.
It was a remarkable experience to encounter different species at every turn.
“Is this who you mentioned earlier?”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you for helping Lixis.”
The vampire, who appeared to be a student, bowed toward Yoo Ji-han.
She expressed gratitude to the heroes who saved her friend.
Yoo Ji-han nodded at her composed posture.
‘She’s quite polite.’
Although each world could differ, Yoo Ji-han knew that bowing like that as a vampire was not customary.
In other words, this was new knowledge she had acquired after coming to Korea.
The different species, behaving no differently than ordinary humans.
Yet, the harsh reality was that intruders existed in this world…
‘If only there were only people like them, there would be no problem.’
These beings with powers or knowledge not found on Earth could become rare high-value assets, just like Erna Hass, who was Kim Si-hu’s mother, and Kazimir.
Yoo Ji-han thought that while he didn’t expect them to help at that level, it would be nice if they didn’t cause any trouble.