Chapter 151 – Their Identity (Part Two)

“Ugh…!”

Under the suffocating pressure, Seol Ah-yeong’s body trembled.

An unfamiliar sensation surged through her, and her instincts screamed a warning.

It wasn’t a simple matter of strength.

It was something more—just facing her, she could feel the sheer weight of her opponent’s experience and the deeds she had overwhelmingly accumulated.

“I’ll grind you to dust, leaving not even a trace…!”

With an angered expression, Seol Ah-yeong growled and drew her sword.

She felt a deep sense of humiliation for having hesitated, even for a moment.

The Woman in the White Mask said nothing, simply raising her sword in response. The fog that had enveloped the area began to thicken once more.

The mist she created could obstruct even an Awakened’s vision, and direct exposure caused severe abnormalities in one’s physical condition.

Seol Ah-yeong had seen as much on her way here.

“You think I’d fall for a trick like that?”

*Crack!*

As Seol Ah-yeong extended her left arm, a small hole materialized in the air.

The unidentified fissure, which looked like a black sphere, emitted a bizarre sound and began to suck in everything around it.

Large trees were uprooted, and buildings crumbled completely as they were pulled into the fissure.

Though the fissure was tiny, everything, no matter how large or small, was drawn into it. Even insect-like creatures were absorbed without exception.

The mist, created by an Ability, was completely sucked in and vanished. The Woman in the White Mask had to plant her feet firmly to avoid being dragged in as well.

“Just as I heard, our abilities aren’t a good match.”

*Fwoosh!*

The Woman in the White Mask immediately charged toward Seol Ah-yeong.

Against an Awakened who relied on such a powerful Ability, it was best to close the distance and force a close-quarters fight.

But her opponent was the leader of Team 1, the representative of all government-affiliated Awakened. It wasn’t a position one could reach with an Ability alone.

*Smack!*

As their two swords clashed several times, Seol Ah-yeong’s kick landed a counterblow to her opponent’s abdomen.

Sliding back on the ground, the Woman in the White Mask steadied herself with one hand, twirled her sword once, and gripped it anew.

Her Defensive Coat had activated, so she hadn’t taken any damage, but she could clearly feel the considerable power behind the basic martial arts.

“As expected… she may have been overshadowed by Kang Il-hyeon recently, but she’s a force to be reckoned with. She’s much stronger than last time.”

“Don’t you dare compare me to that bastard!”

Seol Ah-yeong ground her teeth, infuriated to hear that name she was so sick of, especially in a place like this.

*Rumble!*

Seol Ah-yeong unleashed her power, and the atmosphere trembled.

Simultaneously, a powerful, unnatural gravity pressed down on the entire area.

Even the ruins left behind after the fissure’s absorption were completely crushed into dust under the pressure.

This was the source of her overwhelming power, which set her apart from other Awakened and had built her absolute authority: the Ability of Gravity.

It was an S-Rank Ability, the only one of its kind in the entire world.

Never before had an Awakened who could manipulate gravity—or even mimic it—appeared.

“Now, die, crushed like a bug.”

“Kugh….”

The Woman in the White Mask struggled against the immense gravity that seemed to pull her to the ground, her brow furrowed.

If this continued, not even she could escape death. She fired off the powerful sword aura she had once shown Il-hyeon.

The ferocious wave of energy tore through everything in its path as it surged toward Seol Ah-yeong.

*Craaack!*

But Seol Ah-yeong simply extended her left arm again, creating another fissure in front of her.

The miniature black hole, created by her Ability, mockingly swallowed the massive sword aura and then moved toward the Woman in the White Mask.

However, the moment the gravity pressing down on the area returned to normal, she vanished, reappearing far to the side and swinging her sword at Seol Ah-yeong.

“I was already expecting that much!”

Having clearly read her opponent’s move, Seol Ah-yeong immediately created a black sphere that began to pull everything in.

Because her opponent was already so close, the sphere of gravity appeared in a position so near that she herself could have been swept into it.

But that was only how it looked. The sphere’s range of influence was different from the first fissure she had created.

Despite its immense power, the sphere of gravity had a narrow area of effect. The caster, Seol Ah-yeong, was just barely outside its influence, while her opponent was perfectly positioned to be swept into its pull.

*Swoosh!*

The powerful gravity pulled the Woman in the White Mask in, and a victor’s smile spread across Seol Ah-yeong’s lips.

Her overwhelming talent, combined with the countless experiences she had brutally accumulated, allowed her to master such fine control.

But the Woman in the White Mask, now in grave danger, showed no sign of panic.

“You’re not the only one who can make predictions.”

“Her… arm…?”

The incredible gravitational force shattered the Defensive Coat’s protective function in an instant, and a mangled arm was torn off, sucked into the black hole.

But as the woman willingly sacrificed her left arm, which had been caught in the sphere’s influence, the situation was completely reversed.

Now unobstructed, the Woman in the White Mask swung her sword with all her might at her stunned opponent.

*Crack! Smack! Thud!*

Seol Ah-yeong’s Defensive Coat shattered from the direct hit. Before she had a chance to react, the woman’s follow-up attack struck, and Seol Ah-yeong lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground.

The Woman in the White Mask silently stared down at her for a moment.

*Thwack!*

The sword, raised high and aimed for her neck, plunged into the ground right beside her instead.

The Woman in the White Mask turned her gaze to her own severed left arm and shoulder with an emotionless expression.

A moment later, space distorted, and a man wearing a green mask appeared from within.

“Pulling double duty, are we? And what happened to your arm?”

The woman didn’t respond to his slick words.

The man just chuckled foolishly, walked over, and casually grabbed her missing left shoulder.

Despite his careless grip on the area where bone and flesh were gruesomely exposed, the woman showed no reaction.

*Zzzzzzt!*

Static, like a malfunctioning channel, flickered around his hand, and her shoulder and arm were restored, completely unharmed.

“Make the call. We need to erase her memory.”

“Will do. But why’d you let this one live? You used to cut down anyone who crossed the line after one warning. The old you would have already sliced her to pieces.”

“Who knows….”

The Woman in the White Mask shrugged and picked up the sword embedded in the ground.

*Flick!* With a single motion to shake off the blood, the sword slid smoothly back into its sheath.

“The heartless Silent Reaper…! Ji-hoon would be sad to see you so indecisive now.”

“Ji-hoon… would be sad no matter how he saw us.”

*Click.*

She answered quietly and removed her mask.

The white mask was splattered with red blood.

“Ha, why get sentimental now? It’s time to start eliminating those on the list in earnest. You know who the next target is, right?”

“Yes, I know.”

The woman nodded.

On the holographic list that appeared, there was a familiar man’s face and name.

“My student, Seok Pil-joon.”

***

“Ughhh!”

Il-hyeon, sprawled out alone on the sofa, stretched his arms wide.

After clearing the S-Rank Gate, he had finished up a mountain of other missions before returning home instead of to the Aegis dorms.

Staying at the dorms would have been more time-efficient, but with no one inside Aegis he could fully trust, he had no intention of staying there for the time being.

On the TV, the news was reporting the death of Platter, the escaped Awakened prisoner.

“He was one of the ones I missed….”

He had been one of the inmates who escaped from the lowest level of the prison. Apparently, he had gone on a rampage at a major government facility before being subdued by Raven.

Most escapees lay low afterward, but he had dug his own grave.

The fact that he was suddenly found dead inside the prison was unsettling, but it was better than having a major criminal roaming the streets. Just as he was thinking that, his own face appeared on the news, plastered across the screen.

“Oh, for crying out loud.”

They rattled on about him with all sorts of flashy titles and embarrassing praise, prompting Il-hyeon to quickly turn off the TV.

After burying his face in the sofa for a moment to deal with the day’s accumulated fatigue, Il-hyeon shot up from his seat.

It was time to stop lazing around and check his spoils.

He rummaged through the inner pocket of the Defensive Coat hanging on the rack, and there it was—a core emitting a brilliant light.

“This is incredible….”

The S-Grade core he had obtained from the Gate.

Just looking at it, the overflowing energy was almost burdensome.

When he first saw A or B-Grade cores, all he could think about was drooling and wanting to absorb them. But with this one, he felt so much energy that he wondered how he could possibly absorb it all.

Of course, that didn’t mean it didn’t look appetizing.

“I guess I’ll have to absorb it myself….”

Il-hyeon muttered as he examined the core from all angles.

First of all, turning this core into a person like Hyeon-seo or Marco was impossible.

Although the analysis of the monster from the Gate had been off, the rank itself had been accurate, so there was no chance of it being a variant monster. Holding it in his hand, it felt different from those times.

He was tempted by the monster’s Ability-copying power, but the value of an S-Grade core was too great to let a summon absorb it for just one ability.

In other words, his only option was to devour it himself. Feeling a slight thrill, Il-hyeon squeezed the core tightly.

*Crack! Flash!*

As the core shattered in his hand, a blinding light flooded the room.

The Ether pouring out swirled around Il-hyeon’s right arm and drew closer, and soon, an immense amount of energy was being absorbed into his body.

As expected, it was an Ether energy so dense it couldn’t even be compared to the cores he had absorbed before.

He could feel a powerful strength welling up inside him, and his body, which had been exhausted just moments ago, was revitalized.

But then a problem arose.

‘When… when is this going to stop?’

The flow of Ether showed no signs of ending.

Panicked, Il-hyeon frantically looked at the core and estimated that half of the Ether was still left inside.

After absorbing about half of it, he had reached a point where he simply couldn’t take in any more.

The quality of the Ether was on a completely different level from what he was used to, not to mention the quantity.

“You mean I have to waste all of this?”

The Ether Il-hyeon couldn’t absorb from the already-broken core was scattering in all directions.

He had only managed to consume half of it, and now it looked like the rest would be wasted.

If one of his summons or teammates had been here, he could have given it to them, but that was impossible right now.

Just as he was regretting his decision, Il-hyeon’s sword, which had been leaning against the wall, began to tremble violently.

*Whoosh! Thwack!*

“Wha-what is this?”

The sword suddenly flew into Il-hyeon’s hand, startling him.

It was shaking so hard that he could barely control it with his grip, and now it was even making a humming sound that vibrated throughout the apartment.

*Zzzzzzzzz!*

Just as he was worrying that the downstairs neighbors might complain about the noise, something incredible happened.

The sword began to absorb the remaining Ether from the core.

White light flowed into the blade, and a stunned Il-hyeon could only watch blankly.

He had no way of stopping his seemingly rampaging sword anyway.

It was a strange way to describe an inanimate object, but it was greedily devouring the Ether as if possessed by a gluttonous spirit.

*Zzzzzzz….*

It eventually consumed every last bit of energy until not a speck of Ether remained in the core. He could have sworn he heard a phantom sound, like someone smacking their lips in satisfaction.

Il-hyeon’s sword shivered once, as if in pleasure, and then spoke to him.

“Can I have just one more?”