Chapter 192 – Predator (Part Four)

From the rubble of a terribly destroyed building, a little girl covered in dust crawled out.

The child, having just managed to poke her head out, looked up.

The first things she saw were the ruined city and a brown sky thick with dreadful smog.

“Hnngh…!”

The girl gasped, already terrified.

A person’s corpse lay just ahead.

Fortunately, it wasn’t close enough to see the detailed wounds, but even from this distance, a reddish stain was dried and cracked on the ground, hinting at its state.

The child had been lucky to survive the disaster that had struck the city without warning, but upon regaining consciousness, all that lay before her were silent ruins and corpses.

She was so shocked, she couldn’t even cry.

“Hm? Someone’s still alive?”

Suddenly, a faint voice drifted from the distance.

Just as she was struggling to decide whether to force her frozen body to move or to stay hidden…

*Whoosh.* Two men, slicing through the air, leaped and landed in front of the child.

*CRUNCH!*

One of them grabbed a thick piece of debris with his bare hands and effortlessly tossed aside the obstacles blocking the girl.

“…”

Though frightened for a moment, the girl cautiously raised her head as sunlight fell upon her.

She saw the Awakened from Eclipse, dressed in white coats, looking down at her.

Unfortunately, they weren’t a rescue team sent to save people.

They were merely occupying the area, managing it to ensure there were no intruders.

Of course, the child, unable to communicate and knowing nothing about them, could only stare blankly.

“It’s a kid…? What do we do?”

the man who had first spotted the child asked, looking troubled.

But the other member answered nonchalantly.

“What do you mean, ‘what do we do?’ You really have to ask?”

“Just kill her? Snap her neck or something?”

“What’s the difference? Don’t tell me you haven’t killed a single brat in the last eight years.”

“It’s been four years for me, and I’ve never touched a kid.”

“Jeez. In her situation, she’s going to die anyway. We’d be doing her a favor. Quick and painless.”

“…I can’t do it.”

The man frowned and turned his head away.

Even though he had participated in mass slaughter, he felt a sense of revulsion at the thought of personally ending a small child’s life.

They had all joined Eclipse after a single, shocking event, willingly diving in to change the world, but each individual’s level of aversion and their breaking point were different.

While some grew bold, believing Eclipse’s actions were just, others felt severe guilt depending on the situation.

Of course, as long as the person named Hwa-yeon existed within the organization, such things never escalated into major problems; she would assign tasks appropriate to each person’s disposition.

But after she died, giving such detailed orders became impossible.

“Then step back. I’ll take care of it.”

The member who curled his lip sneered at him inwardly as he spoke.

The man who had shown reluctance simply turned his back, choosing to be a bystander rather than stopping his colleague.

He slowly raised his fist, then brought it down to end the child’s life in a single blow.

It moved so fast that the child didn’t even realize a fist was swinging toward her.

But just before it reached her, his fist stopped dead in its tracks.

When his colleague, who had shown no hesitation, stopped moving, the other man assumed he was toying with the scared child. He opened his mouth to speak, looking at him with contempt.

“What the hell are you…?”

But before he could finish the sentence, his own mouth stiffened.

*’What is this…!’*

His panicked eyes darted around.

His frozen body wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard he tried.

As his body continued to stiffen, even his eyes began to lose focus and refused to obey him.

*Slice!*

Two heads were severed simultaneously, flying into the air.

The remaining torsos collapsed, spewing blood, as a masked ghost emerged from the side, pulling the child out and shielding her from the sight.

“Phew! That was close.”

“Tell me about it. I can’t believe there’s a survivor left after two whole days.”

Lee Soo-yeon said, sheathing the sword that had fired the black slash.

It wasn’t just her and Ghost who had appeared.

Jeong Jin-seong, Seok Pil-joon, and Hong In-hwa, who had only recently joined the team—the members of A-Team—emerged from behind the building.

“We’re running into more and more of them. Must mean we’re getting closer to the center.”

“And with the maps useless, it’s a real headache.”

“So, what do we do about this one?”

Ghost asked, gesturing with his chin.

The rescued child was now in his arms, finally letting out the sobs she had been holding back.

C-Team was on standby in the rear for contingencies, and they wanted to request a remote teleport, but it was impossible right now.

Thanks to Eclipse’s actions, communication devices worldwide were paralyzed. The communicators that A-Team members always wore in the field were absent this time.

They were currently in the heart of Eclipse’s stronghold.

Their combat strength was more critical now than ever.

But despite that, the two leaders of A-Team didn’t hesitate.

“It can’t be helped. One of us has to take her.”

“In-hwa, can you do it?”

Jeong Jin-seong’s gaze fell on Hong In-hwa.

“Yes, I’ll drop the child off and rejoin you immediately.”

“No, our location isn’t certain. Searching for us alone would put everyone in danger. Just join C-Team and wait.”

“Understood.”

Nodding at Lee Soo-yeon’s words, Hong In-hwa took the child from Ghost and began to make her way out of the ruins.

In an already dangerous situation, they had just lost one member of their fighting force.

But among those who remained, no one looked upon this decision with disapproval.

“Alright, let’s get moving. This could be our last chance.”

At Jeong Jin-seong’s command, the four team members moved out simultaneously.

After Min Ji-hoon’s death, they began to move in earnest, seizing all three existing nuclear weapons, and large-scale battles against high-ranking Awakened erupted everywhere.

In truth, it was less a battle and more of a hunt.

The Eclipse Awakened who had raided the headquarters of Aegis and the Response Team were only a fraction of their forces; the surviving high-ranking Awakened found themselves being hunted.

This, combined with the appearance of monsters on a completely different level from before, Eclipse’s attacks, and the communications blackout, had plunged nearly half the world’s nations into a state of near-anarchy. An effective response was impossible without the power of the Awakened.

“Hah, I don’t know if this is the right move.”

Ghost muttered, looking at the black mountain range next to the city.

The object filling his vision looked like a long, massive mountain range, but it was actually the corpse of a giant monster.

The Gate and the giant that had appeared without warning.

And Baek Il-ho, who had faced it alone.

The battle between just the two of them had completely devastated the surroundings, the sheer scale of the fight altering the very landscape.

The three-eyed giant, a monster of an unprecedented level, was ultimately defeated by Baek Il-ho.

However, just witnessing the colossal giant from a great distance caused severe mental trauma in ordinary citizens with no resistance, and even the Awakened who saw the fight lost their will to fight back.

It was only natural; even Ghost was intimidated by the strength of Baek Il-ho, who had finished off such a monster by himself.

But they had no choice now.

After that battle, most of Eclipse’s members had settled here, making suspicious moves, and the transport of nuclear weapons to this area had been confirmed.

Therefore, it was highly probable that whatever they were ultimately planning would happen here. Furthermore, for some reason, the number of high-rank Gates had sharply decreased since the giant’s death, allowing for relatively free movement.

That was why the remaining survivors of Aegis, who had been busy just trying to stay alive, had gathered together to secretly infiltrate this place.

If things continued as they were, they would never be able to defeat them. If they missed this last chance, there would be no hope.

“Wait, watch out…!”

Jeong Jin-seong and Lee Soo-yeon sensed something strange at the same time. They grabbed Ghost and Seok Pil-joon, who were running ahead, and threw themselves backward.

*KRAKOOOOM!*

Just as they expected, a massive slash suddenly appeared and swept through the area in front of them.

It was a strike powerful enough to completely vaporize two or three buildings without a trace.

A force that would have likely rendered even a Defensive Coat useless.

“This is…”

Exchanging a look, Lee Soo-yeon and Jeong Jin-seong immediately recognized the owner of this attack.

From beside the vanished building, someone walked out with heavy steps.

A man in a black mask and a white coat.

He was not someone appearing before them for the first time.

In fact, he had shown himself several times since the attack on the Aegis headquarters, but in all the fights until now, he had never revealed any special powers or schemes.

They had assumed he was hiding his identity, but they were still shocked by who it turned out to be.

“The former director of the Response Bureau… To think you were on their side.”