Chapter 190 – Predator (Part Two)

“Alright, keep pushing!”

The energized members of the Response Team shouted.

The battle, which had started with an attack from Eclipse, was still ongoing.

At first, they were on the verge of being overwhelmed by the significant power difference, but thanks to the sudden arrival of Alpha Team and other unidentified Awakened, the situation had completely turned around.

The unaffiliated Awakened, each possessing incredible skill, along with the beasts accompanying them, were enough to corner Eclipse in return.

The only puzzling thing was that they had suddenly teleported away midway through the fight.

Seeing them say they were out of time and leaving the rest to them suggested something had come up elsewhere, but with a considerable number of enemies already subdued, the remaining Response Team members had no trouble securing victory.

But just then, a single variable appeared that would instantly overturn the situation.

Chzzzt!

Suddenly, space distorted in the middle of the battlefield, and a man walked out from within.

“W-wait…!”

The Response Team members who had been pressing their advantage froze the moment they saw the man’s face, unable to move.

An absolute powerhouse on a different level, Baek Il-ho.

He had appeared here in person.

Sssss!

A dangerous red energy flickered in Baek Il-ho’s left hand.

It was the energy he had absorbed from the Phoenix.

He released that power all at once.

Kwoooosh!

A massive firestorm swept through the area, sending the engulfed Response Team members flying.

The protective function of their Defensive Coats vanished like straw, leaving them exposed to the impact and flames.

Team leaders and members alike had their lives extinguished in an instant, and the surroundings were reduced to ruins.

And yet, only the Response Team’s Awakened were affected by the flames; the members of Eclipse were completely unharmed.

Once the situation was swiftly dealt with, Baek Il-ho began to free the Eclipse members who had been subdued by abilities, one by one.

Meanwhile, a man in a black mask who had been fighting nearby dusted off his ash-covered sword and approached him.

“An unexpected variable came up. Some guys I’ve never seen before jumped in.”

“A variable came up on my end, too.”

“Right, you weren’t supposed to be here…”

“Hwa-yeon is dead.”

“What…?”

At the completely unexpected news, the man, his expression hidden by the mask, stared at him in shock.

Without Hwa-yeon, their original plan would be completely derailed, and more importantly, he worried it would be a huge psychological blow to him.

But Baek Il-ho continued, his face cold as ice.

“Where did those guys who jumped in go?”

“…They used a spatial teleportation ability to leave midway.”

Hearing the man’s words, Baek Il-ho turned his gaze, searching for a trace.

Baek Il-ho’s sword, Lawbringer, also had the ability to track an opponent’s spatial teleportation and follow them through.

But after a careful examination, he realized it was impossible this time.

Not only had they completely erased their tracks, but too much time had passed since they left.

Of course, erasing the traces was a secondary problem that could be overcome with a little more effort.

However, the ones who had fled through space were Il-hyeon’s summons, who were different from ordinary Awakened in many ways, making further tracking impossible.

“Ughhh…”

Amidst the corpses in the ruins, a man groaned in pain.

There was a single survivor from that intense blaze.

Cha Myeong-joon, the leader of Response Team C.

He was the man who had pointed his sword at the fallen Baek Il-ho after his confrontation with Min Ji-hoon.

Noticing his presence, Baek Il-ho and the masked man slowly walked toward Cha Myeong-joon.

“If she’s dead… what’s the plan now?”

the man in the black mask asked.

In response, Baek Il-ho forcefully drew the sword from his hip.

“We’ll see it through to the end. There’s just been a slight change of plans.”

With Hwa-yeon dead, the original plan was as good as ruined, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t have any powerful mental-type Awakened.

They had several high-level ability users who could control large numbers of people with mind manipulation.

The problem they now faced, however, was that controlling the high-ranking Awakened of Aegis or the Response Team was impossible.

“From now on, the ‘list’ is meaningless. We kill every high-ranking Awakened who won’t follow our will or can’t be controlled.”

Stab!

Cha Myeong-joon’s breathing stopped.

* * *

Zzzzt!

Space distorted, and Ohara led Gwen through the rift.

It was too dangerous to move right away, so they had to hide for now, but as long as she was with Ohara, there was nothing to worry about.

Among Il-hyeon’s team members, she possessed the most outstanding spatial teleportation ability, making her adept at erasing traces, and she also had a stealth ability to conceal her presence.

Considering the mission she was assigned, both were optimal abilities.

“I need to hurry.”

Watching them leave, Il-hyeon immediately moved, landing on the rooftop of the building he had fallen from.

Then he rushed over to his summons, who had been struck down by Baek Il-ho.

Il-hyeon flicked his fingers, and four cores dropped into his hand. He used them one by one to heal his summons.

They had all been grievously injured by Baek Il-ho’s ruthless strike, but with the power of the cores, they could be restored.

The summons, having regained consciousness, wagged their tails and greeted him.

“Looks like they’ve already recovered the body…”

Il-hyeon muttered, his gaze sweeping around.

Where Hwa-yeon had fallen, only a washed-away bloodstain remained; the body was nowhere to be found.

After a moment of complex emotion, Il-hyeon drastically shrank his summons and tucked them into his clothes.

“Whine…”

“Just bear with it for a little while.”

Il-hyeon said soothingly.

And in an instant, he vanished.

* * *

Fwoosh!

Using his spatial teleportation ability, Il-hyeon dropped abruptly into the middle of a city street.

Arriving in a place he’d never been before, it seemed he had made a slight miscalculation with the arrival altitude.

But there were no witnesses to be surprised by the sight.

Perhaps due to recent events, anxious people were refraining from going out, and the streets were almost empty.

Il-hyeon then walked casually through the quiet city, as if he already knew the area well.

“Master, the future must have changed a bit. Are you sure you don’t need to check?”

Peacemaker, tucked at his waist, chattered.

It was a form of telepathic speech that people nearby couldn’t hear.

Il-hyeon, his gaze still fixed forward, replied quietly, as if muttering to himself.

“I don’t have enough cores to use future sight recklessly. Considering what’s to come, I need to save as many as I can.”

At this point, the most important thing was to find the ‘Administrators’.

The more than ten monsters that had suddenly appeared all over the world.

There had been no signs right before their appearance, and their overwhelming power had caused great trouble, but now they had all vanished.

They had probably gone berserk when Hwa-yeon’s ability disappeared and had now regained their senses.

Turning down an alley, Il-hyeon arrived at an ordinary-looking house. He stood before the front door and knocked lightly.

The door opened from the inside.

“Who is it?”

A tall woman appeared in the crack of the door.

She had a beautiful face, but she looked haggard as if unwell, with a thick coat draped over her shoulders.

Il-hyeon pushed the half-open door all the way and stepped inside.

The woman naturally frowned at his incredible rudeness, barging in like that.

But before she could even protest, Il-hyeon roughly shoved her against the wall.

“What is the meaning of…!”

Stab!

Drawing his sword, Il-hyeon plunged the blade straight into the woman’s hand.

After letting out a scream, her voice trembled.

“Ah… ah…”

The woman stared down at her hand with startled eyes.

She looked completely overwhelmed by the pain.

At the same time, she looked up at Il-hyeon, terrified.

If he hadn’t possessed the ability of foresight, it was a sight that would have made him feel guilty, thinking he had made a terrible mistake.

Admiring her acting skills, Il-hyeon grabbed her by the collar and used his ability.

Fwoosh!

In an instant, they teleported across space and landed in an unknown, empty lot.

They had arrived some distance apart from each other, and Il-hyeon immediately cast a barrier around the area.

It was the first ability he had absorbed along with spatial teleportation. The powerful barrier it created would prevent anyone from noticing them, no matter how big a fight broke out.

Thanks to this very ability, he had been able to operate for the past week without being detected by anyone.

Drip. Drip.

Black blood dripped down the blade of Peacemaker, which had pierced the woman’s hand.

It was too viscous to be human blood and gave off a foul stench.

“You’re not planning to play innocent any longer, are you?”

“How did you know my location… I even changed my appearance completely…”

The woman glared at Il-hyeon with sharp eyes.

The terrified expression from moments ago was gone without a trace.

“No, it doesn’t matter. To come find me even after guessing my identity… you must have a death wish.”

She scanned Il-hyeon with the eyes of someone looking at arrogant prey.

Twenty years she’d been here, and to be found by some Awakened riffraff she’d never seen before was almost laughable.

It was a natural way of thinking, as she would have already been aware of any potential threats.

But there was one fact the woman was overlooking.

“So you made them forget about me, too.”

Il-hyeon muttered.

At the same time, he took out the summons from his clothes, and the now-enlarged beasts lined up around him.

In response, the woman also drew upon her power, and the coat draped over her was torn to shreds.

Something large burst from her abnormally swelling back, and soon, gaunt wings like dry branches could be seen spreading wide.

Fwoooosh!

Facing the ominous aura washing over him, Il-hyeon gripped his sword impassively.

Ordinary Awakened would have been flustered by a wavelength they had never experienced before, but this was an energy Il-hyeon had encountered several times already.

“I’ll teach you your place, monster.”

Predator and prey.

It was time to properly imprint upon her the true nature of their relationship, which she had mistaken.