# Chapter 95
Alex had been teaching Kane how to control his superpower, so it must be about that. Boss entered the study, which was the farthest from where Kay was sleeping, to avoid disturbing him, and asked back. After hesitating for a few seconds, Alex spoke.
“…Well, I don’t know if Kane used his ability or suddenly fainted.”
“Is he able to use his ability now?”
Could he possibly have returned? Emotion filled Boss’s previously indifferent voice. If Kane could use the ability, Kay’s body might have returned to normal. His feet turned toward the room where Kay was.
“I’m not sure about that. But it felt different from usual.”
But with those words, Boss’s steps slowed. The uncertainty meant that Kay probably hadn’t opened his eyes yet.
“What exactly happened?”
“Kane’s heart stopped for a moment. His breathing too.”
Boss frowned at Alex’s report that the heart and breathing had stopped.
“You said he fainted.”
“They returned to normal later.”
For a stopped heart to start beating again was miraculous. However, Boss could easily understand the reason. Without a soul, a body is nothing but an empty shell. That’s why there was no breathing.
Surely at that moment, Kane’s soul had left the body. And where would he go? Boss’s gaze turned to the door right in front of him.
Was the person inside Kay or Kane?
He suspected it was Kane, but even that wasn’t certain. There was still a chance that the soul had left and then returned. He carefully grabbed the doorknob.
Only when the cold metal doorknob warmed in his hand did Boss open the door.
Normally, Kay would have immediately hidden under the blanket at the slightest presence. But now he was sleeping peacefully on the bed. One could understand this as fatigue, but Boss immediately noticed that wasn’t the cause.
The wolf ears that were always on Kay’s head were gone. Instead of the soft ears, there were human ears like his own. The tail that often peeked out from under the bed was nowhere to be seen.
The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence. Boss had to be certain that the person before him was not Kay. He turned around and spoke to Alex. There was no hesitation in Boss’s movements as he left the room.
“I’ll go check right now.”
“I’ll stay here.”
“Alright. I’ll text you the details.”
“Got it.”
When would he open his eyes this time? He hoped he would wake up safely, whenever that might be. He strode toward Kay, pushing down his anxiety with each step.
* * *
Zenon, who had been talking on an old-fashioned phone, took large strides. His expression gradually twisted as he blended into the crowd. Entering a secluded alley, Zenon leaned against the wall and spoke. His voice echoed in the eerie space.
“I did it, but I don’t know if it worked well.”
“It’s okay. Even if it failed, you should have a clear sense of it now.”
Fenil must have been alone, as her voice was clear through the phone. The reason Zenon had contacted her was because of Kane. Though Kane was trying hard, there were limits to perfectly controlling a superpower in a short time, no matter how much effort he put in.
It wasn’t really his fault. It was just that his manifestation was incomplete, and he needed time to fully detect the superpower. But now, he needed to be able to use the ability as soon as possible.
That’s why Fenil thought of a trick. It was to use Zenon’s superpower. If his barrier could amplify superpowers by more than double, then Kane could also operate his ability sufficiently.
Of course, he might still not be able to use the ability then, but he could take a step forward, and soon he would be able to use it perfectly. After all, amplified abilities are easier to sense. That’s why she contacted Zenon.
Meanwhile, Zenon was quite surprised by Fenil’s sudden contact. He was puzzled when a strange number called, but to think the owner of that number was Fenil. Had she forgotten he was a spy?
After some deliberation, he answered the call. Compared to the countless possibilities he had imagined, Fenil’s request was incredibly light. He had worried it might be a request to kill someone, but it was just to place a barrier in a room. Zenon, not knowing who was inside, couldn’t understand why the effect of amplifying superpowers was necessary.
The location being “Alice” was concerning, but since Fenil had promised to handle his entry and exit, it wasn’t that dangerous.
Still, he couldn’t help but be suspicious of a request with unclear intentions. But because he firmly believed she wouldn’t lie, Zenon eventually agreed after much consideration.
“Alright. But… why me specifically?”
He still couldn’t understand why Fenil had asked him. There must have been plenty of “Alice” members who could do it. Yet she had specifically chosen him.
After a long silence, Fenil gave a puzzling answer.
“Because they might want to see you?”
“Was it someone I know?”
Even if it was someone he knew, he didn’t have a chance to see their face. He had just used the barrier from a distance as Fenil had requested. What was she thinking? A sigh escaped him involuntarily out of frustration. Hearing this, Fenil’s laughter flowed through the speaker.
“Yes, someone you know very well.”
“…Forget it. It doesn’t concern me anymore.”
Zenon finally gave up thinking about it. He wasn’t an executive of “Alice” anymore anyway. It would be strange to worry about such things. If it’s someone he knows well, it must be one of the executives. Knowing he couldn’t see the person he wanted to see the most, Zenon ran his hand through his hair and tried not to care.
“Zenon, you know it’s dangerous, right?”
Just as he was about to hang up, thinking the conversation was over, Zenon paused at Fenil’s words. Through his long silver hair that had fallen down, turbid golden eyes appeared momentarily before disappearing. His breath caught. The atmosphere around him suddenly grew heavy.
“…Yeah. I’ll probably be discarded soon.”
He brought the phone back to his ear and spoke calmly. Raising his fingernails, Zenon scratched the cement wall so hard it made a sound. Cement powder got stuck under his nails, but he couldn’t stop the action.
He hadn’t known Fenil was aware of his situation. But he quickly changed his mind. After all, she was the one who had removed the possible wiretapping device. It was entirely possible she knew more than he did. He revealed a hollow smile.
He had known Peace didn’t trust him, but he hadn’t realized they had installed a wiretapping device on his body. When he learned about it through Fenil, he became acutely aware of his situation once again. That he had no freedom.
She must have been aware he was a spy from that time. He had tried to brush it off, saying it might have been implanted when he was ambushed, but there were too many unexplained things.
It was a story from over three years ago. Thinking about it now, he had lived quite long. When he was sold to Peace, he thought he wouldn’t last even a month. Yet here he was, still alive as an adult. Zenon was genuinely surprised that he was still alive and well.
Maybe it would be okay to die now. It seemed like he had reached a point where death would be acceptable.
But as soon as that thought arose, conversely, his insides began to be covered with anger. The gradually rising anger continued to rise, as if denying the thought that it would be okay to die. Unaware of this, Zenon listened to Fenil’s voice.
“Are you going to stay like this?”
She meant whether he would escape from Peace. Zenon covered his mouth and laughed. A twisted smile formed involuntarily. He desperately wanted to escape. But Fenil would know too.
“I have no choice. I’ll die if I leave.”
That he could never leave that place. Various devices had been implanted in his body since he was sold to Peace. Among them, the one in his head was a bomb. It was buried too deep to remove.
The trigger button for the bomb was in the hands of someone at Peace, someone he didn’t even know. And since they irregularly passed it to different people, there was no way for Zenon alone to remove the bomb. If there was even a hint of him trying to escape, the bomb in his head would explode immediately, and he would disappear without a trace.
Knowing this better than anyone, Zenon had no choice but to refuse Fenil’s words. To his words filled with deep despair, she barely opened her mouth. It was a voice with a faint warmth.
“…I see. Thanks for today, then.”
Zenon examined the call-ended screen for a long time before moving on.
To think he was submitting to Peace because he was afraid to die. He must be an inevitable coward.
He had mercilessly killed others to survive, yet his own life was precious.
In the past, he thought he could throw away his life if he had someone he wanted to protect. But he couldn’t protect in the end. That person went somewhere he could never see again.
Only then did he realize that his resolve had been merely hollow. That’s why Zenon had no choice but to revert to being a coward.
He would live bound to Peace and eventually die. If Kay were alive, what would he say seeing him like this?
He suddenly wondered. What Kay would say.
And so, Zenon disappeared into the crowd, thinking about what Kay would say.
