Chapter 170 – The Battle (Part Five)

“Hey, can’t you disable this thing any faster?”

Han Sang-jin, Aegis’s C-Team Leader, urged impatiently.

He was growing anxious, forced to stand idly by outside the unidentified barrier surrounding the headquarters.

The other Aegis team members and leaders who arrived late felt the same.

However, the two Awakened analyzing the barrier sighed deeply and scowled.

“Then why don’t you try it yourselves!”

“This isn’t easy!”

They retorted irritably at the constant nagging.

The two Awakened, with their small statures and faces that looked no older than fifteen-year-old boys, were actually government specialists in dismantling barriers. Their youthful appearances were merely a side effect of their awakening.

“So, when will it be done?”

“This thing is incredibly powerful. It’ll take several more hours of work to disable it completely.”

“Then can’t you just let a few of us in first?”

“We can create a small opening now, but it won’t be enough for several people. The window is too short, so at best, maybe one person…”

“That will be enough.”

“What the—!”

The Awakened who were talking were startled and spun around.

A clear male voice had come from behind them, but in a place overflowing with high-ranking Awakened, no one had sensed his approach.

“Open the gate.”

“You are…!”

Everyone on site stared at him in astonishment.

***

*Kwoooosh!*

Flames engulfed both Ryu Jin-tae and Baek Il-ho simultaneously.

The inferno, swirling as if to burn everything to ashes, was so menacing that even watching from a distance would make one break out in a cold sweat.

Yet, the two Awakened caught in the blaze showed no signs of their skin burning. They felt only a surge of heat, otherwise completely unaffected.

It was natural for the flames to have no effect on Ryu Jin-tae, the one who had created them.

But for Baek Il-ho, who was only crossing swords with him and had no other protection, to be unharmed by the fire was certainly strange.

*Fwoosh!*

Even though Ryu Jin-tae hadn’t withdrawn his ability, the ferocious flames soon vanished completely.

“How…”

Ryu Jin-tae frowned.

His ability had been utterly ineffective, and he couldn’t believe the current situation.

He was well aware of Baek Il-ho’s ability.

How could he not know the power of a comrade with whom he had entrusted his life and fought alongside?

While Ryu Jin-tae created flames of terrifying power to incinerate his enemies, Baek Il-ho’s ability was somewhat the opposite.

It was the power to absorb and nullify all physical attacks directed at him, and even reflect that physical impact back at his opponent.

An ability that could only be described as overpowered.

But like any other ability of an Awakened, it had its weaknesses.

Namely, the absorption ability could only be used on one surface at a time.

Simultaneous attacks from multiple directions could neither be blocked nor absorbed by his power.

Of course, even with such a minor flaw, the fact that Baek Il-ho’s ability was incredible remained unchanged.

The power to nullify any attack often became the core strategy for taking down otherwise unbeatable monsters.

However, due to that limitation, there were definite matchups he struggled with.

A prime example was Ryu Jin-tae, who could unleash a more powerful omnidirectional attack than any other Awakened.

If caught in his powerful flames, even Baek Il-ho’s ability shouldn’t be able to function properly.

No, that’s how it was supposed to be.

But now, he stood unharmed, their swords still locked.

“…Have you surpassed your limits?”

“Perhaps.”

Baek Il-ho thrust his arm out in a single motion, and a massive explosion erupted from his outstretched fingertips.

*KABOOM!*

Ryu Jin-tae raised his sword to block, but the force was so immense that he lost his balance and was sent flying.

The explosion from his own flames disabled his coat, and blood trickled down from his forehead.

But there was no time to rest in battle, and he immediately had to clash swords again.

“Kugh…!”

The swiftly swung blade continuously struck at his openings, and Ryu Jin-tae, preoccupied with defending, was forced to stumble backward.

Even so, his wounds continued to multiply until his entire body was drenched in blood.

His ability was useless, and he was being completely overwhelmed in both swordsmanship and movement.

Even if Ryu Jin-tae managed to land a decisive blow, Baek Il-ho’s absurd ability would prevent him from inflicting even a single scratch.

Baek Il-ho’s ability had transcended its limits, erasing all weaknesses and becoming virtually flawless.

The only remaining potential weakness, a psychic attack, was something Baek Il-ho already had a high natural resistance to. On top of that, the strongest psychic Awakened was on his side, leaving no way to exploit it.

With Yoon In-hye, the leader of Aegis’s D-Team, also in critical condition and receiving treatment, there was no solution to be found.

“How can this be…”

Pushed back, Ryu Jin-tae muttered in a voice of disbelief.

No matter how much Baek Il-ho had regained his youthful appearance through his ability, in reality, his body was that of a near-retiree, far past the prime of an Awakened.

But his abilities had grown far beyond what they were in his prime, a stark contrast to Ryu Jin-tae, whose own power had somewhat diminished with age.

“I told you, things are different now.”

Baek Il-ho flicked the blood from his sword.

He had long since surpassed the bounds of common sense due to his two regressions and was no longer an opponent Ryu Jin-tae could handle.

Baek Il-ho slowly approached Ryu Jin-tae, who was clutching his wounds.

“So what’s your plan now? Are you going to kill everyone here to keep them quiet?”

“Haha, no. We don’t do such useless things. We just need to erase their memories. Unlike some people.”

“Acting all high and mighty now? What about the lives of all the innocent people you’ve killed?”

“They are merely paying the price for their sins.”

“I don’t know what happened to you, but…”

*Swish!*

Baek Il-ho’s sword swung fiercely, stopping just short of slicing through Ryu Jin-tae’s neck.

But the shallow cut still sent blood trickling down his throat.

With a deeply somber expression, Baek Il-ho looked down at Ryu Jin-tae with cold eyes.

“The ones I have killed, and will kill, are simple to identify. They are the ‘good citizens’ who either supported or stood by while the powerful oppressed us, and the Awakened who betrayed their own kind. So let me ask you this. Is your name on the ‘list’…?”

***

“What is this…?”

“Wh-what’s happening!”

Everyone on the ground within the barrier—both members of Aegis and Eclipse—looked around in confusion at the sudden change in scenery.

In the blink of an eye.

Their positions had shifted from where they originally stood to a completely different place.

They were now lined up on opposite ends of the barrier, divided by faction.

It was as if someone had deliberately rearranged them.

However, Baek Il-ho, who had been pointing his sword at Ryu Jin-tae, was now positioned in the very center of the barrier, an event he hadn’t perceived happening either.

And then, a man approached him.

He wore no basic armor or even a Defensive Coat in the midst of the Awakened battlefield.

But upon seeing his face, Baek Il-ho let out a faint smile and raised his arm.

“I never thought you’d show up here in person…”

“What you’ve done is quite the spectacle.”

Min Ji-hoon.

The greatest Awakened in human history and the only one to have ever reached SS-Rank.

He, who was supposed to be recuperating at home after retiring due to critical health issues, was standing right here.

“Your body isn’t in any condition… You know it was a foolish choice to come here, right?”

“That’s not for you to worry about.”

Min Ji-hoon replied curtly.

But just as Baek Il-ho said, his complexion was so pale he looked as if he could collapse at any moment.

Although he didn’t show it, just dragging his wrecked body, which required him to live on painkillers, all the way here must have taken a considerable toll.

And on top of that, he had just used a large-scale spatial manipulation ability upon his arrival, so it was only natural for him to be strained.

“It was too much to give Kang Il-hyeon the Peacemaker so early. Especially after changing the sword’s form.”

“I simply gave it to a more fitting owner. Anyone is better than a walking corpse who can’t do anything.”

“A corpse… If it weren’t for them back then, you could still be active today.”

“That was my choice.”

“No, you were forced. They knew the miasma was destroying your body, yet they kept demanding it of you to mitigate the immediate damage. All while holding the lives of dying people over your head.”

If he had regressed to an earlier point in time, he would have stopped that decision countless times.

But Baek Il-ho had returned to eight years ago, during the fourth cycle, which was far, far too late.

“Most importantly, you had the Peacemaker, so you must have seen it, right? And you still intend to side with them?”

“I understand. But your decision is, without a doubt, a foolish one.”

“So you’re going to stop me? You’ll protect them even if you have to drag that dying body of yours to do it?”

Baek Il-ho’s calm words grew increasingly heated.

But Min Ji-hoon’s reply was unexpected.

“No, I don’t care what happens to the world anymore. I just can’t stand to see the two of you pointing swords at each other in front of me. That’s a problem for you to solve after I’m dead.”

Min Ji-hoon said.

His eyes, as they met Baek Il-ho’s, were as still and lifeless as a dead man’s.

“Right. That’s the kind of man you always were.”

Baek Il-ho raised his sword.

The legendary sword, Lawbringer.

Just as their comrade who had overcome calamity with them had forged Min Ji-hoon’s sword, the Peacemaker, this was the legacy he had passed on to Baek Il-ho.

Seeing this, Min Ji-hoon let out a bitter laugh and clenched his right fist.

“Let’s get this over with.”

*Rumble-rumble-rumble!*

The buildings surrounding them, the earth beneath their feet, and the very air that filled the space under the barrier.

Something beyond all of that—‘space’ itself began to roar violently.