Chapter 44 – No Time to Spare (Part Four)

“It… actually worked?”

Il-hyeon stared down at his palm, bewildered.

The mouse perched on it, having absorbed the Ether, was now licking the shattered core fragments as if wanting more.

He tried to dismiss the summon, just as he had before, but the mouse showed no reaction.

“What happened? Did something change?”

Lee Soo-yeon, who had witnessed the scene, leaned in close to the mouse to get a better look and asked Il-hyeon.

On the outside, nothing seemed different.

“It completely absorbed the Ether from the core. I’m not sure of the details, but it’s not draining my energy to maintain, and the summon isn’t dissipating.”

“…Does that mean you can create an endless number of summons as long as you have cores?”

Lee Soo-yeon said, glancing down at the phoenix in her arms.

If there were no limits on the duration and number of summons he could maintain, it would be an absurdly powerful ability.

Powerful enough to completely upend common sense and single-handedly change the entire defense system.

“I’m not sure yet. Besides, the problem is…”

Il-hyeon trailed off.

The summons weren’t the only ones who needed cores.

Il-hyeon needed them too.

As many as he could get.

The reason he had grown so quickly was thanks to devouring a significant number of cores.

If he hadn’t happened to join Aegis, he never would have been able to obtain so many.

His summons becoming independent like this was a groundbreaking development he had never anticipated.

He no longer needed to divert his power to them during a fight, and it even became possible to send them to a Gate on the other side of the world.

However, it would be a problem if they required so many cores that it hindered his own growth.

“True, you need cores too. And now, they might even need something like food.”

Lee Soo-yeon murmured, nodding.

Since the summons had been created and sustained by Il-hyeon’s power, they might now need a continuous supply of Ether to function.

Just then, the phoenix in Lee Soo-yeon’s arms squirmed and slipped free.

It then hopped onto one of Il-hyeon’s arms.

He steadied the creature with his hand as it nuzzled against him, despite its size.

“Well, anyway, this is great.”

Il-hyeon said, stroking the phoenix’s head.

While it gave him a lot to think about, he figured it was still a cause for celebration for his summons.

Meanwhile, the mouse had climbed up onto Il-hyeon’s shoulder.

‘I feel like some kind of zookeeper.’

“Oh? You’ve got one more now?”

Ghost approached.

He handed Il-hyeon and Lee Soo-yeon each a slightly dented canned drink.

“The convenience store right in front of us was wrecked, so I had to use my ability to get these.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Lee Soo-yeon chuckled at Ghost’s showboating.

She popped open the can, took a sip, and asked.

“So, what’s the general situation?”

“The cleanup will take a while, but they told us to pull out first. They’re certain there are no monsters left.”

There were only two monsters that came out of the Gate, and the moment the Tog’s core was destroyed, the others stopped moving, so there was no chance they missed any.

“Guess we can have a leisurely breakfast then. Where should we eat?”

“Everything around here is destroyed anyway. Why don’t we just eat back at the hotel?”

“The breakfast they prepare there is always the same. I’m sick of it.”

“I don’t know…”

The two, who had been bickering, turned their gazes to one place.

In cases like this, there was nothing better than a majority vote.

Since there were three of them, Il-hyeon, who now held the deciding vote, didn’t even need to think.

During their stay, the local government had provided support in various ways, and that included meals.

Honestly, the food was so good it would be hard to find a better meal even at a high-end restaurant.

“I think the hotel…”

“Ah! Seriously? You’re such a suck-up.”

“Good, a wise choice. And you can’t trust this one’s cheap palate. He’d probably suggest we go get burgers somewhere.”

Lee Soo-yeon clapped her hands in satisfaction.

It wasn’t just about the taste; he had simply gotten into the habit of following his superior’s opinion in these matters.

“It’s fine. We still have Pil-joon.”

Ghost said, not yet ready to concede.

But when Seok Pil-joon returned from his business and joined them, he had to give up his last glimmer of hope.

Seok Pil-joon said he didn’t care either way and promptly abstained, making the hotel an easy decision.

Leaving Ghost to his despair, Seok Pil-joon spoke up.

“By the way, this cycle seems more relaxed than I expected. I heard there hasn’t been any significant news from other places either.”

The dark dawn had passed, and the sun was beginning to rise.

During that time, no major incidents had occurred, not just in Europe but elsewhere as well.

Usually, when a danger cycle began, high-rank Gates would appear one after another, but not this time.

Of course, the number of Gates had increased, but not to the extent the whole world had been bracing for.

“It’s only been a few hours. Well, honestly, I thought it might be too much for the four of us, but we seem to have some breathing room. That’s a relief.”

Even Lee Soo-yeon had thought that covering an entire continent with just the four of them, without Team Leader Jeong Jin-seong, was a bit of a stretch during a danger cycle.

But based on the situation so far, it seemed like the four of them could handle it.

Just then, the receivers they carried began to blare simultaneously.

-Greece A3, Finland A5, Belgium B1. Surprise Gates have appeared simultaneously! Transmitting information now.

“…So much for breakfast.”

* * *

The fifth cycle, which had seemed to be passing quietly for a moment.

But unfortunately, the law of the odd-numbered cycles proved true.

Over thirty high-rank Gates opened simultaneously around the world.

Half of them were surprise Gates, and the simultaneous outbreaks threw every region into chaos.

“Damn, are the Gates pulling a Spirit Bomb on us? Everything’s going crazy at once.”

Ghost grumbled from inside the transport aircraft.

He’d been through all sorts of trials working around the world, but he’d never seen anything like this.

Even the ranks of the individual Gates were unprecedentedly high.

“It’s an A3-rank… Will you be okay on your own?”

Seok Pil-joon said, looking at Lee Soo-yeon with concern.

Even for an A-rank Awakened, their power was only enough to ‘face an average A-rank monster’; victory was never guaranteed.

Even for someone like Lee Soo-yeon, taking on a Gate alone was dangerous.

“I’ll have to manage. An A5-rank Gate will be dangerous for the two of you as well. Be careful.”

Lee Soo-yeon said.

The levels of the Gates that had opened everywhere were far beyond what the local government’s Awakened could handle.

It was an emergency, so they had to split up. Lee Soo-yeon would take the highest-ranked A3 Gate, the experienced Ghost and Seok Pil-joon would take the A5 Gate, and Il-hyeon was assigned the remaining B1 Gate.

Lee Soo-yeon looked at Il-hyeon.

“You’ve faced B-rank monsters a few times, but a B1-rank will be different. Just focus on buying time for the civilians.”

“Understood.”

“The same goes for the rest of you. Cooperate with the local Awakened and just buy time until support arrives. Don’t push yourselves.”

Il-hyeon swallowed hard, sensing the grave atmosphere inside the aircraft.

To think his first solo mission since joining Aegis would be like this.

But even in this situation, the two summons sitting next to Il-hyeon were perfectly calm.

The mouse, fearlessly messing with the much larger phoenix, got swatted by a wing and was knocked flat on the floor.

‘Can I really count on these two…?’