Chapter 133 – Headhunter (Part Thirteen)

“Hey, rookie!”

“Ye—Yes, sir!”

A group of six Awakened waited on the roof of a skyscraper.

One of them, a man who had been staring blankly down at the ground below, flinched at the sound of his name and answered.

“Your comms fell out. What’re you going to do if you’re already spacing out?”

“Ah…! I’m sorry. I’m just nervous.”

Looking down, he saw the wired communication device had fallen from his ear and was dangling precariously. The rookie quickly put it back in.

“Jeez…”

Normally, the senior would have chewed him out for making such a stupid mistake right before an operation, but this time, he let it slide without another word.

The Gate they were assigned to made even him, a veteran of over ten years, tense up.

The man checked his watch, then gathered his team members and went over the precautions.

“I’ll say it again: our mission is to intercept any monsters that try to fly out of the city. We’re strictly on cleanup duty, catching the flies that slip through the rear. The things we’re facing are on a whole different level, but their patterns are already known. As long as you don’t get cocky and overstep, you won’t die.”

“Yes, sir! Understood.”

The rookie, full of spirit, was the first to answer.

It wasn’t just him; even the seasoned veterans, who had seen their fair share of battles, were tense and rigid.

“Opportunities to support Aegis don’t come around often. Aside from being valuable experience, this will be a career highlight you won’t get anywhere else. So everyone, stay sharp.”

With only a few minutes left until the Gate activated, they began their final preparations, checking their gear and loosening their bodies for the coming battle.

Just then, a team member spotted some VIPs arriving in a transport aircraft below and pointed, getting the others’ attention.

“Hey, look over there. All three team leaders really showed up.”

“…Seeing them in person really makes it sink in. It’s a shame we have to watch from so far away.”

The transport bearing the Aegis mark, and the three Awakened who disembarked from it.

And they were all leaders of Aegis’s core teams.

“Team Leader Yoon was available, so did you really have to call me? My team’s schedule is already packed today, and they’re all exhausted. What am I supposed to do if something happens while I’m gone?”

Aegis’s C-Team Leader, Han Sang-jin, grumbled continuously, clearly displeased about something.

With hollow eyes, he looked visibly exhausted—a far cry from his usually cheerful personality.

The B-Team’s Leader, Jo Yoon, who was watching him with disapproval, spoke up.

“Are you raising a team or a bunch of toddlers?”

“That’s right, they’re my precious kids, and I raised every single one of them!”

“…I’m always reminded of this, but it’s impossible to have a conversation with you.”

Jo Yoon shook his head, completely exasperated.

As leaders of adjacent teams, they often encountered and cooperated with each other in the field, but despite that, their personalities were polar opposites.

Stepping between them was the leader of Aegis’s A-Team, Lee Soo-yeon.

“Both of you, stop it and take one of these. As you know, the creature we’re about to face spews a potent toxin.”

As she spoke, she tossed two small, rectangular cases she was holding.

The other two leaders each caught a case and opened it. Inside lay a moderately sized syringe filled with an unknown, shimmering liquid.

It was a drug that allowed them to withstand toxins beyond the purifying capabilities of their coats, and the team leaders injected it into their veins before heading into the field.

“By the way, have you heard the news about your team member?”

“What news?”

“They’re saying Kang Il-hyeon took down Asu and Marka by himself. If it weren’t for this situation, it would’ve been front-page news.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose so.”

Lee Soo-yeon showed a faint smile at Jo Yoon’s mention of Il-hyeon.

He had simultaneously faced and silenced two A-rank variant monsters—named, twin-type ones with a notorious history at that.

If he hadn’t taken the risk and had instead abandoned the Gate, by the time Aegis or the Response Team arrived to clean up, the surrounding area would have already suffered catastrophic damage.

The story of his heroic feat was already spreading rapidly among those in the know.

“And to think how long he’s been an Awakened… It’s incredible.”

Lee Soo-yeon said with a look of pride.

She had heard he’d only reached A-rank a few days ago, but it seemed he hadn’t been satisfied with just that and had grown even stronger.

“There it is.”

said Jo Yoon, as they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the Gate.

A colossal purple fissure, over eighty-eight meters tall.

Three Aegis team leaders gathered in one place was a rare sight, and the Gate before them was the reason why.

“This is the first one this cycle, isn’t it?”

“Yes, the first appearance in seven years.”

“Well, with all the high-rank Gates popping up, it was stranger that one of these hadn’t shown up yet. Still not a welcome sight, though.”

It hadn’t even activated yet, but the unsettling energy emanating from the Gate brushed vividly against their cheeks.

Unlike usual, this wasn’t some faint energy that only a few high-ranking Awakened with sensitive perceptions could feel.

It was potent enough that any ‘human’ in the vicinity, including civilians, could feel it.

*Ruuuumble!*

Before long, the purple fissure began to writhe.

As the Gate pulsed and squirmed like a living creature, sending ripples through the air, the three team leaders drew their swords as if on cue.

A bizarre, scraping sound, like metal on metal, echoed from the fissure, and moments later, a colossal form began to emerge from within.

First came a pair of thick legs, followed by the hideous head of a horned beast.

The monster that devours cities, the S-rank monster Behemoth.

The massive creature’s maw opened wide, and a deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth.

“Alright, it’s starting.”

Lee Soo-yeon raised her sword.

* * *

*Crunch, crunch.*

In the quiet of the private hospital room, only the sound of an apple being peeled could be heard.

Il-hyeon, who had been lying blankly in bed, sat up slightly and prodded his abdomen.

Ever since becoming an Awakened, especially one who could use healing abilities, he never thought he’d need surgery at the hands of a doctor. But this was different—his organs had literally escaped their proper positions, so he had no choice.

Using his transformation ability to return the displaced organs to their original places would have been a piece of cake, but his power only had a temporary effect on living creatures.

No matter how high-ranking an Awakened he was, he couldn’t exactly cut his own stomach open and rummage around inside, so he’d undergone a simple surgery here.

It seemed the doctors had struggled more than expected to incise his skin, even having to bring in special equipment, but other than that, the surgery had been completed successfully without any issues.

‘Things like this make me wonder if I’m even human anymore.’

Possessing such wondrous physical abilities was certainly a blessing, but even Il-hyeon, now fully accustomed to the life of an Awakened, sometimes felt estranged from his own body.

“But still… I’m not sure if it’s okay to use such high-level personnel like this.”

Il-hyeon muttered, looking at the people beside him.

On one side, Marco was peeling an apple with a paring knife that looked completely out of place in his hands. Near the head of the bed, Astrid sat in a chair with her eyes closed.

He hadn’t officially measured them, but based on their physical abilities and the aura they exuded, they were also A-rank Awakened.

In terms of pure combat power, they were strong enough to serve as team leaders for most teams.

So for them to be sitting in a hospital room peeling an apple in a situation where problems were overflowing was an incredible luxury.

“It’s only natural that we’re here. There is no task more important than guarding this place.”

Marco said, putting down the crookedly cut apple.

Contrary to his sharp appearance, he was so terrible at peeling that only a third of the apple’s original size remained.

“Right. Thanks.”

Il-hyeon chuckled, picked up a piece of apple with a fork, and popped it into his mouth.

He had overexerted himself in the last operation, so it was impossible for him to return to active duty right away anyway.

Just as Gwen had said, the inside of his body was too much of a mess for him to go out into the field.

He had been running forward without looking back for so long that he needed a brief rest.

“What are you looking at?”

Il-hyeon asked, looking at Astrid.

She had picked up Il-hyeon’s phone at some point and was now swiping through the screen.

“There are a few interesting news items.”

“Like what?”

“Hmm… If I had to pick one, it’d be that an S-rank Gate appeared.”

“What?”

“They managed to stop it without much damage, so there’s no need to worry.”

Astrid said quickly, seeing Il-hyeon’s predictably startled reaction.

Il-hyeon let out a sigh of relief.

“That’s a relief. An S-rank Gate… that must be the first one in two cycles. I’m glad they stopped it… Who was in charge?”

“Aegis. Team Leader Lee Soo-yeon was on the roster of Awakened.”

“Ha, really? She wasn’t hurt, was she?”

Il-hyeon asked worriedly, even though he knew that of all people, Team Leader Lee Soo-yeon would have handled it well.

“They say three Awakened from other affiliations who were supporting the operation were killed instantly, but the Aegis team leaders are fine. Apparently, it was a monster that appeared once before, 10 years ago, so it was relatively easy to deal with.”

‘S-rank…’

Il-hyeon was lost in thought.

“Is there any other news? Preferably about A-Team.”

“There’s a flood of Gate news these days. Here’s something about Kang Hyeon-seo and Choi Seong-won. They look a little different from us, don’t they?”

“Right? When you two first appeared, I also…”

Il-hyeon suddenly stopped talking.

Sensing a sudden commotion, he strained his ears.

The noise was coming from a floor far below, but Il-hyeon could hear it clearly.

In that instant, Astrid and Marco also seemed to notice something and shot up from their seats.

“It seems an intruder is causing a disturbance.”

“They really can’t leave me alone for a second… Let’s deal with it quickly.”

Il-hyeon slowly pushed his stiff body up.

But at that moment, Astrid poked him in the chest with her finger, and Il-hyeon toppled backward, sinking into his pillows.

“What… what are you doing?”

“Patients shouldn’t move around recklessly. Just rest here.”

Despite Il-hyeon’s dumbfounded stare, Astrid simply tilted her head and gave a slight smile.

At that, Il-hyeon let out a disbelieving laugh and looked at her.

“You can handle it on your own, right?”

“Of course.”

Answering confidently, she snatched up the sword that had been leaning against the wall.