Chapter 38 – The Calm Before the Storm (Part Two)

“What happened here?”

One of the team members scratched his head, looking at the scene reeking of blood.

The basement was filled with signs of a fierce gunfight and mangled corpses.

The blood overflowing on the floor and walls made the place look like hell.

“I didn’t expect anything like this…”

A man with a deep voice muttered, standing before a blood-soaked desk.

A dagger was lodged deep in the neck of the boss sitting in the chair.

‘So everyone except the grunts is dead.’

The organization members gathered here were all individuals with some standing within the group.

From executives and their close associates to mid-level managers, everyone was here.

In other words, anyone who might have known something was dead.

There was nothing to be gained from capturing and interrogating the remaining grunts.

“The only ones who would do something like this are…”

He couldn’t finish his sentence.

He racked his brain, but no one came to mind.

No matter how large the criminal organization, pulling a crazy stunt like this against an allied group would, at best, lead to internal conflict, let alone be swept under the rug.

On top of that, it was strange that a gunfight of this magnitude had occurred without the subordinates outside noticing a thing. There were too many oddities.

“Looks like we’ll need to use an Ability… Oh, she’s already on it.”

The woman in the hat was already kneeling, one hand pressed to the floor.

And as she closed her eyes and focused, the surrounding scenery shimmered and time reversed.

*Shwiiish!* Like a tape rewinding, countless scenes flashed by at a dizzying pace.

“Here.”

Her eyes snapped open.

Her colleagues had vanished, and the fallen organization members were alive and well, standing in their places.

As if they couldn’t see her, they chattered amongst themselves in a foreign language.

She couldn’t understand the words, but their tone was highly agitated.

The woman waved her hand, transforming their words into Korean.

“I told you not to get involved in that business, didn’t I? It was a foolish act with consequences we can’t handle.”

“We don’t have time for this! Those Aegis bastards are probably tracking us!”

The chaotic situation was palpable.

Watching from the center of it all, she scoffed.

They should have been more careful about who they messed with. She couldn’t fathom what they were thinking, pulling a stunt like that.

Amidst it all, the boss sat silently, saying nothing.

Just as he was about to speak, the man at the very front drew a knife.

*Stab!*

As if controlled by someone, the man, with unfocused eyes, plunged the dagger deep into the boss’s neck.

The scene descended into utter shock.

The boss of Del Rojas died on the spot, spewing an immense amount of blood.

“What have you done!”

“Get that bastard!”

Just as everyone was about to rush the sudden assassin.

Their eyes rolled back just like the man’s, losing focus.

After that, it didn’t take long for the space to become a living hell.

Everyone in the basement suddenly began to butcher one another.

Crazed shouts filled the air, and the terrible screams and loud gunshots that filled the room assaulted her ears.

The woman’s face contorted in a grimace as she watched the slaughter.

And so, everyone died. The last one remaining aimed the gun at his own chin and pulled the trigger.

*Bang!*

The scene became exactly as she had first witnessed it.

The woman turned back time a little further to look for clues, but there was no more useful information to be found here.

There was a limit to how far back in time she could read.

Using her Ability also consumed a great deal of power.

“It’s a mental-type Ability. A very powerful one. I couldn’t even see the caster.”

She said to the team member standing beside her, having returned to the present.

“That’s actually a good thing. If an Ability was used, we can track it.”

“No, it’s impossible. All traces have been erased.”

Another team member shook his head.

He could detect the traces of an Awakened who used an Ability and track them.

His Ability was specifically for targeting Awakened, not Monsters.

But this time, it was completely ineffective.

Not even the smallest trace remained; it had been wiped clean.

“We’ve been completely had, haven’t we?”

The woman took off her hat, ran a hand through her hair, and let out a dry laugh.

***

“Yawn.”

Ghost let out a long yawn.

The outline of his wide-open mouth was visible through his mask.

“You didn’t have any work. What were you doing last night?”

“Hmm, that’s a difficult question. Should I just tell you?”

“No… never mind.”

Lee Soo-yeon turned her head away.

They hadn’t been in the air for long, but a city was already coming into view outside the transport plane’s window.

They were currently on their way to Spain for a deployment covering the European region.

Awakened belonging to Aegis could freely enter the airspace of any country in the world at any time.

They were also permitted to enter and exit countries without any special procedures.

Riding in a transport plane that didn’t require a runway, they had no real need to land at an airport.

Yet they had deliberately come here, to Barajas International Airport.

Arriving via the airport was part of the team’s schedule.

As the transport plane descended and landed smoothly, Il-hyeon shouldered a light bag.

He had almost no other luggage.

He had been told that most necessities would be provided for them, so there was no need to pack much. Indeed, the other team members were also traveling light.

The team members disembarked from the transport plane one by one.

A group of about a dozen people was waiting for them.

“It is an honor to meet you. Please come this way.”

A man in a suit, speaking fluent Korean, guided them.

Once inside the airport, they bypassed all immigration procedures and quickly passed through a staff-only corridor.

Seeing a foreign airport for the first time in his life, Il-hyeon looked around with curious eyes.

He had never been well-off, and with the increased difficulty of international travel since the Gate crisis, he had never been abroad before.

They headed toward the automatic doors, beyond which they could hear a murmur of voices.

*Waaaah!*

Il-hyeon squinted as a sudden barrage of camera flashes erupted.

Security personnel from the Spanish government were lined up, and beyond them, a huge crowd had gathered to see them.

There were people cheering and taking pictures, as well as others holding large welcome signs.

He was just starting to get used to the attention back home, but seeing foreigners act like this was something he couldn’t adjust to.

After making their way through the crowd, they held a brief press conference and gave interviews in front of numerous cameras and reporters.

Having come without much thought since it was just a light, one-week deployment, Il-hyeon found it hard to get his bearings.

It made sense, as every time Aegis’s continental deployment teams rotated, immense interest was focused on which country they would go to next.

Due to the dramatic advancements in aviation technology, the travel time between countries on the same continent was usually only a matter of minutes, but in emergencies, those few minutes could make all the difference.

Moreover, thanks to the intense public interest, governments vied to host the deployment teams, offering Aegis various conditions.

The reporters, speaking rapidly due to the limited time, showed great interest in Jeong Jin-seong’s absence.

As the two most well-known team leaders in Aegis, this was expected. They smoothly gave the pre-arranged answer that he was on another mission and couldn’t come.

However, there was another person who garnered just as much attention.

Kang Il-hyeon. It was him.

Having already silenced several B-rank Monsters on his own, he was being introduced to the world as the hottest rookie of late.

Accordingly, he was bombarded with a torrent of questions and had to stay behind much longer than the other two team members, excluding Lee Soo-yeon.

“Wow, you’re popular.”

Ghost approached Il-hyeon, who had finally escaped the reporters’ barrage of questions.

“Is it always like this?”

“Well, yes. Though it seems like there are more people than usual since it’s the weekend…”

“Hello?”

A woman who had approached from the other side suddenly greeted them.

Brown bobbed hair, slightly drooping eyes, and a neat coat.

Il-hyeon stared at her familiar-looking face, and the woman met his gaze directly.

“You haven’t forgotten me, have you?”

“Ah…!”

Realizing who she was, Il-hyeon’s mouth fell open.

Back when he had just Awakened.

It was Park So-yeon, the reporter he had run into by chance.