A middle-aged man with a large belly, now drenched in water, exploded with rage.

“I’m as angry as I’d be after hearing just one verse of that hymn praising him!”

“Wait, what does that even mean—?"

Though I wasn’t exactly in the position to argue after spilling water on him, I couldn’t make sense of what he was saying. Was he saying he was angry as if he’d just heard a song? Did he want me to sing for him or something? That wouldn’t make any sense, especially after getting splashed with water. If he wanted a song, he should’ve just asked for one without all the theatrics.

‘What in the world is he talking about?’

Feeling utterly confused, I looked toward my colleagues. They shrugged, equally baffled, before one of them spoke up.

“Hey, Laemon. What are you doing? Apologize already. The guy’s only as mad as a hymn, right? Just give him a song and be done with it.”

“Yeah, boss, he’s only asking for a song. A hymn at that!”

“…What?”

Watching my two colleagues spout nonsense just like the man, I finally realized what was happening. This wasn’t a physical attack; it was a psychic one.

‘A hypnosis-type ability!’

This kind of power, no matter the genre, is always a pain to deal with. Especially since the guy yelling at me right now could also be a victim of the ability. And worse, my colleagues? When did they get caught up in this? It must’ve been a while since they’d fallen under that hypnosis. Luckily, I hadn’t been affected, thanks to the brainwashing prevention protocols unique to the security-conscious research lab.

‘It’s not likely that the ability works just by eye contact or something. If it did, there’d be no need for all this drama. They could’ve just taken me outright.’

If it were the kind of hypnotic power you see in some stories where a single button press controls anyone, there wouldn’t be a need for this trap. They would’ve just used the power and taken me.

This meant it was conditional hypnosis. They caused an accident and demanded an apology, likely triggering the ability through the victim’s emotional response.

‘An emotion-based perception-altering ability, huh.’

This kind of ability is even more insidious because those affected don’t realize they’ve been hypnotized. Even if someone notices something strange about us later, they wouldn’t guess it was hypnosis. If I’d fallen under the spell and written that song as they wanted, my boss would be annoyed with me, but they’d never think it was due to hypnosis.

‘Well, I dodged that one.’

I stood up. Though the others tried to stop me, as if to ask where I was going, my goal wasn’t to escape just yet. Even if I wanted to escape, how would a powerless person like me get through this crowd?

That wasn’t my job. An evil scientist should be protected by their creations, after all.

“Boss? Where are you going—?”

“Transform.”

[HENSHIN]

At my command, Niverna’s transformation belt activated automatically, covering her entire body. The suit, which could instantly elevate her from an A-rank supporting hero to an S-rank one, naturally came with a feature to resist hypnosis. It could even break existing hypnosis if needed.

As expected, once she donned the suit, Niverna trembled slightly before letting out a long sigh, realizing she had been hypnotized.

“Boss… what’s going on?”

“Niverna, there’s no time to explain. Just—get me out of here.”

“…What about Birana?”

“She’ll manage on her own. Or maybe she’ll feel ashamed that her colleague fled without apologizing?”

If she got too ashamed, she might get hypnotized again. Just in case, I approached Birana and used my self-defense wristwatch. ZAP! The electricity shot out, paralyzing her nervous system and knocking her out cold.

Catching her before she collapsed, I groaned under her weight and immediately passed her over to Niverna.

“Alright, now let’s get out of here.”

“…Yes, boss. But where to?”

“Eblis Corporation’s headquarters.”

“Understood.”

As Niverna prepared to flee with the two of us in tow, the people around us started rising to their feet, using their psychic powers to try and stop us. But—.

They were up against an active S-rank hero. Even though she had gone freelance, her skills had only improved, not diminished. It was impossible to stop someone like her with mere psychic powers.

One of the strongest forces in the world.

“Hold on tight.”

Niverna made her escape!

It was spectacular!

“We lost them? Who did?”

[We lost the target, the composer. I’m sorry, boss.]

“How did that happen?”

Lize asked incredulously. How could they fail with the number of people they had sent for this job?

But once she heard the reason, she couldn’t help but accept the failure.

[An S-rank hero was on guard. It was Niverna from Eblis Corporation…]

“…I see.”

An S-rank hero. The strongest force available in this era, officially and legally. They couldn’t be used for illegal operations or assaults on other corporations or cities, but when it came to protection, S-rank heroes could showcase their overwhelming power.

Their devil-worshipping operatives were capable, but not capable enough to go head-to-head with an S-rank hero. If one was actively guarding the composer, it would be nearly impossible to abduct him.

‘So they’re keeping an S-rank hero on permanent watch…?’

She didn’t think their plan had been leaked, not to Baphomet Corporation. That was impossible. In Baphomet, where demon worshippers ran the show, betrayal and espionage simply didn’t exist. Any key personnel would have been exposed to the demon, and once that happens, their original goals become irrelevant.

‘It must mean the composer is more important than we thought… Could he be someone’s lover?’

If no information had leaked, the idea of assigning an S-rank hero just to protect a composer seemed excessive. His musical talents were undeniable, but for Regalia to assign such a valuable resource for something so seemingly trivial?

Regalia, the cold-hearted CEO of Eblis, was known for her ruthless efficiency. People even called her the “Iron-Blooded Queen” in business circles.

Lize realized that the composer must hold more value than just his ability to write music.

‘…This could be dangerous.’

Whether he was a lover or something more, it was clear Regalia placed significant importance on him. And they had already attempted to hypnotize him.

This could escalate into a full-blown corporate war. Lize was left with two options: hide so well they’d never be discovered, or…

“I’ll send a messenger.”

[What? Boss, that’s…]

“There’s no choice. We left traces. Eventually, they’ll figure out it was us. It’s better to act now and try to gain something from it.”

Taking Regalia’s precious composer and entering negotiations—those were the only options. The best odds lay in the latter choice. Lize believed in numbers and probabilities.

“Right now, when they don’t know anything, is when we have the best chance of winning.”

“You were hypnotized?”

“Yes, it seemed to be a perception-altering ability.”

After returning to Eblis Corporation’s headquarters, I met with the boss one-on-one. Despite her busy schedule, Regalia had answered my call immediately. It’s rare for me to contact her first, so when I did, she knew it was serious.

“Someone dared mess with one of my subordinates… The nerve of some people.”

“Any idea who it might be?”

“…Too many suspects.”

Unfortunately, Regalia couldn’t immediately identify the culprit. Being the head of a global conglomerate meant countless enemies. And it wasn’t easy to pinpoint someone based on the limited information that they possessed a hypnosis ability.

Even the fact that supernatural powers didn’t always align with one’s personality or nature made it hard to guess. A sweet kid like Aile could be powerless, while a beast like Galm could shoot lasers from his eyes.

“Be careful for a while. Don’t wander around alone.”

“Understood. By the way, shouldn’t you protect yourself against hypnosis? I could make you something.”

“No need. A king is never affected by something as trivial as hypnosis.”

Regalia smiled slyly, flexing her own supernatural powers. I let out a small sigh of envy. She was immune to hypnosis because of her abilities, while I had to scrape by with tech just to avoid it.

As I marveled at her powers, Regalia asked me another question.

“By the way—how did you avoid getting hypnotized? Did you have some kind of gadget ready?”

“Well… you could say that. Or maybe I’d already been hypnotized…”

“Already hypnotized?”

I couldn’t explain it in full, so I just gave a bitter smile. That’s the way it is, boss. Regalia gave me a serious look, clearly deep in thought.

“Don’t tell me… you’re up to something strange again?”

“Of course not. When have I ever done anything like that?”

“Just a few days ago, you almost let Arima escape with some half-baked experiment.”

She shot me a look full of suspicion, but all I could do was smile weakly. What happened, happened. But this time, I was truly innocent.

I never imagined things would spiral out of control like this.