Chapter 41

Reincarnationer 41

[Air raid alert. Air raid alert. Visitors in the building, please evacuate through the nearest exit. Once again...]

Smoke seeping through the holes in the charred ceiling and walls. The noise of sirens and screams mixed together, and my muddled head became sharply clear.

“Cough... cough...”

When I got up and looked around, the luxurious room and the chubby piglets were nowhere to be seen.

They must have turned to dust with the explosion.

‘I almost died...’

If I hadn’t worn multiple layers of armor as a precaution, I would have evaporated along with the piglets without a trace.

While forcibly tearing off the half-melted armor and walking towards the hole in the wall, I looked down and saw black smoke and flames rising from various places.

It seemed that not only this building but also the surrounding buildings were attacked simultaneously, and they were all buildings owned by ‘those guys.’

“I’ll never do business with those bastards again...”

I came here just once because they offered cheap hard-to-find materials, but it’s clear that one shouldn’t get involved with shady people.

While cursing inwardly and looking outside, I felt movement from above and looked up.

‘That’s...’

Shoulder-length dull silver hair, a gas mask covering the entire face, and a rider suit with a black leather jacket. From the curves of the body, it seemed to be a woman.

At first glance, she looked like a thug in a strange cosplay.

But standing in the empty sky above the devastated city, she was clearly the culprit of this disaster.

“...What rotten luck.”

Just as I was frowning, thinking the situation had gone from bad to worse, she stepped down towards me, treading the air.

Invisible mana forming beneath her feet with each step. From the lack of incantation or casting, it seemed to be created by a silent spell, and the momentum was not ordinary.

‘A-rank... or higher?’

While stepping back and clenching my chest to prepare, she entered through the broken hole and looked at me without a word.

“What are you looking at?”

With a rude remark, I turned my head and walked into the building.

This was the first encounter with the terrorist who attacked Manhattan, the explosive dog Louis Valentine.

* * *

“...What?”

Louis, whose greeting didn’t sit well, twisted her eyes.

Though she looked frail, there was a distinct sense of intimidation in her gaze and tone.

Iseon, who had been adept at handling her momentum both before and after the regression, replied smoothly.

“What are you looking at?”

“...”

Louis felt more bewildered than angry at Iseon’s calm demeanor.

Usually, people are flustered when she lashes out, but how could this guy not even blink?

‘Moreover, there’s something... familiar...’

More precisely, it felt like she was familiar with him.

Feeling an inexplicable tickling sensation, Louis looked at him with a strange expression, and Iseon clicked his tongue.

“You only know how to frown, not how to apologize.”

“What?”

“My arm hurts like hell... Tch. Forget it, forget it.”

Shaking his head, Iseon walked past her. Though his pace wasn’t particularly fast, he couldn’t catch up due to the lingering effects of the sedative.

Thinking he would lose her, Louis instinctively reached out and drew mana.

“Sh... Gah?!”

The pain piercing her right hand and neck made her kneel and fall.

“F... F*ck...”

The hastily drawn mana must have aggravated her wound, as the sedative’s effect, which had been lingering, disappeared completely.

Feeling as if her entire body was on edge, Louis cursed and clutched her bandaged neck.

‘Can’t... let it be discovered...’

If she were caught in this state, she might not only be unable to participate in the experiment but also be confined to a hospital room for at least a week.

Recalling that terrifying scenario, Louis hurriedly got up to return to her room.

“Ah...”

Her legs gave out, and she staggered forward.

Before she could regain her balance, her body fell. As the floor approached, Louis instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

Thud—

Iseon, who had returned, caught Louis’s body.

“If you’re in pain, you should just lie down. Why are you wandering around?”

Iseon looked down at her, as if he couldn’t understand. Louis’s eyes twisted.

“You... You...”

It’s all your fault, the words rose to her throat, but she didn’t say them.

If she were to argue, she had also been the one to act rudely first, and it was she who used magic to try to stop him.

‘Damn...’

She always makes the wrong choices, whether before or now.

While Louis was berating herself, Iseon helped her up with his left arm.

“I’ll support you to your room. Hold on and walk.”

“Not... necessary...”

“Then should I call a nurse?”

“...”

Louis silently handed over her body, and Iseon naturally entered the room she had just left.

A clean single room of about 10 pyeong. A bed, a desk, and a bookshelf packed with books gave it a more personal feel than a hospital room.

‘Things went better than expected.’

He had intended to just leave after making his presence known, but Louis’s fall brought him into the room.

Iseon decided to use this opportunity to lay a better foundation and helped Louis to the bed.

“Do you need anything?”

“No... Just go quickly...”

Louis glared at him sharply. She seemed even more irritable than before, perhaps due to the pain, but Iseon replied calmly.

“If I leave and something happens to you, it will be my responsibility. It’s uncomfortable, so tell me what you need quickly.”

“Just...”

“If you tell me to go again, I’ll just call the nurse and leave.”

Iseon, who seemed ready to press the nurse call button at any moment.

Though he had no ill intentions, his persistence was extremely annoying, and Louis glared at him irritably before sighing deeply.

“Second drawer on the left of the desk... Cough! Drawer... black case.”

“You should have said that earlier.”

Iseon went to the desk, took out the black case from the drawer, and brought it to her. Louis stared at him.

The silent pressure to leave, as if urging him to go quickly. Iseon, unfazed by her sharp gaze, replied.

“I’ll leave once you’re better. Hurry up.”

“Though we just met today... You’re so nosy...”

Louis grumbled with difficulty, opened the black case, and took out a silver inhaler. She put it in her mouth, pressed the button, and inhaled deeply.

Hum—

Green mana glowed faintly inside her throat, and the trembling in her body subsided.

“Phew...”

Louis removed the inhaler and slowly regulated her breathing.

Iseon’s eyes narrowed, seeing her stabilize so quickly from a state where a seizure could have occurred at any moment.

‘That’s...’

Before the regression, the explosive dog had said that she had been diagnosed as ‘mana-incompetent’ due to her injury worsening from forced rehabilitation in her youth.

The reason she had made a contract with the others and dropped out of Babel was because of this. However, Iseon had a question.

‘Does it make sense for her condition to worsen during rehabilitation?’

It doesn’t make sense for Askus, one of the world’s top three hospitals and the undisputed leader in rehabilitation, to have let it happen.

‘The explosive dog thought it was because she acted rashly out of impatience... but that’s also strange.’

If her condition worsened, they would have certainly taken appropriate measures. The fact that it deteriorated to the point of being diagnosed as mana-incompetent suggests there was something the explosive dog didn’t know.

But it was a long-past event, so Iseon couldn’t know the truth. However, having regressed through time, he now knew the real culprit.

“Phew... Now that I’m better, get out. How long are you going to stay...”

“What are you doing?”

“...What?”

“You were told to treat yourself, but why are you self-harming?”

Surprised by Iseon’s sudden words, Louis looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“What nonsense...”

“You’re completely unaware. You don’t even know that this is making your neck worse... Tsk tsk.”

“...”

Louis’s eyes sharpened at Iseon’s disapproving tone.

Though she was grateful for his help and felt bad about the collision, that’s one thing, and this is another.

How can he speak so freely about her without knowing her?

‘What a guy...’

With the pain subsiding, her mind calmed, and at the same time, her anger towards the rude guy in front of her, who was butting in and speaking freely, began to rise.

“You...”

[Student Iseon in the ward, please come to the 2nd floor nurse’s station immediately. Student Iseon in the ward...]

The announcement echoing throughout the ward. Iseon glanced at the speaker.

“I’ve been away for too long. I’ll go now.”

“...You’re Iseon?”

Her expression became even colder upon hearing his name.

Louis’s appearance, which now showed hostility beyond mere caution, made Iseon calmly point to the inhaler.

“If you don’t want to become mana-incompetent, it’s better not to use it. That...”

“Get out. Now.”

Her voice resonated from the depths of the floor. Iseon, who involuntarily flinched, looked at her with interest.

‘Not as bad as I thought.’

He had confirmed the culprit and her condition, and laid enough groundwork.

Having made