86 – Two people who resemble each other (7)
The inside of the shabby house was truly the height of barrenness.
The only lighting is a small light bulb.
There is no proper furniture.
Of course, there were no convenience facilities such as a kitchen or bathroom.
This is truly an early form of house.
It was just a shelter with a roof to protect it from rain and snow.
“How many years have you lived in a place like this?”
“Hmm! “I guess it’s about four years!”
“Eh… …. Then even after becoming a hero…….”
Team leader Jang Se-hee covered his mouth and was surprised.
I was also very surprised to have lived in a place like this for four years, but I kept my feelings to myself and continued to ask questions.
“There is also an agency dormitory, so why didn’t you go there?”
“Hmm! Because it’s a nuisance! hahahahaha!”
A nuisance?
Agency people?
Or yourself?
“If I had to say it, it would be mine!”
It was as if he could see through my thoughts.
Masquerade, sitting on an old wooden box as a chair, crossed his arms and answered.
If everything is so noisy, it might be a bit of an inconvenience to the people who live together…….
“Anyway, I guess you came today not to report on my personal life, but to help catch Ruina!?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“So when can we start cooperating?”
“Cooperation is possible even now.”
Team Leader Jang Se-hee took over the baton from me and spoke on my behalf.
“Then!!”
“But.”
Team leader Jang Se-hee stopped Masquerade from standing up and trying to leave immediately.
“I don’t even know where Ruina is. “What are you planning to do?”
It was a question that had to be asked, of course.
Ruina has appeared only twice in recent months.
One of them appeared without anyone knowing, so it actually only happened once.
“……… ….”
Masquerade, who received that question, crossed her arms and remained silent.
And then he shook his head.
The person who was so lively calmly sat back on the wooden box.
“Umm… ….”
It may be true that Masquerade is stimulated by her Ruina’s abilities.
I don’t know why, but when Ruina started working, the Masquerade always came to visit her.
But on the other hand, if Ruina remained silent, her Masquerade seemed not to know where she was.
Even now, I just remain silent.
Smoke creeping out from the crevices of the body…….
“Uh, huh!? Performance! Performance!”
He got up angrily and pointed at Masquerade.
Contrary to my fuss, Masquerade appeared very calm despite the smoke emanating from her body.
“Ah, don’t worry. Whoa…….”
Masquerade took a deep breath.
Then, the pale smoke subsided little by little.
“It’s a side effect of my ability. “I’m sorry I couldn’t explain it to you in advance.”
“Nuh, a side effect of the ability?”
It was a side effect of the masked hero that I had never heard of.
It would have been natural since there was no information in the first place.
“I lost myself, and when I came to my senses, I discovered that I had this damn ability.”
“Damn ability… ….”
It’s the same thing Ruina said before.
Because she said she too was capable of f*cking her own uncontrollable destructive abilities.
“The reason I can’t take off my helmet and suit. “Do you have a rough idea?”
“If you take off that helmet and suit… …. “Is your ability going out of control?”
“hehehe. That’s correct. This is because the more you use the ability, the more heat builds up in your body. Depending on my mood, it may explode like this. “It’s a damn ability.”
“Ah… ….”
So the wet water evaporated in an instant.
Masquerade of Holy Light.
His ability is as fast as starlight.
Of course, I knew that the secret to achieving instantaneous speeds that are impossible for a human body was ability, but I never thought that there would be a weakness that could not be controlled like Ruina…….
“This helmet and suit have excellent body temperature regulation effects. “I don’t know who put it on.”
“Yes? “Isn’t that what you wore after you became a hero?”
“This is what I looked like from the moment I woke up in a forest. Thanks to that, I caught the eye of my current boss and became a hero as if I was kidnapped.”
I guess anyone who looks like that is bound to be interested…….
It was an excerpt from Masquerade’s past that I heard unintentionally.
By the way, he gained abilities without realizing it and was even equipped with equipment to control those abilities.
“But the effect of the suit alone has its limits as it is now! You could say that sitting under the waterfall here is my daily routine and hobby! hahahahaha!”
I wonder if my body heat has already decreased.
Masquerade spoke again in a loud voice.
“Over there. Masquerade. “Of course, I will cooperate only if we can catch Ruina.”
“Hmm! “It’s a good attitude!”
“But before that. “Can I ask you one thing?”
“Anything!”
I took a breath.
If I get the worst answer here, I’ll wake up and be in trouble, but I had no choice but to ask.
Because we can’t proceed like this without confirming anything.
“If you catch Ruina, what do you plan to do?”
“………… “Hoo?”
Masquerade looked as if he was asking that question.
No, to be exact, it was still just an inorganic metal helmet mask, but it felt that way.
“Of course, since we caught the villain, we should let him be brought to justice!”
“No. What I am saying is not as a hero, but as Masquerade himself. Because she said she was trying to find her lost self through Ruina.”
“Hmm. Yes. “Louis, my ability is a strange ability that clears the fog of her presence in my head.”
Excited. Excited. Excited. Excited. Excited.
Okay. This is the place to win.
My heart is now at its climax, and it is racing with all my might.
From Noble mtl dot com
If Masquerade does not show a hostile stance toward Ruina, she can end her story on a moderate note.
If I trick you into thinking that I can pull Ruina away with a suitable lie…….
“Hero Handler. “It seems like you know when Ruina will show up?”
“!!?”
Damn it. She was deprived of a player.
“It’s my guess, but Ruina is currently in the metropolitan area. No, she is believed to be in the capital Seoul.”
It was correct.
That’s because he lives with me.
“And judging by her recent actions, an invisible helper must be helping Ruina.”
The Masquerade’s reckless murder continues.
Team leader Jang Se-hee, who was in the assistant position, twitched his shoulders.
“Hero Handler. I believe that if we act together with you, Ruina will definitely appear. “I don’t know why.”
“…… “If Ruina catches me, what do you plan on doing to her?”
I foolishly ended up asking the question I asked earlier instead of refuting it.
“hahahahaha! That question again! “That’s what I want to do if I catch Ruina!”
Jump up!
Masquerade vigorously stood up from the wooden box.
Before he knew it, white smoke was creeping out from between his suits again.
“You will find me. “The real me is trapped in this cold prison.”
Showing his back to us, the hero declared softly.
* * *
“In the end, it felt like a blur…….”
These were the sighing words of team leader Jang Se-hee, who was carefully going down the hill wearing heels.
After we finished talking, we didn’t say whether we would collaborate or not.
He was returning from his residence.
“We can’t hastily let them meet until we are sure that Masquerade is completely harmless to Ruina.”
“But…” …. No matter how you look at it, it seems like Masquerade has discovered our identity, at least indirectly.”
“How can the National Intelligence Service not handle that part?”
“No, I’ll try my best.”
I wonder if I can really trust it…….
[Yoi. Handler.]
“Huh?”
A young voice suddenly entered my head.
[Ex Machina?]
[Yes. Are you disappointed that she is not your girlfriend?]
[I was more surprised than disappointed…….]
It seems that Ruina lent me her earrings.
I heard that Ruina talked to her instead of me in this way last time.
[How did things work out with this guy?]
[It feels like a blur.]
[As expected. That hero is so strange.]
Are you saying that from a hero whose age is unknown and whose face is never shown? ….
I tried hard not to overemphasize the idea.
[Anyway. While you were running around, I did some research on this as well. There was only one route.]
[One route?]
[It means that there was only one girl who was moved from a certain convent to a censored location.]
[Censored location…… ?]
[No matter how hard I tried to search, there was no information. If there are no traces like this, it can be considered intentional censorship.]
I glanced at team leader Jang Se-hee.
“Next time I come, I should wear loafers…” ….”
She was still having a hard time going down the hill.
At least it seemed certain that it was not related to this woman or her associates.
[So, did you find any meaningful information there?]
[Should I say it is meaningful? Should I say he is a sure criminal?]
You are a sure criminal.
If Ex Machina can use such a clear word, it seems like he has made an amazing discovery.
What kind of information is this? … ?
[Did you say that Ruina was called by the serial number RF-35 when you were in the lab?]
[Ah, I guess so. But why is that?]
[I will send you a photo via encrypted line. Check it out with your own eyes.]
Immediately after Ex Machina stopped talking.
Burr! And the cell phone in her pocket trembled.
Let’s check it right away, and there is a strange character made from a combination of special characters.
And a photo file was attached to the text.
If you didn’t know anything, you would think it was 100% a phishing file, but I opened the photo file right away without any doubts.
“Hmm?”
What soon appeared on the screen was a picture with such poor contrast that it was difficult to read properly.
Just by looking at the outline, I could barely tell that it was a photo of the Masked Hero, Masquerade.
“Uh…… ?”
As I was looking at the photo, I immediately opened my eyes wide.
I saw small letters written vaguely on his shoulder, with the light and dark inverted.
“RF…… 24… ….”
It was proof to anyone that she was from the same research institute as Ruina.