Chapter 59

The Tesseract has awakened, and the Invader’s schemes have been thwarted.

Even Anser, who seemed beyond saving, is now perfectly fine.

In a way, it was an unbroken streak of the best possible outcomes.

It was only natural that the tension I’d been unconsciously holding onto finally eased.

But just then—Anser collapsed, still unconscious, and as I barely caught her before she hit the ground, reality came crashing back into my mind.

‘…This isn’t the time to let my guard down. The real challenge starts now.’

When I thought about it, there were still plenty of unresolved issues.

The biggest one? We needed to leave the scene quickly before the police caught us.

If they mistook us as the culprits behind all this chaos, it would be bad enough—but if they saw me using telekinesis, it’d cause an even bigger uproar. And if I got arrested, my lack of identity would make things extremely complicated.

Avoiding the police entirely would’ve been ideal, but Anser had scattered contract runes everywhere, likely sealing off every possible escape route. Breaking through their encirclement was going to be quite the challenge.

‘And then there’s the question of whether to leave Anser behind or take her with me.’

From what I overheard on the police radios, Anser was already labeled as the prime suspect.

Even if I took her and ran, we’d likely be relentlessly pursued. Once marked, we wouldn’t be free until we left Night Haven—if we ever could.

But leaving her behind didn’t sit right either—the scale of the incident weighed heavily on my mind.

An entire subway station had been sealed off, and every train passing through here had stopped. The financial damage alone was dizzying to even estimate.

Ultimately, Anser was just an innocent victim being manipulated. She hadn’t actually done anything wrong, yet she might end up taking all the blame.

‘Aaaargh! My head hurts! What am I supposed to do?! I don’t know!’

I grabbed my throbbing head with both hands while using telekinesis to hold the unconscious Anser.

Time was running out. The contracts Anser had scattered must’ve already lost their effect.

But no matter which choice I made, neither felt like the right answer, and it was driving me crazy.

Ah, how nice it would be to have some magical item that could solve all problems at times like this!

Thinking that, I stared at the Tesseract rolling around in my palm.

Hmm, relying on the Tesseract to fix this situation felt a bit tricky.

Setting aside the issue of not having anything to offer as payment, the Tesseract wasn’t some omnipotent wish-granting tool to begin with.

‘The Tesseract merely forces out the latent potential within a person. While it could restore Anser and me to perfect states without injuries… it probably wouldn’t help much right now.’

This won’t work, that won’t work—then what should I do?!

After floundering for a moment, I slapped my cheeks with both hands to steel my resolve.

First, let’s get out of here. I’ll think about the rest later.

Feeling the stinging sensation on my cheeks, I decided to leave the area immediately.

If things go wrong, they go wrong—I’ll figure something out!

Thud thud thud…

“…”

From a distance, the sound of the ground trembling reached my ears.

It seemed the police, who had been blocked from entering earlier, were now making their way inside.

I probably had about two minutes before they reached me.

In that short amount of time, I had to somehow magically escape. Was it even possible?

‘Wait, hold on. What if I…’

Just then, an idea flashed through my mind as I scanned my surroundings.

What was the biggest problem right now?

Escaping without being seen in this narrow underground rail line was impossible.

But if I could just stay hidden, wouldn’t that solve more than half the problem?

“…!”

With a decent plan in mind, I stomped hard on the ground with my foot.

Then, I extended my telekinesis to the objects beneath me, gripping them tightly.

What I grabbed were the gravel pieces under the railway tracks—shock-absorbing material meant to reduce noise and distribute impact.

Perhaps thanks to the Invader Fragment boosting my strength, the weight of the gravel I gripped totaled a whopping two tons.

‘And now… I’ll clump them together!’

The gravel floated into the air at my command, molding together like clay in front of me.

In moments, it took the shape of a giant.

If I had to name it, “Gravel Giant” sounded about right.

Without hesitation, I climbed atop the newly formed giant with Anser, leaving her on its palm while I slipped inside its body.

The gravel was dusty and dirty, but since the tablecloth draped over me would get filthy instead, I didn’t need to worry about that part.

‘Alright, let’s go. Back the way we came!’

Boom! Boom!

The Gravel Giant I controlled with telekinesis began running dynamically along the railway tracks.

Though hastily made, its joints functioned well enough for us to traverse the underground rail lines at a decent speed.

“T-T-Team Leader! There’s something strange…!”

“S-Support needed! A bizarre figure appeared inside the tracks! Aaargh!”

“What kind of power is this…!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

My carefully crafted Gravel Giant No. 1 bulldozed through everything in its path.

Of course, colliding head-on with a two-ton giant would turn anyone into a bloody mess, so I subtly used telekinesis to push people aside without drawing attention.

Perhaps due to its imposing size of three meters and unstoppable momentum, the police task force trying to enter the tracks was utterly powerless against it. This ambush was proving quite effective.

Still, they had prepared thoroughly for their assault, so perhaps it wasn’t surprising that I sensed an ominous presence closing in behind me as I charged forward blindly.

“Everyone, move aside! Procella!”

Kaboom!

A storm surged forth with enough force to pierce through the underground rail line, rushing toward me in an instant.

If I took that hit directly, even the Gravel Giant’s physical form would be obliterated. Magic truly was terrifying—it sent chills down my spine.

But I wasn’t worried. I was running full speed along the tracks…

And I could freely manipulate the gravel beneath them!

‘Block it!’

At the moment the Gravel Giant slammed its foot into the ground, I used telekinesis to lift the gravel beneath the tracks high into the air.

In an instant, a thick wall of gravel several meters tall formed in midair.

The rotating gravel wall countered the destructive force of the storm by spinning in the opposite direction.

The fearsome storm magic tore through the thick gravel wall and dissipated harmlessly into the air.

“Wh-what…?”

“The Team Leader’s magic…!”

They probably hadn’t expected their prepared spell to be so easily nullified.

After that, the police’s formation completely collapsed, and they couldn’t stop the tank-like Gravel Giant.

Once the encirclement was broken, it was smooth sailing.

I raced along the empty tracks and reached the outside in no time.

‘W-we broke through…! I really gambled recklessly, but… it worked.’

The Gravel Giant I created was practically unstoppable by ordinary standards, though against someone like Alice, it’d be nothing more than a minor nuisance easily dispatched.

Thankfully, the wide encirclement had created a relatively weak spot, which I considered sheer luck.

But someone might wonder: If I’m supposed to hide my identity, why am I causing such a commotion?

Of course, this was all part of a meticulously planned strategy.

Let’s think about it. My main concerns were twofold:

My identity being exposed and becoming a fugitive in the city.

And this entire incident being pinned solely on Anser.

Acting openly with the Gravel Giant was the only way to address both issues simultaneously.

As long as I concealed the connection between me and the Gravel Giant, I could naturally slip out of the encirclement.

‘Now’s the chance while no one’s watching!’

As soon as I exited the underground rail line, I rolled out from the Gravel Giant’s rear and hid between nearby buildings.

Meanwhile, the Gravel Giant continued moving forward as I had programmed it, charging ahead like a runaway train.

However, my telekinesis had a drawback: its precision and power weakened with distance.

Controlling the Gravel Giant became increasingly difficult as it moved farther away.

‘Just a little more… just a little longer…’

Giving up here would ruin the outcome I wanted.

Fully aware of that, I gritted my teeth and maintained the connection while hiding tightly between the buildings.

Please, someone, come!

Perhaps my desperate plea reached the heavens. Someone stepped forward to stop the steadily advancing Gravel Giant.

It was none other than Ethan, the man I’d encountered earlier.

“Stop, giant. Surrender peacefully and remain where you are.”

“…”

“Oh? So that’s how it’s going to be? Fine, then you’re now an accomplice. Arrested on the spot.”

Ethan smirked as he stood before the Gravel Giant, which was carrying Anser in its grasp.

He pulled out a baton commonly used by police officers.

“Special Team 3 Leader Ethan. Encountered an accomplice fleeing with a suspect. Location: tunnel entrance. Attempting apprehension. Requesting backup.”

Boom! Boom!

The Gravel Giant charged toward Ethan with ferocious momentum along the tracks.

At this rate, Ethan might get caught in the violent clash of mass and meet a grim fate!

Yet, he casually continued his radio communication.

As the Gravel Giant approached him, Ethan swung the baton upward with tremendous force.

Whack!

The multi-ton giant was lifted off the ground in an instant.

Ethan gently caught Anser, who had been floating in the air after being dropped by the giant.

He spun his body and delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to the giant’s abdomen.

The giant flew through the air, crashing into an empty area and collapsing.

Such overwhelming strength—it was unbelievable for a single person. He’s really something else.

“Why do you keep causing trouble? Special Team 3 Leader Ethan. Two suspects secured. Guys, relay this to HQ.”

Cradling the limp Anser, Ethan walked toward the fallen giant.

Two suspects?

It seemed he viewed the giant as some kind of non-human race.

Well, that made sense.

If it were a golem, traces of magic would’ve been detectable.

But a giant moving on its own without any magic?

To the uninformed, it’d be easy to mistake it for a type of stone giant.

‘Now’s the moment!’

When Ethan reached the Gravel Giant, I finally released my telekinetic grip.

The giant began crumbling apart from its edges, melting away like a person dissolving. Ethan’s eyebrows twitched involuntarily at the bizarre sight.

“What… is this?”

Clang.

A shard of metal fell weakly from inside the giant.

It was the Invader Fragment that had been embedded in Anser’s chest earlier.

Now devoid of power, it looked like an ordinary, useless piece of metal.

But if analyzed in a lab… they’d likely realize it belonged to the Invaders.

If that happened, the police would naturally assume this wasn’t Anser’s doing alone—that there must be another party involved. Wouldn’t Anser’s perception shift from criminal to victim of manipulation?

‘If that happens… phew, that’d be great.’

After confirming Ethan had retrieved the Invader Fragment, I quietly slipped away.

This was the best I could do. The future was completely out of my hands.

If things went south, it’d be an unavoidable outcome.

Snow continued to fall from the sky.

When would this winter ever end?

Thanks to the snow obscuring my presence, I managed to return quietly to the Fixer Office without causing any disturbances.

“Y-Yuria!”

“…”

Near the office, in an empty park, Sabrina was waiting on a bench.

Her ears and nose were bright red as she browsed the news on her terminal.

The report stated that the bomb planted at the station had been fully defused, allowing subway operations to resume. That side was completely resolved too.

“So… how did it go?”

“…!”

Before Sabrina, who asked how things turned out, I removed the dusty tablecloth and gave a clumsy smile while cautiously raising my thumb.

Wouldn’t this count as one problem solved?

That was the gist of it, anyway.