Chapter 183 – The Authority of Predation (Part Two)

“Those abilities… did you devour the ‘Managers’?”

Hwayeon asked before the battle began in earnest.

The term ‘Manager.’

It was the first time Il-hyeon had heard it, but he knew who she was referring to.

“You knew about them too?”

“How could I not? If it weren’t for them, you wouldn’t have failed in your first regression.”

“First…?”

“You’ve experienced two deaths and two apocalypses. This is your second regression.”

Hearing Hwayeon’s words, Il-hyeon stopped in his tracks, considerably surprised.

He had heard directly from Baek Il-ho that he was a regressor from the future, but he never imagined it was possible to do it multiple times.

No wonder he knew far too much for someone who had only regressed once.

“…That’s surprising. But if you knew about them, why are you doing all this? Did Baek Il-ho deceive you? Or did you get too emotionally invested after reading his feelings along with his memories?”

“Why am I doing this? Do you think their existence grants humanity a free pass?”

“Rationally speaking, yes.”

*Crackle!*

Just then, a transmission came through the communicator in Il-hyeon’s ear.

It reported that the enemy had successfully retrieved the second nuclear weapon and had already used an ability to spirit it away somewhere.

The situation was more urgent than he thought, and there was no more time for leisurely conversation.

“Where do you intend to use the nuclear weapon you took from here?”

“It seems you haven’t seen enough of the future.”

“I’ve had a lot on my plate.”

Seeing her unreadable expression, Il-hyeon didn’t expect a straight answer and, with that last word, raised his sword.

The number of cores required to glimpse the future just once was immense, and acquiring the massive amount of energy to feed the Peacemaker multiple times was no easy feat.

Most importantly, the future related to Eclipse’s targeting of nuclear weapons was not easily shown to Il-hyeon.

Even after investing several times the energy normally required to see the future, he couldn’t get a glimpse of it.

It meant that, unlike the countless futures he had seen so far, this was an incredibly crucial part of the timeline. For now, his only option was to stop them from proceeding to some unknown next stage.

*Rumble!*

Suddenly, the surrounding airflow shifted, and the atmosphere began to tremble.

It wasn’t a sign of someone intruding.

The aura of Hwayeon, standing before him, began to grow, gradually tightening its grip on him.

Her presence pressed down on the surroundings, and Il-hyeon, frowning instinctively, tightened his grip on his sword.

“Now that I know your true strength, I have no intention of facing you half-heartedly, Il-hyeon.”

Hwayeon said, her gaze shifting slightly.

But Il-hyeon knew exactly what she was doing without needing an explanation.

The direct and indirect suggestions she had placed on hundreds of thousands of people across the globe.

She was undoing them, one by one.

Not only that, he could feel her growing stronger as she recalled all the clones she had spread out.

Just as he consumed power when summoning his familiars, she operated on a similar principle.

“For your information, I placed suggestions on the ‘Managers’ as well. I took special care to put them under powerful mental control, so there might be some backlash from retracting it. It wasn’t part of the original plan… but it shouldn’t be a problem now.”

Hwayeon lowered her gaze for a moment with a bitter smile, then raised her sword and took a step forward.

“This is the final chapter of our story. The only variable left is you. It’s time to bring down the curtain.”

***

“Damn it!”

Seol Ah-yeong, the 1st Team Leader of the government’s Response Team, cursed.

Before Eclipse orchestrated this massive incident, she had once again gone off on her own, and the transport she was on was suddenly attacked, causing it to crash-land.

The pilot died instantly upon being hit by the missile, but Seol Ah-yeong, a high-ranking Awakened wearing a Defensive Coat, naturally walked away without a scratch.

However, as if they had been waiting, the numerous organization members right in front of her and a surprise Gate that opened at the perfect moment were enough to pin her down.

The Gate, which activated less than a minute after appearing, was even a high-tier A-Rank one, and Seol Ah-yeong had to face both threats simultaneously.

*Kieeeek!*

The long-clawed monster swung its two protruding arms wide, and Seol Ah-yeong dodged by leaping into the air.

“Hup!”

At the same time, she extended her arm to create a powerful gravitational field.

An immense crushing force descended upon the monster, but it withstood the power with sheer physical strength and charged at Seol Ah-yeong.

Even for her, with her powerful ability, the opponent was a tricky A-Rank ace monster.

Seol Ah-yeong then twisted her body in mid-air and manipulated gravity.

Her levitating body instantly dropped, and the monster’s claws once again swiped through empty air.

Having dodged the attack, Seol Ah-yeong immediately tried to create a miniature black hole right in front of the monster to suck it in whole.

But once again, an interruption came.

“Stop!”

“Die!”

It was the members of the criminal organization that had ambushed her.

Despite the glaringly obvious difference in skill, they charged with bloodshot eyes as if their lives meant nothing.

*Swish!*

Naturally, they were cut down in a single stroke of her sword, and the charging members fell as dismembered corpses.

But once again, thanks to their interference, she had missed her chance to finish off the monster.

“These bastards…! Are they really insane?”

Seol Ah-yeong shouted in an annoyed voice.

The organization’s members were known for their crazy antics, but this was beyond the pale.

They were acting as if to protect the monster that was indiscriminately devouring even them.

The number of members providing cover had already been halved.

Half of the dead were her doing, but the other half had been killed by the very monster they were trying to protect.

Putting aside their utterly incomprehensible and bizarre behavior, they were the reason for this entire delay.

Her communicator was buzzing with urgent calls for team leaders to hurry back as Eclipse had begun their assault, but in this state, there was no end in sight.

But it was at that very moment.

The organization members surrounding her began to act strangely for a second time.

“What the…?”

Even while dealing with the monster swiping its claws at close range, Seol Ah-yeong could sense something was amiss.

The members around her suddenly had vacant expressions and were standing completely still.

These were the same people who had been interfering with her hunt, even providing long-range fire support, but now they were just standing there, not joining the fight.

She didn’t know what was happening, but she had to resolve this quickly.

Seol Ah-yeong swung her sword, deeply slashing the monster’s side, then created a significant distance and activated her ability.

*Tzzzt!*

Under Seol Ah-yeong’s powerful ability, space distorted and began to suck in its surroundings.

The monster dug its claws into the ground and tried to resist, but it was already in an inescapable position.

It was gradually pulled into the miniature black hole, torn to shreds, and vanished.

*Fwoosh!*

She retracted her ability, and the spot where the monster had been was now completely empty.

Now it was the turn of the organization members who had been obstructing her so much.

Seol Ah-yeong whipped her head around and glared at them with menacing eyes.

“What in the world is this…?”

However, the reaction of the members she faced was unexpected.

“Wh-what have I done…!”

“H-help me!”

The members simultaneously fell to their knees, either wailing or starting to surrender.

Seeing them act as if they had just regained their senses, Seol Ah-yeong stared in bewilderment.

If they had been consistent, she would have dismissed them as simply insane, but this sudden change in attitude momentarily left even her unsure of how to react.

But before she could make a decision, another incident befell her.

*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*

The ground suddenly began to shake violently, the intensity so severe that even Seol Ah-yeong momentarily staggered.

Seol Ah-yeong’s heightened hearing caught a cracking sound from beyond the building in front of her.

It sounded like bones breaking loudly—no, more like flesh and muscle explosively expanding, the sound of a body growing in size.

Having faced many transformation-type monsters, Seol Ah-yeong recognized it instantly.

But the Gate that could have produced such a monster had long since closed, and she had just finished off the last ace monster.

There was nothing that should have been able to make such a sound.

If another Gate had opened nearby during the fight, the observation team would have informed her, but there was still no word, which made no sense.

*Groooaaaar!*

An unknown roar echoed thunderously throughout the city.

The furious roar was laced with a powerful killing intent directed at its surroundings.

*Crack!*

A colossal monster revealed itself, breaking through the building in front of it.

Seol Ah-yeong had to tilt her head far back to look at it.

A pitch-black torso, two arms, and a head.

The unknown monster, which looked like the upper half of a giant, had blackened skin that seemed to be peeling off as if burnt, and the large scars all over its body made its appearance even more grotesque.

“Kirrrrk…!”

The few remaining normal monsters that hadn’t been dealt with began to falter and retreat.

It wasn’t just a simple retreat; the monsters were trembling in fear.

She had faced countless monsters, but this was the first time she had ever seen such a strange reaction.

At most, they would flee, but monsters without proper reason had never reacted like this, no matter how strong the enemy.

*Thump! Thump!*

The giant approached, using its arms to move alternately.

The fear-stricken monsters scattered in panic, and Seol Ah-yeong felt a bead of sweat trickle down her forehead without realizing it.

“This… I think something’s going very wrong.”