Chapter 185 – The Authority of Predation (Part Four)

“Ugh…”

The man, covered in severe wounds, gasped for breath.

Dying, he struggled to crawl across the floor, smearing a trail of dark blood behind him.

“I can’t die here…!”

*Thrust!*

Baek Il-ho’s sword, Lawbringer, pierced the man’s neck.

The man thrashed violently like a skewered animal, and Baek Il-ho, his eyes cold, twisted the sword in his hand.

The man’s head came off, and his struggles ceased.

But even with the man’s life extinguished, Baek Il-ho raised a foot and stomped on the corpse, grinding it into the ground.

It was partly to ensure the end of a being far from human, and partly an act of profound contempt.

Once the body was pulverized beyond any hope of revival, Baek Il-ho reached for the communicator in his ear.

*Screeeech!*

But the device wasn’t working. Instead, a harsh static blasted his ear.

It was strange, considering that the communicators used by the Awakened were special equipment designed to function perfectly even in the most extreme conditions.

There were no powerful barriers nearby, nor was the communicator damaged.

But the reason was simple.

Jamming signals were being broadcast from high above.

Special satellites, launched into orbit by an international organization at great expense, were blanketing the entire planet with signals to disrupt specific frequencies.

Because of this, Eclipse members had recently been struggling with unreliable communication, causing numerous setbacks.

In truth, however, jamming was just one of the satellites’ secret functions, designed to keep the Awakened in check.

They possessed capabilities beyond common sense, able to track and monitor even Awakened who weren’t affiliated with or registered to any organization.

The system was equipped to track and deal with organizations like Eclipse, should they ever emerge.

However, so far, the satellites had only managed to pinpoint the locations of low-level criminals.

They had learned nothing about Eclipse itself.

All of this was within Baek Il-ho’s calculations.

As a regressor who had returned from the future, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the satellites. He hadn’t just left them floating in space without a plan.

On the contrary, he had tampered with them slightly to turn them into useful weapons.

Baek Il-ho placed a hand on his forehead and telepathically contacted a member with whom he had established an emergency network.

*Fwoooosh!*

At that, the small satellites in the sky exploded, shattering into pieces and releasing an invisible shockwave.

The shockwave covered the entire planet, leaving a faint trace in the sky.

Now, not just Eclipse’s communications, but all means of communication on Earth were paralyzed. It would also be impossible for the other administrators, who were likely coming to their senses by now, to contact anyone.

The paralysis would last for one week.

More than enough time to finish what needed to be done.

“Thirteen left, then…”

Baek Il-ho muttered, his gaze shifting.

Including the one he had just killed, fourteen of those unidentified, anomalous monsters had been running rampant across the globe. It was clear that all the remaining administrators had appeared.

These incidents were the result of Hwa-yeon’s suggestions being lifted earlier than planned.

He could surmise that she had been forced to gather the powers she had dispersed with her ability.

But Hwa-yeon was an S-rank Awakened.

And not a novice who had just reached that level.

Originally, it was known that there were only four S-rank Awakened, including the retired older generation. However, Min Ji-hoon and Baek Il-ho were actually SS-rank, and Hwa-yeon, a member of the new generation, had never been included in that count.

Furthermore, Ryu Jin-tae, the only active S-rank Awakened at present, did not have a high resistance to special powers for someone of his level.

In other words, no one could handle Hwa-yeon. The fact that she had broken from the plan and withdrawn her suggestions meant something unforeseen had occurred.

‘Did the two of them meet in person?’

Baek Il-ho’s brow furrowed slightly.

The only remaining possibility was that Kang Il-hyeon, who had been missing, had reappeared.

If there were only thirteen administrators left, excluding the ones Baek Il-ho had secretly eliminated, the number was definitely lower than it should have been.

If Il-hyeon had devoured them with his Predation ability during the week he was gone, it would explain his untraceable movements.

In that case, Hwa-yeon would have had no choice but to use her full power. And if a close battle ensued and someone were to die…

Frowning at the unpleasant thought, Baek Il-ho looked up at the empty sky.

An invisible transport aircraft materialized and stopped directly in front of him.

“Haa, looks like I have to play the mediator again…”

* * *

*Clang!*

A powerful shockwave erupted as the two swords clashed.

Just as Baek Il-ho had predicted, the two had just begun a fierce battle, their swords aimed at each other.

Thanks to the new power Il-hyeon gained through Predation, he could now ignore mental abilities when facing a psychic-type user.

Since his opponent was essentially fighting without her greatest weapon, the battle should have been a simple, one-sided affair in his favor.

But the reality of their fight was completely different.

*Stab!*

Il-hyeon thrust his sword, piercing the stomach of one of the Hwa-yeons.

That Hwa-yeon collapsed, losing all strength, and fell to the floor, coughing up blood before her eyes closed.

But the battle wasn’t over.

The woman who had just died was just one of more than eight Hwa-yeons.

One of the clones created by her illusion-generating ability.

If the clones before him were mere illusions, he could have simply ignored them and targeted the real body.

After all, illusions were just falsehoods and should have no real effect.

In fact, Hwa-yeon’s ability was a simple trick of the eye that showed enemies basic illusions, and its rank wasn’t even that high.

But in the hands of someone with her immense talent, the story changed completely.

After meeting Baek Il-ho early on and growing unhindered as an Awakened, the scope of her ability expanded each time her rank increased.

At first, it was simple visual illusions. Then it progressed to inducing full-blown hallucinations, and later, she became capable of intervening deep within a target’s mind. When her skills surpassed the S-rank barrier, she even became capable of materializing her illusions.

In other words, the clones standing before him were all real, existing beings. There was no trickery involved.

*Screeech!*

Il-hyeon hastily retreated, parrying the four swords coming at him.

The vivid impact traveled through his two hands gripping the sword.

But even so, there had to be a real body.

Il-hyeon’s eyes, enhanced by his Predation ability, could easily distinguish between them.

The subtle difference in the energy flowing through the clones versus the main body.

Four clones rushed forward to press their attack, swinging their swords, but Il-hyeon used his acceleration ability to charge forward instead.

And he swung his sword at the real body, standing second from the back.

*Krrrrrrk!*

The two swords clashed violently, shaking fiercely.

As expected, the real Hwa-yeon pressed her sword close, intending to lock him in place, and Il-hyeon willingly accepted the challenge.

As they began a contest of strength while he was surrounded, the clones naturally lunged at him with their swords.

But Il-hyeon stomped his foot hard, and a massive number of spikes erupted from the floor.

*Shhwwwik!*

The spikes, created by his fully unleashed transformation ability, swept through all the surrounding clones, riddling them with so many holes they were barely recognizable.

*Click!*

At the same time, Il-hyeon twisted his body and kicked off into the air.

The spot where he had been standing instantly bulged, and a spike shot up violently.

But Hwa-yeon, as if expecting it, sliced through the floor with her sword, cutting out not only the rising spike but the entire section of the facility’s floor.

Floating upside down in mid-air, Il-hyeon took a core from within his coat.

“Here I go.”

“Ready, Master.” As Peacemaker hummed in response, Il-hyeon crushed the core without hesitation.

The Ether flowing from the core was immediately absorbed into Il-hyeon’s sword, Peacemaker.

Another core used to see the future.

For a moment, Il-hyeon’s consciousness faded.

* * *

*Fwoosh!*

His consciousness returning, Il-hyeon quickly assessed the situation.

His own upside-down body, the collapsing floor, his vanished opponent, and a murderous intent.

Just as he had seen in the future, it was a sword aura attack fired from directly behind him.

Il-hyeon quickly used his spatial movement ability to dodge the attack and teleported behind Hwa-yeon.

So far, everything was going as predicted.

But when the surrounding space suddenly began to distort uncontrollably, Il-hyeon recoiled in shock.

*Kiiiiiiik!*

The space around Hwa-yeon warped, emitting a bizarre noise.

This was a completely different development from the future he had seen with Peacemaker.

‘Future sight… isn’t working?’

Il-hyeon frowned at the unbelievable event.

He could imagine other abilities failing, but he had never conceived of a situation where Peacemaker’s power wouldn’t work.

*Fshhhh.*

An ominous black energy rose and filled the area, while bizarre purple legs emerged from the floor and began to writhe.

Hwa-yeon slowly turned around and stared at him with cold eyes.

Feeling an involuntary chill, Il-hyeon let out a smirk and used his ability.

His future sight failing was no coincidence; he would have to face her head-on.

“…It’s been a while. Shall we all sync up?”

*Fwoosh!*

As Il-hyeon raised and clenched his fist, his summons from other locations appeared all at once via spatial movement.

A large gray wolf appeared, circling behind him and emerging from under one arm, a mouse perched on its head.

A fox shimmering with red light clung to Il-hyeon’s shoulder, and a phoenix, appearing with a flourish of magnificent flame-like feathers, spread its wings wide.

Il-hyeon’s original members, who had been with him from the very beginning, had all gathered here.