Chapter 169 – The Battle (Part Four)

A regressor.

Someone who had experienced death and returned to the past.

It was a difficult thing to believe, even in a world rampant with all sorts of special powers.

And yet, it was the only explanation for everything that had seemed incomprehensible until now.

It explained how they had known about Il-hyeon and found him the moment he Awakened. The Defensive Coat alone was a piece of technology more advanced than anything possessed by any government or corporation.

The fact that so many high-ranking Awakened, whose faces were completely unknown, had suddenly emerged wasn’t strange if they knew the future.

They would have been able to gather people with the talent to become high-ranking Awakened based on information from before the regression, and it naturally explained how an unofficial organization shrouded in mystery could possess such power.

“Wait, you don’t have any more cores?”

Baek Il-ho suddenly approached the preoccupied Il-hyeon and asked.

“I think that last hit broke your ribs… Using a transformation ability to patch them up is useless in the long run. You need to heal properly.”

He rummaged through the lab, found a core, and tossed it to Il-hyeon.

It was obviously meant for him to fully heal his wounds with the core, and Il-hyeon was overcome with bewilderment that the leader of his enemies, a man responsible for all sorts of horrific acts, would approach him so nonchalantly.

According to him, in the world before Baek Il-ho’s regression, Il-hyeon had been his comrade. It was a strange feeling he didn’t know how to process.

If that was true, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what Baek Il-ho must have gone through to resort to such actions, nor did he want to understand.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come find you sooner. But doing so would have complicated things immensely. I couldn’t increase the risk factors just because I was impatient.”

Mumbling to himself, Baek Il-ho walked over to the containment cell the research team had built.

*CRASH!*

With a single blow, Baek Il-ho shattered not just the door but the very wall it was set in, a wall made of special materials. He then led the woman who had been trapped inside out.

He helped up Hwa-yeon, who was still staggering, unable to even open her eyes properly.

At that, she momentarily came to her senses, looking around and slowly taking in the situation.

But she was still drained of energy, likely from the effects of the special bullets and suppression waves, and it seemed difficult for her to use her powers or strength right away.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Mister… I’m sorry.”

Hwa-yeon hung her head, looking ashamed.

But Baek Il-ho shook his head and draped a white coat over her shoulders.

“Nothing’s changed yet. And I got to say hello after a long time.”

As he spoke, Hwa-yeon’s head turned toward Il-hyeon, and their eyes met.

With everything happening so fast he had no time to act, Il-hyeon couldn’t find a way to handle the situation and could only stand there motionlessly.

“She’s my first comrade since I regressed. In the truest sense of the word.”

Baek Il-ho said.

“Every time people see my face, they all say the same thing. Why? For what reason? What are you plotting? I’m sick of hearing it. But Hwa-yeon wasn’t like that. She didn’t need to be. The first time we met, she looked inside my head and saw everything. Where I came from, what happened in the future, even all the emotions I felt.”

Baek Il-ho slowly approached Il-hyeon.

Il-hyeon could sense other Awakened approaching from a distance, but Baek Il-ho paid them no mind.

“Not many people would join a mad scheme like this just by listening to sophistry. But everyone here followed me. The method was simple. I showed them my memories directly.”

Just as he said, all those who currently followed Baek Il-ho had seen his memories once, and only then did they change their minds and join Eclipse.

It would have been impossible if Hwa-yeon hadn’t conveyed the thoughts she took directly from Baek Il-ho’s mind.

“So, how about it? Want to see for yourself? What will happen if the future unfolds according to the original timeline. And what we went through.”

“No. How would I know you won’t just feed me fabricated memories?”

Il-hyeon rejected his offer flatly, without a moment’s hesitation.

Besides, with Hwa-yeon’s powerful ability, she wouldn’t even need to go through the trouble of fabricating memories; if she attempted outright mental manipulation, Il-hyeon, having severed the mental link with his summon, would be powerless to stop her.

But at Il-hyeon’s response, Baek Il-ho just chuckled lightly and said.

“If that was all I wanted, I would have captured you and turned you into a puppet long ago. Well, fine. Perhaps now isn’t the right time.”

*FWOOSH!*

Just as the two were talking, Hyeon-seo, who had been waiting for an opportunity, drew her sword and charged from behind.

She had sensed that landing a meaningful blow on Baek Il-ho was impossible in the current situation, so she targeted Hwa-yeon, who was still incapacitated.

If she could just kill her, they could avoid the worst-case scenario.

But Baek Il-ho spun around in an instant, caught her sword with his bare hand, and slammed Hyeon-seo into the ground.

*CRACK!*

The immense force knocked Hyeon-seo unconscious in a single blow. Baek Il-ho casually dusted off his hands.

“See? I told you this would be troublesome.”

“You bastard…!”

Seeing what happened to Hyeon-seo, Il-hyeon couldn’t contain his anger and lunged at Baek Il-ho.

But before he had even closed half the distance, all the strength drained from his body, and he collapsed face-first onto the floor.

The incapacitation ability.

It was the work of Eclipse members who had entered from outside.

Among them, a man wearing glasses stepped forward and spoke to Baek Il-ho.

“The government’s twin kids are outside the barrier. What are your orders?”

“Leave them. They won’t be able to disable the barrier before we’re finished anyway. No need to make a bigger mess here than necessary.”

“Understood. I’ll tell the teams outside to stand by.”

Il-hyeon, completely bound, tried to struggle, but it was as if the incapacitation ability itself was infused with immense power; he couldn’t move a muscle.

And looking at Il-hyeon, Baek Il-ho spoke in a friendly tone.

“It’s dangerous upstairs, so don’t come up. Just rest here. Even an Awakened will suffer later if they mess up their body. I know from experience.”

“Just… shut up.”

Il-hyeon growled, but Baek Il-ho only let out a hearty laugh.

The Eclipse Awakened then took Hwa-yeon and left. Baek Il-ho, the last to remain, glanced around one more time before heading out.

He too had once based his operations here, and he was lost in a brief moment of sentimentality.

“It’s a shame to have made such a mess of the home I’ve returned to after so long, but it was necessary. I’m sure everyone will forgive me.”

“Baek Il-ho, I don’t know how much of what you said is true… but stop this foolishness while you still can.”

Il-hyeon managed to force the words out.

But it was useless against someone who had already closed his ears.

With a resolute expression, Baek Il-ho spoke to Il-hyeon one last time and stepped outside.

“You and Hwa-yeon… you both died coughing up blood right in front of me as I lay helpless. But that won’t happen again. I won’t let anyone die anymore.”

* * *

“Status?”

Baek Il-ho asked as he strode out from the underground level.

A member who had been waiting for him stepped forward and reported.

“We’ve currently suppressed about half of them. We struggled more than expected due to the number of Team Leader-level combatants, but there don’t appear to be any major issues for now.”

“They’re holding out for a long time. Let’s finish this. We have to erase their memories one by one, so there’s no point in dragging this out.”

“Yes, then we’ll proceed…”

*KABOOOOOM!*

Before he could finish his sentence, a tremendous roar echoed through the area.

Turning their gazes, they saw a massive explosion and a pillar of fire erupting from one side.

As the immense flames began to die down, a man wearing an Aegis black coat emerged from within.

Recognizing his face, Baek Il-ho smiled pleasantly.

“Ah, there you are. I was wondering why you hadn’t shown up.”

The Daepyo of Aegis, Ryu Jin-tae.

He had appeared and was now facing Baek Il-ho.

They were once comrades who had entrusted their lives to one another, but now they faced each other with swords in hand.

Baek Il-ho, who had been studying the other’s face intently, was the first to speak.

“Jin-tae, your face has changed. You’ve aged a lot for a guy not even forty yet.”

“Baek Il-ho… You disappear without a word, and this is what you do when you finally show up?”

“I came to see you a few times. You’re the one who doesn’t remember.”

“I don’t have time for word games.”

*FWOOSH!*

A fierce flame erupted from Ryu Jin-tae’s sword, flickering menacingly.

The killing intent of an S-rank Awakened, one of only four in the entire world, pressed down mercilessly on the surroundings.

“Aren’t you going to ask why?”

“I can listen to your explanation after I’ve beaten you to a pulp.”

*CLANG!*

A tremendous movement, difficult to follow even with the eyes of an Awakened.

The sheer impact of their swords clashing sent cracks spreading across the ground in all directions.

Their arms trembled as a breathtaking power struggle ensued, and Ryu Jin-tae spoke.

“I don’t know what gave you the nerve to show up. But Baek Il-ho, you can’t beat me. You never could.”

*FWOOOSH!*

Flames began to form around Ryu Jin-tae’s body, and a fierce blaze engulfed the area.

It was so intense that even the other Awakened, who had been fighting frantically nearby, had no choice but to retreat in terror.

“Yes, you’re right.”

Baek Il-ho readily admitted it.

The fact that he could never defeat Ryu Jin-tae.

In truth, due to the absolute incompatibility of their abilities, he had never once beaten Ryu Jin-tae in a spar.

But the corner of Baek Il-ho’s mouth twisted into a slight smirk.

“The original me certainly couldn’t… but this is the third round.”

* * *

“Ugh…!”

Il-hyeon, still face down, struggled to break free from the ability binding him.

But the more he struggled, the more it felt like his mind was being eroded.

Il-hyeon’s consciousness gradually faded, and his eyes slowly closed.

*THWACK!*

A sharp impact to his head jolted his fading consciousness back to life, and Il-hyeon shot up.

“Wha… what was that!”

“Squeak!”

Startled, Il-hyeon looked down and met the eyes of a squeaking mouse.

The mouse, which had somehow gotten out of his pocket, had swung the Peacemaker—a weapon larger than itself—and struck him on the head.

If it had struck with the blade, his head would have been split in two, and that would have been the end of him. Fortunately, he was hit with the hilt.

“Master weak…”

“Shut up. Thanks, anyway.”

Peacemaker’s nagging aside, what mattered was that he had broken free of the ability.

Il-hyeon first went to the fallen Hyeon-seo and helped her up. Having been briefly unconscious, she came to her senses.

She assessed the situation as soon as she was up and looked at Il-hyeon worriedly.

“What do we do now…? We can’t even call our teammates because of the barrier outside.”

“We’ll have to figure something out on our own.”

To Il-hyeon, who could sense the auras of others, Baek Il-ho was an overwhelmingly powerful opponent, the likes of which he had never encountered before.

But that didn’t mean he could do nothing. He had to do *something*.

As Il-hyeon racked his brain, he suddenly remembered the core lying next to him and looked down at it.

Baek Il-ho, who had tossed it to him for healing, couldn’t sense Ether due to his predation ability and probably didn’t know, but it was an A-rank core.

And one that held a considerable amount of Ether, even among cores of the same rank.

Il-hyeon looked at Peacemaker and asked.

“Can you use this to see the future? Not just a few moments ahead.”

“It’ll be close. But if I add the Ether I ate last time, a short one should be possible, Master.”

“Good.”

*CRUNCH!*

The core shattered, and the Ether within it flowed into Peacemaker.

Before the vision of the future appeared, Il-hyeon closed his eyes and focused his thoughts.

*Anything will do… just show me something useful!*