Chapter 33 – Questions (Part One)

“So… you’re telling me this little thing is what caused all this chaos?”

Jeong Jin-seong said grimly, staring at the object.

In his hand was a black scrambler.

A red light blinked on its perfectly rectangular surface.

Just by placing this small device near a Gate, it could intentionally interfere with or distort wavelength analysis from satellites or telemetry equipment.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

muttered Lee Jeong-hyeop, who was holding a spear askew.

Not only that, but more than half the people gathered here didn’t even know a device called an analysis scrambler existed.

Even for veterans who had seen it all when it came to Gates, this was unheard of.

It made sense, as the production of Gate scramblers was strictly prohibited worldwide.

Furthermore, secretly distributing or using them at Gates was an even more serious crime, one that no one dared to attempt.

Intentionally skewing Gate analysis was tantamount to terrorism, targeting not just the Awakened but also countless civilians nearby.

And the unidentified man who had done such a thing, now captured by Aegis, nervously scanned his surroundings.

He was completely surrounded by high-ranking Awakened, whose faces alone were recognizable.

Even with ten lives, escape was impossible.

The sight was enough to make his vision go black.

“Everyone’s here now. It’s time for you to tell us who you are.”

Lee Soo-yeon said, looking down at the man.

The man, naturally, didn’t understand Korean, so she placed a simultaneous interpreter in one of his ears.

“Tell us who you work for and why you’re here. You know what you were caught doing, right? Don’t think this will end well for you.”

This was on a completely different level from Scavengers or simple trespassing.

It was a serious act of terrorism, and it was highly likely connected to all the analysis errors that had occurred so far.

This was definitely not something they could laugh off.

“I… I can’t talk. Just hand me over to the police.”

the man answered hesitantly.

“Hah, are you deaf? We’re not the only ones you’ve screwed over. You think they’ll just let it slide if we hand you to the police?”

Lee Soo-yeon grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close.

Faced with her threatening demeanor, the man trembled, his face pale with fear.

But still, he had no intention of talking and shook his head violently.

“No! I really can’t say anything…!”

“It seems talking isn’t going to work.”

Jo Yoon said, stepping forward.

As he spoke, a shadow began to creep up from behind the captive man.

“Guhh…!”

A tendril of shadow snaked up the man’s body and tightened around his neck.

The man was also an Awakened, much sturdier than an ordinary person, but as the pressure intensified, his focus wavered.

A mixture of gasps and pained groans escaped his lips.

“What are you doing? After the incident last time. Get this thing off him, now.”

Lee Soo-yeon spun around and snapped at Jo Yoon.

“I’ll say it again: that wasn’t an accident, it was intentional. And it wasn’t something that shouldn’t have happened.”

Jo Yoon showed no signs of backing down.

Less than a year ago, during an overseas operation, he had interrogated two captured high-level criminals, killing one and leaving the other paralyzed from the waist down.

He had extracted all the information he wanted during the interrogation, but excessive blood loss had been the problem.

No matter how heinous the criminal, killing a subdued opponent was unequivocally wrong.

But in a world where Gates opened endlessly, the government had no desire to let an irreplaceable asset rot over such an incident.

The matter was never mentioned in any media, a fact known only to a few, and his punishment had been nothing more than a verbal warning and a fine.

“I said, stop.”

Her patience wearing thin, Lee Soo-yeon stepped in front of Jo Yoon in a clear warning.

Yet he stood his ground, unmoving, and their eyes locked.

A brief silence fell between them.

*Shnk!*

Jeong Jin-seong, who had been watching the situation unfold, drew his sword and sliced through the shadow.

The shadow, hardened by the special power, was cleanly severed and fell away.

Finally able to breathe, the man coughed violently, writhing on the floor.

“The two of you standing there like that isn’t going to solve anything.”

Jeong Jin-seong smoothly sheathed his sword.

Lee Soo-yeon stepped back, and Jo Yoon shifted his gaze to him.

“So. What’s your plan now?”

Jo Yoon said curtly.

As far as he knew, there was no method as effective as an interrogation that involved physical pain.

All the captive had to do was keep his mouth shut, just like he was doing now.

“This all gets solved if we have the D-Team’s leader, right? I hear D-Team is on standby in Seoul right now.”

“Right, that should work.”

Jeong Jin-seong nodded in response to Ghost, who had interjected.

If the leader of D-Team—she—was here, trying to stay silent would be useless.

“You’re going to spill everything eventually. Why not just talk now?”

“No… I can’t ever tell you! If I talk, I’ll…! Aaargh!”

The man’s words were cut short.

*BOOM!*

A sudden explosion.

The man’s head was crushed, and an explosion erupted from within.

In the split second that a formidable crimson energy was about to burst in all directions…

The world turned gray.

And every object in the vicinity froze in place.

The expanding explosion, the man’s shattering head, and the fragments of his skull flying from it.

All stopped, suspended in mid-air.

“Dammit, whoever these bastards are, they’ve pulled some real crap…”

In the frozen space, amidst the motionless people, only Jeong Jin-seong muttered to himself.

He stood with his arm outstretched, not relaxing his stance.

The reason Jeong Jin-seong alone was not frozen was simple.

It was his own special power.

His A-rank ability, [Stasis].

A power that did exactly what it said: it stopped things.

It was a monstrous ability capable of stopping monsters, people, and even the surrounding space itself.

Of course, it had a clear weakness.

While using the ability, he himself could not move from his spot.

This was why, in Aegis, only A-Team had two co-leaders.

While it was partly because Lee Soo-yeon and Jeong Jin-seong had long been a team and had developed their teamwork, the nature of Jeong Jin-seong’s ability meant he needed someone of equal strength by his side to use it effectively.

After he sealed an enemy’s movements, there were few monsters that could withstand Lee Soo-yeon’s slashing attacks.

However, like most special powers, it didn’t work on everyone.

Lee Soo-yeon and Jo Yoon, being of the same rank, could resist his ability to some extent.

Their movements would be severely hindered, but they wouldn’t be frozen solid, unable to think.

But this time was different.

If he stopped the entire surrounding space without selecting a target.

Then, no matter how strong the monster or Awakened, they couldn’t move within its range.

It was powerful enough to freeze even the Director of Aegis, so there were no exceptions based on strength.

However, it consumed a massive amount of energy and couldn’t be used selectively, making it not very useful in combat.

Its only practical use in a real fight was to buy time.

‘I’m already getting tired… I need to change the target.’

he thought, having unintentionally used Spatial Stasis in his haste to react.

He planned to change the target of his ability to the area around the explosion, allowing the other team members to escape first.

Just as he was about to change the ability’s target, two mice scurried into the frozen space.

Jeong Jin-seong could now tell that these weren’t wild mice.

They were two of the mice Kang Il-hyeon had sent to search for any civilians who might not have evacuated.

“Huh?”

His eyes widened.

The two mice, which should have frozen the moment they entered the ability’s range, were running around perfectly fine.

They were moving freely, without any resistance, in a space where even he, the user of the ability, was immobilized.

The two mice climbed onto the frozen Kang Il-hyeon’s shoulder.

Then, they looked at the astonished Jeong Jin-seong and tilted their heads.

Squeak! Squeak