Chapter 20 – The Hidden Truth (Part One)

“Uh, yeah. I got it, I said I’ll call you back later!”

Il-hyeon abruptly ended the call.

After his face was plastered everywhere, he was bombarded with calls from all sorts of people for three straight days.

Parents, relatives, friends, coworkers, and even his ex-girlfriend from two years ago.

Kim Byeong-cheol and Kwon Se-hyeong, who had witnessed the scene at the barbecue restaurant, were especially frantic.

They had been friends since middle school, and they pestered him endlessly, claiming they felt betrayed.

Lee Byeong-cheol, who was very interested in the world of the Awakened, acted as if he’d throttle him if he didn’t get an autograph from each team member.

Not only that, but he now had to change his face with his ability whenever he went outside.

He’d once naively shuffled to the convenience store in his slippers, only to be nearly swarmed by people who recognized him.

His Awakened rank, the type of his ability, his activity records.

An unknown man with no public information joining Aegis had become a massive topic of conversation.

Those around him also said they’d only known him as an ordinary office worker and never dreamed he was an Awakened.

Thanks to that, rumors even circulated that he was a secret agent raised by the government. Even after three days, public interest hadn’t waned.

He hadn’t even done anything noteworthy yet. If just joining Aegis caused this much of a stir, he worried about how much he’d have to endure in the future.

On top of that, with reporters fiercely searching for him near his home, he was thinking of moving soon.

The enormous sum of money that had been deposited into his account yesterday.

Of course, he had expected it, but the number only felt real after he pinched his cheek.

It was more than enough to comfortably buy several apartments he wanted.

‘Maybe I should have worn a mask like Ghost…’

Il-hyeon stood at a helipad in a vacant lot near his house, his face slightly altered.

Of course, he wasn’t there for a stroll.

A B2-rank Gate had appeared in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Alpha Team, on standby in Korea, was assigned to handle it.

Along with the order to assemble within an hour, Aegis had sent a helicopter near his house.

Sending a helicopter just to move him within Seoul made him feel like some kind of Hollywood superstar.

Whump, whump, whump. With the approaching sound, a black helicopter bearing the Aegis logo appeared.

The helicopter landed in the lot, and Il-hyeon reflexively approached it.

“Hey, mister, you can’t get on here!”

As the strange man he’d never seen before tried to board, the pilot looked back and spoke with a look of disgust.

It seemed this wasn’t the first time he’d dealt with something like this.

“Ah, it’s me.”

He had forgotten to change his face back.

Once Il-hyeon’s face returned to normal, they exchanged greetings, and he plopped down in a seat.

The helicopter door closed, and it smoothly ascended into the clear city sky.

* * *

After arriving at the destination, Il-hyeon disembarked from the helicopter.

In a corner of the Aegis headquarters, a transport plane was on standby. Unlike other areas bustling with people and vehicles, this place was quiet.

He seemed to have arrived early, as neither Ghost nor Lee Soo-yeon were in sight.

Instead, there was a man he was seeing in person for the first time, yet who was very familiar.

It was Jeong Jin-seong, the co-leader of Aegis’s Alpha Team.

If he had to give a brief first impression, it would be: handsome.

Like Lee Soo-yeon, Jeong Jin-seong was one half of the pair serving as the public faces of Aegis, and his looks were outstanding.

It was no wonder the two of them had so many fans.

With his hair slightly swept to the side and a refreshing, likable face, he strode over to Il-hyeon first.

“It’s a pleasure to work with you. I’m Kang Il-hyeon.”

“Ah, nice to meet you. Soo-yeon told me the gist of your abilities.”

Jeong Jin-seong said with a broad smile as they shook hands.

The weather had grown chilly, and they could see their breath in the air.

The two of them folded their arms and made small talk while waiting for the other team members.

“I hear this is your second official mission? I was told you did better than expected in Ulsan.”

“Far from doing well, I barely made it out alive.”

“Well, that was an unexpected situation, so it couldn’t be helped. The analysis error lasted quite a while this time. If you run into a dangerous situation during the mission, don’t push yourself—fall back. We have plenty of people now, so there’s no reason to overdo it, whether out of pride or a sense of duty. That’s what a team is for.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The two conversed comfortably, without any difficulty.

He was exactly like his public image—a genuinely good person.

While they were talking, the other team members soon arrived one by one.

The first to arrive was Seok Pil-joon.

His expression didn’t look pleased as he approached.

For some reason, he didn’t seem to have a good impression of Il-hyeon from the start.

Seok Pil-joon exchanged an awkward greeting with Il-hyeon, his face sour, and they didn’t speak to each other after that.

Still, it wasn’t a huge problem.

It wasn’t the first time Il-hyeon had worked with someone he disliked, so he could easily overlook it.

It would be a little uncomfortable, though.

Soon, Ghost arrived, and finally, Lee Soo-yeon stepped off a helicopter.

They put on their gear—communicators, Defensive Coats, and other equipment—which was laid out under a tent.

“You’ve been pretty busy lately, huh?”

“Things just kept blowing up on my watch… I bet you had a nice, relaxing time in Korea.”

“Haha, you could say that…”

Lee Soo-yeon, who had been laughing and talking with Jeong Jin-seong, stopped mid-sentence when she saw Ghost’s and Il-hyeon’s coats.

“Hm? Wait a minute. Why are you two wearing those? I haven’t even gotten mine yet.”

The cores used as materials for Defensive Coats were originally maxed out at B-rank.

Trying to cram in a higher Ether output to achieve stronger defensive power would risk overload and malfunction.

But thanks to the Aegis research team’s groundbreaking work, they had succeeded in creating the latest model of Defensive Coat using an A-rank core.

And there were Il-hyeon and Ghost, brazenly wearing them.

Ghost had won his in a bet, and Il-hyeon had received his as a reward for cooperating with the research team by handing over the core fragments.

Il-hyeon flinched, but thankfully, the arrow wasn’t aimed at him.

“I’m asking you, aren’t I? Huh?”

“Ugh, ugh!”

Lee Soo-yeon walked up to Ghost and poked him with her finger as if picking a fight.

Ghost, unable to move, feigned pain and stumbled backward.

“I don’t know how you sweet-talked the research team, but be smart and hand it over.”

“N-No way! I barely managed to get this!”

“What? Don’t tell me you made another bet?”

Alpha Team had received their equipment fairly quickly, but since they couldn’t give out two suits to one team right away, Lee Soo-yeon was still using her old gear.

While the Defensive Coat was important equipment, it was ultimately just a form of insurance, and many Awakened of her caliber didn’t pay it much mind.

Just then, Jeong Jin-seong glanced at his watch and interjected.

“We don’t have much time left. Stop messing around and let’s get going.”

“What, you’re not going to take my side?”

“Well, I already have one.”

Jeong Jin-seong said with a shrug.

At that, Lee Soo-yeon burst out laughing, and everyone boarded the transport plane.

* * *

The transport carrying Il-hyeon flew at high speed, with several large transport planes that had caught up following close behind.

They were the transports for the Aegis backup team, stationed at a different base entirely.

Since not all countries and regions could respond like Korea’s special police, Aegis was equipped with a separate backup team to control the scene and conduct rescues.

“Wait…!”

The two team leaders suddenly grabbed the communicators in their ears, focusing intently.

Then, with a serious expression, Lee Soo-yeon quickly spoke to the pilot.

“Change course for Irkutsk. We’re making an emergency detour.”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Not only their transport but also the backup team’s aircraft following behind all turned and headed north.

“Did something happen?”

Seok Pil-joon asked as the atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

“A surprise Gate with a four-minute activation time just opened in the middle of a Russian city. A B1-rank, no less. We’re the closest team.”

“Dammit, here we go again.”

Ghost grumbled.

“What about our original destination?”

“The situation in Uzbekistan can wait. We can either hand it off to another team or go after we finish this. Phew… You’re in for a nasty sight on your first day abroad.”

Lee Soo-yeon said, looking at Il-hyeon.

“A nasty sight?”

“You’ll see. You’ll probably end up thankful you were born in Korea…”

While Il-hyeon was still bewildered, their transport rapidly approached the airspace above the target city.

Jeong Jin-seong opened the door of the slowing transport, revealing a clear view of the city below.

Il-hyeon’s gaze followed.

And he was horrified.

Below them, a literal hell was unfolding.

A burning city, screams, countless collapsed buildings, and the scattered bodies of people.

The four Awakened, excluding Il-hyeon, gazed down at the scene with terrifyingly stoic expressions.

As if this wasn’t the first or second time they’d seen something like it.