# Chapter 80
Un’s red eyes crinkled as if recalling something nostalgic.
“The hyung who taught me was really cool. So I wanted to teach someone like he did.”
A soft blush spread across his cheeks. Un used to call me hyung, so the person he was referring to must be me. But I never knew that he thought of me this way—in front of me, he often showed a childlike demeanor, unable to control his anger or acting impulsively.
Besides, I don’t think I taught him well. Un joined around the time when I was most obsessed with Boss. I clenched my teeth and ruined my body to build achievements, just to catch his eye even once more.
There was no way I had time to teach Un. I showed him the basic combat methods, but utilizing them was entirely up to him. Thinking about it now, probably no one neglected their subordinates as much as I did. Hearing Un say he wanted to teach someone after seeing me was just disturbing.
“Even so, you’re still a villain.”
I deliberately spoke harshly to end this pointless conversation. But instead of getting angry, Un tilted his head in confusion.
“So what? Is being a villain bad?”
It wasn’t a question meant to provoke me. It was just genuine curiosity. As a former organization member, I couldn’t make a definitive conclusion, but I had wondered about the same thing in the past.
Are villains really all bad?
It was a curiosity I could have only as an organization member. Though it might look cruel and ugly from the outside, the reality wasn’t so. I don’t know if Alice was special, but being a villain didn’t mean killing indiscriminately, nor did it mean doing anything for money.
Everyone just became villains for their own goals. The problem was that those goals were often too enormous or impossible to achieve.
I couldn’t deny that people considered villains to be evil. But when I judged villains, I couldn’t simply conclude they were all bad.
“Well, to you, we might just be bug bastards deserving death.”
Un probably thought the same. He seemed to have given up on pondering and quickly continued. I wonder if he even realizes that I’m included among those “bug bastards.” The situation couldn’t be more ironic.
I closed my eyes slowly, not even finding it funny. Judging by his attitude, he might just leave after talking. I wish he’d knock me unconscious if he wasn’t going to leave, but Un wasn’t the type.
“Anyway, he’s different. Perfect and strict, but also caring—I can see why he’s Boss’s favorite.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw Un’s sparkling eyes, showing how much he admired this person. To think that affection was directed at me… It was strangely impressive even in this situation. I got along well with executives, but I was constantly envied and resented by other organization members.
Because of that, I eventually lost interest in them. I knew they wouldn’t change. But there had been someone who liked me.
“Is that so…”
It would have been nice to hear those words in the past. But now, too much had changed. I was no longer an executive of Alice, nor Un’s hyung, nor even Kay.
Just someone who had lost everything, waiting only for death.
In such a situation, those words couldn’t reach me.
Surely not.
* * *
From the day she saw the video, Fenil began collecting all information about Kane. Especially regarding Peace, she wouldn’t stop searching even if it meant staying up all night. And today, after several days, she had finally gathered all the information.
Holding a pen, she wrote down information about Kane on paper.
“About two months ago.”
This was the part Fenil focused on most. Strangely, about two months ago, he started acting like a completely different person.
“After that, he started meeting with Ben and Tade more frequently.”
The reason she could be certain it was two months ago was due to his attitude and habits toward others. Kane reportedly had a habit of scratching his hand whenever he felt anxious. But from two months ago, that habit disappeared completely.
Additionally, Kane had been unable to make eye contact when speaking with other researchers, but that too vanished after that day.
Moreover, with Ben and Tade approaching Kane, it was impossible not to be suspicious. Ben and Kane were already acquainted, but recently they had become much closer. However, since Ben was also a test subject and had connections with Kane, it was somewhat understandable that they would become closer.
But Tade was different. He had no reason to encounter Kane. Yet, he forcibly created such opportunities to approach Kane. Almost as if he knew something.
The more she dug, the more suspicious things emerged endlessly. Fenil organized all of this information step by step.
And finally, she reached a hypothesis.
“Kay died two months ago too.”
It was a hypothesis she wished wasn’t true. Her pen tapped on the word “two months” written on the paper.
“Kane became a different person two months ago. He’s just a normal person with no abilities.”
He had no abilities at all. If he wasn’t a Peace researcher, he would have been no different from an ordinary person.
“If Zenon, who despised Peace, opened up to him…”
That was only until two months ago. In just two months, his relationships, personality, and habits had all changed. All of this pointed to—
“It can only be Kay.”
It couldn’t be anyone but Kay. She wished it wasn’t so, but all of Kane’s changes matched up with Kay. From small habits to relationships, everything about Kane was transforming into Kay.
So she couldn’t help but notice. The current Kane was Kay. But it was strange. Kay should have been revived by Boss.
“Though he’s not awake.”
But why was Kay pretending to be Kane? It didn’t seem intentionally staged. It was clearly one of the unexpected superpowers.
Having figured that much out, Fenil stopped writing and turned her chair to face the monitor.
“It must be mental-type.”
Clicking the mouse, Fenil’s eyes moved relentlessly as she entered a site with information on mental-type superpowers. Soon, her eyes fixed on one particular spot.
“Possession.”
Yes, that was it. She realized it as soon as she saw it. That Kay had been possessing Kane’s body. It all made sense. The sudden change in Kane. The unfamiliar figures related to Kay approaching him.
But knowing didn’t mean she could accept it easily. Faced with a fact that wasn’t readily acceptable, Fenil roughly rubbed her face. How could something like this happen? Possession? Kay definitely didn’t have possession abilities.
That meant either someone had intentionally made him possess Kane, or it was something Kane had done.
For a moment, a question filled Fenil’s mind. But Fenil didn’t know much about possession. Though it was a common ability, she couldn’t understand the details.
After pondering for a moment while looking down at her notes, Fenil picked up her phone, typed on the keypad, and pressed the call button. After a few rings, the other person’s voice came through.
—Fenil-nim, what’s the matter?
It was Nelaim, who knew more about superpowers than anyone. Fenil skipped greetings and went straight to the point.
“Do you happen to know about possession abilities?”
—I have an acquaintance with possession abilities, so I know to some extent.
For Nelaim, “to some extent” meant he knew practically everything. She didn’t hesitate to ask her question.
“Can possession last for a long time?”
Everything else was resolved, but this one thing just wouldn’t make sense. Surely, possession abilities would have time limitations. But Kay had been possessing Kane for two months already. Fenil couldn’t understand how he could have stayed as Kane for such a long time.
To her question, Nelaim thought for a moment before answering.
—I’ve heard that can happen if one can’t control it.
Control… That was certainly a possibility. Without control, one can’t freely adjust their ability. It might manifest at a lower level than one’s actual ability, but conversely, it could also exert greater power than the original ability. That would mean the possession ability user was an untrained person.
“Then what happens to the original soul?”
Fenil briefly set that thought aside and asked another question.
—Usually, I’ve heard it’s suppressed, but in special cases, it enters the caster’s body.
At Nelaim’s words, her eyes sharpened. Kay couldn’t be the caster. That meant the caster was Kane. She had believed he was an ordinary person… But if his power had manifested without him realizing it, it was entirely possible that he was still unskilled in controlling it.
“So the soul awakens in someone else’s body?”
—That’s right. But it’s a very rare case, and even if one awakens in an unfamiliar body, it’s usually for a short time, so there’s no major issue.
But that wasn’t the case for Kay, was it? If not for the evidence in front of her, she wouldn’t have believed it. It was that difficult to believe.
Something that could only happen with incredible luck, even if done intentionally. Regardless of why Kane used his ability on Kay, it was remarkable. From her perspective, it was an equally incredible misfortune.
In any case, with Nelaim resolving her questions so neatly, Fenil expressed her gratitude.
“Thank you, I learned a lot because of you.”
—I’m glad I could be of help.
After a brief farewell, Fenil ended the call. Then she picked up the paper containing evidence that Kay had possessed Kane.
Her eyes sank seriously. How should she even talk about this? No, was it even right to tell Boss?
The conflict continued relentlessly. And finally, as if she had made up her mind, she left the room.
