Chapter 166 – The Battle (Part One)

The pre-dawn hours were steeped in darkness.

Despite the late hour, the Aegis headquarters was still bustling with countless people coming and going.

Gates and Monsters appeared at all hours, so this was to be expected.

Staring blankly down at the headquarters below from inside the moving helicopter, Il-hyeon watched the bright lights and tried to sort through his complicated thoughts.

It was a standard transport helicopter, slower than the transport craft he usually rode, but even from this distance, the interior of the headquarters was as clear to his eyes as if it were in the palm of his hand.

“Ugh, damn these psychic ability users, seriously…”

Lee Soo-yeon muttered, clutching her head.

Her resistance to special powers was on the lower side compared to other Awakened of her class, and the aftereffects of the mental domination were quite severe. The addition of a shaky helicopter ride was now making her motion sick.

Sitting beside her, Jeong Jin-seong threw a question at Il-hyeon.

“How did you know Pil-joon was going to be attacked by them? That kind of information must have been hard to get.”

On the way here, Il-hyeon had explained everything that had happened to Jeong Jin-seong.

The identity of their enemies, the methods they’d employed so far, and even their objective, which Kim Yu-jin had blabbed about.

But if all that was true, it would have been even more difficult for Il-hyeon to orchestrate the events that had just transpired.

“I happened to get a glimpse of the future.”

“…You have that kind of power now, too?”

“No. It’s this guy’s ability.”

Il-hyeon gestured slightly toward the Peacemaker.

It looked like an ordinary, perfectly normal sword, and Jeong Jin-seong’s expression turned to one of bewilderment.

But when the sword spoke, the expressions of everyone in the helicopter changed once more.

“Hey, say something. You’re usually so talkative.”

“Other people. Different. When in front.”

The sword’s clipped way of speaking.

The sound came directly from the sword, which didn’t even have a mouth. Even Lee Soo-yeon turned to look, surprised.

A talking sword or a sword with a will of its own was a type of ability that had never appeared before, and she peppered Il-hyeon with questions about what he had done.

But when they heard the true identity of the sword he possessed, they were once again so shocked they couldn’t close their mouths.

“The Peacemaker…?”

“You can use that now?”

“Mm… a little.”

Il-hyeon answered vaguely.

Originally, the Peacemaker was not an object that just anyone could use.

In fact, it wasn’t that just anyone couldn’t use it, but rather that no one but Min Ji-hoon could.

Even the Awakened who created it was said to have been surprised when such a picky item emerged. It went without saying that neither Ryu Jin-tae, the current Director of Aegis, nor the now-retired Baek Il-ho—both members of the legendary trio who were once the strongest—could handle it.

But Il-hyeon had clearly applied his own ability to the Peacemaker and was even able to use its future-sight ability.

‘I need the core, but it’s not like I can’t use it at all.’

*Clunk!*

While they were talking, they arrived at the headquarters.

As the two helicopters landed one after another, Hyeon-seo, who was the first to open the door, disembarked, dragging the unconscious Hwa-yeon with her.

To prevent any surprise attacks or rescue attempts, she had maintained a constantly shifting force field around them during the flight. Now that they had reached their destination, she didn’t have to worry about suddenly losing her captive even with the field down.

After the first terrorist incident, Aegis had installed a device around the headquarters to suppress spatial intervention abilities. Not even Hyeon-seo could use her spatial leap to reach Il-hyeon inside this area.

“Then I’ll move her to the basement first.”

“Alright.”

Il-hyeon nodded as he stepped out of the helicopter, and Hyeon-seo took Hwa-yeon into the building.

Lee Soo-yeon immediately went off to find Seok Pil-joon, who was being treated by the headquarters’ medical team, while Jeong Jin-seong had to leave right away, having been personally summoned by Director Ryu Jin-tae.

“Don’t tell me the Director is in league with them, is he?”

“No, In-hwa confirmed that part herself, so you don’t have to worry.”

Hong In-hwa.

She was a returning member of Team A with the ability to see into the past. If what he said was true, she could be trusted.

It wasn’t something he hadn’t considered, but he was surprised that even an S-rank Awakened like Ryu Jin-tae could fall victim to a mental intervention ability.

Now that they had Hwa-yeon, he didn’t need to worry about the Director being the mastermind, which was a relief. But it was a headache trying to figure out who else could be pulling the strings.

A powerhouse strong enough to be at the top of their organization wouldn’t have just fallen out of the sky. Someone should have come to mind by now, but strangely, he couldn’t think of anyone who fit the bill.

“Now what…”

Once everyone had left, Il-hyeon looked around, lost in thought.

He had already relayed the details of the situation via comms on his way back to headquarters, so there was no need for him to go around explaining it over and over.

Having pulled off something big, he felt like going home, kicking his feet up, and sleeping soundly, but that wasn’t an option.

Because of what Il-hyeon had done, the entire company was on high alert, and team leaders and members who had gone home were being called back.

With Hwa-yeon, a crucial part of their enemies’ plan, now locked up, they might launch an all-out assault on this place.

The teams currently in the field had to continue their operations, but the others were gathering here by the minute.

“Hoo…”

The cold winter night air filled his lungs, and it felt as if his racing mind was cooling down for a moment.

‘Maybe I’ll take a walk.’

There was nothing for him to do inside anyway, and as an Awakened, he didn’t feel the cold.

Shoving his hands deep into his coat pockets, Il-hyeon began to walk a wide circle around the less-trafficked outer perimeter of the headquarters.

Walking along the outside, he could see at a glance that a larger number of transport craft and helicopters than he expected were flying in and out of the base.

They were probably rushing to transport the grumbling Awakened, but surprisingly, not everyone was arriving by air.

Il-hyeon came face to face with an unexpected person who was trudging toward the building.

“You… you bastard…”

“Oh… fancy seeing you here.”

It was the leader of Aegis’s Team E, Oh Ji-seok, who was returning to base.

He reflexively pointed a finger, grinding his teeth the moment he saw Il-hyeon.

Well, Il-hyeon had certainly expected that kind of reaction.

“How have you been lately, senior?”

Il-hyeon asked, his tone relaxed.

Given the circumstances, he offered the courtesy of formal speech, but he no longer needed to use a title like ‘Team Leader’.

He’d boasted at a meeting of team leaders that he would step down if Alpha Team succeeded in even one S-rank Gate raid on their own. It would be difficult for him to go back on his word now.

Imagining his face, red and purple with rage as he was backed into a corner, was quite an enjoyable thought.

But surprisingly, Oh Ji-seok, who he expected to fly into a rage, broke from expectations and let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, you win. I never imagined you were that capable.”

“Pardon…?”

Il-hyeon stopped, a dumbfounded look on his face.

The mad dog Oh Ji-seok was acting as calm as a different person, which was more bewildering for Il-hyeon to witness than anything else.

But he had cleanly accepted the outcome.

“What? Did you think I wouldn’t keep my word? I’ve done my part. Once I finish the work I’m in charge of this month, I’ll step down as team leader and retire for good. As for my successor, there are a few decent candidates among the provisional team leaders, so there won’t be a problem.”

Il-hyeon’s expression turned strange at Oh Ji-seok’s dignified words.

Putting aside the fun of teasing him, it was a problem for him to react this way.

There was no denying his personality was crazy enough that it was a wonder he was still in Aegis, but it was also a fact that he was a powerful, battle-hardened veteran.

Losing such an asset during the fifth cycle, when they were already short-staffed, would be a huge blow. He needed to find a way to prevent that.

“Ah, are you running away because you’re scared?”

“What?”

At Il-hyeon’s words, Oh Ji-seok’s eyes lit up with fury.

But Il-hyeon continued, unfazed.

“I’m asking if you’re running away because you heard about Eclipse and got scared.”

“You crazy bastard, where do you get off spouting such nonsense…!”

Oh Ji-seok fumed, stepping right up to his face.

Being called a coward was something he would never tolerate.

“You don’t want to be demoted to a team member and stay in Aegis, so you’re just going to wash your hands of the situation and leave, aren’t you?”

“So you’re telling me to stay and be your lackey? Is that what you want? Huh?”

With a menacing expression, Oh Ji-seok finally grabbed Il-hyeon by the collar.

But Il-hyeon’s expression didn’t change as he raised a hand to grip his arm.

“Let’s change the terms of the bet. You don’t have to step down as team leader. Instead, there’s one condition.”

“A condition…?”

At his words, Oh Ji-seok let go of his collar.

Just as Il-hyeon was about to state his condition, an urgent transmission from Lee Soo-yeon came through the communicator in his ear.

– *Wait, I think I know now.*

“Sorry? Know what all of a sudden…”

– *The one behind all this… I mean, the one who’s likely leading Eclipse!*

Her unexpected words made Il-hyeon’s ears perk up. He gestured for Oh Ji-seok to wait and turned his head.

The reason Lee Soo-yeon had this sudden realization and contacted him was simple.

With Hwa-yeon captured and her abilities sealed, parts of the suggestion that had been planted in the minds of some high-ranking Aegis Awakened were beginning to unravel.

In fact, this was slowly happening to everyone, not just Lee Soo-yeon.

– *You remember those incidents where the terrorists’ heads swelled up and exploded, right?*

“Of course.”

Il-hyeon nodded.

How could he forget?

It had happened when he was with Raven, and the powerful self-destruct method that had injured even Jeong Jin-seong was still vivid in his mind.

– *There was only one Awakened who used that kind of ability…*

*Chzzzzzt!*

The moment Lee Soo-yeon was about to say the name, the comms were suddenly hit with interference, and his communicator went completely dead.

Wincing at the harsh static, Il-hyeon quickly threw the device away.

And before he could even grasp the strange phenomenon, a pure white barrier suddenly began to rise from all around them.

The hazy curtain, clearly visible to the naked eye, grew larger and larger until it enveloped the entire Aegis headquarters.

“A barrier… Don’t tell me it’s already starting?”

Il-hyeon muttered, looking up at the sky.

A powerful barrier, one that even he would have trouble dealing with, had surrounded them. Sensing the gravity of the situation, he cautiously stepped back.

*Kwoong!*

The white barrier began to ripple violently, and from the other side, a tremendous roar and vibration echoed.

And the face of the barrier Il-hyeon was confronting.

From right inside it, Awakened wearing white coats began to appear, one by one.