Chapter 152 – Their Identity (Part Three)

“Wha… what?”

Startled, Il-hyeon flinched and stepped back.

His own sword had suddenly spoken to him, and he doubted his own ears, wondering if he was hearing things.

But as if to confirm it for him, the sword mumbled once more.

“Core… tasty.”

Perhaps savoring the aftertaste of devouring an S-rank core, it made a sound as if smacking its lips.

Il-hyeon stared blankly down at the sword in his hand.

He had once wondered if he could apply his Predation ability to inanimate objects and feed them cores, but he never imagined it would actually happen like this.

And for it to happen unintentionally, with the special alloy sword he had been using all this time as the first subject…

“You… how can you talk?”

“Core. A little more.”

The sword began to hum, pestering Il-hyeon.

Having tasted ether for the first time, it seemed to be craving cores quite badly.

‘Right, I was the same way.’

It seemed he needed to feed it a core before they could continue their conversation.

Il-hyeon picked out a few spare cores he had at home and brought them to the sword.

After devouring three B-rank cores in one go—something an ordinary Awakened might never even see in their lifetime—the sword shivered once more.

“How is it?”

“Delicious. But the one just now was much better.”

Despite not having a mouth, it seemed to have taken a liking to the S-rank core it had just eaten.

Even Il-hyeon, who had absorbed plenty of cores, could clearly feel the difference in taste, so it was only natural for a being tasting ether for the first time.

“Now, can you answer me? How did you become able to talk?”

“I received master’s ability.”

“Right, you probably took my Predation ability. But I didn’t do anything. How was that possible?”

“Not master’s ability. It is my ability. Not just anyone can use it.”

“Your ability…?”

Il-hyeon looked down at the sword with a skeptical gaze.

The sword he used was not special at all.

It was just a standard-issue sword from Aegis, and he had never heard of a case like this.

“I can hear what you’re thinking. I’m not like those stupid swords. I have a name.”

“A… name?”

Il-hyeon was certain he had never given the sword a name.

But the sword proudly announced its name.

“Peace. Keeper.”

“Yeah, that’s a cool na—What? Peacemaker?”

Il-hyeon jumped up in astonishment.

He had expected it to say some name it had made up for itself, but a completely unexpected name came out.

“Isn’t Peacemaker the famous sword that belongs to Min Ji-hoon?”

“That’s right. I am a famous sword.”

It chimed in, seeming pleased.

Hit with another shocking revelation on top of the talking sword, Il-hyeon belatedly tried to sort out his thoughts.

“No, wait a minute. That doesn’t make sense. Why is a sword that should be with Min Ji-hoon suddenly with me? Besides, Peacemaker doesn’t even look like this.”

“This form… it’s not my original form. My original master changed my appearance when he sent me to my new master. Just like those stupid swords. I don’t like it, but it was the last favor my master asked of Peacemaker.”

“You mean he swapped it with the sword I was carrying…? But why?”

Il-hyeon asked, still maintaining a doubtful attitude.

What it said wasn’t impossible.

He was well aware of the ability of the strongest Awakened in history, Min Ji-hoon.

For the wielder of an SS-rank ability, Spatial Manipulation, swapping the positions of two mere swords would be nothing.

But the question was why he would do it without the person’s knowledge, instead of just handing it over directly.

Unlike its previous stream of words, Peacemaker hesitated before giving a vague answer.

“I don’t know. Master said it was necessary.”

‘Peacemaker… I can’t exactly not believe it at this point…’

Il-hyeon scratched his head.

A sword had suddenly appeared, devoured a core, and started talking. Even if everything it said was a lie, there was no other way to explain it.

‘Should I… try to visit him?’

“No! He said never to come find him.”

The sword reacted violently, humming and trembling.

“What’s this? Your reaction makes me really want to go.”

“New master, idiot… Everyone who ignored master’s warning paid a heavy price.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t go.”

Il-hyeon said with a smirk.

He was certainly curious, but he was just teasing.

And on second thought, the fact that the reclusive Min Ji-hoon knew of him and even passed on his own sword was quite an honor.

‘There must be a reason he can’t talk about. In that case, the problem is what abilities this sword has now…’

“I have many abilities.”

“Really? Then since you absorbed the Predation ability, can you also perform Summoning or Transformation?”

“Those abilities… I can’t copy them yet.”

“Hmm… then what about the ability to distort space?”

Il-hyeon asked with anticipation.

The Peacemaker he knew of, Min Ji-hoon’s beloved sword, could not only slice through space but also create portals to other places, and even twist space to instantly kill an enemy far away.

But the sword replied in a dejected voice.

“When my master changes, I lose my abilities too. I change according to my master.”

“So you can’t do anything but eat cores?”

Il-hyeon said, deflated.

After feeding it so many cores, for it to only be able to eat more cores… it was no different from a freeloader who couldn’t even speak properly.

Seeing Il-hyeon’s disappointment, Peacemaker flared up.

“Not at all! I’m much stronger than those stupid swords! I just can’t use my abilities because of my pathetic new master. I’m sharp and hard! For me to use my abilities, master has to get stronger.”

“I-Is that so?”

Il-hyeon scratched his head.

He had heard a story that the reason the retired Min Ji-hoon hadn’t passed on the famous sword Peacemaker to his juniors was not only because no one met his standards, but also because the sword itself was extremely picky and couldn’t be used properly by anyone other than Min Ji-hoon.

It wasn’t confirmed information, so he had dismissed it, but hearing this sword talk, it seemed to be true.

“Ah, right. Then what about that ability? You had one of your own, didn’t you? Not one from your master.”

Peacemaker, hailed as the greatest among countless famous swords. And the one ability that defined it.

‘Future Sight,’ which allowed the sword’s master to read events that were yet to happen.

“Normally, I can’t because master is too weak… But I’m full now, so it’s possible. I have enough power.”

“Excellent. Then let’s go with that.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

A smile spread across Il-hyeon’s lips.

There was information he absolutely had to find out, as quickly as possible, even if it meant searching the future.

The identity of the true mastermind behind this incident.

If he could read the future and learn all of their identities, he could stop them without any more casualties, and he could also prevent being suddenly stabbed in the back by a traitor.

As Il-hyeon swelled with the thought of finally taking them down, the sword spoke.

“Master, you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“You can’t just look at any future you want. All you can do is get a brief glimpse of a single event.”

“…Right.”

Il-hyeon nodded.

He was disappointed, but upon calm reflection, it was only natural.

Interfering with time, especially the act of seeing the future, would naturally come with powerful restrictions, even for Peacemaker.

“Then I suppose it’s too much to ask to choose the future I want to see.”

“Exactly, master. You’ll be shown the event your master feels is most important. Probably something that will happen within a week.”

“Right. That’s more than enough.”

Il-hyeon said confidently.

There were countless future events he wanted to see, but right now, none of them compared to discovering the identities of his enemies.

“Then… I’ll show you.”

His sword trembled, emitting waves of energy in all directions.

C-c-crack!

As if a tower of blocks were collapsing, his house began to crumble around him.

At the same time, Il-hyeon’s body sank downward, and a brilliant light enveloped him.

Fwaash!

Blackout. The light vanished completely.

***

Gasp!

Il-hyeon’s eyes flew open. He gasped for breath, looking around.

The living room of his house, which had been in a state of catastrophic collapse just moments ago, was perfectly intact.

“I really… saw the future.”

Dumbfounded, Il-hyeon pressed a hand to his forehead.

It had been five minutes at most.

Though he had only glimpsed a very fragmented future, Il-hyeon’s expression had turned utterly grim.

“Dammit…! I have to stop it now.”

Il-hyeon hurriedly grabbed his sword and started to leave the house.

But the sword in his hand chattered, stopping him.

“Calm down, master. The future you just glimpsed will happen tomorrow night. Not today.”

“Tomorrow? In that case…”

Il-hyeon stopped in his tracks.

If that was true, there was nothing he could do by rushing out now.

But having already seen the shocking future, he couldn’t hide his anxiety and clutched his head.

“Does this mean I have to finish all my assigned sites before I can go?”

Alpha Team’s schedule for tomorrow included one of the S-rank Gates set to appear this week.

There had been concerns that the schedule might be too demanding, as it was set to activate the day after clearing another S-rank Gate, but his body was in peak condition after absorbing half of an S-rank core.

For him, who had glimpsed the future, that was not the top priority.

‘No, this is actually for the better. I can clear the S-rank Gate, get the core, and then head there.’

Il-hyeon bit his thumbnail with a sharp crack.

He didn’t usually have habits like this, but having witnessed the future so vividly up close had left him emotionally unstable.

Even Min Ji-hoon had shown the same reaction the first time he saw the future, so Peacemaker looked up at Il-hyeon as if it was a familiar sight.

“Thank you. I mean it.”

Feeling Peacemaker’s gaze, Il-hyeon came to his senses and stroked the sword once.

“Now… it’s time for some proper payback.”