Chapter 115 – Liberation (Part Four)

CRUNCH!

The terrifying sword strike tore through the steel floor, ripping it apart.

The Woman in the White Mask immediately tried to bisect the weasels that had wounded her with another strike, but they continued to dodge her attacks with their nimble movements.

CRACKLE!

The white weasel leaped and landed in a suitable spot, arching its body as a powerful electric current, clearly visible to the naked eye, sparked around it.

Seeing Seo Jeong-hwa, who was also caught in the current, unharmed, I could tell this wasn’t an ordinary high-voltage current but a special type of attack.

They appeared to be quite powerful, and judging by how they strategically split up to maintain a certain distance as if to buy time, they also seemed intelligent.

Unlike with humans, paralysis didn’t work on them, which made them quite a nuisance.

If the woman put her mind to it, she could catch and kill mere weasels, but the surprise attack had left her dominant right arm in poor condition, so it was bound to take time.

But she couldn’t afford to drag this out any longer.

Perhaps because she had met an interesting opponent for the first time in a while, she had let the fight go on for too long, and she didn’t have much time left.

“Hoo…”

The Woman in the White Mask looked back at me, and I swallowed hard without realizing it.

Even if two electricity-discharging weasels were harassing her, as long as Seo Jeong-hwa and I were lying here, unable to move, our lives were still in her hands.

“How should I deal with you two?”

“Are you hoping I’ll beg?”

“Hehe, no.”

ZAP!

Just then, the weasel on the opposite side fired the powerful electric current it had gathered, but the woman unleashed a blade of energy, slicing the attack itself apart.

Tilting her head as if displeased with the strike she’d created with her left arm, she spoke to me again.

“Let me give you some advice. It’s best not to be so reckless. Not everyone you’ll face will be like us. The same goes for the ones trapped down here.”

‘Us…?’

“I told you, there’s one helicopter left. The pilot is unconscious, but not dead like you two almost were. Take it and leave. That is, if the paralysis wears off in time.”

“Why are you letting me live?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. The whole truth. When you do, Kang Il-hyeon, you’ll change too.”

The Woman in the White Mask sheathed her sword without a second thought. The weasels remained on guard but didn’t dare attack her recklessly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I won’t change.”

“Think whatever you want. But if you make it back safely, it would be best not to speak of me.”

“…Do you really think that makes sense?”

With such a major incident, it was impossible not to report the woman who had single-handedly wrecked this entire facility.

Even if I agreed to keep quiet now to save my own skin, there was no way I wouldn’t share information about the enemy once I returned.

It was an obvious fact with even a moment’s thought, yet the Woman in the White Mask remained supremely confident.

“No, you’ll listen to me.”

A faint smile played on her lips as she flicked her finger.

Instantly, the thick fog that already filled the area swirled in and enveloped us, and we slowly began to lose consciousness.

Leaving the unconscious Il-hyeon and Seo Jeong-hwa, and the anxious weasels, the Woman in the White Mask departed.

“This disgusting place is finally done for. It took far too long.”

After pausing to take in her surroundings, she let out a chuckle and trudged toward the control room.

With Il-hyeon and Seo Jeong-hwa taken care of, everyone else in the facility was either unconscious or dead. There was no one left to stop her.

THUD!

The power to the device that controlled the entire underground complex was cut, and alarms blared throughout the facility.

* * *

BOOM! RAT-TAT-TAT!

An explosion and a volley of gunfire echoed through the middle of the city.

Caught in the sudden chaos reminiscent of a warzone, citizens fled in terror, but a significant number fell to stray bullets.

And in the middle of that battlefield, Jeong Jin-seong pushed himself up from the ground, planting his hands on the pavement.

“Cough! Cough!”

Next to him was a vehicle, overturned and mangled so badly by the explosion that its original shape was unrecognizable.

Until moments before the attack, they had been transporting an organization member captured at a facility in northern Mexico.

The transport vehicles had crossed the border and were driving on a US highway. They were close to their destination, so their guard had been relatively low.

But their enemies had been expecting them. They had planted an Ether bomb on the road and detonated it just as the convoy arrived.

A massive explosion erupted as bullets rained down from all directions in a surprise attack, among them EMP rounds designed to neutralize the Awakened.

To make matters worse, the vehicle Jeong Jin-seong was in had taken a direct hit. The agent in the driver’s seat and the captive being transported in the back were killed instantly.

‘These bastards… to think they’d wait until after we crossed the border to attack. Are they trying to start an all-out war?’

This wasn’t just an attack during transit; it was a large-scale ambush in the middle of a city.

Normally, there would be no reason to make such a choice.

Jeong Jin-seong approached Song Jun-ho, who had been in the same vehicle.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, sir.”

Song Jun-ho, his face unintentionally blackened with soot, took Jeong Jin-seong’s outstretched hand and stood up.

They both shed their damaged Defensive Coats.

A quick scan of their surroundings revealed enemies positioned on all sides. The scene was pure chaos, a tangled mess of ambushed agents and police forces that had arrived late.

“Any injuries?”

“A cracked rib, but it won’t stop me from fighting.”

“Damn it… No wonder the road was blocked in such a strange place.”

Jeong Jin-seong fumbled with his communicator, trying to contact the other escort teams to see if they were alright.

But whatever the enemy had done, all communications in the area, including Aegis’s network, were down.

“They’ve even set up wide-area jamming. If they prepared this much, the other locations were probably attacked too.”

“Most likely, sir.”

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Before they could even catch their breath, another explosion roared.

This time, however, it wasn’t a direct attack but one aimed at the building to their right. The foundation of the massive skyscraper crumbled, and it began to sway and fall.

It was clearly aimed at their position. If it collapsed, it would crush not only their agents but also some of the enemies and countless civilians.

A shadow slowly crept over them as people’s screams filled the air.

Just as the building tilted to a point where it seemed too late to reverse, the collapsing skyscraper came to a dead stop.

Debris rained down, but the massive frame of the building froze as if time had stopped, preventing it from crashing down on the agents.

“Evacuate them, quickly.”

Jeong Jin-seong, his arm outstretched as he used his ability, ordered Song Jun-ho.

Song Jun-ho nodded, immediately drew his sword, and charged forward, cutting down the numerous enemies blocking the path to clear a way.

Meanwhile, a man approached from the opposite side.

Seeing the sword in his hand pointed their way, he was clearly an enemy Awakened.

Without a Defensive Coat and unable to move while maintaining his stasis ability, this was not good timing.

“I’d only heard stories, but I guess you really are Jeong Jin-seong.”

The man scrutinized Jeong Jin-seong’s face, then grinned as if something was incredibly amusing.

Despite the man’s sudden appearance, Jeong Jin-seong remained calm and replied.

“I know you too, Scavenger. Though I don’t remember your exact name.”

Ivan Yenkovich.

Although Jeong Jin-seong didn’t recall his name, he was a B-rank Awakened and a notorious Scavenger.

Reports about the man, who wasn’t affiliated with any organization but went around killing every Awakened at Gate sites to steal their cores, had even reached Korea a few times.

He’d heard the man had been lying low recently after being placed on a high-priority watch list, but he never expected him to brazenly appear as part of a criminal syndicate.

“To think a guy like you would get caught and brainwashed. Impressive.”

“What? Who do you take me for, saying something like that!”

When Jeong Jin-seong spoke in a sarcastic tone, the man’s expression twisted into a bizarrely comical grimace as he yelled.

There were other strange things about him, too—his bloodshot eyes, his wavering voice, and the dark circles under them.

He’d heard the man’s mind had become unstable after his awakening, but he looked like he was high on something.

“People who are brainwashed never know they’ve been brainwashed.”

“That’s not it! I came all this way because they said they’d let me kill a big shot like you. Ah… to be honest, the A-rank core they offered as a reward for killing Jeong Jin-seong was also tempting.”

Yenkovich ran a hand through his hair, muttering with a look of ecstasy.

“Is that so? Then it’s even more puzzling. You were so good at running and hiding that I thought you were at least clever. Did you really show up here thinking you could be my opponent?”

“Hahaha, all the guys who acted tough in front of me just because they had a higher rank are dead. Tell them to save that stuff for when they’re hunting monsters. Besides, I know your ability is useless in a one-on-one fight.”

The man laughed manically and drew his sword.

He was practically overflowing with confidence.

In fact, Yenkovich had first become famous when, as a C-rank Awakened, he had killed three B-rank Awakened and stolen their cores.

It was thanks to his surprise attacks and an ability perfectly optimized for fighting other Awakened.

“Yes, you’re right, to some extent.”

Jeong Jin-seong replied with a shallow sigh.

In a fight between Awakened, rank wasn’t always the absolute deciding factor.

In reality, the outcome of battles between Awakened with special powers often depended more heavily on their compatibility.

“But that’s only when the difference in skill is within a certain range.”

“What? Still bluffing in a situation like this?”

With a grin, Yenkovich twirled his sword and strode toward him.

“They say you can’t move a finger while using your ability, right? Well then, it’s time to choose. Will you stand there like an idiot while I walk up and slit your throat? Or will you give up hundreds of lives and draw your sword!”

Many civilians were still trapped in the surrounding buildings or were too injured to have escaped to a safe location.

But as Yenkovich stepped within a certain distance, Jeong Jin-seong released his ability without hesitation, and the frozen building began to tilt once more.

GRIIIND!

Despair filled the eyes of the people nearby, while Yenkovich trembled with glee, looking up at the shadow that was now falling over him.

“You gave up on the people! Hahaha!”

“No, I haven’t given up on either.”

SHING! Jeong Jin-seong drew his sword.

“I’ll take care of you before the building hits the ground.”