"Someone deliberately erased their records. Completely. As if that person never existed."

Someone erased the records. But who? And for what reason? What could that child have done to warrant such a drastic measure?

Uijae stared blankly at the pen pointing at him. Minggijeok, arms now crossed, mumbled to himself.

"But there’s definitely something fishy going on here. I mean, why would anyone go to such lengths to erase the information? It’s too clean, almost unnaturally so. Only a very select few individuals or organizations could pull off such large-scale data manipulation. And this was a kid entrusted to J himself, right? I wouldn’t dare touch that, not even out of fear."

Minggijeok shuddered dramatically, but Uijae only half-listened to the exaggerated statement. His mind was snagged on a particular phrase, like a splinter under his skin: *someone or some organization capable of large-scale data manipulation*.

Mulling over the implications, Uijae crossed his arms and asked, "What kind of individuals or organizations could pull off such a large-scale data erasure, as you mentioned?"

"Oh, give me a second." Minggijeok muttered as he switched on his tablet.

"To clean things up this thoroughly… It would need to be at least on the level of the Awakener Management Bureau or one of the top three guilds. Maybe someone like 'Mackerel'... Yeah, let me simplify it for you."

*Awakener Management Bureau, Korea’s top three guilds: Wave, Samra, and Seowon... And Mackerel, let’s go.*

Uijae grimaced at the sudden mention of a fish. This wasn’t a market, so why was "Mackerel" being brought up here?

However, his expression slowly changed to one of shock as an old conversation between Hunters resurfaced in his mind. It was from the time of the *maseok* incident.

“I’m heading to Noryangjin Fish Market today to make a request from Mackerel.”

"Do you think Mackerel can find it?"

"If not, they’ll have to give up their title as Korea’s top informant."

Wait, so *Mackerel* was a person’s name...? Uijae massaged his forehead, feeling like he had stumbled onto information he would have preferred not to know.

What was it with Hunters these days and giving themselves strange names? But he calmed down, watching Minggijeok—still seriously scribbling something—with some sense of relief. After all, "Mackerel" wasn’t too bad in comparison. At least it was a noun.

Just then, Minggijeok lifted his head.

"Strange... Did you say something just now?"

*Sharp bastard.*

"No."

"Alright then. Maybe it was the Guild Leader cursing me. Anyway, I’ll continue."

Uijae nodded as Minggijeok handed him the tablet. On the screen, an all-too-familiar red Gothic font greeted him with the title:

*Summary of Power Structures – Simplified Version*

Aside from the title, there was nothing else. Uijae had expected some sort of summary, but instead, he found himself in a staring contest with the gothic font. Meanwhile, Minggijeok adjusted his sunglasses and straightened his posture.

"As I mentioned before, there are very few places that could manipulate data this cleanly. And if we’re talking about the national hospital, it’s even rarer. It would require intervention from the Awakener Management Bureau, or one of the top three guilds—Wave, Samra, or Seowon. At most, the HB Guild might also have some influence."

Minggijeok gestured for the screen to be swiped again. Uijae complied, and the next screen displayed a lively image of a blue-backed fish, specifically a mackerel.

"Organizations are this limited, but individuals are even fewer. As for individuals, there’s no one else but Mackerel, Korea’s top informant. They’ve set up shop at Noryangjin Fish Market and the information they sell is always top-notch. However—"

Minggijeok paused dramatically, then gestured for Uijae to swipe the screen again. An animated clip appeared, showing bundles of cash spinning around a mackerel wearing sunglasses.

"That guy operates by one simple rule: he only does what’s profitable. So if Mackerel was involved in erasing those records, it means someone else is backing them with serious money."

"……."

Uijae clenched his fist as his heartbeat quickened. Minggijeok’s professional, detached tone continued to drone in his ears.

"And back then, the research on Awakeners wasn’t nearly as advanced as it is now. If they found someone with unusual traits, they would’ve taken them for experiments. It’s possible that such interests were at play here."

"Unusual traits?"

"Yes. People who were involved in rift-related incidents or had injuries from monster attacks. Anything peculiar related to rifts, really. Back then, society was in a near-anarchy state, so kidnapping test subjects for research wouldn’t have been too hard."

Uijae’s mouth felt dry. As much as he wanted to deny it, his instincts screamed at him not to let this opportunity slip by. Slowly, he spoke again.

"What are the chances that Prometheus was the one who took them?"

Minggijeok, who had been flicking his pen casually, froze mid-motion. He stiffly turned his head toward Uijae. Beneath his sunglasses, his eyes were wide with shock.

"Sir, what did you just say…?"

Uijae met his gaze, his voice cold and deliberate as he repeated the word.

"Prometheus."

"W-wait a moment. How do you know about Prometheus? That’s highly classified information. Didn’t you only hear about drugs from the Guild Leader?"

"Answer the question."

Facing Uijae’s icy glare, Minggijeok shut his mouth. Furrowing his brow and muttering under his breath, he finally spoke.

"I don’t know how you came to know about Prometheus, but the reason I didn’t mention it directly is simple. If they’re the culprits… the conclusion is pretty straightforward."

"……."

"That child—there’s no doubt—they’re dead. Absolutely."

For a moment, Uijae’s breath caught in his throat. He pressed a fist to his chest, taking deep, steady breaths. Minggijeok rubbed his temples before continuing.

"What I’m about to tell you is highly confidential. I’m only sharing this because it’s you."

"……."

"There are three main organizations in Korea actively tracking Prometheus."

Minggijeok held up three fingers.

"The Awakener Management Bureau, Wave Guild, and Seowon Guild. These three groups have been closely monitoring the flow of drugs and tracking Prometheus. Of course… after J appeared, the Bureau shifted their focus to finding J. They considered him the higher priority."

"……."

"Well, we only recently resumed tracking Prometheus ourselves… Anyway, I’ve conducted quite a bit of research on them. That’s why I’m telling you this."

Adjusting his sunglasses, Minggijeok continued.

"Prometheus distributes drugs and conducts experiments to artificially create Awakeners… But they’ve never had a single success. According to all known reports, every test subject has died."

Minggijeok’s sunglasses glinted ominously.

"To this day, without exception."

The Guild Leader’s office in the Wave Guild was pitch dark, even in the middle of the day. On the long sofa in the center of the room, a figure lay sprawled out. He wore a black eye patch, his hands clasped together over his stomach, breathing slowly in and out.

*Tap, tap, tap…* The sound of footsteps, growing louder as they approached, unmistakably belonged to one person.

*Bang*—the door swung open.

"Hey, Guild Leader! Jung Bin just contacted us."

Instead of responding, Lee Sayoung raised his hand, signaling for the door to be closed. Baewonwoo, who had stepped into the dark room, complied, closing the door behind him and peering at Sayoung with concern.

"What’s going on? Is it your eyes again? Are they hurting a lot?"

"No."

"Have you taken your medicine? Should I call Nam Woojin?"

"It’s not necessary. Just give me the report."

"Man… fine."

Baewonwoo muttered under his breath and turned on the tablet he was carrying under his arm.

"Uh… first off, Jung Bin says thanks. They managed to rescue Hong Yeseong. He was being held in the underground confinement cell. And…"

As he read further, Baewonwoo gasped softly.

"What the—? A dummy wearing a subordinate’s body?"

"...What?"

Sayoung, who had been quietly listening, lifted the edge of his eye patch with his thumb. In the darkness, only the tablet screen and Baewonwoo’s face, illuminated by its glow, were visible. Baewonwoo stammered, clearly rattled.

"No, I mean, that’s exactly what it says! The subordinates guarding the confinement room—one of them attacked with black spikes. After they subdued him, they had the Seowon Guild analyze him, and… it wasn’t the real person inside."

"......"

"But the body was the subordinate’s, no mistake."

A heavy silence followed. Sayoung sighed softly and slid the eye patch up to his forehead. When he extended his hand, Baewonwoo automatically passed him the tablet. Sayoung quickly skimmed through the details, his lips twisting.

"They’ve been busy while I had my eyes off them, it seems…"

"Wait, this can’t be real, can it? Does that mean those subordinates are already dead?"

"They probably are. Once the shell is peeled off."

Sayoung replied coldly as he sat up, while Baewonwoo cursed under his breath. At the end of Jung Bin’s message, there was an address. Sayoung wiped a hand over his face and handed the tablet back to Baewonwoo.

"Get Minggijeok to check the address."

"Yeah, sure."

"Once it’s confirmed, I’ll go there myself."

"By yourself?"

"Yes."

Sayoung stood up and removed the eye patch, placing it into a black pouch. Baewonwoo grimaced as he caught a glimpse of the inside—it was completely blackened and corroded. He frowned and spoke up.

"Hey, let me go with you. I know your situation better than anyone."

"We can’t both leave at the same time… especially not now."

Sayoung turned to Baewonwoo and pressed a finger to his lips.

"Keep quiet about this."

*Bzzz.* The phone vibrated. Minggijeok, excusing himself briefly, pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered the call.

"Yes, this is TinyMiracleMinggijeok speaking."

"Hey, it’s me."

A familiar voice—Baewonwoo. Minggijeok glanced back at Uijae, lowered the volume to the minimum, and whispered into the phone.

"Yes, what’s going on?"

"Orders from the Guild Leader. I’m sending you an address. Go check it out. See if there’s an actual building there or if there’s something underground."

"Hmm, understood. I’ll head over immediately."

Minggijeok mouthed "Sorry" to Uijae, clearly signaling that it was guild business. Fine, Uijae thought—it seemed like Minggijeok had work to attend to, and he needed time to process everything anyway. Just as Uijae was about to step away and give him space, Baewonwoo's voice came through the phone again, laced with a sigh.

"This info came from Jung Bin. It’s related to Prometheus, from the looks of it. Make sure you dig up everything."

Minggijeok froze, his mouth hanging open. No matter how much he lowered the volume, the damage was done. He felt a cold chill run down his spine. Slowly, like a malfunctioning robot, he turned his head.

Two piercing blue eyes were already locked onto him, glowing faintly. Their owner’s lips curved into a sly smile. Without uttering a sound, J mouthed the words:

*"Prometheus?"*

Minggijeok squeezed his eyes shut in resignation.