Chapter 134 – Headhunter (Part Fourteen)

“Alright, his condition has stabilized for now.”

Gwen muttered, wiping the sweat from her brow.

She was currently leading a critical surgery.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside, and a staff member burst through the door in a panic.

“We… we have a huge problem!”

Gwen frowned at the unwelcome interruption during a time that demanded focus.

“We’re in the middle of surgery! What do you think you’re—!”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and the staff member pitched forward.

It took a few seconds after he collapsed for the people in the operating room to understand what had happened.

“What… what the—!”

“Aaaah!”

The man who had stormed into the chaotic room was unfazed by the murder he had just committed, his eyes scanning the area as if searching for someone.

After checking each face, he spotted Gwen and approached her.

She was stunned, having witnessed a gruesome murder right before her eyes, when a rough hand seized her wrist.

Gwen was dragged toward the door before she could even resist.

But in that instant, with a clean slice, the man’s head came off.

The attack was too fast to see, let alone react to; the man never even knew he was being targeted.

His severed head and torso simply rolled to the floor, separate from each other.

The one responsible for the attack, which had sliced through even the protective function of a Defensive Coat in a single blow, was Astrid, who now appeared in the open doorway.

“Get out here. It’s dangerous.”

“We… we have to save him…!”

Gwen, nearly in a full-blown panic, frantically turned over the dead staff member’s body to check his condition.

His heart had been pierced, leaving no hope, yet she clung to the corpse for a long moment.

Astrid gave her a cold look and forcibly pulled her to her feet.

“He’s already dead. Get up, unless you want to cause more trouble for everyone else.”

“What is all this…? D-don’t tell me you’re behind this?”

“Hah, if you’ve got a head on your shoulders, try using it.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Realizing even she had gone too far with her assumption, Gwen quickly apologized.

“There are at least dozens of Awakened below. From the way they’re moving, you seem to be the target, so stick close to me. You won’t die, at least.”

“That’s absurd. There’s no reason for anyone to suddenly target me.”

Gwen stopped in her tracks as she was being pushed along.

“It’s a clear fact, whether you want to deny it or not. I don’t know the reason, but that man died because of you, too.”

“What kind of nonsense is that—!”

“Quiet! Just move. I don’t have time to coddle you. I need to clean this up and get back.”

Astrid cut her off sharply.

Though she had no choice with things escalating like this, she didn’t like leaving the injured Il-hyeon alone.

Besides, she didn’t have the patience to speak kindly to the woman who had been nagging Il-hyeon, of all people.

“This is…”

Finally pushed outside, Gwen clamped a hand over her mouth.

The hall was strewn with bloodstains and dozens of bodies.

A gruesome scene unfolded before her eyes.

Moreover, the dead were only a fraction of the people still trapped inside, paralyzed with fear.

“First, three.”

As Astrid muttered, an elevator opened, revealing three Awakened inside.

But a powerful electric current immediately shot into the elevator, charring the entire interior and its occupants. The syndicate members, now burned beyond recognition, collapsed to the floor.

“And five.”

Astrid stomped her foot hard, collapsing the floor around them.

She fell to the floor below with a terrified Gwen, landing softly and swinging her sword in an instant.

The five syndicate members who had conveniently surrounded them were split clean in two.

Blood splattered everywhere, and the civilians who had been forced to their knees by the thugs screamed and fled.

Even as her mind reeled, the faint sight of splattering blood and dismembered bodies made Gwen shudder with horrific revulsion.

“Ugh…! Are you insane? How could you do this to another person…?”

“How noisy.”

Astrid scoffed at Gwen’s ridiculous words.

From her perspective, it was more surprising that anyone could feel sympathy for scum who went around doing things like this.

But just then, a man hiding among the numerous civilians suddenly raised his arm.

As the man’s arm pointed toward Astrid, her body slowly began to crumble away.

Swoosh.

“An ability, I see…”

Astrid murmured, looking down at her own arm as it broke apart and vanished pixel by pixel, like a glitching computer screen.

It was a very strange sensation, but there was no particular pain or sense of crisis.

A moment later, she had vanished completely. The man who used the ability panted heavily, leaning against a wall.

“I poured all my power into that, but five kilometers was the limit. That white-haired woman… she’s unbelievably strong.”

His banishment ability’s range depended on the target’s resistance and power. Not only had he failed to send the woman far, but he was also completely drained, his legs trembling.

“Damn it, I’ve never seen her before. Where did a monster like that come from?”

“Still, that should be enough time. Let’s finish this before she gets back.”

Five or six syndicate members who had been disguised as civilians stood up and approached Gwen.

Overwhelmed by events she had never experienced in her life, her legs were frozen stiff.

“This is the woman, for sure. What’s the plan?”

“The original plan was to take her quietly… but the mission has changed. We’ll dispose of her here and now.”

The man said, then grabbed Gwen’s throat.

An impossibly strong grip tightened around her neck.

“Kuh… ghk…! W-why are you doing this…?”

“You don’t need to know. But I’ll make it painless for you.”

The man said with a smirk.

For an Awakened, snapping an unawakened person’s neck was easier than breaking a child’s arm.

Just as he was about to apply the slightest bit of pressure to his loose grip and end Gwen’s life…

Rumble! Craaack!

A tremendously powerful bolt of lightning suddenly smashed through an exterior wall.

The unexpected lightning bolt precisely targeted the syndicate members on the floor, vaporizing them without a trace.

Crackle! Crackle!

It was so powerful that sparks of electricity continued to dance in the air for some time after the lightning vanished.

And yet, despite the immense power, neither Gwen nor the nearby civilians were harmed in the slightest.

Having witnessed the syndicate members right in front of her disappear in a flash of lightning, Gwen’s legs gave out, and she collapsed.

Astrid flew in through the shattered hospital wall and landed.

Misty black wings were spread behind her—Astrid’s ability, which had copied the flight power of the variant monster, Asu.

“You look terrible.”

Astrid said, glancing at Gwen.

Her face was so pale and haggard that it was almost pitiful to look at.

Just as she was considering kicking Gwen in the stomach to knock her out for convenience, Gwen spoke in a trembling voice.

“They… they really were targeting me…”

Gwen managed to force out the words, looking up at Astrid.

She hadn’t believed it when she first heard it, but the thugs’ conversation had made it certain.

They had truly come here for her.

“I don’t lie.”

Astrid retorted curtly, folding the wings on her back.

They dissolved into a black mist and scattered into the air.

“So, what are you going to do now? They’re not the type to give up after this. They’ll keep coming for you.”

“I’ll have to request protection from the authorities. A hospital should be a priority…”

“No, they’re too busy. The city hasn’t even been fully restored yet. In a situation that’s practically a war, do you really think they’ll assign Awakened just to protect you? Besides, a couple of weak Awakened wouldn’t keep you safe from them anyway.”

Gwen fell silent at Astrid’s cold assessment.

In truth, she vaguely knew it herself.

If they didn’t give up after this one attack, it would be difficult for her to survive.

She couldn’t expect proper protection from the government, and hiring bodyguards with her own money had obvious limitations.

But there was no other way.

She was neither a powerful Awakened nor a high-ranking government official.

And to her, a hand was extended.

“We can protect you.”

“You mean Aegis?”

“To be precise, Il-hyeon… Mr. Il-hyeon will.”

“If I accept his offer, you mean?”

“Yes. I don’t like you, but it’s not like we’ll have much to do with each other even if you join the team.”

“But…”

Gwen still hesitated.

Then, with a nonchalant expression, Astrid glanced around and added another comment.

“This hospital will probably keep getting attacked. It’s already a mess, but… there might not be any pillars left standing.”

“You can’t do that!”

Gwen cried out.

She couldn’t let everything she had built, her medical staff, and her patients suffer any more damage.

“The choice is yours.”

She crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

Gwen met the piercing red eyes and fell into deep thought.

But her hesitation was brief; she made a decision.

“Please. Protect this place so no one else gets hurt.”

“Gladly.”

For the first time, Astrid gave her a faint smile.

Then she turned her back and drew her sword.

Crackling currents of electricity were visible around the sharp blade.

Was it because they were now definitively on the same side? The back of the woman who had seemed so terrifying now looked incredibly reliable.

Having witnessed her skills firsthand, she wasn’t worried, no matter how many opponents they faced.

‘Is this the right choice…?’

Gwen was worried about whether joining them was truly a good decision.

She had been to an Awakened’s worksite only once and had witnessed two teams fight to the death over a few measly core fragments.

After that incredibly sordid and selfish incident, she had sworn never to get involved in the world of the Awakened.

But now, she had no choice.

“Oh, right.”

Astrid stopped as if she had remembered something.

She turned around and asked Gwen, who was staring at her in confusion.

“By any chance, do you know how to peel fruit?”