Chapter 53 – Divergence (Part Two)

A translucent force field suddenly appeared in Korea.

Combined with the simultaneous detection of a high-grade Gate, the Aegis analysis room was thrown into chaos.

“What’s going on?”

Lee Soo-yeon asked, bursting through the door.

Shin Jae-ha, the deputy head of the analysis team, who was reviewing data spread across a table, looked at her with a troubled expression.

“This is no ordinary situation. An A4-grade Gate has appeared inside an unidentified force field. No, to be precise, the barrier formed right after the Gate was generated. In any case, the citizens inside are trapped, completely unable to move.”

“So, breaking through to enter is…”

“Impossible. Physically, it’s not even a remote possibility. We’re still analyzing, but it’s doubtful that even special powers will work. A government-affiliated ability user is on their way, but… frankly, it’s best not to get your hopes up.”

“Haa…”

Lee Soo-yeon sighed, pressing a hand to her throbbing head.

Nothing like this had ever happened in the last twenty years.

When a Gate appeared, they just had to rush over as quickly as possible. But with the area sealed off like this, there was nothing they could do.

“Do we have to hope they can handle it from the inside? What’s the Awakened combat power in there?”

“There are only four B-rank Awakened capable of responding. It’s not Seoul, but the Gyeonggi area, so there are few Awakened stationed there during this busy period.”

Shin Jae-ha handed her four documents that were on the table.

It was a list of the high-ranking Awakened, B-rank and above, currently inside the barrier.

The first page listed two Awakened from the government’s Response Team.

At least they were experienced Awakened she had worked with in the field a few times.

But as she flipped past the first two pages, her expression soured.

“This is…”

“Yes, of all people, those two are trapped inside.”

Kang Il-hyeon and Lee Tae-hee.

For better or worse, the two most promising members of Aegis happened to be in there.

They had both said they were visiting their parents on their day off; it seemed they were in the same location.

“Damn it, what kind of monster appeared?”

“A Chaser. Remember that white one?”

“Of course I do. I recklessly charged in back then and nearly died. You don’t mean it’s that one, do you?”

He tapped a key, and a picture of the monster that had appeared inside the force field was displayed on the screen.

The humanoid monster, with a sleek, pure white body, had three glowing red eyes on its face.

The area where it appeared was a complete ruin, littered with people’s bodies.

Chaser.

It was a monster that hadn’t appeared often, but had made a strong impression over the past twenty years.

An infamous creature, and also the opponent for Lee Soo-yeon’s debut against an A-rank monster.

“Yes, it’s the same one from back then.”

“This is dangerous. It’s definitely going to be tough…”

Lee Soo-yeon muttered anxiously.

Having faced it herself, she knew its capabilities all too well.

But if the monster that appeared in this Gate was really a Chaser, there was something strange.

“But it shouldn’t have an ability to create a barrier like that, right?”

“We were wondering the same thing… but for now, there’s no way to know.”

Biting her lip nervously, Lee Soo-yeon shot up from her seat and left without hesitation.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To the site.”

***

“This is a Level 1 Gate disaster. Please remain calm and follow all instructions.”

Public announcements echoed through every corner of the city, which was trapped in chaos within the translucent barrier.

News spread that a Gate had opened at the center of the barrier, and citizens were frantically running toward the edges.

Il-hyeon moved alone against the frantic crowd, making his way toward the center.

At the same time, he had inserted the communicator he usually carried into his ear and was receiving a summary of the situation from headquarters.

-Il-hyeon, can you hear me?

“Team Leader?”

The voice on the other end suddenly changed to Lee Soo-yeon’s.

The connection was poor, cutting in and out, but he recognized it instantly.

-Yeah, I’m heading that way too. You’ve got the gist of the situation, right?

“Yes, I’ve been briefed.”

-You already know this, but it’s on a completely different level from the Tog you faced alone back then.

At her words, Il-hyeon swallowed hard without replying.

Throughout his life as an Awakened, he had come to understand the significance of an A-rank monster.

An object of terror, practically the primary enemy to humanity’s survival.

Countless Awakened had been torn apart by them, and defenses had been breached multiple times, resulting in catastrophic damage.

That was why the importance of high-ranking A-grade Awakened who could face them had skyrocketed, and why every government desperately sought them out.

This was the first time Il-hyeon had to face an A-rank monster without a team leader, and it would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.

But that wasn’t the only reason he felt a strong sense of anxiety at this moment.

‘Damn it… of all times.’

Il-hyeon anxiously looked around.

His parents’ house was inside the trapped city.

Il-hyeon’s communicator, prepared for such situations, was working, but nearly all other means of communication inside were cut off.

After absorbing the core of another mutant he’d acquired in England last week, he had sent a mouse with a wide-range presence detection ability—carried by a summoned hawk—to search for them, but he was still anxious.

-You’re heading to the center, right? Change course and head this way first.

As Lee Soo-yeon spoke, Il-hyeon’s watch reacted.

Detailed coordinates for the locations of other Awakened, the Gate, and the monster appeared on the holographic GPS.

However, one thing was strange: the top-priority destination was marked in an odd place, far from the other Awakened.

“Shouldn’t I rendezvous with the others first?”

-Are you planning to go empty-handed? Fortunately, we have a few affiliated research labs in that area. You should be able to get an Ether Sword there. They also have makeshift Defensive Coats, though they’re just temporary solutions.

“Ah.”

Il-hyeon looked down at himself.

He was in comfortable, inconspicuous clothes, and in his hand was a shopping bag containing gifts and a summoned creature, not a sword.

Thanks to his own ability, which granted him considerable combat power, he could fight to some extent without gear. But given the monster he had to face now, he needed to be fully prepared.

-We’ll look for a way to open it from the outside, but in the worst-case scenario, you might have to take it down with just the people you have in there.

“Understood. We’ll have to find a way.”

-…Don’t you dare die. Tens of thousands of lives are on the line.

Making his way through the crowd, he clenched his fists.

Il-hyeon knew that all too well.

***

“It’s no use going to the blocked edges! You must head to the shelters! Please follow the directions!”

Soldiers shouted on the streets where people were frantically fleeing.

Special police units stationed in the city, as well as military troops, were evacuating the citizens.

“They’re here!”

Monsters swarmed through the abandoned cars that clogged the streets.

The human-sized white monsters raised their blade-like arms and advanced menacingly.

“Stop them!”

With the shout, fire erupted from tank cannons and gun barrels.

One of them, hit by a main cannon, lost an arm and was knocked back, but the other three ignored the anti-monster rifle rounds and closed the distance.

The attacks didn’t even scratch the C-rank monsters.

*KWAANG!*

The creatures sliced a tank in half and casually blew the heads off two or three soldiers.

Horrific sprays of red blood erupted in all directions, and the soldiers began to retreat in terror.

Just then, people in black coats appeared from among the soldiers.

*Shing.*

The three Awakened walked forward, slowly drawing their swords, and swung at the recklessly charging monsters.

*CHWAAAK!*

The monsters’ bodies were mercilessly hacked to pieces and rolled across the ground.

It was an easy end for the creatures that had underestimated their opponents.

The soldiers, who had been on the verge of being helplessly slaughtered, breathed a sigh of relief.

The newcomers were veteran Awakened from Althena, one of the more well-known major Awakened corporations.

“We were on our way to deal with another Gate… What kind of bolt from the blue is this?”

A man grumbled.

A woman flicked the blood from her sword and examined the dead monster.

“The base monsters are C-rank… We need to be careful. This isn’t the kind of situation we’re supposed to handle.”

“What about Aegis and the Response Team guys?”

“They said they’re gearing up and on the move. We’ll have to count on them.”

“So if they fail, we all die? What a mess.”

“Watch out! Another one’s coming, and it’s not ordinary!”

Another man shouted.

A creature three or four times larger than the ones they just fought was approaching, its gaze fixed on them.

They squinted, trying to get a good look at it.

It wasn’t the infamous ace monster.

“From the looks of it, it’s not a Chaser.”

“Alright, we’ll try to stop it here. If we fall back, it’s over.”

The three Awakened gripped their swords tightly.

There were still many evacuating citizens behind them.

They couldn’t retreat. They clashed with the monster that had closed the distance in an instant.

*KWAANG!*

One took the attack head-on, while the other two circled to the sides, looking for an opening.

But the man couldn’t withstand even that single blow.

He dropped his sword and was left exposed.

“Ugh-aaack!”

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

With two or three swings from the creature, the protection of his Defensive Coat shattered, and the man’s right arm was severed.

Blood gushed out, and he screamed as he fell to the ground.

*KWANG!*

“Keuk!”

His comrades rushed in, but they were sent flying as their Defensive Coats shattered under another swing of the creature’s arm.

The two from either side were slammed into a wall along with the cars they hit.

Having dealt with the intruders, the white monster turned its head, its eyes glowing with a dark light.

Witnessing the unbelievable scene, the onlookers were too terrified to even think of running, frozen in place.

Without the now-fallen Awakened, any resistance they could offer against the monster before them was meaningless.

It was a helpless and desperate situation.

But then, the sound of a helicopter suddenly filled the air, and the monster looked up.

There, sword in hand, was a woman—Lee Tae-hee—her black coat fluttering as she leaped down toward the creature.

The white monster reflexively extended a sharp arm toward her.

It intended to impale the foolish opponent mid-fall.

But in that instant, the flow of time shifted, and Lee Tae-hee twisted her body.

*CHWAAAK!*

Sliced to pieces in a moment too fast for the eye to follow, the monster collapsed to the ground.

Lee Tae-hee landed with a spin and quickly approached the fallen man.

“Help me stop the bleeding here!”

At her cry, the soldiers snapped out of their stupor and rushed over.

They administered emergency first aid and helped not only the man but also the other fallen Awakened to their feet.

“Can you move?”

“Yes, I’m okay… Thank you so much.”

The Awakened who had barely survived thanked Lee Tae-hee repeatedly.

They limped slightly, but thanks to their Defensive Coats, their movement didn’t seem to be seriously impaired.

As the situation was brought under control, the two men who had been in the helicopter also disembarked after Lee Tae-hee.

Park Sang-ho and Park Sang-min of the government’s Response Team.

They were twin Awakened, famous for their excellent coordination.

“Keep an eye on things here for a bit longer. We’re going to head on first.”

“Go on first? We should wait for one more person from our side before we go face it.”

Lee Tae-hee asked, bewildered by Park Sang-ho’s words.

Park Sang-min shook his head and spoke.

“The two of us can handle one of them just fine. In the meantime, help with the civilian evacuation and clear out the other monsters.”

“But, if it’s a Chaser, that’s an A-rank monster, and it’s notoriously tricky…”

“Don’t you trust us? Don’t worry. Even if it’s A-rank, we have plenty of experience fighting them as support.”

Park Sang-min said this reassuringly, but Lee Tae-hee couldn’t shake her unease.

“Still, you never know, that’s a bit… We should go as a group of four to be safe.”

“Hey, there are five B-rank monsters still out there. Who’s going to deal with them in the meantime? Are you just going to let people die? We have to save the citizens.”

Park Sang-ho said in a feigned angry tone, causing Lee Tae-hee to flinch slightly.

Seeing her reaction, Park Sang-ho grew smug and pressed on.

“Aegis bastards are all the same, only focused on catching monsters.”

“That’s enough. Let’s stop and go.”

Park Sang-min stopped him and pushed him forward as they walked away.

Lee Tae-hee stood still, watching their retreating backs with a doubtful expression.

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to do…”