Chapter 100 – Commencement (Part Five)

“Ah… so you’re saying I was hit by your ability?”

Il-hyeon said, blinking his eyes.

He was still struggling to clear his slightly groggy mind.

Just then, Cha Yeon-hee, who was changing in the other room, answered in a slightly raised voice.

“That’s right. Seamless, isn’t it?”

“Are you sure I can go back to normal?”

“I only used it lightly and then released it, so don’t worry.”

“You already released it? I still feel a little strange.”

“There’s a bit of an aftereffect.”

Her ability, Charm.

It was an ability that could strongly charm not just every man on Earth, but everyone, regardless of gender or preference.

Originally, it wasn’t a particularly strong mental ability with strict activation conditions, but since its user was an Awakened from Raven, she could ignore various restrictions, and its power was incomparably greater.

“You know not to talk about this anywhere, right? It doesn’t do any good to have abilities known in this line of work… I trust you’re a man of discretion.”

Cha Yeon-hee, having changed back into the comfortable clothes from the bag Il-hyeon had brought, crossed over into his room.

He was definitely no longer in a state of blind infatuation like before.

Il-hyeon, a bit more composed, replied.

“Don’t worry about that. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that ability on me again.”

“Did it upset you? I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not that it upset me… Anyway, let’s move on. If the effect is this strong, then the information is undoubtedly reliable.”

In the middle of speaking, Il-hyeon shook his head and quickly changed the subject.

Having experienced it firsthand, he knew it would be impossible to lie in that state.

“You remember what you told me, right? About another facility supposedly located under the new development site.”

“Ah… right.”

Unable to clearly recall what had just happened, Il-hyeon slapped his cheeks to shake off the grogginess.

“It was good information. It seems there’s an explosives manufacturing facility underground in that area. Of course, the top priority is still the facility creating the Awakened, but we’re not the only ones… If we pass this to another team, we’ll get results. By the way, they didn’t just win over the mayor for nothing. I was wondering where they hid such large facilities, but to think they were right under the city, and that they bought him off like this.”

She said with a much brighter expression.

In a situation that had been frustrating until now, she seemed pleased to have not only obtained the information she most wanted but also an additional bonus.

Of course, the facilities here, within this one city, weren’t all they had, and this operation wouldn’t be the end of everything.

But once they found a lead, it was natural that the next pursuit would be much faster.

“I’m glad the results were better than expected. But…”

Il-hyeon trailed off, a question forming in his mind.

The fact that the mayor was so deeply involved in the crime as to know about all those facilities was certainly surprising.

This went far beyond simply being used.

“He’s a mayor and an influential politician. Why would he cooperate with a criminal organization that’s set up something this massive?”

“Given the scale of their organization, they have many methods. They could have made an offer he couldn’t refuse, blackmailed him with a weakness, or it could even be a mind-control ability. However, since these organizations started acting collectively, incomprehensible things have been happening day after day. We can’t even guess their motives with our common sense. Figuring that out is the challenge we face together…”

The two looked down at the unconscious Mayor Niges.

The mood turned serious for a moment, then she checked her watch, clapped her hands, and sprang to her feet.

“So we have to do our best. It’s about time to head back. Let’s wrap this up.”

***

A mansion in Seoul.

It was in a neighborhood famous for its expensive land prices, but one mansion stood out for its particularly large size.

This was not simply the home of some wealthy person.

It belonged to Kim Yu-jin, a legendary figure who had been a key member of the early Aegis when it was just a small crew, back when the disaster began 20 years ago.

Although she wasn’t counted among the three heroes who saved the world, including Min Ji-hoon and Ryu Jin-tae, she had fought alongside them for a world in crisis and was famous for her equally numerous accomplishments.

She had traveled to and dealt with countless Gate sites, and after Aegis established its Response Team, she joined Raven, achieving brilliant results. It was known that after a long and distinguished career, she had entrusted her duties to her juniors, retired, and was enjoying a leisurely life here.

However, contrary to public knowledge, the mansion was now empty and neglected, with not a soul inside, nor was the building up for sale.

Around the time the criminal organizations’ large-scale terror attacks were imminent, a large number of retired high-ranking Awakened had been brutally murdered or had gone missing.

The matter was overshadowed by the immediate terror incidents, and the government was hiding the truth, so the public didn’t know, but it was an equally serious issue.

And the same was true for the owner of this mansion, Kim Yu-jin.

Her body had not yet been found, but tragically, a long time had passed since contact was suddenly lost and she went missing.

A man stood before the gate of the large, now-empty mansion.

He pressed the doorbell several times, but as expected, there was no response from within.

The man standing blankly before the gate was Seok Pil-joon, a member of Aegis’s Alpha Team. Despite the lack of response, he wore a bitter expression, unable to bring himself to leave.

It was certainly not like his usual self.

But at the same time, it was a perfectly natural thing for him to do.

The reason was simple.

The Awakened who owned this place, Kim Yu-jin, was Seok Pil-joon’s savior and mentor.

When Seok Pil-joon was young, his family was attacked and murdered by Awakened from a criminal organization. Just as his own life was about to be ended at the barrel of their guns, Kim Yu-jin, who was active at the time, appeared, annihilated the criminals, and saved him.

Their connection began there. Although they didn’t get to speak, only two thoughts occupied the mind of the young survivor.

Revenge against the disgusting criminals who had brutally murdered his family.

And meeting his savior, Kim Yu-jin.

To achieve both of these, there was only one answer.

To become an incredibly skilled Awakened and head to Aegis.

As time passed, tests revealed that he was fortunate enough not only to have the aptitude of an Awakened but also a fairly high-rank ability. Furthermore, he was classified as a unique case, born with outstanding resistance to abilities.

Once his plan became feasible, he trained with his eyes set only on her and his revenge, diligently gaining experience by killing monsters.

Eventually, he became a high-ranking Awakened, so skilled that Aegis itself scouted him, and he was able to join Raven, where she had been.

However, by the time he had acquired the skills to join Aegis, Kim Yu-jin’s retirement was not far off, so their time together was not long.

But Kim Yu-jin was fascinated to see the nameless boy she had saved grow up and come all the way to Raven, and she welcomed him with open arms.

She taught him many things and helped him grow.

But their parting came all too suddenly.

At first, when he heard that Kim Yu-jin was missing, he couldn’t believe it.

As an upper-tier A-rank, she was a truly powerful Awakened. Even if she had grown weaker with time and let her guard down, it shouldn’t have ended like this.

That was why, despite being incredibly busy with Gates and terrorism, he had carved out what little rest time he had to come here.

Of course, even so, nothing changed.

“…”

His mind a tangled mess of thoughts, Seok Pil-joon closed his eyes for a moment before quietly leaving.

He walked silently to the roadside and hailed a passing taxi.

He told the driver his destination to go home and leaned his head back.

The taxi started moving, and the radio played from the front seat.

The world was filled with talk of the terror attacks, and the radio was discussing related stories.

They hadn’t revealed their identity or purpose, and they hadn’t even made any demands.

This indiscriminate madness, with no target or reason, easily drove the public into fear.

Just looking at the streets, you could feel the people’s agitation.

Seok Pil-joon clenched and unclenched his fists, somewhat agitated.

He wanted nothing more than to return to Raven and hunt down every last one of them, but that would mean breaking his promise to Lee Soo-yeon.

*Wait…*

Staring out the window in frustration, his eyebrows twitched at a suspicious movement as they passed a park.

The awkward way they averted their eyes, their paths loitering around a target.

The uncomfortable movements of someone hiding something in their clothes.

Though it had been a while, his instincts from his days in Raven were still sharp, and he had the taxi pull over to catch the suspicious individuals.

Getting out of the car, Seok Pil-joon turned his head to count the number of suspicious people across the street.

Four men and two women who appeared to be Korean.

It seemed it wasn’t time for them to start whatever they were planning, as they were all just looking around and wandering about.

Seok Pil-joon crossed the street, picked one of the men, and moved swiftly.

“What… what are you doing…!”

Seok Pil-joon abruptly approached the walking man and shoved his hand into the man’s coat.

In an instant, he rummaged inside and pulled something out.

The object in his hand was a small, unidentified black sphere, almost identical in appearance to the explosives he’d been briefed on.

“Damn it!”

The man whose explosive had been discovered threw a punch.

But Seok Pil-joon immediately grabbed the arm, twisted it, and broke it.

Simultaneously, the man was kicked hard in the leg, his body spinning a full circle in the air before he could even register the pain.

He landed headfirst on the ground and lost consciousness without a chance to fight back.

“Aaaah!”

Starting with the scream of a woman who witnessed the fight up close, the citizens, already on edge with anxiety, panicked at the sudden situation and fled.

Amidst the scattering people, Seok Pil-joon looked at the ones who remained still.

Perhaps, for today at least, this was exactly what he had been hoping for.