Around the time the powerful heroes were wrapping up the academy's entrance ceremony.
Maxwell was returning to Black Cell after finishing an exhausting schedule.
He did, however, have one stop to make along the way.
"A specialty children's bedding store, you said?"
"I'd like to replace the blankets and pillows for the children in my care. I've already gotten the Director's approval, of course."
"In that case, Maxwell, I do know of a place — shall we head there?"
"That works perfectly for me. I'll leave it in your hands."
Fortunately, the bodyguards and driver agreed to the brief detour.
He began mulling over what colors to buy for the bedding.
How would the three of them react when they received these gifts?
Maxwell, genuinely looking forward to it, turned his gaze toward the window.
Watching the scenery blur past on the highway, he reflected on the mission he'd just completed.
'So it really was a refresh, just like the Director said. Like a little vacation.'
Being surrounded by decent people had, without question, left its mark on him.
But once he returned to Black Cell, he'd have to pull the tension taut again.
Still, there was plenty of road left ahead.
Maxwell quietly savored the lingering warmth the academy had left behind.
He had planned to catch a brief nap in the car — tonight would inevitably stretch into another late shift — but then, without warning, the bodyguards riding with him began to stir.
"What's going on?"
"M-Maxwell, sir, right beside the vehicle—"
Following the bodyguard's cue, Maxwell quickly scanned both sides of the car. Riders on motorcycles had appeared alongside them.
Everyone inside was still processing what on earth was happening when the riders reached into their jackets and pulled something out.
Every vehicle on the highway lurched in panic.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-BANG!!!
SCREEEECH!!
Gunfire erupted out of nowhere.
And the attackers' target was exclusively the Black Cell vehicle.
"Ngh—?!"
"What's our status?!"
"It's a custom-armored limousine — this much won't even scratch it!!"
Fortunately, this was a limousine built to protect a VVIP above all else.
A few bullets at this level left nothing more than surface marks, and among the bodyguards was an ability user capable of generating a defensive barrier.
The doubly-protected vehicle held firm against the sustained barrage — but stray rounds were ricocheting into the surrounding cars, and the highway was rapidly descending into chaos.
'Whoever they are, their target right now is us.'
Breaking away from the highway was the only way to prevent further collateral damage.
Maxwell pressed a device the Director had given him and immediately ordered the driver to leave the road.
The driver, clearly earning every reason Black Cell had hired him, threaded through every vehicle and obstacle ahead without a single mistake.
At last, the car smashed through a guardrail and barely managed to break free — off the highway and off the regular road entirely.
But the attackers were still on their motorcycles, closing in, and shaking them off was out of the question.
The riders didn't just keep pace while continuing to fire at the car as it plunged into the forest — they went further——
———BOOM!!!
"On top?!"
"There's nothing I can do about that!!"
"It's fine — just keep driving!!"
They had climbed directly onto the roof.
The incomprehensible brute strength of the attacker above began tearing the roof apart piece by piece.
Through the widening gap, the identities of the attackers came into view.
CRRRRRUNCH!!
"We'll avenge our brothers!!!"
They were the remnants of the mutants who had once raided Black Cell.
They had clearly discovered, by some means, that they'd been used — and had come for payback.
One of the bodyguards fired a burst of compressed air through the gap in the roof, and the mutant on top was sent flying in a spray of blood.
"Damn it… how the hell did these vermin find us?"
"Mutants, of all things——"
"For now, let's all stay calm."
Having just made their first public appearance at such a high-profile event, the odds of being identified were extremely high. Maxwell pointed this out, and the bodyguards clenched their teeth and kept fighting off the pursuing mutants.
The chase carried Black Cell's vehicle and the revenge-driven mutants away from the nearby town and deeper into a dense forest.
Spotting the countless trees surrounding them, the mutants let out a triumphant cry.
"Hahaha! Idiots!!"
"How are you going to run in that oversized thing through here?!"
"The blood vengeance for our captured comrades is at hand!!"
Just as expected, the densely packed trees forced Black Cell's vehicle to a stop.
Sensing that the end had finally come, the mutants pulled up with bravado, leveling their guns at the car.
But in truth, the ones trapped like rats were them.
Rustle.
An alien sound of footsteps drifted in from the surrounding darkness.
Many of the mutants possessed hearing several times sharper than an ordinary human's.
They picked up on the wrongness almost immediately.
Then, unknown soldiers materialized in their field of vision.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!"
"Don't tell me there's a military installation nearby?!"
"No — those are—!!"
The Black Cell insignia was emblazoned on the soldiers' uniforms.
As the vast number of Black Cell special agents revealed themselves, a flicker of unease crossed the mutants' eyes for the first time.
The limousine was enveloped in a powerful circular barrier, and the bodyguards stepped out of the car.
Maxwell, the current VIP under protection, emerged alongside them.
He took a moment to survey his surroundings.
As the sun slipped further below the horizon, the deep forest was darkening rapidly.
Maxwell had, just moments ago, been somewhere warm and sunlit.
But he was reminded now that the place he truly stood was somewhere cold and dark like this.
'To think the saying was actually true — that darkness yearns for the light….'
Maxwell smiled quietly, a trace of bitterness in it.
The head of the security detail, noticing this, offered a quiet word of counsel.
"Maxwell, sir, there's no need for you to be out here. Please, return to the vehicle."
With the special agents on the scene, the fate of the mutants who had led this attack was already decided.
The security chief was asking him, gently, to step away — to spare himself the sight of what came next.
But a cold gaze fixed on him immediately.
"I'm truly sorry, but I would rather not look away from the consequences of an order I gave. I want to face them directly."
Maxwell paused, then turned his eyes to the mutants and continued.
Handle it.
The frigid words echoed through the deep forest.
The moment the order fell, the special agents moved with sharp, practiced efficiency, and anti-ability weapons emerged one after another.
The mutants thrashed and fought back as best they could.
But this deep stretch of forest had already been cut off from the outside world by a device Black Cell had deployed.
In the end, not a single trace remained in that place.
*******************
The sudden ambush on the highway was resolved cleanly.
Not that it was over, of course.
Countless dashcam recordings on the road had captured our movements.
If handled poorly, it could easily become a serious headache — but once Black Cell's special agents stepped in, most of the problems were dealt with.
The agents manipulated every trace of evidence in the forest, then brought in a new limousine and swiftly sent us back up to Pyongyang.
They changed into the attire of ordinary security personnel and received the heroes and journalists who came to investigate.
Before long, news of the incident began filtering through on the radio.
[ Can we speak with those who were attacked? ]
[ They've suffered a significant shock and are unavailable at this time. ]
[ Why was Black Cell targeted in this attack? ]
[ We have no information on that. ]
"Special agents really are something else."
"They're certainly thorough, those ones."
The special agents stonewalling every question from journalists and heroes with complete composure were genuinely reassuring.
Once things had settled to a reasonable degree, we were even able to pick up gifts for the children in Pyongyang.
Pulling into Black Cell's underground parking garage afterward, I feel an odd, almost unsettling sense of relief.
'Why do I feel at ease walking into the heart of a villainous organization….'
I suppose it's true that humans are creatures of adaptation.
Regardless, the bodyguards and the driver had worked incredibly hard today.
The driver especially — what on earth had he done before this job?
The driving I'd just witnessed was beyond anything words could adequately describe.
Thanks to him, no one was hurt. He deserved a reward.
"I'll personally petition the Director for a special bonus on your behalf."
"Hahaha, Maxwell, you really do know how to handle people. But could you put in a word for those friends over there as well?"
I glanced over at the driver and the bodyguards. Everyone wore a slightly sheepish expression.
"Ahem… we're truly grateful you're looking out for us as well."
"No, no — I'm the one who's grateful."
The bedding for the children was quite bulky, so the bodyguards helped carry it, while the driver coolly drove off.
All that was left was to report to the Director, and today would be done.
But stepping inside Black Cell, the atmosphere was strangely, oppressively subdued.
The bodyguards were beginning to sense it too, when—
"M-Maxwell, senior!"
"Amano?"
My junior colleague approached me, face drained of all color.
Listening to a rough summary of what had happened…
"So an informant was caught."
"Y-yes……"
Today, Black Cell had not only identified an informant — they had carried out a public execution on the spot.
It was no wonder the mood inside Black Cell had turned so grim.
"The informant was one of my fellow recruits, for what it's worth. But their nationality…"
"An industrial spy from China, then."
So a foreign spy had felt enough of a guilty conscience to abandon their mission entirely.
But this incident showed no signs of ending there.
"There's more than one?"
"It seems like there might be several. So please be careful, senior."
Amano was warning me not to get on the wrong side of the organization or the Director — not to end up falsely branded as an informant.
But the moment I heard those words from my junior colleague—
A flash cut through my mind, and a single possibility took shape.
Could it be that the Director was using this situation to her advantage?
With the informant incident, the freedom of everyone in the organization had been severely curtailed.
People were watching their every step, and on top of that, everyone was working harder than ever to stay in the Director's good graces.
Viewed as a tool of rule by fear, it was, without question, a perfect arrangement.
It was still only a hypothesis — but it was entirely possible the Director already knew exactly who every informant was.
After parting ways with Amano, who had given me that insight, I made my way toward the Director's office to file my return report.
The bodyguards still carrying the gifts clearly had no desire to go inside, so I decided to meet the Director alone and knocked.
Knock knock knock!
"Come in."
A surprisingly calm voice came from within.
But when I opened the door and stepped inside, there was a woman I'd never seen before standing in attendance beside the Director.
I had the strange feeling I recognized her somehow, when—
The Director greeted me warmly.
"Maxwell! You really worked hard this time! I even heard you got ambushed by a bunch of idiots?"
"Thanks to your foresight, we made it out just fine."
"The more defensive measures, the better. Oh, and this is someone you haven't met yet, isn't she?"
The woman waiting in the room was none other than the Director's new secretary.
"She's a talented individual sent over from our group."
"Pleased to meet you, Maxwell. My name is Min Chae-rin."
The moment I heard the secretary's name, my stomach dropped.
This woman possessed an ability to detect lies.
In the future, she had been a freelancer working for the Hero Association.
But she had been working for Black Group now?
I had just pieced together how the informant had been caught, when—
"Maxwell, about this time——"
The Director had no intention of hearing my report.
The ideological verification began immediately.