Becoming a Mage of the Special Unit in Another World

Chapter 24 – Let’s Look From Another Angle (3)

“Yeah. Go ahead, Sunal. I’ll contact you first regarding the blood comparison case.”

Edina waved her phone, and Sunal stood up from his seat.

Edina leaned her chin on her hand, noticing the slight anger that crept onto Sunal’s normally drowsy and annoyed face.

‘Sunal can be pretty scary when he’s angry.’

But Edina smiled anyway, despite her inner thoughts.

It had been a long time since she had seen him like this.

—

“…Here it is, Sunal.”

Maeve waved her hand enthusiastically, her soft hair fluttering in the wind.

“Did you hear the story?”

Sunal opened his mouth as soon as he saw Maeve.

“I heard.”

When Maeve’s eyes wavered, Sunal realized she hadn’t heard the full story.

“Please, be honest with me.”

“…Actually, I didn’t hear everything. I just know that the situation is urgent and tangled with the power of allure.”

Maeve briefly closed her eyes. In such a pressing situation, she felt embarrassed that she hadn’t grasped anything fully.

“The situation… it’s been moving too fast.”

“It’s fine. I’ll explain.”

Sunal noticed her ears turning red. He understood her words, but there was no time to comfort her.

“Do you remember the Lizardman I caught at the hospital last time?”

At the mention of the Lizardman, Maeve’s expression stiffened.

“I remember… It was because of me, wasn’t it?”

“It probably wasn’t.”

“Sorry? What do you mean?”

“It’s becoming more likely that it wasn’t due to the power of allure you possess, Maeve.”

“Is that… really true?”

Maeve’s round eyes trembled with uncertainty.

“I came to confirm that. I need your cooperation.”

For the sake of the slime who was probably still crying over their complaint.

Sunal lightly waved his official ID.

—

Growl.

“People might think you’re a dog from the way you bark. Quite the bark you’ve got there. Woof, woof.”

Sunal smirked at the Lizardman, who continued to bare his teeth.

Since it was still early in the treatment, there was no way the Lizardman could break free from the allure’s power.

It took quite some time to recover from the effects of allure—anywhere from a minimum of three weeks to a maximum of six months, depending on its strength. In some cases, it could even take over a year.

“I don’t know what’s attached to your snout, but once I’m free, you’re finished.”

The Lizardman spewed threats, but his body remained bound by magical restraints, unable to move.

Due to the Lizardman’s natural high resistance to magic, regular magical cuffs were not enough. The triple-layered cuffs covered nearly his entire thick forearm.

“Oh, really? In that case, I’m glad too. I feel the same way.”

Sunal let out a short laugh, causing the Lizardman to thrash in his bonds.

“Don’t mess with me! Aaaah!”

But it was useless.

Despite being under the influence of the allure, having stalked, broken things, and thrown punches, the Lizardman would likely have to undergo continuous treatment until the effects completely dissipated.

“Yelling now, huh? You must be enjoying this.”

“…No, wait. Yes, I was too harsh. I’ll try not to get mad. Just let me see Maeve. Even if I can just hear her voice, I’ll behave, and I’ll forgive you.”

Seeing the Lizardman desperately invoke Maeve’s name with such theatrics, Sunal realized that if he hadn’t dug deeper into the case, he might have actually fallen for it.

Sunal briefly removed his glasses.

He knew that in moments like this, his cold demeanor came in handy.

[Explore.]

Sunal cast a spell.

It would take a little time to confirm the allure’s power mixed into the Lizardman’s blood.

At this moment, Maeve was checking the blood of both the Lizardman and the werewolf, Tutoon, who had expelled them.

But for Sunal, it was essential to quickly understand the connection between Maeve and the Lizardman for what came next.

Although words and facial expressions could deceive, the mana pulse within the allure imprinted on the Lizardman could not.

The mana pulse of the allure would not want the Lizardman’s mind to awaken, and the more Sunal spoke the truth to him, the more the pulse would stir, trying to hold onto his fragile mind.

“Do you really want to see Maeve that badly?”

Sunal asked casually.

“Don’t you dare utter her name with that filthy voice! Maeve belongs to me and only me!”

The Lizardman shouted, so enraged that his teeth were fully exposed.

“Oh. So that’s what you call love? Makes me feel a bit nauseous.”

“You doubt my love?!”

“To begin with, the one you truly love isn’t even Maeve, is it?”

Sunal shook the Lizardman’s resolve quickly and concisely.

“Don’t make me laugh! What do you know about my love? You! You were the one who separated me from Maeve!”

The mana pulse within the Lizardman wavered immediately, and Sunal found it amusing.

“Well, wouldn’t anyone know that? If you abandon the one you truly love and go to another, crying out for their affection, anyone can tell that’s not real love.”

Regardless of how the Lizardman reacted, whether he cursed or yelled, Sunal continued to press.

“Don’t tell me the person you really love is the one who told you to act like this? To pretend to love someone else?”

He stabbed deeper.

“Then, how did that person promise to heal the emotional wounds you’ve suffered while faithfully following their orders?”

He pressed again.

“Oh, I guess they didn’t say anything like that. I heard that no one but family has visited you during your treatment.”

Sunal mercilessly stirred up the doubts the Lizardman must have been feeling.

“Ah, looks like you’ve been abandoned. It’s not because you were foolish. Don’t misunderstand. You were just unlucky.”

As the mana pulse of allure grew increasingly intense, Sunal lowered his voice.

The silence settled around them, and everyone focused solely on the words Sunal whispered.

“Deep down, you already knew, didn’t you?”

Though his words were softer than before, they pierced the Lizardman’s heart like a giant spear.

But Sunal didn’t stop there. He dug deeper into the Lizardman’s well-buried emotions.

“You’ve been denying it all along, even though you knew the truth.”

Only then did Sunal look into the Lizardman’s eyes. His face now bore the expression of someone abandoned, on the verge of tears.

“How pitiful.”

As Sunal smiled, the Lizardman’s eyes widened, his mouth slowly opening.

At the same time, the mana pulse surged uncontrollably.

This meant that everything Sunal had been implying was true.

“No! They didn’t abandon me! It’s your fault I failed! You! Youuuu…!”

Sunal pulled out a pouch of calming powder from his bag and scattered it into the air.

Whoosh.

As the powder spread, Sunal put his glasses back on.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Everything was being recorded, and the police were observing.

It was now clear that the force controlling the Lizardman wasn’t Maeve’s allure.

‘Now the police will step in. And then…’

Knock, knock.

At the sound of someone knocking on the door, Sunal’s lips curled into a softer smile than before.

He was pleased with how smoothly things were progressing. Rising from his seat, Sunal stood up.

“I’m going to kill you! I’ll kill youuu!”

Even with the calming powder, the veins in the Lizardman’s eyes were bulging. His muscles tensed as though he might snap the thick magic cuffs at any moment.

Sunal glanced downward.

The Lizardman’s tail was rigid, no longer twitching, and his rage was clearly focused on Sunal with lethal intent.

But the tip of his tail was severed. In this condition, he wouldn’t be able to fully utilize the strength required to break the magical restraints.

‘It’s only thanks to the powder that this much has been controlled.’

Sunal watched the Lizardman ranting at him, letting the words wash over him.

The Lizardman had strained so hard that the cuffs were now frayed and close to tearing apart.

Sunal looked at him intently. In this state, even the police would have difficulty handling him.

‘There’s no other choice.’

Sunal wrapped his body in mana and approached the Lizardman.

For a brief moment, the Lizardman, veins bulging in his neck, froze under the sheer intensity of Sunal’s approaching aura.

Cold sweat trickled down. His heart pounded in his chest. His pupils dilated as if about to burst.

Though he saw Sunal’s hand approaching his forehead, the Lizardman couldn’t move.

It was as if he was caught in a giant spider’s web.

Tap.

When Sunal’s finger touched his forehead, the Lizardman screamed as if falling from a cliff, but no sound reached his ears.

At that moment, Sunal smiled, his eyes forming crescent moons.

His predatory smile was reminiscent of a savage beast baring its sharp teeth.

“This won’t do.”

Even his soft scolding felt like thunder rumbling from the heavens.

“Do you understand?”

After seeing the terror in the Lizardman’s eyes, Sunal cast a spell on the magical cuffs that were on the verge of breaking.

[Restore.]

The torn cuffs now looked as new as if they had just been purchased.

Time couldn’t be rewound, but Sunal had simply reset the magic runes embedded within the cuffs.

The police were astonished by what they saw, but Sunal had no intention of offering any explanations.

He simply spoke for the sake of the Lizardman, who still trembled in fear as he stared at Sunal.

“This feeling you’re experiencing right now isn’t yours, and these thoughts aren’t your own. Even if you remember this later, never blame yourself. I sincerely hope you recover.”

Sunal bowed his head slightly before reaching for the door handle.

Ha.

He let out a short breath.

He wanted to collapse onto a sofa. No, he desperately wanted to go home.

How nice it would be to just lie down and do nothing.

Thinking about it made him chuckle. How funny it was that the same man who had once wanted to give up everything was now running around like this.

‘…What am I even trying to gain from this?’

He was tired.

The heavy burden crawling up inside him felt like it was about to take control of his body.

But Sunal opened the door.

Outside, Maeve was standing there.

“Sunal.”

Her eyes wavered as she called his name.

Sunal forced a smile, knowing that her gaze was filled with expectations.

For a moment, Maeve’s eyes widened before slowly closing with a gentle expression. Seeing that, Sunal felt the heavy burden inside him dissolve.

“It seems things went well on your side too, Maeve. Did it unfold as I expected?”

“…Yes. Yes.”

Maeve, who had been on the verge of tears for a moment, quickly corrected her expression. She clenched her eyes tightly, visibly trying to regain her composure.

“The recent test results showed that the allure power within my blood and his do not match.”

“What about Bran’s results?”

Sunal asked.

Bran Lucan.

He was the werewolf who had driven Tutoon away and also a high-ranking official.

“They match. His allure power is the same. But why… why do they match?”

Maeve seemed to realize that the case was taking an entirely different turn.

“Oh, I’ve already reported this to the police, and I’m informing you now, Sunal.”

“Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”

Sunal nodded slightly, causing Maeve to look a bit flustered.

“No, it wasn’t hard. It was just a simple test that took some time.”

“Were you okay? You must have been surprised when you received the call.”

Maeve’s eyes trembled for a brief moment before she hesitated and then smiled slightly.

“I’m fine.”

“Hmm…”

Sunal paused for a moment.

He had seen countless people—regardless of gender—break down in tears when they were revealed not to be the culprit, despite thinking they were.

There must be a reason she was holding it together.

“I’ll catch the culprit as soon as possible. After all, you’re likely not the only victim, Maeve.”

“I’ve been thinking about that too. Please, take this.”

Maeve pulled something from her pocket.

“…Is this perfume?”

The bottle looked like a perfume bottle, and Sunal couldn’t hide his curiosity.

Why was she giving him this?

But instead of jumping to conclusions, he waited for Maeve to explain.

“The power of allure is a terrifying force. No one knows that better than me.”

“Of course.”

Who would know better than Maeve, a succubus who wielded the power of allure herself?

“Not all allure powers are the same.”

“Are you saying there are levels to it?”

It was a natural statement.

Just because everyone could run didn’t mean they all ran at the same speed.

Some ran faster, and some were inevitably slower.

“Yes. This is just my own thought, maybe even just a guess, but may I share it with you?”

Maeve looked at Sunal with firm conviction in her eyes.

“Of course. Any information that could help is always welcome.”

“My allure power is quite strong.”

‘That’s for sure. I could tell just from what happened at the hospital.’

Because various races lived together, buildings were typically constructed with safety measures to block out certain forces. Yet, Maeve’s power had been strong enough to leak beyond the hospital walls.

“And the place where allure mixes the most… is blood.”

“Did you draw blood?”

Sunal’s gaze shifted to the bottle Maeve had handed him, slightly surprised.

As she said, allure power was most densely concentrated in the blood.

But doing this couldn’t have been easy.

“…I know it might be unpleasant to think about. But realistically, the only force that can suppress allure power, even temporarily, is allure itself, or the power of enticement. The species that embodies both powers is the vampire, but they’re extremely sensitive when it comes to blood, so it’s nearly impossible to obtain.”

Vampires, who lived off blood, were naturally sensitive about sharing it.

“You don’t have to accept it. This is something I thought up and decided on my own.”

“No, it’s not unpleasant.”

Sunal offered a soft smile as he tightly gripped the bottle Maeve had handed him.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Once the case is closed, I’ll return and report back to you. But for now, you’ve got work to do.”

Sunal tapped lightly on his wristwatch and furrowed his brow slightly.

4:46 p.m.

Ha.

A brief, dry laugh escaped him.

‘…So much for getting off work on time today.’

Punctuality seemed like a distant dream now. With a sense of resignation, Sunal slowly closed his tired eyes, then opened them again.